Only see you once a year

Maurice and Ben meet at a conference

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Maurice: Every year we meet, like this.

Ben: A long time, old friend. I often think about what you do for the rest of the year.

Maurice: I prepare. Then every year in June, I come to this conference and present my research.

Ben: And at the reception, we run around the room like it was a chariot race.

Maurice: An existential question. Are our once-a-year hyped-up conference selves the same as our everyday selves?

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Voice-over

When you take the podium, mind you don’t let slip a loose roof tile.

When Douglas Adams gave the answer to the meaning of life as “41” had he been watching the less than benign galley scenes in Ben Hur where Judah Ben Hur is given that number? Quintus Arias: “Your eyes are full of hate, 41. That’s good. Hate keeps a man alive.”

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