Posts Tagged ‘economy’

3 items.

NUMBER CRUNCHER

by Tom on September 30, 2009 at 12:00 am
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars6 Stars7 Stars8 Stars9 Stars10 Stars
(24 votes, average: 7.04 out of 10)
Capitalism: A Love Story, Michael Moore, Goldman Sachs, bailout, bonuses, blackout, economy, numbers

Sorry for the delay on today's comic, but the reason for the delay is kind of ironically related to the punchline!

I'm in the middle of trying to obtain my Master's in Communication Leadership at Drake University here in Des Moines. For those of you wondering what that is, it's kind of a hybrid of their business college and their journalism college designed for communication professionals.

Right now I'm taking an accounting course that has me bent over its knee and spanking me hard. I come back from a three hour night class every Tuesday completely spent. Basically what happened last night is that I came home, laid down on the couch to rest for 15 minutes and didn't get back up.

I woke up at some point around 2AM and dragged myself to bed. I was way too out of it to finish a comic.

I suppose this is one of the benefits of being unemployed, though. I have the morning to stay at home, draw silly pictures and post them on the internet.

But I don't like missing deadlines - even when they're self-imposed. So, sorry about that.

Capitalism: A Love Story comes out this weekend. In my estimation, it's an important film being delivered to theaters with unfortunate timing. There's a lot of good stuff coming out this weekend. Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D, Zombieland, The Invention of Lying and A Serious Man are all movies I want to see in addition to Capitalism: A Love Story. If I hadn't already seen Whip It! at a sneak preview last Saturday, I would be additionally stymied.

I hope people don't look at Michael Moore's film like Tom does in today's comic. I'm kind of counting on Moore to frame the current economic crisis in more simplistic terms. By that, I don't mean that I hope he talks down to us. Rather, I hope that he able to do what he normally does so well in his other films and puts a human face on the devastation this Great Recession is doing to people.

Incidentally, if you haven't seen Moore's first foray into documentary filmmaking, I strongly suggest you watch Roger & Me - a film about Moore's pursuit of General Motors CEO Roger Smith as he seeks an explanation for the massive downsizing he ordered which resulted in an economic decimation of Moore's hometown of Flint, Michigan.

If you look at what General Motors did in the 80s, its like a microcosm of what corporations are doing with America today. In many respects, I think Capitalism: A Love Story can be seen as a natural progression of the issues Moore explored in Roger & Me. A sequel of sorts.

I know Moore is a polarizing figure, but I'm curious to know what you guys think about Capitalism: A Love Story. Given the current economic climate, I wonder how much criticism Moore is going to attract for his film. Who is going to make the argument that is pro-corporation? Do you plan on seeing Capitalism: A Love Story this weekend, or are there too many other distractions at the multiplex? Do you think you'll get around to seeing it later if you don't see it right away?

Leave your comments below!

36 Comments

Related Comics ¬

7 YEARS AND 1,000 COMICS

by Tom on August 5, 2009 at 12:00 am
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars6 Stars7 Stars8 Stars9 Stars10 Stars
(28 votes, average: 8.39 out of 10)
anniversary, milestone, balloon, photo, economy, celebration

I thought black was supposed to be slimming. Dear Lord, someone remind me never to insert myself into my own comic ever again! I looked so much better when I pulled this stunt before back in 2004.

I wasn't planning on doing anything special for Theater Hopper's 7th anniversary. But when I found out that I had crossed the 1,000 comic milestone, I thought it made sense to announce both at the same time.

I had actually figured out that I had reached the milestone almost serendipitously. Back when the archive database was being managed by PHP, I knew exactly how many comics were in the archive. It even went so far as to exclude guest comics, movie reviews and other "tagged" entries from the complete tally.

However, since moving the site into WordPress, I kind of lost track of how many comics there actually are on the site. I guess they don't make a plugin for that.

Basically, I was sitting at my computer last week thinking about this and decided to do something about it. So I downloaded all of the comics in the archive and cherry picked all of the guest strips, movies reviews and other non-comic graphic entries from the folder.

Lo and behold, it was actually last Wednesday's comic was our 1,000th! Since there was nothing particularly special about that comic, I decided to bide my time a little bit and come 'atcha with a proper acknowledgment.

And here we are!

I think you guys know what is coming next. I don't mean to preface that in a way that makes it sound trite, but what I'm about to say next I say a lot. Because it's true.

I simply couldn't do this comic without you. I'm amazed that anyone is still interested in what I'm doing 7 years and 1,000 comics later. Some of you have been with me since the beginning. Some of you are just learning about Theater Hopper. It doesn't matter if you've read every comic in the archive or just a handful. Every, single one of you have contributed to the success of Theater Hopper and I thank you for it. You are amazing.

If you have it in your heart, I'd really like to raise the roof on crossing this milestone and promoting it as far and wide into the internet as possible.

Please let as many people as possible know about Theater Hopper's anniversary and 1,000th comic. Use Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Digg... whatever you use and spread the word.

Let the guys at Fleen and Comixpedia know what's going on. Say something about it in your LiveJournal or in a forum you visit. Anywhere else you happen to frequent, let them know about what's going on here.

I don't promote myself quite as much as I used to (or probably should), but this is a moment where I want to set aside modesty and invite as many people as possible to check out Theater Hopper so they don't miss the next 1,000 comics!

Thanks again for everything you do and be sure to check the site later today for a couple more announcements. I have a few special treats up my sleeve!

17 Comments

Related Comics ¬

STARRING THE FABRIC SOFTENER BEAR

by Tom on December 12, 2008 at 1:00 am
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars6 Stars7 Stars8 Stars9 Stars10 Stars
(5 votes, average: 8.60 out of 10)
blanket, depression, layoffs, economy, stress, holiday, comfort

I try to keep the comic timely, but usually as it pertains to movies. I think this might be one of a handful of times that I've made reference to any other surrounding circumstance.

I know this comic is a bit odd, but it's truthful. Things have been stressful lately and both Cami and I are worn down. We work for the same company and we experienced several hundred layoffs this week. Fortunately, we both still have our jobs, but it weighs on our minds. Morale at work is low and we keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I've been let go from jobs before and it's never a good feeling - especially right before the holidays. But since we had Henry, there is so much more at stake. It really stops to give you pause. What would you do if you were in that situation.

This is a particularly... adult concern and I know you guys aren't coming to this site to be reminded of how ugly things are out there. For that, I apologize. But at the same time, I gotta be truthful and if there's a joke I can attempt to mine from the situation, I'm going to take that opportunity.

Incidentally, the conversation played out in this strip pretty much happened verbatim in our house the day after our company announced layoffs. Everything right down to Snugglebug II: The Snuggling. It got a big laugh out of Cami, so I thought it would probably work in the strip. That's the long and short of it. I hope you enjoyed it.

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but nothing looks good to me in the theater this weekend. Advertisements keep trying to shove the remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still down our throats - even going so far as to remind us it will be the ONLY place to see the new X-Men Origins: Wolverine trailer (until the internet gets a hold of it about 15 minutes later) - and I just can't muster the enthusiasm to see it.

I'm curious to see Gort. That's about it. Keanu Reeves looks like he's acting more wooden than ever - which I suppose is in-character for an alien emmissary. But as Owen Gleiberman pointed out in his review over at Entertainment Weekly, "Reeves seems to be trying to wriggle out of the charge that he's a flat actor by acting flat on purpose."

Cami's reasons for not wanting to see the film are much more sussinct. "It has Jennifer Connoelly in it."

I'm kind of with Cami on that one. Don't get me wrong, Jennifer Connoelly is fine to look at. But every time she shows up in a movie, my shoulders drop. She acts like the kind of person who NEVER smiles. She seems so serious all the time. She seems like someone who would be a real drag to be around.

I think this weekend Cami and I are going to take Henry to see Santa at the mall - a bizzarre ritual if there ever was one. We took him last year, but obviously he was too young to understand the significance. This year, he totally knows who Santa is by sight (even if he doesn't totally understand what Santa does). It should be a good time.
That's it for me. Have a great weekend, everyone and I'll see you here on Monday!

  Comment

Related Comics ¬