A Light Look at Crimson Dark

(From David S. Simon, used w/o permission.)

An online comic by David C. Simon: a definite 'Star Wars' style to the technology and setting, except that it seems to be set somewhat after the 21st century. Pretty good characters and pacing, as far as the Lemming got: which was about 20 pages. The plot was going somewhere when the Lemming's attention — hey look at that, it's after 4:00 — and looks like something worth looking at, or reading, or whatever it is one does with an online comic.

A tip of the hat to Brandon Bailey, on Google Plus, for the heads-up on this.

Now, the Lemming has some serious goofing off to do.

Sort-of-related posts:

• "From the Mind of the Lemming: Morning in the City"
  (August 29, 2014)
• "HDTV, LCD, xkcd, and the Lemming"
  (June 13, 2011)
• "Comics Artist Will Eisner: Born 94 Years Ago Today"
  (March 6, 2011)
• "The Horror! Monster Comics that Scared Congress"
  (October 31, 2010)
• "Epic Coffee: A Page from Girl Genius"
  (August 20, 2009)

Lemming Tracks: A Change in Schedule

First, the good news: For the foreseeable future, the Lemming will keep on blogging.

Now, the maybe-not-entirely-good news: The Lemming's been getting frazzled. Also agitated, bothered, crazed, distracted, excited, flustered - all the way up to perturbed and pooped. Looking on the bright side, the Lemming's not bored. Actually, it may be impossible for the Lemming to get bored: this is a fascinating world, and that's almost another topic.



This is a slightly-serious post, so the Lemming will now drop the 'editorial we.' Or, in this case, the editorial Lemming.

I'm making another change in schedule for this blog, less than a year since the last one:

• "Lemming Tracks: Change in Schedule"
  (October 3, 2011)

This time, I'm cutting down to one post per week. Starting today, You can expect one post each Friday morning. The topic will be "whatever." Judging from my interests, that'll probably be science, technology, architecture, design, animals, art history, paleontology, or something else.

Why This Change?

I'm 60, and in pretty good health: apart from high blood pressure; diabetes; and a few other consequences of having survived this long.

I'm not complaining: particularly when I consider the alternative to having lived this long. But I also have to admit that I'm no longer a 40-year-old kid. I need sleep, regularly: and there are only so many hours in a day.

After taking a good look at my schedule, I decided that I can break out several days a week by cutting back on some of my routines. Which included the Monday and Wednesday posts for this blog.

Some fellows around my age might use those 'extra' days to go fishing, spend time kayaking on the Toulumne River, or meditate in a hammock. I've got some creative projects that have been collecting dust: for decades, in one case.

At the top of my to-do list is getting serious about comic strips. Maybe like the seven-panel thing I did in another blog:

"Narcissus-X: TRAPPED!"
Narcissus-X (February 11, 2011)















Or maybe something else.

Somewhat-related posts:

• "Lemming Tracks: Candles, Reports, Meetings, and a Busy Lemming"
  (December 7, 2011)
• "Lemming Tracks: The Lemming Hits the Big Six-Oh"
  (October 1, 2011)
• "Google's 13th, and Where Did the Month Go?!"
  (September 27, 2011)
• "Lemming Tracks: The Lemming's Back, and Pooped"
  (August 10, 2011)
• "Lemming Tracks: The Lemming's Taking a Sabbatical, Sort Of"
  (July 26, 2011)

Oh, Boy! The Avengers are Back - Almost

"Disney And Marvel Team Up For New Cartoon Programming"
Mike Thompson, The Escapist (January 12, 2012)

"Starting this April, Marvel and Disney will provide you with an entire hour of cartoons jam-packed with comic-y goodness.

"Marvel Comics is joining forces with parent group The Walt Disney Company to create a new programming block of comic-based cartoons. The block will include the return of popular series The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes and the launch of the delayed Ultimate Spider-Man...."

This is good news for the Lemming. Reruns of The Avengers have been playing on Disney Channel, late, on some weekend evenings. Looks like enough folks like Marvel's characters to warrant a comeback.

Well, probably good news. There's always the chance that the Ultimate Spider-Man will be a little too "ultimate:" with angst, acrobatics, or some other aspect of the show turned up so much we can't 'hear' the story. Or a director could forget that these are comic book heroes, and try to bring Shakespearean demeanor to Tony Stark and associates.

Or: maybe this will be another entertaining, relatively lightweight, bit of entertainment. The Lemming rather hopes so.

Not-entirely-unrelated posts:

• "Comics Artist Will Eisner: Born 94 Years Ago Today"
  (March 6, 2011)
• "Dilbert, Lawyers, and the Lemming"
  (February 22, 2011)
• "The Horror! Monster Comics that Scared Congress"
  (October 31, 2010)
• "Soldier Zero, Starborn and The Traveler at Comic-Con"
  (July 23, 2010)
• "Protesting Against New Technology - the Early Days"
  (February 23, 2009)

Comics Artist Will Eisner: Born 94 Years Ago Today

"Google Doodle Celebrates Comics Legend Will Eisner"
David Murphy, PCMag.com (March 6, 2011)

"Google has unveiled its latest doodle—a creative play on the logo that adorns the company's primary search page. Comics artist Scott McCloud assisted in the creation of today's illustration, which pays tribute to comic book legend Will Eisner. The masked character making up the two 'Os' in Google represents one of Eisner's more well-known works: The Spirit, or Denny Colt, a crime-fighting detective whose comic (of the same name) ran in newspapers between 1940 and 1952.

"Subsequent work by Eisner, including his graphic novels entitled, 'A Contract With God, and Other Tenement Stories,' as well as a graphical retelling of Herman Melville's, 'Moby Dick,' earned Eisner the unofficial honor of being considered the father of modern graphical storytelling. He continue to publish graphical books up until his death in 2004...."

Eisner's books, some of them, have been updated and reprinted - successfully, in the Lemming's opinion. A purist might insist that the original versions are the only 'real' Eisner instructional books: But the Lemming thinks the revised reprints are useful, too.

Anyway: Will Eisner was born 94 years ago today; contributed quite a lot to the comics in America; and, in the Lemming's opinion, is one of the folks who made it easier to regard comics as 'real' art.

Not what the Lemming's ersatz alter ego, Narcissus-X, would call 'art:' and that's another topic.

Related posts:

• "The Horror! Monster Comics that Scared Congress"
  (October 31, 2010)
• "Soldier Zero, Starborn and The Traveler at Comic-Con"
  (July 23, 2010)
• "Sadie Hawkins Day: From Dogpatch to Main Street"
  (September 15, 2009)
• "New Google Themes: Comics, This Time"
  (July 23, 2009)
• "MegaTokyo the Comic: Online, Strange, and Funny"
  (February 24, 2008)

Dilbert, Lawyers, and the Lemming

A few minutes ago, the Lemming opined about Big Cheese and a threat to the status quo in America. Looks like the Lemming isn't the only one who's become disenchanted with lawyers, as a group:



Before someone who knows a nice lawyer has a fit, please note: The Lemming knows that quite a few lawyers are honest folks, doing a job that's necessary in most contemporary societies. On the other hand, too many lawyers seem to have realized that other folks can be convinced that they deserve to get money as a compensation for doing something daft and self-destructive.

The Lemming's aware that some lawyers offer their services free of charge, as a public service. On the other hand, the Lemming suspects that there's more than altruism behind those advertisements for class-action lawsuits on national television.

And that's another topic.

The Horror! Monster Comics that Scared Congress

"Horror! Book Digs Up Lurid 'Pre-Code' Monster Comics"
Underwire, Wired (October 31, 2010)

"During the golden age of comic-book gore, ghoulish stories about zombies, werewolves, skeletons and gorgons arrived in drugstore magazine racks on a monthly basis. Honoring America's midcentury infatuation with all things macabre, new book The Horror! The Horror! surveys 'pre-Code' comic titles from the early 1950s that specialized in outlandishly violent supernatural fantasies.

"Written by Jim Trombetta (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), the 305-page soft-cover chronicles the period's rich stew of graphic insanity. Often produced by uncredited illustrators, the comic books eventually attracted congressional attention.

"In 1954, Senate hearings concluded that pulp fiction posed a threat to the mental health of youthful readers...."

And so, for whatever reason, the American Congress leaned on the comics industry, which came up with the Comics Code Authority. From what I've read, the Code was an alternative to federal censorship. Under the circumstances, it was probably the best response by the comics publishers. That was the middle of the 1950s, after all.

Over a half-century later, the feds aren't likely to come up with quite the same reasons for grabbing control of what 'the masses' read. We've got a new set of phrases to rev up emotions, like "hate speech." The idea that Congress is throwing its weight around to 'save the children' hasn't changed all that much, though.

Looking at the nine covers featured in this Wired article, I'd say that "lurid," like the headline says, is a pretty accurate description.

For what it's worth, the Lemming isn't a huge fan of that sort of comic. On the other hand, I don't think very highly of our 'betters' in Congress deciding what we are and aren't allowed to see.

As for 'protecting the children?' Okay: so maybe those comics weren't particularly wholesome for small children and adults with personality disorders. Adults with screws loose - well, that's another topic. ("Original Sin, Free Will, ADD, and There Goes the Air Conditioner," A Catholic Citizen in America (October 15, 2010))

This may sound counter-cultural: but the Lemming figures that parents might be more interested - and motivated - in keeping tabs on their kids. And, in my opinion, in a better position to decide what's acceptable and what's not.

Related posts:

• "Soldier Zero, Starborn and The Traveler at Comic-Con"
  (July 23, 2010)
• "Emotions, the Frontal Cortex, The War on Terror, Anarchists, and the Illuminati"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (December 23, 2008)
  • The connection is that emotions and reason don't play well together
• "Odd Allies: Opposition to Waterboarding and Web Censorship"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (March 9, 2008)
  Particularly
  • My discussion of the Christian Coalition and the Feminist Majority: united against freedom of speech
• "Be Careful About What You Ask For: a 'FoxTrot' St. Patrick's Day Comic"
  (March 16, 2008)
• "News, Comics, Games: and Family-Friendly"
  (December 26, 2007)

The Lemming, on censorship: You could click on "censorship" in the

• Label cloud
  • Or, not

Soldier Zero, Starborn and The Traveler at Comic-Con

"Stan Lee Unveils 3 New Superheroes at Comic-Con"
Underwire, Wired (July 22, 2010)

"A time traveler, an unwitting heir to an intergalactic empire, and a wheelchair-bound professor who winds up bonded to an alien weapon: These are the latest superheroes cooked up by comics legend Stan Lee and his creative co-conspirators at Boom Studios.

"Lee, whose Pow Entertainment is partnering with Boom on the three series, introduced new characters The Traveler, Starborn and Soldier Zero during a Wednesday press conference at Comic-Con International here.

"Boom Studios' Chief Creative Officer Mark Waid, writer of time-bending series The Traveler, said the new comics would be inspirational and non-cynical, without resorting to a retro feel. He also said the characters would breathe with the kind of human foibles for which Lee's creations are known...."

There's a brief telling of each new comic's premise, a few more pictures - of Soldier Zero - and a bit of what Stan Lee and Boom Studios’ Chief Creative Officer Mark Waid had to say.

From the sounds of it, they could have a winner or three here.

Not-entirely-unrelated posts:

• "A Book Narrated by a Dog: a Micro-Review of a Review"
  (June 17, 2010)
• ""Mary Quite Contrary" Returns: The Title Character Turns 15"
  (May 31, 2010)
• "At Last! A Comic About Chess: Sort of"
  (January 17, 2010)
• "New Google Themes: Comics, This Time"
  (July 23, 2009)
• "Cartoon About Classroom Seating Habits"
  (May 24, 2008)
• "News, Comics, Games: and Family-Friendly"
  (December 26, 2007)
• "Cats, Lots of Cats, to End the Day"
  (November 1, 2007)

"Mary Quite Contrary" Returns: The Title Character Turns 15

"Chapter 11, Title Page Rite of Passage "
Mary Quite Contrary (May 27, 2010)

"New chapter! Finally! I would have gotten on this sooner, but I've had a really bad cold. I've been barely able to play video games let alone do anything productive. I'm starting to feel better, so hopefully I'll get MQC back on track.

"Anyway, Mary's 15 now, so there are certain things she'll have to experience this summer. Good luck!"

'Brigid,' the creator of Mary Quite Contrary, is my oldest daughter, so you'd expect me to say that I think her work's great. Or be horrified at the way she's publishing a none-too-fictionalized account of the last decade or so of life here in my family.

Well, I think her work's pretty good: and enjoy seeing her take on what's happened. I'll say this: She's a rather perceptive observer.

At Last! A Comic About Chess: Sort of

"Shion no Ou Manga"
One Manga

"Summary

"Yasuoka Shion lost her parents, and her voice, when she was young...in a murder.

"She was found amidst a blood-soaked room, and the only hint for the suspect was a Shougi board and one piece: the King. Now, Shion steps into the world of female professional Shougi players. As her popularity and fame slowly rises, so do the questions about her past, particularly the murder case that was never solved."

If you're looking for a Japanese comic (manga, if you like) about chess, except it's not chess, it's 将棋, and has a central character who doesn't speak: しおんの王 is for you. One Manga, mercifully, presents しおんの王 in English translation. With footnotes.

Huh? The Post Title Said "Chess"?!

Shogi isn't chess: but it's close.

The name of that comic/manga, Shion no Ou, or しおんの王, by the way, comes through Google Translate as King Shion.

Where was I? Right. Shougi. Also romanized as shogi. Or shōgi.

It gets translated as "chess," sometimes, but it isn't. Quite.

Both games got started about two and a half millennia back, where India and Afghanistan are now. More or less.

The game, the version that spread north and west, is played with 32 pieces on an 8 by 8 checkered board. The version that went east has a board that isn't checkered, is 9 by 9 squares, and has 40 pieces. An intriguing aspect of Shogi is that captured pieces can be returned to the board - playing for the side that captured them.

The Lemming will be Back in About an Hour

With a post, one can only hope, that isn't quite as rambling.

Background:

• "SOME IMPORTANT EVENTS AND NAMES IN CHESS"
  Mathematical and Computer Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Whitewater
• "Shogi"
  Japanese Chess, The Chess Variant Pages (February 2002)

Sadie Hawkins Day: From Dogpatch to Main Street

"Sadie Hawkins Day"
the Official L'il Abner web site

"Sadie Hawkins Day, an American folk event, made its debut in Al Capp's Li'l Abner strip November 15, 1937. Sadie Hawkins was 'the homeliest gal in the hills' who grew tired of waiting for the fellows to come a courtin'. Her father, Hekzebiah Hawkins, a prominent resident of Dogpatch, was even more worried about Sadie living at home for the rest of his life, so...."

'Life imitates art,' and all that sort of thing. And, another case where Dogpatch seems to be run along more rational lines than most of the rest of America.

You can't publish comic strips like that any more.

New Google Themes: Comics, This Time

"Introducing comics themes for iGoogle"
Google (July 23, 2009)

"Love comics? Personalize your homepage with themes ranging from superhero and alternative comics to manga and more. Get themes from your favorites like Superman, The Hulk, Mutts, and over 50 other celebrated comics...."

Google's come out with a new set of themes for their iGoogle homepage service. What the new themes have in common is that they all come from 'the comics.' Like

• Popeye by E.C. Segar
• Dilbert
• Jaime Hernandez
• RIN-NE by Rumiko Takahashi
• Minty Lewis
• Ziggy by Tom Wilson
• TOKYOPOP Kawaii
• Blackest Night
• Krazy & Ignatz by George Herriman
• Zuda Comics
• Nancy
• The Hulk

Apart from being selected from those comics which people have, at one time or another, been produced commercially for an English-reading market, I don't see a great deal of uniformity in the selection.

I started using the iGoogle homepage some time ago, and quickly settled on the Tea House theme: but I'm giving Blackest Night a try. I haven't read that many of the Green Lantern stories, but the Green Lantern Corps background/premise intrigued me - and struck me as one of the less-improbable superhero scenarios.

More about the Green Lantern and vaguely-related matters, in "Green Lantern Oath: Something to Think About," Drifting at the Edge of Space and Time (July 23, 2009).

Protesting Against New Technology - the Early Days

(from INKCINCT Cartoons, used w/o permission)

I very seldom copy an entire post in this blog, but trying to describe this cartoon would have robbed you of its impact, I think.

This cartoon appears on the INKCINCT Cartoons, Australia, website.

I think it's funny: and a reminder that every technology we have is new: from smallpox vaccine to agriculture. And, most new technologies have had their protesters, including smallpox vaccine, and, probably, agriculture. Which, oddly enough, was developed about the same time that smallpox appeared.

I think that learning how to grow crops was worth the risk, though. But then, I'm one of those people who think that using fire and string is a good idea.

Christmas Cookies that Work Out for You

Fox Trot, December 21, 2008


Jason says, "Cookies that burn off their calories for you. I'm gonna be rich!"

What a brilliant idea! Somehow, though, I don't think it would work.

(That's a thumbnail image: Free users can view the full-size strip for another 30 days.)

Moms: The Questions Your Kids Should be Asking

"Zits"
ArcaMax Publishing (March 30, 2008)

Fathers, too, I suppose. If you've had teenagers, you'll understand this Sunday comic.

As Jeremy's father said, "Personally, I find it refreshing!"

Be Careful About What You Ask For: a "FoxTrot" St. Patrick's Day Comic

"FoxTrot" (March 16, 2008)

Featuring Andy Fox, whose kids should have remembered what "green" means to their eco-friendly mom.

MegaTokyo the Comic: Online, Strange, and Funny

"MegaTokyo"
Frederick M. Gallagher III
"relax, we understand j00"

Meet:

• Largo, who spends most of his time fleeing on a stolen muffin scooter, and once appeared in a teddy bear costume because he thought he needed a disguise.
• Piro, who has exactly no self-esteem, yet manages to be cool - usually by accident - when he wants Kimiko to like him.
• Kimiko, who became an overnight celebrity, and is having a difficult time dealing with it.

And lots of other characters.

There seem to be zombies involved, various otaku¹ who Largo mistakes for zombies, the Cataclysm Department of the Tokyo Police, and Rent-A-Zilla.

My daughter introduced me to MegaTokyo yesterday. She tells me that the overgrown T-Rexoid with a titanic dog collar I saw in today's MegaTokyo front page was from Rent-A-Zilla. It was stomping zombies.

I'm told that the gags are funnier, if you know L33t².

---

¹ Otaku: Intensely dedicated, hard-core fans of sci-fi, computer games, anime and manga.
² L33t: Also Leet, Leetspeak, 1337, or l337. A phonetic form of the English word "elite," also the name of a written form of English traditionally used on the Internet. Non-alphabetic characters stand for some letters, and there are some spelling changes, like "z" for a final "s" and "x" for "(c)ks". (More, including cultural background, at "Labor Law Talk Dictionary.")

Quests: An Observation for RPG Players

"World of Warcraft - Screenshot Gallery Image 2 of 11"

This is a bit of an in-joke for RPG (Role Playing Game) players.

Mark Parisi's Off the Mark Cartoons

"Off the Mark" cartoons.

Over 5,000 of them.

You can buy stuff, see animations, and browse these copyrighted cartoons by category. I recommend starting with the "computers" and "web-net" sections, but that's a personal preference.

"When Mark was born on a New England evening in 1961, the attending physician supposedly mentioned seeing doodles on the uterus wall, but this remains unconfirmed."

News, Comics, Games: and Family-Friendly

"ArcaMax / Family Friendly News & Fun"

"ArcaMax Publishing is a leading provider of family-friendly news and fun on the Internet. We send out over 70 features and more than 700 books to 3 million subscribers by email -- all free of charge."

ArcaMax also has pretty good website. This blog's previous post features 'today's' Zits: one of my regular online comics stops.

"Zits" Generation Gap Too Narrow for Jeremy's Comfort

If you've got teenagers, you might find a chuckle in Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman's "Zits" comic for today (tomorrow, actually, in my time zone).