Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

internetworkers - [internetworkers] Bulgakov, three words at a time.

internetworkers AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: BigLee Haslup <biglee AT haslups.com>
  • To: "Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/" <internetworkers AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [internetworkers] Bulgakov, three words at a time.
  • Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 11:10:22 -0500

Dunno if you've noticed it but one of the spamsters is mailing out a novel, three words at a time. Each message subject starts with "Re:" followed by several upper case gibberish characters, a comma, and three words from a text. One that caught my eye read...

Re: IMV, here styopa turned

Since "Styopa" is an unusual name I hoped that google would come up with the actual text for me. At

http://www.kulichki.com/moshkow/BULGAKOW/master97_engl.txt_Piece40.06

it found a snippit of text including this paragraph.

"Here Styopa turned away from the telephone and saw distinctly in the
mirror that stood in the front hall, and which the lazy Grunya had not wiped
for ages, a certain strange specimen, long as a pole, and in a pince-nez
(ah, if only Ivan Nikolaevich had been there! He would have recognized this
specimen at once!). The figure was reflected and then disappeared. Styopa
looked further down the hall in alarm and was rocked a second time, for in
the mirror a stalwart black cat passed and also disappeared."

Interestingly, shown the whole paragraph I would have recognized it as an excerpt from one of my favorite books -- The Master and Margarita by a Russian author named Mikhail Bulgakov. It has the interesting distinction of being one of the few books banned both by the Vatican and the Kremlin.

Who says spam has no redeeming value? Great literature -- three words at a time!!!

BigLee





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page