Let's get the basics communicated:
Actually I think they're made in Taiwan, where it is said many things are made. The interface and user experience is often a glimpse of Pandemonium, and there are many things about the way it works that recall a torture implement devised by an alien mind. Imagine that you turned on your DVD player and got a 404 error - this is what I'm talking about. You would make a sound like Gabriel made and all the glass in your house would break outwards. Downloading a three gig torrent of Arrested Development and then queuing it up with your remote from the couch is actually kind of humbling and (as far as I am concerned) describes an alternate distribution model for television. There are other ways to accomplish this feat, but they involve hooking my machine up to the rest of the edifice or (optimally) going all-out with a Media Center PC - I've just never been able to authorize it. Or get it authorized, perhaps I should say. Mine was a hand-me-down from Robert, who clearly has no problem whatsoever with the lines I just mentioned or indeed any other kind of line.
The "Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards" have just reached the nominee phase, it looks like. Years ago we made a point of refusing any awards that might arise from it, making Smart-Assed cartoons about self-awarding bodies, but in recent years we have just sort of let the things happen with the idea that even if you disagree with the mechanism being rude when someone is nice to you is probably unnecessary.
But seriously - "Penny Arcade" for best Web Design? That's not just nonsense, it's actually insulting and an indictment of that body's power to evaluate stimuli. The "size" of Penny Arcade, such as it is, distorts those awards. I was worried that it would bleed us into the more prestigious award categories as it has in years past, potentially damaging our stature as unsung wanderers - but this year's picks are a pretty diverse bunch, and I'm relieved to see that the destabilizing effect doesn't seem as great. I'm beginning to think that "PA for Oustanding Web Design" is an organized, annual protest designed to reveal those proceedings as a tawdry sham.
(CW)TB out.
never did no wandrin'
Recently we did a strip about the webcomics documentary that's coming out soon. I'd link you to the trailer but Tycho's link unintentionally destroyed their server. You can see the smoking remains here. I feel like Tycho's post said everything we had to say on the topic as well as it can be said. Just as we hoped that it would it's sparked quite a debate. In case you're interested in seeing where the conversation has gone here are some links:
PvP - Scott wrote a pretty lengthy post on the subject a few days ago. You need to scroll down to the bottom of his page to see it.
Websnark - Whenever I read Websnark I can't help but think of this quote:
"Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it."
Regardless, he weighs in on the topic with his own post and accompanying talkback thread.
Goats - Jon responds to the Websnark post and once again we get a talkback thread full of famous webcomic artists like R.Stevens of Diesel Sweeties.
Checkerboard Nightmare - Kristopher shares his take on the documentary in the form of a comic strip as well as a news post.
Comixpedia - Xerexes attempts to kick start a conversation on the subject but like so many other forum threads it's quickly derailed by the discussion of pandas.
Forumopolis - One of the few forums I read every day.
I love it.
One last quick thing. A few people claimed Tycho was being mean by posting that picture of the cat guy on the site. That was the picture their site was using to promote the film. You had to click on it to see the trailer. I have no problem commenting on the guys ridiculous statements, but I want to make it clear that we are in no position to make fun of someone regarding their personal appearance. A few months ago a photographer came out to take some pictures of us for a magazine article. We told them that including a picture of us would hurt circulation but they didn't believe us. Anyway there's a pretty funny FARK Photoshop thread that uses the picture. As of right now none of them involve the two of us having sex, but I am not naïve enough to believe that will continue.
-Gabe out :o:
