explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1212: Interstellar Memes

2025-03-11T18:31:43Z

108.162.216.32: fixed details on the description of "the cake is a lie".

{{comic
| number = 1212
| date = May 15, 2013
| title = Interstellar Memes
| image = interstellar memes.png
| titletext = The strongest incentive we have to develop faster-than-light travel is that it would let us apologize in advance.
}}
A [http://xkcd.com/1212/large/ larger version] of this picture can be found by clicking the comic on xkcd.

==Explanation==
{{incomplete| Needs explanations for memes}}

[[Randall]] highlights various memes from popular culture. A {{w|meme}} is a phenomenon, often in this scenario in the form of a movie quote, a musical reference, a catchphrase or other notable saying that spreads quickly by word-of-mouth. Memes become popular because people hear about them and repeat them to others. Randall points out that if the assumed intelligent life from other star systems were listening to the things we said, then they would just now be hearing and popularizing memes started years ago on earth. The delay is due to the time that it takes for expressions of the meme to travel (presumably via radio waves) to distant star systems.

Our solar system, from where the electromagnetic waves are emitted, is located just left of the center of the picture. The other star systems are arranged roughly according to their distance from the sun, while their size corresponds to the size of the star compared with that of the sun.

The meme for Sirius is a pun; it refers to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, in which Bellatrix Lestrange kills Sirius Black.

Radio waves travel at the {{w|speed of light}}. The title text jokes that these memes are so annoying that it would give us further incentive to develop the technology to travel {{w|faster than light}}, just simply to be able to outrun the radio waves, reach a distant star system, and apologize in advance to the "residents" about the memes, before the memes arrive.

===Table with memes===
The table below lists all the memes described, and the star at which the comics states those memes should be heard by the time when the comic was released in 2013. The year of the meme plus the number of light years to the star should end up close to 2013.

Most end up within the range 2011-2013 which may indicate the meme became popular one or two years later (on Earth or at the distant star system.) Two memes reach the targets in 2014. Some of those errors may be caused by the inaccuracy of the distances.

The ''The Spanish Inquisition'' from Monty Python would have reached its destination in 2006. Because they're still watching ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' in 2013 it must be very popular or maybe it took seven years to decipher that {{w|British humour}}.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Meme !! Star !! Origin !! Year !! Distance to star !! Sum year !! Explanation
|-
| Yabba dabba doo! || {{w|Castor (star)|Castor}} || ''{{w|The Flintstones}}'' || 1960 || 51 ± 3 ly || 2011 ± 3 ||The catchphrase used by ''{{W|Fred Flintstone}}'' in the series ''{{W|The Flintstones}}'' whenever something good happens (like a work shift ending).
|-
| You've got to ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" || {{w|Lambda Aurigae}} || ''{{w|Dirty Harry}}'' || 1971 || 41.2 ± 0.1 ly || 2012 ||
|-
| {{w|Where's the beef|Where's the beef?}} || {{w|HR 1614}} || Slogan for {{w|Wendy's}} || 1984 || 28 ly || 2012 || Catchy slogan used in many Wendy's commercials that caught on and became a meme in its own right.
|-
| And now for something completely different. || {{w|Capella (star)|Capella}}|| ''{{w|Monty Python's Flying Circus}}'' || 1969 || 42 ly || 2011 ||
|-
| Here's lookin' at you, kid. || {{w|Kappa Reticuli}} || ''{{w|Casablanca (film)|Casablanca}}'' || 1942 || 70 ly || 2012 ||
|-
| My spoon is too big! || {{w|Kapteyn's Star}} || ''{{w|Rejected}}'' || 2000 || 12 ly || 2012 ||
|-
| May the force be with you. || {{w|Delta Trianguli}} || ''{{w|Star Wars}}''|| 1977 || 35 ly || 2012 || This is a phrase used a lot in the Star Wars franchise. It is a benediction used to bid a hopeful farewell, mostly by/to/between those who are aligned to the {{w|Jedi}} creed.
|-
| Peanut butter jelly time! || {{w|Luyten's Star}} || [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/peanut-butter-jelly-time an Internet meme] || 2002 || 12 ly || 2014 ||
|-
| Rosebud. || {{w|Alpha Hydri}} || ''{{w|Citizen Kane}}'' || 1941 || 71 ly || 2012 || In the opening scene of Citizen Kane, the eponymous Mr. Kane dies, saying "Rosebud" as his last words. The rest of the movie focuses on the people in his life trying to determine what the meaning of this word was.
|-
| Oh my god, {{w|They killed Kenny|they killed Kenny!}} – You bastards! || {{w|AD Leonis}} || ''{{w|South Park}}'' || 1997 || 15.9 ± 0.2 ly || 2013 || This is usually said whenever the character Kenny from South Park is killed. This is a recurring reference, as Kenny dies in every episode of South Park. In its most referenced form, another of the child characters then swears at the antagonists, fate and/or {{tvtropes|BreakingTheFourthWall|the writer's of the show}}, whichever party may be responsible, but this may be toned down in later depictions.
|-
| ...God kills a kitten! – A what? || {{w|Procyon}} || {{w|Every time you masturbate... God kills a kitten|an Internet meme}} || 2002 || 11.5 ly || 2013 || The reply for this meme notes that kittens aren't on any other planets{{Citation needed}}, so the other person is confused about what a kitten is.
|-
| I ''still'' can't believe Bellatrix– – Dude, get over it. || {{w|Sirius}} || ''{{w|Harry Potter}}'' ({{w|Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix|book 5}}) || 2003 || 8.6 ly || 2012 || In the Battle of the {{w|Ministry of Magic|Department of Mysteries}}, {{w|Bellatrix Lestrange}} fires a spell at {{w|Sirius Black}}, {{w|Harry Potter (character)|Harry's}} {{w|Godparent|godfather}}. This spell knocks Sirius backward through an archway which is a physical doorway into the {{w|Afterlife|afterlife}} such that, when Sirius fell through it, he left the realm of the living and died. The star Sirius is obviously upset about this, as Sirius Black was named after him.
|-
| Ninjas fight ''all the time!'' || {{w|Epsilon Eridani}} || {{w|The Official Ninja Webpage}} || 2002 || 10 ly || 2012 ||
|-
| {{w|D'oh!}} || {{w|HR 753}} || ''{{w|The Simpsons}}'' || 1989 || 23 ly || 2012 || This is what {{w|Homer Simpson| Homer}} exclaims whenever he's annoyed.
|-
| {{w|The Spanish Inquisition (Monty Python)|''Nobody'' expects the Spanish Inquisition!}} || {{w|Beta Virginis}} || ''{{w|Monty Python's Flying Circus}}'' || 1970 || 35,6 ly || 2006 || Monty Python was an absurdist sketch show. In a particular episode, a character in a scene (a meeting between a mill-owner and his workers) complained about being asked some questions by saying they "did not expect a {{w|Spanish Inquisition}}", a superlative that was common at the time the sketch aired. At this point, several characters dressed in the uniforms of the Spanish Inquisition burst into the scene declaring that "nobody expects the Spanish inquisition", diverting the original sketch's direction. At the very end of the episode, a different character in a different (courtroom) sketch says that they "didn't expected the Spanish Inquisition" and everyone turns towards the door in expectation. The remainder of the episode follows the Spanish Inquisition rushing to the scene, and barely starting to 'surprise' everyone there before time runs out.
|-
| {{w|All your base are belong to us}}. || {{w|Tau Ceti}} || ''{{w|Zero Wing}}'' || 2001 || 11.9 ly || 2013 || This is a meme resulting from a mistranslated line in the game ''Zero Wing''. The correct translation was "We have taken all of your bases."
|-
| Take me to your leader! – No, Steve. || {{w|Beta Cassiopeiae|Caph}} || {{w|Take me to your leader (phrase)}} || 1957 || 55 ly || 2012 ||
|-
| Chuck Norris doesn't sleep. He ''waits.'' || {{w|Wolf 359}} || {{w|Chuck Norris facts}} || 2005 || 7.8 ly || 2013 || {{w|Chuck Norris}} is an American movie star, typically taking on roles where he would perform implausible feats of physical prowess. People online started making lists of many other implausible or impossible feats that Chuck Norris was supposedly capable of, including this one. Normal humans have a physiological need for {{w|sleep}}, with sleep deprivation having many negative health effects. That Chuck Norris does not sleep but instead waits implies a superhuman resistance to insomnia, while simultaneously explaining his inaction as a form of {{w|theodicy}}.
|-
| ♬ Numa numa ♪ || {{w|Lalande 21185}} || {{w|Dragostea Din Tei|Numa Numa song}} || 2004 || 8.3 ly || 2012 || "Numa numa" is part of the lyrics of the chorus of a Romanian-language europop song {{w|Dragostea Din Tei}}. A webcam recording of {{w|Gary Brolsma}} enthousiastically singing along with the song was uploaded to youtube and widely shared.
|-
| I can haz? || {{w|WISE 1049-5319|Luhman 16}} || {{w|Lolcats}} || 2006 || 6.6 ± 0.5 ly || 2013 || An early image macro meme format was captioning pictures of cats, as alluded to in xkcd [[262]]. One popular image featured an overweight Scottish Fold cat with the caption "I can haz cheezburger?", implying the cat is overweight because it likes eating cheeseburgers.
|-
| ''Internets!'' || {{w|Luyten 726-8|Gliese 65}} || {{w|George W. Bush}} [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/internets Internet meme] || 2004 || 8.7 || 2013||
|-
| Look at the tiny dancing Earth mammals! || {{w|Gliese 1}} || {{w|Hampsterdance}} and/or {{w|Dancing Baby}} || 1998 || 14 ly || 2012 ||
|-
| ''Wasssuup!?!'' || {{w|Van Maanen's star}} || {{w|Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch)|Budweiser Beer}} advertising campaign || 1999 || 14 ly || 2013 || A compounded way of saying "What's up", a common greeting, with the compounded version being more common in 1990s' African American Vernacular English. In the commercial, two friends are lounging and watching a sports game, calling each other using an analog wired telephone. Using these telephones, multiple people in the same household could pick up phones connected to the same in-home telephone network and all participate in the conversation. Several other friends use this function to join the call and say "Wassuupp!?!" at each other in an escalatingly large group and then hang up to go back to doing their own thing.
|-
| Yippie-ki-yay, motherfucker. || {{w|Beta Hydri}} || ''{{w|Die Hard}}'' || 1988 || 24 ly || 2012 ||
|-
| I pity the fool! || {{w|Groombridge 1830}} || ''{{w|Rocky III}}'' ({{w|Mr. T}}) || 1982 || 30 ly || 2012 ||
|-
| The cake is a lie! || {{w|Alpha Centauri|Alpha Centauri A/B}} || ''{{w|Portal (video game)|Portal}}'' || 2007 || 4.3 ly || 2011 || This is a phrase that appears scrawled on a wall in the video game Portal foreshadowing the ending where, despite being promised cake, the player character is not given it and is almost killed by the antagonist.
|-
| ♪ Never gonna give you up ♫ || {{w|Alpha Centauri|Alpha Centauri A/B}} || {{w|Rickrolling}} || 2007 || 4.3 ly || 2011 || This is a reference to an act of tricking someone to watch/listen to the song "Never Gonna Give You Up" involuntarily.
|-
| I'm on a boat! || {{w|Proxima Centauri}} || {{w|The Lonely Island}} || 2009 || 4.243 ± 0.002 ly || 2013 ||
|-
| ♫ Chocolate Raaaiiin ♫ || {{w|Barnard's Star}} || {{w|Tay Zonday}}: {{w|Chocolate Rain}} video || 2007 || 6 ly || 2013 || Chocolate Rain is a song uploaded to youtube by Tay Zonday, with video of him recording the voice track. "Chocolate rain" is the {{w|hook (music)|hook}} of the song that recurs every other line, and in the lyrics chocolate rain serves as an analogy for systemic racism.
|-
| Leave Britney alone! || {{w|Barnard's Star}} || {{w|Cara Cunningham}}: [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/leave-britney-alone LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE!] || 2007 || 6 ly || 2013 || {{w|Britney Spears}} is an American singer and pop star, who was ridiculed by the press and popular discourse for drama in her personal life. A highly watched early youtube video featured Cara filming herself in a highly emotional state, begging people to "leave Britney alone" because she had it hard enough.
|-
| You're the man now, dog! || {{w|Epsilon Indi}} || {{w|YTMND}} || 2001 || 11.8 || 2013 ||
|-
| {{w|More cowbell|More cowbell!}} || {{w|Kruger 60}} || ''{{w|Saturday Night Live}}'' || 2000 || 13 ly || 2013 || Saturday Night Live is a famous show that creates comedy sketchs every Saturday night. One of these sketches was the "More cowbell" sketch. This sketch was about the recording of "{{w|(Don't Fear) The Reaper}}", a song by the {{w|Blue Öyster Cult}}. In this skit, Gene Frenkle (a fictional character, played by {{w|Will Ferrell}}) was playing the {{w| Cowbell (instrument)|cowbell}}. However, because the cowbell was so distracting, the band stops playing and tells him to stop. This upsets Frenkel, who starts playing more and more annoyingly as the sketch goes on. {{w|Bruce Dickinson}}, played by {{w|Christopher Walken}}, encourages Frenkel to play the cowbell louder saying the iconic line, "Guess what! I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!".
Christopher Walken later said that the sketch "ruined his life", because of how popular it became.
|-
| Hasta la vista, baby. || {{w|Gliese 892}} || ''{{w|Terminator 2}}'' || 1991 || 21 ly || 2012 ||
|-
| Let's get ready to ruuumble! || {{w|Zeta Tucanae}} || {{w|Michael Buffer}} || 1984 || 28 ly || 2012 || This meme originated from the main catchphrase of ring announcer Michael Buffer, which he has used since 1984. The catchphrase has also made an appearance in the 1996 Disney movie ''{{w|Space Jam}}''.
|-
| You talkin' to ''me?'' || {{w|Arcturus}} || ''{{w|Taxi Driver}}'' || 1976 || 36.7 ± 0.3 ly || 2013 ||
|-
| Did ''I'' do that? || {{w|Xi Boötis|Boötis}} || ''{{w|Family Matters}}'' ({{w|Steve Urkel}}) || 1989 || 21.89 ± 0.07 ly || 2011 ||
|-
| Welcome to Good Burger, home of the good burger. – What's a burger? – I don't know. || {{w|70 Ophiuchi}} || {{w|Good Burger}} slogan || 1997 || 16.58 ± 0.07 ly || 2014 ||
|-
| Badger badger badger badger || {{w|Ross 154}} || {{w|Badger Badger Badger}} || 2003 || 9.7 ly || 2013 ||
|-
| {{w|Vulcan salute|Live long and prosper.}} – OK. || {{w|HD 211415}} || ''{{w|Star Trek}}'' || 1967 || 44 ly || 2011 ||
|-
| Name's Bond. James Bond. || {{w|51 Pegasi}} || ''{{w|Dr. No (film)|Dr. No}}'' ({{w|James Bond}}) || 1962 || 50.9 ± 0.3 ly || 2013 || James Bond is the protagonist of a series of spy fiction, who has a habit of introducing himself with this exact phrase.
|-
| Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn. || {{w|Alpha Serpentis}} || ''{{w|Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind}}'' || 1939 || 74.0 ± 0.3 ly || 2013 ||
|-
| Mr. T ate my balls! || {{w|Altair}} || [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ate-my-balls an Internet meme] || 1996 || 16.7 ly || 2013 ||
|-
| I want the truth. – ''You can't handle the truth!'' || {{w|Delta Pavonis}} || ''{{w|A Few Good Men}}'' || 1992 || 20 ly || 2012 ||
|-
| I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse. || {{w|Beta Trianguli Australis}} || ''{{w|The Godfather}}'' || 1972 || 40 ly || 2012 ||
|-
| {{w|Resistance is futile|Resistance is futile.}} || {{w|Vega}} || ''{{w|Star Trek}}'' ({{w|Borg (Star Trek)|Borg}}) || 1988 || 25 ly || 2013 || The Borg are a fictional hypercollectivist superpower in the Milky Way galaxy depicted in the Star Trek franchise. The Borg expand by violently conquering the hundreds of species that exist in the galaxy, using cyborg implants to force conquered people to work for their collective in body and mind. When a Borg spaceship encounters resistance, it sends out a standard message explaining its intent to add the to-be-conquered people's biological and cultural distinctiveness to their own, and that resistance is futile.
|-
| Oh... My... Gaawd || {{w|Sigma Draconis}} || ''{{w|Friends}}'' ({{w|Janice Goralnik}}) || 1994 || 18.8 ly || 2013 ||
|-
| Ehh, what's up, Doc? || {{w|Epsilon Cygni|Gienah}} || {{w|Bugs Bunny}} || 1940 || 73 ly || 2013 || This is the main catchphrase of Bugs Bunny, the main character of the loony toons.
|-
| ''EXTERMINATE!'' || {{w|Alpha Cephei|Alderamin}} || ''{{w|Doctor Who}}'' ({{w|Dalek|The Daleks}}) || 1963 || 49 ly || 2012 || The main catchphrase of the Daleks of Doctor Who, used when they fire their gunsticks resulting in the extermination of whatever was hit. It wasn't actually used in this context in the TV series until Power of the Daleks, three years after {{w|The Daleks|their debut}}, though some of the very first scenes had them discussing amongst themselves the "extermination" of their newly rediscovered (and, at that time, mostly oblivious) enemies.
|}

==Transcript==
:[On a black background yellow circles and white bubbles are shown. Caption above the picture:]
:If other star systems are listening in on our pop culture, given the speed-of-light delay, these are the jokes and catchphrases they just learned about and are currently repeating way too much:

:[On a black background a map of star systems in relation to the Sun, which is roughly in the center, sending out radio waves is shown. Each star is a yellow circle of differing sizes, with a speech bubble (or more). The list is ordered from closest to furthest.]
:Proxima Centauri: I'm on a boat!
:Alpha Centauri A B: The cake is a lie! – ♪ Never gonna give you up ♫
:Luhman 16: I can haz?
:Barnard's star: Leave Britney alone! – ♫ Chocolate Raaaiiin ♫
:Wolf 359: Chuck Norris doesn't sleep. He waits.
:Lalande 21185: ♬ Numa numa ♪
:Sirius: I still can't believe Bellatrix– – Dude, get over it.
:Gliese 65: INTERNETS!
:Epsilon Eridani: Ninjas fight all the time!
:Procyon: ...God kills a kitten! – A what?
:Epsilon Indi: You're the man now, dog!
:Tau Ceti: All your base are belong to us.
:Luyten's Star: Peanut Butter Jelly Time!
:Kapteyn's star: My spoon is too big!
:Kruger 60: MORE COWBELL!
:Gliese 1: Look at the tiny dancing Earth mammals!
:Van Maanen's star: WASSSUUP!?!
:Ad Leonis: Oh my God, they killed Kenny! – You bastards!
:70 Ophiuchi: Welcome to Good Burger, home of the Good Burger. – What's a burger? – I don't know.
:Altair: Mr. T ate my balls!
:Sigma Draconis: Oh ... my ... gaawd.
:Delta Pavonis: I want the truth. – You can't handle the truth!
:Gliese 892: Hasta la vista, baby.
:Xi Boötis: Did I do that?
:HR 753: D'oh!
:Beta Hydri: Yippie-ki-yay, motherfucker.
:Vega: Resistance is futile.
:Zeta Tucanae: Let's get ready to ruuumble!
:HR 1614: Where's the beef?
:Groombridge 1830: I pity the fool!
:Delta Trianguli: May the Force be with you.
:Beta Virginis: Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
:Arcturus: You talkin' to me ?
:Beta Trianguli Australis: I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse.
:Lamda Aurigae: You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?'
:Capella: And now for something completely different.
:HD 211415: Live long and prosper. – Ok.
:Alderamin: EXTERMINATE!
:51 Pegasi: Name's bond. James Bond.
:Caph: Take me to your leader! – No, Steve.
:Kappa Reticuli: Here's lookin' at you, kid.
:Alpha Hydri: Rosebud.
:Gienah: Ehh, what's up doc?
:Alpha Serpentis: Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Puns]]
[[Category:Songs]]
[[Category:Rickrolling]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Doctor Who]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Star Trek]]
[[Category:Harry Potter]]
[[Category:Terminator]]
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]

2774: Taxiing

2023-05-11T14:35:03Z

108.162.216.32: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2774
| date = May 10, 2023
| title = Taxiing
| image = taxiing_2x.png
| imagesize = 399x431px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I don't understand why anyone would pay full price for a flatbed truck rental when you can buy 'DETOUR' signs online for like $10.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a STOLEN WATERBED TRUCK - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[File:A Polish airman marshals a U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules aircraft March 13, 2014, at Lask Air Base, Poland 140313-F-BH566-088.jpg|thumb|400px| A marshaller marshalling, indicating the airplane should stop. Or possibly a {{w|Sith}}. (From Wikimedia Commons)]]
In this comic, [[Cueball]] is directing an airplane with marshalling wands onto a ramp that leads onto a trailer. The caption reveals he is not an actual aircraft marshal, but is trying to steal the airplane by misleading the real pilot. Randall, as Cueball, says the "glowing wand things" were bought cheaply on the internet, much cheaper than it would have been to buy the plane he is now stealing.

{{w|Aircraft marshalling|Marshallers}} stand or walk on aircraft pathways and use marshalling wands to direct planes around while they are taxiing. Ironically, the area that marshallers most often work is an area called "the ramp", where airplanes will typically park while trans-loading passengers and cargo.

The title text mentions doing a similar thing, but with detour signs rather than glow wands and flatbed trucks rather than planes. Cueball may have used this tactic to obtain the truck he is loading the airplane onto.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is waving two orange sticks in the air, one in each hand. They are glowing as indicated with small orange lines all around the orange part. The handle he holds them by is black. Cueball is pointing one stick to the left where, behind him, is a ramp that extends beyond the panel. The other stick is held up in front of his face and he looks up onto the front end of a large plane. Only a small part of the plane is visible, mainly the very tip with just a bit of the window into the cockpit shown. The underside of the tip is gray, the rest is white with the window in black.]
:Cueball: ...Keep going...
:Cueball: ...Slightly left...
:Cueball: ...Okay, good...you're lined up with the ramp...
:Cueball: ...Now pull forward slowly up onto the trailer...

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I don't understand why anyone would pay full price for an airplane when you can buy those glowing wand things online for like $30.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Aviation]]

225: Open Source

2021-05-10T16:22:27Z

108.162.216.32: He's still known for that.

{{comic
| number = 225
| date = February 19, 2007
| title = Open Source
| image = open source.png
| titletext = Later we'll dress up like Big Oil thugs and jump Ralph Nader.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Richard Stallman}}, or ''rms'' after his handle, is an old-school hacker known for establishing the {{w|Free Software Foundation}} (FSF) and initiating the {{w|GNU Project}} in the early 1980s, which produced major portions of what would later be the {{w|Linux|GNU/Linux}} operating system. In this capacity, he's also known for being one of the most ardent and outspoken proponents of {{w|open source software}}, often referred to by Stallman as {{w|free software}}. In fact, his advocacy is so emphatic and polemical that he has garnered active dislike from traditionalists who believe that software {{w|source code}} should be retained as a trade secret by its developer(s). Stallman has expressed that he did not even wish to be in a comic using the phrase '''Open Source''' (see the [[#Trivia|trivia]] section).

While this dislike may not rise to the level of hiring {{w|ninja}} assassins to remove him from the world, it is strong. The joke of the comic, as it also turns out, is that the two [[Cueball]]s dressed up as ninjas were just out to have a fun time teasing Stallman, and they seemed to know that Stallman's paranoia about {{w|Microsoft}} makes him sleep with no fewer than two {{w|katana}} swords near his bed. This type of sword was one of the traditionally made Japanese swords that were used by the {{w|samurai}} of feudal Japan. A ninja was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. Their covert methods of waging irregular warfare were deemed "dishonorable" and "beneath" the samurai-caste, who observed strict rules about honor and combat. So this makes sense in this comic with Stallman, the samurai, and the ninjas, the lackeys of the oppressing Microsoft (at least in his mind). It also turns out that they specifically choose targets for their raids who have reason to be paranoid of larger companies that might send someone after them, and thus sleep with weapons near their beds. Stallman has received a Katana due to this comic (see the [[#Trivia|trivia]] section).

{{w|GPL}} refers to the 'GNU General Public License', which is a copyright license written by the FSF that covers much GNU software and plenty of other free software besides. It stipulates that software so copyrighted must always be provided along with full source code, and that everyone in possession of such software is free to use, study, modify, and redistribute it for any purpose whatsoever (including sale or resale), provided they give due credit to any other contributing developers and provide access to the complete source code and retain all copyright notices.

Legally, this gives all users of such software exactly the same rights under copyright as the developer(s) and prevents any developers from ever taking away those rights from users, which is the defining feature of '{{w|Free software#Definition|free-as-in-libre}}' software. It also has the effect of making all software ''derived'' from GPL software thereby also GPL, even if 'derived' merely means 'borrowed a few lines of code from'. Some (e.g. Microsoft's {{w|Steve Ballmer}}) have therefore argued that this makes GPL software behave as a kind of {{w|viral license|'license virus'}}, which spreads GPL-guaranteed freedoms to any software used in close conjunction with GPL'd software during development, such that businesses should actively avoid adopting {{w|FOSS|free and open source software}}, so as not to jeopardize software developers' legal standing with regard to {{w|proprietary software|proprietary IP copyright}}s.

During the attack, Richard Stallman begins to speak like he quotes an old play. For instance, the wording "For a GNU dawn!" is pronounced "For a g'new dawn!", following the pronunciation of {{w|GNU}}, so it is a version of ''New Dawn'', a sentence used often in fiction. He even gets annoyed when it turns out that the ninjas just run away. He had clearly waited a long time to, even looking forward to, defending himself with his katanas.

Because the two "ninjas" had so much fun pranking Stallman, they plan to do more of these raids, even mentioning two other possible future targets on their way out of the window:

{{w|Eric S. Raymond}} is a famous {{w|Hacker (programmer subculture)|hacker}} who wrote ''{{w|The Cathedral and the Bazaar}}'' and has been something of an unofficial spokesperson for open source as a {{w|Open-source software development|software development methodology}}. The plan to prank Eric Raymond could be a bad one, since he is an experienced martial artist, swordsman, and firearm enthusiast. However, this seems to be the attraction of these two "ninjas," as can be seen by what they seem to know about their other possible target:

{{w|Linus Torvalds}} is the creator of the {{w|Linux kernel}}, a free/open source operating system kernel inspired by the {{w|Unix}} kernel, which proved to be the final component that, combined with then pre-existing GNU system functions and {{w|userland}} components, produced the first fully free operating system, {{w|Linux}}. The plan to prank Torvalds would at first sound more boring as the mild-mannered {{w|Finland|Finn}}, while known to be strongly, abrasively opinionated, is otherwise mostly harmless. However, one of the ninjas seems to know otherwise, since it is rumored that Linus sleeps with {{w|nunchaku|nunchucks}} in the same way that Stallman sleeps with two katana swords. The ''nunchaku'' is a traditional Okinawan martial arts weapon consisting of two sticks connected at one end by a short chain or rope.

A third possible target of this prank is mentioned in the title text. {{w|Ralph Nader}} is a famous consumer rights advocate, most famous for {{w|Ralph Nader presidential campaign, 2000|his controversial 2000 presidential run}}, and the 1965 book ''{{w|Unsafe at Any Speed}}''. Nader is an environmentalist and a member of the Green Party, and he supports clean energy, thus naturally being opposed to "Big Oil" companies.

==Transcript==
:[The first panel has the second panel inside it. It also has a slightly light gray background color. Just above the inlaid second panel is Richard Stallman lying in his bed sleeping, the bottom part at the foot of the bed hidden behind the second panel below. Below his bed under his head lies a katana sword in its sheath, and another one hangs in its sheath behind the end of the bed. Two ninjas with swords and black cloths around their heads jump through the skylight, smashing it so glass scatters around them. Each of them is hanging one-handed from the same rope coming down from the skylight. The rope ends just above the inlaid frame below. The two ninjas shout at Richard Stallman, from four speech bubbles that have pointy ends to indicate how the two alternately speak. (These bubbles are white, not gray.)]
:Richard Stallman: ''Zzzz''
:Top Ninja: Richard Stallman! Your viral open source licenses have grown too powerful.
:Bottom Ninja: The GPL must be stopped.
:Top Ninja: At the source.
:Bottom Ninja: You.

:[In the second inlaid panel (with normal white background), Richard Stallman wakes up immediately, and while sitting up in bed, he pulls out both his katana swords from their sheaths, leaving the sheaths under and behind the bed. One hand is up in the air with the sword from behind the bed, and the other is still pointing down with the swords from below the bed. Lines indicate the fast movement of the swords. His three speech bubbles are like those of the ninjas, the last two even breaking the panel entering into the large first panel.]
:Katana swords: Shing! Shing!
:Richard Stallman: Hah! Microsoft lackeys! So it has come to this!
:Richard Stallman: A night of blood I've long awaited. But be this my death or yours, free software will carry on! For a GNU dawn! For freedom!
:Richard Stallman: ...Hey, where are you going?

:[An outside scene at night with black sky. Richard Stallman's gray house can be seen with the broken white skylight on the roof. The ninjas are jumping out of a window at ground height while taking off their ninja cloth around their heads, holding them in their hand, thus revealing that they both look like Cueball. The first one is already on the grassy ground beneath the window, his sword pointing down and to the left; the other just jumps from the window pane, his sword pointing up and to the right. Again, they have speech bubbles like before. It is not possible to tell which of the two ninjas from before is first out the window.]
:Ninja in window: Man, you're right, that never gets old.
:Ninja on the grass: Let's do Eric S. Raymond next.
:Ninja in window: Or Linus Torvalds. I hear he sleeps with nunchucks.

==Trivia==
*The phrase "So it has come to this" is the title of [[1022: So It Has Come To This]].
*In [[1624: 2016]], [[Cueball]] smashes through the ceiling, also hanging on a rope, to wake a person in a bed. Not as a threat though, but still a very similar situation.
*In the title text of [[163: Donald Knuth]], [[Black hat]] reveals that he broke into Donald Knuth's house through the skylight as well.
*Because of this comic, Stallman has [http://blog.xkcd.com/2007/04/19/life-imitates-xkcd-part-ii-richard-stallman/ been given a katana] by fans of xkcd.
*At his [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHp_Vh9TESU#t=1645 talk at JCCC3] (as well as in a note in ''[http://store-xkcd-com.myshopify.com/products/xkcd-volume-0 xkcd: Volume Zero]''), [[Randall]] mentioned that the comic he originally published had the assassins say "free software," and Richard Stallman says "open source software." He swapped the two terms after complaints that Richard Stallman was [https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html opposed to the phrase "open source."] Even after this change, he got an e-mail from Stallman himself saying that he didn't even want to be portrayed in the same comic as the words "open source."
*Stallman's well-known opposition to the term "open source" stems from the fact that "open source" refers specifically to a methodology for software development involving allowing customers to actively participate in development and testing of software products by giving them access to in-development source code and soliciting feedback; as such, the term was first adopted as a means to promote free software ideas to business interests. In contrast, Stallman and the FSF view free software as a political issue concerning the basic freedoms that should belong to all computer users, and thus 'open source' as an appeal to software businesses misses the point of getting individuals to think about their rights as users.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Richard Stallman]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Computers]]

301: Limerick

2016-02-21T16:04:51Z

108.162.216.32: /* Explanation */ explained how the comic number is a reference to the title text

{{comic
| number = 301
| date = August 10, 2007
| title = Limerick
| image = limerick.png
| titletext = Fun game: try to post a YouTube comment so stupid that people realize you must be joking. (Hint: this is impossible)
}}

==Explanation==

A {{w|limerick (poetry)|limerick}} is a well-known type of poem that is usually humorous or bawdy. Technically, a limerick is primarily [http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88/meter.html anapestic trimeter]: each line contains three "feet", each foot consisting of two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable. The rhyme scheme is AABBA: the first, second, and fifth lines rhyme, as do the shorter third and fourth lines. Almost anyone can instantly recognize a limerick after hearing the first line.

{{w|Slashdot}} is a venerable techie site. On many sites, the user base can vote comments "up" or "down", but at Slashdot, only moderators (these are randomly drawn from the pool of registered users) may up or down vote comments, and the moderator may select a reason for his or her up or down vote. Instead of a simple +1, a comment may be voted +1 (Funny). Similarly, instead of -1, a comment may be voted -1 (Off-topic). +5 is the maximum positive score. A comment rated +5 (Insightful) has been upvoted at least 5 times, and has a plurality of "Insightful" votes.

[[Cueball]]'s limerick says that he does not like Slashdot anymore, because his sarcastic comments are being treated as "insightful" by the very people he's being sarcastic to.

The title text refers to the notoriously awful comments on YouTube.

In both cases, [[Randall]] is invoking {{w|Poe's Law}}. Both sites have become so full of extremes that you can no longer mock the extremists without looking like a sincere extremist yourself.

301, the number of this comic, is also a number often associated with YouTube. At the time this comic was published, view counts on YouTube videos would often freeze at 301, as YouTube would switch between view-counting algorithms when the number of views exceeded 300. Therefore, the comic number itself may be a reference to the title text.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sitting at computer, typing.]
:Cueball: I used to find slashdot delightful,
:Cueball: but my feelings of late are more spiteful;
:Cueball: my comments sarcastic
:Cueball: the iconoclastic
:Cueball: keep modding to plus five (Insightful).

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

504: Legal Hacks

2015-12-10T20:24:47Z

108.162.216.32: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 504
| date = November 14, 2008
| title = Legal Hacks
| image = legal_hacks.png
| titletext = It's totally a reasonable modern analogue. Jefferson would have been all about crypto.
}}

==Explanation==

[[Megan]] notices that an {{w|Internet Service Provider}} (ISP) is blocking access to some webpages. [[Cueball]] is thankful that cryptography offers a way around such censorship.

Encryption, sometimes called "cryptography," or "crypto" for short, is the art of transmitting messages that can only be read by the intended receiver(s) by using mathematical techniques to conceal ("encrypt") the data in the message. One common and effective way to encrypt messages is the {{w|RSA_(algorithm)|RSA algorithm}}, which is based on the difficulty of {{w|integer factorization}} for products of two prime numbers.

Being able to share unbreakable codes and decrypt other people's codes gives countries a military advantage - for example, in World War II, the Americans and British were often able to figure out where a German attack would be coming and send reinforcements there, because they had cracked the {{w|Enigma_machine|German codes}}. Because of this, the {{w|Export_of_cryptography_from_the_United_States|United States government initially tried to keep}} the mathematical details of strong encryption algorithms (including RSA) inside the country by classifying the algorithms as a weapon. It is a crime to share certain kinds of weapons technology with other countries without permission. Amateur and professional cryptographers, angry about the attempt to restrict their work, lobbied the government to change the rule and stop treating cryptography as a weapon, in part so that they could continue to collaborate with colleagues overseas, and in part because they wanted the ability to pass secret messages that the government could not easily decrypt. The export restrictions were gradually loosened and would have mostly been lifted by the year 2000.

In the comic, [[Megan]] makes the provocative and counter-intuitive point that perhaps the cryptographic community could have best ensured easy access to the RSA technique by *allowing* the government to treat RSA as a weapon, and then, once everyone is certain that RSA is a weapon, invoking the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, commonly known as the "right to bear arms" amendment (that is, the right to own and use weapons). In other words, if RSA were a weapon, it would be granted constitutional protections. This interpretation is likely a reference to the exceptionally strong antipathy towards arms control in the Southern United States. Any attempts made by the government to restrict distribution or ownership of firearms (even those which are very similar to military-grade weapons) are typically countered very aggressive opposition from pro-gun rights groups such as the {{w|National Rifle Association}}. These political forces have made most gun restrictions politically untenable. Megan is likely suggesting that classifying RSA as a weapon would gain the crypto community very powerful and unlikely political allies. Megan may also be hinting that, in the future, the US government might try to restrict access to encryption algorithms, making it necessary for cryptographers to defend their rights to them.

[[Cueball]] is surprised and impressed by this point, and pauses to contemplate Megan's strategy.

The title text claims that this is a reasonable interpretation of the Constitution, because cryptography (a modern weapon) is analogous to muskets and cannons (the weaponry in use in the 1780s, when the Second Amendment was drafted). As evidence for the analogy, the title text points out that Jefferson would have been a big fan of cryptography, which is plausible, because President Thomas Jefferson (the 3rd President of the United States) was an amateur scientist who enjoyed studying a very wide variety of fields (in fact, he invented the {{w|Jefferson_disk|Jefferson disk}} , an encryption device that was quite advanced for its time). The point is somewhat facetious, because it is hard to imagine a modern technique that Jefferson would *not* "be totally into." Also, the mere assertion that an early President would have been a fan of a technique is not very good evidence that the technique would be legally permitted by a particular Amendment.

==Transcript==
:[Megan sits at her computer, Cueball standing behind her.]
:Megan: Another ISP's filtering content.
:Cueball: Thank God for Crypto.

:[Cueball stands alone; Megan is presumably off-panel left.]
:Cueball: It wasn't that long ago that RSA was illegal to export. Classified a munition.

:[Megan, sitting in her chair, is looking back towards Cueball, presumably off-panel right.]
:Megan: You know, I think the crypto community took the wrong side in that fight. We should've lobbied to keep it counted as a weapon.
:Cueball: Why?

:[She is now turned around in the chair looking at Cueball, who is in-panel again.]
:Megan: Once they get complacent, we break out the second amendment.
:[Cueball has his hand on his chin, contemplatively.]
:Cueball: ...Damn.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Cryptography]]

208: Regular Expressions

2015-12-04T15:00:19Z

108.162.216.32: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 208
| date = January 10, 2007
| title = Regular Expressions
| image = regular_expressions.png
| titletext = Wait, forgot to escape a space. Wheeeeee[taptaptap]eeeeee.
}}

==Explanation==
In computing, {{w|regular expression}}s ("regexes") provide a concise and flexible{{Citation needed}} means to "match" (specify and recognize) strings of text, such as particular characters, words, or patterns of characters.

Manually trying to look for a specific pattern through 200MB of text is equivalent to looking for a needle in a haystack. But this task can be made easy by using regexes, since a script can read through text and match specific string patterns much faster than humans can achieve.

{{w|Perl}} is a popular scripting language that has [http://www.google.com/cse?cx=012652707207066138651%3Azudjtuwe28q&ie=UTF-8&q=perrl&siteurl=xkcd.com%2F&ref=&ss=1112j354976j5&oq=perrl&gs_l=partner.3...4805.5949.0.6245.5.5.0.0.0.0.316.1024.0j2j2j1.5.0.gsnos%2Cn%3D13...0.1112j354976j5..1ac.1.25.partner..3.2.276.Ewyu_zKGkDo#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=perl often been referenced] favorably in the comic.

The title text refers to how sensitive regexes can be to small missing characters.

==Transcript==
:Whenever I learn a new skill I concoct elaborate fantasy scenarios where it lets me save the day.

:Megan: Oh no! The killer must have followed her on vacation!
:[Megan points to computer.]
:Megan: But to find them we'd have to search through 200MB of emails looking for something formatted like an address!
:Cueball: It's hopeless!

:Off-panel voice: Everybody stand back.

:Off-panel voice: I know regular expressions.

:[A man swings in on a rope, toward the computer.]

:''tap tap''
:''PERL!''

:[The man swings away, and the other characters cheer.]

==Trivia==
*This comic is featured on one of the [http://shop.xkcd.com/products/i-know-regular-expressions T-shirts] sold at the xkcd store.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Regex]]

1241: Annoying Ringtone Champion

2015-12-04T14:57:06Z

108.162.216.32: /* Explanation */ Making the world a weirder place.

{{comic
| number = 1241
| date = July 22, 2013
| title = Annoying Ringtone Champion
| image = annoying_ringtone_champion.png
| titletext = It beat out 'Clock radio alarm', 'B-flat at 194 decibels', 'That noise from Dumb & Dumber', and 'Recording of a sobbing voice begging you to answer'.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic satirizes the variety of {{w|Ringtone|ringtones}} that may be used on their cell phones. While many are simply tunes that personalize a user's phone, some will use ringtones that resemble everyday sounds, such as doorbells, coughing, alarm noises, or in this case, the buzzing of a mosquito. Although rather innocuous, these ringtones can get very annoying to some people{{Citation needed}}, which is what this comic is getting at.

The title text refers to four other annoying{{Citation needed}} ringtones, apparently none of which were deemed as annoying as a mosquito buzzing:
*"Clock radio alarm". These sounds are often loud and annoying, just to ensure that you really will wake up.
*"B-flat at 194 decibels". {{w|B♭ (musical note)|B-flat}} is a musical note with a pitch of 466.16 Hz. 194 decibels is the {{w|Sound pressure#Examples of sound pressure and sound pressure levels|limit at 1 atmosphere pressure}}. More energy would create a shockwave. This could also be a reference to a crowd of {{w|vuvuzela}}s as they also produce sounds pitched around B flat. This may also refer to several B-flat-related phenomena discussed in an NPR story, [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7442915 Have You Heard About B Flat?] Specifically, B-flat has been found to agitate alligators, and waves passing through gas near a black hole have been found to resonate at a frequency which results in a B flat 57 octaves below middle C. Regardless of all this, a sound played as loud as 194 dB is quite literally deafening, so the ringtone would be not so much annoying as dangerous.
*"That noise from Dumb & Dumber". {{w|Dumb and Dumber}} is a comedy movie from 1994. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cVlTeIATBs The noise] from Dumb & Dumber is referring to the point in the movie when Harry and Lloyd asked, "Do you want to hear the most annoying sound in the world?" and began shrieking in imitation of a loud fax machine.
*"Recording of a sobbing voice begging you to answer". Self-explanatory{{Citation needed}}. Such a ringtone is obviously disruptive and potentially worrying to those in the vicinity of the phone.

==Transcript==
:Ringtone: hmmmmmmM<big><big><big>MMM</big></big></big>Mmmmmmmm
:Cueball: ''(cringing and raising his arms)'' AUGH!
:Black Hat: ''(pulls out phone)'' Oh, I've gotta take this.
:By unanimous decision, the winner of the Awful Ringtone Championship is "the sound a mosquito makes as it buzzes past your ear".

==Trivia==
*The "h" of "hmmm" unusually is in lowercase.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]

1243: Snare

2015-11-20T05:46:22Z

108.162.216.32: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1243
| date = July 26, 2013
| title = Snare
| image = snare.png
| titletext = It's going in A collection of satellites skewered with pins and mounted in display boxes. Not necessarily MY collection.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is relating some odd news items to [[Black Hat]]. A structure has been discovered that consists of large ring strung with superstrong mesh, a 260-mile long pole, and a gigantic winch. As Cueball outlines the particulars of the discovery, Black Hat responds vaguely to each detail, seeming preoccupied with his computer. Cueball quickly realizes that the pole, ring and net combination sounds like a {{w|Butterfly_net|butterfly net}}, but one of immense size. Given his history of nefarious activities, Cueball infers and then accuses Black Hat of wanting to "catch" the {{w|International Space Station}}, which orbits about 260 miles above the earth, by winching the pole up so that the net aligns with the Space Station's orbit.

Black Hat does not deny the charge, but he dissimulates by saying it is not necessarily ''the'' ISS that he intends to catch just ''an'' international space station, implying that it could be some other one. However, it is transparently obvious which space station he is targeting. Hint: it is the only truly international space station, it is actually called the International Space Station, and it has an orbit that matches the length of the pole that was found.

The real buildings probably belong to these structures:
*The giant ring from the first panel may be an allusion to the {{w|Tevatron}}, a former circular particle accelerator at the {{w|Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory}} (Fermilab), east of Batavia, near Chicago, Illinois.

*Similarly, the gigantic winch in St. Louis, may refer to the 630-foot (192 meters) high {{w|Gateway Arch|Gateway Arch Monument}}. It is the tallest man-made monument in the United States. Even the rough south-north direction of this building does match to this scenario because the Fermilab is approx. 260 miles north of St. Louis. However, it is an arch, not a winch{{Citation needed}}.

The title text is a reference to how butterfly collections are usually presented. The insects are mounted in glass display cases, each skewered through the body with a pin, and labelled. The text appears to be spoken by Black Hat, who here tries to imply that it may not be ''his'' collection of satellites. Perhaps he is minding it for a friend.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is talking to Black Hat. Black Hat is using a laptop.]
:Cueball: They said on the news that they found a giant ring lying in a field outside Chicago. Strung with some kind of superstrong mesh.
:Black Hat: Mhm?
:Cueball: Then they found a 260 mile long shaft connected to the ring, running from Chicago to St. Louis. In St. Louis they found a gigantic winch.
:Black Hat: Did they.
:Cueball: It sounds kind of like...
:Cueball: ...a butterfly net.
:Cueball: ...are you planning on catching the International Space Station?
:Black Hat: I'm planning to catch '''''an''''' international space station. Not sayin' which.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]

1526: Placebo Blocker

2015-07-27T19:16:35Z

108.162.216.32:

{{comic
| number = 1526
| date = May 18, 2015
| title = Placebo Blocker
| image = placebo blocker.png
| titletext = They work even better if you take them with our experimental placebo booster, which I keep in the same bottle.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|Work on making the explanation more simple, as well as a summary of the article: Genetics and the placebo effect}}
This comic is a joke about the difficulty of testing a drug that is supposed to block the placebo effect.

In an ideal experiment involving humans there is a test group and a control group. The control group is used to isolate a variable that the experiment can not be devised to avoid. For example, when people are treated for a illness they often show improvement relative to an untreated patient, regardless of the effectiveness of the treatment. This is called the {{w|placebo}} effect. Because medical scientists wish to determine the effectiveness of the treatment, they wish to isolate it from the placebo effect. Therefore, in many drug trials one group is given a placebo (an ineffective treatment) and one group is given the real treatment.

[[Cueball]] states to [[Hair Bun Girl]], with a citation from the real world, that his team created a Placebo Blocker, a drug designed to prevent the placebo effect. Cueball begins to design a test for this new drug. Following typical experimental design, patients would be split into two groups: a control group, and the group that receives the treatment.

Cueball knows that the treatment given to the control group is supposed to be designed so that it is not influenced by the variable trying to be isolated. As the placebo effect ''is'' the effect under investigation, a placebo can not be used as a control treatment as a comparison with a placebo blocker. Cueball tries to design around this. In his test, both groups would receive a placebo as a treatment for an unspecified condition (the ''Treatment Placebo''); in addition the test group would receive the Placebo Blocker drug, while the control group would get a placebo pill instead (the ''Placebo-Blocker Placebo''). If this works as expected, the ''Ttreatment Placebo'' would be blocked by the ''Placebo Blocker'' in the test group, while in the control group, the ''Placebo-Blocker Placebo'' may have a placebo effect in blocking the placebo effect of the ''Treatment Placebo'', and the difference between these effects can be measured to test the effectiveness of the ''Placebo Blocker''.

Cueball and Hair Bun Girl think about this trial until they both develop headache from frustration. Cueball then kindly offers Hair Bun Girl a sugar pill. While this might have helped cure the headache via the placebo effect had he told her it was a headache treatment, by revealing the pill as merely a sugar pill, it may suppress or reduce the effect (although as noted above, it would probably still have some effect).

In the title text, Cueball mentions that his sugar pills against headache works even better together with the new experimental placebo ''boosters''. Incidentally, he indicates that he keeps those in the same bottle with his sugar pills. Assuming someone believes placebo ''boosters'' are in the jar this would allow them to take the sugar pills and receive a greater placebo effect, as the placebo effect is based upon faith in the treatment, regardless of whether there are placebo ''boosters'' in the jar.

It is possible but unlikely that:
* Cueball's sugar pills are, in fact, the Placebo Blockers themselves and that, seeing Hair Bun Girl has a headache, Cueball is inspired to somehow use the opportunity as an experiment to test the Blockers
* Cueball is suggesting Hair Bun Girl take a "placebo booster" which is really a "placebo blocker", thus testing the blocker he mentioned earlier in the comic.

Questionable neuroscience research is also discussed in [[1453: fMRI]].

===Placebos===
The {{w|placebo}} effect refers to the phenomenon in which patients given an inactive treatment such as a sugar pill can still show improvement relative to an untreated patient. The placebo effect is thus very important to consider when testing new drugs, since even ineffective drugs can have a positive effect on the patients due to the placebo effect. Modern drug experiments are hence conducted as {{w|Blind experiment#Double-blind trials|double-blind trials}}, where the patients are randomly given either the treatment or a placebo without either they or the administering doctors knowing who receives the new drug and who received the placebo pill. (It is important that the doctor does not know, as if they did, it may affect the way they interact with the patient.)

Generally the patients need to believe that they are receiving an active treatment, but one [http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0015591 study] showed that the effect can occur even if the patients are told that they are receiving a placebo pill. The key factor seems to be that the patients most believe that a positive effect will occur. For example, (1) patients experience a greater effect if they believe that the treatment is expensive and (2) patients who know that they have not been given an active treatment will experience the effect if they are told that placebos can have a positive effect through the power of the mind. Furthermore, the placebo can increase the effectiveness of treatments which ''seem'' larger (this is why over-the-counter pain medication is often administered as two half-doses rather than just one full dose).

Several reasons for the placebo effect have been proposed, from study artifacts - such as under-reporting of negative outcomes by patients who think they are being treated, to neurological explanations for how mental state can translate into physical outcomes.

Placebo-blockers do actually already exist. A side-effect of the opiate antagonist {{w|Naloxone}} is that it [http://healthland.time.com/2009/08/26/a-neurological-explanation-for-the-placebo-effect/ blocks the placebo effect].

===Mechanisms of the placebo effect===
The placebo effect is one of the greatest mysteries in modern medicine. It is typically found that the placebo effect is an effective treatment in itself in addition to the effectiveness of drugs and other treatments, and it has been found to cause small improvements to cancer outcomes. In other cases such as pain relief, the placebo effect is very large compared with the effectiveness of the drug itself.

The comic refers to the recent study by Kathryn T. Hall, Joseph Loscalzo, and Ted J. Kaptchuk. (2015) ''[https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/J.MOLMED.2015.02.009 Genetics and the placebo effect: the placebome.]'' Trends in Mol Medicine. Volume 21, Issue 5, May 2015, Pages 285–294

It is possible to test the placebo blocker using three groups: a test group who receive a placebo blocker, a control group who receive a placebo, and a second control group who receive no treatment whatsoever, as a lack of treatment is the variable that an actual placebo is designed to control for. Still it might be hard to determine if the pills are having a negative effect or blocking the placebo effect, so multiple trials with multiple illnesses may have to be carried out.

==Transcript==
:[Hair Bun Girl is standing in front of Cueball who does all the talking. Below them is a footnote.]
:Cueball: Some researchers* are starting to figure out the mechanism behind the placebo effect.
:Cueball: We've used their work to create a new drug: A ''placebo effect blocker''.
:Footnote: * Hall et al, DOI: 10.1016/J.MOLMED.2015.02.009

:[Zoom in on Cueball who now holds his arms out.]
:Cueball: Now we just need to run a trial! We'll get two groups, give them both placebos, then give one the ''real'' placebo blocker, and the other a...
:Cueball: ...wait.

:[Hair Bun Girl holds her chin, while Cueball just stand there for a beat panel.]

:[Hair Bun looks again at Cueball who begins to take the lid off of a medicine bottle.]
:Hair Bun Girl: ...My head hurts.
:Cueball: Mine too.
:Cueball: Here, want a sugar pill?

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hair Bun Girl]]
[[Category:Science]]

Talk:1550: Episode VII

2015-07-17T23:33:57Z

108.162.216.32: Learning to be more nice, editing my comments

For anybody interested, the ''dropping of eaves'' is not an actual activity:

;[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eavesdropping#Etymology Wikipedia on etymology of eavesdropping]

'''Eavesdrop''': "The dripping of water from the eaves of a house; the ground on which such water falls". An eavesdropper was one who stood at the eavesdrop (where the water fell, i.e., near the house) so as to overhear what was said inside.

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.206|108.162.229.206]] 09:10, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

----

'''Question''': Is there a joke in the J. J. Abrams credit?

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.206|108.162.229.206]] 09:10, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

::J. J. Abrams is actually the director / producer of the film in question, Episode VII: The Force Awakens [[User:Taibhse|Taibhse]] ([[User talk:Taibhse|talk]]) 11:04, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

::I want to think the format of the comic is a parody of the opening of ''Alias'' or pne of Abrams's other television series. (You would get the title card, a brief sequence to set up the particular episode, then the "Directed by" credit. I'm not absolutely sure since it's been some time since I saw one of those series.) [[User:Rawmustard|Rawmustard]] ([[User talk:Rawmustard|talk]]) 13:38, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

::The joke in the final panel is the main overall joke, that the entirety of Episode VII's plot is Luke going back to finish his unfinished business on Tatooine of picking up the power converters. Thus we have opening title shot, three panels of storyboard, Luke delivering his line and then cut to credits. It's a wrap! [[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 16:36, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

Staying on the topic of J. J. Abrams... Why no lens flares? - [[Special:Contributions/108.162.222.178|108.162.222.178]] 12:11, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

I assumed the hooded man was Luke Skywalker. Is there anyone else it reasonably could be? [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 13:30, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

;Euphemism

I'm sorry, ever since I first saw Episode IV in the 90s, I always interpreted "pick up some power converters" to mean "cruise for dudes", especially given how the line was delivered. Even Uncle Owen seemed to share my sentiment.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.236|108.162.219.236]] 15:12, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

Robot Chicken expanded on the power converter line from A New Hope but in the other direction as a euphemism for a strip club routine. [[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 16:38, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

I thought the comic was a trailer for the movie, as opposed to the whole thing (after all, there's no opening crawl). Anyone else, or is it just me? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.164|108.162.246.164]] 04:39, 14 July 2015 (UTC)
:That's how I first saw it. Apparently Raw up above saw it like that, too. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.179|108.162.238.179]] 21:53, 14 July 2015 (UTC)

;Doesn't make sense - there are many more uncompleted tasks

As to the allegations that there are many unresolved issues in the franchise that have a significant impact on the overall narrative of any of the movies I offered a quote from George Lucas “
I’ve left pretty explicit instructions for there not to be any more features. There will definitely be no ‘Episodes VII-IX’. That’s because there isn’t any story. I mean, I never thought of anything! The ‘Star Wars’ story is really the tragedy of Darth Vader. That is the story.”
I hope this ends the multiple reverts. I know superfans may read more into stories than exist, but many times the "unresolved issues" they see are just plot gaps and details not judged worthwhile to put into the narrative. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.32|108.162.216.32]] 19:42, 16 July 2015 (UTC)
:It is unquestionable that the series leaves issues unresolved - it is literally impossible to resolve every fine detail. Did Han and Leia get married? Have kids? issue unresolved. Does Luke train new Jedis? Do the Jedis return to power? Does Lando return to be leader of Cloud City again? There's lots of issues left unresolved - I could come up with a hundred - it's just a matter of whether anyone wants to see a movie relating to those issues, which is subjective. I don't read expanded universe stuff, but I'm quite positive there are already expanded universe books or comics that follow Jedi and must address issues that are "unresolved".

:As for The Lucas quote, Lucas is full of s*#%. Read "The Secret History of Star Wars" and you will see how Lucas learned a handy catch phrase: "I always intended...." He quickly started using that to start every sentence and avoid any criticism. The film series was originally conceived as an ongoing Flash-Gordon-style serial with maybe 12 films - like a James Bond series - independent plots - each film a self-contained unit, directed by a new director.... His annoyance with the first film and his failing marriage eventually wore him down to the trilogy, but in between he had other numbers. I believe it's in the interviews that precede the special editions on VHS that he claims he has stories planned for 1-3 and 6-9 - that there were three trilogies. He later claimed "I just had vague concepts for 6-9 and never really had any real films planned" and now he says "There's no story left- please don't make sequels!" but this is all just because of another lie. Star Wars was always supposed to be about Luke's journey - until the prequels, then he suddenly jumped over to the lie that "the films were always intended to be the saga of Darth Vader's rise and fall and redemption" However, if that's true, clearly there are no sequels because the story of Vader ends in VI. So he had to revise his claim about 6-9 to suit his story that the series was now all about Vader. It is for this reason that I don't think he deserves to be quoted in this comic because as much as he said "there are no unresolved issues" in one interview, he's said in others that he planned to do sequels. Complete flip flopping. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 20:34, 17 July 2015 (UTC)

::Of course you are right, sadly the author keeps changing his story. I never bought the story being about Darth, looking at the first film clearly it was about Luke, even the Rebel Alliance is a symbol of luke's struggle with his "father" in the final movie. Clasic coming of age story. But it does show it is reasonable to assume there are no unresolved issues "that have a significant impact on the overall narrative", and that it is possible that Randell may think so. I will put it back if i need it to to stop the reverts, the author did say it. I will word weaker. As to if there are no issues resolved, that was never stated, just that there are no unresolved issues "that have a significant impact on the overall narrative". Those questions may not be significant to the plot of the previous movies in every-ones eyes. Also the explanation of the comic goes first and the trivia was at the bottom, not deleted. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.32|108.162.216.32]] 23:33, 17 July 2015 (UTC)

The "who shot first" situation has traveled full circle. Star Wars (original release) shows Han shooting first, but the 90's special edition shows Greedo shooting first, as well as the 2000's dvd release. The Blu-ray edition, on the other hand, shows both Han and Greedo shooting at the same time. at least that's my understanding of the scene. [[User:Beardmcbeardson|Beardmcbeardson]] ([[User talk:Beardmcbeardson|talk]]) 20:53, 16 July 2015 (UTC)

1550: Episode VII

2015-07-17T21:45:15Z

108.162.216.32: Just noticed text was in two sections at once

{{comic
| number = 1550
| date = July 13, 2015
| title = Episode VII
| image = episode_vii.png
| titletext = The Lord of the Rings sequel, set years after the Ring hubbub has died down, is just Samwise discreetly creeping back to Bag End to finish dropping the eaves.
}}

==Explanation==
Sequels are often made to resolve pressing issues that are left unresolved in the original works. This is a humorous take on resolving these issues for the {{w|Star Wars franchise}} in one scene.

{{w|J. J. Abrams}} and others involved in the filming ''{{w|Star Wars: The Force Awakens|Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens}}'' had appeared in a panel at San Diego Comic-Con the weekend prior to the comic's release to unveil details about the film. The new film was earlier revealed to be a sequel to ''{{w|Return of the Jedi|Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi}}'' and therefore a sequel to the original Star Wars trilogy.

In the first-produced movie of the series, ''{{w|Star Wars (film)|Star Wars:Episode IV: A New Hope}}'', {{w|Luke Skywalker}}'s uncle tells him to clean two newly purchased droids ({{w|R2-D2}} and {{w|C-3PO}}), to which Luke complains that he had plans to pick up some power converters in Tosche Station. Luke is told to clean the droids first; however, he discovers a message carried by R2-D2 which starts Luke's journey through the events in the original trilogy. As a result, he never ultimately goes to Tosche Station

In this comic Luke returns to {{w|Tatooine}} years later with R2-D2 to finish the errand that was interrupted. Luke goes to Tosche Station and says "I'm here for '''those''' power converters", thus completing this unresolved task from the first movie. The action is framed by the opening and {{w|closing credits}}, suggesting this uneventful scene comprises the entire film. Therefore the comic jokingly implies that getting the power converters was the most pressing of all the unresolved issues in the other films, and the most interesting upon which to base the sequel. In reality, this would likely be one of the least entertaining and most disappointing sequels that could possibly be made. Randall may have also been commenting that there are few if any unresolved issues in the Star Wars franchise that required revisiting and that the series should be left alone.

The title text alludes to another fantasy franchise, ''{{w|Lord of the Rings}}'', and how {{w|Samwise Gamgee}} was similarly interrupted from a menial task of gardening and listening in on conversations outside {{w|Bag End}} by {{w|Gandalf}} and his quest to save the world at the start of the first film. The title text uses the term “dropping eaves” as Samwise did in his denial of eavesdropping in on the conversation between Frodo and Gandalf. In both cases, the issue of collecting power converters and Sam’s gardening duties were left unresolved in their respective stories and the main plot of the series is thoroughly concluded.

===Additional Detail===
The conversation between Luke and his uncle, {{w|Owen Lars}}, is as follows:
:'''Uncle Owen:''' Luke! Take these two over to the garage will ya? I want ’em cleaned up before dinner.
:'''Luke:''' But I was going into Tosche Station to pick up some power converters!
:'''Uncle Owen:''' You can waste time with your friends when your chores are done. Now, come on. Get to it.

Luke's line is one of many well-known lines from the series and is often-quoted as an example of how Luke is initially portrayed as a whiny teenager. By the end of the {{W|Return of the Jedi|''Episode VI:Return of the Jedi''}}, Luke has grown into a mature and powerful Jedi, completing his transformation through the original trilogy.

==Transcript==
:[Black background, lettering in the style of the Star Wars logo.]
:Star Wars The Force Awakens

:[Building in the desert, two men in the background, another running in front of the building. Next to the building is a sign.]
:sign: Tosche Station

:[Hooded man standing next to R2D2.]
:Hooded man: Hello.

:[Closeup of hooded man. The man has a mustache and a beard.]
:Hooded man: I’m here for those power converters.

:[Black background, white letters resemble movie credits.]
:Directed by J.J. Abrams

==Star Wars Trivia==
''Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' is the seventh live-action film in the {{w|Star Wars}} franchise. The film is the first since the rights to the franchise were sold by Lucas to the Disney Company. The film has also been entrusted to producer/director J.J. Abrams, who in 2009 produced and directed the ''{{w|Star Trek (film)|Star Trek}}'' reboot. Much of the early buzz around the film surrounded the nature of the new film's plot: For example, whether it would be a prequel or a sequel, and whether it would feature any of the original cast/characters.

The Star Wars franchise features some of the most well-known science fiction films of all time, and several of the highest-grossing films of all-time. The prior films consist of a trilogy, released between 1977 and 1983, and a prequel trilogy, released between 1999 and 2005. The prequel trilogy, especially the first film, was heavily criticized by many and considered poor in comparison to the original trilogy. The creator, George Lucas, has been criticized for his constant "tinkering" with the films, amending them even after their release. Notably, he started reworking the original trilogy in the 1990s, adding and replacing old special effects using computer graphics, and adding or revising various scenes according to his "original vision". Many people consider George Lucas to have made many negative contributions to the film franchise since the original trilogy was released.

For example, one of the most notable of these was the scene in which Han Solo is introduced, where he is accosted by Greedo, a bounty hunter. Originally, it was strongly suggested that Han surreptitiously shot Greedo from his hip without warning, but in the special edition revised scene, Greedo clearly fires at Han first, prompting him to fire back in self-defense. This change, widely criticized as severely altering the nature of Han Solo's character, was one of many that contributed to calls for Lucas to sell the franchise. Fortunately, in the Blu-ray release, both Han and Greedo can be seen shooting simultaneously, preserving the nature of Han's character presented in the original movie.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]

User talk:TheHYPO

2015-07-17T21:40:38Z

108.162.216.32: /* Starwars */ new section

== Template:comic ==
Hi, I'm glad you'll have a look at it. Try using html comments. In some places whitespace won't cause problems, but it's sort of a trial and error process. better play it safe and use comments everywhere at first, then we can gradually try removing them. Also, take a look at the latest changes I made to {{tl|ComicHeader}}. You could incorporate them in {{tl|comic}} or simply transclude {{tl|ComicHeader}} to reduce code clutter even further. Cheers, [[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:14, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

:Sorry, I've ran out of time for explainxkcd today (I was [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Coordination#Page names|moving some pages around]]). I will latter take a look at the template and see if I can improve anything. Just a note: the example usage seems to be categorizing the template page into the categories. I'm not sure having an example there is worth the miscategorization issues... --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 18:24, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

::Didn't think of that - absolutely right on that point [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 18:50, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

== Template:Wat ==

Hi there. I was looking through our templates and found {{tl|wat}}. I'm not sure exactly what's the use case for that. Could you give me an example? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 08:52, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

Hey; I don't know if it will be useful here; I duped both {{tl|wat}} and {{tl|w}} from another wiki I created here because I wanted to create a quick and easy (and standardized) link to Wikipedia articles (side note: I wonder if wikipedia links should have a little "W" logo like XKCD links have a little XKCD favicon?).

{{tl|w}} creates a quick link to wikipedia to the article in the argument - second argument is the display text, just like a regular wikilink except to wikipedia instead of to the native explainxkcd wiki. A side usage is just putting in {w} bare, creates a link to the same article title at wikipedia appended with the phrase " at Wikipedia" (with a link to wikipedia). On the other wiki, this was generally used for "See Also:" links to articles at wikipedia where I didn't intend to have an article on that wiki itself. I created {{tl|wat}} for when I wanted the "at wikipedia" form, but I had to retitle the article (eg: the article was "Hello" but the article at wikipedia was "Hello (common greeting)" so a plain {w} wouldn't work. Also, if I wanted to also link to the wikipedia article on "greetings" at wikipedia in the see also section.

I don't know if this will be of any use on this wiki (and if it's very uncommon use, the same functionality could probably be achieved with another argument (eg: {w|Hello (common greeting)|Hello|at=yes}) - as I used a see also section on many pages, it became useful to me. If you want to delete it here (or include the functionality into {{tl|w}} I'm cool with that.

That said, I think "see also" could come in handy here, although generally people are just wikilinking to most relevant topics in the Explanation itself. There could be other topics that don't fit neatly into explanations though. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 13:53, 13 August 2012 (UTC)

::Thanks for the explanation. It's been a long time (sorry about that), but this period was also useful to put that template to the test of actual use. It seems it hasn't found much use here, so I'll convert the only instance of its application ([[:Category:Velociraptors]]) to the {{tl|w}} template, and delete the (somewhat awkwardly named, I must say) wat template. If the "at Wikipedia" form becomes common, we can, as you suggest, augment {{tl|w}} with extra parameters. Cheers, [[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 14:46, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

== Template:ambox ==
I like the idea you are going for, but it currently suffers from the image scaling issue. Or are you seeing properly scaled images? [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 14:48, 21 August 2012 (UTC)

== Moving pages ==

Creating explanations and moving the page twice creates a double redirect. The [[List of all comics]] has links to both the title and number pages for each comics. I open both up in two tabs, and just paste, submit, close tab, paste, submit, close tab, no moving pages, and the redirects work. Thanks for your time and attention. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 21:35, 13 September 2012 (UTC)

== Time continues ==

I undid [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1190:_Time&diff=35557&oldid=35555 your edit] to [[1190: Time]] because it hasn't [[:File:time972.png|finished]]. I have, however, recovered your [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1190:_Time&diff=35570&oldid=35567 Plot]. [[User:Markhurd|Mark Hurd]] ([[User talk:Markhurd|talk]]) 16:01, 29 April 2013 (UTC)
:I don't mind your edits, except they seem to have lost information, but some of it may have been redundant. I don't have time now to review it, though. [[User:Markhurd|Mark Hurd]] ([[User talk:Markhurd|talk]]) 23:41, 29 April 2013 (UTC)

Hi TheHYPO, you did edit my add @Scene2:
But I think:
- they did not reach "another" river. It's the first river they ever found, all other images are showing the sea.
- "Cueball slips in and loses his water bottle" <- We do not know that there is water in the bottle, it could be also limo, we don't know.
I am not native English so I am happy about edits, but we still should be correct. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 16:43, 2 May 2013 (UTC)

== Starwars ==

Please keep the explanation on top
If you make the explanation too long then people can not find the explanation of the comic. Normally most explanations go by this formula:
# In one sentence give the purpose of the comic.
# Next give as little additional detail not stated in the comic as possible, sometimes none may exist.
# After that give an explanation of the comic itself, explaining how the additional detail fits in.
# Next point out the how the comic illuminates its purpose.
# Lastly do the above steps for the title text combining as many steps as possible.
This allows the reader to find the explanation quickly, and not get lost in the verbosity, which still adds value as they can get more information bellow if they wish. Also it helps them understand the joke wile giving as little information as possible as the less jokes are explained before you get it, the funnier they are. I hope this helps [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.32|108.162.216.32]] 21:40, 17 July 2015 (UTC)

1550: Episode VII

2015-07-17T21:27:31Z

108.162.216.32: Done, shorten things up a bit

{{comic
| number = 1550
| date = July 13, 2015
| title = Episode VII
| image = episode_vii.png
| titletext = The Lord of the Rings sequel, set years after the Ring hubbub has died down, is just Samwise discreetly creeping back to Bag End to finish dropping the eaves.
}}

==Explanation==
Sequels are often made to resolve pressing issues that are left unresolved in the original works. This is a humorous take on resolving these issues for the {{w|Star Wars franchise}} in one scene.

{{w|J. J. Abrams}} and others involved in the filming ''{{w|Star Wars: The Force Awakens|Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens}}'' had appeared in a panel at San Diego Comic-Con the weekend prior to the comic's release to unveil details about the film. The new film was earlier revealed to be a sequel to ''{{w|Return of the Jedi|Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi}}'' and therefore a sequel to the original Star Wars trilogy.

In the first-produced movie of the series, ''{{w|Star Wars (film)|Star Wars:Episode IV: A New Hope}}'', {{w|Luke Skywalker}}'s uncle tells him to clean two newly purchased droids ({{w|R2-D2}} and {{w|C-3PO}}), to which Luke complains that he had plans to pick up some power converters in Tosche Station. Luke is told to clean the droids first; however, he discovers a message carried by R2-D2 which starts Luke's journey through the events in the original trilogy. As a result, he never ultimately goes to Tosche Station

In this comic Luke returns to {{w|Tatooine}} years later with R2-D2 to finish the errand that was interrupted. Luke goes to Tosche Station and says "I'm here for '''those''' power converters", thus completing this unresolved task from the first movie. The action is framed by the opening and {{w|closing credits}}, suggesting this uneventful scene comprises the entire film. Therefore the comic jokingly implies that getting the power converters was the most pressing of all the unresolved issues in the other films, and the most interesting upon which to base the sequel. In reality, this would likely be one of the least entertaining and most disappointing sequels that could possibly be made. Randall may have also been commenting that there are few if any unresolved issues in the Star Wars franchise that required revisiting and that the series should be left alone.

The title text alludes to another fantasy franchise, ''{{w|Lord of the Rings}}'', and how {{w|Samwise Gamgee}} was similarly interrupted from a menial task of gardening and listening in on conversations outside {{w|Bag End}} by {{w|Gandalf}} and his quest to save the world at the start of the first film. The title text uses the term “dropping eaves” as Samwise did in his denial of eavesdropping in on the conversation between Frodo and Gandalf. In both cases, the issue of collecting power converters and Sam’s gardening duties were left unresolved in their respective stories and the main plot of the series is thoroughly concluded.

===Additional Detail===
The conversation between Luke and his uncle, {{w|Owen Lars}}, is as follows:
:'''Uncle Owen:''' Luke! Take these two over to the garage will ya? I want ’em cleaned up before dinner.
:'''Luke:''' But I was going into Tosche Station to pick up some power converters!
:'''Uncle Owen:''' You can waste time with your friends when your chores are done. Now, come on. Get to it.

Luke's line is one of many well-known lines from the series and is often-quoted as an example of how Luke is initially portrayed as a whiny teenager. By the end of the {{W|Return of the Jedi|''Episode VI:Return of the Jedi''}}, Luke has grown into a mature and powerful Jedi, completing his transformation through the original trilogy.

''{{w|Star Wars: The Force Awakens|Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens}}'' is (at the time of the comic's release) the upcoming seventh feature-length live-action film in the ''Star Wars'' series, and is the first since the rights to the franchise were sold by creator George Lucas to the Disney Company. Beyond creating the original trilogy, many of Lucas's decisions in respect of the franchise have been subject to fan criticism, including many changes made to the original films since their original release, and criticism of the quality of three prequel films Lucas produced beginning in 1999 (after a more than 15-year hiatus).

The new film was entrusted by Disney to producer/director J.J. Abrams, who in 2009 produced and directed the highly-acclaimed (although still highly criticized by some fans) ''Star Trek'' reboot. As such, the new ''Star Wars'' film is as highly anticipated, or more highly anticipated than the prequel trilogy, and has a strong buzz around it. Much of the early buzz surrounded the nature of the new film's plot: For example, whether it would be a prequel or a sequel, and whether it would feature any of the original cast/characters

==Transcript==
:[Black background, lettering in the style of the Star Wars logo.]
:Star Wars The Force Awakens

:[Building in the desert, two men in the background, another running in front of the building. Next to the building is a sign.]
:sign: Tosche Station

:[Hooded man standing next to R2D2.]
:Hooded man: Hello.

:[Closeup of hooded man. The man has a mustache and a beard.]
:Hooded man: I’m here for those power converters.

:[Black background, white letters resemble movie credits.]
:Directed by J.J. Abrams

==Star Wars Trivia==
''Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' is the seventh live-action film in the {{w|Star Wars}} franchise. The film is the first since the rights to the franchise were sold by Lucas to the Disney Company. The film has also been entrusted to producer/director J.J. Abrams, who in 2009 produced and directed the ''{{w|Star Trek (film)|Star Trek}}'' reboot. Much of the early buzz around the film surrounded the nature of the new film's plot: For example, whether it would be a prequel or a sequel, and whether it would feature any of the original cast/characters.

The Star Wars franchise features some of the most well-known science fiction films of all time, and several of the highest-grossing films of all-time. The prior films consist of a trilogy, released between 1977 and 1983, and a prequel trilogy, released between 1999 and 2005. The prequel trilogy, especially the first film, was heavily criticized by many and considered poor in comparison to the original trilogy. The creator, George Lucas, has been criticized for his constant "tinkering" with the films, amending them even after their release. Notably, he started reworking the original trilogy in the 1990s, adding and replacing old special effects using computer graphics, and adding or revising various scenes according to his "original vision". Many people consider George Lucas to have made many negative contributions to the film franchise since the original trilogy was released.

For example, one of the most notable of these was the scene in which Han Solo is introduced, where he is accosted by Greedo, a bounty hunter. Originally, it was strongly suggested that Han surreptitiously shot Greedo from his hip without warning, but in the special edition revised scene, Greedo clearly fires at Han first, prompting him to fire back in self-defense. This change, widely criticized as severely altering the nature of Han Solo's character, was one of many that contributed to calls for Lucas to sell the franchise. Fortunately, in the Blu-ray release, both Han and Greedo can be seen shooting simultaneously, preserving the nature of Han's character presented in the original movie.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]

1550: Episode VII

2015-07-17T21:24:42Z

108.162.216.32: Put it all back right, preserving text changes

{{comic
| number = 1550
| date = July 13, 2015
| title = Episode VII
| image = episode_vii.png
| titletext = The Lord of the Rings sequel, set years after the Ring hubbub has died down, is just Samwise discreetly creeping back to Bag End to finish dropping the eaves.
}}

==Explanation==
Sequels are often made to resolve pressing issues that are left unresolved in the original works. This is a humorous take on resolving these issues for the {{w|Star Wars franchise}} in one scene.

{{w|J. J. Abrams}} and others involved in the filming ''{{w|Star Wars: The Force Awakens|Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens}}'' had appeared in a panel at San Diego Comic-Con the weekend prior to the comic's release to unveil details about the film. The new film was earlier revealed to be a sequel to ''{{w|Return of the Jedi|Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi}}'' and therefore a sequel to the original Star Wars trilogy.

In the first-produced movie of the series, ''{{w|Star Wars (film)|Star Wars:Episode IV: A New Hope}}'', {{w|Luke Skywalker}}'s uncle tells him to clean two newly purchased droids ({{w|R2-D2}} and {{w|C-3PO}}), to which Luke complains that he had plans to pick up some power converters in Tosche Station. Luke is told to clean the droids first; however, he discovers a message carried by R2-D2 which starts Luke's journey through the events in the original trilogy. As a result, he never ultimately goes to Tosche Station

In this comic Luke returns to {{w|Tatooine}} years later with R2-D2 to finish the errand that was interrupted. Luke goes to Tosche Station and says "I'm here for '''those''' power converters", thus completing this unresolved task from the first movie. The action is framed by the opening and {{w|closing credits}}, suggesting this uneventful scene comprises the entire film. Therefore the comic jokingly implies that getting the power converters was the most pressing of all the unresolved issues in the other films, and the most interesting upon which to base the sequel. In reality, this would likely be one of the least entertaining and most disappointing sequels that could possibly be made (perhaps second only to a version that had no reference to the previous films at all). Randall may have also been commenting that there are few if any unresolved issues in the Star Wars franchise that required revisiting and that the series should be left alone.

The title text alludes to another fantasy franchise, ''{{w|Lord of the Rings}}'', and how {{w|Samwise Gamgee}} was similarly interrupted from a menial task of gardening and listening in on conversations outside {{w|Bag End}} by {{w|Gandalf}} and his quest to save the world at the start of the first film. The title text uses the term “dropping eaves” as Samwise did in his denial of eavesdropping in on the conversation between Frodo and Gandalf. In both cases, the issue of collecting power converters and Sam’s gardening duties were left unresolved in their respective stories and the main plot of the series is thoroughly concluded.

===Additional Detail===
The conversation between Luke and his uncle, {{w|Owen Lars}}, is as follows:
:'''Uncle Owen:''' Luke! Take these two over to the garage will ya? I want ’em cleaned up before dinner.
:'''Luke:''' But I was going into Tosche Station to pick up some power converters!
:'''Uncle Owen:''' You can waste time with your friends when your chores are done. Now, come on. Get to it.

Luke's line is one of many well-known lines from the series and is often-quoted as an example of how Luke is initially portrayed as a whiny teenager. By the end of the {{W|Return of the Jedi|''Episode VI:Return of the Jedi''}}, Luke has grown into a mature and powerful Jedi, completing his transformation through the original trilogy.

''{{w|Star Wars: The Force Awakens|Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens}}'' is (at the time of the comic's release) the upcoming seventh feature-length live-action film in the ''Star Wars'' series, and is the first since the rights to the franchise were sold by creator George Lucas to the Disney Company. Beyond creating the original trilogy, many of Lucas's decisions in respect of the franchise have been subject to fan criticism, including many changes made to the original films since their original release, and criticism of the quality of three prequel films Lucas produced beginning in 1999 (after a more than 15-year hiatus).

The new film was entrusted by Disney to producer/director J.J. Abrams, who in 2009 produced and directed the highly-acclaimed (although still highly criticized by some fans) ''Star Trek'' reboot. As such, the new ''Star Wars'' film is as highly anticipated, or more highly anticipated than the prequel trilogy, and has a strong buzz around it. Much of the early buzz surrounded the nature of the new film's plot: For example, whether it would be a prequel or a sequel, and whether it would feature any of the original cast/characters

==Transcript==
:[Black background, lettering in the style of the Star Wars logo.]
:Star Wars The Force Awakens

:[Building in the desert, two men in the background, another running in front of the building. Next to the building is a sign.]
:sign: Tosche Station

:[Hooded man standing next to R2D2.]
:Hooded man: Hello.

:[Closeup of hooded man. The man has a mustache and a beard.]
:Hooded man: I’m here for those power converters.

:[Black background, white letters resemble movie credits.]
:Directed by J.J. Abrams

==Star Wars Trivia==
''Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' is the seventh live-action film in the {{w|Star Wars}} franchise. The film is the first since the rights to the franchise were sold by Lucas to the Disney Company. The film has also been entrusted to producer/director J.J. Abrams, who in 2009 produced and directed the ''{{w|Star Trek (film)|Star Trek}}'' reboot. Much of the early buzz around the film surrounded the nature of the new film's plot: For example, whether it would be a prequel or a sequel, and whether it would feature any of the original cast/characters.

The Star Wars franchise features some of the most well-known science fiction films of all time, and several of the highest-grossing films of all-time. The prior films consist of a trilogy, released between 1977 and 1983, and a prequel trilogy, released between 1999 and 2005. The prequel trilogy, especially the first film, was heavily criticized by many and considered poor in comparison to the original trilogy. The creator, George Lucas, has been criticized for his constant "tinkering" with the films, amending them even after their release. Notably, he started reworking the original trilogy in the 1990s, adding and replacing old special effects using computer graphics, and adding or revising various scenes according to his "original vision". Many people consider George Lucas to have made many negative contributions to the film franchise since the original trilogy was released.

For example, one of the most notable of these was the scene in which Han Solo is introduced, where he is accosted by Greedo, a bounty hunter. Originally, it was strongly suggested that Han surreptitiously shot Greedo from his hip without warning, but in the special edition revised scene, Greedo clearly fires at Han first, prompting him to fire back in self-defense. This change, widely criticized as severely altering the nature of Han Solo's character, was one of many that contributed to calls for Lucas to sell the franchise. Fortunately, in the Blu-ray release, both Han and Greedo can be seen shooting simultaneously, preserving the nature of Han's character presented in the original movie.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]

1550: Episode VII

2015-07-17T21:15:11Z

108.162.216.32: Putting sections in the right order

{{comic
| number = 1550
| date = July 13, 2015
| title = Episode VII
| image = episode_vii.png
| titletext = The Lord of the Rings sequel, set years after the Ring hubbub has died down, is just Samwise discreetly creeping back to Bag End to finish dropping the eaves.
}}

==Explanation==
Sequels are often made to resolve pressing issues that are left unresolved in the original works. This is a humorous take on resolving these issues for the {{w|Star Wars franchise}} in one scene.

This comic portray's Randall's own conception of what the new sequel might be. In his version of the movie, Luke returns to {{w|Tatooine}} years later with R2-D2 to finish the errand that was interrupted. Luke goes to Tosche Station and says "I'm here for '''those''' power converters", thus completing this unresolved task from the first movie. The action is framed by the opening and {{w|closing credits}}, suggesting this uneventful scene comprises the entire film. Therefore the comic jokingly implies that getting the power converters was the most pressing of all the unresolved issues in the other films, and the most interesting upon which to base the sequel. In reality, this would likely be one of the least entertaining and most disappointing sequels that could possibly be made (perhaps second only to a version that had no reference to the previous films at all). Randall may have also been commenting that there are few if any unresolved issues in the Star Wars franchise that required revisiting and that the series should be left alone.

The title text alludes to another fantasy franchise, ''{{w|Lord of the Rings}}'', and how {{w|Samwise Gamgee}} was similarly interrupted from a menial task of gardening and listening in on conversations outside {{w|Bag End}} by {{w|Gandalf}} and his quest to save the world at the start of the first film. The title text uses the term “dropping eaves” as Samwise did in his denial of eavesdropping in on the conversation between Frodo and Gandalf. In both cases, the issue of collecting power converters and Sam’s gardening duties were left unresolved in their respective stories and the main plot of the series is thoroughly concluded.

===Star Wars background===
In the first-produced movie of the series, ''{{w|Star Wars (film)|Star Wars:Episode IV: A New Hope}}'', {{w|Luke Skywalker}}'s uncle tells him to clean two newly purchased droids ({{w|R2-D2}} and {{w|C-3PO}}), to which Luke complains that he had plans to pick up some power converters in Tosche Station. Luke is told to clean the droids first; however, he discovers a message carried by R2-D2 which starts Luke's journey through the events in the original trilogy. As a result, he never ultimately goes to Tosche Station

The conversation between Luke and his uncle, {{w|Owen Lars}}, is as follows:
:'''Uncle Owen:''' Luke! Take these two over to the garage will ya? I want ’em cleaned up before dinner.
:'''Luke:''' But I was going into Tosche Station to pick up some power converters!
:'''Uncle Owen:''' You can waste time with your friends when your chores are done. Now, come on. Get to it.

Luke's line is one of many well-known lines from the series and is often-quoted as an example of how Luke is initially portrayed as a whiny teenager. By the end of the {{W|Return of the Jedi|''Episode VI:Return of the Jedi''}}, Luke has grown into a mature and powerful Jedi, completing his transformation through the original trilogy.

====The Force Awakens====
''{{w|Star Wars: The Force Awakens|Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens}}'' is (at the time of the comic's release) the upcoming seventh feature-length live-action film in the ''Star Wars'' series, and is the first since the rights to the franchise were sold by creator George Lucas to the Disney Company. Beyond creating the original trilogy, many of Lucas's decisions in respect of the franchise have been subject to fan criticism, including many changes made to the original films since their original release, and criticism of the quality of three prequel films Lucas produced beginning in 1999 (after a more than 15-year hiatus).

The new film was entrusted by Disney to producer/director J.J. Abrams, who in 2009 produced and directed the highly-acclaimed (although still highly criticized by some fans) ''Star Trek'' reboot. As such, the new ''Star Wars'' film is as highly anticipated, or more highly anticipated than the prequel trilogy, and has a strong buzz around it. Much of the early buzz surrounded the nature of the new film's plot: For example, whether it would be a prequel or a sequel, and whether it would feature any of the original cast/characters

{{w|J. J. Abrams}} and others involved in the filming ''{{w|Star Wars: The Force Awakens|Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens}}'' had appeared in a panel at San Diego Comic-Con the weekend prior to the comic's release to unveil details about the film. The new film was earlier revealed to be a sequel to ''{{w|Return of the Jedi|Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi}}'' and therefore a sequel to the original Star Wars trilogy.

==Transcript==
:[Black background, lettering in the style of the Star Wars logo.]
:Star Wars The Force Awakens

:[Building in the desert, two men in the background, another running in front of the building. Next to the building is a sign.]
:sign: Tosche Station

:[Hooded man standing next to R2D2.]
:Hooded man: Hello.

:[Closeup of hooded man. The man has a mustache and a beard.]
:Hooded man: I’m here for those power converters.

:[Black background, white letters resemble movie credits.]
:Directed by J.J. Abrams

==Star Wars Trivia==
''Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' is the seventh live-action film in the {{w|Star Wars}} franchise. The film is the first since the rights to the franchise were sold by Lucas to the Disney Company. The film has also been entrusted to producer/director J.J. Abrams, who in 2009 produced and directed the ''{{w|Star Trek (film)|Star Trek}}'' reboot. Much of the early buzz around the film surrounded the nature of the new film's plot: For example, whether it would be a prequel or a sequel, and whether it would feature any of the original cast/characters.

The Star Wars franchise features some of the most well-known science fiction films of all time, and several of the highest-grossing films of all-time. The prior films consist of a trilogy, released between 1977 and 1983, and a prequel trilogy, released between 1999 and 2005. The prequel trilogy, especially the first film, was heavily criticized by many and considered poor in comparison to the original trilogy. The creator, George Lucas, has been criticized for his constant "tinkering" with the films, amending them even after their release. Notably, he started reworking the original trilogy in the 1990s, adding and replacing old special effects using computer graphics, and adding or revising various scenes according to his "original vision". Many people consider George Lucas to have made many negative contributions to the film franchise since the original trilogy was released.

For example, one of the most notable of these was the scene in which Han Solo is introduced, where he is accosted by Greedo, a bounty hunter. Originally, it was strongly suggested that Han surreptitiously shot Greedo from his hip without warning, but in the special edition revised scene, Greedo clearly fires at Han first, prompting him to fire back in self-defense. This change, widely criticized as severely altering the nature of Han Solo's character, was one of many that contributed to calls for Lucas to sell the franchise. Fortunately, in the Blu-ray release, both Han and Greedo can be seen shooting simultaneously, preserving the nature of Han's character presented in the original movie.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]

Talk:1550: Episode VII

2015-07-17T21:12:22Z

108.162.216.32:

For anybody interested, the ''dropping of eaves'' is not an actual activity:

;[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eavesdropping#Etymology Wikipedia on etymology of eavesdropping]

'''Eavesdrop''': "The dripping of water from the eaves of a house; the ground on which such water falls". An eavesdropper was one who stood at the eavesdrop (where the water fell, i.e., near the house) so as to overhear what was said inside.

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.206|108.162.229.206]] 09:10, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

----

'''Question''': Is there a joke in the J. J. Abrams credit?

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.206|108.162.229.206]] 09:10, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

::J. J. Abrams is actually the director / producer of the film in question, Episode VII: The Force Awakens [[User:Taibhse|Taibhse]] ([[User talk:Taibhse|talk]]) 11:04, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

::I want to think the format of the comic is a parody of the opening of ''Alias'' or pne of Abrams's other television series. (You would get the title card, a brief sequence to set up the particular episode, then the "Directed by" credit. I'm not absolutely sure since it's been some time since I saw one of those series.) [[User:Rawmustard|Rawmustard]] ([[User talk:Rawmustard|talk]]) 13:38, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

::The joke in the final panel is the main overall joke, that the entirety of Episode VII's plot is Luke going back to finish his unfinished business on Tatooine of picking up the power converters. Thus we have opening title shot, three panels of storyboard, Luke delivering his line and then cut to credits. It's a wrap! [[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 16:36, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

Staying on the topic of J. J. Abrams... Why no lens flares? - [[Special:Contributions/108.162.222.178|108.162.222.178]] 12:11, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

I assumed the hooded man was Luke Skywalker. Is there anyone else it reasonably could be? [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 13:30, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

;Euphemism

I'm sorry, ever since I first saw Episode IV in the 90s, I always interpreted "pick up some power converters" to mean "cruise for dudes", especially given how the line was delivered. Even Uncle Owen seemed to share my sentiment.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.236|108.162.219.236]] 15:12, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

Robot Chicken expanded on the power converter line from A New Hope but in the other direction as a euphemism for a strip club routine. [[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 16:38, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

I thought the comic was a trailer for the movie, as opposed to the whole thing (after all, there's no opening crawl). Anyone else, or is it just me? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.164|108.162.246.164]] 04:39, 14 July 2015 (UTC)
:That's how I first saw it. Apparently Raw up above saw it like that, too. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.179|108.162.238.179]] 21:53, 14 July 2015 (UTC)

;Doesn't make sense - there are many more uncompleted tasks

As to the allegations that there are many unresolved issues in the franchise that have a significant impact on the overall narrative of any of the movies I offered a quote from George Lucas “
I’ve left pretty explicit instructions for there not to be any more features. There will definitely be no ‘Episodes VII-IX’. That’s because there isn’t any story. I mean, I never thought of anything! The ‘Star Wars’ story is really the tragedy of Darth Vader. That is the story.”
I hope this ends the multiple reverts. I know superfans may read more into stories than exist, but many times the "unresolved issues" they see are just plot gaps and details not judged worthwhile to put into the narrative. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.32|108.162.216.32]] 19:42, 16 July 2015 (UTC)

The "who shot first" situation has traveled full circle. Star Wars (original release) shows Han shooting first, but the 90's special edition shows Greedo shooting first, as well as the 2000's dvd release. The Blu-ray edition, on the other hand, shows both Han and Greedo shooting at the same time. at least that's my understanding of the scene. [[User:Beardmcbeardson|Beardmcbeardson]] ([[User talk:Beardmcbeardson|talk]]) 20:53, 16 July 2015 (UTC)

:It is unquestionable that the series leaves issues unresolved - it is literally impossible to resolve every fine detail. Did Han and Leia get married? Have kids? issue unresolved. Does Luke train new Jedis? Do the Jedis return to power? Does Lando return to be leader of Cloud City again? There's lots of issues left unresolved - I could come up with a hundred - it's just a matter of whether anyone wants to see a movie relating to those issues, which is subjective. I don't read expanded universe stuff, but I'm quite positive there are already expanded universe books or comics that follow Jedi and must address issues that are "unresolved".

:As for The Lucas quote, Lucas is full of s*#%. Read "The Secret History of Star Wars" and you will see how Lucas learned a handy catch phrase: "I always intended...." He quickly started using that to start every sentence and avoid any criticism. The film series was originally conceived as an ongoing Flash-Gordon-style serial with maybe 12 films - like a James Bond series - independent plots - each film a self-contained unit, directed by a new director.... His annoyance with the first film and his failing marriage eventually wore him down to the trilogy, but in between he had other numbers. I believe it's in the interviews that precede the special editions on VHS that he claims he has stories planned for 1-3 and 6-9 - that there were three trilogies. He later claimed "I just had vague concepts for 6-9 and never really had any real films planned" and now he says "There's no story left- please don't make sequels!" but this is all just because of another lie. Star Wars was always supposed to be about Luke's journey - until the prequels, then he suddenly jumped over to the lie that "the films were always intended to be the saga of Darth Vader's rise and fall and redemption" However, if that's true, clearly there are no sequels because the story of Vader ends in VI. So he had to revise his claim about 6-9 to suit his story that the series was now all about Vader. It is for this reason that I don't think he deserves to be quoted in this comic because as much as he said "there are no unresolved issues" in one interview, he's said in others that he planned to do sequels. Complete flip flopping. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 20:34, 17 July 2015 (UTC)

:But it does show it is reasonable to assume there are no unresolved issues "that have a significant impact on the overall narrative", and that it is possible that Randell may think so. It goes back as it stops the reverts, and the author said it, will word weaker. As to if there are no issues resolved, that was never stated, just that there are no unresolved issues "that have a significant impact on the overall narrative". Your questions may not be significant in every-ones eyes. Also the explanation of the comic goes first. Look to every other page on this site. putting it back at the bottom.

1550: Episode VII

2015-07-17T00:06:57Z

108.162.216.32: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1550
| date = July 13, 2015
| title = Episode VII
| image = episode_vii.png
| titletext = The Lord of the Rings sequel, set years after the Ring hubbub has died down, is just Samwise discreetly creeping back to Bag End to finish dropping the eaves.
}}

==Explanation==
Sequels are often made to resolve pressing issues that are left unresolved in the original works. This is a humorous take on resolving these issues for the {{w|Star Wars franchise}} in one scene.

{{w|J. J. Abrams}} and others involved in the filming ''{{w|Star Wars: The Force Awakens|Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens}}'' had appeared in a panel at San Diego Comic-Con the weekend prior to the comic to unveil details about the film. The new film was earlier revealed to be a sequel to ''{{w|Return of the Jedi|Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi}}'' and therefore a sequel to the original Star Wars trilogy.

In the first produced movie of the series ''{{w|Star Wars (film)|Star Wars:Episode IV: A New Hope}}'', {{w|Luke Skywalker}}'s uncle tells him to clean two newly purchased droids ({{w|R2-D2}} and {{w|C-3PO}}), to which Luke complains that he had plans to pick up some power converters in Tosche Station. Luke starts cleaning the droids first, but then discovers a message which starts Luke's quest through the events in the original trilogy.

In the comics version of the movie, Luke returns to {{w|Tatooine}} years later with R2-D2 to finish the errand that was interrupted. Luke goes to Tosche Station and says “I’m here for '''those''' power converters”, thus completing this unresolved task from the first movie. The action is framed by the opening and {{w|closing credits}}, suggesting this uneventful scene comprises the entire film. Therefore the comic implies that getting the power converters was the most pressing of all the unresolved issues in the other films. The joke is that in practice this event could be the least entertaining event to form the for a film. The author could have also been commenting that there were few if any unresolved issues in the Star Wars franchise that required revisiting. This opinion is shared by George Lucas.

The title text alludes to another fantasy franchise, ''{{w|Lord of the Rings}}'', and how {{w|Samwise Gamgee}} was similarly interrupted from a menial task of gardening and listening in on conversations outside {{w|Bag End}} by {{w|Gandalf}} and his quest to save the world at the start of the first film. The title text uses the term “dropping eaves” as Samwise did in his denial of eavesdropping in on the conversation between Frodo and Gandalf. In both cases, the issue of collecting power converters and Sam’s gardening duties were left unresolved in their respective stories and the main plot of the series is thoroughly concluded.

====Star Wars background====
In the very first Star Wars movie (''Episode IV: A New Hope'') the conversation between Luke and his uncle, {{w|Owen Lars}}, is as follows:
:'''Uncle Owen:''' Luke! Take these two over to the garage will ya? I want ’em cleaned up before dinner.
:'''Luke:''' But I was going into Tosche Station to pick up some power converters!
:'''Uncle Owen:''' You can waste time with your friends when your chores are done. Now, come on. Get to it.
This line in particular is often quoted as an example of how Luke is initially portrayed as a whiny teenager. By the end of the {{W|Return of the Jedi|''Episode VI:Return of the Jedi''}}, Luke has grown into a mature and powerful Jedi, completing his transformation through the original trilogy.

A quote from George Lucas
“I’ve left pretty explicit instructions for there not to be any more features. There will definitely be no ‘Episodes VII-IX’. That’s because there isn’t any story. I mean, I never thought of anything! The ‘Star Wars’ story is really the tragedy of Darth Vader. That is the story.”

==Transcript==
:[Black background, lettering in the style of the Star Wars logo.]
:Star Wars The Force Awakens

:[Building in the desert, two men in the background, another running in front of the building. Next to the building is a sign.]
:sign: Tosche Station

:[Hooded man standing next to R2D2.]
:Hooded man: Hello.

:[Closeup of hooded man. The man has a mustache and a beard.]
:Hooded man: I’m here for those power converters.

:[Black background, white letters resemble movie credits.]
:Directed by J.J. Abrams

==Star Wars Trivia==
''Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' is the seventh live-action film in the {{w|Star Wars}} franchise. The film is the first since the rights to the franchise were sold by Lucas to the Disney Company. The film has also been entrusted to producer/director J.J. Abrams, who in 2009 produced and directed the ''{{w|Star Trek (film)|Star Trek}}'' reboot. Much of the early buzz around the film surrounded the nature of the new film's plot: For example, whether it would be a prequel or a sequel, and whether it would feature any of the original cast/characters.

The Star Wars franchise features some of the most well-known science fiction films of all time, and several of the highest-grossing films of all-time. The prior films consist of a trilogy, released between 1977 and 1983, and a prequel trilogy, released between 1999 and 2005. The prequel trilogy, especially the first film, was heavily criticized by many and considered poor in comparison to the original trilogy. The creator, George Lucas, has been criticized for his constant "tinkering" with the films, amending them even after their release. Notably, he started reworking the original trilogy in the 1990s, adding and replacing old special effects using computer graphics, and adding or revising various scenes according to his "original vision". Many people consider George Lucas to have made many negative contributions to the film franchise since the original trilogy was released.

For example, one of the most notable of these was the scene in which Han Solo is introduced, where he is accosted by Greedo, a bounty hunter. Originally, it was strongly suggested that Han surreptitiously shot Greedo from his hip without warning, but in the special edition revised scene, Greedo clearly fires at Han first, prompting him to fire back in self-defense. This change, widely criticized as severely altering the nature of Han Solo's character, was one of many that contributed to calls for Lucas to sell the franchise. Fortunately, in the Blu-ray release, both Han and Greedo can be seen shooting simultaneously, preserving the nature of Han's character presented in the original movie.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]

Talk:1550: Episode VII

2015-07-16T19:42:50Z

108.162.216.32:

2014-09-06T23:47:11Z

108.162.216.32:

I am convinced there is also a subtle reference to one of Calvin's gags, regarding a toboggan's "model year". I'm a little too lazy to delve back into an archives site and cite it though, so have fun looking for it! Anonymous 04:06, 4 December 2013 (UTC)

I believe that the initial conversation of the loss of language opportunity refers to a theory in Language Acquisition called Critical Period Hypothesis[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_period_hypothesis]. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.32|108.162.216.32]] 23:47, 6 September 2014 (UTC)

Talk:911: Magic School Bus

2014-03-05T00:04:31Z

108.162.216.32:

They need to get on a bus just to access a computer? That's a pretty awful school. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 01:38, 17 April 2013 (UTC)
: All traditional computers have [[Wikipedia:Bus_(computing)|buses]]. [[User:Tryc|Tryc]] ([[User talk:Tryc|talk]]) 13:45, 25 July 2013 (UTC)
:: [http://xkcd.com/282 ...We are no longer friends.] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.32|108.162.216.32]] 00:04, 5 March 2014 (UTC)
I thought the joke was that the bus drove past all sorts of usual things (gears, rocket, single-called organism, Saturn, Feynman Diagram - ok, that last one isn't usual for MSB, but perhaps xkcd), but they couldn't find any batteries that day, so Wikipedia comes to the rescue. -j [[Special:Contributions/98.109.252.55|98.109.252.55]] 19:01, 2 August 2013 (UTC)

Incidentally, much of the demise of Encarta was blamed on Wikipedia. --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 20:09, 17 August 2013 (UTC)

What about Dorothy Anne (with the pigtails)? DA was my second favorite. After Arnold's (not shown) "Why does this always happen to me" monologues, her "According to my re''search''..." (always with some big book in her lap) was very entertaining indeed. Also, has it really been 20-some years? Anonymous 07:24, 5 December 2013 (UTC)

931: Lanes

2013-12-11T18:32:50Z

108.162.216.32: /* Explanation */ Did the math on % survival, for my own interest.

{{comic
| number = 931
| date = July 29, 2011
| title = Lanes
| image = lanes.png
| titletext = Each quarter of the lanes from left to right correspond loosely to breast cancer stages one through four (at diagnosis).
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete}}
[[xkcd]] [[tagline|is a]] webcomic of [[:Category:Romance|romance]], [[:Category:Sarcasm|sarcasm]], [[:Category:Math|math]], and [[:Category:Language|language]]; humor isn't necessarily guaranteed. This comic is an example of that, it being severely depressing.

The comic is built around a dialogue between two friends (we'll call them Cueball, and Conversant) about cancer, presumably cancer that [[Megan]] has been diagnosed with. The conversation itself is about as straightforward as a conversation can be. It details the maturation of [[Cueball]]'s and [[Megan]]'s understanding of cancer diagnoses, knowledge which we can presume he has gained, reluctantly, by watching a loved one suffer.

This whole [[:Category:Cancer|cancer series]] was sparked because [[Randall]]'s then-fiancee, now wife is currently in Megan's position, and we, the readers, are now the beneficiaries of this new understanding of cancer diagnoses without having to watch somebody close to us suffer.

The comic's title, Lanes, comes from the two panels which illustrate both ends of the spectrum of Cueball's mental representation of how cancer treatment proceeds. In that there are many possible outcomes for cancer treatment, the image of a multi-lane freeway seems an apt metaphor to represent this understanding visually.

In the first freeway diagram, there are several paths, but the system is very simple, and easy to take in. Only a few lanes lead off into the oblivion which surrounds the freeway, a single off-ramp circles back from the path to survival to treatment, and survival is a visible endpoint.

In the second freeway diagram, however, things are much, much more complex, and much more bleak. Even six years out, survival isn't visible, and many lanes end in oblivion, sometimes not veering off for years after treatment. The title text informs us that this is meant to be loosely representative of breast cancer stages one through four, proceeding by quarters from left to right. It's a grim outlook, hence Conversant's understated but completely fitting reaction to this plethora of new knowledge.

Specific numbers: there are 52 lanes, so 13 lanes per cancer stage. Stage one has a 1:13 =~8% chance of recurrence leading to death within 6 years. Stage 2 has a 5:13=~38% chance.
Stage 3 has a 7:13=~54% chance. Stage 4 has an 11:13=~85% chance of death within 6 years. Given Randall's concern, these numbers are probably pretty accurate. Go get a mammogram.

Cancer is a serious disease happening to [[Randall]]'s spouse at the time of this comic.

==Transcript==
:[The panels are arranged top to bottom. The first is set above a larger image.]
:Person: So, are you guys out of the woods?
:Second Person: We don't know.
:Person: Well, did the treatment work?
:Second Person: We don't know.

:[The diagram shows a simple highway. Starting at the bottom, with diagnosis for five lanes, the road travels through a cloud of treatment, after which two lanes disappear, and three continue. Later on, there's another offramp labeled 'cancer "comes back"', which loops back into the treatment cloud. Otherwise, the highway enters a later cloud called survive.]
:I always assumed that when you got cancer, they gave you a prognosis, then treated you, and at the end of treatment either you beat it or you died.
:And I knew sometimes it "recurred," which I assumed meant back to square one.
:But that's turned out not to be quite right.

:[Back to the two people.]
:Second Person: Once most cancers spread out into your body, they're incurable.
:Second Person: If your 10-year prognosis is 60%, that means a 40% chance that some cancer will slip past the treatment and get out.

:Second Person: So they kill all the cancer they can find, and then you're a "survivor." But your odds are still 60%.

:[The frame zooms just to show the second person.]
:Second Person: They can't scan for individual cancer cells. The only way to know if it worked is to wait for tumors to pop up elsewhere.
:Second Person: If you go enough years without that happening then you were in the 60%.

:[The frame shows both people again.]
:Second Person: And often the first sign is a cough or bone pain.
:Second Person: So you spend the next five or ten years trying not to worry that every ache and pain is the answer to the question "Do I make it?"

:[There's an extra large panel, with a small one floating inside it.]
:[The panel shows roughly fifty lanes emerging from the cloud of 'Treatment'. Signs show 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, 5 years, 6 years. Lanes branch off and fade into darkness earlier on the right, with some lanes continuing off the top of the panel.]

:[Inset panel.]
:Person: Man.
:Person: Fuck cancer.
:Second Person: ''Seriously.''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Cancer]]
[[Category:Statistics]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Psychology]]