511: Sleet

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Sleet

Title text: I mean, I can barely hear myself complaining about Battlestar Galactica.

Explanation

Megan is seen leaving an apartment, trudging through freezing temperatures and foul weather, when she could be in a warm, cozy bed. The dialog is likely her thoughts, rather than speech. She is fed up with the second person's endless discussion of digital rights management (DRM). She probably agrees with his position, but would rather face the weather than his endless rehashing of the issue.

The words in the first panel are the opening lyrics of the Christmas standard, Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!.

In the last panel, Free Culture refers to a book by Lawrence Lessig, who advocates for fewer restrictions in many areas. Randall had previously advocated this title himself in 86: Digital Rights Management and 129: Content Protection, and mentioned Lessig in 343: 1337: Part 3.

In the title text, it is revealed that Megan herself is also guilty of droning on about 'boring' subjects, likely to the annoyance of those around her. In this case, complaining about science-fiction TV series Battlestar Galactica, which tends to produce strong reactions among geeks. She has gone outside to avoid the boring rant. However, given the opportunity, it is she who would be doing the ranting.

Transcript

[The comic is set on a rainy, cold, windy street; Megan is walking along said street with a scarf; narration is from Megan's point-of-view.]

The weather outside is frightful.

I hate trudging through the icy slush and biting sleet.

But it beats lying in our warm, cozy bed

Listening to you talk about DRM for hours on end.

Offscreen: Come back! Just listen to this one quote from Free Culture!

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Discussion

What is sleet in Randall's dialect? Ice pellets or a mixture of rain and snow? 141.101.98.55 18:05, 17 August 2014 (UTC)

What does this matter? I would call it frozen rain. --Dgbrt (talk) 21:09, 17 August 2014 (UTC)

I removed the requirement of a definition of sleet from the incomplete tag. Sleet is understood to be cold horrible weather to be out in, whichever regional definition is used. I dont believe that the explanation would improve in quality by guessing the interpretation that Randall would subscribe to.--Pudder (talk) 14:07, 1 September 2014 (UTC)

This is not vital, but I'm surprised no one has mentioned that the first panel quotes the first line of "Let It Snow," famously sung by Dean Martin. To me, hearing his mellow voice in my mind's ear more intensely evokes the loving scene that has been spoiled by the boyfriend's non-romantic preoccupation. Must be a generational thing, since I'm likely twice the age of most commenters!108.162.219.156 09:25, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

Is the title "Sleet" a reference to Leet? Jono hct (talk) 01:42, 5 November 2015 (UTC)

No. Sleet is the type of weather in the comic. It has nothing to do with "leet". -Pennpenn 108.162.250.162 03:54, 13 January 2016 (UTC)