Over the weekend I watched an interview of Larry David by Ricky Gervais, and highly recommend it to any fans of comedy. I'm an adoring fan of Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office and Extras, so these are two of my absolute favorite people in the business of shows. Two funny people making each other laugh while carrying on intelligent conversation in mutual respect? That's a thing of beauty. I can see from the YouTube post date that this has been around for over a year, but this is the first I've seen of it. So if you missed it the first time around like I did, enjoy!

This also led me to Larry David in the best cure-for-cancer ad I've ever seen.

And in case you weren't aware, Ricky Gervais has a blog. The post organization may be regrettable, but some of his comments and photos are amusing.

The speech

Last night I watched Obama's Presidential inauguration speech. It was pretty much perfect.

Perfect for the occasion, I mean. Like any good skeptic, I tire of political crowd-pleasing speeches full of rousing, overly optimistic, and ultimately meaningless generalizations. I'm more interested in the debates where actual ideas and policies are discussed. And I'd really like to see a town hall format where the questions candidates are asked are NOT the usual issues. Remove that element of utter predictability, then maybe we'll really see how they think on their feet, and not get some well-practiced responses full of critical jabs and memorized statistics.

But I digress.

As I was saying, the speech was right for the day. It sounded very good, surely inspiring pride and hope in a great many viewers. I definitely wouldn't accuse our new leader of losing a crowd when he gets on the mic. But the impression I was left with was just a general "Don't forget how great our country once was... it's been rough lately, but we can be great again." Don't get me wrong, I like Obama so far and think he did an excellent job with the speech. It's just that talk of change and a new improved nation is not new; we've been hyped up by speeches only to be let down again and again... at this point, I'll believe it when I see it.

But there was one line that stood out to me, giving me pause to consider this new administration's potential. Obama said something to the effect of, "We should focus not on whether government is too big or too small, but on whether it works." Granted, it's still a very general statement, but the idea struck me as a uniquely enlightened view amidst this stubbornly combative, seemingly endless two-party struggle. If he can stick to that philosophy, and inspire others to follow him, maybe all this talk of change is for real.

I hope so.

The laugh

The second bit I found most notable occurred when the new President Obama was seeing off our new ex-President, George W. Bush. They walked from the ceremony together with their wives. Shortly before departing, Bush leaned over to say something to Obama. There was no audio feed, so I don't know what the comment was or how the response sounded. But it looked like Obama was laughing heartily, with a genuine smile.

I'd like to think Bush had a funny thought, shared it as one would with any friend, and the two parted ways in good spirits. A LOT of people disagree with Bush's political beliefs, decisions in office, and even his having been elected legitimately. But, all that aside, what if he's a great guy in person, and just a real pleasure to be around? Politics, and particularly radio and TV talk shows, have people forgetting that someone who disagrees with you isn't necessarily a terrible person. (NOTE: They still might be though.)

This reminded me of the debates we had in high school government class. People had strong opinions and sometimes the discussions got pretty heated. But once class was over, and we stepped out of the mock political arena, we could all go back to being buddies. Or at least the popular kids could. Others went back to their notebooks full of Street Fighter sketches. =P

I guess what I'm saying is: While so many minds get closed off and people throw insults, hold grudges and even make enemies, it'd be nice to know at least those who are running our country are keeping things in their place, and at the end of the day can joke around like friends.

So I met my deadline: got a site and comic strip up by the end of '07. But there's still MUCH to do... give pages some actual content,
link 'em up, and of course the main thing: write and draw some more comics. There are a lot of little behind-the-scenes decisions
and tweaks I'll be making that no one will know or care about.

So if I realize you don't care, why do I bother mentioning it?

To get some content on the News page, of course.

See what I mean?

Yes, I agree, this does suck.

Let us move on.

Coming up next time: Does my browser really matter? -or- Internet Explorer is garbage.

I've been learning and applying content-out CSS design, which should pay off if I decide to change the site layout or color
scheme. But so far it's been kind of a hassle, and it's Microsoft's fault. Note that I never jumped on the MS-hating bandwagon,
or cursed Bill Gates' name, and generally have used Internet Explorer for Web browsing, rather than Firefox (or Netscape, back
in the day). But when I started designing with CSS and previewing pages in various browsers, I finally learned just how much IE
has sucked all these years. Different browsers display the same page in slightly different ways, which should be okay,
but IE6 just does a bunch of things WRONG--for spacing and positioning, which are critical. And the worst part is, it's
the most commonly used browser, so to ignore that fact would be a fool's play.

To give you an idea of what I'm talking about:
CSS: The Missing Manual
is a great book with plenty of technical information, practical tips and, fortunately, hacks to handle browser problems;
I recommend it highly. In the index under bugs->Internet Explorer, there are twenty different items listed.
Compare that to two for Firefox.

So if you're using Internet Explorer, do yourself and all the CSS designers out there a favor and switch to Firefox/Opera/Safari.
Okay, to be fair, IE7 is a big improvement, with much better handling of CSS, tabbed browsing, etc. But IE6 needs to be dropped...
it's time to leave that bug-infested trash behind.

Update 2008.01.31 - Visual aid will clarify what I'm talking about here. Take a look at this comparison of screenshots.
I used BrowserShots, a very handy free tool for Web developers, to generate the images:

After way too much time aligning frames (my OCD-like tendencies have me counting pixels), rewriting dialogue,
and further tweaking layout, I've finished my third strip. It adds a new comic
element, but overall leaves a lot of room for improvement. I'm not thrilled with the quality of my work so far, but I'm
still enjoying the process and I know I'll do better in the future. I think I've had too much on my mind... site structure,
design variations, getting pages done, introducing characters, etc.

It may not show at this point, but I'm continuously thinking about and developing the various future sections of the Web site.
I look forward to the day when all this setup is done and I can focus all my time on making new comics. I'll definitely get stuff
done more often at that point. Until then I can hope for weekly updates at best.

Strip #4 is up: "Suggestion Box".

I also added the About section of the Web site, which includes the official contact email address.
I just hope I'm ready to face the onslaught of mail sure to come pouring in from my loyal fan(s?).

If you tire of the routine of checking for updates, heart full of hope and belly primed for laughter-induced jiggle,
only to enter a world of disappointment time and again... shoot me an email and I'll let you know directly when there's
something new to see. Step off that emo rollercoaster ride, at least for the moment. All the lazy kids are doing it.

Or just keep checking, what do I care. And who doesn't like pleasant surprises, right? Show me that person and I'll
show you someone whose soul is dead. But those are your only options. Do not--I retype, DO NOT--delete that bookmark,
or you will come back in the next life as an unsuccessful webcomic-making nerd. And you don't ever wanna know what that
feels like, boy. Not ever.

Coming soon: Cast page and mo', mo' comics!

Wow, I am way overdue to put down some words. Here goes.

I've actually posted EIGHT new strips since my last blog post! I won't list them all here since you
can just check the archive, but the latest was for Thanksgiving.
Speaking of which, I'm thankful for the big election and political hubbub, since they stirred up
ideas and time-pressured motivations for me.

So if you've just been checking this home page for signs of life... you have lots to catch up on.
Well, lots by my current standards, anyway. In the future I will be certain to update this page whenever
I add a new comic strip. And I'll add a big, colorful, easy-to-click button to get you there post-haste.

Sometimes I'll have something to say even if there isn't a new comic. So to those who can handle text
even if they're not coming from small cartoon heads: yes, the home page is the blog and not the
strip itself for a reason.

Last time (February?!) I suggested the coming of a cast page. That is, in fact, in the works. Same goes for
a links page and other experience-enhancing delights. I know, pretty thrilling. For now you can have a ball
using the search feature added to both the comic archive and
blog archive, thanks to the good people at
OhNoRobot.

Strip number 13 is up. That makes twelve for 2008, a tentative goal I set
for myself around the middle of the year. Why twelve? So I could go from a one-strip-per-year average in 2007...
to a one-strip-per-month average in 2008... to, hopefully, a one-strip-per-week average in 2009.
That's just how my mind works: it seeks out patterns and pattern-creating opportunities. Sexy, I know.
Anyway, I'll be surpassing that goal... a bittersweet victory due to the pattern breakage.

Also, note that I've added a reader feedback section. Now you can make your
opinions known: give each strip a star rating and leave any comments you may have.
I probably won't be going back to read every single comment, but maybe some discussions
will start up when the more provocative topics come around. We'll see.

I've got a lot of ideas for near-future strips, blog posts and site upgrades, so check back again soon.
That's an order.

A week ago I attended the First International Body Music Festival,
hosted in San Francisco. I wanted to catch the Friday night sampler show since it included the most varied acts from
around the world, but it sold out before I got a ticket. I didn't expect so many other people to be making such an oddball
choice on a Friday night. But I did make it to Sunday night's "In the Americas" show.

In simple terms, it was a lot of artists making music using just their bodies. This was a refreshingly unusual and
creative show, with acts including singing, rhythmic stomping, human beatboxing, finger snaps, hand claps, body and face slaps,
tongue clicks, mouth pops and more.

You can check out all the body music artists--including
those I didn't see--if you're curious, so I'll just review my personal highlights:

Most likely for me to pay to see again: Slammin All-Body Band.
This was easily awarded due to geography, but this local group from Oakland puts on a good show, with a really nice jazzy sound.
Each member is talented at his/her specialty, including singing, beatboxing, body music and vocal instrumentalization (I don't
know if that's what they call it, I just threw that term out there). The male lead singer left me particularly impressed, with
a great voice and range, and even some cool scat. No, not the poopoo kind. That'd be weird... but would technically qualify as
body music too, I reckon.

Best use of mouth harp: Barbatuques. Coming all the way from Brazil, this group incorporated
all types of body and mouth sounds. I liked the throaty bass lines and, although not strictly body music, the infectious use
of what I believe was a Jew's harp (I actually owned one at a young age,
just long enough to remember that questionable nomenclature). Check out Baiana
to see what I mean.

Most cutely demonic-sounding: Celina Kalluk & Lucie Idlout. These two women are cousins from Canada;
but not just north of the border where I've been told all Canadians live. They're from Iqaluit, Nunavut, which is beyond the Hudson Bay,
out where the nation breaks up into islands and we figure it's just glaciers melting and
polar bears hiding their eyes with their paws so they can sneak up on their next meal. Anyway, these Canadian women
demonstrated Inuit throat-singing, which
involves them standing close together and singing into each other's mouths to create sounds that probably shouldn't
ever come out of human beings. It was very interesting to watch and hear. A notable aspect is that they would be
working together on a sound or a song, then suddenly break into laughter. At first it was cute because it was unexpected
and they have the charming Bjork-ish accents, but after a while when it kept happening it just seemed unprofessional.
They explained that it's part of the tradition to see who will crack up first. Well played, Inuit.

Another unique aspect of the show was the degree of crowd participation. Throughout the show,
performers brought audience members on stage or led the audience in making various sounds and rhythms.
Many people in the crowd were eager to try some body music for themselves. It was nice to see so
many people actually getting into it. And heartfelt applause came in the form of foot stomping,
which was new to me. Of course, it was a different story when the overenthusiastic felt an apparently-irresistible
urge to experiment with their own unsolicited body music during the show. If you just have to stomp
your feet and slap your face, maybe I'll do the same, if you understand my meaning.