After getting frustrated going through my clip art collection looking for two people whose facial expressions actually matched this conversation topic, I finally settled on this one.
The inspiration for this strip was in fact not either of my parents, but a former boss who would always answer his phone by gingerly picking it from his pocket and reverently opening it up to answer the call, with a look of absolute wonder on his face. This seemed completely at odds with his otherwise lead-follow-or-get-out-of-the-way personality, but casual conversations and intense screaming matches alike would be abandoned at the signal from the miracle device. This stuck with me for some reason, and now I’ve finally came up with a punchline.
-=ShoEboX=-
INcomprehension, you pony hole…
I dunno. I like “uncomprehension.” Granted it’s not a “real” word, but if you accept it on its face I think it conveys something a bit beyond mere INcomprehension.
For what it’s worth, I get this. I don’t have a cell phone and when I have to use one I’m initially at a loss as to what I’m supposed to do to make it work. Uh…. They’ve got “answer sliders” now?
I’d rather like to have href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Also_sprach_Zarathustra_%28Strauss%29″>Also Sprach Zarathustra as my ringtone, but then I’d have to lub a set of speakers around with my phone to get the proper effect
Oops. *Fingers crossed*
The tricky part is finding a smartphone with the dimensions in a ratio of 1:4:9.
That’s funny because I just changed my ringtone to Also Sprach Zarathustra, mostly because I liked the contrast between this one of the most iconic and awe-inspiring pieces of music and the awfully trivial nature of most of my phone calls. Although for what it’s worth I’m still sticking around with one of these vaguely phone shaped “stupid phones”, so the visual effect is rather diminished (and also, because my speakers arenn’t exactly state of the art either ,and I usually answer before the drums kick in, it sounds a bit like the music from those “dramatic chipmunk” youtube videos, which is arguably less epic).
I’m not sure what’s sadder about these things, people who could previously do fine on a computer having a hell of a time with them, or people acting like the internet is this brand new thing just because this item is mainstream enough for them to own one, unlike those weird TV things with typewriters attached.
It’s interesting, because we have incomprehension but incomprehensible, but uncomprehending and uncomprehended and even uncomprehensible. Clearly we’re split.
and comprehensive and comprehension, which mean totally different things. ?comprende’?
Fixed “incomprehension,” thanks.
Loving the comments on this.
-=ShoEboX=-
I use the “old phone” ring tone on my iPhone, because invaribly, the funnier or more original the song or sound effect, the more embarrassed a person is when their phone rings during a meeting.
What bugs me is people who could program old 80′s VCRs or fax machines (which had no screen or instructions just press buttons in this order and things change) are terrified of a phone that all you do is touch the picture that is labeled with what you want to do.
I also thought about Thus Spake Zarathustra as a ringtone until I found a really cool Doctor Who remix theme.
Dear gods, I had almost the exact same scenario play out last week. Thus Spake Zarathustra would have been fitting, but I would have been the only person in the building to get the reference.
-=PakoPako=-
I have The IT Crowd theme song as my ring tone, which confuses people, since not many people here have ever seen or heard of it. I don’t think Also Sprach Zarathustra would be a good ring tone, though, since I would have answered the phone before most people would have known what it was. It would have played maybe a note or two, and this ain’t “Name That Tune!”
“What bugs me is people who could program old 80’s VCRs or fax machines … are terrified of a phone that all you do is touch the picture that is labeled with what you want to do.”
I’m not terrified of them, just confused. I *think* what gets me is that I spent decades internalizing the idiom of “phone” and cellphones simply don’t match it. Sure, I knew how to work early VCRs and FAX machines. They were introduced and that was how they worked. Over time, they’ve gotten simpler. Phones, on the other hand, have gotten more complex judged simply as phones. My learning curve is probably stretched out because as a friendless weirdo I don’t use telephones much anyway but, regardless of the reason, the simple fact is that I get lost when activating a phone involves more than “pick it up.” It takes unexpected effort and focus to find – on this particular design – the control I have to poke, prod, slide or tickle in order to actually be allowed to talk.
Interesting clip. Looks like a political cartoon possibly but I can’t figure out what the political point would be. America walking barefoot on the beach and holding a blanket around a blonde lady?
This is the funniest punchline in a good while
The mental image it conveys… perfection.
The uncomprehension/incomprehension debate is silly, because the word is used in dialogue. The incorrectness therefore displays a mistake by the character, even if it is caused by a mistake by the author.