Hi all, I need your help. I'm in a trivia contest and our team is trying to identify a picture. We thought it might be a star trek or other sci fi language. Does anyone recognize the image or language? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
There are elements of Romulan in it, but it's not Romulan.
Posted by HopefulNebula (Member # 1933) on :
That does just reek of Trekkiness. And I know I've seen it before. I'd thought at first Romulan, but if Shik says it isn't, it probably isn't. My Trekcyclopedia is packed away somewhere right now, unfortunately.
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
Sort of looks Iconian, but I can't be sure...
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Well, there ARE Romulan or Romulan-style characters in it, very distinctly...but it doesn't look like the rest of the alphabet. In some spots it looks a little like Vorlon & in others like Klingon & Cardassian.
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
It says DRINK MORE OVALTINE
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
"Be sure to drink your Ovaltine."
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
I too reckon it smacks of Romulan but... hmmm - Romulan is more BLOCKY I think.
I don't think it is Cardassian. I could be wrong.
Then I thought either - it's an early version of Klingon (as in the writing on the D7 Klingon Cruiser from TOS - or from TMP)
or Babylon 5 - Centauri?
Ohhhhhhhhh - I just had a mind flash - it reminds me of some text in a movie that has someone looking through a binocular type thing with a red screen/text flashing up - pointing out things. Hmmm - a lot of Sci-fi movies have done this before - so I can't think of which one. Maybe it's from Predator!?!
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
Hmmm it looks like it's taken from somewhere - scanned... For some reason now I'm thinking 'alien words appearing on some sort of wall'.
It hasn't got anything to do with Any of the Arthur C. Clarke Odyssey series? one of the later ones?
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
Hmm...text in a binocular....You aren't thinking of Star Wars V are you? Is this Galactic Basic?
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
I recognise that though and it doesn't look like a Star Wars text. Which is why i'm thinking predator or something.
I've noticed some of the patterning of the letters are repeated - I'm trying to see if it matches English letter-for-letter - and if i can translate it might reveal what it's about. Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
Can we have a few more clues? What is the context of the trivia competition? Does it have a sci-fi/fantasy/nerd slant? Or is it completely general knowledge?
Edit: This is driving me nuts!! Hmm. It looks so familiar - but it's not. It looks like it's printed on paper from a soft-cover novel.
[ December 22, 2007, 06:37 AM: Message edited by: AndrewR ]
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
And doesn't this thread constitute you as cheating? :.)
Posted by rainl7 (Member # 2068) on :
The theme this year is political, but most questions have nothing to do with the theme. They also give us these visual images before the contest starts so it's not cheating. I've looked through all the sci fi fonts I could find online and still haven't been able to pinpoint it yet.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
I have too... this is very frustrating. You will have to tell us the answer. It's very Romulan - but it's not. I remember once seeing a language on a Sci-fi show - it might have been Trek or Stargate - but I was like 'hmmm looks Romulan' but maybe it wasn't that one.
Who is hosting the trivia?? It might give insight to the people who proposed the question.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
I took a quick look through the Memory Alpha language list, but didn't find anything resembling the symbols in question. So it's less likely to be a Star Trek script, I think.
I also don't think it's Romulan, anyway, because of those curved slashes. I've never noticed those associated with Romulan letters in the past...
As for other shows, it's probably not from Stargate, because the major languages ever featured � Ancient/Alteran, Asgard, and Goa'uld � were all very distinctive and/or based on Earth hieroglyphs.
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
I've been through every script in the wonderful Omniglot but I haven't found anything. Someone should double-check me, though.
Posted by Ritten (Member # 417) on :
Possibly a silly question, have you just stared at it to see if anything pops out at you?
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
Ooops - I went through the Omniglot too. LOL! Oh what a dreadful waste of time!! I still want to know what it is though!!
I still think it is printed in a paper back novel of some sort. Maybe it's from a brain-teaser book?
It's not something from Red Dwarf is it? Gelf language or something?
Posted by WizArtist II (Member # 1425) on :
I think it was from a supposed Roswell artifact seen by the son of one of the officers that supposedly recovered the alien spacecraft. I think it was some Sci-fi channel docu-investi-drama but I don't remember the name.
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
Was there an alphabet invented for that there, ehhh, Klingonaase? The "other" Klingon language?
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
quote:Originally posted by WizArtist II: I think it was from a supposed Roswell artifact seen by the son of one of the officers that supposedly recovered the alien spacecraft. I think it was some Sci-fi channel docu-investi-drama but I don't remember the name.
I thought I saw a doco like that - but it might have been one of many - but the 'mysterious' writing just appeared to be VV II (][) 3E OO.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
Could it be from some sort of Fantasy novel? We need more information!!
Posted by rainl7 (Member # 2068) on :
We didn't get any clues, so it really could be anything. sorry. I'm guessing that it is probably from a sci fi book/movie/show though.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
What I mean is - what kind of trivia competition is it. Is it part of a group of sci-fi-minded people or completely random general knowledge people?
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
And is it a *trivia* contest, or are there puzzles? I mean, what if this is just a specially-made-up code of some kind?
Posted by rainl7 (Member # 2068) on :
It's a general trivia contest, not sci fi based. So, this image may have nothing to do at all with anything sci fi. We just thought it looked like something from Star Trek. We also thought it might have been a general cryptogram, but kind of ruled that out.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
What is the question? Is it - what does this say? Or what language is this? Or even just 'what is this?'?
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
I FIGURED IT OUT.
It's Irken, from "Invader Zim."
Posted by The Ginger Beacon (Member # 1585) on :
So it is. In which case, the text reads (with punctuation added for clairity):
"give us the number of votes cast for Willy, Zims competior (sic, or I can't spell, one or the other) for skool student president"
which I can't remember the answer to, because mys sister stopped watching Nickelodeon.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
How do you know that? Do you have an Irken font? If so, gimme!
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
Would NEVER have gotten that. I don't think i've even seen this show!
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
I was watching the DVDs again last night...this morning...& the pilot has a shitload of Irken scrolling on the screen.
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
I liked Invader Zim, I'm sorry it was taken off the air. Besides Rocko's Modern Life and Ren & Stimpy, it was one of my favorite cartoons.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
"give us the number of votes cast for Willy, Zims competior (sic, or I can't spell, one or the other) for skool student president"
I just checked, and the answer is 550.
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
I've heard of Invader Zim but I thought it was some kind of Nintendo game or something...
Posted by Zefram (Member # 1568) on :
I bought all three seasons on DVD for a very reasonable price. Although it's supposedly a show intended for children, in one of the first season episodes Zim uses alien technology to steal internal organs from his schoolmates. The Halloween episode was particularly demented. My kids know it as one of "Daddy's cartoons" since they're not allowed to watch it.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Really? Jhonen Vasquez would be required mindwarping for any grubs I mind have.
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
quote:Originally posted by Zefram: I bought all three seasons on DVD for a very reasonable price. Although it's supposedly a show intended for children, in one of the first season episodes Zim uses alien technology to steal internal organs from his schoolmates. The Halloween episode was particularly demented. My kids know it as one of "Daddy's cartoons" since they're not allowed to watch it.
Is that the one where he replaces their organs with electronics so that this one kid was playing with a Game Boy in his stomach? My favorite was the one where Zim kept throwing pigs back in time to screw with Dib's health to the point that Dib becomes an limbless retard. But then Zim goes to far and Dib suddenly has a robot body. I believe it ends with Zim having his brain replaced with a pig. All very family friendly.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
WHYYYYYY, PIGGY?? I LOVEDED YOU! III LOVEDED YOOOOOOOU!!
Posted by The Ginger Beacon (Member # 1585) on :
Sorry guys, I don't have the font, just a hand drawn copy of the key I found on the web donkeys years ago. I'll scan it if anyone has a font writer, but there are some out there on the web I think.
I didn't realise that it was out on DVD! I now know how I'm spending this months paycheque.
Posted by The Ginger Beacon (Member # 1585) on :
Someone seems to have done an Irken font, and uploaded onto this forum.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Sweetness.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Sweetness.
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
quote:Originally posted by Zefram: I bought all three seasons on DVD for a very reasonable price. Although it's supposedly a show intended for children, in one of the first season episodes Zim uses alien technology to steal internal organs from his schoolmates. The Halloween episode was particularly demented. My kids know it as one of "Daddy's cartoons" since they're not allowed to watch it.
I've never heard of this show before, mostly because I'm too old and my nieces are more of the Dora the Explorer and Bratz persuasion...except for Lucy, who thanks to a certain uncle who let her watch him color comics and watch his "reference material" has a big thing for superhero cartoons. Anyway, I just had a quick look on youtube at the various clip compilations of Invader Zim and I'm in stitches! Nice to see the spirit of Ren & Stimpy lives on, albeit without the sadomasochism and with what I can only assume is an acute sugar and caffeine substance abuse problem.
[ December 30, 2007, 07:32 PM: Message edited by: Reverend ]
Posted by Zefram (Member # 1568) on :
The commentary on the DVDs is pretty funny. According to the show's creators, they went as far as cleaning out their desks after the Nickleodeon people saw one of the early episodes... immediately after having screened a family-friendly show (I think it was Dora the Explorer). Surprisingly enough, they received no objections and thousands of children got to see (by means of the shadows cast on a wall) an annoying child get his eyeballs plucked out and replaced with mechanical ones under Zim's control.
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
I remember one episode where it started to rain and all the kids floated into the air singing:
We love rain We love rain
fun fun fun rain rain rain
Very reminiscent of happy happy, joy joy
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
Ren & Stimpy...I saw a few episodes of that, but I was oh so very young. Made me feel a little, umm, uncomfortable? I guess that's the word for it. Mostly just confused. Then my mom saw an episode of it and immediately banned me from ever seeing it again.
(Of course my dad had me watching R-rated stuff when I was 6 years old...Terminator 2 was my favorite. Guess it really depends on the parent ;P)
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
My mom used to disapprove of The Simpsons yet she loves South Park.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
My mom wouldn't let me have GI Joe toys because she said they glorified war, yet Transformers, Star Wars, & the like were fine. What odd logic.
Posted by Zefram (Member # 1568) on :
I knew plenty of people who weren't allowed to watch The Simpsons, yet they often watched R-rated movies. So, a cartoon with relatively mild swearing and innuendo will corrupt the children but a live action movie with harsh language, violence, and gore won't?
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
I find the South Park movie speaks the truth - a lot of people don't mind violence and smut, as long as their children aren't exposed to swearing. (And the same goes for themselves - they'll watch 'love scenes' (iow borderline porn) and murders, but a movie that says "fuck" and "prick" a few times will make them uncomfortable.)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)