Wapsi Square Forum

illiad wrote:ahhhh... well, girlswithslingshots is doing a current theme like that....

lake_wrangler wrote:

illiad wrote:ahhhh... well, girlswithslingshots is doing a current theme like that....

They're going on a bicycle trip with a B.O.B. trailer behind their bike?

illiad wrote:ahhhh... well, girlswithslingshots is doing a current theme like that....

Dave wrote:(Dave cringes)

Of all the devices ever invented, which could Go Badly Wrong in use... that one is very high on the list.

AmriloJim wrote:GWS: Still reprints, but the image tags are current comments.

Dave wrote:

Just Old Al wrote:

Dave wrote: Well, you know how some people are prone to personify their cars, or their firearms? (Yes, some of them even hang out around here).

I saw that......

I expected you would.

More the point, anthromorphism of weapons is as old as Man itself. Not seeing the battleships thing personally (though gotta say I consider much anime a bit creepy) but it's entirely understandable.

Oh, definitely. The human race has a long-standing tradition of personifying all sorts of inanimate objects (living and unliving), and ascribing thoughts, personalities, and motivations to them. Weapons, specifically, often were ascribed such characters (often martial, sometimes evil or chaotic) - not surprising considering how important a role they played in survival, and how strongly they'd often be "tied" to their owner or creator.

Apparently, the whole idea of personification-of-the-nonhuman was rather getting out of hand in 18th-century poetry, which was full of such imagery as part of the poets' way of tugging on the heart-strings of the reader. Flowers and trees were common subjects for this sort of treatment; leaves whispered, trees wept... that sort of thing. They were being used in a style of persuasion known classically as "pathos" (eliciting emotions from within the readers' experience).

In later years, excessive use of this was criticized as the "pathetic fallacy". I suppose it's like a lot of spices and flavorings - appealing in small doses, but it becomes unpleasant when you ladle it on in huge quantities.

And, in the modern era, there's the tendency of some women to personify their sex toys. I'm sure you can figure out the technical term for that.

(grins, ducks, runs like hell... dropping into the Pun Jar, in passing, a gift certificate for a certain store in Girls with Slingshots).

TazManiac wrote:

Dave wrote:In later years, excessive use of this was criticized as the "pathetic fallacy". I suppose it's like a lot of spices and flavorings - appealing in small doses, but it becomes unpleasant when you ladle it on in huge quantities.

And, in the modern era, there's the tendency of some women to personify their sex toys. I'm sure you can figure out the technical term for that.

(grins, ducks, runs like hell... dropping into the Pun Jar, in passing, a gift certificate for a certain store in Girls with Slingshots).

'Good Vibrations' Look it up. (I spent a little time in and around the founders; not that they would have noticed...)

Catawampus wrote:

oldmanmickey wrote:Its gonna be mighty interesting to see how she reacts to this.

And if she does learn a lesson from this, will it be one of the right lessons to learn?