Posts Tagged ‘Tycho’
3 items.
I understand that you’ve got a baby en route. The expected response to this revelation is usually “leaping joy,” but I’m already a father, and I’m exhausted. So if I just move my fingers around a little here on the keyboard, I hope that will suffice.
I have a story that will help introduce some of the powerful new concepts you’re about to be submerged in. I guess that technically makes this a parable, but anyway: I was taking the escalator down to the parcade at the Mall.
On the escalator opposite me, going up, an impatient father was tromping up the device and chastising his young son for being slow. He was not actually watching the son, so that when he exited the top of the moving staircase and his boy began to scream, he was not initially sure why. I was actually paralyzed by it: his son had tripped trying to catch up to his dad, but since he was on the escalator he couldn’t just fall down and pick himself up. He was being rolled by the mechanism, falling forever.
The first thing we can derive from this powerful scene is that you need to, you know, actually watch your kid. The challenge you will face later will be to watch them closely while still letting them experience the world. I have a feeling this is going to be my life’s greatest challenge.
But also: Falling in place. That is how I would describe the process you are about to undertake. For the first few months, anyway. It’s worse than you know. There are almost no handholds of any kind, and worse yet, everybody thinks they have the answer. They don’t. Most of this can’t be taught. I’m not trying to freak you out, but there it is.
You must invent a new Tom Brazelton, let us call him Dad, and do so under the most strenuous conditions. You need to become a man worthy of emulation. You will need to do this while someone is actively peeing on you. I used to regard human waste as something to be avoided; these days, it’s practically a condiment.
This is a situation where your precious movies won’t save you, although I guess there are a few valid Escalator Warnings in Mallrats. There is only one film with advice of any enduring worth on the subject of parenting, and the lessons it provides are mercifully clear: the movie is Aliens. If your child is being pursued by a Hive Queen, man, seriously – you need to blow that thing out the Goddamn airlock.
Welcome to the club.
(CW)TB
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I’ll make this brief because I know you’re not here to read my ramblings. But I wanted to thank Jerry for his time and generosity for writing his guest essay. When I put the wheels in motion for my partial hiatus – my paternity leave, if you will – I took a long shot and asked the guys over at Penny Arcade if they would be interested in participating. I wasn’t expecting anything, but I figured “The worst they could say was ‘no’.” Imagine my surprise when Jerry responded and he offered me this essay.
To be acknowledged (for lack of a better word) by someone who inspires you creatively is an incredible gift. That Jerry went beyond the pale and made his words personal means that much more. What Jerry has shared speaks directly to me. He offers sound advice about fatherhood in a language I understand – movies. Naturally, it’s hilarious to boot.
If you’re new to the site, I encourage you to stick around and thumb through the archives. Chances are if you type a movie title in the search field, I’ve made fun of it. If you’d like a quick sample of my best work, be sure to check out the Top 50 comics as voted on by my readers. They know what’s good better than I do. If you like what you see, I update every Monday, Wednesday and Friday just like Penny Arcade. So add us to your bookmarks and check back every now and again.
Tomorrow is our due date. No baby yet and no plans to induce, but the time is growing close. As you can imagine, we’re really excited. What can I say? It’s been a pretty good week!
Thanks again to Jerry. I hope you enjoy his essay as much as I do.
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In the life of a web comic, there is typically a time where an artist or writer will call on high to Gods that sit atop Mount Olympus in a futile attempt to gain their favor. Some of them fashion crude duplicates of their image in order to invoke their power. Sometimes they succeed, sometimes they fail.
Yes, at some point in the career of many web comic artists, they will toss in an unsolicited Penny Arcade cameo.
Truthfully, with nearly 700 comics to my credit, I’m surprised it’s taken this long. But, y’know… ever since Tycho wrote that wonderful essay about fatherhood for the site a few months ago… him and I are like “this.”
You can’t see it, but I’ve crossed my fingers to represent closeness.
I suppose I can’t say that I’ve gone completely without referencing Penny Arcade in the past. I borrowed Div for a couple of strips where I was lampooning the trend of anthropomorphic appliances. At any rate, it’s all in good fun. If anyone takes exception to my characterization of Gabe and Tycho as violent hooligans, I don’t think they’ll mind if Monday’s Penny Arcade is any indication.
Speaking of Monday, I mentioned that Cami and I had an opportunity to see Reign Over Me this weekend. Kind of an odd choice for our first movie-going experience since Henry was born, but I actually enjoyed it a lot. Writer/director Mike Binder did a very good job of dissecting grief and the responsibilities of men in the modern age. He side-steps the whole 9/11 issue very carefully and doesn’t exploit the memory of that day in the least.
Adam Sandler is getting high praise for his work in this film and I think it’s deserved. He’s done a good job of picking dramatic roles that don’t announce “I’M DOING DRAMATIC ROLES NOW! TAKE ME SERIOUSLY!” like Jim Carrey has in the past.
That said, I think Don Cheadle steals the show with his performance. Cheadle has much less to hide behind in his portrayal of a man burdened by his responsibilities. In the movie, he ends up spending a lot of time with Sandler’s character trying to draw him out of his shell at the expense of those responsibilities. In one scene, his wife calls him out on his behavior and accuses him of coveting the freedom Sandler’s character has after losing his entire family in the 9/11 attacks. It’s a sick and twisted accusation and Cheadle’s character addresses it as such. But if you let the idea sink in, it’s kind of true.
In the hands of a less competent actor, Cheadle’s character could have been GROSSLY unlikable. But I think Cheadle deftly brings to the surface dark taboos about the conflict between the responsibility of a father and husband versus man’s almost innate need for freedom and independence. It adds a dimension to the movie that enriches it beyond “Adam Sandler wrestles with grief.”
At any rate, I go into my opinions of Reign Over Me with greater detail in this week’s Triple Feature broadcast. If you missed the show on Monday night, you missed a doozy. Not only did we talk about Reign Over Me, but we also talked about TMNT, rumors surrounding Netflix distributing through local libraries, the death of the traditional movie-going experience in the face of streaming movie downloads and more. We actually drew Scott Kurtz from PvP into the fray and he had some great observations about the movie-going experience. It was a real treat to have him participate in the show.
Man, I’m just name-checking the A-listers left and right today, aren’t I?
Download this week’s show and savor in it’s glory.
Another big reason you’ll want to download this week’s show is so you can get the first half of the two-part clue you’ll need to submit along with your full name, age and mailing address to participate in the Copying Beethoven DVD giveaway. I’m not going to tell you what the first half of the clue is here, but I will give you the second half for those of you participating.
The second half of the clue is “OUT.”
Again, you’ll need the whole clue to be in the running for the giveaway. Send the clue along with your information to theaterhopper@hotmail.com with the subject line “Beethoven” by NEXT MONDAY to be part of the raffle. Winners will be chosen at random!
We really want to get a lot of people to participate in this because the more people we have who put their name into the hat, the more likely we’ll be able to do bigger and better promotions like this in the future!
Remember that Copying Beethoven starring Ed Harris comes out on DVD next Tuesday, April 3 and thanks again to 20th Century Fox for helping us set this up!
That’ll do it for me. I hope everyone has a great Wednesday. I’ll see you here again on Friday!
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