Happy Thanksgiving, all. Or, for those of you who don't celebrate it, happy Thursday.

I get to spend the first half of the day writing, and hopefully drawing. Actually, I'll have to do it in the morning. Some time in the afternoon I'll be having dinner with extended family. Then the evening there's a Christmas sale the auction does every year. Needless to say, I don't have a lot of time to dilly dally.

Of course, I could have done it yesterday (Wednesday) since I got Thursday's comic done super early, but I got sidetracked playing GTA: San Andreas. My fault entirely for playing when I should have been working.

Oh well. I'll get it done.

On other stuff, seeing as it's Thanksgiving, mayhaps I should go over a few things for which I'm thankful. Family, friends, got my health (sort of), roof over my head, food in my belly, clothes on my back, yada yada yada. Seriously, I'll be thankful if tomorrow goes by without stress or drama.

I'm also thankful for Google Chrome. Firefox, my usual browser, has been giving me a lot of crap lately, what with crashing a lot at random and being a memory hog. At times, it's slower than Vermont molasses in the dead of winter. Honestly, from 3.0 on it seems like Firefox has progressively got worse with each new update. I never had the problems with Firefox 2.x that I've had with it lately. Maybe it's just me.

I still need to prepare tomorrow's comic, but it's hard to do anything, let alone write or draw, with a congested head.

I need an Alka-Seltzer. And perhaps some tea afterward.

Tonight's WWE Raw was actually pretty good. Although the Diva match sucked, which is nothing new. Still, it was good to see Jesse Ventura again. The ringside commentary with Ventura and Vince McMahon was a nice little blast from the past.

I got the "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" soundtrack in the mail today.

I wish it had contained more audio cues in between songs to string them together for a more "cinematic" feel, especially with the Oompa Loompa songs, but the soundtrack is really good as it is.

I bought the new Star Trek movie yesterday, even though I had yet to see it. Yeah, I know it's unwise to do something like this, but the only other time I had done something like this, I really enjoyed the movie. The movie to which I am referring is Shaun of the Dead, and anyone who knows me well enough knows how much I loved that one.

Funny enough I do something like this again with another movie that has Simon Pegg in it. The verdict: I loved it.

The film boldly took the Star Trek franchise to places no one thought possible, yet it managed to maintain the spirit of the original series.

There were some plot holes, which I will not go into so I don't risk spoiling anything for anyone who has yet to see it, but I really didn't mind it. The story and a superb effort from the cast, along with a brisk pacing that made sure the film did not drag, as well as awesome special effects, more than made up for that.

Also, that green skinned girl was überhot. I'm envious of Kirk's skills with the ladies. Envious, I tell ya!

Yeah.

I honestly can't wait for the next film.

I found a small space heater in the utility room, that also doubles as a fan. So maybe now it won't be so cold in here now. And believe me, the past few nights have been rather chilly.

Music first, via CD or the radio. I need something to listen to while I do my routine. I also put on a pot of coffee or make myself a cup of tea.

Now the Internet.

I start by logging on to Twitter in a new tab so I can catch incoming tweets while I do other things. I check my e-mail and delete the spam, then answering any e-mail I may have received. After that I read the news, check my website (to see if the latest comic is showing but also to read any comments it receives), then read other comics I have bookmarked. Facebook comes next, then this blog, then the forums. After this, I'm pretty left to go anywhere else I damn well please.

And I guess that's pretty much it.

So earlier tonight, I watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

I like the film, and I kinda like how the Oompa Loompa songs were a different style for each kid, which differs from the first film which used the same melody with different lyrics.

However, different styles aside, and despite the lyrics being written by Roald Dahl himself, the songs in "Charlie" just aren't as catchy or as memorable like those in "Willy". Although, "Augustus Gloop" comes close and is probably the best song of the bunch. I actually catch myself singing it from time to time, so there you go.

I wouldn't ban any books, because it's a stupid thing to do. The stuff that happens in any book is no worse than what kids see in movies, video games, or on television.

I finally beat Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories for the PS2. About time, too. I've had the game a couple of years now, but never really got around to really playing it until recently.

I still have a few things to do in the game if I want (hidden packages to find, races to do, etc.), but I'm done with the main story, which was a pretty good story at that. But right now, finishing the main story is all that matters.

So now I'm going to take a crack at my other GTA games. I have four in total (GTA 3, Vice City, San Andreas, and LCS). Or I may just play some of my other games for a while. I've been binging on GTA for the past two or three weeks. Might be time for a break from the series. :P

But for now, I'm going to sleep.

Before I go, new "World of Fizz" comic is up: http://fergoandenrique.comicgenesis.com

I just finished watching "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory". Great movie starring Gene Wilder, and one I can watch over and over again without ever getting tired of it. Interestingly enough, I can say the same about Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". Heck, both are really good movies, and the book on which both movies are based is amongst my favourites.

I might watch Burton's movie later, but now is the time for comics.

So, on a whim, I decided to watch the first Michael Bay Transformers. Hey, I own it on DVD and it's been a while.

While I didn't think much of "Revenge of the Fallen", I really enjoyed the first movie. There was a good mix of action, suspense, humour, and there was actually a pretty good story therein. But above all, it was fun.

And even though both this and "Revenge of the Fallen" are about the same length, the first film went by pretty quickly. "Revenge of the Fallen" just felt like it dragged on forever.

Seriously, whatever Michael Bay did in the first movie, he did it right. I just wish it could have carried over into the second movie.

And I really hate to compare the two, but with both movies out it's really hard not to. One was really good and the other was really bad. My only hope is things will right themselves whenever the third movie comes out.

Well, it's not exactly a new TV. My sister's boyfriend got them a TV over the weekend, so I inherited her old 23-inch set. The one I had before was about a 13 or 15 inch, so I'm happy to be getting a bigger screen. Makes for better movie watching. I'll probably let my friend Jim have my old set, since he mentioned something today about his mother needing one to watch movies.

Also, I watched Return of the Jedi over the weekend and today I went into the toy booth and bought as much Boba Fett stuff I could afford. I got a 3¾" Power of the Force Boba Fett figure (which is still in the pack, but I'll probably open it), as well as a Burger King squirt toy, and a McDonald's bobblehead. There was a couple of other figures I wanted, but I only had so much money on me. Maybe next time if they're still there. Can you tell I like Boba Fett? :P

Also also, Wal-Mart's online store has the G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra DVD listed at about $5 less than it would cost at the store, plus free shipping to boot. So yeah, I placed an order for that today too. I was planning on buying the movie anyway. But I was planning to buy it a few months from now after the price dropped. So now I don't have to wait.

Earlier today, while I was eating at the Captain D's just outside the flea market, there was this girl that kept looking over at me. I know she was looking at me because I was looking at her, but I would look away just as I saw her look my way.

Then she came over and asked how the food was (yes, this girl works here), and all I could do was look at my fish and say it was good (it was), which I reckon is something you want to hear. Then she went on to wipe down the tables. Just as I was leaving, I hear "thank you, come again", which I reckon is something they say to everyone.

God I'm pathetic.

Misinterpretation of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar is the basis for a New Age belief that a cataclysm will take place on December 21, 2012. December 20, 2012 is simply the last day of the 13th b'ak'tun, which began September 18, 1618 (1,728,000 days from the beginning of the calendar).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayan_Calendar#Long_Count

It's like the second to last paragraph in this section. Hell, read the whole article if you want.

But seriously, the stuff people will buy into. Guys, the world isn't going to end on December 21, 2012. All that is happening is a cycle (the 13th b'ak'tun) is coming to an end, only for another cycle to begin. That's all. Really.

I hope so.

How has technology changed my holiday traditions?

It hasn't. I've never even gone caroling (my singing is atrocious) and I don't do MP3s. The cards I send are usually bought although, since I am something of an artist, I sometimes also hand draw something on the inside. Besides, E-cards are just so... impersonal.

Good question. I have so many CDs that I like, it's really hard to choose just one.

But if I really must choose just one, if only for the sake of this exercise, I would go with Prince's "Purple Rain". With most CDs I own, there are only a few good songs and others I end up skipping over. This isn't the case with "Purple Rain". Every song on the album is very good, because Prince is a musical genius.

So yeah, I could listen to "Purple Rain" the rest of my life. I listen to it everyday anyway. Heck, I'm listening to it right now.

Quick drawing of Kelli Fizuth from "World of Fizz". Enjoy!



DeviantArt Link

So I watched G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra earlier tonight.

I'm glad I didn't go into this one expecting anything profound or thought provoking, or else I would have been sorely disappointed. What I got instead was what I expected: a really cool movie with lots of really cool action. For that I say "Great job, guys. I really enjoyed this one."