Thread regarding 2U Inc. layoffs

And now for something completely different...

CHIP WADDINGTON, 30s, sits behind a massive, mahogany desk adorned with a golden bust of himself. Stacks of money tower beside him like a modern-day Midas. He wears a Hawaiian shirt and flip-flops despite the air conditioning blasting arctic winds.

He's on a video call with two SHARPLY DRESSED INVESTORS.

CHIP: (beaming) ...and that's how ed0, the world's first emotion-sensing, meme-based MOOC, will revolutionize education!

INVESTOR 1: (confused) Emotion-sensing? How does that work?

CHIP: (waving dismissively) Details, details! Imagine, learning calculus while a virtual cat judges your stress levels! Or dissecting a frog while a motivational doge gif cheers you on!

INVESTOR 2: (deadpan) I fail to see the educational value in...

CHIP: (interrupting) Educational value? Pish posh! It's all about engagement, baby! Engagement is the new oil, and ed0 has a gusher the size of Texas!

INVESTOR 1: But Mr. Waddington, your company, Silicon Val-erius Maximus, is worth $5 billion! Surely there are more...prudent investments?

CHIP: (scoffs) Prudent? We're not in the boring widget business, my friend! We're disruptors! We're innovators! We're... (trails off, stares dreamily) ...also, I really want a pet robot unicorn.

INVESTOR 2: (sighs) Mr. Waddington, we need a solid business plan, not...whims.

CHIP: Whims? This is genius! Think of it! Kids these days, they love memes, they love cats, they love...shiny things! ed0 will be the shiniest, meme-iest cat of them all! We'll be richer than Croesus on a gold rush!

INVESTOR 1: (stands up) We appreciate your...enthusiasm, Mr. Waddington. But we're afraid we must decline.

CHIP: (gasps) Decline? But...the robot unicorn!

INVESTOR 2: Perhaps another investor will be more...open-minded. Good day.

The investors hang up. Chip slumps in his chair, defeated.

CHIP: (whining) But...my unicorn...

Suddenly, the office door bursts open. A MANIC INTERN, 20s, rushes in, brandishing a tablet.

INTERN: Sir! Sir! I've done it! I've cracked the code! We can now predict emotional responses to memes with 99.9% accuracy!

CHIP: (eyes widen) Really?

INTERN: Absolutely! Just imagine, targeted advertising based on a user's emotional state! We can sell them fidget spinners when they're anxious, bath bo--s when they're sad, and...robot unicorns when they're...

CHIP: (jumping up, ecstatic) ROBOT UNICORNS! You beautiful genius! We're back in business!

INTERN: But sir, the investors just...

CHIP: (grabbing the intern's shoulders) Forget the investors! We're going viral, baby! Viral! Robot. Unicorns!

Chip and the intern erupt in maniacal laughter as the camera zooms out, leaving the audience with a chilling image of Silicon Valley's absurdity.

[SCENE END]

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| 851 views | | 4 replies (last February 20, 2024) | Reply
Post ID: @OP+1ra1xjLb

4 replies (most recent on top)

Grow up! This is so ridiculous. So immature.

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Post ID: @zny+1ra1xjLb

Students of Debt: A Monty Python Farce (Revised)
(Scene: A bustling marketplace. Merchants hawk their wares, while figures in threadbare robes shuffle through, their faces etched with despair. These are the Debtors, forever chained to their student loans.)

Narrator: (Tall, lanky, perpetually bemused) Behold, the tragic souls burdened by the albatross of education! Driven mad by debt, their tales grow wilder and their sanity thinner with each passing moment!

(A debtor, dressed in a lab coat with mismatched buttons, approaches the Narrator, clutching a rolled-up diploma.)

Debtor 1: Woe is me! I studied the cutting-edge field of Nanoclown Engineering under the esteemed Professor Gigglesworth, a man whose laugh could power a small village! Now, I design nano-bots programmed to perform comedic routines, but alas, the market is saturated with fa----g robot monkeys!

Debtor 2: (Emerging from behind a pile of dusty coding manuals) Hold my firewall, for my woes surpass thine! I spent my youth mastering the ancient art of Cobol programming, convinced it held the key to unlocking legacy systems no one remembers! Now, I code punch cards for a living, yearning for the days of floppy disks!

Debtor 3: (Enters stage left, brandishing a chipped ukulele) Nay, your sufferings are but pixels in the vast digital wasteland of my despair! I majored in E-sports Management, a degree as relevant as dial-up internet! Now, I manage a team of competitive gamers who spend more time arguing on Twitch than training!

Debtor 1: Twitch? I manage a group of AI comedians who tell jokes so bad they make robots cry! The only laughter I hear is the echo of my own impending financial doom!

Debtor 2: Doom? Try a binary code error! My loan shark, Mr. ByteCrusher, has a collection of vintage computers that require manual reboot every hour!

Debtor 3: Reboots? I reboot my soul every time I see my bank statement! My E-sports dreams turned into pixels of dust, leaving me managing teenagers who think ramen is a luxury food!

(A portly professor, tweed jacket adorned with moth holes, rushes onto the scene.)

Professor Poshly: Nonsense! Knowledge is its own reward! Besides, with a bit of ingenuity, you can turn your unique skills into profit!

Debtor 1: Profit? My nano-clowns are funnier than a tax return, but who pays for microscopic humor?

Debtor 2: Cobol is the language of forgotten databases, Professor, its only currency is dust!

Debtor 3: My gamers might be Twitch famous, but their sponsorships expire faster than their internet connection!

Professor Poshly: (Undeterred) Nonsense! You can combine your talents! Create a virtual reality E-sports game where nano-clown comedians perform stand-up routines in abandoned Cobol databases, all while being cheered on by a live Twitch audience! Surely, someone will pay a fortune for such an experience!

(The Debtors stare at the Professor, d-mbfounded.)

Debtor 2: (Shaking his head) You truly are delusional, Professor. But… desperation breeds strange algorithms, and gamers love novelty. Perhaps your plan has merit… after all, beggars can’t be choosers!

(The Debtors huddle together, their despair momentarily replaced by a spark of absurd hope. The Narrator throws his hands up in mock despair.)

Narrator: And so, the Debtors embarked on their harebrained scheme, proving that even in the face of crushing debt, the human spirit, however twisted, can find humor in the most absurd situations. Remember, folks, laughter is the best medicine, even if it's fueled by debt and virtual stand-up comedians!

(The Debtors begin their bizarre virtual reality game, their mismatched skills somehow creating a chaotic yet strangely entertaining experience. The Professor claps enthusiastically, while the Narrator winks at the audience.)

(Lights fade, leaving the audience to ponder the absurdity of debt and the resilience of the human spirit, even when expressed through nano-clowns and Twitch-fueled gaming.)

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Post ID: @hmh+1ra1xjLb

I'm not reading all that. Happy for you though. Or sorry that happened

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Post ID: @ekj+1ra1xjLb

Stick to the phones OP - this isn't it

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Post ID: @bcw+1ra1xjLb

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