Topic: Alice Grove MCDT - November 2015 (Read 46424 times)

improvnerd · « **on:** 09 Nov 2015, 23:22 »

Blernd Firth?

BenRG · « **Reply #1 on:** 09 Nov 2015, 23:49 »

I really love the dynamic between the three protagonists. Poor Alice has been sort-of adopted into Ardent and Gavia's family, hasn't she? Alice may protest that she's stopped looking for friendship but it looks like she gets it anyway. Old Amos is another example, IMO.

Meanwhile, we are reminded that few things can deprive Ardent of his enthusiasm! Is he relentlessly upbeat or just stupid?

HiFranc · « **Reply #2 on:** 09 Nov 2015, 23:50 »

Ardent doesn't seem to be able to think of getting close to someone without sex being involved.

osaka · « **Reply #3 on:** 10 Nov 2015, 01:23 »

Ardent is, after all, a teenage boy from a "perfect" world. It doesn't surprise me how sex is high on his "needs for an interpersonal relationship" list.

Welu · « **Reply #4 on:** 10 Nov 2015, 04:09 »

I think this might be one of my favourite comics in AG so far. Funny and a good representation of the character and their relationships..

Kugai · « **Reply #5 on:** 10 Nov 2015, 13:43 »

Quote from: improvnerd on 09 Nov 2015, 23:22

Blernd Firth?

Look at it this way, it could have been Ford Prefect

FunkyTuba · « **Reply #6 on:** 10 Nov 2015, 14:23 »

I wanna know what Ardent was going to have said before he got "Shut Up"ed

BenRG · « **Reply #7 on:** 10 Nov 2015, 14:52 »

Quote from: FunkyTuba on 10 Nov 2015, 14:23

I wanna know what Ardent was going to have said before he got "Shut Up"ed

Gavia has been asking the most penetrating questions of the two space kids. I'm wondering if she's something of a "Hermione Granger in Space" who prefers spending time with the library tapes or sitting the the Praeses' Grove, listening to the tales the Trees tell. Naturally, Gavia doesn't want Ardent spilling that she's a bit of a nerd, all told, thinking that it would destroy what little respect Alice would have her. Actually, I think that Alice would respect her a bit more for having that depth... if she hasn't deduced it already which, based on how easily she took Gavia's talk about the lore of the Spacebourne, is a distinct possibility.

wlewisiii · « **Reply #8 on:** 10 Nov 2015, 15:15 »

Quote from: BenRG on 09 Nov 2015, 23:49

Meanwhile, we are reminded that few things can deprive Ardent of his enthusiasm! Is he relentlessly upbeat or just stupid?

Yes.

hedgie · « **Reply #9 on:** 10 Nov 2015, 16:25 »

Just doing this before a certain kiwi does:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7XfyyKYxnU

Kugai · « **Reply #10 on:** 10 Nov 2015, 20:04 »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qYbVQu7YAQ

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #11 on:** 10 Nov 2015, 21:37 »

How does Alice maintain an acquaintance with someone outside the village who can't be reached while staying at home?

Is it someone who visits Alice occasionally?

Zebediah · « **Reply #12 on:** 11 Nov 2015, 04:52 »

They get together to catch up every five hundred years or so.

Neko_Ali · « **Reply #13 on:** 11 Nov 2015, 07:47 »

Pretty much. 'Occasionally' means different things when you're functionally immortal. Or maybe her associate isn't, and Alice goes to visit them every few years. Presumably the trip is going to take weeks, so it's not like stopping in to visit Amos. And Alice has watched over the townsfolk for several generations at least. But that doesn't mean she's always there. She may disappear every so often on 'witch trips'.

Kugai · « **Reply #14 on:** 11 Nov 2015, 11:18 »

If she turns out to have green hair and runs a Coffee shop, that will be a moment.

Method of Madness · « **Reply #15 on:** 12 Nov 2015, 19:11 »

Quote from: hedgie on 10 Nov 2015, 16:25

Just doing this before a certain kiwi does:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7XfyyKYxnU

Kugai · « **Reply #16 on:** 13 Nov 2015, 12:57 »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnKXiQzgbm0

TinPenguin · « **Reply #17 on:** 14 Nov 2015, 00:12 »

Quote

Blernd Frith

I used to know a family called Frith when I was growing up. 'Tis a real name.

Never did meet a Blernd, though.

Schwungrad · « **Reply #18 on:** 14 Nov 2015, 04:56 »

Quote from: TinPenguin on 14 Nov 2015, 00:12

Never did meet a Blernd, though.

It's only one L away from a variant form of "Bernard", but still, "Blernd" sounds like a syllable that no sane language would ever produce, not even in names, which are a bit idiosyncratic in most languages.

If someone finds a counter-example, I will be grateful for augmenting my level of linguistic prowess, and will apologize for denying your language the "sane" label.

cesium133 · « **Reply #19 on:** 14 Nov 2015, 05:08 »

I tried searching Google for "blernd" and it mostly brought up results from Alibaba (a Chinese version of Amazon) for blernd fabric, which I'm 99% certain is a misspelling of "blend."

improvnerd · « **Reply #20 on:** 16 Nov 2015, 20:01 »

Ardent is still having the time of his life.

Method of Madness · « **Reply #21 on:** 16 Nov 2015, 20:50 »

Part bat. Part sloth. All adorable.

BenRG · « **Reply #22 on:** 16 Nov 2015, 23:31 »

Now... Is Alice being incredibly arrogant here or does her absolute confidence that she can keep the space-kids safe based on absolute personal knowledge?

Quote from: Method of Madness on 16 Nov 2015, 20:50

Part bat. Part sloth. All adorable.

Agreed; I'm calling him "Flappy" and I suspect that Ardent has made a friend for life! I also suspect that Gavia is going to have a screaming fit whilst Alice is more gently annoyed than anything else.

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #23 on:** 17 Nov 2015, 00:34 »

Alice can inflict massive losses on high-tech invaders. There is probably nothing on the planet she can't handle. She's been around long enough that many things know to leave her alone.

Na na na na na na na , Batsloth!

Neko_Ali · « **Reply #24 on:** 17 Nov 2015, 07:58 »

Slowly, Robinsnail! To the Batsloth Cave!

FunkyTuba · « **Reply #25 on:** 17 Nov 2015, 10:56 »

My question:

Was Batsloth a Batsloth before Ardent touched it?

Kugai · « **Reply #26 on:** 17 Nov 2015, 13:43 »

The more I see of the animals here the more I'm wondering if DNAmy was involved at some stage

And that Batsloth is gonna take your head off Ardent.

Schwungrad · « **Reply #27 on:** 17 Nov 2015, 16:57 »

Considering his ability to befriend animals - is Ardent a Disney Princess?

Gesendet von meinem GT-N5110 mit Tapatalk

Zebediah · « **Reply #28 on:** 17 Nov 2015, 18:00 »

No Disney princess was ever as horny as Ardent, with the possible exception of Ariel.

~~mustang6172~~ · « **Reply #29 on:** 17 Nov 2015, 18:39 »

Anyone else wondering if the Batsloth is blind?

Carl-E · « **Reply #30 on:** 18 Nov 2015, 16:38 »

Probably just nocturnal. When it wakes up, Ardent's gonna have his hands full.

And possibly something vital bitten off...

Neko_Ali · « **Reply #31 on:** 18 Nov 2015, 16:59 »

That's okay. His delightful tail will grow back again.

Zebediah · « **Reply #32 on:** 18 Nov 2015, 17:54 »

His head might be another story, though.

Channelore HellicottAtham · « **Reply #33 on:** 19 Nov 2015, 21:29 »

Is there no second comic this week?

So curious to see what else they bump into, out there in the night.. also hoping for another cameo from the Nightwalker.

Deadcoder · « **Reply #34 on:** 19 Nov 2015, 21:36 »

Why does Alice appear so surprised by the batsloth? Frankly, if something is surprising HER, you've encountered something weird.

Zebediah · « **Reply #35 on:** 20 Nov 2015, 04:30 »

Quote from: Channelore HellicottAtham on 19 Nov 2015, 21:29

Is there no second comic this week?

Jeph said on Twitter yesterday that he was running late and that Alice would probably post this afternoon.

pwhodges · « **Reply #36 on:** 20 Nov 2015, 12:11 »

That's a lot of blood from one BatSloth. Also, I wonder if the children will survive this journey with their sanity intact.

FunkyTuba · « **Reply #37 on:** 20 Nov 2015, 12:12 »

Apparently Alice needs to worry more about Things touching Ardent than Ardent touching Things.

osaka · « **Reply #38 on:** 20 Nov 2015, 12:16 »

Ardent seems to be quite charming for the local planet.

BenRG · « **Reply #39 on:** 20 Nov 2015, 12:21 »

'Mr Flappy'? Well, any doubt whether Jeph reads this thread is resolved. Meanwhile, Ardent is re-establishing his credentials as the strip's Butt Monkey. I figure that he'll have been attacked by literally every vaguely carnivorous bit of fauna (and probably flora too) by the time this caper is over!

Kugai · « **Reply #40 on:** 20 Nov 2015, 12:57 »

Well, that made the trip a bit more exciting

katsmeat · « **Reply #41 on:** 20 Nov 2015, 17:14 »

This seems to be implying the flora and fauna is only a bit less dangerous then that in Harry Harrison's "Deathworld".

Morituri · « **Reply #42 on:** 21 Nov 2015, 09:55 »

Quote from: Schwungrad on 14 Nov 2015, 04:56

... "Blernd" sounds like a syllable that no sane language would ever produce, ...

It amazes me that you are saying that in English, and apparently with no intended irony.

English has CRAZY phonotactics! Seriously? The ridiculous language you speak has words like 'twelfths' - which literally has FOUR consonants in a row with only the first one voiced, and can't be pronounced by anyone else in the world except maybe Germans and Poles, you're saying you don't think a sane language could ever come up with 'blernd' which is all voiced and has no more than three consonants anywhere? Or just two consonants if you're pronouncing the 'r' as a vowel modification instead of by itself?

pwhodges · « **Reply #43 on:** 21 Nov 2015, 10:29 »

English spelling may be crazy - but to an Englishman that word would still not fall within its possibilities.

Morituri · « **Reply #44 on:** 21 Nov 2015, 11:04 »

'Blernd' violates English spelling rules only. If it were spelled 'blearned' and used as a past-tense verb, it wouldn't have attracted a second look. In fact you have already words like 'learned', 'burned', 'blend', 'bland', 'blind', ... There is nothing in that word, and no combination of noises, that isn't in English.

So, when you say that no sane language could come up with that syllable, I may doubt you or agree with you - but whether that's true about sane languages or not, English is crazy like a dancing goat, and that syllable is perfectly reasonable in it.

And, argh, don't get me started about your 'th' consonant! NOBODY (except German, again and some further-north European languages) has a consonant like that! When is it voiced and when not? No clue from the spelling. I had to practice for months before I could even say it by itself, let alone in the middle of a wreck of a word like 'twelfths' (or for that matter 'months').

cesium133 · « **Reply #45 on:** 21 Nov 2015, 11:15 »

That used to be indicated (and still is in Icelandic), but some printers got lazy in the 15th century. If you see "Ye olde ..." in, say, a renaissance fair, the 'Y' was in fact a thorn.

Stoutfellow · « **Reply #46 on:** 21 Nov 2015, 11:26 »

Quote from: Morituri on 21 Nov 2015, 11:04

And, argh, don't get me started about your 'th' consonant! NOBODY (except German, again and some further-north European languages) has a consonant like that! When is it voiced and when not? No clue from the spelling. I had to practice for months before I could even say it by itself, let alone in the middle of a wreck of a word like 'twelfths' (or for that matter 'months').

Mm. Greek has the voiceless "th(eta)"; Castilian Spanish has both (written "c/z" and "d", each in particular contexts); so does Welsh. And that's just sticking to Europe.

Morituri · « **Reply #47 on:** 21 Nov 2015, 12:03 »

Have English speakers ever noticed that sane languages usually have only five or six vowels, and not ELEVEN?

Or that in sane languages there are never more than two consonants in a row in the same word, and not FIVE?

Or that in sane languages voiced and unvoiced consonants are almost never mixed without a vowel inbetween? (yes, I know that happens even more in Eastern european languages, but the point stands...)

Or that in sane language that use alphabets (as opposed to abjads, logograms, syllabaries, or ideographic writing), the pronunciations and the spellings are usually pretty closely related?

To get through school in much of the world you have the choice; you can study three different sane languages, or you can study English. The kids who are ambitious take English - it's harder than three sane languages, but it gets you further.

cesium133 · « **Reply #48 on:** 21 Nov 2015, 12:17 »

Quote from: Morituri on 21 Nov 2015, 12:03

Have English speakers ever noticed that sane languages usually have only five or six vowels, and not ELEVEN?

Is Portuguese an insane language? French? Vietnamese? The fact that the International phonetic alphabet has far more than 11 symbols for vowels (and not all of them are used in English...) should indicate the error in this thought.

Stoutfellow · « **Reply #49 on:** 21 Nov 2015, 12:22 »

Standard French has about thirteen oral vowels (there's some dispute as to the exact number) and four nasals. Latin had ten. Standard Italian has seven. Standard German has fifteen.

The Slavic languages are notorious for their consonant clusters; the Polish word "wszczniesz" begins with a cluster of four consonants. (That, at least, English does not do.) There are American Indian languages which have words with no vowels whatever.

Most times that English adjoins voiced and voiceless consonants, one of them assimilates to the other. ("Dogs" ends with a /z/, for example.)

As for spelling and pronunciation, I give you French and Irish as counterexamples.

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Author Topic: Alice Grove MCDT - November 2015 (Read 46424 times)