# Obvious things about a creative work you realize after the millionth time (OPEN SPOILERS POSSIBLE) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2009, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117 "2009-07-24T13:20:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 217
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4325 "2021-08-27T00:09:10Z")
The Star Trek Discovery tv show featured CGI of “programmable matter controls”: [![](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/images/5/57/Programmable_matter_controls.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20201019200806&path-prefix=en) ](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/images/5/57/Programmable_matter_controls.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20201019200806&path-prefix=en) but it was all lifted from an old MIT bits and atoms tech demo: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/lCARHatJQJA/hqdefault.jpg "TRANSFORM - Amazing Technology Invented By MIT") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCARHatJQJA) ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4326 "2021-08-27T00:47:43Z")
Added Peter, Paul, and Mary’s _Leaving on a Jet Plane_ to the rotation. Nice song, pleasant melody, but I can’t help but imagine this as a voice mail… ‘Hey. I’m getting on this plane and couldn’t leave without calling…looks like it went directly to voice mail. Anyway… I am SO sorry about everything. Look, honey, all those other people… they meant nothing. Really. Nothing. Look, when I come back… if you can promise to not have a revenge fuck while I’m gone, I’ll get married like you wanted! _We’ll_ get married! Like _we_ wanted! Ok? Tell me you’ll wait for me! Tell me! Shit. I’ll call when I land, but still have yet to book my return so I don’t know when I’ll be back. Love you, baby. Really. And I’m so sorry.’ > **[John Denver – Leaving on a Jet Plane](https://genius.com/John-denver-leaving-on-a-jet-plane-lyrics)** > > \[Verse 1\] / All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go / I'm standing here outside your door / I hate to wake you up to say goodbye / But the dawn is breaking, it's early morn / The ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4327 "2021-08-27T01:21:48Z")
For that matter, consider the song “Gentle on My Mind”, which was written and first sung by John Hartford although the famous version is by Glenn Campbell. It’s about a guy who tells a woman who he regularly sleeps with that he will always will come back to her after sleeping with a few other woman in the interim. The other womrn may cry when he leaves them, but so what? There’s a pretense that the song is about a hobo who has spent his life traveling around the country hitching rides on trains, but if the song actually was meant to be just for such men, just how popular would it be? It’s really about guys who think they’re like hoboes even though they have steady jobs and own a house, but they like to pretend that they are as free as a hobo and thus their occasional girlfriends can’t complain about his cheating on them. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2021, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4328 "2021-08-28T02:15:47Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Glenn Campbell AAAAAhhhhh!!! Glen Campbell. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4329 "2021-09-01T21:03:19Z")
So I’ve been watching the show _Special_ on Netflix. The main character is a writer for a website called Egg Woke. I thought that seemed like a strange name for a blog, but whatever. I was several episodes into season 2 before I realized “Egg Woke” sounds like “egg yolk”. 🤦‍♂️ ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2021, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4330 "2021-09-05T04:44:01Z")
There’s a James Thurber cartoon that shows a woman on the telephone, with the caption, “Well, if I called the wrong number, why did you answer the phone?” But I’d only heard the caption as a joke in the stage presentation, “Thurber Carnival”. For some reason I thought it was an odd situation in which the person who answered was somehow someone she knew, leaving us to ponder the mystery of what was going on. Maybe a married man or woman she knew having an affair? I finally saw the cartoon many years later (which did not change my impression). Note the old-style phone. [https://www.pinterest.com/pin/37788084359507850/](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/37788084359507850/) It was many _more_ years later I finally realized the totally obvious: the woman didn’t understand that the person who answered couldn’t know it was a wrong number until he/she picked up the phone. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2021, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4331 "2021-09-05T22:30:42Z")
Modern technology spoiling a good joke. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4332 "2021-09-07T07:22:15Z")
Rewatching **Casablanca** , I was surprised by a couple of lines that I didn’t remember. The first: I love this one and will try to remember to use it in real life. A customer complains to a waiter after witnessing a suspicious-looking win at the roulette wheel: _Customer: Say, you sure this place is honest?_ _Waiter: Honest? As honest as the day is long!_ If you don’t get it, the implication is (or may be) that it’s honest only half the time. The second: Nothing funny or cute about this one. When Victor and Ilsa first enter Rick’s Cafe, she recognizes Sam from Paris and asks about him: _Ilsa: Captain, the boy who’s playing the piano… Somewhere I’ve seen him._ I’m sure no ill will was behind the use of “boy,” especially in a film like Casablanca. It’s still hard to hear, though. Someone once called me “sport” and it really pissed me off (you had to be there). ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4333 "2021-09-07T11:24:07Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > _Customer: Say, you sure this place is honest?_ > _Waiter: Honest? As honest as the day is long!_ > > If you don’t get it, the implication is (or may be) that it’s honest only half the time. I don’t think that’s correct; “…as the day is long” means something is true to the utmost degree. I think the waiter’s use of that phrase was meant to be hyperbole, but I don’t know that any double meaning was intended. > **[as the day is long](https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/as+the+day+is+long)** > > Definition of as the day is long in the Idioms Dictionary by The Free Dictionary ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4334 "2021-09-07T11:55:37Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > I’m sure no ill will was behind the use of “boy,” especially in a film like Casablanca. It’s still hard to hear, though. Sam calls Rick “Boss”, Rick and Ilsa call Sam “Sam”, and Sam calls Ilsa “Miss Ilsa”. Rick’s attitude varies between treating Sam as a friend and an employee. There’s only that one point at which someone calls Sam “the boy”. For the time, it wasn’t much more racist or sexist than usual. This essay (which I don’t necessarily agree with all of) talks about other questionable aspects of Casablanca. You have to accept Rick and Renault’s actions as being sufficient at the end to morally balance their previous ones: > **[Taking a Hard Look at You, Kid](https://www.thesmartset.com/taking-a-hard-look-at-you-kid/)** > > Arguably America’s favorite film, as measured by various polls over the years, Casablanca turned 75 in November. Special screenings have been held across the ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4335 "2021-09-07T17:36:19Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I don’t think that’s correct; “…as the day is long” means something is true to the utmost degree. I think the waiter’s use of that phrase was meant to be hyperbole, but I don’t know that any double meaning was intended. Yes, I’m aware of the meaning. It may have been unintentional and, of course, it may be my imagination. But it’s not much of a stretch, especially considering the rest of the film. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4336 "2021-09-07T17:38:43Z")
I’ve watched _The Wire_. And I’ve watched _Boardwalk Empire_. And yet somehow I managed to not realize Omar Little and Chalky White were played by the same actor until today, when the news of his death came out. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4337 "2021-09-07T18:27:46Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > _Customer: Say, you sure this place is honest?_ > _Waiter: Honest? As honest as the day is long!_ I would agree with @Robot_Arm. The intended humor is not that the place is honest half the time, but rather why would you ask the employee of a crooked establishment if the establishment is honest? I mean, you could potentially run across the fellow Diogenes was searching for, but your odds would be better outside with a lamp. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4338 "2021-09-07T19:15:11Z")
And of course, the place is _not_ honest. The line occurs just after Rick has cheated (or, had his croupier cheat) in order to give the young Hungarian couple enough money to buy an exit visa from Renault. Carl is swearing that the casino is honest even though he, and we, know it isn’t. By the way, I’m shocked–SHOCKED!–to find gambling going on in here. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4339 "2021-09-07T19:18:21Z")
It’s been a while since I saw Casablanca but I thought the joke was that they were only open at night. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2021, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4340 "2021-09-08T16:35:26Z")
I just realized that the movie title **The Departed** comes (partially) from the line on the card that Costello leaves at Costigan’s mother’s funeral; "_Heaven helps the faithful Departed”._ I don’ know how I missed that. I guess the first time I was concentrating on Costello’s name and then any time I’ve watched it since, I just don’t look that closely. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2021, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4341 "2021-09-12T21:11:08Z")
I just noticed that _God Save the Queen_ is in 3/4 time. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4342 "2021-09-13T00:35:40Z")
Also the Star Spangled Banner ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4343 "2021-09-13T12:07:56Z")
I just realized (and by “realized” I mean I looked at the credits) that the actor who plays the UPS delivery guy in **Legally Blonde** in _not_ Bryan Cranston but actually a gentleman named Bruce Thomas. ---
**Author:** ![jerseymule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jerseymule/32/3155_2.png) [@jerseymule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerseymule)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4344 "2021-09-13T14:43:39Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Perry Mason actually talks to the detective for his expertise. > > How long would it take for the newspapers and any potential jurors to realize that as soon as a person is arrested in that area, then that is proof positive that he is innocent? I was pre-teen when the Perry Mason television show was on, and was a big fan, even though I didn’t always understand everything that was going on. I vividly remember many of the courtroom scenes. And I remember gleaning the information that the word “defendant” obviously meant “a person who is innocent but who is unfairly accused of a crime.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117.md?page=216) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117.md?page=218)