2007-03-24

A police officer in a blue uniform and cap stands with his back to us, cupping a hand to his mouth to shout up at the windows of a red brick apartment building. His speech bubble reads, "Calm down - just tell us what you want, and we'll try to make it happen!" From a window, an unseen hostage-taker replies, "I desire nothing! Hahahahaha!" A caption beneath the panel reads: "Ugh. I hate when the Dalai Lama takes hostages." The joke plays on Buddhist non-attachment making the standard hostage negotiation pointless. Votey (aftercomic, loose black-and-white sketch): the hostage-taker asks, "What is the sound of one gun firing?" - a riff on the Zen koan about one hand clapping. The officer earnestly starts to answer, "Well, according to the White Lotus Sutra-," and the hostage-taker bursts into laughter, "Hahahah! Hahahahaha!"