Web Comic of the Week
As I sit here typing this I'm not feeling too well, but I'm not going to let that keep you from reading my comments on another Web Comic. As with the previous strip I highlighted in this series, I'm impressed by the consistency of style.

This week's choice is Freefall by Mark Stanley.



I don't know if Mark is a little shy, but his name doesn't appear on his strip, other than a tiny copyright label you can only just read. I had to go to one of the pages he links to to find out what his full name was. But whatever his reasons might be, he still manages to create a comic strip that, although it doesn't always make me laugh, it always makes me smile. There are few strips out there that can lay claim to that.

There are only three main characters, but it's a testament to Mark's talent that he's able to maintain an ongoing storyline and keep it humourous with no sign of his work feeling tired. Although other characters do make an appearance, much of the time they are trivial. Mark's work is an embodiment of Bill Watterson's statement that good characterisation will always give you opportunities for humour.

Reading from the beginning is a must for this series, because of the ongoing nature of the story. And there is plenty to read in the archives with more than 900 episodes stretching back over seven years. Take a look and have some fun.

New Links
The more observant among you will have noticed that I've added more blogging links. "I'm Going to America" is of particular note as the owner, Anthony, has me two links - one to my blog and one to my comics. Cool or what? Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher from Star Trek TNG) writes in a bright style that's usually entertaining and quite refreshingly honest. Whilst I'm not a fan of his in any way, I've found his blog keeps drawing me back. Other recent links I'm still trying to evaluate, so there may be a chance they may disappear at some point.

Shopping
I've just come back from doing the shopping with June. Had to make a dash to the garden centre to stock up on more seed and peanuts for the wild birds. Then off to the supermarket to buy lots more fruit and vegetables for my ongoing diet. Was talking with Neil Richards (co-writer and script editer on Broken Sword) on the phone last night and he was saying that half a grapefruit eaten with a meal helps reduce the amount of fat the body puts on. sometimes dieting is more like a chemistry balancing act.

I'm ready for my close-up...
The photographer came this morning. Part of his brief was to take a picture of me with my arm around Scout! In reality this was me sitting by my workstation and pretending that Scout was standing by my keyborad and I placed my hand where I thought his shoulder should be. It's like being in a CG movie. :)

Copyright
I'm not a fan of sprite comics, seeing them as copyright theft and a very lazy way to make comics. There is a thread on the Adventure Gamers forum to which I contribute and expand on this idea.

For those who don't know, sprite comics are created by lifting sprites from games and pasting them into panels and then writing dialogue for them.

Whitewash
Thom Yorke (lead singer with Radiohead) wrote a very good piece on the whitewash that is the Hutton Report. My feelings to a "T". I've been so bewildered by the findings of the report that I've had a hard time putting it into words. Thanks for doing it for me, Thom.

Dane & Joe
A new strip has been posted over at the Just Adventure + site. I hope the joke carries it because the artwork was a little rushed. Last night I had to sort out some strips and deliver the cover for the magazine piece, create another Smiley Street strip, update the website, as well as creating the Dane & Joe strip. I need to get myself into a proper system. Unless anyone wants to volunteer to do my sleeping for me.

Lean and mean
Well, a little. Lean, that is. I hope I'm not mean. :)

Got weighed this morning and found that I'd lost another two pounds - 14st 11lbs - so that's five pounds in total since last week. A stick of celery to celebrate, I think.

Smiley Street
Because I've been busy, Smiley Street has only just been posted on the site. Sorry for the delay. I spent part of this evening putting together a couple of mock-up ideas for the cover of the magazine the interview will appear in.

Interview done
He was here for one and a half hours. Mind you, I had to wake him up three times, so I think I might have bored him. :)

Actually, I thought it went very well and am really looking forward to reading the piece. They're coming to take my picture on Saturday, so that will lower the tone a little, but I'm looking forward to doing the cover. The magazine is actually a supplement in the paper that covers the Hull and East Yorkshire area. It's quite large, so I don't know how I'll fit it in the scanner. :)

Lame?
Scott Kurtz is doing a run of comic strips on his PvP site about being an old gamer. To accompany this he's posted a piece on his main page entitled "I'm so Lame" explaining how he and the character are one and the same in this area.

"The strips about Cole being an old gamer are really about me being an old gamer."

It's almost as though his life needs validation and can only have that if he can keep up with the young. The inference is that there is something wrong with no longer being young. You'd think the guy was in his fifties or sixties the way he talks until you get to the last paragraph where he says that he's 32. Only 32!

I often think that people are determined to grow old no matter what. That they -probably have their life mapped into their mind from a young age and being in your thirties means that you've settled down and have only old age to look forward to. It's like people I see who once they get married and have kids sit at home all the time doing nothing but watching TV.

I have nearly fourteen years on Mr Kurtz, but I consider myself a long way from thinking in the terms that he does. Admittedly, my sons beat the pants off me at computer games, but that has nothing to do with my age, simply that my skill level isn't as high as theirs. Just as, when I was at school, my skill at football wasn't as good as anyone else's. Twenty years ago, when I had my Commodore 64, there were plenty of games that I enjoyed, but I never got the high scores that my friends did.

One of the games I have is Unreal Championship for the XBox. I would never play this online as I know that I'd get beaten hands down. However, by playing against the "bots" I can have just as much fun by setting a skill level that's challenging enough so that I win and lose about 50/50.

Older gamers, pah!

Neat pub story
Gordon has posted an interesting little story (if you ignore the Burns Night stuff, ho ho) over on Something...

Early update
Because I'm going to be busy tomorrow, I may not have time to update my website. So I've updated my Juniper Crescent pages a day early.

Today's weigh-in
This morning I was another two pounds lighter - 14st 13lbs. I wasn't expecting the new regime to kick in so suddenly, though it's good to have the positive effects as it's more encouragement to continue.