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10-25-04, 6:52 PM
Is it
true when you were born the doctor
turned around and slapped your
mother?
Music:
The Pixies - Tony's Theme
So,
despite my long distaste for
Counter-Strike, as part of the
Half-Life 2 package I got my
hands on the updated version,
Counter-Strike: Source, I felt
obligated to play it. And I've been
playing it. A lot.
I
stay away from public servers now,
because as much as I enjoy the
internet and the mind-boggling
never-before-seen efficiency to
allow people to communicate with
others they normally would not, I
can only take so much of two
seemingly well-educated chaps
screaming:
"PLAY THE FUCKING GAME FAGGOT"
"YEAH YOU FAGGOTS"
"STUPID IDIOT FAGS"
"YEAH EAT MY ASSHOLE YOU FAGS"
So I
keep to the private Shacknews
servers, where I've ridiculously
managed to claw
my
up to #7 in the
rankings.
Maybe it's the people I play
against, but I used to really suck
at Counter-Strike, which is
partly why I hated it. Getting
killed by a bullet to the head by
someone jumping around like a rabbit
isn't uncommon, but they seemed to
have toned it down. There are still
plenty of moments that make me cry
out "Bullshit!" But it has managed
to be of great entertainment.
But
what's the difference? The core
gameplay is still the same, nothing
new added, it's just that the game
has been given a complete graphical
overhaul and enjoys a brand new
physics system thanks to the Source
engine. And it looks great. Here's a
comparison that will negate the need
to explain further.
Old
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Source
I know, I haven't mentioned my
birthday, and my original plan for
today's post was going to be about
it until I changed my mind about it.
As I have mentioned before, I never
intended for this to be my blog, so
I'm avoiding the subject which has
given me cause for much personal
reflection, because that crap just
doesn't belong here. Stealing a line
from a hero of mine, it has since
become my short credo: Funny man, be
funny.
Anyway, yes, a strip:
-K.
I'm going to pee on your grave
10-18-04, 2:12 PM
Are you
hungry? I haven't eaten since later
this afternoon.
Music:
The New America Orchestra - Blade
Runner Blues
No
strip, though I may do one later if
I can think of something. I just
wanted to pop on to say that just a
few moments ago, answering the many
rumors circulating the day before,
it was announced that
Half-Life 2 has gone gold
and the promised shelf date from
Vivendi is November 16th. Some of
the gaming magazines have reviews of
it already, including the new issue
of PC Gamer which has given it a
98%, calling it the single greatest
game ever made. The editor at
Electronic Gaming Monthly, a
console-oriented mag, says, having
played both, Halo 2 just
doesn't compare.
Yes,
I'm excited.
I've
purchased the Silver package from
Steam, which is a pretty good chunk
of entertainment for $59.95, which
allows you to download
Counter-Strike: Source
immediately, and also gives you
complete access to Valve's back
catalogue, which, granted, it isn't
a whole lot, but it includes
Half-Life and Opposing Force,
so I can go back and play through
them before jumping into the sequel.
Oddly enough, it doesn't include the
second expansion, Blue Shift,
but I could do without it. It wasn't
bad, but it's kind of weak to have
something I can play in one sitting.
For
those that buy it through Steam, the
game will be unlocked when it hits
the shelves anywhere. The appeal of
the Steam purchase grows when I
learned that, even though I would
really like to have a tangible,
boxed copy of the game, if anyone on
the planet releases the game early,
it will be available on Steam at
that very moment. If someone in Hong
Kong decides they want to put it out
a week before the scheduled date,
then those with Steam will get it at
that time as well.
In
other gaming news that has me pretty
excited, Irrational Studios has
announced the FPS/RPG BioShock.
Irrational Studios is comprised of
many ex-Looking Glass employees, the
developer responsible for the
System Shock and Thief
series. As the title suggests, it is
a spiritual successor to the
System Shock series, and the
team developing is comprised of all
the members that created System
Shock 2, which if you didn't
find brilliant, then you are wrong.
I can't stress it enough, it's
required material for all PC gamers.
And if you haven't played it before,
you have no
excuse not to now.
Oh,
and before I forget, I wanted to
mention this
deal on Amazon.
You should jump on it before it's
gone, at the very least for 24
and Futurama, which I
purchased earlier this week. It
would've been nice to see a first
season of X-Files on there,
but you can't have everything.
-K.
we've boosted the anti-mass
spectrometer to 180% percent. Bit of
a gamble, but we need the extra
resolution.
10-13-04, 4:24 AM
You're
programmed to be an asshole? You're
the "new model" asshole they're
putting out?
Music:
Denis Leary - Save This
So I
was sitting in the video editing
suite at Webster working on a
project when I got the inspiration
for today's strip. I was the only
one working at a station at the
time, but apparently it's something
of a hang out for some of the people
involved in the media department.
While I'm busy logging all the shots
on the tape, I have to listen to
this guy, who I never met before and
I decided to name Pompous Asshole,
talking to a girl who rarely gets a
word in. Listening to him go on and
on about how people are becoming
less artistically inclined, taking
jabs at other student's projects,
and giving his philosophy on
interpersonal communication. What he
was saying, the words he chose and
the way he spoke, gave me the
impression what he was really trying
to say was "I am smarter and I am
better than you. Here's why."
So I made a strip about it:
Yes, that's as accurate as I
could make him look. And the line he
says is almost verbatim of something
I overheard him say. Spiked hair,
goatee and weird cowboy shirt were
all part of Pompous Asshole's
ensemble.
I hope I don't have to see him
again, but something tells me it's
beyond my control.
-K.
jerkface
10-11-04, 10:03 AM
A gun is
as good or as bad as the man using
it. Remember that.
Music:
London Philharmonic - Baba O'Riley
Jeez, what the fuck, you wake up one
morning and gas prices are
continuing to climb higher than
they've ever been, the weather sucks
and Superman is dead.
Okay, I really have no explanation
for today's strip, either. I was
thinking about making a strip that
had something to do with the recent
passing of Christopher Reeve, but
that would be in poor taste, even
for me. I couldn't even bring myself
to make a strip that made fun of the
death of a NASA engineer named Max
Faget. So this is what you get when
I try not to step over any moral
boundaries:
-K.
wainscotting
10-8-04,
9:56 AM
Connie
Marble, you stand convicted of
assholeism!
Music:
The Bens - Stop!
You
know, as a rule, but mostly because
I'm usually not conscious during
this period, I tend to avoid traffic
in the morning. What I've found is
that there are approximately half a
million cars out on the road, and
they all contain people with more
important places to be than you. It
tends to make me uneasy to see a
large vehicle careening in-between
lanes behind me, quickly making it
close to my position which I'm
certain puts me in great peril. If I
may, I'd like to produce a short
list of Driving Don'ts to those who
may visit my site:
Don't:
-Ride someone's ass with your
SUV because they are only going the
speed limit, which should be
sufficient when it is raining
heavily and the roads are slicker
than usual.
(See also: Driving SUVs in general.)
When
rain is coming down in sheets so
thick that even on the fastest
windshield wiper setting you still
can't see a fucking thing it's usually
a sign to slow things down a bit. I
realize that the phone call you are
taking must be important, and that
you certainly can't be late to the
Team-Building Power Breakfast, but
you have to take into consideration
that I don't want to die. This may
sound like an obsession, but if I
can make it through the day with my
life intact, I'd like to think I did
something right. That saved game of
Minesweeper will still be there when
you get in, buddy, you can cut me
some slack.
Oddly enough, I had this strip
planned out before this morning, but
today's incident just had the good
fortune of being somewhat related.
It says
"Apply pressure here!" in the third
panel. I lose a lot of detail when
converting from bitmap to JPEG, not
to mention I have to scale them down
to fit the page, so I didn't take
that into consideration. I could go
back and fix it, but I don't feel
like redoing an entire panel.
I'll
open a new section soon and start
dumping the original versions of the
comics there, with a higher
resolution and all that.
-K.
the mail room guys do more work than
you
10-6-04,
3:34 AM
Repetition works, David. Repetition
works, David.
Music:
The Pogues - Lorca's Novena
I
really don't have anything to
preface today's strip other than it
is weak and I don't know why I
bothered running with the idea. That
is all.
-K.
there's love
in this room
10-5-04,
6:32 AM
Remember, when in doubt, you should
never do what you truly want to do.
Music:
The Who - Baba O'Reiley
So,
there's this
website
that presents a rather interesting,
albeit extremely nerdy, theory about
certain television series' that have
had links to the 80's medical drama
St. Elsewhere.
Okay, so, if the character Cosmo
Kramer from Seinfeld appears
on Mad About You, that must
mean those two shows exist in the
same fictional universe, right?
Since the character Detective John
Munch from Homicide also made
appearances on Law & Order,
Oz, and The X-Files,
this must mean all these shows must
exist in the same universe, right?
The
show St. Elsewhere ended in
1988 with a series finale that
revealed that the entire series was
the product of autistic child Tommy
Westphall's imagination. Everything
in it never really happened.
Since characters from St.
Elsewhere have appeared on shows
such as Cheers and Law &
Order this must mean that all of
those shows and their own crossovers
and spin-offs must be part of the
same universe, right?
So
far, in an almost six-degress-to-Kevin-Bacon
sort-of way, over 160 shows have
been linked to St. Elsewhere,
from I Love Lucy to
Walker, Texas Ranger. Freaky,
huh?
-K.
i'm in
another dimension ahhhhh
10-4-04,
3:23 AM
Look, I
heard you the first time, Bobby. I
ain't mute.
Music:
Cake - Take It All Away
I
really have no explanation for
today's strip. I haven't played
Splinter Cell in months.
-K.
zooma zooma
zoom
10-3-04,
6:13 AM
He seems
to be obsessed with super hero sex
organs.
Music:
Elvis Costello & The Imposters -
Bedlam
New
month, new page, etc.
Even
though I was ripping on it my
curiosity got the better of me while
I was at Blockbuster today, so I
picked up the latest issue of OPM
with a playable demo of Metal
Gear Solid 3. There are some
definite camera issues that make the
game a little less than fun,
especially considering that there is
no radar in this installment. I need
more than this demo can provide to
pass a definitive judgment, however.
I
guess I felt I was in the need for
an overdose of Japanese oddity
because I also rented Silent Hill
4: The Room which hopefully I'll
get a chance of playing today. I
need to get around to Webster's
photo lab and make a couple of
prints some time before tomorrow, so
I don't know if I'll get much
quality time. I'm off Wednesday,
though, guess I could make that a
day of just gaming.
I use the phrase "Japanese oddity"
not only because of the country of
origin, but because they have their
own style when it comes to being
strange. Part of which why I'm
coming to have an unhealthy distaste
for the country, because I believe,
for the most part, they're weird
just for the sake of being weird,
which I find very irritating. Also
the mentality of a few people I've
run into who have told me they're
generally more interested in
something if it comes from Japan.
Some of which I met during the whole
Blood Crying Man thing. If John
Romero was pulling that shit I bet
that no one would be saying "That's
awesome."
Anyway, I saw Shaun of the Dead
a few days ago, hence the strip (I'm
not a very big fan of "reason
with the monster/zombie/creature
that resembles a loved one" scenes
either). Amusing film, some very
good jokes, a few misses, good
balance of comedy and drama, overall
very entertaining.
-K.
by the beard
of zeus |
