Lemony Snicket Writes for Webmonkey?

[the_gneech]

A passage from the Webmonkey XML Tutorial that caught my eye today...

Anyone who's ever administered even the most modest database knows that we humans need to be protected from ourselves at every turn. If given the opportunity, we'll omit crucial information and include extraneous nonsense. That's why the XML creators, being benevolent and understanding of human frailty, included the Document Type Definition, or DTD. The DTD provides a way to make sure the XML is more or less like you want it.

It may just be because I've been listening to the audiobook presentation of The Bad Beginning, but I can hear Tim Curry reciting that passage perfectly inside my head.

What's next? "People who enjoy happy and useful tutorials -- the word tutorial here means 'series of web pages that teach you how to do something' -- should direct their browser to another page immediately. I wish I could tell you that this XML tutorial ends happily, by giving you all the information you need to create your required ColdFusion report that generates an RTF document via XML. As I say, I wish I could tell you that, but alas, I cannot, for that isn't what happens. This tutorial does not in fact teach you anything useful at all, and by the time you reach the end of it, you'll realize that the time you spent reading it is merely hours and hours of your life that you can never have back."

-The Gneech

Comments

Snicket Webmonkey

[laurie-robey.livejournal.com]

That's all too realistic! I want to scream and run away!

[scixual.livejournal.com]

I have only recently heard of the Lemony Snicket books -- do you recommend them? What are they like?

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to say that the Lemoney Snicket series is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. From the very first page of the very first book when the children are at the beach and receive terrible news, continuing on through the entire story, disaster lurks at their heels. One might say they are magnets for misfortune.

In the first book alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast.

It is Lemoney Snicket's sad duty to write down these unpleasant tales, but there is nothing stopping you from avoiding the books all together and reading something happy, if you prefer that sort of thing.

-The Gneech

[scixual.livejournal.com]

So what's the appeal?

Is it simply shadenfreude?

Or are they actually fun in some way?

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

Well, that passage I put in my last response there is basically the blurb from the back of the first book, and the whole series is like that. It's over-the-top lugubriousness and lots of irony. Having only gone through the first one so far, I can only say so much about the series as a whole, but the first one was amusing. I'm told they actually get funnier as they go, as Count Olaf's schemes get more and more outrageous, but that remains to be seen.

-The Gneech

[scixual.livejournal.com]

I think I shall have to look them up.

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

BTW, you taught me a new word today, thanks! And at the risk of tooting my own horn, that's not an easy task. ;)

-The Gneech

[scixual.livejournal.com]

Oh? Which one?

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

Main Entry: scha·den·freu·de
Pronunciation: 'shä-d&n-"froi-d&
Function: noun
Usage: often capitalized
Etymology: German, from Schaden damage + Freude joy
Date: 1895
: enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others

[scixual.livejournal.com]

Ah. It's a good word.

[dslartoo.livejournal.com]

They not only get funnier, they get much more complex and detailed. There's more there than just the standard "Count Olaf comes up with a new scheme to steal the Baudelaire fortune" plot in each book. Lots of stuff beneath the surface, plot threads, and cool "hey I didn't notice that" things. Good stuff. The first three books are a bit repetitive until Handler finds his voice, though.

cheers,
Phil

[richardf8]

I think I'm going to start paying attention to these.

After all, I loved Edward Gorey's The Gashlycrumb Tinies . . .

Lemony Snicket

[laurie-robey.livejournal.com]

I've read all 10 so far. If you want an idea what they're like, I'd suggest checking out Lemony Snicket's website:

http://www.lemonysnicket.com/

If you like Charles Addams and Edward Gorey, you'd probably like Lemony Snicket.

[huskyteer.livejournal.com]

That is superb. You have the Snicket style bang on.

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :) It's so, erm, "distinctive," that it's fairly easy to catch. I'm not sure I could keep it up beyond a page or two before my own voice started taking over, tho. :)

-The Gneech