It’s just an accident that we happen to be on earth, enjoying our silly little moments, distracting ourselves as often as possible so we don’t have to really face up to the fact that, you know, we’re just temporary people with a very short time in a universe that will eventually be completely gone. And everything that you value, whether it’s Shakespeare, Beethoven, da Vinci, or whatever, will be gone. The earth will be gone. The sun will be gone. There’ll be nothing. The best you can do to get through life is distraction. Love works as a distraction. And work works as a distraction. You can distract yourself a billion different ways. But the key is to distract yourself. - Woody Allen
Life goes by incredibly quickly and that's if you manage to survive it for several decades or more. It can of course end suddenly even tragically. So at best our time here is fleeting. It is rife with misery horror and sorrow and that's assuming that all goes reasonably well. If we ourselves enjoy good health and fortune we are bound to come across friends relatives and acquaintances who suffer terrible fates. In addition we must face the vicissitudes of ill fortune that confront humanity as a whole. Cancer. Drug Addiction. Mental Illness. Molestation. Child slavery. Starvation. Disease. War. Terrorism. Crime. If we escape all of these horrors and more we are forever reminded of them. Our existences are under constant threat. A drunk driver or deranged killer or earthquake could spell our instant doom. Meanwhile we struggle to make meaning of our lives. Many of us refuse to find false comfort in wild mythologies cloaked as religion. Life sucks folks.
But many of us wouldn't dream of stepping out of it so much as one day early. We do whatever we can to extend our time on this planet. True the love of relatives and friends is reason enough to continue to enjoy the ride but there other sources of joy. I now take a minute to appreciate them as a reminder not to ever wallow too long in despair. I give you 100 reasons -- in the form of names -- from the field of entertainment who have and continue to bring a smile. Each name represents hours of entertainment. In some cases an incalculable number of hours. I restrict this list to entertainers knowing I could add a like amount from such fields as literature art and sports.
Woody Allen Groucho Marx Charlie Chaplin Josephine Baker Dick Cavett Ingmar Bergman Barbara Stanwyck David Letterman Alfred Hitchcock Michael Jackson Paul McCartney Harold Lloyd John Cleese Jack Benny Stephen Colbert Janis Joplin Cary Grant Jimi Hendrix Federico Fellini Carole Lombard David Bowie George Carlin Michelangelo Antonioni Bill Evans Jon Stewart Ricky Gervais Jerry Seinfeld Michael Palin Benny Goodman Chris Rock Jean Harlow Frank Sinatra Tina Fey
Martin Short John Ford Julia Louis- Dreyfus Amy Winehouse Aki Kaurismaki Fred Astaire Richard Pryor Steve Martin Rodney Dangerfield Marlene Dietrich Mary Tyler Moore Lenny Bruce Martin Scorsese Sidney Bechet Scarlett Johansson Bill Murray Eric Idle Freddie Mercury Ginger Rogers Anita Baker Debra Messing Jean Renoir Neil Young Jonathan Winters Alec Baldwin Ingrid Bergman Edith Piaff Marilyn Monroe Roberto Rossellini Bob Newhart Django Reinhardt Jean Gabin Monica Vitti Marcello Mastroianni Robin Williams John Lennon Penelope Cruz Stanley Kubrick Johnny Carson Carol Burnett Jason Alexander Lena Horne Al Pacino Harpo Marx Pete Townshend Rod Stewart Jimmy Stewart Joan Blondell Rowan Atkinson Diane Keaton Max Van Sydow Bill Cosby Winona Ryder Billie Holiday Freddie Mercury
Phil Silvers Charlize Theron Myrna Loy Daniel Day-Lewis Terry Jones Bibi Andersson Preston Sturges John Belushi Faye Dunaway Grace Slick Jeanne Moreau Johnny Cash.
See life is great.
Now here's my suggestion: don't complain to me about who I left off. After all this is my list. What you should do is make your own. Seriously sit down and type the names of people -- probably most of if not all of whom you've never met -- who've given you a smile or made you tap your toes or caused a good old belly laugh. Or maybe make a list of people you do know. Some maybe you haven't seen in awhile or who have shuffled off this mortal coil. Or even things you like or places or events or celebrations. It's a good way to keep the blues at bay and there's nothing wrong and everything right with that.
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