Oh boy, ILX! That's where I'm a viking!..?

state of sleep != dreaming first of all (I find it hard to conceive of sleep as a place, fantastical or otherwise)

Come on, is this really less plausible than the idea that Ralph is either a) inventing a metaphor or b) quoting something that was told to him in an implied-but-never-shown backstory?

ok I admit that b) is far-fetched (but not to me as a simpsons fan) but a) is totally more plausible given ralph's general ineptness with language, as in, he's inventing a metaphor unintentionally

HE MEANT IT LITERALLY
RALPH

MEANT WHAT HE SAID LITERALLY

RALPH SAYS RANDOM AND WEIRD STUFF ALL THE TIME IT IS WHAT HE DOES HE IS RALPH

HE IS RANDOM AND WEIRD
AND WHEN HE SLEEPS HE GETS TO PRETEND HES A VIKING HEH WHY CAUSE ITS FUNNY AND WEIRD AND RANDOM
LIKE RALPH

STOP TALKING ABOUT THIS

hahahaha dyao I thought you were referencing the original a) and b) in the poll options at first

lol or was I?

anyway time to go be a viking, I expect this thread to have broken 1000 when I wake up tmrw

sxp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92IkddsjtAA

i meant xxp

like, it is completely understandable, valid and funny to extrapolate from that scene that Ralph sucks at school and is good at sleeping and therefore turn "that's where I'm a Viking" into an idiom meaning "I am good at this", but the likelihood of that meaning actually being present in the scene, particularly given the history of the character and they way he's been portrayed before and since, is pretty fucking small

So how come MILLIONS of people apparently watched this episode and took away this reading? It's not like this is something one person made up and gradually converted others to after all.

Also, wtf sense does it make that Ralph would consistently and regularly dream about the same thing? Who does that? Dreams are different all the time. "Dream" theory just doesn't make sense.

So how come MILLIONS of people apparently watched this episode and took away this reading?

Because people can be stupidly over-analytical, particularly re: shows that have been branded as entertainment for smart people?

I assure you when I was twelve or whatever and first saw this episode I was not trying to "analyze" this cryptic comment, it just immediately read as the "viking = excels" joke and it was funny.

millons? really?

Viking was a random choice by Ralph based on a recent dream. Another day he would've said pirate, lawyer, board admin etc.

Also, wtf sense does it make that Ralph would consistently and regularly dream about the same thing? Who does that?

haha waht this happens all the time!

I assure you when I was twelve or whatever and first saw this episode I was not trying to "analyze" this cryptic comment, it just immediately read as the "viking = excels" joke and it was funny.

― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, April 27, 2010 12:05 PM (50 seconds ago) Bookmark

well you just operate on a higher plane of consciousness than the general population then

haha waht this happens all the time!

does anyone actually have recurring dreams where good shit happens tho? mine are just the 'back at school or old job wtf this isn't cool but i'm too baffled by how this has happened to protest' ilk

Dreams are different all the time.

Yeah. Tell that to the many people who have ever worked in radio and have recurring dreams of screwing everything up. There's a whole Facebook page devoted to it.

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=2350714789&topic=8594

doesn't mean he always dreams he's a viking, but there's a chance he will and it's such an awesome dream that the possibility of it occuring again excites him.

at this point there are really only two options to resolve this discussion:
* attempt to marshal our resources and get a definitive answer from an authoritative source (ie a writer or producer of this episode)
* marvel at the fact that this is a joke that can be seen from two different perspectives, both of which are funny, like the picture of the old ugly lady that is also a picture of a young hot lady, and just sit and think about how wonderful and amazing that is

we could also continue fake-having this argument just to lol at the people who genuinely find it irritating

When I was a kid I frequently had a recurring dream where I had to fight sapient refrigerators and ovens in a giant, glowing pyramid that had pterodactyls flying over it.

did you draw a comic about this?

because that would be so incredible

Maybe I should...it would have to be in color, though.

waiting for granny dainger to come along and tell me that picture is CLEARLY ONLY of an old crone and if I see a young hot lady I must be some kind of IDIOT DOUCHEBAG

abbott i'd be willing to provide colour from my extensive post-production suite

nah you're an idiot douchebag no matter what sorry

are there any other instances in books, films, etc. where people use "viking" in place of "excels"

the optical illusion analogy is kinda weak though cause that's designed to be dually interpretable whereas ralph literally meant he was a viking in his dreams and people just mistakenly misinterpreted him, it's no big whoop though just a simple misunderstanding

pre-ralph i mean

I have been calling my .xls files "viking spreadsheets" for years.

lol Abbott

jaymc yesterday

http://lib.lbcc.edu/handouts/images/Vikings/vikings3.jpg

So how come MILLIONS of people apparently watched this episode and took away this reading?

i've been asking around since i saw this thread and *everyone* has assumed that Ralph was dreaming about being a viking. they also now know i spend my time debating these things online instead of just watching porn like most civilized people.

jesus xposts!

itt a strange RALPH asks if you saw the VIKING on that one.

well you just operate on a higher plane of consciousness than the general population then

I am the general population! This is the default, obvious reading of this joke! You "dream" believers are maniacs clinging to an unsustainable, over-stretched, non-joke.

jesus. we all fucking need this:
http://www.geekologie.com/2009/04/21/thor.gif

are vikings viking at being vikings

Wowwww that THor gif is fantastic./

Ralph idl (in dream life):
http://meuk.ouweouwe.nl/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/viking.gif

I am the general population! This is the default, obvious reading of this joke!

This is kind of like saying that viewing this as a gaping mouth with 3 top teeth and 4 bottom teeth is the obvious, default reading of this image:

http://www.orgs.bucknell.edu/res_halls/RTK/KRSS/KG_K1/images/batman-logo-large-view.gif

like... yes I see how can view it that way but I seriously doubt that was what was intended

to me, you "dreamers" are the bat-tooth-see-ers.

Come on, that's a bit of a challops, surely.

smh

(xp)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8sVAY2TlYo

Someone wake me when this is over.

When I was a kid I frequently had a recurring dream where I had to fight sapient refrigerators and ovens in a giant, glowing pyramid that had pterodactyls flying over it.

― Walter Melon (Abbott), Tuesday, April 27, 2010 1:18 PM (31 minutes ago) Bookmark

you too???

I like the resource-pooling idea. I'd like to get a solid resolution to this.

This is kind of like saying that viewing this as a gaping mouth with 3 top teeth and 4 bottom teeth is the obvious, default reading of this image:

I seriously never understood it was a bat until the 2nd movie came out.

guys this is INCREDIBLE

but seriously: can ANYONE name any example other than the buffy one of the word viking being used to mean anything other than 'I am probably muscly and wear a hat with horns'???

Uh, even on "Buffy" that's probably what it meant. Remember, Anya consorted with actual Vikings once upon a time.

I never saw the show so my only Anya reference is the ANTM contestant.. :)