Spambot makes its artificial origin clear. No English speaker would say “a exceptional” without the “n” after the “a.”
It’s a rebuttal, I suppose, to Sir Edward George Bulwer-Lytton’s
“It was a dark and stormy night . . .”
— — — — —
For those curious inquirers who may wish for context, the complete opening sentence (from Bulwer-Lytton’s 1830 novel ‘Paul Clifford’), is as follows:
“It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents—except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.”
Starry night + city? Oxymoron.
Good to know. I live in the country and it’s been overcast and rain for several days. It’s nice to know the stars are still up there.
That Bulwer-Lytton opening sentence is the stimulus for a writing contest run by the San Jose State English department — Yes, that SJS, before they got into the trans volleyball mess — where contestants were challenged to write a similar opening sentence. Don’t know if they still do it, my info is 50 years old….
M J R, I remember when Snoopy was typing away. “… A door slammed. A woman screamed. …” Although that bit about the lamps struggling against the darkness has promise.
Mike+Plaiss, indeed. I would think any starry night in the bowels of a city is exceptional. Even Pyongyang has light pollution. Maybe this bot hails from Johannesburg or Kinshasa.
Another+Mike (9:27 pm) said: “Don’t know if they still do it, my info is 50 years old….”
Yes, they still do it!
“The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest challenges participants to write an atrocious opening sentence to the worst novel never written.”
Spambot makes its artificial origin clear. No English speaker would say “a exceptional” without the “n” after the “a.”
It’s a rebuttal, I suppose, to Sir Edward George Bulwer-Lytton’s
“It was a dark and stormy night . . .”
— — — — —
For those curious inquirers who may wish for context, the complete opening sentence (from Bulwer-Lytton’s 1830 novel ‘Paul Clifford’), is as follows:
“It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents—except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.”
Starry night + city? Oxymoron.
Good to know. I live in the country and it’s been overcast and rain for several days. It’s nice to know the stars are still up there.
That Bulwer-Lytton opening sentence is the stimulus for a writing contest run by the San Jose State English department — Yes, that SJS, before they got into the trans volleyball mess — where contestants were challenged to write a similar opening sentence. Don’t know if they still do it, my info is 50 years old….
M J R, I remember when Snoopy was typing away. “… A door slammed. A woman screamed. …” Although that bit about the lamps struggling against the darkness has promise.
Mike+Plaiss, indeed. I would think any starry night in the bowels of a city is exceptional. Even Pyongyang has light pollution. Maybe this bot hails from Johannesburg or Kinshasa.
Another+Mike (9:27 pm) said: “Don’t know if they still do it, my info is 50 years old….”
Yes, they still do it!
“The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest challenges participants to write an atrocious opening sentence to the worst novel never written.”
https://www.bulwer-lytton.com/
The 2024 Grand Prize was awarded to . . .
“She had a body that reached out and slapped my face like a five-pound ham-hock tossed from a speeding truck.”
— — — — —
Philip Sells (10:38 pm), I remember that as well [smile].