The Life & Times of Tim

A great show has made its way onto HBO: The Life & Times of Tim. This crudely drawn comedy is set in NYC and follows Tim as he deals with his work, boss, girlfriend, girlfriend’s parents, and an angry unpaid prostitute. The show thrives off of Tim being placed in awkward situations, sometimes from his own doing, but usually because he can’t say no.

We are first introduced to Tim as he has propositioned a prostitute for some friendly backdoor action. Conveniently, Tim’s girlfriend and her parents visit the apartment during this exchange. Again and again Tim ends up in the middle of uncomfortable situations leaving the viewer to squirm or to laugh. Definitley reminds me of an Office-esque, or Superbad type, comedy.

After sitting through 30min of unsatifsying Entourage on Sundays, I am glad there’s a new show to look forward to. Enjoy the clips.

Human Resources –

Prostitute –

Gay Gary –

Calvin and Hobbes – Good to be a kid

As the world crumbles around us, at least everything is alright with Calvin and his buddy. The perspective of a child always puts me at ease when life starts getting out of control. It’s not because children are oblivious to their surroundings (which they definitely are not), it’s their ability to prioritize what’s important and really enjoy the present. I think as you become older, you become too obsessed with the past and the future, like “oh crap, what’s the plan for tomorrow, next week, next month?” and “oh crap, I shouldn’t have done that, why did I do that.” Children wouldn’t think past the PB&J sandwich in their hands, and would quickly shrug off spilled milk. I guess my main point is: it’s good to be a child right now.

Here’s a good Calvin and Hobbes strip I found:

Calvin and Hobbes – vanillabomb is still alive!

Apologies to whoever reads or have stumbled upon this blog. I’ve totally hit a wall recently with posts, so I decided to start with baby steps. Here goes:

Growing up in the Northeast, I have had the exact same conversation with my dad ending in the same result. Nothing like Calvin and Hobbes on a slow first day of work.

Calvin and Hobbes – War and Peace

I have been totally slammed this past week with work. Coincidentally, this past week has been miserable for me. Hmm…makes me wonder.

I’ve realized during this time that I neglected the really important things in life, like posting. A great advantage to having co-authors is that we keep each other in check. If one is slacking, the other picks up the pace (but not without antagonizing the other). So after some harsh criticism, I thought it was about time to get back online. So now…I’m back.

When I’m at work and need a pick-me-up, I google up some vintage Calvin and Hobbes comics. I’ve already posted a few that I found particularly hilarious and mood enhancing. The following comic is no different, but it also made me think about current events and the world. For a second, I was totally removed from work and was left to pondered the comic….and the rest of the day flew by. Check it out and let me know what you think:

Expecting Fridays

Friday is my favorite day of the week, not because it’s the premature start of the weekend or because less people are in the office. But it’s when translations of the weekly mangas (Japanese comics) are posted to the internet. Most people outside of Japan have no understanding or interest in manga. I really can’t blame them, why would they spend time reading comics when they can watch Tila Tequila search for a man/woman or Jason Taylor dance his little heart out wearing a leotard.

Surprisingly, the popularity of manga (and anime) has been growing at a rapid rate. I would probably contribute this fact to the Pokemon generation but that saddens me. I’d like to think that the cultural mish-mash of America has alleviated the taboos and misconceptions alleviated with manga (and anime). Either way, it’s a great trend, and I’m a full supporter of it.

What many people don’t know, and are beginning to realize, is that  manga (and anime) is not for children in Japan. Granted there are titles that target children, but a majority of manga targets the older age group, i.e. 16-30 year olds. Beneath the black and white drawings are themes that relate to morality, love, loyalty, friendship, etc. If taken to heart, a person can definitely learn from the lessons taught in each chapter and story arc.

Anyways, if you’re interested there are definitely some great series that are ongoing right now. I’ve spent some time reading Naruto, Bleach, Full Metal Alchemist, One Piece, and Eyeshield 21. I would say that either FMA or One Piece is so far my favorite. Feel free to check them out at Onemanga while you still can.

By the way, sorry for the lack of posts this week. Spent all week painting an apartment.

Calvin and Hobbes – Strip of the Day

I hope you enjoy this strip. I totally feel the same way at work, i.e. right now.

Calvin and Hobbes

Just trying to keep the streak alive.

Anyways, this strip made me laugh out loud at work…

Calvin and Hobbes

This cheered me up today…I love Calvin’s expression at the end:

Calvin and Hobbes (Part Deux)

Just a quick addition to vanillahead’s previous post, my personal favorite Calvin and Hobbes comic strip is:

A great site that indexes every comic strip is at http://www.transmogrifier.org/ch/strips/index. Enjoy.

Calvin and Hobbes

One of the saddest days of my childhood was when I found out that Bill Watterson would cease publication of Calvin and Hobbes. I looked forward to the daily installment of the comic and it became another element of my morning routine before school. I bought a number of the collectible books and even cut out and saved the last strip, published on December 31, 1995. I still have it to this day.

I loved Calvin and Hobbes because as a kid, I saw a bit of myself in Calvin, namely his energy, curiosity and imagination. I also envied him to a degree. Here was an impulsive six-year old kid who seemed to lack a formal awareness of the ramifications of his rambunctious antics. Whether it was careening down a hill on his sled with Hobbes or sticking it to his teacher Mrs. Wormwood with a subtle verbal jab, Calvin exhibited an air of freedom that any kid could admire. I was also jealous that he had a buddy like Hobbes to hang out with all day every day. Not to mention the kid was wise well beyond his years and offered up commentary on anything from art to politics with a sophisticated vocabulary.

I still miss those strips and to be honest, I haven’t followed another comic since Calvin hung up the red wagon. Calvin and Hobbes just had a vitality and lighthearted yet sincere approach to life that no other cartoon can even approach. So, to help the spirit of Calvin and Hobbes live on, I’ll share one of my favorite strips from time to time.

Calvin was always cool in my book: