boring (really)

Strong Bad Email #131

watch ← do over modeling →

"That's just a little less than two fifty!"

Callie asks if it ever gets boring where Strong Bad lives. He answers the question a bit too well.

Cast (in order of appearance): Strong Bad, Bubs, Homestar Runner, Strong Sad, Coach Z (voice only), Pom Pom (Easter egg), The King of Town (Easter egg), Homsar (Easter egg), The Poopsmith (Easter egg), Pom Pom's girls (Easter egg)

Places: Computer Room, Bubs' Concession Stand, The Stick, King of Town's Castle (Easter egg)

Computer: Lappy 486

Date: Monday, June 6, 2005

Running Time: 4:40

Page Title: Lappy 486

DVD: strongbad_email.exe Disc Five

Transcript

STRONG BAD: {rapping} Email theme song! 1-2-3! A da-da-checka email wit' me, SB, y'all! {loads the email}

subject: bored...

Dear Strongbad,
Does it ever get boring where you live? Right now I am
bored out of my mind.

With lots of crap,
Callie, Lake Jackson, TX

{Strong Bad says "Strobah" in place of "Strongbad," "groan" in place of "crap," and pronounces "TX" as "Tejas".}

STRONG BAD: {typing} So, you're bored out of your mind, eh? Well, you've come to the right place. Let's see what I... can do... about... that. {really draws "that" out, like "thaaaaaahhht", even typing it very slowly}

{Strong Bad slowly walks off to his right, and the screen slowly zooms out from the Lappy while slow-paced keyboard music fades in. It then cuts to an extreme close-up of Bubs's face, the screen also slowly zooming away from it, and then cuts to show Bubs staring at the side of his concession stand while Strong Bad joins him. All the dialogue until Strong Sad's line is said at an exaggeratedly slow pace.}

STRONG BAD: Bubs! What craziness... is going on... over here?

{short pause}

BUBS: Oh! Strong Bad! {Strong Bad begins to slowly look toward Bubs} You startled me. {cut to a slow-moving extreme close-up of the side of the stand} I was just counting the bricks on this side of the building. {cut back to Bubs} I'm up to two hundred forty-eight.

STRONG BAD: Two hundred and forty-eight... That's just a little less... than two fifty!

BUBS: Yep! I remember learning that in school.

STRONG BAD: {slowly looks away} Well, take care... Bubs. I'm gonna take real, {cut to an extreme close-up on Strong Bad's mouth} real {cut back to former view} tiny steps... on over to The Stick. {exits stage right — taking real, real tiny steps}

{another short pause}

BUBS: Be's careful.

{The screen cuts to a closeup behind Bubs, then cuts with Bubs slightly further across on the wall, counting bricks. Cut to Strong Bad, still walking in tiny steps, approaching Homestar Runner standing by the Stick. Homestar isn't blinking, and his mouth is open.}

STRONG BAD: What are you... um... doing?

HOMESTAR RUNNER: I'm practicing... closing... my eyes. I'm not very... good... at it... though.

STRONG BAD: I see.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: More like... I see.

{Close up on Homestar closing his eyes slowly, with a tremble when they're nearly closed, eventually closing them completely}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Ooh! There we go! Now I see what all the fuss is about! {opens eyes} Oops, I lost it. {Bubs enters from stage left}

BUBS: Two hundred and ninety-six!

STRONG BAD: Wow. ¹
HOMESTAR RUNNER: {almost simultaneously} Wow.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: That's just a little less... than three hundred!

ALL: I remember learning that in schoo—

{A hyperactive Strong Sad suddenly jumps in, accompanied by the background music of the "The Sturge" radio station, interrupting "school" as flames burst on the sides of the screen}

STRONG SAD: Wah-wah-wah-wait! You guys! You guys! I struck gold on the alien spaceship—I think it gave me super powers! There were wood-davers everywhere!

{record scratching noise cuts back to Strong Bad at the Lappy}

STRONG BAD: {typing} So, Jackson, as you can plainly see, things move a mile a minute 'round her'. Except for that Strong Sad. That guy's a real bore. And quite a fan of Danish physicist Niels Bohr. The most aptly named of all Danish physicists. So, I hope I bored you back into your mind. And I don't mean 'bored into your mind' like—

{imitating a drill going through a brain and thrashing his head madly}

STRONG BAD: REEER! Pssh psssshh! Blorgorg! Pfff! {typed as "(awesome drilling some brains sound)"}. That's gross. But if you're still bored, sit back, relax, and prepare to experience the fury of... me naming all the three letter words I can think of.

{Strong Bad makes an imitation of a walkie-talkie click, then clears his throat and brings up new screen}

STRONG BAD: Cat. The. Lob. Irk. Try. Wet. Cod. For. Her. Ebb. Egg. Goo. Elk. Ilk.

{The Paper comes down.}

STRONG BAD: Dog. Fat. Pat. Spy. Get. Sat. Sit. {screen dims} Wow. Man.

{After a few seconds, the screen comes back up with many more words typed as Strong Bad continues to list words}

STRONG BAD: Huh. Not. Sty. Eye. Pie. Tug. Gut. Gun. Sap. Asp. Pus. Job —

COACH Z: {record scratching noise, then from offscreen:} I gotta stop you there, Strong Bad. I'm pretty sure "jorb" is a four letters word.

Footnotes

1. This could be "Whoa."

Easter Eggs

"Did I err?"

• Click on "Niels Bohr" to see a signed picture of him addressed to Strong Sad.
  • The autograph reads

    yo yo, S²
    you're not
    BOHRN yet!
    ha ha!! —Nilly `16

• After the fade-in near the end, click on "try, wet, cod" for a pencil drawing of a fish on notebook paper, with the text "Try wet cod!!! (Please, oh, please)".
• After the fade-in near the end, click on "err" for a comic book drawing of Strong Bad and The Cheat as Groo and Rufferto.
• At the end, click on "old, bag" to see a short scene at a party thrown by the King of Town.

{Pom Pom, the King of Town, the Poopsmith, and Homsar are standing in the King's castle with two of Pom Pom's girls. Two bags of Pork Ramblins and Pork Snagglins can be seen in the foreground. "It's the Weekend" (from montage) can be heard in the background as the party laugh aloud.}

POM POM: {bubbles}

HOMSAR: AaAaAaAaAaAaA!

KING OF TOWN: {simultaneously} Hey, woo, exciting party!

Fun Facts

Strong Bad's list of 3-letter words

] Cat, the, lob, irk, try, wet, cod, for, her, ebb, egg, goo,
elk, ilk, dog, fat, pat, spy, get, sat, sit, wow, man, see, dew
jib, dub, orb, pip, nob, sag, use, vat, rot, tap, wee, saw, hub,
dag, cot, wok, biz, was, won, all, awl, owl, pug, lug, con, err,
hug, sad, mop, pan, nip, sbu, jut, lam, sod, too, you, old, bag,
cup, bat, hut, rom, rip, one, rue, pal, jig, sup, fez, man, tad,
log, tis, pod, new, vex, tar, wig, yok, fix, yon, use, hag, fad,
huh, not, sty, eye, pie, tug, gut, gun, sap, asp, pus, job

• Note that "man" is listed twice (on the second line, third word from the right, and on the sixth line, second word from the right).
• The word "use" is also listed twice (on the third line, seventh word from the left, and on the seventh line, third word from the right).
• There is no comma after "dew" (last word on second line).
• There are 102 total words in the list, counting the two duplicates (an even 100 distinct words).
• Some of these 3-letter words appear elsewhere in the Homestar Runner body of work:
  • Egg, pie, and gun are listed.
  • "biz" is a reference to Biz Cas Fri.
  • "sbu" is a reference to lunch special.

Explanations

• Niels Bohr addresses Strong Sad as S², which in algebra is S times S, or SS (Strong Sad's initials).
  • S² is also the standard notation for two electrons in the s orbital of an atom. This is appropriate, as Bohr made key contributions to understanding the nature of atoms and electrons.

The original "Did I err?" image, shared via Instagram.

Trivia

• The label on the disk in the floppy disk container reads "karateka".
• Using average brick and mortar dimensions, 296 bricks would be enough to make a wall that is 7 feet long and 8 feet high.

Remarks

• This email has two functional Back buttons on-screen simultaneously; the one that appears when the screen fades out remains (barely visible) when it fades back in.
• Strong Sad jumps into the scene, even though in his lament he states he cannot.
  • It is possible the "alien spaceship" gave him the power to jump.
• Although Homestar actually blinks far more than anyone else on the site, approximately once every 3.9 seconds, he does seem to have trouble keeping his eyes closed consciously as demonstrated in A Holiday Greeting.
• When Strong Bad leaves his computer room, his "new walk" as mentioned in the commentary is unusual in that it is with his right and left arms moving in sync with their respective legs. Regular walking (or running) involves alternating same side arms and legs opposite of each other but parallel to the alternate limb to maintain the best balance.

Goofs

• In Strong Bad's complete list of three-letter words (at the very end of the email), lines four through eight are indented slightly farther to the right than lines two and three.
• On the close-up of Strong Bad's face in the bottom left corner, Bubs's belt can be seen.
• Bubs looks shorter and smaller than Strong Bad when Bubs runs in the scene with Homestar and Strong Bad.

Glitches

• At the end of the Email, a second working "Back" button can be found in the lower-left corner of the Flash window beyond the Lappy screen. It is nearly invisible until the arrow is placed over it, at which point it appears as a semi-transparent image.

Inside References

• Strong Bad receives another email signed with the word crap.
• Strong Bad says "Prepare to experience the fury of... me naming all the three letter words I can think of." in his tour guide voice from theme park, from which the first half of said line was taken. He ends with the sound of the microphone clicking off, also heard in theme park.
• Strong Sad's hyperactivity, twitching eye and mention of wood-davers are references to caffeine.
  • This scene also re-uses the Deathly Pallor music from radio.
• Coach Z's comment on "jorb" being a four-letter word is a reference to A Jorb Well Done.
• "A four letters word" may be a nod to Marzipan's Answering Machine Version 11.2, in which said phrase was used by Homestar.
• The way Strong Bad runs when taking "real tiny steps" is similar to how his past self ran the Ten-Step Footrace in flashback.
• Strong Bad's hesitation before saying "doing" to Homestar may be a reference to Homestar's commentary on the word in car.
• At one point, Bubs uses the word "be's".
• An Easter egg showing the King of Town, Pom Pom, and the Poopsmith holding a party previously appeared in Homestar Presents: Presents.

Real-World References

• The comic book drawing features Strong Bad as Groo the Wanderer, the star of a comic book written and drawn by Sergio Aragonés, with The Cheat as Groo's dog Rufferto. Groo is a stupid, accident-prone barbarian whose catch phrase is "Did I err?".

DVD Version

• After the hyperactive Strong Sad scene, instead of cutting directly to the Lappy, the toon cuts to a black screen and gradually fades in.
• The DVD version features hidden creators' commentary. To access it, switch the DVD player's audio language selection while watching.

Commentary Transcript

(Commentary by: Mike Chapman, Matt Chapman)

MATT: That's a nice rap, that he just sang.

MIKE: A rap song?

MATT: A rap hip-hop song.

MIKE: Wow. So, I haven't watched this email in probably a year... and a half, maybe?

MATT: So, you have watched this since we put it on the website?

MIKE: Maybe once or twice, but right around the time we put it out. {pause} I... As I remember, it really is pretty boring.

MATT: Well—

MIKE: We succeeded in—

MATT: Yeah, that was the goal, right? {pause} We weren't faking the funk. On this. Now despite the fact that this is not a nasty dunk, we were not faking the funk, on this, either. {pause} We even made a slower walk clip.

MIKE: {overlapping} slower walk clip. {laughs}

MATT: Slow zoom...

MIKE: See, I'm not— I'm just gonna wanna watch this.

MATT: {laughs} Ya haaa! That is a jarring closeup. It's almost, uh— There's a closeup of the brick wall at some point, and it's very David Lynch—ian.

MIKE: What—

MATT: Strong Sad would be way into it.

MIKE: What did the email ask? {laughs}

MATT: I didn't read it. He's bored out of his mind, what do you do when you're bored, maybe?

MIKE: Oh, okay.

MATT: {laughs} Look at that slowly Strong Bad turns to look at him.

MIKE: It's more of the slow email. {laughs} Talk slow, and walk slow.

MATT: That's kind of boring though, if you did all those things.

MIKE: Yeah.

MATT: You'd be pretty boring.

MIKE: So, do you think they're actual bricks?

MATT: Yeah. So doesn't that come back a few times, "I remember that from school"?

MIKE: {overlapping} "I remember that from school."

MATT: "I remember learning that in school." {laughs} Oh yeah, this is another, ah, {laughs} it's another walk clip. We— We really went the extra mile. {pause} Be's. Does be's— be's should have an entry on the Homestar Wiki.

MIKE: Probably. You been saying that for years.

MATT: Yeah, be's.

MIKE: {overlapping} Be's.

MATT: Besing sweet, besing mean.

MIKE: I like how Homestar's mouth. What is—? Oh yeah. {laughs}

MATT: Oh yeah, this makes a really gross noise. {pause} We should probably watch some of these before we do the commentary on them.

MIKE: Yeah, next time. 'Cause we're just watching them. "Wait, hold on, I wanna watch this part."

MATT: Ewww. Those are gross noises...

MIKE: Umm... So, fun commentary, do a fun commentary!

MATT: Okay. I remember when we were writing this Mike and I were totally... {laughs}

MIKE: Bubs looks a little short there.

MATT: He does look a little short. He's shorter than Strong Bad! What is your problem!? You made this scene, Mr.— Oh! {pause} That's the Sturge, that's WA3D's theme song.

{long pause}

MIKE: How's this commentary coming?

MATT: We might wanna try this one over, now that we've seen it.

MIKE: Yeah, yeah.

MATT: I'll save this one.

MIKE: Alright.

MATT: Then, maybe we'll try it again.

MIKE: Yeah. Maybe... {laughs}

MATT: Ewww, I wonder what it would sound like, Mike, if you took a drill...

MIKE: Three— half inch—

MATT: Half inch— {pause} This is, uh, River Quest Safari Venture voice. {pause} Where's that music? I like the boring music a lot. It's very—

MIKE: {singing} Do do doot. Do do doot. Doo. {pause} How long does this go on?

MATT: Awhile, it comes back even. We did a good— We weren't kidding, man. Don't test me!

MIKE: For anyone who was disappointed in this, we told you.

MATT: Yes. Don't try and test me. There are parenthesis after the name of this email that warn you explicitly what you're in for. {pause} Sbu is in there. Three letter word. {pause} Several of these have little Easter eggs, don't they?

MIKE: I know err does. "Did I err?"

MATT: "Did I err." Oh yeah, that's the drawing of him like {mumbles}

Fun Facts

• Matt's comment about "faking the funk" and "a nasty dunk" is a reference to a Reebok commercial starring Shaquille O'Neal, which was previously referenced in interview.
• David Lynch is a filmmaker known for his bizarre and often surreal imagery.
  • Strong Sad described his storyboards as "Lynchian" in Sbemail 150?!?.
• A wiki article for Be's would be created in March 2006.

YouTube Version

• The YouTube description for this email is "The most action-packed Strong Bad email ever! Bricks! Eye closings! Three-letter words!"
• None of the Easter eggs are included.

External Links

• watch "boring (really)"
• watch "boring (really)" on YouTube
• watch "boring (really)" on the old Flash site
• view the Flash file for "boring (really)"
• forum thread re: "boring (really)"