Glenn Hauman: Six Words
Got a note from Mike Gold: “Denny remains sick. Would you like to fill for Thursday 8 AM? Got anything to get off your… chest?”
Sent a note back: “Sorry to hear he’s under the weather. I hope he’s going to be okay for his appearance at the Garner Arts Center this Saturday, where Dennis O’Neil is going to receive their first Lifetime Achievement Award for his tremendous creations.”
“I certainly hope so. So, got anything?”
“Well, I’ve got an idea for a piece, but it’s probably going to be a bit short.”
“How short?”
“Six words.”
“Six words short?”
“No, six words total.”
“SIX words?”
“What can I say, Mike? I’m laconic.”
“Are you using big words so that you can avoid describing yourself as short? Or are you just being pompous?”
“I’m not pompous; I’m pedantic. There’s a difference. Let me explain it to you…”
“Never mind. You’ve got to write something longer than that.”
“But why? The entire point of what I’m doing is that by making something so short and punchy it sticks in the mind, goes viral, and becomes a meme that spreads across the nation, even if they don’t know the original reference.”
“And you can do all that in six words?”
“Okay, six words and a picture. And if a picture is worth a thousand words, then it’s long enough.”
“Your topic?”
“How geek culture and social media is beginning to invade and influence politics in this election year, the 21st century iteration of editorial cartoons. Heck, people were talking about Chris Christie’s trapped appearance on Super Tuesday using references to the Matrix and Harlan Ellison.”
“Six words, a picture, and you swear this bit of geek culture is going to get shared all over the Internet and possibly influence the Presidential election. Whaddya got?”
Apparently, Trump was bragging about having a big dick. Got an e-mail from a friend, titled “The difference between having and being”: