Brian Williams isn’t the first to tell such tall tales. When I was a kid I fell in love with the Baron Muchausen, well the movie version. As an adult I found I loved the movie even more and proceeded to read the book it was based on. It’s just a bunch of lies, of the Brian Williams variety. It was based on the tall tales of one Hieronymus Karl Friedrich, Freiherr von Münchhausen, who was an actual baron. He often confused his imagination with reality. And I don’t really get the appeal, it’s just a bunch of tall tales. I don’t get why you would tell such falsehoods to the degree that they are so bad that restating them is a sort of cautionary tale against lying? At least this is the best I could do at ascertaining a message. And that, I believe, is the proper way to view this world, and it’s art, to be receptive to the proper message, and to ensure that your story tells it. Otherwise you are just a wandering fool, the brunt of late-night comedy jokes.

The Baron Munchausen, by Gustave Dore

The Baron’s falsehoods were eventually compiled into a book. It’s one of the rare instances where the movie is better than the book. Director Terry Gilliam took these stories and wove them into a real fairy tale. It’s an entertaining mix of philosophical satire and some of the great themes of literature.

I could say more, but really you should just read “On Fairy Stories” by J. R. R. Tolkien. Oh and watch the movie.