Ken Jennings

Gotta agree with Styleguy, and a big part of it, the car crash deal, is sick. So Steve, I'm having trouble understanding how you think that is a joke?

He could have come up with some "lighter" material if he wanted to "roast" Alex Trebek. When I say roast, I'm thinking something along the lines of a Dean Martin type deal.

I'm sure we haven't seen the end of this topic yet by a long shot.

[Mallory16]

Maybe because it is a joke.  And I fail to see how the car crash thing is sick.  So you have trouble understanding why some of us feel it's a joke.  Well, I have trouble understanding why what is obviously a joke offends you.  I don't really know how I could convince you of my side--I likely couldn't anyway--and you're not going to be able to convince me of your side, either.

[CrimsonViper]

People, lighten up.  It's a JOKE.  J-O-K-E!  All the comments that sounded grotesque were merely used for humorous purposes, not "showing the dark twisted side" of Ken Jennings.  So, he jokingly says Alex dies in a car crash and is now replaced by a cyborg that resembles him.  Sure, the issue of dying is not funny itself, but when used in this context, it's meant to increase the humour significantly and thus, heightens the hilarity of the entire post and joke.  

Some people take things way too seriously. Like the time someone went crazy on me because Bob mentioned on-air he was going to become the next Prime Minister of Canada.  That was a joke.  Get a sense of humour!  Or are you that hopeless and are doomed to be criticizingly anal people?

[SteveGavazzi]

br wrote:

Gotta agree with Styleguy, and a big part of it, the car crash deal, is sick. So Steve, I'm having trouble understanding how you think that is a joke?

I don't see any possible way that any reasonable human being could not think it's a joke.  I mean, seriously, this is getting stupid.  To get worked up over the "fiery truck crash" line is beyond ridiculous.  There was no fiery truck crash; Alex fell asleep, his truck went off the road, and he was hardly injured.  Any reasonable person should be able to see that Ken is exaggerating for humor; if you can't...I just don't know.  I really don't know.  You've honestly dumbfounded me here.

I can't believe we're even having this conversation, to be perfectly honest.  There is no way anyone should be taking this as seriously as some of you are.

[sullim4]

Frank15 wrote:
No, it doesn't say anything about his character.  I mean, aside from that he has a sense of humor.  Which we already knew.  It might say something about his character if he weren't obviously joking.  Except he is.  Don't see what that has to do with his character at all.

Yet is has everything to do with his character.  He puts up a "joke", knowing people will take it literally, in order to draw media attention to his blog in anticiaption of his book release.

[SteveGavazzi]

sullim4 wrote:

Frank15 wrote:

No, it doesn't say anything about his character.  I mean, aside from that he has a sense of humor.  Which we already knew.  It might say something about his character if he weren't obviously joking.  Except he is.  Don't see what that has to do with his character at all.

Yet is has everything to do with his character.  He puts up a "joke" in order to draw media attention to his blog in anticiaption of his book release.

And very effectively too, although probably not with the reaction he'd expected.  The fact that it was likely done for publicity doesn't make it any less funny.

[Mallory16]

sullim, why did you put joke in quotation marks?  And what does the joke have to do with his character?

[Punchboard91]

I believed it was real after reading the title, but once you get into the article, you realize it's a joke.

What about his character? I make jokes (or at least attempt to). That's part of my character. Ken is a funny guy. If I say something that someone finds offensive, I'd apologize. But how is this offensive?

I........don't know. Everyone's got a right to their opinion.

The comparison between KJ's joke and Barker's Prime Minister of Canada thing are like comparing apples and oranges. Glad to see that people think Alex's wreck is funny. What a sick bunch.

[SteveGavazzi]

br wrote:

Glad to see that people think Alex's wreck is funny. What a sick bunch.

Oh, come off it.  You're not this stupid.

Here's the paragraph from Wikipedia about Alex's "fiery truck crash":

On January 30, 2004, Trebek escaped injury after falling asleep behind the wheel of his pickup truck. He bumped into a string of mailboxes and ended up in a ditch. At that time, Trebek was driving by himself on a rural road.

Now actually, looking back, I do think that's sort of funny.  I mean, how many people in the world can say, "hey, the host of Jeopardy! destroyed my mailbox!"?

Anyway, either you're purposely ignoring reality here, or you simply have no sense of humor.  Either way, you're making a fool of yourself.

[CrimsonViper]

The comparison between KJ's joke and Barker's Prime Minister of Canada thing are like comparing apples and oranges.

I'm not comparing the incidents themselves, but rather the responses people have given to each one: You take things way too seriously.  Any more of this and I might have to deliver the negative IQ line again.

The negative IQ thing would only apply to another msg. board.

[Grand_game2004]

How can we really tell if he's joking or not?

Yeah, they have just ASSUMED that he was. You know what they say about assume....

[Mallory16]

And you're assuming he's not joking.  So you're assuming just as much as we are.  And you know what they say about people who assume, apparently.

And us being smart enough to realize it's a joke does not make us sick.