“There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.” - Douglas Adams, "The Restaurant at the End of the Earth"
Things that happen in the
world can be very odd, and there is a delight in the sort of chaos
oddity brings. Such things happen in the world such as a man named
Gambles winning a lottery for the second time, using the exact same
numbers,
ISIS opening two theme parks to entertain kids,
or that jellyfish exist, which have no traditional organs as we know
them.
I’m not sure if this applies to everyone, or if
it is a personal quirk, but I adore settings baked in chaos and
oddity. This is the reason I adore "Alice in Wonderland;" it’s a
story about a world that has even more chaos and oddity than our own,
while still having a coherent internal logic, which is where a lot of
stories of chaos and madness can fall apart. If thing X does Y one
second, then the next second it does A instead, then it’s not fun
chaos, it’s just general chaos.
That brings me to a web
podcast I’ve been enjoying quite a bit, known as "Welcome to Night
Vale." "WtNV" is about a town called Night Vale, which has the same type
of messed up logic I adore in Wonderland. Mysterious hooded figures
who occupy the dog park (where dogs are never allowed to go), strange
government helicopters that fly overhead, the weather which is music,
and a station management which is a eldritch abomination.
While it might sound
like it doesn’t, "Welcome to Night Vale" has an overarching narrative
and a tight internal logic, nothing seems out of place within the
world. The angels stay what they are the entire time, characters
change realistically. I haven’t been caught up with "WtNV," but it’s
twice monthly and I recommend listening to it. There’s
something to amuse on each episode, and it’s very easy to fall
asleep to.
Night Vale can be
found here
