There is a movie being made about a group of people stealing horse drawn wagons from an Amish community. It is called: Invasion of the Buggy Snatchers.
Me, i’m waiting for the biopic of the famed Swedish geographer, Ole Alexandersragg, who planned the placement of the International Date Line: “The Alexandersragg Time Band”…
Allen was on a wagon train going west when he caught the flu. He made his wife promise to name something after him. “Oh Allen, you’ll be all right!” she said.
So he called his son and made him promise. “But Pa, you’re going to be fine–Ma says. You name it,” he said.
So Allen called the boy driving the team. He didn’t know the kid very well, and figured there was no way a kid would lie to a dying man. He made the kid promise to name something after him. The kid stared at him for a minute, nodded, and said, “I sure will, Mr. Buquerque.”
$2 in the pun jar–it wasn’t my joke to begin with.
I can see i’m going to have to tell the story of the Viking ship’s cook who wound up in Naples .. but not today; after that last one it will take me some time to get the nerve back up…
her left seems to be in position to do that, though her right arm could be doing the Pete Townsend “big circle on the strings” thing, or the B&T Wyld Stallions thing too.
It looks to me that Bud is trying to either show our dear Shelly, or see for herself, what she is capable of. But the autopilot should be a worry to Shelly as that implies either outside control or mental problems.
… or, Shelly picked up a whole new set of reflexive (or almost reflexive) behavioral patterns during her maturation into her sphinx-form, and it’s possible for her to revert to these (or be triggered into them by specific situations).
That wouldn’t be “outside control”… rather, an inside control/reaction. Whether it’s “mental problems” could be a judgment call… her actions might be perfectly sane and in character for a sphinx as they do seem to be stern, prickly, and prone to use violence against those they see as breaking the law/rules.
What Shelly is now dealing with, might almost be akin to what many combat vets must cope with on return to civilian life… they have a new set of reflexes and survival behaviors, sometimes almost automatic, that are often badly out of sync with the norms of civilian life.
In any case, she’s got a perfect right to be disturbed by it. It’s hard to be responsible for your actions if you find you cannot either predict or control them. For the moment at least, avoiding alcohol would probably be a really good idea…
Just when did she go on autopilot? When she got up and spoke the words, or only when she actually took the swing? If it was when she spoke to them, then that woud be worrisome. It would mean something took over and caused her to do the whole thing in the first place. If she can’t control that aspect of her behavior, she’s in for a lot of problems. So are others.
My best guess is that she went on auto-pilot when she took offense.
It seems to me that Shelly simply did what she wished to do a thing that in earlier and more prudent times would only be confined to wishful thinking.
Also note that while on auto pilot, even with her supernatural strength (and claws), she left all of them uninjured. To me that shows a high level of subconcious control.
BTW, even in cartoon drawings (you know what I mean), Bud is stil my absolute favorite!
Not mental problems, I think. To maybe run a point into the ground, you wouldn’t consider a cat stalking a mouse to have mental problems. The alcohol probably didn’t help, but Shelly was doing what comes naturaly for her species(which isn’t human). On an instictive level, someone challenged her and she established her dominance through non leathal means, the way a lioness would with cubs. To beat a dead horse, Shelly ain’t a member of homo sapiens any more. Intellegent, yes. Wise beyond a comprehension, yes. But she isn’t human and is operating with a whole new set of instincts. And I think that realization is freaking her out.
Forget doing something natural for her species…I think Shelly just did what was natural for her. 🙂 No concerns here over mental issues…just over Shelly’s ability to control her Id.
Re: “Outside control” – That could also be her over-developed Conscience, although we have never seen evidence she can actually ‘steer’ when she wants to. I also can’t guess as to whether Connie would approve or disapprove of that kind of intervention.
There was a whole discusson on “how long would it take for the glass to hit the floor, and how fast was Shelly really moving” in Fridays comments. The answer; A literal blink of an eye apparently.
Some fights (and other activites) can be like that. In activities that one has train for for years can get into a “zen” state. In fights, a trained fighter decides on a course of action and then the conscious minds takes a step back, and the body reacts from instinct/muscle memory. Some fighters have said it’s like an out of body experience.
When I code heavily and I get into the “zone”, I don’t think in terms of code directly. I fixate on on what I want the code to do. For those that understand the lingo, I flowchart the program in my mind and the source code just flows naturally from that.
Something that cognitive science has demonstrated in recent years… and that some philosophers and spiritual thinkers alluded to long ago… is that our “conscious thinking” is somewhat of an after-the-fact illusion. Much of what we “think we decide” consciously, can be shown to be the consensus result of the interactions of multiple subsystems running within our brains, not directly apparent to us. These “agents” within us often have conflicting goals and priorities… we “struggle with ourselves” quite literally, at a neurological and data-processing level, and the results of this internal debate is what we “decide”.
In that sense, we are in truth not that very different from our favorite demon-collective-powered barista Tina. Her collective is more overt, and more separable from her body… but we’re more alike than not.
When our own multiple subsystems are working well together, really neat things can happen. Skills we have acquired through long practice… software coding, playing a musical instrument, martial-art and combat skills, dance, etc… will just flow effortlessly in that “Zen” state you speak of. Our consciousness of the moment needs only to do the high-level directing, and the details are “handled automatically” without apparent thought.
I’ve learned through experience that this even works (often amazingly well) for problem solving. When faced with a difficult software oroblem, often the best thing to do is study it (without trying to fix it) and then walk away and forget it for the day. More often than not, “the guy in the back room” of my brain will hand me the answer a day or so later, apparently right out of the blue.
However, when the “agent” which springs into action is one you didn’t realize was there, invoking skills you didn’t appreciate that you knew… gotta be really scary! I don’t envy Shelly her little surprise… having the stern justice of a sphinx seize control, even for a moment, would be one hell of a cold chaser for that drink!
I have reviewed code written by all kinds of programmers – ranging from hacks to true artists. You can always tell the artists – especially when zoned; it is like reading a novel with plots and subplots, and their work is easy to understand. Even better than that, mistakes and illogical parts tend to stand out like a sore thumb. Good code is elegant – even if only to another geek. (and i am proud to be one.)
It’s the part where my Muse comes out to play and I type over 50 wpm and the story makes sense and everything flows. I love it. There are days I write just hoping to get there because I miss it.
You can always tell an artist–even progammers. The programs written by an artist seem to work better, and things are where you expect them, and it’s not clunky. I love art. 😉
Years ago, the “Inner Tennis” book first talked about that experience.
An author says that there is no such thing as real writer’s block. If you don’t want to write, don’t. But if you do want to write, and it’s not coming, just write anyway. At some point, the story will come to life, and the writing will flow. Then–later, at the appropriate time, just chop off the “bad” stuff where you struggled.
The same thing happens to actors. You memorize lines, you rehearse endlessly, practice, practice, practice. Then, when you perform, the god takes over and you aren’t even there. Sometimes you can even watch your own performance.
It is a complete trip; the deepest pleasure I have ever experienced.
Well, I’m still voting for “80K year old Sphinx instincts kicked in and Shelly is just now realising how different she really is.” I think it is finaly hitting home that she is a lion living among lambs.
What if it goes even further next time, and she kills someone? How can she know, now, that this would not happen?
I think she sees herself as a potential time bomb… until she knows what’s happening, and what its limits are, she’s going to be scared… and probably should be.
But, but..capes are cooler ,be it somewhat unwieldy in a scuffle.. always wondered how Batman succeeded in NOT getting all tied-up in that cape, or Spawn, for that matter..talk about impractical.
I guess “The power of awesome” as demonstrated by Shellinx here, keeps capes from interfering 😀
A pity she can’t poit (yet?). I always thought that an ideal way to deal with bozos like those three, would be to teleport them to somewhere in the middle of the nearest sewage treatment plant’s settling pond, and let them swim back to shore. “Forgetting” to poit their clothes along with them might make the lesson even more memorable.
Sorta like what Monica did to get Amanda’s attention, but much stinkier.
I wonder if the bar in question had CCTV. If they did, I wonder if anyone thought to do a frame-by-frame analysis (assuming the CCTV records at 24 or 25 frames per second as not all do).
Doubt it, and even if they did, I doubt it would show much. To catch the glass, that entire fight must have taken a fairly small fraction of a second. To get a good shot of that, you’re going to need the kind of gear they use for filming hummingbirds flapping their wings. A typical CCTV setup – even a good one – is gonna see nothing but a blur…
Not even that really. To conserve tape, many only take a couple of frames per second. That’s usually enough to catch goings on since things don’t usually happen that fast from beginning to end.
Normally, I’d find the concept of anyone bothering to look over the security footage in a club a ludicrous concept.
However, after entire walls have mysteriously gone missing, the concept seems far less absurd now.
I await Cerberus’s bartender (I predict carbon-copy of Daren, but without a goatee) to calmly request the girls stop destroying his establishment and/or patrons when they choose to visit.
They went flying, and Shells was at the end of her spin, facing away, leaning over looking like she was trying not to spill her drink. Bud, in a Bleach/Dragonball moment, was the only one with the skillz to see what really happened. Townsend windmill aside, not really helping. But I bet she has enough experience to know whether or not to intercede.
The way I see it, Shelly is now a Protector/Avenger (traditional occupation of Sphinxes) and seeing her fellow native girls being harassed, her instincts clicked in. She applied exactly the minimum amount of force to resolve the situation in their favor without breaking her cover.
I’d hardly consider that the “minimum” amount of force needed. That was a lot more force than needed to resolve the situation. Even the bouncers would have simply escorted them out, unless they took a swing at them. Even the, they would probably just restrained them until the cops showed up.
Shelly is still fairly new at this (then again, it’s not like she was known for showing restraint pre-Sphinxing). Needs to remember just how fragile non-Monica humans are. Especially when you consider Shelly’s freakish base-strength level in comparison.
But the bouncers would not even try to make them leave just because they were throwing racial slurs. If they are buying drinks the bouncers would not get involved unless someone gets physical. And in most of the eastern US (people not being in the Indian nations that is) saying names like ‘Tonto’ used on TV would not register as a racial slur. Sad state of affairs but all too true.
Don’t know her own strength…yet.
There is a movie being made about a group of people stealing horse drawn wagons from an Amish community. It is called: Invasion of the Buggy Snatchers.
Klink, klink, KLUNK!
Huh… “I” heard it was a new Mexican war movie…”Atacolips Now”
Meh… I’m waiting for the biopic of the famed Irish interior decorator who specialized in porch and veranda settings: Paddy O’Furniture.
Me, i’m waiting for the biopic of the famed Swedish geographer, Ole Alexandersragg, who planned the placement of the International Date Line: “The Alexandersragg Time Band”…
Allen was on a wagon train going west when he caught the flu. He made his wife promise to name something after him. “Oh Allen, you’ll be all right!” she said.
So he called his son and made him promise. “But Pa, you’re going to be fine–Ma says. You name it,” he said.
So Allen called the boy driving the team. He didn’t know the kid very well, and figured there was no way a kid would lie to a dying man. He made the kid promise to name something after him. The kid stared at him for a minute, nodded, and said, “I sure will, Mr. Buquerque.”
$2 in the pun jar–it wasn’t my joke to begin with.
I can see i’m going to have to tell the story of the Viking ship’s cook who wound up in Naples .. but not today; after that last one it will take me some time to get the nerve back up…
How did all these shaggy dogs get in here?
um… No Clue… BUT Joe Started it! 😛
Raises hand.
GUILTY!
Then there was the story of the old computer network. It was the LAN that time forgot.
[Clink]
Love it! 😀
Bud had better have done the Bill&Ted air-guitar rift. Otherwise, 80s-fanatic Monica will be disappoint.
her left seems to be in position to do that, though her right arm could be doing the Pete Townsend “big circle on the strings” thing, or the B&T Wyld Stallions thing too.
Thats not the B&T air guitar. They normally just moved their fingers to do it. Was only in the future where they moved their whole arm…
And I don’t know wether to be proud or embarrised I have retained that information…
Correct! that’s why i said it could be either B&T or Pete… BE PROUD!… Let your Inner Geek Out! we’ll understand… oh, yeah… i remembered it TOO! 😀
Either way, I can hear it.
It looks to me that Bud is trying to either show our dear Shelly, or see for herself, what she is capable of. But the autopilot should be a worry to Shelly as that implies either outside control or mental problems.
… or, Shelly picked up a whole new set of reflexive (or almost reflexive) behavioral patterns during her maturation into her sphinx-form, and it’s possible for her to revert to these (or be triggered into them by specific situations).
That wouldn’t be “outside control”… rather, an inside control/reaction. Whether it’s “mental problems” could be a judgment call… her actions might be perfectly sane and in character for a sphinx as they do seem to be stern, prickly, and prone to use violence against those they see as breaking the law/rules.
What Shelly is now dealing with, might almost be akin to what many combat vets must cope with on return to civilian life… they have a new set of reflexes and survival behaviors, sometimes almost automatic, that are often badly out of sync with the norms of civilian life.
In any case, she’s got a perfect right to be disturbed by it. It’s hard to be responsible for your actions if you find you cannot either predict or control them. For the moment at least, avoiding alcohol would probably be a really good idea…
Just when did she go on autopilot? When she got up and spoke the words, or only when she actually took the swing? If it was when she spoke to them, then that woud be worrisome. It would mean something took over and caused her to do the whole thing in the first place. If she can’t control that aspect of her behavior, she’s in for a lot of problems. So are others.
My best guess is that she went on auto-pilot when she took offense.
It seems to me that Shelly simply did what she wished to do a thing that in earlier and more prudent times would only be confined to wishful thinking.
Also note that while on auto pilot, even with her supernatural strength (and claws), she left all of them uninjured. To me that shows a high level of subconcious control.
BTW, even in cartoon drawings (you know what I mean), Bud is stil my absolute favorite!
Not mental problems, I think. To maybe run a point into the ground, you wouldn’t consider a cat stalking a mouse to have mental problems. The alcohol probably didn’t help, but Shelly was doing what comes naturaly for her species(which isn’t human). On an instictive level, someone challenged her and she established her dominance through non leathal means, the way a lioness would with cubs. To beat a dead horse, Shelly ain’t a member of homo sapiens any more. Intellegent, yes. Wise beyond a comprehension, yes. But she isn’t human and is operating with a whole new set of instincts. And I think that realization is freaking her out.
Forget doing something natural for her species…I think Shelly just did what was natural for her. 🙂 No concerns here over mental issues…just over Shelly’s ability to control her Id.
Re: “Outside control” – That could also be her over-developed Conscience, although we have never seen evidence she can actually ‘steer’ when she wants to. I also can’t guess as to whether Connie would approve or disapprove of that kind of intervention.
Wait, you mean normal fights aren’t like that?
There was a whole discusson on “how long would it take for the glass to hit the floor, and how fast was Shelly really moving” in Fridays comments. The answer; A literal blink of an eye apparently.
Some fights (and other activites) can be like that. In activities that one has train for for years can get into a “zen” state. In fights, a trained fighter decides on a course of action and then the conscious minds takes a step back, and the body reacts from instinct/muscle memory. Some fighters have said it’s like an out of body experience.
When I code heavily and I get into the “zone”, I don’t think in terms of code directly. I fixate on on what I want the code to do. For those that understand the lingo, I flowchart the program in my mind and the source code just flows naturally from that.
Something that cognitive science has demonstrated in recent years… and that some philosophers and spiritual thinkers alluded to long ago… is that our “conscious thinking” is somewhat of an after-the-fact illusion. Much of what we “think we decide” consciously, can be shown to be the consensus result of the interactions of multiple subsystems running within our brains, not directly apparent to us. These “agents” within us often have conflicting goals and priorities… we “struggle with ourselves” quite literally, at a neurological and data-processing level, and the results of this internal debate is what we “decide”.
In that sense, we are in truth not that very different from our favorite demon-collective-powered barista Tina. Her collective is more overt, and more separable from her body… but we’re more alike than not.
When our own multiple subsystems are working well together, really neat things can happen. Skills we have acquired through long practice… software coding, playing a musical instrument, martial-art and combat skills, dance, etc… will just flow effortlessly in that “Zen” state you speak of. Our consciousness of the moment needs only to do the high-level directing, and the details are “handled automatically” without apparent thought.
I’ve learned through experience that this even works (often amazingly well) for problem solving. When faced with a difficult software oroblem, often the best thing to do is study it (without trying to fix it) and then walk away and forget it for the day. More often than not, “the guy in the back room” of my brain will hand me the answer a day or so later, apparently right out of the blue.
However, when the “agent” which springs into action is one you didn’t realize was there, invoking skills you didn’t appreciate that you knew… gotta be really scary! I don’t envy Shelly her little surprise… having the stern justice of a sphinx seize control, even for a moment, would be one hell of a cold chaser for that drink!
I have reviewed code written by all kinds of programmers – ranging from hacks to true artists. You can always tell the artists – especially when zoned; it is like reading a novel with plots and subplots, and their work is easy to understand. Even better than that, mistakes and illogical parts tend to stand out like a sore thumb. Good code is elegant – even if only to another geek. (and i am proud to be one.)
I know this zone.
It’s the part where my Muse comes out to play and I type over 50 wpm and the story makes sense and everything flows. I love it. There are days I write just hoping to get there because I miss it.
You can always tell an artist–even progammers. The programs written by an artist seem to work better, and things are where you expect them, and it’s not clunky. I love art. 😉
Years ago, the “Inner Tennis” book first talked about that experience.
An author says that there is no such thing as real writer’s block. If you don’t want to write, don’t. But if you do want to write, and it’s not coming, just write anyway. At some point, the story will come to life, and the writing will flow. Then–later, at the appropriate time, just chop off the “bad” stuff where you struggled.
OMG I LOVE that zone. Sleep does not exist there and occasionally, looking back on it is like looking at someone else’s work.
The same thing happens to actors. You memorize lines, you rehearse endlessly, practice, practice, practice. Then, when you perform, the god takes over and you aren’t even there. Sometimes you can even watch your own performance.
It is a complete trip; the deepest pleasure I have ever experienced.
“You get used to it; I don’t even see the code. All I see is ‘blonde,’ ‘brunette,’ ‘redhead…'”
You know, it took me the better part of today before that reference clicked into memory.
I had a friend who quite literally dreamed of a code in binary and put it to use the next day. Even when he’s asleep he’s fixing his problems at work.
Well, I’m still voting for “80K year old Sphinx instincts kicked in and Shelly is just now realising how different she really is.” I think it is finaly hitting home that she is a lion living among lambs.
Sometimes coming home is more complex than it seems at first…
Good for Shelly — she got away with it. She shouldn’t worry about it, she should embrace it.
What if it goes even further next time, and she kills someone? How can she know, now, that this would not happen?
I think she sees herself as a potential time bomb… until she knows what’s happening, and what its limits are, she’s going to be scared… and probably should be.
And being afraid of yourself sucks.
Amen to that!
OK I tried three times and it didn’t work. Imagine an empty message box with my avatar in it, end the reply”Speechless” also with my avatar on it.
I usually go with “…” in that situation. If I’m particularly blown away, I’ll repeat it a few times.
I love the Air guitar of Approval! I want it everytime I do something awesome!
Sorry, that’s reserved only for those convicted of “Epic in the First Degree”. you’ll have to be satisfied with “The Kazoo of Meh.”
One step up from The Air Kazoo of Meh.
Definitely better than the Flatulent Bagpipe of Get The Hell Out Of Here, Kid!
or the rimshot of sarcasm?
It is indeed a heady thing to have The Air Guitar of Approval played for your actions. Or so I’ve been told….
I’ve just been re-reading the archives, and yeah… Bud rocks… 🙂
Sounds like an MiB caper to me.
Oh man, these Shelly sketches are a throw back… waaaay back.
Still luvin’ the ‘notepad’ sketched, cutscenes.
SUper-sight, Super strength, Super speed.. Only thing missing is flying….
Sphynxes have wings instead of a cape… 😀
But, but..capes are cooler ,be it somewhat unwieldy in a scuffle.. always wondered how Batman succeeded in NOT getting all tied-up in that cape, or Spawn, for that matter..talk about impractical.
I guess “The power of awesome” as demonstrated by Shellinx here, keeps capes from interfering 😀
By the by.. wouldn’t it be über-cool if Sphinxes could control parts of their transformation? Shelly with Angel-Wings..’c mon.. Angel-Wings!!
Tina sorta did that:
http://wapsisquare.com/projects/pablowapsi-illustrations/attachment/mon_tina_02/
Twice:
http://wapsisquare.com/projects/pablowapsi-illustrations/attachment/mon_tina_01/
Have you seen The Incredibles?
No capes!
Yes, but using that logic you have to say, “Haven’t you seen Sailor Sun? Everyone should be in cute little skirts and bodices with large breast bows.”
Just have Monica or Bud teach Shelly how to POIT, and there’s no more need for flying.
A pity she can’t poit (yet?). I always thought that an ideal way to deal with bozos like those three, would be to teleport them to somewhere in the middle of the nearest sewage treatment plant’s settling pond, and let them swim back to shore. “Forgetting” to poit their clothes along with them might make the lesson even more memorable.
Sorta like what Monica did to get Amanda’s attention, but much stinkier.
Shouldn’t she be talking to Phix about this?
Posilutely! Mentoring, tutoring, a consulting contract… arrange it somehow!
It may have already been done, but Shelly’s return to “normal” has disconnected the training from the application temporarily.
Give her some time.
I wonder if the bar in question had CCTV. If they did, I wonder if anyone thought to do a frame-by-frame analysis (assuming the CCTV records at 24 or 25 frames per second as not all do).
Doubt it, and even if they did, I doubt it would show much. To catch the glass, that entire fight must have taken a fairly small fraction of a second. To get a good shot of that, you’re going to need the kind of gear they use for filming hummingbirds flapping their wings. A typical CCTV setup – even a good one – is gonna see nothing but a blur…
Probably 30 FPS in the US, since that’s our TV standard. (NTSC)
European TV (PAL) is your 25 FPS and film is 24.
Not even that really. To conserve tape, many only take a couple of frames per second. That’s usually enough to catch goings on since things don’t usually happen that fast from beginning to end.
It’s mostly digital now (although lots of legacy systems will linger for years), but if you substitute ‘disk space’ for ‘tape’ the rest remains true.
Normally, I’d find the concept of anyone bothering to look over the security footage in a club a ludicrous concept.
However, after entire walls have mysteriously gone missing, the concept seems far less absurd now.
I await Cerberus’s bartender (I predict carbon-copy of Daren, but without a goatee) to calmly request the girls stop destroying his establishment and/or patrons when they choose to visit.
Of course there is always the chance that the owner of the club is made of clay. 🙂
Does that still count if he has feet of clay?
[drops a pot by Maria into the pun jar]
They went flying, and Shells was at the end of her spin, facing away, leaning over looking like she was trying not to spill her drink. Bud, in a Bleach/Dragonball moment, was the only one with the skillz to see what really happened. Townsend windmill aside, not really helping. But I bet she has enough experience to know whether or not to intercede.
“Huzzah?” Really, Monica? Really.
I’d bet, in advance of Tuesday 1-10’s comic, “Huzzah” comes from someone other than Monica.”
I think the huzzah was either sarcastic or the fact that they got hauled away. Or maybe that they weren’t eviscerated…
The way I see it, Shelly is now a Protector/Avenger (traditional occupation of Sphinxes) and seeing her fellow native girls being harassed, her instincts clicked in. She applied exactly the minimum amount of force to resolve the situation in their favor without breaking her cover.
She and Phix really need to have a Talk…
What? “When a mommy sphinx and a daddy sphinx love each other very much…”?
I’d hardly consider that the “minimum” amount of force needed. That was a lot more force than needed to resolve the situation. Even the bouncers would have simply escorted them out, unless they took a swing at them. Even the, they would probably just restrained them until the cops showed up.
Shelly is still fairly new at this (then again, it’s not like she was known for showing restraint pre-Sphinxing). Needs to remember just how fragile non-Monica humans are. Especially when you consider Shelly’s freakish base-strength level in comparison.
Seems pretty minimal to me. Considering one alternative was eating them…
But the bouncers would not even try to make them leave just because they were throwing racial slurs. If they are buying drinks the bouncers would not get involved unless someone gets physical. And in most of the eastern US (people not being in the Indian nations that is) saying names like ‘Tonto’ used on TV would not register as a racial slur. Sad state of affairs but all too true.
some one remind me… what strip had the first pencil doodle?
i Like them..
Air Bud? But seriously, I loved the doodle!!
Honestly, this is the best use of that name I’ve seen in years. XD
^^ “In years?” I say “ever”!
😀
Doodle-Bud is cute. Shelly’s internal sketches are always humorous.
Shelly’s fangs FTW! Air guitar of approval for those alone…
When I saw Bud’s reaction in the 2nd panel, I heard the Team Fortress 2 achievement sound effect 😉
Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a meme.
Paul is showing off. I’ve never seen anyone so expressive with simple line doodles.