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

and now it is! a real boy obscure idiom.

is the a interpretation the product of overthinking or of coasting through life praying that you get lucky with context clues, you can't have it both ways

yah A B C otm, the simple answer is I interpret things in the way that makes them the most hilar. to me. ralph dreaming that he's a viking = ZzZZzZZzzzZzzzzzZZZ but ralph being proud at being good at sleep = looooool

praying and getting lucky is my raison d'être nowadays

I'm not gonna judge anyone's personal hermeneutics, but for me, interpretation based on making things funnier while ignoring literal context sounds a little insane. I mean, when I'm smoking weed, I probably do that all the time -- willfully misinterpret obvious shit to get a giggle out of it. Or say crazy shit that means nothing just to laugh at it. But normally I don't need to alter my standard heuristics and hermeneutics just to squeeze a few more half-okay lulz out of a Simpsons episode. (rereading, maybe I am judging people. oh wellz.)

rereading, maybe I am judging people. oh wellz.

this thread is like board description paydirt

the literal context is what makes A, imo

willfully misinterpret

it had never occured 2 me b4 this thread that i should care 3 seconds beyond the guffaw of ralph sayin some dumb shit

*cares deeply*

ok, let's look at the idiom:

To be a Viking.
a) Vikings are famous for being seafaring, pillaging badasses.
b) To be a viking is to a badass, or to be a badass at something specific. (This is a Buffy ex: To be a viking in bed to be totally aggressive and physical.)
c) Diluted, to be good at something (This is the Simpsons interpretation: I'm really good at sleeping, unlike the rest of my life.)

This is def not literal.

Unless the lulz comes from Ralph thinking he's like totally badass and aggressive at sleeping -- which is lulzy for sure, but completely insane.

loool just think about it mordy, how can someone be badass and aggressive at sleeping. it is lol.

ralph being proud at being good at sleep = looooool

― I Think Ur a Viking (dyao), Wednesday, April 28, 2010 1:34 PM

that would work if "viking" were shorthand for "good at" which its not. plus he says sleep is "where" he's a viking, not "what" he's a viking at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we9_CdNPuJg

right, it's hysterical. but def not what Ralph meant. he's a little kid. he doesn't think he's a badass.

ralph is insane

would you think about sending a kid to the school counselor if they insisted on option a? would it be more disturbing to you to think that they are ignoring reality and logic in the pursuit of lolz or that they just seriously believed a was the intended interpretation

http://imgur.com/TBbxS.jpg

ppl still giving ralph way too much credit here

http://www.groovy-layouts.com/Images/Fun/Crazy/images/girl-you-crazy.gif

which is more disturbing: lacking the hermeneutic skills to understand how language functions in context, or purposefully bastardizing your hermeneutic skills to gain more insane lolz in life? Probably the former, cause we do the latter all the time in various contexts, like anytime we laugh at something because it's sad, or frightening, or confusing.

who the hell cares what ralph would think as a real person, he's a mouthpiece for writer lols

the writer lols work though because of the character, not totally divorced. the other option (that Ralph is confused between dreams + reality and thinks that when he sleeps he actually gets to RL be a Viking -- which is double-lol because it's totally true to reality too, I love being able to fly in dreams, etc) is true to the character.

arguing about interpretation of statement on message board is kinda option A tho -- it's totally insane to do this, but we do it for the lulz.

i also think ralph isn't connecting the failure with the worm to his new instructions to sleep--that's more steps than he can handle

at this point I would send everyone on this thread to the counselor for arguing so passionately about The Simpsons

see I get that ralph likes dreaming about being a viking but making the hermeneutic leap that he has trouble distinguishing between dream/reality is where I can't make the leap of faith

I love how this thread cycles in and out of passionately arguing about the topic at hand to meta-facepalming back to passionate arguing

yeah i seriously can't get my head around the "you guys, ralph is dumb" argument. i just..what do you even think is going on here

are you saying ralph isn't dumb?

btw you're just going to have to make a kierkegaardian leap of faith that option A is the correct answer, I'm sorry all will be explained in the afterlife

ok, so not that he can't distinguish -- more that his life is so sad and pathetic that he enjoys sleeping so that he can escape the tiring, failure existence he lives in for just an hour or two so he can dream of being an excellent viking. that he lacks the emotional facilities to realize that dreaming can't be a substitute for life and his escapism can only hinder his ability to succeed in the real world.

ok i'm actually going to leechblock this thread because i caught myself on the verge of talking to my computer. what have i become

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KsNH_ZfGbOs/S6Ewx9tuHEI/AAAAAAAAAN8/mlHPyQQrhJU/s200/hagar_reveur_mini.jpg

I'm assuming The Afterlife is the bar where we are all going to meet up and have drinks and laugh about this whole thread

more that his life is so sad and pathetic that he enjoys being excellent at sleeping so that he can escape the tiring, failure existence he lives in for just an hour or two

this thread what the goddamn hell

haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

hagar can't be a viking at sleeping, he's a horrible!!!!

look, so fat bet the man has some sleep apnea

most of us sleep and dream and sometimes our dreams are excellent, but we wouldn't substitute our RL for them. Poor Ralph tho, who fucking eats worms cause he's actually mentally disabled, needs to embrace these dreams. this is the lol -- the sad, heart-breaking lol that Ralph will amount to nothing in life, and he better enjoy the little naptime he has now, because soon he'll be institutionalized, or, at best, be a leech upon his poor father and mother until old age, and then hopefully find some way to enter the American system but more likely always remain at the fringes -- a ghostly figure long after his smarter classmates have moved on to greater success and competence. we laugh at Ralph because if we didn't we'd have to cry.

I mean the way ralph just plumps his head on the desk & dozes off clearly shows he's really excellent at sleeping on command

lol mordy

I don't even get the people who say option A is funnier.

Ralph thinking of sleep as a place where he becomes a viking is way funnier to me than Ralph being proud of being good at sleep

fess up Mordy, you are high right now

lulz

as someone who's been having sleep problems for the past week I envy Ralph for being a viking at sleep

what the fuck, Mordy

you're totally misreading Ralph's character

misunderestimate ralph at your own peril