On Thursdays I am a man of my word

[venta]

Spot question for the day:

Without googling, does the following phrase mean anything to anybody ?

Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party.

Comments

[narenek.livejournal.com]

It rings a bell, but it just be recognising the "Now is the time for all good men..." bit from something more well known than the precise quote you're using.

[nalsa.livejournal.com]

Yes. And now I'm going to be wracking my brains as to why.

It's a trigger phrase, isn't it? From a film, someone says it and people start doing stupid things, like crashing their cars into walls and killing presidential candidates? Or am I confusing it with The invisible worm that flies in the night?

[smorgasbord.livejournal.com]

Yes.

[purplecthulhu.livejournal.com]

IIRC the film was Telefon, and yes, it was used in that as a trigger for sleeper agents.

But I'm sure it comes from something else, like the communist party manifesto or something like that.

Can I google for it now?

[taimatsu]

Yes, but I can't remember where it's from. At a guess, it's probably Shakespeare, given how many phrases in the language are his fault.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Are you going to tell us why/where from ?

[venta.livejournal.com]

You may indeed google now. I just wanted to make clear that I was wanting people's opinions (first) rather than just that I was too lazy to google for the answer myself.

This trigger-for-sleeping-agents bit is a new one on me. That's not where I know it from.

[wimble.livejournal.com]

It's also a typewriter testing phrase. I think I came across it in The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler where the runaway teenage heroine sneaks into a typewriter shop to type a letter, and finds this text across the top of the paper. So she carries on from there.

[smorgasbord.livejournal.com]

Moon on a stick!

I think that ‘the party’ is the communist party. But I cannot remember the original setting as I have heard it repeated so many times out of its orginal context.

[wimble.livejournal.com]

Indeed, I am supported in this by http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_295a.html

(Of course, whether they're right is a good question!)

[lanfykins.livejournal.com]

I know I've encountered it before. Like everyone else, I have no idea where.

[nalsa.livejournal.com]

Excellent. I'm glad that my half-remembered knowledge is accurate :-)

[venta.livejournal.com]

Aha! This is what I asscoiate it with. Well, not with that novel in particular, but that it's some form of typewriter testing thingy.

I not 100% sure what it tests, though. I remember my godmother vaguely referring to it as "something to do with the home keys".

[wimble.livejournal.com]

Do I win a prize?

[secretrebel.livejournal.com]

It's a mnemonic, isn't it? Or a stock phrase of some kind. Err, it turns up in the older sort of typing tests.

[addedentry.livejournal.com]

It's a phrase I learnt to try on typewriters, too, along with The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

[chrisvenus]

Yeah. I was about to say that with less detail. I got it from my dad who always used it when the need came to type "something". You know when you just want to play and need something, anything to write.

So "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party." is what was always written.

I figured you probably didn't know it from my dad though. :)

[lanfykins.livejournal.com]

Given that the home keys are asdf jkl; then I think that may be rubbish.

It does seem to use most of the most-used keys, though. Perhaps that's it.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Indeed, the two phrase are also inextricably linked in my mind.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Having examined my typing of it, I'm guessing that you can type it easily whilst keeping at least one finger on the its home key at all times. Discounting double letters, typing each letter with the 'correct' finger means that you are typing alternate left-right all the time, so you can keep your hands in position very easily. There are also no 'awkward' letters like Q and Z to reach for.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Well, obviously the respect and admiration of the people on my friends list (or the subset thereof reading this thread).

Other than that, no.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Well, I was reminded of this because the Blyth Power album I had on in the car this morning includes a song which begins with a very protentous voice stating "Now is the time for all good men, in defence of the party, to rally around."

Not sure I've got you down as a BP fan, though :)

[venta.livejournal.com]

you are typing alternate left-right all the time

Well, nearly.

[pm215]

Er, what layout are you using? NO, IM, OM, ART are all same-hand strings. Given that one of these is the first letter pair in the string your theory doesn't hold up very long :-)

Anyway, aren't you meant to keep your spare fingers on the home keys all the time when touch typing?

[venta.livejournal.com]

QWERTY, see the ammendment to 'nearly' :)

Yes, you are supposed to keep your fingers on the home keys. I don't. Do you ?

I noticed when typing that phrase the it was much easier to do so than it usually is. That it's mostly alternate hands, thus giving you time to re-locate after each keystroke, was the best explanation I could come up with in a hurry for why.