Saturday, May 05, 2007

A Persian Problem

Episode 18 of The Meditations of Diogenes The Cynic. Thanks to this week's reader/instrumentalist.

To hear the story, kneel before Xerxes I.






This week in The Prattler (to be ready this evening,) "The Majority Myth."








To read the story, visit the Persian Empire.

28 comments:

Minka said...

You guys are late!

oh right...read the post!

Minka said...

sorry to tell you this Doug, but your link to the recording leads right to the middle of a Star Wars film...

(instruments) "I am your Pez, comment section!" (instruments)

Ariel the Thief said...

whole Persia sat in prisons because nobody had 20 talents to pay the fine, eh? (anybody that goes to count stars and comes back saying there are a "skyful" of them should be beheaded!)

Minka said...

"Eventually there would be so many suffering under the law, there would be no one to enforce it. "

Nice!


So philosophy, tyranny and non-counting are the vices that make any government fail, it seems. Now...I have a feeling that teh accountant and astronomer Dusty will schlepp back to Persia won´t be of much help either! Diogenes has spread too far, can´t even lead a war anymore...how will history books remember that Xeres ever existed? What´s the ancient world come to?

Anonymous said...

I know who the reader is! Darth Vader! Or, Ellen DeGeneres.

Ariel the Thief said...

well, Xerxes was lucky, he didn't need to worry about the Huns.

Anonymous said...

Let's see. Musical instruments. Sci fi quotations and technology. Voice clearly related to the reader of Episode 6.

Take a bow, Squaregi ...

No, wait, she's done one already. Dang. ;)

Only real question, how did DDdragon's daughters let this go by without trumpet (yay!) and trombone (boo!) cameos.

Nice work, writer and reader. The shah's in a pickle, ain't he?

TLP said...

Well, well, well. It's NOT 3D. I'm her mama and I oughta know.

Original! I loved it. I didn't think there was much anyone could do to distinguish themselves with these readings, but I was wrong. Tricky.

I read the story while I was listening to it. I recommend that for all of these stories.

Brava to the reader! Also bravo to Doug. I'm lovin' it.

TLP said...

Just listened and read again! Most excellent! However did the reader do the Darth Varar voice I wonder?

I think "skyful" is a close enough number. What's the Imperial's prob?

G said...

Well well well - this reader is upping the ante with a soundtrack! Verrrry good.

Okay clues - Dusty - is it Icy reading? Big Red and Tom?

I'll start with that as my guess and let's see if any other hints come to me. My first guess was Logo before I read the Dusty part. Either way - it was done grandly by whoever the reader is.

Which number episode is this again?

Lila said...

"A skyful" -- that's great! I love the line about "a daughter", too.

Nice job, reader. Except you sounded a little hoarse as Xerxes. Are you okay?

Anonymous said...

AP3, that was one of my favorite lines, too! ; )

i'm thinkin' we're hearing a multiple Pez track: starring DDDragon along with one (or both) of her talented kids ("stars" in their own rights). of course, i totally missed on my guess the week Mrs. Weirsdo turned in her fine performance, so what do i know?

whatever and/or whoever -- this was a very inventive/entertaining interpretation of the story -- which was very entertaining/inventive, as well!!

*claps, tries to whistle, fails miserably, claps louder*

A Little Bar of Soap said...

Xerxes sounds like SATAN himself!

Zoroastrianism! Star counting! SATAN!

I am concerned about the people and their new religion, too!

DUSTY! Is this the work of that Satanic little beast of a dog, Icy?

Devil, get thee OUT!

Anonymous said...

d'oh! had i bothered to actually read TLP's earlier comment, i'd have saved myself a little embarrassment. not much, mind you, but a little.

okay -- if it's not 3D and her brood, then who? who WHO?? if i wasn't so mesmerized by that Bar of Soap's avatar -- i'd take another listen. Dusty? Icy? hmmmm. i-see i have to wait along with everyone else for the great -- and highly anticipated -- reveal.

not counting the minutes until that happens... (just hope it's soon)

Doug The Una said...

Minka, so you're saying Goa'uld?

Ariel, my sympathies were with Xerxes, too.

Minka, "What's the ancient world come to?" is a great line.

Quilly, close on both counts.

Thanks, Amoeba. TLP has good ears, though. It's not Dddragon.

Thanks, TLP. I agree that the reader did great in spite of not being your daughter, Dddragon.

OK,g, so you're going with either Logo or Dusty?

Aral, I agree with you that reader did great and probably needs medicine.

Thanks, Neva. You now know it's not Dddragon. In the future we'll know if there's whistling its not you.

Soapy, I sure have missed you. Have you thought about my offer?

Yes, Neva. That was Icy.

Anonymous said...

Icy was great. The story was too scary to be about ancient Persia, but its modern name and another country

Jamie Dawn said...

That musical intro really put me in the perfect mood for the story. I even started belly dancing.

Whoever read this sure does a great Darth Vader impression. Amazing vocal range!

Dusty is so calm.
Good boy!
I think he's hoping to avoid execution.

TLP said...

Mmmmm....so no one knows who it is?

Anonymous said...

Come out, come out, wherever you are!

Doug The Una said...

Pia, you're talking about Uzbekistan again, aren't you?

Jamie Dawn, I hope one of the kids caught you belly dancing on camera. I look forward to that post.

TLP, it's a mysterious montage, isn't it?

g, you're right. Whoever that is has been too long under the couch.

Anonymous said...

::Looks around:: What?! No one wants to claim the place of honor?

Lila said...

Okay, okay... it's Sunday night. Time to reveal: I am your Pez.

So many of you were so warm, naming my sister dddragon and especially her musician daughters. I've always said that I'm just a big kid, so that I was pretty good guess.

And the Ellen DeGeneres guess was very warm too!

But no, 'twas I. That wasn't a real cymbal, but a keyboard cymbal. And that's a little electric guitar you're hearing, of course.

As for the "Darth Vader" voice, I used a silly little voice changer I bought at a drug store for Halloween years ago. It has two settings: "Alien" and "Monster". Darth was "Monster". I actually do a pretty good Darth Vader impression with my own voice, but the voice changer was just that much more over-the-top and silly, so it won. Plus, I was congested when I made the recording, so there was that.

The little cymbal and guitar riff is a rip-off from the opening of "Killing an Arab" by the Cure. (Any other children of the 80s out there?) In any case, it wasn't mean to be about violence toward Arabs... the song captures key moments of Camus' story, "The Stranger".

And that's all I have to say about that.

Anonymous said...

you are one CLEVER PEZ, AP3!!! and that was one clever and completely entertaining recording!! i've been out all day, otherwise i'd have come back and taken a few more wild guesses... and i might have even guessed YOU! (shoulda known you'd be the one to incorporate such cool "audio fx", what with your BASIP's and all!)

*claps -- does not attempt that whistling thing, shouts out "woo" and "hoo" -- claps again*

Anonymous said...

Great sound effects AP3. You spruced up an already sparkling story. You and Doug should both come out and take a bow.

Anonymous said...

And you should 'fess up about the sci-fi addiction you evidently share with your sis. It's not nice to fool amoebae ... :).

TLP said...

Proud mama here to say that actually AP3 is as musical as any Pez. She plays several instruments.

Doug The Una said...

Quilly, look behind you.

Wow, Aral. A great reading, special effects and a literary criticism of The Cure? My cup overrunneth. I was in High School the same time you were but listening to Leadbelly, Taj Mahal and Van Morrison so I'm of your generation but the uncool branch. Thanks for all the time, effort and quality you put into this. Of course, now you're going to have to ship the voice changer around to whoever reads Xerxes.

Thanks, Puppy. AP3 deserved that.

Quilly, what do you mean by "both come out?"

Amoeba, I like to think this is a welcoming place for dorks and the regulars certainly support my conclusion.

TLP, you've raised a gifted brood, there's no doubt. I think if you'd adopted younger I might at least be able to sing.

Thanks, Actonbell. Certain repititions never get dull. Especially from the veteran review.

G said...

That was quite a great read AP3! Very sweet how you snuck in that Cure reference.

Can a PezFamilyAlbum really be far off?