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"Repent, Harlequin!" Said the TikTokman [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-04-18
Ermagerd, I’m posting one of THOSE diaries… sorry but I can’t help myself, and after… what?… seven years I guess one aberration won’t break the bank.
I was thinking about Liberal in a Red State’s diary on China’s response to the Trump Tariff Tantrums, and about the reported appearance of TikToks from China, counterprogramming Trump’s claims about the trade deficit etc.
Here’s the diary, for those who missed it, so you know what I mean.
www.dailykos.com/...
As often happens with we Aspie folk, my damned subconscious made a pun.
Harlan Ellison’s short story title came to mind, and dammit, I couldn’t stop laughing.
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For the Youngs here, and those not really into science fiction, or perhaps just not into Harlan Ellison’s science fiction, my diary title is the title of one of his most famous short stories, with two letters removed.
This story came out in December, 1965. I was ten. We subscribed to Analog and to Fantasy & Science Fiction. I wasn’t old enough yet to “get” his style, but the title stuck, and stayed. And it won the Nebula for short stories that year, which is when I learned what a Nebula Award was. [Kids back then knew what the Newberry Medal was, if we read at all. So finding out about another literary award wasn’t evidence of precocity, just of reading.]
So. Ellison died in 2018, the year I joined DK, in fact. No, there’s no cause and effect, but it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if the magnitude of my offense here is such that I get a Midnight Visitation a la Jacob Marley.
I’ll let you know if it happens.
Meanwhile, the reference seems rather timely, oops did it again. The first link is to Wikipedia’s summary of the story, the second link is to a PDF of the text, courtesy of libcom.org. For those who need audio, I found one as well.
en.wikipedia.org/...
Harlan Ellison: "Repent, Harlequin!" Said The Ticktockman
Audio, via The Anarchist Audio Library channel [utterly fitting!] on YouTube.
I won’t babysit this, it’s just a wee daffin, with enough detail added so that it’s diaryworthy — hopefully. Plus I have medical thingies on the calendar today. I’ll check back later.
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