I feel like just giving up

Don't give up!
Adsense placement/ blending is very important but so is the motivation of your readers. On a joke site they are probably not looking to make a purchase so you have to place your ads in the CENTRE and ABOVE THE FOLD to hope to get any clicks.

You can play around with this bit of code:
<div style="float: right; margin: 10px;">

AdSense Code
</div>

and insert your Adsense literally anywhere you want to. I recommend a large rectangle top left of every post.

Also, red is quite a brash colour. Web surfers have been conditioned into clicking on 'bue links' (HEX 0000FF).
You may want to experiment and even change your template to see if it makes any difference.

Forget the vertical side banners - how about placing some affiliate ads there instead - go to Commission Junction and see if there are any products suitable for your site.

Lastly, remember that SEO/ web optimisation is 20% technical and 80% psychological ( a not very scientific statistic but a good way to look at things). You need to get inside the head of your readers.

PS I get less that 100 unique visitors a day but receive on average 3-10 clicks.

 

Ok I have changed it about, what do you think now ?