Thought you might want to see this joke. I couldn't just post a link because it was on an readers-by-invitation-only blog.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Chesterton's Dying Wish
To be obeyed to the letter:
"In an attempt to combat the pessimism of our current society, it is my expressed last wish that all of my readers display their joyful spirit by attending a form of both English and French folk dancing known as contra dancing at least once a month. Those who do not comply will lose all understanding of my works. This applies specifically to the founders of my societies at universities in Lincoln Nebraska."
Note: This quote is not intended for all of our blog authors, only the parties of whom it specifies.
Another note: This is a joke .
Posted by Ancient Greek Philosopher
THE CURSE OF CHESTERTON
"When exactly was the last time you saw young Evan?"
"I---I... I think, it was last Saturday."
"Last Saturday?"
"Y-yes."
"Please stay calm madam. What were the last words you remember him saying?"
"He was talking with his friends Aaron on the phone about how he didn't want to go to contra dance. I remember he became very angry and started yelling at poor Aaron, to make sure Aaron understood his true feeling towards dance."
"I see."
"He slammed the phone down and stormed out the door... and I haven't seen him since! I told him over and over he should have listened to Aaron. He offered such wise words! Evan knew the dangers of skipping out on his contra dancing duties, but he was reckless enough to ignore them!"
"Thank you for you time. We hope to locate your son soon, though be prepared for the worst."
*See previous post*
Labels: Propaganda
posted by Everglade @ 11:04 AM 9 Comments
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Chesterton's Dying Wish
To be obeyed to the letter:
"In an attempt to combat the pessimism of our current society, it is my expressed last wish that all of my readers display their joyful spirit by attending a form of both English and French folk dancing known as contra dancing at least once a month. Those who do not comply will lose all understanding of my works. This applies specifically to the founders of my societies at universities in Lincoln Nebraska."
Note: This quote is not intended for all of our blog authors, only the parties of whom it specifies.
Another note: This is a joke .
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5 comments:
Oops, I included Chesterton's dying wish twice. NO matter...
Wow, this is very .... (I have some 50,000 different words in AMBER and none of them seems fitting just now.)
(The blogger pauses here, scratching his head and peering at his stacks of books. No, this is emphatically NOT a time for Latin, or even the Poppins word. There is a nice long Greek word, but I have forgotten how to spell it and I cannot seem to reach that book just now...)
Hee hee hee hee hee.
Well... I am reminded of the exceedingly famous book called Son of Interflux by the other great GK - that is, Gordon Korman - where Querada slams his forehead against the blackboard and says to Simon Irving (or is it Irving Simon) "You remind Querada of Querada!" - which I wish to paraphrase, with a Thomistic blow on the table:
OFL, YOU REMIND DR. THURSDAY OF DR. THURSDAY.
Well, not exactly. But it is - uh - different. And that is NO JOKE.
Just be careful, as I can hear GKC warning us:
"It seemed very funny in the "Bab Ballads" that a bishop should fling himself about into wild attitudes like an acrobat - or, indeed, that a bishop should dance at all. But I imagine that there were high priests of old hieratic cults who really did dance at high solemnities, as David danced before the ark. Those people did not think there was anything funny about a high priest dancing, because a high priest was simply a man who danced. And just as there is no fun in it when everything is serious, so there is no fun in it when everything is funny."
[GKC ILN Dec 10 1927 CW34:430]
There are plenty of other relevant quotes, but I think OFL (if he still alive and sane) has really hit the table with this one.
I am floating with laughter. What a threat. I can just imagine a story about the next ACS conference with everyone dancing...
One question. Does Dale Ahlquist know?
The Greek word I was thinking of is skorodopandokeutriartopolis where that last o is an omega, not an omicron.
It means "bread and garlic selling hostess", which is not appropriate.
The one I really wanted is
salpingolonchupenadai where that e is an eta, not an epsilon, which means "[sons of] trumpet spear and whiskers" which is perhaps a little closer to the intended effect of a deathbed wish of a journalist for his followers to engage in weekly dancing ceremonies.
It would be an interesting challenge to find the appropriate sesquipedalian term (in Greek of course) to suit. Surely someone at one of those nice colleges can help.
If you'd like it in computerese, here's one translation:
while(1);
Hee hee!
In case you were wondering, none of those Greek words are in Chesterton. If he had known them, however, I am sure he would have used them.
Hey, I never said I didn't like Chesterton!!!!!
Well I'm glad you liked it!
Sadly the only Chesterton I've read is "A Crazy Tale" (And "Chesterton's dying wish"), but if my sister finishes "The Everlasting Man" before she needs to take it back to the library I'll definitely read it!"
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