So tonight I want to start with a story, a once upon a time kind of story, and in this

one there's a good king who's seeking an heir to his kingdom, and he's aging and he's

without children, and he wants to ensure that the kingdom continue to flourish as it's

been doing, that the population's in good hands.

So being an open-minded sort, he decided he'd invite anyone who was interested to apply

for the job, so to speak, you know, an equal opportunity employer, that kind of thing,

and it's also used in a legality in mind, said, not only that, he decided that everybody

would come at once to the palace, and so that nobody would be able to appear in a more

impressive way than anyone else.

He opened up all the wardrobes from the kingdom, he let everybody pick what they wanted

to wear, and making sure that they'd appear their best, and the great day arrives, a huge

stream of people come through the palace gates, they're very excited by the opportunity

of being in King or Queen, and the king and his minister are waiting patiently upstairs

in the chambers for when they're ready, and so first the people get to enjoy the bath

houses with all the special soaps and so on, and they spend hours dressing and doining

themselves and arguing about who gets what and flirting with each other and admiring

and criticizing and so on, and because the good king didn't want anyone to go hungry

while they're waiting, he also provided a banquet, so, you know, they're all, you know,

taking these heaping portions of food, accompanied by much wine, and there's entertainment,

and they're solving puzzles and playing games, so it's a raucous occasion, a lot of

competition and fun, fighting and play, and meanwhile the king and his minister are

waiting hour after hour for the applicants to comp stairs for their interviews, finally

...