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: Rock, Paper, Scissors
Jan 24, 2006

At first I thought of Wally making a little hand monster and telling Osbourne it was some sort of creature that had a diet of rock, paper and scissors. Then I had to think what Osbourne would pick with his flipper… then came this version of the comic.

I decided to look up the origin of the game, apparently it dates way back to ancient China. I guess it would have to have been some time after scissors were invented in Egypt around 1500 BC. They played cloth instead of paper though, I believe it was the Japanese that adapted it to paper.

Apparently the game has its own society and tournaments.

Actually looking up Rock, Paper, Scissors, I found an Edward Scissorhands reference that hadn’t occured to me. Edward, with his scissor hands, asked the kid he was staying with if he wanted to play “Scissors, Paper, Stone”, who of course didn’t because it was boring and he was sick of winning. I guess if we got Edward matched up against Osbourne, Ed would always get to win. Wally on the other hand…

Disney Takes A Bite of Antarctica
To Regurgitate It For the Kids

There’s a new movie coming out next month called Eight Below. I’m not even going to provide a link. It’s inspired by a true story of a Japanese exploration in Antarctica in 1958 involving sled dogs. Due to extreme weather, the team had to abandon their 15 dogs, thinking the next team was on their way. The dogs were left chained to posts with a limited food supply. The second team also had to abandon their expedition due to the storms and the dogs were left there for an Antarctic winter. Apparently when the original team was able to return, two of the dogs had amazingly managed to survive, escaping their chains and learning to hunt. Not much in the way of animal life there in the winter though, maybe they would get emperor penguins busy laying eggs and raising young. The dogs’ names were Taro and Jiro and they were considered heroes in Japan. There are even monuments to honor them.

Well, the Disney take on this does not star Japanese scientists but rather an American team headed by Paul Walker, the model-turned-bad-actor who single-handedly ruined Timeline for me (you may also know him from the Fast & the Furious). Also it appears to take place in modern times. Sled dogs have not been used in Antarctica for a long time, dogs were actually banned from the continent in 1993. So the movie has to be filmed in Greenland and Canada, maybe they’ll even have a polar bear in it, heh. The poster and trailer look pretty cheesy, showing the dogs wrestling an apparently computer generated leopard seal, and also jumping up into the sky to catch birds out of it. Way to go Disney.

There was actually a Japanese movie done about the story back in 1983 called Nankyoku Monogatari (Antarctica). Apparently it was a very nicely done movie and the score is by Vangelis (Bladerunner) which is a bonus. So I think I’ll be trying to track down that movie to watch instead. 😉

21 Comments

  1. Shenniko says:

    Little happy news!

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/4641034.stm

    /cracks whip

    Now back to work Tyler!

    Shenn

  2. zatara says:

    I found your comic through link pimpin’ from Jim Burgess’ “Able and Baker” Sometimes the guy links fairly okay comics, but hot damn am I glad that I was bored that day and clicked. This comic is a great mix of intelligent and mindless humor; every day it’s like your readers are handed a tiny piece of Antartica on a silver platter. The piece eventually melts, but packed with as much flavor as a piece of ice can have. Anyway, thank you. It’s refreshing to read such a solid, well done comic. It ain’t so hard on the eyes, either.

  3. charlando says:

    There’s a great book called “Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod” by Gary Paulsen about his experiences training for and running in the Iditarod that Disney got a hold of a few years ago and turned into a steaming pile of saccharine and cheese starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. Cuba’s a fine actor, but avoid “Snow Dogs” at all costs. Ugh.

  4. andy. says:

    Yeah this is one of my favorites too. I read Able and Baker, Ctrl + Alt + Del, Sam and Fuzzy, Penny Arcade, and this one on a regular basis.

    Keep ’em comin’ ;]

  5. Alexander says:

    Heh, nice one I liked this one very much, excuse me but since it’s minus 24 degrees ( Celcius ) outside I’d better tune inthe heating, I’m in Bulgaria and boy is it cold here 🙁

    Alexander kirilov – Bulgaria

  6. Daniel says:

    Wow, your comics are awesome. And like other devoted fans here, I read all of them up to date. Keep it up! And why is Wally’s tongue blue? Is it based on a scientific fact?

  7. Sev says:

    I don’t know how widespread this slang is, but where I come from, a “rock” is a dull-witted yet good-natured person. So it’s fitting that Wally would always choose to play the rock.

    Oh, and thank you, Disney. No one would ever want to see a movie that stars asians. Everyone knows asians are just sneaky buck-toothed monkeys. Better to use Americans.

  8. Nanuk says:

    Hey, i’ve been a fan since the very first time i got to your page, i think i was seeing space moose and the link showed up.

    the comics are just awesome, every brand new day i wait for the moment of writing on my adress bar http://www.ontherocks….

    well the real thing i wanted to say was that paul walker and company also f’d up, because that was a bad movie, timeline for me, that being one of my favorite books.

  9. Julie says:

    So, are you telling me that only two dogs are going to survive, because I saw the trailer and I cried. Then, I’m told it’s based on a true story, so I cried harder — I’m apparently a big old softie that cries at the drop of a hat!

    NOW, you’re telling me that it really isn’t a true story?!? In reality, these were Japanese people and, well, this just sucks. Disney seems to ruin a lot of stories!

    The ugly stepsisters in Cinderalla were really supposed to die at Cinderalla’s wedding reception by being danced to death. And, sleeping beauty is really about, well, you can always look it up yourself!

  10. Sev says:

    I’m curious, why are dogs outlawed in Antarctica?

  11. Sev says:

    I ask too many questions, don’t I?

  12. Tyler Martin says:

    Shen, you beat me to it. I was going to include that today but my news was already so long, maybe tomorrow.

    Zatara, Andy and Nanuk, glad to have you as readers.

    Charlando, heh, yeah, I saw Snow Dogs. /twitch

    Alexander, Bulgaria? Wow! Stay warm!

    Daniel, polar bears tongues are actually black but can look blue in some lighting and that looks best for the comic’s pallette.

    Julie, who know’s how many of the dog’s survive with Disney’s version, but looks to be a pretty grueling story at any rate.

    Sev, the dogs can pass diseases on to seals, and with modern equipment they are less necessary. It was party of an Antarctic treaty, which are just sets of rules agreed by all the nations there in an attempt to keep Antarctic somewhat unspoiled.

  13. Julie says:

    Well, I guess being Disney, they should all survive. It’s been a long time since Disney had a good guy die in a movie, but still, I don’t think I’ll be able to go and see it.

  14. michael says:

    disney parks are good, but the things they do to perfectly good movies and books makes my cry

  15. Candi says:

    I thank you for the info on the origin of the disney movie. I wanted to know the real story. I have to agree Disney does do bad things to good ideas in adult standards but my children really enjoyed 8 below and snow dogs. And that is the audience Disney is going for.

  16. Edward =)=) says:

    Julie, in 8 below 2 DIE. 6 SURVIVE

  17. bobo says:

    lalala i’m not listening.

  18. 8 below was pretty good. I WAS SO SAD WHEN THE DOGS DIED! I MEAN THIS IS DISNEY WERE TALKING ABOUT!

  19. Daniel says:

    I couldn’t understand some parts of this article Rock, Paper, Scissors, but I guess I just need to check some more resources regarding this, because it sounds interesting.

  20. Jenny says:

    ONE LITTLE PROBLEM! Penguins can’t play Rock Paper Sicssors. Unless they play Rock Paper FLIPPER.

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