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Using imagination

You wrote:
Imagine right after take off, blue screen, plane crashes.


Absurdity comes from the juxtaposition of something quotidian with a high pressure, dramatic situation.

So, start with looking into the cockpit of an airplane to see a pilot flying by use of a mouse. He uses his scroll wheel confidently and the plane rises to its cruising altitude. He right clicks to obtain the meter readings, which duly appear onscreen.

The control tower sounds from the speakers, telling him to turn right. He tries to do so, but the plane continues on path. Quickly he turns the mouse over and unscrews the bottom of the mouse. The hard rubber ball drops into his hand and, looking over his shoulder, we see him observe that the hole is filled with cat hair.

He blows into the mouse and hair flies. Quickly and professionally, he reassembles the mouse, but a message appears on the screen:

Windows has recognized new hardware. Please restart your computer to assure proper installation.

He turns to the copilot and says, "If we have to restart, we'll probably end up on the command line in safe mode."
The copilot, near panic, can barely keep from shouting,
"Plug and play... I told them: optical mouse, optical mouse.
What's that?!"

Windows:
Windows needs to shut down. Now! If you don't want to lose all your work, push Cancel and Save.
Co-pilot:
Our flight path, our current position. Where will they go?
Pilot:
Into My Documents somewhere. We can't change the default, you know that, and I think I deleted the most recent file.
Co-pilot:
Boot into DOS. It's our only chance.
Pilot:
When was the last time you used DOS commands? Am I supposed to fly this thing under Help? All I remember is "dir" and I can't get the listing to stick. It'll go past the file too fast.
Co-pilot:
Then we'll have to read the manual.

We take our leave at this moment of intense despair.

See what I mean? If you're going to be absurd, have a sense of drama about it.

Posted by: Anton Philidor   Posted on: 10/20/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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