avatarJim McAulay🍁 I'm nobody. Are you a nobody too?

Summary

The website content introduces the Hataciku poetic form and reflects on the nature of addressing a large audience, while also presenting a humorous anecdote about a bartender overwhelmed by too many open tabs.

Abstract

The content begins by defining the Hataciku poem, a structured form consisting of 65 syllables in a specific pattern without punctuation, invented by Dr Michael Heng. It then transitions to a personal adaptation of this form by the author, who takes liberties with the traditional rules by incorporating punctuation and a unique approach. The author ponders the question of what to communicate to a million listeners, suggesting that such a vast audience would only listen if the message aligns with their expectations. This thought experiment is followed by a whimsical story in which a bartender metaphorically "crashes" after being overwhelmed by too many customers each opening a tab, drawing a parallel to the concept of being overextended or overwhelmed by tasks.

Opinions

  • The author acknowledges the constraints of the traditional Hataciku form but chooses to adapt it to their own style, indicating a preference for creative freedom over strict adherence to rules.
  • There is a contemplative stance on mass communication, implying that speaking to a large audience requires telling them what they want to hear rather than introducing novel ideas.
  • The anecdote about the bartender and the patrons serves as a humorous commentary on the dangers of taking on too much, suggesting that spreading oneself too thin can lead to burnout or failure.

Hataciku

Noodle writing prompt

And running out of Rum with too many tabs open

Photo by Crew on Unsplash

A Hataciku poem consists of 65 syllables written without punctuation in 3 stanzas as 11 lines of phrase arranged in the pattern sequence of 5–7–5–5–7–5–7–7–5–7–5 = 65 syllables. Invented by Dr Michael Heng

I have taken liberties with the form. I use punctuation and approach the form in a very different manner than the originator.

If your voice could be heard by 1 million people, what would you say? Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她) from The Brain is a Noodle.

So, what would I say To that large crowd of people.

A million people Listening to me.

Well, I would not say anything They hadn’t heard before.

You see, a million people They would not be listening To me, unless they Knew that I would tell them what

They wanted to hear.

A large group walks into a bar. One at a time, they order a shot of rum and ask the bartender to open a tab. After the twentieth person does the same thing, the bartender screams angrily, storms out of the bar, gets into his car, and has an accident. A member of the group, confused, asked what happened. The response was “We had too many tabs open, and he ran out of rum, so he tried to force quit and ended up crashing.”

Hataciku
Jim Mcaulay
Humor
Illumination
Humour
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