Posted August 31, 2010 at 11:34 pm
So, I'm sure a bunch of you have heard of Stephen Chow, the writer/star of Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle and most recently CJ7. (No, we are NOT counting his producer credit on Dragonball Evolution, and we won't speak of it again. Let me be clear that I love DBZ and it was a huge influence for me when I was growing up. So I think you know why I hate the movie. ANYWAY.)

Stephen Chow is Tom Cruise famous in Hong Kong as he has starred in and written numerous high-budget films. FUN FACT: America is only the third most numerous producer of films. #2 is Hong Kong and #1 is India (Bollywood).

So anyway, not knowing much about Chinese film, I downloaded Shaolin Soccer from the internets. Obviously I wasn't going to buy a DVD of a movie I never heard of from a culture I knew nothing about in a language I can't understand. In fact, the version I got didn't even have subtitles! (I don't watch dubs, period. But that's always because of the bad western voice acting. Sailor Moon is the only series I've ever heard with good voice actors.)

So, as I watched this movie, I was instantly enthralled. I could not believe how amazing it was! It was a real superhero movie, so much more real than Spiderman or Superman or anyone in a silly costume. These guys were kung fu heroes wearing sports uniforms (and crude ones at that.) Since I was watching it in Cantonese, (there are two kinds of Chinese. Mandarin spoken mainly the mainland, and Cantonese, spoken mainly in Hong Kong, the Canton region and other areas of southeast Asia.) I could not understand a word of what they were saying. I worked out names for them like Iron Leg, Iron Head (which was right), Fly Guy (not quite so right) and so on.

After being so amazed at this amazing movie, I had to find it with English subtitles. I did just that and watched it a bajillion more times. I went on to buy Kung Fu Hustle, CJ7 and numerous other Chow movies on DVD. That said, let me recommend you first see those movies before you move onto the hard stuff. It's best to work backwards through his filmography. After you've seen the three I've mentioned, it's time to move onto "God of Cookery".

God of Cookery is a highly comical view of the harsh restaurant business, which I find to be just as true in America as it is in Hong Kong. I don't want to reveal much of the plot, but it's full of great twists, and an all-star performance by my favorite actress, Mok Man-Wai. You might know her as Karen Joy Morris, the woman who played the head of the Black Scorpions. She also has a great role in King of Comedy, and a cameo appearance in Shaolin Soccer. One thing I didn't like about this movie was the end. I won't spoil it, but it really broke the rules it had somewhat established, and that's always uncomfortable. Still, I've seen the movie at least ten times, so it didn't ruin it that much.

So now we've gone through the easy stuff. Where do we go from here? Well, from here on out, it's the hard sauce. My favorites include Royal Tramp 1/2, Fight Back to School 1/2/3, God of Gamblers 2/3, King of Beggars, Justice, My Foot!, The Flirting Scholar... the list goes on. 90% of what you choose from this list will be pure entertainment.

Update: Oh my gosh, I forgot my most favorite fight scene in a movie ever, which was one of the main reasons I made this post. The American boxer is just awesome to watch.

But this brings me to my main point. I have a great love for the Chinese culture, especially the mythos. The Monkey King (Sun Wukong/Son Goku) is a fantastic character, and I'm on my second readthrough of the book "Journey to the West" in which the Tang priest, Sun the Novice, Zhu Bajie (Pig) and Sha Wujing (Friar Sand) travel through the treacherous mountains of China and India, using their powerful kung fu to fight demons and reach the thunder monastery. Once you've got that premise down, you're ready for my favorite movie of all time, "A Chinese Odyssey." The effects.. well they're horrible. Every special effect is cringeworthy. I'm getting that out of the way, because this is still the best-written, best acted, funniest and most gut-wrenchingly emotional film I've ever seen. I'm my eyes are welling just thinking of the ending.

This movie is not for the weak of heart, however. It's a two parter, so you will be watching three hours worth of movie. Also, try and keep King Bull's sister and wife separate in your mind, because they look way too much alike, and it's a big deal later on. There's a very good chance you'll will have to see this movie a few times before you really get it. That said, you will WANT to see the movie several times after the first viewing.

The premise of the film is that part way through the monks' journey to the west, Monkey's old demon-like self shone through and assaulted the Purple Fairy and stole her magical Pandora's Box to have as a shiny bauble. (The Monkey King is far too powerful to need the magic of a box.) He was captured and punished, but from what I can tell, was allowed to reincarnate due to the pleas of the Tang priest, who sacrificed his own life for Monkey. You can figure it out from there.

So, if you'd like to buy the DVD, here it is. Part 1 Part 2 (If you have trouble finding them here, you may be able to find them on eBay)

I normally wouldn't do something like this, because it's important to support your great film makers, but this movie is very difficult to find. However, there is an alternative. Hong Kong film often ends up in full on youtube in good quality video separated out into 10 minute segments. I've set up a playlist for my friends to watch it in one sitting with no fumbling for the next video. Please buy the DVD if possible, but if you have trouble, it's not a lost sale, and YouTube is a great alternative.

A Chinese Odyssey Playlist Parts 1 and 2
http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Odyssey-Part-Two-Cinderella/dp/6304857284/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1283311318&sr=8-15
Posted August 31, 2010 at 11:33 am
So, the tagline under my title says "Updates twice a week." You've probably noticed that I haven't set specific days for these updates. The fact of the matter is, I update AT LEAST twice a week, as often as possible. The reason for this is I'm trying to hone my strip and figure out the tone of it as well as bring people back as often as possible until we're a success (I say "we" as in you and me. You're much more important to this webcomic than I am.) Once I've done that, I could back off to 2 a week, but to be honest, I'd like to do 5 days a week of something. I was thinking perhaps "Whomp!" on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and "Whomp! Micro" on M-W-F.

So, anyway, come back at least once a day to see if the new strip is up. When we're good and rolling, I'm going to start updating 5 days a week (though I'd like to do 6 or 7). Also, if anyone has any ideas for things they'd like on a shirt, just let me know at richardfilyaw@yahoo.com and I'll whip one up for you and open back up my store.
Posted August 30, 2010 at 07:45 pm
Well, girl. In the singular. I'm drawing a girl in the next comic who is gonna be a new regular! I guess I've done girls before, like the department store associate, but this is different. I'll figure out how it's different and let you know.

Posted August 29, 2010 at 01:00 am
Dunno what happened there. Broke my navigation links somehow. They are fixed now.
Posted August 29, 2010 at 12:30 am
No, seriously. I have no idea why I made a long, drawn-out post about my dang cats. There weren't even any funny stories. God, I'm turning into that grandma who e-mails pictures of her cats to everyone and talks about how Mr. Mittens has his degree in meowdicine.
Posted August 28, 2010 at 12:22 pm
Hey guys, I'm still working on the website since the move. If you had any links, or subscribed to the RSS, please make note that they've all changed. To get the proper RSS (which I just now fixed before posting this) click the orange RSS icon in the right sidebar there. It links only to the comics and not the blog. If you want to link to the blog and comic at the same time, you can use this link.
Posted August 28, 2010 at 08:05 am
I like cat. Let me talk about cats, why? Because they need to get done. Okay, those lyrics only work well in the Jonathan Coulton song, and not so much in reference to cats.

YES CASSIE, I GET IT. YOU WANT ME TO PET YOU. Sorry, she won't stop rubbing on my leg. I've done a couple strips about my cats that you can find in the archives, mainly Rumpy and Needles, but let me tell you about the other two: Buddy and Cassie.

First, there's Buddy Strawsky.



He's a stubby-tailed (Sometimes known as a cat3 [pun intended!]) Manx.

Buddy wishes he were an outdoor cat, but like a gilded bird, you let it not from its cage for long. We let him taste the outside by securing him with a harness and leash and hook him to one of those hooks you drive in the ground in the yard. When we first put the harness on him, I wondered if it would give him any trouble by leaving it on, (I get really upset by animal abuse/neglect) but it doesn't rub his fur off, or seem to bother him at all, so we can just hook him up when we need him to.

Buddy is a sweet, but very selfish cat (But aren't they all?) everything he does is geared at somehow manipulating his way outside. Once he gets out, he runs as close as he can to the squirrels and sits there as they taunt him until it's time for him to come in. He reminds me more of a dog than a cat.

=Buddy Stats=
Likes:
Strangers
Playing Outside on his harness
Bugging the girl cats
Bendy Straws (not straight ones!)

Dislikes:
Cabin Fever
Vacuum Cleaners
Thunder (Hides behind the washing machine while I hide in the hallway. Yes, I'm deathly afraid of lightning.)

Then there is Cassie. Just a tom cat.



Dangit, I TOLD you I don't let her have human food. She ends up getting a taste for it and won't eat cat food.

Cassie is interesting. We've always been Manx people around here, but they are usually expensive, and we didn't have a manx at the time (or the desire to purchase one). We found Cassie as a kitten in the turn-in box at the dog kennel, and even though you're not supposed to, we fished her out and took her home. We always promptly get our pets fixed and their shots, so they are guaranteed to have a better life.

So, she was an exclusively outdoor cat. We tried for the longest time to just keep her inside, as outdoor cats live only one third as long as indoor ones. You always figure that something that's locked away can never know what it's missing, but that's absolutely not true. She knew that window wasn't just a moving picture, but an opening into an infinitely expansive world. She would sit for hours staring out of it, doing her quiet little bark at the squirrels and birds outside.

Finally, one day we let her out. She was instantly converted to an outside cat (Rumpy and Needles are indoors cats who sometimes go out, but begrudgingly, so it's definitely a personality thing.)

It was hard always letting her in when she wanted, because she would never indicate that she wanted in, and if we didn't come get her when she was ready to come in (a window of an hour or so), she'd run off and not come back for days.

Then, one day we suddenly had to move across town. I want to say this is like Homeward Bound story where she crossed the city to find us, but that wasn't the case. We had written her off, as we had gone back several times and still couldn't find her. Finally, one day two weeks later, my mom went back to the house to get something she'd forgotten, and there came Cassie, galloping up to mom, weakened from hunger. She weighed only 7 or 8 pounds, and it was like picking up a dead squirrel.

I, especially, was incredibly happy to have found her. She's a stupid tom cat, but she's so very sweet and quiet. She's still an outdoor cat, but she and I have developed a relationship. My compromise is that when I let her out, I come check on her every hour until she's ready to come in. Her compromise was that she will only go outside once every few days. She's a great cat, and I love her. (Edit: Also, she's gained a bunch of weight back. She's still a really thin cat, but she has a bit potbelly, so she weighs about 11 pounds.)

=Cassiopeia Stats=
Likes:
Short walks outside
Clawing painfully and drooling in the wounds when happy
Informing you of her presence by rubbing on your leg
Sleeping next to you, no matter how much you toss and turn
Playing with Buddy (but pretends she hates it.)

Hates:
Startling noises (Hides whenever possible)
Strangers
Being picked up (unless she is being cradled like a baby being burped.)

That's all for now. I'll post pictures and stats on my two fat girls Rumpy and Needles later. Stay tuned!
Posted August 25, 2010 at 05:15 pm
So, ComicPress is the bees knees, I guess. I wanted to be able to talk at you guys in case you get lonely in between strips. You can always reach me at  (img'd to spoil spam spiders) if you wanna tell me what you think of me. Be nice to me, though. I'm fragile and unique, and I require constant love.
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