As the Freak Log continues to do not much of anything, it occured to me that I never got around to doing the Unfaq for Word Smith Episode 8. The lack of an outcry on this matter suggests that nobody cares, but why should that stop me? So lets do this thing.
Episode 8 - Isn't it Ironic?
The episode's title is the same as an Alanis Morissette song. The answer to the title's question (in both cases) is, probably, no, or, at best, maybe. I was a bit wary about doing an episode related to irony as irony is a concept that I don't think that I entirely get. Oh, I went and read the definition and all that, and whilst I sort of "get" it, irony is one of those concepts which to me seems a little bit nebulous, and I'm not sure if I really "get" it on a fundamental level. Or at least when I'm trying to deliberately be (non-)ironic in some fashion. Oh well, lets not dwell on this.
The title page features the "villain of the week," as it were - the Irony Chef, meant to be a spoof on the Iron Chef (a show I've never actually watched, ironically enough.) I tried to associate him with a bunch of things connected to "iron," mostly prominently via a golf club and a curling iron as seen in the title.
Page 1 occurs in another bit of Kitchener/Waterloo - a part of Victoria park, in this instance. We get a look at the transformation sequence of one of the behind-the-scenes villains here. I practiced whirling my cape (that I own) around for the second last panel.
The next scene is another location in K/W. We get to see The Pen and The Waitress hanging out "out of costume" and get to hear about The Waitress' new job working at MegaBook Co. This is a reference back to Episode 2. The unfortunate victim of the cashiers in the middle row is meant to be a cameo of me (and not actually my first appearance.) The Pen's MegaBook Co membership was previously mention on this page.
We then have a series of flashbacks that reveal The Pen's origin story. This sequence is kicked off with a super dorky Magic: The Gathering reference. (Flashback is an ability that appears in some instants and sorceries.) The Pen became "The Pen" due to a co-op job that nobody else applied for. The whole bit about "still better than making charts" is based on one of my own work terms (which involved making charts...)
The final sequence takes place at a mall in K/W, though it's probably not overly obvious since there's no long shots of the mall so only a small portion gets shown in panels. We also find out that the Irony Chef's dialogue seems to involve a lot of iron-related things.
And there's not too much else to say. The situation with the Irony Chef turns out to be a trap that succussfuly lures out The Word Smith. The "book trap" at the end was meant to evoke the traps from Ghostbusters, ending the episode on a cliff hanger.
And with that, Episode 8 is officially finished. The script for Episode 9 is actually mostly written at this point so with any luck, and a bit of self-discipline, work should commence on it soonish and hopefully the adventures of The Word Smith should continue.
Until next time,
Freak Out.
-TFitC
Monday, August 31, 2015
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Wherein I Try to Convince People That They Should Vote
While I imagine the "regular" readership of The Freak Report could be counted on one hand, I wanted to take a moment to talk about the 2015 Canadian Federal election that just kicked off this past weekend.
The short version is this: if you are an eligible voter, you should make a point of voting in the election. Seriously. Do it. Take a few moments this October and go vote. Don't make excuses, just go do it.
If that short plea from a random stranger on the internet didn't convince you to go vote, well, consider the following. (Be sure to read past the next paragraph!)
I can't address all the reasons why someone might choose not to vote, but a common one that I do want to address is that "my vote won't matter." To this I say... yes and no. In some sense, it's true that an individual's vote doesn't really matter. Populations these days are just too large for any one single vote to materially change the outcome. Without harping on things too much, a single vote is less than 1% of eligible voters - much less than 1%, really - so no, it doesn't really make a whole lot of difference whether any single individual votes or who they vote for.
"But wait", you might say, "aren't you trying to convince people to vote? Because all this talk of votes not mattering isn't really all that encouraging." Well, no, not if one looks at things individually. But when you look at the aggregate, when large segments of the population are underrepresented at the polls, well, that does matter. And can matter quite a bit.
There was an article on CBC a while after the 2011 Federal Election which reported on a study that examined the effect of underrepresentation of young voters (defined as being under 30) during that election. (The article is here for those interested.) While the election had an overall voter turnout of a little over 60%, the youth turnout was under 40%. The study found that had the youth turnout been the same as the overall turnout, the results of the election would likely have been much different - notably, the Conservatives would likely not have won a majority.
That article suggests to me that when large swathes of eligible voters choose not to vote, the outcome of the election can change significantly. So in this sense, whether or not someone votes very much does matter, not as an idividual, but as part of a group. And this is why I say everyone should make sure to vote. Because it matters that all segments of the population are represented. Because groups do have the ability to make a difference for the better. So go vote. Don't say it doesn't matter, because it does. Just go vote.
Lastly, on a personal note, I feel that if someone who is eligible elects not to vote, then they have no right to complain about the outcome. So if nothing else, vote so you can proudly complain about the results of the election for the next four years or so.
And with that, I shall get down off the soap box and will hopefully return with something more light hearted in my next post, whenever that happens to be.
Freak Out,
-TFitC
The short version is this: if you are an eligible voter, you should make a point of voting in the election. Seriously. Do it. Take a few moments this October and go vote. Don't make excuses, just go do it.
If that short plea from a random stranger on the internet didn't convince you to go vote, well, consider the following. (Be sure to read past the next paragraph!)
I can't address all the reasons why someone might choose not to vote, but a common one that I do want to address is that "my vote won't matter." To this I say... yes and no. In some sense, it's true that an individual's vote doesn't really matter. Populations these days are just too large for any one single vote to materially change the outcome. Without harping on things too much, a single vote is less than 1% of eligible voters - much less than 1%, really - so no, it doesn't really make a whole lot of difference whether any single individual votes or who they vote for.
"But wait", you might say, "aren't you trying to convince people to vote? Because all this talk of votes not mattering isn't really all that encouraging." Well, no, not if one looks at things individually. But when you look at the aggregate, when large segments of the population are underrepresented at the polls, well, that does matter. And can matter quite a bit.
There was an article on CBC a while after the 2011 Federal Election which reported on a study that examined the effect of underrepresentation of young voters (defined as being under 30) during that election. (The article is here for those interested.) While the election had an overall voter turnout of a little over 60%, the youth turnout was under 40%. The study found that had the youth turnout been the same as the overall turnout, the results of the election would likely have been much different - notably, the Conservatives would likely not have won a majority.
That article suggests to me that when large swathes of eligible voters choose not to vote, the outcome of the election can change significantly. So in this sense, whether or not someone votes very much does matter, not as an idividual, but as part of a group. And this is why I say everyone should make sure to vote. Because it matters that all segments of the population are represented. Because groups do have the ability to make a difference for the better. So go vote. Don't say it doesn't matter, because it does. Just go vote.
Lastly, on a personal note, I feel that if someone who is eligible elects not to vote, then they have no right to complain about the outcome. So if nothing else, vote so you can proudly complain about the results of the election for the next four years or so.
And with that, I shall get down off the soap box and will hopefully return with something more light hearted in my next post, whenever that happens to be.
Freak Out,
-TFitC
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