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Mike Raiford <mra### [at] hotmail com> wrote:
> Warp wrote:
> >> It's a monster that turns you to stone if you see its face. Like Medeusa.
> >
> > I know. But I still don't get the *joke* in that strip.
> >
> AFAIK the joke was U+FDD0 is not a renderable character
I got the impression that (and in general, most of the xkcd strip alt
tags) was just an additional, more hidden joke, not the main joke of the
comic strip. I just didn't get the main one.
--
- Warp
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Mike Raiford <mra### [at] hotmailcom> wrote:
> AFAIK the joke was U+FDD0 is not a renderable character, according to
> the Unicode spec, so, the eye of the basilisk is not visible, ergo no
> one turns to stone, or dies. I still can't figure out why the basilisk's
> use of a smiley emoticon would kill someone. I suppose it's because the
> person is seeing an abstract form of the basilisk's face?
no, supposedly, U+FDD0 is the invisible character preceding the emoticon?
Unicode chars. By the time you googled it all and is ready for the laugh, the
magic is gone... ;)
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nemesis wrote:
> Mike Raiford <mra### [at] hotmailcom> wrote:
>> AFAIK the joke was U+FDD0 is not a renderable character, according to
>> the Unicode spec, so, the eye of the basilisk is not visible, ergo no
>> one turns to stone, or dies. I still can't figure out why the basilisk's
>> use of a smiley emoticon would kill someone. I suppose it's because the
>> person is seeing an abstract form of the basilisk's face?
>
> no, supposedly, U+FDD0 is the invisible character preceding the emoticon?
>
> Unicode chars. By the time you googled it all and is ready for the laugh, the
> magic is gone... ;)
>
>
I don't think it's that complicated.
The Basilisk turns you to stone when you see it's eyes.
The emoticon is supposed to be a face ( :) ).
The ':' is a set of eyes that were typed by the Basilisk, and so they
belong to the basilisk, and so they are the Basilisk's eyes.
When the guy saw them, he died.
The alt-tag just confused things for me until I figured out the main
joke... at which point I couldn't believe I spent so much time figuring
out something so simple.
--
...Ben Chambers
www.pacificwebguy.com
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47ab8e97@news.povray.org...
> I got the impression that (and in general, most of the xkcd strip alt
> tags) was just an additional, more hidden joke, not the main joke of the
> comic strip. I just didn't get the main one.
I think the joke is just one of those "tradition vs modernity" ones, like
Santa Claus being stuck in electric heater or vampires starving due to the
lack of virgins.
It's also a take on the moral panic about "online predators", the stick guy
being killed in a chatroom after asking a/s/l.
G.
--
**********************
http://www.oyonale.com
**********************
- Graphic experiments
- POV-Ray and Poser computer images
- Posters
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> I got the impression that (and in general, most of the xkcd strip alt
> tags) was just an additional, more hidden joke, not the main joke of the
> comic strip. I just didn't get the main one.
The main cartoon seems fairly simple to me, with no need to confuse yourself
with the alt text.
Someone called "BSLSK05" comes along, and gives a :) which kills the stick
dude. The last frame shows some reptile at the other computer. If you make
the connection between the username, killing by staring, and the reptile
then you "get" the cartoon.
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On Wed, 06 Feb 2008 16:50:06 -0500, Kyle wrote:
> Wow, that's allot to do to get the joke.
>
> 1) Read the comic, don't understand.
> 2) Hover to read the ALT text, as Jim pointed out.
> 3) View properties because ALT text is too damn long.
> 4) Google basilisk.
> 5) Read Wikipedia article about basilisk.
> 6) Make the connections to the comic in my mind.
> 7) Realize I just wasted a few more minutes of my life
> figuring out a comic that is not funny.
Steps 4 to 6 can be substituted with general education.
Basically, if you're of the target group of XKCD, you have likely
encountered basilisks or creatures derived from basilisks in some
context -- fantasy books, video games, sci-fi series, Donald Duck.
--
Joel Yliluoma - http://iki.fi/bisqwit/
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On Thu, 07 Feb 2008 09:09:53 -0800, Darren New wrote:
> It's a monster that turns you to stone if you see its face. Like Medeusa.
That's a gorgon you're talking about.
Basilisk sight just kills you.
--
Joel Yliluoma - http://iki.fi/bisqwit/
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Joel Yliluoma escribió:
> On Wed, 06 Feb 2008 16:50:06 -0500, Kyle wrote:
>> Wow, that's allot to do to get the joke.
>>
>> 1) Read the comic, don't understand.
>> 2) Hover to read the ALT text, as Jim pointed out.
>> 3) View properties because ALT text is too damn long.
>> 4) Google basilisk.
>> 5) Read Wikipedia article about basilisk.
>> 6) Make the connections to the comic in my mind.
>> 7) Realize I just wasted a few more minutes of my life
>> figuring out a comic that is not funny.
>
> Steps 4 to 6 can be substituted with general education.
> Basically, if you're of the target group of XKCD, you have likely
> encountered basilisks or creatures derived from basilisks in some
> context -- fantasy books, video games, sci-fi series, Donald Duck.
>
I knew it from a terror book I read probably when I was 10.
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"scott" <sco### [at] laptopcom> wrote:
> Someone called "BSLSK05" comes along, and gives a :) which kills the stick
> dude. The last frame shows some reptile at the other computer. If you make
> the connection between the username, killing by staring, and the reptile
> then you "get" the cartoon.
only if you know Harry Potter mythos...
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Joel Yliluoma <bis### [at] ikifi> wrote:
> fantasy books, video games, sci-fi series, Donald Duck.
You forgot role-playing. :)
--
- Warp
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