While this one is obviously intentional, I still find it hilarious. I came across this last week at work. We recently received a donation of Japanese DVDs for our library. While checking the discs to make sure they were ready to go onto the shelves, I found the following scene:
Apparently, whoever was working at the film company on the subtitles for this movie got a little miffed and screwed around with the movie. If you look carefully, you'll notice that the jibberish is actually English, with each word spelled completely backwards! Have a look, you'll see what I mean. If you don't want to take the time to decode it for yourself, I've transcribed it below...
The great thing about this video is that it's a full commercial release, that is, if you went to the store and bought this movie, you would have the same thing! How this ever made it through production like this, I'll never know.
Source: Elf Princess Rane. Dir. Heitaro Daichi, produced by Dangun Pictures, Released by KSS, Inc. 1995.
"Go out and buy all the animeworks titles you can!
Get all the urban vision, animeigo, and bandai titles while you're at it!
Hey Clark, I changed all your subtitles around, sorry about that.
Support anime!
You can make a difference.
Even though our Salamander was destroyed, I'm not worried!
Because I really just stole all my ideas from my interns, and fired them.
The next phase is to summon the Red Phoenix to protect konan.
Wait till you get a load of it!"
..............
"Yeah, listen!
To replace the Salamander we need to get the Blue Dragon!
When I speak backwards, everyone assumes I'm smart.
Our next ride will involve the Green Turtle of chinese mythology!
Ew'll* need the shinzaho from the Turtle King!
Lastly we'll construct the White Tiger Garden gambling and opium den!
Watch!
Learn!
Stay in school!"
..............
"What the hell did I just say?"
* This misspelling is in the original (backwards as "ll'we)
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Found this one on Twitter (via Scott Johnson of Extralife, @extralife):
Just realized that "The redneck of the woods" and "The red neck of the woods" means two totally different things. The power of the space.
Source: http://twitter.com/extralife/status/2211403902
Just realized that "The redneck of the woods" and "The red neck of the woods" means two totally different things. The power of the space.
Source: http://twitter.com/extralife/status/2211403902
Lawyers and their doublespeak
As someone who has worked with computers and programming for a while (or even as a human in general), things like unfinished if-statements really bother me. That is, saying "if..." without a resulting "then..." Such was the case in a statement by Joystiq's resident lawyer Mark Methenitis. Talking about legal restrictions on prizes in Xbox's new 1 vs. 100 game show, he said:
Taking Iowa as an example, their laws are such that many scholars believe participation in a game for any property of value would be illegal gambling. There's also a provision that if, for a fee, anything of value is delivered, and given that this is limited to Xbox Live Gold members, it may be the wording of the statute that leads them to believe the paid membership plus the game may be problematic.
While the intent of this statement does make sense, the actual wording of it does not, though it is somewhat "legalese". Putting it in terms familiar to someone like me, the thrust of the argument would be something like this:
A: assume 1 vs. 100 only open to Xbox Live Gold members
B: assume Gold membership costs money (i.e. "has a value" as Methenitis puts it)
Thus, playing 1 vs. 100 has a value.
This argument is all well and good, but the problem arises when he goes into describing the additional provision. "If, for a fee, anything of value is delivered," what happens? He never describes the outcome. The rest of the statement is just a parenthetical phrase telling how it may be interpreted that Xbox Live membership is like paying a fee.
Source: http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/17/1-vs-100-prizes-unavailable-in-certain-states-and-quebec/
Taking Iowa as an example, their laws are such that many scholars believe participation in a game for any property of value would be illegal gambling. There's also a provision that if, for a fee, anything of value is delivered, and given that this is limited to Xbox Live Gold members, it may be the wording of the statute that leads them to believe the paid membership plus the game may be problematic.
While the intent of this statement does make sense, the actual wording of it does not, though it is somewhat "legalese". Putting it in terms familiar to someone like me, the thrust of the argument would be something like this:
A: assume 1 vs. 100 only open to Xbox Live Gold members
B: assume Gold membership costs money (i.e. "has a value" as Methenitis puts it)
Thus, playing 1 vs. 100 has a value.
This argument is all well and good, but the problem arises when he goes into describing the additional provision. "If, for a fee, anything of value is delivered," what happens? He never describes the outcome. The rest of the statement is just a parenthetical phrase telling how it may be interpreted that Xbox Live membership is like paying a fee.
Source: http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/17/1-vs-100-prizes-unavailable-in-certain-states-and-quebec/
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Questionable Content gets it!
Looking through the archives of webcomic Questionable Content, I found this gem (click the image to enlarge):
Source: http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=360
Source: http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=360
Saturday, June 6, 2009
One of these words just doesn't belong
I just got my Xbox 360 back from getting the RROD fixed. I am excited to try out the 1 vs. 100 Beta that launched this week for Xbox Live. While I was reading up on the game, I found this statement in Microsoft's FAQ section:
The One wins the game and if he or she eliminates all the members of The Mob.
Whoops! Looks like someone should have proofread that a little more.
Source: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/1vs100/1vs100livefaqs.htm
The One wins the game and if he or she eliminates all the members of The Mob.
Whoops! Looks like someone should have proofread that a little more.
Source: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/1vs100/1vs100livefaqs.htm
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Ah, beautiful Venice....
Perhaps in an attempt to distinguish the term from 'venetian blinds,' Joystiq has the following to say about Assassin's Creed 2:
Speaking to producer Sebastian Puel, we established that the first title's musical talent would tailor a new soundtrack for Ezio's Venician killing spree.
Anyone familiar with the game knows it refers to the city of Venice, but the correct spelling is the same as with the blinds: venetian, or perhaps venitian.
This brings me to another point about the game: its title. While it could be argued it is only the protagonist's creed, much more likely is that it is the creed of the whole guild: Assassins' Creed.
Source: http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/03/jesper-kyd-returning-to-compose-assassins-creed-2-soundtrack/
Speaking to producer Sebastian Puel, we established that the first title's musical talent would tailor a new soundtrack for Ezio's Venician killing spree.
Anyone familiar with the game knows it refers to the city of Venice, but the correct spelling is the same as with the blinds: venetian, or perhaps venitian.
This brings me to another point about the game: its title. While it could be argued it is only the protagonist's creed, much more likely is that it is the creed of the whole guild: Assassins' Creed.
Source: http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/03/jesper-kyd-returning-to-compose-assassins-creed-2-soundtrack/
Sawing logs... backlogs, that is.
This story actually came out a while ago, but I'm still working through my backlog from last month. Neocrisis reported on the arrival of video-game trade-in kiosks at Walmart, but noted the system is still pretty buggy:
However once you do so, there is a glitch that logs you out immidiately entering your information.
This sentence actually has a couple of errors in it. First, the misspelling of 'immediately,' followed by the omission of the word 'after,' as in 'logs you out immediately after entering your information.'
Source: http://neocrisis.com/content/view/3918/1/
Addendum: Later in the article, I found this spelling mistake:
I took a few of my games to test it out. Final Fantasy 12, Godfather 2, Mirror's Edge, Ractchet and Clank, Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando and Burnout 3: Takedown.
However once you do so, there is a glitch that logs you out immidiately entering your information.
This sentence actually has a couple of errors in it. First, the misspelling of 'immediately,' followed by the omission of the word 'after,' as in 'logs you out immediately after entering your information.'
Source: http://neocrisis.com/content/view/3918/1/
Addendum: Later in the article, I found this spelling mistake:
I took a few of my games to test it out. Final Fantasy 12, Godfather 2, Mirror's Edge, Ractchet and Clank, Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando and Burnout 3: Takedown.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Just like we are now - safe, protected, still on the surface as far as our bodies' concerned.
In this segment, Brooks (or at least his narrator) interviews a diver, who explains here how his diving suit works. Again, though, we have the wrong spelling for a word that sounds the same. It should be "our body's concerned." Even more preferable would be "our bodies are concerned," wince we don't all have a common body, but that would put words into the diver's mouth.
Source: World War Z, p. 300
In this segment, Brooks (or at least his narrator) interviews a diver, who explains here how his diving suit works. Again, though, we have the wrong spelling for a word that sounds the same. It should be "our body's concerned." Even more preferable would be "our bodies are concerned," wince we don't all have a common body, but that would put words into the diver's mouth.
Source: World War Z, p. 300
Last WRONG!!
Towards the end of the book, Brooks presents us with a Russian priest, who makes the statement:
I had come to the field hospital to give last rights to the infected.
This is actually a fairly simple mistake, replacing the word 'rite' - meaning a religious ceremony - for its homophone.
Source: World War Z, p. 296
I had come to the field hospital to give last rights to the infected.
This is actually a fairly simple mistake, replacing the word 'rite' - meaning a religious ceremony - for its homophone.
Source: World War Z, p. 296
Our division lost four experienced leaders, three junior lieutenants, and a major, all during the first week of our first campaign.
This sentence is a bit confusing to me. I do understand that the 3 lieutenants and the 1 major are describing the 4 experienced leaders, but I still think the punctuation here is a bit of a problem. At first glance, it could appear that the officers named are in addition to the experienced leaders, laid out in a list form, but the final comma refutes this. I propose that the sentence actually contains one comma too many. While the first and last are needed to set off the parenthetical phrase, the middle one is not needed and gives the appearance of listing. More correctly, it would appear thus:
"Our division lost four experienced leaders, three junior lieutenants and a major, all during the first week of our first campaign."
Source: World War Z, p. 295
This sentence is a bit confusing to me. I do understand that the 3 lieutenants and the 1 major are describing the 4 experienced leaders, but I still think the punctuation here is a bit of a problem. At first glance, it could appear that the officers named are in addition to the experienced leaders, laid out in a list form, but the final comma refutes this. I propose that the sentence actually contains one comma too many. While the first and last are needed to set off the parenthetical phrase, the middle one is not needed and gives the appearance of listing. More correctly, it would appear thus:
"Our division lost four experienced leaders, three junior lieutenants and a major, all during the first week of our first campaign."
Source: World War Z, p. 295
Here's another classic: the its/it's conundrum. As found in a section heading:
It is the "magic hour" for energy-independent buildings like the Malpica, that time of day when it's photovoltaic windows capture the setting sun with their almost imperceptible magenta hue.
While this is a great sentence, full of wonderful imagery, Brooks uses a contraction (it is) where instead he wants a possessive.
Source: World War Z, p. 228
It is the "magic hour" for energy-independent buildings like the Malpica, that time of day when it's photovoltaic windows capture the setting sun with their almost imperceptible magenta hue.
While this is a great sentence, full of wonderful imagery, Brooks uses a contraction (it is) where instead he wants a possessive.
Source: World War Z, p. 228
Solving this problem - no, challenge, there are no problems - was the refugee camps.
This seems to be a bit of confusion with subject-verb agreement. The subject here is actually 'refugee camps,' so we need a plural verb - 'were' instead of 'was.'
Source: World War Z, p. 139
Edit: This, and many other errors in the book, may be attributed to the oral nature of the text, that is, it purports to merely record the words spoken by the individuals interviewed. However, I believe this is not the case in this instance, as the individual in question was a (presumably) highly educated, high-ranking government officer.
This seems to be a bit of confusion with subject-verb agreement. The subject here is actually 'refugee camps,' so we need a plural verb - 'were' instead of 'was.'
Source: World War Z, p. 139
Edit: This, and many other errors in the book, may be attributed to the oral nature of the text, that is, it purports to merely record the words spoken by the individuals interviewed. However, I believe this is not the case in this instance, as the individual in question was a (presumably) highly educated, high-ranking government officer.
The moment you've been waiting for...
As promised, here comes some World War Z info. I have to say, this is a fantastic book. Thoroughly enjoyable. Nonetheless, as with all print media, this edition has a few errors. If you want to follow along at home, I will be referring to the paperback edition, ISBN 978-0-307-34661-2.
First off, in the early part of the book, there is a footnote stating:
5. Unlike most country's main battle tanks, the Israeli "Merkava" contains rear hatches for troop deployment.
Here is an example of confusion in possessives. The intended meaning is "main battle tanks of most countries," where "countries" is plural. Instead, we have a singular country. So the correction would be "most countries' main battle tanks."
Source: The aforementioned edition, p. 44
First off, in the early part of the book, there is a footnote stating:
5. Unlike most country's main battle tanks, the Israeli "Merkava" contains rear hatches for troop deployment.
Here is an example of confusion in possessives. The intended meaning is "main battle tanks of most countries," where "countries" is plural. Instead, we have a singular country. So the correction would be "most countries' main battle tanks."
Source: The aforementioned edition, p. 44
Monday, June 1, 2009
Again with the "huh?"
E3 is underway, and the bloggers are firing out the news as quickly as they get it. But they should at least take a second and check what they're sending out!
Over the weekend, Sony "leaked" the PSP Go and a couple game announcements onto the latest eits own videomag Qore.
Source: http://kotaku.com/5273711/sony-still-has-lots-of-shockers-planned
Over the weekend, Sony "leaked" the PSP Go and a couple game announcements onto the latest eits own videomag Qore.
Source: http://kotaku.com/5273711/sony-still-has-lots-of-shockers-planned
What does it all mean?
From a Kotaku post on Starcraft II:
A release date is a sign of we things come to all of us.
Huh?
Source: http://kotaku.com/5273724/starcraft-could-be-out-this-year-if
A release date is a sign of we things come to all of us.
Huh?
Source: http://kotaku.com/5273724/starcraft-could-be-out-this-year-if
But, it's a word, too!
From Joystiq:
There's not a lot of news to report, but, as you know, that's never stopped up from talking a bunch before.
I think it's pretty obvious that he means "us" here.
Source: http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/01/joystiq-podcast-e309-do-it-live-edition/
There's not a lot of news to report, but, as you know, that's never stopped up from talking a bunch before.
I think it's pretty obvious that he means "us" here.
Source: http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/01/joystiq-podcast-e309-do-it-live-edition/
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