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Old 04-14-2010, 07:19 PM   #1
squirell nutkin
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MacGuffin. What's yours?

The MacGuffin
Quote:
MacGuffin (a.k.a. McGuffin or maguffin) is a term for a motivating element in a story that is used to drive the plot. Unlike Chekhov's Gun, it actually serves no further purpose — it won't pop up again later, it won't explain the ending, it won't actually do anything except possibly distract you while you try to figure out its significance. In some cases, it won't even be revealed. It is usually a mysterious package/artifact/superweapon that everyone in the story is chasing. It is the most famous kind of Plot Coupon.
So what is the MacGuffin in your life? What is it that drives the plot of your life along?

For me, right now, it is clearing the decks and preparing to come about.
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Old 04-14-2010, 08:56 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by squirell nutkin View Post
The MacGuffin


...the plot of your life...

sorry, My life is a reality show. there IS no plot.

most of the things I do in my daily are in response to something.....

i really wish that i had a lifestyle that allowed me to do things like that guy that lost his girlfriend, so he rode his ATV around, and climbed some shit, and threw hay bales...and piled rocks.....and all that shit...

and filmed it all for You tube.... I would have linked it, but I couldn't find it.....

anyway.....

what?
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Old 04-15-2010, 12:59 AM   #3
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My life used to be a soap opera. There are no McGuffins in soap operas, EVERYTHING is supposed to mean something. But there is drama, and "issues" and amazing coincidences. And people who plan things on the same day they happen and no-one says, "No I'm not free in an hours time! You could've given me some notice!"

My life now is more akin to This Morning (cosy, rolling-magazine show on ITV watched by young mums and dolescum). It's utterly predictable, has no discernable plot, but is quite comfortable and occasionally informative.

I don't have Philip Schofield though - sadly.
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Old 04-15-2010, 10:36 AM   #4
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I'm not sure I understand. I'm very sure squirl's own cryptic response didn't clear it up for me.

So, something that drives my plot (sounds dirty) but is interchangeable with other things? Sort of?

Like, my job? It drives my life, but I could take another job.

I don't know. My life is like a comic strip, and I am Lucy.
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Old 04-15-2010, 07:13 PM   #5
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Just to give some examples for clarity, classic MacGuffins include the Maltese Falcon, the briefcase in Ronin, and perhaps the briefcase (contents) in Pulp Fiction.

I need a puzzle, a mystery, something to figure out.
Like why chicks are all so crazy.
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Old 04-15-2010, 08:37 PM   #6
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Only about half of us are crazy. It just seems like more.
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Old 04-15-2010, 09:07 PM   #7
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Is that like an Egg McMuffin?
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Old 04-15-2010, 09:09 PM   #8
Shawnee123
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Yeah, about half of all Egg McMuffins are crazy too.
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Old 04-15-2010, 09:14 PM   #9
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Egg Mcmuffins are 300 calories. Bagel with cream cheese is 600.
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Old 04-17-2010, 09:21 AM   #10
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Zen is right. The MacGuffin is interchangeable, the whole story doesn't hinge on the specifics of the MacGuffin. If the Maltese Falcon had been a Dzi Bead from Ulan Bator it wouldn't have mattered to the story, but some kind of MacGuffin is needed to move things along.

Maybe it is the plot equivalent of fiber in your diet. Could be Metamucil, bran muffins or psyllium seeds.

For me, clearing the decks and coming about is a sailing reference but it means that I am purging a lot of material things from my past careers and hobbies and making preparations for a change in direction. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coming_about

To be more accurate, my current maneuver is probably more akin to a jibe: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jibe

If it weren't a big change it wold be some other chaos creating event. I seem to exist in a perpetual state of chaos and I am now trying to remove the chaos from my life.
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Old 04-17-2010, 09:22 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jinx View Post
Egg Mcmuffins are 300 calories. Bagel with cream cheese is 600.
What do each of them weigh respectively. or what is the caloric content per 100grams?
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Old 04-17-2010, 10:03 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by squirell nutkin View Post
Zen is right. The MacGuffin is interchangeable, the whole story doesn't hinge on the specifics of the MacGuffin. If the Maltese Falcon had been a Dzi Bead from Ulan Bator it wouldn't have mattered to the story, but some kind of MacGuffin is needed to move things along.

Maybe it is the plot equivalent of fiber in your diet. Could be Metamucil, bran muffins or psyllium seeds.

For me, clearing the decks and coming about is a sailing reference but it means that I am purging a lot of material things from my past careers and hobbies and making preparations for a change in direction. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coming_about

To be more accurate, my current maneuver is probably more akin to a jibe: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jibe

If it weren't a big change it wold be some other chaos creating event. I seem to exist in a perpetual state of chaos and I am now trying to remove the chaos from my life.
Kids. They are the ultimate MacGuffin. They are the Maltese Falcon in my life.

Don't play it again Sam.
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Old 04-17-2010, 10:52 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by TheMercenary View Post
Kids. They are the ultimate MacGuffin. They are the Maltese Falcon in my life.

Don't play it again Sam.
What? Why not? I was really getting the hang of it, too. /goes off and pouts/
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Old 04-17-2010, 01:35 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by squirell nutkin View Post
What do each of them weigh respectively. or what is the caloric content per 100grams?
Both a bagel and an egg mcmuffin weigh about 140gms. If the bagel is plain, from DnD, it has 320 calories, while the multigrain has 390. Adding 50gms of plain cream cheese adds 150cals (a schmear is typically 3-4oz) - reduced fat is 100cals per 50gms.

(The multigrain bagel is marked with the DDSmart logo on the menu because it has 8 grams of fiber.)(Also has 8 grams of fat.)(The wheat bagel that has 5gms of fiber, 3.5gms fat, and 320 calories is not DDSmart.)
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Last edited by jinx; 04-17-2010 at 01:43 PM.
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Old 04-18-2010, 06:06 AM   #15
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I thought he said MacGyver.

My egg McMuffin is a sled I had when I was little - I named it Rosebud.
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