Sudsy

So... I'm in the bathtub.  I'm writing this in between YouTube videos as the thoughts come to me.  Going through my YouTube subscriptions while soaking in the tub is one of my favorite personal rituals.  Odds are good that, come late Saturday morning, this is where I'll be.  Also, I'll be happy. 

Speaking of which...

Glee

I missed the series the first time around (much to the annoyance of some friends who are avid fans of the show) but now that the network has decided to start over again and show the full season over the summer I'm making sure to record it.  I've only seen the first episode so far, but there are already two characters I want to torture until they die out of desperation to escape the pain and I'm loving the way they use songs to create mood and comment on the story.



Webcomic Theory - Sex vs. Masturbation

I have this theory that comics fall into one of two categories - sex and masturbation.

Masturbation comics do well on the web.  They're quick and instantly gratifying and, for the most part, you "finish" at the end of each strip - they stand alone fairly well.  This isn't to say that they don't have heavy moments of expertly crafted plot, the story line involving Davan's mother in Something Positive, Faye's father in Questionable Content, or Harmony in Jazz and Jess come easily to mind as examples.  While you certainly could be expected to have a more intense emotional reaction to those arcs if you'd been following the comic long enough to care about the characters, each individual comic stood on it's own.  The emotional impacts were encapsulated in each individual comic, as well as spread out over the entire arc.

Sex comics do well in print.  They're often long stretches of entertaining valleys punctuated by occasional peaks.  Their impact is mostly spread over an entire arc, or even the entire comic, and newcomers are likely to lose out without backtracking and putting in the same kind of effort long time readers have.  You want to spend time with them, get to know them.  They're intimate.

Let's be clear - there's a ton of crossover.  Comics that are insanely popular on the web also tend to sell a lot of books if they're made available.  I believe their sales are tied to the fan desire to own something that their favorite comicker created.  Likewise comics that sell hundreds of books tend to have a decent following on the web as well.  Their web presence is often populated by fans "keeping in touch" until the next book is published.  By in large, however, I think web-only audiences (those who rarely or never buy print comics) are attracted to "masturbation" style comics and print-only audiences (those who rarely or never follow a comic online) are attracted to "sex" style comics.

Why bother with the differentiation?  If you're putting out a quality comic on the web and your numbers are abysmal, maybe it's because you're sex trying to market to a masturbation crowd.  Conversely, if you've got stacks and stacks of print comics lying around that have gotten great reviews and few sales, maybe it's because you're masturbation trying to market to a sex crowd.

Just a thought.


Pity I'm a Reader...

Should there actually be any Theists out there reading this, please do me a favor and spread this around.  It's for your own good, really.


While I cannot speak for all Atheists, I can say the following piece is representative both of myself and those Atheists I've encountered (even only in passing or online).  I am not an idiot.  If you quote me a passage from your holy book that I am unfamiliar with, I will not only read the passage but several passages both before and after the passage in question.  If you tell me that a particular book was written at a specific time by a specific person I will fact check that assertion.  Assuming that I will not almost assures you will come out of the debate looking like a disingenuous ass.  If you insist that evolutionary theory, geology, astronomy, the big bang theory, M theory, etc... asserts something that it does not I will find out if I don't already know and you will come out of the debate looking like either an ignorant git or a liar or both.

Don't insult my intelligence and I won't insult yours.  It's a fair trade.


Everyone Draw Muhammad Day - Disappointed Thanks

I learned a great deal from Everyone Draw Muhammad Day.  Unfortunately, one of the most poignant lessons I learned was that a few people I honestly admired and respected are apparently unashamed bigots.  I feel the day itself and many of the drawings it inspired were important.  It's important that we drive home the fact, as often as necessary, that in America no one has the right to not be offended.  It's important that we drive home the fact, as often as necessary, that in America nothing is beyond the reach of criticism - including religion.  It's important that we drive home the fact, as often as necessary, that in America your personal freedom extends only as far as it's ability to negate the freedom of another.  I believe with all I am that all our freedoms rest upon the strength of our freedom of speech.  I believe in the core of Everyone Draw Muhammad Day and I thank all those who participated.

Throughout the time period in which the day was being promoted and "celebrated", and now extending to the debate surrounding the plans to build an Islamic cultural center in the general area of "ground zero", a few individuals have risen to prominence for me.  Some have stood out by virtue of their honor, dignity, tolerance, and sincere desire to educate.  Others have stood out by virtue of their ignorance, bigotry, hatred, fear, and desire to spread propaganda and obscure information.

All-in-all, I'm disappointedly thankful.  One of the reasons I so champion freedom of speech is that it makes the vile amongst us easier to spot.  It's simply a shame that I now count a handful of previously respected individuals amongst the vile.


It's No Longer Saturday

I somehow managed to skip the "click the Publish Post" step before stepping out of the bath and continuing my day.  Bugger all.