How do I learn the art of bantering?

Bathsheba, I think some people are just born with a gene that makes them better at small talk, story telling or throwing zingers. Comedians can be trained, but they need some inborn talent to be really successful. Same is true of writers and artists. It doesn't mean you can't learn to be more at ease in conversations, but it might not be as natural for you as it is for some people. You need to discover your strengths. Sometimes it takes more than one person to get a banter going . I like to have someone I can work off of like Gus, Chai or Kicky. They know how to do what I think of as teeter-totter dialogue. It means they add to the story line without losing the point and give you funny material to bounce off of. Other people, like Gargamel, Farmerman and Boomerang, are perfectly funny all by themselves. It really helps to have an unfunny foil like Cjhsa or Gungasnake to act as a target for punchlines. I suggest you just join in when you feel you have something to add, don't think too hard or try to be something you're not. We have a huge variety of people here who richly contribute just by offering their unique perspectives and experiences to the mix - you happen to be one of them.

damn I hate to compliment somebody I don't really know, but...

well said hibernus witch person.

Thank you.I happily take compliments from strangers - just don't offer me any candy.

Worms, as with us all...except, perhaps, those cremated, and I am not too sure even about them.

Has anyone ever actually cremated an eagle?


PS I think I come under Aussie.

alas, I 'ave no candy.

perhaps a glass of elderberry wine?

(wabbit is definatewy an upside-downer)

Have seen miners at the Mintabie opal fields in outback South Australia grill a Wedge Tailed Eagle ( Australia's largest living bird of prey) on a spit over an open fire and eat it. I declined their offer for a bit but settled for a piece of Kangaroo steak instead.

Instruct, Bathsheba? Ha.

Nah, I was thinking to pick up a few tips from the experts!

That one was certainly no living bird of prey!


And I guess any praying it had done had been boootless.

And I'm praying you're not preying on any poor bootless individuals here.

Barefoot in the park, are we?

Indeed, looking for that Spanish sex symbol, Maria Vargas aka the Barefoot Contessa.

Ack...I con't give a tess for her...

Because it's running through my nose..

love it, Dutchy! It's a gem

Pleased I made you smile Bathy.

Francis, wonderful!

Now looking for the screen cleaner!

Hey guys,

Must admit it is hard to banter about when the weather is crummy and everyone is holed up around here. Hibernatin' or something.

Francis, did you get margo to clean your, ummm.....screen?

Thanks Dutchy, yes you did make me laugh! The best medicine there is eh?
Did you really eat kangeroo? Does it taste like chicken too?
Dianne

Hey Green Witch,

Methinks you are right, some are born with the gift of blarney, some not. I seem to be able to blarney/banter when I really get to know people, and that takes me awhile. Some people just set me off...they say something, I top it, and off we go. I have a Polish friend that I'm trying to loosen up. She's sweet but SO serious!

I haven't had much of a chance to get to know a lot of you but I hope as I feel better, I will. Farmerman and gus are pretty nuts....I'd like to be able to come up with the stuff that they do! So many others, too that I can't remember - dys?
Maybe I should have named this thread the Zinger Thread?

Thanks for saying I offer my perspective, such as it is eh? And thanks for your advice!

Dianne
Bathy

Some of the most apparently nutsalulu on a2k are way up there re the brightest: gus, farmer, and dys, for example. This makes things hard to figure out from time to time.

You're doing fine, bathy. As they used to say when we were teens, or at least when I was, just be yourself.

Well, Bathy...let's address your points, statements, etc.

How can you say the weather is crummy?
The sky outside is unbelievably blue, and there's an ever-so-slight breeze. Temperature is probably moving towards the mid-thirties (towards 100 degrees F in the old language). Traffic is about a quarter of the usual, and...the big one....we're actually getting on top of the Sefricans in the cricket! <finally!!> <so far!>

I was not offering to clean Francis' screen - but rather mine needed cleaning after an exaggerated snigger at his response to the question of whether or not his brain was frozen.

Kangaroo tastes (and looks) nothing like chicken. It's a rather lean, slightly gamey, red meat, which requires only a little cooking and should be eaten rare.

And lastly, a word about blarney. Only those who have kissed the Blarney Stone, in Blarney Castle, County Cork (I think), Ireland, should have a touch of the Blarney. Even then, not everyone gets it. I have kissed the Blarney Stone, and it didn't work!

The above is written from a purely Australian point of view - and we are all hoping to learn to banter from our chief!

Enjoy your time at A2K.