Wapsi Square Forum

Boxilar wrote:At the very least the Roman Empire likely would have stayed out of a frozen solid Great Britain. No Londinium. They probably wouldn't have made it into northern France.

And as far as a steel bodied Corvette the whole point of the fiberglass body is to keep the weight down. The 'Vette has stayed light (just over 3000 lbs ) throughout its production history. A steel bodied Corvette especially one using thick 50s steel would be way to heavy too be a viable sports car.

Sorry, pet peve rant off line.

Actually, a Corvette made from steel (from the original Sting Ray up to the 1980s or so, at least) would weigh about the same - Car & Driver pointed out that there was a LOT of steel re-enforcement under the fiberglass, which sort of semi-defeated the purpose. By that time the fiberglass was mainly because of the mystique, actually.

Mark N wrote:Until Paul tells us for certain that the girls cannot subsist on anything other than Human blood I will have to assume that they have other sources for nutrition.

Heh. Like Greenberg the Vampire, whose brother-in-law was a kosher butcher.

That said, though, i think this is exactly what it looks like.

Wapsi wrote:

Bathorys Daughter wrote:WTF? We're just left hanging as to yesterday's strip now with no idea what that was about? Or is this a flashback that will tie in to yesterdays? Hopefully the latter.

This is a flashback from yesterday.

Thank you for the clarification. *Sitting down, hands folded on lap and shutting the F up ... for a while*

Bathorys Daughter wrote:

Wapsi wrote:

Bathorys Daughter wrote:WTF? We're just left hanging as to yesterday's strip now with no idea what that was about? Or is this a flashback that will tie in to yesterdays? Hopefully the latter.

This is a flashback from yesterday.

Thank you for the clarification. *Sitting down, hands folded on lap and shutting the F up ... for a while*

Okay, I don't mean to be a pill, but would it be all that hard to use a typical TV sort of message at the bottom of panels- "24 hours ago" or "3 days ago" it would sure make things less confusing.

cmdrpowers wrote:Okay, I don't mean to be a pill, but would it be all that hard to use a typical TV sort of message at the bottom of panels- "24 hours ago" or "3 days ago" it would sure make things less confusing.

That sort of thing is often a lazy way of getting the point across, rather than letting the viewer/reader figure it out herself.

Fairportfan wrote:

cmdrpowers wrote:Okay, I don't mean to be a pill, but would it be all that hard to use a typical TV sort of message at the bottom of panels- "24 hours ago" or "3 days ago" it would sure make things less confusing.

That sort of thing is often a lazy way of getting the point across, rather than letting the viewer/reader figure it out herself.

Agreed. One thing I like about Paul's storytelling is that he doesn't spoon feed you. You get to figure things out on your own.

Boxilar wrote:

Fairportfan wrote:That sort of thing is often a lazy way of getting the point across, rather than letting the viewer/reader figure it out herself.

Agreed. One thing I like about Paul's storytelling is that he doesn't spoon feed you. You get to figure things out on your own.

I definitely agree. Between the subtlety and intricate pre-planning of the storyline, the ambiguities and occasional misdirections, the foreshadowings and clues, and the "morality tale" characteristics that somebody mentioned a couple of days ago, Paul "leads us furiously to think".

That's all too rare these days. I find it to be very refreshing, and it's a big part of what I find so attractive about Wapsi Square.

Of course, it does lead to our being wrong in our guesses a fair bit of the time, and to having to admit befuddlement and the inevitable "OK, Paul, you got me!" moments. Fortunately, the seating in Confusion Corner is very comfortable, we can sit down together and share our confusion without embarrassment, and the cookies and coffee are second to none!

Boxilar wrote:At the very least the Roman Empire likely would have stayed out of a frozen solid Great Britain. No Londinium. They probably wouldn't have made it into northern France.

And as far as a steel bodied Corvette the whole point of the fiberglass body is to keep the weight down. The 'Vette has stayed light (just over 3000 lbs ) throughout its production history. A steel bodied Corvette especially one using thick 50s steel would be way to heavy too be a viable sports car.

Sorry, pet peve rant off line.

Well the showroom model of 1953 (EX122) was a steel body, but it was never produced.
Now, calling a Vette a light car is somewhat a novelty for me
Comparable european muscle cars of the same era were at least 800lbs lighter !

Fairportfan wrote:... Or Harry Turtledove's alternate-history "Atlantis" books, in which what is North America in our universe is two continents - North America and "Atlantis" - essentially the eastern part of the continent back as far as the Mississippi, more or less, is thousands of miles east of where it is in our world.

Internally, the books are as well-written as Turtledove's books usually are.

(image)
But they assume that European history (including that of the British Isles) is essentially the same as it is in our universe.

Uh huh.

Where's the Gulf Stream, Harry?

Well, were Atlantis not so long on the two ends, the Gulf Stream could do quite well going around Atlantis.

alj_ws wrote:
Well the showroom model of 1953 (EX122) was a steel body, but it was never produced.
Now, calling a Vette a light car is somewhat a novelty for me
Comparable european muscle cars of the same era were at least 800lbs lighter !

Oh, I agree that the early 'Vettes were barely sports cars. In fact, if it weren't for the existence of the Ford Thunderbird, the Corvette would have died. But while the T Bird became a bloated land whale, the Vette added power and refinement without gaining weight over 7 major variants. A modern C7 in steel wouldn't be the world class super car it is today. It'd be far too heavy.

Fairportfan wrote:

Mark N wrote:Until Paul tells us for certain that the girls cannot subsist on anything other than Human blood I will have to assume that they have other sources for nutrition.

Heh. Like Greenberg the Vampire, whose brother-in-law was a kosher butcher.

I'm very glad I'm not the only one who remembers that story. For those who don't know, Greenberg the Vampire is a standalone graphic novel and long predates the Twilight books (1985) - which means it's able to have vampires and be a good story at the same time. Oscar Greenberg is convincingly portrayed as a normal Jewish New Yorker with some unusual lifestyle quirks, and the best part of the tale is the family interaction; the readers will have to meet the Greenberg clan for themselves.

bmonk wrote:

Fairportfan wrote:... Or Harry Turtledove's alternate-history "Atlantis" books, in which what is North America in our universe is two continents - North America and "Atlantis" - essentially the eastern part of the continent back as far as the Mississippi, more or less, is thousands of miles east of where it is in our world.

Internally, the books are as well-written as Turtledove's books usually are.

(image)
But they assume that European history (including that of the British Isles) is essentially the same as it is in our universe.

Uh huh.

Where's the Gulf Stream, Harry?

Well, were Atlantis not so long on the two ends, the Gulf Stream could do quite well going around Atlantis.

Wouldn't be much of a Gulf Stream, in all likelihood; it's at least partially formed because the northeastward natural trend piles up in the Gulf and then leaks around the tip of Florida.

Wyvern wrote:

Fairportfan wrote:

Mark N wrote:Until Paul tells us for certain that the girls cannot subsist on anything other than Human blood I will have to assume that they have other sources for nutrition.

Heh. Like Greenberg the Vampire, whose brother-in-law was a kosher butcher.

I'm very glad I'm not the only one who remembers that story. For those who don't know, Greenberg the Vampire is a standalone graphic novel and long predates the Twilight books (1985) - which means it's able to have vampires and be a good story at the same time. Oscar Greenberg is convincingly portrayed as a normal Jewish New Yorker with some unusual lifestyle quirks, and the best part of the tale is the family interaction; the readers will have to meet the Greenberg clan for themselves.

Greenberg's a writer, as i recall, which explains why nobody wonders why they never seem to see him in the daytime.

And i see it's his brother who's the kosher butcher. Available for purchase on Amazon, here.

Wyvern wrote: I'm very glad I'm not the only one who remembers that story. For those who don't know, Greenberg the Vampire is a standalone graphic novel and long predates the Twilight books (1985) - which means it's able to have vampires and be a good story at the same time. Oscar Greenberg is convincingly portrayed as a normal Jewish New Yorker with some unusual lifestyle quirks, and the best part of the tale is the family interaction; the readers will have to meet the Greenberg clan for themselves.

Doesn't sound like a family I would like to meet, even in fiction.

Well, any family that shoots typewriters for sport can't be all bad.

Typeminer wrote:Well, any family that shoots typewriters for sport can't be all bad.

The man's a writer.

It was obviously self-defense.

cmdrpowers wrote:Okay, I don't mean to be a pill, but would it be all that hard to use a typical TV sort of message at the bottom of panels- "24 hours ago" or "3 days ago" it would sure make things less confusing.

Thank you! THANK YOU!! Precisely what I wanted to say. I genuinely had NO IDEA this was a flashback until Paul said it was.

Dave wrote:

Boxilar wrote:

Fairportfan wrote:That sort of thing is often a lazy way of getting the point across, rather than letting the viewer/reader figure it out herself.

Agreed. One thing I like about Paul's storytelling is that he doesn't spoon feed you. You get to figure things out on your own.

I definitely agree. Between the subtlety and intricate pre-planning of the storyline, the ambiguities and occasional misdirections, the foreshadowings and clues, and the "morality tale" characteristics that somebody mentioned a couple of days ago, Paul "leads us furiously to think".

That's all too rare these days. I find it to be very refreshing, and it's a big part of what I find so attractive about Wapsi Square.

.....um. Never mind.

Dave wrote:Of course, it does lead to our being wrong in our guesses a fair bit of the time, and to having to admit befuddlement and the inevitable "OK, Paul, you got me!" moments.

No kidding.

Fairportfan wrote:

Typeminer wrote:Well, any family that shoots typewriters for sport can't be all bad.

The man's a writer.

It was obviously self-defense.

If we were close enough I'd buy you a round for that one!

Quoting two above (to many quotes to sort out in one post)...Let the author tell it in his voice.
I once tried to make a time-line cut of 'Pulp Fiction' for my mother who, although quite intelligent, seemed to have trouble with the narrative. Not only was it a monumental task, it made for a much less interesting story, IMHO.
I like when the story has bumps and sharp turns, it keeps your eyes on the road.

Sergio Leone's last film, Once Upon a Time in America, was cut by an hour and forty minutes (to only 2:19) and re-edited into straight narrative sequence by the US releasing company.

I never saw it that way.

In the unmodified form, it ricochets back and forth over a span of forty-plus years, with bits like Robert de Niro walking out a door from a railroad station to a train ... and then walking back in, thirty-some years later.