Panache and the Great Hunt for the Acryli-Beast

[ccga3359]

Far be it for me to disagree with our esteemed forum members, in particular Monkey@Arms. Especially when that disagreement actually furthers Panache's standing amongst this forum and it's moderators. Alas it is something that I read months ago by the hand of Ace reporter Jake that, in contradiction to Jamie, "There are no penguins in the Arctic!" It was either in this thread or a by reference in another that has bothered me so.

As custodians of a great section of the Arctic Canadians know the truth. Albeit rare there are indeed penguins in the Arctic circle. I submit for your approval, at great risk to our photographers this proof:






Now Jamie as vindication for you I would like for you to put in a good word for me for early release. This morning I was looking out of my barred cell window, I mean office window and saw this new billboard.



Although I have been enjoying my just desserts (rice pudding tonight) I have been put off of the main courses. It is a shame as tomorrow I was told that we were having tiddily oggies.

Thank you,

The fully rehabilitated.

Grant
REX

[Panache]

Saskatchewan Institute for the Criminally Kilted

Patient Daily Record

Patient Name: Grant ****

Date: *****

The subject shows considerably progress today. He did not insist as being referred to as “her Majesty” and there was no mention of his being “Queen of the Arctic Circle”. There were only four references to his mane of blonde hair and pert buttocks which is a remarkable improvement in comparison to the 78 mentions of them in our first 20 minute session.

He was very keen on discussing pudding. He rated the various puddings served at our facility, offered a lengthy discourse on notable puddings that he had enjoyed in the past, and speculated on such comestibles as he might have the pleasure eating in the future.

Wishing to see if this was a genuine step toward rehabilitation or a clever fakery of a return to almost normal behavior, I deliberately mentioned the “Panache” figure who had figured so prominently in his paranoid delusions. Grant developed a twitch and said quote:

“It's unfair that Jamie’s was so much bigger and more powerful. He went all the way! Mine just went limp and flaccid, crashing short of the goal and leaving me stranded in the cold”.

Based on this I think it best to refer this case to Dr. Q. Ackery, who as a neo-Freudian will have a better handle on Grant's problems.

Grant is lucky that he has such a supportive and constant visitor in his good friend Mr. McMurdo. This gentleman is such a good natured and jolly fellow I feel he cannot help but be a positive influence on the patient‘s overtaxed mind. Every afternoon Mr. McMurdo sits outside the small observation window of Grant’s padded cell to visit. Mr. McMurdo's booming laughter can be heard throughout the facility. A very jolly fellow indeed. I do wonder what he finds so very amusing.

Dr. B. Ed. Lam

[ccga3359]

I am making improvements daily. I no longer think that I am the Queen of the Arctic, although I do realize that I married an Ice Queen. There's frost on my sceptre...



... Ohhh, gotta run they're calling for seconds on treacle tart!

[The F-H.C.A.G.]

One day, Grant, your wife is going to read this forum. You are sooooooo dead! By the way, wasn't she a brunette in the books?

Be well,

P.S. Didn't you prefer when I was ignoring you? It's currently 9:23 pm.

[Pleater]

A man crazed by second helpings of certain desserts can't really help himself.

It is little wonder that the blimp crashed when the whole crew was most likely high on extra creamy cocoa with the sparkly sprinkles on top, or under the influence of sherry trifle with little sponge fingers soaked in port.

It is no wonder that sightings of penguins were reported -

His recovery must have been hindered by his associates infiltrating the kitchens of the S.I.C.K. in a vain attempt to facilitate his escape as they were sidetracked into the production of ever larger batches of pudding and their plans thwarted by the inmates and attendants taking ever more exercise and cold showers in an attempt to ameliorate the effects.

[Panache]

Panache and the Great Hunt for the Acryli-Beast discussion Questions

Some Literary scholars have suggested that the characters of somewhat emotionally twisted Freelander Sporrano and the logical Germanic cajunscot represent the Dionysian and Apollonian aspects of Panache’s character, or (if one insists on an annoyingly Freudian analysis) his Id and Superego. Support or critique this concept using the text.

Continuing to look at the text in an annoying Freudian manner, discuss the phallic imagery of the zeppelin Saltire and the blimp Maple Leaf. How is their representation throughout the story reflect on the readers perceptions of Captain Panache and Captain Grant‘s masculinity and ability to lead? Why is Panache’s so much larger? Compare and contrast the imagery of the airships. Does the fact that Maple Leaf is punctured, deflated, and crashed (twice) alter our feelings toward Grant?

Is Grant’s eventual decline into madness by the story’s end inevitable? Is it a decline at all, or is the character of Grant always that unbalanced internally and his expedition’s failure brings this to the surface? Are all Canadians like this? If so can’t we do something about them? Discuss.

Looking at the character of The Wizard of BC, can anyone be that cantankerous and old without dying of their own bile?

Discuss the characters of Mike1 and KiltedMusicLover. How do we feel about them at the beginning of the story. How do you feel that the embezzlement of The League of the Moderators funds and theft of Nelson’s orchestra effected them? Do our perceptions of them change throughout the story? In what ways does the author have them embody Authority (or a Father-Figure for the ever-persistent Freudian Literary Critics)? At the story’s conclusion how do David, Jamie, and Todd ultimately perceive them? Why do English professors go on and on about characters that are only in the story for literally a few sentences?

Discuss Panache’s interlude at The Octavius. Is it an extremely interesting passage that sets the tone for the lonely bleakness of the North Pole and makes reference to a true ghost ship of the arctic circle as well as alluding to the story “At the Mountains of Madness” by influential American horror writer H.P. Lovecraft? Or is it going to be completely overlooked by the readers who are only sticking with the tale in the hopes of Grant getting humiliated again?

Many key chapters of Panache and the Great Hunt for the Acryli-Beast feature pieces of classical music. Discuss the use of music in the story and how it enhances or acts as a counterpoint to the mood set by the author. How would have the climatic battle with the Acryli-Beast been different if instead of “O Fortuna” the aerial orchestra of the Saltire had played Brittany Spears’ “Toxic”?

Why doesn’t the Moderator Colin ever get to be in an essay question?


Note on the text

The tale Panache and the Great Hunt for the Acryli-Beast describes a zeppelin expedition to the arctic and contains references to bomb racks, Vickers machine guns, and a gratuitous passage describing an elephant gun. I wish to sincerely apologize to those who were offended by this, as talk of such things can be very disturbing to those members of our forum with gentler spirits.

In no way, shape, or form do want this story to be construed as encouraging or glamorizing the horrors of violence. I realize that in our modern society, disaffected urban youths lacking direction can easily fall into the trap of zeppelin warfare. Who here hasn’t been touched by the tales coming out of the slums of Detroit, New York, Paris, London, Glasgow, Beijing, Tokyo, Toronto, Rome, Helsinki, and Vaduz? In these ghettoes troubled youths, lacking any hope of escape from their squalid neighborhoods, start building huge zeppelins and going on deadly rampages to express their anger at a society that has marginalized them. Inner city zeppelin warfare costs millions of dollars in property damage annually, not to mention human suffering whose loss can’t be measured in money. The problem grows steadily worse each year. This trend can only be stopped by addressing the underlying societal problems of these areas and outreach programs that discourage youths from turning to dirigibles in the first place. To any young readers out there please heed my words and Just Say NO To Zeppelins!

Also I should apologize for the rather cavalier attitude I have shown toward the Acryli-Beast itself. Obviously this is one of the last of its kind and the concept of taking a species to extinction is no matter for jest. Where once thousands of Naugas once roamed South America in majestic herds there are now less than a sixty five breeding pairs left. So great was the decimation that affected their species as they were hunted for their hydes in the 1970’s. This should be a lesson to us of the importance of global conservation efforts to protect imaginary species.


Lastly, I would just like to apologize for Grant on general principle.

Your Humble Servant

P.

[davedove]

Oh, great, homework.

[McMurdo]

I am sure our Canadian members will attest that we are not all like that, however strange as this may seem there is little to be done about us anyway. I am also certain that our esteemed members from the Toronto area will remember 2005 as the year of the Zeppelin. Oh yes I remember that summer, scarcely a day went by when there was not a mention of an Airship attack, it was quite something really, these unfortunate souls, being driven to all out aerial warfare, as we who suffered the horrors of that summer will no doubt tell you we heartily agree with the sentiment,
"Just Say No to Dirigibles."

[sharpdressedscot]

I just read this whole thing...well sort, I skimmed over a few parts...wow!

[ccga3359]

I know blimps have a greater girth than zeppelins. And my dog ate my homework...