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From: fritz@utastro.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: space "operas"
Message-ID: <226@utastro.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 11-Jun-85 14:06:57 EDT
Article-I.D.: utastro.226
Posted: Tue Jun 11 14:06:57 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 14-Jun-85 00:13:27 EDT
References: <2056@topaz.UUCP> <20200003@hpfcmp.UUCP>
Organization: U. Texas, Astronomy, Austin, TX
Lines: 19

> re: .....tell me what a space "opera" is supposed to be?
> 
> 
> "Soap opera" soon followed, when afternoon TV became dominated by melodramatic
> serials  accompanied  by detergent  ads.  The word  "opera" has probably  been
> permanently  damaged by all this.  Will "interactive  fiction"  computer games
> become known as "bit operas"?   Film at eleven.

   opera:  "work" in Italian. From Latin word OPUS meaning "work or PAIN".
	       OPERA is the plural of opus. 

Far from being damaged, I think the word opera is just beginning to 
restablish its dominance.  Many of my 'bit operas' would have been aptly
named as such.  8-)
-- 
Fritz Benedict  (512)471-4461x448
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arpa: fritz@ut-ngp
snail: Astronomy, U of Texas, Austin, TX  78712