User:Qermaq

From Homestar Runner Wiki

Revision as of 03:15, 8 October 2006

Homestar Runner Wiki

HRWiki:Userboxes

This user is no longer a Wiki n00b, but is still pretty clueless.

DEAD This user is over 29 years old.

This user's favorite Chapman is Graham.

I've been active on the Wiki since early February 2006 or so. But how it all started is a bit of a story.

I discovered Homestar Runner in July 2002. The first thing I ever saw was Everybody To The Limit and was hooked.

My First Strong Bad Email

Here it is. Sent Tuesday, July 16, 2002, at 11:17 PM EST. Subject: Email To Strong Bad.

Hey Strong Bad,
You're so freakin cool. I mean, you have lots of girlfriends
and everything.

How can I be as cool as you? Could you give me a few pointers?

Sincerely,
Jimmy Brown

I got the standard "Thanks for your freakin email. I hope it's not stupid" response, and, of course, it was not one of the millions used. Meh.

Wiki Time?

On Dec 22, 2003, I (under the name "Flounder") signed up for the old Wiki. (JoeyDay and Stu are the only users in the top 12—besides me—who are currently active.) I later came in as Qermaq, and Tom noted that my IP was the same. Well, I merged into Flounder, and then later lost touch. (In my defense, I was on dial-up.) Then in early 2006, after years of consulting the Wiki, I decided to try to log in again. No doing, so I formed this account. So, while I have not been active all that time, I am still officially the 12th Wiki member.

I started as a Wiki n00b, and even though I've learned a lot so far, in many ways I'm still figuring out this danged business.

I'm sorry for what I done!

I've done only a few major things so far.

• The first was to begin lists of the programs found on the Tandy 400, the Compy 386 and the Lappy 486 (I thought they had to be listed someplace).
• I did about 9% of the transcript for the Flashforward interview.
• I revamped the format of the Songs page.

I also created

• Don Knotts
• Marzipan's Protest Signs (Merged with Marzipan)
• Explosions
• Acronyms and Initialisms

and a list of words said or seen once in the H*R universe. Feel free to add words.

Other than that, I just wander around, figuring new stuff out as I go.

Homestar Runner

As I said, I discovered Homestar Runner in July 2002. Since then I've visited often. Weekly, even. I've seen just about everything on the site at least twice. For that reason, I am not permitted to care for young children.

My H*R number

My cousin is a guitarist who worked with TMBG. (Factory Showroom era.) The current TMBG had TBC do a video for "Experimental Film". So my H*R number is 3. What's your H*R number? Share that in talk!

Who am I?

Favorites/Unfavorites

Favorite sbemail: "I love them all!"

Favorite Big Toon: Strong Bad is in Jail Cartoon

Unfavorite Big Toon: The Reddest Radish

Favorite Short: The Interview

Unfavorite Short: Strong Bad Sings

Favorite PBTC: Everybody to the Limit

Favorite Puppet Stuff: Labor Dabor

Favorite Holiday Toon: Pumpkin Carve-nival

And I love this guy.

Favorite Quotes

Everyone seems to have favorite quotes. Here, in no particular order or degree of accuracy, are mine.

• STRONG BAD: You're not Ali. You're not even... literate. (sisters)

• HOMESTAR RUNNER: Don't ask me why.... pump-uh-nickwe and why.... (origins)

• BUBS: Shinin' up a chicken in the mornin', mornin'... (lunch special)

• STRONG BAD: Come on and get in the boat, fish! Come on and get in the boat, fish fish! (lures & jigs)

• STRONG SAD AND HOMESTAR: I really got. I really gotta pee. I really got. I really gotta pee pee. (extra plug}

• BUBS: Why are you trying to get me to say "sbu"?

STRONG BAD: THERE! You said it! Now you gotta give me a free lunch special!

BUBS: No, no, no. Getting me to say my name backwards minus the B just makes me lose my super power!

STRONG BAD: What super power?

BUBS: Being able to fly.

STRONG BAD: You can fly?!

BUBS: Well... Not anymore I can't. (lunch special)

• STRONG BAD: Hey, man, are ketchup bombs real?

BUBS: Not yet! (funny)

• STRONG BAD: Welcome to the High Voice Crew! I hope you have a high voice too! When you've got a high voice, you don't have a choice; your voice is high all the time. Welcome to the High Vo... Oh, I guess...I got kicked out of the High Voice Crew. (helium)

• STRONG BAD: Who put the "ween" in "Halloween"? I don't know. Probably you, you freakin' weirdo! (halloweener)

• HOMESTAR RUNNER: It sounds like funny, but it's not. (Homestar vs. Little Girl)

Favorite Homestar Runner Song not by TBC

The Very Low Sodium Band's "A Tribute To Homestar Runner"

Other Stuff

Using <span>

I see a lot of folks don't get how <span> is used. <span> is an empty element, it does nothing by itself. But add the attribute style, and you can do all sorts of cool things.

The syntax you need is simple.

<span style="property: value">Text</span>

Such as:

<span style="color: green">This is green.</span> = This is green.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">This is Times New Roman. Note the single quotes when the font is more than one word.</span> = This is Times New Roman. Note the single quotes when the font is more than one word.

<span style="font-variant: small-caps">This is in small caps.</span> = This is in small caps.

<span style="font-size: 150%">This is pretty big.</span> = This is pretty big.

You can declare multiple properties too with a semicolon, like this:

<span style="color: orange; font-variant: small-caps">This is orange smallcaps.</span> = This is orange smallcaps.

Just for starters. If you want more, ask in talk.

New Email Frenzy

I was lucky enough to be online March 21, 2006, to be able to participate in getting a new H*R feature documented (candy product). It was an educational experience!

There are 3 basic types of users involved. The first is the transcribers and feature-specific users. They get the guts and glory, but also put up with the edit conflicts and the despair of seeing ther section they just transcribed already posted. I did just a little of this (I added the date and the computer template, and some fun facts).

The second group are the "other pages" squad. Here's where I participated most. There's all sorts of pages which must be updated to reflect the new email. I added the burglar Homestar image, the basketball Coach Z image, and the smiling Strong Bad at the end (for Strong Bad Smiling). I also updated the Programs for the Lappy. Of course many more updates have to occur to bring the Wiki up to date. And then there's the Talk page monitoring. Which brings us to...

Group number three - the loiterers. Yep, there are those who just hang around and post about nonsense. They aren't doing any of the heavy lifting, they just chat in the Talk or make inane edits. Most are anonnys. Some folks need to deal with them as they come along. Probably most of my email page edits that day were reverts or rewordings of anonny contributions. I mean, I welcome their participation, but it seems as if more often than not the stuff they offer needs serious clown care.

So here I am , posting this less than 12 hours after the email was up, and we're not done yet. But what fun it was to be part of the first responder team! I hope to be so lucky again.

What's an explanation, and what's a reference?

For some reason, a lot of users don't get the difference between a "Real-World Reference" and an "Explanation". So here we go. Feel free to link here (referenced) if people need it spelled out (explained).

According to HRWiki:Standards, an explanation might be needed when "a plot element or joke is very obscure". A "real-world" reference "is when a toon makes a clear reference to something (pre-existing) outside the Homestar Runner universe".

So what's the difference? Well, in old comics, the drawing style is similar to cartoons like Krazy Kat, so that's a reference. Some viewers might not get the reference, but it is a reference nonetheless, as it touches on something many people have seen already outside the H*R universe.

But when the KOT mentions "giving quarter" in the same toon, some users won't know what that means. In this case, we add an explanation of what that phrase means. TBC aren't referring to the phrase, they're using it, so it's not a reference. It's an explanation.

Now sometimes it's hard to tell. Take the "Daisy Dukes" in long pants as an example. Is it a reference to The Dukes Of Hazzard, or is it the usage of the style of "Daisy Duke" shorts found in real life? In this case, it's clearly the latter, so it's found in Explanations. In video games, is Strong Bad pouring out a cold one in actual respect for the incarcerated or deceased, or is this TBC referencing this practice? Again, in context it's clear that it's a reference to a real-world practice.

Back to long pants: when Strong Bad throws the cue cards aside in the intro, it's evocative of Bob Dylan's Subterranian Blues. So, it's a reference. But is it a reference to Weird Al Yankovic's video for Bob? I'd say no, because Bob itself is a reference to the same thing. (I'd argue that the INXS video mentioned in Real-World References is also unnecessary for the same reason, but I'm just one voice.)

So, let's test your reference/explanation knowledge!

1) The mention of Garth Brooks (in secret identity) is a reference to his 1999 rock & roll alter-ego, Chris Gaines.

2) (from best thing) In the television industry, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast programs to multiple stations, without going through a broadcast network, although that process is reserved for long-running TV shows, not ones with a single episode.

3) Gingivitis (heard in bedtime story) is the inflammation of the gums due to improper cleaning of the teeth.

4) The "Telephone Game" (from myths & legends) is a game for children where a message is whispered from one participant to another, along a group, causing the message to be increasingly distorted as time progresses.

5) (from candy product) The "SBLOUNSKCHED!" commercial is a parody of a series of TV commercials for Mentos candies. In these commercials, it is suggested that you can get away with virtually anything so long as you have the advertised product.

Ok, how'd you score?

Answers: reference, explanation, explanation, explanation, reference.

4 or 5 right - You're ready to add Fun Facts all night long!

2 or 3 right - You could use a little work.

0 or 1 right - At least you're enjoying the toons, eh?

Subtitles

I've had fun doing subtitles for toons. Here's some tips as to how I approach it.

1. Break up the text logically. Think about the timing of the scene. If there's a long speech, break it fairly evenly at spots where the sentences naturally split. Don't be afraid to use short sentences alone, especially in a funny bit. Putting the funny line on its own when feasible heightens the surprise. Think about how the dialogue might be broken up if it were a comic strip.

2. Avoid blackspace between lines. Unless there really is a pronounced pause or a scene shift or something like that, let the last line stay up until the next one starts. That way, the reader has more time to read, and the subtitles look less choppy. (If there is a pronounced pause, take care to consider exactly when the previous line should end; don't just stop it any old place!)

3. Consider not only the timing of the audio (being sure the line starts in the same frame the audio does) but the timing of the video as well. For example, for current status I stopped the running-away sound effect on the frame before Coach B and Zubs are seen entering, and I stopped the caption of Zubs' second-to-last line on the last frame of the shot of his feet, right before the return to the wide shot. In other toons, I've left the last line of a scene up just until the scene changes, then allowed blackspace until the next line after the cut. This neatens the presentation.

4. Indicate sound effects, but use restraint. You don't need to add all of them, just the ones that contribute to the plot.

5. Consider how the subtitle will look to the reader, and don't clutter it inordinately. (Though my techno subtitles are intentionally cluttered!)

If you have other ideas and tips, suggest them to me on my Talk page, and I might include them.

My Screen Name

What does Qermaq mean? That's all you people ask me!

subject: Qermaq

Dear Qermaq,
That's a pretty unusual name, I'm curious, how you
come up with it?

Crapfully Crap,
Thunderbird

How I come up with it? How YOU come up with "Thunderbird"? By the way, don't make me call you that. It's not a good administrator name!

(I think good ole helpful TBird can take the joke! A joke, I say!)

Chords

I've transcribed the chords to different town, see it here. A few days after i did this, I found it was also on the TMBG wiki, but this one's a tad more accurate (heh heh). I have a lead sheet (melody, lyrics, chords) as well (PDF format); lemme know if you want it.

Maybe I'll do more if there's interest. Or even if not. Let me know in talk.

Contest

Ok, this is a H*R quote translated via Babelfish to German and back to English. Can you name the original quote on my Talk page??

"Falsify the enormous fear on a bad do not dive in." - won by DumbMuscle

New one sometime....

And a new contest - and this is a really good one.

You are presented with 12 metal balls and a balance scale. Eleven of the balls are precisely the same weight; one ball is different, and the weight difference is indiscernible without a scale. You do not know if the bad ball is heavy or light, and you need not determine if it is either to succeed. You may weigh any number of balls against any number of balls on the balance scase, but you only get three tries maximum. How do you find the bad ball?

DO NOT post this answer in talk. Email me with the answer. The winner will be elevated to Emperor of Town.

Note: Phlip is our newest Emperor of Town! Congratulations, this is a nasty puzzle and you nailed it. (But don't let that stop you from organizing you own!)

Blink

Homestar blinks once every approximately 3.9 seconds. Marzipan blinks every approximately 4.7 seconds. Homestar blinks exactly 6 times to Marzipan's 5.

Dear Qermaq

My woman left me for another man after a year long relationship. She says it's because I wasn't around enough, and he was there when she needed him. I was there as much as I could have been, but she wanted more. But I still love her, and she's with him.

You need to think about your priorities. They might focus more on career and other parts of your life over a relationship. That's not bad in itself - it might be a good time for you to focus on career or friends or other things. But before you enter into a new relationship, consider what you're prepared to sacrifice and be up front about it. Yes, you will always love her. But she's over it. Get a clue, homey. Now's the time to regroup and reglue.

If you have a question for Qermaq, send it via email or catch Qermaq unawares.

And...

You can email me if you want (but I might not read it, so leave a Talk message if you need me to see it).

That's all for now, I guess. You want more? Ask for it on my talk page. See you later!