Sizzling Pizza

This post has nothing to do with the title. Only thought it might catch more people’s attention. I like the double double z's. And. I mean. Pizza’s good.

There are a few subtleties you might notice about today’s comic. One being the lack of a decelerating device. For the toad, there is no such thing as terminal velocity.

Today, I was a zombie. I have been a great many things the past couple of days it seems. I took part in a flash mob. Fun stuff, but I won’t speak on it now. We made the front page of the newspaper though. Paragraph break.

That Tahitian bungalow has stared me in the face for its last day. Today brings a new month and a new tropical paradise. Bear with me now, as I flip the calendar page in real time.

Oh la la, Sofriere Bay and the Volcanic Peaks of the Pitons, St. Lucia, the Caribbean. Not bad at all. In fact, very reminiscent of Swiss Family Robinson. I can almost see little Franz scurrying up the hill with his coconut bombs. Slimy pirates!

I’ve begun reading some more T.S. Eliot lately. It had been some time since last I read him. It’s entertaining to find old passages underlined and noted from my senior year of high school. I will say, I’ve not gotten much more intelligent in college. And goodness, that’s three years now? When is the scepter of sagacity laid in my hands? I bet it will be senior year second semester.

I think I’m using way too much passive voice. I need to drive with my words! I need to push them forward! Enough of this dragging.

Also a lot of italics. C.S. Lewis prefaced his Mere Christianity by stating his dissatisfaction with his use of italics in the book. He compiled the book from a series of radio talks he made during the war and used italics to highlight oral emphasis. Apparently to undesirable effect. I cannot avoid it I think. My words sag with them and the passive voice. It’s like in my core though. Not an auxiliary repair, but one requiring a thorough razing and re-founding. Rats!

-Arrivederci!

Amateur.

This is not my artwork.

Halloween, Contest Ends

The zombie contest at iHigh.com ends today. It's your last chance to help support the webcomic, so take two minutes out of your day and vote Sterfry! The competition picked up a bit over the weekend, so we need every vote we can get.

Have a great Halloween everyone. I may put on my cowboy hat or something if I feel festive. I'm going to be napping a lot today.

I don't have any candy.

Sterling suggests a possibility. Sadly, like Sasquatch and Advanced Calculus it’s just not true.

What was actually occurring was a case of misunderstanding compounded by sour grapes. My family was off at important social events and conducting ourselves with high minded affairs rather than doling out candy to silly power rangers and fairy princesses. He was left behind to conjure alternative realities…

I will say no more on the subject.

Today’s Adventuresome Toad is worth checking out. It’s a critical chapter in the Legend of Toad. One which is entirely true. Suffice that I was the above homeowner (well sort of), and the outcome of said confrontation is too sensitive to recall in words right now.

Happy Monday to one and to all! Live life triumphantly!

-Arrivederci!

Halloween Crusade

When Shawn was a kid his family huddled up in their house and pretended they weren't home every Halloween. This only made their house scarier because then I had no idea what they were doing.

I'm sorry to say that Shawn and I were never able to get together and discuss our button ordering methods, but I can assure you all that it is at the top of our priority list.

Hope everyone's got some swank Halloween plans!

Adios!

I was the All-American, Cowboy-Ninja.

If only for a night.

I attended a costumed party which I helped coordinate a little bit. It was really quite fun and the costumes were excellent. A good friend of mine was a combination Batman/Superman (Superbat). By the time we went to Wal-mart to find a costume, we had few options left but to scan the ground for leftovers. We pieced together what we could.

Costume parties are interesting. Being given an excuse to dress up as something imaginary allows you the freedom to act how you have wanted to act for a long time, but couldn’t because until that moment, it wasn’t socially acceptable. For me, this involved a cowboy-ninja. But for you, it might be a deeply misunderstood sophisticate. S’whatever.

Sorry to Sterling regarding miscommunications for today’s comic. More or less, everyone in politics is selling you a line. I just don’t know why no one admits it. I don’t care about any of those issues in their context. I don’t care about MTV’s Next in any context.

When you're going three miles an hour, don’t shift to fourth gear.

-Arrivederci!

The illness is approaching

I'm almost positive I'm going to wake up today with a less than comfortable throat condition.

I am getting sick.

If I turn up dead, Shawn's going to have to start drawing the comics, so bear with us, and don't be too hard on him. As you noticed in the honey comic, Shawn is seen drawing more objects with fangs in them. He's really quite the artist.

Aside from that, we didn't get to order the buttons today, as I had a hard time getting a hold of Shawn. He was busy managing a social engagement involving costumes. Go figure.

We will try again tomorrow.

Howdy Doody!

Folks. I’m feeling reckless and wild today! Popping my collar, cranking up the tunes, and chucking the chins of la’ ladies!

Yes-sir, I’m prepping myself for tonight. That is because I’m attending a Halloween costume party and I’m going as James Dean/Humphrey Bogart/man wearing jacket with popped collar.

Actually everything I’ve told you up to now is a lie. I’m sorry about that. I know I really shouldn’t tell untruths. But my fingers started going and so I thought I’d let them get out what they wanted to say.

Ok, not everything. There is a costume party. But I will more likely attend as an amoeba or perhaps Red Ninja. As ninja, I would brandish devastating katana blades. As an amoeba, I would wield absorbent pseudopods.

I have three questions on my mind, but I’ll only record one. Do women respect me as my own man if I wear a shirt printed, “Don’t Hassel the Hoff.”?

Girls, chime in please.

-Arrivederci!

Sleep In

It's been a long week, I single handedly unloaded a couple thousand pounds of dirt out of a truck bed at work yesterday, today's Saturday; therefore, I'm going to sleep in.

I'll also see what I can do about ordering buttons today. Hopefully Shawn and I can get in touch for a long enough period of time to decide on how to do that. I think he's helping with some sort of Halloween party this weekend.

Support the comic. Vote Sterfry.

This is Sparta!

We have almost a year to wait, but this has got some potential. If you watch the trailer, you’ll see that, not only do the landscapes and backgrounds look ethereal, but there’s a CG-ish gleam to the actor’s even. They’ve begun painting faces with CG make-up and it gives the actors’ eyes that flashing appearance. The cinema of the future!

Now, for instance, I’m hungry. Or how you sense things? Give it a little practice and your muscle memory figures out the rest. It’s almost a thoughtless action. You can just will something, and your hand reaches out and picks it up. And movement too? It’s wild! You would go along reading thinking, what is this? Like if I structured this paragraph backwards, you’d be at a loss for what I meant. Isn’t it funny how the mind interprets input?

WHOA, mind trip my friends. I’m going to go make some toast.

-Arrivederci!

iHigh.com

We got the go ahead from the admin over at iHigh.com, and we're pretty excited about it. Blue House Comics is going to be the first comic featured at iHigh.com, and things can only get better from here.

I've got a ton of homework to do this weekend, but I'm going to do everything in my power to at least order the first batch of test buttons for you guys. Anyone and everyone within reach of Shawn or I will receive a Blue House Comics button of some nature. We have yet to make a definitive decision as to which element will go on the buttons first, but we can assure you that you will love it. Even if you don't love the first test buttons, you'll love the second series. Maybe you just don't even like buttons. That's for you to decide I suppose. Unfortunately, we won't get the first buttons for two weeks, so you'll have to wait. I know you're just clawing your eyes out for one.

This contest is winding down to a close, voting ends on Halloween! Support the cause! Vote Sterfry!

Sports, Anyone?

Some kids aren't allowed to play dodgeball, or even tag. Other kids have parents so enthusiastic about their sport of choice that they bring firearms to the games.

I inadvertently managed to slice the end of my pointer finger at work today, stripping garland of old Christmas decor. It didn't hurt though, and it never did hurt. I was just shocked by the fact that I cut myself. Rather peculiar, it was.

No word yet back from the admins at iHigh.com, but I did make a friend with the guy who has the only entry in the video competition. He got me some votes for the zombie and cereal box contests, so I'm trying to help him out as well.

Life was pretty good today.

However, I made some funky burrito type things a couple hours ago, and I'm not sure how my stomach is feeling about those.

I've got a little project in the works, that I may make into a poster later on down the road, or a desktop wallpaper or something you guys can purchase or download from us. We'll take a little poll later, and you can all tell us what you think.



Support the website. Cast your vote for Sterfry. Help us buy merchandise to give to you all like so much leftover Halloween candy. Except you'll actually want it.

Peace out.

I wanna hold your hand, baby.

I'm an idealist. A lover not a fighter. True beauty within and that sort of thing.

But before I begin I want to ask you to empathize with me. Think back to a time in your life where you’ve witnessed an echo of heaven on earth. Maybe it was a sunset or a symphony. Now maybe you’ll also remember the calloused remarks of a friend whose senses were tragically unable to experience that beauty. The pain of those comments. The pitiable sorrow you feel for their poor soul. When my good friend suggested Keira Knightley’s face was “mannish” I felt much this way.

Behold.

Notice the graceful flow of the hair as it caresses her face. The tender, but bold expression of the doe-brown eyes. Her parted lips, almost in question, asking, “Do you actually love me Shawn?”


My friend said her jaw was prodigious and at the right angle, sharp, as in the property razors possess.

He suggested this picture.


oh geez woman. Freak.

-Arrivederci!

Let me go over the Rules

The first rule of Blue House Comics is. You tell your friends about Blue House Comics.

The second rule of Blue House Comics is. You tell your friends about Blue House Comics.

I finally watched all of Fight Club tonight (dutifully edited by my kind cousin). I thought it was good and all. It pulled a Matrix Revolutions at the end though. It carried a tight atomic mass of potential and then, at that climactic moment, as the neutron is hurtling towards the nucleus of plot and thematic material, something much less than fission occurs. I think it went something like a “phizzsheeew”.

I haven’t really chewed on it enough to lay down themes or label ideas, but whatever.

It’s amazing the things you consider writing about when you haven’t got any savory thoughts dancing on your tongue’s end. I considered my bottle of water, then a container of hand sanitizer, and continuing my sweeping gaze, I was left with my hand. I felt none of this material would be toasting anybody’s bread so I’m going to ignore them and move onto something of genuine appeal.

A man complains to his psychiatrist about some recurring dreams he has been having.
"It's terrible doctor," he says. "One night I dream I'm a wigwam, and the next night I dream I'm a teepee. What does this mean?"
The doctor calmly replies, "It's obvious, you're too tense."

Thanks guys, that’s a wrap!

-Arrivederci!




Third rule of Blue House Comics is. You read Blue House Comics every day.

iHigh+Tooncasting+Xmas ROBOT

We may soon be tooncasting our comic on iHigh.com, depending on what the admins decide over there. More info on that later.

I believe I'm transforming into a Christmas robot soon at work though. I have finished the designs for the last church that Whit and I will be in charge of decorating. As silly as that sounds, each of the two churches are spending tens of thousands of dollars for our landscape company to decorate them, and it is no small feat by any means. A feat that Whit and I will be doing most likely by ourselves. There is so much prep work for these things it is unbelievable.

CHRISTMAS ROBOT HERE I COME.

Support the webcomic! Vote Sterfry!

Dodgeball, Tag, T.O.G.

The world is falling apart. Kids will soon be duking it out on forum boards and across Xbox Live! and whatever matchmaking service Sony releases with PS3, fighting eachother without ever really going face to face.

That's what Dodgeball was all about! Dodge and attack! Attack and attack! Dodge and dodge! Each kid had their own strategy, some failed miserably everytime, and others like me dominated relentlessly. You had to stare down your opponent in the face, at each other's throats so to say. That's how the real world works! You won't be in a board meeting getting grilled by your boss, and have the liberty to say,

"Hmm, I don't appreciate what you're saying, and I'm special and I'm just as good as you are! Boy am I going to let you have it on the forums tonight!"

But of course, after you make this statement you sit back down and get a "Job Well Done" trophy. Pft.

In case you hadn't heard, we another case of the wusses on the east coast. Good luck kids.

Howdy

I begin my post with a salutation, as is customary in human discourse.

Now, as some may/may not know, my first aspiration in life is to be the Corporate Man. My second aspiration does not matter. I will achieve what I want.

But why the Corporate Man? Why do I want to deny succor to the masses and savor the luxuries of the few? Well aside from the obvious you mean?

Don’t think me so shallow. Our American lore contains stories of people with aspirations much like mine. Yet they weren't all selfishly motivated. Sure, there were personal vendettas and angst-consumed consciences. But gloriously, our hero was able to bring these all-too-human shortcomings into harmonious unity with ethical vistas and soaring moral rightness.

I am, of course, speaking of Batman.

Ten years from now, once I’ve achieved my goals, you must all forget about this post (it is necessary to maintain my alter-ego). My visage of the heartless Corporate Man is a necessary pseudonym, so to speak. Who would suspect the billionaire play-boy of daring caped campaigning down the lonelier streets of Rocketown, on a reckless crusade for vigilante justice? Not you, dear reader.

But I’ve said too much already. Sterling’s got info on our comic. I am concerned for generation next.

Raising our children for competition in the global marketplace, one recess at a time.

-Arrivederci!

Peek-a-Boo

These are the sorts of applications scientists ought to concern themselves with.

I mean, my land! It’s the 21st century? Where are our floating cars? Our blasters? Our hyperdrives and galactic space battles? Hopefully what we’re seeing now is a move toward these worthwhile pursuits. Enough with the new forms of insulated potted planters.

For those who didn’t catch the groundbreaking news.

Does anyone out there enjoy Autumn weather? I know I’ve mentioned this in posts before, but gracious heavens! Each day I open my front door it’s like the blue sky kisses me on the cheek to wish me well. Oh atmosphere, your chilly countenance is warmly appreciated.

A couple things people should observe:

1. Robert Frost- Now, I realize some of you cats have read him in high school and no longer care about his writings. But, read at Starbucks with a maple macchiato and pumpkin scone on a chilly day… well there are very few things comparable.
2. Chet Atkins- This is because his guitar is beastly but mellow. Nostalgic yet challenging. It makes me feel like I’m in a good ol’ western. And I like it like that.

Finally, I’d like to thank everyone for your readership. It’s tired I know, but it really is special to us that people enjoy our comics. If you think us worthy, show a strip or two to your friends. We’d love that.

-Arrivederci!

Honey

I seem to have run out of honey.

This makes me sad. This situation won't hold steadfast though, mind you; it shall be rectified soon enough.


Oh yes! I forgot to mention!

The Prestige starring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale was most excellent. It was a real movie movie, if you know what I mean. I'm not going to write a novel of a review because I know you guys barely read my posts as it is. Definitely worth seeing on the big screen, which is something I can't say about every movie, especially ones that aren't composed of huge special effects. I really didn't see this movie coming, it caught me off guard and turned out to be something I didn't quite expect.

Go out and see it!

One more item of business:
Don't forget to support the webcomic! Vote Sterfry!

Chicken of the Sea

"Shawn. I have a concept. ROCKET DOLPHIN. That's all I have to say. Rocket Dolphin."

These words were the only clue given to me for today's Adventuresome Toad. Concerns of global economic stability prevented much else. But for you, our audience, the world comes second.

I apologize my post is so late in coming. I'm actually at my church computer composing this post. International students and bowling activities comprised my afternoon. It was a great experience though.

Ok, so this begs attention. INVISIBILITY IS REALITY. Almost. Apparently it only makes small things invisible to microwaves. But what a first step!

This coincides nicely with the next phase in my new initiative to pick up objects and spook people.

You know what smells good? Incense.

-Arrivederci!

Don't Let the Feds See This

I know what you are all thinking,

"Sterling, those are Stinger missiles! How will the ROKIT DOLFIN accomplish long range missions?"

I honestly don't have time to answer such silly questions.

All I can say is that I might be getting a seventeen figure sum for this concept illustration of the ROKIT DOLFIN, a covert project whose benefactors I cannot even mention or we won't have Christmas this year.

Aside from that, Shawn is a rotten, filthy liar.

I don't teach children art at a church in any manner, and if I did, I'm sure we could find a constructive way to use the chainsaw to craft some kids' art.

Idyllic autumn days

Chainsaw indeed. I had my cell phone alarm set for 7 this morning. It worked but I did not know about it. Rather my Grandmother who thought the smoke alarm might be sounding, woke up, and found me laying beside my phone, sleeping peacefully.

I found about that later this morning.

For those who don't know, Sterling teaches little children art classes at a church. So the statement:

"I almost got to use a chainsaw at work today, but I didn't. It proved an unnecessary tool for today's tasks. Too bad."

Should come off as unnerving.

This evening I believe I'll be going somewhere that involves bouncy surfaces and cupcakes. I can't really give any other details. Right now the weather is gorgeous though. I second Sterling's urgings. Likewise with the Alaskans.

I think I'll go lie beneath a Persimmons tree and study. It feels not unlike Hobbiton.

-Arrivederci!

Saturday

Hooray it's Saturday! I hope everyone has a good weekend, Kathy and I and (Mark Burgess?) are going to see the Prestige today, so I'll post my thoughts on that when I get back.


Everybody go outside today, the weather is the best it gets right now! That is, if you live in or near Houston, TX. If you live in Alaska, then stay inside and maintain functionality of your fingers and toes.

Shawn is away at his grandmother's house for a relative's birthday celebration or some hoopla in Dallas. I believe he couldn't get his laptop to work last night with their internet, so his post will be up this morning.

That's what he said anyways. I'll have you all know it takes a chainsaw to wake Shawn up from anything.

I almost got to use a chainsaw at work today, but I didn't. It proved an unnecessary tool for today's tasks. Too bad.

Hmmm...

Well at least it fits his style. Attack the person with a reprehensible doodle! I strive for expression of the universal human experience and he puts fangs in my mouth. I trace the subtleties of the subconscious and he grossly exaggerates me into an absurd cartoon.

Besides. I don’t think Mc’Dreamy should hook up with Dr. Grey at all. They both have too much going on in their lives right now.

And yet. There’s a devilishly comic gleam to it... Aw shucks. My great and mighty ramparts are sketched with fissures and cracks! And I am undone.

Oh well. I will play some Mario DS like I always do when I lose. Or win. Or just about anytime I’m not doing anything else.

That’s a truism for sure. I’m playing Mario DS whenever I’m not doing anything else.

And that’s the way I like it.

-Arrivederci!

Shawn Loves Grey's Anatomy

I have sought out vengeance on the horrible artwork wrought by my fellow comrade. He must now endure the humiliation that is today's Adventuresome Toad.

Also, apparently we spelled Quintin's name wrong in the comic. Sorry Quintin, I still don't know how to spell your name.

I'm still holding up in the contests over at www.ihigh.com.

Vote for me and help us win $100 to pay for website upkeep. Believe me, this server isn't run on love.

Vote here and help me win an Onyx (fancy name for "black model") Nintendo DS Lite! Simply because it's shiny and plays fun games.

Thanks for your support! We carry on steadfast in our path!

Vindication!

Ahh please, everyone. Just inhale deeply with me for a second. Can you sense that freshness in the air? As if a violent lightning storm just ended, filling the atmosphere with ionized bliss?

Yes, respectively designated madams and misters, that electricity in the air is art! Cry it from the rooftops, “ART!” Sing it in the cafes, “ART!” Dance it like a foxtrot, “ART!”

Such fervor! As you can see, today’s Toad was obviously penned and illustrated by another intellect perhaps far more penetrating than ones previous. Maybe his name was Shawn.

I present you: Vampirelando. From the nonexistent spatial relationships to the enigmatic juxtaposition of mental abstractions. Why is there a moon skating on a creatures wing? But the background pervades all.

I could go through and enumerate the dazzling facets of this creation, but I tend to think this is a journey each viewer must experience existentially. The journey to the mountaintop if you will. Just don’t forget your spare rope and camming devices.

Mutiny

Shawn decided my last two lines in today's Blue House Comic weren't good enough.

Set before you is the adulterated version, please shield your eyes, as it is unholy and indecent.

I'll change it back in a couple days, so Shawn can have his laughs and then he'll see what trouble this has brought him. Looking forward to a certain subject for Friday's Adventuresome Toad for this reason...

Stay tuned.

Sticks and Stones

Yes, I did it on purpose. The angry avatar.

Our literature is filled with images of miserly publishers wringing the creativity and pennies from a poor artist’s destitute livelihood. We’re confronted with Scrooges and Mr. Gradgrinds and little Starbuck’s cups that decry commercialized entertainment at the expense of art.



Oh hooey!

I plead and beg Sterling to give life to my ideas and participate in my glorious vision. But as the artist, he has all the leverage! Gently, I try to coax him to maintain our critical deadlines. And I am scoffed! Does the corporate man have no heart either? Hooey on the artist and their whole lot!

You irk me by egging me about an eggo which your id deluded your ego into expressing.

Additionally, he carries on about some lofty quest to bring our site glory and acclaim from lands afar. It involves following the picture links, very quickly registering a free account and then voting for “Sterfry.” Supposedly there’s cash prizes and acclaim that we could use for our site and the like. He will not relent and so I present you with it:







This is our most desperate hour. Help us, fair audience; you're our only hope.

Leggo my Eggo

Shawn has been bombarding my abode with demands for better artwork, higher resolutions, faster cars, more money, and all without compensation.

This is on top of my day job as a landscape designer, and my Tuesday/Thursday classes that involve sitting and staring. Intensive, my schedule is.

Shawn's going to kill me. I tried to make some eggos for breakfast this morning, however their residence in the freezer proved evanescent. All that remained in their place was a piece of paper upon which Shawn had scrawled,

"I have your eggos. They are my breakfast now."

Tomorrow I'm going to lace his coffee with sand.

Oh malice,
Malice,
Such evil
You allow us.

Trot the Trotsky

If you scroll below, you think you see an apologetic and fully sympathetic note about today’s comic. Maybe you even side with him. But shed the scales from your eyes! The truth you may possibly (but not if this effecting post succeeds) be blinded from is that of a slacker excusing his poor performance.

Not good enough! Not good enough I say! Despite full days of work, classes and two different comic strips to draw, I see no cause for being unable to do the comic that we discussed!

And this, this whale-o-gram? A whale? The poor man? How did the whale get there? Am I to assume some neighborhood rabble-rousers­ conjured up this attempt at a prank?

How did they get an endangered Humpback to his mailbox? A Radio Flyer?

And then this bam. What- Viva La Bam? I’m lost in this fog of possible scenarios and unknown continuities and every time I think the mist has cleared, here I am left alone with this man, a coffee mug and a Humpback whale!

No indeed! I want to see output. Ol’ Boxer spent himself till he was glue. We need more work ethic like that. “I will work harder!” That hits the spot!

And poor me. The pitiable leader. What a ship I pilot! A bold Napoleon with this Snowball as companion!

Four legs good, two legs better!

Oh and happy Tuesday everybody.

Oh, that's DUE tomorrow?

Sorry I wasn't able to do the Adventuresome Toad comic we'd discussed, Shawn. Some homework came up that I didn't realize was due tomorrow and I feel like getting to bed before 3am tonight.

I have come upon a way you guys can actually support the website and it would only take 3 minutes of your time.

I've entered artwork into two competitions at www.ihigh.com, one for the zombie contest, and one for the video game cereal box contest. I know it's a hassle to register at places, but they won't send you spam mail or anything so don't worry about that.

You can register, go back to the homepage, click on the zombie/cereal contest links (they're blinking gif links on the right side) and then highlight some stars for me, preferrably all of them.

I would appreciate it immensely if you guys stopped by there and voted for me, as the prizes are rather nice. First place for the zombie contest is $100, which we would use to order our first batch of buttons and pay for the webspace and whatnot, and first prize for the cereal box contest is a black Nintendo DS Lite, which would just be cool to have. Shawn has a DS Lite and they're pretty nifty. I'd recommend getting one if you like having fun on the go.

Thanks for your support everyone!

We’re all winners!

But not today.

The contest to see who could refer the most folks was quite a success and we’re pleased to announce the top two contestants.

They are… Julia and Quintin! But who came in first?

(A moment for tension, please.)

THE WINNER IS QUINTIN! With over 40 some-odd referrals, he beat Julia by a narrow 10 Unique IP address margin. Plans on how to incorporate you in a comic are being made, Quintin, so just sit tight for that.

In other news, I’m re-reading Antigone and I love it. I don’t understand my fondness for ancient Greek literature, I only feel it. They pack their statements with so much mass that you can’t help but be crushed by the gravity. When Antigone states her intentions to Creon knowing it will cost her life, the words resound with a deep bass “thud” in your sternum.

Additionally, I realized that when a particular song reminds you of something cool, it stops reminding you of that cool something once you listen to it twenty times. You shouldn’t cling to things that you can’t get a hold of. Just let it be. Hakuna matata, que sera, and all that jazz.

Everyone should go listen to The Bear Necessities.

-Arrivederci!

Blog Errors

Nobody likes Antigone.

Ever.


In fact, if I could go back in time and unread it, I would.

Also, I have to argue Shawn's point about the song repetition business.
Whenever I listen to Dirty Vegas or Dzihan & Kamien, I can still see myself flying through canyons on my jetpack, launching frisbees of death out of my stormhammer. All of which are cool things.

And by the way, I have all that jazz. Even yours too, you guys.

Ampeg Bass Amp

Yesterday I went to House of Guitars, being a Saturday I had some free time, and lo and behold -- they had an Ampeg amp there. For a while now they've only been carrying Fender bass amps, whose sound I'm not fond of. I mentioned this to the owner(?) of the store once and he seemed put off by my comment. Fender makes neat guitar amps, but I don't care for their bass cabs.

I've never played on an Ampeg amp but I've heard them and read about them and knew they were top notch. I picked up the only bass I like in the store, a Fender Big Block P Bass, which features a solitary humbucker (most choice for producing funk bass lines like I do), and plugged into the Ampeg BA115. The Fender bass has got a dual tone control knob that I still haven't figured out all of the way, but I soon found a sound I liked and rolled with it. The action on the bass is startlingly fast.

After a couple minutes I was warmed up and funk slapping away. WOOOOOOoohooo it was fun. I never tested the power of the amp, due to the number of people in the store. Pushing it up to 3 or 4 was even too much to allow the occupants in the store to hear anything other than me. I dropped it back down to 2 and played for a minute, eventually getting dragged out by Kathy, who was at a loss in finding a pick to strum a beautiful Alvarez acoustic guitar she had picked up.

All I can say is I'd go back to the store every day to play on that rig, but I fear I would quickly wear out the strings on the bass, and most likely break one. Bass strings are expensive too, and I wouldn't like to pay for replacement strings on a "new" bass. Not only that, I'm sure they would think twice before they let me play on anything if I ever broke a bass string.

I am going to watch every single episode of Cowboy Bebop thanks to this website. Kathy and I watched the first episode tonight, and loved every minute of it. I can't wait to see the rest of it!

Just Your Friendly Bounty Hunter

Brand new day.

I watched the Cowboy Bebop movie late last night. I looked forward to a film full of brilliantly gritty anime interspersed with sarcastic wit and smooth tough luck characters all set to the back drop of a beautifully futuristic noir and excellent jazz music. A perfect combination! Win win!

I’ll have to admit I was disappointed. Maybe it was the badly translated English subtitles, but the plot was loose and featured almost none of the taut climaxes prevalent in the (albeit few) episodes I’ve seen. Not only that, it hardly featured any futuristic cityscape save one bizarre spaceship chase on Mars that sort of came out of nowhere. By the end you’re supposed to care for two characters who had been very poorly developed, which I could not. I saw character development as a strong point in the TV show version. This one just felt frayed.

Yes it was very late and maybe I was just too tired and maybe it was a bad translation. But I’m pretty sure that’s not the case.

Anyway, today’s Adventuresome Toad was inspired by true events. No she didn’t call me back.

Monopoly is back at Mc Donald’s and I think I stand a strong chance at the $5 million grand prize. I’ve collected B&O already. If any one has others let me know. We’ll go halvsies.

-Arrivederci!

TNT and Yosemite

I welcome you upon this happy Saturday. Maybe you’ve just crawled to the computer after consuming some fruity pebbles while watching Bugs Bunny. Maybe you’ve been brought here after a nice pleasant lunch. Perhaps you’re stopping by before you head out on your big Saturday night date?

Either way, WELCOME! So I’m sipping some Ozarka and thinking to myself, read Star Wars or study. Well. To tell you the outcome of this struggle would be redundant.

To touch on Sterling’s fine post, he mentioned two things: Chinese Philosophy men and Donald Trump.

I saw Donald Trump on television today gossiping about Mark Cuban the way a burgeoning drama queen might beget a rival’s demise for stealing her idea for a certain halter-top/skirt combination. I thought he was Trump. Shouldn’t he just say his last name really loudly and all opposition must cease? What a wimpyman.

As for the Chinese Philosophy men, I read some more Sun Tzu today. I’d be afraid to face that man in a game of Paper, Scissor, Rock (note the proper order of the game’s title). He’d attune his subconscious to my weaknesses and before he won 4 out of 7, I’d surrender from the psychological trauma his war tactics would wreak.

http://www.itsyourshowtv.com/291.shtml

The above is a link I believe you should check out. It’s hilarious. Just click and see.

And as an update, Mrs. Claus bargained dutifully for us! This morning the weather was a chill 50/60 some odd degrees. My roommate and I quickly seized upon this opportunity and bought pumpkins. Two orange ones.

-Arrivederci!

Feng Shui (fung-sCHWAy)

Roughly an hour ago I was informed by Kathy that she didn't get my post from yesterday. I asked her why not, and she claimed to be ill informed about the NBA JAM subject matter. I was in shock. She had never played the game, and didn't even know what it was. Somehow I will remedy this situation, and all will be at peace.

Today at work I had to research feng shui. Apparently we are going to do a landscaping job for a guy that demands feng shui. It is weird stuff I tell you. According to my findings I can't even create a design for the guy's house that will allow an adequate flow of qi without the help of a master feng shui guy or some bogusness. I imagine the feng shui masters are hundreds of dollars an hour and just make up things on the spot based on what they feel the house requires.

Chinese philosophy man. Oprah and Donald Trump use feng shui, too. That is, according to the internet.

Which means it must be true.

I had hot chocolate tonight with a giant marshmellow -- I'm not making that up, because this is the internet and therefore must comply with the honesty requirements.

HE'S ON FIRE

Is anyone making a next-gen NBA jam? I haven't heard news of it and I really doubt it's in the works. Ever since our modern day Charybdis, otherwise known as EA, bought the rights to make a million lame sports games, nothing good has come of it. They try to make the games as realistic as possible. How fun is it to play realistic basketball on a wireless controller hooked up to your plasma screen? You have a real basketball court there on your driveway, sporting the best graphics in the world because it's real.

If I'm going to play a basketball videogame, I'd better be able to catch on fire and jump forty feet in the air and do flips and fly through the hoop while the flashes flicker from the photographers.


And then I want to go out with every cheerleader on the basketball team and get a Dr. Pepper water fountain installed in my ride, solely because they've already installed everything else into a vehicle via Pimp My Ride.

The Early Worm

I am not.

Aha, and I finally post. Well hot dog, it’s supposed to be cool tonight! I’m smelling that autumn crispness in the air finally.

Our apartment will be holding a pumpkin carving contest and the excess of gutted pumpkin pulp will soon fill our kitchen trash can. But before that can take place, the weather really must understand its role in the fall. Its insistence on being muggy is far out of line. Why can’t the heat miser relent? Oh Mrs. Claus… intercede on behalf of our beleaguered state.

There was a typo for yesterday’s The Adventuresome Toad (or as the leet might abr., TAT). I accept full responsibility for that mistake. Incidentally, there was a typo in a much more highly regarded webcomic that very same day. Yes, our precious Penny-Arcade made a typo the same day as us. It may be assuming to whisper destiny, but… I mean, what are we left with? Ours is the rising sun.

In other news, I flipped the page on my calendar and it now reveals a bungalow adrift in crystalline ocean water being shaded from the partly cloudy sky by a palm tree. Oh golly I’d like to be there.

-Arrivederci!

Goblet of Tea

Ahoy landlubbers!

I have a goblet full of tea --had a goblet full of tea.

It is gone. I think I'm hungry for Chinese food. I love eating with chop sticks. I think I could go for some sushi, too. Shoot everything sounds good after visiting John's blog.

He is a professiona chef now, thought I'm not sure on his title, I am sure he can cook with the flame and ferocity of a thousand mortal men.


I'm going to bed, I need sleep and all I can write about is food.

That Jazzy style.

Huzzah for the comments! As for the people wanting to participate in the contest, merely post the link http://www.bluehousecomics.com into you profile or what have you and we’ll track how many people are referred to us through your site. Next Monday, we’ll tally up the scores and declare the winner.

As per today’s post: Jazz. I have been perusing iTunes for the past thirty minutes and happened upon this Starbucks Entertainment section they have now. It’s got some excellent selections on it, my current favorite being the Dave Brubeck Quartet. I had heard them some time ago when I downloaded their rendition of “Take 5”, a piece the Vince Guaraldi Trio introduced me to a few years back. The Brubeck Quartet covered it excellently, even throwing in a punchy but understated drum solo.

The song I downloaded tonight was titled Blue Rondo a’ la’ Turk. It’s good. Check it out.

Additionally, when you are writing anything save, save and again save. Oh… why must I chew this bitter herb again?

Arrivederci!

Age of Empires III Expansion pack

My computer is anything but a "gaming rig" by today's standards. I still sport an AMD Athlon Xp2000+ CPU, 768mb DDR RAM (consisting of PC-2100 and PC-2700), an old Sound Blaster Live! card, a GeForce FX 5500 and a roughly seven-year-old ECS motherboard. I'm amazed that it's still running. I can run Half-Life 2 fine, but nothing past that.

I had to play the demo for FEAR on Shawn's laptop, because I could only muster 2-3 frames per second with my humble machine.

All of that aside, I love Age of Empires II. With the Conquerors expansion pack it's the greatest RTS game ever, and a favorite game all around between Shawn and I. It is our ego sparring ground.

(that and Super Smash Bros. on the N64, but that's another story)

Anyways, like every AOE:II fan I was excited to see all of the videos for Age of Empires III and couldn't wait to play it. Well, some time later I still can't play it, and now there is an expansion pack being released for it. You can find the demo for that here. I'm still excited, as I've played the game with the graphics relatively off on a friends' computer, but never really had the full experience.

A year from now I plan on buying a new laptop, and/or upgrading my computer so I can actually play all of the neat games I've been missing out on, and the future release of Bioshock.

If someone out there could tell me how the new AOE:III expansion pack demo is, I'd appreciate it. I won't get around to it for a while.

Adios.

A Special Contest-

For those who have scrolled down!

As you can see, we’re very excited about what we have here on our site and we’re eager to begin sharing it with as many people as we can. That’s where you come in.

We think we’ve hit upon a somewhat unique strategy. The idea is this: We hold a contest to see who can tell the most people about our site and the winner guest stars in a comic! People who want to enter in the contest merely comment on this blog entry to express your interest. You don’t need a subscription to post a comment at all. Click the comments button below the post and select anonymous if you wish.

We then provide you with a link that you simply post into your respective xanga/myspace/facebook profile/Aim profile, etc. That’s all it takes from your end. We’ll then be able to track how many people are referred to our site through the link in your profile.

Finally, we select the person who referred the most traffic and the grand prize is being drawn into a future Blue House Comic!

That’s basically the gist of it. So if you want to be forever immortalized on the web by Sterling, pipe up! Again, you don’t need a subscription to blogger to comment. Just click the comments button and select login, other or anonymous.

Thanks and we hope to hear from some of y’all!

Nav buttons

I crafted new navigation buttons for Blue House Comics, because the previous renditions were driving me crazy.

I don't have a whole lot to say, but I believe Shawn has some news for everyone in his post.

Adios.

Becky Sharp, you dog you!

Not to spare her author rebuke. His lines such as “The best that the great blundering dragoon could devise and spell; but dullness gets on as well as any other quality in women,” snap with scathing wit. Mmmmmm delicious.

So I’m reading Vanity Fair. Still. It’s been four months now and I really should be moving on to something new. I’ll admit I was sidetracked by a Star Wars book. I’ll admit that and even say I’m awesome for admitting that. Oh but my unquiet reason! How you accuse!

By jingo! Which brings me to my next point. haha, are these points? Anyway. Banjo-Kazooie is coming to the Xbox 360. I may be polarizing our audience in expounding on this news, but I’m fairly sure not too many people are reading these posts. Yet. But yes, I made no mistype. Banjo-Kazooie is in fact arriving to the Xbox 360, helmed by the legendary Rare company. (for those in the not-know, they’re responsible for titles like GoldenEye, Perfect Dark, the original Banjo-Kazooie, and Diddy-Kong Racing. Titles that deftly carried the Nintendo 64 to its benchmark status.)

True, they flopped with the 360 release of Perfect Dark, but they’re a solid company, and their initial efforts (no doubt aggravated by the 360’s rush launch) will spur them to greater heights.

Such Great Heights. Postal Service. Music. Bach wrote music. My next point. For anyone who isn’t already; you must go listen to Bach. He is the air between the clouds on a summer day.

And with that tidbit of advice, adieu!

From Minnesota to me

My Adidas Samba Millenium's came in the mail yesterday. I believe they came from Minnesota. I guess they make shoes there.

Lots of work done on the logo today, and we found a source that has the power to manufacture buttons for us. We're going to do a test batch soon and hand them out to you guys, and the rest of everyone not in our immediate reach will be able to purchase them later, or so goes the plan.

Please keep in mind this won't be for at least two weeks, which is how long it will take us to get the buttons.



A bug has been attacking my monitor for the past 30 minutes while I've been working on the Adventuresome Toad comic. I have flicked him away over a dozen times, and yet he sustains no damage and returns with fervor to my glowing CRT box.

Next time I see him he's going to get -- AHA!
Ew... he's stuck to my monitor.


This is really gross.

Hello people from the top of the page!

Top 23.

Wow. Well we had a massively successful day concerning hits. Sterling noted earlier we were ranked at 24 on webcomicsnation.com. We’ll we’ve since progressed to the number 23 spot. Thank you all very much for checking us out. The Adventuresome Toad comics will be updated daily and the Blue House Comic strip will be Mondays and Thursdays. And please feel free to tell us to every soul you know of! We'd love you forever.

I wonder, do any of y’all notice this is down here? I know it’s hard to see. Soon we’ll be fixing that. If you want, you can leave us comments here (you don’t need a blogger account) . We’ll try to make these posts down here as amusing as the comic itself, so it may be worthwhile checking out.

I will post more later, but now there is a mass of things I gotta do. Mainly is to sleep.

-Shawn!

p.s. I had a snack today but it tasted like Styrofoam.

Top 25

I'd be lying if I didn't say I was shocked to see Blue House Comics in the top 25 today on WCN, ringing in at slot number 24. The mysterious networking powers of facebook.com have given us some added guests it seems. Shawn started a Blue House Comics club on facebook, so you can join that, although I'm not sure what that does for you.

I'm not a facebook guy.

If you haven't checked this place out yet, www.slickdeals.net is the ultimate bargain website, one that should be checked daily if you're ever in the market for, well, anything. Computers to shoes, you can't beat what you'll find there. If you need shoes, as I did a few days ago, there's a 40% off coupon here for Reebok/Rockport shoes. I'm an Adidas guy all the way when it comes to tennis shoes, but if you're into Reebok, there's your hookup.

I'm going to the A&M transfer student information day tomorrow, go go Aggies.