Don't Push That Button

Ever heard of the big red button? In many stories the big red button is attached to some critical "self-destruct" thinger. Sometimes it's an emergency power kill-switch. It's always ominous, always very clearly labeled, and always very tempting.

It has been said that even if a big red button were labeled, "End of the world button, do not press EVER", still people would be lining up for miles for their turn.

And then there's World Of Warcraft. I don't play, but my buddy Scruffy does. He told me that one of the "boss" characters he and his friends were fighting actually has a big red button on the wall behind him. The button has bright flashing lights all around it to draw as much attention as possible.

If you press the button, the enemy boss character goes into "hard" mode. Basically, at that point he goes berserk and nigh invulnerable. Everybody dies.

That night, I told my wife about the big red button. We laughed and made fun of Scruffy's online gaming addiction, because we're like that.

Later that night we watched "Coraline". It's a good movie, although it is pretty creepy.

There's a part near the beginning of the movie where Coraline walks into a hall closet and pushes a button that is labeled "Do not push!" The electricity goes out in her father's office, where he had neglected to save his work. She quickly presses the button again and runs away, attempting to look innocent.

We nearly cried laughing. It was the big red button again, on a smaller scale. :)

Meh. I guess you had to be there.