From: ted@loft.tnolan.com   
      
   In article <10n27ih$1ugtq$2@dont-email.me>,   
   Cryptoengineer   wrote:   
   >On 2/17/2026 9:33 AM, scole wrote:   
   >> In article <10n1ude$bou$1@panix2.panix.com>, kludge@panix.com (Scott   
   >> Dorsey) wrote:   
   >>   
   >>> scole  wrote:   
   >>>> In article <10ml8tl$1nb3i$1@dont-email.me>, quadi   
   >>  wrote:   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>> This news item reminded me of the famous German song about how a young   
   >>>>> couple's release of ninety-nine helium balloons to celebrate their love   
   >>>>> accidentally triggered a global thermonuclear war.   
   >>>>   
   >>>> Holy shit! I've listened to that song many times (both German and English   
   >>>> versions, although I don't barely understand any German at all the   
   >>>> original language version does have more of a bop to it!) and clearly have   
   >>>> never listened to it remotely hard enough to pick up on that - I've always   
   >>>> just thought it was a lovely bouncy party song!   
   >>>   
   >>> In the English version we have the young couple releasing balloons that   
   sets   
   >>> off the alarm.   
   >>>   
   >>> In the German version it's not clear where the balloons came from, and the   
   >>> word "luftballoon" would indicate a military balloon and not a party   
   balloon   
   >>> according to my German roomate-at-the-time-that-song-came-out.  The German   
   >>> lyrics are very much more dark than the English ones.   
   >>>   
   >>   
   >> Right, I'm going to hit Google up for some translated lyrics - I need to   
   >> get to the bottom of this, it sounds absolutely fascinating and,   
   >> understandably given Germany's mid-80s Cold War status, dark as pitch!   
   >> Still an absolute banger of a song, though!   
   >   
   >   
   >99 Red Balloons (Album Version)   
   >Song by Nena   
   >You and I in a little toy shop   
   >Buy a bag of balloons with the money we've got   
   >Set them free at the break of dawn   
   >'Til one by one, they were gone   
   >Back at base, sparks in the software   
   >Flash the message "something's out there"   
   >Floating in the summer sky   
   >99 red balloons go by   
   >   
   >99 red balloons   
   >Floating in the summer sky   
   >Panic bells, it's red alert   
   >There's something here from somewhere else   
   >The war machine springs to life   
   >Opens up one eager eye   
   >Focusing it on the sky   
   >The 99 red balloons go by   
   >   
   >99 Decision Street   
   >99 ministers meet   
   >To worry, worry, super scurry   
   >Call the troops out in a hurry   
   >This is what we've waited for   
   >This is it boys, this is war   
   >The President is on the line   
   >As 99 red balloons go by   
   >   
   >99 knights of the air   
   >Ride super high-tech jet fighters   
   >Everyone's a superhero   
   >Everyone's a Captain Kirk   
   >With orders to identify   
   >To clarify and classify   
   >Scrambling the summer sky   
   >99 red balloons go by   
   >   
   >As 99 red balloons go by   
   >99 dreams I have had   
   >In every one, a red balloon   
   >It's all over, and I'm standing pretty   
   >In this dust that was a city   
   >If I could find a souvenir   
   >Just the prove the world was here   
   >And here is a red balloon   
   >I think of you, and let it go.   
      
   I've always heard "99 Decision Street" as "99 decision tree", as in software   
   decision trees.   
   --   
   columbiaclosings.com   
   What's not in Columbia anymore..   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)