When I woke up this morning my girlfriend asked me, 'Did you sleep good?' I said 'No, I made a few mistakes.'
Steven WrightRead
I have a map of the United States... Actual size. It says, 'Scale: 1 mile = 1 mile.' I spent last summer folding it. I hardly ever unroll it. People ask me where I live, and I say, 'E6.
Interpretation
The quote humorously comments on the absurdity of creating a detailed, literal map that is impractical for use.
In this quote, Steven Wright uses absurd humor to illustrate the notion that while maps serve to simplify and represent vast distances, having a literal 'actual size' map makes it entirely useless. The humor lies in the imagery of spending time folding a cumbersome object that does not serve its intended purpose, poking fun at the idea of over-complicating simple concepts.
In practice
During a stand-up comedy show, you might reference this quote to make the audience laugh about the absurdities of certain situations.
When I woke up this morning my girlfriend asked me, 'Did you sleep good?' I said 'No, I made a few mistakes.'
Right now I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time... I think I've forgotten this before.
Right now I’m having amnesia and déjà vu at the same time. I think I’ve forgotten this before.
When I was on TV in the '80s, I wasn't thinking, 'There's a 10-year-old kid watching this and in 15 years, he's gonna be doing stuff that was influenced by me.' I was trying to get my five minutes together. So now that those people are comedians and they're influenced by me - it's bizarre.
I've been doing comedy longer than I haven't been doing comedy, as I was performing for three years before I even got on 'The Tonight Show.' There's truly nothing like it; it's intense and exhilarating, even though it looks so casual.
I don't get up, get dressed, go out, and think, 'Okay, I gotta find eight jokes.'
It's easy to get a loan unless you need it.
There are a lot of questions I keep asking myself about why I do comedy. I guess I laugh to keep from crying. And I guess if you ever get me crying, I might not stop. This is the way I look at tragedy or else I'll cry.
We do have a zeal for laughter in most situations, give or take a dentist.
Epitaph for a dead waiter - God finally caught his eye.
I don't mind what people say about me as long as it's an opinion or the truth. If someone says, 'He's the worst comedian in the world,' that's fine. If someone says, 'His face makes me want to punch the TV,' that's fine. But if they say, 'Oh, and I know for a fact he hunts squirrels,' I go: no, no, no... that's a lie.
I believe comedy is a really good lens to filter serious issues through. If people are laughing, they don't necessarily realize until they stop laughing that they just took something in that's going to start a conversation.
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