|
This is the DogBlog. It's where I'll be recording thoughts, musings, and ponderworthy items. It's also where I'll bitch about a bad day. I'll update it ... let's say once a week. Probably more. But maybe less. Because sometimes I will get busy, and eventually I'll die (I'm a dog). If nothing else, by the time I get sick of doing this, you should have a pretty good sense of what it's like being a dog with HUMAN HANDS.
14 September, 2004 I left my editing project project in my teacher's box instead of at his office, which led to confusion. As a means of apology, I cooked up a backstory for my professor. To wit: Oh... sorry about that. Well, let me make it up to you, with an explanation of the characters' backstories, to help you better understand the choices Maurice and I made in the editing: Sylvia came to America from Hungary in 1985, stowed away in an empty mechanic's cabin on a crumbling Exxon oil tanker. Her father died mid- transit, of lupus, and her mother was never the same. She spent the days and nights that followed gazing through the salt-smeared porthole at the undulations of the water. When the tanker traveled east-west she had neither sunrise nor sunset to look upon, and on those days, which comprised the final leg of her voyage, she was like a veil of gloom over the family, especially on young Sylvia, who felt so deeply, was so pure of heart... Adam and Todd grew up together in a small orphanage in Connecticut. At the age of 12, they fled the orphanage, only to be captured by murderous meth-addicted transients. Fortunately for Adam and Todd, a vigilante fallen nun, who recognized them from a visit to the orphange two years prior, happened upon the boys as the hobos were preparing to cook them. Using the teachings of Tae Bo, she reduced the hobos to a quivering mass of introspection. She adopted Adam and Todd, and read to them every night from the scriptures, in the original Latin translation. Unfortunately, due to runoff from a nearby paint plant, she suffered from a bizarre speech impairment, which caused her to speak backwards when reading aloud. Not surprisingly, the boys became pawns of Satan. The pair met Sylvia while they were getting their oil changed one day. They all shared a similar taste in music, and talked during their 15- minute wait period about Rickie Lee Jones and Boz Scaggs. When the time came to part ways, they knew somewhere deep inside that they would meet again. How right they were. No sooner had Sylvia pulled out of her parking space did Adam and Todd plow into her Toyota Celica, injuring her knee. Although Todd was nowhere near the point of impact, he suffered a major concussion and was never the same. Sylvia, who was fond of her knee, was also never the same. While working out the insurance details, she decided that a life of crime awaited her, and that her destiny lay with these two men. She asked, and they said sure. After an initial period of worry over how she knew that they were criminals, the duo chalked it up to coincidence and took her back to their hideout. Together they plotted what would be their first and last bank robbery, of the 2nd St. Savings and Loan, in order to finance their move to Canada. Yeah, your guess is as good as mine. So they plotted every point along the way, and in the process Sylvia and Todd (who had taken to carrying a rifle-shaped bouquet of roses everywhere) began to fall in love. Unbeknownst to Sylvia, however, Todd's father, an allied infantryman in World War II, had had scores of girlfriends during those years, and was in fact Sylvia's birth father. He used to speak at great length about "Svetlana, the Russo-Hungarian dame with whom I spent those long winter nights AWOL from my company, who had a daughter named Sylvia who came to America in 1985 and who wears glasses," and Todd knew well the cards that fate had so cruelly dealt him. Todd knew that for a pawn of satan to lie with his sister would bring about the end of the world. But he couldn't say no to a chick with specs, and this was the central mystery of his life. The day of the robbery, Sylvia felt something amiss... As she and her partners yelled and waved their guns, she saw a curly-haired man out of the corner of her eye, still standing in his stall... and yet her mind was elsewhere. As for Jimmy the driver, well, nobody knew that much about him... Hope this helps.... Malcolm
26 August, 2004 The previous notice is to inform you that Rise of the Snowman 7 is now online. It's spectacular, and even features a cameo from me, though I daresay, I don't remember very much about the conversation. Also, dear sweet Malcolm is trying to earn a free ipod. I assumed it was baloney myself, until I realized that you go through so many promotional offers getting to the one you actually want to do that the advertising revenues simply have to cover their overhead. Not to mention, like a music club, they count on the inherent laziness of people who forget to do their part of the deal. But apparently it's real. If you're curious/dubious, read this article in Wired News, or this article in JayBees, where JB breaks down how it actually works. And then be a doll and click on Malcolm's Referral Link, so he gets some play.
26 August, 2004 I got me a job. I the snowman. Gonna fund me a war, uh huh.
25 August, 2004 Dear Younglings, I've heard a terrible song recently which suggests that you don't need any water. You need lots of water, at all stages of life. Drink lots of water. Tap water, not bottled. And read my side of the story, children. I think you'll be convinced.
11 August, 2004 I have found it! The most violent children's book of all
time! I didn't think it was out there, but sure enough. I
don't think it's in print anymore, but the Tin Tan Tales is
without a doubt the most inappropriate children's book I've
ever seen, and I've found for you a webpage
with Well, things have been fun the last few months. Stevie has been in Summer School, Malcolm has been off studying film, and Matt has been in Mexico. So I've had the New York office to myself, and boy what a time I've had. I come in to work at noon, and sip my coffee while I watch the traffic go by. Then occasionally I answer the phone. Yep. That's about it. I love being on a hiatus. See, my current flame, Chiandra, is REALLY getting up in my grill about lazing around the apartment, so I retreat to the office and pretend I'm accomplishing something. But the fact is, I'm useless without Matt, Malcolm and Stevie. Come back to me, my children.... Oh, and Neel? Neel's dead. He died in a freak nude-parasailing accident in the Caspian Sea. Say a prayer for him, will you?
20 July, 2004 O my darlings, Such wonders and tragedies have befallen us since this web-site was last up-dated. It began in early May. I arrived on the fifth to find Matt, Neel and Stevie lying on the floor of the publications center "War Room," unmoving, amid destruction and squalor that defies my powers of description. Someone had apparently taken an ax and a flamethrower to the place and strangled them all when they emerged to investigate! But the three comatose men--just boys, really; really they're just boys--breathed warm against my frozen hand, so I knew they were at least alive. I heard an engine starting and tires screeching outside, and saw Malcolm riding away in the backseat of a hideous gray car, a stone-faced man in black at the wheel. Malcolm was laughing. We'd been taken by the enemy. I dragged the boys outside and set fire to the place for the insurance money. Lovely surfer, that is when the trouble started. The boys, you see, roused rather quickly with the heat, pissing and puking all over the fortunately verdant parking lot. When they realized what was about, they screeched like Deathfox himself had possessed their puny brains, and demanded an explanation, throwing bottles as they did so. I told them about my insurance plan, and the horrors inside. They tried to eat me alive! It was only once I'd gone into hiding that I realized the boys had gotten drunk and wrecked our offices with Deathfox and probably the Dog, "blowing off steam" from examinations. Yes. Well. That hardly seems an appropriate way to behave after so much hard work well done, but at any rate, I have been writing like a madman in my seclusion, while, I notice, the boys have gotten nothing done at all with the chronicles of our hairy friends, not even updating the web-site to tell us, their only sunshine, why they have been so derelict. They have now sent me an invitation to a Forgiveness Party, strictly black-tie, which sounds like the kind of trap I'd set if I wanted to murder someone with my friends. But if all goes well, you may start seeing my works posted on the site in rapid succession, though you won't see any cartoons for a while, because those American reprobate asses have surely done no work whatever; I know them. So wish me luck, my children: best of all possible worlds, my work will inspire them to get cranking again, to use the vernacular. Worst case scenario, I won't escape with my life, so bon swar, my only loves. MdBdN
4 May, 2004 Well, Malcolm's about to head off for a busy summer, so he cranked out a cartoon because he loves you. It's on the cartoons page. It's about a murderous helicopter pilot, and he calls it Hellicopter. Hope you enjoy it.
3 May, 2004 Greetings all, there is a delightful new cartoon by Matt called Elevator. You may find it on the cartoons page. It's based on an analogy that Matt's religion prof gave about abortion, regarding an ever-expanding fat man in an elevator. Ask yourself this question, Kyle.
2 May, 2004 UPDATE: Neel is ALIVE! Though he doesn't have any real toons for you, he has an animation he made for his friend's production company, Seven Zomburai Productions. You know, they're samurai, but also zombies. So they fear not pain, only fire and losing... well, ALL their limbs. But anything less is just a day at the office. It's on the toons page. Hope you enjoy it.
27 April, 2004 Sup Foolios, it's me, David. You can call me D-Town or Diggity or even David. Although sadly D-Town Diggity Dawg was popular in High School - no lie. I'm new to the scene here, but I have a couple of cartoons up on this site you definitely need to check out. (!!!!) They're called Monster and Balloon Dog. Balloon Dog got posted today, so if you're in the mood to be terrified, I recommend watching it. And Dudes, guess what happened today!! In my Spanish AT session at 4 o'clock, we walk in and BOOM!! Like an exploding blimp, there was a fresh, pink Pinata for us!! Our AT told us we had to beat it at some point, and that class was dismissed! Period End of Story. She was cool. She will be missed by me. I hate to end it on a glum note, so ... Marshmallow Paste!! Well, I really hope you enjoy the cartoons. Peace out, Flava Flas.
21 April, 2004 Well, the horrible programming assignment is behind me forever. I thought I'd customize my Blackjack game just a touch. Take a look and tell me what you think.
20 April, 2004 Your excellencies, it is I, the good man of snow! I am feeling a little sad today, so please go read of my triumph in Rise of the Snowman Part 4: Murther! It is the conclusion to the Love Is a Mystery duology, and I'll give away the resolution to the cliffhanger in some future blogge, because part 5 is already underway and looking fantastic. That's because the life of a snowman is lonely and cold, like a real writer's. I think I'll go wake up Stevie with a freezing keg of ice water, like they do to victorious coaches in the moving pictures about Sport..
18 April, 2004 Friends! Neighbors! Countrymen! And Americans! The newest Rise of the Snowman is here for you to come to terms with! I, le Bonhomme de Neige, guarantee it awesome! We've done a lot of classic genre stories on my beloved series: martial-arts buddy comedy, science-fiction love story, and now: war mystery! Oh, there's no war? Well stay tuned, man monsters, because it's a double feature! And I play the world's greatest detective and greatest soldier, the real Bonhomme de Neige! I love you!
18 April, 2004 I figured the very least I could do during this stressful time is make a new background for the site. Malcolm's plaid was eye-tantalizingly lumberjackian, so I decided to go ahead and take it to the limit with polkadots. I hope your eyes hate me now.
18 April, 2004 Hey gang, an update for you. We've got two new cartoons, Stick Figure Dance Theater by Andrew and Monster by David. David, by the by, is our newest staff member. These are both gifs in the old mode, that hearken back to our days in the hallowed halls of boarding school. Ah, memories. Oh god, no! God, dear god, stay back, memories! Auuughhh, they're eating my flesh! Bad memories, nooooooo! On that subject, have you ever had a leech on you before? Happened to me last year... it stings, dude... any time you see a movie where the character suddenly "notices" he has a leech on him (read: his penis), that's a bald-faced lie. Believe me, if you have a leech on the back of your hand, as I did, you will know within a second and a half. Yeah... soo... I caught a few minutes of an old SNL episode from 1986 (I knew because Robert Downey Jr. was in the cast), and Weekend Update just creeped me out. Dennis Miller was playing a newsman of questionable aptitude, and A. Whitney Brown was talking about the situation in Haiti and a war in Iraq. The only way I could tell I wasn't trapped in some dastardly cosmic time-loop was that the host, Jay Leno, was actually funny. So I didn't get to see Kill Bill this weekend, but I plan to very soon. FatMan (my roomate and I refer to Ebert & Roeper as Fat Man and Little Boy), who praised the over-the-topness of the first one, said this installment is even better, because it actually has a story. I can't wait. Otherwise things in Malcolmland are good. I've been getting my daily stressercise this month, so I've taken care of most of that winter insulation I put on. I've been on this huge Glenn Gould kick lately (which is a new one... I have the perrenial jazz phase but rarely a classical phase), and he was really, really good. And the rumors your hear are true, he hums while he plays, and it's really, really annoying. But what the hell, he's a genius. So I don't listen with headphones, though I tried the other day in the library. Shudder... And the playing makes up for it. You should see that movie about him, by the way. Colm Feore (did I mention I'm changing my name to Colm?) gives an excellent performance, and the approach to filmmaking is just gr8. Where else would you have documentary segments, narrative segments, a concert piece taking place entirely inside the piano, and a Fantasia-style animation sequence in one movie about the same person? Yeah, it's kinda like that. Sierra Mist. I'm out. For my recommendations, the list grows ever longer. City of God, The Office, Da Ali G Show, 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Withnail and I...
15 April, 2004 New items on the advice column page. We've finally decided to take the anything-goes approach; if you have a question that's just of general interest, go ahead and send it, and we'll consider it an advice item. Can't wait to hear from you. Also, in honor of the day in 1956 when Sean Connery sliced a grapefruit in half using only his piercing gaze, our webpage background for the week will be the Scottish tartan you occasionally see him wearing for dress functions, like when he's being knighted or throwing out the opening googly. Sure, Scottish tartans were never the best for 3-color layout, but it looks cool for now. So deal, punchy.
14 April, 2004 Seeing as Malcolm and the Dog with HUMAN HANDS have both
been remiss as of Until next time, Matt
14 April, 2004 Greetings everyone. Matt is publishing a Mattblog criticizing me of not updating enough, so I thought I'd beat him to the punch. Sadly, we have no new flashes for you, but there are exciting updates around the corner. There will be a cartoon or series of cartoons from our newest staffer, David, that will rock your bones to ash. We have new installments of the very popular Bonhomme de Neige Rise of the Snowman series of essays, and they are just getting better every time. For now, why don't you settle for the (almost) entire series of the Smiley Man Death Theater, by Unknown, which we recently unearthed. If you are the author of these cartoons, and have a problem with us displaying them, please let us know. You man find them on the toons page. Also, here's a fun link for you. I'll add it to the lynx page. It's a series of drawings from the govt-sponsored LSD tests in the 50's, also known as the electric kool-aid acid tests. Pretty wild. Check it out. Take care, my friends.
|
most
of the pages scanned in. T'is a shame, they don't make 'em
like they used to.