It’s quite good, but this is the internet, and if you say something is “nothing short of perfect”, you’re basically challenging people to prove you wrong. Which I shall endeavor to do by finding flaws in the comparison! (All in good fun, of course!)
The historical Balto was chiefly black in fur color with only white socks on his front legs and a white chevron on his chest, while Sweetheart has a pure white coat.
Balto was a Siberian Husky, whereas Sweetheart is an unrecognized Canadian super battle dog breed of indeterminate genetic origin (or more accurately, genetic engineering).
Balto became famous as the lead sled dog on a team which completed the final leg of an overland mission to deliver diphtheria antitoxin to Nome, Alaska in 1925, to combat an epidemic there. In contrast, Sweetheart is not remotely famous, is a poor team leader, and has probably helped kill more people than Balto and his team helped to heroically save.
Balto actually received far more credit than he deserves. The bulk of the serum transportation was carried out by a totally different sled team, led by a dog named Togo who belonged to a totally different musher. Balto’s team only met up with them a short distance outside of Nome to receive a handoff at the end of their own very long run. But because Balto’s team was the one to cross the finish line, and he was the lead dog, all the popular fame and thanks was directed at him undeservedly.
(I don’t know how that last part compares or contrasts to Sweetheart in any meaningful way, but whatever – not enough people know the truth, and poor Togo [and all the other unnamed dogs] deserve to have the record set straight in the popular imagination.)
Anyway, it turns out Balto was named after a famous Norwegian-Sami explorer who skied across Greenland in 1889, one Samuel Johannesen Balto. This means that there isn’t actually a feminine counterpart to “Balto”, as it is a surname rather than a given name. And even it did have a feminine counterpart, it wouldn’t follow the English / French convention of the “-ette” diminutive, but would instead follow Norwegian or Sami linguistic gender conventions.
I mean, we already did a vaccine-sled-run storyline with Sweetheart explicitly complaining that she’d sworn to never “do a Balto”. So there’s actually an in-universe reason for the reference if Nick wants to bring it up (although he wasn’t present for the complaint itself).
So, Balto’s case is an instance of the reverse of 1st and 2nd shift at pretty much every factory I’ve ever worked at? (2nd does most of the work, but 1st gets credit as they start the work day).
D. Walker: Thanks for explaining what “Baltette” is a reference to.
I’m still wondering how well rejoining Skin Horse will help Nick’s romantic interests. It must have been at least a month since March 2016 now, so Virginia probably won’t be there too much.
Would still argue that – she’s the director of Skin Horse – and while not “world famous” (neither is Balto – believe me it was THIS comic series that taught me about him – thanks to being English) she is at least famous in her sphere of work and to non-human sapients of the US in her world. Which is about the same level of fame that Balto has at this date in time (since y’know – the movie was ages ago and there have been a generation of kids since then).
I’m at the point where some of my favorite media—plus one webcomic that’s not so much “good” anymore as “hasn’t given me a reason to quit”—is the same age as my youngest friends, plus or minus two years, although I usually came to it a few years later. Still not as weird to me as having a high school teacher in the late ’90s who remembered seeing the original 8 Man anime dubbed on TV as a kid, while I was getting exposed to the 30th anniversary OVA a few years late.
Didn’t quite a few of those dogs die because the didn’t cover their groin up properly and snow collected there and gave them frostbite. And the whole thing was because someone forgot to get the antitoxin order done before shipping lanes froze up. Quite depressing under the heroics.
As a Swiss person who might say ‘Merci vielmals’ I’m all for mashing the languages up with a French diminutive for a non French word. But just don’t say cherubs, the plural is cherubim.
Ahhh, sweet rotor romance. Nick is going to finally (well, possibly) strap on a pair and boldly declare his love. Of course, this can only end in tragicomedy.
“Baltette” is nothing short of perfect! I wouldn’t mind that being a running gag over the length of a chapter or so.
It’s quite good, but this is the internet, and if you say something is “nothing short of perfect”, you’re basically challenging people to prove you wrong. Which I shall endeavor to do by finding flaws in the comparison! (All in good fun, of course!)
The historical Balto was chiefly black in fur color with only white socks on his front legs and a white chevron on his chest, while Sweetheart has a pure white coat.
Balto was a Siberian Husky, whereas Sweetheart is an unrecognized Canadian super battle dog breed of indeterminate genetic origin (or more accurately, genetic engineering).
Balto became famous as the lead sled dog on a team which completed the final leg of an overland mission to deliver diphtheria antitoxin to Nome, Alaska in 1925, to combat an epidemic there. In contrast, Sweetheart is not remotely famous, is a poor team leader, and has probably helped kill more people than Balto and his team helped to heroically save.
Balto actually received far more credit than he deserves. The bulk of the serum transportation was carried out by a totally different sled team, led by a dog named Togo who belonged to a totally different musher. Balto’s team only met up with them a short distance outside of Nome to receive a handoff at the end of their own very long run. But because Balto’s team was the one to cross the finish line, and he was the lead dog, all the popular fame and thanks was directed at him undeservedly.
(I don’t know how that last part compares or contrasts to Sweetheart in any meaningful way, but whatever – not enough people know the truth, and poor Togo [and all the other unnamed dogs] deserve to have the record set straight in the popular imagination.)
Anyway, it turns out Balto was named after a famous Norwegian-Sami explorer who skied across Greenland in 1889, one Samuel Johannesen Balto. This means that there isn’t actually a feminine counterpart to “Balto”, as it is a surname rather than a given name. And even it did have a feminine counterpart, it wouldn’t follow the English / French convention of the “-ette” diminutive, but would instead follow Norwegian or Sami linguistic gender conventions.
So there! Not perfect! 😛
I mean, we already did a vaccine-sled-run storyline with Sweetheart explicitly complaining that she’d sworn to never “do a Balto”. So there’s actually an in-universe reason for the reference if Nick wants to bring it up (although he wasn’t present for the complaint itself).
I believe it was established that Sweetheart is a genetically-modified Samoyed – not a Husky, but still a sled dog breed.
So, Balto’s case is an instance of the reverse of 1st and 2nd shift at pretty much every factory I’ve ever worked at? (2nd does most of the work, but 1st gets credit as they start the work day).
D. Walker: Thanks for explaining what “Baltette” is a reference to.
I’m still wondering how well rejoining Skin Horse will help Nick’s romantic interests. It must have been at least a month since March 2016 now, so Virginia probably won’t be there too much.
“Sweetheart is not remotely famous”. I, for one, would argue with this.
In her own world, not in ours. 😛
Would still argue that – she’s the director of Skin Horse – and while not “world famous” (neither is Balto – believe me it was THIS comic series that taught me about him – thanks to being English) she is at least famous in her sphere of work and to non-human sapients of the US in her world. Which is about the same level of fame that Balto has at this date in time (since y’know – the movie was ages ago and there have been a generation of kids since then).
Kid Icarus got a life.
.. Baltette. Let’s hope the nick sticks XD
I guess it is a Nick name, yes.
Perhaps it could be a show on Nickelodeon.
“I promised myself I’d never do a ‘Balto’!” —Sweetheart
http://skin-horse.com/comic/expression-blank/
The strip is THAT old?
Crap, I feel old. (Since I’ve read it from the start)
You and me both.
I’m at the point where some of my favorite media—plus one webcomic that’s not so much “good” anymore as “hasn’t given me a reason to quit”—is the same age as my youngest friends, plus or minus two years, although I usually came to it a few years later. Still not as weird to me as having a high school teacher in the late ’90s who remembered seeing the original 8 Man anime dubbed on TV as a kid, while I was getting exposed to the 30th anniversary OVA a few years late.
Didn’t quite a few of those dogs die because the didn’t cover their groin up properly and snow collected there and gave them frostbite. And the whole thing was because someone forgot to get the antitoxin order done before shipping lanes froze up. Quite depressing under the heroics.
As a Swiss person who might say ‘Merci vielmals’ I’m all for mashing the languages up with a French diminutive for a non French word. But just don’t say cherubs, the plural is cherubim.
Ahhh, sweet rotor romance. Nick is going to finally (well, possibly) strap on a pair and boldly declare his love. Of course, this can only end in tragicomedy.
And we will love every second of it.
I kinda thought he could’a put it a little better.
I kinda thought he could’a put it a little worse.
Also, by the way, somewhere between his last appearance in Whimsey VR World and this, NIck-in-the-server changed his shirt.
It’s like Pogo’s boat… enjoy without really “noticing” the changes!
You might say he’s embracing a new life.
And maybe with this new VR world, maybe Dr. Lee, too.
The mystery’s out! His love is Sweetheart!
It’s clearly Doritos, the unbreakable love that even survived loss of a digestive system.
Glad Baron chose wisely, Nick too. Both followed love and are the better for it.
K too.
“Hand me my wallet. It’s the one that says ‘Bad Ankle Monkeychaser’.
…
What?”
what’s this about monkeys and wings?
This seems to be implying that his true love is helping people. Nick is a serious contender for my favorite character.
(Well, yes, Dr. Lee works there too, now, and it lets him get in touch with her again, but it could be both. >.>)