Hugs: They’re Everywhere You Want to Be

Off to the National Cartoonist Society convention today in Jersey City to shoot interviews of some of our RingTales cartoonists before they get too drunk to stand.

Or after they’re too drunk to stand.   We’ll see how it goes.

Eau de Mildew

On the road to NYC today.  No time to blog.  Plenty of time to abuse Verne, though.

Sleep, Eat, Repeat

American Idol.

Yeah, I know.  Collective groans all around for this pantheon of pop pablum.   But, you know, this year was different.  This year had Crystal and Siobhan and Lilly.   Poor Lilly, who had the temerity to be herself.  Siobhan, the nerdy-screamer, was a waif with the voice of a perfect pitch air-raid siren.   And Crystal, the busker from Ohio, who IMHO is the second-coming of Janis Joplin without all the drugs, booze and, you know, death issues.

Crystal’s really, really good.  Her voice is amazing.  And she knows who she is.  She completely buried Lee last night.  And that’s exactly why she won’t win.   The tween girl demo will not vote for  a folky, bluesy, portly, dreadlocked mama who refuses to wear eyeliner.  It would be like voting for the 7th grade exchange student from Moldovia.   Ain’t gonna happen.

I predict Crystal will have a much longer and happier career than Lee.   Lee looks like a future reality show contestant on, “Help Me! I’m a D-list Celebrity and I Have To Eat Slugs To Pay Alimony!”

I hope I’m wrong.  But I doubt it.

Giant Squid Yogurt Wrestling

In all multiverses Hammy is the universal constant.

The One Where We Accidentally Reference the Lost Finale

Didn’t plan it, but this week’s multiverse story-line coincides nicely with last night’s Lost finale.

I’m definitely a Lost fan.  I’ve seen every episode.  I’ve spent way too much time theorizing about the island, smoke monsters and tropical polar bears.   So, what did I think of the ending?

Sigh…   It’s complicated.

I think they wrapped most of the character stories just fine.  The sideways reality/purgatory thing was emotionally satisfying.  I teared up a bit to see the final reunion/communion.   Yes, the Christian references/symbolism were heavy-handed.  But I think it worked well.

I think the island story was handled poorly.   This show for me was never about the soap opera, it was about the mystery of the island.  The island was the hook.  If I want emo-opera, I’ll watch Grey’s Anatomy (which I do).  The producers built this huge  jigsaw puzzle.  They showed us the corners