June 21st, 2007 -- by Bacchus
Cleaning A Series Of Tubes
Um, is this a letter from Senator Stevens?
From The Stockroom’s actual customer letters.
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Shorter URL for sharing: http://www.erosblog.com/?p=1972
Shorter URL for sharing: http://www.erosblog.com/?p=1972
OMG! At first I couldn’t place Senator Stevens, then I re-read the “…Series of Tubes” in the heading. Oh! Duh! Republican Senator Ted Stevens… the “savvy and articulate” internet “master”… The parallel is indeed ingenious on more than one level. Never let it be said that Bacchus doesn’t have a grand subtle wit. Thanks for the belly laugh.
So many people misjudge how much an ounce actually is. Sure one isn’t much, but a screw that weighs a “few” ounces would be quite a feat.
I wonder how they got up there…
Oh god.
That’s terrible.
My ass just clenched up in sympathy.
I’m sorry… cultural differences and all that… who is Senator Stevens and what’s the link?
(I am aware that explaining a witty aside in simple terms will suck all the subtle humour out of it, but I’m curious now.)
As for the link to the actual customer letters – excellent stuff!
O.K. Gem: Um… 83 year-old Senator Theodore Fulton Stevens came off like the often not-too-hip Grampa Simpson or Grandpa Amos McCoy, when he seemed to call his delayed E-mail messages from his staff “Internets” during a speech defending his telecommunications bill, and further tried to explain the internet as a series of “tubes” (not “like” a series of tubes mind you…) packed with information that on occasion got jammed and slowed up (…constipated?) due to the “input” rate exceeding the “exit” rate, and suggested that certain companies should be charged an extra fee to give their networks a higher access priority. Stevens suddenly was the butt of many a blogging joke, and received additional media attention due to this flurry of blogosphere interest, notably by comedians such as Jon Stewart, who’s “The Daily Show” television program made no less than nine humorous references (on totally different days) to the Senator’s comments, which had revealed how poorly the Stevens understood the web which he was attempting to regulate. This turned his “series of tubes” comment into a somewhat well known catch phrase.
At least one snippet of the humorous exchanges could be enjoyed on a popular website known for hosting user-generated videos, until it was removed by short-sighted Viacom for copyright infringement.
Most recently he has come under fire for another bill, which would restrict the access to the very popular social networking websites from public library and school computers, which presumably he must feel would free up more “tube space” for E-mailings from his staff.
Gem, try It’s not a truck to get you started, or just google “series of tubes”.
It became a huge overnight internet classic, complete with t-shirts and mashups and all that.