This comic was hard to make and publish, because the up-shod is admitting failure. I launched a podcast last spring after reading Podcasting for Dummies and figured, “I can do this”. I have the gear,  and I’ve always had a dream of being a DJ – albeit spinning records, not scratching them.

Lessons learned:

• It Takes Two  -
  Going solo on a podcast is something not ordinarily done; even though some podcasts I’ve tried listening to overdo the in-jokes, silliness, and giggling – it seems another host to “play off” is the norm
• Marketing -
  “If you build it, they will come”. No they won’t. Not without marketing and advertising. And I didn’t. So the traffic was always anemic.

Here’s a very recent webcomic by Chris Eliopoulos that – out of sheer coincidence – sums it up pretty well: Misery Loves Sherman.

To quote the great Rodney Dangerfield:
To give you an idea, the first time I quit comedy, nobody even knew I quit.

So, my first effort at podcasting is on indefinite hiatus. Here are podcasts I currently favor:

Webcomics Weekly by the authors of How to Make Webcomics. These guys have the clout to put the podcast on hiatus, and when they come back – people care.

The Lightbox – Illuminating Webcomics This one is a new favorite on the play-list. Straight-talking, no-nonsense tips from practicing webcomic artists Chris Flick and Matt Stout, hosted by Rob Chandler.

The Granddaddy of all: Art and Story with comics creators and teachers Jerzy Drozd and Mark Rudolph. I’m a big fan, and there’s a gem in every show.

What do we have here?  A new comic on a Friday?  An abundance of rhetorical questions?  An exercise in sentence fragments?

I’ve been tempted to publish twice a week for awhile now,  on Tuesday and Friday. Let’s consider Friday a “bonus” strip,  it will be smaller, less colorful, and more quickly and loosely drawn than the “main” comic.  Topics can include exploring the supporting cast and new characters, and may even venture into more edgy and (hopefully)  creative content.

What’s that you say? Got a complaint about a small bonus?  Can you leave a comment in the form of a question?

The “They have that now?” retort reminded me of  Jay Leno, who used it frequently in his monologues. At the risk of alienating you Camp Coco or whatever you fanatics call yourselves now, I simply cannot wait for the planets to get back into alignment and have Jay back on at 11:35 PM EST. It worked so much better for my evening routine than the temporary 10:00 PM slot.

Also, while the Beatles references abound, I got an email today from Paul McCartney. Pretty sure it was an ad for an upcoming tour, but since none of the graphics would display (and it was all graphics) it was illegible. It’s sad when an old rocker tries to use new media and it flops miserably.  Unless of course he’s a fan of the comic and was sending me a hidden message in the HTML source that he wants to score the Broadway adaptation of My Life In The Trenches.

Enough silliness. I’m going to bed. We’ll discuss Disney some other time.  Ciao for now.

I had a version of this worked up when the news broke that Hooters is up for sale.

It started me thinking that some fine benefactor may come to the rescue, and both Donald Trump and Tiger Woods sprang immediately to mind. I finally settled on investor William Jefferson Clinton who, while recuperating from his latest heart episode might come upon this news story and proclaim “Haiti, Schmaiti – these Hooters girls… need… mah… help.”

Pity you can’t hear my Clinton impression because as my voice ages, I think it’s spot on!

For the record, I’ve only been to Hooters once. I found the wait staff to be borderline hostile. We were perfect gentlemen, yet as we left the hostess and the servers were silent as we walked out. Typically you hear “Thank you, come again”.

Now, I can understand the controversy this kind of objectification of young women causes; but I’m also of the mindset that “If you’ve got it flaunt it”, particularly because you won’t “have it” forever. As I was researching the drawing in the first two panels ( it didn’t take long, I swear) I stumbled upon an interesting perspective, and I suggest you read this essay by a Hooters girl.

Thank you. And please, come again.

Telling my spouse to hush. It’s my comic, and I’ll dream if I want to.

Seriously, did you ever have one of those conversations with your significant other in which you are told “I told you already about…” and what follows is something you have no knowledge of whatsoever? Me, too.

Let’s face it, who among us will let slide technical inexperience when spoken in an exotic Caribbean accent? *Raises hand*

Sadly, panel three’s text is lifted verbatim from a conversation at my last job by a Director of Marketing, no less – albeit  spoken in my native Noo Yawk accent. The wheels came off that firm pretty dramatically.

Check out some of the others featured,  a couple of my favorites are represented as well, such as David Wilborn’s Urban Jungle Comic and Mike Gruhn’s great Webdonuts.

Please add me to your webcomics bookmarks. I’ll shut up now, since have to tweak tomorrow’s strip.

I really don’t mean to slam the entire industry of home improvement service providers for the miscalculations of one individual, but it gets under my skin being in a deadline-driven field myself.

That an individual is able to miss promised milestones and do incomplete or sub-par work is a particular pet peeve. Today’s strip took hours and some “going the extra mile” effort to launch today.

I guess I’m cranky about this since I wasn’t born with enough charisma to pull off making excuses. I’d rather get the job done right, on time, as promised. I am not a contractor.

My advice would be not to renovate your home while living in it; unless testing your marriage is something you feel would be a good time. It is not.

Meh, I’m more of a Twitter guy. But I will admit my birthday last Friday generated quite a few well-wishes from friends from the various chapters of my life: present, past and very past. And if that doesn’t get you thinking Facebook is worthwhile, you’re probably a lost cause.

Thinking about what to get me? The best gift would be if you would please tell a friend or two about this comic. Thanks.

P.S. I hear there are some very cool games in store for Facebook in ‘10.