Grrl Power #303 – Ratings are plummeting, film at 11
Yet another page where someone is weirdly cool discovering they know a person with super powers. For some reason my instinct was to move the dialog forward and not spend any time on the “OMG” factor, which is often the funnest part of a lot of superhero stories. I may revise an upcoming page to make Olivia a little more excited about it, though I’m fairly confident she’ll be the last person Sydney meets today who doesn’t already know about her powers and the events from the prior day.
I think I’ve decided that women just don’t carry purses in this universe. I forgot to give Olivia one on this page, after remembering several times during the drawing process that I should give her one, but the forgetting won out over the remembering. Honestly though I’d probably forget it on every subsequent panel anyway. It does make me wonder where Olivia keeps anything though, as she’s wearing yoga pants and a fairly tight… shoulder hole thumb hole shirt. I’m sure there’s an actual name for that. The lexicon of women’s fashion is enormous. Let’s call it a long sleeve tank top? With thumbholes? She might have her phone strapped to her arm under the sleeve like a jogger, and maybe a credit card and driver’s license jammed in under that, or she could be one of those women that carries stuff in her bra. A credit card or a few folded bills I get, but when I see a woman stick her phone down the front of her shirt I start thinking about greasy, sweaty phone screens and want to attack her with Windex. None of this helps us figure out where Olivia is keeping her keys. Certainly not down her bra. Anyone who does that isn’t allowed to complain about an underwire poking them. You might as well stick “that darn pointy sea urchin” or “a handful of razor sharp peanut brittle” down there.
Wasn’t quite sure how to end this page. The point of it was simply to reintroduce Olivia, other than that I wasn’t really sure what to do with it. Originally the page ended with Olivia realizing she just said she gets all her news from the Daily Show in front of a gaggle (herd? school? murder?) of “real” reporters, then she turns and says “Sorry but…” and did some mini rant about how 24 hour news networks suck, which I personally think they do, but that may be because I watch the Daily Show and they spend a fair amount of time skewering them. Well, I watch it on and off. Depressing news is still depressing even if you’re making fun of it. I had to stop watching John Oliver’s show for the same reason. All I can think after watching Oliver do 15 minutes on (insert organization here) is how scummy and crappy and greedy and selfish and short sighted people are – So instead I ended the page on a ratings gag! Ha cha cha! I’m sure there are plenty of twenty somethings that watch the news, but I imagine it’s their weakest demographic. I’m not much of a newshound myself, but I usually have a tab open to tweetdeck, and if something important enough happens it’ll show up there faster than the shockwaves of an earthquake.
I’ll try and be around and catch comments today (Monday) but I’m having my whole house recarpeted so I may be a little distracted. I’m not looking forward to disassembling my office. It should be nice though, the stuff we’re putting in is so plush compared to the old carpet that I may have to plane the bottom of my doors so they fit.
Here’s the link to the new comments highlighter for chrome, and the GitHub link which you can use to install on FireFox via Greasemonkey.
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“though I’m fairly confident she’ll be the last person Sydney meets today who doesn’t already know about her powers and the events from the prior day.”
…The nun-jas from the bank maybe? They’re always sneaking up on you.
Or Ms Boonliang from her usual restaurant?
Always expect nun-jas?
This is not endstone. So those a not proper Nun-jas.
I doubt they are proper stoners.
Purses are dumb, and people with pockets are the master race of fashion.
Who’s Tony? And how can these two be both siblings and cousins? O_o
Olivia explained it when she was in the store the first time: The parent common to both of them was married to siblings at different times. Olivia & Tony are the step-siblings because of the two different marriages from one parent, and cousins because of the not-commonly-shared parents were siblings themselves.
Father got lucky with twins, presumably all of them drunk at the time.
Close, but there was no mention of marriage. Their dad got lucky with a set of twins at a frat party in college, and was apparently upstanding enough to actually take responsibility for both kids.
To clarify: They aren’t step-siblings. They are half-siblings because they share the same bio-father. They are cousins because the mother of each is the sister to the other’s mother (therefore each child’s mother is the other child’s bio-Aunt).
A Step-Relationship doesn’t apply in this case for one and possibly two reasons. First, it is not considered to apply when there is a closer relationship, especially a biological one. Second, it only applies in the case of a marriage. We haven’t actually been told that Dad married one of the two.
About 5 years ago, one of my tasks in working for Texas Dept. of Family and Protective Services was helping integrate new software to track family relationships. And yes, it did have to track multiple biological relations. And we had to be very careful with the step-relationships because every time we entered one we were indicating there was a marriage somewhere (which can cause all sorts of custody problems later).
As far as step-relationships goes, I understand that someone might call someone a step-sibling or step-parent if there had been a long enough relationship, but unless you are considered legally married, it wouldn’t be official.
Uncouth to reply to myself but to quote Dave on 1/2/11 at 1:00pm:
‘I don’t think that polygamy is legal even in Utah these days, so they probably live in one house but no one is married. It would be particularly awkward if you were married to one of them but not the other. “This is my wife, and this is… my live in mistress slash sister in law.” ‘
It is legal in some parts of Utah & Texas I believe, but the government will only count the first wife for tax reasons
Nope – by federal law, polygamy is illegal everywhere in the US of A – Utah and Texas included (37th United States Congress, Sess. 2., ch. 126, 12 Stat. 501 and US Code Title 48 & 146) – which makes me wonder what they do when folks from countries where it is legal move to the USA. Anybody out there know how they handle naturalizing a polygamous family from the Middle East or Africa?
Let us hope they do not seek inspiration from King Solomon. Or, if they do, that they do not take it too literally.
I think his “solution” to multiple wives was just to build a bigger palace – he reputedly had 700 wives, plus 300 concubines, which would effectively make his family a decent sizes voting bloc on its own.
Unless you meant the “whose baby is it anyway” event instead? :P
Heh. I had forgotten the former. Hay the guy really was wise! “Behind every great man, there is a greater woman”.
1,000 greater women + 1 man = 1 man who’s reputation for wisdom has lasted for more than 3,000 years.
Shame most people who read his wisdom are dumb as very dumb bricks, or, to quote the great Jethro Tull: Thick As A Brick :D
For example: Genies, they are not magical blue wish giving creatures, they are demons that Solly tricked into being imprisoned into itty bitty small containers
Plus he was always fair at those events, always willing to go dutch and split things down the middle
They can still claim marriage, it just won’t have the weight of law. If someone makes a big deal out of it and a judge is feeling particularly stupid there can be trouble, but the whole legal marriage status is frankly stupid. Marriage is a religious ceremony and should be kept such. The government shouldn’t have boo to say about who can marry whom. A smart lawyer can set up mutual wills that take care of the legal issues on inheritance so again, it’s a really stupid law. All it does is force people to use workarounds and forgo their partners’ insurance.
The thing is marriage covers a lot of things other than just who gets your stuff when you’re dead. Other issues include hospital visits, shared insurance, taxes, and probably a bunch of other stuff I don’t know about in no small part due to never having had to deal with it.
Where I live I’m considered married to the guy I’ve been living with for the past several years even though we’ve never bothered to get married.
Which I approve of. Sadly the majority of jurisdictions either do not recognise such, or only give some token rights. England and Wales, for instance, does not (despite the fact that most Brits think otherwise). Socially we accept it. But legally, it is a different kettle of fish.
As always it is complicated in the US. Most states do not recognise common law marriage, or even outright ban it. Whereas a few accept it.
And Brits, here in Bulgaria, are amongst the most vulnerable. Because even the token rights which we might expect in the UK do not apply here. Likewise in any other country which follows Roman Law, rather than the system we are familiar with.
I have attended the funeral of an ex-pat. His widow had no legal recognition as having anything to do with him. Despite having lived together for years, and having had a son!
She was denied access to their joint bank accounts. Her house was deemed to be the property of her son. Likewise with all their other assets.
Fortunately her son had turned sixteen, which is past the age of consent here. So he was old enough to simply sign it all over to his mum. Which, being a nice boy, he did. But he had no legal obligation to do so.
Expecting one set of rules to apply when a different one does is a great way of getting in trouble.
I suspect there are differences between common law and official marriages here, though it’s not something I’ve looked into. I also imagine that if proof is required having the piece of paper comes in very handy.
Marriage should be a legal ceremony, not religious
Yeah. Marriage has only been a religious ceremony for … lessee. Oh wait. Since the dawn of civilization. :)
On that matter:
Why is marriage?
But it makes more sense and is way more funny if you start here:
On trance DJs, assholes, and super powers.
actually marriage is the coming together of two people emotionally or spiritually (preferably both) to become greater than each individual, the wedding is just a ceremony to advertise the event.
Mawwiage.
Mawwiage is wot bwings us together today.
Mawwiage, that bwessed awwangment…
that dweam wifin a dweam…
And wuv….
TWUE wuv…
will fowwow you …. fowever…
So tweasure your wuv.
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos and with muffled drum Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
Let the aeroplanes circle, moaning overhead Scribbling on the sky the message ‘He is Dead’. Put crepe bows ’round the white necks of the public doves, Let traffic policemen wear black, cotton gloves.
He was my North, my South, my East, and West. My working week and my Sunday rest, My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song; I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.
The stars are not wanted now; put out every one, Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun, Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood; For nothing now can ever come to any good.
I feel outclassy’ed now. I quote The Princess Bride. You recite a poem by WH Auden.
I’d recite a poem in response but it would probably wind up being a limerick.
Heh, I was not intending to be so surreal. Although your quote was highly familiar, I mistook it for Rowan Atkinson’s in Four Wedding’s and a Funeral. My quote was simply an extract from a more moving scene, in the same movie. Albeit that they were quoting WH Auden, as you say.
I must confess I am not a fan of ‘cringeworthingly embarrassing is funny’. So scenes like these I just (figuratively) stick my fingers in my ears and imagine going “LA LA LA LA” until it seems to be over.
As such it came as no surprise when I realised that I had mixed the two up. Unlike the poem scene, it is not something that I would savour and turn over in my memory. And sniffle at how sad and emotive it was.
Nope. The Princess Bride is about as highbrow as I get with movies. Sorry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bY0fdgpISc
Comedy appeals to folks in different ways. But I certainly would not class it as highbrow. Don’t mix it up with stuff like Downton Abbey or any of the period dramas. Those have no appeal to me either.
Mind you, there are some posh accents to be heard, but only as part of a varied selection. Rather than highbrow, I would instead describe it as whimsical.
I would say the two movies are on a par, in terms of comedy and general entertainment value. The Princess Bride has it’s unique quotability going for it, needless to say. But I can recommend Four Weddings and a Funeral without reservation. Don’t die before you watch it!
Both films deserver their place in my permanent collection. And there are precious few comedies in there. I do not consider most to be rewatchable often enough to merit that honour!
This is the big difference between a “legal marriage” and a “Common Law marriage.”
The “legal marriage is the functional equivalent of two corporate businesses merging; it ties finances & legal obligations together into a single “entity.” It is a contract, pure & simple; why else would you need a “license” if not to conduct business? Why else do divorces in court get so messy? Because it deals NOTHING in accordance to personal relationship, it’s all about the division of the “corporate assets.”
The Common Law marriage is the joining of two PEOPLE, not two “legal entities.” The only legal requirement is to have the Justice of the Peace record & file the ceremony. No license is needed. Divorce Court has no legal jurisdiction to hear a case of separation.
The problem with the LGBT activists is that they’re trying to tear down the concept of the Contract of Agreement…Instead of trying to eliminate the Marriage Contract (& by extension, ALL contracts), what they need to do is come up with a similar, but more specific contract that suits their needs.
‘Common law marriage’ to a Brit, would not involve a justice of the peace. Simply due to it being the ‘common understanding that they are living as if they were a married couple’. Sadly, without it being registered, it has little of the legal value that most folks assume it does.
The legal one is a ‘civil marriage’, involving a registrar and a certificate to prove the validity of the marriage. I can remember when they used to only be conducted in boring government buildings. But now they can be held in any registered location. Including some fun ones like castles and palaces.
The key part though being that it need not be a religious ceremony. Although churches and other religious locations are permissible for use. Potentially allowing pagans and others to apply to have sites, of meaning to them, registered for such purposes.
Then you have the full-blown religious weddings, of various types, with the usual trimmings and laws, which have been handed down from antiquity.
My showing Dave’s quote above was more to show that it seems Dave decided that their father hadn’t married either sister. So “step” definitely doesn’t play into the relationship.
Its not legal anywhere in the US
Some religions accept multiple wives and even in countries with polygamy laws it can be accepted practice so long as you follow such a religion.
Well, no one stops you from living with multiple women and calling them your wives. The US government is only going to recognize one of them, though.
If they enter the country from their own with multiple wives they have married legally where they come from then the US will only recognise one of them ? Sounds like they are trying to avoid multiple arrests frequently at airports.
Weren’t their mother’s actually identical twins? If so that would make them genetically “full” siblings.
Dave would need to clarify, but looking at the picture they are fraternal twins, so not necessarily genetically identical.
It is an interesting biology question. From a legal standpoint they’d be considered half-siblings though.
i dont know if they are fraternal all the differences i see are stile they have the same hair couler, same nose, same chest, same face shape the only differences i can see could be dun with a change of cloths a pair of scisers and a bottle of hair dye
and yes if they are identical twins a DNA test would say thy are full siblings. even if in reality they are not
Should clarify the point. This is one of those things where there are three categories: genetics, biology, and legal. They are not the same thing. When it comes to birth, denetics looks at the actual make-up, biology looks at who did what, and legal is how the law/court recognizes the persons involved.
From a genetics point (esp. if the twins were identical), then they have the same basic genetic makeup as any set of siblings, with the same potential for similarities and differences. They would be considered full siblings. Gets a little more complicated if the twins are fraternal, but still probably closer to full than not.
From a straight biology point of view, they physically each share one parent. They are half siblings.
So genetics says they are as identically similar as full siblings even though they share only one parent. Biology says they are half siblings who have a genetic makeup stronger than most half siblings. .
And the law would say they are half siblings because it is going to go by the biological definition (whom did what with whom (or however you say it).
On that page Dave actively skirted around confirming the “identical” part of a comment he was replying to so he either isn’t ready to commit yet or he’s planning another joke that will have more impact if we are unsure of their genetic status as of yet.
But he made them twins when sisters a year or two apart could have worked out fine so I think he was initially thinking identical. The only differences in the picture are things done by choice like hair dye and tattoos.
Their genetic make up could have an effect on the “spirit of the law” in so far as state laws concerning the marrying of cousins goes.
As someone who looked this up (my mother and sisters are twins) fraternal twins have as much genetic material in common as regular siblings. There are two different ova and sperm that create the child. They’re twins only because of being born at the same time.
So genetically if their moms are fraternal twins they’d be half-siblings. They’d probably have more genetic material in common that half-siblings who have unrelated mothers but about the same as two non-multiple birth siblings as mothers.
Just to make things really complicated, the UK has now legalised having children with three parents. And in vitro fertilisation will very often result in multiple births, so twins, triplets or more are all common.
So a guy could (some years in the future) ‘get lucky’ with quintuplet girls, who were all born from three parents.
Now try drawing their ongoing family tree!
I vaguely recall reading about a third type of twins who are half way between identical and fraternal twins in which one egg is fertilised by two sperm. I’m not sure what this would mean in terms of the genetic similarities of their respective children. I do know that it’s not something that you’re going to be aware of unless (for whatever reason) genetic testing and comparison is done between the twins.
Yup. Rarely, but that can happen. In theory it is even possible for there to be two fathers, in that circumstance. But that is actually very unlikely, as sperm has spermicide properties, designed to kill rival sperm, from a different male.
Which means that incompatible sperm would probably poison each other. So one, or both, would likely die, thus failing to fertilise the egg. Hence the following assumes just a single father.
Here though my general knowledge breaks down. My assumption would be that each sperm will combine with the egg separately, such that each will ultimately lead to a baby that is, for all intents and purposes as different as the regular non-identical twins.
However, I can see that it is possible that the mechanism which selects which genes are expressed will be controlled by the egg. Rather than it simply being a lucky dip. In which case it may be that it would result in identical twins, if that mechanism is strong.
Or it could just result in a bias, such that there is a tendency to make a similar selection, but not necessarily always the same. Which means that there would be a greater similarity between such twins than with non-identical ones. But there would be some genetic differences, when compared to identical twins.
Note that even identical twins do have minor differences. But those are things like fingerprints, which are not genetic differences, but environmental ones. Each develops slightly differently, in the womb.
Semi-identical twins are mostly theoretical. The idea is that unlike identical twins where the zygote spontaneously splits, creating a duplicate, the ova splits creating twins with the same genetic material from the mother and different material from the father (or maybe fathers).
Since genetics are crazy they’d probably just look like fraternal twins which is why proven cases are rare, you have to test to compare their DNA to know for sure that they’re half-identical.
They’re the Danny Devito/Arnold Swartzenegger type of twins.
(whom did what with whom (or however you say it)Who did what with whom.
Easy way to remember this: Use ‘who’ in the question where you could use ‘he’ in the answer, and ‘whom’ in the question where you could use ‘him’ in the answer.
‘Him’ and ‘whom’ both end in ‘m’.
“Who did what to whom?”
“He did that to him.”
Olivia and Tony may share the same FATHER, but because the MOTHER’S were different, there is no way they are twins… fraternal or otherwise, two totally different sperm AND two totally different eggs were used in the process. they just happened to be fertilize on the same night… other than the obvious fact that one is male and the other female, there will be quite a bit different genetically between the two of them, also making them distinguishable in a paternity/maternity case… though it does seem from the flashback that even though the MOMS don’t agree with one another, the kids don’t seem to have any problem with each other. so how about we do the same and ignore the minutia and just go with the flow as Dave puts it out to us…
But… but… but…
How how could you be so nasty, as to challenge everything we hold so dear?
*sobs, sniffles and runs away*
“Sets out a bowl of beef broth with some liquid sympathy in it.”
“And it is some of the good stuff.”
You might think that purses are dumb, but the truth of the matter is you can keep an awful lot of stuff in a purse.
“Purses are dumb, and people with pockets are the master race of fashion.”
Might want to not randomly opine on the utility of items your gender doesn’t have to carry out of necessity until you have to wear clothes with 1) no pockets at all 2) pockets sewn shut or 3) tiny little pockets that are flat out useless. We carry purses because we wouldn’t have anywhere to put stuff otherwise in half the clothing we own. While some women don’t they’re the ones either wearing men’s clothing or some non stereotypically female clothing with pockets which sadly is not the majority of girl clothing. Wearing a sun dress in july and not carrying a purse means your hands are your only option, not practical.
Apparently every gal in DaveB’s universe every girl has some version of hammer space. I would trade in every purse I own for that.
And you would find Sydney rugby tackling you, and begging for you to teach her the trick!
Fair’s fair. So long as she introduces me to Maxima :)
Ahh, we have such a rich community here. :)
I think I would be too intimidated by her. Even a close real-world analogue, without the super powers. Although I could envisage easily becoming friends with her, I doubt I would ever feel up to asking her out on a date.
Well, I’m a strident feminist who has a ton of friends in the military, I’m sure we’d find some common ground.
I think the key with Maxima and dating would to be to abandon any notions of chivalry. Don’t treat her like a lady, treat her like person so to speak. Go dutch, and treat her like one of the guys. That seems to be where she’s at.
Snap, me too!
I am afraid I would have an ulterior motive when speaking to her. Which would be to get an introduction to Sydney! Maxima has potential, as a ‘former nerd’ mind. But I know I would ultimately be happiest with a dedicated gamer or roleplayer. And Sydney is both.
The best you can hope for a non-gamer is that they will tolerate your passions. Whereas a fellow gamer, even if their particular preferred games do not match, will be able to find abiding common ground. True roleplayers and gamers see the world differently to other folks.
oooh. RPG with Sydney AND Maxima. And Dabbler, and Harem can round out the party. That sounds like a heck of a saturday night, or a neighborhood burning down, take your pick.
Unfortunately, only true if your partner is willing to discuss games as well as play them, or at least play in the same room as you. My ex liked to hide in his office and go immediately from work-stuff to playing Diablo or fps’s without a word…often at the same time as I was playing a different computer game in the main room. As he closed the office door, I never knew whether he was gaming or not. Very frustrating.
Yea, I have a friend who is a WoW widow. So I know exactly what you mean. The trick though is to hunt around, until you find something that you can both feel the passion for.
If you have a non-gamer partner that is unlikely. Whilst you might be able to convert them, assuming you can change a person’s lifestyle preferences, to match your own, is fraught with risk.
Whereas, if they are already similarly inclined, then it just takes both of you working to find something to satisfy your mutual tastes. That is a lot more viable prospect.
If you have a non-gamer partner that is unlikely. Whilst you might be able to convert them, assuming you can change a person’s lifestyle preferences, to match your own, is fraught with risk.
i believe that was the premise for the first two books of the webcomic WereGeek? the main character was a non-gamer, until he got shanghaied into the middle of a LARP game, similar to Vampire: the Masquerade… and he liked it enough to continue and got “converted” into a weregeek… then there were the Hunters; they were a group of really straight-laced, bible thumping anti-gamers that were kidnapping and brainwashing Geeks into becoming NON-Geeks, so it was kinda the opposite… it’s been a really long time since i last read it and i’m not sure how that arc has progressed…
Heh. It does sound rather like the way a geek would visualise the conversion process. Let us hope they never describe that to their non-gamer partner. Otherwise known as the plaintiff in the restraining order!
Mind you my idealised theory is more of an impractical utopian ideal, if the partner in question is not willing to make the effort. As usual, when speaking of matters of the heart, I wear the rose-tinted spectacles of a hopeless romantic.
Which, in the real world, often results into bumping into stuff, that you have not seen clearly, and falling down pits.
Best option in my opinion is to take your S/Of to a good major con so that they can see all the various game related activities and toys and books and and.
Dammitol I need a con fix NOW!
You’re making a lot of gender based assumptions, Alecto. I’m a cisgender male, but I do carry lots of things that a woman might carry (makeup, costumes, tools, etc.).
I’ve even tried cross dressing to see how the other side lives. It was awful. I was cold, uncomfortable, andI couldn’t carry anything without a bag. I was at greater risk of losing my possessions, as I didn’t have them sewn to my leg.
“Do you have a greater respect for women now?” Some women asked me.
“No,” I replied, “If anything I have less respect for women. These clothes are uncomfortable, and serve no practical function. Why do women wear these things?”
I received no rebuttal, only silence. One female friend agreed wholeheartedly and said she prefers men’s fashions for all the above reasons.
I have a genderfluid afab friend who looks really dapper in men’s clothes. And it’s functional, too! Never seen them once wear a dress.
The one thing I envy of women’s fashion is the endless fabulous options. Women have so much more variety and color and flair. Sometimes I just want to dress like an anime superhero/supervillain.
Also, dresses can be nice to keep cool during the summer. I generally go around naked at home, and prefer fall fashions the most.
#rant #fashion #gender
Pro tip – “cold” and “uncomfortable” means you were doing it wrong. In hot weather a skirt is MUCH cooler then pants. In colder weather you need to layer properly, with stockings/leggings/tights/pants next to the skin and the skirt as a very effective wind break on top. And unlike pants, skirts fit any time of the month and most of the way through pregnancy.
Ditto the shoes. A perfectly fitting heel can be wonderfully comfortable. One designed to simply be pretty…. isn’t. (but is exponentially cheaper then the properly designed ones) Its fine to wear a cheep shoe on a short date that you expect to be sitting the entire time tho.
And yes – dresses CAN come with very capacious pockets. Not nearly as big as what a purse or diaper bag can hold tho. So you usually only see pockets on dresses for little girls who are too young to keep track of a bag.
Wait, you suggested to wear pants with a dress? Why wear a dress when I’m already wearing pants? Also, there’s still the distinct lack of pockets.
I don’t believe you about the heels. I need something flexible, that I can run and jump in, and isn’t going to damage my heels, ankles, calves, and knees.
And carrying a bag is still less functional than wearing a trenchcoat. My trenchcoat is water resistant, and shields me from the rain. This is important, as I live in Oregon.
Fanny pack.
This is why I like to make my own dresses and skirts – I can make them all practical *evil grin* It is also why I am prone to buying men’s clothes and altering them to fit.
Practical heels do exist. They usually aren’t stilettos. I like mine – comfy, wide, big thick clunky heel that actually brings me to a height where I can talk to my too-tall friends without craning my neck. Just not the best for driving.
As for trenchcoats – they look cool, but I still say we need to bring back cloaks. SO much more practical these days, since you can wear them OVER backpacks and bags, and thus keep the precious precious books and sketches and electronics from getting wet. And they can even double as a blanket on a bus or train – seriously, have you ever tried to fit curled up under a jacket? It just doesn’t work. And they are perfect for secretive interior pockets as well.
*Chorus of heavy metal angels sing*
AAAAAAAAAMENNNNNN!
Yes! They are long overdue to return to popular usage. Obviously there is the sensible “no cloaks” rule for supers. But the sheer style opportunities they offer are worth it alone, for every one else.
I am hopeful that emerging technologies will really feed into this. Imagine the following product.
A basic style and colour scheme which matches a traditional cloak of your choice. Say a Dracula one, for the extroverts and cos-players. Or one tailored with formal evening wear in mind. Or a practical waterproof, for the outdoors types.
The collar however has a sensor embedded in it, which scans a primal part of our brain and/or nervous system. That part which, albeit dormant now in humans, used to control the tail. The nice thing about ‘junk dna’ is that the mechanisms are not lost. Simply turned off. All the necessary wiring is still part of us. It is just a matter of making use of what we currently have there, and filling in a few gaps.
So, on a verbal command (or the push of a button, on the clasp), the cloak can be turned into active mode. Where it will be as controllable as a tail. Allowing you to swish it around elegantly. Or letting it twitch, in response to your moods. Or snuggle up to someone you like!
And we can go further than just our ancestors. We can weave in chameleon-like crystal layers, and have those emotional responses alter the colours. Either changing to striking pre-set patterns (as some chameleons do), or using a range of shades, for different emotions.
Then, finally, if it detects a spike in adrenalin, it disengages the social programming and activates the emergency or combat protocols. Which will allow it to behave appropriately depending on which version you want.
The emergency one will simply have the cape move in the same way that a tail would, in order to avoid snagging on something dangerous one. But, for those with the Guesticus option, it can instead make use of the weights built in, and the prehensile limb features of a tail controller, to strike and entangle!
The cape could even separate from the collar, allowing it to be wielded in true cape-fighting style, but enhanced, by transmitting the tail commands from the collar.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Reactor Cape™!
japan is already selling a mood reactive “tail” that can do several of the things you said (move in response to feelings and while not a emergency mode sends an emotion notice to a public media site of extreme emotions or at a command on ones phone)
AAAAND another thing to look for when I get to GEN-CON this year.
I am really starting to dislike you people.
Now where is my mind wipe gun?
Unfortunately, we are entering an Age when the phrase “chasing tail” is reaching a whole new plateau of meaning. The tails I chase are not furry…
We wear those things because women’s clothes aren’t SOLD with pockets. There’s no pocket/no-pocket choice that we’re being stupid about. It’s the same reason women shopping take longer, nothing has the same size and finding clothes that are comfortable and practical is an epic quest.
To say you have less respect for us because we buy what’s available instead of some mythical clothes that don’t exist is insulting.
As mentioned above, the most sensible women, who I am friends with and actually respect, wear men’s clothes. They wear men’s clothes, because women’s clothes are terrible.
“You’re making a lot of gender based assumptions, Alecto. ”
You make scads yourself for someone who was not born female or living full time as one.
I’m a cisgender male, but I do carry lots of things that a woman might carry (makeup, costumes, tools, etc.).
So what? I carry many things that a man might carry, like a knife and a fire steel and on occasion a handgun. (Redneck woman right here, cue the theme song. :p)Goes right next to the lotion, folding fan, handkerchief and betty boop wallet. None of that has to do a whit with what I carry, but how I carry it and why.
“I’ve even tried cross dressing to see how the other side lives. It was awful. I was cold, uncomfortable, andI couldn’t carry anything without a bag. I was at greater risk of losing my possessions, as I didn’t have them sewn to my leg.”
That’s nice, but It’s one thing to *play* female, it’s a whole other thing to *be* female 24/7/365. Transgender or Cisgender there’s no escape hatch when that’s how you present yourself to the world. You get all the perks and all the downsides.
“No,” I replied, “If anything I have less respect for women. These clothes are uncomfortable, and serve no practical function. Why do women wear these things?”
Because we are judged on how we look, rightly or wrongly by other women and men both. And what flatters our bodies isn’t often (or really ever) a jumpsuit loaded with pockets or a trench coat. A lot of effort goes into crafting your appearance on a daily basis because that’s life as a woman. High heels? Sex appeal. They push your boobs and your butt out and if you can walk well in them they do wonders for your confidence. Uncomfortable? Bad for you? First rule of female fashion: Beauty hurts. But we do it not only because of how others judge us but because of how we want to feel. Stuff a pair of flats in your purse for later when your feet can’t take it any more. (There’s another thing for the purse.)
“As mentioned above, the most sensible women, who I am friends with and actually respect, wear men’s clothes. They wear men’s clothes, because women’s clothes are terrible.”
Now that is down right misogynous. On behalf of the fairer sex I think we can agree not to have any respect for your condescending attitude either.
Curious as to the Theme song for a red neck lady? Now I am guessing Duelling Banjos is out as that’s mainly for when the “city boys” go rafting in the area but I confess to not being familiar with other types of song for stereotyping :P
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82dDnv9zeLs
Redneck Woman by Gretchen Wilson :)
Ooh, ooh! I tried an outfit once, which would be the perfect compromise between your two positions. A trench coat, but with high-heels, stockings, garter, lingerie all topped off with a jaunty pirate hat!
*tumbleweed rolls by*
In City of Heroes! It didn’t look weird there. I got lots of compliments! Ok maybe it might have been a bit odd, even there…
*shoulders droop*
And that does fall under the category of ‘playing a woman’, doesn’t it. Umm and it might get you arrested in real life. I guess. I’m not helping am I?
*shoulders slump*
I’ll just go wait over yonder. Umm… let me know if I should put a pit of jello on order? You don’t seem much like a stereotypical redneck woman, but… well if you want to resolve this by wrastlin’ the option is there!
No Jello. Redneck women wrestle in mud naturally :p
It’s mainly just the reality of our wardrobes. No pockets means you’re carrying a bag or you’re carrying nothing. I know women who don’t, but they also tend to limit their wardrobe to whatever has pockets, and that tends to be tomboyish. Fine if that’s your bag, but not really an option for the girly girls among us.
They do make a purse you can strap to your leg, it’s called the “Warrior pack”
https://www.warrior-creek.com/product.sc?productId=136
Looks handy but 245.00 is a bit much. Don’t have that much cash to spend on accessories!
*starts digging a pit*
Hang on, something seems suspicious here.
*digging deeper*
I am feeling like something of a cliché.
let us know when you hit china
Or I can use it as another secret base.
Nice! …but not big enough. No way I could fit my sketchbook or tablet, or a good solid hardback book. Methinks I’ll stick with my FMA messenger bag. Roomy, plenty of sections, and good tough canvas that’s survived about four years of abuse already without problems, including being packed to what I am sure is well past intended capacity on long trips (everything I could cram in there, I think it was about 50 pounds when I finished).
https://www.grabitpack.com/shop.html
I think you people will like what you see there.
Well predicted. A fraction of the cost of the earlier suggestion. Great for the practical-minded. Not so good for use with evening wear, but that is obviously another market.
Buy an expensive wearable pouch to replace the idea of carrying a purse & you’re left with no money to put INTO the pouch…Thus is the self-defeating purpose of selecting “style over substance” that’s far too prevalent in the fashion industry.
O.o
+1
“Aplause”
I’m pretty sure the women you’re talking about wear clothes they own, which are by definition women’s clothes.
You may be trying to express the term ‘utilitarian styles’, versus ‘traditional styles’.
Ever considered a Kilt?
You can have a with it, I believe that it is about the size of a purse. And such a thing should work with woman’s dresses as well. I wonder why it’s not done, in a feminine way of course.
[My trouser’s pockets contain nothing but a wallet (left) and keys (right). Additional things (like a few folded plastic bags and one folded fabric bag) are put in the jacket’s pockets. And with the bags at hand I’m always prepared for stuff to carry :-)]
Grrr. :-(
You can have a Sporran (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sporran) with it, I believe that it is about the size of a purse. And such a thing should work with woman’s dresses as well. I wonder why it’s not done, in a feminine way of course.
Not to mention that the pouch aspect of a sporran is somewhat secondary to its use in preventing wardrobe malfunctions – sit down, and the added weight prevents any up-kilt incidents. I should think that half the Hollywood starlets would find such an invention marvelous!
(The other half being those with no real acting skill, whose careers are build entirely on looks and “oopsie”s)
I guess it looks cool, but I bet I’d still get more storage space with the pockets in my coat or slacks.
NSFW warning.
It does look cool. Maybe too cool?
https://www.utilikilts.com/
Check it out.
Aye ’tis true. What use is clothing, with no room for y’er caber?
“I should think that half the Hollywood starlets would find such an invention marvelous!”
They’d have fewer issues with it if they 1) wore underwear and 2) knew how to get out of a car modestly. You move both your legs together and put them on the ground at the same time to protect your modestly. I saw Adeline Shade do it in an episode of Grimm and I was positively shocked. Sometimes I think feminine modesty is a lost art.
Women don’t tend to wear kilts but there’s a company that makes a woman’s mini kilt that looks pretty fetching :)
<a href=”https://www.w3schools.com/html/”>Sample_text</a>
I did not place any spaces in that example, because doing so can mess up the layout of the resultant text. But do ensure that you have suitable spaces, either side of the link, if trying to embed it in a sentence. Or punctuation, as may be necessary.
I just realized, a Sporran is a fanny pack with a great big mustache.
If I ever meet a woman who wears a sporran, I’d be tempted to snuggle it with my own mustache…
Actually a big part of the reason I carry a purse is that by keeping the things I need with me when I go out in it I just have to remember one thing (the purse) instead of several (wallet, keys, hell phone, something I’m no doubt forgetting)
Lord Pentrose actually carries one as well, though he calls it his man purse. I’m not entirely certain of why he like having one, but suspect it’s related to his chronic inability to travel lightly.
Dammit, I just re-read the whole thing.
The WHOLE thing.
All of it :'(
Ahh, but how many Easter Eggs did you find? Did you even spot any of the ninjas?
They can not rightly be called ninjas if you spot them, now can they?
They could be diversionary ninjas for the ones you don’t see.
But diversionary ninjas don’t look like ninjas.
Ahh, and there they have you. So when you are thinking,
he stabs you! Because he was a real ninja dressed in the way you least expected. As any true ninja would.*
Personally I am suspicious of several potential ninjas, in the above comic! Including the ones dressed in nondescript grey.
* Despite the mental images we might have of ninjas sneaking around dressed in black, they typically dressed to blend into the crowd. Say as servants, or whoever would belong in a given setting.
Well, Sydney did refer to Vehemence as a sort of “reverse ninja”…does that count?
:D
I forgot all about Olivia had to go archive diving to find her first appearance…. (Link Below)
But, Dave, what’s up with another Dabbler’s Science Corner? It’s been quite awhile.
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/159
P.S. She explains the relationship.
Technically that wasn’t Olivia’s first appearance, just the start of the segment where we learn her name. She first appears here. At least I’m pretty sure that’s her.
Yep/ Dave clarified that in the comments at one point. Olivia will become someone Sydney games with.
Every so often I have to stop and remember that from comic 5 until now has been about 24 hours (give or take).
The comic bug sure is a strong one
Ok, now this comic is unbelievable, no on that hot playes D&D.
Also that last line was pure gold.
Personal experience says otherwise. Tabletop Roleplaying Games attract all ages, colors, levels of hotness, and intellect (among many other categories). From porn stars to janitors and social workers.
My personal gaming groups are composed of my high school friends (which ends up being about half girls most of the time, depending on scheduling and interest… bit of a revolving door game; and a bunch of college girls. Still not quite sure about the full process of how I acquired that last one, I got roped into being their DM/GM and the rest is hilarious.
Sounds like at least one of your players had a misunderstanding.
“Oh sure, I do tabletop stuff all the time. Toys and everything. So is this one of those evenings when everyone comes dressed in fantasy gear? Ooh, ooh, and I have something really good for that dungeon themed room you were telling me about!”
Lucky you, I only got fat socially awkward white dudes at my games. I was up stars of a laundry mat that couldn’t do brights so they put up a whites only sign. And apparently the DM wasn’t a dog person the way he talked about bitches.
Go to any major game convention and if you are to hormonal your pants will explode.
My pants are due for an exploding.
Google girls of Gencon
But don’t just “Google girls“.
I know, right? That blond guy has really got it going on!
The longest feathered locks of glorious golden hair I have ever beheld above a laundry mat.
I’m willing to give her the benefit of the assumption that she is still trying to take it all in for a second. Walking into a mobile press conference and then seeing UFO’s floating around an acquaintances head all the sudden but with nothing overtly threatening or scary going on can put you into a weird place while your brain tries to catch up. Would like to see some delayed reactions from her and Joel though and Sydney’s reaction to their late reaction could be funny as well.
I think you may have to break down and start giving some characters purses or fanny backs/whatever (one of those tiny mini backpacks?) and accept the “help” from the comment section till you get used to it or you will create a series long habit that will be even harder to break later. (prepares body to accept the correction from said comment section for “bullying” the author/artist. )
I like the way Dave is handling the background crowds. Especially panel 2, which helps establish that there are TV cameras there too. And gives the sense of them all jockeying for a good position. Plus allows for the presence of regular customers, in the mix. But without requiring wasting time on unimportant individuals.
Also a handy technique for showing how a hero might overlook somebody in a crowd, if their attention was not properly focussed. We could have our attention directed the same way the protagonist has.
Very true. I always find appealing those multi panel panning with multiple instances of the same person passing through :)
Sydney just HAS to pick the guy with the podcast to do her interview.
But seriously, the reason people her age, or my age for that matter, don’t watch network news is that THEY are no longer serious about doing it. I remember getting my news from people like Walter Cronkite, he was someone you could trust to tell you like it was. Now, now they have people like Gretchen Carlson and Bill O’liery doing the news. And BTW, Olivia is right: I saw a study that showed viewers of the Daily Show and the Colbert Report were better informed on national affairs than people who watched “the News.”
And two time Suzzi News?
:-O
Nevah!
Dual interviews.
Suzie News and The Podcaster at the same time.
Dual for interviews would be her preffered method of choosing someone.
So, pistols or swords?
The thought of either Suzie or Sydney getting harmed is unbearable! The only martial art that would be acceptable is a non-harmful one, and it would have to remain all female, to avoid unfair sporting advantage. Plus it would need to be in a safe, cushioning environment!
*starts pumping the jello into the pit*
So I says to Mabel, I says …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikiZvUGkLjo
Well put.
What I’d like to see for REAL; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXrOqjS9ZyA
What is wrong with modern news well for starters it is infotainment not news. This change occurred after the easing of the Fairness Doctrine which required two things first news and marketing have a firewall between them. Second all local broadcasters were required to provided content for the public good they did this with actually news programs. I haven’t really watched the news since the 80s when this change went into effect and it has only gotten worse. Get mine from vetted on-line sources and the local paper.
Or that main stream news is owned by 5 jewish families and Carlos Slims, that’s why Woodie Allen was a movie star no unbiased reviews. There was a black moslem Mohammad Ali Brown that serial killed gays in 3 states caught 2 weeks after the Ferguson liquor store robber was shot by a white cop but no coverage because it didn’t fit the narrative. This week in Philly blacks hunted down and killed an old white guy because they said they were bored but even local mainstream news dropped the demographics.
Troll alert
Yea. Tis sad. Trouble is do we want stuff like that left on our comments unchallenged? Or will we expect DaveB to have to take time out of creating the comic, in order to delete stuff that tries to turn this into a KKK forum?
I wanted to say the same thing, but that’s just feeding the troll, isn’t it? Better to just ignore them
Trouble is, assuming that all of the facts you state are accurate, you are cherry picking stories just as much as the mainstream media is. But, in your case, doing so with the intent of using it to prove a conspiracy. There are 14,827 murders per annum in the USA. So that is 285 per week.
With African Americans making up 12.6% of the US population, you would actually expect there to be 36 murders each week matching that demographic.
Ie even with the cherry picking it is still way less than would be expected. So the racial elements are not newsworthy, in the least. You (or whoever did the cherry picking) will have ignored many more caucasian crimes to come to that short list, going by statistical norms. And many of those will have been equally shocking.
So all you are doing is demonstrating the same racial agenda that you are attempting to imply in others.
Alright knock it off Anubis, this isn’t the Fox News echo chamber. You’re welcome to nerd chat and talk about almost anything if it’s relevant to the comic, but these hit and run Gish Gallops tirades aren’t welcome here.
*Looks up Gish Gallop* Wow, here we just call it shoveling bullshit by the truckload.
I got to use this today I’m happy now thanks Dave.
What the??? Oh for the love of the Moose and Squirrel.
Annoyed at the boob size downgrade, but still a good comic.
What?
I think they are confused by the concept of people looking slightly different while wearing different clothing.
Olivia’s clothing are not that much different than what she was wearing nearly four and a half years ago, what has changed in that time is the art style and her cup size
But that being said, there is nothing really to complain about, again, a lot of it is down to a change (vast improvement in many counts) to the art style
Ignoring the torso (and attached parts) for now, just compare the heads
There’s a logical explanation you know.
Sort of like with Britney Spears and her alternating cup size in real life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPmbzPbqFQw
I think the “enhancement” seen in their first meeting was due to Sydney thinking Olivia was ‘the girlfriend’ and feeling pretty under-confident in herself. Being normal and facing down super model, or shaking hands with Ahnold. Then you step back and realize they still wear makeup and damn is he short. Sydney today is riding high and confident she can take down supervillains, so regular stuff is just regular stuff…
So, what you are saying, is that yesterday, Olivia looked intimidatingly overdeveloped. But now that Sydney has experienced the Archon girl’s changing room, today Olivia seems much less impressively built?
…yep- it doesn’t happen unless it shows up on the Daily Show.
Says the woman who actually had something she was involved in show up on the Daily Show…
You shouldn’t have to plane the bottom of your door. Where I work, we usually tell people to take the door off its hinges and run a circular saw (or jig saw) along the bottom edge. Ideally with 3/16″ or so of space to spare, and using a strait edge (like a long, metal ruler) clamped to it to keep the edge from being bobble-y. You’ll probably want to sand it a bit afterwards, but from watching my Dad plane wood, that option may take awhile. (Reminds me, I have to do something about the bathroom door rubbing the sill…)
Love the comic – I’d probably be as out-of-the-loop as Olivia, since I don’t normally watch TV at all. XD
I wound up taking a circular saw to them. Had to take off about half an inch cause the new carpet is so plush compared to the old.
That sounds so comfy, you could sleep on it.
Nice! :D
Re-reading the comic (insomnia is a harsh mistress), and wondering – Olivia doing homework is making me wish she is a Junior (or else yet under 18) in high school. Granted, that’s mainly to see Sydney’s reaction to realizing her crush is therefore also under 18… >:D
I can’t concentrate WITHOUT the TV on as background noise. When I studied for the bar exam, I couldnt focus on the Barbri books if there was silence. Or if people were in the room talking. Only when people were on a box talking.
I have to multitask too…but I don’t watch broadcast or cable XD Netflix ftw. Which means by now there are a handful of series I have watched through several times by now….
The only thing I can’t have on in the background are zombie movies or The Walking Dead. No matter how many times I’ve seen an episode, or no matter how truly awful the zombie movie is (or that stupid Z Nation show)…. I have to watch it.
Z Nation is a miracle of bad.
It really is. It really, really is. Oh god it really is. I’ll still watch it though. Then complain about how much it sucks. Most zombie movies and zombie shows are a miracle of bad. The Walking Dead is a notable exception to that rule. I still can’t stop watching zombie stuff though. I even watched the awful World War Z movie, even though it was nothing like the awesome book. I even played the Walking Dead: Survival Instinct (which has no right to have the name Walking Dead in it).
Then after I watch the awful episode of Z Nation (which takes every rule of bad Syfy channel movies and magnifies it for TV show awfulness), I play some State of Decay for an example of how zombie apocalyptic stuff should be. Or The Last of Us (a game that I’ve now played about 12 times) – a game which is more zombie-excellent than most actual zombie games and stories, with a great story to it too.
Which is actually why I can’t have zombie stuff on in the background when studying. Either I won’t pay attention to my studies because it’s so good, or I won’t pay attention because it’s so bad, and I’ll get all zombie-ragey about it, then watch other good stuff to flush out the badness.
It must feel like Warehouse 39 to you now.
XD Yes. And the main characters in Charmed feel like family, simply do to the repetition of hearing their foibles…
Doesn’t work for me; I’ve tried it. My ADD combines with the “ooh – shiney” of the movie picture, and I start paying more attention to the show instead of what I’m supposed to be doing (which at this time is mostly cleaning. Blargh!).
Wonder if this isn’t her first time dealing with the ‘oh hey I’m actually a superhero now’ conversation.
Anyways, they make bras with build-in pockets, and with padding keys would probably be okay in them. However, putting your phone in your bra can increase your brisk of breast cancer, iirc.
I follow various online news sources. John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight is also a fantastic watch.
And it might also increase your risk of getting a very startling — and potentially overwhelming — mass of sensory input, if you have it set to vibrate.
uhh – the stories about cancer and cell phones are really bad science. The most massive study on it (the 13-country INTERPHONE study, the largest case-control study done to date) found no link between cell phones and cancer. The closest it came was a slight correlation between those who used their cell phone the most – but that correlation was in severe doubt because the group included those who reported implausibly high cell phone use (like 18+ hours per day) – which makes one wonder if those who developed cancer were looking to blame their phones and thus lied about their cell phone use. If you want a good, fairly unbiased summary of the studies and reports go look at the American Cancer Society page at: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/athome/cellular-phones.
I like the summary statement:
“There is no scientific evidence that proves that wireless phone usage can lead to cancer or a variety of other problems, including headaches, dizziness or memory loss. However, organizations in the United States and overseas are sponsoring research and investigating claims of possible health effects related to the use of wireless telephones.”
Cell phone signals don’t cause cancer. They can’t.
Basically, radiation can be lumped into two general categories: ionizing and non-ionizing radiation.
Non-ionizing, when it does pass though something, does it stealthily, leaving nothing disturbed. It is the Ninja Messenger of radiation. It is safe.
Ionizing punches through like a tank driving though your house to get to the highway. It causes cancer.
What determines if certain radiation is ionizing is its energy. Higher frequency radiation has higher energy. All cell phone signals are significantly lower frequency (and hence lower energy) than visible light.
Annother way to think of it is this: Most cell phones use less than a watt for antenna transmission. Think of one of those little 2 watt night lights. You can grab the bulb while they are on, and they barely feel warm, and certainly don’t burn you. Not only is your cell phone transmitting at a lower energy wavelength than that night light, it is doing so at half the amplitude as well.
Easier way to think about it? Would a 2 Watt nightlight cause sunburn? You cell phone uses less harmful frequencies and less power than that light.
great analogies. mind if i borrow them at some future point? as for where Olivia has things stored i dunno. i know a girl who regularly dresses like that and never carries a purse. i have no clue where she keeps her things(i have never noticed any cellphone shapes on her person) but she always seems to have more things on her than some women carry in a purse.
Feel free to borrow and use them as much as you desire!
Comparing it to light really doesn’t sound right.
You are saying the difference is frequency, so it’s all down to having fewer beats/impacts per minute. That only means the same damage will take longer to do like a microwave on defrost rather than full.
Have you noticed that any area a cell tower goes up seems to have a sharp decline in bees and other airborne bugs and now that I think about it also birds.
Radiowaves are just a different part of the electromagnetic spectrum – a mobile phone does use light to communicate with the mast, just not a type we can see.
Have you considered that any hypothetical missing wildlife may be linked to the distruption from building work, plus the removal of trees/plants that they used to visit? Do numbers go back up in the months following the noisy machinery leaving?
It’s due to the quantum nature of light. Long-wavelength EM (eg. radio waves, microwaves) have little energy per photon, so can only do damage by heating.
Short waves (eg. ultraviolet, X-rays) have much more energy per photon, in fact enough to knock electrons off atoms – hence the term, “ionizing radiation”. This is a much more dangerous effect.
Note that it is the wavelength that’s important, not the intensity – microwaves cannot cause ionization, no matter how powerful.
Interestingly (ignoring the statistical analysis), the argument is predicated on the assumption that cancer is only caused by high energy. Given that we do not know enough about cancer to actually cure it, that is a bit arrogant to state such things with certainty.
For instance, what we do know about cancer is that it is change in the regular behaviour of cells. One which can, for some types, be influenced by genetic causes. Ie altering the information controlling the process.
So, when I hear the analogies, what springs to my mind is a remote control. Which easily fits within the range of power specified. And can equally change the default behaviour of a device that I point it at. Provided there is some way for it to be picked up by the device’s receptors. It need not even be programmed similarly. Just the interference can disrupt the normal function, if the device is not built to resist such.
Actually one of the big problems with cell phone (and tablet) usage is neck and back problems. The primary use for cell phones these days is not as phones but as mini tablets/readers, etc. People are spending way too much time with their head and necks at angles that are not good in the long run.
Keys? In my bra? Don’t be silly. My car has a keylock and also a button lock. Driver’s license and credit card in the bra, boobcash optional. Phone on the arm in a jogger’s holder. If the phone goes in the bra, it goes on vibrate so guys don’t stare while my breasts perform “Shatter Me”.
That is one glorious mental image, made me laugh
But they will stand and stare at the ripples gliding along them as they vibrate visably.
I just damn near exploded over that last line. It’s too late in the evening to laugh as loud as it deserves without bothering my neighbors. My ears popped.
… M’lady I have to admit that last image has rendered me speechless.
“Come on, no one my age watches ‘News'”
“Yeah, we know”
:D
So mean … but true!
So I’m guessing GrrlPower-Universe US-media only has a passing relationship with journalism, too?
That look of defeat is awesome.
And yes, the whole idea of this comic is that it’s our world + superheroes. That’s why there are batman comics, what would deadpool do shirts, ect
The look at the lady reporter next to him seemed to convey both a sense of sympathy and “Glad I’m not the one say that out loud.”
It really is, a minimum change on the stance but it totally works.
Also nice: Sydney doing air quotes :)
So anyway, re-reading some of the earlier comics… Supers were already known before Sydney went on the bank run? I thought the press conference was the revealing of superheroes.
Er, the revealing of people with super powers, rather.
It was the official reveal. They had been working in the private sector, but previously the government appear to have had an official denial policy. Kind of like how you could buy models of the stealth bomber and fighter for years, whilst it was still officially a ‘top secret’ and they ‘did not exist’.
Same with how you could ask anybody on the street, in London, to point out the MI5 building. Or watch any TV or film about spies to see it featured.
And it would make sense why they had to do that officially. If they were working through the politics of agreeing on how to set up Archon, as a new arm of the military. And covertly passing the appropriate laws.
Anyone up to speed on if there is a mechanism for the latter to be done, in the US? Or… um… would it be a secret?
How do you have a situation where everybody knows about a guy who can fly, and who rescues people to the point that networks want to make a reality show out of him, and the government denies it? That’s like “oh hey the sky is blue” and the Government goes “LIES! THERE IS NO SKY!”
The government was just denied that it had supers working for it.
Just so. And, possibly (although we have no indication of this, that I can recall), they might have had an official policy of “do not confirm that supers exist”. Possibly with covert cover-ups having been going on in the early days.
This would also have other ramifications too. For instance the courts would not officially acknowledge that supers exist either. And talking too openly about believing in supers, could be detrimental if sceptics overheard.
People tend to be wary of harming their career prospects. So straight-laced TV anchors, and other commentators, might play it safe. Either avoiding the issue or erring on the sceptical side, to safeguard their jobs.
Clearly, as we have confirmation that supers have started working in the private sector though, the majority of people would have recently become aware of supers. Although, if the government was refusing to acknowledge them,* anybody who chooses to, could have buried their head in the sand and denied their existence.
And, with modern TV special effects, those who wanted to stay in denial could put it all down to computer generated publicity stunts. Which, going by the tone of Sydney and Joel’s conversation, seems likely to have been a common position. Supers are rare enough that most people will not have seen one in person. And so retain plausible deniability.
* Think of Putin denying that there are Russian troops in Ukraine, as a similar situation.
Ahh, never mind. Just confirmed that it not just the UK parliament which can pass laws in secret sessions.
The top is called a cold-shoulder top, btw.
One Google image search and color me amazed by the subtleties of the plumage of the “Bird” watching scape. Then I looked for a cold shoulder thumb sleeve blouse and came up empty (for hitting all, not just 2of 5) and wondered if DaveB just coined a new Hybrid subcategory –Quick we need a name and a copy right there DaveB –maybe just a vote incentive with Dabbler and several Harem’s shopping at Olivia’s boutique of choice…?
“cold shoulder top” came up with the usual endless screens full of appropriate thumbs. Of which about 50% of them have medium to long sleeves.
Styles varied quite a lot mind. But even scrolling through several screens I did not see one even remotely like Olivia’s. Beyond the requirements to make it a “cold shoulder top”, that is.
Personally I see it more as a tank top with integrated arm warmers…but I’m probably just making up fashion terms as I go along.
Looks to me more like a shoulderless halter-top. Never heard the term cold-shoulder top :)
Good to know, thanks!
Annnnnnnnnddddddd, now I am thinking of peanut brittle flavored tiddies…
I’m not but my male side is the foodie and my female side is in charge of relationship issues.
foodie: noun. someone that does not cook but thinks they are the first person in history to realize food tastes good
And needs to be slapped.
HARD.
Ok so maybe not a foodie foodie but I really do enjoy good food of all varieties especially if it’s inexpensive).
I like the sound of that; I happen to like peanut brittle, but at least peanut brittle tiddies carry no risk of breaking any of your teeth.
You could just say they keep the items in the boots. Thats the second purse besides the bra purse.
But this is America we are talking about. And probably Texas, in particular. Where the heck is she keeping her gun? One of those leg-strap holsters? Or tucked into her boot?
Thong strap can pin a gun to the butt crack. Err, so I have heard.
There actually are thigh-holsters designed to keep a pistol hidden, even under short skirts…
Too Much Information webic had a couple pages devoted to revealing where the tall red-haired Japanese girl kept two of her guns (one went strapped to her inner thigh, the other a between-the-breasts holster)
Feeling more and more sorry for Mustache News Guy with every passing page.
I’m confident that this is how everyone would react to hearing that his/her friend is a superhero. News of that maginitude takes awhile to sink in
I find myself noticing and appreciating the orb lighting that’s going on.
Also, Olivia apparently wears nothing but shoulderless tops. And I am okay with this.
She does have the shoulders for it.
Indeed
Yup. Whoever lands the colourist’s job, it is not going to be an easy one! Pick a page at random and you will see the orbs’ glow is picked up by anything near to it.
I just noticed the tiny defeated/resigned shoulder-slump we get out of Mister News in that last panel.
Nice touch. :)
Complete with slight bowing of the lapel, and other highly realistic crinkling in the material. Awesome study of body language and clothing. To go with all the nuanced expressions, which we take for granted in the comic now.
HEY! DaveB has sneaked in fine art, under pretences of drawing a comic.
If he starts slipping lines of Shakespeare in though, that would be one step too far!
Now are the whispers of the discontented.
Made in glorious summary by our sunny Yorp.
Nice!
Sydney and Olivia were playing the DC Heroes RPG not D&D.
It all started with Gary Gygax!
Knowing her penchant for escalation, that statement at the bottom may be true for at least half of the events she takes part in.
No problem, Dave. Olivia’s purse is out in her car. She just had to park it down next to the grocery store because of all the news vans parked around the comic book store.
Hey, if you look over Olivia’s shoulder in panel 3, that kind of looks like Math’s silhouette in the background!
Or it’s just a spiky haired reporter, which would be kind of cool I guess.
As far as the lack of pockets and purse etc. it can still work. My roommate in college dated a girl with similar looks and the permanent ponytail. She had a money clip that had a spike comb through it that she kept under the ponytail through the band. Me? I dated the RTV major with a purse that could be more accurately described as a horizontally oriented backpack —she was the one who snuck all the snacks into the movie theatres for the four of us. Mine didn’t game, but she did know what a Bag Of Holding referred to…
You had to sneak snax in? Were there Gestapo food searchers, patting y’all down at the doors?
:-O
I remember uncountable times taking bags full of food and bottles of fizzy drinks in to cinemas, in the UK. Usually in the flimsy supermarket bags that did nothing to hide the contents.
If they have a “no food and drink, except that bought on the premises” rule, have you thought of challenging them for maintaining an unfair monopoly?
Late eighties US movie theatres made over half their take on $4 candy bars exactly the same as the $.75 ones from the corner stores. $6 sodas that had little or no ice compared to 1 liter bottles (it was a hefty purse). As far as the rule goes, the ticket is a contract and they reserved the right to not serve those who broke the house rules. With a short list of theatres knowing people by sight meant they could really put a damper on your weekend.
But now I am all grown up and live near one of the few remaining drive-in theatres in the US. The Silver Moon is cheap, you bring in what you want or have a $6 large pizza from their concession stand.
[rant]
UK cinemas are just as bad. The mark up on soft drinks is exorbitant. Given it costs a few pence per litre to make the stuff and serve it from a pump. Which is all the more reason why we should not tolerate them attempting to impose a monopoly and stifle competition. It just makes their offerings get even worse over the years.
Their job is selling visual entertainment. If they wish to top up their earnings with food and drink sales, that is fine. But both of those are vital to maintaining human life. They are something we have an intrinsic right to, wherever we may be. Barring noisy or odorous ones, which might interfere with other viewer’s pleasure, needless to say.
So I would very happily challenge them in court, for seeking to impose on my right to eat such food and drink as I may choose. Not least of which being that their options are incredibly unhealthy, in addition to being extortionately priced.
[/rant]
Sounds like you have a nice set up now though. I loved drive ins. One of the things that still stand out strongly in my memories of South Africa.
@Yorp, the problem is not that the theater is trying to “top up” their earnings, but to make enough to basically STAY OPEN… the ticket price that you pay is almost entirely going back to the movie distributors, directors and actors massive salaries, as well as to the special effects companies, film location rentals and permits fees ,etc., etc…… the THEATER gets VERY LITTLE of that ticket price. they do get some… but not much, per seat sold. that means that the only other method of generating the required income to pay the employees, do building and equipment maintenance, cleaning, and for upgrades to the projection equipment, etc. is to charge more for the snacks and such. and if you are bringing in your own, they lose out on the potential revenue required to stay profitable and even open for business…
i totally agree that the prices are outrageous and want them to be lower, but i also understand WHY they’ve become outrageous as well…
Restrictive business practices are never the right solution. Offer a product that the public are interested in buying. They are literally a captive audience. Frankly if they do not have the imagination to capture the appetites of their customers, then they deserve to go out of business!
Think of it in terms of the monarch gradually pushing up trade taxes on the colonies, and banning them from trading with anyone else, if that helps you see the futility of the exercise. Don’t just keep following the path off the cliff at the end. Find a different solution!
Instead of building a cinema, and try to cram as many bums onto as many seats as possible, in the smallest possible area, try to factor in Western obesity levels. All that is just making people uncomfortable. Make the seats more spacious not less.
Rather than making people resent the exorbitant prices for substandard food and drink, why not make one (or more) of the cinemas, in the complex, a food attraction. Build it as an all out restaurant. Complete with tables and waiters. Put the screen up higher, so that folks do not have their views blocked.
Don’t schedule things in that cinema under the assumption that you must kick them out the instant the movie is over. Once they are there, you want them there for the evening. These are folks who care about both movies and food. They will want to discuss the film. Make sure that they keep buying more food, and drink, whilst they do that. None of that mark up is going to the studios, it is all pure profit!
For the budget market, consider this.
Currently one pound can buy 2.65 Lev (the Bulgarian currency). The Bulgarian airports only have small facilities, with a few very high price bars, plus, at best one fast food shop, with the typical tourist level mark up. I.e. even the fast food restaurants are overpriced for the Bulgarian population.
The British airports, have more facilities (they are in a rich country so this is to be expected). But, in amongst all the top end high price shops, there are also reasonably priced high street shops. And, more importantly for the budget market there are small super-market outlets. But, rather than falling to the temptation of charging convenience store mark-ups, they keep to competitive pricing.
Net result the UK supermarkets have me shopping whilst I am waiting. And I will stock up a heck of a lot. So, despite being a budget passenger, I spend a lot of money there. All of which has kick-backs going to the airport. Bulgaria? Their airports get nothing. Despite the massive exchange difference, they are still uncompetitive, even with that!
And I am not a solitary eccentric there. The tumbleweeds roll through their outlets most of the time, rather than customers.
If cinema patrons want to bring supermarket, or other shop-bought food in, don’t ban them. Build a bloody outlet into your complex and get your slice of the action!
Use the “COMIX!” guy to do the “OMG! Superpowers!” reaction page.
you could say Olivia is wearing a backpack purse the same color as the shirt’s sleeve-thingys. we don’t see her back so it’s possible and they are a little prevalent, though not too much. they were more popular about 15 years ago.
I have just been having a chuckle at panel 4. Although I liked the expression, it did not seem to match up to the most obvious bit of dialogue associated with it. By proximity, that is. Namely the “here you go”. Nor did the rest of the speech bubbles really fit with the look.
Until, that is, you get down to the last couple of lines.
Oh yea, that look fits those lines perfectly! I can see it being the moment that she transitions from the one to the other. The coy, conspiratorial look, tempered by a touch of embarrassment, due to her sotto voice confession.
Your universe is becoming almost miyazakian in how casually people accept supernatural things just showing up.
DaveB, I’ve pointed this out before, but since you repeated it several times in this page, I feel it needs to be pointed out again:
In panels 3,5,8, and 9 you show Sydney’s head from the left rear, and it looks wrong. This is because the bangs appear to be hanging directly in front of her glasses, instead of framing the glasses as seen in panels 4 and 7. Stop messing with my O.C.D.!!! (And that is the correct order of the letters if one is using the term in the original Klingonese.)
Ahh, but Sydney has see through hair, as we can see very clearly in the third panel, on the page linked. And, of course, it is her anime art style. It is one subtle part of her most important power. The anime-influenced cuteness, which helps to create her hug-me-aura ™.
Sydney has hair like Lion-o. It changes depending on what angle you’re looking at it from.
Or early Mickey Mouse: his ears were both on display at all times, no matter which way his head was facing
Escher Mouse.
What’s wrong with that?
Then again, this is coming from a guy who’s very familiar with ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs & artworks…
:/
Y’know, maybe one of Sydney’s mystery orbs has some sort of passive, pervasive psychic power, like perhaps it enhances the calm of those around her so that no one really gets excited. Maybe it exaggerates her own personality by drawing reactivity from people around her and funneling it into her twitchy little body. Can’t imagine why, but… maybe she needs the extra energy for the orbs. Something’s gotta be keeping them in the air!
Interesting thinking. And fully compatible with the latest proposal in Halo Orbs research. Just skip down to the end of that thread, or search for “PROBABLE SPOILER ALERT”, if you want to find out more.
where in 3rd place people we need more votes
As old as I am, the fact that I don’t watch the news makes me feel a lot younger.
If I (age 18) am anything like anyone Sydney’s age, then she’s completely right: If I want news, I get it on the internet, not the television.
I like her.
I’m in my 50’s and I no longer get my news from broadcast or cable. Internet and occasionally radio. I do miss the days when CNN first started out reporting only news. Back when HGTV was like 24/7 “This Old House”, and the SyFyllis channel used to be the SciFi channel. Of course, I also miss having hair on the top of my head…
i agree with 90 percent of your statements… :D the one difference being that fortunately for the males in my family, we will have a full head of hair well into our 90’s… my dad recently died at 82 and still had a full head o’ hair. i was told that my dad’s side grandfather was in his 90’s when he died, same thing…
Loving O’Philia’s face in panel five :D
perhaps the best collective now for real reporters is a “moribund”?
How about “a redundant of reporters”?