A month or so ago I left a comment on one of the few of my favourite comics that actually encourages reader feedback, The Flowfield Unity. It's a weird comic; eclectic, imaginative and simple. It's creator, Adam, writes his comics like small stories instead of punchline-directed ramps to laughter that don't always propel the reader over the requisite number flaming of buses that they should. The title of my small collection of internet comic links below - Comics are better than poetry - is probably mostly inspired by his desire for succinctness and talent for compactness. His comics often concern themselves with alternate realities as directed by scientists or madmen or both. They take a small change and explore the possible reaches of its effects.
As I always do when confronted by creativity, I get all excited and inspired and jumpy-up-and-downy, so I left the following comment on this truly hilarious comic, Teach a Man To Fish:
"I have an idea for a comic that I feel only you can draw: my digital camera (and I'm assuming many other digicams) has a setting where it will play the sound of an SLR shutter clacking when it takes a photo. It doesn't have to do this, but the option is there. I've noticed that some mobile phone cameras do this too. Why is this necessary? What other new, improved technologies are designed to emulate the things they replaced so that people don't get too freaked out at the New World Order? I'm thinking mobile phones with ye olde winde upe telephone ringtones already exist, why not laptops that play a soundtrack of harddrive checking, floppy disc-drive grinding, and screen turning on boinking? How about an iPod that plays a bit of needle-find-the-groove static before each song? A Prius with hidden external speakers that play super-loud V8 sounds?
Flow it, field."
You can imagine my ecstasy and pleasure when this morning I checked my email and came across this note:
"Being as speedy as I am, I finally came up with this, an ode to televisions of yesteryear:
http://theflowfieldunity.com/?p=262
I've given you a shout-out, but if there's anything else I can do to say thanks, just let me know..."
What a scholar! What a gentleman! Yet, for some strange reason, he believes that he should be thanking me, and not the other way around. So people, please, visit The Flowfield Unity, link it as recommended by franzy, or (if that little endorsement doesn't help) just leave a comment, subscribe to his RSS and enjoy!
***
GTH - I'm going to give points to River and Milly Moo here because they were both correct in guessing Germany. River for her diligent research and Milly Moo for having a go. Everybody wins a prize! The wall in question is in Coburg, which we did indeed visit on our EuroHoliday last year. Gedenke translates (in my muddled German head) roughly as "Memorial" but I can't read what exactly it's for in the original picture.
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An explanation of The Joy Division Litmus Test
Although it may now be lost in the mysts of thyme, the poll below is still relevant to this blog. In the winter of 2008, Mele and I went to live in Queensland. In order to survive, I bluffed my way into a job at a Coffee Club.
It was quite a reasonable place to work: the hours were regular, the staff were quite nice, it wasn't particularly taxing on my brain.
There were a few downsides: In the six weeks or so that I worked there, there was about a 90% staff turnover (contributed to by my leaving). This wasn't seen as a result of the low pay, the laughability of staff prices or the practice of not distributing tips to staff, rather it was blamed on the lack of work ethic among Bribie Island's youth.
However, one of the stranger aspects of the cultural isolation that touched our lives during our time "up there" was the fact that nobody at my work had heard of the band Joy Division.
The full explanation is available here.
But please, interact a little further and vote in my ongoing poll. The results are slowly mounting up, proving one thing: people read this blog are more well-informed about Joy Division than anyone who works at the Coffee Club on Bribie Island.
It was quite a reasonable place to work: the hours were regular, the staff were quite nice, it wasn't particularly taxing on my brain.
There were a few downsides: In the six weeks or so that I worked there, there was about a 90% staff turnover (contributed to by my leaving). This wasn't seen as a result of the low pay, the laughability of staff prices or the practice of not distributing tips to staff, rather it was blamed on the lack of work ethic among Bribie Island's youth.
However, one of the stranger aspects of the cultural isolation that touched our lives during our time "up there" was the fact that nobody at my work had heard of the band Joy Division.
The full explanation is available here.
But please, interact a little further and vote in my ongoing poll. The results are slowly mounting up, proving one thing: people read this blog are more well-informed about Joy Division than anyone who works at the Coffee Club on Bribie Island.
Does that make you part of the cool international comics scene?
ReplyDeleteThe picture is clearly from a zoo -- I'll guess Taronga, and it refers to Teach a Man to Fish, except it has chimps instead of that other kind of ape
So your dream of having your own comic is one step closer. If only you knew someone who could draw...
ReplyDeleteOf course that never stopped the likes of xkcd or dinosaur comics, so what's your excuse? Get to it man!
The 327th Male
Found this in my Gedenke search.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad and sweet.
Gedenke Mein
English translation:-
Remember me When I am Gone Away.
Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you planned:
Only remember me, you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.
The German version is also there, but some of the letters have been replaced with a small rectangle and I can't figure out what the missing letters might be. Perhaps the o or u with the umlaut? Being born in Germany I feel I should know, even in the subconscious mind, but no, I grew up Australian and that's all I know.
Like jonathon, I agree the header is from a zoo. Our Adelaide zoo? The new chimpanzee enclosure.
ReplyDeleteWe do have a new chimpanzee enclosure, don't we?
I love monkeys and have several stuffed toy varieties. My favourite is my baby gorilla who I've named Harvey Banana.
A word of warning:
ReplyDeleteDon't call Apes "monkeys".
It pisses them off.
I was watching Totally Wild this morning, not really paying attention,and saw a scene exactly like your header, chimps swinging on the rope and everything,but I missed which zoo it was from. I'm guessing it's from whichever zoo has the new baby gorilla.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday etc.
ReplyDeleteWell done Franzy - will definitely subscribe to Flowfield Unity. Maybe you two should collaborate via cyberspace on your second book????
ReplyDelete