I mean, when they went to school, grammar was still probably being taught. and there's no telling how many of them went to private schools either, as it's usually ivy league grads who do the writing for those shows.
― I Think Ur a Viking (dyao), Friday, 30 April 2010 10:55 (fourteen years ago) link
anyway who cares what the writers intended when they wrote it - authorial intent is a false north star
― I Think Ur a Viking (dyao), Friday, 30 April 2010 10:59 (fourteen years ago) link
it isn't when the question is "what is meant by this joke?"
― brad whitford's impotent rage (underrated aerosmith albums I have loved), Friday, 30 April 2010 11:07 (fourteen years ago) link
like the idea that because texts are elusive, what the teller of a joke means by the joke isn't relevant, this is some waste of a critical theory class or two right there
― brad whitford's impotent rage (underrated aerosmith albums I have loved), Friday, 30 April 2010 11:08 (fourteen years ago) link
noone knows what the writer of the joke meant! it's not a given
― I Think Ur a Viking (dyao), Friday, 30 April 2010 11:11 (fourteen years ago) link
language is a cracked pot upon which we bang out tunes for bears to dance to when we wish to conjure pity from the stars imo
― I Think Ur a Viking (dyao), Friday, 30 April 2010 11:13 (fourteen years ago) link
agree with dyao there, but we really should have a discussion about why joeks are funny itt
― just darraghmac tbh (darraghmac), Friday, 30 April 2010 11:18 (fourteen years ago) link
no it's not a given but when the writer of a joke says "this is what I meant by it" it has considerably more force than when the writer of a short story/novel/poem says "this is the meaning of the text"
authorial absence is considerably & reliably more overstated than authorial intent
btw you asked for this so no complaints
― brad whitford's impotent rage (underrated aerosmith albums I have loved), Friday, 30 April 2010 11:25 (fourteen years ago) link
also, the meaning of the joke is that ralph dreams that he is a viking
point to where the writer of the joke says "this is what I meant"
― I Think Ur a Viking (dyao), Friday, 30 April 2010 11:27 (fourteen years ago) link
it's in the joke, when he says that sleep is where he's a viking
― just darraghmac tbh (darraghmac), Friday, 30 April 2010 11:29 (fourteen years ago) link
this is turning into that ILM thread where xuxhk was all "if I mishear a lyric it's perfectly fine for me to talk about that in the review as if those are the real words, it's not irresponsible or misleading at all to only give the reader my take"
― Dennis Parrotin' (some dude), Friday, 30 April 2010 11:29 (fourteen years ago) link
discussed upthread, writer on staff answered question, that's close enough, everybody knows "viking at sleep" is ridiculous, barthesian jouissance in lit doesn't enter into this shit, the question is stupid
― brad whitford's impotent rage (underrated aerosmith albums I have loved), Friday, 30 April 2010 11:30 (fourteen years ago) link
also I'm not sure how either of your propositions are automatic gimmes, but whatever
― I Think Ur a Viking (dyao), Friday, 30 April 2010 11:30 (fourteen years ago) link
"but what if the joke was being read out by a line-actor who can read phonetically but doesn't actually understand the words?" I guess is next
― brad whitford's impotent rage (underrated aerosmith albums I have loved), Friday, 30 April 2010 11:31 (fourteen years ago) link
I think that this is what the writer of the joke meant. This here. Us agruing. We're the joke. Look in the mirror - how many days have you put off shaving to post on this thread? We have met the viking, and it is us.
― huh! tikuuta. (kingkongvsgodzilla), Friday, 30 April 2010 11:31 (fourteen years ago) link
Look in the mirror - how many days have you put off shaving to post on this thread?
rubbed chin w/knuckles and sadly lol'd tbh
― brad whitford's impotent rage (underrated aerosmith albums I have loved), Friday, 30 April 2010 11:32 (fourteen years ago) link
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/CrazyDiamond/blog/Picture3.png
― I Think Ur a Viking (dyao), Friday, 30 April 2010 11:32 (fourteen years ago) link
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/DCy8K968Alo/0.jpg
― I Think Ur a Viking (dyao), Friday, 30 April 2010 11:33 (fourteen years ago) link
Ralph isn't smart enough to come up with a hipsterish turn of phrase like "being a viking" at some activity. That you're just assuming that the writers all of a sudden decided to retcon his character and have him be smart enough to come up with his very own catchphrase is absurd. He goes to sleep and becomes a viking, that's all he's smart enough to understand.
i'd just like to congratulate whoever this was for attempting to introduce a discussion of hipsters to this thread via wanton irresponsible misuse above
― vikings: name your reasons why they are so bad and hated (call all destroyer), Friday, 30 April 2010 11:47 (fourteen years ago) link
discussed upthread, writer on staff answered question, that's close enough,
David Silverman's (who's a director/animator, not a writer, and who neither wrote or directed "Lisa the Vegetarian") answer was, "I'm sure David Cohen meant...", i.e. it's just his intepretation. Doesn't prove anything.
― Tuomas, Friday, 30 April 2010 12:13 (fourteen years ago) link
everybody knows "viking at sleep" is ridiculous
You do realize that many jokes are funny because they are ridiculous, and that ridiculousness was exactly what the writer intended?
― Tuomas, Friday, 30 April 2010 12:19 (fourteen years ago) link
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v134/tracerhand/its_on_now.jpg
― Tracer Hand, Friday, 30 April 2010 12:20 (fourteen years ago) link
honestly the only reason i'm even tuning into this thread atm is for more aerosmith lols
― rapping about space and shit, floatin’ around in an orgy of screen savers (gbx), Friday, 30 April 2010 12:21 (fourteen years ago) link
While searching the web to see if David Cohen has ever addressed this question, I came upon this thread on another board, where the same issue is discussed. And here's a quote from that thread:
This morning, unaware of this debate and unprompted, my 7-year-old son sang, to the tune of Queen's "We Are The Champions"
WEEEEEE ARE THE VIIIIIKIINNGGGSSSS!!!
He equates the word "viking" with the concept "champion"
Greg wins.
Makes you think, doesn't it?
― Tuomas, Friday, 30 April 2010 12:26 (fourteen years ago) link
no
― ways t'burg (electricsound), Friday, 30 April 2010 12:29 (fourteen years ago) link
Well, it makes you think if you're thinking kind of fellow.
― Tuomas, Friday, 30 April 2010 12:30 (fourteen years ago) link
that link makes me afraid that underrated aerosmith albums may have lived through this debate TWICE now
is there some kind of trauma support fund we can contribute to? is PTSD driving him to relive it all on our ILX version?
― xylyl syzygy (a passing spacecadet), Friday, 30 April 2010 12:31 (fourteen years ago) link
According to the comments on his imdb page, apparently David X. Cohen reveals his personal email address in the DVD commentary to Futurama episode "Roswell That Ends Well" from the series' third season. Anybody have these DVDs?
― huh! tikuuta. (kingkongvsgodzilla), Friday, 30 April 2010 12:40 (fourteen years ago) link
Nevermind, those comments were from 2006 and the address isn't working anymore.
― huh! tikuuta. (kingkongvsgodzilla), Friday, 30 April 2010 12:42 (fourteen years ago) link
― Tuomas, Friday, April 30, 2010 8:19 AM (24 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
this is like saying that the phrase "knock knock" makes you think of the Three Stooges bumping their heads together, and that must be why knock knock jokes are so funny.
― Dennis Parrotin' (some dude), Friday, 30 April 2010 12:47 (fourteen years ago) link
I was pretty glad when I opened the door and it turned out to be my friend and not an interrupting cow.
― Fetchboy, Friday, 30 April 2010 12:48 (fourteen years ago) link
It's nothing like that. It's all about the context: what Ms. Hoover says, what Ralph answers. The joke is not that it makes me think of something else that's totally out of context (like in your Three Stooges example), the joke is that it's easy imagine Ralph being proud of his sleeping skills (as opposed to his worm-cutting skills) and using words in an eccentric way.
― Tuomas, Friday, 30 April 2010 12:52 (fourteen years ago) link
(x-post)
you misinterpreted the joke in a ridiculous way, and are now insisting that since comedy is often intentionally ridiculous, the more ridiculous interpretation must be the correct one. that is your "logic."
― Dennis Parrotin' (some dude), Friday, 30 April 2010 12:55 (fourteen years ago) link
Ralph's eccentric use of language pretty much exhaustively involves malapropisms, not creative metaphor. (xp)
― the big pink suede panda bear hurts (ledge), Friday, 30 April 2010 12:57 (fourteen years ago) link
some dude otm
I've reached the point where I'm actually willing to SB people who stubbornly cling to option A, so I guess I better quit looking at this thread.
― Nom Nom Nom Chomsky (WmC), Friday, 30 April 2010 12:57 (fourteen years ago) link
Once the results are in I'm going to SB every poster who didn't take part in this thread.
― Fetchboy, Friday, 30 April 2010 13:01 (fourteen years ago) link
the sad thing is I'd like to take this debate out into the real world and see what people I know think, but I'm kind of scared of finding out that any friends or loved ones think it's A
― oh boy, luriqua's house! that's where M.I.A.'s dyking! (some dude), Friday, 30 April 2010 13:02 (fourteen years ago) link
can't wait to ask for my SB total after the results are in
― I Think Ur a Viking (dyao), Friday, 30 April 2010 13:02 (fourteen years ago) link
you can check it on the 'how many sb's do i have' thread fyi
― just darraghmac tbh (darraghmac), Friday, 30 April 2010 13:05 (fourteen years ago) link
results would be interesting, yes.
I have tried to read the last 100 posts on this, having not read from the outset, and tbh option A only seems possible to people who have no idea how language works.
I'm with Crump on this one.
― THE QUEST IS THE QUEST (aldo), Friday, 30 April 2010 13:06 (fourteen years ago) link
Errr, I'm option A and I teach English. What a disaster for my students.
― Fetchboy, Friday, 30 April 2010 13:08 (fourteen years ago) link
feel sorry for them ;_;
― just darraghmac tbh (darraghmac), Friday, 30 April 2010 13:09 (fourteen years ago) link
would like to point out there's only one group of people putting the B in SB itt
― I Think Ur a Viking (dyao), Friday, 30 April 2010 13:09 (fourteen years ago) link
I've been doing this and while I'm getting a 100% B response rate, I'm also getting a 100% "wtf are people seriously arguing about that?" response rate.
― iatee, Friday, 30 April 2010 13:10 (fourteen years ago) link
I've asked two friends irl who are die-hard simpsons fans, one said A and one said B (interestingly the one who said B went wtf at A)
― I Think Ur a Viking (dyao), Friday, 30 April 2010 13:13 (fourteen years ago) link
however the one who said A is a witty comedic super star irl so I trust her opinion more tbh
― I Think Ur a Viking (dyao), Friday, 30 April 2010 13:14 (fourteen years ago) link
tried this on fb and the only response i got was my little brother who guessed A. i figure our common upbringing has somehow shifted us towards this interpretation
― sonderangerbot, Friday, 30 April 2010 13:15 (fourteen years ago) link