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 Jake's Clever Banter Tim's still working. The bastard. So I have a Gom strip for ya'. It's been a while since we had one. This one references www.Toastyfrog.com, or more specifically, the latest of Parish's "Webcomix". Basically, I realize that sometimes I may do something cliche, but in this day in age, it's becoming increasingly difficult to be original- everything's been done. I could think up something I believe to be completely original, only to discover it had already been done before, unbeknownst to me. The modern trend of "Stealing" is something that I believe is intended to combat that- where if something is going to be similar to other works, and it can't be helped, to dive headfirst into it instead of shrinking away from it. However, despite that I've "Borrowed" a few ideas, it was only for a larger purpose- to further my original ones. Every time you see an original strip here that you think is funny and original, realize that to get there storyline-wise, I often had to wade through charted territory. Sue me. Erm... not literally, though. Anyways... uhm... catch ya' later! 6/28/02 - Well, poop OK, so Tim's job made him too busy for comics. We'll try better next week, when he doesn't have it anymore. Ha! Meantime, I'll pretend to entertain the imaginary people reading this by... err... blabbering. And I want to thank the mysterious Alpha Draconis for reccomending a solution that finally solved my pop-up problem (It's called Mozilla, and it's frickin' fantastic). In other news, the big fight between the constitution and the pledge of allegiance has begun, and I expect the winner to go on to the semi-finals with the dollar bill. My full thoughts on the issue have been posted elsewhere, but it basically boils down to this- I think that ethically, the ruling was right, but that practically, for all intents and purposes, it doesn't much matter. What does matter is that Miss Cleo is being taken to court for fraud- funny she didn't see THAT coming. On the other side of things, I finally got around to playing Eternal Darkness. So far, I think it's a very good game with an interesting storyline, so-so graphics, and good gameplay. I was expecting this to be a survival horror, but in the end, I don't think it is. The fact of the matter is, the enemies aren't scary, are more often than not seen long before they get close to you, and your fighting prowess and footspeed render any menace they had left moot. Eternal Darkness is about as much a survival horror as Devil May Cry (Which is to say, it isn't- although many elements of the genre are in place), but rather than focusing on "Looking cool", the game places the emphasis on an interesting targetting system and the storyline and atmosphere (And supposedly later, the "Insanity" meter will play a large part). That's not by any means bad, though, as it's all done very well and kept very fun. But really, my mind keeps tuning to Metroid Prime... Good god, I can't wait to play the full version of that game... 6/24/02 - Grrrr... I hate pop-up ads This is the SECOND time I'm writing this, because a stupid pop-up ad tricked me into closing the file. But I'll have my revenge... ohhhhhh yes... And... just how many birthdays has Tim had this year? Three? Err... anyways, we're making another attempt at a streak, though I'm not sure how much Tim's job'll screw it up... we'll have to wait and see. Oh, and something interesting to note- Tim not only drew today's strip, but wrote it, too. While normally sticking mainly to the artistic duties of the comic, Tim suggested an idea that was too irresistable to ignore, so I had to use it. Also, I got the chance to play the final version of Stuntman lately. You may remember, Stuntman recieved my vote for worst game at E3 (Although if I could bring myself to play more than two minutes of Kemco's Batman game, that could have easily won it). Well, playing through the finished version, my decision stands. And I find myself more and more comparing it to the worst parts of the developer's previous work, Driver. Driver had extremely bad load times, but missions were long, cities were huge, and gameplay was very liberal and fun. Stuntman plays a lot like a very strict version of Driver's most annoying level, the first one (The parking garage). You're given very strict instructions as to what to do, and any deviation means game over. Go slightly off course in the first two seconds? Thirty more seconds of load time. Took a few seconds too long? Thirty seconds of load time. Having to restart every ten seconds is painful. Having to do so with a thirty-second wait every time is torture. I don't see why it's getting so many good reviews, as it is pure digital agony. If you couldn't tell, I do not like it very much. On the lighter side of things, I saw Minority Report and Lilo and Stitch this weekend, too. Both very good. Rather than expend any extra effort, I'm copy-pasting from a messageboard post I wrote on the topic: *Minor spoilers abound* Minority Report Y'know, going into this, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Aesthetically, it looked a lot like A.I., and the whole "Tom Cruise in an action movie where some sort of conspiracy spins around him while he does the fighting and stuff" has had mixed results in the past. And then there was the thought that Speilberg might be trying to make the next Memento or Fight Club. Ugh. In the end, it's not really like any of that, and yet, it's sorta' a little of all of it. It IS basically a "Tom Cruise in an action movie where some sort of conspiracy spins around him while he does the fighting and stuff", but without any of the ludicrously confusing plot twists of, say, Mission Impossible. It DOES aesthetically look like A.I., but the "Future" presented actually seems much more feasable and far less... uhhh... weird and vague. And in some ways, it does feel kinda' like movies like Memento and Fight Club. The fact that the major plot points are revealed far before they happen isn't just some cheap gimmick. It adds a whole new dimension to the movie. Do they avert fate? Do they choose to meet with destiny? It could have gotten old, but the funny thing is, more often than not, the final conclusion is usually neither of those things. And that kept it fresh and interesting. In the end, all this may seem like a jumbled mishmesh, but it all fit together very well, and it gets my vote for best movie so far this year. Speilberg didn't resort to his usual "Gushy, gooey" stuff, either. In fact, if not for the visual style being so similar to A.I., you wouldn't be able to tell it was a Speilberg film at all. Whatever that's worth. Lilo and Stitch A good movie. But nothing to compare to Toy Story 2 and Emperor's New Groove. I found myself time and again thinking about how it could have been much, much better. It seems every time they do something as positively right as humanly possible, they do something else akward and unbalanced to counteract that. The characters, for example. Stitch is introduced as a monster who has a thirst for destruction built into his genetic code. And at first, he does that to a T, with fantastic results. But very shortly into the movie, the story seems to shift to him really wanting to do good, but accidentally causing bad things to happen. Bah. Lilo, too. The movie starts with her being a very chaotic and weird kid that has a complete disregard for her sister's or even her own situation. But she too changes attitude dramatically fairly shortly into the movie, into someone who, also, is a victim of circumstance trying to do the right thing. Even the bit parts are reduced to lesser characters by the end, when the mad scientist instantly and for no real reason grows a heart, the strict leader of the galaxy (Or whatever) decides to go lax on policy (Using loopholes, of course), and the Ving Rhames-esque (Yeah, yeah, I know, I know) social worker admits to having been at Roswell (Good god, am I tired at hearing the mention of Roswell in alien movies). Even beyond the characters, though. Take a look at the setting. Hawaii is of course beautifully drawn, and you do kind of feel Disney is trying to show some culture in there with things like "Ohana", and hiring Hawaiian voice actors. But then, great googly moogly, there's the stereotypes. Because, you see, every Hawaiian lives right near the beach, surfs, eats poy, does the hula, wears shorts, spends most of their day barefoot, and either is or personally knows one of those cool tribal-type fire-jugglers. Now, I've never so much as been to Hawaii, but if this is anything like the concensus that all Californians live in big cities, surf, skii, snowboard, are a half an hour away from the ocean, the mountains and the desert, and that all women are large-breasted blondes, I can tell you it's all a load of hoo-ey. And it's not so much a problem that they stereotyped, but that they tossed in seemingly every stereotype they could think of. The storyline bounces between genuinely good stuff, Disney-esque gooeyness, and sci-fi leftovers. Yeah, the Earth is soooo primitive compared to those superior aliens. That's just funny! Well, it might have been funny, a decade or two back when someone first put the joke into a movie. Now it's... eh. All would be forgiven a hundred times over if it even came close to matching the hilarity of Disney's other twisted mutation, The Emperor's New Groove, but alas, the good jokes are too far and few between, although what's there and good is usually fantastic. Now no doubt I've sent the rabid jackals my way, but I do not hate this movie. I like it. I just felt it necessary to provide a counter-point to the endless outpouring of love for this film. It's good. It's a good way to spend $5, it's a good way to spend your afternoon, and it's a good movie. But it is by no means a great movie. Given the choice between this and TENG or Toy Story 2, there just wouldn't be any contest. So, to recap- Lilo and Stitch = Good Minority Report = Very very good Stuntman = "Why does it feel like my flesh is burning?" Bad. 6/19/02 - Yeah, we broke our streak We kept it going for three weeks, though, and only tripped after Megatokyo went BACK to not updating, so I suppose it's OK. In the end, it's not my fault for not updating, and it's not Tim's fault for not drawing. Tim's computer crapped out on him. Rest assured, though, we'll probably resume updates on Monday. So there. Oh, also. Anyone out there who considers themselves a fan of anime NEEDS to go out and pick up the new Excel Saga DVD. Soooooooooooo funny. Featuring the exploits of really really really really really really really hyper girl Excel (voiced by the same VA as EVA's Misato), very cute but constantly terminally ill girl Hyatt (Who's coughing up blood throughout the opening theme), afro-man Nabeshin (Pictured above), and the emergency food supply dog Menichi, as well as many others. This is probably the funniest anime I've ever seen, and it's the funniest ANYTHING I've seen for quite some time. So get it. Foo! |
 Tim's Clever Banter Ah yes. Yesterday was the holiest day of the year. Christmas? Pfft. Yom Kippur? NAY! 'Twas my birthday and parades were marched and children did sing! But alas, I must go to work today. Yes. Tim, the laziest BITCH in the galaxy is going to work at his father's office. I'm gonna be an "IN-TERN" or something. Hopefully that translates to "BADASS NINJA", or something, so that I may slay my noble dad's rivals. But wait! Birthday!! I got neato presents!! Ooh ooh ohh! Like the Evangelion DVD set (finally)!! Medal of Honor: Frontline (whoa)!! And Way of the Samurai (yowza)!!! And it's weird, so far I'm liking Way of the Samurai more than Medal of Honor. MoH has some wacky controls, and although I'm sure I'll get the hang of them eventually, I'm preferring Samurai at the moment. For sure, both games have excellent atmosphere what with historical settings and all... I've always wanted to traverse Meiji era Japan..well, okay, ever since I saw Rurouni Kenshin..and Way of the Samurai comes damn close! Just without the J-pop music and magical ninja attacks... But uhh, can't talk now. Must get ready for work! Oh, and see Minority Report! It's GOOOOOOOOOD. |
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