The business end will turn every friend to an enemy



I hope no one is terribly disappointed that I didn't do an April Fools Day joke this year. By the time I remembered what day it was, it was too late to come up with anything that could top what I did last year. So, no joking this time! I'm afraid that the mood at Sam and Fuzzy today is the same as it always is: absolute deadpan seriousness.



Here's a telling annecdote. After Wednesday's rant, I did not recieve a single complaining about my characterization of Sony's Playstation consoles as shoddily built and frequently defective. I did, however, recieve multiple emails from people whose brand new PSPs are broken. The legacy continues!



Speaking of Sony, it looks like a 24 videogame is headed for the PS2. Is it too much to ask for a television-liscence-based game that doesn't suck? At least it looks nice. I swear, that 3D model of Jack is only a hacksaw away from the real deal.



Sam Logan





Visit the scenic #samandfuzzy IRC channel on CADNet

No one shows up, and your songs all suck



A friend of mine once had an original Playstation that caused FMV to skip whenever it was played. The problem could be corrected by turning the Playstation upside down. It worked, but it was still stupid. And that kind of sums up how I feel about Sony's videogame hardware in general. Sure, most people will not experience these kinds of problems with their systems. But if we put a PS2, an Xbox and a Gamecube in a room, I think we all know which one we'd bet on as being the first to stop reading discs properly. Or catch fire.



But I've got to admit: from what I hear, the PSP looks like one solid piece of machinery. The software lineup at launch smokes the poor DS in both gameplay and graphics, the screen is fabulous, and the multimedia support is surprisingly robust. If it wasn't for the high price and disappointing battery life, it'd be just about perfect!



And look at this! One Sam and Fuzzy reader uploaded the entire comic archive onto his. That is pretty cool!

Windmill, windmill



A bunch of my all-time favourite artists and bands are releasing new CDs in the next couple of months. I already mentioned how much I like the new Reel Big Fish album that arrives next Tuesday, but it's just the tip of the iceburg. The new Ben Folds CD doesn't arrive until the end of April, but I have heard it and it is outstanding.



I haven't heard much of the new Gorillaz disc arriving in May, but I am a little concerned that it's not being produced by Dan the Automator. With the exception of the vocals, he basically was the entire band on the first Gorillaz album. And if you've heard that album, or Deltron 3000, or Handsome Boy Modelling School, you know that Dan is one of the most talented and innovative hip hop producers around. Hopefully the new producer -- the undeniably gifted Danger Mouse -- can do something different in style but equal in quality. I do like the new single: "Feel Good Inc." You can catch a streaming version of both the song and the killer Hewlett-directed music video over at the official Gorillaz fansite.



Once again, there are humans in the #samandfuzzy IRC channel over at CADNet. I still haven't stopped in myself... after a week or so of artist's block, I'm riding a newfound wave of creativity and happily drawing comics like a madman. Aspiring webcartoonists, this is why it is a good idea to work with a buffer. We all fall behind sometimes, but as long as you are far enough ahead to keep updating in the meantime, no one will ever need to know that you couldn't think of anything to draw for an entire week.



Er, unless you tell them. Oops.



Sam Logan