Blógünder Schlock

Today’s strip features Fan Art from Cannon Hamaker of Animal Ward. His piece deserves to be seen in full, so here it is:

Thank you, Cannon! I love it!

A friend blogged saying he feels like the 21st century officially began today.

I feel much differently. The 21st century began when I started webcartooning. That’s perspective for you.

Thank you for your votes, and for your contributions. I’m not sure what prompts people to spend $5, $10, or $25 on a desktop wallpaper, but I suspect it isn’t the quality of the wallpaper. Why, the wallpaper called me at 11:00pm and conceded the contest to the “Plot and Blam” ticket.

Aaaand that’s about it for political humor here. I’ve got lots of deep sociopolitical and economic thoughts, but this isn’t the post for them. This is a time to be happy that twenty-one months of campaigning is over.

Let’s get on with being nice to one another, shall we?

It has been said that in a democracy the voters get the government they deserve. Ah, aphorisms. So touching, so simplistic…

Still, if you want something to happen, vote for it. If you want something to not happen, vote against it. Vote your conscience. Vote your inspiration. Vote your ideals. Vote your hopes, your dreams, and your passions.

Don’t let the big picture scare you. Act locally, and vote for wise people with integrity on your city and county councils. Vote courageously. Vote out of the love for your neighbors, community, and nation, not out of the fear nor hate you’ve been shown in campaign ads. And don’t forget that you’re voting for people, rather than those aggregate monsters of compromise we call “parties.”

Yes, this timely public service announcement mostly applies to citizens of these great United States of America. Netizens from other great nations looking for something positive to do today need look no further than the button under Tuesday’s strip. Because you know that donating to your favorite webcomic is also a vote of sorts. You’re saying “keep on doing it,” and rest assured, I will. I’m not sure you’re going to get the comic you deserve (because someone as generous, wise, and tasteful as yourself must be very, very deserving), but I’ll keep working hard to make it the best comic I can.

Just as soon as I’m done voting.

I particularly like the new Washington Mutual website*.

(*Note: No, that’s not actually their new site. But I had a lot of fun trying to read about savings accounts…)

Just prior to the big EV1 outage this weekend I heard from Cybermaus, a Schlocker from the Netherlands who is currently in China…

I am in China (Shanghai) for the last few days, having problem getting my daily digest of Schlock Mercenary, and suddenly I realize: Schlock is being censored!

I can get most internet OK, but for some I get a ‘cannot find’. And now I pay attention, it is always Schlock and Sinfest. But Sluggy, Nukees, Freefall have no problems. Only if I start a VPN via my home router (Netherlands) and route through there, it works.
…
So Howard, not sure if it is something to be proud of or not, but it seems you are among China’s state enemies. I hope my repeated attempts to open your page doesn’t have the PLA knocking on my door…

I, too, hope the PLA doesn’t knock on your door. And now I’m wondering if a Chinese hacker couldn’t have managed to find a way to remotely take control of a certain datacenter’s electrical room and activate the self-destruct on one of the transformers…

UPDATE: from a look at the comments below (and my email) it appears that if there are Schlock Mercenary filters in place in China, they’re either not very effective, or they’re not being universally applied. If you’re reading this in China somewhere, weigh in! The PLA can’t track you ALL down…

Perhaps it could go without saying that I honor and respect the men and women who have given their lives to keep me free. It should not, however. Though I believe my support is obvious, it can never be so obvious that it goes without saying.

It must be said. It must be said aloud, and publicly. It must echo.

I weep over our nation’s noble dead, not just because I have missed the opportunity to know them in this life, and not just because I mourn the loss of their earthly futures. I also weep because I feel unworthy of the great gift they’ve given me. They inspire me to be better. What have I done with the freedoms I’ve been afforded? What more can I do in the future?

You who currently serve, who live on, kneeling among fallen comrades… my prayers are with you. Stand proudly with my blessing, but don’t forget to duck. Know that whether you come home with your shield or on your shield, I’ll be working and praying to live worthily of the service you give me and my family.

Thank you.

I was upstairs looking out the window at the flags on display wondering what September 11th meant to me. Today it means courage in the face of the unknown, and I remember the firefighters, police officers, and other emergency services personnel who selflessly gave their lives on this day six years ago.

To my friend Richard this day is about acquaintance and friendship, and how sometimes we suddenly find ourselves wishing we’d said “thank you” or “I love you” a day earlier.

Each year on this anniversary my friend Richard calls the people he cares about, and lets them know he is thinking of them. It’s a wonderful call, and today it came while I was lost in my own musings upon the matter.

Richard is on to something here. If each of us will take the time to express the love we feel, and to serve each other in some small way, the world will be a much, much better place.

Thanks for all the cool links, everybody. Not only have you pounded on the previous thread with great information, some of you have also emailed me assorted goodies. It is interesting to note that I’ve also not received even a SINGLE anti-RPG/anti-D&D flame. Apparently the gravitics of Schlockiverse technology allow me to fly under the radar of The Evil Legion of Attack Ministries™. (I’ll just drop this payload and be on my way…)

If you’ve emailed me, you may get a personalized response, but you also might not. Let me say, however, that pretty much ALL the email I have gotten on the subject was useful (yes, even yours. Don’t be so humble. It was brilliant.)

I will be compiling a link-list and making it permanently available on this site. I’ll also write a little essay of my own on the subject. These things may have to wait a little while, though, because books are due to arrive Any Day Now, and when they do I’ll be suddenly, suddenly busy.

Which reminds me: pre-orders will be closing sometime on Tuesday, November 14th. If you want your book to ship before Thanksgiving (that Great American Celebration of Plenitude, Omnivorism, and Excess), please place your order now. Operators Web-servers are standing by.

I need your webhounding skills, but we’ll get to that in a moment.

Twice in the last week, as I’ve been sitting at my drawing table at Dragons Keep, customers have come in asking, in essence, “what’s all the fuss about D&D?” Specifically, it seems, they want to know why other parents are dead-set against letting their children play such an insidiously dangerous game, which is obviously training them for occultism, satanism, and weekend baby-eating.

And here I thought those issues all got put to bed back in, oh, 1983. D&D is no more a training ground for occultists, satanists, and baby-eaters than American Idol is (note: I use “American Idol” as my example rather than “Survivor” because, well… the baby-eating episode of “Survivor” is going to air any day now).

Still, people have questions. As the closest thing to an actual grown-up present in the store (being in the store prevents me, by definition, from being a TRUE grown-up) it seems to fall on me to answer their questions.

While I can be fairly encyclopedic in my summonings of obscure and arcane trivia, I suspect that when Mrs. Smith tells Mrs. Jones “the guy drawing stuff at the comic book store said it’s okay because…” all of my pontificating will fall rather flat in the retelling.

So… do you know any good sites with TRULY encyclopedic advocacy for Dungeons & Dragons in specific, and Fantasy Role-Playing in general?

I’m looking for something I can summarize, synopsize, and print out — complete with links and footnotes — so that the next time someone asks the question I can say “D&D is as safe as any other activity that takes place at your kitchen table” and then hand them a nice sheet of paper that allows them to refute the absurd allegations bandied about by their ignorant and fearful neighbors.

I’ve found a little material already, but I’m sure there are things I’m missing… like perhaps an under-utilized, low-Google-ranked site that already has EXACTLY what I want, formatted and ready to go.

Failing that, send me the raw feed. On your mark, get set, roll initiative…

I need to see this film two or three more times. Only then can I write the review it deserves, but that wouldn’t be a review — it would be critical analysis, bordering perhaps on deconstruction.

One thing is certain: this film falls far outside the typical range for comic-book movies. It’s not your garden-variety action flick, either. It’s deep. Deep and dark. Like a well… one that you’re staring up out of from the bottom, not peering into from the top.

The story is simple: a masked man is taking on a totalitarian regime, and enlists the unsuspecting help of a beautiful young woman. During the single year of the story they are both changed. Lots of people are killed. At the end of the film there is stuff blowing up.

Beneath that simple layer there are piles of backstory, political and religious commentary, and plenty of very artistic dialog. There is symbolism and there is satire. Even the music in the film is laden with meaning. There is probably an English Major’s thesis paper waiting to be written about this film.

Did I like it? Yes. Did I agree with the message of the film? I’m going to hedge… I believe that the film is actually ambiguous enough on the delivery of its messages that the viewer can come away with reinforcement of whatever belief he or she went in with. That said… I agree with some of what was presented.

This is a film you need to see with a group of thinking friends, and after you see it you need to go sit down someplace and talk about what you saw. Engage in a critical discourse. ARGUE.

It’s possible that’s the message of the film right there. But then again, that’s a value I went into the theater with, and I came out with it reinforced.