The Clockwork Mansion

Village Square => The Lost Lake Inn => Topic started by: Tapewolf on November 12, 2010, 05:36:22 AM

Title: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: Tapewolf on November 12, 2010, 05:36:22 AM
Well, that neatly defuses the whole 'What if Matilda finds out?' thing.  Which is probably a good thing because it's one less sword hanging over Dan's head.

What's really creepy is when the bird winks at you and spits out its liquid, but that doesn't happen much.
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: MT Hazard on November 12, 2010, 06:05:15 AM
Quote from: Tapewolf on November 12, 2010, 05:36:22 AM

What's really creepy is when the bird winks at you and spits out its liquid, but that doesn't happen much.

Damn, some times I think my imagination is out to get me.
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: Jasonrevall on November 12, 2010, 08:03:28 AM
That's why you always double check to make sure you have the proper number of zeros on the order form.

And I love seeing Dan is open and honest. There seems to be too few open and honest characters.
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: joshofspam on November 12, 2010, 10:12:26 AM
Eh... I don't know.

Little novelties like that have always kept me entertained. Maybe its just the simpleton in me. Though one does wonder who would need an entire store full of them?

Is it really all those eyes making her uncomfortable or possibly the fact that someone would  order that many that's bugging Matilda?

Guess it would depend if this is the old switch up or just the wrong item getting shipped. My money is that she was trying to get her hands on more "Jyrras toasters" for magical homes. :P
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: Naldru on November 12, 2010, 10:23:32 AM
I heard of a tax accountant who thought he was ordering a hundred copies of a form.  Image his surprise when a truck pulled up and dropped off a hundred boxes of forms, with each one containing a few thousand copies of the form.
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: Shachza on November 12, 2010, 11:14:06 AM
OK, Matilda is incredibly weird.  She's far too reasonable to be hanging out with the group of miscreants that occupies this comic.
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: nevwyn on November 12, 2010, 11:35:04 AM
 :mowdizzy

*bobble bobble bobble bobble bobble bobble*
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: techmaster-glitch on November 12, 2010, 12:00:33 PM
I dunno, I for one find it absolutely refreshing to see characters acting in a totally rational and calm manner for once :)
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: Alondro on November 12, 2010, 12:11:28 PM
*watches the bobble-birds...*  :eek  THEY CAN MOVE ON THEIR OWN!!!  THEY R POSESSED BY SATAN!!!  *burns the whole stock of the clearly demonic objects*
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: Gabi on November 12, 2010, 12:20:49 PM
Quote from: techmaster-glitch on November 12, 2010, 12:00:33 PM
I dunno, I for one find it absolutely refreshing to see characters acting in a totally rational and calm manner for once :)
Posting in agreement. :mowsmile
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: Jasonrevall on November 12, 2010, 12:41:47 PM
Quote from: techmaster-glitch on November 12, 2010, 12:00:33 PM
I dunno, I for one find it absolutely refreshing to see characters acting in a totally rational and calm manner for once :)

I must agree. Sometimes it's good to just take a break from the chaos.
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: iceick on November 12, 2010, 01:31:46 PM
No chaos breaks! Chaos forever  :mwaha!

Let's see, bobble birds - bobble binds - bubble binds - bubble binders. Was she trying to order schools supplies?
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: Captain on November 12, 2010, 02:54:46 PM
Is it me or are the jokes becoming progressively more strange as of very recently?
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: Attic Rat on November 12, 2010, 03:32:34 PM
What's weird is... The bobble birds are bobbling without any water to bobble in!

You know what that means?

Instead of colored alcohol, each bird was filled with the immortal soul of some poor hapless being!  :U
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: Infranscia on November 12, 2010, 04:04:16 PM
The part I thought was weird was how she apparently put all the bobble birds on the shelves before saying this.  My guess is that she's got a spell that automatically stocks the shelves.

Come to think of it... I think I've only seen the bobble birds in pictures and cartoons.  I should rectify this sometime.

Taking a look at art experimentation for todays strip, I rather like how the faces were done.  Dan's face is looking more natural, while Matilda has a smoothness that does seem befitting for her smooth skin (scales?).  Admittedly, Dan's eyes seem a little strange to me.  I think it has to do with the bright spots on the top and bottom being (from what I can tell) the same color, rather than the top one being lighter, possibly combined with the apparent lack of pupils.  They look kind of like translucent gemstones to me, so admittedly, I think that effect would look good on translucent gemstones. ^__^;  Matilda's eyes are nice, though, and ooh!  Apparently she has little spots!  :mowmeep
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: Naldru on November 12, 2010, 04:57:40 PM
Quote from: Attic Rat on November 12, 2010, 03:32:34 PM
What's weird is... The bobble birds are bobbling without any water to bobble in!

You know what that means?

Instead of colored alcohol, each bird was filled with the immortal soul of some poor hapless being!  :U

Except for one, all of the drinking birds (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinking_bird) are in the upright position.  It could therefore be that that one is defective and none of them are actually bobbing up and down.

It is also possible to make the bird move up and down without a glass of water by using a strategically aimed light source.

Being an engineer and having read the previous comments, I should also state that it is possible to have the motion power a small air pump that would periodically make noises like a whoopee cushion.
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: MT Hazard on November 12, 2010, 06:41:59 PM
Matilda's line "We had one date. It isn't like I own you" seems a little odd considering her history, or perhaps its a sign of how far she has moved  from the culture of her species.
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: Rafe on November 12, 2010, 08:08:52 PM
Bizarre Trivia Item:

Those weird "drinking bird" things were invented by Eddie Albert, probably best known as lawyer-turned-farmer Oliver Wendel Douglas on the '60s comedy "Green Acres".

(http://www.maggiore.net/greenacres/images/Anim_Homepage.gif)

I loved that show.  It was surreal.
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: Angel on November 12, 2010, 08:45:12 PM
...I wish I had a room filled with hinky-dinky bobbing birds. :<
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: D'ymkarra on November 12, 2010, 10:18:47 PM
Quote from: techmaster-glitch on November 12, 2010, 12:00:33 PM
I dunno, I for one find it absolutely refreshing to see characters acting in a totally rational and calm manner for once :)

Indeed. It gives a nice contrast to the usual insanity we've all more or less become accustomed to  :boogie
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: Turnsky on November 12, 2010, 11:11:06 PM
it's worth noting that i don't believe anybody's noticed Matilda's third eye looking in the opposite direction of the other two.

nice detail thar, Ambaaaargh. :3
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: iceick on November 13, 2010, 03:13:35 AM
If you pay attention to her throughout the comic, you'd notice that her third eye is rarely looking in the same direction as the other two.
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: Howl on November 13, 2010, 03:48:08 AM
Dan looks like a woman in the first panel.
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: Acriaos on November 13, 2010, 03:57:33 AM
This is really weird... I actually bought 10 of those dipping birds a few weeks ago (they were shipped on the 21. Oct.)  and I was getting worried since they haven't been delivered yet. How in the world did they wind up there?!? ... and also... if they mixed up the order, what am I going to receive? Now I'm really scared.

edit: I meant October of course  :animesweat
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: Wanderer on November 13, 2010, 09:54:16 AM
Quote from: Acriaos on November 13, 2010, 03:57:33 AM
(they were shipped on the 21. Nov.)

You can get things shipped from the future?! This is amazing! You have to tell me how! :D

Quoteit's worth noting that i don't believe anybody's noticed Matilda's third eye looking in the opposite direction of the other two.

nice detail thar, Ambaaaargh.

She does that often, and I think it's cool every single time. It looks like her lower two eyes move in sync like human eyes, but her upper eye is independent.
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: AxiLarin on November 13, 2010, 02:20:38 PM
Hmmm... perhaps she had top hats on her mind when she did her ordering, eh?  :mowwink  Way to go, Dan.
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: hartree on November 13, 2010, 03:47:06 PM
Quote from: Rafe on November 12, 2010, 08:08:52 PM
Bizarre Trivia Item:
Those weird "drinking bird" things were invented by Eddie Albert, probably best known as lawyer-turned-farmer Oliver Wendel Douglas on the '60s comedy "Green Acres".

I've heard that a couple times, but it's not right. Maybe there should be a Snopes entry on it.

"The drinking bird was invented by Miles V. Sullivan and co-developed by George H. Shackley in 1945 and patented in 1946." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinking_bird

patent 2402463: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/2402463.html

Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: Tapewolf on November 13, 2010, 05:27:02 PM
Quote from: hartree on November 13, 2010, 03:47:06 PM
"The drinking bird was invented by Miles V. Sullivan and co-developed by George H. Shackley in 1945 and patented in 1946." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinking_bird

For what it's worth, the thing I said earlier about the bird winking is from a book written in 1956, so yeah.  Must try and find a copy of it again now.  I had wondered if anyone would recognise it :P
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: Rafe on November 14, 2010, 09:34:13 AM
I heard from at least three different sources over the years - my high school physics teacher, the Edmund Scientific catalog (they sell them) and radio commentator Paul Harvey, that those drinking bird things were invented by Eddie Albert.  

Looks like evidence shows otherwise.  Now I'm wondering how this all got started, and will  no doubt research this for some unreasonably long time until I figure it out.  (God, I'm a hopeless, trivia-obsessed fool).

Here, have another useless glass item, a radiometer thing that spins around in sunlight:

(http://www.scientificsonline.com/media/catalog/product/cache/2/image/348x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/3/0/3060082_2.jpg)
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: Shachza on November 14, 2010, 11:25:54 AM
Quote from: Rafe on November 14, 2010, 09:34:13 AM
I heard from at least three different sources over the years - my high school physics teacher, the Edmund Scientific catalog (they sell them) and radio commentator Paul Harvey, that those drinking bird things were invented by Eddie Albert.  

Looks like evidence shows otherwise.  Now I'm wondering how this all got started, and will  no doubt research this for some unreasonably long time until I figure it out.  (God, I'm a hopeless, trivia-obsessed fool).

Here, have another useless glass item, a radiometer thing that spins around in sunlight:

(http://www.scientificsonline.com/media/catalog/product/cache/2/image/348x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/3/0/3060082_2.jpg)

You should search out "The Most Useless Machine Ever."  I think that was the name at least; it was featured one evening on The Daily Show or The Colbert Report.  It's a box with a switch on top to turn it on.  When you turn it on the lid pops up, a lever reaches out, and it flips the switch to "off" before disappearing back inside and closing the lid.
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: Rafe on November 14, 2010, 12:55:18 PM
Quote from: Shachza on November 14, 2010, 11:25:54 AM
...You should search out "The Most Useless Machine Ever."  I think that was the name at least; it was featured one evening on The Daily Show or The Colbert Report.  It's a box with a switch on top to turn it on.  When you turn it on the lid pops up, a lever reaches out, and it flips the switch to "off" before disappearing back inside and closing the lid.

I've seen it.  I enjoy strange useless devices.

My favorite is probably Junkfunnel Lab's aptly named Suspicious Looking Device:

(http://junkfunnel.com/sld/1.jpg)

According to their website (http://junkfunnel.com/sld/ (http://junkfunnel.com/sld/)) the SLD is designed "to appear as suspicious as possible, whether carried in hand or placed indiscrimately in public places. "

It features flashing lights, an LED display that appears to be counting downwards, buzzers that start going off if anyone touches it or throws a switch, and finally, motorized wheels on the bottom that pop out and start rolling it around, all in a bright orange case made from a surplus Civil Defense radiation geiger counter.  Here's a video clip:  http://junkfunnel.com/sld/sld.wmv (http://junkfunnel.com/sld/sld.wmv)

Every time I see it I think, "Why the hell didn't I think of that?"
Title: Re: 11/12/2010 [DMFA #1165] - Different kinds of weird
Post by: Naldru on November 14, 2010, 02:55:46 PM
See http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/311945/june-08-2010/sign-off---the-most-useless-machine (http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/311945/june-08-2010/sign-off---the-most-useless-machine) for video of the device mentioned as "The Most Useless Device".  I once saw a similar device that had a hand pop up and flip the switch.  I believe that it was called "Thing In A Box" after the character Thing in The Addams Family (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Addams_Family).

I would be very careful about using the Suspicious Looking Device.  As seen in the article this link points to, many police departments have very little sense of humor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Boston_bomb_scare).