User:	shaenon
	Date:	2009-07-05 23:53
	Subject:	Selections from the Shaenon K. Garrity Notebooks
	Security:	Public

Packing for my big move at the end of the month, I found myself browsing through nine years' worth of the spiral-bound Walgreens notebooks in which I do all my sketching. I've got dozens of these, and around two in the morning it seemed like a good idea to scan the most entertaining pages.

Here, for example, is some G.I. Joe art. The line starts here, IDW!



And here's my favorite covert superteam:



Holy crap I gave Michael a jheri curl.

More to follow...

	User:	ampersand
	Date:	2009-07-06 01:34
	Subject:
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My cat has no thumbs.

	User:	ampersand
	Date:	2009-07-06 00:57
	Subject:
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ibbity ibbity ibbity ibbity

	User:	shortpacked
	Date:	2009-07-05 23:02
	Subject:	No arm-mounted flammables? Shrewd, movie Destro, shrewd!
	Security:	Public

Shortpacked!@TNI: Different orders of magnitude.
Shortpacked!: Everyone has a new friend.

Hey, did you know they're doing some G.I. Joe movie too, this year?  It's not just Transformers?  Yeah, I know!  

Hasbro decided to move up the street date for the G.I. Joe movie figures to Monday, July 6, because (as I understand it) stores were breakin' street date on it anyway.  And sure enough, a local Target had some.  And by "some," I mean "a metric buttload."  The first offering of single-packed Joes for the movie seems to be about four waves' worth.  There are oodles of dudes.  Oodles.

Luckily for me, I'm really only after one.  And, of course, it's Destro.  But I wasn't after this Destro for any sort of Destro completism momentum.  Heck, I've managed to pass on the Combat Heroes movie Destro a few times now.  No, I view him genuinely as a super-awesome Destro.  Look at him.  He wears a NECKTIE.  He wears a tie with a normal blue dress shirt, under an overcoat.  He's like Tastefully Dressed Business Formal Destro.  There's no jumpsuit with bare chest or medallion.  This Destro has some self respect. 

He may be my favorite Destro.  C'mon, he wears a tie!  A tie!

As befitting a weapons industrialist chieftan, he comes loaded with firearms.  A small black pistol fits into a holster slung over his chest.  A second gun splits in two, possibly becoming separate weapons.  This and the third gun have tiny pegs on them which correspond to tiny pegholes on each hip.  They can be mounted there, no problem, which is cool.  And necessary, because the final gun, a working missile-firing launcher, is as about as big as a horse.  Seriously, it's as long as the bubble he's carded in.  It shoots strong, like an Attactix missile.  And, wow, he can barely hold it.  It is a seriously dangerous missile launcher.  He could probably do as much damage firing it as using it to bludgeon people with.  

All the single-packed Joes seem to come with a missile launcher, so that must be a thing.  Another thing is the new-sculpt figure stand.  They look like dogtags now, and on the bottom is sculpted either a Cobra logo or the movie Joe symbol.  There's a hole at the end of the dogtag, what with it being a dogtag, so it's possible you could use it as a keychain thinger or something. 

Anyway, this Destro is seriously great.  If you're worried about spoilers, though, uh, avoid reading the back.  I may have made a mistake.  I just wanted to see if it says he wears the mask because he's part of the Destro clan!  Oh well.  

	User:	theferrett
	Date:	2009-07-05 20:49
	Subject:	Love and Guesswork.
	Security:	Public

My stepfather, who has Lou Gehrig's disease, is entering his terminal phase. Before the end of July, he'll be gone. It may well be the next week.

I've told my mother that I will fly out there to be with her, if she needs me. And that's really tough. Bruce is dying (you can see a summary of my history with him here), and there's a part of me that wants to run out and go take care of Mom right now. But on the other hand, I also know that she may want to just spend her last days alone with her husband, and me being there would be an intrusion that would take time and effort away from the man she loves.

In other words, I want to help. But I don't want to make it about me.

So I've told her: "If you need me, I will fly out there tomorrow. But you have to tell me. I'm not going to pressure you with a thousand requests." And that's really, really tough. I have to trust her that if she wants me there, she'll call. And I'll call her daily to check in on her, and see how things are doing, and see what the daily status report on Bruce is. I'll give her opportunities to ask for me there. Even so, it may well be that I don't see her until the funeral.

She's crying on the phone. It's a long way away. I hope she's as okay as she can be, and I just wish I knew the best way to navigate her through this time. But like everything with family, it's all down to love and guesswork.

	User:	pablowapsi
	Date:	2009-07-05 19:17
	Subject:	Wapsi Pics on Ebay
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Don't forget! Wapsi Pics on Ebay ending SOON!

	User:	johnforster
	Date:	2009-07-05 17:08
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I'm contemplating a mini summer trip. It has occurred to me that for some reason or another, I haven't gotten out enough to enjoy the summer weather.

Granted recently the "summer weather" has been near-apocalyptic and very, very wet. But, whatevs.

Now the real question is where to go. The furthest I'd be willing to travel is Yellowstone. Which is tons of fun, but I was there, like, 4 years ago, and not much has changed. It's a huge tourist destination so it's basically like going to a big city with no buildings and mooses instead of serial rapists. Though chilling out of the black sand beach of Yellowstone lake is nice.

I could also do something within the state of Colorado. There's lots of stuff in the mountains. But nothing is really sticking out in my mind as a really interesting destination. Plus most of the interesting stuff (like Rocky Mountain National Park) is only about an hour away, so it's not really exotic to me.

	User:	goodbyechains (posted by heykidzcomix)
	Date:	2009-07-05 20:00
	Subject:	Donation comic preview!
	Security:	Public

So as Tracy and I mentioned a few weeks ago, we're doing a donation incentive comic featuring a previously unrevealed story from Colin's boxing career. There are two tiers, one a totally canonical (if you like the term) version of events, and then a longer, more...naughty version with all kinds of "didn't actually happen but is entertaining anyway" fun going on. The comic is in full color, and should be ready in the next few weeks.

A sneak preview of the first page can be found here (not exactly worksafe, though nothing explicit or anything).

	User:	silveradept
	Date:	2009-07-05 16:12
	Subject:	A couple of work tidbits.
	Security:	Public
	Mood:	curious
	Music:	Python (Monty) - Spam, spam, spam...

Here's two things to consider that have come to mind while at work - one, with the character restriction on it, and on cell phones, one would think spelling would improve with the widespread adoption of Twitter, as typos and errors have significant consequences on whether you can get your message to fit in a Tweet.

Two, speaking of cell phones (and following on from the Rider thought from last time) - considering how many of these changer devices are or have cell phones as part of their array, why haven't more companies jumped on the idea of marketing actual cell phones based on the Rider/Sentai designs? (Maybe they have, and I don't see them.) If not domestically, because it would be the height of unhip to have a kids' show thing for your phone, then perhaps overseas, where older audiences seem quite okay to enjoy those kids shows and their toys?

	User:	fribergthorelli (posted by fluffpudel)
	Date:	2009-07-05 21:44
	Subject:	4 new pages
	Security:	Public
	Mood:	okay

Click here to read 4 new pages of WBK!

That's the end of the flashbacks for now - next week there will be freakshow again... For us, it's been almost a year since the girls argued and Dores spoke backwards and all of that other craziness. For the girls? A couple of hours. ^__^

Oh, and let us know if you find that something is wrong or missing from the site - the half of Friberg/Thorelli that isn't me accidentally deleted a whole bunch of files and had to reupload a lot... er. Something might have gone wrong in the process. Thanks.

	User:	shaenon
	Date:	2009-07-05 12:10
	Subject:	Skin Horse Preorder: Sweetening the Pot
	Security:	Public

The preorder period for Skin Horse Volume 1 is going great. Thanks very much to everyone who's placed orders so far. As a special bonus, I will sign and sketch a character in every copy preordered by July 31. That's right: all preorders get signatures and sketches!

Preorders can be placed here:

http://www.skin-horse.com/store.html

Also, it has come to my attention that some people are unaware that the entire run of Narbonic is available in print. Because it is! And if you order all six volumes together, I'll sign and sketch in each volume. You can order Narbonic books here:

http://www.narbonic.com/swag.html

And yes, I agree it's inconvenient having separate stores for Narbonic and Skin Horse. This will be remedied soon, but we're not ready to make the big announcement just yet. Keep watching the skies.

	User:	ampersand
	Date:	2009-07-05 13:48
	Subject:
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Hey Scix, do you have the tarot card portraits I did for the PDI cast? If not, do you remember what cards I assigned to what characters?

	User:	theferrett
	Date:	2009-07-05 11:25
	Subject:	Question Du Jour: Dead Celebrities
	Security:	Public

Here's a weird question for you: What celebrity would you be least surprised to find out had come back from the dead? (Warning: "Chuck Norris" is not a funny answer.)

I'm gonna go with Clint Eastwood. He'd just sorta brush the dirt off his shoulder, get up, look vaguely irritated, and get back to directing.

	User:	ampersand
	Date:	2009-07-05 09:48
	Subject:
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STAY ON THE SUNNY SIDE ALWAYS ON THE SUNNY SIDE STAY ON THE SUNNY SIDE OF LIFE YEE-HA

	User:	theferrett
	Date:	2009-07-04 22:59
	Subject:	Fireworks
	Security:	Public

For me, fireworks are like Benihana Japanese Steakhouses. I know there's something inherently cheesy about both of them, and really I expect to wake up one morning and discover that yes, like any true adult, I have outgrown such base pleasures.

But every time that steak hits the grill or the fire lights the sky, a grin tugs the corners of my mouth, and I begin to applaud, and I realize the last of my childhood has yet to leak out of me.

As long as I have wonder, I shall last.

	User:	theferrett
	Date:	2009-07-04 16:32
	Subject:	My Father And My Birthday
	Security:	Public

My Dad enjoys sending me many cards on my birthday. This selection is from him and him alone this year.

He is a lunatic, but I love him.

	User:	howardtayler
	Date:	2009-07-04 12:45
	Subject:	The DK Zombie Apocalypse
	Security:	Public

Our friend and fully-compensated minion-manager Janci Patterson ran an RPG last night at Dragon's Keep. The rule-set was "World of Darkness." The setting? Dragon's Keep, July 3rd, 9:00pm, in the Utah we know... only faced with zombies. The characters? Us, as ourselves. Me, Drew (Janci's husband and business partner), Timothy and Rebecca, Tim, Jared, and Big Mike. Oh, and my 14-year-old daughter.

It turns out I'm a fairly robust RPG character. Good firearm experience, solid knowledge of the lay of the land and back routes, and healthy enough to keep up. Most of us were probably a dot or two overpowered in places and I'm sure I was no exception, but the stuff you know how to do by the time you're 40 actually does count for something in games like this.

Game play began at around 8:00pm and ran with a few breaks until about 6:00am. The Keep was full of people until 1:00am, and downtown Provo had people camping along University Avenue all night in anticipation of the parade in the morning (which, following the game, I decided I would love to miss. So I drove me and mine home before the road closed.)

In-game, in a nutshell... there was a big crash, and we realized that there were dead people coming into the store. Hasty barricades and improvised weapons kept us alive long enough to get to cars. We zombie- and traffic-clogged roads prevent us from getting to Jared's house and his firearms, so we settled for my house (and MY firearms.) Another stop for ammo and supplies (Jared's Mom's place) led to our first real combat. We all lived. From there we headed up the canyon to this place I know, a place that is pretty defensible. Except when it's being swarmed by big stitched-together conglomerations of undead.

Still, all of us except Timothy lived. Timothy died once, and then undied a second time. It was sad. We almost lost the whole group, but the zombies rolled badly during those last three rounds, and I managed to get behind them with a semi-automatic shotgun and a pair of assault pistols while their attention was focused on trying to finish off the other party members (two of whom were unconscious.) And then morning came and the dead stopped being undead. No explanation for why. Life's like that. Apparently so is un-life.

It was an intense play session. So intense, in fact, that my daughter decided to bail out and play a different RPG upstairs with Bob and Gary and friends. We gave her a happy ending early -- the life-flight pilot came to get his wife near Jared's Mom's place, and had an extra seat, so Kiki flew to safety before the real fighting started. In that game she played some buccaneer sharp-shooter, popping off the guys with the fancy hats as the ships closed with each other. Oh, and apparently she accidentally seduced her way through Port Royal. I'm going to have to talk to her about that when she wakes up...

Speaking of which, I'm not as young as I used to be. That all-nighter was draining. I suspect I'm ruined for any sort of thinky work until Monday at the earliest.

	User:	theferrett
	Date:	2009-07-04 12:42
	Subject:	Exhausted Weasel
	Security:	Public

My birthday party yesterday was made of pure, unadulterated awesome... But I burned up so much energy in playing yesterday that I don't have the time for a writeup today. I will, I promise.

Suffice it to say that despite the 1998-style web design shown on their web site, having a grown-up party at Zero Gravity is incredibly fun. Bouncing around in a full-sized inflatable dinosaur arena, chucking foam balls at each other, is about as much entertainment as it sounds.

Plus, I horrified Gini by going through the inflatable obstacle course, but hey. It's my goddamned birthday. I'm not letting any wounds stop me.

Anyway, barbecue today, stop by if you'd like, I'm now going to curl up with Grant Imahara's Bot Building book. Yay! And happy fourth, everyone!

	User:	shortpacked
	Date:	2009-07-04 10:12
	Subject:	Nap succubus, maybe?
	Security:	Public

Joyce and Walky!: Put this one in the "adorable" pile.

	User:	locoluis
	Date:	2009-07-03 17:54
	Subject:	House, M.D. Season 3 Episode 22
	Security:	Public
	Mood:	blank

"Addie" was played by an actress named Lyndsy Fonseca. She was born January 7, 1987.

3-22 was aired on May 8, 2007. Which makes her just 20 years old back then.

... darn, she's cute.