Tom Lehrer

Þessi dásamlegi, undursamlegi, Harvard útskrifaði stærðfræðingur er búin að vera í einstaklegu uppáhaldi hjá mér síðustu árin, og er það skömm að því að hafa ekki skrifað um hann fyrr. En núna verður það bara að gerast (í stuttu máli). Svona á meðan hann vann að doktorsgráðu í stærfræði í Harvard skemmti hann sér að því að skrifa lítil lög, ditties if you will, og ákvað einn daginn að syngja þau fyrir almenning. Innan nokkurra ára var hann orðin költ stjarna með hjálp laga á borð við Poisoning Pigeons in the Park, Send the Marines, Cows with Guns og The Masocism Tango. Ég mæli sterklega með því að þið upplifið hans einstöku snilldargáfu og vil ég þakka Nils fyrir að hafa kynnt mér fyrir þessum einstaka manni þegar við vorum í Hong Kong. I will leave you now with a small sample from his arsenal of songs:

Who's Next

One of the big news items of the past year concerned the fact that China, which we call Red China, exploded a nuclear bomb, which we called a device. Then Indonesia announced that it was gonna have one soon, and proliferation became the word of the day. Here's a song about that.

First we got the bomb and that was good,
'Cause we love peace and motherhood.
Then Russia got the bomb, but that's O.K.,
'Cause the balance of power's maintained that way!
Who's next?

France got the bomb, but don't you grieve,
'Cause they're on our side, I believe.
China got the bomb, but have no fears;
They can't wipe us out for at least five years!
Who's next?

Then Indonesia claimed that they
Were gonna get one any day.
South Africa wants two, that's right:
One for the black and one for the white!
Who's next?

Egypt's gonna get one, too,
Just to use on you know who.
So Israel's getting tense,
Wants one in self defense.
"The Lord's our shepherd," says the psalm,
But just in case, we better get a bomb!
Who's next?

Luxembourg is next to go
And, who knows, maybe Monaco.
We'll try to stay serene and calm
When Alabama gets the bomb!
Who's next, who's next, who's next?
Who's next?

Oedipus Rex

From the Bible to the popular song,
There's one theme that we find right along;
Of all ideals they hail as good,
The most sublime is motherhood.

There was a man though, who it seems,
Once carried this ideal to extremes.
He loved his mother and she loved him,
And yet his story is rather grim.

There once lived a man named Oedipus Rex,
You may have heard about his odd complex.
His name appears in Freud's index
'Cause he loved his mother.

His rivals used to say quite a bit
That as a monarch he was most unfit.
But still in all they had to admit
That he loved his mother.

Yes, he loved his mother like no other,
His daughter was his sister and his son was his brother.
One thing on which you can depend is,
He sure knew who a boy's best friend is.

When he found what he had done,
He tore his eyes out, one by one.
A tragic end to a loyal son
Who loved his mother.

So be sweet and kind to mother,
Now and then have a chat.
Buy her candy or some flowers,
Or a brand new hat.
But maybe you had better let it go at that.

Or you may find yourself with a quite complex complex
And you may end up like Oedipus.
I'd rather marry a duck-billed platypus
Than end up like old Oedipus Rex.

Tónlist: Bob Dylan - Man on the Streets

Atburðurinn: Snókerinn í sjónvarpinu, þegar ég næ í skottið á James og Chris þá gerist eitthvað slæmt, allt þeim að kenna að ég er gjörsamlega föst fyrir framan þetta drasl.

Tilvitnuin: "I hate you so much it gives me energy" - Dylan Moran