Humor Power

Here’s a look at Observational Humor presented after a presentation by Mike Rayburn, professional guitarist, comic, motivational speaker.

THE SET-UP (What was said and what happened during the meeting before the monologue was delivered.)

1.  Guest speaker Mike Rayburn is a professional speaker and entertainer.  He is a very funny guy.

2.  Ben Klink introduced Mike and made reference to something being Sizzling Red Hot, “Like my face.”  The line got a big laugh.

3.  Mike quoted Descartes:  I think…therefore I am.  Then he twisted the phrase for a big laugh.

4.  Mike joked that one of the fun things about having a career as a comic is that you occasionally get to speak to drunk people.

5.  Bobby was a guest from another club.  He is a very funny guy and often kids about stealing other people’s jokes.

6.  As one of his amazing guitar numbers, Mike did a musical parody of Dueling Banjos, where he played a duel between a guitar and a middle-eastern instrument, using only an accoustic guitar.

7.  Mike referred to a genetically modified tomato that even flies won’t eat.

THE MONOLOGUE

Here’s the humor tip for the day.  If you want your humor to be a big hit…volunteer to follow a brilliant, professional comic.
(The joke suggests that the opposite will happen.  It’s saying that following a pro, by comparison, your humor will appear lame.  Self-deprecation.)

That will make your humor sizzling-red-hot…like Ben Klink’s face.
(Ben’s earlier comment received a big laugh.  That made the comment a good target for an Observational Humor joke.)

As I heard Mike speak, I realized:  I’m funny…therefore I am!
(Twisting a cliche to fit my theme of humor.)

I’ve got a great idea to improve our club meetings.  Let’s bring a Keg to each meeting.  And we can speak to drunk people.
(Silly suggestion.  Good laugh.)

Have you met our guest, Bobby?  He’s from another club.  This week he’ll be doing jokes with set-ups written in America and with punchlines written in Baghdad…which will result in jokes that flies won’t laugh at.
(A call back to the musical parody of dueling banjos.  Includes a topper, twisting the reference to what flies will and won’t do.  A huge laugh.)

Here’s an analysis of another Observational Humor monologue.

THE SET-UP (What was said and what happened during the meeting before the Observational Humor monologue was delivered.

1.  Jeffrey was a guest at the meeting.  When he was introduced he was congratulated for having the courage to sit in the front row.

2.  Ben Klink, our club president, arrived late and missed the opening part of the meeting.  Club officer Ryan Mulligan filled in for him.

3.  Speaker Al Jensen wore an extremely flashy coat.

4.  In that day’s news was the closure of the Liberace Museum.

5.  Speaker Barbel referred to the fact that 30 years ago “she was hot!”

6.  A speaker mentioned losing weight using ankle weights when going to bed.

THE MONOLOGUE

Jeffrey, I hope you enjoyed sitting in the front row.  It’s now time for the Observational Humor part of the meeting…so we’re ready to pass out the plastic sheets.
(The joke implies that the Observational Humor part of the meeting gets wild, like a Gallagher program.)

Ben, since you were late to the meeting…we gave you a Mulligan.
(Using a reference from golf where a person gets a second chance by taking a “mulligan.”)

Al Jensen’s wardrobe was made possible by this morning’s closing of the Liberace Museum.
(Al’s coat was an obvious target for humor.  Connecting it to the day’s news was effective.  Big laugh.)

Barbel, you and I should have met 30 years ago…when we were both hot.
(Self-deprecation.  Implies that I’m no longer hot.)

Going to bed with ankle weights is like sleeping with a Bar Bell.  Which is always good for losing two pounds.
(Use of name play and a sound-alike word, Bar Bell and Barbel.  The joke which proceeded it [thirty years ago] was part of the set up by using her name.  Huge laugh.  The laugh was so big, I forgot to deliver the topper.)

Let’s look at some Observational Humor from a monologue at the end of a PowerHouse Pros Toastmaster meeting.

THE SET-UP (What was said and what happened during the meeting before the monologue was delivered.)

1.  A guest introduced herself to the club as Short, Fat and Adorable.

2.  A speaker used a math game to direct audience members to arrive at a “free choice” of DENMARK and ELEPHANT.

3.  A speaker said that when he was in Japan someone gave him a gift of 40,000 Yen.

4.  A speaker shared the insight that “Things happen for a reason.”

5.  Randy told us about a woman where he works who is really weird.  She’s looking for a man, and Randy said he would protect us.)

6.  The word of the day for the meeting was GOOMBA.  The grammarian took several minutes to introduce the word.

7.  In a speech on robots, a speaker referred to a Roomba, an automated vacuum cleaner.

8.  A speaker talked about asserting his masculinity and mentioned the TV series The Sopranos.

9.  A speaker shared a cheer used at a High School basketball game when he was younger.  “Lets Go!  Lets Go!  L-E-T-S-G-O!  Lets Go!”

THE MONOLOGUE

My name is John Kinde.  I’m tall, skinny and adorable.  Well…two out of three isn’t bad.
(Self deprecation.  A punchline followed by a topper.  The topper, two out of three, implies that I’m not adorable…since it’s not debatable that I’m tall and skinny.  Although I prefer thin or slender, skinny is a funnier word choice.)

Take your age.  Multiply it by 27.  Now take the cube root of that number and add it to the weight of a Danish Elephant.  The next step is to wake up your neighbor.
(The-weight-of-a-Danish-Elephant is the first punchline.  And wake-up-your-neighbor is a topper.  You feel that the joke is over…and boom, down comes the topper.  As a good topper should, it received a bigger laugh than the line that set it up.)

I’ve travelled in Japan.  An interesting thing is their pay telephones.  I was making a call, and was interrupted by the operator who said:  “For the next three minutes…please deposit 40,000 yen.”
(It’s a funny way of saying “40,000 Yen isn’t as much as it sounds like.”  Which is true, but it IS more than $450 at today’s exchange rates, which is not pocket change.)

Things happen for a reason.  That’s a profound insight.  Like, when you tell a joke and nobody laughs…there’s a reason.
(A call back to a wisdom sound bite sets up a punchline which merely states the obvious.)

This past weekend I dated this really weird woman.  Then I found out she works with Randy.
(Dropping myself into someone else’s story.  I set up the fact that the woman was strange, then I linked her to Randy’s story.)

Let me conclude by answering some of your burning questions.
(Using the Answer Man format, giving the answer first and then providing the question.)

The first answer is:  A Goomba.
The question is:  What do you call a Roomba which is owned by a Gomer.
(Using a dated pop culture reference to Gomer Pyle, who played an unsophisticated country person on the Andy Griffith Show.  A GOMER is sometimes a slang term for rube.)

As a side note:  The word of the day for the next meeting will be Lutefisk.  It’s not related to Goomba…except that it also takes 5-7 minutes to explain what it is.
(I stepped away from the Answer Man vehicle for an aside on the Word of The Day.  Earlier in the meeting the introduction of the word of the day was noticeably long.  Normally it would be about 30 seconds.  That evening it was possibly three minutes.  I was guessing that it would be a good target of a joke.  And I was right.  It got a very big laugh.  I exaggerated by referring to a time frame of a typical speech at a Toastmasters meeting, 5-7 minutes.  Lutefisk is a Norwegian fish dish.  I just picked it as a random, obscure, funny-sounding word.)

The next answer is:  Become a soprano.
The question is:  What is an unlikely way to assert your masculinity.
(My intention was to refer to an alternate word meaning for soprano…a singing voice, usually female, in the high register.)

Well, the meeting is almost over so, Let’s Go, Let’s Go… L-E-T-S-G-O…Let’s Go!
(The cheer was a good way to close the monologue.)

Here is another Observational Humor Monologue.

THE SET-UP (What was said and what happened during the meeting before the monologue was delivered.)

1.  A speaker told a story of locking her keys in the car.  She had recently made a new friend, Beverly, at a Toastmasters meeting.  She rode her bicycle to Beverly’s house to get help with her lock-out situation.

2.  The word of the day was PHLEGMATIC, meaning sluggish, calm, un-flappable, or causing phlegm.

3.  The emcee was dressed in the same colored suit as Frank.  He introduced Frank as “my brother…from another mother.”

4.  A speaker said that she finally opened her Toastmasters Manual after looking at it for months.

5.  Dana used the Question-Man vehicle to present some of his Observational Humor.  He provided the answer first and then announced the question.

6.  A speaker said that his air conditioner broke and he fixed it for thirty-one cents.

7.  The person critiquing proper grammar for the meeting, referred to her job as looking for “grammical errors.”

8.  A speaker described her back yard which was used for the pool, sun bathing, trampolining and swinging on a swing set.  She mentioned that the man next door could watch her sun bathe.

9.  A speaker gave an impromptu speech about being a Thunder From Down Under dancer.  That’s a male exotic dance troupe from Australia similar to the Chippendales.

THE MONOLOGUE

I want everyone to say “Hi Beverly!”
Beverly is our friend.
(looking at Beverly)  Where do you live?
(This uses the Drop-Yourself-Into-The-Story technique.  In this case I’m dropping the entire audience into the story.  My intent was for the audience to say “Hi Beverly.”  They surprised me by also repeating “Beverly is our friend.”  I thought “Oh, Oh.”  I didn’t want them to repeat the punchline of “Where do you live?”  After the punchline I wanted laughter…not another repeat-after-me line.  So I paused.  I made solid eye contact with Beverly.  And I clearly asked the question: “Where do you live?”  It is an implied punchline, suggesting that we would show up at her home when we needed help.  It worked perfectly and received a huge laugh.)

If you look up PHLEGMATIC in the dictionary, you’ll find my picture.  Whenever I tell a joke…people go…ahem (lightly clearing my throat).
(A bit of self-deprecation in two ways.  It possibly implies I’m slow moving.  It also implies that audiences might question the appropriateness of my humor.  A very big laugh.)

My personalized license plate says:  PHLEGM
(Another link to the Word Of The Day.)

Frank is my brother…from another dimension.  That’s why we don’t dress alike.
(Frank is a good friend.   Except for both being funny, we are very different people.  A call-back provided the opportunity to refer to our attire.  He was nicely dressed in a suit and tie.  I was very casual, wearing a denim shirt and tennis shoes.)

Two days ago I opened my Toastmasters Manual for the first time.  I figured after 37 years…it was about time.
(Linking my long-time in Toastmasters to “finally” opening my manual.)

Since Dana presented some Question-Man Answers, I thought it would be appropriate that I closed with some of them.
(I was planning on doing the Question-Man format bits before I heard Dana do his.  But saying this gave the appearance that I decided to do them on the spur of the moment…the illusion of spontaneity.)

The Answer is:  A temporary fix.
The Question is:  What do you call a thirty-one-cent air conditioner repair?
(A perfect joke based on “you get what you pay for.”  A very big laugh.)

The Answer is:  A mistake made by a grandmother.
The Question is:  What is a grammical error.
(When she mis-pronounced the word, I heard an audible reaction from the audience.  Since I knew that the audience had noticed the error, it made it a target for humor.)

The Answer is:  Something you do in a house with a pool.
The Question is:  What is swinging.
(Plays with the double meaning of the word SWINGING.)

The Answer is Gas-Ex.
The Question is:  What will prevent Thunder from Down Under?
(A funny call back which got a huge laugh.  Use a joke like this with caution.  It’s a bodily-function joke which I’d never use for a corporate audience.  With an audience of friends, and delivering it as an implied joke, I felt it was safe.  But if you’re ever in doubt about a joke, leave it out.)

I presented a Humor Workshop at a Las Vegas Toastmasters club.  The format of the meeting was a regular TM meeting (business session, impromptu speeches, prepared speeches, and evaluations).  Following the normal meeting, I presented an Observational Humor monologue and then a Humor Workshop.

THE SET-UP (What happened and what was said during the meeting before the monologue was presented.)

1.  The meeting was advertised as a Humor Workshop.

2.  During the business meeting, there was an extended discussion about the purchase of a portable lectern for the club.

3.  Club meetings often begin with the Pledge of Allegiance.

4.  Diane Hunter was dressed with Red-White-and-Blue accents.

5.  A speaker said that the greatest fear was speaking in public.

6.  Someone mentioned the cliche of people “laughing their pants off.”

7.  A quote from Darren LaCroix:  If we improved our speaking skills one percent every day, after seventy days we’d be twice as good a speaker as we are today.

8.  I was presenting a humor workshop for the Lunatics Toastmasters club.

9.  S Frank Stringham is one of the club members.  He is a bigger-than-life, comedic entertainer.

10.  S Frank Stringham, presented some humor thoughts while sharing some printed comic strips with the audience.

THE MONOLOGUE

Welcome to the Portable Lectern Workshop.
(Implied that the main purpose of the meeting was to talk about Portable Lecterns, not to present a humor workshop.)

If we’re ever missing an American flag…we can pledge allegiance to Dianne Hunter.
(I asked Dianne to stand before I delivered the line.  Her standing was part of the setup to the joke, making sure people knew how she was dressed.)

Speaking in public is said to be one of life’s greatest fears.  That’s not true.  The greatest fear is actually trying to be funny and having people just stare at you.  Or trying to be serious and having people laugh at you.
(A simple observational twist.)

My greatest fear is when I present my humor, that people will laugh their pants off.  Please don’t!
(This is a topper, riding on the coat tails of the previous joke.)

If you become one percent funnier each day for 70 days, you’ll become twice as funny.  Of course if you aren’t funny at all…you still won’t be funny.
(Stating a not-so-obvious truth.)

Many people, when they come to a Toastmasters meeting for the first time, expect to see us presenting toasts.  When people come to Lunatics for the first time, they expect to get mooned.  When I found out that S Frank was a member, I was expecting a full moon.  That would be like watching a comic strip!
(I set up the joke series by stating a common misconception about Toastmasters clubs, that we do toasts.  I then used the root from Lunatics, Lunar, Moon to set up the first joke.  The first topper linked S Frank to the Lunatics club name.  The second topper played with the double meaning of “comic strip.”)

Here are some examples of Observational Humor presented at the end of a meeting.  Included are the set-up, the observational joke, and some comments about the structure of the joke.

THE SET-UP (What happened and what was said during the meeting before the monologue was presented.)

1.  As the club President transitioned into the educational part of the meeting, she said:  “And now without further ado…”

2.  A speaker said that she hated to be called on for impromptu speeches, called Table Topics.  Her strategy was to volunteer each meeting for the role of Speech Evaluator.  Normally, if you have a significant role in the meeting, you are not called on for Table Topics.

3.  A speaker said that it would be easy to play the role of Scotty on Star Trek.  He then delivered the line:  “Captain, I can’t give it any more.  I’m giving it all I can.”  He struggled to deliver it in a Scotty-style accent.  He then made the observational remark, “Well maybe that’s harder than it looks!”  He was using self deprecation, poking fun at his poor impersonation.  Huge laugh.

4.  The emcee of the meeting was Pam Shinkle.  She announced the meeting theme of Star Trek and was wearing a Star Trek uniform.  Her partner’s name is Bryant Pergerson.

5.  Erin Pavlina, outgoing club President, presented a Roast of club members in the format of Carnacks (giving the answer first and then providing the question).

6.  Erin is a well-known intuitive psychic advisor.

7.  A speaker told of making a bad batch of cookies because she used baking soda instead of baking powder.

8.  We were told that our grammarian sleeps with a dictionary under his pillow.

THE MONOLOGUE

Ado Ado Ado…and now without further Ado.
(Poking fun at a cliche phrase sometimes used at meetings.)

I don’t like to be called on for Table Topics.  That’s why I always volunteer for the role of Observational Humor Master.
(A humorous explanation of why I normally lead the Observational Humor portion of the meeting.)

If one of the monologue jokes isn’t funny, just remember…this is harder than it looks.
(Self deprecation.  Implies that not all of my jokes will work.)

And welcome to the Enterprise, commanded by Captain Pam Shinkle…where no man has gone before.  With the possible exception of Bryant Pergerson.
(A joke and a topper.  Big laugh.)

I thought of presenting my observations in the format of Carnacks.  But good judgment tells me not to engage in Dualing Carnacks with a psychic.
(Good link between the Carnack format and the psychic profession.)

I figured out what was wrong with my first relationship…too much baking soda.
(An absurd statement which is funny.)

I’ve never slept with a dictionary.  Although I did have a one-night-stand with a thesaurus.  Actually I’ve had more than one…but I’ve learned to describe each one with different words.
(A joke and a topper.  I actually thought of the topper driving home from the meeting, and didn’t actually deliver it at the meeting.)

Here’s another Observational Humor monologue presented at the end of a Toastmasters Club meeting.  It’s presented as a learning tool to help you find your own, original humor. 

THE SET-UP (What was said and what happened during the meeting before the monologue was delivered.)

1.  One of our speakers, George Irish, used a note card about the size of a Post-It note.

2.  George gave an excellent speech with good audience reaction.  In fact they laughed in a couple of places where he didn’t expect laughs.

3.  George listed some languages he had experience with, including “Hillbilly.”

4.  George said he was a 40-year on-and-off Toastmaster.

5.  George described himself as a compulsive poker player.

6.  Another speaker talked about a part-time job as a costumed mascot for a Smoothie company.

7.  At the start of every meeting we are reminded to turn off all cell phones and electronic devices.

8.  Frank commented on the hot weather (110 degrees Fahrenheit/43 degrees Celsius), and said that when he stepped into the elevator to come up to the meeting, a woman said to him in a sexy voice, “You’re so hot!”

9.  Donna talked about being a non-swimmer and going to a friend’s pool wearing goggles, a snorkel, a floatie, fins and a body board. 

10.  A speaker talked about an un-characteristic situation where she lost her cool and cussed someone out.  Her first language is German.

THE MONOLOGUE

I have eight observations to share with you tonight.  (I pulled out a one-square-inch note card.)
(This was a visual sight-gag.  I thought it stood out when George used a noticeably small note card, and nobody had commented on it.  So I chose to use an even smaller note card, without making any specific comment about it.)

George Irish gave a great speech.  Based on the audience response, I’d say that everyone here is fluent in Hillbilly.
(Fluent in Hillbilly was an OK line and received an OK laugh.  I primarily used it as something to read off the small note card and as a set-up/transition to the self-introduction which followed.)

Allow me to introduce myself.  I’m John Norwegian.  I’m a country boy from North Dakota, a long-time Toastmaster, and a repulsive poker player.  And I was formerly a smoothie mascot.
(A brief self-introduction based on several call backs.  Switched the sound-alike word REPULSIVE to add a touch of self-deprecation.)

I’m glad the Sergeant at Arms reminded us to turn off all electrical devices.  I almost forgot to turn off my electronic whoopee cushion.
(The humor trigger is Absurdity.)

I saw Frank’s car in the parking lot.  His personalized license plate says Chile Pepper…because he’s so hot.
(Linked his claim to be hot with a ficticious license plate.)

I noticed in Donna’s speech that when she went swimming at her friend’s pool, she wore goggles, a snorkel, a floatie, fins and a body board.  I also noticed that she did not wear a swim suit (huge laugh). Donna, I’d like to invite you to come swim in my pool (huge laugh).
(The first sentence is a set-up.  The second sentence is a punchline.  The humor trigger was “what wasn’t said.”   The third sentence is a topper.  These were the two biggest laughs of the night in a meeting filled with laughter.)

Going home tonight I’m going to be more careful than when I came here.  On my way to the meeting, I accidentally cut someone off on the freeway…and a nice lady cussed me out in German.  (Of course this didn’t really happen.  I dropped myself into someone else’s story.  The set-up builds the tension.  The “going home tonight” made it a good closer.)

Many of my posts give you insights into the Observational Humor monologues I present at my Toastmasters Club, PowerHouse Pros.  This post gives you a case study written by Dana Richardson.

During our Observational Humor segment of the meeting, several members share their humorous observations.

What I’ve learned from hearing other people’s observations is that humor is abundant.  I normally present my monologue after everyone else shares their observations.  Rarely does someone use one of my lines before I have the opportunity to speak.  And many of the lines other people present are terrific…the “I wish I had thought of that” kind of lines.  If we had different people attending the meeting, I know that they would come up with even more new and great lines.

Dana Richardson is one of our very funny members who also creates monologues at our meetings.  He recently posted one of them on his blog.

  – You will find his analysis interesting and valuable.
  – Notice his use of a Top-Five list.  It’s an example of using a “vehicle” for structuring humor.
  – I’ve included my monologue from that same meeting.  Notice how it’s totally different from his.  His monologue is also longer, indicating that more things caught his eye than caught mine.

Dana Richardson’s monologue.

My monologue from same meeting.

Here’s another Observational Humor monologue.  The set-up information helps you understand the context of the humor.  The monologue includes comments and analysis of why the humor works.

THE SET-UP (What happened and what was said during the meeting before the monologue was delivered)

1.  The theme for the meeting was 9 to 5 (work and professions).

2.  A speaker was introduced as The Man, The Myth, The Legend.

3.  A speaker was delivering an Interpretive Reading speech.  We were told that this type of speech required excellent vocal variety.

4.  The emcee referred to the world’s oldest profession.

5.  I am a magician.

6.  The word-of-the-day was OUTSOURCING.

7.  The name of our club is PowerHouse Pros.

8.  My name badge indicates that I joined Toastmasters in 1973.

9.  Club member Bill Lusk joined Toastmasters more than ten years before I joined.

10.  We were told that the first people to be paid to work (Roman

soldiers) were paid with salt.

11.  Frank was assigned an impromptu speech topic:  If you were a fruit, what fruit would you be?

12.  It was implied that Pam knew more than Wikipedia.

13.  Pam’s partner is named Bryant.

14.  A speech evaluator critiqued a speaker for concluding his speech with a comment that his speech was mediocre.

THE MONOLOGUE

The odds that this monologue will be funny are 9 to 5.
(A call back and uses the principle of “double meaning” of a phrase.)

I am your Observational Humor Master…The man…the myth…the legend.
(A call back.  And it’s the opposite of self-deprecation, which works well for someone who uses a lot of self-deprecation.  It received a very big laugh.)

Observational Humor is also known as Interpretive Humor…which fortunately does not require vocal variety.
(Self-deprecation.  An implied reference to my low-energy style.)

A lot of people don’t know it, but I’m a magician…the world’s oldest profession…doing tricks.
(An old magician joke recycled.  A topper using alternate word meaning.)

The truth is most of our members are in outsourcing professions.  So many, in fact, that our board is considering renaming our club Outhouse Pros.
(Word substitution to put a twist on our club name.)

I was looking at my name badge tonight and read “member since 1973.  I was feeling really old.  Then Bill Lusk walked in.
(Bill often jokes about his seniority.  That makes him a good target for a joke.)

I don’t want to say Bill and I are old, but our first payday we took home a bag of salt.
(Dropping myself into someone else’s story.  Placing Bill and me into a time in history.  I chose to make the joke about Bill AND me which helped create permission to do the joke.)

Until tonight I didn’t realize how versatile Frank is.  He’s a fruit, a nut and a ham.
(A play on food words, using ones that had double meanings.  It’s the alternate word meanings that trigger the humor.  And it uses the rhythm of a triplet.)

I saw an ad in yesterday’s paper:  Set of encyclopedias for sale.  Wife knows everything.  So I called to see how much.  Bryant answered the phone.
(I recycled an old joke and dropped Pam and Bryant into the story.)

That concludes my monologue…which was mediocre at best.
(Note the opening line of the monologue.  I book-ended the monologue with using similar-themed jokes to open and close.  A call back.  Excellent response.)

Here is an Observational Humor monologue presented a the end of a club meeting.

THE SET-UP  (What was said and what happened during the meeting before the monologue was delivered.)

1.  It was announced that today was David’s birthday.  David spoke up and said that today was NOT his birthday.

2.  A speaker (from Korea) said that some of the first phrases in English he learned were:  Hi, Bye, Thank You and I’m Hungry.

3.  I noticed that Ryan usually laughed at his own jokes.

4.  Pam said that she hated Three Stooges movies and would only watch one if you Duct-Taped her to a chair.  He partner is Bryant.

5.  Karen said that her first home was built in 1910.  She is one of our senior Toastmasters.

6.  A speaker mentioned the word DYSLEXIA.

7.  Darren sang a few bars of a song, but prefaced his singing with saying that he can’t sing.

THE MONOLOGUE

March 1 is pick your own birthday day.  The great thing is that you can pick your year. 
(This is a joke with a topper.  The first line creates a non-existent holiday.  The topper plays with people’s desire to pick their own age.)

I perform humor at a Korean school.  I don’t speak Korean, but I know key humor phrases, such as:  Hi, Bye, Thank You and I’m Hungry.
(A good call back of phrases which are not thought of as funny.)

Here’s a humor secret from the Ryan Mulligan School of Humor.  To guarantee that your jokes are funny…laugh at your own punchlines.
(An observation which was good for laugh.  It helps that other people probably noticed the same thing, but they didn’t give it much thought.)

Last week Pam said that she would only watch a Three Stooges movie if you duct-taped her to a chair.  On the way home I stopped at WalMart and saw Bryant buying a Three Stooges DVD and a roll of Duct Tape.

(Of course I didn’t really see Bryant at WalMart.  But the joke implies that Bryant is getting ready for a fun video night at home.)

Karen said that her first home was built in 1910.  I was impressed that for their first home, they would have bought a new one.
(This is a time-released joke which required a larger pause than normal.  It will take the audience time to process the implied joke.  It implies that Karen must be over 120 years old.)

I have a friend who has dyslexia.  He says bad things about Lexus cars.
(DISS-LEXUS.  I wasn’t sure this line would work…but it did.)

Darren told us he can’t sing.  And then he spent 60 seconds proving it.
(Linking the apology with PROVING it.)