Laugh

Young Chang Joe Sullivan can't remember verbatim all the maxims he's heard about the power of laughter. But there's the one about how laughing separates human beings from other kinds of beings. There's the saying about laughter keeping the sane from going insane when things get rough. There's even that story about the guy who laughed his way to getting cured of cancer. "I just want to make people laugh," said Sullivan, the 36-year-old producer and emcee of a weekly comedy show at the Blue Beet Cafe.

"I have never understood why it should be considered derogatory to the Creator to suppose that he has a sense of humor." -- WILLIAM R. INGE I am convinced that I keep God chuckling at my many foibles and fumbles. Unfortunately, I'm sure he shakes his head in disbelief at many of the same. Though I know I have caused God sorrow, too, I'm thankful for his forgiveness whenever I admit and apologize for my mistakes. Lately, I've really been enjoying the ability to laugh at myself.

kapko tourney storyMore than 150 golfers participate in Bubba Kapko Memorial fundraiser tournament Monday in Costa Mesa.COSTA MESA -- He was an Eagle Scout and a captain on his Estancia High football team. He was a member of the student government, and is described as having an infectious laugh and sense of humor. Brian "Bubba" Kapko wasn't supposed to die at age 19. But on Aug. 27, the 2004 Estancia graduate died in a car accident while traveling to Denver with four other people after attending a volleyball tournament in Boulder, Colo.

PAGE KEYS Good luck at University of Arizona You are a wonderful young lady with so much kindness and love in your heart. Your smile lights up our life…and your special laugh is infectious. Treasure your high school memories and friends. You will succeed in anything you put your mind to do. Remember this quote: “you'll never be poor by giving” You have done such a wonderful job & we are extremely proud of you. Keep going…ZOT! We love you- Dad, Mom, Megan

Jennifer Kho COSTA MESA -- City Council candidate William Perkins said it has always been easy for him to make people laugh. "I have a personality that I can make people laugh without really trying," he said. "I've always been kind of funny. If I'm elected, I will be the one up there cracking jokes at the meetings." Sometimes when Perkins meets someone at an event and strikes up a conversation, his wife, Amber, is surprised he didn't know the person before the event.

"After God created the world, He made man and woman. Then, to keep the whole thing from collapsing, He invented humor." -- Guillermo Mordillo I had a fun and delicious lunch with good friends recently. We started with salads and stories of our lives since we'd last met. We explained what we wanted each other to help pray for. We also happily told ways God answered other prayers. When we were about to share dessert, I said something that quieted a normally chatty group.

Tom Connor is a popular volunteer at his hometown's Costa Mesa Senior Center, but most people he talks to don't know his real name. That's because he only goes by "Yo-yo," one of those classic nicknames that's just crying out to have a compelling story behind it. "Not really," Connor said. "The way I usually describe it is that a woman had me on a string my entire life. I gave it to myself." Senior Center Director Aviva Goelman said she appreciates Connor's humor as much as most of the center's patrons.

-- story by Jennifer Kho; photo by Sean Hiller COSTA MESA -- With a sparkle in her eye, a constant smile and a ready laugh, it's no wonder Betty Jo L'Eclair is popular. As she sits at the reception desk at the Costa Mesa Senior Center, where she has volunteered for more than four years, it's rare for people to pass by without stopping for a short chat. "She's a beautiful lady and she's kind to everybody," said Earl Enes, a senior who regularly brings L'Eclair cartoons he drew when he was younger.

Daily Pilot staffer Sue Thoensen went to Edwards Metro Pointe 12 to get moviegoers' opinions of "Blades of Glory," starring Will Ferrell, Jon Heder, Craig T. Nelson and Amy Poehler. Competitive figure skaters Chazz Michael Michaels (Ferrell) and Jimmy MacElroy (Heder) are stripped of their Olympic gold medals and barred from men's singles competition after their tie and ensuing brawl on the podium at the medals ceremony. When a loophole in the skating rules allows the men to compete as a pairs team is discovered, they begin training with MacElroy's former coach (Nelson)

The cost of living keeps going up. Gas prices are astronomical. There is a war of bullets abroad and a war of words going on at home. And, right now, the Angels aren't doing so well. So what can we do about it? Not much at any given moment. But we can sometimes play ostrich and get away from it all ? even if only briefly. A wonderful teacher, noted for the high degree of hilarity as well as knowledge in his classroom, once said that when someone is laughing, they can think of nothing else but the laughter.

When a customer asks a librarian to help them find a funny novel, it can be a challenge to find one that fits an individual's sense of humor. One person may appreciate dark humor, while another may enjoy satire or gentle humor. If you think you might enjoy a story embracing wacky characters and plots that involve crime, romance, dysfunctional relationships and even aliens depicted in a comedic light, then check these out: "The Facades: A Novel" by Eric Lundgren: One night in the decrepit Midwestern town of Trude, a celebrated mezzo-soprano vanishes during rehearsal.

PAGE KEYS Good luck at University of Arizona You are a wonderful young lady with so much kindness and love in your heart. Your smile lights up our life…and your special laugh is infectious. Treasure your high school memories and friends. You will succeed in anything you put your mind to do. Remember this quote: “you'll never be poor by giving” You have done such a wonderful job & we are extremely proud of you. Keep going…ZOT! We love you- Dad, Mom, Megan

In my final years in the public defender's office, identity theft became a factor for many clients wrongly accused of crimes. Someone would be arrested for a crime while possessing false identification in the client's name. After making bail, the criminals would disappear while a warrant was issued for the real person whose ID they had stolen. I saw firsthand the devastation in the lives of these victims. On top of false criminal charges, the real criminal could destroy the victim financially by using their credit cards or taking out loans in the victim's name.

My grandmother, Joanne Ruth "Mimi" Mulder, was born Nov. 6, 1936, in Seattle. She spent a short while in Yakima, where her grandparents, Ruth and Wheeler Warren, ran one of the first Washington apple-packing companies. Soon after, she moved to sunny California and was raised in South Pasadena. Her beauty was discovered at 15, when she was chosen as a Jonathan Logan contestant winner, whereupon she flew to Paris for two weeks with her mother, Marjorie Warren Mulder. She was nominated and crowned a Rose Princess in the Rose Parade's 1954 Court.

Art, much like beauty, often is in the eye of the beholder. One man's masterpiece might easily be another man's rubbish. It's not, after all, like sports where there are clear-cut winners and losers. Yasmina Reza's caustic comedy "Art," however, is a slam-dunk winner. First unveiled at South Coast Repertory several seasons ago, it's now on view at the Newport Theatre Arts Center where even a directorial switch in mid-stream hasn't compromised its comedic impact. When original director Michael Ross became seriously ill midway through rehearsals, NTAC called on another A-list director, Gigi Fusco Meese, to bring the show home in grand style.

Alan Ayckbourn often has been termed the British Neil Simon due to his prodigious output of plays in a quirky comical vein. South Coast Repertory has yet to mount a Simon show, but has produced myriad Ayckbourn offerings and is quite familiar with the territory. The latest SCR-Ayckbourn collaboration, opening the new season, is "Absurd Person Singular," a wacky exercise set in three kitchens of the past, present and future and directed by company co-founder David Emmes. It's steeped in black humor — especially the second of the three sequences, wherein one character spends the entire act silently attempting various forms of suicide as the others bustle with various chores around her. As the lights come up, Jane (Kathleen Early)

  John Madden directed the fun-loving Oscar winner "Shakespeare in Love" and the gritty spy thriller "The Debt. " He employs his skills somewhere between these two extremes in"The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. " The story follows several aging Brits needing a cheaper way to live out their golden years. They all end up at a rundown ancient hotel in India. Their disparate lives quickly begin to intertwine in an unexpected way. Dev Patel is excellent as the young entrepreneur who lures the "elderly but beautiful" to his hopeful enterprise.

COSTA MESA — The city is hosting a blood drive from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday. The drive, run by the Red Cross, will be in the city's Emergency Operations Center at the Police Department headquarters, 99 Fair Drive. Donors will receive a $5 coupon for Acapulco Mexican Restaurant Y Cantina and two VIP tickets to the Laugh Factory. They will be also eligible to enter a regional drawing for a $500 shopping spree. To sign up, contact Dan Baker at (714) 754-5156 or visit http://www.redcrossblood.org and use the sponsor code "cmpol".

A comedy about cancer isn't easy, but writer Will Reiser and co-star/co-producer Seth Rogen draw from personal experience to give "50/50" that rare blend of raw humor and emotion without artifice. There are no wrong notes in this movie. Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is 26 with a beautiful girlfriend (Bryce Dallas Howard) and a beautiful mother (Angelica Huston), who both seem self-centered. Adam also has a rare form of cancer. Numbed by the news, he endures insensitive doctors, clueless co-workers and chemotherapy.

When he was a child, Noel Coward's mother took him to a succession of mediums and psychics, an experience he used to create one of his most enduring stage comedies. "Blithe Spirit" — which Coward reportedly took five days to create — is celebrating its 70th anniversary, and it's still entertaining audiences worldwide. This weekend, and Sept. 23 to 25, it's raising the spirits at the Costa Mesa Playhouse in an attractive and enjoyable production. Director David A. Blair's enthusiastic cast captures the flavor of the play's 1940s-era characters, although a bit of tightening still is required to repair some uncomfortable gaps due more to tempo than interpretation.