General Discussion Thread

[hushpiper]

OMG WAIT SEMIOTICS I KNOW THIS THING

*eyes Haiz* Have you ever read Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics? (If you haven't I will totes slip you a digital copy on the fly, everybody who has any interest in comics, graphics, storytelling or anything remotely related needs to read that thing. YOU ESPECIALLY IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE *dramatic pointing*) Because I don't think it ever actually uses the word "semiotics", but a large portion of the book--and by "book" I mean "long amusing nonfiction comic"--is devoted to describing what semiotics is.

Basically: it's about signs and symbols and how people use them. And communication, there's some of that in there too.

Magritte's pipe picture? ceci n'est pas une pipe? He's commenting on semiotics there--Magritte was allll about dat. We look at the picture of the pipe and we say "that's a pipe", but in fact what we mean--but don't say, or think about--is that it is a representation of a pipe. The same was that the nike swoosh symbol isn't a company, it's a symbol of the company; the word for something isn't that thing, it's just the word we use for it. Semiotics is all about recognizing that there's a difference between the actual thing and how we perceive or represent it, which will turn your brain inside out but also give you this amazing new perspective on literally everything. But, yanno, read the book thing because it shows you all this stuff with pictures instead of words, in a format (comics) that you're already familiar with. *shoos you away*

Also I should note that just from the conversations we've had here in this thread you TOTALLY know what semiotics is. No srs. You do.

[Curry]

OMG WAIT SEMIOTICS I KNOW THIS THING

*eyes Haiz* Have you ever read Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics? (If you haven't I will totes slip you a digital copy on the fly, everybody who has any interest in comics, graphics, storytelling or anything remotely related needs to read that thing. YOU ESPECIALLY IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE *dramatic pointing*) Because I don't think it ever actually uses the word "semiotics", but a large portion of the book--and by "book" I mean "long amusing nonfiction comic"--is devoted to describing what semiotics is.

Basically: it's about signs and symbols and how people use them. And communication, there's some of that in there too.

Magritte's pipe picture? ceci n'est pas une pipe? He's commenting on semiotics there--Magritte was allll about dat. We look at the picture of the pipe and we say "that's a pipe", but in fact what we mean--but don't say, or think about--is that it is a representation of a pipe. The same was that the nike swoosh symbol isn't a company, it's a symbol of the company; the word for something isn't that thing, it's just the word we use for it. Semiotics is all about recognizing that there's a difference between the actual thing and how we perceive or represent it, which will turn your brain inside out but also give you this amazing new perspective on literally everything. But, yanno, read the book thing because it shows you all this stuff with pictures instead of words, in a format (comics) that you're already familiar with. *shoos you away*

Also I should note that just from the conversations we've had here in this thread you TOTALLY know what semiotics is. No srs. You do.

Ohhhh that's what it is! We're always looking for symbols in literature in english class (cries because so much annotation) and our teacher can get pretty deep with that (YOU SEE CLASS, THE MOTORCYCLE IS ACTUALLY A SYMBOL FOR GROWING UP AND WOMEN)
also can i get in on this digital copy too because i've seen it mentioned multiple times and it sounds hecka useful

[Oh Deer]

*random Oh Deer is random*
In school right now I'm doing a project on The Black Death (aka The Black Plague..aka The Bubonic Plague) and I am interested in any info any of you guys might have to offer. It's not that hard of a project, but I need as much information as I can get. *shrugs* 

[Haiz]

*eyes Haiz* Have you ever read Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics? (If you haven't I will totes slip you a digital copy on the fly, everybody who has any interest in comics, graphics, storytelling or anything remotely related needs to read that thing. YOU ESPECIALLY IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE *dramatic pointing*) Because I don't think it ever actually uses the word "semiotics", but a large portion of the book--and by "book" I mean "long amusing nonfiction comic"--is devoted to describing what semiotics is.

hhHH nooo i haven't actually
pls slip me the digital copy

as for explanation: OH OKAY ThAT KINDA MAKES SENSE
so i guess i know the gist of it!! except i dont know if i could do an analysis in it, because the way our teacher explained it, it was...... you know what, i don't understand even what i remember, there were graphs and you had to identify weird things that were more word-things than art things and it was VERY CONFUSE

anyway I just remembered I posted a Very Relevant thing on this on my facebook wayy back in the previous semester, but I can't seem to find it now. I found some other things I had posted, though:

- don't date a person that thinks rocks are boring

- "you can tell that sculpture is from the archaic period because of the knee caps"

- no haiz the violin bow isnt for fencing

NEVERMIND I FOUND IT AFTER ALL
""for a formal analysis in the strict sense of the word would even have to avoid such exporessions as 'man', 'horse', or 'column', let alone such evaluations as 'the ugly triangle between the legs of Michelangelo's David' or 'the admirable clarification of the joints in a human body'""
i don't remember which book this is from. uh, panofsky maybe? anyway it was very funny to me back then

also also I found this photo of my own notes

i'm great at taking notes

[Eich]

i'm great at taking notes

These look a lot like my Economics and Philosophy notes from my first year at uni did.
A lot, a lot.

[Piney]

- don't date a person that thinks rocks are boring

To go on a tangent, I absolutely agree with this.

[Haiz]

These look a lot like my Economics and Philosophy notes from my first year at uni did.
A lot, a lot.

I'm guessing you weren't doodling down the different types of medieval madonna icons, though

To go on a tangent, I absolutely agree with this.

I accidentally started a very long and passionated discussion with this statement. turns out i am surrounded by rock nerds

[Oh Deer]

- don't date a person that thinks rocks are boring
\

*Stares at rock collection, as well as my prized piece of snow obsidian*

[Eich]

I'm guessing you weren't doodling down the different types of medieval madonna icons, though
I accidentally started a very long and passionated discussion with this statement. turns out i am surrounded by rock nerds

Nooo, mainly large, mechanical bird wings, random wavy crap, and lots and lots of hands. 

[Sunflower]

OMG WAIT SEMIOTICS I KNOW THIS THING

*eyes Haiz* Have you ever read Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics? (If you haven't I will totes slip you a digital copy on the fly, everybody who has any interest in comics, graphics, storytelling or anything remotely related needs to read that thing. YOU ESPECIALLY IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE *dramatic pointing*) Because I don't think it ever actually uses the word "semiotics", but a large portion of the book--and by "book" I mean "long amusing nonfiction comic"--is devoted to describing what semiotics is.

Basically: it's about signs and symbols and how people use them. And communication, there's some of that in there too.

Magritte's pipe picture? ceci n'est pas une pipe? He's commenting on semiotics there--Magritte was allll about dat. We look at the picture of the pipe and we say "that's a pipe", but in fact what we mean--but don't say, or think about--is that it is a representation of a pipe. The same was that the nike swoosh symbol isn't a company, it's a symbol of the company; the word for something isn't that thing, it's just the word we use for it. Semiotics is all about recognizing that there's a difference between the actual thing and how we perceive or represent it, which will turn your brain inside out but also give you this amazing new perspective on literally everything. But, yanno, read the book thing because it shows you all this stuff with pictures instead of words, in a format (comics) that you're already familiar with. *shoos you away*

Also I should note that just from the conversations we've had here in this thread you TOTALLY know what semiotics is. No srs. You do.

Hushpiper wait WHY ARE YOU ME ALL ALONG AND I DIDN'T KNOW IT OMG SOMEONE ELSE who loves "Understanding Comics" and wait why am I no longer punctuating sentences correctly??

*mind blown* That book is so good.  I would give a copy to everyone I know who doesn't understand what I see in graphic novels, if I could afford it.

Haiz, what hushpiper said.  srsly you totally know semiotics.  Just pretend you're a "symbologist" like Robert Langdon in "The Da Vinci Code."  (Really dopey book, but you know what I'm talking about.)

[Haiz]

Haiz, what hushpiper said.  srsly you totally know semiotics.  Just pretend you're a "symbologist" like Robert Langdon in "The Da Vinci Code."  (Really dopey book, but you know what I'm talking about.)

oH DO NOT GET ME STARTED ON THE DA VINCI CODE
we had to read that along with freud's psychonalalys of leonardo da vinci (dO NOT GET ME STARTED ON FREUD EITHER) and uh i just watched the movie instead because i got too angry to read properly
(the class we were reading for was pretty fun, though. turns out our professor has written an article on the queer subtext of jesus)

also im going to bed now, goodnight. don't make me crawl out to draw something again

[KicknRun]

1. I had a concert at school today. At my end of my classes' song, we yelled USA. I was the only one to punch the air. The only one.

2. *Tries not to look shifty* Pass me the good stuff, hushpiper. (Please)

[Oh Deer]

1. I had a concert at school today. At my end of my classes' song, we yelled USA. I was the only one to punch the air. The only one.

*horrified gasp*

[Adrai Thell]

Storytime!

So, my town is 98% LDS, right? That means that seeing a can of beer or an inebriated person is a little like seeing a unicorn - it doesn't happen.

Meanwhile, I really like Bundaberg Ginger Beer - non-alcoholic, wonderfully flavorful, and clears your head right up.
Apparently, it looks like some sort of beer bottle.

So whenever I walk around town carrying a bottle of Bundaberg, I get the strangest looks. Yesterday, I received my first ever leer! So proud. I can pass through large crowds, simply carrying that bottle, and people will get out of my way. It's the best

[Eich]

1. I had a concert at school today. At my end of my classes' song, we yelled USA. I was the only one to punch the air. The only one.

That just means you're the winner-est of them all!