Call me HTML

Call me HTML is the iconic opening sentence of the novel Moby Web.

Call me HTML. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no bitcoins in my blockchain, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would surf the web a little and see the networky part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off—then, I account it high time to code in C as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship. There is nothing surprising in this. If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.

Based on the opening sentence of Moby Dick by Hermann Melville:

Call me Ishmael. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off—then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship. There is nothing surprising in this. If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.

In the News

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  Lacuna Beret is a 2008 American comedy-thriller film about a serial haberdasher who rigs hats that cause his victims memory loss based on the number of hits received by a website that features a live streaming video of children in sweatshops producing hats. Millions of people log on, hastening the victims' ignorance of child labor conditions around the world.

Fiction cross-reference

• Gnomon algorithm
• Gnomon Chronicles
• Moby-Pink

Categories

• Category:Films