WCT: August 31-September 4, 2009

[Border Reiver]

Just how fast can Momo move?  Last time I caught a squirrel I had to shoot it first

[Delirium]

If she can shoot that lighting of hers at range, she could have just stunned it. Poor squirrel   I friggin hate the feeling of electricity. That shit needs to stay inside wires.

[Binary]

As fas as I'm concerned Marigold can wire that little bastard into the mains. Evil grey foreign devils, overrunning the ecological niche previously occupied by our cute loveable (and seriously endangered) red squirrels.

[philharmonic]

so............    all new computer cases are black? Hmmm well come to think of it mine was too....

who sets these trends? DAMN TRENDSETTERS 

[Carl-E]

Yeah, whatever happened to beige cases?  

Oh wait, that's nicotine staining over a grey case...

Nevermind.  

[Steve the Pocket]

Black is popular because it's unobtrusive.  It just sort of disappears into the void.  You don't have to worry about it standing out against whatever else is in the room.

[danman]

so............    all new computer cases are black? Hmmm well come to think of it mine was too....
who sets these trends? DAMN TRENDSETTERS 

The funny thing is that first, i thought her pants (violet) are a part of the casing, which made me think she got herself a SUN workstation, which made me wonder how can she run WoW on a ultrasparc ,..
and then i looked closer

[MillionDollar Belt Sander]

Did MOMO electrostun the squirrel?    If so I want a print of that.   

[Zemyla]

The squirrel looks so... unconcerned about its fate.

[Dliessmgg]

I think Momo had a fight with a squirrel family and now there's a funeral scene on the tree at the window.

[Stoutfellow]

I'd say Momo got off pretty lightly:

http://www.vtwinmama.com/demonic_squirrel_riding_story.htm

[Binary]

I think Momo had a fight with a squirrel family and now there's a funeral scene on the tree at the window.

We can but hope. 

Attempts to save our indigenous reds now include encouraging people to eat the grey invaders: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/may/11/recipes.foodanddrink. Apparently squirrel pasties are particularly popular (I should explain to the American readership that pasties are traditional Cornish pies, not those tassels on the nipples of burlesque dancers. Dancing with dead rodents hanging from your breasts would be... unerotic).

"Eat a grey and save a red."

[LeeC]

hehe makes me think of all other catroons like this

"scapel!"
"scapel"
"gauze!"
"gauze"
"jelly donout!"
"jelly- huh what?"
"hey a docs gotta eat"

[maddness]

My husband prefers his squirrel with eggs, buttermilk biscuits, and white gravy. I've never eaten it myself. I'm a city girl and to me they might as well be bushy tailed rats, much like pigeons are rats with wings.

[LeeC]

FYI I just started here at the University of Maryland College Park and I have noticed that the squirrels on campus will walk right up to you and stare at you as if you were on display.  some even follow/chase you.  Kinda weird as usually anywhere else i've been they scamper off if you so much as look at them, but here they are really used to humans.  Just something I noticed as far as squirrel related.

[Dliessmgg]

A large squirrel would be enough for one-and-a-half people.

What is a half person? A zombie (undead)? Or did they mean peolpe like in tribe? How large is a large squirrel?

[Binary]

A half-person is what's left after an encounter with the evil attack squirrel of death (see above).

[matachin]

Since we're going all geeky today I might as well feed the radioactive mutant squirrels, in order.

The only squirrel related computer bit I can think of was the Squirrel SCSi add-on for the Amiga 1200.



Vaxen may have been huge, but depending on the model they ranged from workstations through minicomputers to mainframes.  I was always more partial to HP for older gear or Sun workstations once they hit the SparcStation era.

That brings me to the worry that I must have calibrated my monitor in a drunken moment, because the color of Marigold's pants is way to bright & red to be a Sun.  The only thing close to that color is the dot on the faceplate of my Sun Ultra 2.

The hardware person in me did enjoy that Jeph actually drew something I recognized as a computer before the caffeine hit, but the CPU hasn't been installed yet!  Given the size of some heatsinks these days I never feel comfortable doing that unless the motherboard is solidly on a flat surface.

[Akima]

Sun workstations once they hit the SparcStation era.

Ah SPARCstation...  <--- nostalgic smile
The pizza-box that sounds like a jet-plane!

[danman]

That brings me to the worry that I must have calibrated my monitor in a drunken moment, because the color of Marigold's pants is way to bright & red to be a Sun.  The only thing close to that color is the dot on the faceplate of my Sun Ultra 2.

Aww, bright and red? To me they are exactly the color of my sun blade 2000 (gotten through ebay at liq, price and used as a local server)

[Malek]

Did MOMO electrostun the squirrel?    If so I want a print of that.   

I see MOMO going all Darth Sidious on his ass: POOOOWWWWEEEERRRRRRR!!!!

[cgarci21]

No way, it would be overkill. That squirrel does not have the same propensity for badassery that Samuel L. Jackson does. 

[Angafirith]

FYI I just started here at the University of Maryland College Park and I have noticed that the squirrels on campus will walk right up to you and stare at you as if you were on display.  some even follow/chase you.  Kinda weird as usually anywhere else i've been they scamper off if you so much as look at them, but here they are really used to humans.  Just something I noticed as far as squirrel related.

The squirrels at UMBC are like that too. I've seen them eat cigarette butts.

[kurzon]

If she can shoot that lighting of hers at range, she could have just stunned it. Poor squirrel   I friggin hate the feeling of electricity. That shit needs to stay inside wires.

The squirrel's definitely the calmest one in that room, so maybe it _is_ stunned.

Or suffering from Kawaii overload.

[LeeC]

you know, looking at the comic title, I wonder what would have happened if she did say boyfriend and not squirrel?

[LeeC]

D'aw, Sven genuinely feels bad and regrets what he did.  Before I thought he just felt bad.

[Akima]

D'aw, Sven genuinely feels bad and regrets what he did.

Well... Tactically anyway. 

[Shadic]

I think this is the part where we have the side story in which Sven has issues too.

Or something.

I don't know. Dumb post is dumb.

[Kugai]

I think Sven still has some way before he returns to the light side.

[TheHappyBerry]

Did anyone else getting the feeling the last panel was breaking the fourth wall a little?  Either way, I loved it!

[caelae]

FYI I just started here at the University of Maryland College Park and I have noticed that the squirrels on campus will walk right up to you and stare at you as if you were on display.  some even follow/chase you.  Kinda weird as usually anywhere else i've been they scamper off if you so much as look at them, but here they are really used to humans.  Just something I noticed as far as squirrel related.

They do that at another U of M, too- University of Michigan. If you go chkchkchk and rub your fingers together they'll get really close.

[Muirghiel]

Heavy-handed subtext?  Why, whatever do you mean, Wil?  That made me giggle.

[Wiregeek]

They do that at another U of M, too- University of Michigan. If you go chkchkchk and rub your fingers together they'll get really close.

Which, of course, is when you strike.

http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/firearms/detail.asp?value=006B&cat_id=051&type_id=422

Pow!

[jonarus_drakus]

In Australia we dont have squirrels, we hae possoms. Thier like three times the size and have razor sharp claws for mutilating annoying tourists which is thier primary diet. Localy, we have the 'Brushtail' variety, so big bushy tail like a pipe cleaner, which is useful for cleaning up the mess after the messily devour an annoyining tourist (they are quite civic minded little marsupials).

[Pica]

and friggin' terrifying!

[rudyhenkel]

In Australia we dont have squirrels, we hae possoms. Thier like three times the size and have razor sharp claws for mutilating annoying tourists which is thier primary diet. Localy, we have the 'Brushtail' variety, so big bushy tail like a pipe cleaner, which is useful for cleaning up the mess after the messily devour an annoyining tourist (they are quite civic minded little marsupials).

Always good to destroy a source of income for your country.

[raoullefere]

Jacques: "I...I guess it didn't go as well as Sven would've liked."

But probably as well as could be expected, if they indeed just talked. What'd Sven think, a band was gonna strike up the theme from "Officer and a Gentleman"?

[Shadic]

Well, he IS Sven, so that may have just fell into his lap.
As so many women do.

[badbum61]

Did anyone else getting the feeling the last panel was breaking the fourth wall a little?  Either way, I loved it!

a little??? That sound you heard was the fourth wall cascading to the ground in tiny shards. And IIRC, didn't Jeph once say that he didn't like that kinda stuff?

[Joybee]

If Faye and Sven don't get together soon I am going to have a Hernia.

Sven actually looks kinda pathetic in these past few strips, far from the suave "gentleman" he used to be.

[Joybee]

a little??? That sound you heard was the fourth wall cascading to the ground in tiny shards. And IIRC, didn't Jeph once say that he didn't like that kinda stuff?

I dunno, I could see Will picking up on something like that without having to know what necessarily went on. That sentimental advice probably sounded weird coming from Sven.

[Carl-E]

OK, it's a little off topic, but I finally figured out what's been bothering me about the "fancy dress" sequences.  It's the hats!  Not the women's hats, they looked great, it's the men's hats.  The brims are too small!

Now, before everybody starts calling me a costume Nazi, it's really just an aesthetic thing.  I only mention it because I know Jeph is continuously trying to improve his art.  Of course, I doubt he reads much of this...

Back to the hats... a bowler/Derby like Will was wearing needs to have a wider brim that curls up on the sides.  The same is true of the top hats, and the body of a top hat should curve in a bit on the sides.  The stovepipe style was out of fashion when Lincoln wore one, but even it had a wider brim!

Here are a couple of references...

http://www.gentlemansemporium.com/store/hats.php  - Has some excellent derbies and a few "standard" top hats.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_hat - A few pictures of "the real deal".  

I know, I know, it's nitpicky.  It just took me a while to figure out why I found those panels jarring.  I've been involved in the theater and historical recreation for way too long not to spot when an historical costume looks off, destroying the illusion.  Hell, my wife was a professional costumer for over 10 years!  You can't live with someone like that without some of it rubbing off...

And by the way, I thought Dora's hat was cute!  I think Jeph might've been going for the pseudo-military cloth caps that are all over the place now, but it reminds me of a slightly floppy knit cap with a flat top and a brim that I had when I was a kid.  It was olive colored, too.  

Just the sort of thing you'd spot in a vintage clothing store / thrift shop!  Makes me wonder where mine wound up...

[Carl-E]

Did anyone else getting the feeling the last panel was breaking the fourth wall a little?  Either way, I loved it!

a little??? That sound you heard was the fourth wall cascading to the ground in tiny shards. And IIRC, didn't Jeph once say that he didn't like that kinda stuff?

Not in the least.  Will is a poet, he's thoroughly trained to pick up on subtext. 

Whether it's there or not. 

[Dliessmgg]

a little??? That sound you heard was the fourth wall cascading to the ground in tiny shards. And IIRC, didn't Jeph once say that he didn't like that kinda stuff?

There isn't even a scratch in the fourth wall, Wil's simply genre savvy. It's like a villain who doesn't put the spy into an inescapable death trap because he's seen too many James Bond films.

Edit: ninja'd.

[jeph]

Did anyone else getting the feeling the last panel was breaking the fourth wall a little?  Either way, I loved it!

a little??? That sound you heard was the fourth wall cascading to the ground in tiny shards. And IIRC, didn't Jeph once say that he didn't like that kinda stuff?

[Crab]

My, that's a rather fetching lampshade hung on that.

[xxxHan-Ahxxx]

Yay for Sven getting off his mopey ass and finally doing something!

It needs done, but I keep thinking they'll end up back together. 

i'm happy too that sven came back. i was beginning to miss him. so what happen between him and faye after they talked? i really want them to get back together. they we're cute together. is jeph gonna make faye go for the other guy?

[rattus_rattus]

FYI I just started here at the University of Maryland College Park and I have noticed that the squirrels on campus will walk right up to you and stare at you as if you were on display.  some even follow/chase you.  Kinda weird as usually anywhere else i've been they scamper off if you so much as look at them, but here they are really used to humans.  Just something I noticed as far as squirrel related.

The squirrels at UMBC are like that too. I've seen them eat cigarette butts.

I heard stories that in our local pleasure park (I live in one of those Victorian seaside holiday towns in the UK) the squirrels ate the dog ends (for Americans, cigarette butts), became addicted to nicotine and then started attacking smokers to get their cigarettes. As a person who dislikes smoking (it smells bad, my main reason for disliking many things) I found this a) hilarious and b) a nice piece of poetic justice.

[Tago Mago]

Did anyone else getting the feeling the last panel was breaking the fourth wall a little?  Either way, I loved it!

a little??? That sound you heard was the fourth wall cascading to the ground in tiny shards. And IIRC, didn't Jeph once say that he didn't like that kinda stuff?

It can make sense to speak of reading subtext into an ordinary conversation. Wil may simply have been saying that Sven's advice has a secondary meaning, not that Questionable Content Number 1484 has a secondary meaning. In speaking of 'subtext', he gives the point a literary connotation, but Wil is a literary fellow.

[Binary]

Agree with Tago Mago. Wil is staring thoughtfully into his middle distance, not out of the frame at the reader. No fourth wall breakage here.

Bizarrely (given one of the other major topics this week), Wikipedia includes this snippet in its article on 'Breaking the Fourth Wall' - "...Marvel Comics' Squirrel Girl has also been known to address the reader at times". Goddamned convention-defying squirrels.

In other news, I have decided that Wil's cadaverous cheekbones disturb me. Very Peter Cushing - I half expect him to recite some demon-summoning incantation, or at the very least order the destruction of the planet.