My First Dictionary: Today's word is mask

03 April 2009

Today's word is mask

23 comments:

Thumb Biter said...: Now that one is just crude.; April 21, 2009 at 2:38 AM
Sean said...: A pity. Most of the rest have sharp humor.; April 21, 2009 at 8:18 AM
Ross Horsley said...: I know, I know... this one's misjudged :-)

I'm leaving it here for now because it shows how the original idea has evolved (I'm still new at this!) but rest assured I've learned from the mistake. Thanks!; April 21, 2009 at 6:43 PM
Ross Horsley said...: Or, at least, I hope I've learned from it...; April 21, 2009 at 6:46 PM
coolkideso said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; April 23, 2009 at 1:46 AM
says bunty said...: This one is the best! Don't listen to those cretins.; April 25, 2009 at 1:24 PM
Unknown said...: Don't listen to the naysayers, this one is genius. Some people are just precious.; April 26, 2009 at 2:47 PM
Ash R said...: lol yeah, these are all awesome, go where ever the pics take you :); April 28, 2009 at 7:53 AM
Anonymous said...: this one made my day
keep on doing that work dude it's awesome; May 1, 2009 at 12:07 PM
Noely Noel said...: I wouldn't say you misjudged this. Don't question your sense of humour :); May 4, 2009 at 8:43 AM
alteredhands said...: I think that this blog is genius - I passed it to loads of people in the office and they all loved it. Until they came to Mask. And then a lot of them said they would not look at it again. I know that you have said that you have learned from it, but I think that it detracts from the rest. I mean, if it were not for this one, I would send this to my mother in law... but keep up the excellent work - this is generally great.; May 6, 2009 at 11:51 PM
Anonymous said...: this one is my favorite!; May 7, 2009 at 5:05 AM
Unknown said...: This is actually the one that made me want to let more of my friends know about this site. In a good way.

The only mistake you might have made Ross is letting some folk spoil it for the rest of us who are looking for something "inappropriate" to make us laugh or smirk while we toil away to make ends meet.

Everything is not for everybody. (Think about it for a while.)

I am just tired of seeing something cool getting watered down by a few denizens of mediocrity.

Just my opinion.; May 7, 2009 at 10:29 PM
Ross Horsley said...: Thanks, Christopher. "Everything is not for everybody" are words to live by, I think.

I'm always a bit ashamed of this post but, although it's at the extreme end, I've come to believe it still "fits" the dictionary. As Ash R advises above, I still fully intend to go where the words take me in future.

I don't intend to deliberately offend or upset anyone, but I do want My First Dictionary to visit some dark places from time to time. I think that's an important part of humour, and it's definitely a part of me -- and, by the sounds of things, a lot of regular readers.; May 7, 2009 at 10:40 PM
Unknown said...: I am a fan, and will keep coming back, but I have to agree with this post:
"I think that this blog is genius - I passed it to loads of people in the office and they all loved it. Until they came to Mask. And then a lot of them said they would not look at it again. I know that you have said that you have learned from it, but I think that it detracts from the rest. I mean, if it were not for this one, I would send this to my mother in law... but keep up the excellent work - this is generally great."; May 9, 2009 at 5:26 PM
scribbled said...: if every post was like this it wouldn't be so funny. the edge, that clash with the subtle humour of previous posts makes the darkness just so damn frank and even more disturbing. and that's funny and brilliant, however unsettling it might be. keep going with where the words take you.; May 11, 2009 at 3:05 PM
Nick Kish said...: These are really funny and this is probably my favorite. Wow! This is so good. One of the best blogs on the net!; May 12, 2009 at 5:38 PM
Cirrocumulus said...: This one is deeper than I thought.

Why is Kitty also wearing a mask?; June 20, 2009 at 6:23 PM
Anonymous said...: Yeah, this is unsubtle and a little out-of-place tone-wise, but I don't understand how anyone could be genuinely offended at it after laughing at all the other ones that imply abandonment, abuse and murder of children. Seems pretty shallow and hypocritical to go "Oh, you SAID rape this time? You've gone too far!"

In case it wasn't clear, I think all of these are fantastic.; July 26, 2009 at 4:10 PM
Anonymous said...: People are genuinely offended because this particular cartoon is not "edgy" at all. The cartoons with child murder are both shocking and funny because of the juxtaposition of something widely condemned and the light tone. This single one about rape is not funny because this is an everyday threat to women that we actually hear quite often and in all seriousness. So it comes across as a straight threat without a punchline and without any juxtaposition of knowing that the author couldn't possibly mean it seriously- because we come across it meant seriously and with approval often, in a way that you don't with child murder. I can see how some men might think it's funny, because they don't generally have to consider it as a direct threat at all, so for them it's a similar tone and pattern as the rest: dark subject, light tone. The missing punchline for people that understand this as a daily, not even out of the ordinary occurrence, is in the fact that it can easily be taken seriously, the rest can't.

In case it wasn't clear, I think nearly all of these are fantastic! Just not this one.; August 14, 2009 at 9:23 AM
Anonymous said...: Considering how there are other entries relating to child molestation (see: new), this one about rape doesn't seem out of place to me. I'm sure there are some people out there that could get offended by a great number of these.

I agree with the comment two above me, where if the word "rape" wasn't used and this entry was dealt with more subtly, people wouldn't make as nearly as big of a deal out of it.

The entry relating to child molestation (new) was much more subtle and people made way less of a big deal of it. Personally, I think child molestation is much worse than rape...

Regardless, I think all of these are brilliant (this entry included). An aspect of this blog's brilliance is it's shock value from time to time.

Keep up the great work Ross!; September 9, 2009 at 5:49 AM
Clumpy said...: I think your best work still covers darker territory, but does it in a more subtle way. After reading backward through the archives I'm sure you've learned this by now (and you do a much better job than I would at this).

This punchline was just too explicit - you usually fit the "mood" of one of these 50s primers with a darker subtext, which works far better and at a deeper layer of humor.; October 3, 2009 at 9:31 PM
Anonymous said...: Mask - A mask is a false face. Tommy wears a mask when he plays with Kitty, so that she cannot describe his real face to the police.; January 19, 2010 at 6:49 AM

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