Everybody to the limit!

February 18, 2003 5:44 PM

There must be a better word for weird. Okay, so we've discussed this before (here, here, and here) but none of these posts really touch upon the thing I find most brilliant about Homestar Runner: its one of the most amusing, kid-safe, and utterly random humor sites I've ever encountered on the net [more inside and Flash is required for everything].
posted by WolfDaddy (44 comments total)

First off, let's take a look behind the scenes with the creators of the site, and get a more cogent intro to the site than the site itself provides. Now let's appreciate the care that has gone into the flash animations with some of Strong Bad's e-mail. Let's marvel over the many many easter eggs nearly every animation contains. Lastly you fhqwhgads, let's talk about other random, nay vagrant humor sites out there that we can share not only amongst ourselves, but our children, and our children's children. EVERYBODY TO THE LIMIT!
posted by WolfDaddy at 5:45 PM on February 18, 2003

I laughed. I cried. I laughed till I cried! Very funny. Thanks.

One thing though, what's fhqwhgads? (Smells like something I ate once, but just can't name that tune!)
posted by LouReedsSon at 5:55 PM on February 18, 2003

I've got my Pom-Pom t-shirt - so should you.
posted by Pretty_Generic at 6:02 PM on February 18, 2003

LouReedsSon- It was a fake-o name in one of Strongbad's emails.
HR is my first Monday morning stop, my favorite T-shirt, and pasted on my office door.
posted by oflinkey at 6:05 PM on February 18, 2003

Strong Bad tee for me! I love him sooooo much. Especially since he has such the strong sense of netiquette. Perhaps it's because he's still on a Compy 386?
posted by WolfDaddy at 6:05 PM on February 18, 2003

Homestar Runner sounds like a bad indie band circa 1989. And not in a good way.
posted by drinkcoffee at 6:06 PM on February 18, 2003

Come on guys, is this really worth a quadruple post? Perhaps if I could see the humour or artistry in it I would feel differently, but it's pretty sad if this is the only stuff around.

OK, you can all flame me now.
posted by cbrody at 6:15 PM on February 18, 2003

Fourth post, fourteenth, who cares? Maybe some of us didn't see it before. (OK, so I didn't see it before!)
posted by LouReedsSon at 6:22 PM on February 18, 2003

cbrody, consider yourself flamed. The original FPP was two years ago, and the other two were only oblique links in, uh, some meta-posts.

There's more content added to the site all the time, so there's more to look at than the first time 'round, and if you don't get it howzabout respecting my request up there and share with us a funny and kid-safe site you do get?
posted by WolfDaddy at 6:29 PM on February 18, 2003

My stated position is that I hate Homestar Runner. At every mention of the site, I gird my eyebrows (really!), and pretend that it is loathsome.

It's not. In fact, I really dig lots of StrongBad emails. But it is not - I repeat, not - as funny as my peers seem to think it is (that means you). My humour of choice tends towards the ridiculous and absurd, but Homestar always seems really tame. The jokes are pretty predictable, or absolutely flat - and I don't think that it's meant to be anti-humour. Go on, be amused, but buying t-shirts? I simply don't get it.

Strindberg and Helium. Singing horses. Wisdom Teeth. Don Hertzfeldt's Rejected. These are the things that make me laugh until I'm dead.
posted by Marquis at 6:33 PM on February 18, 2003

The singing horses rock! But Helium annoyed the crap outa me. Did anyone ever see this?
(sorry cbrody, I might have found it here)
posted by LouReedsSon at 6:46 PM on February 18, 2003

Sorry, it's this.
posted by LouReedsSon at 6:49 PM on February 18, 2003

det det det
posted by cbrody at 7:01 PM on February 18, 2003

yep. strongbad... quality. love it.
posted by tomplus2 at 7:11 PM on February 18, 2003

I very consistently ignored each and every "New Strongbad Email!" post on Fark, rolling my eyes each week when they showed up....

(dramatic pause)

Till I clicked one.

I then laughed my butt off and watched each and every strongbad email in rapid succession, and scoured the site for its other gems. The emails don't always work, but there are some great ones in there, and the Strongbad character is hillarious.

Some people get it, some people don't. But I appreciate the Brothers Chaps keepin' it clean and putting out a new email every week, it's nice to have an online toon you can trust.
posted by jheiz at 7:16 PM on February 18, 2003

I'm scared they killed off Strong Sad in the last SB email... I need re-assurance..
posted by Space Coyote at 7:18 PM on February 18, 2003

Homestar Runner is the archetypical lame entertainment site. My skin crawls to think about it.

Where are the standards online? Are we so hungry for entertainment that anything that's even supposed to be funny will get wide acclaim? Is it because it's free? Hopefully someday talented flash artists will realize that they're not witty, and go on to team up with people who can actually create a humorous script. Funny voices alone don't make for good comedy.

(grumbling, going off to read old National Lampoon articles)
posted by bunnytricks at 7:25 PM on February 18, 2003

i guess bunnytricks' cornflakes were a little salty this morning
posted by mb01 at 7:34 PM on February 18, 2003

I always thought "fhqwhgads" was a misspelling of "f**kwads".

And for those of you that don't appreciate this site...

:P*
posted by Dillenger69 at 7:42 PM on February 18, 2003

bunnytricks, I challenge you to find a child that will not find this site endlessly entertaining. All the easter eggs alone practically guarantees it.

Did I ask people to share their droll observations about how grown up they are? No. I asked people to share kid-safe humorous sites--such as the site I provided to get the ball rolling, which I happen to think is one the best examples of "random, nay vagrant humor sites out there that we can share not only amongst ourselves, but our children, and our children's children" Lame? Sure. Guess what? Kids can think the lamest things are funny and I, for one, welcome such an attitude from time to time. Keeps me aware that an adult perspective isn't the only perspective that exists. Did any of these thoughts become evident to you in my original posting? No? Then thanks for not listening. Try it next time. Reading comprehension is very cool. Next?
posted by WolfDaddy at 7:44 PM on February 18, 2003

I have nothing witty to say just: "I loves me some Homestar Runner and Strong Bad e-mail."
posted by VelvetHellvis at 7:52 PM on February 18, 2003

hehe... you guys are funnier than the cartoons! :)
posted by LouReedsSon at 7:58 PM on February 18, 2003

I got my 11 year old brother hooked on it, and it's a great bonding moment when we can both laugh our behinds off to homestarrunner.com.
posted by lychee at 8:42 PM on February 18, 2003

Great site. very funny
posted by tiamat at 8:53 PM on February 18, 2003

Yep, last Thanksgiving there was a family bonding moment at the "kids" table when one of my cousins went "whiddely, whiddely, whiddely, wheeeee" and we all cracked up. We each live in different cities all over the US and Canada, but all of us had come across the Homestarrunner. It is fun for the whole family.
posted by sp dinsmoor at 8:54 PM on February 18, 2003

It all started with a message from a guy named fhqwhgadshgnsdhjsdbkhsdabkfabkveybvf - fhqwhgads for short.
posted by RylandDotNet at 9:13 PM on February 18, 2003

Wolfdaddy: If I or 90 percent of the kids I knew when I was ten came across this site, we would think it was asinine. By that time we'd moved on from Cracked and Mad to National Lampoon. Homestar Runner shouldn't entertain anyone over 7, and it makes me cringe to see that it does.

Kid-safe? How patronizing. I plan to enjoy classics such as OC and Stiggs with my kids.
posted by bunnytricks at 9:34 PM on February 18, 2003

Ah, so you and your 2.7 associates sit around and out-arch each other during lazy afternoons of reading Cracked, Mad, and National Lampoon? How very Beavis of you. I'm sure your archives await. Have fun!
posted by WolfDaddy at 10:09 PM on February 18, 2003

Out-arch? Definition please.

Ignoring your groundless personal attacks, kids aren't as dim as you think. Or at least they didn't used to be. Ah, the regression of western youth. I blame the PC tepidity of Nickelodeon.
posted by bunnytricks at 10:30 PM on February 18, 2003

i hope i am not alone, when i say, i like -- no, i need -- obscenity in my funny.
posted by fishfucker at 10:38 PM on February 18, 2003

Out-arch? Definition please.

Cunning behavior, with nasty undertones. Please use a dictionary next time.

The attacks aren't groundless, as you came in here denigrating every single person (and now the whole of western youth, it seems) who espouses a liking for the site linked, when instead you could have said nothing or found some better way to express yourself than via bile. Blame who you like, but don't feign innocence when you're called on something like that. That, too, is arch. And rather obvious and tacky, from where I sit. If you'd like more, let's take it to e-mail or MeTa, please. I still have a dim hope of some on-topic links from other members.

fishfucker, you're not alone. Just look a couple of threads up :-)
posted by WolfDaddy at 11:16 PM on February 18, 2003

I'm more irreverent and off-beat than you! No, I am!

This kinda crap reminds me of the Indie Music scene.

That said, the Japanese cartoon skit was pretty funny.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 11:22 PM on February 18, 2003

[cock-metal falsetto]Like a dragon into the NNIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT[/cock-metal falsetto]

Does anybody have any favorite episodes? I like the "dragon" one. Which was really just a repeat of the "guitar" one, but jesus it's funny anyway.
posted by dgaicun at 11:27 PM on February 18, 2003

If you like Trogdor, dgaicun, click on the name "Kerrek" when Strong Bad is replying during the Interview episode.

I think I'm gonna like Teen Girl Squad if they keep it going.

And you shouldn't throw lightswitch raves.
posted by WolfDaddy at 11:43 PM on February 18, 2003

Bunnytricks, your favorite band sucks.
posted by Tlogmer at 1:56 AM on February 19, 2003

Does anybody have any favorite episodes?
I like "a jorb well done"
posted by juv3nal at 2:21 AM on February 19, 2003

I am appalled that people think Homestar Runner is "kid-safe", but I can't figure out why.

Anyway, I enjoy it.
posted by skryche at 4:55 AM on February 19, 2003

I don't think it's funny. I see it every Monday on Fark.com and have tried to get into it a number of times. I think I only sat through an entire episode once.

You fans can have it. (and I thought "All Your Base Are Belong To Us" was funny)
posted by jeff-o-matic at 8:13 AM on February 19, 2003

Go take a read of bunny's blog and you'll see why he doesn't think it's funny.

Some horrible, horrible, stuff there.

Since National Lampoon is of course the gold standard of everything that is and isn't funny. Van Wilder anyone? I can't believe someone is using National Lampoon to try to bolster a position of superiority.

Most of us quit reading NL during High School, btw.
posted by Ynoxas at 11:41 AM on February 20, 2003

Ynoxas: I get the feeling that too many people in this thread have a case of the sniveling bitchies from having been unable to score their daily ration of anonymous bathhouse cock.

There's more of my sterling wit here, if anyone is insufficiently "shocked" by the blog.

So, if people become too mature for NL in high school, why laugh at HR as an adult? It's the emotional equivalent of jacking off to The Rugrats.

By the by, NatLamp's movie division is an entirely separate entity from the magazine/website. Different owners and everything. You're comparing apples and dreadful films which probably involve Chevy Chase or Tom Green.
posted by bunnytricks at 4:01 AM on February 23, 2003

Uh. I meant horrible as in extremely bad. Poor quality. Unentertaining. An embarrassment.

What you write is hardly "shocking" and the fact that you would even think it is... well, now THAT'S funny.

What I'm asserting is that if you think your own stuff is "funny" then it's no wonder you don't like Homestarrunner. No expansion is necessary.

I think your pathetic attempt in the first line of your post should be plenty enough to display any shortcomings in your comedic repertoire.

Why laugh at HR as an adult? Because at some point pee/shit/cum jokes start to get a little worn. Once you're old enough to say "cum" and not get in trouble from your mommy it's really not as funny anymore. Just IMHO of course.

Also, from the NL website:

National Lampoon, Inc.
Corporate Overview

National Lampoon (Nasdaq OTC BB: NLPN) is and has been one of the leading brands in comedy for the last 30 years. National Lampoon is active in a broad array of entertainment activities, including feature films, television programming, interactive entertainment, home video, comedy audio CD's and book publishing.

The company also owns interests in all major National Lampoon properties including "National Lampoon's Animal House," the National Lampoon "Vacation" series, and "National Lampoon's Van Wilder.

That hardly sounds like a "different company". And even if it were, it's besides the point.
posted by Ynoxas at 2:29 PM on February 23, 2003

Ynoxas: "Cum" isn't funny. "Cock" isn't funny. "Anonymous bathhouse cock" is extremely funny. Perhaps not to someone who would laugh at Homestar Runner or, say, Garrison Keillor, but certainly to those who recognize that for comedy to bring about more than a mild grin that it has to be obnoxious (Andy Kaufmann reading The Great Gatsby in its entirety as revenge to an unappreciative audience), target the obnoxious (any joke about or caricature of Gene Simmons), or some combination of the two (Bill Hicks strangling sacred cows to death.)

"Everybody to the limit!" simply doesn't cut it. However, "PO-lice and niggers - That's Right!", as said by Axl Rose in idiotic white boy anthem 'One in a Million', is a quote that can never fail to be humorous. Well, that is unless you're a HR fan who lives on an exclusive diet of milk, bread, church, and rice.

And, you're probably right about the ownership issue. I think my confusion was a misreading of FAQ 13 here. Not that the NL magazine/website writers have anything to do with the movies, as the name is licensed.

And no, NL is not the gold standard of comedy. The Family Guy is.

Here I was trying to be a big person and not contribute any further to derailing a thread about something I find even more offensive than SUV drivers. Thanks for bringing be back, punchy.
posted by bunnytricks at 4:37 PM on February 23, 2003

Hmm. You've gotten the wrong impression. I'm a long ways from sanctimonious. My favorite standup comedians in order are Sam Kinnison, Stephen Wright, George Carlin, and early Eddie Murphy. I also do not go to church. To people who know me the mere suspicion that I would be sensitive or otherwise unreceptive of "blue humor" would cause riotous laughter and hyperventilation. I'm quite easily the crudest person I know.

But, you'll notice for instance Andrew Dice Clay is not on the top of my list. It's because to be funny, you have to be more than juvenile and/or gross. I find most all NL humor to be extraordinarily juvenile. It is not at all challenging or multifaceted. Granted I've not read it in several years because in the late eighties/early nineties it literally became an actual chore to read. I wasn't enjoying it anymore, it was like homework.

My favorite television show of the past 20 years is easily The Family Guy. My poor hard drive groans a bit everytime I download another episode off of Kazaa. I'd happily buy the episodes on DVD if I saw them for sale.

The Family Guy works so well because of the characters, not just the lines. If you removed the script and had it read by the cast of All My Children, it would not be funny at all, barring the initial novelty factor. The text is funny, but it certainly would not have the same effect if it were read on a written page.

The same goes for Homestarrunner. The characters *are* the joke. It has little to do with what they actually say.

I also think this has gotten a bit away from at least my intent. I find Homestarruner to be highly entertaining and enjoyable. I look forward to Monday's quite a bit to see the new Strongbad E-Mail. The guys do very high-quality work with no advertising, no pop-ups, and tons and tons of content.

However, in all the time (at least 1.5 years?) that I've been aware of the Homestarrunner site, I'm not sure if I've ever laughed out loud. It is perhaps the most entertaining 5 minutes I have in any given week. And it is very humorous. But it is not knee-slapping side-splitting laughter inducing. But to say it's not humorous or entertaining is extremely short sighted in my opinion.
posted by Ynoxas at 9:01 PM on February 23, 2003

Whoah. De gustibus non est disputandem, Bunny.

I thought that we learned this 'different strokes for different folks' thing in kindergarten. Maybe you could go back there and relearn this idea. Maybe you might like Homestar when you get back there.
posted by oflinkey at 9:57 PM on February 23, 2003