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"Trope Of The Day VI: hot troping in the city."
Posted by Estee on 06-25-13 at 11:18 AM
Hitting Random buttons and lookin' pretty...
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Messages in this discussion
"RE: Trope Of The Day VI: hot troping in the city."
Posted by Estee on 06-25-13 at 11:28 AM
"Mister Mc Gee, don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DoNotTauntCthulhu

There are times when you can insult, debate, and generally laugh in the face of considerably superior power and get away with it. And there are times when that power turns around and shows you just how superior it really is.

Guess which one is represented by this trope.

"RE: Trope Of The Day VI: hot troping in the city."
Posted by kingfish on 06-25-13 at 12:06 PM
LAST EDITED ON 06-25-13 AT 12:11 PM (EST)

I have a personal RL entry for a trope that is similar in nature, and was an experience that may ring a bell with some of you:

When I was in high school I had a friend named Frank. Frank was 6'-6"+, and 250+ non-fat lbs from 14 yo on. Frank had a baby face and a sweet disposition, and never imposed himself on anyone. Coaches tried to get him on the football team, but Frank was much too pacifistic to be any good at that in spite of his size.

He was Ferdinand. Perfectly willing to laze under a tree smelling daisys.

After high school we both worked in a heavy steel fabrication plant, he as a full time welder and me as a summer hire helper/grinder. He had a better job than I, so although we actually worked in the same fabrication area, we hung out with different groups and only occasionally got together at work.

And there was this guy, another welder, smallish in stature, that would taunt Frank every day and at every opportunity. Finally, during one of our twice daily 15 minute breaks Frank exploded. The taunts were apparently being laid on especially thick and Frank, red faced and as frightening as I ever saw him, hit the taunter one time and launched him over a work fixture (an impressive distance, both vertically and horizontally), rendering him bloody and unconscious. His hard hat and welding shield landed quite a distance away.

Frank was disciplined, but just about everyone who was there spoke up for him so all he got a hand slap (a week off, as I recall) . And the other fellow never showed up for work there again.

Looking back, I am relieved and surprised that murder didn’t happen, that would have been a supreme tragedy. Frank went on to be a career State Trooper, still the nicest guy you ever met.

"RE: Trope Of The Day VI: hot troping in the city."
Posted by RollDdice on 09-01-13 at 02:49 PM
That's a heart-warming story that I will remember forever; mostly due to your new nickname... Summer Hire Grinder.

Everything sort of falls into place once you know that part of your background.


Bounce or Die by IceCat
"We have a blind date with Destiny and it looks like she's ordered the lobster." --The Shoveler, Mystery Men.

"#501/502"
Posted by Estee on 06-26-13 at 08:13 AM
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ReviewIronicEcho

This is when a movie (or any other media product, but mostly films) includes a line which the critic can use to sum up the movie itself. All dialogue is fair game, advertising tactics are open season, and you can even go to town on the title.

Not exactly a major trope, but it's a fun example list.

"RE: #501/502"
Posted by kingfish on 06-26-13 at 08:19 AM
<echo>"Major Trope" is (or should be) a trope of some kind.</echo>
"RE: #501/502"
Posted by Estee on 06-26-13 at 09:02 AM
So it's a trope reserved for critics. Are you saying critics don't deserve their own tropes?
"RE: #501/502"
Posted by kingfish on 06-26-13 at 10:33 AM
They deserve them, they should just be critical of their own tropes. It's only fair.
"#503"
Posted by Estee on 06-27-13 at 08:18 AM
And in an emergency, you can completely freak out the opposition in any game of marbles to the point of sweeping the whole field.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GlassEye

Presuming you've relearned how to aim.

"RE: #503"
Posted by kingfish on 06-27-13 at 08:43 AM
The mystery Faulk's singular portrayal of Columbo is solved.

As is those great looks that Elam had.

But Leo McKern? I'd never of guessed.

"RE: #503"
Posted by kidflash212 on 06-27-13 at 10:19 AM
Back in the late eighties/early nineties, I wore a silver ring with a glass eye. Something like this but with a blue eye:


Freaked some people out and others absolutely loved it - got many conversations started. Just googled and discovered the store where I purchased it is still around - C'est Manifique in Greenwich Village. I may buy another one, sent it to be cleaned and the jeweler ruined the first one.

"RE: #503"
Posted by kingfish on 06-27-13 at 11:00 AM
I guess your jeweler probably fits into the "Freaked out" category.
"RE: #503"
Posted by dabo on 06-27-13 at 11:32 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nubvJueSgU8#at=59
"#504 "
Posted by Estee on 06-28-13 at 11:07 AM
LAST EDITED ON 06-28-13 AT 11:18 AM (EST)

ping-ping-ping-ping -- ricochet everything!

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PinballProjectile

This is any weapon with the ability to bounce off multiple objects before ultimately hitting whatever the original target was supposed to be and doing its damage there. The best-known to most people is probably Captain America's shield -- which, as the trope description notes, absorbs and negates kinetic energy on impact, so should really just get thrown into the first wall, stop dead, and fall down.

I think Steve has a power he hasn't been telling us about.

"RE: #504 "
Posted by kingfish on 06-28-13 at 11:54 AM
LAST EDITED ON 06-28-13 AT 01:09 PM (EST)

Surprised that those old oaters didn't have a category all to themselves for this trope. Roy Rogers could bounce his shots and always hit Black Bart, thus thwarting the rustlers and saving Dale from being blown up in the mine rigged with dynamite.

What a guy.

If Lassie had only had a thumb...

"#504 "
Posted by kidflash212 on 06-28-13 at 12:35 PM
Captain America learned from the best:

"#505"
Posted by Estee on 06-29-13 at 08:58 AM
Batman is dead.

You have worked your entire life to -- well, not necessarily to kill him. No, you wanted him to...

...what did you want?

For him to see how futile the struggle was? To give up? To snap, and possibly the thing he would snap first would be your neck at very long last? Or simply to start laughing, laugh for such a long time, and when he took a break it would be to agree with you -- oh, the glorious things the two of you would have done together then...

But he's dead. And you killed him.

So you -- attack the city. But not in the usual way. Your guns fire paper streamers and string dark symbols across every street. You order the citizens to wear black cloth armbands on pain of death, then spray them with a gas which makes them weep. Anyone who commits a crime over the next seven days gets personally dealt with by you, because there is an appropriate period to observe here. You commission the statue yourself and take hostages until the mayor renames the park.

And after that? You find a plastic surgeon. You dye your skin and hair. You pull out the best new legal identification violence could encourage.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AntagonistInMourning

And no one ever hears from you again.

"RE: #505"
Posted by kingfish on 06-29-13 at 12:25 PM
LAST EDITED ON 06-29-13 AT 01:18 PM (EST)

Where is the "dancing on their grave" trope?

(Nevermind, by now I know where to find it).

"RE: #505"
Posted by cahaya on 06-29-13 at 03:46 PM
This is a "my only nemesis is dead, so I've also got no more reason to live" trope.
"#506"
Posted by Estee on 06-30-13 at 06:50 AM
It shouldn't work.

It is one of the most coveted secrets in the world. It is knowledge any nation would break every law they had for. And it is being concealed by nothing more a pair of glasses. Typically horn-rims. Utterly ridiculous. Completely unbelievable...

...right?

Or... it's a pair of glasses, yes. But it's also posture. Stand in the right (or in this case, wrong) way and lose four inches off your height. Now choose your wardrobe -- badly. Pick clothes so utterly unfashionable that no one looks at them too long, much less at the body type underneath -- and in this case, you picked clothing two sizes too large for you, so that body is pretty well hidden: you have bulk, but no definition.

Voice? Speak a full octave higher. Use no phrases in one that you do in the other. Make any accent vanish in a single place and appear for the second. In fact, change every gesture and mannerism you have. If one appearance does something, the other does not: period.

Avoid having much of a social life. Retreat behind a byline: if people know you, it's by the name at the top of a story and who even glances at those these days? You turn in your work, you show up at the office, and whoever sells you your groceries can't be bothered to glance at your face.

Pretend to be completely in the open when the glasses are off. Tell them everything they want to hear and make them suspect there is no other name lurking in the shadows. The costume is full-time. You have nothing to hide and why would you ever need to?

Make sure no one ever gets a truly clear photograph. Wipe down all fingerprints. Obliterate DNA traces as an automatic habit.

Now put it all together...

...and it's still a pair of glasses. But it's also something more. And a disguise which could not, should not ever work starts to become just a little bit plausible.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ClarkKenting

Even so, you are one damn lucky son of a bitch.

Oliver Queen? You are on notice. And so is your one in a million beard.

"RE: #506"
Posted by kingfish on 06-30-13 at 11:09 AM
So when ole Supe, having fooled everybody with his disguise as a mild mannered reporter for the Daily Planet - including city muggers - gets mugged, shot, and stabbed by one of those he's fooled, and they're forced to snap to his eyeglasses disguise, he has no choice but to kill them.

Makes being able to pretend to be fooled kind of an asset.

"#507 (On your marks!)"
Posted by Estee on 07-01-13 at 07:49 AM
Let's start the

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/FamilyFeud?from=Main.FamilyFeud

Be sure to check out the Funny subpage for some of the all-time (sort of) great answers.

"RE: #507 (On your marks!)"
Posted by kingfish on 07-01-13 at 10:07 AM
"Name a problem you had with Tropes."

"I couldn't find the 'funny subpage' for all time great answers."

"RE: #507 (On your marks!)"
Posted by Estee on 07-01-13 at 10:37 AM
LAST EDITED ON 07-01-13 AT 10:40 AM (EST)

Huh.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Funny/FamilyFeud

Subpage links are normally grouped along both the top of the entry and the left sidebar.

Oh, and for the truly 'remarkable' responses, we also have

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WhatAnIdiot/FamilyFeud

"#508"
Posted by Estee on 07-02-13 at 07:02 AM
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/VillainousCheekbones

Great. As if the women of the world needed one more facial feature to be insecure about.

"RE: #508"
Posted by kingfish on 07-02-13 at 08:30 AM
LAST EDITED ON 07-02-13 AT 12:55 PM (EST)

A bit of actor's wisdom from Mr. Cheekbones himself, Lee Van Cleef:

"I came into this town in a stage play called Mister Roberts. Stanley Kramer saw it and put me in a picture called High Noon. The first time I went into his office he told me to go fix my nose and I told him to go f**k himself.

A lot of actors think that the more words they have, the more attention they get. That's bullsh#t. I make people look at me. I don't have to say a lot of words."

Seems to be Clint's philosophy too.

"#509"
Posted by Estee on 07-03-13 at 08:03 AM
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CaptureTheFlag

One can only assume the flag personally requested the heavy weaponry used in its defense.

"RE: #509"
Posted by kingfish on 07-03-13 at 08:16 AM
"The Adventures of Captain Underpants"

I dearly wish I had thought of that.

"RE: #509"
Posted by kidflash212 on 07-03-13 at 08:56 AM
The trope seems light on film examples - Abbott and Costello and Percy Jackson? Nothing in between the sixty years that separate those films? Why doesn't Private Benjamin fit?
"RE: #509"
Posted by dabo on 07-03-13 at 12:42 PM
LAST EDITED ON 07-03-13 AT 12:53 PM (EST)

They didn't even try.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1719010/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl

Arguably incorporated into the war games in The Dirty Dozen and Down Periscope and many others, variations on the theme in Animal House and Stripes and so on. It's the bonus in Christmas Vacation.

Jingle All the Way.

"#510 (nearly every current hamster)"
Posted by Estee on 07-04-13 at 04:26 AM
Everyone, line up.

You first, Aaryn Nation.

Lean into it, Jeremy.

Come on, Spencer. Just pretend it's the reverse of your whole life.

Ready?

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DopeSlap

Ready to do it every hour on the hour until you all go away forever?

I am.

"RE: #510 (nearly every current hamster)"
Posted by kingfish on 07-04-13 at 10:39 AM
I think they actually qualify for the bitch slap with a baseball bat.
"RE: #510 (nearly every current hamster)"
Posted by dabo on 07-05-13 at 00:58 AM
Too cool.

The Slap came about during the filming for one of the first episodes of the series. Mark Harmon (a.k.a. Gibbs) thought that Michael Weatherly (a.k.a. DiNozzo) was goofing around too much while filming a scene and proceeded to pop him one on the back of the head. Instead of breaking character, Weatherly continued on as if nothing had happened even while most everyone else was in a bit of shock. After reviewing the dailies, the production staff thought it was hilarious, thus the Gibbs Slap was born.

"#511"
Posted by Estee on 07-05-13 at 06:53 AM
How to make Don Bluth's head explode.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AllAnimationIsDisney

Gah.

Don't even think about what happens when people try to sling this one over to Japan.

"RE: #511"
Posted by dabo on 07-05-13 at 01:02 PM
Japan? We better hurry up and pass legislation granting the corpsicle universal credit in perpetuity.
"RE: #511"
Posted by cahaya on 07-05-13 at 01:15 PM
Yes, there is the Japanese anime (pdf grahpic), preceding and post-dating Walt's time.
"#512 (according to the hamsters, me)"
Posted by Estee on 07-06-13 at 04:07 AM
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HordesFromTheEast

I'm still trying to figure out how I can constitute a horde all by myself.

"RE: #512 (according to the hamsters, me)"
Posted by kingfish on 07-06-13 at 07:40 AM
"I'm still trying to figure out how I can constitute a horde all by myself.

Lord, why do you tempt me like this?

"The real ruler"
Posted by cahaya on 07-06-13 at 01:21 PM
It's been a while since we've seen him. I hope he shows up or someone else will rule his domain.


Cahaya turns the horde loose

"#513"
Posted by Estee on 07-07-13 at 04:40 AM
'In another episode, Lisa tells the story of Snow White. The blue-haired lawyer guy tells her she can't because the tale belongs to Disney, but Lisa counters this by claiming the tale has been out forever and isn't owned by anyone. Plus the dwarves were her own creation.
"Ho hi, ho hi, it's time to say goodbye. If Disney sues, we'll claim fair use, ho hi ho hi!"'

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/YouWannaGetSued

(Parody is protected speech.)

"Happy birthday!"
Posted by cahaya on 07-07-13 at 10:21 AM
Oh, gosh, I'm about to get sued, just for singing it out loud.

The Summy Company registered for copyright in 1935, crediting authors Preston Ware Orem and Mrs. R.R. Forman. In 1988, Warner/Chappell purchased the company owning the copyright for $25 million, with the value of "Happy Birthday" estimated at $5 million. Based on the 1935 copyright registration, Warner claims that the United States copyright will not expire until 2030, and that unauthorized public performances of the song are technically illegal unless royalties are paid to Warner.

2030? Are you kiddin' me? I might already be born into the next world by then.

"RE: #513"
Posted by kingfish on 07-07-13 at 12:24 PM
Conan O'Brien has a recurring bit called "Basic Cable Name That Tune" in which Conan plays "Name That Tune" with the audience, except the songs have alternate lyrics to avoid having to pay licensing fees.

The show's band typically alters the last note of the song for the same reason, and sung by creepy homeless lounge singer Bobby LaFontaine (played by Brian Stack).

Conan will select an audience member to "name that song which is almost the same as the one that the band plays a few bars of but which is different to avoid paying royalties"

In the sketch, Conan frequently expresses his contempt for LaFontaine, who also has severe self hatred.

(This was copied from Wikipedia, but was altered just enough to avoid being sued)

"#514 (America)"
Posted by Estee on 07-08-13 at 06:28 AM
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CutASliceTakeTheRest

It's kind of the national philosophy.

"RE: #514 (America)"
Posted by kingfish on 07-08-13 at 10:26 AM
Cut a Slicey?

Has Slicey become victim of a street fight?

(Weak. But best I could come up with).

"RE: #514 (America)"
Posted by cahaya on 07-08-13 at 10:31 AM
Kinda like Monty Hall's Let's Make a Deal Steal.

And he was born a Canadian!

"RE: #514 (America)"
Posted by kingfish on 07-08-13 at 11:02 AM
That Monty Hall's a shady character. He'll cut a bitch.
"#515"
Posted by Estee on 07-09-13 at 07:13 AM
You love you some you.

You love yourself so much that you regularly buy yourself gifts and place them in a location where everyone can see just how much you were willing to spend on yourself in order to make yourself happy.

You have pictures of yourself. Not photographs: paintings.

A few sculptures.

Extreme cases hire performers to wear makeup and hold very still.

Here's a picture of you with someone famous (but nowhere near as important). Here are six more. In that square yard alone. You have met everyone and you have proof. None of them lived up to you.

Diplomas. Some are honorary.

Medals. You might have stolen a few, but it's not as if anyone knows what they mean other than that they're medals, right?

Now over here we have the baby photos...

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ShrineToSelf

Easiest delivery ever, the doctor said. Naturally!

"RE: #515"
Posted by kingfish on 07-09-13 at 09:13 AM
I wonder what Aaryn's dorm room looks like. I wonder if there's any wall space for a roommate's stuff. I wonder what heritage, sex preference, skin color, etc. Aaryn's roommate is/has.

No, really, I don't.

"RE: #515"
Posted by cahaya on 07-09-13 at 01:05 PM

Dude! Is that you?

"RE: #515"
Posted by Estee on 07-09-13 at 01:20 PM
Funny, he doesn't look Greek.

This trope is closer to him having this painting and fifty more just like it in a public viewing room, though.

"RE: #515"
Posted by kingfish on 07-09-13 at 04:45 PM
Go more to Geek.

(How much is that painting? A few million per? I think 50 would get me my jet, Nantucket beach house, and Carribean isle.)

"#516 (the Big Brother live audience)"
Posted by Estee on 07-10-13 at 06:39 AM
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ProducePelting

Because there is no metal detector on the planet which will pick up a rotten tomato.

"RE: #516 (the Big Brother live audience)"
Posted by Snidget on 07-10-13 at 07:22 AM
There was a seminar series I had to take every semester. One semester our biostats professor was in charge and mostly booked statisticians for the series. He did explain to them that we were not statisticians, and it was a brown bag series so we did have food we could throw at them if they did the all equations all the time lecture they might do for other statisticians.
"#517 (actual film)"
Posted by Estee on 07-11-13 at 06:13 AM
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/Multiplicity?from=Main.Multiplicity

There's something slightly ironic about the way that link came out...

Wonder if he was collecting a paycheck for four.

"#518"
Posted by Estee on 07-12-13 at 09:15 AM
There are many arguments against wearing skirts. This one is normally found near the bottom of the list, and stays there right up until it actually happens.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HumanLadder

And then it goes to #1.

"RE: #518"
Posted by kingfish on 07-12-13 at 09:57 AM
Against?

"RE: #518"
Posted by cahaya on 07-12-13 at 11:42 AM
Heck, NCAA college basketball and football cheerleaders do the human ladder every game, short skirts and all, complete with CBS and ESPN video camera coverage of the panties.

Eye candy, a temptation to the viewer to taste the sweets.

"#519"
Posted by Estee on 07-13-13 at 04:34 AM
If you could talk to the animals... you would only need to learn a single language. After all, they never built the tower. Squawks, yips, barks, and chitters -- it's all the same tongue expressed in a million different accents. Find the key to that language and all who speak it will become intelligible, even if working through the thicker regional dialects takes a few minutes. Every species other than humans communicates this way -- and they can understand us, even if they can't talk back.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AnimalTalk

Presumably there would be some differences in the written forms if anyone actually knew how to write.

"RE: #519"
Posted by kidflash212 on 07-13-13 at 09:18 AM
We can ask the aliens from outer space to translate when they get here. In every movie, they seem to be able to communicate with everyone despite not being from Earth.
"RE: #519"
Posted by kingfish on 07-13-13 at 12:10 PM
I looked a wild (in the Botswana jungle) elephant in the eye from 3-4 ft away, and I got the very distinct message that he was terrified (of me???) and his reaction was that he was about stomp me into the dust.

I saw that in his eye.

He changed his mind, probably because he sensed sheer terror in my eye, and took off running instead.

Aside from the anthropomorphism which I obviously can't prove but that I know is real, this is a true story. That elephant and I communicated very clearly.

"#520 (character)"
Posted by Estee on 07-14-13 at 08:43 AM
The war was glorious.

Others found horror. You found a purpose. You existed to kill. It turned out you were extremely good at it. Every time you took out an enemy, some of your men got to live for a while longer. More of those under your command went home than from any other unit in the country. You would have given anything to stay there forever, in battle eternal.

(Sometimes you wonder if you did.)

But you had to come home: that was the rule. And when you did, you -- couldn't adjust. Your skills cried out for use. The country you had returned to had no place for you. Veterans were not honored: just shoved aside into places no one would have to look at them. Your family had become alien. You had no way of relating to them. Criminals approached you, asked if you would become their gunman, and part of you wanted to agree just because it meant holding a gun again -- but you said no.

You had no idea how to be with your children. You were no longer able to speak with your wife. All you could think about was war, endless war.

So you took them to the park. One last beautiful day together as a family.

The last words you ever spoke to your wife -- the final thing she heard before the criminal's bullets killed her right in front of you, your refusal to work for them bringing back consequences -- was your request for a divorce.

Your wife has been dead for decades, as have your children. But they remain with you as motivation. You go out every day and night with the weapons and wage war eternal against criminals. You take no prisoners and leave none alive, not even to tell the tale and warn others. Because someone must be punished.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ComicBook/ThePunisher?from=Main.ThePunisher

And that someone is you.

"RE: #520 (character)"
Posted by kingfish on 07-14-13 at 02:49 PM
Never heard of him, but he sounds like a decent fellow.

<whisper>But you know, some times he is a little pushy? and sometimes a little over zealous? and you know that thing about going out for night work, kinda eerie, right?<whisper>

Yes, I really think he is an asset to this community. Fine fellow!

"RE: #520 (character)"
Posted by Estee on 07-14-13 at 03:06 PM
He's a walking nightmare who has killed more people than the ones he hunts and may have no concept of 'reform'. A monster who fights other monsters and becomes all the darker with every battle.

Not a nice guy.

As noted in the article, his worlds are split. There's the version who operates in the mainstream Marvel continuity, and that one has to be ridiculously lucky: most heroes hate him and his methods, and he has to both plan carefully and win a few lotteries to stay out of their reach. He also avoids powered foes unless he's laid out the entire battlefield: he knows he's generally outmatched.

And there's the one who's written in a world without powers -- the one who isn't subject to Comic Book Time. The Vietnam veteran who is now in his sixties and still trying to keep going.

The second one is by far the scarier.

It should be noted that either version tries to avoid hurting civilians, police, and heroes -- seeing them as delusional and coddling, but deserving of some protection and the last two categories even do a little good here and there. However, both have a very loose definition of what constitutes crossing the line.

"RE: #520 (character)"
Posted by dabo on 07-14-13 at 03:26 PM
LAST EDITED ON 07-14-13 AT 04:41 PM (EST)

To date portrayed by:

Dolph Lundgren

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098141/

John Beck
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0706838/?ref_=tt_ep_nx

Thomas Jane

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0330793/

Corey Sosner

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0481028/

Ray Stevenson

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450314/

Shawn Parr

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1784594/

Lee Westwood and Enol Junquera
http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/nailbiter111/news/?a=71509

"RE: #520 (character)"
Posted by foonermints on 07-14-13 at 03:52 PM
linkies no workee.
"RE: #520 (character)"
Posted by Estee on 07-14-13 at 03:57 PM
Admittedly, Dolph Lundgren's acting skills might best be represented by a broken image link.

"Dolf"
Posted by foonermints on 07-14-13 at 04:39 PM
Strong Like Mule. Smart Like Tractor.

/ Miss Raven.

"#521"
Posted by Estee on 07-15-13 at 06:00 AM
LAST EDITED ON 07-15-13 AT 06:03 AM (EST)

You have a date coming over for the evening and your apartment, put charitably, is something of a mess. And there's no time to clean it. So you grab everything off the tables and stuff it in the closet.

Then you scoop everything off the floor and throw that in the closet.

The items littering your bed? Closet.

The general disarray in the bathroom? Closet.

Anything you don't want a first date to see just yet? Closet.

Your date arrives. The apartment is clean, but a little warm. So the visitor's jacket is removed and placed --

-- in the closet.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ExplodingCloset

On the plus side, the question of whether there's going to be a second date is going to be answered right now.

"RE: #521"
Posted by kingfish on 07-15-13 at 08:43 AM
Just throwing out stereotypes here that are probably flawed to the bone, but that hold true generally.

Guys are slobs.

Another?

Girls are neat.

Not implying anything about girlish guys, or mannish girls. Inferences are your own.

"Boink!"
Posted by foonermints on 07-15-13 at 01:00 PM
Foonermints: The Legend continues..
"Swoop"
Posted by Snidget on 07-15-13 at 01:04 PM
ed eyebrows?

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/UnusualEyebrows

"#522"
Posted by Estee on 07-16-13 at 07:58 AM
You're not sick.

You're not showing any symptoms. So you're not sick.

You feel perfectly healthy. Anyone who actually gets this thing is dead within a week. You've been up and around for months since the epidemic started and you're not sick.

You live in the heart of the plague zone. You see ill and dying people every day. Sometimes you have to step over corpses. But you're not sick.

Just because every single person you've come into contact with since this began is dead...

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TyphoidMary

...how can that mean you're sick?

Better check on the neighbors. And see if the hospital needs and volunteers.

"RE: #522"
Posted by kingfish on 07-16-13 at 09:16 AM
A sobering more modern day analogy would be AIDS carriers that don't show and don't know.
"RE: #522"
Posted by Estee on 07-16-13 at 09:34 AM
Or worse, the ones who are told and go into denial -- and at the outer edges of mental illness, those who recognize it and decide that if they're going down, they're taking others with them.
"#523"
Posted by Estee on 07-17-13 at 06:57 AM
After wandering through the minefield of the trope's examples and trying to figure out how to convey the general sense of the thing without having to commit the horror myself, I decided to just paste this one:

'John Norman, he of the Gor series of novels, is quite content to overutilize the comma; nay, even more, the semicolon; rather than using periods to separate his thoughts he will use the semicolon; it is annoying; you start to count the number of semicolons in a paragraph; often his page long paragraphs will be only one or two sentences long; he will use semicolons; this is especially true of his descriptive paragraphs.'

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WantonCrueltyToTheCommonComma

Despite the trope's name, this entry is for any attempt to use punctuation as eyes-closed throw at a moving dartboard, whether purposeful and given to the characters or simply because the writer has no idea what they're doing. It is, as you might imagine, rather common on the Internet. It gets into published books on a regular basis, and not always by authorial intent. It confuses sentences. It confuses the readers of those sentences. It can make you weep. It made Lynne Truss millions of dollars and no one learned a thing.

It's best not to think about this one too long. No one else seems to.

"RE: #523"
Posted by kingfish on 07-17-13 at 08:35 AM
It's funny that in spite of the fact that although each punctuation mark has a specific defined use, so many people still have their own idea as to how to use it!!!!

I’m still vague on how to properly use single and double apostrophes. I usually go by Lex’s gut.
.

"RE: #523"
Posted by Snidget on 07-17-13 at 09:26 AM
".,;:'&!-'()?"...
"RE: #523"
Posted by dabo on 07-17-13 at 07:37 PM
LAST EDITED ON 07-17-13 AT 07:38 PM (EST)

Hey, sticklers!!

William Shatner provides a verbal version of this trope in Star Trek: The Original Series.

should read

William Shatner provides a verbal .. version of this .. trope in "Star Trek": The .. Original Series.

"#524"
Posted by Estee on 07-18-13 at 08:03 AM
The walls are white.

The ceiling and floor are both white.

There are no furnishings or decorations of any kind.

There are no windows.

You can't find a door.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WhiteVoidRoom

Your sanity is lying in the corner.

"RE: #524"
Posted by kingfish on 07-18-13 at 08:40 AM
...and the only exception to the black and white palette of the room is the red blood curling out of the mouth of the tuxedo clad murder victim who now lies inert in the corner of the room.

So, without a door or window or other penetration thru the white on white walls, floor, and ceiling that enclose our little scene, how did the killer enter and leave? For that matter, how did the victim enter, and how will we get him out? Do I have to touch the icky body? How did the camera man enter? Where did he plug in? Where is the catering table, I need a scone. And a barf bag.

"#525"
Posted by Estee on 07-19-13 at 08:04 AM
Reed: Power is right off the readouts.
Johnny: So I'm guessing bigger readouts wouldn't help?

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ReadingsAreOffTheScale

This is one of the more annoying cliches, especially in science fiction. As the trope listing notes, the Enterprise has almost never had a device which could measure anything: it's a choice of All Readings Normal or having the thing blow up in a redshirt's face. If someone says the maximum output is twelve, you can be sure a twenty-eight will be along before the end of the episode. The hamminess of this scene is off the charts! The ship canna take any more stupid meaningless non-descriptions!

Gah.

Get. A. Bigger. Scale.

"RE: #525"
Posted by kingfish on 07-19-13 at 08:23 AM
You calling me fat?
"There's the other end of the scale too!"
Posted by IceCat on 07-19-13 at 08:33 AM
"#526"
Posted by Estee on 07-20-13 at 06:50 AM
The Starship Troopers example may be the best of them all.

"Hi! I'm a thirty-second bomb!"

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IncrediblyObviousBomb

If you can see the dynamite sticks... if the timer is right out in the open... if there are wires protruding everywhere... if someone actually painted the word BOMB on the side... then you're in the realm of this trope. The person who made it either didn't know any better because the only bombs they'd ever seen were in the media and looked just like this -- or wanted everyone to know exactly what they were dealing with, generally terrifying every spectator in the process.

Incredibly obvious can be incredibly effective -- depending on what you were going for.

(Optionally, this trope may be used to describe the NBC fall lineup.)

"Ideas Ranking high on the Bad idea list;"
Posted by kingfish on 07-20-13 at 10:28 AM
Come on gang, I know what we can do, let's strap on some of this dynamite I found at the construction site yesterday and surprise the guys at Bucky's Bar tonight.

Hey, I found some fuses too. And wires and little lights too!

Wow, I can't wait to see the looks on everybody's faces when they get a load of us.

"RE: #526"
Posted by foonermints on 07-20-13 at 03:20 PM
Well, Claymores DO have some helpful advice..

"#527"
Posted by Estee on 07-21-13 at 07:51 AM
*reads trope name*

*looks down example list, waiting to find...*

...and sure enough, there he is.

Watch enough of the Hub -- ponies, Dan Vs. -- and you'll spot Knock Out. Decepticon combat medic, which basically means he gets in there and cuts you up using Cybertronian surgical techniques thrown into reverse. He loves cars. To wit, he loves the Earth modeling and styles of the most spectacular models and enjoys being able to change his form into something truly fashionable. (Among his side of the combat, this makes him rather ill-regarded for choosing to be ground-bound.) He admires a good bit of detailing, will speak well of your paint job before he carves it off you along with most of your limbs, and the last words you ever hear may be his compliments towards what used to be your rims.

And if you put the slightest ding in his fender, or misalign a bumper, or scratch his paint...

...well, let's just say organ donation will no longer be an option.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheFightingNarcissist

Neither is having organs.

"#528 (the British Isles)"
Posted by Estee on 07-22-13 at 07:29 AM
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BankHolidays

Of course, in the States, this would mean any day when the banks were closed and everyone else had to work.

"RE: #528 (the British Isles)"
Posted by kingfish on 07-22-13 at 08:25 AM
We should thank our stars for banking holidays (in the US) because they are also Government holidays, and any day that the Government isn't working (OK, make that 'in their office pretending to work') is a good day.
"RE: #528 (the British Isles)"
Posted by dabo on 07-22-13 at 10:25 AM
Well, in the US the banks are closed on federal holidays and some state holidays (in those states). Barring a natural catastrophe (hurricane, earthquake, power outage, etc.) they have to remain open for regular business hours.
"#529"
Posted by Estee on 07-23-13 at 05:51 AM
Reason #512 why you do not teach your parents how to use the Internet at full capacity: because once they realize how uploads and online albums work, they will not only put this online for all to see, but send notices to the entire clan, all their friends, everyone you've ever met, people you never wanted to see again unless you were verifying the presence of their corpse... and that's before they abruptly master the idea of making it go viral, give it a nice musical backbeat, and upload the result to YouTube to the tune of five million hits.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EmbarrassingOldPhoto

And they wonder why you don't call them any more.

"RE: #529"
Posted by kingfish on 07-23-13 at 08:14 AM
We should start a thread posting pictures of ourselves at an early age when we were the most awkward.

I was a pretty dam cute kid up till 12 YO. Later, as adolescent hormones kicked in, it became a different story.

"#530"
Posted by Estee on 07-24-13 at 04:46 AM
LAST EDITED ON 07-24-13 AT 04:48 AM (EST)

The director tells the actor how to play the scene.

The director tells the actor where to stand on the set.

The director tells the actor what's desired in emotional tone.

And then the director runs into Marlon Brando, who insists on having all lines shown to him via cue card instead of memorizing them, while optionally wearing a champagne bucket on his head. Or the director is working with Ed Norton, who recuts the entire film himself when the director isn't looking. Or Clint Eastwood, who feels the only way to make this thing work is to fire the director and take over -- so does.

The director tells actors what to do.

In theory.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WagTheDirector

In reality? Good luck.

"RE: #530"
Posted by kingfish on 07-24-13 at 11:24 AM
Interesting reading, esp. the RL examples. I would have probably enjoyed Kubrick's version of Spartacus. Didn't like the version that came out.

Got to give Eastwood props on his intransigence, he has (IMO) become one of the premier directorial talents.

"RE: #530"
Posted by Estee on 07-24-13 at 12:14 PM
On the other hand, Kirk Cameron as complete jerk might not surprise many people and learning about Tinkerhell just about explains that entire movie. I'd even heard the Orson Wells rant before this and suggest clicking that link to anyone in a safe environment. It's -- memorable.

And it seems part of the reason the Twilight movies svck -- is on purpose! And no one noticed!

...actually, that's kind of sad.

(Or it would be with a lot of other movies.)

"RE: #530"
Posted by dabo on 07-24-13 at 11:33 AM
Wait, what?? Shaggy is now a vegetarian?!!
"RE: #530"
Posted by Estee on 07-24-13 at 11:49 AM
Kasem finally gave up the part. Most recently, Shaggy has been voiced by Matthew Lillard, with Casey playing Shaggy's father.

"RE: #530"
Posted by dabo on 07-24-13 at 12:16 PM
Whew! Shaggy without the munchies just seems so wrong.
"#531 (video games)"
Posted by Estee on 07-25-13 at 08:09 AM
Gaming can be addictive.

Addicts will avoid activities which are not their addiction. Such as eating. Sleeping. Basic body maintenance.

People have died from playing games for too long because they wouldn't do anything else. There have been murders of neglect, children and babies dying because their parents thought one extra level was more important than one check on their offspring, let alone stopping to cook a meal.

Game designers are aware of this. And they have no power to break addictions -- but they can at least try to warn people when they're going too long. Some even create in-game rewards for stopping -- or punishments for continuance. Come back tomorrow: your character will be that much stronger for your rest. But keep going, and they'll weaken with you.

They're trying to save lives. Sometimes it works.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AntiPoopSocking

Sometimes...

"RE: #531 (video games)"
Posted by kingfish on 07-25-13 at 08:56 AM
LAST EDITED ON 07-25-13 AT 09:39 AM (EST)

Poopsocking.

Both funny and sad, on a number of levels.


"#532"
Posted by Estee on 07-26-13 at 07:59 AM
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Face

For the base concept, they don't get much simpler than this trope: in professional wrestling, this is the combatant designated as the good guy. The audience cheers for this performing athlete because the script says they're supposed to and the wrestler is good enough to make them buy into the storyline.

However, as with many wrestling terms, this one has spread throughout the trope community -- and thus into their quantification of fiction in general. 'Face' will appear as a part of other tropes and spreads out into genres it had never been intended to go.

I'd go deeper into this, but I'm already missing Vince3.

"RE: #532"
Posted by kingfish on 07-26-13 at 08:31 AM
LAST EDITED ON 07-26-13 AT 08:34 AM (EST)

Used to be, you could tell the bad guys in the ring because they wore a full head mask that laced up in the back. And the Good guy's aim, spurred on by a frenetic audience would be to tear the mask off and reveal the identity of the villain.

Then the good guys started wearing masks, usually white masks, the they would try and tear off the other guy’s mask.

Then began the real craziness, with ring side chair beating, hidden weapons being used, blinding chemicals, and you began to realize the there are no good guys. They all suck (respects to Vince3).

But it was all worth it, because it was years and years worth of effort to pull off a ploy that culminates in this moment, and allows me to achieve what for me is rare and delicate, a 100 post swoop block.

Thank you, thank you all.
( Please… I may not be able to hold back the tears.)

"And You Did It"
Posted by foonermints on 07-26-13 at 10:50 PM
Without a *BOINK*

Foonermintado de Gamble
Not that your getting any boink, anyway.
*watches Kinkfish through underwater telescope*
Boooooring!

"#533"
Posted by Estee on 07-27-13 at 08:34 AM
You were essentially the royal version of a backup plan.

Let's face it: in most medieval worlds, the infant mortality rate sucks. The chance of surviving through childhood isn't all that great either, especially once you figure in combat training and all the accidents which can occur during it. Places with magic have their own hazards. And then you get assassins... well, the bottom line is that the firstborn is the one who's supposed to get the throne, but the firstborn doesn't always get much beyond that on the lifespan charts. So your parents had you. Just in case.

But as it turned out, all was well. Your elder sibling reached adulthood, with you not that far behind. He was trained, he learned his lessons well, he spent his entire life preparing to take power and you -- well, it was a warm bed and good meals, plus every so often a select few of the people would remember your name. On the whole, you accepted it.

And then one of those enemy assassins got through.

Your sibling is gone.

And you? Are the backup plan.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SpareToTheThrone

With no idea what to do.

"RE: #533"
Posted by kingfish on 07-27-13 at 11:30 AM
It's hard being the king. Or even, King bro.

"#534 (Let's all welcome Bondt to the thread!)"
Posted by Estee on 07-28-13 at 07:14 AM
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HuntingAccident

Because someone has to defend Dick Cheney, right?

"RE: #534 (Let's all welcome Bondt to the thread!)"
Posted by kidflash212 on 07-28-13 at 09:08 AM
The trick is convincing your prey to go on a hunting trip with you in the first place.
"#535"
Posted by Estee on 07-29-13 at 09:08 AM
You'll figure it out from the examples.

'During the 2013 White House Correspondents Dinner, Barack Obama noted that The History Channel was not present, jokingly because of the kerfluffle over their series on The Bible where some thought the portrayal of Satan looked like him. He then riffs on Fox News:

"Of course, that never kept Fox News from showing up. They actually thought the comparison was not fair — to Satan."'

'In June 2013, The Sun published the following retraction/apology:
In an article on Saturday headlined 'Flying saucers over British Scientology HQ,' we stated 'two flat silver discs' were seen 'above the Church of Scientology HQ.' Following a letter from lawyers for the Church, we apologise to any alien lifeforms for linking them to Scientologists.'

'Jon Stewart, towards Sarah Palin:
Palin: What's the difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom?
Stewart: One is a variety of dog that's unfairly maligned in spite of being no worse than other varieties of dog, and the other is an artificial demographic of mothers no better than other mothers?'

'Roger Ebert's review for Tom Green's Freddy Got Fingered is as follows:
"This movie doesn't scrape the bottom of the barrel. This movie isn't the bottom of the barrel. This movie isn't below the bottom of the barrel. This movie doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence with barrels."'

"I didn't mean to say that the Enterprise should be hauling garbage. I meant to say that it should be hauled away as garbage!"

' Dave Barry's column "Insect Aside" mentions that some people voting for Official National Insect compared dung beetles to Congress. He objected:

"I'm sorry, but that's a low blow: Our research indicates that no dung beetle has ever accepted money from a savings-and-loan operator."'

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/InsultToRocks

"RE: #535"
Posted by dabo on 07-29-13 at 10:52 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXJ07w3i6L0

The Monkey Speaks His Mind

"RE: #535"
Posted by kingfish on 07-29-13 at 11:03 AM
LAST EDITED ON 07-29-13 AT 11:03 AM (EST)

I'd mention that this was enjoyable reading, but that would be an insult to reading.

I know, I know, That wasn't comparable with most of those listed. Heck, it doesn't even make sense. So, I'd say that maybe I'll come back after a couple of cups of coffee, but that would be giving coffee too much credit.<knee slap>

Actually, the examples really are a lot of fun, William Styron's was so inappropriately funny, that I think it slips back into the approved column. However I could never use it because, not being Styron, I wouldn't get away with it.

Maher's was flat, it was both wildly inappropriate and unfunny, even to someone like me that agrees with the basic sentiment, but that's just Maher's basic MO, IMO.

"#536 (soon to be a Major Motion Picture!)"
Posted by Estee on 07-30-13 at 06:44 AM
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/Sharknado

...I sense a viewing party invitation in my future.

*desperately starts dirtying hair*

"RE: #536 (soon to be a Major Motion Picture!)"
Posted by kingfish on 07-30-13 at 08:55 AM
"Sharknado!"

Enough said?

Enough already.

I wonder if they'll buy "Piranacane!"? Or "WolverineTsunami!”? “Baracuda-sinkhole!”?

Fooner should be working on a script for "Possum-Quake". 11 on the silly scale.

"#537 (the GOP's most cherished belief)"
Posted by Estee on 07-31-13 at 08:08 AM
LAST EDITED ON 07-31-13 AT 08:12 AM (EST)

tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AllGaysArePedophiles

I will now go throw up.

ETA: Yes, I know it didn't come in as a proper link: that was a direct paste. The system may be trying to save you from going to the Boys Beware film link on YouTube. Now there's that classic 1960s American value system for you. 'So you were molested? Sorry to hear it. And now you will be punished because it is all your fault! Also, homosexuality is a mental illness and all gays are --'

I will now go throw up again.

"RE: #537 (the GOP's most cherished belief)"
Posted by kingfish on 07-31-13 at 09:19 AM
I admire your dedication to the basic premise of the thread by not just hitting the button again. If it's supposed to be random, then you get what you get.

I think I would have, but I'm weak.

"#538"
Posted by Estee on 08-01-13 at 06:50 AM
You opened a door.

Seriously. That is all you did. You opened a door. The door, in a stunning display of bad design, swung out to partially block the sidewalk.

You didn't know there was a man with a gun racing down the block.

You didn't know he was about to try and kill the nation's head, who was a mere forty feet away.

You certainly didn't plan for him to run into the open door and knock himself out.

But that's what happened. All of it. You opened a door, the action halted an assassin, and the leader of your country lived. And you're hardly objecting, you're glad for that, but...

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AccidentalHero

...giving you the follow-up mission to investigate the killer's backers seems a little odd...

"RE: #538"
Posted by kingfish on 08-01-13 at 07:54 AM
Dam. The basic premise of my new book "How I Got Drunk and Saved the World" has been preempted.

Dam.

Who do I sue?

"#539"
Posted by Estee on 08-02-13 at 07:24 AM
This trope swears this has never happened to it before.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheLoinsSleepTonight

"RE: #539"
Posted by kingfish on 08-02-13 at 08:23 AM
LAST EDITED ON 08-02-13 AT 08:31 AM (EST)

Where is Boner? Just when you could actually use an expert opinion on loin related structural analysis, he's nowhere to be found.

Oh, wait, maybe an expert on tent poles would do...

"#540"
Posted by Estee on 08-03-13 at 09:06 AM
Leave a rabbit alone and it'll eat part of your garden.

Get a rabbit slightly mad at you and it'll eat most of it.

Make a rabbit furious and...

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AscendedToCarnivorism

...there are more embarrassing ways to go, but not right now.

"RE: #540"
Posted by kingfish on 08-03-13 at 04:49 PM
I'm rooting for the carnivores.

Their cheerleaders have sexier outfits.

"Late response, sorry..."
Posted by Brownroach on 08-04-13 at 00:53 AM
Check your inbox
"The Deadliest Rabbit"
Posted by dabo on 08-03-13 at 10:06 PM
http://rogerrabbit.wikia.com/wiki/Jessica_Rabbit

"RE: The Deadliest Rabbit"
Posted by cahaya on 08-03-13 at 10:32 PM
Roger that!

Dwat dat wabbit!

"#541"
Posted by Estee on 08-04-13 at 08:30 AM
...because sure, he's a bad boy now, he runs around with a horrible crowd and drinks too much -- sometimes it's more than drink -- gets into fights, doesn't have a steady job or really any job at all... And yes, you've heard that he's cheated on everyone he's ever been with. But he won't do that to you. Because you can tame him. All any bad boy needs is the love of the right person. And when that person (you) comes along? He will comb his hair. He will put on a suit. He will start reading What To Expect When You're Expecting. He will become The Perfect Husband. Because isn't that what any bad boy truly is -- the ideal mate, just waiting for a shave?

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ReformedRakes

...no, actually, he's going to cheat on you too. And right now? You're the one he's cheating on someone else with.

"#542"
Posted by Estee on 08-05-13 at 09:29 AM
So many glorious examples here -- but I'm going with one from each party.

'During the debacle of the 2012 Presidential Elections in America, conservative pundit Rush Limbaugh accused Obama of (somehow) manufacturing a hurricane that disrupted the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. Comedian Mark Agee tweeted in response: "Do what you want, but I'll def vote for THE GUY WHO CAN CONTROL THE ****ING WEATHER."'

'At the 1988 Democratic Convention Senator Ted Kennedy gave a speech wherein he mocked Republican candidate George HW Bush's supposed lack of involvement in President Ronald Reagan's administration by listing several incidents (some good, some bad) and after each asking rhetorically, "Where was George?" By the next afternoon Republican supporters were wearing T-shirts printed with the words "Dry, Sober, And Home With His Wife".'

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/InsultBackfire

Oh, and the elephant & donkey being the party symbols in the first place? Same category.

"RE: #542"
Posted by kingfish on 08-05-13 at 11:37 AM
LAST EDITED ON 08-05-13 AT 11:37 AM (EST)

It's just one hell of a thing when you can't insult someone without it coming back at you.

Frustrating. What's this world coming to?

I guess the perfect insult is one which the insulted person doesn't even catch on to, but which everyone else has a giggle-fit when they hear it. Sorta like the self-destruction of GM's (BB15) nominating speech.

What we need are insult consultants who can craft insults so sly that there is no way to take them in a positive way. An added bonus would be if it actually makes them run away never to be seen or heard from again.

Estee...? Up for the job?

"RE: #542"
Posted by cahaya on 08-05-13 at 11:53 AM
It's just one hell of a thing when you can't insult someone without it coming back at you.

Ain't that the truth.


Capn's wisdom

"#543"
Posted by Estee on 08-06-13 at 08:18 AM
In reality, it's almost impossible.

The target isn't that large. It is also frequently to be found in front of other potential impact sites, all of which will take damage if you miss in one of those directions. Sometimes there are other people around and if you miss in that direction, you're in deep trouble.

Incidentally, the target is typically moving. You may be as well. You're charged with adrenaline and maybe not all that steady on the grip.

Force carries. If you hit the thing, the impact will echo on. You can do damage that way too. Amputation isn't out of the question.

In reality, it's almost impossible. But because you've seen it happen in so many movies, you're going to try it anyway.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BlastingItOutOfTheirHands

Good luck.

"RE: #543"
Posted by kingfish on 08-06-13 at 08:48 AM
LAST EDITED ON 08-06-13 AT 04:05 PM (EST)

<pishoo!>"Got you!"

<pishoo!>"Got you back, and this time I killed you!"

<pishoo! Wang ricochet.>"No you didn't, you missed, and" <pishoo!pishoo!> "I shot your guns out of your hands!"

<pishoo!pishoo!>"I shot your guns out of your reach. Now I've got you where I want you. Do you beg for mercy?"

<pishoo!pishoo>"No, because I have these derringers, and I just shot you twice in the chest!"


<pishoo!>"Sorry, but no dice. You hit my badge and the bible I keep in my pocket. And now that you've emptied those derringers, I really do have you this time. Get on your knees and beg every god you have that you go to heaven, because you're surely going to die now."

<snick, slice!>"No, I live and you die, because it's over for you now, I'm gonna stab you in the guts you because you failed to count your bullets, and now I can get revenge for the insults you made to my horse, (sob) my faithful horse Bullcrap, who I have hugged and petted and hugged and petted... and who now is inconsolable because of the things you said. Say you're sorry or I will gut you like the snake you are. And hand those dice over too."

<thunk!>Eat dirt, because I just threw my knife and knocked your knife out of your hands. And you horse is a pile of dog doo, like I said. Ha Ha."

<Mom> "Lunch time, you boys come in and get your lunch."

<pishoo! flop>"I shot those sandwiches out of your hands, Mom, make him eat the ones that hit the dirt!"

<death whinney> “Sorry, I can’t, you missed the sandwiches and shot Bullcrap and he fell on you killing you instantly. And he squashed your sandwiches. Now I get the good ones.“

“Mooommm, he won’t let me have any of the good sandwiches…”

"#544"
Posted by Estee on 08-07-13 at 02:00 PM
Apparently it's Unlikely Gun Tricks week here in Tropeville.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ShootTheRope

Now let us never use the phrase 'frog crotch arrow head" again.

"RE: #544"
Posted by kingfish on 08-07-13 at 02:39 PM
OK, agreed. If we can also ban the word "eponymous" from being used here. I understand that we have no power to control word usage by pretentious word snobs in Tropes, Wiki, etc.

There's just something about using a word that I have to periodically look up (because I forget what the heck it means) when one can just use "of the same name" or something similarly obvious.

If we can agree to that, I will resist all temptation (and it's not inconsiderable) to refer to “Frog Crotch Arrow Head”.

Fooner will be so disappointed.

And so will I, actually.

"RE: #544"
Posted by Snidget on 08-07-13 at 04:14 PM
If A picture is worth a thousand words....

"RE: #544"
Posted by Estee on 08-07-13 at 04:30 PM
*snicker*

I get the feeling you're going to pay for that one, but I'm not sending you the bill.

"RE: #544"
Posted by kingfish on 08-08-13 at 08:40 AM
Thank you. I will treasure it, I will hold it a squeeze it and hold it ansd squeeze it...

(What is it? It doesn't seem very arrowish, more like a tool a mohel might use?)

"RE: #544"
Posted by Snidget on 08-08-13 at 09:52 AM
It is the arrowhead that shall not be named.

The long pointy part is what goes down the shaft of the arrow, the bifurcated tip is for cutting a rope.

http://host.nfshost.com/rifts/text/pf-arrow_con_rules.html has a picture of the European version and what bifurcated arrows are for (and all the various names), the Japanese ones that look like the sig pic.

"RE: #544"
Posted by kingfish on 08-08-13 at 01:03 PM
LAST EDITED ON 08-08-13 AT 01:09 PM (EST)


I will add it to my quiver.

It looks like something that could be used for castration at a distance, I mean, if one can hit a rope, one can hit a dangly. Some Peeps should now be a little uneasy.



(Snidget has a plan for me).

"#545 (it's now a trend)"
Posted by Estee on 08-08-13 at 08:34 AM
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ReportingNames

This is definitely turning into Fire And Forget week.

"#456 (every day in reality)"
Posted by Estee on 08-09-13 at 06:59 AM
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/QuoteMine

Read the trope description. Due to being utterly sick beyond casual expression of the actual real life use, I'm not commenting here.

"RE: #456 (every day in reality)"
Posted by kidflash212 on 08-09-13 at 08:34 AM
This could be fun in this very thread:


"One semester our biostats professor was in...so we did have food"


"I...quiver...for castration at a distance"

"RE: #456 (every day in reality)"
Posted by kingfish on 08-09-13 at 08:34 AM
LAST EDITED ON 08-09-13 AT 08:36 AM (EST)

Estee is utterly sick in love with real life PRE.

(I'm sure that would be an accurately mined quote.)

(I know, I'm gonna pay, and it's gonna be bad.)


(Snidget has a plan for me).

"#547 (used it)"
Posted by Estee on 08-10-13 at 08:30 AM
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GrayEyes

To me, it's a way of setting a character slightly off the mainstream. Violet can be too distinctive: grey is rare, but not so improbable as to automatically make someone close to one-of-a-kind.

"RE: #547 (used it)"
Posted by cahaya on 08-10-13 at 10:54 AM
... grey is rare, but not so improbable as to automatically make someone close to one-of-a-kind.


Agman's Muse

All fifty shades of grey, it's within all of us.

"RE: #547 (used it)"
Posted by kingfish on 08-10-13 at 11:32 AM
I knew a woman with Violet eyes once.

Very striking, and very lovely.

"#548"
Posted by Estee on 08-11-13 at 08:28 AM
...okay, but why does the boss creature have an eye inside its mouth to begin with?

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/JawsFirstPersonPerspective

"#549"
Posted by Estee on 08-12-13 at 07:59 AM
Susie: (Watching Calvin and Hobbes wrestle) I don't know what's weirder; that you're fighting your stuffed animal or that you seem to be losing.
Calvin: I'm not losing! He cheats!

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NotSoImaginaryFriend

Oh, sure -- everyone tells you it's just your imagination. Except that your imagination is apparently smarter than you, better at math, can reach places you can't, moves furniture you couldn't possibly budge and, when all seems lost, manifests in the open and beats the bad guys to a pulp. Which is rather easy for a six-foot tall rabbit.

Okay, six feet, three and a quarter inches: let's stick to the facts.

"RE: #549"
Posted by kingfish on 08-12-13 at 08:55 AM
According to my psychiatrist all of you are imaginary.

If that's true, you all live inside my head.

All together.

Inside my head.

(Revenge is sweet!)


(Snidget has a plan for me).

"#550"
Posted by Estee on 08-13-13 at 07:39 AM
Without going to the trope page or using a search engine: name the source.

"I'm a police officer. Drop the gun."

"I'm a mental patient. I'm not impressed."

"I'm going to count to three."

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CountingToThree

*pulls hammer back* "I'm not even going to count."

"RE: #550"
Posted by kingfish on 08-13-13 at 08:24 AM
LAST EDITED ON 08-13-13 AT 10:51 AM (EST)

That's a Dirty Harry kind of line, but that's not Dirty Harry.

(I'm better at guessing who it isn't. Now I'll go to the page.)

"#551 (every reality show editor & producer)"
Posted by Estee on 08-14-13 at 09:39 AM
An unreliable narrator can be a problem. Whenever you have a story told in first-person and that person is lying to you, the entire tale becomes a puzzle box. What can you trust? Is there any way to sort out the truth when your only view into this world is distorted?

Fortunately, not everything is covered by narration. There's also exposition. Other characters will explain bits and pieces. There will be guidebooks scattered about. Background information may exist in quantity. So while you can't trust the narrator, at least you can have a certain amount of faith in the setting --

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/UnreliableExpositor

-- ohcrap.

"RE: #551 (every reality show editor & producer)"
Posted by kingfish on 08-14-13 at 11:58 AM
LAST EDITED ON 08-14-13 AT 01:19 PM (EST)

Just imagining the "Narration" or the "Exposition" that Heidi gave the police which resulted in her not being arrested for possession of 300+ pot plants, or the exotic birds.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/14/us/nevada-heidi-fleiss/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

BTW, this trope sounds like a pretty cool way to tell a really involved and convoluted story.

Would "Fight Club" qualify as an example?

"Newly coined word: 'Vexpositor'"
Posted by IceCat on 08-15-13 at 09:52 AM
"RE: Newly coined word: 'Vexpositor'"
Posted by Estee on 08-15-13 at 10:35 AM
Sounds like the world's most frustrating means of insect reproduction.
"#552"
Posted by Estee on 08-15-13 at 08:36 AM
So. This trope is about --

-- is...

...I'm just going to post the link and say the following:

1. People are majestically ignorant and determined to stay that way.

2. There are days when I truly hate this species.

3. I will never read anything Ann McCaffrey wrote. Ever.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RapeAndSwitch

I'm going back to bed.


"RE: #552"
Posted by kingfish on 08-15-13 at 01:25 PM
LAST EDITED ON 08-15-13 AT 02:49 PM (EST)


The reason I am a liversexual is because I was seduced by a calf liver once.

I couldn't help it, it was so soft and moist, and winked at me so seductively.

Ruined my sexual orientation, now I only can only get it up with a lovely slice of fresh calf liver.

I curse you, calf liver!

I love you, calf liver!

"RE: #552"
Posted by newsomewayne on 08-19-13 at 02:43 PM
What does it mean that the ad on the left of this page is for Zoosk dating?


Tebow Time is over. We prefer to win games in the 1st quarter.
Trade managed by GM Agman, 2012

"#BlameEstee"
Posted by Snidget on 08-15-13 at 08:55 AM
So last night in a dream I had a snarky narrator that kept pointing out various tropes occurring in the dream

and the one I remember clearly doesn't really seem to exist, there is no all foreigners are German trope and my dream really got snarked on for including a German.

"Heil!"
Posted by dabo on 08-15-13 at 10:42 AM
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AllGermansAreNazis

except the 1990 movie, where he was an Italian facist


"#553 (videogames)"
Posted by Estee on 08-16-13 at 07:46 AM
Most weapons run on ammunition.

The pistol takes standard bullets. The shotgun can only hold eight shells and you find yourself reloading the thing roughly once every forty seconds, which kind of puts a crimp in your survival plans because the act of loading requires thirty-five of them. The chaingun... dear gawds, let's not even talk about the chaingun. It's better than that alien thing, though, the one which fires what could almost be wasps. Those just grow inside it -- but it does run out and needs a few minutes to make a fresh supply.

So when you're in the middle of this half-invaded, half-destroyed hellhole which used to be your workplace and trying to get out, escape the aliens and soldiers which were sent to cover up everything by killing all of it -- you included -- you often find yourself in need of ammunition for all the weapons you've scavenged. All too often, you take it off the fallen. But you still run out. They never do. And when all the bullets and energy cells and not-wasps are gone, all you can do is reach over your shoulder and grab --

-- the crowbar.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EmergencyWeapon

That @#$%ing crowbar.

"RE: #553 (videogames)"
Posted by kingfish on 08-16-13 at 11:33 AM
Amish Mafia midgets use axes to beat the heck out of mailboxes in odrer to keep shunning voters (voters that participate in the process of shunning other Amish) in line.

Not a video game. And not kidding.

"RE: #553 (videogames)"
Posted by Estee on 08-16-13 at 11:53 AM
But for the Amish, that's more of a traditional weapon. In the game being referenced, you are essentially asked to take on an alien invasion and U.S. Special Forces with a crowbar.

For those who haven't played the Half-Life series... the main first-person character goes through a multi-year time skip between episodes and is teleportated from the American Southwest to somewhere in Belgium. Surprisingly, you meet an old friend from your former place of employment -- one who promptly tells you to go out and do it all again. And naturally, you're starting off weaponless. But before heading off to face the hordes a second time, your friend saved you a special something from the old days at Black Mesa, just in case.

And then he tosses over -- the crowbar.

It followed you.

He couldn't have bothered saving your Desert Eagle or the Magnum. No, he carried a crowbar around for five years in the event that you showed up again and wanted to bash some more aliens with it.

The @#$%ing crowbar.

If he hadn't been twelve feet above me. behind a fence, and with me possessing no weapon other than a crowbar, I would have killed him on the spot.

"RE: #553 (videogames)"
Posted by kingfish on 08-16-13 at 07:00 PM
Yeah, I wandered. A little.

I didn't want to waste any opportunity to mention the little axe wielding mailbox smashing Amish Midget named Wayne.

Life is too short.

"RE: #553 (videogames)"
Posted by newsomewayne on 08-19-13 at 03:00 PM
named Wayne.

Come again?


Tebow Time is over. We prefer to win games in the 1st quarter.
Trade managed by GM Agman, 2012

"RE: #553 (videogames)"
Posted by kingfish on 08-19-13 at 03:34 PM
Oops!

Did I out you?

Sorrreeeee...

"#554"
Posted by Estee on 08-17-13 at 04:10 AM
If you don't notice it, maybe it won't notice you.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GravityIsAHarshMistress

Too late.

"GrAvItY WaVeS"
Posted by dabo on 08-17-13 at 01:06 PM
www.ligo.org/science/GW-Overview/images/GWvisual.jpg

"speciFICGRavity"
Posted by dabo on 08-17-13 at 01:17 PM
http://manila-photos.blogspot.com/2009_10_01_archive.html

"(artificial)(gravity)"
Posted by dabo on 08-17-13 at 01:24 PM
http://dedoimedo.com/physics/sci-fi-mistakes-second.html

"q u a n t u m g r a v i t y"
Posted by dabo on 08-17-13 at 01:36 PM

"GRAVity welLS"
Posted by dabo on 08-17-13 at 04:44 PM


"#555"
Posted by Estee on 08-18-13 at 03:40 AM
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WhoAreYou

...meh. Like I care.

"#556 (webcomic)"
Posted by Estee on 08-19-13 at 09:07 AM
Here we have the world of the Cthulhu mythos, which has somehow managed to survive into the modern age despite having cultists of the Elder Gods trying to destroy it every other week. And here we have David, typical average college student. He's bright. He's moody. He has a total absence of positive emotional connections in his life, and it's not for lack of trying. And unknown to him, his dorm is Ground Zero for a major summoning attempt, bringing forth one of those eldritch horrors to grant the wishes of the cultists. An attempt which works. One he's dragged into without being a participant. And the Old One reads the minds of everyone there and grants their wishes -- in ways which kill them.

Then it gets to David. Reads his mind for his deepest desire. And gets this:

He just wishes someone cared about him.

The Old One has no idea what to do with this. And it can't leave Earth until it's granted the wish of everyone who was in the summoning area.

So it takes the form of a human female and moves in so it can buy time to figure it out.

Which is fine, really. Except that it's still the world of the Cthulhu mythos...

...and then the other horrors-turned-college-girls begin to show up...

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Webcomic/OwMySanity

Warning: not just cosmic horror/comedy with some gore, but also on hiatus.

"RE: #556 (webcomic)"
Posted by kingfish on 08-19-13 at 12:54 PM
This premise has promise.
"#557 "
Posted by Estee on 08-20-13 at 07:52 AM
'Andrew Johnson, the first U.S. president to be impeached, was impeached for firing his Secretary of War Edwin Stanton in violation of the constitutionally spurious Tenure of Office Act. He wasn't so much impeached for violating the act, as the act was designed so that he would violate it. Congress had had enough of him trying to block their Reconstruction programs and devised the Tenure of Office Act specifically so that they could impeach Johnson for violating it. This was because while Johnson was a pain in the rear politically, he hadn't done anything illegal. As one critic of Johnson said, "You can't impeach someone for general cussedness."'

Which leads into one of my favorite lines in fiction. "The verdict is guilty. The sentence is death. Let the trial begin."

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KangarooCourt

Unfortunately, that line has been paraphrased out in actual courtrooms more times than anyone should ever care to count. There is a Real Life section on this trope. It is an extensive one. It will depress you until you're a tiny puddle of hatred towards humanity in the toes of your own shoes and if you're wearing open-toed heels or sandals, that's the end.

In fiction, kangaroo courts get things moving or demonstrate just how bad the system is. They can even have a dark humor to them: I recently spotted a very old James Garner western -- well, a few minutes of it -- where the two defendants had their trial in their jail cell. The prosecution said they had witnesses, the defense attorney withdrew the Not Guilty plea on behalf of his clients, the judge sentenced them to hang, and they all closed the cell door again. Total time of trial: less than one minute. But at least they got one, right?

In real life...

...North Korea. And a grandchildren growing up in a prison camp because her grandfather said something within earshot of police.

If she asks a guard why, her own grandchildren may never see the other side of the fence.


"RE: #557 "
Posted by kingfish on 08-20-13 at 08:43 AM
This...

...on a day when I finally got up the nerve to wear my new open toed heels.

I was going to try to pen an ad hoc tongue in cheek treatise in defense of the purposeful yet unconscionable cruelty of kangaroo courts, but after reading some of the examples, I decided not to. That there can be so many examples of heartless inhumanity demonstrates to me that the capability for this exists in all of us. All of us.

Except JuneBug.

Another N Korea example, with a twist of ingenuity:

"...people were arrested for a minor crime, charged with a political crime, and then the police would steal the evidence and sell it on the black market."


(Snidget has a plan for me).

"#558"
Posted by Estee on 08-21-13 at 08:10 AM
And I quote the page: "On a scale of one to ten: up yours."

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BrokeTheRatingScale

"RE: #558"
Posted by kingfish on 08-21-13 at 10:27 AM
LAST EDITED ON 08-21-13 AT 10:29 AM (EST)

Wha, oi reckoned we'd just turn the Amps up to 11. Oi reckon that's where we made our breakthru.

(My attempt at faking a fake British accent.)

"RE: #558"
Posted by kidflash212 on 08-21-13 at 11:18 AM
I thought it sounded Australian.
"RE: #558"
Posted by kingfish on 08-21-13 at 12:08 PM
I get that alot.
"#559 (videogames)"
Posted by Estee on 08-22-13 at 07:08 AM
"It's a great magic amulet."

"Certainly is."

"It's exactly what I need to clear that one level."

"And you have the gold to afford it."

"I know. I just can't carry it."

"...it weighs three ounces."

"But it takes up a three by two space."

"...what?"

"Now my armor, that's six by four. And for some reason, I can't put the amulet directly over it and clearly I can't exactly go into that level without armor, right? Also, I'm carrying twelve potions, eight scrolls, and four meals in case I get hungry, and those take up as much space as another suit of armor. So maybe if I use some of those in a hurry... but then I can't come back here and grab the amulet, not until I clear the level."

"I don't understand what you're --"

"Wait! There's the money I have to give you for it! -- no, that won't work. I can carry an infinite amount of gold in a single one by one space. Gold stacks. No matter how much I give you, the rest still takes up only one space. Now I could pay you in jewels because each is a one by one all by itself, but for some reason, even though they're the most precious item around, no one takes them as currency. Weird, right?"

"That should only be the least weird thing in this conversation. And if you have infinite gold, I'm increasing all my prices more than the amount I normally would just to cover having to listen to this."

"It's my fault, really. I never should have take a pike as my weapon of course."

"Knowing in advance that I'm going to regret this -- why?"

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GridInventory

"I'm only allowed to store pikes on the diagonal."

"RE: #559 (videogames)"
Posted by kingfish on 08-22-13 at 09:54 AM
LAST EDITED ON 08-22-13 AT 11:04 AM (EST)


It's really depressing what those imaginary protagonists have to go thru. The burdens that they carry in their world of cyber thought. The impossible decisions that one has to make for them in order for them to reach their dream. Which actually is a dream, in the not-real sense of the word.

They unsuffer so much, and unexist at the whim of the off/on switch and the undo button.

Fortunately for them they can be reborn, but unfortunately for them they can be made to suffer the beheadings, beat downs, and all other forms of death and torture, repeatedly. Time after time after time after time, until some addlepated kid finally gets the key to progress. And sometimes they never do.

The greatest heroes in the history of mankind (nay, of universe-kind) depend on acne faced 11YOs to save them. And, of course make the decisions as to how to carry stuff when the immutable laws of the BoardSquare universe limit them so severely.

Life is weird, and unlife is weirder.

Now, it we could only somehow introduce this into the world of BB, where we could behead, beatdown, and torture repeatedly and in various ways certain selected houseguests...

"RE: Trope Of The Day VI: hot troping in the city."
Posted by Estee on 08-23-13 at 08:39 AM
and all they are saying

is http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GiveGeeksAChance

The problem is when they say it incredibly awkwardly using a complete lack of social skills which included a total absence of comprehension for 'You should have brushed your teeth before you breathed the words in my face'.

But for others, those whose interests are just a bit off from what's seen as center and only need someone willing to look past that...

...sometimes you get to the second chorus.

"RE: Trope Of The Day VI: hot troping in the city."
Posted by kingfish on 08-23-13 at 09:06 AM
Then there's the trope of the sidekick(s) of the Geek who ultimately gets the hot chick, who is equally geeky, and who gets the hot chick's geeky girlfriend. The hot chick's geeky girlfriend is usually clueless when it comes to hairstyles, but attempts to make up for it with wisecracks.

Oh well, even fish sidekicks get a girl in these tropes. So all's good.

"#560/561"
Posted by Estee on 08-24-13 at 05:47 AM
Consider the case of two men within a certain family. One with chronic asthma. Blind in one eye. Topped those off by being shot in the chest.

The other went through polio. Needed leg braces to stand. Had to use a wheelchair, but refused to bring it out in public. Forced the creation of hand controls for cars just so he could drive himself.

And then they both went out and clobbered the entire world.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HandicappedBadass

Dangerous men, those Roosevelts.

"RE: Trope Of The Day VI: hot troping in the city."
Posted by kingfish on 08-24-13 at 08:59 AM
About Theodore Roosevelt, the Trope page editorializes “He suffered from asthma. Seeing this as a challenge, he proceeded to beat his asthma to death, ate the asthma's raw flesh, and ran 100 miles off the energy it gave him.”

And you thought those pesky COPD diseases were bad things. Heck they are just packed full of go-gettum.

"RE: Trope Of The Day VI: hot troping in the city."
Posted by newsomewayne on 08-26-13 at 09:19 AM
Wouldn't this fall under the trope, "Older than Scientology"?


Tebow Time is over. We prefer to win games in the 1st quarter.
Trade managed by GM Agman, 2012


"RE: Trope Of The Day VI: hot troping in the city."
Posted by Estee on 08-26-13 at 09:51 AM
But -- but nothing is older than Scientology!

Do not disrespect Xenu. It created all life on this planet and it can take it back right now.

"#562"
Posted by Estee on 08-25-13 at 08:49 AM
However, sticking a feather between your exposed buttocks has never proven to be of any assistance whatsoever.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IslandHelpMessage

"RE: #562"
Posted by kingfish on 08-25-13 at 10:00 AM
SOS has the advantage of reading the same no matter which angle you approach it at. There's no upside down in SOS.

I believe that a tastefully feathered butt crack would attract someone too.

"#563"
Posted by Estee on 08-26-13 at 07:25 AM
Here we have an infrared camera. It picks up body heat. Therefore, we are going to use it to spy on our chosen targets inside their home by following the heat they generate. And we are going to do this because according to television, an infrared camera will see right through the wall to pick up any heat on the other side.

The insulated wall.

Which is designed to keep heat from getting in or out.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/InfraredXrayCamera

...yes, television lies to you all the time.

"RE: #563"
Posted by kidflash212 on 08-26-13 at 09:58 AM
You mean the Ghost Hunters aren't really picking up heat from ghosts? My world is shattered.
"RE: #563"
Posted by kingfish on 08-26-13 at 10:25 AM
LAST EDITED ON 08-26-13 AT 12:27 PM (EST)

Not disputing the disputing of the trope, I believe that what they state as to the inability of sensors to pick up infra-red images thru building walls is accurate.

But it is eye opening to see what infra-red sensors can do. A cheap (<$100) Pyrometer (an infra red temperature sensor) can clearly indicate where a hand was briefly laid on a surface up to an hour after it was removed. Lower end models just show the temp at an aimed at point, and higher end (thermal imaging)models show a TV image.

You can use one of these at home to find hot spots in electrical and mechanical systems as well as heat leak areas where insulation could be improved. Why is your A/C or heating bill so high? Is there a possible fire hazard in your electrical system? Is there a part about to fail in your car? Is your hot water heater about to launch itself? Does your cat have rabies? (a Fooner swack). Cheaper point and units just readout a temperature

Haven’t tried to use one to watch someone thru a wall yet, but now that I’ve thought of it…


"#564"
Posted by Estee on 08-27-13 at 07:25 AM
It's completely adorable!

It makes you want to slap pictures of its face all over merchandise!

It makes little girls squeal and little boys pretend they didn't!

It's obviously going to kill you.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CuteIsEvil

Seriously. Duh.

"RE: #564"
Posted by kingfish on 08-27-13 at 08:20 AM
Finally. A "cute eats your face" trope.

We've been waiting.

So that cute little yellow duck we've been warming to for so long...Duckzilla?

"RE: #564"
Posted by Snidget on 08-27-13 at 10:44 AM
*wide-eyed cute face*
"#565 (possible thread activity ahead)"
Posted by Estee on 08-28-13 at 09:37 AM
Let's just wait a few seconds while Kingfish thinks of a suitable personal lie story, shall we?

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AThreesomeIsHot?from=Main.AThreesomeIsManly

Anyone bring their hip waders?

"RE: #565 (possible thread activity ahead)"
Posted by kingfish on 08-28-13 at 10:52 AM
LAST EDITED ON 08-28-13 AT 10:58 AM (EST)

Hey, it's not a lie if it's real in my imagination.

(Ahem)My First Threesome. With Real Girls This Time. Honest to God.

It all began one evening as I was closing up the shop. The hardware business is generally slow in the winter, and today was no different. The boss usually goes home early when things are slow and depends on me to get things cleaned up and ready for the next day.

I was about to flip the "Open" sign when I noticed a young lady shivering under the awning over the front entrance. Then I saw the second one, they were standing so close together that at first I thought that they were one person.

Waiting on a bus? Or a Taxi? Or friends to come by?

I unlocked the door and asked them if they needed to warm up while they waited, I still had about a half hour before I finished my chores, and they smiled and seemed very grateful. Their smiles melted my insides.

They were obviously twins, very sultry and sensual, big eyes, batting eyelashes, funny little smiles that indicated that something was up. When they removed their full length coats, it was obvious why they were shivering. They had no clothes on underneath.

Since I was a 14YO virgin (Ok, OK, a 24YO virgin) , this was all new to me.

As they advanced on me I began to wonder what they had in mind. Were they going to steal my overalls or my boots? I really didn’t want to lose my boots, I’d spent two years getting them broken in just right. Then when they led me to the back room and laid out on the desk, intertwined their limbs, and crooked their fingers at me, it only deepened my wonderment, "what could this possible mean?"

Well, I soon found out…

(Sometimes the Random button comes up a winner).

"RE: #565 (possible thread activity ahead)"
Posted by kingfish on 08-28-13 at 01:57 PM
Yeah I know. No one took your hipwader advice.
"RE: #565 (possible thread activity ahead)"
Posted by foonermints on 08-28-13 at 02:05 PM
Looky! Kinkfish is writing naughty!!!

OK, how much does the rest of the paperback cost? I'll buy one for the trail. Plus the pages are good to start campfires, them's bein' already so hot.

← Guess what's inside!

"RE: #565 (possible thread activity ahead)"
Posted by kingfish on 08-28-13 at 02:41 PM
Estee made me do it.
"RE: #565 (possible thread activity ahead)"
Posted by foonermints on 08-28-13 at 02:47 PM
That's a Bad One, yep.

So's when kin me's get a copy? Wait'n fer the Big Finish, ya know..
foonermints: NO frappé zone

"RE: #565 (possible thread activity ahead)"
Posted by newsomewayne on 08-29-13 at 12:12 PM
Silly fooner. Thinking he could use a dirty paperback he got from Kinkfish one page at a time.


Tebow Time is over. We prefer to win games in the 1st quarter.
Trade managed by GM Agman, 2012

Probably not even the table of contents with that dood.

"Well, you can!"
Posted by foonermints on 08-31-13 at 04:25 PM
But you have to let them dry thoroughly before you use them to start your campfire.
"#566"
Posted by Estee on 08-29-13 at 08:53 AM
You're already dead.

You're not undead. Your heart is still beating. The lungs are going. All neurons are firing normally. But your lifespan has run out. Something beyond mere biology is keeping you going -- and whatever that is, it's not going to last forever. You can hear the ticking of the clock, and it's getting louder. Whatever's holding you here has put you on a very final deadline. Only so much time to accomplish what you need to do -- and then you're gone.

You're already dead.

In a way, that's rather freeing.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LivingOnBorrowedTime

Tick. Tock.

"RE: #566"
Posted by kingfish on 08-29-13 at 10:40 AM
Hey! No fair changing the subject, I haven't told you about the first time with quadruplets yet!

They were staying at the same hotel as I was in Vegas, it was late at night, and we had the rooftop pool and swim up bar all to ourselves...

"#567"
Posted by Estee on 08-30-13 at 08:28 AM
In this story, the protagonists meet the most handsome man in the world. And knowing that, you are now faced with the task of describing him.

...um...

...y'see, the thing is that 'handsome' means different things to various people. The so-called 'perfect' for one person's point of view will indicate the exact opposite for another. Just the right height? Too tall or too short. Build? Not muscular enough, or far too cut... And so it goes on down the line. You can describe your idea of the concept, but it won't agree with everyone else's.

Later on, at the dinner party, he plays the most beautiful music ever written. Serves the best food ever cooked which smells like...

...what have you done? How are you supposed to get all this across in a text medium? No description you could ever create would be adequate! And if you somehow managed, whatever results were created only applied to you!

This happens all the time when creating fiction, and not always with positive experiences. The words in the forbidden book will drive the readers mad. Well, you can't exactly give them sample text. A horror beyond what which the eyes can understand? Good luck telling people what that looks like.

So you take the only way out you have. You cheat. You show the reactions to the experience -- but not the experience itself, because that which is beyond description will remain so. On purpose.

After all, shouldn't the readers trust you?

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TakeOurWordForIt

Typically right up until you pull this for the fiftieth time, yes.

"RE: #567"
Posted by kingfish on 08-30-13 at 08:39 AM
You wanna know? You really wanna know?

Fugeddaboudit.

"#568"
Posted by Estee on 08-31-13 at 03:10 AM
All right, nobody move!

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Tableau

All right! Now -- in a really dramatic way, nobody move!

"RE: #568"
Posted by kingfish on 08-31-13 at 09:43 AM
"Lieutenant, come over here, I want you to see this."

"Ok, Holmes, I'm here, what do you need?"

"I need you to look at this video. Do you notice anything unusual?

"Just come out with it Holmes, I'm kinda busy here."

"Well if you look closely you'll notice that everyone in this shot is not moving. And very dramatically not moving, I might add."

"It's on PAUSE, Sherlock. Just hit the PLAY button."

"Ah Lieutenant, but that doesn't explain how everybody is now moving backwards, does it? And Look, now everybody is moving in slo-motion. Do you have a convenient excuse for that, Lieutenant?""


"Police Squad/Naked Gun"
Posted by IceCat on 08-31-13 at 11:53 AM
... with the fake freeze frame credit roll.

http://badassdigest.com/2011/04/01/every-police-squad-freeze-frame-end-credits-gag/

"strikethepose"
Posted by dabo on 08-31-13 at 04:52 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuJQSAiODqI
"#569"
Posted by Estee on 09-01-13 at 03:09 AM
As opposed to 'trying to hold a conversation while I'm desperately attempting to sleep'. Which, given my insomnia cycles, is a death penalty offense.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TalkingInBed

At least once the screaming stops, it's quiet.

"#570"
Posted by Estee on 09-02-13 at 07:56 AM
For the last several months, hormones have been turning your emotional balance into a cross between a seesaw, roller coaster, and dimensional warp gate.

Things are happening to your figure which you had previously only wished on your worst enemy.

No one told you about the changes in hair texture. For some reason, this upsets you.

In a bad hour, you have the rationality of a cranky grizzly. In a good one, the real grizzlies run for their lives.

And in the middle of all this, someone has decided to give you trouble.

Hello, Idiots I Can Take It Out On.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PregnantBadass

And also goodbye.

"RE: #570"
Posted by kingfish on 09-02-13 at 04:34 PM
It's the yang to the beauty of new life, continuance, and cute little babies.
"RE: Trope Of The Day VI: hot troping in the city."
Posted by Estee on 09-03-13 at 08:03 AM
One of the best comments I've ever seen about anything on the TVTropes site -- except for one thing:

'Aqua Teen Hunger Force - Arguably the best example of a Gag Series not being palatable for more than 15 minutes, since the biggest complaint about The Movie was that it was too long to stand watching the characters.'

...there are people who could stand watching Aqua Teen Hunger Force for fifteen minutes? The only way I ever made five was if eight other people tied me to the couch...

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/QuarterHourShort

And it had to be a metal couch or I'd just claw my way through.

"RE: Trope Of The Day VI: hot troping in the city."
Posted by kingfish on 09-03-13 at 08:30 AM
LAST EDITED ON 09-03-13 AT 08:31 AM (EST)

Never have seen (or heard of) it.

And I'd like to offer many thanks for this PSA for the warning.

"RE: Trope Of The Day VI: hot troping in the city."
Posted by dabo on 09-03-13 at 11:09 AM
When Johnny Carson took over the Tonight Show in 1962 the program ran for 1 hour and 45 minutes (11:15 PM - 1:00 AM ET). As more and more stations converted from the 15 minute late news program to the 30 minute late news program format, this meant Johnny had to do two monologues to start each show, and within a few years the first monologue was being aired only on the NYC station. Carson and co-host Ed McMahon got fed up with this situation and started calling in sick with the ..

.. 15-minute flu.

NBC quickly caved and chopped the first 15 minutes off the program.


"RE: Trope Of The Day VI: hot troping in the city."
Posted by kidflash212 on 09-03-13 at 11:13 AM
I couldn't even make it through the 30 second promos.
"#571/572"
Posted by Estee on 09-04-13 at 09:30 AM
So you're tailing me. Whether for reasons of stalking, secret agent activity, or believe in my possession of the MacGuffin, you're attempting to shadow my trail as best you can. There's just one issue: I'm onto you -- and you don't know it yet.

So here I go into the department store perfume aisle.

Ladies' bathroom.

Changing areas.

Nail salon.

Fabric sample store, also known as 'the place where testosterone goes to die'.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TryAndFollow

And after that? After that, I'm going to stop being polite...

"RE: #571/572"
Posted by kingfish on 09-04-13 at 12:44 PM
LAST EDITED ON 09-04-13 AT 12:44 PM (EST)

They have various personal protection orders out against me for those places.

The ladies' bathroom isn't as much fun as one might think.

"Who Are Those Guys?"
Posted by dabo on 09-04-13 at 03:51 PM
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid jumped off the cliff into the river below to avoid being caught. But that wasn't enough and they learned later that their pursuers would keep after them until they were captured or dead.
"No Trope Today"
Posted by Estee on 09-05-13 at 06:26 AM
Either TVTropes has had a major system crash or they've been hacked. All previously-visited pages are coming up as 'Start this new page' and any use of the Random button only leads to the homepage. There's undoubtedly a backup to restore from, but a lot of work just got lost.
"RE: No Trope Today"
Posted by kingfish on 09-05-13 at 09:13 AM
Such is randomness.
"RE: No Trope Today"
Posted by kingfish on 09-06-13 at 08:59 AM
LAST EDITED ON 09-06-13 AT 11:25 AM (EST)

Latest leak by Snowden: There is no randomness. It's all planned out by the NSA. Everything.

The Random button just finally gave up trying.

"RE: No Trope Today"
Posted by dabo on 09-06-13 at 09:36 AM
I like the humor they now direct to.

"Shhhhh"
Posted by Snidget on 09-06-13 at 10:13 AM
It seems to be back, don't scare it.
"#573"
Posted by Estee on 09-06-13 at 11:39 AM
"I've been to many planets in the solar system, and you'd be surprised how many of them look like quarries in Wales."
— David Tennant

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BBCQuarry

Listen closely and you can hear Starshine screaming, along with every other viewer of low-budget British science, all the Americans who had to see the copied results produced in their own homeland, and every director who still pulls this trick dropping into denial at the fall of a very loose rock, which unfortunately never seems to land on the camera. Yes, all alien planets are abandoned rock quarries. On a bad day, they're the same one. Never mind the metal brackets for camera emplacements -- wait. It's the BBC. No one paid for those. Okay, never mind the bloodstain where the camera operator fell: it's an alien planet, we tell you! Just like it was two weeks ago! And last season! And next episode, which is set in a completely different part of the galaxy which also just happens to look like this exact same quarry!

*mutter*

Stupid quarry.

"#574"
Posted by Estee on 09-06-13 at 11:41 AM
However, most low-budget American science fiction productions are unable to find abandoned rock quarries within thirty miles of Hollywood, so...

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KirksRock

*mutter*

Stupid rock.

...no, let's get to the point. Stupid directors...

"RE: #574"
Posted by cahaya on 09-06-13 at 12:16 PM
Fooner lives out that way, surely he can find the right spot to take on Kirk in a duel to the death.

"RE: #574"
Posted by kingfish on 09-06-13 at 03:13 PM
Enjoy the nostalgia of Kirk's rock while you can.

CGI and greenscreen technology has eliminated the need to actually film on location.

Now rock quarries can go back to being burial sites for organized crime and stolen cars.

"#575"
Posted by Estee on 09-07-13 at 04:08 AM
So let's see. The BB rabies outbreak would be at epidemic levels if anyone cared to watch. Political lines are drawn in the sand to the degree where if the country was attacked today and needed a vote to defend itself, we couldn't get a majority going. Plus the bulk of football season starts tomorrow.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PsychoSupporter

I swear that was an actual random draw.

"RE: #575"
Posted by kingfish on 09-07-13 at 08:22 AM
This is more a truth than a trope, and goes a long way in explaining religion.
"#576"
Posted by Estee on 09-08-13 at 07:20 AM
yap dog
yap dog
ain't nothing in the world like a little yap dog
(thank goodness(

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MisterMuffykins

Please note the Real Life section. That dachie? Was breed to kill one of the nastier pound-for-pound creatures on the planet.

Now imagine what happens if you get it mad.

"RE: #576"
Posted by Snidget on 09-08-13 at 08:25 AM
LAST EDITED ON 09-08-13 AT 08:26 AM (EST)

Chihuahuas, despite being one of the smallest of the small breeds, are notorious among dog people for being examples of the aggressive end of this spectrum. Anyone familiar with the breed would not blink at the sight of one attacking a dog twenty times its size.

For example Coco, a chubby not particularly athletic and actually not aggressive at all chihuahua at about 9 pounds, her son Shorty, the runt of the litter, a strapping 6 pounds soaking wet, with a full belly, but he did have the more typical aggression issues.

The neighbors across the way had a pair of brother dogs who would occasionally escape. They were half Labrador Retriever average weight for a male, 88 pounds, and half Newfoundland average weight for a male is up to 154 pounds so split the difference and we have 120 pound dogs, but they did have the all the fur of the 154 pound dog stuck on the 120 pound frame so looked bigger than they actually were. They certainly weren't full Newfie sized but they were a lot more massive than your average Lab even if you discounted the fur.

We kept wondering when the boys would realize that Coco and Shorty were snack sized. They never did.

"#577"
Posted by Estee on 09-09-13 at 07:07 AM
Gunman: "Any last requests?"

Frank Drebin: "Can I... have the gun?"

Gunman: "No!"

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LastRequest

Admittedly, it was worth a shot.

"RE: #577"
Posted by kingfish on 09-09-13 at 09:01 AM
A dying wish:

"I changed my mind, DO, repeat, DO resuscitate!"

"No no no"
Posted by foonermints on 09-09-13 at 11:14 AM
No Heroics.
"#578"
Posted by Estee on 09-10-13 at 07:29 AM
You managed to complete the decade-plus of training required for your profession, because you began before you got out of diapers.

Languages requiring years to master have been, mostly due to your skipping a lot of Little League games.

The endless cynicism required for the job came naturally when you hit thirteen.

Unfortunately, you can't use the gadget-loaded all-solving custom car. Because you can't get a driver's license for two more years.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TeenSuperspy

and no one will let you order the stupid martini.

"RE: #578"
Posted by kingfish on 09-10-13 at 08:16 AM
LAST EDITED ON 09-10-13 AT 10:12 AM (EST)


Also, no going for second base. Super Teen Agent's harmones have to be suppressed, which is probably why we have all these psycologically damaged adult super-heros.

I mean, come on, some of those X-Men are real whack jobs.

"#579"
Posted by Estee on 09-11-13 at 09:56 AM
Take a handful of sand grains. Stain them into a color you'll be sure to notice -- something which will stand out against any background without trouble. Now randomly scatter those grains across a completely empty surface roughly the size of Rhode Island. Your challenge is to walk around the area without hitting any of them.

Easy, right?

And then they tell you to do it in space.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AsteroidThicket

Apparently space cheats.

"RE: #579"
Posted by kingfish on 09-11-13 at 10:23 AM
I expected to see a anology involving modern rush hour traffic in the RL section. But I guess there would have to be movement for that to be an analogy.
"RE: #579"
Posted by dabo on 09-11-13 at 11:40 AM
Apparently space cheats.

Well, no, but space is weird. The big question is why do spaceships always enter or exit a solar system on the planetory plane. In science fiction, of course. With the Z (three dimensional) variable it would make much more sense to come in from the top or the bottom.

That said: given the nature of our own solar system, our location in our own galaxy, and the nature of the Milky Way galaxy -- and adding in the gravitational boosts from the planets to speed things up -- we really can't get anywhere by going up or down. It's got to be all out, we don't have the technology to do it any other way.

"RE: #579"
Posted by kingfish on 09-11-13 at 12:30 PM
LAST EDITED ON 09-13-13 AT 08:39 AM (EST)

I think the Oort Cloud is somewhat spherical.

"#580"
Posted by Estee on 09-12-13 at 07:20 AM
Anyone remember Palau and what was supposed to be a very singular Reward (which was naturally rerun later in the faith that no one would remember)? That very special lake which contained The Jellyfish Which Predators Forget? They had been allowed to evolve in an environment where absolutely nothing ever tried to harm them -- and so they had never had cause to create the poisons most of their fellows carry along the tentacles. The victorious Survivors swam among them with no fear and no injuries.

Everyone else gets this.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ElectricJellyfish

Never mind that it's poison. Forget that some of it is intense enough to be fatal. When it comes into fiction, it likes to turn into electricity, and it happens often enough to wind up as a trope.

That would have added a certain something to Tom's dip in the lake.

"RE: #580"
Posted by kingfish on 09-12-13 at 08:23 AM
Ah yes, a trip down the eddies of nostalgia. The Electric Jellyfish were a very popular psychedelic band back in the '60s here on the reef, along with The Loving Tentacles and the Sargent Major Fish’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (we always enjoyed his show). Yes, it truly was The Age of Aquarius.

Those were the days my friend, we thought they’d never end…

"#581 (location)"
Posted by Estee on 09-13-13 at 09:04 AM
The United States is a country founded by pleasure-haters. At its core, it retains the idea that anything which makes you feel good is wrong and must be stamped out at all costs. And this will likely never go away.

However...

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheBigEasy

...the thing about Puritans is that you have to keep a constant eye on them -- because all that repressed 'sin' is always looking for a place to get out.

Inevitably, it finds one.

"RE: #581 (location)"
Posted by kingfish on 09-13-13 at 09:40 AM
Speaking of New Orleans, did we ever hear back from Seahorse after Katrina?

Anyway, the portrayal of NO as "It's Always Marti Gras in New Orleans" isn't far from being factual. Along with MG being an extended celebration, just about every weekend in NO has some sort of festival, usually musical and usually at a venue along the river. Jazzfest is held at the Fair Grounds, a horse race track.

Great place to visit, terrible (IMO) place to live. Crime and Grime and drunk college kids being the major objections.

"RE: #581 (location)"
Posted by dabo on 09-13-13 at 10:17 AM
Tourist trap NO is surprisingly lacking in jazz.
"#582"
Posted by Estee on 09-14-13 at 03:58 AM
Last stop.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DeathRow

Everybody off.

"RE: #582"
Posted by kingfish on 09-15-13 at 11:10 AM
LAST EDITED ON 09-15-13 AT 11:11 AM (EST)

I'd be more for death penalties if we didn't keep finding out that some of those people are innocent. There are some people that society should rid itself of. Permanently.


"#583"
Posted by Estee on 09-15-13 at 12:21 PM
Garage Sale

Saturday

9 a.m. to Whenever We Run Out

Refreshments! Snacks! Air-To-Ground Missiles! Slightly-Used Stealth Technology!

How Can You Live Without These Deals? Why Should Your Enemies Continue Living Because You Didn't Take Them?

Hurry! Supplies Are Limited!

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ArmsFair

(Please Stay Within The Designated Foot Travel Corridors. We're Not Sure Where We Put The Mines.)

"#584 (anime)"
Posted by Estee on 09-16-13 at 07:43 AM
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SenseiChan?from=Main.Sensei-chan

This is the stereotypical teacher in any setting which focuses around or includes a high school: female, single, mid to late twenties and getting desperate about that single status because of it, locked into a no-way-out-or-forward career, with a maturity level somewhere beneath that of her students. She turns up a lot in such settings. The drinking is optional, but frequent. Desperation to get married already is just about mandatory. Suggestions that she should be married instead of teaching (or working at all) come along frequently. In force. With cultural backup.

Teaching in Japan is not a position associated with significant natural thanks.

Gosh, we have so much in common with them.

"RE: #584 (anime)"
Posted by kingfish on 09-16-13 at 08:55 AM
Hot asian teacher porn.

Have no idea why that popped into my head.

"#585"
Posted by Estee on 09-17-13 at 09:12 AM
The logic goes like this:

Healing effects are accomplished by the channeling of Good Stuff.

The undead are internally powered by a radiating core of Bad Stuff.

So when Good Stuff meets Bad Stuff...

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ReviveKillsZombie

I'm not sure why Good Stuff is supposed to automatically win.

"RE: #585"
Posted by kingfish on 09-17-13 at 10:13 AM
Now we know how to kill vampires, werewolves, and Zombies. Although taking their heads off with a close range shotgun blasts would be more satisfying, there is the side effect of icky goo all over the place.
"RE: #585"
Posted by Estee on 09-17-13 at 11:04 AM
LAST EDITED ON 09-17-13 AT 11:10 AM (EST)

It wouldn't work on lycanthropes in the majority of settings, but the first and third are generally accurate when this trope applies at all.

(The following is because I'm kinda bored.)

Remember the Vancian Magic trope? (He passed away recently. Readers mourned.) As the description on this one notes, a lot of the basis for this comes from Dungeons & Dragons, where spellcasters generally have to choose their spells for the day well in advance and can't pick new ones until the current spells have been used and they've rested for several hours. Well, with clerics -- the game's healers -- this was apparently always an extra-major problem. Not only did you basically have to be precognitive to know what you'd need on any given day, but most clerics would have to discard the game's information, scouting, defensive, and quirkier spells because what was the group gong to need? Healing. Lots and lots of healing. Constantly. As Rich Burlew noted, a cleric is generally seen as a walking first-aid kit. So most other spells never got used.

But the game evolved -- and eventually, clerics were given a singular ability. They could still memorize any spells they liked available at their power level from the lists, and memorization (or praying for them) was still required. But now they could spontaneously convert the energy from those castings into a raw jolt of positive force which would act as a healing spell. So they were free to keep all the lesser-used stuff ready to go, knowing that in a true emergency, they could use it all for healing anyway.

What this means in practical terms is that the follower of the divination deity, who has several dozen spells in his head all related to the gathering of information, absolutely useless in a direct fight, when cornered by undead -- is about to ruin their entire afterlife. Because against them, all those converted spells also work as direct attacks.

The CoDzilla trope (Cleric or Druid) exists for a reason.

As I understand it, the bad news is that nearly all such spells require physical contact -- and if you can hit them...

"RE: #585"
Posted by kingfish on 09-17-13 at 03:24 PM
LAST EDITED ON 09-18-13 AT 08:37 AM (EST)

We just have to come up with something else for those pesky Lycanthropes, I guess. Or wait till sunrise.

However, I'm bored too, which is why I decided to tangent this thread to...hey, why are those pretty red dots dancing around my chest? I didn't even say what I was going to divert to, maybe it would have been the difficulty in raising azaleas in a northern clime? Or a discussion of alternate energy sources? You don't know that I was automatically going to start a discussion of whether or not Polynesian Hula Wahinis wear panties under those grass skirts, do you? Of course not.

(OK I was. But I bet that each and every one of you was thinking about that too, right? And I bet they don't).

OK. I promise to never divert a thread again. It was a wrong thing to do, and if I did it, I'm very sorry.

"#586 (I'll get you, my pretty!)"
Posted by Estee on 09-18-13 at 09:51 AM
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AndYourLittleDogToo

This is any threat against something the hero of the story loves, made in order to get the hero to cooperate, back off, fold, or basically do anything other than what the hero wants to do -- which, after this threat is made, is just about always 'beat the bad guy into a bloody pulp'.

Generally backfires.

Spectacularly.

"RE: #586 (I'll get you, my pretty!)"
Posted by kingfish on 09-18-13 at 12:15 PM
LAST EDITED ON 09-18-13 AT 12:17 PM (EST)

I guess it's just too common to warrant RL examples.

"#587"
Posted by Estee on 09-19-13 at 08:06 AM
So according to the Roman writer Vegetius, someone came up with a defense against war elephants. All you had to do was put spikes on the shoulders and helmets of the soldiers assigned to fight them and if an elephant stepped on them, it would immediately pay the price.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheSpiny

Which I'm sure is a lot of comfort to the soldier who just got stepped on by an elephant.

"RE: #587"
Posted by kingfish on 09-19-13 at 08:48 AM
Such is the lonely soldier's lot in life, to be a prickly burr in an elephant's foot. I wonder how many thorny soldiers they need to step on before the elephant even notices? Or how many other soldiers and civilians the elephant takes out after it steps on the first one?

I think I understand a little more about PTSD now.

"#588"
Posted by Estee on 09-20-13 at 08:05 AM

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GuestFighter

...this won't end well.

"RE: #588"
Posted by kingfish on 09-20-13 at 11:35 AM
LAST EDITED ON 09-20-13 AT 11:44 AM (EST)

Looking down list.

There are an an awful lot of games like this.

Last games I played were Doom (never did beat the robot octopus at the end) and Interstate 76, which, even as crude as it was, mesmerized me. I had to give my joy stick away. Obviously, it's been years.

Grand Theft Auto (next version) is out. Has anybody tried it? Is it just another Doom type game, or are there auto-chases and like that on it?

(I might be tempted back if it's a Interstate 76 type game. Doom was boring at the end).

"RE: #588"
Posted by Estee on 09-20-13 at 12:24 PM
GTA could be thought of as interactive semi-noir crime storytelling which includes car chases, stunt driving, acts of theft, shootouts, and absolutely no playable female characters whatsoever. (But on the plus side, it make Elizabeth Hasselbeck stupider, so there is that.) It's generally considered to be very well rendered for its genre -- but you have to accept that genre.

Those who don't have often tried to ban it.

"RE: #588"
Posted by kingfish on 09-20-13 at 12:46 PM
I checked out a couple of descriptions, including Wikipedia and Amazon.

It does look like fun. I don't understand the absence of cyber women though. I would have thought hot scantily clad armed women with attitudes would be a good thing, sales wise.

But i found out that you need to have more than a joy stick. You need the X-Box or PlayStation plus ancillary pieces. (I know, I am so naïve it hurts to watch sometimes).

And you need to get the game itself, of course, which appears to be largely unavailable due to amazing sales. $800 mil net sales in the first day is impressive, even the sharks might like that.

"#589"
Posted by Estee on 09-21-13 at 07:33 AM
How To Be Pregnant In Fiction: Rule #197

When in the final trimester, do not use any elevator for any purpose. If you must climb a hundred flights of stairs to reach your destination, do so. Any attempt to step into an elevator will not only cause it to break down, lock its doors, and mysteriously eliminate all other means of exit, but the act of being within induces labor. The elevator will only function after you have delivered your child, typically assisted by a hysterical male who has no idea what he's doing and may faint at least twice. To use an elevator for any reason is to have your child

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BornInAnElevator

However, if that's what you were going for in the first place, have fun.

"RE: #589"
Posted by kingfish on 09-21-13 at 10:29 AM
I used to drive a cab when I was poor. Poorer.

Mom used to ask me if I had delivered any babies.


"#590"
Posted by Estee on 09-22-13 at 10:49 AM
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ScoringPoints

...well, there's the single most basic videogame trope we'll see all thread.

"RE: #590"
Posted by dabo on 09-22-13 at 02:23 PM
LAST EDITED ON 09-22-13 AT 02:24 PM (EST)

Monty Python's Flying Circus has a score that counts down from 99999999.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus

"#591"
Posted by Estee on 09-23-13 at 08:32 AM
The creators have told their story. The tale is done. And people loved that story. They loved it so much that millions watched, and hundreds of thousands read, bought the Blu-Ray sets, picked up the toys for their kids, debated the plot on dedicated sites, and everything else that came with a truly loved story in the current age. Which meant the story made money.

But now the story is over. And that means the money river will slowly dry up. The creators don't mind, because the story is told. And wasn't that the goal all along?

Have you ever tried explaining 'goal' to a studio accountant?

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FranchiseZombie

This is any franchise which is forced to continue beyond the finish point designated by the original creators -- sometimes beyond the existence of those who originally came up with it. Because as long as it continues to produce output, the cash will come flowing back -- until the almost-inevitably degenerated quality drive everyone away, sometimes making them forget the good parts which drew them in to begin with. But hey, at least there were a few more bank deposits, right?

The challenge isn't thinking of examples. It's stopping.

"RE: #591"
Posted by kingfish on 09-23-13 at 09:16 AM
I hereby and forthwith and ergo cum sum, trademark the term Zombie™. I know I’m late to the party, but in light of the fact that the term seems to be in use by anyone who wants to use and abuse it, apparently no one has slapped their TM on it yet, so I do so now. 8:00 am CST, September 22, 2013. In fact, I actually did so earlier, and if other claimants (I spit in their faces) say they did it on a prior date, I will reveal my even more prior date.

Anyone who wishes to use the term Zombie™ has to sign a royalties (on gross proceeds) agreement and agree to transparent accounting.

My legal department is pursuing retroactive litigation.

It's mine, all mine, and you gotta pay.


Tribe put the Louse in Louser Lodge.

"#592"
Posted by Estee on 09-24-13 at 08:26 AM
So here's how the story goes. It's a Thanksgiving play, so we already know the complete plot. The Pilgrims land, Pocahontas shows up, everyone trades food, then Pocahontas -- who in this play is being portrayed by Wednesday Addams --

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OffTheRails

-- tells the audience all about the horrible things the pilgrims and their descendants will do to the Amerinds, followed by burning every last pilgrim at the stake.

I would pay to see that play.

This trope is for any time you're trying to put someone through a fully structured story -- only to have the characters blow the whole thing up. It's most common in roleplaying games, where the players tend to look at the game runner's carefully crafted ideas simply to find the best places for planting the explosives. But it can also happen in scripted fiction when the characters get a little metatextual on you, or self-aware, or simply start thinking and decide that the whole 'I must be an idiot to make this plot work' thing just isn't them and they're not going to do it.

There are numerous links in the example lists. Follow them at your own risks. Ribs do start to ache, y'know.

But for those who run such games or work with that kind of character -- it's only funny until it happens to you. And then, for whatever did it, it's hilarious.

"RE: #592"
Posted by Snidget on 09-24-13 at 08:40 AM
I still haven't figured out why they didn't rip every last holodeck out and refuse to install any new ones after the 463rd time it went off the rails.
"RE: #592"
Posted by newsomewayne on 09-24-13 at 11:52 AM
Because they could afford to send Riker to Risa for "vacation" only so many times.



Tebow Time is over. We prefer to win games in the 1st quarter.
Trade managed by GM Agman, 2012

"RE: #592"
Posted by Estee on 09-24-13 at 12:28 PM
Idiot Plot. Because in order to keep installing and using holodecks, you had to be a total idiot.

Well, the using part. You know, there's this admiral's kid, works for HoloMart...

"RE: #592"
Posted by kidflash212 on 09-24-13 at 08:47 AM
I followed a link and found this:


"Believe it or not, a sequel, Manos: the Search for Valley Lodge is currently in production in El Paso, starring much of the original cast, and scheduled for a 2013 release."


I have to admit, a sequel to Manos, the Hands of Fate is hilarious.

"RE: #592"
Posted by Estee on 09-24-13 at 12:31 PM
You say hilarious, I say 'Kickstarter project gone horribly wrong.'
"RE: #592"
Posted by kidflash212 on 09-24-13 at 12:38 PM
Maybe it will finally explain what happened in Manos, The Hands of Fate. Even Joel and the bots couldn't explain it to me.
"RE: #592"
Posted by kingfish on 09-24-13 at 09:23 AM
Kinda like when someone has a trope post with an intended logical direction of thought and some Bozo comes along and blows it up, going off on stupid tangents using odd personal stories that just pop into his mind and that don't seem to correlate to anything at all.

I hate when that happens.

"#593"
Posted by Estee on 09-25-13 at 10:34 AM
Your enemies have you completely surrounded. It's a full 360 degrees of people who really want to hurt you. And you can't fly, jump that high or far, and no rope is being dangled down for the last-second haul out. Clearly there's only one thing to do.

Spin in a circle really fast.

...right. Because surely no one is expecting you to try attacking everybody.

And exposing your back to all those people in turn couldn't possibly have any consequences.

Plus you can totally handle fighting while changing position that quickly, not to mention the inevitable dizzy spell which is going to hit while you're surrounded by people who really want to hurt you.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SpinAttack

It's a plan!

"RE: #593"
Posted by kingfish on 09-25-13 at 11:09 AM
A Death Blossom Weapon? Hah, pikers!

I use to have a dog (RIP) that could do a natural death blossom.
Could clear the room. He was old, and it just came natural to him, as well as pretty much unexpectedly. It often happened at mealtime.

"#594"
Posted by Estee on 09-26-13 at 07:15 AM
but this is my deathbed
i lie here alone
and if i close my eyes tonight
i know i'll be home...

-- "Deathbed", Relient K

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DyingAlone

"RE: #594"
Posted by kingfish on 09-26-13 at 08:36 AM
LAST EDITED ON 09-27-13 AT 08:23 AM (EST)

And on a more somber note...

I never considered taking a leak from a boat to be a dangerous thing to do but, Under the "Dying Alone" trope;

"People who go out swimming alone in uncertain waters, people who go out fishing by themselves and fall overboard (often men, standing to relieve themselves and losing their balance), even children in backyard swimming pools."

It should be noted that a few beers would probably be the reason why those fishermen had a full bladder, and it doesn't help one's stability in a rocking boat to be internally tipsy.

"#595"
Posted by Estee on 09-27-13 at 05:54 AM
If your deity sent a messenger to your door...

...would you know?

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AngelUnaware

Would you even open the door at all?

"RE: #595"
Posted by kingfish on 09-27-13 at 08:24 AM
LAST EDITED ON 09-27-13 AT 08:26 AM (EST)

No.

That is one problems with not having a deity.

"#596"
Posted by Estee on 09-28-13 at 07:15 AM
Number of people in the world needing organ transplants: lots.

Number of people signing organ donor cards and available at the moment those transplants are needed: considerably less.

Plot possibilities: recycled.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BillyNeedsAnOrgan

Which is kind of ironic.

"RE: #596"
Posted by kingfish on 09-28-13 at 09:38 AM
I got an example that should go into the RL folder:

"Rupert needs a brain"

"#597"
Posted by Estee on 09-29-13 at 09:31 AM
Well, this is boring.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HydeAndSeek

Better luck tomorrow.

"Why yes, yes it is."
Posted by foonermints on 09-29-13 at 12:50 PM

Dinner's on me tonight!
"RE: Why yes, yes it is."
Posted by kingfish on 09-29-13 at 09:26 PM
I know what this band needs...More Spindle!!

"RE: #597"
Posted by kidflash212 on 09-29-13 at 09:35 PM
I refuse to believe there is a children's show titled "Mr Meaty".
"Maybe"
Posted by foonermints on 09-30-13 at 01:43 AM
Japanese?
Japanese are inscrutable, grasshopper..
"#598"
Posted by Estee on 09-30-13 at 06:40 AM
Some people feel the wearing of hats -- and just about anything else which covers the head -- is inherently rude. They will make up all sorts of rules for when and where you're allowed to don them at all. You must take them off when indoors. When the national anthem plays. When in the presence of a lady, gentleman, noble, royalty, visiting dignitary, anyone who doesn't like hats. They will insist that you're not allowed to do that and frequently reach the point of hysterically screaming for Authority. On a really bad day, Authority will agree with them. Because there is somehow nothing more rude or inconsiderate of others than the wearing of a hat.

Excepting, perhaps, the moment when you reveal why you were wearing it in the first place.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PleaseKeepYourHatOn

Hint: it was not for keeping your head warm.

"RE: #598"
Posted by kingfish on 09-30-13 at 08:11 AM
I am just thankful that the custom of removing ones head cover doesn't extend to old ladies and their wigs.
"#599"
Posted by Estee on 10-01-13 at 10:13 AM
Sometimes milleu run in families. And some of those families turn into sub-groupings. Take Bruce Wayne, for example. He's connected to just about everyone in the DCU and has weapons stockpiled to kill every last one of them -- you know, just in case they either turn evil or his control freak tendencies finally take the helm once and for all -- but for the most part, he stays in Gotham and sort of works with those he just barely tolerates and allows to live in the city without having them blackmailed into non-existence. Yet.

(I'm not having a Love Of The Bat day. Can you tell?)

The point is that there's a sub-grouping in play here. The heroes, villains, and normal citizens of the Gotham region form their own bubble within the mainstream DCU. In fact, they often discourage (using the power of Extreme Stupidity) anyone else from getting involved in their problems. What happens in Gotham gets solved by Gotham. And when the biggest local issue occurs -- it means every last resident has to get involved. While somehow excluding everyone from the outside who, you know, might be able to help.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BatFamilyCrossover

Presumably they're afraid of annoying Bruce to the point where he decides they've turned evil and preemptively kills them.

"RE: #599"
Posted by kingfish on 10-01-13 at 02:37 PM
Peep meet.

Where all of our stories converge into one big bad saga.

Problem is, who's the central character(s)?

I say whoever's buying. What the heck.

"#600 (Supes and lotsa other anniversary thread people)"
Posted by Estee on 10-02-13 at 10:08 AM
Sometimes shows will do what's called 'putting a character on a bus' -- which is just another trope way of saying 'you will never see this person again'. Unlike other ways of thinning the cast, this does not involve fatalities, prison sentences, and other unfortunate events in that character's life. They just leave the show, the reason they're going is generally explained to some small degree -- and then they're gone.

Of course, some bus companies do sell round-trip tickets.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheBusCameBack

Note that this trope generally doesn't represent a permanent return. The character shows up, has a cameo, an episode, a short arc -- and then they're generally gone again, sometimes after as little as a single post.

Gee, never see that in real life.

"RE: #600 (Supes and lotsa other anniversary thread people)"
Posted by kingfish on 10-02-13 at 12:22 PM
I guess Superman and Wanda are back on the bus.

♪"The bus came back, ♪
The bus came back,
A good DAW always returns,
The bus came back. ♫

♫ The bus left again,
The bus left again,
Because they got an FB gig,
They just up and left again.♪

The bus came back...

♪ ♫