Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Coffee Joke


I'm drinking my black coffee and getting a kick out of this joke:
Jean-Paul Sartre was sitting at a café table working. A waiter approached him and asked,

"Can I get you something to drink, Monsieur Sartre?"

"Yes, I’d like a cup of coffee with no cream," the philosopher replied.

A few minutes later the waiter returned and said,

"I’m sorry, Monsieur Sartre, we are all out of cream. How about with no milk?"
If coffee with cream is better than coffee with milk, would coffee without cream be better than coffee without milk? Hmmm...

It is fun to play with ideas.

I know Sartre best as a playwright, especially of No Exit. In that play, the 3 characters have all died and are locked together in a room for all eternity. You can read this one-act play here. Harold Pinter stars in this British television adaptation (via Youtube):

)

"How shall I endure my own company?"
"A man is what he wills himself to be."

Is Hell the other people, or is Hell what our own choices bring us? In this play, the 3 characters spend eternity confronted by the results of their actions during life and their refusal to take responsibility for those choices.

So, I'll just quote my daughter: "Make good choices!"

The image at the top of the post is scattered around the internet with no source I could find to credit.

Please join Bleubeard and Elizabeth for T Tuesdays, where there will be sharing of all things T.

30 comments:

  1. I made a great choice this morning by reading this coffee joke. Then I really liked it. Then I laughed. Thanks for sharing as I wake up this T Tuesday.

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  2. Anonymous5:07 AM

    A Jean-Paul Sartre/coffee joke to start the day! Who could ask for anything more?
    --A Pal

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    1. and no exit brings back such fond memories...

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  3. Fun way to start the day
    and your daughter is very wise indeed!
    Happy T Day
    oxo

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    1. yes, that's wise advice. now if i could only follow it consistently! lol

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  4. Nice to begin the day with humor :) A happy T day to you!

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    1. glad you liked it :) even philosophy can have jokes. happy t day!

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  5. Enjoyed the humor. I read No Exit years and years ago when I was a young adult. I should probably give it another go. I wonder if it would seem a little different to me at this age.

    Darla

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    1. i read the play long ago, but this was the first time i remember seeing it. it does strike me different now.

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  6. LOVE the coffee joke, as I like mine without too!

    Thanks for the visit this week, and the lovely comment.

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    1. we black coffee drinkers need to stick together ;)

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  7. What a great start to the day, thank you for the laugh. Happy T Day to you!!

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  8. Happy Tuesday...thanks for the smile.

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    1. happy t tuesday :) glad the joke brought you a smile.

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  9. Cute joke and yes, your daughter is so right :) make good choices!
    Happy T Tuesday :)

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    1. happy t tuesday :) glad you liked the joke. that advice sure is hard to argue with lol

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  10. Love that joke. That is the sort of thing that my Hubby would enjoy too!
    Haa Haa!
    x

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  11. Love that coffee joke!!!
    I will have to watch the movie later, but seems to be one can find heaven or hell right here on earth--LOL! ;)
    Happy T-Day!

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    1. indeed, i think you're right about that!

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    2. I just watched the movie and it was a bit dated but pretty interesting--and kind of backed up my theory that you can sure find hell right here. Just knowing/loving those folks would have been--LOL! ;)

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    3. yes, sometimes we do make our own hell. and we never seem to learn! the people in the play never did. sad.

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  12. Good one. :) I love that play. I haven't seen the adaptation, though; thanks for the link.

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    1. it has been so long since i read the play, i don't know how close this adaptation is. i hope you like it. :)

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  13. Ooh, you're getting deep today. Well, yesterday. Hope you had a good T-Day! And hope that today is also treating you well. I'm afraid I can't muster any thoughts deeper than that; today's caffeine has worn off. :)

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    1. ah, caffeine! it must be refreshed every once in a while :)

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  14. I must admit I am not a fan of Sartre, or many philosophers for that matter, but pretty witty joke! must have made an impression if we are still telling it! :)

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    1. i don't read philosophers, or plays either, generally speaking, but i enjoy filmed adaptations of plays. i wonder when that joke started... i'll have to see if i can find out somewhere.

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