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It's funny.  Laugh. Graphics Software

Strong Bad Creators Interviewed 202

Bill Hughes writes "The folks over at ResExcellence have posted an interview with the Brothers Chapman, the two guys who create and run the Homestar Runner/Strong Bad web site." If you have not seen homestarrunner, prepare to be baffled and amused. This site has mostly justified Flash to me :)
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Strong Bad Creators Interviewed

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  • Finally Some Insight into there Demented Minds
  • by RoguePsion ( 558561 ) on Sunday February 02, 2003 @12:53AM (#5208735)
    Good to see that the slashdot community knows about this hillarious website. I discovered it just a few months ago, and have been laughing my ass off at it ever since.
  • by Valgar ( 225897 ) on Sunday February 02, 2003 @12:53AM (#5208736) Homepage
    So for the past few weeks homestarrunner.com has been spottily reachable at best...

    A day or two ago they were back up to full speed...

    And now they are slashdotted...

    Just as I was going to check the latest strongbad email...

  • Oh no.... (Score:5, Informative)

    by Chester K ( 145560 ) on Sunday February 02, 2003 @12:58AM (#5208763) Homepage
    Homestar Runner is being slashdotted? Just what we need... they just got through a month of having server trouble due to increasing traffic, and now with all the new viewers they're going to get by being mentioned here, looks like we'll be in for another month of slow page loads on Mondays.

    That said, Strong Bad emails have quickly become a weekly tradition in the office. We all gather around every Monday to see the newest installment, and we're rarely disappointed. If the Brothers Chaps don't end up with a TV show before too long, I'll be surprised.
  • by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 02, 2003 @12:58AM (#5208764)
    "Page can not be displayed"

    Truly I am baffled, but not that amused.
  • by dragonfly_blue ( 101697 ) on Sunday February 02, 2003 @12:59AM (#5208766) Homepage


    I see you jocking me; trying to play like, u no me.


    Everybody to the limit, the Cheat is to the limit.


    I said, come on, fhwqwhgads!

  • Slashdotted (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 02, 2003 @01:00AM (#5208772)
    Oh well. At least homestarrunner.net [homestarrunner.net] is still up.

    Homestarrunner.net. It's dot com!


    Note: You can get to the forums from there, which seem to be up as well despite the main site being down.

    • Be sure and click on the image for some fun. Watch for a second at http://www.homestarrunner.net/systemisdown.html

      These guys are funny. Good times.
    • To show the inner geek in me, Homestarrunner.net and Homestarrunner.com are on completely different netblocks. It looks to me as if the .net one is a sort of 'backup,' although maybe one with less bandwidth, since it's not a full mirror.
  • by jwriney ( 16598 ) on Sunday February 02, 2003 @01:01AM (#5208773) Homepage
    Hu-woah-whoa-whoa! This interview shanked my jengaship!

    --riney
    • "MuwahAHahAHahAH... Hey, Tubs! I just lost my Jenga Jam!"

      ... "Don't you talk to me."

      That is the best part of "Where's the Cheat?" It's even funnier that Homsar was created out of one of the early Strong Bad e-mails. Someone misspelled Homestar, and (as always), Strong Bad gave them some crap.

      Homsar [homestarrunner.com]
      Where's the Cheat? [homestarrunner.com]

      Would you put that fweakin' sandwich down?!
  • The question is... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Eric_Cartman_South_P ( 594330 ) on Sunday February 02, 2003 @01:03AM (#5208782)
    ...will you use the power of Mod points for good, or for awesome?

    I got hooked on Strongbad typing e-mails on his Compy 386 by first getting hooked on www.fark.com by seeing someone reference it in a post here on Slashdot.

    • One of my friends showed me the site months ago. I'm not a regular visitor, but I get a chuckle from the site when he sends me a link now and then. He said it's been having connectivity problems lately, and this /.'ing isn't going to help...
  • I've a big fan of homestarruner.com When I can see it... Due to the slashdot effect. I can't! I've been trying to figure out why the site has slow and I know why! Damn slashdot affect... damm you!!!! *shakes fist and trails off*. Eitherway, Homestarrunner rules!
  • TROGDOR!!!! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 02, 2003 @01:07AM (#5208800)
    TROGDOR THE BURNINATOR!!!
    The majesty! The burninating!
  • by martyn s ( 444964 ) on Sunday February 02, 2003 @01:07AM (#5208801)
    here [legionstudios.com]
    and here [rundevilrun.com]
  • The e-mail is funny. Most of the other flash there simply isn't. The flash is justified, because as a graphical platform it works great. The amount of effects that can be created with vectors in a small file size are excellent. Having a Microsoft OS installed, I see no problem with installing flash because it works like it should and isn't intrusive, unlike Real One Player.
    • I agree... Apparently they made an update today, but, since they got slashdoted I can't read the latest email... My favorite email was the sisters... that one was pretty good, or the one titled "dragon". Whenever they come back up, I urge you all... to go see
    • Some of the menus are pretty funny, too... check out menu 13, the Atari games menu (when the site comes back up again).

      Also check out the 'techno email'. Our comp sci teacher put "Strong Bad's Techno" on his Winamp playlist... it came up while our class was saying the pledge of allegience.

    • No way! (Score:3, Interesting)

      Undoubtedly, Strong Bad's email is the best part of the site, but how can you not like "A Jumping Jack Contest" or "The Luau"? Some of the 'toons are pretty funny, and they add a lot to the appreciation of Strong Bad. Some of the menus are fantastic. Not to mention some of the incredibly stupid "music videos". And check out some of the old "Marzipan's answering machine" episodes under "games". And while you're there, try out the "Dancin' Bubs" game.

      There's pleny of good stuff there. You just have to dig around for it, and there's a LOT of content to dig through.
    • Having a Microsoft OS installed, I see no problem with installing flash because it works like it should and isn't intrusive, unlike Real One Player.

      Though I do not have a Microsoft OS installed, I *do* have Flash installed -- though not Shockwave, which was never ported to Linux -- and have watched StrongBad's emails in the past.

      Also, Realplayer isn't all that intrusive if you use it only via the library interface through mplayer, a convenient option available on *Linux*. :-)
  • I bet (Score:2, Insightful)

    by iomud ( 241310 )
    These guys could have their own southpark-esqe show on comedy central.
    • Yeah, but they're so not southpark it's not even funny. Wait, yeah it is funny.

      "Ah do what Ahm told". --Homsar

  • by Amsterdam Vallon ( 639622 ) <amsterdamvallon2003@yahoo.com> on Sunday February 02, 2003 @01:13AM (#5208826) Homepage
    Here are the 5 funniest Web sites in my opinion:

    The Onion.com [theonion.com]

    The Best Page in the Universe [xmission.com]

    Something Awful [somethingawful.com]

    Consumption Junction [consumptionjunction.com]

    The Bastard Operator from Hell [http]

    Don't forget

    *nix.org [starnix.org] either

  • I just want to know what it takes to have your email picked out by Strong Bad to be animated that week. Girls who want to go out with him, cold ones, cartoons, and superpowers have all been picked over already :P

    By the way, out of the latest Strong Bad emails, I highly recommend "Dragon". Funny stuff :D

  • by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Sunday February 02, 2003 @01:15AM (#5208834)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • by Space Coyote ( 413320 ) on Sunday February 02, 2003 @01:31AM (#5208897) Homepage
      Dear Website,

      Maybe if your audience had any kind of a freakin' life they would have something better to do than all rush to the computer to watch me answer my emails. Ya' gotta admit, that is pretty sad. And I live with Strong Sad, so I know pathetic, believe me.

      Sincerely,

      Strong Bad
    • by Anonymous Coward
      Well, Website, it's like this. The first thing you have to do is just not worry about it and go feed the ducks. It's kind of fun and after a while it gets even better. Also, and this is very important, never install a power switch for The Cheat to use.

      Strong Bad
    • by Anonymous Coward
      Hmm...I don't know...howcanyoulearntobetteradministermyweb...

      DELETED!
    • Dear Slashdot,

      I've noticed my website is just TOO FAST, and I'm not paying neraly enough for webhosting. Please help!

      Sincerely,

      Website.
    • I dunno, maybe read a book instead of sending useless emails DELETED!!!
  • Thanks, guys... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by RasputinAXP ( 12807 ) on Sunday February 02, 2003 @01:18AM (#5208844) Homepage Journal
    I'd like to echo Chester's above comments. The last thing the Homestar Crew needed was a slashdotting. Anybody up for starting a tip jar to get them some new servers when their brand-new ones start smoking?
  • The part of the site where Strong Bad reads his e-mail is seriously funny. Definitely worth checking out.
  • LEMKE (Score:3, Interesting)

    by bperkins ( 12056 ) on Sunday February 02, 2003 @01:31AM (#5208899) Homepage Journal
    Has anyone figured out what LEMKE means yet?
    • If they're Atlanta Braves fans as it seems, it could refer to Mark "Dirt" Lemke, a Braves infielder during the mid-90s. While not a great player by the numbers, he was a big fan favorite.

      Just a complete guess.
  • Pro Wrestling (Score:3, Informative)

    by apetime ( 544206 ) <ape DOT com AT gmail DOT com> on Sunday February 02, 2003 @01:53AM (#5208953)
    I laughed my head off when I first saw the Strong Bad stuff. I thought I was one of the few who actually remembered the awful, ugly, hilarious game for the NES.

    I remember a few wasted hours with my friends watching the Ricky Fighters wrestle the Strong Bads.

    The move names were the best part:
    "N. Hang!"
    "Sasori!"

  • Support SVG! (Score:3, Informative)

    by Khopesh ( 112447 ) on Sunday February 02, 2003 @02:00AM (#5208965) Homepage Journal
    Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is an open-standard alternative to Flash.
    it is a W3C recommendation [w3.org].
    there is a partially-implemented SVG native plugin for mozilla [mozilla.org].
    Adobe has a fully functional SVG plugin [adobe.com].

    there is a Call for Participation [svgopen.org] at the SVG Open 2003 [svgopen.org] (in canada this july).

    sites like homestarrunner.com could really boost SVG acceptance. if anybody out there is looking at homestarrunner.com as a model by which to base their plans for a similar site, please consider SVG!
    • Re:Support SVG! (Score:2, Offtopic)

      by ndogg ( 158021 )
      Can SVG handle audio data? It seems that it only does graphics. Of course, I'm sure that there is a way to sync audio with SVG animations. How would it do that?
    • If they used SVG, people using the official Mozilla builds wouldn't be able to view it. How well do you think that would go over? Everyone would be crying about how they were locking out open-source browsers.
      • If they used SVG, people using the official Mozilla builds wouldn't be able to view it.
        you are correct.

        How well do you think that would go over? Everyone would be crying about how they were locking out open-source browsers.
        here, i disagree; initially, there would be a hurdle, yes. but then people would see a need for further development and lend a hand. croczilla [croczilla.com] isn't as far from ready (for alpha/beta, perhaps to integrate into moz1.4a) as people may think.

        the main reason I've taken the time to mention SVG here is because it gives the recommendation some visibility amongst those who can help OSS implementations like croczilla out there.

        flash started the same way, but it is a propietary standard. i would much rather use a propietary plug-in that implements an open standard than a propietary plug-in that uses its own closed standard.
        • I've had a epiphany, you genuinely believe that Open Source is so good it is worth breaking stuff that works in order to have it, don't you?

          I see it now, this is why I am a failure at getting Linux on my Laptop; a disturbing lack of faith that keeps me going back to Win2K just because I want the darn thing to work.
          • I've had a epiphany, you genuinely believe that Open Source is so good it is worth breaking stuff that works in order to have it, don't you?

            yes, in a way, that is what i am asking. i am encouraging people to try to bring the open standards up to par with the current closed standards. if people never did this kind of thing, mozilla would still be a piece of shit, as would gaim, and almost every OSS project.

            I see it now, this is why I am a failure at getting Linux on my Laptop; a disturbing lack of faith that keeps me going back to Win2K just because I want the darn thing to work.

            as to linux, it is just different and takes some getting used to. it has fewer faults than windows, but you are used to the windows problems. hang on there, and perhaps try the next version of debian, which will have a more friendly installer among other things.
            • It's not the installation I have an issue with, I am pretty familiar with Linux by now and my specific difficulty is fairly deep, a driver problem with my soundcard.

              My problem is an interesting one from the non-technical aspect; my laptop is a IBM thinkpad 600e, and so I have genuine Linux support form the manufacturer, excellent web resources for that model (Thomas Hoods superb page), heck Alan Cox owns one of the damn things, but my soundcard just doesn't work. (I should poitn out it works for Thomas, Alan, etc. so it is some vagary with my particular machine) Under Win2K it just does work.

              I don't want this to sound like an anti-MS rant, I love many things about Linux - a proper command prompt for a start - I'd love to use it - but not without better driver support.
    • While I think SVG is a great idea for some things (any sort of vector graphics where attached metadata might be useful -- UML diagrams and the like), I'm much more dubious about its worth in the animation field. It's not particularly compact, the existing players are not particularly efficient (and there is no complete open-source SVG implementation, despite it being an open format), and while there's a lot of noise about it, there's little support for it.

      The W3C's endorsing something most definitely does not mean that something is a particularly good idea from a technical standpoint...
  • I nominate the Anime Email [homestarrunner.com] as the best SB email.

    If you disagree you are a big fat idiot.
    • I have to say there is a tie between the Anime email and the Trogdor the Burninator email. There was just something about Strong Bad burning up Strong Sad's drawing and then hearing the song at the end.
    • My favorite is when he's asked if he plays guitar.

      "Jug jugga jug jugga jug jugga jug jugga JAH JAH!"

      But Trogdor is a close second.

      Steve

  • Slashdot has caused this:
    http://www.homestarrunner.com/systemisdown.html [homestarrunner.com]
  • There is a better interview with the creators of homestar on www.centerfuse.net [centerfuse.net]. Better questions, with better answers. No by much, but its still a better interview.
  • holy crap, this crap makes me crapfully bugged. Just when i wanted to check my e-mail again. POM POM, POM PILOT.

    "BUBBLE BUBBLE"

    ahhhh.... much better.....

    Dear Strongbad,

    why don't you let the cheat answer any e-mails?

    yeah, it rox
  • It's dot com!

    (People who are fans of homestarrunner will get this.) :)
  • And the dragon comes in the NIIIIiiiiiIIIIiiiiIIIIGHT!!

    okay, seriously though.. I've been a fan of that site for a long time. I remember when he got his new compy 386, for chrissakes. (a pinnacle of graphics and sound)!!

    also, has anyone else played the duckpond untill the next level? It's kool.

  • No, really, check it out [homestarrunner.net]. Make sure you wait 10 seconds before leaving :-)
  • d'oh! (Score:2, Insightful)

    killing some time tonight, i decide to visit homestarrunner, but no go! "what could bring it down?" i wondered. "oh well, i'll check out slashdot." lo and behold, there's a link to the interview that was posted on fark yesterday that i've already seen. whooptie-doo. and slashdot users are mostly insomniacs, so homestar will be slashdotted most of the night. now i'm just f-ing bored. thanks, slashdot.
  • Support Strongbad! (Score:5, Informative)

    by bcliftondotcom ( 632765 ) on Sunday February 02, 2003 @03:11AM (#5209136) Homepage
    If you like the cartoons, and want to see them with more bandwidth, get yourself a T-Shirt today!
    http://shop.store.yahoo.com/homestarrunner/index.h tml [yahoo.com]

    I hate to be such a blatant advertisement, but bandwith can get pretty expensive, and these guys are paying for it with the profits from their online store.
  • Easter Eggs... (Score:5, Informative)

    by Malic ( 15038 ) on Sunday February 02, 2003 @08:43AM (#5209762)
    I hate to be the cause of a Slashdot Effect at Homestarrunner.com again but...

    ...you people DO realize that almost ALL Strong Bad Email's have easter eggs in them at the end? Try clicking around things on the screen at the end of a SB Email movie...

    Can you find them all? ;)

    Shameless Plug : The Brothers Chaps like http://www.robotbastard.com [robotbastard.com] - could Rob Schrab and the Chaps work together someday? Who knows...?
    • The Easter Eggs are everywhere, not just at the end. The dragon one had a well-hidden one for example, where you get to see a scene with Homsar.
    • The most comprehensive strong bad site ever is here [the-cooles...f-ever.com], and has probably almost every easter egg, and even decoded the wingdings font IM message and everything. :)
  • This is cool-Homestar Runner is getting some recognition! It was just a few days ago that I discovered him--glad I got through all his stuff before the /. wave hit.

    "I don't know who it is, but it probably is fhqwhgads."

    I LOVE strong bad. He's my favorite.

    The storylines are not groundshaking, but the characters are so beautifully animated, with such detailed personalities, that I no longer hate Flash. Go HomeStar!

    Try playing the "Homestar Talker" game. It's...surprising. :)
  • Great Jorb! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Stonent1 ( 594886 ) <stonent@stone[ ] ... t ['nt.' in gap]> on Sunday February 02, 2003 @11:42AM (#5210367) Journal
    Hey dere, you took the site down, great jerob! - Coach Z

    Oddly engough I found out about this site as a result of of the Sircam virus. I got an "e-mail" from strongbad to which I replied (before knowing that it sends e-mails from your address book) to get a Virus scanner, to which Strong Bad's auto reply, replied back in the Strong Bad fashion to which I told him to go F himself. I then got a reply from the creator asking for more information about the virus. I now check the site every week. They are the only flash site that has something new every so often. Unlike oh...Joecartoon?
  • Besides Strong Bad, you might find Stickdeath [stickdeath.com] amusing. That is, if you enjoy watching stick figures getting killed.


  • Slashdot > Fark

    Criminy, they post several HR/SB links a week and the site stays up.

A person with one watch knows what time it is; a person with two watches is never sure. Proverb

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