Tag Archives: new

2014 Site Update – Stuff For the New year!

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Yeah! It’s 2014! And that means… it’s 2014. Well for me, that means some changes. Some are good, and some are… well “I” think they’re all good, because they make things better for me, but some might cause some inconvenience for your viewing, for which I apologize.

But to start with the good, I’m going to be doing a new comic! Yes, that means there will be 13 a week for all tastes, and some extras here and there. The new strip will be called 万年筆(man’nen’hitu): The 10,000 year brush. It will be about fountain pens, which I admit is a niche market, but no other strip will be removed or paired down to accommodate it. This is a straight-up addition.  Also, I will be working on a comic in a large format that will be more serious, but less frequent. And don’t let the seriousness fool you, it’ll still be a lot of laughs hopefully, but no dates yet. (万年筆 Starts this friday)

Back in November I released five new books in the fifth wave of my collections. Most of them are available at the Antelope Lodge in Alpine, while a few are also available in other spots in the area. But for those of you who are not near me I also launched an online store, where you can buy my books and a few other goodies. I recommend checking it out, but of course I would.

Speaking of updates to the site, I had to move all of my video content over from Blip.tv to Youtube, I have a blog post explaining this, but it means I’m going to start placing ads on previously ads-free videos.  That shouldn’t be much of a big deal with the way most online videos work now. But I will make sure that the video is at least a certain length (6 minutes or more?) before placing any ads, so as not to waste too much time. Also, I am now going to be placing (relatively few) ads on the site. You can see one in the sidebar already, and I will be putting more out to see where they are the least intrusive over the coming months. I hope you understand that I do need to pay for this site eventually somehow, and right now I’m not cutting it.

Ads might also be going up on the next place I’m going to mention, The Dragon Funnies, which I upgraded to a full site this year, but right now I need to get them up andy working. As for my content on the site, the new comic won’t be added, and some of the other comics might be removed as well, but this does not mean the site is going away. For every comic I take off I will be looking into putting comics from other talented cartoonists up. I want the site to end up like the newspaper comic section I would make, and so I intend to find the best content possible for it. It is also possible to submit a comic for the site, though if I don’t have any personal contact with you at the moment the most I can offer is exposure, which isn’t the best thing to offer right now, so, yeah. I will be working on a better way to get new comics up on the site while properly compensating their creators.

Also, come this new year I will be attempting to use more social media, posting as much content as I can on Twitter and Facebook, so if you feel the subscribe system on the site is a bit clunky, then you can follow there and get the highlights.

Now for the only bad news. Due to the high volume of content I produce, I have already stopped posting on redundant sites like the individual blogs for each of my comics. And at the end of January I will be ceasing posts on the Dragon Company wordpress site and Art Supply Critic WordPress site. All of that content is already posted on my main site, so nothing is going away, I’m just making it less of a hassle for me to post the content, and like I said, links will be posted in social media if you don’t want to subscribe.

All in all, I hope 2014 will be a good year, and it looks like it will be, so I hope to see you all there, and I hope y’all have a great time.

 

Speak Your Mind 105 #521-525

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QUESTIONS

1. What do you think is the best buy for you, a new car or a used car?

2. Have you ever been in a car accident?

3. Close your eyes. What color is the floor?

4. Where would you like to go for vacation?

5. Do you have fuzzy eyebrows?

ANSWERS By: Austin Smith

1. Niether, I don’t want to own a car.

2. No, fortunately.

3. It’s wood, so it has no specific color. (I didn’t write that with my eyes closed but I thought it)

4. I don’t really like vacations, so nowhere.

5. No, I have rather trim eyebrows.

So… I Didn’t like the New Version of Pandemic

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So… I really like Pandemic. And they recently released and new version. I was interested to see it, but not too excited, as I really like the old version. I can now definitely say that I don’t like the new version. Not because there is any change in gameplay, or anything to make the actual playing of the game any less amazing.

pandemic cover

The first problem comes with compatibility: there is none. The new version and new expansions are completely incompatible with the old version and the old version of the expansion. I can see no reason why this has to be. Especially since I quite like the older board as you will see shortly. It just alienates older fans and makes it so people who own the older game are less likely to get the new expansions. I have no idea why they would do this, especially since the old version was almost perfectly serviceable in terms of design.

pandemic new cover

However my main problem is in the look of the new version. It’s too dark. I’m not sure why everything has to be so dark these days, but it would seem Pandemic is following suit. The board looks more drab and black. It doesn’t look nearly as fun, it doesn’t even look like the world. The last board was perfectly playable and even inviting, this is dark and off-putting. The cards have been redesigned and now they’re harder to read and it’s harder to understand where they represent on the board. The character artwork is now more “realistic” but it too conveys that unnecessary darkness.

I’m not saying that an epidemic spreading around the globe is funny, but the game didn’t need to be darkened. The last set was pleasing to look at and made you excited to play. This almost looks like the map to a zombie game rather than Pandemic.

pandemic new board

I just don’t see why it needs this. I’m not a fan of the darkness that invades everything these days. Why does everything have to be so dark, especially escapist things like board games? The cartoony artwork, pleasant green and blue board, and simple aesthetic made Pandemic more fun in my opinion. I realize that they can change anything they want to, but I don’t like their changes to the game, and I certainly won’t be getting the new version or any new expansions.

Review – Jukebox the Ghost “Safe Travels”

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Two days ago Jukebox the Ghost released their new album, “Safe Travels”. I’ve been pumped, not that the internet world could tell. Since I heard that they were recording a new album I’ve been pumped. In fact I’ve been prematurely pumped ever since I bought the second album (on release date). Jukebox the Ghost is amazing and I couldn’t wait to hear the new album.

Not that I had to as I got it about a week early when I pre-ordered it. I even got the CD early, and the shirt and poster, which are awesome. There’s nothing else to really say about those things, it’s a good poster and a good shirt. The other thing that came in the pre-order pack is a passport, which is cool, if only a novelty, and of no real use to me as I live so far away from the world that it is unlikely that I’ll see Jukebox the Ghost live very often.

Getting to the album itself: man it’s amazing. I’m listening to it right now. I’ve listened to it since I got it. I’d listen more if my CD player was easier to get to. What JTG has lost in the power of overall songs they have more then made up for in making the entire album and “experience”. Getting to my point quick, for me it’s not nearly as good as the earnest, almost childlike Hold It In, or the powerful, haunting Static; at least for the songs individually. But if the entire album was to be judged it is far superior. The problem with earlier JTG, like the first album, is that their were a few beautiful songs and then the rest. They weren’t bad songs, but they didn’t keep up. With the second album they worked on this and made the entire album a more even experience, but it still dropped off in the end in my opinion. They’ve perfected the flow with this new release. No ups and downs, a continuous ride of some of the best and happiest music that one can hear.

The records themselves have about the same amount of amazing, with this one maybe getting a bonus just for how it is maintained, it’s just how the amazing is spread. Like if you put cream cheese on a bagel, do you not spread it very well and enjoy a few spots a lot, or spread it around and enjoy the whole thing. I guess it depends on one’s mood. I’ll never pass up the chance to listen to old JTG, unless I have the time to listen to this album all the way through.

It’s that all the way through that’s important. JTG makes me so happy when I listen. And having that feeling for a full half hour instead of six or so minutes is great. There is no bass to drag the music down, and the drums, guitar, and piano are amazing. It just makes me so happy to listen to. It’s like Johnny Cash, even the sad songs make me happy. It’s not afraid to be cheesy or bubble-gum-esque. It is almost perfect music.

I would never tell you to pass up earlier JTG albums, or songs, but if you like longer, fuller enjoyment of an album, and what I’ve said peaks your interest, try this one out.

So, Beck Released an new single

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What the hell, when did that happen? I guess I wasn’t paying attention to Beck, I was to busy being disappointed by Sublime and The Ting Tings; wondering how in the world Modest Mouse is going to record songs with Big Boi (which they’ve already done, apparently) and why Franz Ferdinand isn’t saying anything about the new album they’re working on. Oh, and I was also busy being pumped for the new Jukebox the Ghost album.

But, Beck did in fact release a new single, I’ve got it in my hand. It feels strange to be holding a freshly pressed 7″. I have new 12″ers, but those seem like they’d be more profitable in this day and age. No matter, because even though I bought the record, Third Man still didn’t give me a way to download it and I had to buy it again off Itunes.

Well, was it worth it. The B-side “Blue Randy” wasn’t, I’ll tell you that off the bat. It’s the disappointing, droning Beck I though we’d rid of when Sea Change came out. That’s when his droning got less disappointing. But really, it seems different from past efforts, maybe it will grow on me like Mutations did, but until then I’d skip the B.

But what we’re really here for is the A-side, right, those are ones that are remembered, except when they aren’t and the B-side becomes the hit. But that won’t be the case with “I Just Started Hating Some People Today”, because it is far superior to “Blue Randy”. The song has Beck going to country (and then devolving into chaos by the song’s end) which I must say I quite enjoy. Beck’s sense of humor is back, and the new country tune brings him closer to his folk roots. It’s like an extremely polished song from One Foot in the Grave or Steropathetic Soulmanure. It makes me smile to hear somehow cohesive nonsense from Beck again, no matter how much I liked Modern Guilt, Sea Change, Mutations, and to some extent The Information (on seriousness, not liking) it’s always fun to hear that. The song is thoroughly enjoyable and entirely Beck, just with a country spin. Every album Beck has done so far has evolved in songwriting and into a new genre, and this is a great jump in both directions. It’s country-Beck is all I really have to say about it and if that sounds appealing to you, then give it a listen, the A-side is worth the dollar (or eight if you buy the single {including shipping}).

I hope the new inevitable Beck album keeps up this vibe and that Third Man can continue to release Beck albums (with digital copies included).

By: Austin Smith