Enjoyed that, especially the mention of Where You Been, one of a handful of tapes I had on repeat in the mid-teen phase (and obviously their best album)
(As a copy editor, I note that writers overuse what I always call The Rule of Three almost as much as they overuse the "not only X but Y" construction.)
Yes! I think a little goes a long way with these things. The flashy figures stand out more when they’re the exception rather than the norm. A lot of supposed “AI tells” are just rhetorical figures, overused.
Perhaps I'm giving him too much credit, but I did see three distinct and compatible meanings to Alexander's phrase: I was born here, I choose to stay here, and I hope that to be Scottish will mean something even more significant in the future, with Independence..
That's interesting. I wonder if it's a special case in comic writing. In political oratory it's normally name it, confirm it, confirm it again. Once you're playing with a tricolon there are a few different directions you can take it in.
Man goes into a pub, sees a man with a melon for a head. He asks hiom how did he end up with a melon for a head. The man with a melon for a head says he was washed up on a desert island and met a genie who granted him three wishes. "My first wish was to return home, my second was for ten sacks of diamonds and for my third wish... I asked to have a melon for a head."
Enjoyed that, especially the mention of Where You Been, one of a handful of tapes I had on repeat in the mid-teen phase (and obviously their best album)
Saw them a bit over a year ago, and practically melted when they played the opening notes of “Get Me”
This one's spectacular, Sam, thanks!
(As a copy editor, I note that writers overuse what I always call The Rule of Three almost as much as they overuse the "not only X but Y" construction.)
Yes! I think a little goes a long way with these things. The flashy figures stand out more when they’re the exception rather than the norm. A lot of supposed “AI tells” are just rhetorical figures, overused.
Also, I was recently able to play “zeugma” in a Scrabble-type game, but I had to look it up first because I kept thinking it was spelled “zeguma.”
Thank heaven for my expensive education.
Homer nods!
Perhaps I'm giving him too much credit, but I did see three distinct and compatible meanings to Alexander's phrase: I was born here, I choose to stay here, and I hope that to be Scottish will mean something even more significant in the future, with Independence..
I met a comedy writing teacher who said the rule of three is triangulation - name it, confirm it, and then twist it.
That's interesting. I wonder if it's a special case in comic writing. In political oratory it's normally name it, confirm it, confirm it again. Once you're playing with a tricolon there are a few different directions you can take it in.
Definitely. Are you familiar with the man with a melon for a head joke?
Ooh, no. I know the man with a head the size of an orange joke, but not the man with a melon for a head.
It is possibly the same joke… and ends with a great rule of three punchline.
Oh! The one I’m thinking of ends with the protagonist asking the magic mermaid: “How about a little head?” so maybe it isn’t that one. I’ll google it
Man goes into a pub, sees a man with a melon for a head. He asks hiom how did he end up with a melon for a head. The man with a melon for a head says he was washed up on a desert island and met a genie who granted him three wishes. "My first wish was to return home, my second was for ten sacks of diamonds and for my third wish... I asked to have a melon for a head."