Posts Tagged ‘doctor’
4 items.
So here it is. The last strip before we head into the triple digits. I’d like to think that it was all part of some grand design that I was able to synchronize the coming of my 100th strip with the aftermath of the largest night in Hollywood, but just like everything else, it’d dumb luck.
I’m not planning to make a big deal out of my 100th strip. There’s already been enough hullabaloo going on around here anyway. Instead, I plan on quietly observing the occasion by staring blankly at a wall and wondering how am I so fortunate to have an audience that is interested and supportive of what I do so that there could even be a 100th strip. Wow.
By now the war with Iraq has gone into full-swing and it’s starting to affect things at home. One of the more interesting developments in the entertainment world is that Oscars producer Gil Cates has decided to scrap the pre-show and red carpet treatment before the show.
I’ve heard some people complain that this is giving in to terrorism because they are essentially handicapping a large portion of why people watch the Oscars in the first place. They say the Oscars are an “American institution” and they are diluting it. Would they do something like this to the Super Bowl?
To which I say, “Phooey.”
The Oscars are little else than an industry circle jerk where very few of the deserving pictures actually walk away with any recognition. It’s an event based less and less on the strength of individual artistic achievements and more and more about who’s wearing what and how hard a publicist campaigns for that little gold statue.
Certainly among award ceremonies, the Oscars are the zenith of the genre. But you’d be a damn fool not to admit that, at the end of the day, what the Oscars boil down to is mindless entertainment – the results of which bear very little in terms of what movies will be made in the future versus the steady stream of dreck we’re shoveled each year.
I say good for Gil Cates for showing a little backbone and instilling a little class into the ceremonies. Yeah, it would be nice to see what people are wearing or to watch the show without this ominous cloud looming overhead. But to keep on like nothing’s happening? That’s like taking everything the rest of the world hates about America, packing it into a tight, little ball and smearing it across the face of our detractors not to mention those who are fighting this war so far away right now. It’s like saying “See all the glamor! See all this drama! See what you DON’T get to be a part of?! Nyyahhh!!”
I’m not too sure if I’m even going to watch the Oscars with much interest. If I didn’t need material for the strip, I probably wouldn’t watch them at all. As things are now, I am simply not interested in watching a bunch of overpaid actors spout off on a global crisis that is, quite frankly, beyond their sphere of influence. Whether they support it or admonish it, no one can really take you seriously because you make about 100 times more money in a fiscal quarter than most of us will see in a life time. Sit down.
I’m not against actors having opinions, but don’t be so trite and predictable to assume that we’re tuning in to the Oscars to hear your version of things. Write a friggin’ newsletter if you really feel the need to speak out. Don’t use a venue like this to hog the spotlight.
Hey, I’d love to give my opinion about the state of the world to one of the largest global television audiences, but no one invited me. Don’t abuse your station in life. Don’t wear out your welcome. Make the funny faces and wear the prosthetic noses. That’s what we pay you for.
[/end rant]
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Did Tom end up getting his post-op lolly pop? Only one way to know for sure.
Not much to say about today’s comic. As you can see, it’s a continuation from Tom’s plunger episode from Monday.
Still excited to see Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire this weekend. That’s probably first on my list. But did you guys know that Walk the Line is also coming out this weekend? That one kind of flew under the radar, but the advance reviews have been great. Probably see it this weekend as well.
I have a lot of things outside of movies to celebrate this weekend. Too much detail to go into here, but people who have been following my LiveJournal know the score. I’m preparing myself to hit a personal milestone on Saturday and I’m pretty excited about it.
In terms of professional (or quasi-professional) milestones, we’re about to hit one here at Theater Hopper as well. Can you believe in less than two weeks we’ll be celebrating the 500th Theater Hopper comic? I have some plans that will be unvieled at that time that will greatly improve your use of the site, so talk it up to your friends and be on the lookout. It’s going to be great.
Oh, and the comic will be funny, too!
Something I mentioned on Monday but didn’t get much feedback on… Do any of you guys know how I can get in touch with the marketing groups that are responsible for placing the ads for movies on web sites? Look at Hollywood Elsewhere or Superhero Hype. See how those guys have big banners for all the upcoming movies? I want something like that.
It’s kind of difficult to talk about with you guys. After all, we’re talking about advertising that clutters up your entertainment experience. But it’s unfortunately a fact of life. Personally, I would rather host ads that are more specific to your interests rather than rely on Chitika ads or Google AdSense to randomly pull something out of a hat. I do notice that during the times that AdSense conjures up something like the ads for A History of Violence or more recently Aeon Flux, click-thrus increase. That is why I am supremely confident that if I can find advertising that speaks to you, you’ll investigate it. Plus, it won’t look like so much digital littering has been going on around here.
Anyway, if you guys have any in-roads as to how to contact these marketing groups – or maybe you work for one, who knows? – drop me a line. I’m interested in working something out.
Talk to you soon!
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Before we get started today, I just wanted to make sure everyone was on board with the term "facepalm." It’s basically another way of expressing complete exasperation and/or frustration toward another. Here, let Captain Picard illustrate:
I know most of our younger readers will recognize the term. I just wanted to flesh it out a little bit for people who aren’t up on internet catch phrases.
I had a hard time with today’s comic. There’s a lot of text to this one. I suppose that’s the risk you take when you run six panels. But there were a lot of ideas I wanted to get across and it was difficult to strip them down to their most bare comic elements.
In any case, I hope you like it.
I was looking over my Twitter feed last night as I was working on the comic and lot of people were apparently using their cell phones to send updates about their experiences waiting in line for The Dark Knight. It sounds crazy. Expectations are through the roof on this thing. I’m legitimately afraid that my expectations have now been set too high and I’m going to end up not enjoying the film. Certainly the Twitter posts coming in AFTER the movie seem to suggest the bar for superhero movies has now been set extraordinarily high.
I’ve been on lockdown on this film for about a month – since about the time that teaser clip of Two-Face’s first appearance showed up online – and have been trying like the dickens to avoid interviews and reviews. It’s hard. The advertising and promotion for this thing has been kicked into overdrive. When you spend the amount of time I do online, it’s really hard to avoid.
I don’t know when we’ll get a chance to see the movie this weekend, but I almost don’t want to? I know that sounds crazy, but I just don’t want to fight the crowds. I should go at, like, 11 o’clock in the morning on Sunday when everyone else is at church…
Truthfully, I don’t what the odds are of us even getting out of the house this weekend. Cami wasn’t feeling very well Wednesday night. She was complaining of chills and fever before complaining about terrible back pain. I recognized those symptoms! When we woke up on Thursday and she wasn’t feeling any better, I told her not to waste time and to go to the doctor right away. Turns out she was diagnosed with acute tonsillitis just as I had been three weeks ago!
I don’t know if she caught it from me and it was just dormant in her system for three weeks or if she picked it up from somewhere else, but between myself, Cami, Henry and his time spent at day care – all of us are basically infecting and reinfecting each other with one horrible virus after the other.
Cami is on medication now – the same stuff I was on at the end of June and I would think she should start feeling better by tomorrow. At least if my experience was any indication. Cami’s parents have stepped in to take care of Henry today. He’s spending the night with Grandma and Grandpa to give Cami the opportunity to recover. I do a fine job of taking care of Henry on my own, but he’s also in the “MAMA, MAMA, MAMA!” phase and doesn’t want anyone but her. It makes it hard to keep them apart when they’re in the house together.
At any rate, that’s what we’re dealing with at the moment. With any luck, we’ll get a chance to see The Dark Knight sometime this weekend.
Incidentally, Cami was really down on the idea for a while. She wasn’t over the moon with Batman Begins and she though The Dark Knight looked even more bleak. But the marketing wizards finally got to her and all of the positive buzz finally convinced her to see it.
To put it another way, when your Mother-in-law asks you if you’re excited to see a movie like The Dark Knight, Madison Avenue has done its job.
Take it easy, everyone. I’ll see you here on Monday!
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I am nervous because later this morning I am seeing a doctor for my first physical in almost 15 years.
It was something I meant to do last year after I turned 30. Plus, now that we have Henry, monitoring my health more closely is the responsible thing to do.
I didn’t make the appointment, though partially because I didn’t have a doctor and didn’t know how to go about looking for one. But I didn’t exactly make it a priority to find one because I am deathly afraid of needles.
I’ve been worrying about it since yesterday. I know they’re going to have to take blood. I wish there was a way they could gas me and knock me out to do it, though.
My fear of needles has only gotten worse as I’ve gotten older. Last year I went to a health screening provided by my employer and got all tense when I found out they were going to use the little finger prick thing to take a small blood sample.
It’s not just blood removal, either. I don’t like injections. Getting a flu shot fills me with anxiety.
Incidentally, I should mention I never had a flu shot until Henry was born.
The things I do for this kid. Seriously.
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