5 perlepigraphs - list of Perl release epigraphs
9 Many Perl release announcements included an I<epigraph>, a short excerpt
10 from a literary or other creative work, chosen by the pumpking or release
11 manager. This file assembles the known list of epigraph for posterity,
12 and also links to the release announcements in mailing list archives.
14 I<Note>: these have also been referred to as <epigrams>, but the
15 definition of I<epigraph> is closer to the way they have been used.
16 Consult your favorite dictionary for details.
20 =head2 v5.19.8 - Joseph Heller, Catch-22
22 L<Announced on 2014-01-20 by Ricardo Signes|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2014/01/msg211729.html>
24 “I used to get a big kick out of saving people’s lives. Now I wonder what the
25 hell’s the point, since they all have to die anyway.”
27 “Oh, there’s a point, all right,” Dunbar assured him.
29 “Is there? What is the point?”
31 “The point is to keep them from dying for as long as you can.”
33 “Yeah, but what’s the point, since they all have to die anyway?”
35 “The trick is not to think about that.”
37 “Never mind the trick. What the hell’s the point?”
39 Dunbar pondered in silence for a few moments. “Who the hell knows?”
41 =head2 v5.19.7 - Kurt Vonnegut, "Slaughterhouse-Five"
43 L<Announced on 2013-12-20 by Abigail|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2013/12/msg210882.html>
47 And somewhere in there was springtime. The corpse mines were closed
48 down. The soldiers all left to fight the Russians. In the suburbs,
49 the women and children dug rifle pits. Billy and the rest of his group
50 were locked up in the stable in the suburbs. And then, one morning,
51 they got up to discover that the door was unlocked. World War Two in
54 Billy and the rest wandered out onto the shady street. The trees were
55 leafing out. There was nothing going on out there, no traffic of any
56 kind. There was only one vehicle, an abandoned wagon drawn by two
57 horses. The wagon was green and coffin-shaped.
61 One bird said to Billy Pilgrim, "Pee-tee-weet?"
65 =head2 v5.19.6 - Monty Python's Flying Circus, "Spam"
67 L<Announced on 2013-11-20 by Chris 'BinGOs' Williams|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2013/11/msg210043.html>
71 Interior: cheap cafe. All the customers are Vikings. Mr and Mrs Bun enter downwards (on wires).
75 Mr. Bun: What have you got, then?
76 Waitress: Well there's egg and bacon; egg, sausage and bacon; egg and spam; egg, bacon and spam;
77 egg, bacon, sausage and spam; spam, bacon, sausage and spam; spam, egg, spam, spam, bacon and spam;
78 spam, spam, spam, egg and spam; spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, baked beans, spam, spam, spam and spam;
79 or lobster thermidor aux crevettes, with a mornay sauce garnished with truffle pate, brandy and a fried
81 Mrs. Bun: Have you got anything without spam in it?
82 Waitress: Well, there's spam, egg, sausage and spam. That's not got MUCH spam in it.
83 Mrs. Bun: I don't want ANY spam.
84 Mr. Bun: Why can't she have egg, bacon, spam and sausage?
85 Mrs. Bun: That's got spam in it!
86 Mr. Bun: Not as much as spam, egg, sausage and spam.
87 Mrs. Bun: Look, could I have egg, bacon, spam and sausage, without the spam.
88 Waitress: Uuuuuuggggh!
89 Mrs. Bun: What d'you mean, uugggh! I don't like spam.
90 Vikings: (singing) Spam, spam, spam, spam, spam ... spam, spam, spam, spam ... lovely spam, wonderful spam ...
92 (Brief shot of a Viking ship)
94 Waitress: Shut up. Shut up! Shut up! You can't have egg, bacon, spam and sausage without the spam.
96 Waitress: No, it wouldn't be egg, bacon, spam and sausage, would it?
97 Mrs. Bun: I don't like spam!
101 =head2 v5.19.5 - Charles Baudelaire, "The Flowers of Evil", 51. The Cat
103 L<Announced on 2013-10-20 by Steve Hay|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2013/10/msg208752.html>
109 A cat is strolling through my mind
110 Acting as though he owned the place,
111 A lovely cat -- strong, charming, sweet.
112 When he meows, one scarcely hears,
114 So tender and discreet his tone;
115 But whether he should growl or purr
116 His voice is always rich and deep.
117 That is the secret of his charm.
119 This purling voice that filters down
120 Into my darkest depths of soul
121 Fulfils me like a balanced verse,
122 Delights me as a potion would.
124 It puts to sleep the cruellest ills
125 And keeps a rein on ecstasies --
126 Without the need for any words
127 It can pronounce the longest phrase.
129 Oh no, there is no bow that draws
130 Across my heart, fine instrument,
131 And makes to sing so royally
132 The strongest and the purest chord,
134 More than your voice, mysterious cat,
135 Exotic cat, seraphic cat,
136 In whom all is, angelically,
137 As subtle as harmonious.
141 From his soft fur, golden and brown,
142 Goes out so sweet a scent, one night
143 I might have been embalmed in it
144 By giving him one little pet.
146 He is my household's guardian soul;
147 He judges, he presides, inspires
148 All matters in hos royal realm;
149 Might he be fairy? or a god?
151 When my eyes, to this cat I love
152 Drawn as by a magnet's force,
153 Turn tamely back from that appeal,
154 And when I look within myself,
156 I notice with astonishment
157 The fire of his opal eyes,
158 Clear beacons glowing, living jewels,
159 Taking my measure, steadily.
161 -- Charles Baudelaire, /The Flowers of Evil, 51. The Cat/,
166 =head2 v5.19.4 - Washington Irving, "The Widow and Her Son"
168 L<Announced on 2013-09-20 by Steve Hay|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2013/09/msg207969.html>
172 There is something in sickness that breaks down the pride of manhood;
173 that softens the heart and brings it back to the feelings of infancy.
174 Who that has languished, even in advanced life, in sickness and
175 despondency — who that has pined on a weary bed in the neglect and
176 loneliness of a foreign land — but has thought on the mother "that
177 looked on his childhood," that smoothed his pillow and administered to
178 his helplessness. — Oh! there is an enduring tenderness in the love
179 of a mother to her son that transcends all other affections of the
180 heart. It is neither to be chilled by selfishness — nor daunted by
181 danger — nor weakened by worthlessness — nor stifled by ingratitude.
182 She will sacrifice every comfort to his convenience — she will
183 surrender every pleasure to his enjoyment — she will glory in his fame
184 and exult in his prosperity. And if misfortune overtake him he will
185 be the dearer to her from misfortune — and if disgrace settle upon his
186 name, she will still love and cherish him in spite of his disgrace —
187 and if all the world beside cast him off, she will be all the world to
192 =head2 v5.19.3 - Andrew Hodges, "Alan Turing: The Enigma"
194 L<Announced on 2013-08-20 by Steve Hay|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2013/08/msg206318.html>
198 E.M. Forster, outdoing the King's heresy with grand bravura, had
199 written in 1938 that if he were faced with the choice between
200 betraying his country and betraying his friends, he hoped he would
201 have the courage to betray his country. He would always put the
202 personal above the political. But for Alan Turing, unlike Forster, or
203 Wittgenstein, or G.H. Hardy, it was more than a theoretical question.
204 For him not only had the personal become the political, but the
205 political was the personal. He had chosen and promised for himself in
206 working for the government. The choice for him therefore was that
207 between betraying one part of himself and betraying another part. And
208 however much he wavered between these alternatives, there was a solid
209 logic to the mind of security, one that could not be expected to take
210 an interest in notions of freedom and development. He had no rights
211 to such things, as he would have had to admit. He might have
212 outwitted the Home Guard, but when it came to questions that mattered,
213 there was no doubt that he had placed himself under military law.
214 There was a war on; there was always a war on now.
218 =head2 v5.19.2 - Fred Brooks, "The Mythical Man-Month"
220 L<Announced on 2013-07-22 by Aristotle Pagaltzis|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2013/07/msg204905.html>
224 The magic of myth and legend has come true in our time. One types the
225 correct incantation on a keyboard, and a display screen comes to life,
226 showing things that never were nor could be. [...] Not all is delight,
227 however [...] One must perform perfectly. The computer resembles the
228 magic of legend in this respect, too. If one character, one pause, of
229 the incantation is not strictly in proper form, the magic doesn't work.
233 =head2 v5.19.1 - William Shakespeare, "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
235 L<Announced on 2013-06-21 by David Golden|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2013/06/msg203449.html>
237 Over hill, over dale,
238 Thorough bush, thorough briar,
239 Over park, over pale,
240 Thorough flood, thorough fire,
241 I do wander everywhere,
242 Swifter than the moon's sphere;
243 And I serve the fairy queen,
244 To dew her orbs upon the green.
245 The cowslips tall her pensioners be;
246 In their gold coats, spots you see;
247 Those be rubies, fairy favours,
248 In their freckles live our savours.
249 I must go seek some dew-drops here,
250 And hang a perl in every cowslip's ear.
251 Farewell, thou lob of spirits, I'll be gone;
252 My queen and all her elves come here anon!
254 =head2 v5.19.0 - Batman, of the Joker, in "The Dark Knight Returns"
256 L<Announced on 2013-05-20 by Ricardo Signes|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2013/05/msg201980.html>
258 From the beginning, I knew…
259 …that there was nothing wrong with you…
263 =head2 v5.18.2 - Miss Manners
265 L<Announced on 2014-01-06 by Ricardo Signes|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2014/01/msg211224.html>
267 One of the major mistakes people make is that they think manners are
268 only the expression of happy ideas. There's a whole range of behavior
269 that can be expressed in a mannerly way. That's what civilization is all
270 about – doing it in a mannerly and not an antagonistic way. One of the
271 places we went wrong was the naturalistic Rousseauean movement of the
272 Sixties in which people said, "Why can't you just say what's on your
273 mind?" In civilization there have to be some restraints. If we followed
274 every impulse, we'd be killing one another.
276 =head2 v5.18.1 - Chuck Moore
278 L<Announced on 2013-08-12 by Ricardo Signes|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2013/08/msg205897.html>
280 The operating system is another concept that is curious. Operating
281 systems are dauntingly complex and totally unnecessary. It’s a brilliant
282 thing that Bill Gates has done in selling the world on the notion of
283 operating systems. It’s probably the greatest con game the world has
286 An operating system does absolutely nothing for you. As long as you had
287 something — a subroutine called disk driver, a subroutine called some
288 kind of communication support, in the modern world, it doesn’t do
289 anything else. In fact, Windows spends a lot of time with overlays and
290 disk management all stuff like that which are irrelevant. You’ve got
291 gigabyte disks; you’ve got megabyte RAMs. The world has changed in a way
292 that renders the operating system unnecessary.
294 =head2 v5.18.1-RC1 - Chuck Moore
296 L<Announced on 2013-08-02 by Ricardo Signes|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2013/08/msg205445.html>
298 Compilers are probably the worst code ever written. They are written by
299 someone who has never written a compiler before and will never do so
300 again. The more elaborate the language, the more complex, bug-ridden,
301 and unusable is the compiler. But a simple compiler for a simple
302 language is an essential tool—if only for documentation.
304 =head2 v5.18.0 - Yevgeny Zamyatin
306 L<Announced on 2013-05-18 by Ricardo Signes|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2013/05/msg201940.html>
308 It is an error to divide people into the living and the dead: there are people
309 who are dead-alive, and people who are alive-alive. The dead-alive also write,
310 walk, speak, act. But they make no mistakes; only machines make no mistakes,
311 and they produce only dead things. The alive-alive are constantly in error, in
312 search, in questions, in torment.
314 =head2 v5.18.0-RC4 - Joseph Heller, Catch-22
316 L<Announced on 2013-04-16 by Ricardo Signes|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2013/05/msg201889.html>
318 Clevinger was dead. That was the basic flaw in his philosophy.
320 =head2 v5.18.0-RC3 - Tom Waits, "The Ocean Doesn't Want Me"
322 L<Announced on 2013-04-14 by Ricardo Signes|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2013/05/msg201823.html>
324 I'd love to go drowning
325 And to stay and to stay
326 But the ocean doesn't want me today
327 I'll go in up to here
328 It can't possibly hurt
329 All they will find is my beer
332 =head2 v5.18.0-RC2 - Tom Waits, "Earth Died Screaming"
334 L<Announced on 2013-05-12 by Ricardo Signes|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2013/05/msg201723.html>
336 And the great day of wrath has come
337 And here's mud in your big red eye
338 The poker's in the fire
339 And the locusts take the sky
340 And the earth died screaming
341 While I lay dreaming of you
343 =head2 v5.18.0-RC1 - Tom Waits, "What's He Building in There?"
345 L<Announced on 2013-05-11 by Ricardo Signes|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2013/05/msg201651.html>
347 What's he building in there?
349 We have a right to know…
351 =head2 v5.17.11 - Nigel Tufnel, This is Spın̈al Tap
353 L<Announced on 2013-04-20 by Ricardo Signes|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2013/04/msg201056.html>
355 It's very special because, if you can see, the numbers all go to…
356 eleven! Look, right across the board: eleven, eleven, eleven, eleven!
358 =head2 v5.17.10 - Vernor Vinge, A Fire Upon The Deep
360 L<Announced on 2013-03-22 by Max Maischein|http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing-lists/perl5-porters/2013-03/msg00908.html>
362 The archive informed the automation. Data structures were built, recipes
363 followed. A local network was built, faster than anything on Straum, but surely
364 safe. Nodes were added, modified by other recipes. The archive was a friendly
365 place, with hierarchies of translation keys that led them along. Straum itself
366 would be famous for this.
368 Six months passed. A year.
370 The omniscient view. Not self-aware really. Self-awareness is much over-rated.
371 Most automation works far better as a part of a whole, and even if human-
372 powerful, it does not need to self-know.
374 =head2 v5.16.3 - Devo, Freedom of Choice
376 L<Announced on 2013-03-11 by Ricardo Signes|http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing-lists/perl5-porters/2013-03/msg00414.html>
378 A victim of collision on the open sea
379 Nobody ever said that life was free
380 Sink, swim, go down with the ship
381 But use your freedom of choice
383 =head2 v5.14.4 - Arthur C. Clarke, The Nine Billion Names of God
385 L<Announced on 2013-03-11 by Dave Mitchell|http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing-lists/perl5-porters/2013-03/msg00393.html>
387 He began to sing, but gave it up after a while. This vast arena of
388 mountains, gleaming like whitely hooded ghosts on every side, did not
389 encourage such ebullience. Presently George glanced at his watch.
391 'Should be there in an hour,' he called back over his shoulder to
392 Chuck. Then he added, in an afterthought: 'Wonder if the computer's
393 finished its run. It was due about now.'
395 Chuck didn't reply, so George swung round in his saddle. He could just
396 see Chuck's face, a white oval turned towards the sky.
398 'Look,' whispered Chuck, and George lifted his eyes to heaven. (There
399 is always a last time for everything.)
401 Overhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out.
404 =head2 v5.17.9 - Douglas Adams, The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy
406 L<Announced on 2013-02-20 by Chris 'BinGOs' Williams|http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing-lists/perl5-porters/2013-02/msg01146.html>
408 Vogon poetry is of course, the third worst in the universe.
409 The second worst is that of the Azgoths of Kria. During a
410 recitation by their poet master Grunthos the Flatulent of
411 his poem 'Ode To A Small Lump of Green Putty I Found In My
412 Armpit One Midsummer Morning' four of his audience died
413 of internal haemorrhaging and the president of the
414 Mid-Galactic Arts Nobbling Council survived by gnawing one
415 of his own legs off. Grunthos is reported to have been
416 'disappointed' by the poem's reception, and was about to
417 embark on a reading of his twelve-book epic entitled
418 'My Favourite Bathtime Gurgles' when his own major intestine,
419 in a desperate attempt to save life and civilisation,
420 leapt straight up through his neck and throttled his brain.
422 The very worst poetry of all perished along with its creator
423 Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings of Greenbridge, Essex, England,
424 in the destruction of the planet Earth.
426 =head2 v5.17.8 - Iain Pears, An Instance of the Fingerpost
428 L<Announced on 2013-01-20 by Aaron Crane|http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing-lists/perl5-porters/2013-01/msg00518.html>
430 I must here declare myself as someone who does not for a moment subscribe to
431 the general view that a willingness to perform oneself is detrimental to the
432 dignity of experimental philosophy. There is, after all, a clear distinction
433 between labour carried out for financial reward, and that done for the
434 improvement of mankind: to put it another way, Lower as a philosopher was
435 fully my equal even if he fell away when he became the practising physician.
436 I think ridiculous of certain professors of anatomy, who find it beneath
437 them to pick up the knife themselves, but merely comment while hired hands
438 do the cutting. Sylvius would never have dreamt of sitting on a dais reading
439 from an authority while others cut — when he taught, the knife was
440 in his hand and the blood spattered his coat. Boyle also did not scruple to
441 perform his own experiments and, on one occasion in my presence, even showed
442 himself willing to anatomise a rat with his very own hands. Nor was he less
443 a gentleman when he had finished. Indeed, in my opinion, his stature was all
444 the greater, for in Boyle wealth, humility and curiosity mingled, and the
445 world is richer for it.
447 =head2 v5.17.7 - R. Scott Bakker, The Darkness That Comes Before
449 L<Announced on 2012-12-18 by Dave Rolsky|http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing-lists/perl5-porters/2012-12/msg00679.html>
452 The boy extinguished. Only a place.
454 Motionless, the Pragma sat facing him, the bare soles of his feet flat against each other, his dark frock scored by the shadows of deep folds, his eyes as empty as the child they watched.
455 A place without breath or sound. A place of sight alone. A place without before or after . . . almost.
456 For the first lances of sunlight careered over the glacier, as ponderous as great tree limbs in the wind. Shadows hardened and light gleamed across the Pragma’s ancient skull.
457 The old man’s left hand forsook his right sleeve, bearing a watery knife. And like a rope in water, his arm pitched outward, fingertips trailing across the blade as the knife swung languidly into the air, the sun skating and the dark shrine plunging across its mirror back . . .
458 And the place where Kellhus had once existed extended an open hand—the blond hairs like luminous filaments against tanned skin—and grasped the knife from stunned space.
459 The slap of pommel against palm triggered the collapse of place into little boy. The pale stench of his body. Breath, sound, and lurching thoughts.
460 I have been legion . . .
461 In his periphery, he could see the spike of the sun ease from the mountain. He felt drunk with exhaustion. In the recoil of his trance, it seemed all he could hear were the twigs arching and bobbing in the wind, pulled by leaves like a million sails no bigger than his hand. Cause everywhere, but amid countless minute happenings—diffuse, useless.
464 =head2 v5.17.6 - Kurt Vonnegut, The Sirens of Titan
466 L<Announced on 2012-11-20 by Ricardo Signes|http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing-lists/perl5-porters/2012-11/msg00760.html>
468 Beatrice, looking like a gypsy queen, smoldered at the foot of a statue
469 of a young physical student. At first glance, the laboratory-gowned
470 scientist seemed to be a perfect servant of nothing but truth. At first
471 glance, one was convinced that nothing but truth could please him as he
472 beamed at his test tube. At first glance, one thought that he was as
473 much above the beastly concerns of mankind as the harmoniums in the
474 caves of Mercury. There, at first glance, was a young man without
475 vanity, without lust — and one accepted at its face value the title Salo
476 had engraved on the statue, "Discovery of Atomic Power."
478 =head2 v5.12.5 - William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure
480 Announced on 2012-11-10 by Dominic Hargreaves
482 Music oft hath such a charm
483 To make bad good, and good provoke to harm.
485 =head2 v5.16.2 - Stanislaw Lem, The Cyberiad, Trurl's Machine
487 L<Announced on 2012-11-01 by Ricardo Signes|http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing-lists/perl5-porters/2012-11/msg00017.html>
489 Once upon a time Trurl the constructor built an eight-story thinking
490 machine. When it was finished, he gave it a coat of white paint,
491 trimmed the edges in lavender, stepped back, squinted, then added a
492 little curlicue on the front and, where one might imagine the forehead
493 to be, a few pale orange polkadots. Extremely pleased with himself,
494 he whistled an air and, as is always done on such occasions, asked it
495 the ritual question of how much is two plus two.
497 The machine stirred. Its tubes began to glow, its coils warmed up,
498 current coursed through all its circuits like a waterfall,
499 transformers hummed and throbbed, there was a clanging, and a
500 chugging, and such an ungodly racket that Trurl began to think of
501 adding a special mentation muffler. Meanwhile the machine labored on,
502 as if it had been given the most difficult problem in the Universe to
503 solve; the ground shook, the sand slid underfoot from the vibration,
504 valves popped like champagne corks, the relays nearly gave way under
505 the strain. At last, when Trurl had grown extremely impatient, the
506 machine ground to a halt and said in a voice like thunder: SEVEN!
508 =head2 v5.17.5 - Charles Stross, "Singularity Sky"
510 L<Announced on 2012-10-20 by Florian Ragwitz|http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing-lists/perl5-porters/2012-10/msg01007.html>
512 Neither of them noticed the pair of polka-dotted knickers hiding
513 behind the ventilation duct overhead, listening patiently and
514 recording everything.
516 =head2 v5.17.4 - Roald Dahl, "Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf"
518 L<Announced on 2012-09-20 by Florian Ragwitz|http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing-lists/perl5-porters/2012-09/msg01226.html>
520 The small girl smiles. One eyelid flickers.
521 She whips a pistol from her knickers.
522 She aims it at the creature's head,
523 And bang bang bang, she shoots him dead.
525 A few weeks later, in the wood,
526 I came across Miss Riding Hood.
527 But what a change! No cloak of red,
528 No silly hood upon her head.
529 She said, "Hello, and do please note
530 My lovely furry wolfskin coat."
532 =head2 v5.17.3 - Kris Ta-belle, "Smoked Perl Onion Soup"
534 L<Announced on 2012-08-20 by Steve Hay|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2012/08/msg190775.html>
538 Cut 16 Perl Onions into quarters and put them in a grill smoker rack
539 or a perforated pan over a BBQ using hickory wood chips or Special
540 Blend Smoker Bisquettes. Smoke them for an hour and remove once they
542 Let them cool and put them in the fridge (or freezer) until you are
543 ready to create the soup.
547 16 diced, pre-smoked, Perl Onions
550 2 small garlic cloves, finely minced
553 black pepper to taste
555 1/4 cup all purpose flour
556 6 cups of beef or vegetable stock
557 1 cup of thick cream (milk can be used as a substitute)
561 Melt the butter in a pan and then add olive oil.
562 Heat and add the onions to caramelize over a medium-high heat for up
564 Add the garlic, turn down the heat and cook for a further 5 minutes.
565 Add the salt, pepper and sugar.
566 Now add the red wine and reduce to a jam like consistency.
567 Add the flour, stir well and add the stock a cup at a time.
568 Simmer for 30 minutes, add the cream and heat to almost boiling.
572 =head2 v5.17.2 - Terry Pratchet, "The Colour of Magic"
574 L<Announced on 2012-07-21 by TonyC|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2012/07/msg189828.html>
576 ‘I knew it,’ said Rincewind. ‘We're in a strong magical field.’
578 Twoflower and Hrun looked around the little hollow where they had made
579 their noonday halt. Then they looked at each other.
581 The horses were quietly cropping the rich grass by the stream. Yellow
582 butterflies skittered among the bushes. There was a smell of thyme
583 and a buzzing of bees. The wild pigs on the spit sizzled gently.
585 Hrun shrugged and went back to oiling his biceps. They gleamed.
587 ‘Looks alright to me,’ he said.
589 ‘Try tossing a coin,’ said Rincewind.
593 ‘Go on. Toss a coin.’
595 ‘Hokay,’ said Hrun. 'If that gives you any pleasure.’ He reached into
596 his pouch and withdrew a handful of loose change plundered from a
597 dozen realms. With some care he selected a Zchloty leaden
598 quarter-iotum and balanced it on a purple thumbnail.
600 ‘You call,’ he said. ‘Heads or—’ he inspected the obverse with
601 an air of intense concentration, ‘some sort of a fish with legs.’
603 ‘When it's in the air,’ said Rincewind. Hrun grinned and flicked his thumb.
605 The iotum rose, spinning.
607 ‘Edge,’ said Rincewind, without looking at it.
609 =head2 v5.17.1 - Rand Miller, "Myst: The Book of Ti'ana"
611 L<Announced on 2012-06-20 by doy|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2012/06/msg188354.html>
613 On their return from Ko'ah, Aitrus had shown her the Book, patiently
614 taking her through page after page, and showing her how such an Age was
615 "made." She had seen at once the differences between this archaic form
616 and the ordinary written speech of the D'ni, noting how it was not
617 merely more elaborate but more specific: a language of precise yet
618 subtle descriptive power. Yet seeing was one thing, believing another.
619 Given all the evidence, her rational mind still fought against accepting
622 =head2 v5.17.0 - Charles Stross, "Singularity Sky"
624 L<Announced on 2012-05-26 by Zefram|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2012/05/msg187214.html>
626 `Welcome, comrades!' Burya opened his arms toward the soldier.
627 `Yes it is true! With help from our allies of the Festival, the iron
628 hand of the reactionary junta is about to be overthrown for all time!
629 The new economy is being born; the marginal cost of production has
630 been abolished, and from now on, if any item is produced once, it can
631 be replicated infinitely. From each according to his imagination,
632 to each according to his needs! Join us or better still, bring your
633 fellow soldiers and workers to join us!'
635 There was a sharp bang from the roof of the Corn Exchange, right at the
636 climax of his impromptu speech; heads turned in alarm. Something had
637 broken inside the spork factory and a stream of rainbow-hued plastic
638 implements fountained toward the sky and clattered to the cobblestones
639 on every side, like a harbinger of the postindustrial society to come.
640 Workers and peasants alike stared in open-mouthed bewilderment at this
641 astounding display of productivity, then bent to scrabble in the muck
642 for the brightly colored sporks of revolution. A volley of shots rang
643 out and Burya Rubenstein raised his hands, grinning wildly, to accept
644 the salute of the soldiers from the Skull Hill garrison.
646 =head2 v5.16.1 - Emerald Rose - Never Split The Party
648 L<Announced on 2012-08-08 by Ricardo
649 Signes|http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing-lists/perl5-porters/2012-08/msg00307.html>
651 Don't you know? You never split the party
652 Clerics in the back to keep those fighters hale and hearty
653 The wizard in the middle, where he can shed some light
654 And you never let that damn thief out of sight…
656 -- Emerald Rose, Never Split The Party
658 =head2 v5.16.1 RC1 - Tom Moldvay - Dungeons & Dragons
660 L<Announced on 2012-08-03 by Ricardo
661 Signes|http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing-lists/perl5-porters/2012-08/msg00157.html>
663 I was busy rescuing the captured maiden when the dragon showed up.
664 Fifty feed of scaled terror glared down at us with smoldering red eyes.
665 Tendrils of smoke drifted out from between fangs larger than daggers.
666 The dragon blocked the only exit from the cave.
670 I unwrapped the sword which the mysterious cleric had given me. The
671 sword was golden-tinted steel. Its hilt was set with a rainbow
672 collection of precious gems. I shouted my battle cry and charged
674 My charge caught the dragon by surprise. Its titanic jaws snapped shut
675 inches from my face. I swung the golden sword with both arms. The
676 swordblade bit into the dragon's neck and continued through to the other
677 side. With an earth-shaking crash, the dragon dropped dead at my feet.
678 The magic sword had saved my life and ended the reign of the
679 dragon-tyrant. The countryside was freed and I could return as a hero.
681 -- Tom Moldvay, Foreward to the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Rulebook
683 =head2 v5.16.0 - W.H. Auden - September 1, 1939
685 L<Announced on 2012-05-20 by Ricardo
686 Signes|http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing-lists/perl5-porters/2012-05/msg00728.html>
688 All I have is a voice
689 To undo the folded lie,
690 The romantic lie in the brain
691 Of the sensual man-in-the-street
692 And the lie of Authority
693 Whose buildings grope the sky:
694 There is no such thing as the State
695 And no one exists alone;
696 Hunger allows no choice
697 To the citizen or the police;
698 We must love one another or die.
700 -- W.H. Auden, September 1, 1939
702 =head2 v5.15.9 - Bob Dylan - Blowin' In The Wind
704 L<Announced on 2012-03-20 by
705 Abigail|http://nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/184824>
707 How many roads must a man walk down
708 Before you call him a man?
709 Yes, 'n' how many seas must a white dove sail
710 Before she sleeps in the sand?
711 Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannonballs fly
712 Before they're forever banned?
713 The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
714 The answer is blowin' in the wind
716 How many years can a mountain exist
717 Before it's washed to the sea?
718 Yes, 'n' how many years can some people exist
719 Before they're allowed to be free?
720 Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head
721 Pretending he just doesn't see?
722 The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
723 The answer is blowin' in the wind
725 How many times must a man look up
726 Before he can see the sky?
727 Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man have
728 Before he can hear people cry?
729 Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows
730 That too many people have died?
731 The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
732 The answer is blowin' in the wind
734 -- Bob Dylan, Spring 1962
736 =head2 v5.15.8 - The KLF - The Manual-How To Have A Number One The Easy Way
738 L<Announced on 2012-02-20 by Max
739 Maischein|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2012/02/msg183919.html>
741 "Doctor Who, hey Doctor Who
742 Doctor Who, in the Tardis
743 Doctor Who, hey Doctor Who
744 Doctor Who, Doc, Doctor Who
745 Doctor Who, Doc, Doctor Who"
747 Gibberish of course, but every lad in the country under a certain
748 age related instinctively to what it was about. The ones slightly
749 older needed a couple of pints inside them to clear away the mind
750 debris left by the passing years before it made sense. As for
751 girls and our chorus, we think they must have seen it as pure crap.
752 A fact that must have limited to zero our chances of staying at The
753 Top for more than one week.
755 Stock, Aitkin and Waterman, however, are kings of writing chorus
756 lyrics that go straight to the emotional heart of the 7" single
757 buying girls in this country. Their most successful records will kick
758 into the chorus with a line which encapsulates the entire emotional
759 meaning of the song. This will obviously be used as the title. As
760 soon as Rick Astley hit the first line of the chorus on his debut
761 single it was all over - the Number One position was guaranteed:
763 "I'm never going to give you up"
765 =head2 v5.15.7 - Penelope Lively, The Voyage of QV66
767 L<Announced on 2012-01-20 by Chris 'BinGOs' Williams
768 |http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2012/01/msg182230.html>
770 "Laboratories," announced Henry. "Kindly don't touch anything."
772 He led us into a long low brick shed. Outside there was a
773 notice on a piece of board, crudely printed in red paint,
774 which said GRATE SIENCE DISCOVERYS DONE HERE SSSH! BRING YOUR
775 OWN BUKKIT NO PINCHING ANYWUN ELSE'S EXPERRYMENTS CANTEEN OPEN
778 There were a lot of large black monkeys inside, all intently
779 busy on what they were doing. Some of them were pouring stuff
780 out of bottles into buckets and carefully stirring the ensuing
781 mixture; others were at work with glass tubes and jars, blowing
782 and measuring and mixing; others were crouched over long benches
783 with tools and heaps of bits and pieces of metal, cutting and
784 bending and constructing. There was a great deal of noise and
785 chatter. Every now and then one of them would give a whoop of
786 excitement and all the others would gather round and jump up and
787 down cheering and applauding.
789 "Chimps," said Henry. "They're awfully clever."
791 =head2 v5.15.6 - Ursula K. Leguin, A Wizard of Earthsea
793 L<Announced on 2011-12-20 by Dave
794 Rolsky|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2011/12/msg180962.html>
796 Ged had thought that as the prentice of a great mage he would enter at once
797 into the mystery and mastery of power. He would understand the language of the
798 beasts and the speech of the leaves of the forest, he thought, and sway the
799 winds with his word, and learn to change himself into any shape he
800 wished. Maybe he and his master would run together as stags, or fly to Re Albi
801 over the mountain on the wings of eagles.
803 But it was not so at all. They wandered, first down into the Vale and then
804 gradually south and westward around the mountain, given lodging in little
805 villages or spending the night out in the wilderness, like poor
806 journeyman-sorcerers, or tinkers, or beggars. They entered no mysterious
807 domain. Nothing happened. The mage's oaken staff that Ged had watched at first
808 with eager dread was nothing but a stout staff to walk with. Three days went
809 by and four days went by and still Ogion had not spoken a single charm in
810 Ged's hearing, and had not taught him a single name or rune or spell.
812 =head2 v5.15.5 - Nikolai Gogol, The Diary of a Madman
814 L<Announced on 2011-11-20 by Steve
815 Hay|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2011/11/msg179588.html>
817 This day - is a day of the greatest solemnity! Spain has a king. He has
818 been found. I am that king. Only this very day did I learn of it. I
819 confess, it came to me suddenly in a flash of lightning. I don't understand
820 how I could have thought and imagined that I was a titular councillor. How
821 could such a wild notion enter my head? It's a good thing no one thought of
822 putting me in an insane asylum. Now everything is laid open before me. Now
823 I see everything as on the palm of my hand. And before, I don't understand,
824 before everything around me was in some sort of fog. And all this happens, I
825 think, because people imagine that the human brain is in the head. Not at
826 all: it is brought by a wind from the direction of the Caspian Sea. First
827 off, I announced to Mavra who I am. When she heard that the king of Spain
828 was standing before her, she clasped her hands and nearly died of fright.
829 The stupid woman had never seen a king of Spain before. However, I
830 endeavoured to calm her down and assured her in gracious words of my
831 benevolence and that I was not at all angry that she sometimes polished my
832 boots poorly. They're benighted folk. It's impossible to tell them about
833 lofty matters. She got frightened because she's convinced that all kings of
834 Spain are like Philip II. But I explained to her that there was no
835 resemblance between me and Philip II, and that I didn't have a single
836 Capuchin . . . I didn't go to the office . . . To hell with it! No friends,
837 you won't lure me there now; I'm not going to copy your vile papers!
839 -- Nikolai Gogol, The Diary of a Madman,
840 trans. Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky
842 =head2 v5.15.4 - Steve Jobs
844 L<Announced on 2011-10-20 by Florian
845 Ragwitz|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2011/10/msg178412.html>
847 A lot of people in our industry haven't had very diverse experiences. So they
848 don't have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions
849 without a broad perspective on the problem. The broader one's understanding of
850 the human experience, the better design we will have.
852 =head2 v5.14.3 - William Shakespeare, As You Like It
854 L<Announced on 2012-10-12 by Dominic Hargreaves|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2012/10/msg194057.html>
856 The poor world is almost six thousand years old, and in all
857 this time there was not any man died in his own person,
858 videlicit, in a love-cause. Troilus had his brains dashed
859 out with a Grecian club; yet he did what he could to die
860 before, and he is one of the patterns of love. Leander, he
861 would have lived many a fair year, though Hero had turned
862 nun, if it had not been for a hot midsummer night; for, good
863 youth, he went but forth to wash him in the Hellespont and
864 being taken with the cramp was drowned and the foolish
865 coroners of that age found it was 'Hero of Sestos.' But these
866 are all lies: men have died from time to time and worms have
867 eaten them, but not for love.
869 -- As You Like It, William Shakespeare
871 =head2 v5.14.2 - L<< Larry Wall, January 12, 1988 <992@devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV> |http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sources.d/msg/5d17fa68c250b9b2 >>
873 L<Announced on 2011-09-26 by Florian
874 Ragwitz|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2011/09/msg177618.html>
877 It's not so much that people don't value the programs after they have them--they
878 do value them. But they're not the sort of thing that would ever catch on if
879 they had to overcome the marketing barrier. (I don't yet know if perl will
880 catch on at all--I'm worried enough about it that I specifically included an
881 awk-to-perl translator just to help it catch on.) Maybe it's all just an
882 inferiority complex. Or maybe I don't like to be mercenary.
884 So I guess I'd say that the reason some software comes free is that the
885 mechanism for selling it is missing, either from the work environment, or from
886 the heart of the programmer.
889 =head2 v5.15.3 - Oscar Wilde, All Art is Quite Useless
891 L<Announced on 2011-09-20 by Stevan
892 Little|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2011/09/msg177427.html>
894 All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath
895 the surface do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol
896 do so at their peril.
898 It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors.
899 Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the
900 work is new, complex, and vital. When critics disagree, the
901 artist is in accord with himself.
903 We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as
904 he does not admire it. The only excuse for making a useless
905 thing is that one admires it intensely.
907 All art is quite useless.
909 -- Oscar Wilde, From the preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray
912 =head2 v5.15.2 - Rainer Maria Rilke, The Third Duina Elegy
914 L<Announced on 2011-08-20 by Ricardo
915 Signes|http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing-lists/perl5-porters/2011-08/msg00694.html>
917 True, it is strange to live no more on earth,
918 no longer follow the folkways scarecely learned;
919 not to give roses and other especially auspicious
920 things the significance of a human future;
921 to be no more what one was in infinitely anxious hands,
922 and to put aside even one's name, like a broken plaything.
923 Strange, to wish wishes no longer. Strange, to see
924 all that was related fluttering so loosely in space.
925 And being dead is hard, full of catching-up,
926 so that finally one feels a little eternity.–
927 But the living all make the mistake of too sharp discrimination.
928 Often angels (it's said) don't know if they move
929 among the quick or the dead. The eternal current
930 hurtles all ages along with it forever
931 through both realms and drowns their voices in both.
933 -- Rainer Maria Rilke, Duino, The First Elegy
934 trans., C. F. MacIntyre
936 =head2 v5.15.1 - Greg Egan, "Permutation City"
938 L<Announced on 2011-07-20 by Zefram|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2011/07/msg175014.html>
940 Carter held out a hand towards the middle of the room. `See that
941 fountain?' A ten-metre-wide marble wedding cake, topped with a
942 winged cherub wrestling a serpent, duly appeared. Water cascaded
943 down from a gushing wound in the cherub's neck. Carter said, `It's
944 being computed by redundancies in the sketch of the city. I can
945 extract the results, because I know exactly where to look for them --
946 but nobody else would have a hope in hell of picking them out.'
948 Peer walked up to the fountain. Even as he approached, he noticed
949 that the spray was intangible; when he dipped his hand in the water
950 around the base he felt nothing, and the motion he made with his
951 fingers left the foaming surface unchanged. They were spying on
952 the calculations, not interacting with them; the fountain was a
955 Carter said, `In your case, of course, nobody will need to know
956 the results. Except you -- and you'll know them because you'll
959 =head2 v5.15.0 - Neil Gaiman, "The Graveyard Book"
961 L<Announced on 2011-06-20 by David Golden|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2011/06/msg173748.html>
963 If you dare nothing, then when the day is over, nothing is all
964 you will have gained.
966 =head2 v5.12.4 - William Schwenck Gilbert, "Trial By Jury"
968 L<Announced on 2011-06-20 by Leon Brocard|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2011/06/msg173725.html>
970 You cannot eat breakfast all day,
971 Nor is it the act of a sinner,
972 When breakfast is taken away,
973 To turn his attention to dinner;
974 And it's not in the range of belief,
975 To look upon him as a glutton,
976 Who, when he is tired of beef,
977 Determines to tackle the mutton.
978 Ah! But this I am willing to say,
979 If it will appease her sorrow,
980 I'll marry this lady today,
981 And I'll marry the other tomorrow!
983 =head2 v5.14.1 - L<< Larry Wall, January 12, 1988 <992@devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV> |http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sources.d/msg/5d17fa68c250b9b2 >>
985 L<Announced on 2011-06-16 by Jesse Vincent|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2011/06/msg173650.html>
987 At this point I'm no longer working for a company that makes me sign
988 my life away, but by now I'm in the habit. Besides, I still harbor
989 the deep-down suspicion that nobody would pay money for what I write,
990 since most of it just helps you do something better that you could
991 already do some other way. How much money would you personally pay
992 to upgrade from readnews to rn? How much money would you pay for
993 the patch program? As for warp, it's a mere game. And anything you
994 can do with perl you can eventually do with an amazing and totally
995 unreadable conglomeration of awk, sed, sh and C.
997 =head2 v5.12.4-RC2 - James Russell Lowell, "Eleanor makes macaroons"
999 L<Announced on 2011-06-15 by Leon Brocard|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2011/06/msg173609.html>
1001 Now for sugar, -- nay, our plan
1002 Tolerates no work of man.
1003 Hurry, then, ye golden bees;
1004 Fetch your clearest honey, please,
1005 Garnered on a Yorkshire moor,
1006 While the last larks sing and soar,
1007 From the heather-blossoms sweet
1008 Where sea-breeze and sunshine meet,
1009 And the Augusts mask as Junes, --
1010 Eleanor makes macaroons!
1012 =head2 v5.12.4-RC1 - Ogden Nash, "The Clean Plater"
1014 L<Announced on 2011-06-08 by Leon Brocard|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2011/06/msg173352.html>
1016 Pheasant is pleasant, of course,
1017 And terrapin, too, is tasty,
1018 Lobster I freely endorse,
1019 In pate or patty or pasty.
1020 But there's nothing the matter with butter,
1021 And nothing the matter with jam,
1022 And the warmest greetings I utter
1023 To the ham and the yam and the clam.
1026 And I think very fondly of food.
1027 Through I'm broody at times
1028 When bothered by rhymes,
1032 =head2 v5.14.0 - L<< Larry Wall, January 12, 1988 <992@devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV> |http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sources.d/msg/5d17fa68c250b9b2 >>
1034 L<Announced on 2011-05-14 by Jesse Vincent|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2011/05/msg172326.html>
1036 At the start of any project, I'm programming primarily to please
1037 myself. (The two chief virtues in a programmer are laziness and
1038 impatience.) After a while somebody looks over my shoulder and says,
1039 "That's neat. It'd be neater if it did such-and-so." So the thing
1040 gets neater. Pretty soon (a year or two) I have an rn, a warp, a patch,
1041 or a perl. One of these years I'll have a metaconfig.
1043 I then say to myself, "I don't want my life's work to die when this
1044 computer is scrapped, so I should let some other people use this. If I
1045 ask my company to sell this, it'll never see the light of day, and nobody
1046 would pay much for it anyway. If I sell it myself, I'll be in trouble with
1047 my company, to whom I signed my life away when I was hired. If I give it
1048 away, I can pretend it was worthless in the first place, so my company
1049 won't care. In any event, it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission."
1051 So a freely distributable program is born.
1053 =head2 v5.14.0-RC3 - American Airlines Gate Agent, last call
1055 L<Announced on 2011-05-11 by Jesse Vincent|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2011/05/msg172282.html>
1057 This is the last call for flight 1697 with service to Chicago and
1058 continuing service to San Francisco. All passengers should already be
1059 aboard. If you aren't aboard at this time, you will be denied boarding
1060 and your bags will be offloaded.
1062 =head2 v5.14.0-RC2 - Greg Grandin, Fordlandia, "the Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City"
1064 L<Announced on 2011-05-04 by Jesse Vincent|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2011/05/msg171879.html>
1066 Over the course of nearly two decades, Ford would spend tens of millions
1067 of dollars founding not one but, after the plantation was defastated
1068 by leaf blight, two American towns, complete with central squares,
1069 sidewalks, indoor plumbing, hospitals, manicured lawns, movie theaters,
1070 swimming pools, golf courses, and, of course, Model Ts and As rolling
1071 down their paved streets.
1073 Back in America, newspapers kept up their drumbeat celebration, only
1074 obliquely referencing reports that things were not progressing as the
1075 company had hoped. But there was one note of skepticism. In late 1928,
1076 the Washington Post ran an editorial that read in its entirety: "Ford will
1077 govern a rubber plantation in Brazil larger than North Carolina. This is
1078 the first time he has applied quantity production methods to trouble"
1080 =head2 v5.14.0-RC1 - Bill Bryson, "In a Sunburned Country"
1082 L<Announced on 2011-04-20 by Jesse Vincent|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2011/04/msg171253.html>
1084 But then Australia is such a difficult country to keep track of. On
1085 my first visit, some years ago, I passed the time on the long flight
1086 reading a history of Australian politics in the twentieth century,
1087 wherein I encountered the startling fact that in 1967 the prime minister,
1088 Harold Holt, was strolling along a beach in Victoria when he plunged into
1089 the surf and vanished. No trace of the poor man was ever seen again.
1090 This seemed doubly astounding to me—first that Australia could
1091 just I<lose> a prime minister (I mean, come on) and second that news of
1092 this had never reached me.
1094 =head2 v5.13.11 - Walt Whitman, L<Leaves of Grass|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaves_of_Grass>
1096 L<Announced on 2011-02-20 by Florian Ragwitz|http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing-lists/perl5-porters/2011-03/msg00560.html>
1098 When the full-grown poet came,
1099 Out spake pleased Nature (the round impassive globe, with all its
1100 shows of day and night,) saying, He is mine;
1101 But out spake too the Soul of man, proud, jealous and unreconciled,
1102 Nay he is mine alone;
1103 --Then the full-grown poet stood between the two, and took each
1105 And to-day and ever so stands, as blender, uniter, tightly
1107 Which he will never release until he reconciles the two,
1108 And wholly and joyously blends them.
1110 =head2 v5.13.10 - Egill Skalla-Grímsson, L<Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar|http://www.heimskringla.no/wiki/Egils_saga_Skalla-Gr%C3%ADmssonar>
1112 L<Announced on 2011-02-20 by Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2011/02/msg169340.html>
1114 Skalat maðr rúnar rísta,
1115 nema ráða vel kunni.
1116 Þat verðr mörgum manni,
1117 es of myrkvan staf villisk.
1119 tíu launstafi ristna.
1120 Þat hefr lauka lindi
1121 langs ofrtrega fengit.
1123 =head2 v5.13.9 - John F Kennedy, L<Inaugural Address January 20, 1961|http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy%27s_Inaugural_Address>
1125 L<Announced on 2011-01-20 by Jesse Vincent|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2011/01/msg168335.html>
1127 In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been
1128 granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I
1129 do not shrink from this responsibility -- I welcome it. I do not believe
1130 that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other
1131 generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this
1132 endeavor will light our country and all who serve it. And the glow from
1133 that fire can truly light the world.
1135 And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you;
1136 ask what you can do for your country.
1138 My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you,
1139 but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
1141 Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world,
1142 ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which
1143 we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history
1144 the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love,
1145 asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's
1146 work must truly be our own.
1148 =head2 v5.13.8 - Roger Williams, L<"The Fifth Gift"|http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2005/8/19/21304/8493>
1150 L<Announced on 2010-12-19 by Zefram|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2010/12/msg167271.html>
1152 The aliens called the box a "matter generator," but we'd be more inclined
1153 to call it a matter duplicator. By connecting switches and potentiometers
1154 between the copper posts it was possible to make the box mark off two
1155 cubic rectangular areas of volume. Make a certain contact, and these
1156 areas would be isolated within perfectly reflective fields. They could
1157 be expanded or contracted by altering resistances between other posts.
1158 As I worked out the user interface I built a little control panel for
1159 the device. It was actually a clever way for the aliens to do things;
1160 instead of trying to build controls we could use, they built us an
1161 interface we could attach to controls that made sense to us. It could
1164 Once you had made the contact that established the shielded volumes,
1165 if you made another certain contact the contents of the first volume
1166 were copied to the second. The machine copied metal, plastic, steel,
1167 and diamond with equal ease. Copies of copies of copies of copies were
1168 indistinguishable from the originals at any magnification, even using
1169 techniques like X-ray crystallography.
1171 =head2 v5.13.7 - Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski, 'The Matrix'
1173 L<Announced on 2010-11-20 by Chris 'BinGOs' Williams|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2010/11/msg166162.html>
1175 [Neo sees a black cat walk by them, and then a similar black cat walk by them just like the first one]
1179 [Everyone freezes right in their tracks]
1181 Trinity: What did you just say?
1182 Neo: Nothing. Just had a little deja vu.
1183 Trinity: What did you see?
1184 Cypher: What happened?
1185 Neo: A black cat went past us, and then another that looked just
1187 Trinity: How much like it? Was it the same cat?
1188 Neo: It might have been. I'm not sure.
1189 Morpheus: Switch! Apoc!
1191 Trinity: A deja vu is usually a glitch in the Matrix. It happens when
1192 they change something.
1194 =head2 v5.13.6 - Haruki Murakami, "Kafka on the Shore"
1196 L<Announced on 2010-10-20 by Tatsuhiko Miyagawa|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2010/10/msg165183.html>
1198 The boy called Crow softly rests a hand on my shoulder, and with that
1201 "From now on -- no matter what -- you've got to be the world's toughest
1202 fifteen-year-old. That's the only way you're going to survive. And in order
1203 to do that, you've got to figure out what it means to be tough. You following
1206 I keep my eyes closed and don't reply. I just want to sink off into sleep
1207 like this, his hand on my shoulder. I hear the faint flutter of wings.
1209 "You're going to be the world's toughest fifteen-year-old," Crow whispers
1210 as I try to fall asleep. Like he was carving the words in a deep blue tattoo
1213 (Translated from Japanese by Philip Gabriel)
1215 =head2 v5.13.5 - Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, "The Room in the Dragon Volant"
1217 L<Announced on 2010-09-19 by Steve Hay|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2010/09/msg164238.html>
1219 Candle in hand I stepped in. I do not know whether the quality of
1220 air, long undisturbed, is peculiar; to me it has always seemed so, and
1221 the damp smell of the old masonry hung in this atmosphere. My candle
1222 faintly lighted the bare stone wall that enclosed the stair, the foot
1223 of which I could not see. Down I went, and a few turns brought me to
1224 the stone floor. Here was another door, of the simple, old, oak kind,
1225 deep sunk in the thickness of the wall. The large end of the key
1226 fitted this. The lock was stiff; I set the candle down upon the
1227 stair, and applied both hands; it turned with difficulty, and as it
1228 revolved, uttered a shriek that alarmed me for my secret.
1230 For some minutes I did not move. In a little time, however, I took
1231 courage, and opened the door. The night-air floating in puffed out
1232 the candle. There was a thicket of holly and underwood, as dense as a
1233 jungle, close about the door. I should have been in pitch-darkness,
1234 were it not that through the topmost leaves there twinkled, here and
1235 there, a glimmer of moonshine.
1237 Softly, lest any one should have opened his window at the sound of the
1238 rusty bolt, I struggled through this till I gained a view of the open
1239 grounds. Here I found that the brushwood spread a good way up the
1240 park, uniting with the wood that approached the little temple I have
1243 =head2 v5.13.4 - Lewis Carroll, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"
1245 L<Announced on 2010-08-20 by Florian Ragwitz|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2010/08/msg163150.html>
1247 `How the creatures order one about, and make one repeat lessons!' thought Alice;
1248 `I might as well be at school at once.' However, she got up, and began to repeat
1249 it, but her head was so full of the Lobster Quadrille, that she hardly knew what
1250 she was saying, and the words came very queer indeed:--
1252 "'Tis the voice of the Lobster; I heard him declare,
1253 "You have baked me too brown, I must sugar my hair."
1254 As a duck with its eyelids, so he with his nose
1255 Trims his belt and his buttons, and turns out his toes.'
1258 `That's different from what I used to say when I was a child,' said the Gryphon.
1260 `Well, I never heard it before,' said the Mock Turtle; `but it sounds uncommon
1263 Alice said nothing; she had sat down with her face in her hands, wondering if
1264 anything would ever happen in a natural way again.
1266 `I should like to have it explained,' said the Mock Turtle.
1268 `She can't explain it,' said the Gryphon hastily. `Go on with the next verse.'
1270 `But about his toes?' the Mock Turtle persisted. `How could he turn them out
1271 with his nose, you know?'
1273 `It's the first position in dancing.' Alice said; but was dreadfully puzzled by
1274 the whole thing, and longed to change the subject.
1276 =head2 v5.13.3 - Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, "Good Omens"
1278 L<Announced on 2010-07-20 by David Golden|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2010/07/msg162230.html>
1280 Look at Crowley, doing 110 mph on the M40 heading towards
1281 Oxfordshire. Even the most resolutely casual observer would
1282 notice a number of strange things about him. The clenched teeth,
1283 for example, or the dull red glow coming from behind his
1284 sunglasses. And the car. The car was a definite hint.
1286 Crowley had started the journey in his Bentley, and he was
1287 dammned if he wasn't going to finish it in the Bentley as well.
1288 Not that even the kind of car buff who owns his own pair of
1289 motoring goggles would have been able to tell it was a vintage
1290 Bentley. Not any more. They wouldn't have been able to tell
1291 that it was a Bentley. They would only offer fifty-fifty that it
1292 had ever even been a car.
1294 There was no paint left on it, for a start. It might still have
1295 been black, where it wasn't a rusty, smudged reddish-brown, but
1296 this was a dull charcoal black. It traveled in its own ball of
1297 flame, like a space capsule making a particularly difficult
1300 There was a thin skin of crusted, melted rubber left around the
1301 metal wheel rims, but seeing that the wheel rims were still
1302 somhow riding an inch above the road surface this didn't seem to
1303 make an awful lot of difference to the suspension.
1305 It should have fallen apart miles back.
1307 =head2 v5.13.2 - Iain M Banks, "Use of Weapons"
1309 L<Announced on 2010-06-22 by Matt S Trout|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2010/06/msg161112.html>
1311 We deal in the moral equivalent of black holes, where the normal laws -
1312 the rules of right and wrong that people imagine apply everywhere else
1313 in the universe - break down; beyond those metaphysical event-horizons,
1314 there exist ... special circumstances.
1316 =head2 v5.13.1 - Miguel de Unamuno, "The Sepulchre of Don Quixote"
1318 L<Announced on 2010-05-20 by Ricardo Signes|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2010/05/msg160275.html>
1320 And if anyone shall come to you and say that he knows how to construct
1321 bridges and that perhaps a time will come when you will wish to avail
1322 yourself of his science in order to cross over a river, out with him! Out
1323 with the engineer! Rivers will be crossed by wading or swimming them, even
1324 if half the crusaders drown themselves. Let the engineer go off and build
1325 bridges somewhere else, where they are badly wanted. For those who go in
1326 quest of the sepulchre, faith is bridge enough.
1328 =head2 v5.13.0 - Jules Verne, "A Journey to the Centre of the Earth"
1330 L<Announced on 2010-04-20 by LE<0xe9>on Brocard|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2010/04/msg159275.html>
1332 The heat still remained at quite a supportable degree. With an
1333 involuntary shudder, I reflected on what the heat must have been
1334 when the volcano of Sneffels was pouring its smoke, flames, and
1335 streams of boiling lava -- all of which must have come up by the
1336 road we were now following. I could imagine the torrents of hot
1337 seething stone darting on, bubbling up with accompaniments of
1338 smoke, steam, and sulphurous stench!
1340 "Only to think of the consequences," I mused, "if the old
1341 volcano were once more to set to work."
1343 =head2 v5.12.3 - Howard W. Campbell, Jr., "Reflections on Not Participating in Current Events"
1345 L<Announced on 2011-01-21 by Ricardo Signes|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2011/01/msg168368.html>
1347 I saw a huge steam roller,
1348 It blotted out the sun.
1349 The people all lay down, lay down;
1350 They did not try to run.
1351 My love and I, we looked amazed
1352 Upon the gory mystery.
1353 'Lie down, lie down!' the people cried.
1354 'The great machine is history!'
1355 My love and I, we ran away,
1356 The engine did not find us.
1357 We ran up to a mountain top,
1358 Left history far behind us.
1359 Perhaps we should have stayed and died,
1360 But somehow we don't think so.
1361 We went to see where history'd been,
1362 And my, the dead did stink so.
1364 =head2 v5.12.2 - William Gibson, "Pattern Recognition"
1366 L<Announced on 2010-09-06 by Jesse Vincent|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2010/09/msg163852.html>
1368 CPUs. Cayce Pollard Units. That's what Damien calls the clothing
1369 she wears. CPUs are either black, white, or gray, and ideally
1370 seem to have come into this world without human intervention.
1372 What people take for relentless minimalism is a side effect
1373 of too much exposure to the reactor-cores of fashion. This
1374 has resulted in a remorseless paring-down of what she can and
1375 will wear. She is, literally, allergic to fashion. She can
1376 only tolerate things that could have been worn, to a general
1377 lack of comment, during any year between 1945 and 2000. She's a
1378 design-free zone, a one-woman school of and whose very austerity
1379 periodically threatens to spawn its own cult.
1381 =head2 v5.12.2-RC1 - William Gibson, "Pattern Recognition"
1383 L<Announced on 2010-08-31 by Jesse Vincent|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2010/08/msg163670.html>
1385 The front page opens, familiar as a friend's living room. A frame-grab
1386 from #48 serves as backdrop, dim and almost monochrome, no characters in
1387 view. This is one of the sequences that generate comparisons with
1388 Tarkovsky. She only knows Tarkovsky from stills, really, though she did
1389 once fall asleep during a screening of The Stalker, going under on an
1390 endless pan, the camera aimed straight down, in close-up, at a puddle on
1391 a ruined mosaic floor. But she is not one of those who think that much
1392 will be gained by analysis of the maker's imagined influences. The cult
1393 of the footage is rife with subcults, claiming every possible influence.
1394 Truffaut, Peckinpah -- The Peckinpah people, among the least likely, are
1395 still waiting for the guns to be drawn.
1397 =head2 v5.12.1 - Kurt Vonnegut, "Cat's Cradle"
1399 L<Announced on 2010-05-16 by Jesse Vincent|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2010/05/msg160109.html>
1401 "Now suppose," chortled Dr. Breed, enjoying himself, "that there were
1402 many possible ways in which water could crystallize, could freeze.
1403 Suppose that the sort of ice we skate upon and put into highballs --
1404 what we might call ice-one -- is only one of several types of ice.
1405 Suppose water always froze as ice-one on Earth because it had never
1406 had a seed to teach it how to form ice-two, ice-three, ice-four
1407 ...? And suppose," he rapped on his desk with his old hand again,
1408 "that there were one form, which we will call ice-nine -- a crystal as
1409 hard as this desk -- with a melting point of, let us say, one-hundred
1410 degrees Fahrenheit, or, better still, a melting point of one-hundred-
1411 and-thirty degrees."
1413 =head2 v5.12.1-RC2 - Kurt Vonnegut, "Cat's Cradle"
1415 L<Announced on 2010-05-13 by Jesse Vincent|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2010/05/msg160066.html>
1417 San Lorenzo was fifty miles long and twenty miles wide, I learned from
1418 the supplement to the New York Sunday Times. Its population was four
1419 hundred, fifty thousand souls, "...all fiercely dedicated to the ideals
1422 Its highest point, Mount McCabe, was eleven thousand feet above sea
1423 level. Its capital was Bolivar, "...a strikingly modern city built on a
1424 harbor capable of sheltering the entire United States Navy." The principal
1425 exports were sugar, coffee, bananas, indigo, and handcrafted novelties.
1427 =head2 v5.12.1-RC1 - Kurt Vonnegut, "Cat's Cradle"
1429 L<Announced on 2010-05-09 by Jesse Vincent|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2010/05/msg159971.html>
1431 Which brings me to the Bokononist concept of a wampeter. A wampeter is
1432 the pivot of a karass. No karass is without a wampeter, Bokonon tells us,
1433 just as no wheel is without a hub. Anything can be a wampeter: a tree,
1434 a rock, an animal, an idea, a book, a melody, the Holy Grail. Whatever
1435 it is, the members of its karass revolve about it in the majestic chaos
1436 of a spiral nebula. The orbits of the members of a karass about their
1437 common wampeter are spiritual orbits, naturally. It is souls and not
1438 bodies that revolve. As Bokonon invites us to sing:
1440 Around and around and around we spin,
1441 With feet of lead and wings of tin . . .
1443 =head2 v5.12.0 - Lewis Carroll, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"
1445 L<Announced on 2010-04-12 by Jesse Vincent|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2010/04/msg158820.html>
1447 'Please would you tell me,' said Alice, a little timidly, for she was
1448 not quite sure whether it was good manners for her to speak first, 'why
1449 your cat grins like that?'
1451 'It's a Cheshire cat,' said the Duchess, 'and that's why. Pig!'
1453 She said the last word with such sudden violence that Alice quite
1454 jumped; but she saw in another moment that it was addressed to the baby,
1455 and not to her, so she took courage, and went on again:--
1457 'I didn't know that Cheshire cats always grinned; in fact, I didn't know
1458 that cats COULD grin.'
1460 'They all can,' said the Duchess; 'and most of 'em do.'
1462 =head2 v5.12.0-RC5 - Lewis Carroll, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"
1464 L<Announced on 2010-04-09 by Jesse Vincent|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2010/04/msg158720.html>
1466 'Not QUITE right, I'm afraid,' said Alice, timidly; 'some of the words
1469 'It is wrong from beginning to end,' said the Caterpillar decidedly, and
1470 there was silence for some minutes.
1472 =head2 v5.12.0-RC4 - Lewis Carroll, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"
1474 L<Announced on 2010-04-06 by Jesse Vincent|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2010/04/msg158567.html>
1476 'It was much pleasanter at home,' thought poor Alice, 'when one wasn't
1477 always growing larger and smaller, and being ordered about by mice and
1478 rabbits. I almost wish I hadn't gone down that rabbit-hole--and yet--and
1479 yet--it's rather curious, you know, this sort of life! I do wonder what
1480 can have happened to me! When I used to read fairy-tales, I fancied that
1481 kind of thing never happened, and now here I am in the middle of one!
1483 =head2 v5.12.0-RC3 - Lewis Carroll, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"
1485 L<Announced on 2010-04-02 by Jesse Vincent|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2010/04/msg158346.html>
1487 At last the Mouse, who seemed to be a person of authority among them,
1488 called out, 'Sit down, all of you, and listen to me! I'LL soon make you
1489 dry enough!' They all sat down at once, in a large ring, with the Mouse
1490 in the middle. Alice kept her eyes anxiously fixed on it, for she felt
1491 sure she would catch a bad cold if she did not get dry very soon.
1493 'Ahem!' said the Mouse with an important air, 'are you all ready? This
1494 is the driest thing I know. Silence all round, if you please! "William
1495 the Conqueror, whose cause was favoured by the pope, was soon submitted
1496 to by the English, who wanted leaders, and had been of late much
1497 accustomed to usurpation and conquest. Edwin and Morcar, the earls of
1498 Mercia and Northumbria --"'
1500 =head2 v5.12.0-RC2 - no announcement
1502 Available on CPAN since 2010-04-01.
1504 =head2 v5.12.0-RC1 - Lewis Carroll, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"
1506 L<Announced on 2010-03-29 by Jesse Vincent|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2010/03/msg158060.html>
1508 So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, for the
1509 hot day made her feel very sleepy and stupid), whether the pleasure of
1510 making a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and
1511 picking the daisies, when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran
1514 There was nothing so VERY remarkable in that; nor did Alice think it so
1515 VERY much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself, 'Oh dear! Oh
1516 dear! I shall be late!' (when she thought it over afterwards, it
1517 occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this, but at the time
1518 it all seemed quite natural); but when the Rabbit actually TOOK A WATCH
1519 OUT OF ITS WAISTCOAT-POCKET, and looked at it, and then hurried on,
1520 Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had
1521 never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to
1522 take out of it, and burning with curiosity, she ran across the field
1523 after it, and fortunately was just in time to see it pop down a large
1524 rabbit-hole under the hedge.
1526 In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how
1527 in the world she was to get out again.
1529 =head2 v5.12.0-RC0 - no epigraph
1531 L<Announced on 2020-03-21 by Jesse Vincent|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2010/03/msg157761.html>
1533 =head2 v5.11.5 - Samuel Taylor Coleridge, "Christabel"
1535 L<Announced on 2010-02-21 by Steve Hay|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2010/02/msg156957.html>
1537 A little child, a limber elf,
1538 Singing, dancing to itself,
1539 A fairy thing with red round cheeks,
1540 That always finds, and never seeks,
1541 Makes such a vision to the sight
1542 As fills a father's eyes with light;
1543 And pleasures flow in so thick and fast
1544 Upon his heart, that he at last
1545 Must needs express his love's excess
1546 With words of unmeant bitterness.
1547 Perhaps 'tis pretty to force together
1548 Thoughts so all unlike each other;
1549 To mutter and mock a broken charm,
1550 To dally with wrong that does no harm.
1551 Perhaps 'tis tender too and pretty
1552 At each wild word to feel within
1553 A sweet recoil of love and pity.
1554 And what, if in a world of sin
1555 (O sorrow and shame should this be true!)
1556 Such giddiness of heart and brain
1557 Comes seldom save from rage and pain,
1558 So talks as it's most used to do.
1560 =head2 v5.11.4 - Fyodor Dostoevsky, "Crime and Punishment"
1562 L<Announced on 2010-01-20 by Ricardo Signes|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2010/01/msg155848.html>
1564 And you don't suppose that I went into it headlong like a fool? I went
1565 into it like a wise man, and that was just my destruction. And you
1566 mustn't suppose that I didn't know, for instance, that if I began to
1567 question myself whether I had the right to gain power -- I certainly
1568 hadn't the right -- or that if I asked myself whether a human being is a
1569 louse it proved that it wasn't so for me, though it might be for a man
1570 who would go straight to his goal without asking questions.... If I
1571 worried myself all those days, wondering whether Napoleon would have
1572 done it or not, I felt clearly of course that I wasn't Napoleon.
1574 =head2 v5.11.3 - Mark Twain, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"
1576 L<Announced on 2009-12-20 by Jesse Vincent|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2009/12/msg154838.html>
1578 "Say -- I'm going in a swimming, I am. Don't you wish you could? But of
1579 course you'd druther work -- wouldn't you? Course you would!"
1581 Tom contemplated the boy a bit, and said: "What do you call work?"
1583 "Why ain't that work?"
1585 Tom resumed his whitewashing, and answered carelessly: "Well, maybe it
1586 is, and maybe it aint. All I know, is, it suits Tom Sawyer."
1588 "Oh come, now, you don't mean to let on that you like it?"
1590 The brush continued to move. "Like it? Well I don't see why I oughtn't
1591 to like it. Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day?"
1593 That put the thing in a new light. Ben stopped nibbling his apple. Tom
1594 swept his brush daintily back and forth -- stepped back to note the effect
1595 -- added a touch here and there-criticised the effect again -- Ben
1596 watching every move and getting more and more interested, more and more
1597 absorbed. Presently he said: "Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little."
1599 =head2 v5.11.2 - Michael Marshall Smith, "Only Forward"
1601 L<Announced on 2009-11-20 by Léon Brocard|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2009/11/msg153646.html>
1603 The streets were pretty quiet, which was nice. They're always quiet here
1604 at that time: you have to be wearing a black jacket to be out on the
1605 streets between seven and nine in the evening, and not many people in
1606 the area have black jackets. It's just one of those things. I currently
1607 live in Colour Neighbourhood, which is for people who are heavily into
1608 colour. All the streets and buildings are set for instant colourmatch:
1609 as you walk down the road they change hue to offset whatever you're
1610 wearing. When the streets are busy it's kind of intense, and anyone
1611 prone to epileptic seizures isn't allowed to live in the Neighbourhood,
1612 however much they're into colour.
1614 =head2 v5.11.1 - Joseph Heller, "Catch-22"
1616 L<Announced on 2009-10-20 by Jesse Vincent|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2009/10/msg152360.html>
1618 Milo had been caught red-handed in the act of plundering his countrymen,
1619 and, as a result, his stock had never been higher. He proved good as his
1620 word when a rawboned major from Minnesota curled his lip in rebellious
1621 disavowal and demanded his share of the syndicate Milo kept saying
1622 everybody owned. Milo met the challenge by writing the words "A Share"
1623 on the nearest scrap of paper and handing it away with a virtuous disdain
1624 that won the envy and admiration of almost everyone who knew him. His
1625 glory was at a peak, and Colonel Cathcart, who knew and admired his
1626 war record, was astonished by the deferential humility with which Milo
1627 presented himself at Group Headquarters and made his fantastic appeal
1628 for more hazardous assignment.
1630 =head2 v5.11.0 - Mikhail Bulgakov, "The Master and Margarita"
1632 L<Announced on 2009-10-02 by Jesse Vincent|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2009/10/msg151376.html>
1634 Whispers of an "evil power" were heard in lines at dairy shops, in
1635 streetcars, stores, arguments, kitchens, suburban and long-distance
1636 trains, at stations large and small, in dachas and on beaches. Needless
1637 to say, truly mature and cultured people did not tell these stories
1638 about an evil power's visit to the capital. In fact, they even made fun
1639 of them and tried to talk sense into those who told them. Nevertheless,
1640 facts are facts, as they say, and cannot simply be dismissed without
1641 explanation: somebody had visited the capital. The charred cinders of
1642 Griboyedov alone, and many other things besides, confirmed it. Cultured
1643 people shared the point of view of the investigating team: it was the
1644 work of a gang of hypnotists and ventriloquists magnificently skilled in
1647 =head2 v5.10.1 - Right Hon. James Hacker MP, "The Complete Yes Minister: The Diaries of a Cabinet Minister"
1649 L<Announced on 2009-09-23 by Dave Mitchell|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2009/08/msg150172.html>
1651 'Briefly, sir, I am the Permanent Under-Secretary of State, known as
1652 the Permanent Secretary. Woolley here is your Principal Private
1653 Secretary. I, too, have a Principal Private Secretary, and he is the
1654 Principal Private Secretary to the Permanent Secretary. Directly
1655 responsible to me are ten Deputy Secretaries, eighty-seven Under
1656 Secretaries and two hundred and nineteen Assistant Secretaries.
1657 Directly responsible to the Principal Private Secretaries are plain
1658 Private Secretaries. The Prime Minister will be appointing two
1659 Parliamentary Under-Secretaries and you will be appointing your own
1660 Parliamentary Private Secretary.'
1662 'Can they all type?' I joked.
1664 'None of us can type, Minister,' replied Sir Humphrey smoothly. 'Mrs
1665 McKay types - she is your Secretary.'
1667 I couldn't tell whether or not he was joking. 'What a pity,' I said.
1668 'We could have opened an agency.'
1670 Sir Humphrey and Bernard laughed. 'Very droll, sir,' said Sir
1671 Humphrey. 'Most amusing, sir,' said Bernard. Were they genuinely
1672 amused at my wit, or just being rather patronising? 'I suppose they
1673 all say that, do they?' I ventured.
1675 Sir Humphrey reassured me on that. 'Certainly not, Minister,' he
1676 replied. 'Not quite all.'
1678 =head2 v5.10.1-RC2 - no epigraph
1680 L<Announced on 2009-08-18 by Dave Mitchell|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2009/08/msg150015.html>
1682 =head2 v5.10.1-RC1 - no epigraph
1684 L<Announced on 2009-08-06 by Dave Mitchell|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2009/08/msg149498.html>
1686 =head2 v5.10.0 - Laurence Sterne, "Tristram Shandy"
1688 L<Announced on 2007-12-18 by Rafael Garcia-Suarez|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2007/12/msg131636.html>
1690 He would often declare, in speaking his thoughts upon the subject, that
1691 he did not conceive how the greatest family in England could stand it
1692 out against an uninterrupted succession of six or seven short
1693 noses.--And for the contrary reason, he would generally add, That it
1694 must be one of the greatest problems in civil life, where the same
1695 number of long and jolly noses, following one another in a direct line,
1696 did not raise and hoist it up into the best vacancies in the kingdom.
1698 =head2 v5.10.0-RC2 - no epigraph
1700 L<Announced on 2007-11-25 by Rafael Garcia-Suarez|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2007/11/msg130978.html>
1702 =head2 v5.10.0-RC1 - no epigraph
1704 L<Announced on 2007-11-17 by Rafael Garcia-Suarez|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2007/11/msg130653.html>
1706 =head2 v5.9.5 - no announcement
1708 L<Pre-announced on 2007-07-07 by Rafael Garcia-Suarez|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2007/07/msg126358.html>,
1709 available on CPAN with same date, but never actually announced.
1711 =head2 v5.9.4 - no epigraph
1713 L<Announced on 2006-08-15 by Rafael Garcia-Suarez|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2006/08/msg115782.html>
1715 =head2 v5.9.3 - no epigraph
1717 L<Announced on 2006-01-28 by Rafael Garcia-Suarez|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2006/01/msg109086.html>
1719 =head2 v5.9.2 - Thomas Pynchon, "V"
1721 L<Announced on 2005-04-01 by Rafael Garcia-Suarez|http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=20050401150702.2b4a70d5@grubert.mandrakesoft.com>
1723 This word flip was weird. Every recording date of McClintic's he'd
1724 gotten into the habit of talking electricity with the audio men and
1725 technicians of the studio. McClintic once couldn't have cared less
1726 about electricity, but now it seemed if that was helping him reach a
1727 bigger audience, some digging, some who would never dig, but all
1728 paying and those royalties keeping the Triumph in gas and McClintic
1729 in J. Press suits, then McClintic ought to be grateful to
1730 electricity, ought maybe to learn a little more about it. So he'd
1731 picked up some here and there, and one day last summer he got around
1732 to talking stochastic music and digital computers with one
1733 technician. Out of the conversation had come Set/Reset, which was
1734 getting to be a signature for the group. He had found out from this
1735 sound man about a two-triode circuit called a flip-flop, which when
1736 it turned on could be one of two ways, depending on which tube was
1737 conducting and which was cut off: set or reset, flip or flop.
1739 "And that," the man said, "can be yes or no, or one or zero. And
1740 that is what you might call one of the basic units, or specialized
1741 `cells' in a big `electronic brain.' "
1743 "Crazy," said McClintic, having lost him back there someplace. But
1744 one thing that did occur to him was if a computer's brain could go
1745 flip or flop, why so could a musician's. As long as you were flop,
1746 everything was cool. But where did the trigger-pulse come from to
1749 =head2 v5.9.1 - Tom Stoppard, "Arcadia"
1751 L<Announced on 2004-03-16 by Rafael Garcia-Suarez|http://groups.google.com/group/perl.perl5.porters/msg/8587d77c565f2d43>
1753 Aren't you supposed to have a pony?
1755 =head2 v5.9.0 - Doris Lessing, "Martha Quest"
1757 L<Announced on 2003-10-27 by Rafael Garcia-Suarez|http://groups.google.com/group/perl.perl5.porters/msg/63a8c34385de82a1>
1759 What of October, that ambiguous month
1761 =head2 v5.8.9 - Right Hon. James Hacker MP, "The Complete Yes Minister: The Diaries of a Cabinet Minister"
1763 L<Announced on 2008-12-14 by Nicholas Clark|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2008/12/msg142571.html>
1765 Frank and I, unlike the civil servants, were still puzzled that such a
1766 proposal as the Europass could even be seriously under consideration by
1767 the FCO. We can both see clearly that it is wonderful ammunition for the
1768 anti-Europeans. I asked Humphrey if the Foreign Office doesn't realise
1769 how damaging this would be to the European ideal?
1771 'I'm sure they do, Minister, he said. That's why they support it.'
1773 This was even more puzzling, since I'd always been under the impression
1774 that the FO is pro-Europe. 'Is it or isn't it?' I asked Humphrey.
1776 'Yes and no,' he replied of course, 'if you'll pardon the
1777 expression. The Foreign Office is pro-Europe because it is really
1778 anti-Europe. In fact the Civil Service was united in its desire to make
1779 sure the Common Market didn't work. That's why we went into it.'
1781 This sounded like a riddle to me. I asked him to explain further. And
1782 basically his argument was as follows: Britain has had the same foreign
1783 policy objective for at least the last five hundred years - to create a
1784 disunited Europe. In that cause we have fought with the Dutch against
1785 the Spanish, with the Germans against the French, with the French and
1786 Italians against the Germans, and with the French against the Italians
1787 and Germans. [The Dutch rebellion against Phillip II of Spain, the
1788 Napoleonic Wars, the First World War, and the Second World War - Ed.]
1790 In other words, divide and rule. And the Foreign Office can see no
1791 reason to change when it has worked so well until now.
1793 I was aware of this, naturally, but I regarded it as ancient history.
1794 Humphrey thinks that it is, in fact, current policy. It was necessary
1795 for us to break up the EEC, he explained, so we had to get inside. We
1796 had previously tried to break it up from the outside, but that didn't
1797 work. [A reference to our futile and short-lived involvement in EFTA,
1798 the European Free Trade Association, founded in 1960 and which the UK
1799 left in 1972 - Ed.] Now that we're in, we are able to make a complete
1800 pig's breakfast out of it. We've now set the Germans against the French,
1801 the French against the Italians, the Italians against the Dutch... and
1802 the Foreign office is terribly happy. It's just like old time.
1804 I was staggered by all of this. I thought that the all of us who are
1805 publicly pro-European believed in the European ideal. I said this to Sir
1806 Humphrey, and he simply chuckled.
1808 So I asked him: if we don't believe in the European Ideal, why are we
1809 pushing to increase the membership?
1811 'Same reason,' came the reply. 'It's just like the United Nations. The
1812 more members it has, the more arguments you can stir up, and the more
1813 futile and impotent it becomes.'
1815 This all strikes me as the most appalling cynicism, and I said so.
1817 Sir Humphrey agreed completely. 'Yes Minister. We call it
1818 diplomacy. It's what made Britain great, you know.'
1820 =head2 v5.8.9-RC2 - Right Hon. James Hacker MP, "The Complete Yes Minister: The Diaries of a Cabinet Minister"
1822 L<Announced on 2008-12-06 by Nicholas Clark|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2008/11/msg142422.html>
1824 There was silence in the office. I didn't know what we were going to do
1825 about the four hundred new people supervising our economy drive or the
1826 four hundred new people for the Bureaucratic Watchdog Office, or
1827 anything! I simply sat and waited and hoped that my head would stop
1828 thumping and that some idea would be suggested by someone sometime soon.
1830 Sir Humphrey obliged. 'Minister... if we were to end the economy drive
1831 and close the Bureaucratic Watchdog Office we could issue an immediate
1832 press announcement that you had axed eight hundred jobs.' He had
1833 obviously thought this out carefully in advance, for at this moment he
1834 produced a slim folder from under his arm. 'If you'd like to approve
1837 I couldn't believe the impertinence of the suggestion. Axed eight
1838 hundred jobs? 'But no one was ever doing these jobs,' I pointed out
1839 incredulously. 'No one's been appointed yet.'
1841 'Even greater economy,' he replied instantly. 'We've saved eight hundred
1842 redundancy payments as well.'
1844 'But...' I attempted to explain '... that's just phony. It's dishonest,
1845 it's juggling with figures, it's pulling the wool over people's eyes.'
1847 'A government press release, in fact.' said Humphrey.
1849 =head2 v5.8.9-RC1 - Right Hon. James Hacker MP, "The Complete Yes Minister: The Diaries of a Cabinet Minister"
1851 L<Announced on 2008-11-10 by Nicholas Clark|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2008/11/msg141515.html>
1853 A jumbo jet touched down, with BURANDAN AIRWAYS written on the side. I
1854 was hugely impressed. British Airways are having to pawn their Concordes,
1855 and here is this little tiny African state with its own airline, jumbo
1858 I asked Bernard how many planes Burandan Airways had. 'None,' he said.
1860 I told him not to be silly and use his eyes. 'No Minister, it belongs to
1861 Freddie Laker,' he said. 'They chartered it last week and repainted it
1862 specially.' Apparently most of the Have-Nots (I mean, LDCs) do this - at
1863 the opening of the UN General Assembly the runways of Kennedy Airport are
1864 jam-packed with phoney flag-carriers. 'In fact,' said Bernard with a sly
1865 grin, 'there was one 747 that belonged to nine different African airlines
1866 in a month. They called it the mumbo-jumbo.'
1868 While we watched nothing much happening on the TV except the mumbo-jumbo
1869 taxiing around Prestwick and the Queen looking a bit chilly, Bernard gave
1870 me the next day's schedule and explained that I was booked on the night
1871 sleeper from King's Cross to Edinburgh because I had to vote in a
1872 three-line whip at the House tonight and would have to miss the last
1873 plane. Then the commentator, in that special hushed BBC voice used for any
1874 occasion with which Royalty is connected, announced reverentially that we
1875 were about to catch our first glimpse of President Selim.
1877 And out of the plane stepped Charlie. My old friend Charlie Umtali. We
1878 were at LSE together. Not Selim Mohammed at all, but Charlie.
1880 Bernard asked me if I were sure. Silly question. How could you forget a
1881 name like Charlie Umtali?
1883 I sent Bernard for Sir Humphrey, who was delighted to hear that we now
1884 know something about our official visitor.
1886 Bernard's official brief said nothing. Amazing! Amazing how little the FCO
1887 has been able to find out. Perhaps they were hoping it would all be on the
1888 car radio. All the brief says is that Colonel Selim Mohammed had converted
1889 to Islam some years ago, they didn't know his original name, and therefore
1890 knew little of his background.
1892 I was able to tell Humphrey and Bernard /all/ about his background.
1893 Charlie was a red-hot political economist, I informed them. Got the top
1894 first. Wiped the floor with everyone.
1896 Bernard seemed relieved. 'Well that's all right then.'
1900 'I think Bernard means,' said Sir Humphrey helpfully, 'that he'll know how
1901 to behave if he was at an English University. Even if it was the LSE.' I
1902 never know whether or not Humphrey is insulting me intentionally.
1904 Humphrey was concerned about Charlie's political colour. 'When you said
1905 that he was red-hot, were you speaking politically?'
1907 In a way I was. 'The thing about Charlie is that you never quite know
1908 where you are with him. He's the sort of chap who follows you into a
1909 revolving door and comes out in front.'
1911 'No deeply held convictions?' asked Sir Humphrey.
1913 'No. The only thing Charlie was committed too was Charlie.'
1915 'Ah, I see. A politician, Minister.'
1917 =head2 v5.8.8 - Joe Raposo, "Bein' Green"
1919 L<Announced on 2006-02-01 by Nicholas Clark|http://groups.google.com/group/perl.perl5.porters/msg/28caf52e41ebe723>
1921 It's not that easy bein' green
1922 Having to spend each day the color of the leaves
1923 When I think it could be nicer being red or yellow or gold
1924 Or something much more colorful like that
1926 It's not easy bein' green
1927 It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things
1928 And people tend to pass you over 'cause you're
1929 Not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water
1932 But green's the color of Spring
1933 And green can be cool and friendly-like
1934 And green can be big like an ocean
1935 Or important like a mountain
1938 When green is all there is to be
1939 It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why?
1940 Wonder I am green and it'll do fine, it's beautiful
1941 And I think it's what I want to be
1943 =head2 v5.8.8-RC1 - Cosgrove Hall Productions, "Dangermouse"
1945 L<Announced on 2006-01-20 by Nicholas Clark|http://groups.google.com/group/perl.perl5.porters/msg/d231fc554af8cc51>
1947 Greenback: And the world is mine, all mine. Muhahahahaha. See to it!
1949 Stiletto: Si, Barone. Subito, Barone.
1951 =head2 v5.8.7 - Sergei Prokofiev, "Peter and the Wolf"
1953 L<Announced on 2005-05-31 by Nicholas Clark|http://groups.google.com/group/perl.perl5.porters/msg/9a545704a0062f16>
1955 And now, imagine the triumphant procession: Peter at the head; after him the
1956 hunters leading the wolf; and winding up the procession, grandfather and the
1959 Grandfather shook his head discontentedly: "Well, and if Peter hadn't caught
1960 the wolf? What then?"
1962 =head2 v5.8.7-RC1 - Sergei Prokofiev, "Peter and the Wolf"
1964 L<Announced on 2005-05-20 by Nicholas Clark|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2005/05/msg100711.html>
1966 And now this is how things stood: The cat was sitting on one branch. The
1967 bird on another, not too close to the cat. And the wolf walked round and
1968 round the tree, looking at them with greedy eyes.
1970 In the meantime, Peter, without the slightest fear, stood behind the
1971 gate, watching all that was going on. He ran home,got a strong rope and
1972 climbed up the high stone wall.
1974 One of the branches of the tree, around which the wolf was walking,
1975 stretched out over the wall.
1977 Grabbing hold of the branch, Peter lightly climbed over on to the tree.
1978 Peter said to the bird: "Fly down and circle round the wolf's head, only
1979 take care that he doesn't catch you!".
1981 The bird almost touched the wolf's head with its wings, while the wolf
1982 snapped angrily at him from this side and that.
1984 How that bird teased the wolf, how that wolf wanted to catch him! But
1985 the bird was clever and the wolf simply couldn't do anything about it.
1987 =head2 v5.8.6 - A. A. Milne, "The House at Pooh Corner"
1989 L<Announced on 2004-11-28 by Nicholas Clark|http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=20041128000836.GA304@Bagpuss.unfortu.net>
1991 "Hallo, Pooh," said Piglet, giving a jump of surprise. "I knew it was
1994 "So did I,", said Pooh. "What are you doing?"
1996 "I'm planting a haycorn, Pooh, so that it can grow up into an oak-tree,
1997 and have lots of haycorns just outside the front door instead of having
1998 to walk miles and miles, do you see, Pooh?"
2000 "Supposing it doesn't?" said Pooh.
2002 "It will, because Christopher Robin says it will, so that's why I'm
2005 "Well," aid Pooh, "if I plant a honeycomb outside my house, then it will
2006 grow up into a beehive."
2008 Piglet wasn't quite sure about this.
2010 "Or a /piece/ of a honeycomb," said Pooh, "so as not to waste too much.
2011 Only then I might only get a piece of a beehive, and it might be the
2012 wrong piece, where the bees were buzzing and not hunnying. Bother"
2014 Piglet agreed that that would be rather bothering.
2016 "Besides, Pooh, it's a very difficult thing, planting unless you know
2017 how to do it," he said; and he put the acorn in the hole he had made,
2018 and covered it up with earth, and jumped on it.
2020 =head2 v5.8.6-RC1 - A. A. Milne, "Winnie the Pooh"
2022 L<Announced on 2004-11-11 by Nicholas Clark|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2004/11/msg95786.html>
2024 "Hallo!" said Piglet, "whare are /you/ doing?"
2026 "Hunting," said Pooh.
2030 "Tracking something," said Winnie-the-Pooh very mysteriously.
2032 "Tracking what?" said Piglet, coming closer.
2034 "That's just what I ask myself, I ask myself, What?"
2036 "What do you think you'll answer?"
2038 "I shall have to wait until I catch up with it," said Winnie-the-Pooh.
2039 "Now, look there." He pointed to the ground in front of him. "What do
2042 "Track," said Piglet. "Paw-marks." He gave a little squeak of
2043 excitement. "Oh, Pooh!" Do you think it's a--a--a Woozle?"
2045 =head2 v5.8.5 - wikipedia, "Yew"
2047 L<Announced on 2004-07-19 by Nicholas Clark|http://groups.google.com/group/perl.perl5.porters/msg/68340e2e4c39222c>
2049 Yews are relatively slow growing trees, widely used in landscaping and
2050 ornamental horticulture. They have flat, dark-green needles, reddish
2051 bark, and bear seeds with red arils, which are eaten by thrushes,
2052 waxwings and other birds, dispersing the hard seeds undamaged in their
2053 droppings. Yew wood is reddish brown (with white sapwood), and very
2054 hard. It was traditionally used to make bows, especially the English
2057 In England, the Common Yew (Taxus baccata, also known as English Yew) is
2058 often found in churchyards. It is sometimes suggested that these are
2059 placed there as a symbol of long life or trees of death, and some are
2060 likely to be over 3,000 years old. It is also suggested that yew trees
2061 may have a pre-Christian association with old pagan holy sites, and the
2062 Christian church found it expedient to use and take over existing sites.
2063 Another explanation is that the poisonous berries and foliage discourage
2064 farmers and drovers from letting their animals wander into the burial
2065 grounds. The yew tree is a frequent symbol in the Christian poetry of
2066 T.S. Eliot, especially his Four Quartets.
2068 =head2 v5.8.5-RC2 - wikipedia, "Beech"
2070 L<Announced on 2004-07-09 by Nicholas Clark|http://groups.google.com/group/perl.perl5.porters/msg/f92175725af7a5ad>
2072 Beeches are trees of the Genus Fagus, family Fagaceae, including about
2073 ten species in Europe, Asia, and North America. The leaves are entire or
2074 sparsely toothed. The fruit is a small, sharply-angled nut, borne in
2075 pairs in spiny husks. The beech most commonly grown as an ornamental or
2076 shade tree is the European beech (Fagus sylvatica).
2078 The southern beeches belong to a different but related genus,
2079 Nothofagus. They are found in Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, New
2080 Caledonia and South America.
2082 =head2 v5.8.5-RC1 - wikipedia, "Pedunculate Oak" (abridged)
2084 L<Announced on 2004-07-07 by Nicholas Clark|http://groups.google.com/group/perl.perl5.porters/msg/ca6ce4a7ed9f219c?pli=1>
2086 The Pedunculate Oak is called the Common Oak in Britain, and is also
2087 often called the English Oak in other English speaking countries It is a
2088 large deciduous tree to 25-35m tall (exceptionally to 40m), with lobed
2089 and sessile (stalk-less) leaves. Flowering takes place in early to mid
2090 spring, and their fruit, called "acorns", ripen by autumn of the same
2091 year. The acorns are pedunculate (having a peduncle or acorn-stalk) and
2092 may occur singly, or several acorns may occur on a stalk.
2094 It forms a long-lived tree, with a large widespreading head of rugged
2095 branches. While it may naturally live to an age of a few centuries, many
2096 of the oldest trees are pollarded or coppiced, both pruning techniques
2097 that extend the tree's potential lifespan, if not its health.
2099 Within its native range it is valued for its importance to insects and
2100 other wildlife. Numerous insects live on the leaves, buds, and in the
2101 acorns. The acorns form a valuable food resource for several small
2102 mammals and some birds, notably Jays Garrulus glandarius.
2104 It is planted for forestry, and produces a long-lasting and durable
2105 heartwood, much in demand for interior and furniture work.
2107 =head2 v5.8.4 - T. S. Eliot, "The Old Gumbie Cat"
2109 L<Announced on 2004-04-22 by Nicholas Clark|http://groups.google.com/group/perl.perl5.porters/msg/c7333acf03ef4015>
2111 I have a Gumbie Cat in mind, her name is Jennyanydots;
2112 The curtain-cord she likes to wind, and tie it into sailor-knots.
2113 She sits upon the window-sill, or anything that's smooth and flat:
2114 She sits and sits and sits and sits -- and that's what makes a Gumbie Cat!
2116 But when the day's hustle and bustle is done,
2117 Then the Gumbie Cat's work is but hardly begun.
2118 She thinks that the cockroaches just need employment
2119 To prevent them from idle and wanton destroyment.
2120 So she's formed, from that a lot of disorderly louts,
2121 A troop of well-disciplined helpful boy-scouts,
2122 With a purpose in life and a good deed to do--
2123 And she's even created a Beetles' Tattoo.
2125 So for Old Gumbie Cats let us now give three cheers --
2126 On whom well-ordered households depend, it appears.
2129 =head2 v5.8.4-RC2 - T. S. Eliot, "Macavity: The Mystery Cat"
2131 L<Announced on 2004-04-16 by Nicholas Clark|http://groups.google.com/group/perl.perl5.porters/msg/84f6fdd73cc56a1b>
2133 Macavity's a Mystery Cat: he's called the Hidden Paw --
2134 For he's the master criminal who can defy the Law.
2135 He's the bafflement of Scotland Yard, the Flying Squad's despair:
2136 For when they reach the scene of crime -- /Macavity's not there/!
2138 Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity,
2139 He's broken every human law, he breaks the law of gravity.
2140 His powers of levitation would make a fakir stare,
2141 And when you reach the scene of crime -- /Macavity's not there/!
2142 You may seek him in the basement, you may look up in the air --
2143 But I tell you once and once again, /Macavity's not there/!
2145 =head2 v5.8.4-RC1 - T. S. Eliot, "Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat"
2147 L<Announced on 2004-04-05 by Nicholas Clark|http://groups.google.com/group/perl.perl5.porters/msg/e500353440769ebf>
2149 There's a whisper down the line at 11.39
2150 When the Night Mail's ready to depart,
2151 Saying 'Skimble where is Skimble has he gone to hunt the thimble?
2152 We must find him of the train can't start.'
2153 All the guards and all the porters and the stationmaster's daughters
2154 They are searching high and low,
2155 Saying 'Skimble where is Skimble for unless he's very nimble
2156 Then the Night Mail just can't go'
2157 At 11.42 then the signal's overdue
2158 And the passengers are frantic to a man--
2159 Then Skimble will appear and he'll saunter to the rear:
2160 He's been busy in the luggage van!
2161 He gives one flash of his glass-green eyes
2162 And the signal goes 'All Clear!'
2163 And we're off at last of the northern part
2164 Of the Northern Hemisphere!
2166 =head2 v5.8.3 - Arthur William Edgar O'Shaugnessy, "Ode"
2168 L<Announced on 2004-01-14 by Nicholas Clark|http://groups.google.com/group/perl.perl5.porters/msg/968fb8d71e23af69>
2170 We are the music makers,
2171 And we are the dreamers of dreams,
2172 Wandering by lonely sea-breakers,
2173 And sitting by desolate streams; --
2174 World-losers and world-forsakers,
2175 On whom the pale moon gleams:
2176 Yet we are the movers and shakers
2177 Of the world for ever, it seems.
2179 =head2 v5.8.3-RC1 - Irving Berlin, "Let's Face the Music and Dance"
2181 L<Announced on 2004-01-07 by Nicholas Clark|http://groups.google.com/group/perl.perl5.porters/msg/5ced50bebcd11c96>
2183 There may be trouble ahead,
2184 But while there's music and moonlight,
2185 And love and romance,
2186 Let's face the music and dance.
2188 Before the fiddlers have fled,
2189 Before they ask us to pay the bill,
2190 And while we still have that chance,
2191 Let's face the music and dance.
2193 Soon, we'll be without the moon,
2194 Humming a different tune, and then,
2196 There may be teardrops to shed,
2197 So while there's music and moonlight,
2198 And love and romance,
2199 Let's face the music and dance.
2201 =head2 v5.8.2 - Walt Whitman, "Passage to India"
2203 L<Announced on 2003-11-06 by Nicholas Clark|http://groups.google.com/group/perl.perl5.porters/msg/4714574f93967673>
2205 Passage, immediate passage! the blood burns in my veins!
2206 Away O soul! hoist instantly the anchor!
2207 Cut the hawsers - hall out - shake out every sail!
2208 Have we not stood here like trees in the ground long enough?
2209 Have we not grovel'd here long enough, eating and drinking like mere brutes?
2210 Have we not darken'd and dazed ourselves with books long enough?
2212 Sail forth - steer for the deep waters only,
2213 Reckless O soul, exploring, I with the and thou with me,
2214 For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go,
2215 And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.
2218 O farther farther sail!
2219 O daring job, but safe! are they not all the seas of God?
2220 O farther, farther, farther sail!
2222 =head2 v5.8.2-RC2 - Eric Idle/John Du Prez, "Accountancy Shanty"
2224 L<Announced on 2003-11-03 by Nicholas Clark|http://groups.google.com/group/perl.perl5.porters/msg/7669de5804b792f6>
2226 It's fun to charter an accountant
2227 And sail the wide accountan-cy,
2228 To find, explore the funds offshore
2229 And skirt the shoals of bankruptcy.
2231 =head2 v5.8.2-RC1 - Edward Lear, "The Jumblies"
2233 L<Announced on 2003-10-28 by Nicholas Clark|http://groups.google.com/group/perl.perl5.porters/msg/83680ef3bbf7378d>
2235 They went to sea in a Sieve, they did,
2236 In a Sieve they went to sea:
2237 In spite of all their friends could say,
2238 On a winter's morn, on a stormy day,
2239 In a Sieve they went to sea!
2240 And when the Sieve turned round and round,
2241 And everyone cried, "You'll all be drowned!"
2242 They cried aloud, "Our Sieve ain't big,
2243 But we don't care a button, we don't care a fig!
2244 In a Sieve we'll go to sea!"
2246 Far and few, far and few,
2247 Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
2248 Their heads are green, and their hands are blue,
2249 And they went to sea in a Sieve.
2251 =head2 v5.8.1 - epigraph same as v5.7.1
2253 L<Announced on 2003-09-25 by Jarkko Hietaniemi|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2003/09/msg82678.html>
2255 =head2 v5.8.1-RC5 - Terry Pratchett, "Lords and Ladies"
2257 L<Announced on 2003-09-22 by Jarkko Hietaniemi|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2003/09/msg82476.html>
2259 No matter what she did with her hair it took about
2260 three minutes for it to tangle itself up again,
2261 like a garden hosepipe in a shed [Footnote: Which,
2262 no matter how carefully coiled, will always uncoil
2263 overnight and tie the lawnmower to the bicycles].
2265 =head2 v5.8.1-RC4 - Terry Pratchett, "Interesting Times"
2267 L<Announced on 2003-08-01 by Jarkko Hietaniemi|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2003/08/msg79184.html>
2269 Grand Viziers were /always/ scheming megalomaniacs.
2270 It was probably in the job description: "Are you a
2271 devious, plotting, unreliable madman? Ah, good,
2272 then you can be my most trusted minister."
2274 =head2 v5.8.1-RC3 - Terry Pratchett, "Interesting Times"
2276 L<Announced on 2003-07-30 by Jarkko Hietaniemi|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2003/07/msg79048.html>
2278 Lord Hong had a mind like a knife, although possibly
2279 a knife with a curved blade.
2281 =head2 v5.8.1-RC2 - Terry Pratchett, "Interesting Times"
2283 L<Announced on 2003-07-11 by Jarkko Hietaniemi|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2003/07/msg78102.html>
2285 Many an ancient lord's last words had been, "You can't kill
2286 me because I've got magic aaargh."
2288 =head2 v5.8.1-RC1 - Terry Pratchett, "Interesting Times"
2290 L<Announced on 2003-07-10 by Jarkko Hietaniemi|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2003/07/msg78009.html>
2292 Cohen was familiar with city gates. He'd broken down a number
2293 in his time, by battering ram, siege gun, and on one occasion
2296 But the gates of Hunghung were pretty damn good gates. They
2297 weren't like the gates of Ankh-Morpork, which were usually wide
2298 open to attract the spending customer and whose concession to
2299 defense was the sign "Thank You For Not Attacking Our City.
2300 Bonum Diem." These things were big and made of metal and there
2301 was a guardhouse and a squad of unhelpful men in black armor.
2303 =head2 v5.8.0 - Terry Pratchett, "Reaper Man"
2305 L<Announced on 2002-07-18 by Rafael Garcia-Suarez|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2002/07/msg63720.html>
2307 There was the faint sound of footsteps.
2308 "Chap with a whip got as far as the big sharp spikes last week,"
2309 said the low priest.
2310 There was a sound like the flushing of a very old dry lavatory.
2311 The footsteps stopped. The High Priest smiled to himself.
2312 "Right," he said. "See your two pebbles and raise you two pebbles."
2313 The low priest threw down his cards. "Double Onion," he said.
2314 The High Priest looked down suspiciously.
2315 The low priest consulted a scrap of paper. "That's three hundred
2316 thousand, nine hundred and sixty-four pebbles you owe me," he said.
2317 There was the sound of footsteps. The priests exchanged glances.
2318 "Haven't had one for poisoned-dart alley for quite some time,"
2319 said the High Priest.
2320 "Five says he makes it", said the low priest. "You're on."
2321 There was a faint clatter of metal points on stone.
2322 "It's a shame to take your pebbles."
2323 There were footsteps again.
2325 =head2 v5.8.0-RC3 - no epigraph
2327 L<Announced on 2002-07-13 by Jarkko Hietaniemi|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2002/07/msg63234.html>
2329 =head2 v5.8.0-RC2 - no epigraph
2331 L<Announced on 2002-06-21 by Jarkko Hietaniemi|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2002/06/msg62013.html>
2333 =head2 v5.8.0-RC1 - no epigraph
2335 L<Announced on 2002-06-01 by Jarkko Hietaniemi|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2002/06/msg60317.html>
2337 =head2 v5.7.3 - Terry Pratchett, "Reaper Man"
2339 L<Announced on 2002-03-04 by Jarkko Hietaniemi|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2002/03/msg53652.html>
2341 Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong.
2342 No matter how fast light travels it finds the darkness has always
2343 got there first, and is waiting for it.
2345 =head2 v5.7.2 - Terry Pratchett, "Small Gods"
2347 L<Announced on 2001-07-13 by Jarkko Hietaniemi|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2001/07/msg40370.html>
2349 His philosophy was a mixture of three famous schools --
2350 the Cynics, the Stoics and the Epicureans -- and summed up
2351 all three of them in his famous phrase, "You can't trust any
2352 bugger further than you can throw him, and there's nothing
2353 you can do about it, so let's have a drink."
2355 =head2 v5.7.1 - Terry Pratchett, "The Colour of Magic"
2357 L<Announced on 2001-07-13 by Jarkko Hietaniemi|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2001/04/msg33851.html>
2359 "What happens next?" asked Twoflower.
2361 Hrun screwed a finger in his ear and inspected it absently.
2363 "Oh,", he said, "I expect in a minute the door will be
2364 flung back and I'll be dragged off to some sort of temple
2365 arena where I'll fight maybe a couple of giant spiders
2366 and an eight-foot slave from the jungles of Klatch and then
2367 I'll rescue some kind of a princess from the altar and then
2368 I'll kill off a few guards or whatever and then this girl
2369 will show me the secret passage out of the place and we'll
2370 liberate a couple of horses and escape with the treasure."
2371 Hrun leaned his head back on his hands and looked at the
2372 ceiling, whistling tunelessly.
2374 "All that?" said Twoflower.
2378 =head2 v5.7.0 - Terry Pratchett, "Moving Pictures"
2380 L<Announced on 2000-09-02 by Jarkko Hietaniemi|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2000/09/msg17730.html>
2382 The Librarian had seen many weird things in his time,
2383 but that had to be the 57th strangest.
2384 [footnote: he had a tidy mind]
2386 =head2 v5.6.2 - Sterne, "Tristram Shandy"
2388 L<Announced on 2003-11-15 by Rafael Garcia-Suarez|http://groups.google.com/group/perl.perl5.porters/msg/deb8cb9ad918716f>
2390 When great or unexpected events fall out upon the stage of this
2391 sublunary word--the mind of man, which is an inquisitive kind of
2392 a substance, naturally takes a flight, behind the scenes, to see
2393 what is the cause and first spring of them--The search was not
2394 long in this instance.
2396 =head2 v5.6.2-RC1 - Sterne, "Tristram Shandy"
2398 L<Announced on 2003-11-15 by Rafael Garcia-Suarez|http://groups.google.com/group/perl.perl5.porters/msg/e3d4acc7a8dd3ce5>
2400 "Pray, my dear", quoth my mother, "have you not forgot to wind up the clock?"
2402 =head2 v5.6.1 - J R R Tolkien, "The Hobbit", Riddles in the Dark
2404 L<Announced on 2001-04-08 by Gurusamy Sarathy|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2001/04/msg33823.html>
2406 `What have I got in my pocket?' he said aloud. He was talking to
2407 himself, but Gollum thought it was a riddle, and he was frightfully
2410 `Not fair! not fair!' he hissed. `It isn't fair, my precious, is it,
2411 to ask us what it's got in its nassty little pocketses?'
2413 Bilbo seeing what had happened and having nothing better to ask
2414 stuck to his question, `What have I got in my pocket?' he said
2417 `S-s-s-s-s,' hissed Gollum. `It must give us three guesseses,
2418 my precious, three guesseses.'
2420 =head2 v5.6.1-foolish - no epigraph
2422 L<Announced on 2001-08-04 by Gurusamy Sarathy|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2001/04/msg33421.html>
2424 =head2 v5.6.1-TRIAL3 - I can't find the announcement
2426 No announcement available.
2428 =head2 v5.6.1-TRIAL2 - no epigraph
2430 L<Announced on 2001-01-31 by Gurusamy Sarathy|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2001/01/msg29934.html>
2432 =head2 v5.6.1-TRIAL1 - no epigraph
2434 L<Announced on 2000-12-18 by Gurusamy Sarathy|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2000/12/msg27738.html>
2436 =head2 v5.6.0 - J R R Tolkien, "The Hobbit", The Last Stage
2438 L<Announced on 2000-03-23 by Gurusamy Sarathy|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2000/03/msg10341.html>
2440 The dragon is withered,
2441 His bones are now crumbled;
2442 His armour is shivered,
2443 His splendour is humbled!
2444 Though sword shall be rusted,
2445 And throne and crown perish
2446 With strength that men trusted
2447 And wealth that they cherish,
2448 Here grass is still growing,
2449 And leaves are a yet swinging,
2450 The white water flowing,
2451 And elves are yet singing
2452 Come! Tra-la-la-lally!
2453 Come back to the valley.
2455 =head2 v5.6.0-RC3 - no epigraph
2457 L<Announced on 2000-03-22 by Gurusamy Sarathy|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2000/03/msg10140.html>
2459 =head2 v5.005_05-RC1 - no epigraph
2461 L<Announced on 2009-02-16 by LE<0xe9>on Brocard|http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2009/02/msg144227.html>
2463 =head2 v5.005_04 - no epigraph
2465 L<Announced on 2004-03-01 by LE<0xe9>on Brocard|http://groups.google.com/group/perl.perl5.porters/msg/6c240ad0b189cb47>
2467 =head2 v5.005_04-RC2 - Rudyard Kipling, "The Jungle Book"
2469 L<Announced on 2004-02-19 by LE<0xe9>on Brocard|http://groups.google.com/group/perl.perl5.porters/msg/83e5421124a7b49d>
2471 The monkeys called the place their city, and pretended to despise
2472 the Jungle-People because they lived in the forest. And yet they
2473 never knew what the buildings were made for nor how to use
2474 them. They would sit in circles on the hall of the king's council
2475 chamber, and scratch for fleas and pretend to be men; or they would
2476 run in and out of the roofless houses and collect pieces of plaster
2477 and old bricks in a corner, and forget where they had hidden them,
2478 and fight and cry in scuffling crowds, and then break off to play up
2479 and down the terraces of the king's garden, where they would shake
2480 the rose trees and the oranges in sport to see the fruit and flowers
2483 =head2 v5.005_04-RC1 - Lewis Carroll, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"
2485 L<Announced on 2004-02-05 by LE<0xe9>on Brocard|http://groups.google.com/group/perl.perl5.porters/msg/6aaeb6ec699bd116>
2487 Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, for she had
2488 plenty of time as she went down to look about her and to wonder what was
2489 going to happen next. First, she tried to look down and make out what
2490 she was coming to, but it was too dark to see anything; then she looked
2491 at the sides of the well, and noticed that they were filled with
2492 cupboards and book-shelves; here and there she saw maps and pictures
2493 hung upon pegs. She took down a jar from one of the shelves as she
2494 passed; it was labelled 'ORANGE MARMALADE', but to her great
2495 disappointment it was empty: she did not like to drop the jar for fear
2496 of killing somebody, so managed to put it into one of the cupboards as
2499 =head2 v1.0_16 - Johan Vromans, extemporarily
2501 L<Announced on 2003-12-18 by Richard Clamp|http://groups.google.com/group/perl.perl5.porters/msg/9281dc6194d15940>
2503 =head1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
2505 This document was originally compiled based on a list of epigraphs
2506 on L<Perl Monks|http://perlmonks.org> titled
2507 L<Recent Perl Release Announcement|http://perlmonks.org/?node_id=372406>