[Comic title: Oversight; alt text: "I felt so clever when I found a way to game the Fitocracy system by incorporating a set of easy but high-scoring activities into my regular schedule. Took me a bit to realize I'd been tricked into setting up a daily exercise routine."]
I guess Randy was reading through the ol' XKCD Sucks archives and remembered that SexKCD was a meme before XKCancerD was even a twinkling in his eye, so he went ahead and wrote about that, and Fitocracy, which I guess is one of those stupid "game your life" things that give you points for doing things.
The alt text is great because it highlights how dumb he is, and nerds in general: he's trying to game a meaningless system that doesn't have any accountability mechanism, and felt, his words, "so clever" when he figured out a way to get a high score in this system. Like he's outwitted it: "Ha, joke's on YOU, fitocracy, I can get a lot of exercise points and it's not even HARD!"
Nothing much to say here. This isn't a joke. This is stick figures having sex coupled with "what is the deal with internet fitness websites? They don't let me log my sex!!!"
Yo this strip sucks check out my improved version here : http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/33/improvedxkcd.png/
ReplyDeleteHere's a more direct link http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/2687/improvedxkcd.png
ReplyDeletethat was fantastic, prosper
ReplyDeleteThey are not having sex in any of the panels. They are at best merely hovering their crotches near one another.
ReplyDelete@Fallor
ReplyDeleteThat was like... beautiful man. Bravo.
I like the obviously dropped book in the first panel.
ReplyDeleteBecause a book is a way to signal that you are intelligent. People who are actually intelligent don't have to signal, of course.
oh man, that's great. he's all "here I was, just minding my own business, reading a book while standing around, like I do all the time because I'm so smart, when my milky goddess slammed me against the wall and started sexxing me!"
ReplyDeleteIf I was Randy (that's what she said trololol), I would have put the dropped book near the chair in panel 2, because most people I've met tend to sit when they read.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, I find panel 2 more nauseating than the entirety of comic 631 for some reason.
I really like the towel the dude stick figure is wearing in panel 5, because he's never shown to be wearing clothes at any other time, and now that there's a towel he's... more naked, somehow? And does this mean I'm to assume Megan is naked in panel 5?
I've given myself the jibblies.
The latest comic was good, and no doubt. (Unless it was plagarized)
ReplyDeleteNeat artwork, interesting use of depth and textures.
Nerdiness is there, including highschool/early-college level of optics.
Unfunny, but not meant to be.
Poetic feel, which I endorse.
This comic was good and you should feel good.
941: Incline of xkcd? Such artistic wonder. Such depth of sentiment. This shows why Randall is one of those rare nerds to have sex.
ReplyDeletethe latest comic was just as mediocre as every other comic and no doubt
ReplyDeletebad artwork which would not even be considered passable if this were any other webcomic
nerdiness is there including middle school/early highschool level of optics
unfunny like every other xkcd
a hackish attempt at poetic sentiment which i find sickening
this comic was bad and you should feel bad
941: more pointless shit from xkcd a wondrous lack of artistic talent such pointless rooting about for the profound in the shallows of life this shows why randall usually focuses on sex and cancer
I agree that the comic is dumb, but I disagree with your criticism of the alt text. Doesn't the "I'd been tricked" part of the second sentence show that he realizes that he was not actually "so clever"? Sure, trying to outwit an exercise website is dumb, but I think he knows he was being dumb.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, 941 feels like a callback to the good days of XKCD more than anything - including the art style. First worthwhile comic in a long time.
ReplyDeleteAt best this is a callback to the shit pretend-deep comics that plagued even the "good old days" of xkcd.
ReplyDeleteRandall, you lonely, sheltered loser, if you want to watch the clouds around you then go climb a mountain. Perhaps your cancer-riddled fiancee would appreciate that sort of life-affirming experience instead of seeing that you've written another strip about how likely it is that she'll die. But then you wouldn't be able to make her feel insecure and needy, would you, you twisted bastard?
ReplyDeleteI guess the latest one is okay, but only because it got me thinking what would actually happen if you tried that. (most comics don't leave me thinking anything but anger)
ReplyDeleteBoring XKCD equals boring XKCD Sucks...
ReplyDelete"I guess the latest one is okay, but only because it got me thinking what would actually happen if you tried that. "
ReplyDeletewell, unless you got them aimed very carefully, and focussed very well... what you'd get is much the same view as if you looked up and then deliberated unfocused your eyes and looked in different places with each of them.
your eyes do a lot of stuff for you in terms of collating the different images, simply feeding in a pair of video images isnt enough to trick the eye/brain into going 'omg thats totally a 3d cloud!'
XKCD 941: We're supposed to believe that Randall has never been on a plane.
ReplyDeleteThe latest comic is pretty artistic,but unrealistic.I've been awed, and slightly scared, plenty of times by just looking up at the stars,though I try not to do that too often coz it gets pointless after a while. You can put yourself into an existential I'm-just-a-speck-in-the-huge-universe mode anytime,which Randall obviously does a lot,and then overuses these feelings in his comics.That said, I still really like the intent behind the idea...unlike the comic where he's just looking into the ground,in this one there's some activity in trying to actually increase depth perception,even if it doesn't really work.This comic is just a widely used trope,and yes, panel 2 totally creeps me out.
ReplyDeleteAt first glance you kind of think "hey, nice clouds, maybe he actually isn't that bad of an artist." But then, maybe you've never tried to draw clouds. Clouds are easy. I'm a crappy artist and I can do good clouds.
ReplyDeleteLook at the landscape, the half-ass attempt at a city next to giant-randy's feet, the two lone mountains to the left, the dark sketching everywhere else meant to indicate what, a forest, I guess?
Yeah, there's about as much talent here as there is in your average guy who took an art class in high school years before.
darwiniac: that's because our god-in-the-flesh Randall is not an artist, he's a SCIENTIST, you heretic.
ReplyDelete941 was PRETTY OKAY.
I do not understand how you Yankees are able to use the word 'game' as a verb and still expect your verbiage to be taken seriously.
ReplyDeleteNext you'll be using the word 'party' as a verb.
Sheesh!
Dearest RavenzNDP
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your leader. That'll learn him to marry an Asian - we wreak havoc on the Caucasoid prostate.
It's not our fault though.
Innit?
Ting Tong, Myanmarian uses verbs for adjectives. Stop complaining about the most successful and evolved language in the world.
ReplyDeleteHEY KIDS
ReplyDeleteDID YOU NEED HELP UNDERSTANDING WHY THE LATEST XKCD COMIC ISN'T FUNNY?
DO YOU HAVE TROUBLE FORMING OPINIONS WITHOUT A PEDANTIC ANALYSIS OF THE OBVIOUS?
ARE YOU AFRAID OF ACCIDENTALLY ENJOYING YOURSELF WHEN YOU SHOULDNT?
DONT WORRY!
ROB IS HERE TO HELP WITH THE POWER OF ASPERGER'S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
8:50, Rob hasn't written anything about the latest xkcd comic.
ReplyDeleteThat's because you're using a stupid neurotypical definition of 'latest', normie.
ReplyDeleteAnd you're using a neurotypical definition of 'stupid', giftie.
ReplyDeleteThis comic is concerning because in the last panel the guy is wearing a towel, which suggests that everyone in every previous xkcd has been actually naked. Wouldn't really be that surprising since this is sexkcd that we are talking about, but it is an interesting point
ReplyDeleteThat's not a towel, it's a Cluthe truss. Perhaps he might seek Cluthe's Advice to the Ruptured BEFORE his next 'two hours of cardio' gambit.
ReplyDeleteMED SCHOOL REFERENCE
ReplyDeletePREP SCHOOL LATIN HOMEWORK
WIKIPEDIA LINGUISTICS ARTICLE
You forgot:
ReplyDeleteGAPING, PROLAPSED AND THRUSH-FESTOONED CUNT
Innit?
Another strong argument for "randall's illustrated picto-blog"
ReplyDeleteCaptcha: "dechokes". Dr. Henry J. Heimlich's original term for his maneuver. Didn't catch on.
I first read the title as McCancerD, which has amused me far too much
ReplyDeletelatest questionable content: too terrible or just enough?
ReplyDeletexkcd 941: simultaneously too un-joke-able to be a comic, and not accurate enough to be a blog post. Neither a passable comic, nor a passable blog post, this poor creature must straddle the difference and exist as a shit version of both.
ReplyDeleteIt is, however, the greatest goddamn goatkcd of all time. I know I say that a lot, but disregard my previous statements because this time it is true.
Say what you like, Ves. But if every comic was around the same standard as 941 there would be no hate blog.
ReplyDeleteVes just wants more distended anus in his xkcd. Nothing else would please him.
ReplyDeleteFitocracy seens like a awesome site, the fact that Randy mentions it already makes this comic useful
ReplyDeleteSex seems like an awesome activity, the fact that Randy mentions it already makes this comic useful
ReplyDeleteOh God guys, check this out. Whatta maroon!
ReplyDeleteWhatta white knight!
You're really late for that Anon. In fact, Google changed it already, presumably because of the Great and Powerful Randy.
ReplyDeleteAnd why are G+ links so fucking long? Are you really concerned about there being 3.6 x 10^35 posts, Google?
xkcd 631 = picture of a cartoon vagina = awful, do not want.
ReplyDeleteEvery goatkcd = picture of an actual (albeit fake) distended anus = instant win
Do I detect a double standard? If you replaced the second panel of 631 with goatse, would the universe explode?
@Anon 12:36, this is old news, although thanks for bringing it up again. Some of us may have missed it first time.
@R. Speaking as a QC fan, I don't think comic 1996 is not bad, it's part of a bigger storyline, which is why some people get confused. QC straddles the line between story-based dramedy and gag-a-day comic (the latter is the reason why it has a 'random' button). Your mileage may vary as to how successfully this is pulled off. It's a bit like what Ves said about xkcd. But if you like it, then it is passable in both categories.
jon
ReplyDeleteOh my, have I offended you so much that the only word you can say is my first name?
ReplyDeleteRegarding Randy's old post, I don't see why he feels so strongly about this. The whole point of social networking is to put yourself out there for others to see, hence things like profile pictures and names. I fail to see how concealing your gender will in any way "protect" these (presumably) helpless females.
ReplyDeleteThere's white knighting and then there's just grasping for straws to appear "noble."
"....I fail to see how concealing your gender will in any way "protect" these (presumably) helpless females....."
ReplyDeleteI can assure you that as a helpless female I wish I had concealed my gender from you beastly men!
@Kittens: ...how the fuck did you know
ReplyDeleteSeriously get out of my head
As any xkcd fan will proudly inform you, I am a faggot who lives in my mom's basement and nothing gives me greater pleasure than gazing at a distended anus for extended periods of time. For you see I am so hideously ugly that no being, male or female, will ever come within 5 feet of me and thus this is the only thing left that will grant my cynical, jaded penis an erection.
Also, as a QC reader ('fan' is a rather strong word), it's not been too bad recently. It's nothing to write home about, never really has been, but it's a nice enough way to start off the day and I do sincerely respect Jeph's dedication to improving his artwork. If nothing else, he works hard at what he does.
@ Ves,
ReplyDelete"....For you see I am so hideously ugly that no being, male or female, will ever come within 5 feet of me and thus this is the only thing left that will grant my cynical, jaded penis an erection....."
If neither male nor female, and presumably no intersex either, beings will come within a metre and a half of you pray tell how did your penis become cynical and jaded?
As this 'gazing' is the only thing left, what were your options for erectitude at the begining? You know, when you were young and impressionable?
Ess tee eff you, ALTF.
ReplyDelete"I guess Randy was reading through the ol' XKCD Sucks archives (...)"
ReplyDeleteHas he ever made a comment about your blog, or given a signal that might make you think he reads it? Just curious.
Also, Almighty Fallor... would you please explain how has your version "improved" the original strip?
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Bows and flows of angel hair and ice cream castles in the air
ReplyDeleteAnd feather canyons everywhere, i've looked at cloud that way.
But now they only block the sun, they rain and snow on everyone.
So many things i would have done but clouds got in my way.
I've looked at clouds from both sides now,
From up and down, and still somehow
It's cloud illusions i recall.
I really don't know clouds at all.
Moons and junes and ferris wheels, the dizzy dancing way you feel
As every fairy tale comes real; i've looked at love that way.
But now it's just another show. you leave 'em laughing when you go
And if you care, don't let them know, don't give yourself away.
I've looked at love from both sides now,
From give and take, and still somehow
It's love's illusions i recall.
I really don't know love at all.
Tears and fears and feeling proud to say "i love you" right out loud,
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds, i've looked at life that way.
But now old friends are acting strange, they shake their heads, they say
I've changed.
Something's lost but something's gained in living every day.
I've looked at life from both sides now,
From win and lose, and still somehow
It's life's illusions i recall.
I really don't know life at all.
Dearest Norton,
ReplyDeleteThe Almighty Fallor will respond to your query if and when you rephrase your query in accordance with proper usage of the Queen's English.
To wit:
"Would you please explain how your version has 'improved' the original strip?"
Perhaps you will notice the three changes I made for you - free of charge I might add.
Dearest Joni Mitchell,
ReplyDeleteGreat tune and lyrics.
Query?
How did it make you feel when you heard Judy Collins sing it better than you do?
Are you aware that your 40 or so years of smoking has made you sound like Joe Cocker? Your little giggle at the end of "Big Yellow Taxi" sounds like the call of a rutting moose now.
You know how the Greeks were always coming up with crazy punishments for their mythological beings? I think there should have been one about some mortal—let's call him Randallysus—who was caught trying to suckle Hercules' wife, Meganemis, and was punished by having one of Hercules' pubic hairs placed on his tongue that could never be removed for the rest of eternity.
ReplyDeleteDearest That's what she,
ReplyDeleteYou mean Meganemis was caught trying to suckle Randallysus.
Right?
And they are not 'mythological beings' either, they are divinities. Or that's what BP tells me when I play Leda and he plays the Swan.
Quite right, love. Quite right.
ReplyDeleteI thought at least the Brits would have some clever riposte about my Leda and The Swan image.
ReplyDeleteIs there no one here with an education in the Classics?
In the last 50 years, so I'm told, the Anglospheric World has gone from teaching Latin and Greek in High School to teaching remedial English in College and University.
But fuck me from behind with an iPad, we sure know our ephemeral Pop Culture now don't we?
I now include myself in the Anglosphere - a position I deserve more than most of you lot.
Is that "proper usage of the Queen's English" always important for ANY comment and post of this blog, or just for that question of mine?
ReplyDeleteI think that the question was quite clear anyway, but whatever...
Almighty Fallor:
Would you please explain how your version has 'improved' the original strip?
Thank you.
"Has he ever made a comment about your blog, or given a signal that might make you think he reads it? Just curious. "
ReplyDeletewe know from Aloria's heroic question at that one XKCD gathering that he is aware of our existence and is also aware of the fact that we have a bunch of meta-blogs (ie 'xkcd sucks sucks' etc). he claims not to actively read it, but that doesn't mean he doesn't stop in from time to time.
however! at no point during this or any review do I actually assume Randy is paying any attention to us over here. it's just a narrative conceit that amuses me.
fucking disgusting
ReplyDeletepretty sure randall's brother mentioned something about his mother reading the blog in irc once
ReplyDeletehttp://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/js27v/xkcd_is_right_again/
ReplyDeletesome good old fashioned reddit circlejerking about xkcd
This makes me want to stab someone in their eye. Why one eye? So they can never use binocular vision again.
ReplyDeleteI want to challenge goatkcd's monopoly on xkcd panel replacement, and this is what I offer.
ReplyDeleteJoin me, my friends. Together we can make this a better place.
Jon Levi, do you have proof that the Goatse man's anus is artificially distended? Because that is a bold claim and you really need to back it up.
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty funny, kitten.
ReplyDeleteMegan must have some seriously long nipples, though.
XKCD sucks.
ReplyDeleteBut 942 is a work of art. I'm proud of Randall for creating it.
Kill all Questionable Content fans.
ReplyDelete942 is the dumbest shit ever.
942: Wow, okay. So did anyone else see the "Five-Minute Comics, Part 4" that was accidentally posted on Friday? The juggling comic was one of the comics that was in that giant chunk of hastily-made garbage.
ReplyDeleteSo this juggling comic was thought up in a matter of minutes! Literally! It's been redrawn, but otherwise it's a very simplistic idea. Not terribly funny, just sort of an "Oh, okay."
I expect that we'll see some of the other comics from the Five-Minute Trash in the near future. Randy spent probably 30 minutes making 8 lame comics, and now he's going to post them as if they were meant to stand on their own. Even though they were originally compiled as a bunch of half-assed comics created as a game.
Some of us are gonna, you know, like, hack Fitocracy because Randall is totally right, they totally should like reward having sex why are you exercising plus it gets your pulse up right we're going to like hack wikipedia too at the same time so it matches and fitocracy will have to accept it since so many people go to wiki first. I was totally thinking that after i saw the cartoon and went to fitocracy that they totally should have sex as an exercise like a sexercise i was all wow, randall just puts it out there what you really think he's like a mind reader it's synchronicity. By the way this is a joke site, correct, no one would bother maintaining some sort of xkcd hate site.
ReplyDeleteYeah, this is totally a joke site, Marion
ReplyDelete@10:07, you could say that Jon Levi is stretching the truth.
ReplyDeletewhatb is it with randy and throwing books on the floor now? is he too good for books?
ReplyDeleteYes. Yes he is.
ReplyDelete"I guess Randy was reading through the ol' XKCD Sucks archives"
ReplyDeleteHaha! Yeah... Yeah I'm sure he was.
Here's a comic I think of when I peruse this blog:
http://art.penny-arcade.com/photos/215178115_ExTPi-L-2.jpg
Funny, 3:15. It is that exact same comic that I think of when reading posts like yours.
ReplyDeleteWOW OMG THAT WAS SHIT
ReplyDeleteI don't have the words. I've always been impressed that people from around the world will devote inordinate amounts of time to the incredible volume of creative output on the internet, even when the majority of the drive for creative output is attention, but to devote one's energy to actually creating and maintaining an active blog just to slam someone else's WEBCOMIC? Seriously? There is a lot of garbage on the internet, but I don't think I've ever seen someone create something so pathetic as this blog. You must lead a very unhappy life.
ReplyDelete"If everyone else is an asshole, it's probably you."
bingo
ReplyDeleteClearly, 4:48, you DO have the words.
ReplyDelete"Here's a comic I think of when I peruse this blog:
ReplyDeletehttp://art.penny-arcade.com/photos/215178115_ExTPi-L-2.jpg "
NH;DL
@Anon 4:48
ReplyDeleteI like your restrained use of all-caps. Using it to only emphasize one word is a good stylistic choice. Could have been better, though. The quote at the end feels shoehorned in. Try to use the rant as a lead-in, otherwise it looks disconnected.
5/10. I know you can do better.
NH;DL = New Haven Dart League?
ReplyDeleteNot Hyperlinked; Didn't Look
ReplyDeleteCaptcha: latation. Some jokes write themselves.
3:15, why would you use the second shittiest comic in the English language to deride this blog for seeing through the bullshit that is XKCD-mania? Why do you insist on having no taste? You are a shitty person that reads shitty comics.
ReplyDeleteAlso, 4:48. It doesn't take much time to hate XKCD. Randall makes it a brief activity by publishing shitty ass-fuck comics. The thought "oh God another shitty XKCD" takes a mere moment to materialize, and formulating why any newly cloned attempt at talent by Randall is shitty, a mere few more. Randall makes God-awful shitty comics. And if you like them you are shitty and have no taste.
ReplyDeletePeople who like XKCD (and Penny Arcade) are like people that only order chicken & fries even though they are not children. They've never grown up and prefer to eat mediocre, bland shit rather than leave their comfort zone and develop some damned taste.
"shitty ass-fuck comics"
ReplyDeleteI see what you did there.
You guys are all pathetic, how sad does your life have to be to spend so many minutes in a day checking a hate-blog??? And since we all know that nobody takes joy in creative writing, you all clearly are just jealous that you couldn't make your own webcomic and need to circle-jerk each other to feel better about the empty minutes in your day that could have been filled with exploring the world, or lactating!
ReplyDelete"If it ain't broke, don't fix it"
Penny Arcade, while it bores ME to death because (a) I'm not a gamer, (b) I'm not a gamer, and (c) I'm not a gamer, is really not in the top ranks of bad webcomics because, obviously you have to make room for the imitators (ctrl-alt-del and PVP for 2 and probably the real number is in 2 or 3 figures) that are far worse, correct?
ReplyDeleteWhile matters of taste are impossible to dispute with some sort of scientific accuracy (unless it's cilantro, which Big Science is currently trying to force us haters into agreeing is actually multiflavorous and we're damaged mutants), I think my reasoning above is solid.
While I'm thinking about it, there's a certain cleverness to xkcd. Unlike Penny Arcade, e.g., it's not really widely imitated - because there's so little to imitate. "Oh, I do a stick figure and nerd pride jokelike-object-a-day webcomic TOO! But my lack of art is different from xkcd's because .. oh damn."
"It's not really widely imitated."
ReplyDeleteAbstruse Goose
Or for an even worse example, observe the crappiness that is Super Oxide. To quote the author himself (from the forum thread that originally linked me there):
"So, I got bored and I love xkcd so I was just thinking to myself "I can make witty stick figures too". Or at least try. Or whatever. You know what I mean."
Aside from that, I feel like xkcd has popularized the gag-a-day format. Correct me if I'm wrong, but given the size of xkcd's fandom, it has to have a cultural influence somewhere.
Penny Arcade might not be the second shittiest, but why argue about what shade of shit a shitty shit is?
ReplyDeleteI'm not advocating some classist sense of "good taste," merely that people actually have some taste. I used to eat lunch with some of these tasteless types and they would order chicken & fries again and again no matter where we went. If it didn't have something utterly bland on the menu, we had to decide on somewhere else to go. Not coincidentally, they are all the XKCD-loving type.
And that's what a lack of taste is: you settle for something comfortable and bland without "tasting" the other possibilities the world has to offer. It's sad and shitty.
Wow Super Oxide is shit.
ReplyDelete"at no point during this or any review do I actually assume Randy is paying any attention to us over here"
ReplyDeleteI might believe that, if I hadn't read this one first:
"I guess Randy was reading through the ol' XKCD Sucks archives and remembered that SexKCD was a meme before XKCancerD was even a twinkling in his eye, so he went ahead and wrote about that, and Fitocracy (...)"
Come on. You have your own followers, that's cool. Enjoy them for what they are worth, you don't actually need the XKCD guy himself to read your blog. Why would you?
You don't actually need the XKCD guy himself to read your blog. Why would you?
ReplyDeleteBecause the only way to get better is by hearing and accepting criticism?
Perhaps this blog doesn't do a great job of it, but in mine, I try to point out what's going wrong in each strip and how to improve it.
I care about your blog, Gamer.
ReplyDeleteI am a female who finds beards grown on the neck to be attractive and I would like to have sex with someone sporting such a beard.
ReplyDeleteI can tell you without resorting to appeals to sympathy why xkcd is legitimately funny.
ReplyDeleteWell, go on then. Tell us.
ReplyDeleteOoh, I know.
ReplyDeletexkcd is funny in a meta way, because it inspired this blog and all the resultant funnyness that we've enjoyed together. Without xkcd there would not be the hilarity of mocking it.
Amirite?
You two are the sharpest tools in the shed.
ReplyDelete"I'm not advocating some classist sense of "good taste," merely that people actually have some taste. I used to eat lunch with some of these tasteless types and they would order chicken & fries again and again no matter where we went. If it didn't have something utterly bland on the menu, we had to decide on somewhere else to go. Not coincidentally, they are all the XKCD-loving type."
ReplyDeleteman i know the exact type of person you are talking about.
Fuck off, faggot, I try all sorts of foods and don't like them. Bland American food is the shit.
ReplyDeleteWe're going to play a new game, "Xkcd is funny because..." and then you fill in what comes afterward. I'll start:
ReplyDeleteXkcd is funny because I hate it so much I want to kill myself after reading it.
Whoops, I screwed up, guess this round's over. gg everyone
So Jon Levi, how are the forumites rationalizing the fact that Randall just recycled a shitty comic from LAST GODDAMNED WEEK?
ReplyDelete"Penny Arcade might not be the second shittiest, but why argue about what shade of shit a shitty shit is?
ReplyDeleteI'm not advocating some classist sense of "good taste," merely that people actually have some taste. I used to eat lunch with some of these tasteless types and they would order chicken & fries again and again no matter where we went. If it didn't have something utterly bland on the menu, we had to decide on somewhere else to go. Not coincidentally, they are all the XKCD-loving type.
And that's what a lack of taste is: you settle for something comfortable and bland without "tasting" the other possibilities the world has to offer. It's sad and shitty."
You sound like Holden Caulfield. Congratulations, I guess?
xkcd is funny because I swear I saw every comic it produces somewhere else before.
ReplyDeleteI lose, I guess.
XKCD is funny because of the humorous facial expressions
ReplyDeleteAm I the only one off put by the new girl? Her hair is longer than Megan's, and since that's the only way to tell stick-people apart different hair= different girl. It's just really weird right after trumpeting how awesome his cancer girlfriend is.
ReplyDeleteThere is no way that Penny-Arcade is on the same level as XKCD. You don't have to like it, I actually find Mike and Jerry much funnier in person in PATV because I don't care about games anymore, but Mike can actually draw. That is not true of XKCD or CAD or the millions of generic shitty gaming webcomics, and I am pretty sure there is more thought put into a Penny Arcade strip than a VG Cats strip, except Scott takes a month to think of the same easy videogame joke.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. It's not on the same level of shittiness as XKCD. On the other hand, Tycho's rants are shittier than XKCD most of the time.
ReplyDeleteYes, but Penny Arcade produces a rant AND a comic which are TWO DIFFERENT THINGS in TWO DIFFERENT PLACES, so it's not like people who hate Tycho's rants are forced to read it in any way if they want to just look at the comic. As opposed to... y'know.
ReplyDeleteWow, you linked to something that ISN'T some shit you created.
ReplyDeleteOK OK, I admit I just hate them both personally! (Especially Tycho.)
ReplyDeleteWell this thread's dead. Stop being lazy and post a new review.
ReplyDeleteAnon650: You're operating under the assumption that I'm NOT Randall Munroe.
ReplyDelete-posts emo shit no one cares about
-takes credit for things didn't do.
-thinks is "the shit"
-publishing initials R.M.
You are just not very good at this. I am sorry I didn't make this more obvious, but this is what we regular people call a "game". I understand social cues are reaaaally complicated and sometimes a little scary, but you will get the hang of them eventually.
Keep reaching for that rainbow, we're all cheering for you. =]
@1:53
ReplyDeleteYou're operating under the assumption that I was talking to you.
I know it's reaaaaally fun to believe the whole world is paying attention to you, but why don'tcha step off the stage once in a while?
Shine on, you crazy diamond. Shine on.
@238: You operate under the assumption that I ever assume anything is ever NOT about me.
ReplyDeleteTHAT ASSUMPTION IS FALSE.
Captcha: jockedge. =\
Randall Munroe
ReplyDeleteRob Mason
Raven Morier
How did I not notice that last one? is there anyone else on the blog with those initials. If you are an RM, then please tell us. Don't be shy.
I... I was an RM all along
ReplyDeleteevery time
And Randall Munroe said unto him "Call me Legion, for we are many."
ReplyDeleteAnd Randall Munroe said unto him, "Call me Shitload, cause there's a shitload of us in here."
ReplyDeleteMrrrrrrr!
ReplyDeleteSay it, Raven! Admit that you are one of Randy's many alter egos!
ReplyDeleteWow, new XKCD! Uninteresting idea, uninteresting execution.
ReplyDeleteAnd the female proposes! Isn't it nice how Randy breaks down the gender barriers for women, since they're not skilled or smart enough to do it themselves?
ReplyDeletei am an MR
ReplyDeletethat's like, the anti-randall
So... what's the JOKE in the latest comic? Or... the point? Or anything?
ReplyDeleteUhh, it's not particularly funny, but this is what it's about. We already know it's terrible because I have to explain it.
ReplyDeleteThe title is necessary, as it gives context. Science is largely empirical - as in you ask a question, make observations to collect data, then derive a conclusion to answer the initial question.
For example:
Question:
Will frogs die if I smash them with a hammer?
Observe:
Smash a couple dozen frogs with a hammer.
Conclude:
Yes they will.
Randy draws a parallel to marriage proposals for god knows what reason. It is... not funny.
For once, it's about language. "Will" is used both for the Future tense and to express desires in English, which is quite dumb. It's kinda funny to people with a different mother tongue, like me, but it's probably confusing and boring to the majority of Randall's audience.
ReplyDeleteAlso - It looks like a five-minute comic. Can someone who saw them before Randy dropped Part 4 in a Memory Hole confirm ?
@Lucas: No, it's not from the Five-Minute like 942 was. Maybe Randy is spacing them out? Here's a link to "Five-Minute Comics Part 4" for future reference:
ReplyDeletehttp://i56.tinypic.com/a9ton8.png
@Lucas: No. You're remembering something you vaguely learnt in a beginners' English class - some archaic remnant of the difference between willan vs sculan in Old English - but it has nothing remotely to do with this strip.
ReplyDeleteIf he's playing with double meanings then you'd do better to note that "apparent" has two opposing meanings in common usage, so in fact Randall did not really want to marry Megan after all.
I bet Randall actually got married, and this is him announcing it to the world.
ReplyDeleteOh, and Lucas is right.
@2:47 Thanks !
ReplyDelete@3:00 I'm not even talking about linguistics, I'm just saying it seems like a contrived wordplay (clearer to those unfamiliar with a proper use of the English language, such as Randy) to me.
When you say "will you marry me ?" you're not asking about a factual forecast, you're asking about what your fiancée wants in the present. Here Randall acts as if "will" had the same value as in "will the tumor obstruct the lactiferous ducts ?". Hence the reference to the scientific method in the title. If Megan had said "do you want to marry me", the "joke" would be destroyed... So if this is not a play with the word "will" then I need an explanation too... :-/
What if its not a girl after all? WHAT IF THIS ENTIRE TIME ITS BEEN A MALE STICK FIGURE WITH LONG HAIR? This would fit in well with Randall's crusade against gender identification.
ReplyDelete@Lucas You are asking about a factual forecast: asking the question implies that you want to marry and whether you will actually proceed to try to marry depends on the other person's wishes. English, being more evolved than most languages, internalises the notion of will and recognises the uncertainty of future events.
ReplyDeleteAsking "Te casaras con migo?" or "Tu vas me marier?" strictly only has one correct answer: maybe. This applies to any, "Are you going to _____?" question.
This sort of thing is trivial dilettante philosophy.
Come to think of it, most guys have hair, right? That means that the bald one is Megan after her chemo. Now go back and read every xkcd again with the knowledge that the one with hair is Randall.
ReplyDeleteI was absolutely sure that today's comic was yet another recycled 5-minute-comic. In a way, I am baffled that it's not, because... really... Has today's comic set a new standard for BORING or what?
ReplyDeleteSrsly, guys, stop whining about XKCD. It's lame.
ReplyDeleteNo-one likes people who whine all the time, regardless of the subject. It's not funny, nor rage inspiring nor anything else worthwhile. It's slightly annoying and enough to keep most people at a distance. It's like you're all actively trying to be the lamest bunch on the interwebs.
Q: What's more boring than a boring web comic? A: People who whine about a boring web comic.
"it's not funny ... nor worthwhile"
ReplyDeletecould've fooled me
Most of the users here don't actually spend much (or any) time complaining about the comic. It's mostly trolling and making humorous speculations.
ReplyDeleteTherefore, either you yourself are a troll, or you're an idiot.
If this is the best randy can offer for the language part of xkcd he should just stop fucking trying.
ReplyDeleteIt's cute how megabot thinks everyone online exists to entertain him.
ReplyDeleteYou're all awful and I hate every one of you.
ReplyDeleteRavenzomg = trying too hard
ReplyDelete@Anon 2:47
ReplyDeleteHere's a link to "Five-Minute Comics Part 4" for future reference
YOU ARE AWESOME. No, seriously, you're my favorite person of the week right now. I had thought this was lost forever.
Sometime in the near future, I'm totally having an XKCD SUCKS special feature reviewing that (non) update. Thanks again!
@ 6:03 I'm not saying that the verb expressing the future tense should imply certainty. What I'm saying is that "will", when followed by "you", usually means "do you desire to ?". And here Randall acts like it means "do you think this event is going to happen LOLEMPIRICISM", which is the meaning of "will" in many other contexts. That's the joke.
ReplyDeleteSorry I said it is "quite dumb", if that's what bothers you; I didn't mean to denigrate the English language (on the whole, it's both the most beautiful and the most efficient language I know about).
btw "Tu vas me marier ?" means "Are you going to perform the marriage ceremony on me (as a priest)". "Veux-tu m'épouser ?" is more accurate.
Lucas, run away. Run away before this blog destroys your beautiful soul :-(
ReplyDeleteKitten, stop talking about his soul as if you knew what one was.
ReplyDeleteI know what souls are. They do loads of things, and drinking too much can ruin them, and they taste delicious with some fava beans and a nice chianti.
ReplyDeleteread bitter milk... and i liked it
ReplyDelete@Lucas 4:10
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry no one went for the Megan lactating bait. :(
For some reason my internet connection is currently refusing to display xkcd. I initially hoped this was because The Singularity had happened in my router and as well as intelligence it had developed taste, but I could get onto CAD so bang went that theory.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, that's why I've not made an incisive comment about the quality of the latest one. Also because I am unable to make an incisive comment on anything due to being a bitter twisted fool with an IQ of roughly 10.
http://www.thedoghousediaries.com/?p=1096 <-- despite this, I still think the minimalism / lack of distinct qualities of xkcd makes it way harder to imitate than, e.g., Penny Arcade. And *that* said, I underestimated the lack of shame of xkcd fans/knockoff originators. Probably.
ReplyDeleteAs for Super Oxide, I'd like to see what sort of webcomic YOU maintained when YOU were in 1st grade!
ReplyDeleteAnn, maybe your router has just not developed good taste.
ReplyDeleteFor you my dearest Ann, the comic you missed:
[comic]
Panel 1: Little Girl and Bald Figure stand in a smaller-than-usual void
LG: WILL YOU MARRY ME?
Panel 2:
BF: LET'S FIND OUT!
Panel 3: Little Girl in a gown and veil, Bald Figure wearing a bowtie, stand before an altar of barbed wire attended by a vintage prairies' gasoline station pump
Panel 4: Little Girl in gown and veil, Bald Figure wearing a bowtie, return to smaller-than-usual void, holding hands
BF: APPARENTLY, YES!
[/comic]
The alt-text is ''I'm as surprised as you are!'' which might be just an RL shoutout. Presumably they've set a date given the circumstances.
ReplyDeleteWell 943... it's not that bad? Who knew?
ReplyDeleteInteresting. As Rob's reviews get shorter and shittier, XKCD gets kinda okay.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the half-assed work.
Raven, you're a star. We shall be wed by noon tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah also this
ReplyDelete@Kitten
ReplyDeleteBut it seems like such a perfect place to hold delightfully enlightening conversations about semantics =D
I'm guessing Megan comes from a wealthy family and Randall desperately needs a source of income more stable than t-shirts and giving "talks" to masturbating geeks.
ReplyDeleteIt makes sense that the hypocrite who claims to put value on hard, rational thought but makes a living drawing stick figures should go to the next level and live off an inheritance from his cancer-savaged dead wife.
DAMN
ReplyDelete