From dilip@cs.utexas.edu Fri Oct 7 09:11:39 1988 From: dilip@cs.utexas.edu (Dilip DSouza) Subject: MadHatterDay Date: 7 Oct 88 14:11:39 GMT Organization: U. Texas CS Dept., Austin, Texas
Unfortunately, this is a day late, but still, do go out and celebrate.
cheers, dilip.
Third MadHatterDay
October 6, 1988 marks the third celebration of MadHatterDay. April Fools' Day isn't enough; MadHatterDay is intended to be a second silly day in the year. On MadHatterDay you don't have to be a politician (or even wear a suit) in order to go about saying outrageous things that no sane person could believe. Non-sequiturs are the order of the day…marketing claims and campaign promises merge with reality…television is wisdom…news- papers contain news…
Why October 6? The illustrations (by John Tenniel) accompanying the original _Alice's_Adventures_in_Wonderland_ show the Mad Hatter wearing a hat with a slip of paper saying "In this style 10/6-". Never mind that "10/6-" really meant "ten shillings sixpence" (after all, time IS money, right?)–just take it as guidance to behave "in the style" of the Mad Hatter on October 6. (That is a US interpretation; in Britain, the holiday is celebrated on June 10.)
Although the date for MadHatterDay is chosen according to the logic (?) indicated, it is also set almost precisely six months away from April Fools' Day (to provide a well-timed second silly day) and in the full of the election season–which seems particularly appropriate this year.
There's plenty of madness about us, if we just look:
- the 3-piece suit: Does this REALLY make sense? Do you really
trust major monetary decisions to people who wear at least three
layers of clothing in the summertime?...with a special device to
restrict blood flow to the brain while making the decisions?
- the automobile: Do you REALLY believe that we distill the juice
from rotten dinosaur food and explode it in metal boxes in order
to travel about?
- exercise: Do you understand why folks strive to get out of
manual labor and into a desk job...and then join a health club
because they don't get any exercise otherwise?
- food: Why do we spend equal amounts on excessive food and on
diet gimmicks/plans?
- Daylight Savings Time: Do you really think there's an extra hour
in the summertime? Does resetting the clock change anything?
(There are--honest!--proposals for "year-'round DST". People
actually prefer getting up at 7 on a clock set an hour ahead to
getting up at 6!)
The truly mad person is the one who takes our world seriously.
+———+
| In This |
| Style |
| 10/6- |
+———+ – Dick Dunn UUCP: {ncar,nbires}!ico!rcd (303)449-2870
...Are you making this up as you go along?
– You killed my father. Prepare to die. Dilip D'Souza. University of Texas, CS Department. dilip@cs.utexas.edu