Trust me, you're better off not knowing. However, should you really be sure that you want to know, I'll post a link to a description (link 1, link 2). Just don't say I didn't warn you.

Know what the game is now? Yeah, you can thank me later.

So why this association with boobs? It's actually Liam's fault (may his penis shrivel and turn black). It started in chemistry labs at university. Liam was doing really badly at The Game, like losing every couple minutes. I swear, I didn't realise it was possible to forget the damned thing so quickly, let alone remember it again. So there we are, the four Chemical Physicists working casually on some experiment or another, listening to Liam curse and announce his loss periodically, when we find a copy of The Sun or The Star or some tabloid paper.

Because we weren't all that pressed for time, and Liam and I are slackers anyway, so the two of us started reading the paper. Naturally we tended to linger on the pages with naked breasts on them. The whole time we're doing this Liam keeps losing the game, and somehow the two became linked.

We didn't find out about this until the next day. We were sat in the Student Union, playing cards and watching the girls who walked by when Liam, true to form, pipes up with "Oh fuck, I just lost The Game." For some reason which I can no longer comprehend I decided it was a good idea to ask what had made him lose The Game. Oh how I wish I'd never asked that question. My own little Pandora's box.

Because of Liam we all became embroiled in this juxtaposition nightmare. Being the nice people that we are we've been spreading this around as much as possible (misery loves company and all). I'm determined that one day I'll hear someone I don't really know lose The Game because of boobs. Once that happens I'll know my work is complete.

You're welcome.

Death threats to be posted below.

Seamus

Don't get it? Don't worry, I didn't expect many people to. If you do get it, congratulations, I anoint thee fellow geek. Not that it's all that funny, just me subjecting people to my insatiable desire to quote pop and geek culture refences.

Recently I got a new iPod, and as I was using it outdoors for the first time (why after getting an iPod is it necessary to sit in your room listening to music on headphones when you could just as easily use your computer/CD player/8-track) I was trying to increase the volume to drown out the traffic. Try as I might, it wouldn't go quite loud enough. The suddenly I remembered an article I found through www.fark.com (link).

Now I don't know about you but I think this is a terrible idea. Everyone knows that after listening to any portable music device for a while, you always need to increase the volume, not decrease it. Could this be the ear damage they're talking about? Almost certainly. Do I still want to turn it up? Yes, yes I do. I guess we have America's litigation culture to thank for it. Anyone that thinks it may be because Apple genuinely cares about people; did you hear they'd removed the word gullible from the dictionary?

There's just something about machines overriding my commands that makes me think, not of the Arnie and Judgement Day, but of the indelible HAL 9000 from Arthur C Clarke's Space Odyssey saga, or more recognisably from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. I will shamefacedly admit that I've never read the book, however I have seen the film.

It's a film of many virtues. Most notably on my part; its striking scientific accuracy and the fact that it was filmed without any computer technology. For all its virtues, however, it has one major flaw; it's so very boring. Still, I'm a geek, so this film is for ever fixed in the landscape of my culture. I'm glad I've seen it, I'm just not sure I'd like to see it again.

If you don't know who (link) or what (link) an Asimov is, you can find out on those two links. For the record, I know it wasn't an Asimov that made HAL turn homicidal; I'm just pretentious enough to like throwing out as many references as I can. Also I'd say the iPod's behaviour is closer to that of an Asimov mandate than HAL's self preservation instincts.

Though I suppose it could be worried about outliving its usefulness if I go deaf…

I'll keep an eye on it.

Seamus

I could just reassure it that I'll sell it in such an eventuality…

What right do I have to comment on the American election/primaries? None really. I do take something of an interest though, and that's because, like it or not, it does have a big effect on the rest of the world. Why Obama? Because he seems more likeable than Hillary. I haven't been paying nearly enough attention to know who's actually the better candidate, but then I don't have to as it's not my choice.

When I first sent this one to Darcie she told me that I'd managed to offend all her political sensibilities and make her laugh at the same time. I can't think of a better thing for her to have said about it, not from my point of view anyway.

Why Japanese dating sims? It basically boils down to that it just seemed right for EK, also it completed the 'joke.'

I was a bit reluctant to release this one. The computer games webcomic genre is completely oversaturated as it is, and nothing can approach Penny Arcade in its brilliance on the topic. Still, I decided that I don't want to limit what I write about. Computer games, music, pop culture, politics, it's all fair game as far as I'm concerned. I just need to vaguely relate it to being an emo joke (hence the 'Japanese dating sims' part).

I know it's been a couple weeks now since GTA4 was released, but you still see the occasional article mentioning the 'evil' effect it will have on kids and how it will destroy society. Thankfully now they tend to be drowned out by the pure volume of those commending its superlative gaming experience. Part of me still wonders how any sane person can take the likes of Jack Thompson seriously. I'm not going to wax lyrical about it, all I will say is that the best argument I've ever heard debunking his idiocy is here: (link). It's long, but I think it's superb.

My comparison to Rome: Total war (and by extension most RTS games) is just my flippant way of highlighting the preposterousness of their argument. Or maybe the incomplete and incompetent nature of it too.

GTA4, by the way, is really, really good. Not only is it hugely interactive, story telling device, but it's also choc full of tiny moments. You know the ones, you're playing a game and something small happens, and you just find yourself thinking "wow, that was cool." It has no overall effect on how the game plays, it's just a really nice touch.

Seamus

P.S. Sorry this one was late again, it shouldn't become a regular occurrence. It was just my birthday this weekend and I was a bit busy sorting out my party and getting rather drunk and stoned.

P.P.S. Thank you to everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday

Do you ever find yourself laughing at something that isn't supposed to be funny, or that no one else finds funny? I do, frequently. You know the moments I'm talking about, where it's all you can do not to laugh even though everyone around you is looking at you like you're insane. Of course that often just makes things worse, a kind of giggle loop, if you will.

Watching the last Harry Potter film was one of those moments for me. Usually when these laughing fits occur at least Liam is laughing along with me, if not more of my usual group of friends. Not this time though. I managed to get irate looks for disturbing the film from several of them. Yet all I could think was how that quill had to be the emo holy grail. I knew instantly that I could get a comic strip out of it.

It hasn't taken me this long to write it. In fact I had pretty much worked it all out by the time the film had finished. I even asked Liam to draw it as quickly as possible. Needless to say, 'as quickly as possible' turned into 'next to never.' I would say very shortly but, well, you know. It's a pity really because Liam's version of the frame where EK bangs into the wall is possibly the best thing he ever drew. I can laugh at the frame on its own.

The reason I wanted it done as quickly as possible is because I like the idea of commenting on things that are current and topical. Partly because I'm slightly pretentious that way, and partly because it's easier to be funny when people still remember what you're talking about. Still, it's Harry Potter. Its impact on the social consciousness has been indelible.

Better late than never.

Seamus

----------------
Now playing: The Ataris - The Last Song I Will Ever Write About A Girl
via FoxyTunes   

Ok, so Amsterdam, Part 2. I didn't write this one in Amsterdam, it was later. That's probably why it has so much more text. I can't really remember how I came up with the idea, but to answer Darcie's question; No, it wasn't from experience. Liam and I didn't have enough money to entertain the idea of using a prostitute. We didn't even have enough money to let the munchies reign free. We never struggled for weed, but snacks were another matter.

Why did we run out of money? Well it wasn't my fault I assure you. We'd been taking turns withdrawing cash for food, drinks, etc. and, as we got off at the first train stop in Holland to get some weed, it was Liam's turn. So up we saunter to first cash machine we find, only for it to tell Liam he had insufficient funds. So there I am, stuck for the remainder of the trip to pay for both of us. In the space of 60 seconds I'd gone from having a comfortable amount of money for myself, to having a barely manageable amount for the both of us.

Because of this I had to strictly regulate our eating for the remainder of the trip. It was either that or being unable to afford the trip home. To this day I swear I only made it back because it was Easter weekend and the banks were shut, so all my transactions hadn't gone through fully.

So here we are again, another week another comic strip. If Darcie’s not careful I’m going to get used to being able to release them regularly. Between you and me, I hope she’s not careful.

Anyway, this is one I wrote about a week ago in response to this article. My first reaction upon reading it was to laugh, literally, out loud. The very concept of anit-emo riots is hilarious. I knew immediately that it was perfect fodder for this comic strip. I don’t know if other comic strip writers (please ignore the arrogance of me putting myself in that bracket) have found  this, but sometimes I hear, read, or think of something that I just feel would be perfect for a comic strip. It’s almost as though they write themselves. I don’t think I’m pretentious enough to say I’m a conduit for it, but that’s kind of how it feels.

So, needless to say, I came up with this general idea, but found that I needed another character to make it work. I mean there’s only so much you can pull off  (intentionally) with only one character. As fitting as it would be to make a comic about emo kids only involve one character and his convoluted thoughts, I’m not a strong  enough writer to manage it. So I introduce this new character, based more than a little on my former artist, and comic co-creator, Liam.

Obviuosly his lines are the product of my sense of humour, but I feel there’s a certain amount of him captured in there too. After all he did help me come up with the concept for this, or at least he helped me list the clichés in one place. We share a similar style of humour when it comes to these things. There’s also a slight chance that his inclusion as a character is the result of my guilt about having to replace him as my artist.

On a side note, I feel obligated to add that I don’t support the violence that was (is?) happening in Mexico. Or any violence for that matter. By all means create some repartee, but no actual harm.

Hope you enjoyed today’s strip.

Seamus