<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><HTML><FONT SIZE=2 PTSIZE=10 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0">Joseph Minion is <I>not </I>Joe Frank....<BR>
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Just as Catherine Zeta Jones is <I>not </I>Kate....<BR>
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Our imaginations are simply overactive, that's all; we discover a perplexing enigma of sorts, and our brains scramble to rationalize it in some seemingly logical way (which, 9 times out of 10, leads us to concocting all sorts of ridiculous scenarios). We need to let go of that compulsion and enjoy works of art for what they are without scrambling so desperately to rationalize/solve ever little detail/puzzle surrounding them. Scholars are still debating over who wrote the works of Shakespeare (Edward De Vere? Francis Bacon? Christopher Marlowe? Mary Sidney Herbert? A combination of the four???), whether F'Ugly Th3 Klown is, in fact Andy Kaufman (who faked his death, don't you know?) or a collection of other comedians & hotshot hollywood actors working in cahoots, whether Thomas Pynchon is actually Wanda Tinasky who is actually J.D. Salinger who was, actually, a former CIA agent before he passed away & was replaced by a new literary figure (J.D. Salinger Deux) enshrouded with mystery, etc.... <BR>
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All I'm saying is, you can speculate & debate & rack your brains & ponder away about all of these things 'till the cows come home... but there many ways in which you could idle away your time far more productively.<BR>
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In my mind, Joe (Frank, that is!) has already explained this whole situation in great detail, and, until he steps forward to change his tune, I have no reason to doubt that everything he said about this entire ordeal is pure truth. <BR>
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This is Joe Frank we're talking about here. As much as people like to play up the surreal/absurd aspects of the man's canon, his work is also unflinchingly truthful & autobiographical.<BR>
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A few more things to consider: 1.) Joe Frank is nearly 20 years older than Joseph Minion (according to the IMDB, which lists Minion's birthyear as 1957). Of course, I'm sure some of you will come forth to say, "No! When Joe Frank devised the alter-ego of "Joseph Minion" he also concoted a fake birth certificate & birth-year, so as to fool even the most clever of curious cats!" (if you wanna believe that, more power to ya!). 2.) Usually people use a pseudonym if either they're not proud of a particular work or simply don't want it to be associated with their real name. Joe (Frank!), however, has not only <I>proudly used </I>the material that Minion lifted to write "After Hours" -- in his <I>original </I>program, "Lies" -- but has also called Minion out on his literary theft (not by name, of course) & discussed the entire situation in "No Show" (which I still have, on cassette, in its entirety).<BR>
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But I guess the debate shall continue to bubble on until somebody (Joe Frank Team? Larry Block [whose appearance in this film is really what's been fuelling the notion that Joseph Minion might, in fact, be Joe Frank]?) steps forward to shed more light on this issue.....<BR>
Hegesias</FONT></HTML>