Archive for June, 2003
29 items.
If you’ve ever been on the… y’know internet you’ve probably come across the subject matter of today’s strip in a piece of junk e-mail or on a humor site.
This being a week with very little for me to make fun of, I decided to capitolize on the awesome logic of these cinematic observations and translate them into toon form. They’ve been around so long, it’s almost like they’re part of the public domain. But hats off to whomever came up with them first.
I’d kind of like to make this a regular feature, but that depends on how well it’s received by you. If you concerned I’m abandoning original material, don’t worry. I have a fresh joke on deck in time to roast Dumb and Dumberer on Friday.
With that in the open, it leaves me with little else to talk about. Well, scractch that. Hollywood Homicide is coming out this week. Cami really wants to see it, and I do to (mostly for the Han Solo factor), but I’ve heard bad things about the flick. I guess initally, it was written as a comedy – and we know comedy is not one of Harrison Ford’s strong suits.
But I guess after some horrible test screenings, they changed the tone of the movie to more of a gritty L.A. cop drama. Ebert & Ropert liked it, whatever that is worth. So I guess my curiosity will win out this weekend and we’ll go see it.
I want to give a quick shout out to Brian Carroll over at Instant Classic who (as of this posting) has rocketed to #12 on the TWC. He’s totally deserving and I wouldn’t be surprised if he replaces us at #11 before the month is up. He has a damn fine comic. If you haven’t checked it out already, please do so… now!
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As you can see, after being out of commission since Wednesday evening, Theater Hopper is up and running! Aren’t you glad I had a comic prepared in case of just such a miracle?
The story behind our down time is long and sorted. Longer and more sorted than I care to go into right now. But rest assured, I have a rant on deck that could choke a donkey!
For now, do as I do and count your blessings that the site has returned unharmed. I’m just so elated to have it up and running again, I think I’ll leave it at that for now. Check back later for the full story.
Oh! And for those of you who e-mailed and offered support, thank you. I know I’ll thank you again, but I wanted to thank you now, too.
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I didn’t get an opportunity to see Hollywood Homicide as I had predicted in a previous blog. Mostly due to the fact this this was Father’s Day weekend and a lot of family-time took presidence. Any free time I had was spent sleeping. I don’t think I’ve ever taken so many naps in a two-day period.
My excessive sleepiness was probably due to one of the most stressful weeks I’ve had on record. Being the crazy, compulsive person that I am, a lot of things remained bottled up until Saturday. When the cork came off, I was exhausted.
I won’t get into all of the details of my hell week, but I’m prepared to share the tale of one of the contributing factors – which has everything to do with Theater Hopper.
If you came to the site at all Wednesday night, Thursday or Friday morning, you might have noticed that the site was down. It is natural preference that the site not go down at all, but if I ever find myself in the situation, I would have at least hoped it was because the site was “too popular” or perhaps a massive demand that my hosting provider could not compensate for.
No such luck.
As it happened, I received an e-mail from my hosting provider informing me that my account had be CANCELED(!!!) for “lack of payment”. The final notice also made me aware that several attempts had been made to contact me and that I should have received warning both before and after payment was due. I could reinstate the account, but only after paying for that month’s hosting as well as a $25 “processing fee”.
Immediately I knew this was B.S. because all of my hosting costs are automatically charged to my credit card. Well aware of my credit’s good standing, I contact my hosting provider and asked what was up.
As is usual, I received a reply within minutes. They informed me that my credit card information did not carry over after I had converted TheaterHopper.com from a “resold” account (or an account I received at a discounted price) to a regular-priced, full account. Totally an accounting error on their part. They said I could have the account back if I paid for the month of hosting that I missed up front.
Cognisent of the previous cancelation notice, I replied that I would gladly pay the one month of missed hosting, but would the $25 “processing fee” be waved. I stated firmly that I would not pay for their error and wanted this confirmed.
At this point, I did not hear from my hosting provider for 2 DAYS!
As you can imagine, I was freaking out. Having the site down on a Thursday (while still unacceptable) at least gave me some time to right the situation before the comic day on Friday.
Feverishly, I wrote to my hosting provider at regular intervals throughout the day. Accustomed to receiving prompt attention in the past, I became more paniced as Thursday ebbed into Friday.
Still no word.
By the time Friday came into view, I was in full freak-out mode. It wasn’t until about 1:00 that day that I finally heard back from them. I won’t bore you with what was said, but rest assured there was a little back and forth. I expressed my frustration over their delay, my confusion on what I owed and what I did not. Ultimately, the site came back on-line around 2:00 CST Friday.
I prepared a strip in case such a miracle took place, but admit it’s not the best. I was so preoccupied with worry, every line I drew felt muted by distraction.
In the aftermath, my host followed up with me to explain that the suddenly stopped receiving e-mail from certain providers (I use Hotmail) and that is why I went so long without hearing from them.
And while I swore up and down that I would move my hosting the minute I was able to download everything off of their servers, I now find myself much more complacent. After all, it was an honest error. Why uproot the entire operation?
Still, it was a scary two days. I’m glad it’s over.
I want to send a shout-out to Carrington from Movie Punks who offered excellent support and friendship. He was definately a calming influence and was kind enough to pass along information to his readers about the status of my situation.
Also, big-ups to Tim from Bug & Slug who checked in with support.
To the rest of you who sent e-mail while the site was down and even after it returned with your positive comments, thanks. It really means a lot to know that, in some capacity, Theater Hopper would be missed if ever the plug was pulled.
If that’s not a ringing endorsement, I don’t know what is. Thanks again.
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Some of you may have noticed that I’ve added a couple of new elements to the site.
The most obvious addition to the site is the new banner ad up at the top asking you to buy a poster. Looks like it’s working. I’ve already received two orders today.
Which begs the question “What are you waiting for?” With the new banner ad in place to spur sales, it’s only a matter of time before we run out. Do you really want to be one of those people? And by “those people”, I mean the individuals who didn’t purchase a poster and were made fun of throughout eternity! Get on it!
Oh, and just as an aside. For those of you concerned that the space at the top of the page will become a spot for advertising… well, I haven’t ruled it out. But I’m not hooking up with UGO or AllPosters.com or anything. It’ll be a strictly personal affair where I will promote other artists and web toons. That is IF I decide to go that route. In the meantime, it’s just a spot reserved for me to hock my cheesy wares.
Anyway, back on track. The other new feature you mave have noticed is the new webcam page. Basically, it’s just a living archive of the cam images I have floating out around the net.
You can find my ugly mug in a few places, but the majority of these cam images revolve around specific events at Hot Buttered Funk – my portal and forum community of choice. So if you’re looking at them and can’t figure out what they reference, that’s why.
I just thought it would be a fun thing to look at as I usually put in a little time and effort to make sure my images stand out. Be sure to check in on the archive every once in a while as I probably update it at least once or twice a week. And if you have a moment, check out Hot Buttered Funk. It’s a fun place to go after school. Kind of like the YMCA, but with more swearing.
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I don’t know how long this blog is going to be today because… I’m really tired.
Blah, blah, blah.
I hope the third panel didn’t scare you too badly. If it did, just remember Daddy is only making funny faces!
I have to admit I totally forgot that The Hulk was coming out this weekend. I guess I just haven’t been paying attention to the advertisements that have been bombarding me since March.
“MADISON AVENUE, SMASH!”
All things the same, I’m excited to see the flick. But if I hear one more person complain that the CG Hulk looks fake, I’m going to scream. Odds are, these people aren’t reading the comic books and saying out loud “No way that could ever happen!” It’s fantasy, you MORONS!
Still, I can see where they are coming from. After all, the success or failure of this movie hinges on whether or not you think the 15 foot tall green man on screen is realistically interacting with his environments. Even if the dude blinks funny, it’s gonna yank you right out of the picture.
Personally, I’m already on board just to see the character do all the things in the comic book Lou Ferrigno could never do on the TV show.
Leap 3 miles – “Gotcha covered.” Snag a missle out of mid-flight – “Sure, we’ve got that.” Clap the hands and cause a sonic boom – “What, like I did last Tuesday?”
I also have strong faith that director Ang Lee will find a human element that will really draw us into this world and CARE about the characters. He has skill and I trust in his vision.
Anyway, that’s it for me. More later if I can think of something.
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I just wanted to say that I saw a one-hour behind-the-scenes documentary about The Hulk on the Sci-Fi Channel and I am VERY impressed. Dennis Murin and his team at ILM have outdone themselves with their creation and animation of the title character.
One big revelation: Ang Lee acted out the majority of the Hulk’s movements through a motion-capture suit. According to him, it was easier to perform the scenes himself rather than instruct an actor on his vision.
Don’t try and tell me Steven Speilberg would ever do that!
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…Jared is talking out of his ass. He actually turned to me in all seriousness and said “Y’know. 2 Fast, 2 Furious looks kind of good.”
Do not believe a word this man says.
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Just in case you guys don’t know what those big green fists are that I’m referencing in today’s strip, here’s a link to the acutal product they’re selling to your kids. Just to send the message home, here’s a picture, too.
Man, that kid is scary. Too much sugar in his diet.
Let’s stop for a minute and think about this product. While undoubtably cool, is this the kind of item you want to willing hand over to a TV-addled 10 year-old? It’s not as though they aren’t ALREADY going around punching everything and everyone. Now we need to give them a bigger surface area to hit with and ELECTRONIC SOUNDS?
I envision many sad, sad parents after this weekend.
The Hulk marketing machine seems to be churing at full-tilt. His ugly mug is on everything from my can of Mountain Dew to my stylish birthday party paper plates?
It raises the question “Why the HELL did director Ang Lee allow Universal to market his picture with such wanton abandon?”
Part of the answer may stem in the price tag for the movie. Apparently Universal has sank over $150 million dollars into it plus another $20 million at the last minute to make the Hulk “extra real”. No wonder they’re trying to recoup on their investment.
I don’t think there’s a doubt in anyone’s brain that The Hulk is going to pull in serious green (HA, HA!) this weekend. Whether it can remain for the long haul remains to be seen. Terminator 3 is on the horizion and pitching straight up the middle of Hulk’s audience – geeks who wished they were powerful. If anything, I think it’s a safe bet that it’ll be better than Daredevil There’s no Ben Affleck factor to drag it down!
Still, even though I know the Hulk Hands will be fodder for childhood nostalgia site X-Entertainment in a few years, I really want a pair just so I can sock anyone in the mouth who says the CG Hulk looks fake.
Jared. I know where you live.
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It’s been brought to my attention that X-Entertainment actually has ALREADY written an article about the Hulk Hands – way back in February, as it turns out.
Of course, I wouldn’t know that because I’ve had a hell of a time clicking through Flash advertisments to find, y’know… CONTENT.
Anyway, if you’re curious to get another perspective on these things, here’s the link.
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