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Author Topic: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)  (Read 27409 times)

cesium133

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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #150 on: 10 Jul 2020, 12:58 »

I don’t remember whether it was here or in Patreon, but I saw someone posting with a question about how they got together. Perhaps they’re more similar than they would like to admit.
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Gyrre

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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #151 on: 10 Jul 2020, 13:25 »

Want to know what bugs me? People who think that basic civil rights and social justice for all are the unattainable and undesirable fantasies of a lunatic fringe. Just saying.

Social engineering has done a great deal of damage over the last 40 to 50 years.


EDIT: Yes, my above response is also in regards to the giant clusterfuck that ensued on the previous page.
The divide-and-conquer method has worked all to well to keep the general populace from fighting back against an increasingly oligarchical rule.
« Last Edit: 10 Jul 2020, 14:02 by Gyrre »
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #152 on: 10 Jul 2020, 14:03 »

Want to know what bugs me? People who think that basic civil rights and social justice for all are the unattainable and undesirable fantasies of a lunatic fringe. Just saying.

Social engineering has done a great deal of damage over the last 40 to 50 years.

It's pretty easy to achieve as long as you focus on reminding people that if everyone gets basic civil rights and social justice, that also means the groups they don't agree with get it. There's not a lot of forces in the world more powerful than spite.

Of course that's part of why it's so damaging. The ridiculous level of effectiveness.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #153 on: 10 Jul 2020, 14:05 »

I don’t remember whether it was here or in Patreon, but I saw someone posting with a question about how they got together. Perhaps they’re more similar than they would like to admit.

That would be me.

I'm guessing a company mixer or they used to be more alike. Jeph only knows for now.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #154 on: 10 Jul 2020, 14:14 »

Want to know what bugs me? People who think that basic civil rights and social justice for all are the unattainable and undesirable fantasies of a lunatic fringe. Just saying.

Social engineering has done a great deal of damage over the last 40 to 50 years.

It's pretty easy to achieve as long as you focus on reminding people that if everyone gets basic civil rights and social justice, that also means the groups they don't agree with get it. There's not a lot of forces in the world more powerful than spite.

Of course that's part of why it's so damaging. The ridiculous level of effectiveness.
It goes beyond that, though.

Here's a pretty basic illustration: There's a plate with three cookies and three people are present. The rich guy leans over to the white guy a tells him "The black guy is trying to steal your cookie." While the white guy isn't looking, the rich guy takes all three cookies and leaves the other two with only half of the thiird cookie.

It's the manipulation and instillment of fear and distrust. It's the pushing of learned helplessness. It's the discouragement of non-aggressive communication between groups. And it all takes place over several years while playing the long game.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #155 on: 10 Jul 2020, 14:19 »

It goes beyond that, though.

Here's a pretty basic illustration: There's a plate with three cookies and three people are present. The rich guy leans over to the white guy a tells him "The black guy is trying to steal your cookie." While the white guy isn't looking, the rich guy takes all three cookies and leaves the other two with only half of the thiird cookie.

It's the manipulation and instillment of fear and distrust. It's the pushing of learned helplessness. It's the discouragement of non-aggressive communication between groups. And it all takes place over several years while playing the long game.

It's both honestly. At the core of it all lies the fact that different groups have trouble getting along which then gets exploited in various ways, from amplifying the distrust to actively encouraging people to be antagonistic towards one another.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #156 on: 10 Jul 2020, 14:33 »

That's what people like these trolls often don't understand (or maybe they do, but don't care anyway): they've made up a label for "these people I don't like" (SJW)

exacly. see also "all trump supporters are racist" and "all liberals are progressives"


You’re treating social justice as a zero-sum game - more justice for some must necessarily mean less justice for others. Congratulations, you’ve walked right into their trap. Now you’re blaming people who just wanted the same rights as everyone else, instead of the people who actually looted your program.

None of this has to be zero-sum. Your funding didn’t have to be pulled to support BLM, and nobody in BLM was demanding that. A choice was made by people in power to execute this in such a way as to divide people rather than unite them.


of course it doesn't have to be a zero-sum game. but since it's politics in the US, then it certainly will be.

any group attempting to make a difference through politics is doomed to fail because US politics has failed. and that is because discussion has failed and we can blame traditional media narratives and social media algorithms for that. if you are not engaged with the other side, then you are almost certainly not making a difference in your community.

as far as BLM goes, there is only one real solution and it's a total Law Enforcement overhaul including exponentially increasing funding to pay for training, routine psych evals, increased oversight, etc. and they should all have to reapply for their jobs. i was also a big fan of Andrew Yang's idea of requiring all LEO's to attain purple belts in jujitsu.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #157 on: 10 Jul 2020, 14:35 »

It goes beyond that, though.

Here's a pretty basic illustration: There's a plate with three cookies and three people are present. The rich guy leans over to the white guy a tells him "The black guy is trying to steal your cookie." While the white guy isn't looking, the rich guy takes all three cookies and leaves the other two with only half of the thiird cookie.

It's the manipulation and instillment of fear and distrust. It's the pushing of learned helplessness. It's the discouragement of non-aggressive communication between groups. And it all takes place over several years while playing the long game.

It's both honestly. At the core of it all lies the fact that different groups have trouble getting along which then gets exploited in various ways, from amplifying the distrust to actively encouraging people to be antagonistic towards one another.
And all for the benefit of a very few incredibly selfish individuals.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #158 on: 10 Jul 2020, 14:39 »

And all for the benefit of a very few incredibly selfish individuals.

Humanity's history repeated a couple of times.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #159 on: 10 Jul 2020, 14:42 »

Want to know what bugs me? People who think that basic civil rights and social justice for all are the unattainable and undesirable fantasies of a lunatic fringe. Just saying.
Want to know what bugs me? People who think that many people think that basic civil rights are undesirable. Just saying.

Just because a words in there doesn't make it so, North Korea is officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea after all and i don't think they're big on democracy
You should consider that the only people that call North Korea that are the assholes that named it that.
This is an important point. If it's not social justice, don't call it social justice. Don't even mention that someone thinks it's social justice---you're only spreading the misuse. Eventually, someone hears "social justice" about whatever that is so many times, that they start calling it "social justice". There's always someone who'll think that anything called that is that. So you get doublethink. You say "social justice is bad" and they hear you think that what is social justice is bad. Or you say "social justice is good" and they hear you think that what's called "social justice" is good. The problem is that we're using a term that has 2 opposite meanings.
Well for what its worth you have my respect, I'm a Corrections Officer and I couldn't do what you do with the obstacles that you face
For anyone that doesn't follow penal euphemisms, "corrections officer" means prison guard. By the way, I'm terribly sorry that you're in the sucky position of having to work for a prison.
The thing about single issue activists, whether political, environmental or anything else, is that by definition they are utterly blinkered and incapable of seeing the big picture.
By definition? I can understand that caring about only the one thing can make it easy to ignore other things, but I don't think that prevents them from being aware of other things. Of course, I can see how one might come to that conclusion. Most of my interactions with activists was when they're "on the job". Now, if I'm not mistaken, when the activist is working for an issue in the "raise awareness" department, he's probably going to talk about that one issue, not about some other issues. He could well care about other issues, but his present focus is on the one issue that he's presently working for. From the other perspective, a "general" activist, who cares about the "big picture", would have to choose whether to spread his efforts among all the issues he cares about, or to focus on trying to solve one specific issue. It's often the case that doing one thing at a time is more effective than doing multiple things at the same time. Of course, it's important to not forget about other issues, otherwise you might get a situation like you described about reducing one pollution while raising another.
The BLM activists didn't want funding removed from the groups you mention, they were simply so far off their radar that they didn't consider them at all.
Practically, there's no difference. Sure, their intentions might be clear, but if the result is funding goes from other issues to their issues, they're effectively taking that money from the other issues. Sure, it's not their fault that who they get money from simply redirects the funding, but if their intent isn't to take the help that others would have gotten, then that should be something they consider.

Perhaps they’re [Ellicott-Chatham] more similar than they would like to admit.
I thought it was quite natural. Not similarity, but the combination of the idealist (Ellicot) the pragmatist (Chatham). Another example is the Steves of Fruitbasket. Ellicot's position heading a powerful research company is probably due much to Chatham's business sense. Likewise, Chatham's industries being as powerful as they are today was probably aided by the ideas from Ellicott's mind. Together, they'd be quite powerful, but making such a union live long would probably take a lot of work.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #160 on: 10 Jul 2020, 16:42 »

Quote
For anyone that doesn't follow penal euphemisms, "corrections officer" means prison guard. By the way, I'm terribly sorry that you're in the sucky position of having to work for a prison.

Its a small thing but the correct term is Corrections Officer and its not a euphemism for a prison guard (prison guard is not a term used anywhere in NZ).

I'm only speaking for NZ here but the term prison guard has connotations that are mostly incorrect (thanks Hollywood) as most of our day is spent keeping our prisoners (or Paihere if you prefer) safe (from each other), fed and occupied (with work or courses), any actual what you would consider guarding is a very small part of the day
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #161 on: 10 Jul 2020, 17:18 »

One prison worker I knew made the mistake of participating in the ring that was bringing drugs into the prison. Her job had been supervising inmates. It was interesting to watch her vocabulary change over the course of her sentence. Her first letters referred to "C/Os", but by the end it was "guards".

She was in a US Federal prison and the Bureau of Prisons is plagued with problems. She was unimpressed by the personnel in charge of her life.

By all accounts, there are people who do their jobs without abuse or overreach. I respect their work -- it's obviously difficult. On the other hand, there were the people on CorrectionsOne saying "We're not happy until you're not happy".

In particular, I'm glad you are keeping them safe from each other. There have been many cases in US prisons of the authorities doing the opposite. I don't know how I would handle wolf/goat/cabbage problems with hundreds of participants.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #162 on: 10 Jul 2020, 19:24 »

Personally, I quite like happy endings. The world is a scary place, and I don't need the webcomics I read to be all doom-and-gloom. I want them to make me feel better, if only for a little while.

That reminds me of what one of the trans people here said about how happy the Marten/Claire relationship was, answering criticism of it going unrealistically well.

I think it was ZoeB.

Something to the effect that if we can't have it in reality, we at least want it in fiction.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #163 on: 11 Jul 2020, 00:36 »

[SNIP]
The BLM activists didn't want funding removed from the groups you mention, they were simply so far off their radar that they didn't consider them at all.
Practically, there's no difference. Sure, their intentions might be clear, but if the result is funding goes from other issues to their issues, they're effectively taking that money from the other issues. Sure, it's not their fault that who they get money from simply redirects the funding, but if their intent isn't to take the help that others would have gotten, then that should be something they consider.

[snip]

Please see aforementioned posts regarding social engineering and the deliberate breeding of mistrust between groups by manipulative bastards trying to protect the status quo while pushing it even more in favor of themselves.

That funding cut choice was very deliberate. And you've demonstrated the exact goal of the choice that was made; resentment.

Redirecting even a fraction of our country's incredibly bloated military budget could have paid for BOTH programs in their entirety.

EDIT: fixing spelling and formatting
« Last Edit: 11 Jul 2020, 08:07 by Gyrre »
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #164 on: 11 Jul 2020, 04:52 »

Quote
That reminds me of what one of the trans people here said about how happy the Marten/Claire relationship was, answering criticism of it going unrealistically well.
I think it was ZoeB.
Something to the effect that if we can't have it in reality, we at least want it in fiction.

I see it somewhat differently, when they first started I thought it was going to open up new storylines for Marten, exploring the issues, seeing how Marten feels after the honeymoon period wears off etc etc instead we get a relationship that is boringly generic and instead we get some made up nonsense about Robots/AIs and humans

I do want Marten to have a happy ending I'd just like to see how he gets there is all
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #165 on: 11 Jul 2020, 09:30 »

That may yet happen. Jeph has foreshadowed tension between Claire's ambition and possible need to move for a job and Marten's inertia.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #166 on: 11 Jul 2020, 15:41 »

That may yet happen. Jeph has foreshadowed tension between Claire's ambition and possible need to move for a job and Marten's inertia.

Which again has nothing to do with Claire being trans and would be reminiscent of Faye and her actor ex

It's almost as if the author doesn't want to talk about Claire at all except in the most superficial of ways, so why bother even having her in the strip
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #167 on: 11 Jul 2020, 16:30 »

Being a spur to Marten has already been significant.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #168 on: 11 Jul 2020, 16:33 »

I don't think that it's just Marten and Claire.  Jeph seems to either have difficulty, or a strong dislike for happy relationships.  One by one (or two by two, as the case may be), happy couples seem to end up on a bus.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #169 on: 11 Jul 2020, 16:45 »

I don’t think it’s a dislike as much as the inherent problem with a happy ending is that it is just that, an ending. Once you arrive, that’s it, story’s done, pack up the sets and go home. Which is obviously a problem in an ongoing serial that needs to continue indefinitely for its creator to remain fed and housed.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #170 on: 11 Jul 2020, 16:46 »

That may yet happen. Jeph has foreshadowed tension between Claire's ambition and possible need to move for a job and Marten's inertia.

Which again has nothing to do with Claire being trans and would be reminiscent of Faye and her actor ex

It's almost as if the author doesn't want to talk about Claire at all except in the most superficial of ways, so why bother even having her in the strip

Jeph has confirmed that he had wanted to add a trans character for a very long time, and I think it's likely that it was Claire's original role. However, over the course of the comic, she's evolved out of that singular position. Yes, she's trans, and yes, that's an important part of her identity, but is her gender the only reason she's in the comic? Trans people still live normal lives outside of their gender identity. It's unfair to limit Claire only to that.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #171 on: 11 Jul 2020, 16:49 »

Our trans members have expressed approval that Claire is not The Trans Character but instead the redhead who squabbles with her brother  and is passionate about her work.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #172 on: 11 Jul 2020, 17:59 »

I'm glad that she's grown, and is no longer just "Girl Clinton"
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #173 on: 11 Jul 2020, 19:03 »

Also, if Claire had remained 'the trans character', then we would rightfully complain about her being one-dimensional.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #174 on: 11 Jul 2020, 21:42 »

That's all very well and good, but how much further development of Claire's story have we seen at all? Them getting together is only "an ending" if you see QC purely as a relationship drama, and maybe you* do. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if Jeph does as well. But he has set up story arcs beyond them merely getting together, and it would be nice if we could see that promise fulfilled.

Yes, I know that QC has a big cast, but so much time has been spent on the drama of Claire passing her exams, an outcome that has never been in any doubt whatsoever.

There has got to be more to Claire's story than just finding a relationship. There has got to be more to Claire's story than just being a spur to Marten. I kinda agree with chris73. Jeph made a song and dance about including a trans character, and then seemingly got bored with her. Can we at the very least see a bit more of the squabbles with her brother, her passion for her work?

#include <obligatory-I-know-jeph-can-write-about-whatever-he-wants-disclaimer>

* By "you" I just mean whoever is reading this, not necessarily any specific poster above this post.

P.S. We've had multiple moments where Marten has been "spurred" and nothing has ever come of them. I'm flat out ignoring them at this point. They're meaningless.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #175 on: 11 Jul 2020, 21:52 »

I agree that Claire hasn't had too much development lately; I was just saying that being a trans character isn't her only role in the comic.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #176 on: 11 Jul 2020, 22:01 »

I agree that Claire hasn't had too much development lately; I was just saying that being a trans character isn't her only role in the comic.

And that is a fair point. On the other hand, I also agree that the idea below would merely be a retread of the Faye/Angus story, and I can't think why that would be at all interesting.

Jeph has foreshadowed tension between Claire's ambition and possible need to move for a job and Marten's inertia.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #177 on: 11 Jul 2020, 22:12 »

I do respect Jeph's sensitivity about writing Claire but it may have limited what he could do.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #178 on: 11 Jul 2020, 22:23 »

I see what you mean. In terms of story based around her gender, there isn't much that can be done without making too big of a deal about it, but Claire can still do anything any other character could. Her fate is no more limited than Marten's or Faye's.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #179 on: 12 Jul 2020, 03:00 »

Also, if Claire had remained 'the trans character', then we would rightfully complain about her being one-dimensional.

Only if she had no extra development. We know she has issues going into relationships so that could be explored, we could see Claire grappling with the issue of children (if she wants any that is), we could see how Marten deals with a trans woman after the honeymoon period wears off, hell we could see any number of storylines around this without labelling Claire trans only but instead it seems to be mostly about a theoretical relationship between Faye and Bubbles which could be interesting by why go down that route when you already have an interesting relationship to focus on
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #180 on: 12 Jul 2020, 06:25 »

Never liked pdf.  Postscript is the way to go.  That way it can be edited and changed provided you can program in postscript. (which I can).
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #181 on: 12 Jul 2020, 09:32 »

I don’t think it’s a dislike as much as the inherent problem with a happy ending is that it is just that, an ending. Once you arrive, that’s it, story’s done, pack up the sets and go home. Which is obviously a problem in an ongoing serial that needs to continue indefinitely for its creator to remain fed and housed.

Continuing the happy new couple's story tends to be  difficult for many writers.

Especially Hollywood. Just look at how many sequels have some hackneyed reason the happy couple that got together at the end of the previous movie are separated (or what have you) just so they can retread the romantic plot/subplot of the previous movie. Even good, well written shows suffer from this. Miss Martian and Superboy get together during season one of Young Justice. But stuff happens off camera and they're broken up at the start of season 2 (which was very offputting when watching the whole series).

EDIT: fixing way-past-time-for-bed typos
EDIT 2: A counter example (and rare exception) would be Rick and Evelyn O'Connell in The Mummy Returns (2001).
« Last Edit: 12 Jul 2020, 09:48 by Gyrre »
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #182 on: 12 Jul 2020, 10:56 »

QC often covers characters overcoming damage from the past.

Claire has apparently unhealed injury from her father's infidelity. That would be interesting to explore.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #183 on: 12 Jul 2020, 11:09 »

And regardless of either, there will always be those who are duped into going against change that would benefit everybody because incredibly selfish people tell them that whatever it is, "that's socialism" and they've been convinced 'socialism bad' without questioning just who it's "bad" for.

I've been dealing with relatives who wholeheartedly believe the current American healthcare system is socialized medicine despite it being the antithesis of socialized medicine. It's very frustrating.
People like my mother (who I've recently informed of her cancellation) who grew up during the Red Scare of the '50s and are the target audience for FOX News Channel's poisonous lies.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #184 on: 12 Jul 2020, 14:28 »

most people of that age demographic are the target audience for any media platform's poisonous lies.

btw, what does it exactly mean to say that your mother is cancelled?


Claire has apparently unhealed injury from her father's infidelity. That would be interesting to explore.

that would be interesting and Marten is the perfect character to instigate it. i can imagine him cluelessly sending Claire into fits over what he would call a totally innocuous interaction with another woman. or if Padma came to visit.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #185 on: 12 Jul 2020, 15:37 »

Only if she had no extra development. We know she has issues going into relationships so that could be explored, we could see Claire grappling with the issue of children (if she wants any that is), we could see how Marten deals with a trans woman after the honeymoon period wears off, hell we could see any number of storylines around this without labelling Claire trans only but instead it seems to be mostly about a theoretical relationship between Faye and Bubbles which could be interesting by why go down that route when you already have an interesting relationship to focus on


That'll probably happen soon, though. The honeymoon period is wearing off and Claire has graduated and is looking for a job. Given her personality, she'll want to plan out the next 10 years of her life, which will clash mightily with Marten's more... relaxed attitude to the future.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #186 on: 12 Jul 2020, 16:24 »

And regardless of either, there will always be those who are duped into going against change that would benefit everybody because incredibly selfish people tell them that whatever it is, "that's socialism" and they've been convinced 'socialism bad' without questioning just who it's "bad" for.

I've been dealing with relatives who wholeheartedly believe the current American healthcare system is socialized medicine despite it being the antithesis of socialized medicine. It's very frustrating.
People like my mother (who I've recently informed of her cancellation) who grew up during the Red Scare of the '50s and are the target audience for FOX News Channel's poisonous lies.
Unfortunately it's not just them.
My younger brother (early 30s) is amonsted them.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #187 on: 12 Jul 2020, 18:01 »

Never liked pdf.  Postscript is the way to go.  That way it can be edited and changed provided you can program in postscript. (which I can).

PDF is essentially postscript with extra bits.

You may not know this, but there is such a thing as a PDF file that you can edit with a text editor.

Here is an example I happened to have sitting on my computer. Copy the code below, paste it into a file using a text editor or whatever, give it a .pdf extension, and open it with your favourite PDF reader.

If you know postscript, then this should look very familiar.

Code: [Select]
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2 0 obj
<<
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>>
stream
<x:xmpmeta xmlns:x='adobe:ns:meta/' x:xmptk='Insert XMP tool name here.'>
  <rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf='http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#'>
    <rdf:Description rdf:about="" xmlns:pdf="http://ns.adobe.com/pdf/1.3/">
      <pdf:Producer>Datalogics - example producer program name here</pdf:Producer>
      <pdf:Copyright>Copyright 2017 PDF Association</pdf:Copyright>
      <pdf:Keywords>PDF 2.0 sample example</pdf:Keywords>
    </rdf:Description>
    <rdf:Description rdf:about="" xmlns:xap="http://ns.adobe.com/xap/1.0/">
      <xap:CreateDate>2017-05-24T10:30:11Z</xap:CreateDate>
      <xap:MetadataDate>2017-07-11T07:55:11Z</xap:MetadataDate>
      <xap:ModifyDate>2017-07-11T07:55:11Z</xap:ModifyDate>
      <xap:CreatorTool>Datalogics - example creator tool name here</xap:CreatorTool>
    </rdf:Description>
    <rdf:Description rdf:about="" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">
      <dc:format>application/pdf</dc:format>
      <dc:title>
        <rdf:Alt>
          <rdf:li xml:lang="x-default">A simple PDF 2.0 example file</rdf:li>
        </rdf:Alt>
      </dc:title>
      <dc:creator>
        <rdf:Seq>
          <rdf:li>Datalogics Incorporated</rdf:li>
        </rdf:Seq>
      </dc:creator>
      <dc:description>
        <rdf:Alt>
          <rdf:li xml:lang="x-default">Demonstration of a simple PDF 2.0 file.</rdf:li>
        </rdf:Alt>
      </dc:description>
      <dc:rights>
        <rdf:Alt>
          <rdf:li xml:lang="x-default">Copyright 2017 PDF Association. Licensed to the public under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.</rdf:li>
        </rdf:Alt>
      </dc:rights>
    </rdf:Description>
    <rdf:Description rdf:about="" xmlns:xapRights="http://ns.adobe.com/xap/1.0/rights/">
      <xapRights:Marked>True</xapRights:Marked>
    </rdf:Description>
    <rdf:Description rdf:about="" xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#">
      <cc:license rdf:resource="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/sa/4.0/" />
    </rdf:Description>
    <rdf:Description rdf:about="" xmlns:xapMM="http://ns.adobe.com/xap/1.0/mm/">
      <xapMM:DocumentID>uuid:3eef2166-8332-abb4-3d31-77334578873f</xapMM:DocumentID>
      <xapMM:InstanceID>uuid:991bcce7-ee70-11a3-91aa-77bbe2181fd8</xapMM:InstanceID>
    </rdf:Description>
  </rdf:RDF>
</x:xmpmeta>
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<< /Length 744 >>
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% Save the current graphic state
q

% Draw a black line segment, using the default line width.
150 250 m
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% Draw a thicker, dashed line segment.
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[4 6] 0 d % Set dash pattern to 4 units on, 6 units off
150 250 m
400 250 l
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[] 0 d % Reset dash pattern to a solid line
1 w % Reset line width to 1 unit

% Draw a rectangle with a 1-unit red border, filled with light blue.
1.0 0.0 0.0 RG % Red for stroke color
0.5 0.75 1.0 rg % Light blue for fill color
200 300 50 75 re
B

% Draw a curve filled with gray and with a colored border.
0.5 0.1 0.2 RG
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%%EOF

Here's another thing for you to try. Take some PDF you have sitting around (one that's not edit protected). Visit this site:

https://www.pdfyeah.com/decompress-pdf/

Submit the PDF and download a version you can edit with your favourite text editor.
« Last Edit: 12 Jul 2020, 18:09 by Tova »
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Yet the lies of Melkor, the mighty and the accursed, Morgoth Bauglir, the Power of Terror and of Hate, sowed in the hearts of Elves and Men are a seed that does not die and cannot be destroyed; and ever and anon it sprouts anew, and will bear dark fruit even unto the latest days. (Silmarillion 255)

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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #188 on: 12 Jul 2020, 21:02 »

I'm new here but thought this might be worth considering. May has an occasional weird sex partner Sven who has lots of money but is oblivious to other peoples problems. If he knew about May's issues he would probably go all in on a top of the line body with full options sex-wise. Unfortunately May would refuse because she doesn't want charity BUT if she was convinced he did it to use her as a sex toy she'd be into it. And if she thought she was paying it off by having sex she'd want to quit her job move in with him and wear him out everyday trying to pay it off as fast as she could but would probably settle for keeping her job and doing him on the regular. If I'm out of line sorry but this is how I read both characters.
« Last Edit: 14 Jul 2020, 07:47 by Gamesman001 »
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Scarlet Manuka

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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #189 on: 12 Jul 2020, 21:56 »

Never liked pdf.  Postscript is the way to go.  That way it can be edited and changed provided you can program in postscript. (which I can).
But in many contexts the need is for a document that you can verify hasn't been edited or changed. Contracts, for example.

And yes, digital signatures can be applied to any document type. Until there's an easy to use common infrastruture to handle that for the average non-technical user, it's not a real solution.

Mind you, the common thinking (as indeed your post would also imply) seems to be "it can't be edited because it's a PDF", which is incorrect. It's just that most people don't want to spend the money for Adobe's PDF editing software and the free alternatives aren't very good (and aren't well known). So in practice PDF means "probably hasn't been edited, unless someone was willing to make an actual effort", which is often good enough.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #190 on: 12 Jul 2020, 22:12 »

Welcome, new person!

Not out of line in my view. It's not shipping since they have an established sexual relationship. It's plausibly in character for them.

I do wonder what the QC world laws on sex work are and whether May's parole officer would interfere.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #191 on: 12 Jul 2020, 23:25 »

(IICIH here. Fixed quote tags.)
Welcome, new person!

Not out of line in my view. It's not shipping since they have an established sexual relationship. It's plausibly in character for them.

I do wonder what the QC world laws on sex work are and whether May's parole officer would interfere.
Well, if we're talking about sex work in the QC verse, look at Marten's mom.  A career as a fetish model and a dominatrice.  Apparently no blowback on raising Marten, so I might guess it's largely legalized.
« Last Edit: 13 Jul 2020, 11:08 by Is it cold in here? »
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #192 on: 13 Jul 2020, 11:08 »

She did get a visit from Child Services after Marten brought her bondage equipment to Show & Tell.
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Thrillho

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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #193 on: 13 Jul 2020, 14:07 »

That may yet happen. Jeph has foreshadowed tension between Claire's ambition and possible need to move for a job and Marten's inertia.

Which again has nothing to do with Claire being trans and would be reminiscent of Faye and her actor ex

It's almost as if the author doesn't want to talk about Claire at all except in the most superficial of ways, so why bother even having her in the strip

The fact that you are saying this is the exact reason why he should continue writing them this way.

You're grabbing the story by its collar and shaking it demanding that Claire being trans is important somehow but its mundanity is exactly why it is important. You are othering her, and by othering her, you other transpeople in reality. I mean, how could it be POSSIBLE that everything would just be fine?

When we first started bandying around on this forum that their relationship might be a bit drama-free and tranquil, it was cited as the only example anybody here could think of in fiction where a trans character's gender status didn't become 1. a focal point of the entire story and/or 2. a problem for somebody at least whether the character themselves or others.

This one example where Marten genuinely accepts her and loves her regardless and it doesn't matter? Just let people have that. Once. I for one am fucking delighted to see it.

Just like as a pansexual I'm delighted to see bi characters in this comic who have traits that extend beyond 'slut.'
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #194 on: 13 Jul 2020, 15:20 »

Quote from: Hannah Gadsby
One of our spokespeople approached me straight after one of my shows to give me a bit of feedback, and that’s my favorite time for feedback. Straight after a show? Yes, please! That is when my skin is at its thickest. The feedback? Apparently, she said, “I was very disappointed in your show this year, Hannah. I just don’t think there was enough lesbian content.”

I’d been on stage the whole time.
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Yet the lies of Melkor, the mighty and the accursed, Morgoth Bauglir, the Power of Terror and of Hate, sowed in the hearts of Elves and Men are a seed that does not die and cannot be destroyed; and ever and anon it sprouts anew, and will bear dark fruit even unto the latest days. (Silmarillion 255)

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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #195 on: 14 Jul 2020, 08:27 »

I'm not sure it would be qualified as sex work. How many human women/men receive expensive gifts from their sex partners. The jails would fill up even faster. My point was that's what May would WANT it to be because she's kind of weird and it also allows her to accept it as a sex-gift not charity. She has trouble accepting help of any kind but if she thought it was about a pervert getting off she'd be into it both emotionally and physically. She was into it even without actual sex parts. And I'm sure they can supply connections so she could feel actual orgasms. She could tell all her AI buddies if it is worth the trouble. Bound to be some issued with upkeep and cleaning. There could be weeks of story related stuff just from her perspective.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #196 on: 14 Jul 2020, 09:08 »

My prediction, robot voice boxes use ordinary speakers mechanicly coupled to their windpipe to do the sound production and lion's share of the sound formation. Her substandard body used one with a paper sound cone to save 5˘ per unit and between that and her "overenthusiastic use of speech", she's blown her sound cone. Faye and Bubs can replace it with a polymer cone one cheap and easy, but it'll take a few days to get the specialized size/mounting hardware for installing it. In the meantime, they install a Bluetooth module and May has to carry around a portable, battery-powered BT speaker to be able to talk.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #197 on: 14 Jul 2020, 10:47 »

More than likely they could scavenge one from an OopsyDaisy at the SallyAnn shop for a few bucks.
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #198 on: 29 Jul 2020, 17:46 »

Back when I was in grad school, I was given a large collection of... less than legally-obtained... physics textbooks in DjVu format. It was a useful format, but even back then it was hard to find good software for that format.
I seem to remember that DjVu was supported, on Linux at least, 10-ish years ago, but don't quote me on that.

EDIT: Tova, the definition of .pdf is Postscript with whatever bullshit Adobe decides to add? Has that changed?
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Re: WCDT strips 4301-4305 (6th July to 10 July 2020)
« Reply #199 on: 29 Jul 2020, 18:10 »

Yes, Adobe isn't in control of the standard anymore. PDF 2.0 was developed by an ISO working group and they have removed parts of the standard that depended on Adobe technology, so it is possible to implement a reader or a writer without reference to Adobe software.
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Yet the lies of Melkor, the mighty and the accursed, Morgoth Bauglir, the Power of Terror and of Hate, sowed in the hearts of Elves and Men are a seed that does not die and cannot be destroyed; and ever and anon it sprouts anew, and will bear dark fruit even unto the latest days. (Silmarillion 255)
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