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Fishie
12-01-2002, 08:12 PM
The Raven

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore -

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of some one gently rapping - rapping at my chamber door.

"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door -

Only this and nothing more."



Ah, distinctly I remember, it was in the bleak December,

And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.

Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow

From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore -

For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore -

Nameless here for evermore.





And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain

Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;

So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating

"'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door -

Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door -

This it is and nothing more."



Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,

"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly yours forgiveness I implore;

But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,

And so faintly you came tapping - tapping at my chamber door,

That I scarce was sure I heard you" - here I opened wide the door: -

Darkness there, and nothing more.



Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,

Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;

But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,

And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore!" -

This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore! -

Merely this and nothing more.



Then into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,

Soon again I heard a tapping, something louder than before.

"Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window lattice;

Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore -

Let my heart be still a moment, and this mystery explore; -

'Tis the wind and nothing more."



Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,

In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore.

Not the least obeisance made he; not an instant stopped or stayed he;

But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -

Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -

Perched, and sat, and nothing more.





Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,

By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,

"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven,

Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore -

Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"

Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."



Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,

Though its answer little meaning - little relevancy bore;

For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being

Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above this chamber door -

Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,

With such name as "Nevermore."



But the Raven, sitting lonely on that placid bust, spoke only

That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.

Nothing further then he uttered; not a feather then he fluttered -

Till I scarcely more than muttered, "Other friends have flown before -

On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before,"

Then the bird said, "Nevermore."



Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,

"Doubtless," said I, "what it utters is its only stock and store,

Caught from some unhappy master, whom unmerciful Disaster

Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore -

Till the dirges of his Hope the melacholy burden bore

Of 'Never-nevermore.'"



But the Raven still beguiling all my sad soul into smiling,

Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird and bust and door;

Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking

Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore -

What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore

Meant in croaking "Nevermore."



This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing

To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;

This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining

On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er,

But whose velvet violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er,

She shall press, ah, nevermore!



Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer

Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.

"Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee - by these angels he hath sent thee

Respite - respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore!

Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget this lost Lenore!"

Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."



"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil! -

Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,

Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted -

On this Home by Horror haunted - tell me truly I implore -

Is there - is there balm in Gilead? tell me - tell me, I implore!"

Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."





"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil - prophet still, if bird or devil!

By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God we both adore -

Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,

It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore.

Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore."

Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."



"Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!" I shrieked, upstarting -

"Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!

Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!

Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!

Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!"

Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."



And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting - still is sitting

On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;

And his eyes have all the seeming of a Demon that is dreaming,

And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;

And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor

Shall be lifted - nevermore!

Dave Beauvais
12-01-2002, 08:20 PM
Um... okay... Are we trying to raise our post count? ;)

If you like Poe, this CD (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000003ZVR/jasondunn-20) is definitely worth buying! (Thoughts afiliate link.) Christopher Walken reading The Raven is almost haunting.

--Dave

ECOslin
12-01-2002, 08:42 PM
'. . . And the circumstances of his death were as mysterious as events in one of his stories, nor did matters end at that point. He was buried in the Poe family lot in Baltimore's Presbyterian Cemetery. His grave was not marked by name but bore only the number 80 which the sexton had placed there in identification. Several years later, Edgar's cousin Neilson Poe ordered a tombstone for him. It was broken, however, by a freight train which jumped the track into the marble yard where it was being carved. Nobody tried again till it was too late for certainty. The 80 was lost, and time and the vicissitudes had their way with the Poe lot.

While nobody knows for certain just where the hell his body is, there is now a monument to Edgar Allan Poe; and generally, on the eve of his birthday, he is remembered. A bottle of bourbon may turn up at his tomb, along with a few flowers and an occasional stuffed raven. Baudelaire and a number of his countrymen thought him one hell of a fellow. Henry James disagreed, but he always was a bit of a spoilsport. Poe is one of those writers, as someone said, who holds a great special place in literature rather than a great general place.

It happened this year, too. But he doesn't touch a drop anymore.'


--from 'The Black Throne' -Fred Saberhagen and Roger Zelazny


Edward

Fishie
12-01-2002, 08:58 PM
Um... okay... Are we trying to raise our post count? ;)

If you like Poe, this CD (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000003ZVR/jasondunn-20) is definitely worth buying! (Thoughts afiliate link.) Christopher Walken reading The Raven is almost haunting.

--Dave

Sweet

ThomasC22
12-01-2002, 09:16 PM
and I thought the smiley thread was weird... :wink:

Jason Dunn
12-01-2002, 11:58 PM
Off topic is for whatever you guys want (without the bounds of decency of course) so if you want to post poetry, go for it. ;-)

Janak Parekh
12-02-2002, 12:00 AM
Off topic is for whatever you guys want (without the bounds of decency of course) so if you want to post poetry, go for it. ;-)
Jason, you sure you want to be that generous? Before long you'll have every member posting 5-10 pieces of poetry per day to inflate their post count. In a year PPCThoughts will have every piece of poetry on the planet. Before you know it Pocket PC Thoughts will have to be renamed Poetic PC Thoughts... or would it be Pocket PC Poetry... or Poetic Pocket Thoughts? :lol:

You know our only goal in life is to reach your post count; barring that, EdH's. :mrgreen:

--bdj

Kati Compton
12-02-2002, 12:10 AM
Off topic is for whatever you guys want (without the bounds of decency of course) so if you want to post poetry, go for it. ;-)
Jason, you sure you want to be that generous? Before long you'll have every member posting 5-10 pieces of poetry per day to inflate their post count. In a year PPCThoughts will have every piece of poetry on the planet. Before you know it Pocket PC Thoughts will have to be renamed Poetic PC Thoughts... or would it be Pocket PC Poetry... or Poetic Pocket Thoughts? :lol:

You could require that all poetry posted must be original work. That could cut back on the amount of postings... Of course, we could get some *really bad* poetry like the Vogons in Hitchhiker's Guide...

Janak Parekh
12-02-2002, 12:18 AM
You could require that all poetry posted must be original work. That could cut back on the amount of postings... Of course, we could get some *really bad* poetry like the Vogons in Hitchhiker's Guide...
Ah, but you see, bad poetry is hard. The Vogon Captain had a special skill for it. Most poetry just turns out mediocre. Our school has a student group that runs a "Bad Poetry" contest each year. :)

Did you ever play the Infocom game inspired by the HHGG novels? The obtaining-the-Babel-fish-so-you-can-enjoy-bad-poetry sequence was one of the greatest command-line interactions of all time. There's now webpages with Java versions of the game.

--bdj

Kati Compton
12-02-2002, 01:00 AM
Ah, but you see, bad poetry is hard. The Vogon Captain had a special skill for it. Most poetry just turns out mediocre. Our school has a student group that runs a "Bad Poetry" contest each year. :)

Did you ever play the Infocom game inspired by the HHGG novels? The obtaining-the-Babel-fish-so-you-can-enjoy-bad-poetry sequence was one of the greatest command-line interactions of all time. There's now webpages with Java versions of the game.


I have - but it's been a *long* time. I'm looking forward to installing an Infocom interpreter on the PPC.... ;)

Janak Parekh
12-02-2002, 01:23 AM
I have - but it's been a *long* time. I'm looking forward to installing an Infocom interpreter on the PPC.... ;)
If you want to waste a couple hours, it's here (http://www.douglasadams.com/creations/infocomjava.html). Java applet.

As to PPC, I was psyched about doing that, but then realized that without a keyboard it would be massive frustration. I've held off, as a result. Probably a good thing productivity-wise anyway. :)

--bdj

Kati Compton
12-02-2002, 01:59 AM
I have - but it's been a *long* time. I'm looking forward to installing an Infocom interpreter on the PPC.... ;)
If you want to waste a couple hours, it's here (http://www.douglasadams.com/creations/infocomjava.html). Java applet.

As to PPC, I was psyched about doing that, but then realized that without a keyboard it would be massive frustration. I've held off, as a result. Probably a good thing productivity-wise anyway. :)

--bdj

I seem to remember that there's a lot of shortcuts that generally make it okay. At least, for the Palm version you only had to enter like the first 3 letters of an item's name if I remember correctly. And there's 'l' for "look", 'e' for "east", etc. I'll let you know if I install it how it goes.

Janak Parekh
12-02-2002, 02:11 AM
I seem to remember that there's a lot of shortcuts that generally make it okay. At least, for the Palm version you only had to enter like the first 3 letters of an item's name if I remember correctly. And there's 'l' for "look", 'e' for "east", etc. I'll let you know if I install it how it goes.
True, these are classic infocom shortcuts. My favorite is "g" for aGain. However, for scenes like the Vogon ship it gets mighty awkward to say "hang coat on hook"-ish commands 5-6 times in a row (sorry if I gave away an answer ;)) I'll be curious to see how long it takes you to finish it. Beware, it's addictive, I spent about 40 minutes tonight replaying parts it after I found the link for you. 8O

--bdj

alan williams
12-02-2002, 02:21 AM
Gotta love the progression of off topic threads.. :lol:

Rirath
12-02-2002, 02:32 AM
Never played more than a few minutes of the game, but I loved the books. Tried watching the movie version once... but about 5 minutes into it I couldn't stand any more. Suppose I could give the game another go while I wait for both Dell and now Dungeon Siege.

Janak Parekh
12-02-2002, 05:35 AM
Gotta love the prograssion of off topic threads.. :lol:
I was thinking of commenting on that, but luckily you were around. ;)

Suppose I could give the game another go while I wait for both Dell and now Dungeon Siege.
I see you're not back yet. :D

The game goes far less plotwise than the book - the goal of the game is to land on the fabled planet of Magrathea. The game is not easy if you've not played Infocom games before. If you're stuck, there's a cluebook here (http://www.csd.uwo.ca/~pete/Infocom/Invisiclues/hhgg/) that's progressive, so you can be hinted towards the answer.

--bdj

Rirath
12-02-2002, 07:51 AM
The game goes far less plotwise than the book - the goal of the game is to land on the fabled planet of Magrathea. The game is not easy if you've not played Infocom games before. If you're stuck, there's a cluebook here that's progressive, so you can be hinted towards the answer.

I've played quite a few of that style. The Hugo's House of Horror series was a fun mix of text and graphics. Return to Zork went even further into graphics, had much of the same feel. I was never too big of a fan of the original Zork series though, not for lack of graphics but just didn't get into it.

FredMurphy
12-02-2002, 01:16 PM
When you guys say "off-topic", you REALLY mean it! :o

Fishie
12-02-2002, 06:48 PM
When you guys say "off-topic", you REALLY mean it! :o

If ya want I can post the lyrics to Its all abouth the pentiums.

ECOslin
12-02-2002, 08:49 PM
Is that Poe's 'The Pit and the Pentium'?

Edward

Janak Parekh
12-02-2002, 10:11 PM
I've played quite a few of that style. The Hugo's House of Horror series was a fun mix of text and graphics. Return to Zork went even further into graphics, had much of the same feel. I was never too big of a fan of the original Zork series though, not for lack of graphics but just didn't get into it.
Zork I-III were hard to get into if, for no other reason, that they were among the hardest of Infocom's genre. Zork III was the worst by far. I wasn't dogged enough for that one, and I gave up. HHGG, on the other hand, piqued my interest as I had read the first novel back then.

Haven't read the posthumous novel yet, though... I've heard it's mostly a collection of essays.

And yes, Fishie, you did a great job of building an off-thread topic ;)

--bdj