AN ONLINE JOURNAL_
by Clake and Klake
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MORE: Randy the Cat
, Links (del.icio.us), Clake's Recent Books (del.icio.us)
Thursday, August 31, 2006
This website will blow your mind
posted by klake at 3:17 PM (0) comments
Check out the baby name wizard. It graphs the popularity of names in the past 130 years in an elegant way that is too cool to be described. Just type in a name and it starts graphing, mouse over the graph to see the name's popularity by decade. Example: in 2003 "Penelope" was the 709th most popular name for baby girls. In 2005, .012% of little girls were named Penelope. Cool, eh?
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Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Fat Ford.
posted by klake at 4:03 PM (0) comments
My Great Uncle Earl made the New York Times. Apparently even Iowa farmers get 15 minutes of fame.
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Off to the fair
posted by klake at 3:18 PM (0) comments
A lovely article from Slate about the Minnesota State Fair.
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Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Manatees!
posted by klake at 2:21 PM (0) comments
They may not be beautiful, but they are much smarter than previously thought, and perfectly adapted to their environment. From the NY Times.
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Saturday, August 26, 2006
About me:
posted by clake at 2:38 PM (1) comments
So I guess I'm on Myspace now:
http://www.myspace.com/104579046
Maybe we can be "friends". I have zero friends right now cos I deleted that one "Tom" guy who starts out as your default friend. One thing that has already surprised me is that apparently EVERYONE I KNOW is on Myspace.
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Friday, August 25, 2006
Fun times at the museum
posted by klake at 10:45 AM (0) comments
My pal EE in IC was in the DI! Her job is pretty cool.
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Saturday, August 19, 2006
Macho Business Donkey Wrestler
posted by clake at 12:37 PM (0) comments
You may have noticed that the banner ad on top of the Randy the Cat web site is almost always for some Japanese pop-culture/quasi-porn site, and that it sometimes features cats that look very much like Randy. Wikipedia claims that this kitty can be traced back to early-internet Japanese BBS ascii art. He also turns up in this Flash movie about how all food must doused with soy sauce.
This is all very interesting, but I will pursue this line of inquiry no further, because Japanese pop culture is exclusively for nerds. You wanna be a nerd?
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Internectualism
posted by clake at 8:54 AM (0) comments
Another weekend brings with it another nifty Randy the Cat comic strip! Aren't you glad you're alive?
This post also marks the occasion of the first ever RTC Obsessive Fan Rewards Contest, for those who don't just "read" the comic, but actually have it "figured out"! Simply enter your answer to an obscure piece of Randy the Cat trivia as a comment on this post and include your email address (or some simple, algebra-style equation from which we can infer your address) and you could win a sneak preview of an upcoming Randy the Cat strip! Lots of excitement!
Today's Question: What became of Savior Girl after she entered the Cave of Mystery?
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Friday, August 18, 2006
for those of us with serious amounts of time to fill
posted by klake at 2:48 PM (1) comments
The Washington Post recently did a series of articles about the goals and challenges of each of the K-12 grades. These articles provide facinating insight into the pressures of No Child Left Behind, competitive college admissions, and the complicated process of growing up.
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Thursday, August 17, 2006
Big brows are back, baby!
posted by klake at 10:39 AM (0) comments
Unplucked, bushy eyebrows are back in fashion! For once my natural furriness comes in handy!
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Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Cartoonist's Sea Shanty
posted by clake at 3:37 PM (0) comments
One notable chapter in the story of the internet is the birth of the "web comic" - that is to say, a regularly-updated comic strip that is exclusively (or at least primarily) on the web. My own Randy the Cat is one, and the internet is literally lousy with them. The internet is literally lousy.
I've followed several of these comics for a number of years, most notably Chris Onstad's Achewood and Jeffrey Rowland's Wigu (which has since left the internet to exist as an occasionally-published, "paper" comic "book") and Overcompensating, and I have to say that the idea of making your living from pictures and speech balloons uploaded to a web page has always had a certain romantic aura to me. In fact, for a brief time - during the period of my life when I was a low-paid video editor with seemingly no job prospects in the "real" world - I flirted with the idea of making Randy the Cat a daily affair with its own dot-com and merchandise and really make a go of it. I eventually decided that I much rather prefer the freedom to draw Randy at my own pace and not have my income dependent on him. I also eventually got a better paying job, then later obtained employment at a state institution with nice benefits and all.
While occasionally the glamorous life of a web-cartoonist still enters into my imagination, reading some interviews and articles about my favorites has taught me something interesting. I essentially live the life of a web-cartoonist, only easier. Instead of toiling every day at a job in a poorly-climate-controlled warehouse packing and shipping t-shirts and then going home and drawing comics all night, I work as a secretary at a state hospital. I believe I enjoy this job a lot more than I would enjoy printing address labels and talking on the phone to t-shirt companies. Then I go home and do pretty much whatever I want, be that drawing comics, doing some chores, watching House, riding a bicycle, juggling, shopping, attempting to learn to play the ukulele, or any other such thing my heart desires.
Also, web cartoonist is one of those careers that seems to fall under the heading "famous, but not rich." It's like being M.C. Hammer.
The world needs these people, though, with their pencils and Wacom pads and pirated copies of Photoshop or whatever, trying to keep the world awesome with pictures of cats and dogs cussing. I just feel safer knowing they're out there, and I try to do my part in my own, weekly-updated way.
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Slate magazine picks on Johnny Cash
posted by klake at 1:22 PM (1) comments
"Johnny Cash, cornball" An article examining the legacy of Johnny Cash, and the image manipulation techniques of the recording industry. I'm not saying I agree with this article, I haven't heard his latest albums, but it is a fascinating look at effects of reducing a complicated life into legend.
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Friday, August 11, 2006
The liquid world
posted by klake at 11:09 AM (1) comments
An article from Slate.com about terrorism "A Liquid World; How to survive in an age of death"
It is an excellent, not too long, analysis of the reality of dealing with terrorism.
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Thursday, August 10, 2006
Radioactive belts
posted by klake at 11:07 AM (0) comments
The great UI scientist James Van Allen died this week, the NY Times ran this obit.
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Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Come Disconnect The Dots
posted by clake at 8:32 AM (0) comments
I saw Of Montreal at the Englert last night. The opening band was The Minders, whom I would classify off the top of my head as sort of like the Greatful Dead and early Pink Floyd - In a good way. Of Montreal is fun, surreal, dance-rock. The sort of band where the slim lead singer makes his first appearance in a bright green skirt and ruffled, pink blouse, clusters of chunky glitter around his eyes. He would at one point hold a sheathed sword between his legs as though it were his genitals, then dramatically unsheath the weapon. Their lyrics covered a broad continuum between "Let's all get tight and make some fucked up love together" and "It's just the heaviness that comes from knowing you will never die."
A great way to be introduced to the splendid music of this band would be to search for them on Hype Machine, or try to find their appearance on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic.
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Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Get your footnotes ready. . .
posted by klake at 10:42 AM (0) comments
I found another article on my most favorite topic, body donation. Crazy Chinese plastination and allegations of stolen bodies!
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Monday, August 07, 2006
This November, vote with your heart
posted by klake at 3:41 PM (0) comments
Bag of Leaves for Senate
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Friday, August 04, 2006
very very hot
posted by klake at 2:39 PM (0) comments
The perfect description of all that is hot. It makes me feel pleased to be in my over-air-conditioned office.
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Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Mel
posted by clake at 7:35 PM (0) comments
Celebrity Reporter tells me something weird is going on with Mel Gibson. What is up?
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Article o' the day
posted by klake at 1:32 PM (0) comments
Why "sucks" rocks
An analysis of the word "sucks" from Slate.
by the way, did you check out the video I posted yesterday?
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Tuesday, August 01, 2006
posted by klake at 4:34 PM (0) comments
I want eight treadmills for Christmas. Check out this video.
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posted by klake at 3:01 PM (0) comments
I'm in love with car reviews. Especially compact cars loaded with features. Which makes me pleased to see a NY Times review for a brand spanking new compact: The Dodge Caliber. It gets 26/30 mpg city/highway, has an air cooled section of the glove box for keeping drinks cool, comes with a rechargable flashlight that plugs in the back, the back and passenger seats fold flat, and side curtain airbags are standard. But why read one review when you can read three? Also good are the reviews from automotive.com and cars.com.
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