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I wish I could eat cupcakes.

2 (4%)

Being hated because of what you are is still painful.

0 (0%)

It gives ALL of us hope that one day we will be fully accepted.

0 (0%)

We're still working on racism, sexism, homophobia....

0 (0%)

We are aware that "one day" may in fact be "another rung up the evolutionary ladder."

5 (10%)

Who knows what humanity will be like in 50 years?

1 (2%)

That is the beauty of being post-Singularity. We do not know!

1 (2%)

I hope when they finally invent hoverboards I'm not too old and decrepit to enjoy them.

4 (8%)

Momo, you're with me today. Marten, I have a special tast for you. (Huh?)

0 (0%)

Fresh crop of interns (including REDHEAD GIRL!)

2 (4%)

Tai is HIGH AS HELL right now.

3 (6%)

"Permission to get high as hell and go watch Adventure Time with Ms. Hubbert?"

10 (20%)

I'm, uh, I'm Marten and I guess I'll be... showing you around today?

1 (2%)

This is the front desk... a library computer...

1 (2%)

This is a bookshelf! (Is this some kind of weird hazing ritual?) (Shhh!)

4 (8%)

Redhead: "Um, we KNOW what a BOOKSHELF is. We're all graduate students."

2 (4%)

OH, uh, well I - I'm not really a LIBRARIAN. I - WHAT?

1 (2%)

I'm not a librarian! I just work here!

2 (4%)

Okay, this is DEFINITELY some sort of hazing ritual, and I do NOT appreciate it.

1 (2%)

Am I the one being hazed?

10 (20%)

Total Members Voted: 46

[Yarin]

the cartoon was good to

[Akima]

This is kind of touching on some of the stuff that came up in the Discuss racism thread recently - why would we limit "Asian" to a certain collection of countries and not others?

Possibly precisely because Asia is so large, and the people born and living in Asia are so enormously diverse, that "Asian" meaning "a person from the Asian continent" is not a useful classifier. You could probably find someone in the 60% of the human race that lives in Asia who could easily be confused with a native of any other inhabited continent.

The division of continents is arbitrary and doesn't account for overlapping areas like the Middle East or Central Asia. An Egyptian or Algerian would be "African" in terms of geography, whereas an Iraqi or Saudi Arabian would be "Asian", a division that makes no sense culturally. Someone from Lebanon would have far more in common with an "African" Egyptian that with a "fellow Asian" Japanese person, and I think this is why nobody actually ever calls Lebanese people "Asian".

In people's minds, I think ethnic appearance trumps geography every time. In Australia, and I'm sure in the UK or USA too, it doesn't matter how many generations your racial-minority family has been living in the country, if you look different from the majority, your ethnic appearance will dominate people's perception and identification of you. I was born in China, but many of my "Asian" fellow-citizens were born in Australia, and it is our common ethnic appearance, not our diverse places of birth, that dominates people's perception of us as "Asian". By contrast, if he were not wearing the uniform of a general in the PLA, how many people would pick out Lin Hu as "Asian"?

The "one drop rule" seems still to be alive and well too, judging from the way in which Dichen Lachman is so often referred to on the internet simply as "Asian" rather than "Australian". A few years ago, I was shocked to read a forum posting questioning whether Joanne Missingham should be representing Australia in the 2008 World Mind Sports Games because she was "obviously Oriental"... 

[Method of Madness]

I have a Korean friend who constantly reminds me that Russians, Indians, Iranians and Saudis aren't Asians.  'Asian' to her is only people from east and south Asia.

Why don't you ask her what* continent those countries are in?  When she says "Asia", you reply with "exactly".  I can't imagine she'd bring it up again after that.

(What ain't no continent I've ever heard of, DO THEY SPEAK ENGLISH IN WHAT?  Ok, sorry about that.)

[jwhouk]

I guess I'm showing my age by referring to them as co-eds (which isn't actually the case, since Smif is an all-girls college).

Yes, "co-ed" is a term for a student in a college where classes are made up of both male and female students. Colleges in the US were single-sex for a long time, for various factors (limited vocational opportunities for females, for one). The term was pretty much coined in the 1920's, after suffrage was granted to women. It's gone out of vogue, since most colleges are co-ed nowadays (with the exception, of course, of places like Smith College).

And "TG" is the term for Transgendered - in other words, a male-as-female or female-as-male. Jeph wondered in his tweets if an all-girls college would accept a male-to-female TG to matriculate as a student; I don't know if they would or wouldn't, personally.

[cesariojpn]

I have a Korean friend who constantly reminds me that Russians, Indians, Iranians and Saudis aren't Asians.  'Asian' to her is only people from east and south Asia.

Why don't you ask her what* continent those countries are in?  When she says "Asia", you reply with "exactly".  I can't imagine she'd bring it up again after that.

(What ain't no continent I've ever heard of, DO THEY SPEAK ENGLISH IN WHAT?  Ok, sorry about that.)

Well, what do you expect? Many Asian cultures are ridiculously racist and bigoted (speaking as an Asian, I do have some prejudices; we're not all perfect anyway). Koreans take it to a....whole new level.

[cvcharger]

I have a Korean friend who constantly reminds me that Russians, Indians, Iranians and Saudis aren't Asians.  'Asian' to her is only people from east and south Asia.

Why don't you ask her what* continent those countries are in?  When she says "Asia", you reply with "exactly".  I can't imagine she'd bring it up again after that.

(What ain't no continent I've ever heard of, DO THEY SPEAK ENGLISH IN WHAT?  Ok, sorry about that.)

Technically even France, Germany, Spain, and the rest of Europe are also in Asia because there is no true geological or geographical separation between Europe and Asia like there would be for other continents.  That being the case, there should actually only be six continents, where Europe and Asia should be Eurasia.

[Method of Madness]

I mentioned that before, but my point is even the people who say that not all from Asia are Asians would probably agree that India and China are on the same continent and that continent is called Asia.

That being said, yeah, the distinction between Europe and Asia is arbitrary.  I wonder if there's a sign in Russia that has the "border" between Europe and Asia, where you can go from one continent to the other without leaving the country.

[Schmorgluck]

Why wouldn't you?  Doesn't it make the most sense to have Asian = from Asia?

It just about says as much as saying African = from Africa.
"African" doesn't make a better work in describing a person than "Asian" does.

[Akima]

I wonder if there's a sign in Russia that has the "border" between Europe and Asia, where you can go from one continent to the other without leaving the country.

Yes. Lots of them.

[Method of Madness]

Why wouldn't you?  Doesn't it make the most sense to have Asian = from Asia?

It just about says as much as saying African = from Africa.
"African" doesn't make a better work in describing a person than "Asian" does.

I'm not saying either are very specific, as they apply to a lot of different cultures, but neither are inaccurate.  Someone who is from Africa is African, someone who is from Asia is Asian (or Eurasian, I guess).  Most people refer to themselves as a more specific group (like their country rather than their continent).

Either way, in a thousand years, we'll all be Earthicans.

[celticgeek]

Technically even France, Germany, Spain, and the rest of Europe are also in Asia because there is no true geological or geographical separation between Europe and Asia like there would be for other continents.  That being the case, there should actually only be six continents, where Europe and Asia should be Eurasia.

We have always been at war with Eurasia.

[Method of Madness]

I wonder if there's a sign in Russia that has the "border" between Europe and Asia, where you can go from one continent to the other without leaving the country.

Yes. Lots of them.

Thanks!

[Rimwolf]

According to the OED, "coed" -- in both the institutional and female student senses -- dates from the late 19th C. The term struck me as pretty old-fashioned when I went to college in the late 60s.

[jwhouk]

Like I said, it kinda died out after suffrage was granted in the 1920's. Post-war US colleges pretty much became completely co-ed because of the GI Bill and more career options for women.

[cvcharger]

Why wouldn't you?  Doesn't it make the most sense to have Asian = from Asia?

It just about says as much as saying African = from Africa.
"African" doesn't make a better work in describing a person than "Asian" does.

I'm not saying either are very specific, as they apply to a lot of different cultures, but neither are inaccurate.  Someone who is from Africa is African, someone who is from Asia is Asian (or Eurasian, I guess).  Most people refer to themselves as a more specific group (like their country rather than their continent).

Either way, in a thousand years, we'll all be Earthicans.

Awesome.  I just hope I can have my cognitive awareness transferred to a robot so I can be there.  At this point I question if all the sci-fi I read is good for me.

[Gregorio]

Why wouldn't you?  Doesn't it make the most sense to have Asian = from Asia?

It just about says as much as saying African = from Africa.
"African" doesn't make a better work in describing a person than "Asian" does.

I'm not saying either are very specific, as they apply to a lot of different cultures, but neither are inaccurate.  Someone who is from Africa is African, someone who is from Asia is Asian (or Eurasian, I guess).  Most people refer to themselves as a more specific group (like their country rather than their continent).

Either way, in a thousand years, we'll all be Earthicans.

This is one of those things that I was never comfortable with. I don't have Asian blood, but I have Asian relatives from Korea and Japan (we've got some veterans on my side), so I had to learn really early that the young child "Chinese" blanket term was not cool. Then when people started saying Asian, I thought they meant it as a term for any Asian (Indian, various east and southeast ethnicities, etc. and so on), until I realized that they were just meaning it as a term for people with "the eyes." It's one of those things that just doesn't sit right with me, such as using "African" to describe black people (when you've got the North African ethnicities) exclusively.  I keep telling myself to get over it and it doesn't matter, but it's just one of those things that likes to chew at the back of my brain when I have too much time.

Anyway, I like how Jeph drew the Asian girl. It's amazing (in terms of laziness more than anything) how we can still get away with just narrowing their eyes (or in some cases, closing them) and painting them with some default yellow shader in Photoshop.

[hepcat]

I'm excited to see a South East Asian girl in the comic! Can't wait to find out more about her (: And also re: Tai's ethnicity, I thought she was a halfie right from the start. Hopefully this will be confirmed at some point

[Lubricus]

Jeph wondered in his tweets if an all-girls college would accept a male-to-female TG to matriculate as a student; I don't know if they would or wouldn't, personally.

A person who changed gender legally, which is not the case of all TG persons, would, by law, be eligible for study in a single-gender college of his or her "new" gender. But many US colleges tend to have other restrictions than those coming from the naked law, so it would depend on the institution in question. In some countries, the original gender of a cross-gendered person would not be relevant - if you're legally a woman, you have all the rights of those born female, so to speak.

I hope I havent stepped on anyones toes with this post...

[haikupoet]

For what it's worth, "co-ed" to me means "female character in a college-themed porn flick". I feel pretty safe in saying that using it to describe an actual person is almost always condescending, as if you think it's just adorable that she decided to go to college instead of finishing school, but she's only there for her MRS degree, so it's not like we have to take her seriously as a student.

[Soulsynger]

@Comic:
Someone replaced Marten with Captain Obvious. QC will now be called Questionably Obvious or Obvious Content. And will be largely about people pointing out stuff everybody already knew.


edit:
Oh hey, do I get to say "first" now? This is a first. (Hah!)

[TinPenguin]

Technically even France, Germany, Spain, and the rest of Europe are also in Asia because there is no true geological or geographical separation between Europe and Asia like there would be for other continents.  That being the case, there should actually only be six continents, where Europe and Asia should be Eurasia.

Yes, Eurasia is the continent, but that doesn't mean Europe and Asia don't exist as geographical and cultural regions. It certainly doesn't mean France is in Asia, because apart from the hazy area where they meet, the distinction between Europe and Asia has always been clear. And does it matter if they overlap? Many regions of the world don't have distinct borders. There is no true geological or geographical separation between Western, Central and Eastern Europe. Does that mean France is in Eastern Europe?

[Lubricus]

Technically even France, Germany, Spain, and the rest of Europe are also in Asia because there is no true geological or geographical separation between Europe and Asia like there would be for other continents.  That being the case, there should actually only be six continents, where Europe and Asia should be Eurasia.

Yes, Eurasia is the continent, but that doesn't mean Europe and Asia don't exist as geographical and cultural regions. It certainly doesn't mean France is in Asia, because apart from the hazy area where they meet, the distinction between Europe and Asia has always been clear. And does it matter if they overlap? Many regions of the world don't have distinct borders. There is no true geological or geographical separation between Western, Central and Eastern Europe. Does that mean France is in Eastern Europe?

Indeed not, and most geographers today are fairly agreed upon the boundaries between Europe and Asia. Geographically speaking, all of Armenia, for instance, lies in Asia, while most of Georgia is in Europe. Still, Armenians as an ethnic group would be called Europeans, since they culturally "belong" to Europe. The same might be said of the Turkish people, although many would disagree.

All in all, it might be best to avoid using the word "Asian" to describe a single individual, both to avoid confusion possible insults. It's much better to use terms like "Central Asian", "South Asian", "East Asian" and "South East Asian", but you'll still not be sure to avoid confusion.

[Near Lurker]

I still find it hilarious when people insist that the Americas are one continent based on the fact that there's no natural break between them, while at the same time claiming Europe and Asia to be two, under a test even Africa fails objectively.  They've absorbed the conventions they were taught so thoroughly that they can't admit that that's all they are.

The fact is, though, that it's always been known that the three continents were all linked together - it was never a system meant for the entire world's use, but only the Greeks', where one meant sailing south, one east, and one trekking north.

[Gregorio]

I still find it hilarious when a clown is hit by a pie.

[Method of Madness]

Technically even France, Germany, Spain, and the rest of Europe are also in Asia because there is no true geological or geographical separation between Europe and Asia like there would be for other continents.  That being the case, there should actually only be six continents, where Europe and Asia should be Eurasia.

Yes, Eurasia is the continent, but that doesn't mean Europe and Asia don't exist as geographical and cultural regions. It certainly doesn't mean France is in Asia, because apart from the hazy area where they meet, the distinction between Europe and Asia has always been clear. And does it matter if they overlap? Many regions of the world don't have distinct borders. There is no true geological or geographical separation between Western, Central and Eastern Europe. Does that mean France is in Eastern Europe?

No, but it does mean that France in Europe.  France is also in Eurasia.  France is also on Earth.  That only means as much as you want it to mean.

[Near Lurker]

Anyway, that girl with the earrings has a future.  Even if it's the elf girl Jeph seems to have come up with first.

[Lubricus]

I still find it hilarious when people insist that the Americas are one continent based on the fact that there's no natural break between them, while at the same time claiming Europe and Asia to be two, under a test even Africa fails objectively.

I agree. It seems, however, that this is a problem stemming from the English language. In most languages, the word "continent" is split in two. In my language, Norwegian, the word "kontinent" describes a geological landmass. Eurasia is a "kontinent", as is Africa, North America (including Central America, but that is a different discussion), South America, Australia and Antarctica. The word "verdensdel", however, which literally mean "part of the world", is similar to the everyday use of "continent", and is split further into Asia, Europe, North and Central America and so on. This split is prevalent in most languages, even the ones most closely related to English (Frisian, Dutch, High German and so on), and makes discussions such as this easier.

[cesariojpn]

I still find it hilarious when people insist that the Americas are one continent based on the fact that there's no natural break between them,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dari%C3%A9n_Gap

[Lubricus]

"Weird hazing ritual" indeed! I like the emergent dynamic between these girls, I think...

[Arancaytar]

It is a weird hazing ritual, but the hazee is Marten.

[Border Reiver]

Nothing like, "You're the new trainer, you have no prep time, no prepared lessons, no idea of what is formally required vice what you often do and no idea what the baseline for your trainees is- go."

[HiFranc]

I'm wondering if Momo would have been a better trainer because I suspect anthro PCs have excellent memories, can research things quickly (e.g. training techniques) and Momo, unlike Marten, doesn't seem to be afraid of public speaking.

[Y]

Technically even France, Germany, Spain, and the rest of Europe are also in Asia because there is no true geological or geographical separation between Europe and Asia like there would be for other continents.  That being the case, there should actually only be six continents, where Europe and Asia should be Eurasia.

Yes, Eurasia is the continent, but that doesn't mean Europe and Asia don't exist as geographical and cultural regions. It certainly doesn't mean France is in Asia, because apart from the hazy area where they meet, the distinction between Europe and Asia has always been clear. And does it matter if they overlap? Many regions of the world don't have distinct borders. There is no true geological or geographical separation between Western, Central and Eastern Europe. Does that mean France is in Eastern Europe?

Indeed not, and most geographers today are fairly agreed upon the boundaries between Europe and Asia. Geographically speaking, all of Armenia, for instance, lies in Asia, while most of Georgia is in Europe. Still, Armenians as an ethnic group would be called Europeans, since they culturally "belong" to Europe. The same might be said of the Turkish people, although many would disagree.

All in all, it might be best to avoid using the word "Asian" to describe a single individual, both to avoid confusion possible insults. It's much better to use terms like "Central Asian", "South Asian", "East Asian" and "South East Asian", but you'll still not be sure to avoid confusion.

I always thought the Ural mountains separated Europe with Asia. As for calling people Asians would be because both the race as people of that continent could be called that, so people only use the former to avoid confusion. I guess that the word Caucasian could be a compromise as what to call people from West and North Asia.

For some reason I associate a Miss Hub(b)ert with an old teacher(even if I didn't had one with that name). So did we see any of new girls before somewhere?

[Sorflakne]

I still find it hilarious when people insist that the Americas are one continent based on the fact that there's no natural break between them, while at the same time claiming Europe and Asia to be two, under a test even Africa fails objectively.

I just tell them to look at the boundaries of tectonic plates.  This is why India is referred to as a 'subcontinent' even though it is quite clearly (visually) a giant peninsula in Asia.

Why don't you ask her what* continent those countries are in?  When she says "Asia", you reply with "exactly".  I can't imagine she'd bring it up again after that.

I do tell her this, and she still insists that they're not Asian.  As someone mentioned above, she is Korean (she's only been in the US a couple years), and they take it to a different level.  She's not racist or anything (she's married to a white guy), it's just the culture she was brought up in.

[Lubricus]

I always thought the Ural mountains separated Europe with Asia.

They do, but the problem is the regions south of the mountains. The Urals become less of a natural barrier when you get as far south as Kazakhstan. Plus, the experts disagree on how much of the Caucasus range should be considered European.

[WAYF]

For some reason I associate a Miss Hub(b)ert with an old teacher(even if I didn't had one with that name). So did we see any of new girls before somewhere?

We haven't officially seen the new girls before, but Jeph has been drawing the girl with frizzy red hair and glasses for quite a while now, without knowing precisely what to do with her.

[Border Reiver]

I'm wondering if Momo would have been a better trainer because I suspect anthro PCs have excellent memories, can research things quickly (e.g. training techniques) and Momo, unlike Marten, doesn't seem to be afraid of public speaking.

But wouldn't have been as funny.  You can see the dilemma.

[DSL]

I wonder how long it will be before the phrase "This is a bookshelf" becomes part of a "History of Communications" course.

Or, given the way US politics and the economy seem to be going on alternate days, a phrase uttered just before throwing one on the bonfire/hobo camp fire.

[Lubricus]

I wonder how long it will be before the phrase "This is a bookshelf" becomes part of a "History of Communications" course.

I'm somewhat tempted to use it as a signature. But the Pokemon quote is still better!

[techkid]

I'm wondering if Momo would have been a better trainer because I suspect anthro PCs have excellent memories, can research things quickly (e.g. training techniques) and Momo, unlike Marten, doesn't seem to be afraid of public speaking.

But wouldn't have been as funny.  You can see the dilemma.

True. Momo would end up having to step up to save him from this embarassing predicament, but it's always fun to see Marten put his foot in it.

[Soulsynger]

When does Marten get to choose his first Pokemon - errrr... personal intern?

[LordVaughn]

Oddly, I thought of my first playthrough of Pokemon Gold when that old man was dragging me to places I clearly knew what they were. I even heard the music.

[JRDelirio]

Nothing like, "You're the new trainer, you have no prep time, no prepared lessons, no idea of what is formally required vice what you often do and no idea what the baseline for your trainees is- go."

  Y'know, behind the scenes Tai must have saved the world a-la-Steve, or at least someone's hide, or else the particular area of the Library they're at is just considered entirely unimportant by the administration. Otherwise ISTM  that she would not last long as a manager in a real workplace (drug use during work hours, never mind the random hiring decisions or being more interested in partying and girls).  I recall the strip where she explains to her boss that a rave she's throwing in the library is an experiment in new learning environments and the boss seems to want, but not dare, to call her on it.  Then again Smif is supposed to be this caricature of the proverbial ultraliberal NE college, so it fits well.

[Redball]

I don't recall anyone's pointed out here that "Eurasian" has also referred to someone of mixed Asian/European descent.

[jwhouk]

Generally, the Urals and the western border of Kazhakstan are considered the dividing line of Europe. Georgia, Azerbijan and Armenia are considered, with Turkey, to be "Asia Minor". And I always heard of Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh called the Indian "subcontinent".

Anyways - the one gal is taking this whole thing way too seriously. I'm also kinda liking the redhead's looks and attitude.

[Lubricus]

Generally, the Urals and the western border of Kazhakstan are considered the dividing line of Europe. Georgia, Azerbijan and Armenia are considered, with Turkey, to be "Asia Minor". And I always heard of Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh called the Indian "subcontinent".

Actually, about 10% of Kazakhstan is in Europe. As is the northern tips of Azerbaijan and Georgia. Armenia is, as mentioned, wholly in Asia. The part of Turkey that lies on the western side of the Bosphorus is also in Europe, while the rest (Asia Minor) is in Asia.

[Akima]

Y'know, behind the scenes Tai must have saved the world a-la-Steve, or at least someone's hide, or else the particular area of the Library they're at is just considered entirely unimportant by the administration.

Well, we've seen that college trustees slip into the library for a quickie, and get caught in compromising positions, leading to 30% raises. Perhaps Tai simply has "the goods" on enough senior staff to be fireproof?

Tall-East-Asian-girl looks profoundly unimpressed with Marten's performance.

[Throg]

If Marten really wants to haze the interns, he could bring out the little hats. 

YYEESSSSSS

[jwhouk]

I vote that we call Tall East Asian Girl "Akima".

[jwhouk]

Woo, 101 votes!

The Unscientific Poll We Haven't Done In A While - Your Favorite Character?

Marten    11 (10.9%) <-- Number 4
Faye    13 (12.9%) <-- Number 2
Dora    1 (1%)
Hannelore    35 (34.7%) <-- Number 1
Pintsize    2 (2%)
Marigold    12 (11.9%) <-- Number 3
Steve    0 (0%)
Sven    2 (2%)
Raven    7 (6.9%)
Angus    2 (2%)
Tai    1 (1%)
Penelope    0 (0%)
Momo    8 (7.9%) <-- Number 5 (Is ALIVE!)
Winslow    2 (2%)
Other (Specify)    5 (5%)

Total Members Voted: 101