Complaint #3501 about studying abroad: May 5 is Free Comic Book Day! Head on down to your local comic book store and pick up some free comic schwag! If you are under 18 bring your naive mom or dad to get you the free comics for the mature crowd. Those are always the best.
PS: Yesterday I sat down to re-read Frank Miller’s classic The Dark Knight Returns. Three and a half hours and two-hundred pages later I finished what was only supposed to be a short reading.
I stumbled across this trailer for an upcoming Robot Chicken Star Wars special episode. Let the YouTube-ing commence!
If you believe in some form of Christianity you believe that God formed all that is in six days and rested on the seventh. These exploits are well documented in the beginning of His perennial best-seller The Old Testament. The sequel, The New Testament, chronicles the day-to-day excursions of His son Jesus Christ. The popularity of the New Testament is huge among Christian fans, but not so much among God’s own chosen people, the Jews. Despite the disparity in sales figures God continues to lead on the New York Times Bestseller List.
In many ways Jesus followed in the footsteps of his father. He walked around and did way neato things for people who would come to see him. The Romans cut short his 33 year tour here on Earth, playing to record capacity crowds, but his legacy lived on. His band mates continued to cover his material well after his death with varying degrees of success at various venues. Jesus did amazing things during his time here on Earth, but one particular aspect is not fully fleshed out in great detail in The New Testament. The New Testament mentions that Jesus was a carpenter. We can assume, therefore, that Jesus had a creative side and a knack for creating useful household items such as tables, chairs, and other furnishings. Jesus’ heavenly Father was an interior decorator and the young entrepreneur tried his hand at the craft on his own.
Located just off Königsplatz (King’s Place) in Kassel, Germany, is this small and unassuming interior decoration business. The logo states “Wir schaffen Wohn(t)räume.” Without the “t” this means “We create living spaces.” With the “t” included it translates to “We create living (dream) rooms.” Very clever wordplay on Jesus part. He also gets points for incorporating the plural pronoun as part of the catch-phrase incorporating the triune nature of His deity.
Note: The business was not open because it was the Sabbath.
This last weekend I went to Wilhelmshöheschloß in Kassel, a city in the northern part of Hessen, Germany. The view from the castle was absolutely gorgeous, but when one walks into the courtyard, a visual feast is layed out before the visitor. The Herkules standing at the other end of the park draws you up the mountainside. The sheer beauty alone makes time and the unnaturally warm April weather here in Germany irrelavent. After two hours of climbing up hundreds of steps reality set back in. We were 15 minutes too late to climb to the top of the Herkules statue.
Lesson: German bureaucracy always gets you in the end.
The above image is actually a parody by Natalie Dee of the well known “Boys are Stupid” image by Todd Goldman. Todd has gone on to spawn an empire of clothing based on similar designs. It seems his empire of sardonic humor is beginning to crumble.
It seems that Todd Goldman copied an image almost verbatim from another artist named Shmorky and began selling it in his catalog. Being familiar with Shmorky’s work I was interested in the story when I first read it a week ago. However, this thing has snowballed into something huge. The website chronicling Todd’s plagiarism is filling up with more examples of stolen work every day. I decided to post something about this when I discovered that he also had stolen work from Bill Waterson, creator of the most brilliant daily comic ever, Calvin & Hobbes.
How someone can go on for so long without being called out for blatent intellectual theft is pretty amazing. What is even more astounding is how quickly one internet meme can destroy an entire reputation. Andy Warhol once stated that in the future everyone would have their fifteen minutes of fame. With the advent of the internet though, that fifteen minutes of fame can be cut off short.
It is also interesting to note that this story would most likely never be covered by major news media outlets. Bloggers are more adept at fact checking these types of stories. They are not burdened by the advertisers and management of big media. They serve a function that would be absolutely impracticable. Todd Goldman just got a smack down on a grand scale from a source I highly doubt he ever suspected. Had big media covered this event, he could have his PR department issue a statement and that would be that. Issuing that same style of PR statement on the internet would be the same as throwing yourself to the wolves. You will get torn apart. I am willing to bet that because his target demographic is mostly internet-savy his sales for the upcoming quarters will be down.
Full Disclosure: One time in the Oshkosh Advance-Titan newspaper I was accused in the Gripe Line of stealing work from explodingdog.com. Typically when you draw stick people though they are going to look similar. Truth be told I am a much bigger fan of the afformentioned Natalie Dee. I have also never profited from any drawings I have done, nor do I plan on ever doing so. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, unless there is money involved. Then its just theft.
You may have noticed that I am now using a slightly different theme for my site. Of all of the WordPress themes I tried today the default ones seem to suit my needs the best. I was using the original Kubrick theme, but personally modifed the code suit my needs. K2 is very similar, but will also need some modification.
I do not care for the following elements.
The following items need to be reworked.:
It is coming to be that time of year again for the UW-Oshkosh Department of Residence Life! It is the time of year where despite the ever increasing end of semester workload Res-Life decides to get together to throw the biggest event of the year. That’s right! The End of Year Banquet!
::APPLAUSE::
Let me get right down to brass tax. Kaela Lindquist should win Programming Assistant of the year and here is why.
Having former coworkers who have won significant awards (e.g. Summer Hudson, Dana Blado, Jamie Mendralla, Nick Cisler, etcetera…) and living exemplar of Res-Life mediocrity, I am more than qualified to point out from the sidelines what a real canditate for such an honor is. Thank you.
::APPLAUSE::
The Latin motto carpe diem is used ad nauseum by potential motivators who lack sufficient creative qualities or interesting content to duly arrive at their imperative call to action. It is a small step up from bosses who use sports analogies out of both convenience and lack of adequate metaphor resources. By the time the speaker has pitched you their seize the day line, you have already struck out at the attention bat.
Dealing with loneliness is something that they do not prepare you for when you decide to spend a semester abroad. The typical advice consists of “be sure to buy an international calling card, don’t be afraid to try new things, and write home every now-and-then.” I can call home or you can call me with local Oshkosh rates with my Skype number (920-626-4536). Apple’s iChat provides me with the opportunity to speak face-to-face with friends via video conferencing. I have tried plenty local food items. I write postcards every week to a lucky few. Check… check… and check. So what is the problem? Have you not met people there and made new friends? The Facebook profile would seem to indicate that I interact on some amicable level with other people. The feelings of being alone usually do not occur when engaged in these sorts of activities. Their brief durations occupy time and release endorphins, which your brain would interpret as pleasurable.
In the middle of this last night I woke up flailing my left arm, looking for that familiar collection of attractive curves I call my girlfriend. In my semi-conscious state I found nothing but empty space, which thrust me into an unanticipated panic. Then came the gripping realization that she was 4500 miles away. I layed back down and tried to tell myself “everything is okay.” It is moments like those that are the most difficult. The conditioned responses stemming from two years of sleeping at someone’s side that you are powerless to stop. The conditioned responses stemming from the familiar environment around oneself that make day-to-day life easy.
That experience put me into a magnificent slump. I have done nothing all day today but sit in front of my dying laptop in some vain effort to scorn the world outside my door by not gracing it with my presence. I drank almost two liters of Pepsi Light while sitting here all day and now I cannot sleep. I have not seized any portion of this day.
Carpe noctum.
Ergriffen Sie die Nacht!
Seize the night.
The folks over at RetroMacCast were kind enough to include a photo I sent in to them in their podcast. Be sure to check out Episode 18 where they read my letter as their first item of discussion. You can download RetroMacCast with iTunes (preferred) or directly from their website.