**OnlineHost** You have entered the Gagne Household chatroom.

SmokeSomeGagne: you know what gets me going in the morning

lofton_out_loud: What?

SmokeSomeGagne: a nice big pot of incredibly hot coffee

lofton_out_loud: Me too!

SmokeSomeGagne: our little arrangement is working out quite dandily don't you think

lofton_out_loud: Well at first I had some misgivings, but I'm sure your massive amount of body warmth will be much appreciated when the brutally frigid Texas summer arrives.

SmokeSomeGagne: that reminds me, a little heads up about that

when it gets hot the crevices formed by my belly folds and cellulite ravines tend to collect pools of my sweat and mosquitos like to lay their eggs there, so you'll want to make sure to move around every few hours or so

lofton_out_loud: Roger.

SmokeSomeGagne: hey kenny, i was thinking

you know the cartoonish comedy-duo cliche? like, the one in particular in which one of the guys is huge and innocent-hearted but isn't too bright, and the other guy is short, intelligent and ill-tempered?

lofton_out_loud: Yeah, I think I know what you mean. Like, I can't think of any specific examples of that offhand, but I know what you're referring to.

SmokeSomeGagne: yeah, i think it might have originated from that cartoon satire of "of mice and men" in which the george and lenny characters were bears or something, and of course the two personalities were caricatured to such an extreme that they no longer resembled the original

SmokeSomeGagne: i always thought it would be interesting to see one of those comedic pairs in which one guy possessed all the qualitied perceived to be positive. you know, like the huge guy would still be kind-hearted but would also be very smart and well-spoken, whereas the little guy would be dimwitted, powerless and mean

lofton_out_loud: It might be briefly interesting for the sake of originality, but the dynamic would fall flat.

SmokeSomeGagne: why do you say that

lofton_out_loud: Well, I always gleaned a particular worldview from those sorts of characters. If you'll remember, the short guy can always connive and scheme all he wants, but innocence is always ultimately rewarded in their adventures. And in most cases, the big guy's dopey meanderings and observations actually thwart whatever plots the little guy hatches, rendering him small in an additional sense.

SmokeSomeGagne: what kind of moral do you think there is to be had there

lofton_out_loud: Well, it's one that's idealistic at best. It all seems to dig at the idea that not only is innocence more virtuous than intelligence, but that innocence can even beat intelligence at its own game.

lofton_out_loud: It's almost like a sort of retribution on innocence's behalf. As if it's saying, "Intelligence, you thought you were superior, you thought fate would reward you because you thought that the world was based on logic, but it turns out it follows a moral compass. And now you have to eat shit."

lofton_out_loud: When the big oaf somehow inadvertently outsmarts the little genius, it's almost like innocence is kicking intelligence while it's down. I can't say I agree with that message, and I think that instilling that sort of philosophy in our kids through stories and cartoons is backwards and ill-advised. It's just not how the real world works.

SmokeSomeGagne: well you say that, but what i find really interesting is that-

oh hey, coffee's ready

lofton_out_loud: I got it.

/clumsily grabs pot and mug, pours a cup

SmokeSomeGagne: ah i can taste that boiling hot flavor now

lofton_out_loud: Bottoms up!

/awkwardly brings mug to your mouth

lofton_out_loud: /spills

OH GOD SORRY

SmokeSomeGagne: AAAHH

lofton_out_loud: GOD I AM SO SORRY

SmokeSomeGagne: AAAHH AAAAAHH AAAAAAAAHH

lofton_out_loud: SORRY SORRY SORRY

SmokeSomeGagne:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH

lofton_out_loud: /spills coffee over self in excitement

AAAHH

SmokeSomeGagne: AAAHH

lofton_out_loud: AAAHH