Posts Tagged ‘frustration’
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With great regret, I must forewarn you all that today’s blog will be all about hate. It is unfortunate considering this is the last Theater Hopper strip of 2002, but best to vent now before midnight tomorrow and all that “fresh start” and “new cheer” crap gets underway.
First, let me say that I absolutely HATE my local Fox affiliate. I cursed their name quite loudly when they pre-empted The Simpsons for a basketball game between Iowa State and UNI. This is the second time this year they’ve done this. Normally I would be on board to support the Panthers, but may the Lord help anyone who stands between me and the best damn show in television history. The bastards.
Second, about today’s strip.
Anyone who knows me knows my hatred for my local multiplex – The Wynnsong 16 – burns white hot and rages without boundaries. They also know, like a chump, I keep going back there because it is one of the only theaters boasting both stadium seating and THX sound. You can see my dilemma.
However, as good as the physical theaters are, they barely compensate for the crew of nearly retarded helper monkeys they have manning the ticket booths, concessions and projection booths. Today’s strip is but one of the many TRUE STORIES I’ve collected in my experience with Wynnsong.
The above tale took place less than a week ago when I went to see Star Trek: Nemesis. I went to the matinee. I asked for two tickets and was charged $15.00. I had a twenty in my hand and gave it to the drooling goon with the mop-top haircut. But once I had my tickets, I slowly realized that matinee prices should be… y’know, cheaper.
Immediately stepping back up to the booth, I went back to the same dude who sold me tickets. I explained calmly “I just bought tickets for the 1:30 matinee, but you charged me full price.”
A blank stare greeted me from behind the glass.
“So that means you charged me five dollars more than you should have,” I continued to explain. I waited for him to leap into action.
Still a blank stare.
Then the employees flanking him started walking him through the procedure to return to me my five dollars. They were pointing at buttons on the cash register he should press and did everything but grab his hand to pluck my refund out of the drawer for him.
The whole process took about four minutes longer than it should have.
With my cash firmly in my grasp, I waited for some kind of apology or a humble “Oops. My mistake!” but got nothing. This cretin didn’t say a word to me about it. Not even a half-hearted “Enjoy your show!”
I walked into the theater wondering how people such as he could even conjure the will to bathe themselves in the morning.
This is but one of the many reasons why I hate the Wynnsong 16.
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Well, here we are. 2003. Everyone make it through okay? While I have no tales of New Year’s Eve debauchery to share, I am glad to see another year. Here’s to you and yours.
I have to apologize for the delay on the strip. I know I said late morning/early afternoon, but it turned into early evening. But at least I got it to ya on a Wednesday!
As you can see, I’m continuing the “Why I Hate Wynnsong” theme this week. The above event is based on truth, but exaggerated greatly on the end. I know I’m dipping into Seinfied territory with today’s bit of satire, but I am extremely annoyed with the concessions people who repeatedly try to push on you these stupid combo meals. The amount of popcorn they give you could feed a family of four. Why do I need a refill?
“And have you ever noticed how difficult it is to open a bag of airline peanuts?”
By the way, has anyone else noticed the extra care I’ve taken when coloring panes of glass? It’s like, my new thing, or whatever.
No real news today, so I guess I’ll remind you to vote in our poll. It will only take a second and it helps me to know which way to turn the rudder when plotting the future course of this site. The current poll is all about Top Web Comics and it seems to have generated some interest. It’s already racked up a quarter of the votes our last poll took a week to pull together.
Also be sure to check out the “Our Media” section on the right. I was looking for a little extra content to fill the space and figured since this site serves double-duty as a funny pictures depot and a rant spot, I would fill everyone in on the pop culture inspiring me at the moment. As you can see, Jared jumped on the bandwagon as well.
Hmm… must think of clever ending. Hey! Look over there!
:: runs away ::
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I took a second glance at the blog post I made this morning and decided that it was a really sucky way to cap off the week. I wanted to come back and let everyone know things are all better at Camp Brazelton.
After thumbing through the forums at Triton Labs, the solution became immediately clear. When installing the Afterburner, there are four protective plastic strips that prevent contamination to the components before installation. While assembling the mod, I only removed three and that’s why the colors looked all assy.
I would have had time to make the repair last night, but I didn’t want to wake up our beagle puppy Truman. How ironic that the little bastard woke me up at 6 o’clock this morning – a full hour before I regularly get up. I decided to take the extra time to make the repairs to my Game Boy and everything turned out fine. Yay!
I have to say, in retrospect the installation was fairly uncomplicated. But I think when you crack open the shell of this rather expensive piece of equipment, you’re nerves get a little jittery and you don’t follow directions as well as you should. Just goes to show I would make a horrible bomb squad technician…
Something else I wanted to cover in this blog is another Wynnsong story. I figured it was the least I could do since I gave everyone the shaft this morning. I wanted to use it as a plot for one of today’s strip, but it had to deal with concession workers in a different aspect, and I was looking to follow the thread of continuity a little further down the line. Hence, the “lunging through the projectionist booth window” gag we get today.
Anyway, the story. And I swear on the grave of Jack Lemmon it’s the truth.
I went to see Gangs of New York about a week ago. I was having a particularly crappy day and wasn’t much in the mood for any crap. I had hoped going to a movie would take my mind off things. No such luck.
We get to the theater and there is only one guy selling tickets. It’s a Monday night, but it’s understandable, but it’s also right before Christmas when a lot of people have time off. Bad management strikes again.
After purchasing tickets and going inside, there are about 16 people working behind the concession counters and there is NO ONE in line. In fact, there are kids standing behind the counter while the line for tickets is trailing outside. You can’t pull a couple of kids out from behind the candy counter to help thin out the ticket line? Morons!
Realizing that Gangs of New York is like, 12 hours long, I decided to get some popcorn and a soda (BUT NOT A COMBO!) I hadn’t eaten yet and I didn’t want hunger getting in the way of my grasping the movie in all it’s Scorsese glory.
I ask the kid behind the counter, “Can I have a large popcorn and a medium Coke?”
To which he replies, “Sure you can. It’s a free country.”
To which I wanted to reply “ARE YOU GOING TO GET ME MY DAMN COKE, OR NOT?!” But Miss Manners wouldn’t approve.
The kid then starts scooping up the corn and looks over his shoulder with a cock-sure grin and asks “Do you want oil on your popcorn?” And his tone inferred that this was not his cute name for butter, but meant to be taken sarcastically.
“Nooooo… I don’t want OIL on my popcorn,” I scoffed.
Once he was finished putting everything together he rang up the total and I paid with a twenty. “Ooo! Big spender!” he cooed.
So close I was to gripping his skull and slamming it into the register.
I get my change back and he says to me “Enjoy your movie, people!”
I WAS THE ONLY ONE AT THE COUNTER! THERE WERE NO OTHER “PEOPLE”
I met up with Cami who was looking at preview posters and I was nearly shaking with anger. “I think they must be giving these kids lessons on how to be a jackass, or something,” I muttered. We went to watch our film.
Now look, before this erupts into some kind of class warfare thing or whatever, know that I used to work for a movie theater just like this kid. So I KNOW what’s it’s like to be bombarded by idiots all day long. But I was nothing but cool to this kid and he’s firing back with both barrels.
I may have never liked any of the people I served when, but I never went out of my way to make anyone feel like crap. I swear to God if I ever see that kid again, I’m gonna punch him in the back of the head.
Oh, look. Now I’m all angry again! Dammit!
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So this is the conclusion of Why I Hate Wynnsong week. Obviously I dipped a little too deeply into the well of hyper-extended realism with the last two comics, but they’re fairly true to life. I hope you all walked away with at least a smile from this episode. Meanwhile, I’m still waiting to hear from a Wynnsong representative for tarnishing their mediocre name. No luck.
I’m not feeling very chatty today because I just attempted to install the Afterburner for my Game Boy Advance and am afraid I screwed it up. The colors are all washed out and I’m stressing about it. I’ve been reading the Afterburner forums trying to isolate the problem, and I think it’s an easy fix, but my Game Boy is in the kitchen and I don’t want to wake up my dog.
Plus, considering I just spent a gut-wrenching two hours installing the thing – petrified I would ruin a fairly nice piece of electronic equipment – I don’t know if I up for round two just yet. Nevermind I burnt the hell out of my finger tips with the soldering iron.
Anyway, that about caps it off for me tonight. There are no big releases this weekend, so I’ll probably stick close to home. Cami wants to see Two Weeks Notice, but I’m in such a pissy mood right now, just the thought of Sandara Bullock up on screen makes me want to break a two by four over my knee.
Ah, well. Hope everyone else has a better weekend than mine is shaping up to be. I might be back later, but don’t count on it.
Oh, and if you haven’t participated in the poll above, be a dear and give me some feedback! Thanks!
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Aug29
GUEST STRIP – JIM BURGESS
August 29th, 2005 |- Comics »
- Comics »
- Guest Strip
(4 votes, average: 7.75 out of 10)
Apologies to the TH faithful that thought there would be a new comic waiting for you today. But as it turns out, I’m leavin’ on a jet plane and will be out of town this week for an extended business meeting.
It’s something that I knew was on the horizon and thought I could prepare for. But as it turns out, what with everything that’s been going on (details I am deliberately withholding), I wasn’t able to muster up a stable of strips ahead of time to run while I was away.
But you are in very capable hands this week. Take for example my fellow Dayfree compatriot Jim Burgess from Able and Baker who was able to whip up today’s excellent guest strip. It pays homage to both Theater Hopper and Little Gamers at the same time! Well done, old man!
At any rate, expect guest strips on Wednesday and Friday as well. I’d tell you who is doing them, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise!
This has been the third time this year that I’ve sprung guest strips on you guys and I feel kind of bad. I did it once when Cami and I visited relatives in Texas back in April and did it again when Cami and I moved into our new house back in July.
On the one hand, I think it’s really great that there are enough artists out there even FAMILIAR with Theater Hopper to do a guest strip and WILLING to do so that I shake my head in disbelief. I’ve made a lot of great friends through web comics and I’m thankful for every artist that takes the responsibility in tandem to the responsibilities of their own comics to produce something extra for me.
But on the other hand, it makes me feel like I’m asleep at the switch – that I’m not providing the content that you guys come here for. I have no excuse. It’s been one of those years, y’know?
Hopefully things will start settling down soon and I can go back to providing you with regularly scheduled content every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Hey, if anything positive came out of this, I was able to take the time I would have otherwise used to make today’s comic and package up all of the shirt orders I had that were piling up. The only two I weren’t able to get to were those for Sarah Cathey in Gainsville, FL and Christoper Orme across the pond in the UK. I’m name-checking you guys now because it might take a little while before I get your orders back in stock. But everyone else can expect to see their stuff in the next few days. International orders might take a week or two.
It’s a very strong possibility that once I get back from my business trip that I will take the weekend to reorganize the store and increase prices on all t-shirts, baby-doll tees and hoodies. I have a lot of these items in stock right now, but some of the shirts that have multiple colors, I had to order in larger quantities – so I ended up sitting on some extra merchandise. Along with the price increase, I will also likely return to doing pre-orders so I can get a better sense of where the demand is.
Anyway, that’s probably enough blubbering for now. Be sure to check back through the week for more guest strips from exceptionally talented artists!
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Mar15
GUEST STRIP – JOERULES AND MADMUP
March 15th, 2006 |- Comics »
- Comics »
- Guest Strip
(39 votes, average: 8.82 out of 10)
Much respect to Joerules and Mad Mup for bringing another stellar guest strip collaboration to Theater Hopper. Followers of the site know that they’ve displayed their tallents twice before and the comics keep getting better and better and better. This is a nifty little hat trick for them!
I think we all know Joe Dunn is a pretty busy guy. But why my good friend Mup hasn’t found a full-time artist to collaborate with is beyond me. He clearly has a sense of pacing and knows how to tell a joke. That Quidditch line? Can I steal that and put it on a shirt, Mup? It’s classic!
I also have to give BIG points to Joe for tossing in all the litte Iron Man action figures. Joe knows me personally, so he knows my fanboy obcession with all things Iron Man. Once again, Joe proves he’s the master of detail by adding them to the office environment! If you guys want proof of my Iron Man devotion, you should comb through some of my archived web cam images! I think that’s where he might have gotten the inspiration for this personal touch… Great work, Joe!
This will probably be the last real-time post you’ll see from me in a while. Cami and I are going on vacation tomorrow – hopping on a jet plane to "THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!" Walt Disney World.
I always feel this weird compulsion to apologise for going to Walt Disney World. As if it were some kind of childish endulgance that I should have grown past. I think it’s because when I was growing up, I looked at the resort as this very exclusive place that only rich people could afford to go to. That’s not really the case. It’s very affordable. And, actually, Cami and I have shared a lot of happy memories there.
We’ll never be the kind of couple that goes there every year or hosts some big-ass family reunion that clogs up the line of every attraction. But I proposed to her there, we spent our honeymoon there and – six years later – we’re going back to celebrate our anniversary. We’ll be married six years this Saturday, the 18th. We’re going to have a great time.
I’ll be back sometime Tuesday afternoon and I’ll probably be spending most of it catching up on e-mails and other internet happenings. But there will still be guest strips going on while I’m back. You’ll get another dose on Friday and then Monday, Wednesday and Friday of next week.
Both Cami and I have been burned out for a long time. We haven’t taken a vacation where it was just the two of us since January of 2004, so this has been a long time coming. I’m excited to go, but I’m also already excited to come back because this will be exactly what I need to recharge my batteries and get me ready for pushing the release of the first Theater Hopper book shortly thereafter!
Things are really looking up!
Thanks to all you guys for giving us a little breathing room, but also for continuing to support the comic and spreading the word about Theater Hopper to all of your friends. I’m not sure why, but I’ve been getting lots of e-mails from people lately saying that they’lve just been introduced to the comic and are loving it. That’s a great feeling, especially after doing this for three and a half years. Don’t think for a minute I don’t appreciate it!
I’ll be back soon enough. Until then, enjoy today’s great comic and the guest strips yet to come!
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Nov28
Even though I easily envisioned stretching out Monday’s comic into a week-long arc, I resisted the temptation because it’s kind of like doing the same joke over and over again. That’s never really stopped me in the past, but can’t you see I’m trying to grow as an artist!
Pretentiousness aside, response to Monday’s strip was so strong, I was simply compelled to do a follow up. I like that Tom is kind of creeping up on the couple in this strip. I think that’s more funny than the actual punchline.
Incidentally, I am thinking about creating a t-shirt with today’s punchline as a slogan. Do you think you might be interested in a shirt that says “THIS IS NOT YOUR LIVING ROOM” if the design were done well? I’m thinking of having the slogan on a screen with the outline of the curtains and the theater seats in front of it. Laid out not entirely dissimilar from the set in today’s comic!
Back to reader response for a minute, I have to admit that I was surprised by the number of e-mails I received from people thanking me for addressing the issue of movie theater talkers. Several of you shared your own personal experiences. Clearly this is not an isolated phenomenon. But I’m starting to wonder if there is some sub-strata of human being where talking in a theater is not viewed as rude. Like, maybe it’s some kind of low-grade birth defect.
That’s armchair science for you, by the way.
Not much else to report at the moment, but if you’re enjoying the last few strips, I highly encourage you to download Monday’s broadcast of The Triple Feature podcast. Gordon, Joe and myself spent about a half hour sharing our stories of theater talkers.
We have strong opinions.
The week is half way done! Make it a good one and I’ll see you here on Friday!
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To follow up a little bit on the blog post from yesterday, I wanted to let all of you know how Pearl was doing.
Apparently, after being very cranky and moody at day care all day, she was telling us that her ear was hurting. Fearing an ear infection (and another night without sleep), Cami took her to our pediatrician and – sure enough – she had an ear infection.
This is the second ear infection Pearl has had in a month. She had one for Mother’s Day. Looks like she’ll have one for Father’s Day. Parenting is fun!
I don’t know what it is with Brazelton kids and ear infections. Between Henry and Pearl, I’ve lost track of how many they’ve had. They’ve both had tubes put in their ears. Henry’s ear infections were so bad, he eventually had his adenoids removed! I don’t know if we’re on the same path with Pearl or not. She just went to the ENT for a checkup last week and was given a clean bill of health. Just goes to show how fast these things knock the little ones out, I guess.
Anyway, I won’t bother you with that stuff anymore. Just wanted to give you a little background information.
I’m trying to move the ball up the field a little bit with today’s comic, getting closer to the finale. Feeling rejected, Victor takes out his aggression in the closet where he kept all his photos of Tom. This was a concept that was introduced in a guest strip by Brandon J. Carr back in 2006 and it totally changed the direction of the character for me.
I decided to adopt what Brandon had played off as a joke into the comic. Originally, I intended Victor to be a standard authority figure for Tom, Cami and Jared to play off of. But his secret infatuation with Tom made him more interesting. Can’t thank Brandon enough for that idea!
Incidentally, I’m still accepting guest strips from anyone who wants to say “goodbye” in their own artistic style. Keep it clean, 525 pixels wide and in a JPEG format and we should be cool. You can send it to me at theaterhopper@hotmail.com.
I’m trying my darnedest to increase the production schedule on the comic. I have the last few weeks plotted out in my head and I’m starting to worry I won’t make my self-imposed August 6 “deadline.”
I suppose if I go a little over, that’s not the worst thing in the world. But when I’ve been making the rounds since January telling everyone “I’m ending the comic on August 6! I’m ending the comic on August 6!” failing to hit that mark is kind of embarrassing.
I guess we’ll see how it goes! Keep your eyes on the site and I’ll talk to you soon!
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Apologies for another late strip. If you’re following me on Facebook, you know the reason why – bedtime troubles. We’re having a little difficulty keeping Pearl in her “big girl” bed. As such, Cami and I have to take turns being warden and staying in her room to keep her from leaving. The other night it was my turn and I fell asleep in her room. Basically been playing catch up on the comic and sleep ever since.
Not much to tell you about this comic except that maybe Victor shouldn’t have kept all those oily rags and other obvious flammables together in one box. At least they were labeled appropriately? Best laid plans, I guess.
But what happens now that Victor’s Infatuation Closet is on fire? And why is he walking away?
The answers to all of these questions and more… NEXT WEEK!
The action really starts to pick up from here, so you’re not going to want to miss what happens next. I mean, there’s fire and people running around dressed like superheroes. So what do you think is going to happen.
And Victor… green and so full of rage? Does he remind you of anyone? He’s so misunderstood… and only wants to be left alone.
More to come! Thanks for your patience and I hope you enjoyed today’s comic!
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