On the mental agenda today: The one-eyed, one-horned flying purple people eater.
This is what bugs me: Is it a people-eater that happens to be purple? Or is it some sort of monstrous beast that only eats purple people? Semantics, in this particular situation, could lead to the rise (or fall) of a species!
I was always under the impression that it was some sort of beast that only ate purple people, and I had a good, logical reason for believing this: OEOHFPPEs are extremely rare (at least, I’ve never seen one, despite several chemically-assisted attempts) and this could be accounted for by the fact that purple people are also extremely rare, and this scarcity of its natural prey could lead to a shortage in OEOHFPPEs. Call it a kink in the food chain, if you like.
Upon reading the field notes of the original OEOHFPPE sighting, I came across this line:
I said Mr. Purple People Eater what’s your line/He said eating purple people and it sure is fine
This tends to prove my earlier theory. Man, I love the scientific method. It also helps when the animal you are studying is capable of speech, and thus telling you its preferred diet, especially when the person taking the original field notes is horribly incomplete and inaccurate in his physical description of the creature. Mr. Sheb Wooley should have taken some lessons from Mr. Audubon, if you ask me.
November 27th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Wolf,
This will blow you away, but its your old buddy Erin…I was looking for your sister online (I think about her all the time) and I found you instead! Love your website and say hi to Heidi for me!
Erin
November 27th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
Very interesting. Now how about analyzing that timelss Beatles classic, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”. I understand it also has a deeper philosophical meaning, much like OEOHFPPE. Oh. And get some rest.
November 27th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
You know, I’ve always liked that song! I’ve also always wondered exactly what kind of mental state Sheb was in when he wrote it.
November 28th, 2007 at 9:09 am
Erin: good to see you! Feel free to poke around, and thanks for visiting!
November 28th, 2007 at 9:12 am
MissPriss: “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” was, very clearly, a cleverly-disguised description of a UFO encounter by Ringo Starr. I believe the beings involved hailed from the star Lucia 2745, hence the name “Lucy.” “Diamonds,” obviously, refers to the craft in which they were traveling.
I don’t know - I may be way off base here.
November 28th, 2007 at 9:15 am
montucky: Sheb’s mental state probably had some bearing on his descriptive abilities (or lack thereof.) It’s possible that some smoke from his “campfire” had “accidentally” gotten into his lungs, thus influencing his observations. Field work can be a dangerous thing, sometimes.
November 28th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
So, if you’re right, a guy would be pretty much screwed if he fell into a vat of wine, grape juice, purple paint, or just happened to have gotten badly sunburned.
I remember that song from when it came out, but never used the scientific method to figure it out.
Thanks,
Malcolm
November 29th, 2007 at 5:17 am
Pirsig theorized that scientific method turned on itself had reverse of the intended effect. Thankfully, you didn’t encounter this problem.
November 29th, 2007 at 7:25 am
Malcolm: if you should happen to fall into a vat of purple paint, it would probably be in your best interest to avoid going outside for at least a month. Feel free to link to this post should you need a note for your employer.
November 29th, 2007 at 7:26 am
Pinhole: the last time I had anything turned on myself I turned a brilliant shade of yellow and couldn’t pee for a week. I’m never doing that again.