02 » video

[lesterzeppelin]

[ The feed opens up on Lester, giving the camera a quick two-fingered wave and a bright, too-forced smile. He's standing behind the counter of his music store, as evidenced by the rows of guitars behind him. Business as usual, right? Well, it would be if he didn't look exhausted, with bags under his eyes that most certainly weren't there a month ago. ]

Hey, guys. Been a while. [ Both since he's posted on the network and... well, been here. ] First, it's getting close to the holidays, so I wanted to remind everyone that my kids are putting on a winter recital. December 8th, Heropa Performing Arts Center, 7 PM, and well - free tickets for any imPort that shows up. If you're free, you should totally come. They've been working really hard on it!

Second... [ he pauses, knowing what he's about to say is entirely uncharacteristic of him, ] Sorry if I worried anyone for being gone so long. But hey, I'm back, better than ever, and I've got more than a few new haikus and songs up my sleeve.

If anything, I think I've gotta worry more about this rotation of holiday music on the radio. [ lies and slander. He's Living for them all. ] Has it been annoying anyone else, or are any of you the lucky souls who just happen to listen to carols all year long?

Comments

[lesterzeppelin]

Not quite. [ he beams, like sunshine - ] It's fairly new, but the author's as old as the sun god.

[monster_san]

[What an... odd statement. What's with that smile?]

Ah... you mean there is a poet from the time of Amaterasu? That is quite venerable...

[lesterzeppelin]

[ wait no, he meant - ]

Um, probably. [ He might as well roll with it. She's Japanese - of course Amaterasu would be the first sun god she thinks of. ] Art's been around as long as humans have.

[monster_san]

Hmm, you do have a point. As soon as we saw cave walls, we started to paint on them. And since we invented language at about the same time, it makes sense that we quickly put it to rhyme and meter.

[lesterzeppelin]

[ . . . ]

Yeah, that sounds about right. Do you still want to hear it or...?

[monster_san]

Of course! I hope I didn't give the impression that I wasn't interested in this unconventional poet.

[lesterzeppelin]

Nah, you didn't.

[ If anything, he's Baffled. ]

Let's see, another one by him would be... [ he hums, ]

Bowling balls of death,
Rolling toward my enemies,
I'll trade you problems.

[monster_san]

[that's one of her favorite reactions]

[She laughs a little at that one.]

My goodness, the poet certainly has seen some troubles... or perhaps is making new ones. But it's interesting to hear about something as contemporary as bowling from a classical author!

[lesterzeppelin]

Yeah? [ teasing, because at this point, this is his life, and he might as well roll with it: ] You don't think they had bowling back in ancient times?

[monster_san]

Hm... perhaps, I suppose you don't need advanced technology to roll a heavy ball towards some pins. Or a rock towards some sticks.

[lesterzeppelin]

You sure don't. I believe Hermes did it a couple of times, way back in the day...

[ beat ]

But I'm also pretty sure it's a modern translation-thing.

[monster_san]

Pardon me, but the way you phrase that makes it sound as though you were there to see.

[lesterzeppelin]

And if I was? [ this is where his life is going, and it's kind of a wild ride, can he get off... ] What would you tell me?

[monster_san]

[wait

what]

I would tell you that it sounds quite unbelievable... if not for the fact that Miss Porter has captured all manner of people in time and space.

[which is not to say that she believes him right away, just that it's not as implausible as it should be]

[lesterzeppelin]

[ he mulls over that for half a second - ]

Yeah, that's true. I've met way too many people who didn't know how to use a dishwasher... [ beat ] But the Porter's also brought more than a few cryptkeepers along for the ride.

[monster_san]

Cryptkeepers? Oh dear, that sounds a little ominous.

[lesterzeppelin]

It can be, [ and his grin only grows wider, ] if you're afraid of the elderly.

[monster_san]

[fuu piecing together: grin + remarks + godhood claim = referring to himself?]

Oh no, I have the greatest respect for my elders. It's only polite.

[lesterzeppelin]

Also a great way to learn what not to do. [ he leans back, seemingly satisfied - ] But seriously, we've got our fair share of gods and divine beings and who-knows roaming around.

Can't rule anything out anymore, you know?

[monster_san]

Ah, like the adage 'Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it'? I suppose meeting parts of history would reinforce those lessons.

Indeed, when the foundation of our stay here is arriving through a spacetime portal, we'd do best to suspend our usual sense of skepticism.

[lesterzeppelin]

Now you get it. [ he beams, ] I mean, I'm not a historian, but it's incredible just how much things stay the same.

[ he also clicks the feed to private, finally - ]

That, and when you've lived through most of history, little else surprises you.

[monster_san]

It must be like sequels upon sequels, mustn't it? What with everyone's descendants inheriting all of their bad habits and making the same mistakes.

[lesterzeppelin]

Yeah, and best-case scenario, it's like watching a bad re-run. You hope the next generation'll learn. Half the time they do, half the time they don't, or worse... they regress.