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HP Forum Archive 18

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Saturday Night Live skit about some of us
Message #1 Posted by Mad Dog ebaycalcnut on 25 Jan 2009, 11:06 a.m.

It's about TI, but the message comes across.

SNL Calculator skit

      
Re: Saturday Night Live skit about some of us
Message #2 Posted by Walter B on 25 Jan 2009, 5:28 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Mad Dog ebaycalcnut

Quote: "...the clip you selected isn't available from your location." Holds for Germany at least.

            
Re: Saturday Night Live skit about some of us
Message #3 Posted by Dusan Zivkovic on 25 Jan 2009, 6:47 p.m.,
in response to message #2 by Walter B

No access from the UK either.

                  
Re: Saturday Night Live skit about some of us
Message #4 Posted by Mad Dog ebaycalcnut on 25 Jan 2009, 10:48 p.m.,
in response to message #3 by Dusan Zivkovic

Sorry.... It was a skit about two nerdy twins demanding a calculator for Christmas from their parents and then being in ecstasy about getting a TI calculator.

A lot funnier than my description though.

            
Re: 20b font needed, Cyrille?
Message #5 Posted by bt_schmidt on 27 Jan 2009, 9:58 p.m.,
in response to message #2 by Walter B

Quote:
Quote: "...the clip you selected isn't available from your location." Holds for Germany at least.

umm, use a public vpn

...bt

                  
Re: 20b font needed, Cyrille? ?
Message #6 Posted by Walter B on 28 Jan 2009, 1:38 a.m.,
in response to message #5 by bt_schmidt

Thanks for the link. But what bothers me more: what's the link to the subject you chose??

      
Re: Saturday Night Live skit about some of us
Message #7 Posted by Namir on 25 Jan 2009, 5:47 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Mad Dog ebaycalcnut

Yep .. I saw that and told my wife (who was watching too) "Not funny!"

The nerdy guys in the skit were thrilled about a piece of trash desktop TI calculators.

Namir

            
Re: Saturday Night Live skit about some of us
Message #8 Posted by Ron Ross on 25 Jan 2009, 10:03 p.m.,
in response to message #7 by Namir

Typical Ti calculator fanatics!!!! Math skills, etc. Nothing need more be said!!!

Edited: 25 Jan 2009, 10:04 p.m.

            
Re: Saturday Night Live skit about some of us
Message #9 Posted by Egan Ford on 26 Jan 2009, 12:47 a.m.,
in response to message #7 by Namir

I could be wrong, but I think many here may miss the point of the skit.

There have been a number of viral videos floating around cyberspace with children receiving Wii video game console systems and acting like the idiots depicted in the skit. Also note that the kid that got the Wii acted like a well behaved grateful kid.

IMHO, the point of the skit was show us all how stupid these (Wii) kids are. Many (not here) will agree that a calculator is mundane and people can easily see how ridiculous this is. I'm sure the writers took the first thing they found when wandering around the office--a big desktop calculator.

Edited: 26 Jan 2009, 12:48 a.m.

                  
Re: Saturday Night Live skit about some of us
Message #10 Posted by bill platt on 26 Jan 2009, 12:06 p.m.,
in response to message #9 by Egan Ford

Hi Egan,

I think this just shows how far off in nerd field we are...

                        
Re: Saturday Night Live skit about some of us
Message #11 Posted by Egan Ford on 26 Jan 2009, 4:51 p.m.,
in response to message #10 by bill platt

Hi Bill,

In the context of Wii kid bashing, I found no humor. It just reminded me of the original viral videos and how annoyed I was watching them.

Not the worst I've seen:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=AmPawDEuCrc

http://www.webtvhub.com/screaming-wii-kid-at-christmas-video-boy-gets-dream-gift-from-santa/

Out of context (i.e. calculator nerd bashing), I found it quiet funny. Especially because I got a calculator for Christmas and then proceeded to write a Gamma function for it. Details here: http://www.hpmuseum.org/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/hpmuseum/archv018.cgi?read=145337#145337.

      
Re: Saturday Night Live skit about some of us
Message #12 Posted by Karl Schneider on 25 Jan 2009, 11:15 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Mad Dog ebaycalcnut

I have to agree with Namir. There is a difference between humorous satire and offensive ridicule, and over the years, the writers at SNL often haven't understood that, or lacked the talent. The long-running comedy show's popularity has been spotty largely because of that mediocre writing, which never measured up to that of In Living Color, for example. (Here is a clip.)

I'd say that most of us real enthusiasts appreciate the unification of excellent electrical engineering, mathematics, software engineering, mechanical engineering, and product design in these tools that we used in our collegiate programs, and oftentimes on the job. That's why we mostly favor the premium models from Hewlett-Packard, from the 1970's through the early 1990's.

-- KS

Edited: 26 Jan 2009, 12:52 a.m. after one or more responses were posted

            
Re: Saturday Night Live skit about some of us
Message #13 Posted by bill platt on 26 Jan 2009, 12:47 a.m.,
in response to message #12 by Karl Schneider

It's still funny though.

                  
Re: Saturday Night Live skit about some of us
Message #14 Posted by Jeff Kearns on 26 Jan 2009, 6:02 a.m.,
in response to message #13 by bill platt

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=TprdMUe0hVY

For those of us outside the US of A...

Jeff Kearns

                        
Re: Saturday Night Live skit about some of us
Message #15 Posted by Ken Shaw on 27 Jan 2009, 4:35 p.m.,
in response to message #14 by Jeff Kearns

Priceless! Thanks for the ex-USA link.

OT: Jim Carrey is a great physical comedian.

            
Alternative view
Message #16 Posted by Mad Dog ebaycalcnut on 26 Jan 2009, 7:27 a.m.,
in response to message #12 by Karl Schneider

I honestly thought I'd post this for a laugh. I did not wish to upset anyone!

Anyway, maybe this should be looked at as making fun of TI enthusiasts? And to any TI enthusiasts out there reading this, I am not trying to upset you either.

Edited: 26 Jan 2009, 7:33 a.m.

            
Did you really consider the skit to be offensive ridicule?
Message #17 Posted by Mad Dog ebaycalcnut on 26 Jan 2009, 7:43 a.m.,
in response to message #12 by Karl Schneider

Karl, do you consider this skit to be "offensive ridicule"? I really have to disagree with that.

There were no racial, gender, religious, ethnic, or even sexual orientation overtones to it at all. Nothing pornographic or violent at all. It did not even insult any specific person (they've done that to many politicians.) How could it be "offensive ridicule"?

In fact, that Living Color link you posted ridiculed hard the captain of the Valdez (Hazelwood?).

Edited: 26 Jan 2009, 10:15 a.m.

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