Fri Dec 31 1999 17:41:
As my gift to humankind[0], I pledge to realize the following plotline,
in some cinematic medium, sometime before the year 3000:
Tragically hip twentysomethings come to realize that they are trapped
in an elaborate virtual reality system as part of a diabolical
conspiracy. This comes as no surprise to the audience, as the
twentysomethings and everything in their world are represented by
masses of large, blocky polygons and move real jerky.
[0] Without cost or obligation!
Fri Dec 31 1999 21:45:
Every year on New Years Eve, Jim Sjveda plays the operetta Die Fleidermaus
(That's probably not spelled right, but it translates literally to
"The Flying Mouse", or more accurately to "The Bat"). Now, supposedly
Die Fleidermaus is a pretty funny piece of work, as there's
a character on The Tick named after the operetta, and I'm
pretty sure Jim Sjveda knows what he's doing. But for the life of me
I can't figure out what's so funny about it. The plot is ridiculous,
but no more so than that of any other operatic work, and except for
some noticeable repetition that might be verbal humor, I can't get
anything out of the German singing. It perplexes and consterns me
(you think that's not a word, but how do you explain "consternation"?).
Fortunately, Spike Jones (not Spike Jonez) is on for the moment. The City Slickers are
doing Carmen, it's pretty good. At one point Spike, who is
doing the narration, yells at the tenor for missing his cue. To me,
that's humor. You give me an incompetent performer and a pissed-off
narrator, and I'll give you comedy! Because the thing I stipulated
you give me already was comedy, you buffoon! So I just have
to spit back the exact same thing you gave me! Hoo-hah!
I've been eating penguin mints all day, as you can tell. I bought a
box of 'em yesterday, and I have some old ones that Mae Ling gave me
which live in a plastic bag before being transfered to my bloodstream.
I'm getting rid of the plastic bag ones because they're a little stale
and I want to open the shiny new tin of penguin mints.
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