HRWiki:STUFF/Archive/alternate universe

Big enough? Knife enough?

From: alternate universe
Posted on: 17:59, 11 April 2006 (UTC)

Arguments for:

• The knife compared in bedtime story (see below) looks more different than this one.
• It is serrated like the Big Knife.
• It looks like a comic version of the Big Knife the way Strong Badman looks like a comic version of Strong Bad.

Arguments against:

• See Talk:bedtime story for precedent.
• This is "a" big knife, but not The Big Knife. The Big Knife has a wooden handle.
  • Technically, nobody said it was.
    • Then why is it notable? Big Knife is a specific object. If the character isn't holding THAT object, why are we making a reference to it?
      • Agreed. This is not THE Big Knife.

Additional comments:

• This is on the Big Knife page, why can't it be there?
  • I'd say it should be neither
    • This was added on alternate universe before being added to Big Knife.
      • It should be on both pages or neither page. This vote should decide both.
• This is not technically a STUFF question. If it's the big knife, then it would automatically be listed.
• Here is an image of the knife.
  

  

  Big Knife?
• I don't see why The Big Knife is such an important object to begin with, personally.
• Regarding points that this is not THE Big Knife: What constitutes THE Big Knife? Compare the Strong Badian flag and the Painting of a guy with a big knife - they don't use the same BK as each other at all, but no one is likely going to argue that one of them shouldn't be noted as having a BK. The only running theme that I know of, other than being large knives, is having serrated edges. This knife is no more different to either one than those two to each other, so why doesn't it count?
  • And, by the by, I'm all for re-considering the bedtime story knife for this very reason.
    • I think what we should decide here is whether or not the Big Knife article refers to big knives in general (which I'm all for), or the specific Big Knife that the "Guy Holding a Big Knife" painting in i love you is holding. If we decide that the article is about Big Knives, I think we should rename the article as such and make it more general (as a running theme/gag). Then ALL of the references to Big Knife that we've previously debated would be valid.
      • Oooh, agreed. I like it.
        • I went ahead and renamed the article, rewrote the intro and various references, and added alternate universe as a reference. I think this changes the context of the STUFF vote (and it's being accepted anyway).
        • Actually, I decided to change it back to Big Knife, but created a new section in the article for Other Big Knives, so that knives that aren't obviously THE Big Knife (or a direct reference to it) can still be included.

• Soliciting more discussion: Do you think there is one "The Big Knife"? Or do you think it's acceptable to change the entire concept of "The Big Knife" to "A Big Knife", provide a general description of the recurring Big Knife (large, serrated edge), and allow all toons and emails that have such knives to refer to the Big Knife article? Personally, my vote is to do away with "The" Big Knife and acknowledge that the HR universe just has recurring instances of Big Knives in general.
  • I agree.
    • What do you think of the current version of the article? (Also see Talk:Big Knife - several questions open there.)

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Highball pear

From: alternate universe
Posted on: 16:25, 6 April 2006 (UTC)

Arguments for:

Arguments against:

Additional comments:

• I'm assuming that the only question here is whether or not we think it's a reference, because the audio does sound a lot like "highball".
• Adding it at a reference doesn't make sense, because even though it does sound like "highball," it doesn't necessarily mean it refers to anything.
  • The word "highball" has been used before, but that's about it. Homestar's use of the word in radio seems pretty nonsensical. Still, I think this might be worth noting...
    • i think its a reference to a drink

Proposed revision:

Arguments for:

• Mentions that the word has been used twice before in previous emails, but doesn't make this a reference.
• The word "highball" seems to be becoming a recurring word, giving rise to the likelihood that this is an inside joke for TBC.
  • Also used in montage's DVD commentary.

Arguments against:

• It isn't worth acknowledging, because it wasn't supposed to sound like highball, it was just supposed to sound like it was being played backwards.
  • I disagree on the pronunciation: Homestar's pronunciation is stunted, but not full of H-sounds like the word "eyeball" was. And TBC have been known to use subtle pronunciation tricks in past emails.
    • Have any of these subtle pronounciation tricks ever been confirmed as references?
      • The first one that comes to mind is the Twin Homsars in Fall Float Parade: "Let's sing a song of Pennzoil!" Remember how we couldn't confirm what he/they had actually said until it was made a QotW? In this case, we have a subtitle that says "eyeball", but his pronunciation does sound suspiciously like "highball". There's no reason why the spoken and written versions have to absolutely match.
• no no no...this is not a reference at all. When you say "eyeball" the emphasis is right on the beginning...the E...giving the distinct phonic of EYE-ball...no sounds before the "eye." But when said backwards, the end of the word (llabeye) falls off (as most words with vowel endings do) giving the soft, H sound before the "eye" when it is played forwards (no strong emphasis on the E). There are things you cannot do when you say words backwards...one of which is emphasize a word that has a vowel beginning...you'll always have that "huu" sound when you play it forward.

Additional comments:

• There is no page for Highball yet... but maybe there should be. Would you all be more willing to accept it if there was something to link to?
  • I've been thinking we could use a more general page for "Recurring Unusual Words".
• This is just getting silly.
  • Just depends on your POV; whether you think there was a reference on Matt's mind when he spoke it. It was said in the real-fruit-smoothies fact ("And they won the game...") that this whole email is purposely chock full of references. Now I don't know about you, but a highball being mentioned in 2 emails and 1 DVD commentary makes me think that a pronunciation of "eyeball" as "highball" is quite suspect, and could be a nod to the other appearances, and this proposed revision is sensitive to possibility of that.
• Perhaps another reword is in order: "Despite the subtitle, Homestar's pseudo-backwards pronunciation of "eyeball" sounds suspiciously like "highball". This would be the fourth time this word has been used in a Strong Bad Email."

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You look burnt or DEAD

From: alternate universe
Posted on: 08:07, 6 April 2006 (UTC)

Arguments for:

• It's a made-up word, so it's highly unlikely that it's a coincidence.
• It struck me as a reference immediately.
• Context isn't important (see comment below).

Arguments against:

• Except that it's a generic cartoony sound effect.
• Context is totally different.

Additional comments:

• Re: First arg against: I don't think anything is random here, especially considering how much emphasis this email puts on previous things they've done. If they created a word and use it again, it's gotta be intentional.
  • Though I can't cite any examples offhand, I'm fairly certain I've heard that word used elsewhere in cartoons, and that TBC didn't make it up. I wouldn't swear on Strong Sad's grave about that, though... I could be wrong.
    • Just because it may have been used in other extra-H*R contexts doesn't mean that TBC didn't make it up for Teen Girl Squad (we've already decided we don't think they were referring to Voice over Internet Protocol). What matters is whether we think they were referring to themselves.
      • It's less notable, though, if both instances were referring something else.
• Like VOIP, SNUH illustrates an example where context isn't important. From Wikipedia: "In the animated television series The Simpsons, SNUH stands for Springfieldians for Nonviolence, Understanding, and Helping, although the word itself appears in a number of other contexts in the show, [including, among other things,] in a clip from a campy '70s Radioactive Man movie."
• Looking for help: If it's proven that the word VOIP! was used in comics before Teen Girl Squad, then because Strong Badman is a comic it's only natural that it will be used there. I'm not a comic-book expert, but I'm pretty sure that it was used. If any user have information, please help.
  • I don't see what difference that would make. This item isn't suggesting that TBC were the first ones ever to use the "word", just that the second time they used it, they meant it as a nod to the first time they used it.
    • Well, if they weren't the first to use the word, then as it stands this fact is technically incorrect. If they're both referring to the same comic book "sound effect", it may be better to reword this fact to state that "VOIP" was also the Visor Robot's laser "sound", not that it's a "reference" to it. Something like "The word "VOIP" was also used as the Visor Robot's sound effect from Teen Girl Squad Issue 1." Sounds better that way. Gets rid of the absolutist statement that it *was* a reference, and merely notes that it'd been used before on the site.

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And they won the game...

From: alternate universe
Posted on: 07:55, 6 April 2006 (UTC)

Arguments for:

• This whole email is a look back at previous emails; those three words used together is not a coincidence.

Arguments against:

• This really is a coincidence.
• "Real fruit smoothie" is a real thing, that's what TBC are talking about in both cases.

Additional comments:

• Every time we would play softball last summer, we would always talk about going to get real fruit smoothies if we won the game. One time when we won, we actually did get them.
• Should this get accepted, it should probably be reworded. As it stands, about all it says is "someone used these words in a previous e-mail". The context isn't even remotely similar.
  • I don't think there's more to it than that. The point is that they intentionally reused the phrase "real fruit smoothie(s)".
    • I added quotes around the phrase to make it clear to people (who may not be as familiar with HSR) that the phrase itself is the reference, and not the "concept"
    • You know what? You have a point. One of my potential counter-arguments to this was going to be that I couldn't see TBC revisiting such a minor phrase in such an old e-mail, but then it hit me: The Gameboy in a blender. That was *so* minor that most people probably never even noticed it, at least until they read here what happened during the fastforward sequence in 2 emails. Yet they referenced *that* here, so why *couldn't* this be a reference to mascot? As a result, I'm flipping my vote, despite having removed this fact twice to begin with.
      • :)
      • That's exactly what I did - read the fastforward sequence in 2 emails and discovered the gameboy in the blender there. Neat!
• This really isn't a coincidence. How often have you heard the term "real fruit smoothies" used in day to day conversation, compared with simply "smoothies"?
  • Umm, rather often.
    • Either way, this is not a coincidence. Sorry. If it happened once before, it's notable.

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No problem STUFFing this one

From: alternate universe
Posted on: 04:33, 5 April 2006 (UTC)

Arguments for:

Arguments against:

• A common phrase
• Seems a bit silly to think that TBC would reference a show made for preschoolers. Maybe if it was used in for kids, it might've been a reference, but here... doubtful.
• The phrase "No prob, Bob" is NOT frequently used on the show Bob the Builder.

Additional comments:

• STUFFed because it was repeatedly added to and removed from the article.

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A tuff STUFF

From: alternate universe
Posted on: 20:39, 4 April 2006 (UTC)

Arguments for:

• Searches on Wikipedia, Google, and Answers.com for "tuff" all bring up results for volcanic rock, which Strong Bad obviously wasn't refering to.

Arguments against:

• "Tuff" is used in a lot of places; it's a common bastardization of "tough".
• Tuff is more likely a reference to 50 emails, specifically the "cool misspellings" email.
• The fact that he changed the spelling of both "cool" and "tough" shows that it wasn't supposed to be a reference, just an alternate spelling.
• By that logic, I could claim it's a reference to that weird Kirby show that isn't on in the UK.

Additional comments:

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