Maple Leaf posted:

After knowing what the internet's done to it, is it okay to just wear a fedora? Like, say you need to be somewhere, and you're in a rush, and it's raining out... you just throw on a pair of shoes, a jacket, and the first hat off a rack, and it happens to be a fedora. Can you wear it in a situation like that without immediately being pinned as a troper/neckbeard/'from the internet'? Or should we just burn all the fedoras and save ourselves the trouble?

Lightflame posted:

The latest strip is a childish Take That at my favourite author.

That's it, I am done with liking this comic.

Ninety posted:

What a childish, unnecessary Take That.

DaveWoo posted:

So the latest Penny Arcade comic takes a (very mild) jab at fantasy author Brandon Sanderson.

Tropers were not amused:

DaveWoo posted:

Nineteen Eighty-Four film/book review by Belfagor 20th Jul 12 posted:

Anti-communism masked as alleged "anti-totalitarianism"

The term "totalitarianism" was a Cold War creation to compare Communism to Nazism, which is pure and simple bashing. Orwell's 1984 is a perfect example of this kind of propaganda. The book, praised beyond any objective quality, merely repeats stereotypes that would later make the fortune of Robert Conquest and similar alleged "historians". The worst part is, the author presents his view as the true Socialist one. But this is just Trotskyism and revisionism.

It's rather easy to see what lies behind the curtain: "doublethink" is a sick, twisted parody of dialectical materialism, the description of the Party doesn't show any kind of actual analysis and is just a pile of gratuitously anvilicious Complete Monster traits, Goldstein's section is nothing but an extremely heavy Author Filibuster moment to expose loads and loads of Trotskyist / Social Democratic propaganda.

As a Marxist-Leninist, I find this book utterly revolting and despicable. However, I must admit that it completely succeeds in its main target: to spread every possible lie about the Eastern Bloc and the men who carried on the results of the October Revolution, under the pretense of an "universal message of freedom" that is just imperialistic trash. It succeeds so well that most people believe this is a valid document to judge Soviet Union. What's next, Jurassic Park used as biology documentation in universities?

Belfagor, in the comments of his review posted:

quote:

I see nothing about Marxist-Leninism (which is an embarrassment to Marxism anyway,which originally was more like Bakunin)

I'm afraid, but I completely disagree. Marx himself wrote about the necessity of proletarian dictatorship, which Bakunin never agreed about. Lenin described imperialism using Marxist categories and thus added substantially to Marx and Engels' work. Marxism recognizes th necessity of authority in the socialist phase (which preceeds Communism) and, dialectically, sees the difference between bourgeois authority and proletarian authority.

Also, "Stalinism" is an improper term, sine Stalin didn't actually made a substantial progress from Lenin's work. Instead, he fortified the results of the Revolution through the proletarian dictatorship (always being faithful to Marx, Engels and Lenin's teaching) and, more important, he lead (not alone, of course) USSR against Nazi Germany. Putting USSR and Third Reich on the same level isn't just historically absurd, it's offensive.

Take it from a Marxist-Leninist, I don't recall Minarchists turning a confederation of feudal states into the second most powerful State of its time.

Belfagor, in the comments of his review posted:

^^ & ^ Dear lord, stop reading rubbish written using propaganda from the '30s and try to do an objective research. You could even find Oxford professors praising collectivization. I've had to sit through hours and hours of the exact things you repeat. Then I read another version that was far more supported (ever read Ludo Martens, for example?) and objective. Why don't you do the same? You know, that's what an accurate research is.

By the way, taking critics from who probably supports the US is frankly ludicrous.

Arcsquad12 posted:

Whatever happened to wearing a simple ball cap? Oh right, because only those stupid jocks and sports players wear those, unlike *me*, who is totally classy.

Lottery of Babylon posted:

I know this seems like a troll but looking at the author's edit history they were pretty active for a few months and weren't obviously a gimmick account.

oldpainless posted:

I remember some argument being the guy could run 20 feet and draw his sword and dissect a man before the other guy could aim a gun and fire.

oldpainless posted:

Was it a troper who insisted that swords were far superior to guns in a fight despite all evidence to the contrary? I remember some argument being the guy could run 20 feet and draw his sword and dissect a man before the other guy could aim a gun and fire.


e: thanks. It shouldn't come as a surprise.

Lottery of Babylon posted:

Take it from a Marxist-Leninist, Orwell's writing was so awful that he deserved to be sent to a gulag.

Install Windows posted:

It all came down to the troper misunderstanding a Mythbusters episode where they showed it was faster to stab a dude with a knife then he could aim and fire at you, so long as you were less than 15 feet away.

And how this does not scale up to a sword since the swinging motions and the like take a lot longer then a quick knife jab.

Install Windows posted:

It all came down to the troper misunderstanding a Mythbusters episode where they showed it was faster to stab a dude with a knife then he could aim and fire at you, so long as you were less than 15 feet away.

And how this does not scale up to a sword since the swinging motions and the like take a lot longer then a quick knife jab.

HEGEL CURES THESES posted:

Orwell was a Communist, too, just not the same kind of Communist.

DaveWoo posted:

So the latest Penny Arcade comic takes a (very mild) jab at fantasy author Brandon Sanderson.

Tropers were not amused:

quote:

Magic A Is Magic A: Sanderson is fond of inventing new magic systems, and is careful to define them clearly and keep their use consistent. He has formulated what he calls Sanderson's First Law to describe the importance of maintaining this trope, and it is defined as follows:
"An author's ability to solve conflict satisfactorily with magic is directly proportional to how well the reader understands said magic."

Martello posted:

Exelixi, do you really believe we don't issue swords because of logistics? And not because swords are obsolete? Take it from an Afghanistan veteran - no soldier in his right mind would use a sword instead of a firearm. And forget "no longer widely used." Try "not used at all." With the dubious exception of SOF operators who supposedly use the CRKT Hisshou, any soldier trying to bring a sword to deployment is going to get his rear end kicked and laughed at by the whole battalion.
As for the whole "melee weapons defeat modern body armor" thing, well that's a bunch of nonsense too. Just to amuse myself, I tested my Cold Steel Trench Hawk on a spare ESAPI plate I had lying around the house. The supposedly armor-piercing spike on the back of the tomahawk head acually broke off at the tip. The surrounding soft armor is a different matter, but the chances of getting close enough to use a sword are so slim as to be irrelevant.
Every time I see somebody write or hear them say "swords are better than guns in certain situations, " I think, right, plays too many video games.

Martello posted:

[...]

I mean, it really comes down to this. Do you really think, that even at a distance of six feet or so, a highly-trained swordsman could close that distance and hit me with a killing blow, before I can squeeze the trigger on my rifle?

Major Tom posted:

Yes.

Martello posted:

This from the guy who never actually got into the Army, let alone participated in actual combat. I was asking Exelixi, who at least claims to be a trained swordsman. Thanks for the input, though.

Major Tom posted:

With all due respect sir none, I actually made it into the Army. Not finishing training was not my choice. They ordered me out and like a good soldier I followed orders.
I. NEVER. QUIT.

ArchangeI posted:

As every good communist knows, the worst enemy is not the capitalist, the burguoise or the fascist but the communist who follows a slightly different ideology. They must be erradicated without mercy.

Asgerd posted:

Here's the Guns vs Swords thing. It doesn't get good until Martello shows up and starts laying down the law:

FrozenVent posted:

A ball cap with a suit isn't much better than a fedora with jeans. It's all about context, which tropers can't understand because they break everything down to its core components.

Swords were cool in Braveheart ergo swords will be cool in my WWII alternate history (With aliens who don't go through puberty). That kind of things.

quote:

Badass Boast:
Shinji gets a lot of these. For example:
Shinji (to his kidnappers): "I have walked as a god! I have fought as a god! You will not frighten me, LITTLE MAN!"
The Chaos Marine gets one in the very first chapter after the debacle with Minase and her boyfriend:
But see! He that has stolen from you has paid for it with his LIFE.
She that set herself above you now lies humbled and broken, the BLOOD of that she once loved on her hands.
He that follows you is now a HERO, respected by many.
And she who once held you in high regard, now WORSHIPS you.
Chaos IS. And in CHAOS all things are possible.

quote:

Bi the Way - Rei's actions, thoughts, snarky comments, and preference for yuri over yaoi are consistent with somebody who's bisexual (and may also be another reason why she wants Shinji to have a harem...lucky bastard). The Farseer is also probably bi, but considering the nature of the Eldar is more likely to be a Depraved Bisexual. Then there are the bisexuals from canon Evangelion...

Keromaru5 posted:

Is there context I'm missing, or is Major Tom bragging about being kicked out of training?

Antivehicular posted:

Nah, that's pretty much it. I recall some discussion from the last thread that he may have washed out in the "moment of truth" trap that's used early in training to get idiots out of the force, which sounds a hell of a lot like Major Tom to me.

quote:

I like to think so.
So on the women in combat thing... I have one berserk button when the issue is brought up.
Why the gently caress is the first thing they say "WOMEN CAN'T BE SPECIAL FORCES WHAT A TRAVESTY!"
Slow the gently caress down honey tits, you want to be spec ops? Show that women can handle 11B regular line Infantry and 19D cav scout poo poo before you go off and whine that you can't be in special forces.
Why do they always jump straight to special operations and recon whenever the argument of women in combat arms comes up? What? You're too good for Infantry, but it's a travesty that you can't be a green beret? Nut the gently caress up and start screaming bloody murder that you want to be 11B.[

Razorwired posted:

And as long as we're posting "best" Troperfics I think we're forgetting Shinji and Warhammer 40,000. When I first heard about this one I thought, "Okay, sounds dumb but Tropers mash poo poo together all the time. Let's see how they creep out on Shinji when he's in Space Marine armor or whatever. But nope, it's not about that. It's about how super cool Shinji would be if he sat around playing the loving tabletop game. That's the entire point of the text. Shinji finds a wargame for neckbeardy weirdos and starts talking to the figures. They teach him life lessons and make him "20 times more badass than his canon counterpart as a result".

Maple Leaf posted:

After knowing what the internet's done to it, is it okay to just wear a fedora? Like, say you need to be somewhere, and you're in a rush, and it's raining out... you just throw on a pair of shoes, a jacket, and the first hat off a rack, and it happens to be a fedora. Can you wear it in a situation like that without immediately being pinned as a troper/neckbeard/'from the internet'? Or should we just burn all the fedoras and save ourselves the trouble?

Apple Tree posted:

When fedoras were in fashion and part of a normal outfit, the shops sold clothes that fashion designers had already created to go with the fedora look.

WebDog posted:

Plus haberdashers existed in order to have your mug measured and create a hat that matched your facial ratios. All of the off the rack hats suck cause they try to do one size fits all and look too big or small on most people's heads.

quote:

The hat is typically creased lengthwise down the crown and "pinched" in the front on both sides. Fedoras can also be creased with teardrop crowns, diamond crowns, center dents, and others, and the positioning of pinches can vary. The typical crown height is 4.5 inches (11.4 centimeters).

The brim is usually approximately 2.5 inches (6.3 centimeters) wide, but may be wider,[1] can be left "raw edged" (left as cut), finished with a sewn overwelt or underwelt, or bound with a trim-ribbon.

quote:

This troper has a black trenchcoat, and he finds something primally satisfying about walking into the wind, hands in pockets, trenchcoat billowing around him, and his hair blowing back. However, people tend to move slightly away from him when he does it, and his girlfriend keeps telling him that he looks "sketchy."

Apple Tree posted:

Oddly, TVTropes's giant Breaking Bad page does not list 'Nice Hat' as a trope. Not even as 'deconstructed' or 'subverted'. It does say 'Walter White from Breaking Bad wears one when in his Heisenberg persona' on the 'Nice Hat' page, but nothing on the 'Breaking Bad' page

Razorwired posted:

Shinji and Warhammer 40,000

COBRARocky posted:

made of bees posted:

No, see, Heisenberg's hat is a porkpie. Totally different from a fedora.

quote:

Despite the name, this doesn't just cover hats, but most kinds of headgear, as long as it's cool.

quote:

Funny-hat characterization

A character distinguished by a single identifying tag, such as odd headgear, a limp, a lisp, a parrot on his shoulder, etc.

Count Chocula posted:

The worst thing I saw was a Fetish Fuel page for some kid's show called The Backyardigans. I hope it's been deleted.