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Eric: Is it arrogant of me to assume Mell's dudespeak is a shout out to Weds and I?
(From Narbonic! Click on the thumbnail for full sized nude Mell! If you click on 2-January-2006, anyway. Any other day, you'll get the current strip. After today, only subscribers get nude Mell! Makes it sound like porn, doesn't it?)
[Obligatory Disclaimer #1: Narbonic is a Modern Tales strip. I am now the Modern Tales editor. Do the math.]
[Obligatory Disclaimer #2: Narbonic is remaining on the Pay/Subscription Modern Tales site. I am not editing that. So, I don't actually edit or have any direct stake in Narbonic at this time.]
[Obligatory Disclaimer #3: Of course, I have an indirect stake in all of Modern Tales, even if this isn't what pays me the honorarium.]
[Obligatory Disclaimer #4: Frankly, there's no force on this planet that can shut me up about Narbonic, so it wouldn't matter in the first place.]
For the record? I'll have slightly less... involved... disclaimers over time. Give me a break. I'm new to this, too.
The assumption of Mell into Heaven was, it seemed to me, a significant event. And all the more so now that we are moving into the last year of Narbonic. Mell was such a dynamic part of Narbonic that I wasn't sure how Garrity would do without her. At the same time, I had faith in Garrity. I knew she'd work it out.
It never even crossed my mind that Mell would be blasted down to Earth within two weeks. I mean, dude.
You'll notice she has no glasses. Okay, you probably noticed she had no bra, first. However, I have to wonder if Mell's time beholding the Heavenly Host led to her eyes being made perfect in the sight of the Lord -- after all, President Mell Kelly didn't wear glasses, which made Mell-present wonder if, horror of horrors, she had contacts in the future.
Weirdly enough, I'm happy for Caliban, too. I mean, Caliban's had it rough through... well, almost everything. It's nice to see he's gotten such a ballistic present.
Of course, this really does mean everything's careening towards the end. Mell's back. Helen has a cure for Science Madness, but doesn't want to give it to Dave because "she doesn't like the side effects." The conditions for something terrible are set before us. And if the future is indeed set in stone, we are one step closer to Helen's brain being suspended in a giant tank, Dave being bitter and losing all his hair, Mell destroying the planet Earth in a failed attempt to change history, and Artie being dead.
It seems inevitable. And frighteningly well planned out.
Of course, Dave did change history, once. He doesn't smoke, after all. He never did.
So we'll just have to see what happens next. And hopefully, it will include more nudity.
Posted by Eric Burns at January 2, 2006 1:53 AM
Comments
Comment from: Aerin posted at January 2, 2006 2:32 AM
Dude, the sound effects here are awesome. "Freeyow"? Amazing.
Comment from: LurkerWithout posted at January 2, 2006 3:22 AM
As long as its the CORRECT nudity, yesno? I mean, think about some tasteful Dave nudes. That is, YOU think about it, because I'll be too busy drinking to try and erase the image from my mind...
Comment from: Dan Severn posted at January 2, 2006 3:28 AM
Should that not be "Weds and me," mister high-and-mighty editor?
Hey, when opportunities like this come to a fork in the road, it's important that they take it.
Comment from: ZorbaTHut posted at January 2, 2006 3:56 AM
Personally, I'm surprised you didn't snark the strip immediately before this one - yes, she mentioned the strip was ending a bit ago, but that's the one that really drove it home for me. And it's just plain starkly beautiful.
This thing might end happily, but it's going to be a rocky road getting there.
Comment from: Arachnid posted at January 2, 2006 4:16 AM
Isn't it possible she's not wearing glasses because she's not wearing, y'know, anything else either?
Given this prod, I'm having a go at reading the (freely available section of the) archives now. It's entertaining, but I can't help constantly comparing it to the absolutely gorgeous art in Girl Genius.
Comment from: Eric Burns posted at January 2, 2006 4:22 AM
Zorba: I've snarked the Little Nemo strips before. Though I agree it was portentous.
Arachnid: that's what I was alluding to with the "lack of bra" comment. I'm just curious if she'll need glasses from here on out. Because if not... hey, like I said. One step closer.
Comment from: Arachnid posted at January 2, 2006 4:25 AM
Oh, right. I'm obviously slower than usual today.
Comment from: Paragon_Kobold posted at January 2, 2006 4:36 AM
Heaven stole her clothes. And glasses.
How sad is that?
Comment from: ZorbaTHut posted at January 2, 2006 4:57 AM
Yeah, but . . . the portents . . . the portents!
(Actually, I was just impressed by the whole infinite-canvas thing, plus how well it was done. Though the Little Nemo didn't hurt.)
Comment from: Dire posted at January 2, 2006 6:04 AM
Man, yesterday's strip had me feeling melancholy. I didn't know that the strip was ending anytime soon; now you go me feeling all pensive and worried for the characters.
I rarely worry over comic characters, I usually look forward to troubles in them because that is usually what leads to the funny/action/drama. But Shaennon has me believing that it is entirely possible that things will end badly instead of well for the characters. Curse you Burns, curse you for putting the fear of webcomics into me.
Comment from: Dire posted at January 2, 2006 6:06 AM
Also Eric, I like how your titles are sometimes asides instead. I don't think I've ever seen that anywhere else.
Comment from: nothings posted at January 2, 2006 6:57 AM
Narbonic is remaining on the Pay/Subscription Modern Tales site. I am not editing that.
This disclaimer is kind of inexplicable for people who didn't read past the first 50 comments in your main MT post. It took me a while of poking around to figure out what the heck you meant. Perhaps you should link to the details or mention it somewhere less obliquely.
Comment from: Tangent posted at January 2, 2006 9:00 AM
Thanks for tangenting (er, snarking) this. :)
Seeing that I already tangented it Friday. Sorry it wasn't a happy Pollyanna-ish review. *sigh*
Was cool, wasn't it.
Thought I had something I was going to review today... oh yeah, just remembered. *shudders* hate to bring in the new year with something distasteful but it needs to be done.
But on the plus side, after staying up 'til 9 a.m. and reading Something Positive since the very beginning 'til past when I actively started reading... think I might have something *decent* to review as well. Well, more than decent, because S*P rocks... and actually brought me to the point of tears a couple of times.
Though that might be the exhaustion speaking.
Think I'll sleep now...
Robert A. Howard, Tangents Webcomic Reviews (and oh how we suffer to prepare to write these reviews *grin*)
http://www.tangents.us
P.S. - I apologize for the inarticulate nature of these comments but I've been up for a bit over 24 hours now and didn't sleep much before either. Oh well, no biggie... Rob
Comment from: Abby L. posted at January 2, 2006 9:29 AM
Must... resist... urge... to buy... subscription... to... Modern Tales...
RAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR... ABBY SPEND!!
Comment from: Paul Gadzikowski posted at January 2, 2006 10:31 AM
Heaven stole her clothes. And glasses.
How sad is that?
People always emerge from otherworld travel without the extraneous matter they originally had with them. (Except with Narnia.) Cf., e.g., Poltergeist and Miracle Monday and the Well World stories.
Comment from: 32_footsteps posted at January 2, 2006 11:22 AM
You know, all things considered, should we really be surprised that Mell got kicked out of Heaven? I mean, really?
As for perfection... if she was truly perfect in the eyes of God, would they have kicked her out of Heaven?
Comment from: Brendan posted at January 2, 2006 2:11 PM
Am I the only one who thought it was "mark" 1, 2, 3, etc. as a kid? It took until I was in middle school...
Comment from: Dave Van Domelen posted at January 2, 2006 2:38 PM
Tsk, no one has suggested the other obvious reason why Mell was naked. She got the boot because of what she was doing while already naked. Or nekkid, really. As the aphorism goes, naked is simply being without clothes...nekkid is being without clothes and up to no good.
Comment from: gwalla posted at January 2, 2006 3:03 PM
Dan: Actually, it should be "to Weds and myself".
Dave: And Mell is always up to no good.
Comment from: Shaenon posted at January 2, 2006 3:41 PM
Please. Obviously, Mell is naked because IT GOT ME A SNARK.
Never tell me I don't know how to pander. Narbonic hasn't gotten Snarked since September, and I knew Eric would be helpless before the double-barreled hit of female nudity and people saying "dude."
Comment from: Plaid Phantom posted at January 2, 2006 4:17 PM
Dear God! Shaenon has found Eric's kryptonite! *takes notes*
Comment from: Tangent posted at January 2, 2006 4:22 PM
Please. Like the cartoonists don't know our weaknesses? I mean, Girly has been tempting a tangent for a month now with the new kitten collective being cute and all that. Picatrix has been doing the same thing with their shapeshifting demons that turn into cute kitties. They know "hey, if we want to get mentioned on Tangents, we just need kitties acting cute!"
Likewise with getting a Snark. You want a Snark? You mention Biscuits in some humorous way, have nude girls going "Duuude!" or mention that Weds is attractive, and you'll drag Eric screaming and kicking into snarkage.
Well, except of course sometimes our willpower is strong enough to resist. Sometimes. *twitch*
Rob H., whose kryptonite is not catnip...
Comment from: Eric Burns posted at January 2, 2006 4:22 PM
This disclaimer is kind of inexplicable for people who didn't read past the first 50 comments in your main MT post. It took me a while of poking around to figure out what the heck you meant. Perhaps you should link to the details or mention it somewhere less obliquely.
It's all in the submission guidelines. Better?
Comment from: Eric Burns posted at January 2, 2006 4:23 PM
Dear God! Shaenon has found Eric's kryptonite! *takes notes*
Well, duh!
Boobies plus 'dude' equals happy!
Comment from: Eric Burns posted at January 2, 2006 4:25 PM
ou mention Biscuits in some humorous way, have nude girls going "Duuude!" or mention that Weds is attractive, and you'll drag Eric screaming and kicking into snarkage.
Well, two of those will get you "submitted without comments." Not quite the same thing.
Of course, a nude girl holding biscuits and saying "Dude, Wednesday White is hot!" is... is....
Actually, I think I've had dreams like that.
Comment from: Shaenon posted at January 2, 2006 4:33 PM
I'm going for a "submitted without comment" next month. That's where the action is, baby.
Comment from: Paul Gadzikowski posted at January 2, 2006 4:34 PM
Saaay ...
If Helen knows what the side effects are, that means she's been testing it.
Who's she been testing it on?
Comment from: Tangent posted at January 2, 2006 4:52 PM
BTW, Eric... 10 to 1 suggests that Mell nekkidness will quickly cease to be... as our hero Caliban is wearing a jacket AND scarf. Obviously the scarf is going around her chest as a makeshift bra, and the jacket tied around her waist.
Or maybe the other way around. *shiftyeyes*
Rob H.
Comment from: Aerin posted at January 2, 2006 5:16 PM
I figured he would just give her the jacket to wear, since he's a gentleman like that, and it would be much warmer since they're in the snow.
Perhaps Mell's brain has broken in a similar manner to Haley's in Order of the Stick, and all she can say from now on is "Dude." That would be amusing, at least for a little while.
Comment from: PatMan posted at January 2, 2006 5:19 PM
Of course, Dave did change history, once. He doesn't smoke, after all. He never did.
What are you talking about? Dave never smoked.
:P
Comment from: 32_footsteps posted at January 2, 2006 8:24 PM
"Of course, a nude girl holding biscuits and saying "Dude, Wednesday White is hot!" is... is....
Actually, I think I've had dreams like that."
So... many... wrong... jokes... make... me... speak... like... Shatner...
Comment from: Robert Hutchinson posted at January 2, 2006 8:59 PM
32: It always pays to pick the wrong joke that's also the shortest one.
Holding whose biscuits?
Comment from: Arra posted at January 2, 2006 9:42 PM
My first reaction was, "That didn't take long."
I mean, come on. It's MELL.
Comment from: 32_footsteps posted at January 2, 2006 10:21 PM
I found a shorter one.
But Eric knows where I live. And he'd hunt me down in a heartbeat.
Comment from: Wednesday White posted at January 2, 2006 10:27 PM
32: No, he wouldn't. There are more important things tomorrow. For example, #*@!^$)!^)@$NOCARRIER+++
Comment from: Robert Hutchinson posted at January 2, 2006 10:34 PM
For example, #*@!^$)!^)@$NOCARRIER+++
That is one filthy emoticon, Dr. Rorschach.
Comment from: larksilver posted at January 3, 2006 3:32 PM
I, too, was counting the days til Mell got herself kicked out. Sure, sure, she's perfect in the eyes of the Lord and all.. but there's such a thing as too much perfection, right? The re-entry was quite fun too.. but then, what about Narbonic isn't fun?
Kudos to Shaenon! She had me giggling at the actual strip, snorting at the notion of Mell getting kicked out, laughing out loud at the Dude.. DUDEspeak, and clicking over to see if it had been snarked yet (because of course it would be), all in quick succession. Masterfully played, that.
Comment from: Chris "EDG" Anthony posted at January 3, 2006 11:19 PM
gwalla, no, it really is "Weds and me". "Myself" is the reflexive pronoun; it's only appropriate when the speaker is referring to something that he has done to himself. If anyone else is the actor, the reflexive pronoun is always wrong.
When in doubt, remove everything from the list except the first-person pronoun, which never changes no matter how many people are added to the list: "Is it arrogant of me to assume Mell's dudespeak is a shout out to [PRONOUN]?". In this case, as the accusative* singular first-person pronoun, "me" is correct; it would be even if the sentence read "Is it arrogant of me to assume Mell's dudespeak is a shout out to Weds, Seraphim Kyriotate, the entire first-season cast of Welcome Back, Kotter, and me?".
</FORENSIC LINGUIST>
* Technically, within the context of the sentence, it's a dative. However, modern English only retains the nominative (I), accusative (me), and reflexive (myself) forms of the first-person pronoun, and accusative is used for everything but the nominative (the subject of the sentence) and reflexive (when the speaker does something to himself).
Comment from: 32_footsteps posted at January 3, 2006 11:36 PM
Whoa. Leave Gabe Kapler out of this.
Comment from: Josy posted at January 4, 2006 1:05 AM
...And today, Mel has been clothed in a robe. Her glasses return... but only in the second panel.
A simple case of a slipped pen?
Or are we dealing with supernatural spectacles?
The world may never know.
Comment from: Spatulus posted at January 4, 2006 3:14 AM
Just to point it out, the strip hasn't actually said that Mel's been _kicked_ out. There are lots of explanations. Don't forget that she negotiated Caliban's release from the demands way back in the strip; if anything, she's gotten craftier and smart since then. I doubt the angels up there had a chance.
Comment from: Tangent posted at January 4, 2006 12:49 PM
Or maybe, just maybe, Mell kept a spare set of her glasses over at Caliban's place in case she forgot hers or broke hers. Caliban, being in love with her and missing her... never got rid of them.
Rob H., eternal romantic
Comment from: Tangent posted at January 4, 2006 12:50 PM
Okay, looked back. Definitely supernatural specs. ;) Either that or her hair twisted around when she turned her head and made it look like glasses for a split second. :D
Rob H., who should look before leaping
Comment from: Spatulus posted at January 5, 2006 2:49 AM
After reading today's, I stand corrected.
Comment from: Zeke posted at January 5, 2006 8:39 AM
"Is it arrogant of me to assume Mell's dudespeak is a shout out to Weds and I?"
Yep. Don't go all TWOP -- one common word does not a shoutout make.
Actually, "don't go all TWOP" is good advice on any subject.
- Z
Comment from: Eric Burns posted at January 5, 2006 8:52 AM
Yep. Don't go all TWOP -- one common word does not a shoutout make.
Well, yes. But on the other hand, the TWOP synopsizers have only rarely had a meal with the producers of 24. ;)
Comment from: Aerin posted at January 5, 2006 6:28 PM
Yep. Don't go all TWOP -- one common word does not a shoutout make.Well, yes. But on the other hand, the TWOP synopsizers have only rarely had a meal with the producers of 24. ;)
True. Though the Veronica Mars shoutouts are legit, since the creator of that show hangs out in the TWoP forums and actually called the recapper to inform him of the second season order. But hey, Shaenon already confirmed that it wasn't just a shoutout, she was actively pandering to Eric. So I think he's okay with his assumption. ;)
Comment from: Tangent posted at January 5, 2006 6:33 PM
BTW, one of Shaenon's fans on the e-mail list told her of the "glasses" bit and she fixed it. So if anyone else is trying to see what we were talking about and has no idea... well, it was there and is fixed now. ;)
Rob H.
Comment from: Zeke posted at January 6, 2006 10:46 AM
Though the Veronica Mars shoutouts are legit, since the creator of that show hangs out in the TWoP forums and actually called the recapper to inform him of the second season order.
Don't remind me. My incomprehension of show creators taking any kind of interest in TWOP is matched only by my disgust at how TWOP is successfully passing itself off as serious criticism these days.
Also, Veronica Mars is a good show but way the hell overrated. Especially by my ex-girlfriend. Now let us never speak of kiwis again.
- Z
Comment from: gwalla posted at January 7, 2006 4:33 AM
EDG: Ah, you're right.
However, it can't be a dative, as English hasn't had a dative case since Old English. Cases are entirely language-specific. Modern English pronouns only have nominative, accusative/objective, and genitive/possessive cases (plus the absolute possessive form, which isn't strictly speaking a case). The language-independent term for what a dative is for is the RECIPIENT theta-role.
Comment from: Chris "EDG" Anthony posted at January 7, 2006 3:18 PM
Thus I display, gwalla, that I'm not actually a linguist; I just play one on TV. ;) I'm really a classicist, and since both Latin and Greek have a dative...
Comment from: gwalla posted at January 8, 2006 4:17 PM
To be honest, I'm not a trained linguist either, just an autodidact.
Comment from: Pyrthas posted at January 8, 2006 4:35 PM
To be really picky, "goal" is the term generally used for that role. (I'm not a trained linguist either, although I've done some work in linguistics.)
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