Saturday
Jun052010
My Thai Font
June 5, 2010 The best man at Julian and Janny's wedding decided that he wanted to surprise them with a cake. It was supposed to have "congratulations" written on it in both English and Thai since the bride was from Thailand.
Unfortunately, however, somewhere along the line someone's computer (probably a pc*) didn't recognize the Thai font (surprise, surprise), and so changed the font to...
waaait for it...
You guessed it! Gibberish!
(Or more precisely, gibberish that means nothing to anyone other that a few computer programmers who will no doubt point out my immense stupidity and poor lineage in the comment section.)Wait, no. That's the Dread Pirate Roberts. Anyway.
Thanks to Julian and Janny
*Actually, it was a Commodore 64
Update: Apparently the font is not gibberish. It's called Mojibake or "an unintelligible sequence of characters." So, ya know. Gibberish. Only not gibberish. Everybody clear? Good good...
Reader Comments (98)
PCs are the computers of the people, and there is nothing wrong with them that skipping porn sites and having decent virus protection won't protect. Fecking computer elitists. Other than that, hilarious!
More Taz,
Exactly right. Just like AT&T was the phone of the people when the phone was first introduced and Ford was the car of the people when cars first came out.
Bashing on PCs? For the first time with this site, I'm disappointed :( Now, excuse me while I go cry, and then enjoy the merits of upgrading my own video card :p
Anonymous -
When Ford and AT&T (orignally Bell Telephone company) *first came out* they were the only show going. Now we have a choice of phones and autos. (and Ford F150 is still a top selling auto
, and what is the elitist iPhone w/out AT&T?)
It is now like 25 years after personal computers 'came out' and PCs still have more than 85-90% ownership rate over Mac. And there's nothing fundamentally different between today's Mac and PC except compatibility and Price. (I own a PC, and I am trained on a Mac).
Still, the cake was funny/bad.
Not to nitpick, but ...
(What someone says to introduce a nitpick.)
No offense, but ...
(Someone's about to say something offensive. "No offense, but you're a jerk, you smell bad, and your mother dresses you funny.")
This morning I read a story about a politician in Arizona who started a statement with, "I'm not a racist, but ..." and then, of course, said some unbelievably racist things, which I have no intention of repeating here.
Note to self:
Do not send in design instructions by e-mail. Print out template and bring it in.
I'm not letting the decorator all the way off the hook. I don't speak or read Thai, but I know what written Thai looks like well enough to know that what ended up on the cake can't be Thai. And if it was a writing system I don't recongize instantly, like Armenian or Amharic, I could at least look it up to see if I was using the right alphabet.
Great post! Love Princess Bride!
One suggestion: I find it confusing when you change your original post without letting us know. I start reading the comments and nothing matches what people are commenting on. I rather like the convention of striking through the original text and putting the correction next to it. It's easier to follow, and feels more honest. Just MHO.
Keep up the great wrecks!
LOLOL, but it actiually was well done
Um.... actually, in defense of the baker, if he DID get that order by email, it's probably not his fault..
Had I been the baker, I really wouldn't have known the difference, since I've not ever been to Thailand, and have NO idea what their alphabet looks like.
Maybe we ought to poke some tsk-ing towards the orderer, who probably should have presented himself at the baker's place of business with the message WRITTEN OUT? But of course, we all know that doing so doesn't always guarantee that the cake turns out as conceived.
@ Ari...
really? Reeeeaaally?
In a world where instructions get frosted onto expensive (underneat that) cakes (all the way across) for festive and PHOTOGRAPHED occasions (Happy Birthday Down Here) you are expecting enough professionalism and initiative to actually go back to the computer and verify that the gibberish is what the customer intended to have on the cake???
GUFFAW! CWs are eternal!
I think Ian the Computer Nerd is hot.
I never got your "The Princess Bride" references until I finally read that book. Now I see them everywhere! ;)
Gary,
Printing out InDesign instructions would be a total hoot. Hahahaha...good one. I would have used a Paint program, or written it out and faxed it over. (They still make faxes, no?)
Hahaha! Oh man, I love this blog; it's keeps me going throughout the day. Your commentaries are what make it especially funny ^_^
Yay, an unexpected Saturday post, with gibberish, Monty Python and the Princess Bride. Oh, and a swipe at PCs, thank you very much :)
I suggest if you are offended by today's post, you drink a mai tai or two and then read it again. Or if you are descended from hamsters and elderberry-perfumed parents, drink some elderberry wine in a very small glass.
Also, the real Thai typeface is very pretty. Too bad I can't read it, or I'd love to have it on my birthday cake. What a potential for wrecks: Thai phrase of Happy Birthday, with English translation below. I can see the carnage now.
What IS IT with people getting SO offended about PC vs. Mac?? It's a computer! Who the heck CARES if someone likes Mac or PC better, or makes jokes about one or the other??? If you're going to get offended about something, it should at least be because someone's attacking your personal character or something, NOT your choice of computer. Geez!
John, you rock. :0)
Totally love the Princess Bride reference. (Apparently, I got in here AFTER all the 'corrections' were made)
To 'not to nitpick'.... yes, you are and you meant to.
To 'not wingdings'... like, who really uses the weird stuff anyway? Gibberish, is gibberish; lovely that we now have a gibberish word to describe gibberish.
I would like to note that other than the odd characters, that is one very pretty cake, and one very talented decorator.
By odd characters - I am refering to the alpha characters on the cake, not the oddballs viewing the cake or commenting about it.
Haughtily, as ever when viewing this site
~~ Buttercup
That is the saddest wreck I've seen thusfar, because it is such a BEAUTIFUL CAKE! Such a shame. And honestly, you have the nitpickin'est bunch of readers! Why are all these people constantly on your case about silly things (ie. wingdings vs. mojibake and a missing s)?!? This is supposed to be FUN!!! I love your website; you make me laugh daily, and I think everyone should just lighten up!
Wow Avenphire and everyone else coping an attitude, LIGHTEN THE FREAK UP! So not everyone is as great and mighty as you and knows every font, either educate politely or don't comment at all.
Geesh
Wingding schmingdings - it spells cIaEeaaoO which, let's face it, is gibberish.
@ Ani: When you said your son's name is Wesley my first thought was "is he names after Wesley Crusher or John Wesley?"
Oh and to all of you who sneer at PC users: I fart in your general direction!
I agree with others, it's a lovely cake and such a shame that it was screwed up so royally.
I couldn't agree with Avenphire more. I hate reading personal comments in blog posts which have nothing to do with the post in question. All computers, Macs and PC's have language packs installed., it's the bakers fault; not a computers. Don't post your personal feelings on a blog which likely has more PC users than Mac users.
You have great taste in movies!
Lexy,
It was a joke. Technically, Princess Bride has nothing to do with cake either. It was just gentle kidding around with the 90% of the world that uses PCs.
john
Jen and John (the hubby of Jen), I read daily, never comment, but today's comments inspired me. People, people....really? We're going to fight PC vs Mac on a CAKEWRECKS blog? Why do we care if it's wingdings, mojibake or gibberish? The point is that it is NOT Thai! Get a life, look through the posts, laugh and lighten up. I "heart" cakewrecks!
@Anonymous at 1:45... ROFLMAO!!! Love it. (I'm not siding with any one platform: I am both Mac & PC, which I suppose makes me just confused . I'm just appreciating a good heckle!).
John... I think your parentage was just fine, given you're such a good sport about all our posts. Or maybe your mother uses those elderberries to make you delicious and mood-mellowing mead?
As for the beautifully-decorated cake, I think the lesson is that if you're sending in wording in a foreign language, send it as a .pdf attachment or .jpg. That way, it doesn't matter what fonts the receiving computer uses to display the ASCII codes! And thanks to the techies here for explaining why such horrors can happen.
I happen to recognize Thai (can't read it, but sure can admire it-- IMO it and Arabic are probably the two most beautiful writing, if you rule out calligraphy). And to out-picky all the humourless picky types, that font isn't gibberish or wingdings! All those characters are present even in your standard font sets. Looks to me like the cents symbol, and letters with French, German and Spanish accents. Plus two symbols I don't know but are probably of a similar nature (and, I'm sure, someone will tell me ;)
WV 'nonpare'-- French, literally "not ready" (but not actually a word). As in, je pense que ce gateaux est 'nonpare' pour le "big time".
Inconceivable!! Beautiful Wreck, though.
PC=personal computer
Many a MAC is a PC, 0.o. Thanks for the laugh. ><
Linux rules!!
I was expecting to see a bunch of little squares...which is what my pc (wouldn't use a mac it were the last computer on earth) would do if it doesn't recognize a font.
I am surprised the decorator didn't find something to verify the Thai wording though...that's quite obviously not any Asian font that I know of.
Dear sir,
My name is Irving Tirdbergler and I am truly disappointed that you chose to besmirch the good name of Commodore 64. I have used that system for more than 20 years and I have been an avid reader of Cake Wrecks in Dos since the beginning. This was the final straw! Good Bye.
I. P. Tirdbergler
That cake is so pretty what a shame they didn't bother to fix the computer font thing.. though I wouldn't know the difference if it bit me in the butt lol.
Wow....people are so funny. You even call it in the post...and yet, there are still folks who manage to get offended and then feel the need to tell you about it.
My faith in the human race grows dimmer every day.
Awesome blog. Keep writing, despite the sensitive ones.
wv: midalife- it's like mid-life but with a strong offensive accent.
@Lexi - Yes, "all" computers in the US have European language packs installed. But not "all" computers have Asian language packs. Case in point, my dad's XP, one of "all" the computers in existence, that has no Asian language packs. That's why whenever I go to a Japanese site, it asks to install the Japanese font pack, which I can't do because I'm in a limited account on his computer. However, on this computer I have Asian font packs, so it's no problem. :p
On the subject of the cake, however, I love that they kept it in the notepad-looking font that you always see with screwed up coding. It's like they thought, "Hmm, I wonder if that's part of the meaning. Welp, might as well keep it!"
Awwww poor Avenphire is offended by John's improper appellation for a font!!! Bwess his hawrt! I'm just teasing, but really, calm down-it's a font, not the Security Council. :-)
Mwa ha ha ha hah!!!!
HILARIOUS as usual, thanx!!
Scarlett Robyn
As a user of a language that doesn't always come in the default packs (Hebrew), I'd like to tell you that I had more tough spots with my Mac than with my PC where language is concerned. I've also heard several Linux horror stories from people who use it.
Windows has pretty great language support nowadays.
Calling it "gibberish" is correct, since that's what Mojibake is. Specifically, Mojibake is the gibberish formed by software not rendering text correctly.
However, Mojibake isn't a font.
A....Post...on....Saturday.....and...Princess....Bride?.....YESSSSSSS! thank you Jen and John for insiring a non-commenter to comment.
Bella Thomas
WV: Monstshe Hmmmmm...
I love that I can come here for my fill of "The Princess Bride" quotes. I often quote that movie in emails, and no one ever notices. What is this world coming to?!
Lexy, what are blogs for if not for posting one's "personal feelings"? If there's one thing that rankles me, it's when a commenter tells a blogger what to post or not to post.
Melanie
I wonder if the Moji-baker used a font-dant icing.
Jen, John (the husband of Jen) and every single commenter -- Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! My DH was showing me pictures of cakes on his computer. I remembered this site, found it to show him, and was instantly entranced! The cake is beautiful. Princess Bride refs are always welcome and the humor or lack thereof of the comments made my day.
Ahh, that's a good one. And such PRETTY gibberish, too.
rofl >.< as already said, it isn't wingdings. and it is a pretty cake otherwise. but it was still pretty freakin' funny. and I love the Princess Bride reference at the end. Just saw it today for the 50th time XD... but yesh... my name is inigo montoya *is slapped*
I did it! i converted it to Thai and English. ¢ÍãËé⪤´Õ = ขอ ให้โชคดี = Good luck, so did it get baked again? from Unicode -> TIS-620 -> Google to verify and English translate.
@Avenphire he was just joking around jeez no need to threaten to stop reading the blog. :|
Anyways...at least the cake was pretty! Haha.
Ah, the wonders of linkage: all the little side trips you send me off on. Thanks for mojibake: great word.
Definitely *read* The Princess Bride if you haven't already. I loved the movie, but I loved the book first.
Reading all the comments, I (finally) figured out what wv was...after I'd unsuccessfully googled it and gotten a ton of West Virginia links. :p
Not to write haiku,
but seven syllables now
and five more right here.