Posts Tagged ‘cell phone’
7 items.
If you’re digging on the Reservoir Dogs action in today’s comic, click here for a buzzComix incentive sketch featuring more of Tom as the nefarious Mr. Blonde.
Is the story that Jared mentions in today’s comic true? You betcha. It happened a couple of days ago in St. Petersburg, Florida. A woman was maced by a security officer for answering her cell phone during the opening credits of Catwoman.
Frankly, macing the whole audience in attendance probably would have been a good idea. It would teach them never to see stupid garbage like Catwoman ever again. Y’know… as long as we’re macing people.
I know today’s comic is maybe a little more gritty and violent than you’re used to, but when I read the cell phone story, I was immediately reminded of the annoying Verizon “Can You Hear Me Now?” ad campaign and wanted to spoof it. The grisly scene in Reservoir Dogs where Michael Madsen’s sadistic Mr. Blonde lops off the ear of a cop he’s torturing seemed to fit for some odd reason.
THorum is still down. We’re just waiting for the DNS transfer to kick in before we open things up again. Once we’re rolling, all registered THorumites can expect an e-mail from yours truly with the good news.
Not much else to report. I have some thoughts on the movies coming out this weekend – there are a lot. But I have a killer migraine that I’ve been trying to shake all day and I’m thinking now might be a good time to just go to bed.
Take it easy.
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If any of you are interested in reading more about the Florida couple who was maced by an off-duty police office as mentioned in Wednesday’s comic, The Smoking Gun has a nice little expose that includes their mug shot photos and a copy of the police report.
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I read this article about French movie theaters and concert halls jamming cell phone signals and I simply had to respond. Personally, I think it’s a great idea. These venues have done everything short of taking cell phones away from the more obnoxious among us and giving them a time out. Using technology to keep people from interrupting movies or performances forces a doctrine of public civility without the potential of having an usher punched in the face by a perturbed Chatty Cathy.
In case you weren’t aware, today is the last day you can place your order for one of our new “Spoiler” t-shirts. Since I don’t want to take the gamble you’re not reading this blog, I decided to go for the more direct approach with my message.
That got your attention, right?
Once the clock strikes midnight tonight, I’m going to close off this first round of pre-orders, get everything together and send off the information to the printer. If you aren’t able to make the deadline, don’t worry. I still plan on continuing to sell the shirt. Another pre-order period will take place over the span of another two weeks. This time, the next cut-off will be October 29. So if you miss the boat this time, set aside a little dough next time you get paid and we’ll hook you up.
Incidentally, once I have the “Spoiler” order information sent off, I plan on adding another design to the store.
Yes, it’s the image of Truman stuffed into a purse. Demand was high for this piece, so I decided to cave into peer pressure. This shirt will go on sale Monday and you can expect another announcement about it then.
Incidentally, both of these t-shirts would make GREAT holiday gifts, so if you’re thinking about purchasing a shirt for someone else, it’s always a good idea to pre-order early. The closer it gets to the end of the year, the busier our printer will be. So shirt orders could potentially take longer to fill. Just putting a bug in your ear about it.
That schilling out of the way, I wanted to make a short announcement.
You might have noticed that I didn’t link to buzzComix at the top of the blog. Well, that’s because today I’m doing something a little different.
Usually I provide a reward sketch that branches off from the theme or subject matter of that day’s comic. Instead, I decided to switch things up a little and share a sketch of two new characters I’ve been developing. Their names are Boulder and Mouse. If you want to see an early rendering of the pair, just vote for Theater Hopper at buzzComix by clicking this link.
I was kind of doodling, thinking about the recent story arc with Jimmy and my thoughts started to drift toward the idea that I would like to expand the Theater Hopper universe and give the main characters a larger supporting cast to play off of. Then these two spilled out of my pen.
Looking at them, their personalities and background stories immediately crystallized in my head. I’m not going to share too much right now, because I haven’t settled on exactly when I’m going to introduce them into the comic. But once they arrive, you’ll get the whole back-story. TRUST ME!
I was just really excited by what I ended up creating and I wanted to share it with you. If you’d like to discuss the ever-growing Theater Hopper family, I’ll be starting a thread about it in the THorum soon. You can toss in your two cents there. And don’t forget about our fun community building weekly event The Friday Five going on EVERY FRIDAY in the THorum. We ask you 5 questions about yourself and you answer them! Couldn’t be more simple!
Anyway, that about covers it for me. Cami and I are going to see Team America: World Police tonight at the Century (or as Cami likes to call it, “The America Movie”). It should be a good time.
Don’t forget to order your shirt and my thanks go out to those that already have! You guys rock!
Have a great weekend!
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Jan26
I’ll preface today’s comic by saying “No, Cami doesn’t really have me ‘trained'”. Truthfully, she would probably resent the categorization if Theater Hopper were a work of non-fiction. But as it turns out, this little detail is for entertainment purposes only.
The point of this week in the story arc is to fill in any loopholes that might provide Cami and Charlie and easy escape from the women’s restroom. The cell phone doesn’t work and Tom is inept, so what’s left? Could Jimmy possibly be coming to save the day? Well, don’t count on it. You’ll see what I mean Friday.
I’m learning that one of the drawbacks to telling a larger story with a more dramatic bend is that people start to treat it like it’s really happening. As such, they start asking questions like “Why would the women’s bathroom go unchecked for two years? We thought Jimmy was so professional?” So now I find myself in the position of having to answer these questions before getting into the chewy center of the story. Y’know, the one where Charlie finally tells her secret for being back home.
The experience is teaching me a lot, but I can’t help but feel like this gauntlet I’m running is kind of like that episode of The Simpsons where all the nerds are grilling Xena: Warrior Princess star Lucy Lawless about the inconsistencies in her show.
“Um… Whenever you notice something like that, a wizard did it!”
“Uh, yes but…”
“WIZARD!”
The Academy Award nominations were announced yesterday and looking over the field of candidates, I can’t help but reflect that 2004 was not a particularly good year for movies. Frankly, I was surprised that The Aviator walked away with 11 nominations. But I suppose through the Academy’s filter of “ONLY EPICS SHALL WIN BIG AWARDS!!!” it’s not so surprising.
Sure, smaller films like Sideways and Vera Drake are up for Best Picture, but that feels like lip service to me. It’s just a way for the Academy to show that they’re not out of touch with smaller productions on independent cinema. A token gesture to prove they’re not completely out of touch. You know – kind of like the guy who’s been a hard core Def Leppard fan all his life, but buys then buys a White Stripes record in a feeble attempt to look cool. He doesn’t get it. He doesn’t understand it. But dammit, it’s in his record collection, so he must be onto something!
When it comes to the nominations, I usually pay less attention to who receives the accolade than who ∗didn’t∗. People really seemed to notice that neither Fahrenheit 9/11 nor The Passion of The Christ received major category nominations. They were probably two of the most successful and controversial films of the year. But I think it’s that controversy that kept them out of Oscar contention. The Academy isn’t the type of organization with the conviction to endorse anything controversial. They just want to huddle their membership into the Kodak Theater, pat themselves on the back for 4 hours and then drink ’til sunup.
Really, it’s probably moot – at least in F9/11’s case. I think Michael Moore ran himself out of contention by refusing to submit the film for Best Documentary or perhaps broadcasting it on television before December 31 (which neuters his eligibility in the Academy’s eyes) or some such nonsense.
When it comes to snubs, what I can’t understand is why Paul Giamatti wasn’t nominated for Best Actor, while his movie Sideways gets a Best Picture, Director and Writing nominations. It even racked up two Best Supporting Actor nods for Thomas Haden Church and Virginia Madsen.
Man, THAT’S a twist of the knife. The guy who played a half-retarded airplane mechanic in a lousy sitcom and the woman who starred not only in Candyman, but Highlander II: The Quickening are being recognized ahead of the man who has been recognized as one of the best character actors of the last 10 years. Then again, he DOES have Big Fat Liar on his resume…
Another snub I thought was noteworthy was the exclusion of The Polar Express from the Best Animated Feature Film category. Don’t get me wrong. I think the film looked horrible, saccharine and soulless. But despite its failings, the film WAS a technical achievement. Especially in regard to the motion capture technology director Robert Zemeckis probably advanced by five years with his work.
But to be bested by Shark Tale? Ouch! Don’t try to tell me that box office didn’t influence the Academy’s decision in that regard.
Any another thing, I’ve always harbored a little grudge against the Shrek franchise for stealing the very first Best Animated Film Oscar away from Monsters, Inc. in 2002. If Shrek 2 wins out over the VASTLY superior The Incredibles in 2005, then there is no justice in the world.
Some odds and ends…
What’s up with Alan Alda being nominated for Best Supporting Actor in The Aviator. Honestly, I saw nothing outstanding from the performance. Really nothing more noteworthy than what Alec Baldwin did with the same amount of screen time in the same movie.
I was pleased to see Natalie Portman and Clive Owen getting Best Supporting recognition for their work in Closer. I thought it was one of the best movies of the year. It was probably too mean-spirited or too much like a play for the Academy’s taste, but it’s nice to see actors who shined in their supporting roles be recognized over their lead actor contemporaries.
Very surprised to see Kate Winslet be nominated for Best Actress in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. She won’t win because the movie came out almost a year ago and most voters probably won’t remember it. But it’s a nice tip of the hat to another wondrous film from ’04.
Beyond that, I don’t know what more to say. I guess I need to study the nominations a little closer. I’m just pointing out the things that really set off alarms in my head.
What are your thoughts about the Academy Award nominations? Y’know, we’re talking about it in the THorum…
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Apr11
GUEST STRIP – MICHAEL LALONDE
April 11th, 2005 |- Comics »
- Comics »
- Guest Strip
(4 votes, average: 7.75 out of 10)
So you’re probably wondering why today’s comic looks slightly different. Please excuse my rudeness for not providing a little forewarning, but I’m taking a little break from the comic and you guys get to benefit from a few weeks of guest strips!
Basically the situation is this: Cami and I will be traveling to Texas to visit relatives on Wednesday and coming back next Monday. Be jealous because I will be attending a NASCAR race! (note playful sarcasm). As a partial effort to cover my absence and a partial effort just to give me a long overdue break, I solicited my friends in the web comics community for guest strips!
I was overwhelmed with the support I have received!
Today’s guest comic comes from Michael Lalonde. That’s the creator of Orneryboy to you and me. You should really reward his kindness by visiting his site. Michael updates every Monday, so there’s actually a fresh comic waiting for you there now! Of course, it probably won’t make much sense as it is slightly out of context. It’s part of a bigger storyline that started here. You should definitely read the whole thing. It’s quite hilarious and one of my favorite Orneryboy arcs.
Michael is a busy guy, so he’s had to scale back his work on Orneryboy. I’ll be the first to step up and say “I don’t care.” As long as I get a weekly fix, I’m good. Michael is too strong a talent to let slip from view. So be sure to tell him that you appreciate his work. Here’s to hoping he will continue his work on Orneryboy for a long time to come!
Incidentally, today’s strip marks Michael’s 150th comic. He plays it down, but it’s a big deal. His artwork and storylines have been some of the most consistent in web comics. I’m lucky to have him as a college!
Can you tell I’m a fan?
Anyway… about my absence. Like I said, I will be gone Wednesday through next Monday. So you can at least expect to see me trolling around the THorum for a little while. And who knows? You might even be able to e-mail me and I’ll respond.
Guest strips will run all this week and all next week with a regular Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule. I’m giving myself a little buffer before and after my vacation not only to catch up from the real-world stuff I will miss while I am away, but to also take my comic-making time and convert it into site-redesign time.
Yes, I know I’ve been threatening a site redesign for a long time. But I’ve finally settled on a look I love. Don’t worry. It’s not that drastic a change up front. What it will revolutionize, however is how the site operates behind the scenes. My hope is that this effort will make the site easier to update in the future. It is my goal to unveil this new look when I return to making comics full time. It is also my goal to reopen the store with a bunch of great new merchandise as well as some old-favorites that have been missing for far too long!
In other words, if you’ve been aching to get your hands on a Spoiler t-shirt (which has been off the market since – geeze? – December?) you may soon get your change to make a pre-order!
As I said, I hope to have these new changes instituted when the guest strips conclude!
In the meantime, please visit Orneryboy and also please continue to vote for Theater Hopper. I will be drawing incentive sketches of my collaborators creations as the guest strips run. So that means you get to see my take on Orneryboy by clicking this little link. Have at it!
Again, many thanks to everyone who is helping me this week and next!
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I don’t know why I continue to beat up on The House Bunny in the comic. I saw it on Saturday with Cami and my sister-in-law and it’s a perfectly serviceable film. There’s nothing new about the plot, though. It’s basically Revenge of The Nerds with hot pants. Frankly, one wonders if you couldn’t accuse screenwriters Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith of self-plagiarism. The two wrote Legally Blonde back in 2001 and The House Bunny shares a similar feel. The major difference being that Reese Witherspoon’s Elle Woods was actually a very intelligent and driven young woman with a fluff exterior. Anna Faris as Shelley Darlingson is a dyed-in-the-wool moron that ends up being more heart than brains.
Both seem to have an affinity for naming their pets cutesy names. "Bruiser" for Woods’s chihuahua in Legally Blonde. “Pooter” for Darlingson’s cat in The House Bunny.
The other big difference, of course is that Legally Blonde is the far superior movie. At least it had a plot that kind of makes sense. The House Bunny is all over the place and edited terribly. There are huge logic gaps in the film, sacrificed, I suppose to make room for “The Positive Message” at the end of it.
I kind of left the theater wondering who this movie was supposed to be for. Was it meant for geeky girls to teach them how to embrace their inner sexpot? Or was it for vapid, materialistic hard-bodies to teach them how to crack open a book every once in a while.
The movie leaves you hanging on a string for most of the second act. After the geeky girls of the Zeta house get their makeover, they become superficial snobs, no better than their adversaries– and you wonder “Oh my God. Is the movie going to leave them like this? Could these characters realistically abandon a lifetime of social awkwardness and rebellion after one application of lip gloss?”
As clumsy as the movie is when it finally comes around to delivering it’s message, the girls would have been better off left as bubbleheads.
I wanted to like The House Bunny more than I did and I think a lot of that is based on the strength of the performances between Farris and Emma Stone. Faris has created a great screen ditzoid, you just wish she had a better script to do it in. Emma Stone is completely natural as the over-compensating geek. She speaks and you cringe, but for a good reason – because her acting nails that awkwardness so perfectly.
Maybe The House Bunny is a better movie than I give it credit for because I’ve actually been giving it a lot of thought over the last couple of days. There are quotable lines from the movie and a few strong laughs. But it feels like it was assembled so hastily, it’s like a missed opportunity for Farris and Stone.
I have more to say about the film, especially regarding some of the supporting performances. Specifically, Kat Dennings, who I think was woefully miscast. I’m sure it’s something we’ll be talking about in greater detail tonight on The Triple Feature podcast at 9PM CST over at TalkShoe. If you’re interested, please tune in and contribute to the conversation. We’d love to have you!
See you then!
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If you love your cell phone, you’ll probably love the latest Top Web Comics incentive sketch. Click on that little graphic to the left to see it!
Every week it feels like I’m apologizing for the strip being late and such is the case this week. I posted teasers on Facebook and Twitter telling people that today’s comic would be double-sized – much like last week’s comic. As you can see, that didn’t happen.
But I want you to know that I actually put in the work this week. I drew and inked 8 panels. In the end, I felt maybe that that comic was better served split in two rather than one giant strip.
That’s good news for you, though. Because it gives me a leg up on the next comic. What say you? Should I try to turn around the second half of this strip and post it tomorrow or Friday? Or maybe I should hold off and post it on Monday?
The more I think about it, I might actually have an opportunity to build a buffer here. So I might hold off. You’ll like the second half of this strip – it actually has a punchline! But for now, I’m just going to let the emotion breath a little bit.
These final strips are all about letting you guys know that the characters are going to be “okay.” I’ve left Charlie and Jimmy’s relationship on the back burner since March of 2009. That’s a long time to leave these two in limbo. I always intended to come back to them. I guess there’s no time like the present. The next few comics will be focusing on their relationship.
I feel oddly handicapped because I’m not writing blogs as lengthy as I used to. This tends to happen during storylines. But I’m still talking about movie stuff! If you check out the Bonus Materials blog, I recently posted the trailer and some stills from the upcoming Avengers movie. I’ll probably be posting the trailer from the reboot of The Amazing Spider-Man soon.
I know you guys have probably seen this stuff floating around the internet on a dozen different sites by now. But if you feel like talking about it with me… then, hey… I’m here for your buddy.
Thanks again for your patience. I hope you’re enjoying these last few comics!
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