ZING!

Stinkywigfiddle · Post by **Stinkywigfiddle** » Fri Jan 18, 2002 2:38 am

I sort of feel like that too... Today's page, I mean.
I really like this comic (no surprise), and the story.
I like to post on message boards, but I feel that I just annoy the cartoonist.------------------
Daniel Willingham
<A HREF="http://spacelosers.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>Space Losers</A> - My comic about losers in space.

Tar Baby · Post by **Tar Baby** » Fri Jan 18, 2002 3:42 am

what do ya'll think of page 49? i TOTALLY did not expect that one. i don't know if he's gone into a temporary reverie or if this forest sprouting in Colby's living room is morphing into a whole new world or what, but it looks like the Z-man just opened up several more possibilities of where this thing could go. I guess that's the mark of a True Storyteller.....he keeps you guessing and rethinking the whole story with every page he puts up.wow.*kow-tows to the Z-man* you're amazing...[This message has been edited by Tar Baby (edited 01-18-2002).]

Tar Baby · Post by **Tar Baby** » Fri Jan 18, 2002 4:05 am

well, i'm *definitely* going to hang around for the rest of the story. even with the darkly introspective tone of the comic today,it hasn't missed a lick. if anything, the "depressing" moments add depth and reality to the characters so that they will stand out more sharply against the unreality weirdness that they (apparently) will be plunging into before long....eh? what was it i just said?nevermind.*dons a t-shirt with KOW-TOW in a big red circle with a line through it*there. that's better...------------------
he hath not so much brain as ear wax

Zubkavich · Post by **Zubkavich** » Fri Jan 18, 2002 5:48 am

Well, today's page shows you that Blake was just lost to his imagination temporarily. Still, it's a pretty important revelation and will become more important as the story rolls on.Thanks for the mighty praise ( <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gif"> Kevin, I couldn't help it).PS: Don't kow-tow! It's completely unnecessary. Just enjoy the story <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif">------------------
Jim Zubkavich
------------------
The Makeshift Miracle
http://www.makeshiftmiracle.com
------------------

Glych · Post by **Glych** » Fri Jan 18, 2002 6:39 am

Zing, Zing, Zing, Zing, everybody's got to Sing!*shakes head*Oh...sorry...You know, one might wonder if some of us darker comics mght be influencing you <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gif">-glych------------------
-glych
Gully Foyle is my name,
Terra is my nation.
Deep space is my dwelling place,
and the Stars my Destination.<A HREF="http://glych.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>NonPersons</A>

Templar · Post by **Templar** » Fri Jan 18, 2002 6:45 am

I found today's strip (#50, I guess), very poignant and honestly, a bit depressing. High school's awfully early in a young man's life for him to feel like his dreams can't come true. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/frown.gif">

Templar · Post by **Templar** » Fri Jan 18, 2002 8:54 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Zubkavich:
Makeshift Miracle's a weird story because I want to show a wide range of feelings. There are funny moments and elated highs for the characters, but the contrasting parts have the fear or depression that can come from the situations they find themselves in.I'm hoping that contrast keeps people watching to see what happens next.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Well, I'll be checking in three times a week for the forseeable future, that's for certain! <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif">

Zubkavich · Post by **Zubkavich** » Fri Jan 18, 2002 9:25 am

Hey Templar,Yeah, Blake's a pretty depressed guy under the surface. Then again, Colby wasn't very positive either if you re-read his thoughts at the start of Chapter 1.I think everyone goes through those phases of inspiration/enthusiasm and other times of thinking the whole world's out to get you.Makeshift Miracle's a weird story because I want to show a wide range of feelings. There are funny moments and elated highs for the characters, but the contrasting parts have the fear or depression that can come from the situations they find themselves in.I'm hoping that contrast keeps people watching to see what happens next.------------------
Jim Zubkavich
------------------
The Makeshift Miracle
http://www.makeshiftmiracle.com
------------------

Apathetic jellyfish · Post by **Apathetic jellyfish** » Wed Jan 23, 2002 7:53 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Templar:
High school's awfully early in a young man's life for him to feel like his dreams can't come true. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/frown.g ... OTE>i'd have to say that i disagree w/the aforementioned statement; maybe, this is due to the fact that i still am attending high school.guess that's the one o'the reasons this strip has drawn me in. it doesn't tend to sugarcoat things, shows depth, and oddly enough makes me think o'lewis carrol...so zing on! i like.

Chickstyle · Post by **Chickstyle** » Thu Jan 24, 2002 8:09 am

Actually I'd say highschoool is RIGHT around the time guys and gals start figuring out that their dreams aren't always going to come true...or even be met with elation and highfives from everyone else. Highschool is pretty much about against, disallisionment, dissappoinment and the vague or specific realization that the world is not the wonderful magical happy place that hopefully one had as a child. When your a kid nothing is impossible and everything is magical if looked at properly. Growing up and highschool is the time when you start to really notice that things don't always have happy endings, the guy doesn't always get the girl, especially if he isn't popular, witty, cute enough etc. Girls aren't going to get the fairytale ugly girl to pretty girl now part of the popular crowd. If you weren't in before you ain't gettin in after as it were.
Is it crappy, yes of course. It's also part of growing up and learning to cope with the world around you and learning how to make your own way in it and hopefully become a stronger person for the crap you put up with and garnering knowledge on how to successfully put up with the garbage to come ie as an adult in an adult world and all the politics and dogma that comes with that bit o' fun.Hmmm that turned out to be a little more negative than I anticipated but I think it bears saying given the current conversation trend.

Tar Baby · Post by **Tar Baby** » Thu Jan 24, 2002 8:10 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by apathetic jellyfish:
 oddly enough [it] makes me think o'lewis carrol...so zing on! i like.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>lewis carroll! my favorite! it is rather wonderland-ish, isn't it? that's the great thing...anything can happen in a wonderland....------------------
he hath not so much brain as ear wax

Templar · Post by **Templar** » Fri Jan 25, 2002 5:26 am

I thought a lot about what's been posted here the past couple of days. I will concede that high school is where you realize that your childish dreams aren't coming true. But it's also where you create new dreams, isn't it? It's where you could dream of creating something like The Miracle, for example.As far as high school being all "against (sic), disallusionment (sic), dissapponment (sic)," while I hate to pigeonhole people, to my mind there's two kinds of depressed teenagers.
1) Kids that feel isolated and that life's not fair. That gets them down sometimes, maybe it's tough to find friends, those who will relate to you, etc.
2) Kids that have that self-important angst, that sullen sense of woe-is-me tragedy that makes teenagers seem just a little ridiculous.
Of course there are shades in between, and some kids that only feel bad once in a while, etc. But I'm addressing the posters in this thread, please bear with me here.To these teenagers, I'd like to share the following, and you figure out if it comes from the same source, and if life's really as black and white as all that. And why am I posting both? Because I honestly don't know from which POV any of you are coming, and I don't want to attribute a certain way of thinking to any single one of you. And because depending on the day, both are true.Type 1) Life gets better. It does. Right now it might seem like your life is going to be one great big ball of torment, but it doesn't last. In high school, you're all crammed together, there's no separation between you and your peers, so you're stuck dealing with people on a daily baisis that you'd rather avoid. But after high school, you can better choose with whom you spend your time. Certainly some day you'll have to deal with people you don't like, whether at work or through activities, but you won't be so trapped. And you may wake up one day, looking at your 35th birthday looming in your headlights, and realize your life's not so bad. Sure, things didn't turn out the way you'd envisioned; they never do. Still, you have a beautiful wife that loves you and laughs at your dumbass Star Trek jokes, three great, smart kids, and a job that provides for them. You've got some good friends that genuinely like you, and enough time to still, just maybe, do more in your life than just "your job."Type 2) You think that life is rough right now? You're still young, and there's still time to dream about the future. There's still a chance that some of your desires will come true. Wait until you're staring 35 in the face, and realizing only now that what you *thought* would be a good career for you, maybe isn't really what you want to do. But how can you change now? You've got adult responsibilities, mouths to feed, loved ones to shelter. So you're going to suck it up, and go work with the most banal, boring people you know, and report to a guy that you just want to kick in the nuts sometimes. You're going wish that you could afford to quit some days, maybe try your hand at something new. But again, you're an adult, and it's not that simple. So you suck it up, and you deal. So don't tell me that you can't stand your life, and that your dreams are over. There's still time to dream, and there's still time to change your course, and you better use it wisely, because one day the prior sentence is really going to be true.To both I say, whether you want to start dreaming just a little because it doesn't all turn out bad, or because you're afraid that it *does* all turn out bad, pick one and do it. Don't forget the most important thing; you're young, and there's still time. Don't toss aside your youth because things are tough; they don't get any easier as you get older, but the rewards are better too.Your comments, whether they be "Thanks for a different perspective" or "STFU, old dude" are welcome.

Templar · Post by **Templar** » Fri Jan 25, 2002 5:45 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Mahtar:
Templar-
STFU old man. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gi ... TE>Nice. You came all the way over here from the PvP forums just for the express purpose of busting my balls, didn't you? <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif">

Mahtar · Post by **Mahtar** » Fri Jan 25, 2002 8:13 am

Templar-
You know it!

Stinkywigfiddle · Post by **Stinkywigfiddle** » Fri Jan 25, 2002 9:03 am

What kind of childish am I? I dislike the world and myself. I hate all the badness (badness?) in the world. It's something you have to deal with, I suppose. I dislike myself for what I am and for becoming what I hate.
It's the disillusionment and realization that gets me.
I'm not in highschool anymore. I've finished a year and a half of college.------------------
Daniel Willingham
<A HREF="http://spacelosers.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>Space Losers</A> - A comic story about losers in space.[This message has been edited by stinkywigfiddle (edited 01-25-2002).]

Annabel Lee116 · Post by **Annabel Lee116** » Fri Jan 25, 2002 12:47 pm

Templar, I whole-heartedly agree w/your last post

Mahtar · Post by **Mahtar** » Fri Jan 25, 2002 12:54 pm

Templar-
STFU old man. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gif">Seriously, I can't say that I agree/disagree. Haven't had the experience. I do, however, laugh at all the teens with angst, who must suffer through the day with people they perceive as inferior, who don't 'understand' them. Those types think they're better than those who surround them, which is amusing to me, because I know I'm better than everyone. Yes, I'm kiddding. I can't help it.

Chickstyle · Post by **Chickstyle** » Sat Jan 26, 2002 8:53 am

Sometimes highschool is where you create new dreams. I think mostly highschool for alot of ppl is pretty much about just getting through it. No, I'm not in highschool, nor have I been for some years.
Most ppl don't have enough of a sense of self to create dreams in highschool. It's all about "finding yourself" or at least finding who your friends think you are and sticking to that for as long as it's cool.
It's not usually about splashing out into uncharted territory.

I think teenagers (and adults for that matter) can feel "against, disallusionment, dissappointment" w/o being depressed or just plain rebelling thought I do admit that is prolly more an exception than the rule. As much as it may seem silly (and it does sometimes) the above mentioned feelings ARE a valid way to look at the world. Again it's not pretty, it's not all that wonderful, hell it's not even fair. It is what you make of it though. It's all fine and good to see it for what it is and decide to try and make something better of it knowing the realities. And in all honesty, as much as ppl, society whatever pushes kids these days to have it all figured out by highschool I have to disagree with that. If you don't know yourself then how can you possibly honestly say you know what you want to do with your life. The pressure shouldn't be on kids to figure that out right then on top of everything else. If they do great! If they don't, *shrug* that's just par for the course. S'why I believe everyone should take a year off after highschool and just dick around, earn some cash at some joe job and basically sort through themselves and see if they can't figure out what to do with the rest of their life. The average person nowadays isn't going to pick one career and never leave it anyways.I think there's prolly three types of "depressed teenagers. The two you mentioned templar and the third group (however small) that realizes exactly what the world is and moreover, realizes they really don't like it the way it is. 
Hmmm as for the person that posted this: "What kind of childish am I? I dislike the world and myself. I hate all the badness (badness?) in the world. It's something you have to deal with, I suppose. I dislike myself for what I am and for becoming what I hate.
It's the disillusionment and realization that gets me.I'm not in highschool anymore. I've finished a year and a half of college."I'd have to say that if you honestly hate yourself for what you've become than you really need to change it. Hating the world is fine but hating yourself just drags you down farther and leaves you with ton of crap you don't need. The worlds hard enough and there's LOADS of ppl out there who will hate you. Just ask them to. If what you've become and the path your going down isn't right then it's up to you to change it. No one else is going to nor should they.
I don't think it's childish to hate yourself for things like that. But hating yourself and not doing anything about it when you know what's wrong is bad bad bad.

Doin' it for dollars · Mon Feb 04, 2002 7:06 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Chickstyle:
Hating the world is fine but hating yourself just drags you down farther and leaves you with ton of crap you don't need. The worlds hard enough and there's LOADS of ppl out there who will hate you. Just ask them to. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Whoa, heavy topic. I neither agree nor disagree with anything said here ...** pulls splinter out of but while sitting restlessly on the fence **However, (there is always a however) I was the poster-child of teenage angst. Everywhere I went I had people stop me and say, 'Wow, you are riddled with angst'. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gif">I chose to buck the high school system and do my own thing, I socialized with every clique there was (not everyone thought this was a good idea) - not to be accpeted, but because I refused to accept the idea that 'groups (packs)' of people are stronger than the individual. Anyway, to make a long story short I survived (barely), but much better for it - Individuality in tact.I haven't read it in a long time, but back in 'the day' I read a book called 'Illusions: The adventures of a reluctant mesiah' by Richard Bach. For some reason it seemed to resonate with me back then and helped me through the hard parts.As a final note, I would heartily suggest that everyone embrace their individuality, and when someone tries to take it away from you, or makes you feel that you are not valuable; with a smile in your voice and a sparkle in your eye ... tell them to PFO. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/biggrin.gif">

Krank · Post by **Krank** » Tue Feb 05, 2002 2:37 am

'Packs' aren't stronger, they just seem so.They are merely more stupid.