From: mjd@saul.cis.upenn.edu ("[*] Angel of Wheaties")
Newsgroups: alt.discordia
Subject: Re: MadhatterDay VII
Date: 7 Oct 92 02:06:24 GMT
Followup-To: misc.misc
Organization: Eaters of Wisdom
In-reply-to: mjd@saul.cis.upenn.edu's message of 6 Oct 92 14:29:00 GMT



   [ Original posting by Dick Dunn, rcd@ico.isc.com, 6 Oct 1989 ]

			     MadHatterDay

   1992: MadHatterDay VII

   1.  What Is It?

       MadHatterDay is a holiday in October.  It fills the need for a
   second crazy day in the year, almost exactly half a year from April
   Fools' Day. The real spirit of MadHatterDay is turnabout: The nonsense
   we usually have to pretend is sane can be called madness for one day in
   the year; the superficially crazy things that really make sense can be
   called sane on MadHatterDay.

       MadHatterDay is 10/6.  The date was chosen from the illustrations by
   John Tenniel in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, wherein the Mad Hatter
   is always seen wearing a hat bearing a slip of paper with the notation
   "In this style 10/6".  We take this as inspiration to behave in the
   style of the Mad Hatter on 10/6 (which is October 6 here, although in
   Britain MadHatterDay occurs on June 10...but I digress...)  Some astute
   observers have noted that the paper in the Mad Hatter's Hat was really
   an order to make a hat in the style shown, to cost ten shillings
   sixpence.  However, it is well known that Time Is Money, and therefore
   Money Is Time, and therefore 10/6 may as well be the sixth of October.

   MadHatterDay began in Boulder, CO, in 1986, among some computer-folk who
   had nothing better to do.  It was immediately recognized as valuable
   because they caused less damage than if they'd been doing their jobs.
   It was announced that first year on computer networks. In 1987 it gained
   minor local recognition.  In 1988, it was first recognized as an
   official holiday by an area business, and also received its first
   national press coverage by news services (who are always desperate for
   an unlikely story).  It is almost certain that the national election
   also gave MadHatterDay a good boost in 1992.

   Detailed plans for this year's MadHatterDay observance will, of course,
   be announced on October 7.  We have found that plans made after the fact
   are more accurate and much easier to have fulfilled.  Or, as the Red
   Queen said, "sentence first, then the verdict!"


   2.  What Goes?

   What do people do on MadHatterDay?  In general, we celebrate silliness.
   But what if your work involves something inherently silly--say
   marketing, where you put on a three-piece suit (five or six layers of
   fabric) in the summertime, tie a piece of cloth around your neck to
   restrict blood flow to the brain, and set about trying to convince
   people to buy things they don't want and can't afford because this will
   give the country a Healthy Economy?  In this case, doing something
   absolutely sane will have a more startling effect than you can possibly
   imagine.

   Your world is crazier than you think:

      * We travel around by taking the juice from hundred-million-year-old
	rotten dinosaur food and exploding it in a metal can.

      * A "sports fanatic" is not someone who participates in sports, but
	someone who sits indoors on a beautiful day, drinking beer while
	yelling at the picture on a little box.  (Throw the ultimate
	football party: Forget the TV; just sit around eating and drinking
	with friends.)

      * As much as we say we like to "get away from it all", the more
	successful we are, the more we take it all with us when we go.
	(Take a vacation with all the comforts of home: Just stay home!)

      * We're so well-fed that we're getting food with intentionally
	reduced nutritional content--so we can take the trouble to eat
	without getting the benefit of doing so.  (Enjoy the ultimate in
	fast-diet-food: Skip lunch.)

      * We've saved so much gift-giving for the Christmas season that it
	has entirely unbalanced the flow of cash and consumer goods through
	the year.  So merchants decided to start the season early to have
	something to do the rest of the year.  (There's now only one major
	gift-giving holiday--but it lasts for five months.  Surprise
	someone with a MadHatterDay present.)

   ...and it goes.  Take a look around you, drop your assumptions about
   what must be proper and normal, and see how much of it is just silly.
   Better yet, try to find something that does make sense.

   Don't hurt anyone.  Save the pranks for April 1.  This is "a Kinder,
   Gentler Fool's Day."


--

                And for to se, and eek for to be seye
Mark-Jason Dominus 	  			    mjd@central.cis.upenn.edu