Posts Tagged ‘aging’

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THE PLANET OF LONELY HOUSEWIVES

by Tom on May 6, 2009 at 12:00 am
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(47 votes, average: 6.89 out of 10)
Star Trek, reboot, not your father's, Die Hard, Rambo, aging, Captain James T. Kirk, Scotty, Viagra
Vote for Theater Hopper at Top Web Comics

Would anyone be surprised to find out that Captain Kirk was a Viagra fiend? Not me. In fact, I'm pretty sure he'd go on some elaborate adventure and time-travel back to the 20th century to make sure it's been invented.

He's a horn dog, is what I'm saying.

But what will Viagra be like in the 23rd Century? Vote for Theater Hopper at Top Web Comics for an incentive sketch that explores this vital issue!

Star Trek comes out this weekend and I'd say I'm excited for it. I was never that big of a fan of the original series, though. I mean, I liked the actors and I LOVE the characters. But the low production value of those shows from the 60's leaves me cold. I liked the movies a lot, though. Obviously Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is everyone's favorite ("KHHHHHAAAAAAAAAN!"). But I also really like Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

Despite the fact that I've seen nearly every episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, probably 85% of Star Trek: Deep Space 9 and most of Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise, I don't really consider myself "a trekker." I really think of myself more as a Star Wars nerd.

I think it depends on which franchise got to you first. I was born in 1977. I'm in the sweet-spot when it comes to the influence of Star Wars. I wasn't introduced to Star Trek until I was in high school and was looking for an excuse to stay up late while waiting for Late Night with Conan O'Brien to come on. Where I lived, The Next Generation was running in syndication at 10:30 at night. It worked out perfectly because it got me hooked.

I know that there are some hard-core trekkers who are concerned about this reboot with a younger cast. I can understand why. I mean, the first Star Trek probably had a perfect cast. Certainly Shatner and Nimoy were a pairing for the ages.

But of all the franchises that have been rebooted in the last few years - Batman, James Bond, Hulk, Punisher - it was probably Star Trek that needed it most of all.

I think this film is probably the antithesis of X-Men Origins: Wolverine in terms of building positive buzz and anticipation. Whereas X-Men Origins: Wolverine was like a awkward teenager trying desperately to get you to like them (advertising for more than a year, a million clips and commercials, gimmicky alternate endings shipped to different theaters), Star Trek has been playing it close to the vest.

Whereas I felt I knew everything about X-Men Origins: Wolverine, I feel like I know next to nothing about what Star Trek is going to give us.

From the trailers, I can tell that this version of James T. Kirk is more cocky than the original. Maybe even somewhat of a problem child. I know the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise looks like an Apple store and I know Eric Bana's character is bald. Beyond that, all I know is that there appears to be a lot of lens flares in space.

But plot-wise? No idea. And I like it that way.

I'll probably have more to say about Star Trek with Friday's comic. So, to keep you entertained in the meantime, please enjoy these video remixes from Star Trek: The Next Generation. There's a guy on YouTube who has put together nearly two dozen of these and they're hilarious! Enjoy!

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WHEN YOU FINALLY REALIZED YOU WERE OLD

by Tom on October 20, 2008 at 12:00 am
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(14 votes, average: 8.21 out of 10)
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Sex Drive, aging, feeling old, depression, mid-life crisis

In today's comic I'm using Jared as the conduit to express some of my own self-esteem issues. But before I get to that, let me backtrack a little.

A few weeks ago, I went to see Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. Cami opted out citing that the movie would make her feel "old." I thought the objection was kind of silly at the time. I enjoyed the film, but it left me with a certain melancholy. The movie does a really good job of transporting you back to a period in your life where all things seemed possible, but you had to dig deep to find the courage to make them happen. I also think it's one of the handful of movies that understands the first few moments of infatuation turning into romance and treats it right.

Anyway, I walked out of the movie satisfied, but also a little sad that I've moved beyond that time in my life where spontaneity wasn't something you planned for.

Watching Sex Drive this weekend has exacerbated things somewhat and made me realize for the first time in a long time that I'm just plain... old.

Now before anyone starts jumping to conclusions, I want to make it understood that I am very happy with the life I lead now. I'm really into my family, I'm enjoying my son and things are great. This isn't a confession about me wishing I was 20 again, wanting to run around and party all night. I had that opportunity once and, frankly, it didn't much interest me. Specifically, the whole horndog aspect of Sex Drive was never something I aspired to, either.

In concert with this, I am very much aware that these films promote a kind of hyper-actualized reality. So it's not like I look at them and wish "Gee, I wish my life were more like that."

Rather, what bums me out about these movies is that they remind me of being a certain age where I was able to operate in a vaguely consequence-free environment. I'm not talking about the lack of culpability. Just the room to test the waters, make some mistakes, learn from them and still recover.

The older you get, the more and more you feel is at stake. Your reputation, your livelihood, your relationships. Its like a game of Jenga. When you're younger, you can pull out the wrong piece and the tower can come crumbling down. No big deal. Plenty of time to rebuild and start again. When you're older, you become much more careful about the pieces you chose lest all of it come tumbling down.

A lot of this feeling racked into focus after Henry was born. That was certainly a clear signal that you can't goof around anymore because your actions have consequences and you certainly don't want to set a bad example for someone else. Have fun, sure. Keep it light, enjoy life. Just... don't screw up - because it's more than just you that you have to be worried about now.

I dunno. I feel like I'm only articulating this half as well as I should be. Some of this goes without say. Although, when you're younger, it's certain not advice that you want to hear. It just stings a little bit when you realize that every time you heard "Youth is wasted on the young" and you rolled your eyes, you were really short-changing that wisdom.

I'll probably have more to say about Sex Drive tonight on The Triple Feature. So if you want to listen to me stick my foot into my mouth further, you can check it out as we record live at 9:00 PM CST.

Incidentally, I also saw W. this weekend and thought it was pretty good. Although I think Oliver Stone got sloppy in the second act and basically makes the audience sit through re-enactments of "Dubya's Greatest Hits." Josh Brolin knocks it out of the park, though. His version of George W. Bush is very subtle. He does the mannerisms without descending into total caricature. Excellent work from the former Goonie.

That's it for now. Take care, everyone and I'll see you here on Wednesday.

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THAT’S WHAT OLD PEOPLE SAY TO STAY RELEVANT

by Tom on October 6, 2008 at 12:00 am
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars6 Stars7 Stars8 Stars9 Stars10 Stars
(6 votes, average: 5.83 out of 10)
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, aging, feeling old, hipsters, wassup, Michael Cera, Kat Dennings

Cami was legitimately against seeing Nick and Norah's Infinitie Playlist (and yes I realize I left the "H" out of "Norah" in the comic - typo) because she thought it skewed outside of our demographic. She's not exactly wrong. It's pretty much for the Hollister and hoodie set, but I don't care. I gotsta have me my Michael Cera and Kat Dennings. These two should be in movies together for the next 10 years.

Despite the fact that it's pretty much pointless, not especially witty or insightful, I really enjoyed Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. It's almost a documentary in a sense as you watch these two characters bounce around Manhattan, slowly falling in love with each other over the course of a night. I'm not so old that I don't remember how that feels.

Both Cera and Dennings do their low-key thing here and most of the time it works. Of course, there can be too much of a good thing. There comes a point near the end where there is an opportunity for catharsis, but they let it slip by. That's frustrating. Bbut by the time they get to the last line, you don't care. The movie has wrapped you up in it's spell. I highly suggest checking it out. It's a good time at the theater with some good music to boot.

Incidentally, regarding the age issue, my self-consciousness about being a 30 year-old guy sitting in a theater by himself waiting for the movie about the young 20-something's in love was erased when I saw a whole bunch of older couples - people in their 40's and 50's come in and watch this thing. Maybe Michael Cera reminds them of their son who is at college and doesn't call them anymore? That's my best guess.

At any rate, I'm sure we'll be talking about the film along with Bevery Hills Chihuahu's soul-draining first place, $30 million box office take this weekend during The Triple Feature tonight at 9:00 PM CST. Be sure to listen live and call in with your questions!

If I could change gears for a minute, I wanted to talk to you guys about the donation drive that helped recover the data I lost when my external hard drive failed a couple of months back. But before I get into it, I want to share with you a piece of art I created for one of the people generous enough to donate. Check this out:

Wedding gift, Oscar Velez

This is a fully-rendered original comic created for donator Oscar Velez. Oscar was married this weekend and wanted to do something special for his fiancee. So he took the opportunity offered by the donation drive to commission me to create a wedding gift for her. He was going to give this to her the day before their wedding.

Now, my first reaction to this request was "Wow! What an awesome compliment that you would ask me to do this!" My second reaction was "Wow! I hope I don't screw this up!"

Oscar didn't make this easy for me. Buildings, crowd scenes and animals aren't my strong suit. I poured HOURS of my time into this because I was so afraid I was going to mess it up, I kept going back to tweak it. I worked up to the very last minute on this thing. I sent it overnight to Oscar a day before the wedding.

I sent Oscar the original art - the blue line with inks - and then a full-color print on glossy card stock. He received it in time (thank God) and ended up giving it to his fiancee at their rehersal dinner. According to Oscar, his fiancee was keeping it together during the rehersal, the rehersal dinner, the toasts from friends and family. But when he gave her the artwork, she completely lost it and started crying - which then made OTHER people cry!

So I guess it went over pretty well! And, with all seriousness, that's the best compliment I could have ever received.

I asked Oscar if I could share the artwork on the site partially because I put a lot of time into it, was proud with the results and wanted to demonstrate to everyone who donated how seriously I take this and how I am committing myself to delivering something worthy of the support you've shown me. But I also wanted to share it because I thought it was a really cool story. I offered to post it without the text because, y'know... the message is kind of personal. But Oscar was totally up front and cool about it. "Post it with the text," he said. "I want the world to know I love her!"

So, there you go buddy. The world knows.

Oscar and his wife are taking their honeymoon at Universal Studios (good man) and he said he'd have his laptop with him and would be checking the site. I hope you two are having fun and I wanted to send you my best wishes! Thanks for making me a part of your wedding. The honor was all mine.

So, to that end, let's talk about the donation drive in the macro sense.

Similar to how I worked up until the last minute on Oscar's commissioned piece, I've been putting off writting a summary on the donation drive. This has literally been one of the largest undertakings I've pursued since I've started the site and I was afraid that I would be unable to capture the enormity of the effort or express the etreme amount of gratitude I feel toward everyone that donated.

I think, in the life of a webcomic, you get one or MAYBE two "Get Out Of Jail Free" cards and I think I just used mine with this drive. I didn't expect it to be as successful as it way. I never expected to meet goal. I figured a few kind people would donate and that would help me get a leg up on recovery costs.

The outpouring of support was amazing. Frankly, it's been difficult for me to keep up. Not only in terms of responding to everyone who donated and thanking them personally. But also keeping up with the artwork and sending out a high-quality product in a reasonable amount of time.

I try to set expectations. I try to tell people that it might take a little while but that I WILL get to them. Everyone has been more than kind about it. "Don't worry. I understand. Take your time." Some people are even telling me that they don't want anything in return. The just want to donate in appreciation of the comic they've come to enjoy.

You have no idea what a validation that is for me.

I feel like no matter what I do, I'm going to fail in articulating the sheer awe I've experienced spearheading this drive. That's why It's so important for me to get it right and not take your kindness for granted. The data that we sought to restore has been brought back to us with 99.8% completion. I've already burned copies of the original art by month and year onto CD-ROMs and have also backed things up onto new external drives. I want to make sure this doesn't happen again and you guys have afforded me that second chance.

So what else can I say but "Thank you?" It's such a simple expression, but it captures what I want to say so succinctly. Thank you. You guys are amazing. Thank you.

For those of you that donated, I'm still working on your art and you'll be hearing from me over the course of the next few weeks. That's it for me today. Thanks again and be sure to come back to the site tomorrow for a review of Allah Made Me Funny, a movie currently in limited release.

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