More Comics Online

I posted about the Xbox 360 pricing a couple of days ago and I just had to share that comic strip because of their name for the cheap, stripped-down version. For the first time though, the seemingly random comic strip I've put up here actually relates to the main topic. The New York Times has a great article up about how more cartoonists nowadays see the web as a great infinite canvas for their comics rather than the frozen boxes they're normally confined to. You also see a lot of animated comics out there, such as the cult-hit Strongbad. I personally prefer to see them online. They're accessible anywhere I go to show to friends and usually you can even interact with the creator, which is pretty cool. Plus, you can support them by buying their merchandise direct from them, which I would do if I had the cash to. There's also the usually lure of an archive of comics to the very beginning in most cases. The one thing the article didn't mention is how some cartoonists, like Absath at Ctrl-Alt-Delete, actually print their comics and sell it in volumes to make money as well. Anyway, the article is a good read overall. And I also wanted to mention how thrilled I am that I managed to get a CD magazine for my car's CD changer so I can now drive in style. Luckily, the speakers are also great. So I'm still in a good mood because of that and the impending move back to Austin (a week from tomorrow).

I'm going to start off the nerd news by going back to Microsoft real quick. They've decided to try out the on-demand gaming market by allowed the service Exent to distribute 6 of its biggest titles. The article cites worries about the end of retail, but I think some gamers will always have that desire to possess a box with their own copy of the game rather than downloading it. Nintendo mentioned at E3 its plans to release a GameBoy Micro (a miniature GameBoy Advance basically), and now they've set the U.S. date to be September 19. My theory is that they're trying to saturate the market out of fears of the PSP. Japan has begun a very ambitious project to broadcast 3-D HDTV nationally by the year 2020 to not only see images from any angle but also incorporate smells and sensation. It all sounds pretty cool to me except for the smell part, but I do think it could take a bit longer than 15 years. Lastly, one company is trying to improve the cemetery experience by allowing families to include flat-screen monitors with tombstones to show a memorial video. It's a neat idea, but I can see the concern that it may violate the sanctity of a home of the deceased.

The movie news is pretty thin today, but does that really give me the right to put up a picture here of a clearly hollow adventure film? Probably not, but after seeing so much Alba tail in the European trailer I just had to. If you want to see some worthwhile video footage though you should see the new entry in the Superman Returns video blog featuring footage from Bryan Singer's appearance at Comic-Con 2005. It also includes some excerpts of scenes from the film itself and the director getting some much needed rest on the flight to and fro California. If you want to see a really cool poster you should check out what the creators of Cabin Fever have put together for Hostel, which is sure to be bloodier than Kill Bill at least. If you want to see some storyboards in action from the forthcoming action-thriller Shoot'em up you can check that out over here. I may have to see the movie just for Monica Bellucci. Lastly, in a final attempt to coax you to check out The 40-Year-Old Virgin this weekend, I give you Quint's review of the comedy. I'd see it myself if I wasn't stuck babysitting.

Now for the Friday's Feast meme:

Appetizer
Do you get excited when the season begins to change? Which season do you most look forward to?
A little, yes. But not for summer because it's way too hot in Texas in the summer. I guess I look forward to winter the most when the weather cools down a bit and Christmas and New Year's are right around the corner.

Soup
What day of the week is usually your busiest?
At UT it was Wednesday in the Spring semester. Here in Houston during the summer I really couldn't say. I suppose I've traditionally had the most to do on Saturdays though if I really had to pick a day.

Salad
Would you consider yourself to be strict when it comes to grammar and spelling? What's an example of the worst error you've seen?
When I'm writing something serious, like an essay or an important e-mail, yes. I'm not too harsh on my blog posts and in regular chatting though. The worst error I see is probably run-on sentences. Some people are just afraid of periods and semicolons I guess.

Main Course
Who has a birthday coming up, and what will you give them as a gift?
My cousin Diane has a birthday coming up, but unfortunately I'll be in Austin at the time so I can't get her anything! I'll make up for it at Christmas time.

Dessert
If you could have any new piece of clothing for free, what would you pick?
A good casual shirt! I'm starting to get rid of my old Large shirts and containing my everyday wear to my Small and Medium sized shirts. I'm not fat anymore so I don't need to dress like I am. I'll probably buy another Longhorn shirt from the Co-op Outlet when I get back into Austin.