Randall Munroe: Difference between revisions
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== Biography == |
== Biography == |
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Born in Easton, Pennsylvania, Munroe grew up in Lakeville, Massachusetts and Chesterfield, Virginia. |
Born in Easton, Pennsylvania, Munroe grew up in Lakeville, Massachusetts and Chesterfield, Virginia. He was a fan of the [[funny pages]] from an early age,<ref name="NYT" /> starting off with ''[[Calvin and Hobbes]]''.<ref>{{cite video |people=@Google Talks (venue) |date2=2007-12-11 |title=Authors@Google: Randall Munroe |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJOS0sV2a24 |format=[[Adobe Flash]] |medium=[[Digital video]] |publisher=[[Google]] |location=[[Mountain View, California]] |accessdate=2008-09-25 |time=24:13 |quote=...Calvin and Hobbes was the first comic that I discovered.}} |
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</ref> After graduating from the [[Mathematics_and_Science_High_School_at_Clover_Hill|Chesterfield County Mathematics and Science High School at Clover Hill]]: A Renaissance Program, he graduated from [[Christopher Newport University]] in 2006 with a degree in [[Physics]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://xkcd.com/about/ |title=About |accessdate=2008-09-26 |last=Munroe |first=Randall |authorlink=Randall Munroe |publisher=xkcd}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://universityrelations.cnu.edu/news/2006/05_17_06grads.html|title= 582 students receive diplomas from Christopher Newport University|accessdate=2008-05-30 |author= |date=2006-05-17 |publisher=Christopher Newport University}}</ref> Munroe worked as an [[independent contractor]] for [[NASA]] at the [[Langley Research Center]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJOS0sV2a24 |title=Authors@Google: Randall Munroe |accessdate=2008-09-25 |date=2007-12-11 |work=@Google Talks |publisher=[[Google]] |location=[[Mountain View, California]]}}</ref> before and after his graduation. In January 2006 his NASA contract lapsed and he began to write ''xkcd'' full-time. He now supports himself by the sale of ''xkcd'' related merchandise.<ref name="NYT" /><ref name="Red Hat">{{cite news |first=Rebecca |last=Fernandez |title=xkcd: A comic strip for the computer geek |url=http://www.redhat.com/magazine/025nov06/features/xkcd/ |work=Red Hat Magazine |publisher=[[Red Hat]] |location=[[Raleigh, North Carolina]] |date=2006-10-12 |accessdate=2008-09-25}}</ref> The webcomic quickly became very popular, garnering up to 70 million hits a month by October 2007.<ref name="Wired">{{cite news |first=Adrienne |last=So |title=Real Geek Heart Beats in Xkcd's Stick Figures |url=http://www.wired.com/entertainment/theweb/news/2007/11/xkcd |work=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |publisher=[[Condé Nast Publications]] |location=[[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] |id={{ISSN|1059-1028}} |date=2007-11-13 |accessdate=2008-09-25}}</ref> |
</ref> After graduating from the [[Mathematics_and_Science_High_School_at_Clover_Hill|Chesterfield County Mathematics and Science High School at Clover Hill]]: A Renaissance Program, he graduated from [[Christopher Newport University]] in 2006 with a degree in [[Physics]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://xkcd.com/about/ |title=About |accessdate=2008-09-26 |last=Munroe |first=Randall |authorlink=Randall Munroe |publisher=xkcd}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://universityrelations.cnu.edu/news/2006/05_17_06grads.html|title= 582 students receive diplomas from Christopher Newport University|accessdate=2008-05-30 |author= |date=2006-05-17 |publisher=Christopher Newport University}}</ref> Munroe worked as an [[independent contractor]] for [[NASA]] at the [[Langley Research Center]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJOS0sV2a24 |title=Authors@Google: Randall Munroe |accessdate=2008-09-25 |date=2007-12-11 |work=@Google Talks |publisher=[[Google]] |location=[[Mountain View, California]]}}</ref> before and after his graduation. In January 2006 his NASA contract lapsed and he began to write ''xkcd'' full-time. He now supports himself by the sale of ''xkcd'' related merchandise.<ref name="NYT" /><ref name="Red Hat">{{cite news |first=Rebecca |last=Fernandez |title=xkcd: A comic strip for the computer geek |url=http://www.redhat.com/magazine/025nov06/features/xkcd/ |work=Red Hat Magazine |publisher=[[Red Hat]] |location=[[Raleigh, North Carolina]] |date=2006-10-12 |accessdate=2008-09-25}}</ref> The webcomic quickly became very popular, garnering up to 70 million hits a month by October 2007.<ref name="Wired">{{cite news |first=Adrienne |last=So |title=Real Geek Heart Beats in Xkcd's Stick Figures |url=http://www.wired.com/entertainment/theweb/news/2007/11/xkcd |work=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |publisher=[[Condé Nast Publications]] |location=[[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] |id={{ISSN|1059-1028}} |date=2007-11-13 |accessdate=2008-09-25}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 04:55, 25 March 2009
| Randall Munroe | |
|---|---|
 Randall Munroe with ducks. | |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Pen and pencil |
Notable works | xkcd |
| http://www.xkcd.com/ | |
Randall Patrick Munroe (born 17 October 1984) is a programmer best known for creating the webcomic xkcd. He and the webcomic have developed a cult following, and he is one of a very small group of webcomic artists who are self-sufficient.[1]
Biography
Born in Easton, Pennsylvania, Munroe grew up in Lakeville, Massachusetts and Chesterfield, Virginia. He was a fan of the funny pages from an early age,[1] starting off with Calvin and Hobbes.[2] After graduating from the Chesterfield County Mathematics and Science High School at Clover Hill: A Renaissance Program, he graduated from Christopher Newport University in 2006 with a degree in Physics.[3][4] Munroe worked as an independent contractor for NASA at the Langley Research Center[5] before and after his graduation. In January 2006 his NASA contract lapsed and he began to write xkcd full-time. He now supports himself by the sale of xkcd related merchandise.[1][6] The webcomic quickly became very popular, garnering up to 70 million hits a month by October 2007.[7]
He has also toured the lecture circuit, giving speeches at such places as Google's Googleplex in Mountain View, California .[8]
Munroe lives in Somerville, Massachusetts.[1]
Munroe also has a younger brother named Doug.[9]
The comic
xkcd is a stick figure comic with themes in computer programming, mathematics, science, and romance.
He had originally used xkcd as an instant messaging screenname because he wanted a name without a meaning so he wouldn't eventually grow tired of it. He registered the domain name, but left it idle until he started posting his drawings[6] in September 2005.[10] The comic has a very loyal fanbase. Munroe said, "I think the comic that's gotten me the most feedback is actually the one about the stoplights".[7]
Munroe licenses his creations under a Creative Commons license, stating that it isn't just about the free culture movement, but that it also makes good business sense.[6] His income derives from the sale of merchandise to his fans consisting of thousands of t-shirts a month.[1]
Other projects
Munroe is the creator of the websites "BestThing", "The Funniest", "The Fairest", and "The Cutest", which present users with two options and ask them to choose one over the other.[11]
The "WetRiffs" website was started as a joke, one month after drawing the "Rule 34" comic, "lamenting the lack of guitar-in-the-shower pictures on the internet."[11][12]
LimerickDB encourages the creation of new, as well as the collection of old limericks.[13]
Most recently he started a Geohashing wiki based on one of his comics which contains an algorithm that generates pseudo-random coordinates around the world every day.[14]
Aside from maintaining his websites, Munroe also engages in kite photography, in which cameras are attached to kites and pictures are then taken of the ground or buildings.[15]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Cohen, Noam (2008-05-26). "This Is Funny Only if You Know Unix". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
- ^ @Google Talks (venue). Authors@Google: Randall Munroe (Adobe Flash) (Digital video). Mountain View, California: Google. Event occurs at 24:13. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
...Calvin and Hobbes was the first comic that I discovered.
{{cite AV media}}: Unknown parameter|date2=ignored (help) - ^ Munroe, Randall. "About". xkcd. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
- ^ "582 students receive diplomas from Christopher Newport University". Christopher Newport University. 2006-05-17. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
- ^ "Authors@Google: Randall Munroe". @Google Talks. Mountain View, California: Google. 2007-12-11. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
- ^ a b c Fernandez, Rebecca (2006-10-12). "xkcd: A comic strip for the computer geek". Red Hat Magazine. Raleigh, North Carolina: Red Hat. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
- ^ a b So, Adrienne (2007-11-13). "Real Geek Heart Beats in Xkcd's Stick Figures". Wired. San Francisco: Condé Nast Publications. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
- ^ Spertus, Ellen (2007-12-21). "Randall Munroe's visit to Google (xkcd)". Beyond Satire. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
- ^ http://xkcd.com/32/
- ^ @Google Talks (venue). Authors@Google: Randall Munroe (Adobe Flash) (Digital video). Mountain View, California: Google. Event occurs at 48:05. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
I'm pretty sure I started in September 2005.
{{cite AV media}}: Unknown parameter|date2=ignored (help) - ^ a b "Short biography of Randall Munroe". Pi-Con. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
- ^ Munroe, Randall (2008-03-18). "Home". wetriffs.com. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
- ^ Munroe, Randall (2008-02-04). "LimerickDB.com". Blag. xkcd. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
- ^ xkcd's geohashing wiki
- ^ Ben Kuchera, The joys of kite photography, Ars Technica, 2007-07-02
External links
- xkcd the webcomic's site with links to his web store, forums, and blag (blog).
- Munroe's comparison sites
- WetRiffs
- LimerickDB
- Geohashing wiki
- xkcd-es Spanish version of the webcomic.