ah, no, sadly enough,i did not... 'll have to look for it though...

Finally, I expect some explanation for the name of this topic is in order.

Obviously, The Underlook is an affectionate homage to Stephen King's famous Overlook from THE SHINING. It is also intended to welcome the underlooked, unsung, underestimated and unknown wonders that inhabit the world. The Underlook has many rooms filled with things invisible to see, memories and memento morii, and more. None of the doors are locked (except for That One Over There <shudder>) and every room has a story and every story has many rooms.

Deep, huh?

Looking forward to hanging with y'all.

*peeks inside*

I smell deep thoughts. 

Wait, no I don't.  That's from next door...I think all I smell here is silliness.

Ladies and gentlemen, staaaart yooooouuuuur eeeeeeeeennnnnnnginnnnnnessss...

markk, I look forward to being entertained.  Welcome to the neighborhood!

*leaves a copy of Good Omens on the table, because it still makes her giggle*

~loved Good Omens~
~was very angry when her dogeared and battered copy was stolen~

I know where my copy is. My sister has managed to read a stunning 41 pages in the course of two months. Just shows that the heredetary thing is much overrated.

I'm also wondering who that surprisingly sophistcated thief might be.

PS: "Mi casa es sue casa"? My house will sue your house?

[ August 16, 2001: Message edited by: djf ]

Ah, another contribution to the Underlook Hotel - home of parody and humor.  As before, it's not my own work, but stolen lock, stock, and ba... er ... that is to say an "Extensively Researched" musical number that comes from my "Extensive Archives" of such material.

So, without further ado ...

Bruces' Philosophers Song
a.k.a.
The Philosophers' Drinking Song

*begins singing*

"Immanuel Kant was a real pissant
Who was very rarely stable.

Heidegger, Heidegger was a boozy beggar
Who could think you under the table.

David Hume could out-consume
Wilhelm Freidrich Hegel,

And Wittgenstein was a beery swine
Who was just as schloshed as Schlegel.

There's nothing Nietzche couldn't teach ya 'Bout the raising of the wrist.
Socrates, himself, was permanently pissed.

John Stuart Mill, of his own free will,
On half a pint of shandy was particularly ill.

Plato, they say, could stick it away--
Half a crate of whisky every day.

Aristotle, Aristotle was a bugger for the bottle.
Hobbes was fond of his dram,

And René Descartes was a drunken fart.
'I drink, therefore I am.'

Yes, Socrates, himself, is particularly missed,
A lovely little thinker, But a bugger when he's pissed."

*bows*

Cordially,

ElderTurtle (P.o.W.)

I'm sure most of you know that Pandora means All Gifts, but did you know that Oedipus means Swollen Foot?

This is the sort of thing you can expect to find woven into the mat on the front stoop of the Underlook.  Every nook has a pneuma and all the crannies are just brimming with esoteric trivia. Instead of gargoyles, we have statuary of Art Fleming, Alex Trebek, and Don Pardo.

Before we begin our tour of the manse, let's see to these messages scrawled in red chalk on the mirror.  Hm.

The Tribe scores again with another Shake-mon quote! That's one of my favorite bits from Richard II. The whole speech is rich (Make dust our paper and with rainy eyes write sorrow on the bosom of the earth...good stuff). Like the sig, too. How can you not love that WHEEEEET whooooaa riff? I might have guessed the wikedtribe would instantly swarm on the one locked door. Did I mention that its hinges are made of the bones of angels and the lock was forged by Hephaestos? Just makes ya more curious, huh?  All right. Don't forget to click the EULA on your way through.

Gigi Those deep thoughts you were smelling were really just puns in the fryer (not the usual nippers and Tuck). Many thanks for the copy of Good Omens. I can't promise to be even a fraction as entertaining, but will do my best.

MadMaudlin, That's a good question, about identifying the landlords. I suppose you will simply have to read every single Neighborhood post from alpha to omega.  I usually pick the topics I read from the Active Posts thingy, by whatever current message looks interesting.  I really ought to have named this place Shiny Things, since I am like a baby magpie when it comes to swooping down on anything vaguely glittery.

Miiru, what an awful shame to lose your copy of a favorite book. I hate when that happens and only console myself with the thought that at least it's being enjoyed somewhere. Cold comfort, I know. I had a first edition paperback of The Land of Laughs and lent it out to a girlfriend who since moved away and lost touch. I can think of no graceful way of tracking her down and demanding my book back without also admitting that, yes, I still have her Bonzo Dog LP.  Life, she eez a tricksy theeng.

djf, not only will my house named sue sue your house, it will sue you for a sou. Soo there.

Sahi, why, thank you for the mysterious plant. Y'know, this is so funny, you'll laugh, it's silly, but y'know, the shape of the leaves, those wriggly roots...it looks a little like, well, a triffid, but that's im--

Elder Turtle Muchas gracias for the Drinking Song. You have such nifty and erudite humor archives. I, unfortunately, have no such hoard (unless you count the forwarded jokes my friends send, which, with the cockroaches, will be all that survives nuclear winter).

So, I think that addresses the lot. Now, off to lift a few blinds and blind a few lifts. A Caretaker's work is never done (but I find it can be shirked very nicely).

[ August 16, 2001: Message edited by: markk ]

inspired, i went out and bought Good Omens today. i would like to thank the Underlook Hotel for my serendipity...

or whatever you call it

~goes off to enjoy her book- AGAIN~

The best thing about hosting a hotel with no locked doors is that treasured guests enter and appear bristling with bon mots just when wanted.

Paragon, Welcome to our granfalloon. This way to the wampeter.

Miiru, the Underlook is pleased to have inspired you to a reunion with a beloved book.  The Underlook is humble and lovable and thinks Polly Purebred has great gams.

New guests properly greeted? Check.  Back to the tour then...

markk wrote:

Paragon, Welcome to our granfalloon. This way to the wampeter.

I think that this kan-kan can only harass me into this karass.  Busy, busy, busy...

The Mead-Hall

We have an excess of mead-benches here (depending on your translation; some Beowulf scholars think those are supposed to be comfy armchairs...if you were getting snacked on by monsters, wouldn't you at least lobby for chairs with cushions?)

The Mead-Hall is the main place for poetry, epic, lyrical, epic-lyrical, lyrical-pastoral, and so on.  Free verse is welcome (the Danes would approve, so long as you remembered to leave out danish and mead before the recitation).

In ancient days, mead-halls were sacred. Some scholars think that the tales recited there were the earliest occasions of peaceful war (at least in the really chilly parts of the world...apparently, dance challenges served the same purpose in the warmer climes...doesn't that seem just backward to you?).

So, this is where we learned how to be friends, shared our travels, bared our souls (all the best poets wept as they sang), and offered up toasts.

In that spirit, here is a poem I wrote some time ago (later, I promise to post new work...in the old days, I used to work out drafts online in realtime...kind of a virtual slam):

~grins ~
~laughs uproariously at the Meadsong already presented~

~raises her mug in salute~

'm impressed, i truly am. :D

~knows firsthand that the rumours about Scotsmen and kilts are, in fact, true...~