The Policeman Remind

Click on it to hugify.

There it is. The new comic, for all to see. I feel so vulnerable, but at least it's not even not much worse than the last one, I suppose. I think that maybe my comicking is mainly for personal venting, and may make me laugh, but that's all I'm after anyway. Catharsis.

This one is about the recent news of the WTO tightening its grip on piracy in China. While, in theory, I'm against stealing for the reason that maybe might possibly I'll sent to eternal damnation with the thieves, murderers and whoremongers (see Revelations 21:8... Thanks alot Mrs. Norris), I can't help but wonder what will happen to the entertainment avenues in China as a whole. I mean, where will people get there fun without it involving The Rock and/or special effects in some way? Mahjong? Friendly social outings with other human beings?! PLEASE! Also, the comic is a throwback to the hilariously mistranslated sign about not being a thief in Zhongguancun.

Anyway, recently we had a party in honor of Cory and Dave's Tax Day/Birthday Extravaganza and it was a boatload of fun. Lots and lots compadres from work showed up, representing both countries, and we had good times with the completely and totally legit Nintendo Wii and games that I bought totally LEGALLY! (Just wanted to make that clear). It's amazing to see someone who's never played it pick up the remote, examine it intently, and then proceed to flick it around with incredible uncertainty. It brought to mind that scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey, when the monkey-men (fresh from their session with the brain-boosting monolith) start realizing they can use tools for the first time. Yeah, not exactly the nicest comparison to make of my friends... with movie-monkeys. But if it makes it better, I went through the same process, except I was in an EBGames surrounded by total strangers.

Positive Role Model For the Children

So the Wii is fun and all, but there are some lines I'm not sure I'm ready to cross. I mean, I've crossed it already, I guess, but I didn't feel comfortable about it once I became self-aware.

I made this as a pilot comic, so to speak. It really didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would have, and I like it personally. As I mentioned ephemerally before, I think some of the more ridiculous scenarios that happen in China or just in general aren't best explained in text form. The absurdity of some situations, I feel, can only be truly expressed (by me personally) in a ridiculous way. I guess this is ridiculous as any.

Back in college times, my friends and I used to draw pictures on each other's dry-erase boards. This was good fun, and it provided an outlet for expressing the aforementioned absurdities of each other's behavior, and/or the absurdities of life. Usually it was done in the passive/aggressive sense, and I could imagine a scenario in which future comics of mine take on this approach at dealing with issues that crop up in life. Funny or not, I think I'll keep doing it. Let me know what you think, though, whoever's out there.

This particular pilot comic (I'm too shy to put it up on the front page yet... I mean, it's pretty rough), as I said before, has nothing to do with China. It's actually something I've caught myself doing before. It's the marriage between a song I've had stuck in my head for the past few days, and playing Godfather: Blackhand Edition for the Wii. I caught myself joyfully crooning the happy (and educational!) song, while participating in gesture-controlled activities such as extorting barbershop owners, smashing up their stores with baseball bats, and subsequently having a shootout with the coppers. Once I realized how jubilant I was behaving while conducting these despicable acts (albiet virtually), I had to take a step back and reevaluate my sanity. After an intensive review, I can safely - and objectively - conclude that I'm still sane. Everyone can relax now.

And just so you know, Mom and Dad will likely know the other time this happened: During Christmas a few years back, they could here cries of anguish from my room while I was mowing down supervillains in No One Lives Forever while whistling jolly Christmas carols. Good times were had by most!