Christ. Remember how everyone is sick of Sarah Palin jokes because they are all unoriginal? Remember how jokes about airplane rides are always met with groans and rolling eyes? You know how lawyer jokes, or helen keller jokes, or dead baby jokes are all based on the same tired old premises (which are lawyers are greedy and have no morals, helen keller is blind, and you feel uncomfortable, respectively).
If a joke is tired and old, you can still pick out humor in it. It's possible to make a joke about George Bush being stupid that still manages to say something new or insightful and thus still be funny. But if it's just "ha ha bush is dumb and says words wrong" you are just going to be a sad little humorless nothing that makes people wonder "why are you doing this to us?"
So that's what we have here. As though the world did not yet have enough "ha ha windows vista sux" jokes. Not that they were all good, but the point is lame jokes about vista were everywhere. Two years ago.
Oh true we have one other element: Hitler. Dammit I am sick of hitler. He just gets stuck in as the default "horrible thing that nothing is worse than." There ought to be a law against it. And then a comic about that law.
This comic is a terrible stand up comic saying "hey guys I've noticed some differences between genders, I am going to list them now" and the audience is rolling their eyes.
If a joke is tired and old, you can still pick out humor in it. It's possible to make a joke about George Bush being stupid that still manages to say something new or insightful and thus still be funny. But if it's just "ha ha bush is dumb and says words wrong" you are just going to be a sad little humorless nothing that makes people wonder "why are you doing this to us?"
So that's what we have here. As though the world did not yet have enough "ha ha windows vista sux" jokes. Not that they were all good, but the point is lame jokes about vista were everywhere. Two years ago.
Oh true we have one other element: Hitler. Dammit I am sick of hitler. He just gets stuck in as the default "horrible thing that nothing is worse than." There ought to be a law against it. And then a comic about that law.
This comic is a terrible stand up comic saying "hey guys I've noticed some differences between genders, I am going to list them now" and the audience is rolling their eyes.
Draw some fucking eyes already.
ReplyDeleteAwful. What could Randall's intentions be with this one? He couldn't really believe this joke is new and witty. It can't be fan service be fan service, because he must realize that even his forumites wont buy this one (I hope that your two examples weren't the only critical voices over there, Carl? I dare not check myself). Is it some kind of meta-humor? Then I don't understand it.
ReplyDeleteAt least I got a little chuckle out of the alt-text, but I guess that came mostly from relief: The alt-text didn't make the joke worse than it already was.
I do like the no-eyes style, though. Randall's stick-figures leaves you to interpret what what emotions would be shown in the face. The moment he would put eyes on the faces that would be lost.
That was a pretty boring rant. Where's the vitriol? Where's the bitterness? You're just being serious.
ReplyDeleteThe eye-rollers are a minority on the forum -- lots of posters are taking the "differences between genders" bait and flexing their massive erections of OS knowledge.
ReplyDelete"Vista isn't actually that bad!"
"Yes it is!"
"Windows 7 seems alright"
"*eyeroll*"
"[stacking more pop culture references onto Hitler joke]"
We should make Bingo cards predicting this crap!
I dunno, I considered it a parody of all the "hahaha vista SUXXXXXXXXXXX" jokes, and in that light it was actually pretty good. I mean c'mon, Hitler.
ReplyDeleteYou're probably right in that it wasn't actually meant as a parody, but I'll take my small victories where I get 'em.
I hear that the pussies of geek girls taste like hot plastic.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what bothered me more, how cheap the joke is or how well Randall conveyed he knows absolutely shit about the subject.
ReplyDeleteSigh. Sometimes I think he's doing this to us on purpose~
"ha ha bush is dumb and says words wrong"
ReplyDeleteYou wrote this is your blog. This is ironic, because it should read "Bush is dumb and says words wrongly". Adverbs and capitalization, bitches.
I would think you were attempting to imply that those who blindly make jokes about Bush have bad grammar, except you made numerous other grammatical errors*, so I can only assume that these were also unintentional.
As a sidenote, Vista really is horrible. I suggest you get a better OS, if you have not already. FreeBSD is better than ever, Fedora has a new version out, hell, even give Ubuntu a try.
*"jokes about airplane rides area", "helen keller jokes", "lawyer jokes, or helen keller jokes, or dead baby jokes", "helen keller is blind", "windows vista", "As though the world did not yet have enough "ha ha windows vista sux" jokes.", "hitler", and "hey guys", for a few examples.
Commas go inside the quotes, Pedantic Cuddlefish. Plus I think Carl couldn't really care less about his grammar... it's the Internet!
ReplyDeleteAlso you could use some semicolons rather than commas. =) Learn correct grammar before trying to be a douche.
@Pedantic
ReplyDeleteOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHH OUCH BURN!
@Amanda
You are as awesome as hitting a homerun so powerful that the moon explodes.
"Commas go inside the quotes, Pedantic Cuddlefish."
ReplyDeleteGo look up logical quotation.
"Also you could use some semicolons rather than commas."
It was a list. In this context, while both could have probably worked, I used commas.
Pedantic Cuddlefish's use of quotation marks and commas is perfectly correct. However, I call into question the purpose of his rant, as Carl's writing has only to maintain what I might absurdly call "blogular integrity", which is decidedly less rigid than what should be expected of the President of the global superpower.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't help Pedafish's case, either, that the bits pertaining to Bush are indubitably written that way on purpose.
PA - If you are going to seriously suggest that there is a set of correct rules about grammar that all english speaking humans must follow, you are just being silly. I was communicating ideas and concepts and that is all. Colons and semicolons are used in different places depending on which list of rules you are using, and none is any more correct than any other. For example, you used the "sentence" "Adverbs and capitalization, bitches" which has no verb holy crap it is an incomplete sentence. But it's ok, just like it's ok that I started this sentence with a conjunction, and it's ok that I am going to end it with a preposition, because these rules are not fixed and there is no authority you can hit back at me with.
ReplyDeleteFernie - I am sorry. Honestly I can only rant when I am really angered by a comic and this one didn't anger me, it just made me sad.
"It doesn't help Pedafish's case, either, that the bits pertaining to Bush are indubitably written that way on purpose."
ReplyDeleteReading Comprehension -5
"I would think you were attempting to imply that those who blindly make jokes about Bush have bad grammar, except you made numerous other grammatical errors*, so I can only assume that these were also unintentional. "
ReplyDeleteYou obviously said that you don't actually think the poor grammar there was intentional, and I insist that your theory is ridiculous, and about as frivolous as all our bickering.
Also, by quoting you, I noticed a couple of your paragraphs in the rant have spaces after the last sentence and that is SO WEIRD. You are WEIRD.
poore: Awww! I am awesome like the comic?? I feel so loved.
ReplyDeletePedafish: I feel less loved. Also my semicolons were referring to the bit between Fedora and Ubuntu. And I was going to point out your verbless sentence but Carl beat me to it. (Carl I am worrying that I am white-knighting but since I don't really know what that means I can't tell if I am or not but this is my last comment on this issue I promise.) And even more also I have never quite understood the usage of "irony" and its other various forms but I think your usage was incorrect. Hmm.
Lint: I enjoy your conclusion very, very much.
If Mr. Hole cares, I do use Ubuntu.
ReplyDelete"PA - If you are going to seriously suggest that there is a set of correct rules about grammar that all english speaking humans must follow, you are just being silly."
ReplyDeleteDammit. I've been on your side the whole way - until this. There are rules. Granted, there are different rules for different situations, and the rules do not need to be followed for fear of dire consequences, but they do exist and it's my job to make sure people follow them. Literally, since I'm an editor. The ubiquitous example is the Chicago Manual of Style, though as I said, there are many more. Since this is a blog, and as such, an informal exchange of ideas, the rules don't need to be followed strictly (or at all, as long as you're understood), but DAMMIT JIM! I'M AN EDITOR, NOT A FORUMITE!
Son, we live in a world that has walls and those walls need to be guarded by men with style guides. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lieutenant Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago and curse the editors; you have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that Pedantic Asshole's correction, while tragic, probably saved lives and that my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives.
You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like footnotes, semi-colons, index. We use then as the backbone of a life trying to defend something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said "thank you," and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest that you pick up a style guide and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.
*snerk* :D
Oh Mike, you prescriptivist. Language needs to be free! We shouldn't enforce grammar simply because there are rules and you need to follow them, we should enforce it because it is the clearest and most concise way to express our ideas. "You are breaking the rules" is much worse than "you aren't being clear here" or "there is a lot of potential for ambiguity if you don't put a comma here."
ReplyDeleteAlmost any grammatically incorrect sentence that I encounter while reading aloud causes me to stumble and drop audible scare quotes around the sentence. Or it sounds awkward. Rules for the sake of rules need to avoided--leave only the practical! Style guides are dated! Dictionaries are not comprehensive authorities!