[ExI] extropy-chat Digest, Vol 266, Issue 67

[spike at rainier66.com]

From: extropy-chat <extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org> On Behalf Of John Clark via extropy-chat



 

>… "Animal Farm", probably the most famous anti-communist satire of all time, that's why it was illegal to possess a copy of it in the Soviet Union.  Speaking of that, I highly recommend the movie "The Death Of Stalin", it's simultaneously hilarious and horrifying, and that's not easy to do. 

 

John K Clark

 

 

 

 

After I saw John’s post, I went to Amazon video, rented and viewed Death of Stalin, which I consider brilliant dark comedy. 

 

As Shakespeare had a special talent for somehow stringing together a bunch of famous quotes to make a good story, this video strings together a bunch of horrifying sight gags to tell a fictionally true story (fictional stories can tell a true story in their own fictional way, which is sometimes better than a documentary if done right, analogous to how a courtroom sketch can tell the truth better than a photograph.)

 

I have a particular insight into this topic which I intend to share a little later, but I will start it with introducing a guy I worked with shortly after becoming a tech lead around 1990.  He was fresh out of San Jose State U with an engineering degree.  I could see he was more talented than his counterparts by an easy margin, and had a great attitude.  To protect his privacy, since as far as I know he is still working there, I will call him Ivanov.

 

We had commies coming into the USA for the first time, and I assumed he was a Russian immigrant, but he had not a trace of accent and didn’t look a bit Russian to me.  I didn’t ask, but wondered about that.

 

After we had been working together for a while and were friends (I wasn’t really his boss, rather more his coach) we were at lunch.  He explained some things which I found most insightful and agree perfectly with the tone and attitude of the movie John recommended.  But I hafta run, back later.

 

spike 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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