Baba, That's a good story. I am intrigued. I like the literature. >From: Baba Galleh Jallow <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Puhus the Post-Modern Critic - A story >Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2005 16:13:16 +0000 > > > >Puhus the Post-Modern Critic > >By Baba Galleh Jallow > >His Excellency the President, Dr. Yahakat Comganarr of the Republic of >Anyhow was a very wise man. True, he had his friends and his enemies. And >true, he made more enemies than friends because of his ultra-sensitive >adherence to the infallible dictates of his reason. But true, true, Dr. >Yahakat also knew how to tread on the slippery paths of life, how to turn >friends into enemies, but especially how to turn enemies to friends when he >needed to use them in pursuit of his political and allied goals. > >Dr. Yahakat applied his ultra-rational mind to the case of a particularly >crafty friend he used to have, but with whom he had fallen out. Actually, >this particular former friend, popularly known as Puhus the critic, had had >a very bad falling out with Dr. Yahakat. But Puhus the critic had regretted >falling out with his mentor and for many years, tried to win back the >friendship of the great Dr. Yahakat. Dr. Yahakat, however, ignored all of >Puhus’ wily moves for reconciliation, until one day . . . . > >Suddenly one day, Dr. Yahakat had great need of the services of Puhus the >critic. So many nonentities were making so much noise about his caliber of >leadership, which some folks described as absolutely anti-life, a >categorization that greatly angered His Pious Excellency but left him with >no way to fight back. Now, the great leader remembered that Puhus the >critic was just the right weapon to use against all those puny little >fellows making unpleasant noises about his regime. And so Dr. Yahakat >Comganarr, ever the wily politician, eventually made it known that Puhus >the critic was indeed a very loyal friend and sent him a few Chinese >dollars as a token of his new friendship. "I trust," His Excellency told an >excited Puhus, "that you will now use your highly advanced critical >capacities and perspectives to silence all those jealous folks making funny >noises about my government." Of >course, Puhus the clever critic could not wait to nod yes sir, yes sir, my >lord. So hard did Puhus nod that his head, which was disproportionately >large, nearly fell off his tiny neck. > >Thus readmitted into the favorite circle of the great leader, Puhus the >critic gallantly set about his task of shaming all who dared to say a word >contrary to the ideals and practices of His Infallible Excellency Dr. >Yahakat Comganarr. During the period in which he was estranged from Dr. >Yahakat, Puhus the critic had dived into the oceanic field of academia and >drank heartily of the milk of wisdom. By the time of his readmittance into >Dr. Yahakat’s most favored puppet status, Puhus the critic had clinched a >Bachelors degree in Groping Techniques, A Masters degree in Virtual Cyclics >and a Doctorate in the Advanced Principles of Don’t Care. He had become an >expert in the novel theories of postmodernism, an achievement he now used >with utmost gusto to silence all those semi-illiterate folks and false >prophets who thought they were wise and tried to oppose His Infallible and >Immortal Excellency, the Great Dr. Yahakat Comganarr of Anyhow fame. > >Say anything about His Excellency in our village assembly and Puhus the >critic would rise like a giant tree and tell you how you really belonged to >"that class of pre-scientific vocalities who have lost touch with the >inter-textual forms of binary logic." > >"All of you jealous folks live in an era of what I would call a >pre-limboric extra-falsity," Puhus the critic would wisely pout. "And you >will do yourselves great service by taking your pre-social underlingities >back into the glorious future of Yahakatian post-spatialities. For whether >you like it or not, Dr. Yahakat will live forever and he will forever be >our lord and master and the grand lord and master of our children and our >children’s children. So I advise you to go and sleep." > >As far as Puhus the critic was concerned, it did not matter whether what >was said of Dr. Yahakat was true or false, logical or illogical, existent >or nonexistent, rational or irrational, thick or thin. So long as it >sounded unpleasant in the hallowed ears of His Excellency the President Dr. >Yahakat Comganarr, it was deserving of condemnation and ridicule in the >most appropriate post-modern terms Puhus the critic could muster. And boy, >did he have an arsenal of advanced terms! > >Indeed, our common townsfolk were so extremely impressed with the seemingly >endless array of educated terms Puhus the critic knew that after listening >to him put some cheeky folk down, they all would wildly stare and hold >their mouths and call him sir. At which point Puhus the critic would sagely >look around and ask, whatyasay? > >Our common townsfolk were even more amazed at the great guy’s seemingly >boundless reserves of critical energy. For truth to say, Puhus the critic >was an army of one against the entire big wide world, fighting not for such >simplistic and outmoded things as truth or lies, justice or injustice, >sense or nonsense, but an army of one dedicated to the total defense and >liberation of His Pious Excellency the President, Dr. Yahakat Comganarr of >the famous Republic of Anyhow, from the evil mouths of jealous intellectual >midgets. Which was why our common townsfolk really felt that Puhus the >critic deserves recognition and a huge slap on the back. Whoap!! Six >fingers for Puhus the critic!! >Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! MSN Messenger Download today >it's FREE! > >¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ >To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L >Web interface >at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html > >To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: >http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l >To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: >[log in to unmask] >¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ _________________________________________________________________ On the road to retirement? Check out MSN Life Events for advice on how to get there! http://lifeevents.msn.com/category.aspx?cid=Retirement ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤