A few hours into the Melbourne flight, I was more or less covered in vomit. But I was so happy for something to do that I was - in a way which might be difficult to understand - tremendously relieved. There was something unexpected to manage with a "challenging" material that wasn't related to the destruction of the plane. It was, in its incalculably moist way, optimal.
I was under some misconceptions about what exactly the "International Date Line" was, or what the charges might be, if any. Now, flush with wisdom, I understand that it is a completely ordinary thing and not even a real line. But that is no reason not to enjoy myself at my cohort's expense, or to deprive you of that same enjoyment.
The rest of my Arcade machines arrived this week and I thought I’d give you all an update. I had a lot of people ask where I got them from but until they arrived I wanted to hold off telling you the name of the place. I didn't want to recommend the website only to have boxes full of broken wood and glass show up at my house. The machines are all beautiful though and worked great so I’m happy to tell you I got them from Arcadesmarket.com. I worked with Jose there and he has no clue who I am or that I’d ever be mentioning his shop. In fact there is a very good chance this link will wreck his site. I contacted a lot of vendors and Jose not only had all the machines I was looking for but he was also the only one willing to give me a great deal for buying so many at once. The cabinets are all gorgeous and most have been upgraded with flat screen monitors and modded boards to add a few extra games to each cab.
In a stunning turn of events, we're getting to one of the Child's Play Charity Dinner & Auction strips before December. I know! It has to be said: we're innovators.
Precipice 3 is $3, Precipice 4 is $3.74, and you can get 3 AND four for six bucks.
I actually just grabbed a screenshot of my desktop for the middle panel today. I think I’m as ready as I can be for the 17 hours of flying. Here’s what I’ve got:
Brenna's been packing since Sunday for Australia. Most of our personal items are arranged around the house in patterns which I assume have a metaphysical component - perhaps they focus H-waves, like a lens. I used to try and help with this process, until I realized that the best way to help was not to touch nothin'. When I pack, it's like, I put as many underwears in as I have days, and one pair of pants regardless of the trip's duration, and as many identical black shirts as are currently clean. I think of my backpack like a diving bell, or something: I'm not trying to live there, wherever it is, it simply furnishes whatever is required to exist wherever I happen to be going.
I'm still plugging away on Sand and I'm really happy with the way it's turning out. It should start running on the 15th or the 17th and it will pick up the story immediately after this strip.
You have probably heard about Justin Carter in passing, maybe on one of the sites you read, or video channels you watch, but it comes down to the fact that a dumb kid said something dumb and because of the world we live in now this entitles the state to steal eight years of your life.
Write me back, and tell which option they would find more horrifying. On the docket now we've got my "famous" Texas Tofu Skewers, or something from our Jail Dining series like "Hot Potato" (sounds euphemistic, is actually literal) or Snarfs, which is whatever they wouldn't eat last night with microwaved with ketchup.
I made a delicious chicken parmesan last night and both my kids turned their noses up at it. I think I might send them up to your house for a dinner so they can see how good they have it here. Can you let me know the next time you’re making bok choy and white rice?
A little while ago Tycho and I sat down with Scott and Kris to play D&D:chronicles of Mystara for Capcom. It's a re-release of a game that I actually loved playing in the arcade and then eventually imported for my Saturn. We streemed the play session live but you might have missed it. Capcom has gone ahead and posted the entire thing to the YouTubes now. We've been asked to do a few of these recently where we just sit and play a videogame while someone records it. Tycho tells me this is actually a genre called "Let's Play" and I'm sure he's right. Personally I call it the greatest job ever.
The notion of a penalty box or "sin bin" is well understood - games occasionally come with their own purgatories. But these vile aggressors are typically not made to play another game while the first one is going on, churning in their own abusive stew. Halo offered up something like this, but if this OXM article is to be believed Microsoft wants to leverage that service-wide. It makes a lot of sense to me. Like other forms of prohibition, telling people to follow rules is great and all, works for some people, but ultimately you need a lever you can throw at some point and start working to minimize harm.
Craigslist is just the weirdest, weirdest site. I'm almost fifty-fifty between experiences where people "gratefully, even tearfully pay me for things I don't even want anymore" and those who "come back to my fucking house uninvited, wild of eye, as though under the brainsong of a psychotropic worm."
Back in 2010 we did one of our idea pitches where we give you the first page of three different comics and let you vote on the one you’d like to see more of. The first time we did it Automata won but the Lookouts ended up being a big hit as well and has its own comic book now. The second time Sand won but the New Kid came in a very close second. We eventually sold the movie rights to the New Kid to Paramount (who have yet to do anything with it) but we never gave you guys more Sand.