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An ode to the Expo

Macworld logoI got a bit bored last night, after checking in and getting everything set up in the room. Left with time on my hands and not much to do, I started thinking about the upcoming keynote. For whatever reason, the poem 'Twas the night before Christmas started running through my head, but repurposed for Tuesday's event:

"Twas the day before Macworld, and all through the nets
Not a weblog was silent, they were all taking bets;
The photos were taken of posters afar,
In hopes that St. Jobs' stuff would clearly show thar.

I finished a version (although without using every single stanza in the original long poem!), then sent it to my buddy Kirk McElhearn to take a look at. He tweaked a few words, added a couple more stanzas, and we wound up with this.

Somehow, the tie-in with Christmas and the Expo keynote seems quite fitting; I hope everyone gets what they're hoping for tomorrow!

1 thought on “An ode to the Expo”

  1. Dear Rob,

    Back in 2001 this similar "Twas the Night Before Macworld" was posted. I don't remember where I got it, but I found it so amusing I kept a copy of it. I thought you might be interested.

    Twas the night before Macworld, when all through the land
    Not a Machead was stirring-- they were all in San Fran
    From thousands of miles, they paid their own fare
    In hopes that St. Steve soon would be there;

    The Macheads were nestled all snug on the street
    Camping all night to get a good seat
    We'd just nodded off
    When there arose such a clatter:
    I sprang from my bag to see what was the matter

    Away to the entrance I flew like a flash
    Tore open the doors and then gasped!
    Wall-sized photos of Apple's cool stuff
    Graced all the walls, the floors and the roof
    Then out of nowhere, what should appear,
    But a huge iSleigh and eight pissed reingineers!

    With a turtle-necked driver, so livid and peeved
    I knew in a moment it must be St. Steve
    Angrier than lions his temper was known
    And he screamed at his reingineers like no one was home

    "Now Avie! Now, Sina! Now Jon Rubenstein!
    On, Ivey! On, See-Mong! Don't waste any time!
    My Keynote's tomorrow! You ninny! You dork!
    We don't want a repeat of Macworld New York!"

    I crawled into a corner and gleamed with delight
    As ol' St. Steve worked into the night
    He tested the scanner, he tested the mice
    He tested them once, then tested them twice
    Mr. Perfection was making damn sure
    That his keynote went hitch-less, perfect and pure

    "So much is riding on a standing ovation
    I must bring my flock to total elation!
    But alas, I know that they won't be let down
    By the time I'm finished they'll be painting the town!"

    And so he returned to his super iSled,
    And hauled out a giant Bondi Blue safe that read:
    "The Toppest of Secrets: For Steve's Eye's Only
    (If you AI folks see this-- you're sure to be sorry!)"
    Then St. Steve crawled into his Safe
    And what he pulled out put a smile on his face

    That's when my eyes fell right out of my head!
    And I thought for a moment I was dreaming or dead;
    Steve must have heard us whine and complain
    For he was holding an LCD iMac-- with a G4 brain!!

    My mouth was drooling, my tongue touched the floor
    Then I realized he wasn't done yet-- THERE WAS MORE!
    Back into the safe went our hero, our Saint
    And he rummaged around so long I could faint
    What was he doing, what's taking so long?
    And that odd metallic sound-- (is he smoking a bong?)

    Then out of the safe came an arm, then a leg
    Then St. Steve emerged with a halo 'round his head
    Birds started chirping, Angels were singing
    iTunes was rocking-- some new band was swinging
    And there in the grip of the genius man's hands:
    A titanium G5 tower with oodles of RAM!
    Gigawire, DDR and all the buzz words
    Hey Mike Dell and Bill Gates-- eat my turd!!

    That's when I shrieked in utter delight
    St. Steve started screaming "Turn on the lights!
    There's an intruder in here-- a freak-- a spy
    And at the hands of Apple Legal you SHALL DIE!"

    Well, I didn't feel to try and explain
    So off I took in a flash once again
    With all the good scoop on the next day's highlight
    Happy Macworld to all, and to all a Good Night!!

    Thanks for an updated version.
    Nancy

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