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Post by alfromni on Feb 3, 2019 16:13:56 GMT
Thanks Nalkarj To quote the storyteller ... "Ali prayed to Allah for the wisdom to escape the wicked jinn... and that's when he figured out a way to win! He pointed a finger at the cowering desert fox and said..."OK... so let's suppose the jinni is of the wicked variety who doesn't keep his word and who is not bothered about correct magical conduct and ethics, all we have to deal with is the jinni's final given pronouncement which is: "CHOOSE, RESCUER! SHALL I:
1. BURN YOU ALIVE TO CHAR YOUR BONES AND MELT YOUR EYES? 2. THROW YOU TO THE NORTH STAR AND LET THE HEAVENS DESTROY YOUR MIND BODY AND SOUL? 3. SKIN YOU AND LET THE DESERT SAND SALT YOU LIKE BEEF?"Ali with his pointing is certainly involving the fox in the plot so... Thinking caps on guys...should be easy.
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Post by alfromni on Feb 3, 2019 16:51:47 GMT
Nalkarj - Something to work on. In Asian folklore, foxes are depicted as a familiar spirit possessed of magic powers. Similar to Western folklore, foxes are depicted as mischievous, usually tricking other people, with the ability to disguise as an attractive female human. However, there are other depictions of foxes as a mystical, sacred creature, that can either bring wonder or ruin. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox#In_cultureSo Ali, who is aware of the vulpine legends, has spotted that the fox is only feigning cowardice and calls upon it to be its true mystical self. The fox turns into an alluring but frightening female human saying to the jinni that it (the jinni) will be returned to its prison forever with no parole if any harm befalls Ali, and those words come from the Allah Himself. The jinni is now so afraid of this new mystical creature that his first promise of gold etc to Ali the rescuer, is reinstated.
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Post by alfromni on Feb 4, 2019 22:15:29 GMT
Any more problems of the same ilk Nalkarj ? It's fun to work them out.
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Post by ant-mac on Feb 4, 2019 23:46:36 GMT
Thanks Nalkarj To quote the storyteller ... "Ali prayed to Allah for the wisdom to escape the wicked jinn... and that's when he figured out a way to win! He pointed a finger at the cowering desert fox and said..."OK... so let's suppose the jinni is of the wicked variety who doesn't keep his word and who is not bothered about correct magical conduct and ethics, all we have to deal with is the jinni's final given pronouncement which is: "CHOOSE, RESCUER! SHALL I:
1. BURN YOU ALIVE TO CHAR YOUR BONES AND MELT YOUR EYES? 2. THROW YOU TO THE NORTH STAR AND LET THE HEAVENS DESTROY YOUR MIND BODY AND SOUL? 3. SKIN YOU AND LET THE DESERT SAND SALT YOU LIKE BEEF?"Ali with his pointing is certainly involving the fox in the plot so... Thinking caps on guys...should be easy. Perhaps he was planning to blame the fox for releasing the jinni? However, on a more serious note, it is not unusual for animals to possess much keener and sharper senses than Humans. Therefore, is it conceivable that the fox can perceive the jinni in a way that his Human companion cannot? And if so, how can this ability be used to Ali's advantage?
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Post by alfromni on Feb 5, 2019 0:13:15 GMT
ant-mac & NalkarjJudging by the present crop of humans on the planet, it seems to me that animals are by far the wiser. Could be it's always been that way. :-)
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Post by Nalkarj on Feb 5, 2019 0:31:30 GMT
Any more problems of the same ilk Nalkarj ? It's fun to work them out. Sure, if you don’t mind 19th century riddle stories! Should I start a new thread or put one here?
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Post by alfromni on Feb 5, 2019 0:36:30 GMT
Nalkarj - I guess here will do fine. You could alter the thread heading perhaps. "Mysteries to solve" or some such. Whatever you think best.
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Post by Nalkarj on Feb 5, 2019 2:25:09 GMT
OK, alfromni, here’s one… I’m not sure if I posted it in our old “Riddles” thread or not, but it’s one I’ve always wanted to have an answer to. Cleveland Moffett, the author, actually did come up with an explanation afterwards, but it was half sci-fi and half Gothic horror. As I mentioned before, it’s called a “riddle story,” in which the author proposes a mystery but never gives a solution—the goal was (I think) to make readers come up with different explanations themselves. (Obviously, I’m shortening Moffett’s story for the board.)
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Post by alfromni on Feb 5, 2019 2:28:32 GMT
Thanks Nalkarj02.30 here. Will start on it after shuteye.
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Post by ant-mac on Feb 5, 2019 8:23:21 GMT
ant-mac & Nalkarj Judging by the present crop of humans on the planet, it seems to me that animals are by far the wiser. Could be it's always been that way. :-) I think other animal species have always had the edge over us in various ways. Although the very fact that we are Jack of all trades, but master of none is probably the very reason why we dominate the planet now. However, as we've advanced scientifically and technologically and as our civilization has evolved, I can't help but feel we've lost something that was once intrinsic and vital.
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Post by alfromni on Feb 5, 2019 9:35:16 GMT
Nalkarj - Re: Card. It seemed familiar to me, so checked, and yes you did post it before. It's on... imdb2.freeforums.net/thread/20372/riddle-me?page=58We had a go at it, and brimfin came up with a reasonable answer, but as usual I found flaws in it.
brimfin answer: The card reads "Devenir tres tres en colere et ne pas dire pourqioi." That's French for "Become very, very angry and don't say why." The purple ink is a newly developed drug that has a hypnotic effect on anyone who touched it or the card and a dash of LSD to give the person an illusion to help make and keep them angry. It's being developed as a secret super-weapon; so far, so good. You explained: Moffett's explanation is a bit like that: "The Mysterious Card Unveiled" reveals that the card has some kind of formula on it such that whoever holds it looks to other people like a monster or demon (never exactly explained how), causing the other person to become repulsed, angry, and scared.
My question was: ...if the card itself had hypnotic and demonic effects etc on everyone who was shown the card, how is it that Jim didn't suffer the same effects regardless of language? The natural thing to do when given the card is to look at it. Ergo we are left with language. I can't think of anything written (French or otherwise) that would have the same effect of disgust on everyone. Especially in this current era. I think we're back to "Sleuth".
To which you agreed.
But I think if we work at it we may find some result. Don't know if ant-mac is interested in giving it a go.
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One thing that strikes me is a possible reworking of "The Woman in the Window" with Edward G. Robinson. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woman_in_the_WindowThe story of “The Mysterious Card” starts: "Burwell was visiting Paris in the spring of 1895; his wife and daughter had also come over from America but were at the moment first visiting a friend in London before meeting up with him in the City of Lights. One night, Burwell went to the Folies Bergère, the famed theater, and during intermission walked to a nearby garden."
Did he fall asleep on a garden bench to dream the whole thing? Too much absinthe perhaps? The ending is: "Her mouth quivered, she breathed her last, and her head fell heavily upon the pillow. In horror, Burwell saw that every vestige of the writing had faded. The card was now blank. The woman lay there dead."
And he woke up in a sweat, looked around. No woman, no card, just a garden, so he shakily walked back to the Folies Bergère in a daze, but where he found everything quite normal. Then suddenly he spotted her...the lead dancer in the troupe. She smiled at him...and he left the theatre poste-haste and never looked back.
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Post by ant-mac on Feb 5, 2019 11:17:27 GMT
alfromni - Whilst I am an avid devotee of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, I can't claim to share more than a passing interest in these "riddle stories". I certainly admire them, their creators and those who choose to tackle and solve them, but that's about as far as it goes for me.
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Post by alfromni on Feb 5, 2019 11:20:15 GMT
ant-mac - That's fine. Just wondered.
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Post by ant-mac on Feb 5, 2019 11:28:59 GMT
ant-mac - That's fine. Just wondered. However, despite this, I have to admit I'm still mulling certain aspects of the jinni puzzle over in my mind. It's annoying. However, despite this, I'm still mulling certain aspects of the jinni puzzle
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Post by alfromni on Feb 5, 2019 21:43:05 GMT
Nalkarj - Are you satisfied with my "solution" of “The Mysterious Card”? Can we put it to bed and try something else, or do you wish another solution...if one can be found?
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Post by Nalkarj on Feb 5, 2019 21:55:54 GMT
Oops, sorry, alfromni. I had a vague inkling that I’d already posted the problem, so apologies for posting it again (and far longer, too). To be perfectly honest, while your solution works (the problem has dream-logic anyway), I’d love a logical, non-dream, non-supernatural solution. No idea if such a thing is possible, though. If you want, there are more (which I don’t think I’ve posted before)!
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Post by alfromni on Feb 5, 2019 22:13:29 GMT
Nalkarj - I honestly don't think it's possible. Looking at it logically, if the words on the card were too horrible for the characters, they'd be too horrible for the readers or viewers. The drugs on cards effects we've already gone through. As you say my dream sequence works, but I'll give the card some more thought but without much hope of anything better. If you can sort out any new unsolved stories that haven't been answered post them by all means. Not that cluedo one. I gave up with that.
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Post by Nalkarj on Feb 5, 2019 22:33:15 GMT
I’m similarly skeptical of a solution’s being found, alfromni , but I’ll work on it too eventually. To be perfectly honest, I think I’ve given up on the Cluedo one as well, and I wrote the damn thing! Here’s one I found interesting, based on a latter-day riddle-story by Stanley Ellin: And here, of course, Ellin stops, which is incredibly infuriating.
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Post by Nalkarj on Feb 5, 2019 22:39:13 GMT
Just to preëmpt any solutions based how I’ve phrased that last paragraph, here’s Ellin’s phrasing in full. The stout man is the person telling the story, and his companion has been listening to it.
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Post by alfromni on Feb 5, 2019 23:29:06 GMT
Thanks again Nalkarj That should keep me quiet for a while.
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