Archive for January 18th, 2005

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THORUM ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY

by Tom on January 18, 2005 at 12:00 am
Posted In: Blog
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Something that I forgot to mention yesterday was that our online community - that place we lovingly refer to as the THorum - celebrated its one year anniversary yesterday. Finally, I fell like we're over the hump when it comes to providing a place for Theater Hopper fans to communicate with one another.

The history of the THorum is a long and complicated one. Marred by gross ineptitude on my part, this is actually the third incarnation of the community. Those who have been with me from the start know the story I am about to tell.

When I started Theater Hopper in August of 2002, one of the first things I made sure to have was a forum. I believed strongly that developing a community was key to getting the site off the ground. Initial fans would congregate and then spread word of Theater Hopper to all corners of the internet.

When only 20 or so people signed up after 3 months online, I grew impatient and shut it down.

Hey, don't blame me! I'm a moron, remember? I was totally naive to the fact that having 500 unique visitors per month wouldn't necessarily translate into an online community. Remember, I'm the same guy who tried raking in donations and advertisements when I was barely a blip on the radar screen. At that time, Theater Hopper was a pimple on the ass of web comics. I'm happy to say we've since moved up to "boil" status.

About 6 months after voluntarily closing the first forum and steadily watching our readership grow, I decided to take another swing at establishing a community. Another forum was forged.

Things went well for a while. We had gathered a little clique and we were online without and problems for a good length of time. That is until a catastrophic server failure totally crippled the site. The database that ran the forum was lost and I nearly lost a year's worth of blogs. Of course, like a fool, I had never made a back-up of the forum. So it was gone, baby. REAL gone. Strike two in forum world.

Desperate to reconnect with the community that was lost, the third version of the forum was brought to life January 17, 2004 and we've been plugging along ever since.

It hasn't been easy, though. Luckily with the help of my team of administrators and moderators, we've been able to keep it up and running without much data loss or obnoxious post whores ruining it for everyone. So my thanks to AdSquirrel, Brian, JClark and MadMup. You're help has been invaluable.

In the course of our existence, we've even been able to implement custom features to make ours a totally unique environment. A web cam portal, The Friday Five, The Danza and The Urkle. Even our own dictionary - or THictionary for the unenlightened - of THorum-specific vernacular! Did you know we did a holiday gift exchange last Decemeber that went off with flying colors? We did, and it was great!

Now before you start thinking that the THorum is some sort of secret society or members only cabal, know that there has never been a more welcoming group of people online ANYWHERE. Friendly and bright. Gracious and insightful. And several of them more hilarious than anyone you will ever meet. My thanks to these THorumites who make our community one that I have looked forward to posting to every day since its inception. Thank you.

If you think that sounds good, sign up in the THorum today. You won't be sorry.

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THERAPY THROUGH THEATER

by Tom on January 18, 2005 at 12:00 am
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(7 votes, average: 8.57 out of 10)
Charlie, Elektra, Jennifer Garner, bustier, feel better

As promised, another comic. Part of the 5 day plan to help advance the little storyline we've got going here and burn through a little excess exposition. Is anyone else glad that we're moving the action out of suburbia and into the theater? I know I am!

As time progresses, I am getting more and more positive feedback from readers who are starting to enjoy Charlie's story arc. While I have had an opportunity to return everyone's messages, I want to thank those of you who have written in to show your support. I appreciate it. I see now that going ahead with the story was the right decision to make.

Things may have been slow-going at first and maybe even a little painful. But that's evolution in a nutshell. A little temporary pain and the result is something stronger and more beautiful. I'm now convinced that once this telling is complete, there will be a richer experience at the end of it for all of us.

Onto movies... I didn't see Elektra this weekend and if the box office has anything to say about it, neither did many of you. Even though I was one of the few who honestly enjoyed its predecessor Daredevil (Ben Affleck be damned!), I felt no urge to see Jennifer Garner take the lead in the follow-up.

I mean, if you break it down to brass tacks, it's pretty much a movie starring Garner running around in sexy outfits and kicking ass. Guess what? I can see that every week for free on a little show called Alias. I imagine Elektra is only going to draw the fan boy faithful.

By the way, if you want to see an image that will test the limits of said faithful, then vote for Theater Hopper at buzzComix to check out today's incentive sketch.

One movie that I did see this weekend and thoroughly enjoyed was In Good Company. I don't know what it is about Topher Grace I find so appealing, but all that talk about this being his breakout performance is right on the money. Grace is quick-witted and alert throughout his performance. He's just a lot of fun to watch.

Dennis Quaid earns points as well going with a performance that was very confident and laid back without being lazy or above-it-all.

I didn't used to like Quaid. I used to think he was kind of a jock and didn't look smart enough to be an actor. All cock-sure strut, no substance. But as he's aged, he's become maybe one of a handful of leading men over 50 that's I've enjoyed watching. You could lump Pierce Brosnan into this category as well.

I think what really struck home for me with In Good Company was that there aren't really that many films aimed at men on an emotion level.

For example, women have all kind of movies that deal with their emotions, relationships and fears. Bridget Jones's Diary, just to pull a name out of the hat, tackles everything from the fear of being single in your 30's, being overweight and having trouble finding a good job. These are all emotional issues.

Movies for men only seem to focus on bigger explosions, more garish CGI candy, and occasionally naked breasts if the studio can get around a PG-13 rating.

But In Good Company is different. It's about being in your 20's and not knowing what you want to do with your life. It's about being in your 50's and being rendered ineffectual by the generation stepping in to replace you. It caught me off guard. You simply don't see a lot of movies about men whose power is being leeched from them in this way. I found it a rewarding experience. You should go see it.

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