Story Friday December 31, 2021

[Darth Fluffy 302]

Story Friday December 31, 2021

Our resident Egyptian royalty gets cookies for forecasting the reveal. Unfortunately, due to COVID and other logistical issues, said cookies will have to be self-provided.

It looks like it has smooth skin, like a salamander, but I imagine it is supposed to be vaguely reptilian. Three eyes and three antennae, you kind of have to wonder "Why?", what advantage does the third serve. More precise notion of 3D placement in space, vs 2D distance for two eyes? Something cool and odd to draw? And why does it speak English?

The inner body appears aligned between the two forelegs, so at least it appears to have bilateral symmetry going on. The shell split that way. Hmm, the shell looks thin to be supporting large crystals or to transfer force from them to the rest of the critter. Although, when closed it could be sturdier, like an egg shell is stronger when whole..

Can't have been too dire in the past, they still have a comic world.

No pizza delivery. Bummer.

[mlooney 3,417]

7 hours ago, Darth Fluffy said:

And why does it speak English?

I had to go check.  I thought it was "Speaking" like the whale did.  Nope.  Voice bubble.  

[ChronosCat 155]

I'm a little disappointed it no-longer looks like a dai kaiju, but I still really like how it looks.

[mlooney 3,417]

A what? <google>  A "Great Sea Beast"?  Not finding any images of one that looks any thing like not-turtle, mostly finding images of Godzilla.

[ijuin 572]

Probably thinking of Gamera, a famous giant turtle movie monster who flew on jets of flame.

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

If our shelled visitor learned how to speak English from the esteemed Professor Farnsworth, this pronouncement of "Good News" may be the worst tidings Agent Verres has ever received.

12 hours ago, Darth Fluffy said:

Our resident Egyptian royalty gets cookies for forecasting the reveal

I just got  my annual tin of Danish Royal Butter Cookies

Dry, bland, stale.  Hard enough to break a tooth.  Brittle enough that you can't dunk them before they crumble.

Is this what the Danish Royal Family actually eats?  Or do they export these things to weaken international opposition?

[mlooney 3,417]

Make sure you have cookies, not sewing gear.

[Darth Fluffy 302]

1 hour ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

I just got  my annual tin of Danish Royal Butter Cookies

Dry, bland, stale.  Hard enough to break a tooth.  Brittle enough that you can't dunk them before they crumble.

Is this what the Danish Royal Family actually eats?  Or do they export these things to weaken international opposition?

The Royal Dansk website explains it. " Since 1966, Royal Dansk Danish Butter Cookies have been packaged and often served out of an iconic blue tin."

That is a long time to be sitting around, regardless of how well mad the tin is. Well over half a century. Of course they are stale.

Now you can use them as Royal Danish Battle Cookies. Throw them at your enemies!

[ijuin 572]

I thought that only applied to dwarf-made baked goods?

[Darth Fluffy 302]

7 hours ago, ijuin said:

I thought that only applied to dwarf-made baked goods?

They are made by normal sized people, so on a Scandinavian scale, they are dwarves.

[ijuin 572]

Discworld reference. Dwarf bread is more mineral than vegetable, and is used as weaponry.

[Darth Fluffy 302]

18 minutes ago, ijuin said:

Discworld reference. Dwarf bread is more mineral than vegetable, and is used as weaponry.

Ah, I was wondering where my ex learned her culinary skills, so to speak.

 

[ChronosCat 155]

23 hours ago, mlooney said:

A what? <google>  A "Great Sea Beast"?  Not finding any images of one that looks any thing like not-turtle, mostly finding images of Godzilla.

"Daikaiju" (I shouldn't have included a space), often shortened to "kaiju", is the Japanese term for giant monsters like Godzilla and Gamera, and is often used by fans of the giant monster genre across the world (since the majority of giant monster movies come from Japan).

While not-turtle is not that big, prior to the shell opening up its design did look fairly similar to something you might see in a Japanese giant monster movie (particularly one from the 90s or 00s; the monster designs in that era got rather elaborate).

[mlooney 3,417]

46 minutes ago, ChronosCat said:

Daikaiju" (I shouldn't have included a space), often shortened to "kaiju", is the Japanese term for giant monsters like Godzilla and Gamera, and is often used by fans of the giant monster genre across the world (since the majority of giant monster movies come from Japan).

 

I knew that Kaiju was giant monster, I had assumed that "Dai" was a modifier of some sort, or was a particular monster.  Meh.  Live and learn.

[ChronosCat 155]

It is a modifier, actually: it's a prefix that adds the "giant' (or "great", depending on your translation) to the giant monster. However, most Japanese monster movies are about giant monsters, so kaiju usually gets the point across on its own.

[mlooney 3,417]

As I learn even more.  

[T'Renn 1]

On 12/31/2021 at 8:46 AM, mlooney said:

I had to go check.  I thought it was "Speaking" like the whale did.  Nope.  Voice bubble.  

They've been here before. I imagine a polite monstrous harbinger of (mostly) doom would learn the local language eventually, out of basic politeness.

 

Though that might backfire in this case, since leading with THAT phrase has quite the Farnsworth vibe. Admittedly his "good news" was usually pretty bad for those hearing it, so still fits harbinging doom.

[mlooney 3,417]

Who, or what, is Farnsworth?  Is this a pop culture reference I don't get because I don't watch TV?

[Amiable Dorsai 70]

6 hours ago, mlooney said:

Who, or what, is Farnsworth?  Is this a pop culture reference I don't get because I don't watch TV?

Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth is a character in Futurama who tends to precede bad news with a cheery "Good news, everyone!" Given that the 160-year-scientist oscillates between genius and senility on a regular basis, it's difficult to tell whether this is due to malice or misjudgement.

Should you ever decide to watch TV, Futurama would be an excellent show to start with.

[mlooney 3,417]

10 minutes ago, Amiable Dorsai said:

Should you ever decide to watch TV, Futurama would be an excellent show to start with

Noted.

 

[Darth Fluffy 302]

6 hours ago, mlooney said:

Who, or what, is Farnsworth?  Is this a pop culture reference I don't get because I don't watch TV?

Professor Farnsworth is a character on Futurama. He owns the Planet Express that the main cast works for, and in that context also provides the ship for their misadventures. He uses his catch phrase when sending them off on a delivery.

The show is brilliant, but not everyone's cup of hot herbal infusion. But they do have a space whale, Mobius Dick, in one episode! But, dear God, if you watch it, watch them in order, the show builds context as it develops and refers to itself. One nice feature, rare in American productions, it has a finite number of episodes and wraps up nicely.

[mlooney 3,417]

17 minutes ago, Darth Fluffy said:

But, dear God, if you watch it, watch them in order, the show builds context as it develops and refers to itself.

Also noted.

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

45 minutes ago, Darth Fluffy said:

if you watch it, watch them in order, the show builds context as it develops and refers to itself

Whatever else you may do, DO NOT start with the one with the Dog

[mlooney 3,417]

18 minutes ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

Whatever else you may do, DO NOT start with the one with the Dog

Yeah, I'm sorta spoiled on that one. By Grace if nothing else.

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

 

7 hours ago, mlooney said:

Who, or what, is Farnsworth? 

Dr Philo Farnsworth was the genius who invented electronic television

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKM4MNrB25o

Dr Dean Farnsworth developed a test for colorblindness as a Commander in the US Navy during WWII and it is still used today

Farnsworth is an unincorporated town in Texas and a Ghost Town in Indiana

Farnsworth Peak in Utah is not too far from Salt Lake and is notable for the number of television and radio transmitter towers on its slopes