Unutterably Silly I had a dream last night about talking parrots and a Cybook Gen3

[Dr. Drib]

.....This is actually true, and not silly at all.

I'm deeply troubled, because I own and enjoy a Sony PRS-505. This is the second love of my life. (My first is still sleeping, and I'm afraid - really, really afraid - to tell her of my dream, lest she doubt my sanity.)

The parrot, I think, originated from my recent re-reading of "Love in the Time of Cholera."

Perhaps the Cybook came from my recent foray into the Dark Side when I found myself unaccountably drawn to reading about many individuals' woes on the recent firmware update.

Nevertheless, I am seriously troubled that I would dream about this Reader.

Any suggestions?


Signed: Troubled In Peru

[MickeyC]

Get used to it. Shoot, I actually dreamt in Visual Basic one night.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Dear Troubled,

the parrot is a common literary symbol occuring in many great works of fiction as well as some lesser ones. this is evidenced by the title of the book "Flaubert's Parrot" : clearly, a bird used in the same title as Flaubert, and directly attributed to Flaubert, can be no lightweight volatile. in addition you yourself have picked up on the possible connection to Love in the Time of Cholera, which is universally accepted to be a great work of art and litterature. this coupled with the Cybook, a truly fine piece of equipment, but one which you do not own, could suggest an overwhelming multiplicity of litterary experiences. for instance, perhaps you have an evil twin, in some parallel universe, who *does* have not only a cybook but a parrot, and only reads books with parrots in them. this is a delicate situation since while the chances of your evil twin managing to break into your dimension are slim, if he *did* manage it, just think of the havoc he could wreak.

alternately, perhaps it's a sign that you've been reading too much serious litterature lately and you should read a few pulp novels to clear your head. after all, the cybook is french, and so is Flaubert (records do not indicate the nationality of his parrot, although they are not generally indigenous to Western Europe) and we all know the french are universally a bunch of intellectual snobs.

either way, i'd be worried.

Good Luck,

ze advice aunt.

[Dr. Drib]

Dear zelda_pinwheel:

Thank you for your kind explanation, but now I am troubled that my doppelganger twin will break through and destroy my PRS-505. (Perhaps the recent accidental drop from my bed coincided with a psychic pull heralding the doppelganger's breakthrough from this other dimension? At this point one can only speculate.)

My greatest fear now, however, is that this evil pod creature will somehow infiltrate MobileRead and change all the Categories in the upload section. This would be a dastardly deed indeed, aren't you agreed?

Will I be replaced and taken to another dimension -- a dimension without ebook Readers?

Signed: Troubled From Another Dimension

P.S.: Now I am experiencing "fear" in the bedroom....

[pshrynk]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

.....This is actually true, and not silly at all.

I'm deeply troubled, because I own and enjoy a Sony PRS-505. This is the second love of my life. (My first is still sleeping, and I'm afraid - really, really afraid - to tell her of my dream, lest she doubt my sanity.)

The parrot, I think, originated from my recent re-reading of "Love in the Time of Cholera."

Perhaps the Cybook came from my recent foray into the Dark Side when I found myself unaccountably drawn to reading about many individuals' woes on the recent firmware update.

Nevertheless, I am seriously troubled that I would dream about this Reader.

Any suggestions?


Signed: Troubled In Peru

Hey, I was in Lima on a cruise last April. Surprised I didn't run into you there.

Oh, and:

Get over it.

$250, please, you can pay the Luddite at the entrance to the super secret escape tunnel that Neko chan has tried to board up at least three times.

[RWood]

The talking parrot is perhaps a sign that you want some books read to you, perhaps audio books, perhaps a talking feature on your reader. The Gen3 is a bit more problematic. Since parrots tend to peck and the e-ink of a Gen3 would attract them, I feel the Gen3 represents someone else's reader thus keeping the pecking parrot away from your Sony.

All will be well. Have the love of your life read you a bedtime story. Sweet dreams.

[zelda_pinwheel]

also, some people believe that mirrors can be used to ward off evil spirits, and that should extend to evil twins from parallel universes. so i recommend placing mirrors in strategic spots. i'll leave it up to you to decide where that might be in the bedroom.

rwood's interpretation seems quite plausible to me ; after all parrots are most famous for talking and that is what your dream parrot was doing. if your fiancée doesn't like reading to you, maybe you could just have a discussion *about* books.

[slayda]

Does this open the door to parrot jokes? (Most of which I couldn't tell to such a delicate audience.)

[Madam Broshkina]

I once had a parrot that I think was once owned by Harry.

It kept saying things like:

Squawk. Polly wants a Cybook Gen 3, the best thing since sliced bread. Squawk.

Squawk. Dictionary look up. Don't leave home with out it. Squawk.

Squawk. Book pirates. They should be given a fair trial and then hanged. Squawk.

[RickyMaveety]

Yeah .... pretty much "get over it" sums it up for me too.

I frequently dream in wireframe. That comes from years of working with computer models.

My aunt had a parrot for many years. She taught it to say just one phrase, and I don't remember it ever saying anything else.

The phrase?? "Moron, parrots can't talk!" Sometimes it would just shout "moron" at the top of it's lungs. Really made anyone walking through the room at that particular time feel "special."

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

.....This is actually true, and not silly at all.

Dear Doctor, this night-time event has obviously contributed to what is an apparent disturbance of coherent thought, causing you to present false dichotomies in your conversation. As you will, of course, know, and as is evinced in your own labelling of this thread (indicating your subconscious acknowledgement of this absolute truth), actual truth and silliness are not at all mutually exclusive. In fact, many of us would suggest that they are, in fact the two pillars of the same reality.

As for your dream...well, do not be disturbed. The parrot is merely symbolic of the repetitive and unthinking proselyte, clearly squawking its doctrinal drill into your head in the hope that your brain will be washed in the cleansing bath of its subjective truth. As indicated above, however, and as your dream is telling you in the form of this Pythonesque Parrot, the truth is always Silly. The Parrot is not telling you about the Cybook; the Parrot is telling you to search for the truth within the inner workings of the Swiss-cheese Factory that is the Ministry of Unutterable Silliness: this Vitruvian Gibbon of tempestuous nights, this Moaner Llama of Last Parties, this loud Siren-y of Prions.

Remember, the truth will set you free, but the unutterably silly will let you see.

Cheers,
High Gibbonate of the Church of Unutterable Silliness

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

.....snip


The parrot, I think, originated from my recent re-reading of "Love in the Time of Cholera."

Nevertheless, I am seriously troubled that I would dream about this Reader.

Any suggestions?

Are you sure about the book you re-read? Because if the parrot was in fact Polynesia[n], then of course you may well have been regressing to a second childhood, and remembering "Dr Dolittle" by Hugh Lofting.

Fictionwise have it for $0.99 (or $0.84).

And now that you have reminded me of *my* childhood, I shall be acquiring a copy for my "Second Childhood" collection

regards

[Snowman]

And btw, I have a cybook gen 3

[pshrynk]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

Dear Doctor, this night-time event has obviously contributed to what is an apparent disturbance of coherent thought, causing you to present false dichotomies in your conversation. As you will, of course, know, and as is evinced in your own labelling of this thread (indicating your subconscious acknowledgement of this absolute truth), actual truth and silliness are not at all mutually exclusive. In fact, many of us would suggest that they are, in fact the two pillars of the same reality.

As for your dream...well, do not be disturbed. The parrot is merely symbolic of the repetitive and unthinking proselyte, clearly squawking its doctrinal drill into your head in the hope that your brain will be washed in the cleansing bath of its subjective truth. As indicated above, however, and as your dream is telling you in the form of this Pythonesque Parrot, the truth is always Silly. The Parrot is not telling you about the Cybook; the Parrot is telling you to search for the truth within the inner workings of the Swiss-cheese Factory that is the Ministry of Unutterable Silliness: this Vitruvian Gibbon of tempestuous nights, this Moaner Llama of Last Parties, this loud Siren-y of Prions.

Remember, the truth will set you free, but the unutterably silly will let you see.

Cheers,
High Gibbonate of the Church of Unutterable Silliness

You should add "Walking edification of an example of pleonasm." to you siggy.