tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post5075958487978535113..comments2024-03-17T05:03:46.056-07:00Comments on xkcd sucks: Comic 745: Untied We StandCarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01074589998141327538noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-85639779726554080032010-07-16T15:34:38.279-07:002010-07-16T15:34:38.279-07:00that's an old joke. If Far Side made it up, I&...that's an old joke. If Far Side made it up, I'm impressed. I believe it; I've seen plenty of other t-shirt-jokes stolen from good sources. <br /><br />But to be fair, while he is basing this comic on the "dyslexics of the world untie" joke, he's making a new joke on top of it. If that phrase weren't common knowledge, he couldn't make the joke that they were trying to spell that and kept getting it accidentally right.Carlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01074589998141327538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-8304447242066886232010-07-01T08:28:42.215-07:002010-07-01T08:28:42.215-07:00Comic 745: I'm surprised that no one has ment...Comic 745: I'm surprised that no one has mentioned that this is basically a riff on a Far Side strip, where a group of people were walking down the street carrying a banner that said "Dyslexics of the World Untie" He even makes a similar joke in the floating text.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-71754817641384874502010-06-29T22:15:31.623-07:002010-06-29T22:15:31.623-07:00Now would be an great time for a joke involving pr...Now would be an great time for a joke involving prescriptivists and the pronoun combination "any...he."<br /><br />Anybody?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-81090543753643353652010-06-28T22:20:19.150-07:002010-06-28T22:20:19.150-07:00congratulations on coming to the position that pre...congratulations on coming to the position that prescriptivists are dumbasses via the long way. have a seat, help yourself to the beer in the fridgershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15828938843801425383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-77444028158807278512010-06-28T21:03:09.567-07:002010-06-28T21:03:09.567-07:00Yes, but for something that is completely based of...Yes, but for something that is completely based off of usage (ie, language), it is true. I mean, if everyone believes that the word "water" means what we think of as "paper," then it would be very reasonable to say that a proper usage of water would be to have it mean paper. This is really the whole concept of colloquialism, anyways.<br /><br />And yeah it is nitpicky, but there are often much larger flaws in comics that you don't point out in favor of small, meaningless ones. It's not that I blindly love xkcd or anything, but at the same time I believe that you could have much stronger arguments.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-58465290318019882432010-06-20T19:40:02.317-07:002010-06-20T19:40:02.317-07:00"widely accepted" =/= true. for example:..."widely accepted" =/= true. for example: <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/11/22/opinion/polls/main657083.shtml" rel="nofollow">http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/11/22/opinion/polls/main657083.shtml</a><br /><br />isn't this whole website being nitpicky?Carlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01074589998141327538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-42136793887629105112010-06-18T01:36:52.154-07:002010-06-18T01:36:52.154-07:00There is a difference between good writing and xkc...There is a difference between good writing and xkcd. However, using a commonly accepted grammatical construction (namely, "they") isn't really wrong.<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they suggests that while Munroe's usage of they is not technically correct, it is widely used and accepted among most people.<br /><br />I think even you should admit that you are being nitpicky here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-11388878661276853262010-06-17T21:19:34.254-07:002010-06-17T21:19:34.254-07:00well what do you suggest? "They" is wron...well what do you suggest? "They" is wrong because it's a plural, "he/she" or some variant is just annoying and in any case a wholly modern PC invention.<br /><br />you have to know the rules to break the rules effectively, that's the difference between good writing and xkcd.Carlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01074589998141327538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-59352040628236646632010-06-16T11:04:28.426-07:002010-06-16T11:04:28.426-07:00I think that "when I tell someone a joke, he ...I think that "when I tell someone a joke, he laughs" sounds terrible. Also, really. Basing all of your grammar off of "SAT rules." What a great basis for life. It almost sounds like you think the SAT means something!<br /><br />I mean hell, you're right. Everyone should follow SAT grammar. Have you ever read a work of literature? Ever? And when you do, do you criticize it because "it doesn't follow SAT grammar?"<br /><br />No, I'm not trying to say that xkcd is synonymous with good literature. What I am trying to say, however, is that your problem with the xkcd grammar is bullshit.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-40222632987069980542010-05-31T23:10:03.780-07:002010-05-31T23:10:03.780-07:00I HATE YOU SCOTT AND I ALWAYS HAVEI HATE YOU SCOTT AND I ALWAYS HAVECarlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01074589998141327538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-81974444785686165502010-05-31T19:28:12.854-07:002010-05-31T19:28:12.854-07:00The second one you fat piece of shit.The second one you fat piece of shit.ScottMcTonynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-67480588449653392312010-05-31T17:50:24.863-07:002010-05-31T17:50:24.863-07:00Anon: I'd say "when I tell someone a joke...Anon: I'd say "when I tell someone a joke, he laughs" as long as the person is not specified. Call me old fashioned but I think that's fine. "The reader, if he is careful, will note..." seems best to me as well.<br /><br />But that's not relevant; the discussion here is whether a single group should be treated as a plural, and there's no reason it should. Let's try a new example: "The Dyslexic support group eats pizza at their meetings" or "the D. S. G. eat pizza at their meetings." Pick one.Carlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01074589998141327538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-81739061669280070522010-05-31T11:04:39.554-07:002010-05-31T11:04:39.554-07:00That is not ironic at all and I hate you.That is not ironic at all and I hate you.scottmctonynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-53155165312460732882010-05-31T10:31:44.245-07:002010-05-31T10:31:44.245-07:00Here's an irony: this discussion about "t...Here's an irony: this discussion about "they" has already taken place in XKCD.<br /><br />http://xkcd.com/145/<br /><br />Captcha: "cater", as in what XKCD does to the masses of geeks and nerds on the interwebz.Alsworthnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-87366658074658712582010-05-30T21:12:33.283-07:002010-05-30T21:12:33.283-07:00Carl:
No, I wouldn't suggest that a gender-de...Carl:<br /><br />No, I wouldn't suggest that a gender-determinate subject (she) be replaced by the epicene they. However, I would suggest wholeheartedly that a gender-indeterminate subject, even if singular, ought to be replaced by that they. <br /><br />I wouldn't say the dyslexic woman...when they made a shirt.<br /><br />However, I also wouldn't say, as a refusal to accept the epicene they requires, every dyslexic...when he made a shirt.<br /><br />So, very nice attempt at shrewdness by completing ignoring whether the subject was gender-determinate or not.<br /><br />Which would you say, sir?<br /><br />1.) When I tell someone a joke, they laugh.<br /><br />OR<br /><br />2.) When I tell someone a joke, he/she laughs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-81769837743839385792010-05-30T20:51:09.088-07:002010-05-30T20:51:09.088-07:00The Ranter: There's a difference between relev...The Ranter: There's a difference between relevant and irrelevant context. What if he said that it was the Southern Europe Dyslexics Society? That doesn't change the joke; there is nothing about people from southern europe that makes this joke any different. On the baby-with-a-gun-joke, I'm not demanding context, but I am saying that some relevant details might help make the joke better.<br /><br />Anon: Singular "They" as used here, is very, very wrong in America (i know this is not true in Britain, or at least, not as true). Would you say "The dyslexic woman ran into trouble when they made a shirt..."? No, you would say "the dyslexic person ran into trouble when SHE made a shirt..." <br /><br />they is sometimes ok if you want to be ambiguous about gender - "the mysterious person in the alley said they would tell me a secret" but that's not the point here. "The group" is singular, so "the group IS doing X" is right and "the group ARE doing X" is wrong.<br /><br />SORRYCarlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01074589998141327538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-42046621148110506292010-05-30T10:14:42.302-07:002010-05-30T10:14:42.302-07:00I'd take you so much more seriously if your co...I'd take you so much more seriously if your complaints about grammar were actually valid.<br /><br />Singular they is widely accepted. If you can't, as a native speaker, parse a singular they, I am sorry for your shortcomings.<br /><br />Also, joke isn't being used as an adjective, but as part of a noun phrase of the sort "joke gift", which extends to "A gift which is a joke". Note the article which proceeds the word joke. Adjectives are not proceeded by articles.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-39966711284420981992010-05-30T09:43:33.872-07:002010-05-30T09:43:33.872-07:00So on this one you said "Why should we care w...So on this one you said "Why should we care why they made the shirt?", and on the next one you complain that "if there is one thing xkcd is not good at, it's telling you the context for its little stories...WHY WOULD THIS HAPPEN?". Hm.jjofearthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07250847775250370512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-71819027025492041462010-05-29T13:49:01.189-07:002010-05-29T13:49:01.189-07:00today's goatkcdtoday's goatkcdAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-81990098162704909142010-05-29T11:18:06.692-07:002010-05-29T11:18:06.692-07:006:04 Anonymous: XKCD's "birth" strip...6:04 Anonymous: XKCD's "birth" strip was number 40 out of about 42. Whoops.Mirandanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-58904102583860931102010-05-29T06:19:37.173-07:002010-05-29T06:19:37.173-07:00This comic reminds me a lot of SMBC one-panel form...This comic reminds me a lot of SMBC one-panel formula, but I still don't find it funny, because it's just too obvious.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-51344928417019398712010-05-29T06:04:53.178-07:002010-05-29T06:04:53.178-07:00http://www.isitfunnytoday.com/
Wow, why is xkcd n...http://www.isitfunnytoday.com/<br /><br />Wow, why is xkcd nowhere here?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-84253813601270805392010-05-29T00:34:50.877-07:002010-05-29T00:34:50.877-07:00wow xkcdexplained totally ripped on Randall. I lo...wow xkcdexplained totally ripped on Randall. I love it when they tear him apart with feminism.Rachelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-41339853433162337432010-05-28T23:56:25.238-07:002010-05-28T23:56:25.238-07:00no David - he has said that megan (as well as rob ...no David - he has said that megan (as well as rob apparently) are his inside joke names. He is very well doing it on purpose.Person #1https://www.blogger.com/profile/17155647957555627795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-67249545579881703082010-05-28T23:02:33.698-07:002010-05-28T23:02:33.698-07:00Uh... Jon... pretty sure it was Megan who was play...Uh... Jon... pretty sure it was Megan who was playing GTA. Considering there's no husband there, it's more likely that she fell pregnant to somebody who didn't care enough to stick around.<br /><br />I think it's supposed to be the continuation, or maybe the commencement, or maybe the just-commenced-but-other-stuff-retroactively-made-to-fit-in of some sort of Megan saga, whatever that may be.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com