Larry of Arabia
Nine Apathetic Sympathetic Diabetic Old Men on Bicycles
The Heimlich Manure
Slobodan Fitzgerald Kennedy
Six Characters in Search of a Plumber's Helper
Hugging, Kissing and Kvetching
The So-So Gatsby
Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim
A Squeegee and a Codpiece but not Madeleine Albright
Three! Four! Five! Buttocks! Six!
The Sphinx, the Great Pyramid and the Jiffy Lube in Rockville
The Next-To-Last of the Mohicans
This Week's Contest: You are on "Jeopardy!" These are the answers.What
are the questions? Choose one or more. First-prize winner gets a Shea
Stadium cookie tin that, when opened, plays "Take Me Out to the
Ballgame." This is worth $20.
First runner-up gets the tacky but estimable Style Invitational Loser
Pen. Other runners-up receive the coveted Style Invitational Loser
T-shirt. Honorable Mentions get the mildly sought-after Style
Invitational bumper sticker. Winners will be selected on the basis of
humor and originality. Mail your entries to the Style Invitational, Week
327, c/o The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071;
fax them to 202-334-4312; or submit them via e-mail to this address:
losers@washpost.com. E-mail users: Please indicate the week number in
the "subject" field. Also, please do not append "attachments," which
tend not to be read. Entries must be received on or before Monday, June
28. Important: Please include your postal address and phone number.
Winners will be announced three weeks from today. Editors reserve the
right to alter entries for taste, humor or appropriateness. No purchase
necessary. Today's Warning No One Heeds was written by David Genser of
Arlington. Employees of The Washington Post and members of their
immediate families are not eligible for prizes.
Report from Week 324, in which we asked you to come up with "prequels"
to famous works of cinema or literature. Many entrants came up with
fabulous titles, but failed at creating plausible plot summaries. These
included "Just Another in a Long Series of Tangos in Paris," "All the
Postmaster General's Men," and "Patton Pending." Also, some entries were
very good, but were not, technically, prequels. The best of these, by
Malcolm Fleschner of Arlington: "Here's Waldo" -- Precisely like the
familiar version, but each full-page illustration includes a big red
arrow.
Fourth Runner-Up: "It's a Terrible Life" -- A young Mr. Potter wishes he
had never been born after losing the use of his legs, but after an
angel shows him just how unbearably chipper the town of Bedford Falls
would be without him, he changes his mind for the good of mankind.
(Art Grinath, Takoma Park)
Third Runner-Up: "Divide by Zero" -- Before Brad Easton Ellis failed at
literature, he tried his hand at math. (Brian Broadus, Charlottesville)
Second Runner-Up: "James Bond, 006" -- A man with a learner's permit to kill.
(Brian Broadus, Charlottesville; Bob Sorensen, Herndon)
First Runner-Up: "Godot Waiting" -- Godot spends three acts pacing,
glancing at his watch, and muttering "Where the hell are those guys?"
and then shrugs and shuffles off stage.
(David Genser, Arlington)
And the winner of the Magruder's bag full of plastic fruit:
"Star Wars, Episode 0" -- Ninety minutes of Mrs. Skywalker's ultrasound
of little Anakin. On the first weekend, it grosses $100 million. (Aaron
Kravitz, Ellicott City)
Honorable Mentions:
"Twelve Mildly Ticked-Off Men" -- A bunch of guys get a summons to jury duty.
(Chuck Smith, Woodbridge)
"The G-dfather" -- Years before the Italians took over, Orthodox Jews ran organized crime. (David Genser, Arlington)
"Basic Instinct, Part 1" -- The story of a little girl who climbs high
on the monkey bars and then drops cinder blocks on the boys who try to
peek under her skirt. (Paul Styrene, Olney)
"Angel, Second Class" -- The hilarious misadventures of Clarence, the
apprentice angel in the days before Bedford Falls, as he tries to save
the Titanic and the Hindenburg. (David J. Litman, Arlington)
"Tuesday Night Fever" -- The dancing is intense, but stops at 11 because, hey, it's a school night. (Russ Beland, Springfield)
"Two Very Horny Dalmatians" -- Self-explanatory. (Chuck Smith, Woodbridge)
"It's a Wonderful Day" -- Tempted to call in sick, a man is shown what
the office would be like without him. (Tom Witte, Gaithersburg)
"The Oyster," by John Steinbeck, a novel in which an oyster tries in
vain to rid itself of a particulate that has lodged within its shell.
(Mike Genz, La Plata)
"Paleozoic Park" -- Trilobytes are cloned from fossilized DNA, and a
theme park is created around them. No one comes. Then someone gets a
better idea (Beth Baniszewski, Columbia)
"The Undergraduate" -- Benjamin is a little worried about his acne. Score by Chad and Jeremy. (Jonathan Paul, Garrett Park)
"The Whiny Adolescence of Jerry A. Prufrock" -- He just can't score. (Ralph Scott, Washington)
"The Blobule" -- A young Blob makes its way around town largely
unnoticed, attempting to wreak havoc but mostly just clogging up pipes
and sticking to people's shoes. (Mike Genz, La Plata)
"The King and Me" -- Anna still has a lot to learn when she begins student teaching.
(Bill Strider, Gaithersburg)
"Neuro" -- While changing for gym class, Normie Bates is caught wearing
his mother's nylons. The other kids' razzing affects him adversely
(Dave Zarrow, Herndon)
"Fast Times at Ridgemont Middle School" -- Same as the original, only even more sophomoric. (Russ Beland, Springfield)
"You've Got a Telegram" -- A heartfelt romance between two people that takes place in 1909. (Blythe Leatherman, Cabin John)
"Mr. Zhivago" -- Yuri fails his medical boards because instead of
studying he spends all his time writing sappy poetry. (Lynn Terhar,
Chantilly)
"The Eggs" -- Prequel to "The Birds." No, wait. "The Birds" is the
prequel to "The Eggs." No, wait (Jonathan Paul, Garrett Park)
Rookie of the Week:
"Go Ask Dorothy" -- Fed up with her addiction to hallucinogens, a young
girl's parents send her to live with her aunt and uncle on a farm where,
unfortunately, mushrooms grow wild. (Sarah and
Amy Splitt, Washington)