Oh man, I totally know what Feynman is about to throw down, but I have to hold off saying anything about it for two days - two long, hard days... In the meantime, let me tell you about one of my new favorite things - it's a German webcomic put out by Sarah Burrini called Das Leben ist kein Ponyhof and I've been devouring it here and there as time has permitted me these past few days, as our Twitter followers know full well.
Some people say that Germans can't do humor - that there is something fundamental in the culture and language that makes Kant and Gauss possible but humor not. There are many counterexamples - I find this hilarious for the line "Wollt ihr das totale Sieb?!" alone, and The Mirror's 30 seconds or so starting at 1:15 in this clip are pretty damn priceless. But it's one of those things that people say, and it's hard to fight against that, but I think this comic will become my new leading example of what the German language can do in the right comedic hands. I love Burrini's sense of pace, word choice, and timing with dialogue. I have picked one entirely randomly here out of the archives - just read that last speech from the elephant and try not to crack a smile at "nicht geruchsneutraler" as a way of expressing the precise... nasal flavor... of the moment, a way that "Not Entirely Smell Neutral" doesn't quite grab. Or, less randomly and more entirely deliberately, Curiosity's bit at the end of this comic - I can't quite put my finger on it, but between the fun-ness of the core idea and the precise WAY that he's talking, it keeps making me happy.
So, check it out and then join us in Two Days for FEYNMAN... UNLEASHED!!!
- Count Dolby von Luckner