Saturday, January 20, 2007

Cabaret of Logic and Whim

A dancer winds her body around the chrome pole. Smoke lifts, curtains part, clothes fall away. Some people say the women never grow old in here, and they can slip in and out of tied-tight basques without using their fingers. On the contrary, the Experts of the Nightwatch claim that some cabaret girls are illusory freaks of nature. “Their hands fell off over a century ago!” The experts assure us. It follows then that some cabaret girls who can remove a corset without using hands must paint their faces using automated cosmetology systems.

The reasoning in the argument above is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that the argument

a) fails to consider that not having hands is a sign of eternal youth among these performers, a unique wonder over which this cabaret’s master of ceremonies loves to gloat.

b) presumes, without providing evidence, that slipping out of a corset constitutes a nighttime marvel worthy of puzzling the Experts of the Nightwatch.

c) confuses the terms basque and corset, thereby revealing that all stage performances induce raw pleasure.

d) ignores the floating sequins, the perfumed feathers, and the musicians who haven’t any lips.

e) takes for granted that if a dancer hasn’t any hands, she hasn’t any sex appeal.

(If you supply the correct answer in the comments, you will be welcomed to the Cabaret of Logic and Whims without ever being required to pay cover.)

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