Instead of plaguing you with an in-depth analysis of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (my first choice, naturally) I thought I’d spruce up my usual lugubrious posts with something humorous.
How easily do you give out your cell phone number? How about displaying it publicly? Ever put up an ad or carelessly sign a passer-by’s petition? I’m sure all of us are guilty of it one way or another. I am guilty of giving out my phone number about twice a week to “strangers.” That is, seemingly harmless women who request it for possible bookings. As I finish writing down the last numbers, I always hesitate a bit wondering if they’ll ever really call me or where my number will be. While I will not promote paranoia (oh, the irony) I will warn you that you may end up being the laughing stock of the internet one day.
My wearisome introduction has brought me to Textastrophe (dot) com. Yes, you read that right. And if the titles are ever anything like the actual content (ahem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner) then expect a catastrophe via text.
Let’s meet the writer:
Actually, not much if any information is displayed. All that is apparent is the person’s excellent sense of humor and wit. Not to mention improvisational skills that would shame any actor. I also imagine/presume the writer to be a male in his late twenties living somewhere in the northeast—but hey, that’s just me.
Textastrophe (dot) com contains chains of text messages either responding to ads or offering services requested by various people. The result? Minutes of hilarity. I could sit here and try to explain what the Texastrophe writer does, or, I could just show you!
Mr. Texastrophe (we’ll just call him that) contacted an artist after seeing his painting for sale at a local restaurant that frequently displays pieces of local artists.
Here’s the text exchange:
Nice, right? Well, that’s what Mr. Textastrophe did to the poor artist (literally and figuratively). Having trouble containing your laughter? Me too. The good news is there’s pages of texts between our assailant and innocent “phone number displayers”—their technical only crime.
Lesson learned? While technology to contact people thousands of miles away in a heartbeat is fascinating (my great grandfather couldn’t understand how a bike with two skinny wheels could support a person) it is equally daunting. Mr. Texastrophe puts back humor in a world where human interactions is dying. Even though he isn’t physically or actually speaking to the people, his texts are more in-depth and lively than the usual robot-esque messages we frantically conjure up with our friends.
Until next week,
NH
Sources:
http://textastrophe.com/
The Junction Journal 