explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:197: Ninja Turtles

2017-05-20T05:47:07Z

Donny2112:

Regarding the William Tell Overture's popular re-imagining, it has been said that "An intellectual is someone who can listen to <nowiki>[it]</nowiki> without thinking of the Lone Ranger," or very similar. (Wikipedia currently has a reference note about this that chiefly attributes it "... to Jack Guin writing in the Denver Post in 1962. (Brooklyn Barrister (1962), Volume 14, p. 107).", but it was an very well known anonymous pithy (and snobby?) statement a decade or two later, as I recall.)

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The explain is wrong! This comic refers to this: {{w|Multi-Purpose Logistics Module}}. NASA did name that modules by real scientists and after that it was matched to this: {{w|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles}}.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:05, 22 June 2013 (UTC)

: I dispute that. The MPLM was named after the TMNTs, and thus would contribute to their notoriety as such. There are no ''direct'' references to the MPLM, however, so the passage about them is at best overkill (at worse, useless). The main point is that the modern popular culture "hijacks" classical figures. --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 05:09, 24 August 2013 (UTC)
::Randall did work at NASA in the past, if he wouldn't have the MPLM's in his mind while drawing this comic he must suffer on short term memory loss. He is joking about this coincidence.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:36, 24 August 2013 (UTC)

::: Again, I dispute the relevance of MPLM to an explanation of this comic. To someone who doesn't know who the TMNT are and haven't heard of Donatello or Raphael, it seems overkill to have to introduce them and then pile on the MPLM layer. The title text refers to similar pop-culture characters, neither of whom have anything to do with NASA, and while the readers of xkcd tend to have a science-y bent, the MPLM is a very specific, technical thing that very few are likely to know about. Furthermore, this comic came out in December 2006, months after the previous MPLM mission. --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 04:31, 25 August 2013 (UTC)
::::"There were 34 Space Shuttle missions to the ISS. MPLMs were flown twelve times". The first mission was Leonardo on March 8, 2001 at STS 102. The joke is just about the coincidence of the Ninja Turtles and the MPLM program.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:45, 25 August 2013 (UTC)
::::: Which joke? The joke in the comic or the joke in the comments? The comic makes absolutely no hint of any reference to NASA, the ISS, or the MPLMs. The joke is that the TMNTs hijacked the importance of the four Renaissance artists. I see no reason (apart from Trivia, which can be its own section) for including MPLM into an explanation. --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 21:32, 25 August 2013 (UTC)

::::::: It's ''possible'' that Randall as inspired to some degree by the phenomenon of the MPLM. The modules named after the artists/turtles were built by the Italian space agency, and named by them for great Italian artists. When NASA received them, it seems that the folks at NASA identified with those names as much as or more as the names of Ninja Turtles than as the names of Renaissance artists, to the degree that the mission badge featured a Ninja Turtle. Still, this whole MPLM topic is more a "possible/likely theory" about one aspect of the inspiration for the comic, not an "explanation" of the comic. The comic makes 100% perfect sense without any reference to the MPLM whatsoever. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.155|173.245.54.155]] 11:13, 3 September 2014 (UTC)

There is absolutely nothing in the comic that suggests it is related to the MPLM. I have removed this as it is off-topic for the explanation. If this was what the comic was about Randall would have put some sort of hint. Rocksteady and Bebop contradict this theory.

If someone wants to re-add it they should do so in a trivia section, as it is trivia not directly related to the comic. [[Special:Contributions/184.66.160.91|184.66.160.91]] 02:18, 27 August 2013 (UTC)
:Oh, put it into trivia section if you like, but that names are not only some random names from Ninja Turtles. Randall is a smart guy from NASA.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:35, 27 August 2013 (UTC)
:: So what? Smart guys at NASA only care about NASA stuff? What about the Bebop and Rocksteady, then? The whole point is that NASA ''went along with'' the hijacking of the four artists' names into pop culture by the TMNT. They came before the modules, and were immensely popular. They probably influenced his childhood more than the MPLM influenced his life. --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 02:45, 28 August 2013 (UTC)

The comic compares the notoriety as a "Renaissance artist" or "Ninja turtle", but the MPLM is missing. Because I do not know much about the Ninja Turtles this was the first on my mind when I read this comic for the first time. And I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only space flight fan. Officially the MPLMs are named after the Italian artists, but we can speculate if it were the Ninja Turtles in the beginning. NASA used comics in the past for naming their vehicles: Peanuts for Apollo 10, the launch patch for mars rover Spirit, featuring Marvin the Martian, and the launch patch for Opportunity, featuring Duck Dodgers (Daffy Duck). There are probably more. Why the hell this issue is banned here?--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:22, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

:MPLM is mentioned nowhere in the comic. It's a reference to TMNT, which does not necessarily mean that further references to the cartoon are also references to MPLM. This comic is not a reference to a NASA program. Give it a rest. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 03:54, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

The whole MPLM thing is unrelated to the comic. To be part of the explaination there would need to be some sort of reference to it in the comic, any reference. Rocksteady and Bebop are not missions so the whole theory falls flat on its face. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.117|108.162.246.117]] 06:39, 20 January 2014 (UTC)

OK, when I get a chance I'll make a version with the percentage notoriety taken up by MPLM. However as a spaceflight fan and engineer who grew up in the 80s who has never heard of the MPLM, the percentage will be quite small :). '''Forgen'''@[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.64|199.27.128.64]] 00:21, 29 January 2014 (UTC)

Personally, I'm really curious how he came up with the breakdown of public awareness between artists and turtles. When you ask a random person who Leonardo was, I'd have to imagine that the most typical answer would be the turtle, as the artist is typically used either exclusively as Da Vinci or as Leonardo Da Vinci. Leonardo by itself would most often lead to the turtle. Michelangelo I could see being a tossup as the artist was known mainly by that name. Raphael and Donatello would almost be exclusively recognized as turtles. People may recognize Raphael's cupids, but I would hazard a guess that they're unlikely to know the artist who created the style. I took Art History, and even I'm having a hard time recalling something explicitly by Donatello. :lol [[User:Donny2112|Donny2112]] ([[User talk:Donny2112|talk]]) 05:47, 20 May 2017 (UTC)

Talk:439: Thinking Ahead

2016-07-03T02:08:58Z

Donny2112:

I don't think the girl pictured is Megan, it seems to me that it's another girl and he is conflicted about talking to her because of unresolved feelings with Megan, which may come back to bite him if he doesn't explore them fully before becoming committed to another. Due to the beginning of the description it seems like this is just a silly mistake.{{unsigned ip|50.198.145.13}}
:It's fixed, and look at the trivia.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:24, 26 August 2013 (UTC)
::Where is this original transcript that I have seen people mention several times?[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 05:40, 12 June 2014 (UTC)
:::I believe it might be xkcd volume 0? --[[User:Flewk|flewk]] ([[User talk:Flewk|talk]]) 17:47, 28 December 2015 (UTC)
On to the actual problem mentioned in the article (i.e. Thinking Ahead), it's a common issue with intelligent guys who spend a lot of time thinking to start imagining all the ways a relationship could go wrong before it even starts. ([http://www.sosuave.com/romance/david/art61.htm "Why Very Intelligent Men Fail With Women, Reason #4: They psych themselves out"]) [[User:Donny2112|Donny2112]] ([[User talk:Donny2112|talk]]) 02:08, 3 July 2016 (UTC)

Talk:439: Thinking Ahead

2016-07-03T02:08:19Z

Donny2112:

[http://www.example.com link title]I don't think the girl pictured is Megan, it seems to me that it's another girl and he is conflicted about talking to her because of unresolved feelings with Megan, which may come back to bite him if he doesn't explore them fully before becoming committed to another. Due to the beginning of the description it seems like this is just a silly mistake.{{unsigned ip|50.198.145.13}}
:It's fixed, and look at the trivia.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:24, 26 August 2013 (UTC)
::Where is this original transcript that I have seen people mention several times?[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 05:40, 12 June 2014 (UTC)
:::I believe it might be xkcd volume 0? --[[User:Flewk|flewk]] ([[User talk:Flewk|talk]]) 17:47, 28 December 2015 (UTC)
On to the actual problem mentioned in the article (i.e. Thinking Ahead), it's a common issue with intelligent guys who spend a lot of time thinking to start imagining all the ways a relationship could go wrong before it even starts. ([http://www.sosuave.com/romance/david/art61.htm "Why Very Intelligent Men Fail With Women, Reason #4: They psych themselves out"]) [[User:Donny2112|Donny2112]] ([[User talk:Donny2112|talk]]) 02:08, 3 July 2016 (UTC)

Talk:449: Things Fall Apart

2016-06-30T06:04:57Z

Donny2112:

Aaaand this is up, This is one of my favorite comics of xkcd. [[User:StuckInReality|StuckInReality]] ([[User talk:StuckInReality|talk]]) 07:30, 8 June 2013 (UTC)
:Please start only pages with a proper explanation.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:43, 8 June 2013 (UTC)
::I do understand, Sir. [[User:StuckInReality|StuckInReality]] ([[User talk:StuckInReality|talk]]) 00:25, 9 June 2013 (UTC)
I think that there is a bit of "the Cueball doth protest too much" in here. He's fighting Megan's explanations without giving his own.{{unsigned|Theo}}

The explaination of the title text seems off. It reads more like the author saying that an obsessive mindset (going so far as to think that you are nothing without the other person) is "fucked up" in the sense of dangerous or undesirable, implying that people shouldn't measure self worth by a relationship to another. In fact, I'm gonna change the comment.[[User:Pennpenn|Pennpenn]] ([[User talk:Pennpenn|talk]]) 01:51, 26 February 2014 (UTC)

The title text could be a continuation of the Kübler-Ross model for grief. The constant repeating of Cueball that he loves Megan would be the denial phase, while the transition to heavy cursing in the title text could be a sign of moving on to anger. [[User:Donny2112|Donny2112]] ([[User talk:Donny2112|talk]]) 06:04, 30 June 2016 (UTC)