SIMILARITIES
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Oct02

SIMILARITIES

October 2nd, 2006 | by Tom
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This isn’t the first time Ashton Kutcher has been referenced in the comic. But it’s certainly been the first time in a long time. Whenever he resurfaces, I’m always ready to exploit that Iowa connection!

Quick sidebar: Is everyone familiar with what’s being parodied in the last panel? It’s from Demi Moore’s Vanity Fair cover from 1991. There was a big deal about it at the time, so people my age probably remember it. But you never know with some of the younger readers. I dunno. I thought it added another layer to things considering Kutcher and Moore were married.

Yup, nothing funnier than explaining the joke! Count on Theater Hopper for only the most timely references!

I find it kind of astonishing that Ashton Kutcher of all people has the number tw and number one movies in the country now. The big-budget action flick The Guardian and the syrupy-cute children’s animated movie Open Season. That’s covering a lot of ground for one weekend. Maybe he’s trying to avoid being typecast? I think Kutcher gets a lot of flack for being a dumb pretty-boy because people associate him so closely with the character Kelso from That 70’s Show. But if you take a look at his entry over at IMDB.com, he’s a shrewd little businessman! Lots of producing credits on this guy’s resume!

Of course that’s not to say I’ve ever found myself entertained by any of his movies. But I can’t decide if that’s just because he’s picking poorly or if he’s just not being offered anything good.

The Guardian looks like a step in the right direction away from all the slapsticky boyfriend roles he’s had in the past. Then again, The Butterfly Effect was a departure from that as well, and look how that all ironed out.

I have no real interest in seeing The Guardian. Reviews indicate that there wasn’t a cliche in the book the movie didn’t seem to love and the trailer appears to confirm this. Open Season seems more my speed, even though it looks completely asinine. There’s something about it visually that I like. I guess it reminds me of those old Warner Bros. cartoons where they made jokes about hunters. I always thought the matte paintings they did for those cartoons were really beautiful and I noticed a similar look in the commercials for Open Season.

I share this information and sometimes I feel like I’m the only person in the world who notices this stuff…

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INVENTORY LIQUIDATION!!!

October 2nd, 2006 | by Tom
Posted In: Blog

Hey, guys. I just wanted to let you know that I am having a FIRE SALE!!! in the store starting today and I am SLASHING PRICES on almost all of my designs (except for the "Spoiler" shirt – my big seller!)

Right now t-shirts are $7.99 and baby doll tees are $9.99 (plus shipping and handling). I’ve taken special care to list the remaining number of shirts available on these pages so you know exactly what designs are left in what sizes. A few of these shirts I only have one or two left! So if you’ve been holding out for whatever reason, don’t hold back any longer! Because once these shirts are gone, they’re gone – never to reproduced again! FINITO!

The goal behind this liquidation is two-fold. One is to raise money for the production of "Theater Hopper: Year Two" (which you can also order, by the way!) The other goal is to make room for some new t-shirt designs. I mean, I’ve been selling the "Pimp Tom" shirt since 2003. It’s time to hang it up and move on.

I have a bunch of great design ideas for the future that I’m really excited about and I think you guys will like. They’re have less to do with Theater Hopper specifically and more to do with movies in general. Think of some of the designs at Threadless and you’re on the right track. That’s the future of things.

But in the here-and-now, I’m sellin’ shirts! Get yours before I’m totally sold out!

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AND BABY MAKES THREE

October 4th, 2006 | by Tom
Posted In: Blog

 I don’t think I’m going to spend a lot of time discussing Dane Cook’s career longevity after Employee of the Month hits theaters this weekend. If you really want to discuss it, I encourge you to come to the THorum and start a thread about it!

Instead, I want to take this opportunity to introduce you to someone special…

My son

Say hello to my son.

This is a still image from the sonogram Cami and I had last last Monday. We’re in the middle of our pregnancy right now. Cami is measuring 20 weeks and we plan on saying hello to our first child on Feburary 16, 2007. Both Cami and the baby are in great health.

I wish I had something clever or insightful to say about being a father-to-be, but the experience thus far has humbled me a great deal. All I can say is that this is something I’ve always wanted and I eagerly look forward to the day I can hold my son in my arms for the first time. Both Cami and I are thrilled. We’re starting our family.

Adjusting the the notion that you’ll be a father takes a little while. Cami took a pregnancy test on a Saturday in May and woke me up at 5:30 in the morning. She kept asking me "Does this look like two lines to you?" I didn’t have my glasses on. I couldn’t see a thing. My mind was still in a fog as I was starting to wake up. In some respects, I’ve been in that fog for the past few months and only now is it starting to clear.

When I speak about being in a fog, I don’t mean that this pregnancy was unexpected, unwelcome or confusing. Quite the contrary. We knew exactly what we were getting into, planned for it and welcome it. Rather, I speak to the barrier in understanding the sublte changes in Cami and what she was going through. I tried to be supportive, read the parenting books and struggled for comprehension. But because it wasn’t happening to me directly, I felt like I only had half of the picture. It came together for me clearly when the technician administered the sonogram and I watched on screen as my son did backflips and Cami said "He’s really moving in there!" It all became so real and now I can barely contain my excitement.

Believe me when I say that it was difficult for me to keep this news under wraps for so long. I consider you guys great friends and it killed me to keep it from you. Part of the reasoning we waited as long as we did was so that we could (obviously) tell our familiy and close friends first. After that, I decided to wait until after the sonogram because I wanted to show you guys the picture. The internet, after all, is a visual medium! I consider myself exceptionally lucky to have a forum like this that I can share my joy with such a wide audience. I am very much the proud papa and I want the world to know it.

It’s been a big year of change for my family and for Theater Hopper. I’ve seen a lot of success lately with the comic producing books, getting press and widening my fan base. I gotten tons of wonderful e-mails from you guys and I am continually amazed at the level of  support you bring to me for what I do in my spare time. Your incredible enthusiasm is an inspiration.

As I start another chapter in my life, I wanted to share it with you – to say "Thank you." Because I consider you my friends and I want to share this happiness. So, thank you! Thank you for this indulgence. Godspeed and good health to you all.

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WOW

October 4th, 2006 | by Tom
Posted In: Blog

First, I just want to say a quick thank you to everyone who sent a message of congradulations and support regarding the announcement of our baby boy. You guys are awesome. In addition to sending e-mails and leaving messages in the THorum, I was surprised to see comments turn up on the LiveJournal RSS feed and my MySpace page! Heck, threads were even starting to pop up in other online communities. The guys over at the Digital Pimp Online messageboard even sent their best wishes. Amazing!

Thank you so much. I’ve shared many of your messages with Cami and we’re talking about preserving them along with yesterday’s announcement as part of the baby’s scrapbook. Who knows – maybe he’ll find it interesting that so many people were excited about him being brought into the world without even knowning him!

In need to share some other news with you guys right now. Obviously not as big as announcing your first child, but if I don’t do it now, it won’t make sense later.

I wanted to let everyone know that I will be attending the Minneapolis FallCon Comic Book Convention this weekend at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I’ll be there both Saturday and Sunday, 10 to 5. My good buddy Zach Miller from Joe and Monkey will be there as well, so you should come out and say "Hi!"

FallCon was the very first convention that I attended back in 2003. This was actually the first time I met Zach as well as Mitch Clem and Carrington Vanston. I was a little uncomfortable at the time because I didn’t know how to act or what to do. But now that I have a few conventions under my belt, this one is going to be a breeze.

I wasn’t able to make it to FallCon 2004 or 2005 which bums me out. Seems like there was always something in the way like a wedding or family commitments getting in the way. It’ll be great to go back to where it all started when I began to think of Theater Hopper as more than just a hobby.

If it matters to you, Cami will be coming with me to this convention. Her first convention appearance ever! She probably won’t be hanging around the booth all day, though. My sister-in-law is coming with us and she and Cami will probably check out The Mall of America at some point. It’s, like, a requirement. But still, if you’re lucky, you might get a chance to meet her.

Cami is bringing along 10 of her hand-made Truman dolls to the show, stitched up especially for this occassion. Demand was so high for the dolls we gave away for the "Theater Hopper: Year Two" pre-sale, we’re testing the waters to see what demand looks like on the convention circuit. If things look promising, we might start selling them on the site! How does that sound to you guys? Is there a demand for hand-made Truman dolls? Would you buy one if we offered them here? You guys should e-mail me and let me know!

At any rate, I’m sure I’ll share this information again in tomorrow’s blog. I just wanted to put it into the universe now so it wouldn’t be so last minute!

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