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Archive for February 1st, 2006

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Feb01

HEALTH NUT

February 1st, 2006 | by Tom
  • Comics
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(4 votes, average: 6.75 out of 10)
HEALTH NUT

Tom was totally prepared to spring of the line. He did stretches and everything. Drank a Gatorade, too!

I’m not entirely sure what headbands and tank tops have to do with watching movies, but the fact that Cami and I have only seen one of the four nominated films this year if a distinct reflection of our slack attitude this year.

Much has been made about Hollywood’s lackluster output in 2005 and I think by this point you would know that my stance is one of total agreement. You would assume in a year so rife with mediocrity, it would prompt one to search harder for the good stuff – the creamy nougat, as it were. Instead, like kryptonite, 2005’s abysmal line up drained my will to live.

But yesterday the Oscar nominations were announce and I feel reenvigorated! As has become our tradition, Cami and I make it a point to see all 5 films nominated in the Best Picture category. If nothing else than to be totally pompous after the fact when one of them walks away with the little gold man – "Oh, I knew they would win all along. That olther film wuz robbed!"

I was a bit surprised to see Good Night and Good Luck up there, but it’s a welcome change of pace. I haven’t seen Munich – and I know some people swear by it. But my question is, how could Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix be nominated in their respective acting categories and Walk the Line not be represented with a nomination? It seems as though it would be more deserving than Munich. But then again, I haven’t seen Munich. So maybe I’m totally talking out my ass. A situation I intend to remedey in the coming weeks!

This was a while back, but I read an interesting thought over at Hollywood Elsewhere in advance of the awards season. Another reader had written to the column pointing out that the field of (then) potental nominees appeared to be thinning out to what we essentially ended up with. Pointing out that the Oscars were originally created to celebrate the films of the major studios, has Hollywood painted itself into a corner with bottom-line thinking? In other words, has their reliance on blockbusters and sequels totally written them out of the awards ceremony they helped to create. Has quality been turned over to the independent filmmaker? In what way are the Oscars now different than, say… The Independent Film Awards?

It was an interesting thought – and I was kind of paraphrasing it – but is this a representation of either a more definative rift between art and commerce. Or does it represent the overall integration of "independent" movies into the American mainstream? Is the word "independent" being revised to mean something else? Used to be "independent" meant you sold off all your comic books and maxed out your credit cards to get your film made. Now it means that the "independent arm" of Warner Bros. or Sony has picked up your film, but the content is too obtuse for general audiences looking for popcorn entertainment. Still, they’ll finance your film essentially for the accolades.

Food for thought.

Switching gears.

Wanted to point out to you the little mailing list sign up form directly above this blog and directly below the comic. I encourage you to sign up for it. I’m going to be making some announcements soon and I like to keep the people on the mailing list informed early. It’s just a means for me to communicate more directly with you guys.

What’s some of the stuff I’m working on? Well, the Theater Hopper: Year One book, for starters. Plus, I might have some new t-shirt designs in the works. If so, you’d be tipped off to their sale early if you were a mailing list subscriber! Tease, tease, tease!

Another little something I want you to check out…

Remember last year when I designed a shirt for Threadless.com? Well, I have another design for sale over there that you should check out. Here’s a preview:

Squirrels Are Nature's Ninjas - Threadless.com

It’s called "Squirrels Are Nature’s Ninjas" and it’s on sale now. I didn’t come up with the title. Actually, someone else submitted it to OMG Clothing – also owned by the fine people at Threadless. Much like my previous design, the slogan was handed off to me and I went at it with a visual representation. I’m really happy with how this one turned out.

At any rate, I don’t get anything if the shirt sells except for the feeling of pride if it sells out an they later reprint it.

However, I *DO* get referral bonus points if I send you to the site and you buy something – anything! – in inventory. So, if you’re combing through the site and find another design you like, please follow this link before you make your purchse:

http://www.threadless.com/?streetteam=Tom%20Brazelton

That way, the referral points come back to me.

Many thanks.

Not much else to write about. Well, we’re having a little trouble in the THorum right now. We’re not sure what’s causing it. But I’ve gotten a few e-mails from people who are trying to create accounts and are getting errors. For now, the best advice I can give is to keep trying. If it doesn’t register you the first time, try again or even a third time. Eventually, it will go through. We’re working on resolving the problem soon. Thanks for your patience.

Here’s to everyone having a great Wednesday!

└ Tags: Best Picture, concessions, health, hypocrite, Jimmy, nomination, Oscars
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INVESTIGATE

February 1st, 2006 | by Tom
Posted In: Blog

I’m feeling kind of spunky this afternoon and I wanted to share a few links to some other web sites that I think you guys should check out.

Used to be, back in the day, I would trade links with anyone who batted their eyelashes at me. These days… well, I’m a little more busy. But I don’t want that to be an excuse. I want to tell you guys what I’m into because that’s really the spirit of the web comics thing, isn’t it? I don’t want to stake off this little piece of internet and feverishly protect it like a frothing Gollum. "My web sitesee! Preccciiouuusssss!" Nope. Instead I’m gonna share the love. It’s good karma, doncha know?

THE PC WEENIES – Krishna Sadasivam is a great guy who produces a really sharp comic about the IT world. I don’t work in IT. I don’t know a lot about IT. But I kow a lot of guys who do, and this kind of stuff rings exceptionally true. I think he has a real strong sense of characterization. It’s just really easy to imagine what Bob and Grampa sound like.

MULTIPLEX – If you like Theater Hopper, you’ll dig Gordon McAlpin’s Multiplex. It’s about movies, but in a different way. Instead of having outsiders running around making commentary about movies, imagine if Jimmy got his own comic. That’s what Multiplex is like. It’s from the eyes of the people who work in the theater! Gordon has a way of taking really funny situations and playing them straight. Which, I think, makes them funnier. Plus, I like Gordon. I’ve chatted him up a few times online and he seems really into what he’s doing. I think that’s worth something right there.

POPCORN PICNIC – Another movie-related comic. This one is just getting off the ground. Chris Shadoian’s artwork is really sharp. Like an Archie comic with a hipster bent. If you’ve read Acid Keg, you’re kind of familiar with the style. Chris is out there, quietly doing his thing and I believe it’s time someone made some noise about it. Incidentally, it was Gordon who tipped me off to this one.

DIGITAL PIMP ONLINE – In my head, everyone in the universe already knows about the great work Joe Dunn is doing with his myriad of comics. This guy’s level of talent seriously freaks me out. It scares me. His work with Mighty Mitch Clem on The Coffee Achievers is about to come to a close, but I think it’s probably one of the greatest colaborations in web comics. Nevermind his work on Matriculated, Free Lunch and Joe Loves Crappy Movies. The later being a movie comic that always comes up with jokes I wish I had thought of! Joe is all over the map with his work and I don’t think he gets enough credit. So check out each one of those comics that he works on and find out why I call him "The Hardest Working Man In Web Comics."

Anyway, those are a few sites for your bookmark folders. If you’re in the mood for some new stuff, I would strongly encourage you to check them out!

└ Tags: Acid Keg, Chris Shadoian, Digital Pimp Online, Gordon McAlpin, Joe Dunn, Krishna Sadasivam, links, Multiplex, PC Weenies, Popcorn Picnic, sharing
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