The cool kids

http://www.cartoonlabs.com/comics/index.php?date=2012-05-27&show=sinfest

Sinfest
Tatsuya Ishida

"Astronomy"
by Albert Goldbarth

It dies. And a gazillion years in the future
the sight of its dying reaches Earth.
-- Computed in dinosaur years, that's three days
from the brain's death to its being recognized as dead
in the far frontiers of the tail.

Night. A party. "Come out here for a minute."
Dina told me: she'd miscarried. But
her body hadn't registered that yet, it kept
preparing for a birth. And so we sat on the porch
in silence for a while, in the light of that star.

http://www.cartoonlabs.com/comics/index.php?date=2012-05-26&show=sinfest

Sinfest
Tatsuya Ishida

http://www.tencentticker.com/projectrooftop/2012/05/25/call-for-submissions-for-fan-art-friday-lois-lane/

http://www.tencentticker.com/projectrooftop/?p=4629

Note: After the outpouring from artists and commenters from our Fan-Art Friday: Jamie McKelvie’s Captain Marvel a few weeks back, we’re returning with another one spotlighting DC’s Lois Lane. Whether as The Daily Planet‘s star reporter, Clark Kent’s dream girl or her own adventures as Superwoman, Lane has carved out an enduring role in comics. For this Fan-Art Friday, the deadline for submissions is Thursday, June 7 at 1pm Eastern time. Email them to us at projectrooftop@gmail.com. To get you inspired, below is a piece of fan art Ramon Villalobos did based on Dean’s Lois Lane, Girl Reporter pitch for DC. – Chris A.

Removing all superstition from the mix, and relying only on good, hard science – I have no choice but to come to the conclusion that your votes angered the Gods, who did not want such a result to ever be posted.

So, ten minutes before the vote would have been final, they lashed out with a storm that knocked out my internet, and by appears to have fried by router (it’s no longer receiving or sending information, they couldn’t remote in last night in order to fix it. That will require someone coming out in person. On a holiday weekend.)

There are a few questions that I know you want to know:

(1) “How many people were going to be eliminated.” 7. Only because I set the cap at 8. Otherwise there could have been 9, maybe 10, depending on where I set the hypothetical maximum.
(2) “Was I one of them?” Yes. Yes, you were. ;) OK, that really depends on who is asking me. If you want to know, I’ll tell you in private.
(3) “Were any of those 7 people you, Gary, had on your “Yes” list?” 4 of them were. On the other hand, the rest of my “yes” list looks like what would have been the “top” of the poll. So, go figure… you people have *some* taste, I guess… :P
(4) “Can we find out where we would have ranked, in your usual vague terms?” Yes.
(5) “Can we find out where we would have ranked in Gary Only voting?” Yes. But be warned, you may not like the answer and if I start getting the endless follow up “BUT WHY????” I’m going to shut it down. Unless of course YOU are going to be cross examined for everything YOU didn’t vote for this week and every other week. I have a list. :D
(6) “Are you feeling cranky this morning, Gary?” Yes. Very much so. I’m sorry for lashing out like that. But it’s been a bad 12 hours or so.
(7) “When is the new topic being posted?” The appointment to get my internet back up is on Monday. I figure this is a sign from the Idol Gods that you are supposed to go out and enjoy your Memorial Day weekend with friends and family. The new topic will be posted late Monday.
(8) “That really sucks”. That’s not a question. But I do agree. I’d much rather be eliminating you people. ;)
(9) “Why does George Martin like saying “Number 9”? He just does.
(10) A special “Thank You”/kick to the hippie goes to spydielives who was able to post a message to you guys. I would have done it myself, if I could have. But I figured hearing about it through channels was far better than leaving you refreshing all night and getting frustrated!

http://www.cartoonlabs.com/comics/index.php?date=2012-05-25&show=sinfest

Sinfest
Tatsuya Ishida

We're trying to decorate our new abode. In the hunt for cool decor, I've been scanning flash sale sites daily to see what they're selling. I figured I'd get a great deal - after all, isn't that the promise of the concept?

At first I would get upset if I missed a sale on a brand at, say, ideeli, but I quickly realized that usually the exact same sale would pop up at Rue La La or Gilt a few days later.

One of the things we're looking for is a coffee table/ottoman for our place, so it can be both a seat (for parties) and a coffee table. Preferably with storage.

A few weeks ago, one of my flash sale sites - I think it was Gilt - did a sale on furniture by a company called Safavieh that featured a storage ottoman, but it wasn't quite what we wanted.

Flash forward two weeks and:



Yup, modern design site Fab, arguably the coolest of the flash sales sites, is hosting a Safavieh sale this week. The sale includes many of the items that were in Gilt's Safavieh sale two weeks ago.

But there's one item that wasn't in the last sale:


This is exactly what we were looking for - black, with ample storage space and seating, plus each cushion flips over to reveal a tray. Retail price $810, knocked down to $350 ($385 with shipping and handling). What a deal, right?

Right?

Well, I decided to make like this XKCD comic and search the web a little bit. And the first thing I found:



Yup. It's exactly the same ottoman on HSN. Only difference: shipping and handling are included in the price, which makes the total purchase about $5 cheaper. And what do you know - HSN, which many people think of as un-cool (I know raqs can set them straight on that, but it's still the image) has all the same furniture from Safavieh that's in that Fab sale.

But it turns out HSN isn't the only one that has our target ottoman.



Yes, the ottoman is available from Lowe's. It's significantly cheaper and delivery's included in the price. I'll probably have to pay sales tax, but I'll still save money AND the state of California will get a few bucks (and let's face it, this state needs the dough).

Then I started doing searches and realized the "retail price" on most of these items is complete hooey, like the "retail" price on a sales tag at an outlet mall. It's a completely fabricated, ridiculously high price that no one would ever really pay. A marketer has invented it just so the buyer feels like she's getting a deal. But she's not; many of these are available at better prices somewhere else.

The other great marketing point on these flash sales sites is the "flash" nature of it. OMG! There's only 18 hours left to buy this! If I don't get it now I will NEVER SEE IT AGAIN! It is, of course, a completely false sense of urgency, because if you miss it at Rue La La you can always head over to ideeli or hautelook or one of the other sites; nine times out of ten it'll pop up.

I will say, after cruising all these flash sales sites, that Fab has a lot more unique items on their site. But you know what else is interesting?

I went to Unique LA two weeks ago. I thought it was local designers and artists, but it turns out they're from all over the country. And since the event? I've seen easily 10 of the participants (so far) pop up on flash sales sites, and 9 of those were on Fab. I know the designers may have gotten lucky and been found by a buyer at the event, but it still makes me wonder how much of it is truly unique and handcrafted, and how much is just a marketing ploy meant to repackage mass market items and sell them to wannabe downtown cool people like myself.