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Cake day: December 11th, 2024

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  • m_‮f@discuss.onlineOPtoThe Far Side@sh.itjust.works2025-07-28
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    8 days ago

    Some background on this comic:

    Transcript:

    More than a few people misunderstood and subsequently complained about this cartoon. Apparently (and I sort of understand this), they interpreted the drawing to mean that the cat had been tied up as “bait” for the dog. That wasn’t my intent.

    I was trying to create a little story here: This family owns a dog, they recently introduced a new cat to this home, and during the night the dog sent them a message, that the cat’s not wanted. The did this to the cat. The dog! The dog! The dog!

    “I was deeply saddened when The Far Side cartoon depicted a trussed cat hanging by its tail appeared in our local newspaper. I shuddered to think of the children, who, looking at the comic page, might be prompted to carry out this act.” —Reader, Ohio

    “This cartoon today smacks of the idea of using cats/kittens/puppies to train fighting dogs. It is immoral and disgusting.” —Reader, California

    “I was astonished at the enclosed cartoon which depicts a cat subjected to anguish, tied up and suspended.” —Reader, New York

    “I have enjoyed your comic panel The Far Side for years. . . . All this has changed now, thanks to one shockingly awful panel I saw a few weeks ago. . . . The cruelty and sickness of this ‘cartoon’ was too deep to easily forget —or forgive. . . . A depiction of a person ‘hanging’ a cat and offering it to a dog is not impossible. I lost two of my cats in similar situations.” —Reader, California

    “My letter protested what I saw as a sadistic and pointless Gary Larson cartoon depicting a trussed and hanging cat left to be devoured by a dog.” —Reader, Oregon




  • m_‮f@discuss.onlineOPtoThe Far Side@sh.itjust.works2025-07-23
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    13 days ago

    Some context on this comic:

    Transcript:

    The clear intention of this cartoon was to imply that, for large carnivores, eating human beings must be our equivalent of eating Spam—nothing too difficult about it.

    A greeting card based on this cartoon was later produced, and the copy written on the inside (by a staff writer) said, “Thinking of you.”

    Obviously, this addition gave the cartoon a whole new twist—one which I must have unwittingly approved.




  • Relevant comment

    I don’t use Rust much, but I agree with the thrust of the article. However, I do think that the borrowchecker is the only reason Rust actually caught on. In my opinion, it’s really hard for a new language to succeed unless you can point to something and say “You literally can’t do this in your language”

    Without something like that, I think it just would have been impossible for Rust to gain enough momentum, and also attract the sort of people that made its culture what it is.

    Otherwise, IMO Rust would have ended up just like D, a language that few people have ever used, but most people who have heard of it will say “apparently it’s a better safer C++, but I’m not going to switch because I can technically do all that stuff in C++”


  • m_‮f@discuss.onlineOPtoThe Far Side@sh.itjust.works2025-07-08
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    20 days ago

    Some context on this comic:

    Transcript:

    As I’ve indicated, before the public sees any syndicated cartoons, they’re first screened by an editor or two for potential problems. And editors, I’m convinced, have saved my career many times by their decision not to publish certain cartoons. Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s any less frustrating when their decisions seem strangely arcane or capricious.

    My editor didn’t want to publish this cartoon. I can’t recall his exact words on the subject, but basically he felt that not many people would understand the reference to the Wizard of Oz. Eventually, I was able to convince him to let it go through, and, when all was said and done, I doubt there were really many people who didn’t understand it. (Strange, when you think of the weird, confusing cartoons they never hesitate to print.) Nevertheless, I can’t be critical of these events; my editor’s scorecard is still way ahead.


  • m_‮f@discuss.onlineOPtoThe Far Side@sh.itjust.works2025-07-16
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    20 days ago

    Some background on this comic:

    Transcript (sketch):

    Well, of course I did it in cold-blood, you nerd!.. I’m a reptile!"

    Transcript (commentary):

    This idea didn’t change much between the sketch and the final drawing, except I decided the attorney in this case was definitely an idiot, not a nerd. (These are important considerations.)

    I once referred to a character in one of my cartoons as a “dork” (a popular insult when I was growing up), but my editor called me up and said that “dork” couldn’t be used because it meant “penis.” I couldn’t believe it. I ran to my New Dictionary of American Slang and, sure enough, he was right. All those years of saying or being called a “dork” and I had never really known what it mean. What a nerd.


  • m_‮f@discuss.onlineOPtoThe Far Side@sh.itjust.works2025-07-16
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    20 days ago

    Some background on this comic:

    Transcript:

    When I originally wrote this caption, it read (in part): “…the coconut-like sound of their heads hitting secretly delighted the bird.” That’s the way it was first published.

    Then I got a letter from some fellow who suggested, in this case, the word “colliding” would be a better substitute for the word “hitting.”

    This was quite strange to me. First of all, I had struggled with this caption and never felt comfortable with the final outcome. And secondly, he was right. “Colliding” was a much better word, giving the caption an improved rhythm. So I changed it.