Tag / SMBC

by zbicyclist

Philosophy Phriday

Some philosophy showing up in my comic feeds this week.

The term Axial Age is new to me. It comes from a German philosopher, Karl Jaspers, and refers to the 8th to 3rd centuries B.C. For more, see Wikipedia. I note that some major religious thinkers (Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, Joel Osteen) are outside this period. I wonder if Zach’s comic was inspired by some trivial argument with his HOA board.

In that column on the left, there is a Suggest-a-CIDU form. If you see something that particularly puzzles you, let us help by sending it in.

by Kilby

Warning: This is an NSFW Experiment

Back in mid-June, Chak submitted one of Zach Weinersmith’s SMBC comics as a partial CIDU, commenting: “I could only find eight broken Commandments, can anybody get all ten? And if so, which of the three lists of Commandments in the Bible did they use?“

(Ordinarily the comic would appear right here, but not this time.)

Here’s why: Besides the theological irreverence present in Zach’s caption, the main problem (and part of the reason for the delay in posting Chak’s submission) is that while there is nothing visually offensive (nor “Arlo”) in the artwork, the dialog is simply much too crude to post openly at CIDU (some might even call it blasphemous). I’m not willing to risk one of those fancy “swipe” frames to hide it, because that mechanism is browser-dependent.

Since we do not have access to Bill’s “Arlo Page” to use as an asylum for this kind of material, the experiment I propose is to provide non-embedded (text) links, which may be used to open the corresponding images in a separate browser tab or window. Everyone should remember that the images behind these links should not, repeat not be opened by anyone who is easily offended (in this case, by F-bombs and other gratuitous crudeness).

Here is the link to the SMBC comic (NSFW).
Reminder: you have been warned!

This second link is for the bonus “votey” panel (also NSFW).
Again: you have been warned!

Anyone who wishes to answer Chak’s questions or participate in the discussion may do so in the comments below, but please remember, even though Zach used crude language in his comic, there are still standards of decorum here at CIDU, so please keep everything civil. I wouldn’t expect that this conversation will qualify for a G-Rating, but it would be nice if we could keep it below PG-13.

P.S. If this discussion method works, we might consider using it with other (especially “Arlo”) comics that would otherwise not qualify to be posted at CIDU.

P.P.S. Those of you who may feel that this experiment was a bad idea, please say so. CIDU is a community; it cannot function properly without honest, open communication. (I’m referring here to the method of discussing NSFW material, and not the SMBC comic itself, which is sure to offend a certain percentage of readers.)

by EditorM

How to handle mothers

Thanks to Chemgal for sending and discussing this SMBC:

Chemgal and your Editors in consultation fairly quickly pinned down what is going on here. But we didn’t want to put it all out there and deprive you readers from tossing it around yourselves.

Suggestion to early commenters, you might avoid spoiling it for others, and just state that you have it. But those working to piece it together, please go at it.

…

For those who think the extra bits of cartoonist text are an integral part of an SMBC — well no, they aren’t really, but you can have them anyway:

Votey: Now do your mother-handling homework!!
Rollover: OK, if patreon is any indication, many of you are confused but four and a half of you are HOWLING.

by EditorM

Milkshake

Is there a *particular* “traditional Christmas sweet, cherished for generations” that he fears will be mishandled by American adaptation?  And he doesn’t name it?  Are we supposed to be able to figure it out; or is it just generalized and hypothetical?  

Originally picked up from GoComics, but phsiiicidu was able to locate it at SMBC’s own site. So we can report on the rollover text, as there are those who think an SMBC is incomplete without it. But here it seems to offer nothing to solve those doubts. “One day, molecular printers will allow starbucks to serve every conceivable food as a whipped topping.”