Do I have a dry wit, or am I just a smartass?

Years ago, Ravenhub came up with that line to cover those times when the mind works fast, the mouth responds even quicker, and one of us voices a smart-ass comment that is hilarious but wildly inappropriate. Fortunately for both of us, respect for a well-turned and humorous phrase invariably trumps any anger or insult that might normally be caused by such remarks. If the comment involves a pun, so much the better.

Puns are wonderful because they require thought on the part of the listener and the pun-purveyor can almost see the wheels turning as the pun-receiver realizes that dual message of said pun. It is that joy of shared thought processes that touches something special for me. I was reminded of this while watching a recent tribute to Bob Newhart. One of his standard bits is the telephone conversation. He stands with a phone to his ear and we hear only one side of the conversation. Newhart's writing and timing were such that we, the audience, could fill in the other side of the conversation and we not only found it hilirious, we also enjoyed being a small part of the routine.

Lately I've had the great pleasure of entering into e-mail exchanges that involve the same sort of "filling in" with two other graphic artists. Imagine three women working away in separate cubes, firing these e-mails out every couple of minutes while deadlines loom and the weekend beckons:
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To: K and Raven
From: J
Subject: Dukes of Hazard is roadkill

Review: 'Dukes of Hazzard' is roadkill

Cheesecake, car chases and idiocy
Friday, August 5, 2005; Posted: 10:31 a.m. EDT (14:31 GMT)

(CNN) -- "The Dukes of Hazzard" is a prime example of a sad Hollywood habit: taking a popular -- but rather dumb -- TV show and turning it into a totally stupid and meaningless film.

This flick is a car wreck with boobs.

Now, let me just say, if your idea of a good film is a nearly naked Jessica Simpson and completely over-the-top chase scenes, then this movie is for you.

What a waste of Jessica Simpson's talent...

Bah-hahaha!

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To: K and J
From: Raven

My idea of a good film is nearly naked roadkill.....

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To: Raven and J
From: K

I loved "Nearly Naked Roadkill 2," but I thought "Nearly Naked Roadkill 3" lacked strong performance and direction.

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To: Raven and K
From: J

I heard the mis en sen was completely wrong in NNR3.

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To: Raven and J
From: K

With the cast they had - Jeremy Irons, Vanessa Redgrave, Dame Judi Dench, Jim Broadbent - I guess I expected more!

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To: K and J
From: Raven

True, and Oliver Stone's ability to implicate the Vatican into the international roadkill conspiracy really got me thinking

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To: K and Raven
From: J

Despite ongoing controversy, the guy driving the Hummer WAS Michael Jackson.

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To: J and Raven
From: K

I don't care what anyone says, when he murmurs Rosebud at the end, it gave me the CHILLS!

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To: K and J
From: Raven

Yeah, but when those three graphic artists beat that dead horse I had to hide my eyes!

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