My Site and Drunk Duck

I’ve had this idea floating around in my head since late last year about telling a joke about introducing a character (I assure you, no new MAIN characters are being introduced any time soon), and then having a highly negative response from the readers. It’s true that many people feel like I don’t use the characters that I have (like the Gnome King, or Charlie), and it’s true. I’m going to be working on fixing that in the near future.

This is the winner of the “Put Your Face in my @$$hole!” contest: Lauren Ragen from Kalamzoo, MI.

I didn’t receive quite as many photos as I had hoped for (but the ones that I got were hilarious), and in the end she won because she followed the directions – showing your angry face AND your computer. Plus, the blood coming out of her eyes was priceless.

The next contest that I throw, I’ll try to make it a little easier…like having pictures of your pets being whipped or yourself in a gimp outfit or something.

Next week I’m off to NYCC, so be sure to look me up at the Digital Pimp booth in Artist’s Alley (I’ll be there when I’m not out mingling or attending panels). More hilarious stuff to come.

Movie Night #105:  Repo The Genetic Opera (2008)
Director:  Darren Lynn Bousman
Cast:  Anthony Stewart Head, Alexa Vega, Paul Sorvino, Sarah Brightman, Paris Hilton, Ogre
Plot:  Shilo Wallace (Vega) is a 17 year old girl living in a world where people can get new organs on loan from an corporation that has a rather strict repossession clause.  If you don't keep up on your payments, then they send the Repo Man (Head) after you to collect their property.  However, the Repo Man is also Shilo's guardian, and is trying to keep her from getting sick if she goes outside for fear that she may need a new set of organs eventually.  The movie is filled with some catchy tunes, some killer goth production designs (like Bladerunner with corsets and lots of eye make up), and a pretty standard opera plot (which in no way implies bad - just tragic). 

The flick's a pretty fun watch, but also a long one.  With the movie coming in around 2.5 hours (and a director's cut on blu-ray with an additional 40 minutes of footage), be ready for a long and dark ride through a world that shares very different morals from our own.  However, the imagination put into the flick is refreshing.  I've heard the movie referred to as the modern generation's Rocky Horror Picture Show (and while I'm not sure that's a fair assessment, it's close enough).  It certainly has songs that people will be singing along to in their car - songs dealing with internal organ removal and taking drugs because you're addiction to surgeries. 

Also, the part where Paris Hilton's face falls off is hilarious!

The stand out for me was three-fold:
1)  Alexa Vega (best known for her performance in Spy Kids) has a voice that shines through anything else in this movie, and has grown up to become a very talented actress in her own right.
2)  Someone needs to cast Anthony Stewart Head as a psychotic killer in a horror movie, because that guy is frightening!  His singing didn't shine through as much as I thought it would (though he has some range), but he's terrifying with his hair wet while wearing leather garments and covered in blood.
3)  Sarah Brightman is a damn hot goth!  I had never thought that I would ever see her (a female Christian opera singer) running around with enough eye makeup to last a regular girl a year and a penetrating gaze with her creepy contacts (see the image above to see her standing along side Alexa Vega).

The reason that I don't think it's fair to call this movie the modern "Rocky Horror Picture Show" is that I feel like this movie may be a little less accessible to wider audiences.  It's very much inspired by a hard-core goth culture which may turn off a lot of conversative viewers.  I certainly think that it will become a cult classic, but I don't know that they'll be playing it every year at Halloween at midnight at my local theater.  However, a Rocky Horror / Repo double feature could make for a fun night!

Movie Night #104:  eXistenZ (1999)
Director:  David Cronenberg
Cast:  Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jude Law, Ian Holm, and Willem Dafoe
Plot:  In the not-so-distant future, technology has evolved into organics and game designers are all the rage.  The greatest game designer in the world, Allegra Gellar (Leigh), is about to release her latest game system called eXistenZ.  However, someone from a rival game company has put a hit out on her and her game, and during a demonstration of the new system she's attacked and her game pod - a living game system with the only copy of eXistenZ, was injured.  Now on the run with the assistant marketing nerd Ted Pikul (Law), the two of them must keep her safe and play her game to make sure that it still works.

But in a world where gaming is more real than reality, the boundaries between what's real and what's a game start to blur and questions are raised - how much of what they're experiencing is real, and how much of it is taking place in the game?

I remember first watching this flick before the Matrix came out, when the concept of virtual reality didn't feel played out and movies didn't have martial arts action heroes by the handful.  This movie was pure psychological thriller, with some nice twists and turns that lead to a jaw-dropping finish that you don't see coming.  David Cronenberg is the kind of director that you either love or hate, and this movie is no exception to that, but the flick is absolutely pure genius.  If you like movies that play with your brain, be sure to check this flick out.

I'm a few weeks behind on my blogging right now, mostly because I've been working hard to find a job and get materials together for NYCC next week.  It's a very busy time for me right now, but I'm working hard to keep the blogs and reviews coming. 

There should also be a new website coming soon.  I had hoped for the new site to be live in early January, but since my friend is being kind enough to do this for me for free, I'm not going to complain about a little tardiness in that deadline.  We're shooting for sometime in February right now.  Keep checking back for more information.

My Site and Drunk Duck

Sophia and Selphi seem to rescue Lorice, the only witness to the events of the apparent bombing of the cathedral in the beginning of the story. However, in a land that barely has firearms (and therefore, little gunpowder) how does one get their hands on something with a little more “ka” in its “pow!”? Apparently, it has something to do with someone named Xen (more on this character, next week).

Things are being introduced here that will play a role in this story, and for stories down the road. The purpose of this story is, again, two fold:

1) To tell a kick ass prequel story about Sophia
2) To introduce the reader to the world that these characters have been living in

I’ve been rather distracted with other projects lately - one of which is due this week Friday (I’ll announce it after everything’s set, so cross your fingers for me), and the other is being pitched at New York City Comic Con (NYCC) next week. I’ve been looking forward to NYCC for some time now, especially since so many of my friends live in the area. Back in college, I used to go to New York City once every year – and I ended up falling in love with the place. It’s certainly a singular city, and I don’t consider myself to be a big city kind of person. Since I still don’t have a job, I’ll be on a tight budget – but I thankfully have friends willing to help me out and make it affordable. If you’re going to be in the area, be sure to stop by the Digital Pimp booth and say hi (I’ll be walking around the con mostly, but when I’m stationary I’ll probably be around the DP guys).

See you guys next week!

My Site and Drunk Duck

I thought this one was silly. Honestly, not a ton of commentary here.

This is the last day to enter into the "Put Your Face in my @$$hole!" contest. You enter by sending me a photo of yourself looking at a computer screen (we don't have to see what's on the screen, the back of your monitor or lap top will do just fine) making the angriest face you can. I will be closing the entries at the end of the day, and the winner will appear in January 30s page!

Be sure to enter!

My Site and Drunk Duck

Funny piece of director's commentary: I was chatting with Olivia the other day at a party that our parents were throwing (her parents are friends with my parents, which is how we originally met), and she admitted to me that Sophia's knives are based on some cheese knives that my parents own.

It's interesting where people can draw inspiration from. But it works well here.

Sophia and her sister make short work of the Bishops, and now need to ask some hard questions. Sophia seems convinced that the explosion at the cathedral was not a "gas leak" as the Order said it was, and needs to find out who's behind it.

My Site and Drunk Duck

Here’s what was written as the first of a three-part short story about how women tend to control men in many ways. Call it what you will, but women have a tendency to make men do strange things – things that are sometimes beyond what our personalities would normally have us do. Once we realize this, though, we tend to put a stop to it right quick. It’s like compromising who you are for someone else. I’m all for compromise when making joint decisions, but I’m not going to do it at the expense of my opinions and beliefs. And neither should anyone.

Ladies: this is proof positive that you can’t change those “bad boys,” no matter how hard you try. Sure, this is a generalization and doesn’t apply to everyone, but it certainly applies to most people.

The second week of “Put Your Face in my @$$hole!” contest is underway. The first photos that I’ve received are pretty damn funny (one of a dude in drag). Remember that you have until the end of next week (January 23) to submit your photo.

Again, I need a photo of you (or your friends, or you with your friends) looking at your computer and making the angriest face you can muster. The funniest and most angry face wins! Winners will be announced January 30 when the comic goes live. Please limit one photo per person (so don’t submit multiple times – I can only go through so many pictures by myself).

You have one week to go, so spread the word to your friends and get your face in the web comic!

My Site and Drunk Duck

patoborracho, the dude who does amazing artwork on his webcomic series, MAYA: The Legend of Wolf, was kind enough to do some fanart for my prequel series for Temple:  The Legend of Abraham. 

I've been helping the man a bit with some English grammar for his character descriptions, as well as for a few of his comic pages, and he was so grateful that he put together this amazing piece of fan art for me as a thank you.  He has done another piece of fan art for me as well, which was a stellar shot of Seymour carrying Marielle after she had been shot.  I love this guy's artwork so much, and he has such a great sense of motion with his manga-inspired story and characters, his comic is such a blast to read! 

Be sure to help me thank patoborracho by checking out his comic, MAYA: The Legend of Wolf!

Although we've had a few get-togethers before and after this, I'm going to try to only count the movie nights where we actually watched a movie. Before this, there was a fun night out with my brother (visiting from Chicago) where we did some bar-hopping downtown Ann Arbor. It was a blast to see my brother, and since he has a job and I don't, he was kind enough to pay for my booze. We stayed out until the bars closed, had a fun walk back to the car - where we stopped off at a house party in progress. My cousin Rob had the (intoxicated) idea that they may have more beer at the party, so we all decided to stop in and say hi.

Sadly, they were out of booze. And we scared a few people dancing in the living room. So we decided to go home.

The following weekend, we had a regular movie night:




Movie Night #103: The Simpsons Movie (2007)

Director: David Silverman

Plot: The Simpsons make their big screen debut with a flick that was a decent movie, although not up to par in the comedy department (which, maybe I was just crazy to be expecting). The plot is more of a dramatic work, with some comedy thrown in for good measure. Which is all fine and dandy, so long as you weren't expecting loads of laughs.


Lake Springfield is so overly polluted that any more illegal dumping into the lake will cause the city of Springfield to be quarantined by the government. And since Homer is a simpleton, he does do some quick dumping and tries to get away with it scott-free. But he's caught, and the entire family is run out of town when a giant bubble is put over the city, preventing anyone from leaving (they get out through a sink hole). However, with his family hating him, Homer must come up with a way to save the town and get the love of his family back.


The movie has a lot of good dramatic moments, like the [**spoiler alert**] video that Marge leaves Homer when they live in Alaska, telling him that she's leaving him forever [**end spoiler alter**]. And when it wants you to laugh, you certainly laugh [no doubt you saw the Spider-Pig bit in the trailers]. Perhaps it's because I haven't watched The Simpsons TV show for a number of years, but I remember the show being more comedy than drama - and the movie is certainly the opposite. However, none of the characters actually change. The status quo is returned at the end of the movie. So after everything's said and done, nothing is different and no one has learned a lesson from their actions.


If you like a little mindless entertainment and some decent dramatic moments, check the flick out. Sure the flick has some good moments in it and a few fan shout outs, but it just didn't feel like a well thought out flick. More like something that was written by a forum committee than something that was put together for the fans of the show. If someone's rented it, it's worth a watch...but I don't think it's necessary to go out of your way to see (or own) it.

Movie Night #102:  Futurama 3: Bender's Game (2008)
Director:  Dwayne Carey Hill
Plot:  The Planet Express Crew are back in what my friend Justin calls "a return to the episode-like feel of the original series," but what I call, "The weakest flick so far," in the Futurama movie franchise.

Bender has no imagination, so in an effort to gain some, he starts playing Dungeons and Dragons with the kids of Planet Express.  At the same time, there seems to be a problem with the Dark Matter prices, as Mom Corp has the only supply - mining it from a planet.  However, the crew knows better - that Dark Matter comes from the Nibblonians - and that Mom has a crap-farm on that planet.  They go to render all Dark Matter worthless with anti-Dark Matter, and are sucked into an imaginary world created by Bender playing too much D&D. 

While it's still a fun flick, it does feel like they're going to chop it up and turn it into episodes - which is the plan, according to the series creators.  However, as a movie it's a weak extension of the series.  The plot jumps around a lot, there are a lot of elements introduced earlier in the flick that have no bearing on later events (ie: let's turn the demolition derby into an episode, and ignore it for the rest of the story - which again, works for an episode but not for a movie).  But there are certainly laughs and the flick's very entertaining.  Certainly worth the watching. 

Sorry the updates for Movie Night have been running behind, but job hunting and working on comic-related projects has been sucking up a good deal of my time.  I'm well on my way to achieving my goal of being published, as I've been chatting with the EIC of Ronin Studios about opportunities, and I have had a pitch accepted by them for a short story in their Eisner Awad Winning HOPE anthology.  The anthology will benefit the Hero Initiative, which is a cause worth supporting. 

More details to follow in later blog posts. 

My Site and Drunk Duck

Sophia and Selphi start kicking some Bishop bastard ass! While these Bishops are rather skilled warriors, they're not significantly different from armed soldiers. They have the tools and the weapons (although we'll find out that the Order represses technology later on - not really a spoiler), but rarely have the challenge to fight someone who can stand up for themselves.

Especially since Sophia and her sister are highly skilled warriors.

Also, anyone notice a certain red sash around the hilt of Selphi's sword? Could be familiar somehow....

My Site and Drunk Duck

Hey gang, here’s another one of the early scripts that I had written for this comic. Sorry that it looks a bit rushed, but life has been a bit crazy lately with a few of the projects that I’m trying to get off the ground and out the door – not to mention the job hunt.

I’ll fill you in on some of those in the near future. Suffice it to say, I’ve been busy on this – day nine of 2009!

So far, not a bad year. Not a lot of job prospects out there, but projects are coming together and I’m in a much better place than I have been for the past several months. Not quite as good as I was this time last year, but we’re taking baby steps.

Late last year I mentioned something about a contest where the winner could win a chance to be included in an @$$hole! strip, and here are some details about it:

“Put Your Face in my @$$hole! Contest” consists of the following: I need you to take a picture of yourself facing your computer screen, making the most angry face you can muster. The angriest face wins! The idea for the scene is that you – the reader – are going to see something so insulting and god-awful that you cannot contain your distaste any longer. Maybe it’s the Big Oil guys kicking puppies or finger cuffing a baby seal. Maybe it’s full frontal 12 year-old nudity. Who cares – whatever it is, it’s pissing you off.

I’ll be accepting photos until January 23 (2 weeks), and you can only submit once please. By entering the contest, you agree to not sue me for making money off your mug in the future if I were to ever print a book and sell it – the photo becomes my intellectual property. I promise not to paste your face on any hookers bodies. ;)

The winner will be announced on January 30 when the comic page goes live. Please send all photos to me via links in an e-mail (no attachments, please).

Have fun with it, and be sure to tell your friends. This should be a lot of fun!

See you all next week.

     Movie Night 101:  Harold and Kumar go to White Castle (2004)
     Director:  Danny Leiner
     Cast:  John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris
     Plot:  Harold (Cho) is a hard-worker and is easily taken advantage of by his co-wokers, who trick him into doing their work for them over the weekend while they (unknown to him) go out to party.  Kumar (Penn) is his roommate, and complete opposite.  Together, the two of them get high and embark on a quest to find the nearest White Castle so that they can satisfy their craving for greasy food after having baked themselves on pot.  Along the way they run into racist cops, stoner college students, wild animals, crazy red necks, and Doogie Houser's NPH (as himself)! 

The flick is one of my guilty pleasures, and I really laugh every time that I watch it.  I describe it more as a National Lampoon-like flick than a Cheech and Chong, which is what it's often compared to.  The characters are very entertaining and compliment each other well on the screen.  Cho and Penn have great chemistry, and you just don't want to look away from them.  It'll be interesting to see them brach off out of comedy and into more dramatic roles (Penn having a minor role in Superman Returns and Cho playing Sulu in the new Star Trek flick coming out in 2009). 

The flick also served as a free national advertising campaign for White Castle, who later became one of my clients while working at JWT / Mindshare.  The level of exposure to the very first fast food burger joint was amazing, and brought in sales previously unseen.  Since the company is family owned, their growth potential has remained small - opting for regional distribution instead of national (or international, like a few more famous fast food places with killer clowns for spokespeople).  It's unfortunate that White Castle passed at being involved in the sequel to this flick, as that could have helped them out of a sales slump and repositioned them as a burger joint with culture - who can poke fun at themselves a bit. 

If you're in the mood to watch something light, simple, funny, and sometimes a little gross, be sure to check out this flick. 

This night (which was a few months back) marked the celebration of Scott and my's birthdays.  Since people were rather intoxicated, we decided to put in something that you didn't have to pay a lot of attention to and could easily laugh at (unlike my botched attempt at entertaining people two years previous by showcasing Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece, Seven Samurai).  It was a good choice. 

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Sophia and her younger sister Selphi have found Lorice in the nearby town of Laphia (a map will eventually come out, so you all know where these locations are), and then it turns out that the Bishops are after him as well! We remember these guys from the original Temple series as some bad-ass looking dudes. However, how will these two sisters fair against a group of seven of these Holy enforcers for the Order of Abraham? Find out next week!

I hope everyone had a great new years. If you check out my other post on DD for that other webcomic series that I do (@$$hole!), I have officially decreed 2008 as "the worst year so far." However, I'm very much looking forward to 2009 not sucking as much - or so I hope.

How was your new years, and what are you looking forward to in 2009?

My Site and Drunk Duck

I hope everyone had a great new year! I have no doubt that I'm hung over right now - which is why it's probably a good thing that I finished this page early and wrote this entry in advance.

This page is funny to me for a few reasons. First off, it's a call back to the Writer's Strike storyline where Laura's character had to fill in for me because I was "helping out my writing brothers on the picket line." In truth, Laura knew better, and called me a meanie poopie for playing video games. It looks like even after that motivational speech about how I'm going to get a crap-ton done in 2009, I'm still playing video games....

What a lazy bastard I am.

In truth, I have been toasting the end of 2008 (which I have dubbed "the worst year so far") for the entire week! The year really has done almost nothing beyond dump on me, with a few spatterings of nice things happening here and there for good measure. But overall, I consider the year a failure and a year to be thrown away in the recycle bin of my memory and deleted. What do you all think? Good year, bad year, or just another year? Here's my short list of why I think 2008 sucked balls:

1) I got dumped (blindsided, even)
2) Half of my friends moved out of state (mostly because they lost their jobs)
3) I got a new cat...and she peed on my couch
4) I started a new, better paying job...and then was downsized
5) Bush was still screwing things up
6) A while bunch of other shit that doesn't just affect me (like high gas prices and poor retail sales, and that whole economic crash thing), but that certainly helped make this past year suck

So, here's hoping towards the future and that 2009 is a better year! I want to get a better job, possibly move out of state, start myself over a bit. Here's my optimistic outlook, and my hope that 2009 will kick ass!

...after I finish this mission in Fallout 3. Later!