origins

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Other origins.

Strong Bad Email #123

Strong Bad discusses the hangingoutitude of The Stick.

Cast (in order of appearance): Strong Bad, Little Strong Bad, [[Se�or]], Mr. Bland, Bubs, The Stick, Homestar Runner, The Cheat, Strong Mad, Marzipan, Homsar, Strong Sad, The King of Town

Date: January 31, 2005

Transcript

STRONG BAD: {in monotone} This email is leaving the station. Please move to the center of the email and away from the doors.

subject: a sticky question...
Dear Strong bad,
I have recently been wondering about the origin of the
stick. Has it always been a good place for hanging out and
making rendezvous?

Luke, Eau Claire, WI

{he pronounces 'rendezvous' as 'rendezvouuuu-ses', and the bottom line as 'Luke, ewww Claire, why?'}

STRONG BAD: Ugh! Why do you Van Peebles always wanna know the origins and histories of every freakin' little thing? Like, do you wanna know how Strong Sad got his belly button too?

{cut to a young Strong Bad's birthday; a sign reads 'Happy Birthday Lil Strong Bad'. Strong Bad has a black shirt with a yellow truck on it, and is looking at a white present with a blue ribbon and a tag reading 'To Strong Bad From Mom or Dad'. He grabs the lid and takes it off to reveal a power drill.}

LIL STRONG BAD: {lifting the drill} Oh, awesome! {he revs the drill}

{cut back to the Lappy}

STRONG BAD: {clears the screen} Or, like, the origin of Bubs' Concession Stand?

{Original Book style. Se�or and Mr. Bland stand in flat greenness, and Strong Bad's words are subtitled.}

STRONG BAD: Se�or Havin' A Little Trouble and Mr. Bland were by far the most popular characters.

{a red Stand falls on them with a splurt!}

STRONG BAD: Then, they were crushed by a falling Bubs' Concession Stand.

{Bubs appears in it, waving}

BUBS: Hot time!

STRONG BAD: said Bubs.

{back to the Lappy}

STRONG BAD: Well, I'm not gonna show you those things. Or the origin of the stick. But I will indulge your curiousity {misspelt, but pronounced correctly} about the stick's hangingoutitude. It currently rates a 10, but such was not always the case. Like when Homestar used to hold his weekly {sounding disturbed, and the words turn green and jiggle on screen} bread sing-alongs, {back to normal} we avoided that place like the plegg! {deletes up to the 'p'} plague!

{cut to The Stick, where Homestar Runner is surrounded by bread. He is holding a slice and waving it around while marching on the spot}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: {singing} Bread is a good time for me, woo-oo-doo singing, bread is a good time for everybody!

STRONG BAD: {voiceover; Homestar keeps peeking out around the bread slice} We sure sniped that problem right between the eyes from three hundred yards by scheduling The Cheat's rhythmic chain dancing recitals for the same time and place.

{Strong Bad and Strong Mad stand in the background while The Cheat, dressed in a blue suit, swingings a chain around, hitting Homestar's face and the bread. Homestar has acquired a sign reading 'Come On & Sing.'}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: {singing, despite being hit in the face} I cut the crusts off in the morning light...

STRONG BAD: {clapping; The Cheat picks up a slice of bread and twirls it while making The Cheat noises} He's quite good.

STRONG MAD: LUNCH BREAK!

{back to the Lappy}

STRONG BAD: After a couple of minutes, the popularity of Homestar's sing-alongs faded and Strong Mad ate The Cheat's chainwhip. So that's when the stick became a great place to spraypaint Marzipan.

{Strong Bad, Strong Mad and The Cheat by The Stick spraying at Marizpan's dress, which has a picture of a steak and 'St8k DiNNeR' written on it graffiti-style}

MARZIPAN: To me, this is something that losers would do.

STRONG BAD: Oh, this is gonna be my freshest piece yet.

MARZIPAN: Strong Mad, that looks like cooking spray.

STRONG BAD: What?! Aw, that's some never-forgive action right there.

STRONG BAD: {voiceover; the scene darkens slightly} But spraypainting people isn't very much fun when they stand there and make fun of you.

{cut to Marzipan standing by The Stick with an upside-down Homsar stuck to her head, at night; a wolf howls}

STRONG BAD: {voiceover} So I super-glued her to Hhh-Homsar, and left them for dead.

MARZIPAN: Ooh, I think I hear wolves coming.

HOMSAR: I'm the human wedgie.

{Homestar marches in, holding a load of bread}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: {singing} .. don't ask me why, pumpernickel and rye. (Note: Homestar's lisp makes "why" and "rye" sound exactly the same.)

STRONG BAD: {voiceover} In order to properly leave them for dead, and not keep hanging around them for dead, we relocated to behind Bubs' {cut to Strong Bad, Strong Mad and The Cheat behind Bubs' Concession Stand with an exhaust and a pipe, and a crown with 'On Point' spraypainted on the wall} and started calling ourselves the On Point Kings. We'd take no guff from nobody.

STRONG BAD: {to The Cheat} Hey man, I know what it means. I was just seeing if you knew.

THE CHEAT: {makes frustrated The Cheat noises}

STRONG SAD: {walking in} Have you guys seen my moleskin journal?

STRONG BAD: {producing the power drill} You want another belly button there, Harry Elephant�?

STRONG SAD: {starts} Waaah! No sir! Heck no at all! {runs away}

STRONG BAD: {throws drill away} Man, did you guys see me refuse to take that guff? I flat out rejected it! That guff never even had a chance! {pulls out a file and starts filing his gloves} Ah, that's what being an On Point King is all about.

THE KING OF TOWN: {walks in with a blue dunce cap on} I hear somebody mention a pointy king? {nods his hat} Doink doink?

STRONG BAD: Heck no at all!

{back to the Lappy}

STRONG BAD: So ya see Claire, if it weren't for the stick, and Marzipan's considerable resistance to death, the On Point Kings may never have stolen the King of Town's dunce cap and renamed it Lotionman. {a little embarrassed, and stutters his 'd' (not typed)} D-Don't ask, it was Strong Mad's idea. Well, I hope that makes you not email me anymore.

{The Paper comes down}

Easter Eggs

• Click on "Eau Claire WI" to view Beverly Sportsinterview's book "Ewww..Claire!! Why???"
• Click on "dunce" at the end to see and hear an album of Homestar's Bread Sing-alongs.
  • Keep clicking the CD cover to hear different songs. The three songs he sings are the same as the ones from the email.

Fun Facts

Trivia

• This is the first time Homsar's hat has not returned to him, regardless of his position (if we don't count Modestly Hot Homsar). Because he is upside down while glued to Marzipan's forehead, his hat settles on her dress. However, in his character video, he ends up upside down at the end (or, depending on your point of view, the entire video), but his hat still comes back to him.
• The tag on the gift Little Strong Bad opens says "To: Strong Bad, From: Mom or Dad."

Remarks

• Strong Bad makes fun of the email author for a mistake he didn't commit; the plural form of the word rendezvous is spelled the same as the singular, not rendezvouses. The plural can be pronounced either /ron-day-voo/ (which is also the same as the singular) or /ron-day-vooz/.
• Strong Bad pronounces "Se�or" correctly (not "seh-NOR" like in the past).
  • Actually, Strong Bad always pronounces it correctly. For Senor Cardgage and Senor Mortgage, it is not "Se�or". There is no ~ over the "n" (see Senor_Mortgage for spelling confirmation), and thus it is pronounced "seh-NOR" Cardgage. Strong Sad pronounces "Se�or Cardgage" correctly though.
• "Eau Claire" means "Clear Water" in French.

Goofs

• In the Bread Sing-along CD easter egg, the picture of Homestar blinks. If this were an actual CD cover, the photograph couldn't blink.
• The word "St8k" is spraypainted on Marzipan. If it were pronounced the way it is spelled, it would be "Statke"

Inside References

• We last saw the smashed muffler in no loafing.
• The drill noise was first heard in privileges.
• The appearance of Homestar's Bread Singalongs CD is similar to Strong Bad's Rhythm 'N' Grammar as seen at the end of local news.
• The "On Point Kings" may be a reference to email number 81, "date", where Marzipan says "Strong Bad is On Point" in Strong Bad's "H*R and Marzipan Dating Simulation XR".
• The lyrics "don't ask me why" are from Everybody Knows It.
• The Brothers Chaps often avoid the main subject of the email (such as in car). This email has Strong Bad making that even more obvious.
• This is the second time in the past two cartoons that a character has been pictured wearing a truck shirt. Little Strong Bad does so here, and Tompkins wore one in Teen Girl Squad Issue 8.

Real-World References

• Strong Bad's introduction to the email is likely a reference to the automated voice systems commonly used on subway trains.
• The drill used to give Strong Sad his bellybutton is likely a DeWalt Drill, DeWalt being famous for their yellow coloured heavy duty tools.
• When Se�or and Mr. Bland are crushed in the scene depicting the origin of Bub's Concession Stand, the manner in which their legs stick out is as that of the Wicked Witch of the East in The Wizard of Oz when she is crushed by Dorothy's house.
• Beverly Sportsinterviews, likely related to Lem Sportsinterviews, is a reference to Beverly Cleary, an author for children and young adults.
• Moleskine is a brand of pocket notebooks and sketch pads popular among trend-following artists and writers. Strong Sad mistakenly pronounces it "mole skin", whereas the correct pronunciation is "mol-a-skeen'-a".
• "Harry Elephante" is most likely a reference to famous calypso musician Harry Belafonte.
  • It could also be a reference to dreamail when Strong Bad was writing a reply to the 128 Hot Katies and he typed his name as "Chester Elegante"
• "Van Peebles" is a reference to famous blaxploitation filmmaker/singer Melvin Van Peebles, most famous for directing the film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, or to his son Mario Van Peebles, actor/director known for movies like New Jack City and Rappin'.
• In the second bread singalong song, Homestar sings, "I cut the crusts off in the morning light." This is a reference to the 80s metal band Dokken, whose song "Alone Again" had the same tune and semi-similar lyrics in the opening line.
• Where bread singalongs is green and jittering, this could be a reference to the video game Banjo Kazooie, where when a character said something 'disgusting' those particular words would jiggle in that fashion.
• "Ewh Claire" is a common mispronunciation of Eau Claire (oh claire).

External Links

• view "origins"
  
• view the flash file for "origins"
• forum thread re: "origins"