Laughter really is the best medicine
The Ricky Gervais Show podcasts/audio books and older radio shows with Ricky Gervais, Steve Merchant, & Karl Pilkington are raw, fresh, pointless, and absolutely hysterical (at least to me...and a few million other clearly unstable people who don't mind spending a few dollars for complete drivel). I always liked Gervais's work -- I had the BBC version of The Office before I saw the US version. The Extras is fantastic. But these podcasts (they have to call them audiobooks when they charge, but they are essentially podcasts) are brilliant. I have every single podcast and audiobook that they put up on iTunes and have been listening to them for the past 18 months or so on the train. I must look odd sometimes on the train judging from some of the looks I get. I mean there I am, a strange gaijin with sunglasses just sitting there with white headphones coming out of my ears with a big Cheshire Cat grin on my face looking a bit mental. But the thing is, the absurd, unscripted verbal interplay between these three guys just makes me laugh and smile and genuinely feel better. I can say with great certainty -- even if there were not scientific evidence to back me up (but there is) -- that this kind of from-the-gut and from-the-heart laughter is actually good for my mental and physical health (they are obviously interconnected). The content does not matter in this case -- the content is absolute bollocks anyway. Laughter too is infectious and Ricky Gervais's laughter has to be the most infectious of them all.
Screenshot of my iPhone this AM. The latest "Guide to." Now, it's not for everyone, nothing with a strong following ever is. But I hope this mention here will lead at least a few more people to discover the brilliance of Karl Pilkington (hmmm, is brilliance the right word? Perhaps brilliant idiocy is the better term). Anyway, here is a free sample. They play a clip from the show in the middle of this free podcast. I hope it makes you smile.
http://www.rickygervais.com/ (link to the iTunes store on Ricky's website)
If Ricky Gervais doesn't do it for you, find something else that makes you laugh -- I mean really laugh -- everyday. It's good for you, and it's good for those around you as well, isn't it? • The Health Benefits of Humor and Laughter• Laughter Is The Best Medicine (Science Daily)
• Laughter: The Best Medicine (Psychology Today)
