Some readers might remember that the last time a character snapped like this was when TiVo malfunctioned way back in JEFBOT.14.

I was never really afraid of clowns as a kid (well, a little bit after seeing Poltergeist), they just weren’t for me. I didn’t understand what they were trying to accomplish with all that makeup and silliness. I still don’t.

This strip was completely inspired by my roommate, Michael. He does kids parties (remember?) along with his acting, and this “minimalist” clown philosophy is all his. He even has a postcard of a hideous clown that he can show parents when they don’t understand why he isn’t more “dressed up.”

If you’re near the Los Angeles area and are looking for a fun clown with over 10 years of experience that plays well with kids and does magic, games, balloon animals, face painting and more, look no further than Michael’s Funny the Clown. And he’ll do it without scaring the living crap out of your kids like a Stephen King villain. Email him by clicking here, if you’re interested.

It’s too bad Miley Cyrus is now embarrassed by those photos Annie Leibovitz took of her for Vanity Fair. The controversial pic in question is a little dark, a little atmospheric, a little Les Mis, but not pornographic or exploitative as the media has been dramatizing it. I myself find the shoot artistic but now the whole thing feels dirty due to the controversy, which is a shame. Let’s just pin the red letter on Miley and Annie and move on.

I truly didn’t expect or demand that Best Buy help defray the cost of my poor choice of buying the HD-DVD add-on for my XBOX 360, so it was a nice surprise when i received the strip-mentioned gift certificate in the mail.

Having technology become obsolete quickly is something that comes with the territory, and everybody buying HD-DVD or Blu-ray players prior to Toshiba’s February 19th announcement knew that going in. I didn’t really take sides in this format war since I had both players (thanks, PS3!) but I did want to maximize my access to certain titles. Knowing that movies like Children of Men, 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up and Shaun of the Dead were exclusive to HD-DVD at the time meant that I would be picking up a player, case closed. Disney and Pixar being exclusive to Blu-ray meant that even if Sony hadn’t built a Blu-ray drive into every PS3, that I would be picking up a player no matter what.

I’m glad there’s only one format going forward now, although I wish the “war” had gone on a bit longer – player and disc prices were coming down faster than expected and Blu-ray was adding features constantly to keep up with what HD-DVD offered. Now, prices are going back up and Sony doesn’t have as big an incentive to keep the technology updates on the fast track. Still, it was fun while it lasted.

Yeah, I’ll be buying Pokémon Mystery Dungeon 2 (probably Explorers of Darkness) when it comes out this week. Unfortunately, I won’t be playing it until I finish Pokémon Diamond, one of the previous games in the series. At least that’s what I’ve been telling myself. I really, really like Diamond, but as usual with the “main games” in the series, I get obsessed with minutiae like planting seeds to accumulate berries, getting “Japanese” pokémon online for the kanji, and basically “catching them all” which distracts me from finishing the actual quest.If anyone has a decent Gible (preferably Japanese) and wants to trade, I’ve got a cute Pachirisu looking for a nice home.

If this week’s strip leaves you perplexed, check out my blog post on the subject by clicking here and know the true terror of the Red Ring of Death.

And no, I’m not as obsessed with videogames as my counterpart in the strip is. I don’t have to play all the games, but I do need to have the option to play them, hence the large number of consoles and unplayed games I’ve accumulated. Really, for every Bioshock, Assassin’s Creed and Mass Effect I’ve completed, a Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Uncharted or God of War: Chains of Olympus, will lie untouched. How I fondly remember the times when I could spend entire afternoons, nights, weekends, playing through a game with friends, sometimes more than once! Unfortunately, to get that back again would mean giving up on all my pursuits and dreams, selling most of my stuff and moving back into my parents’ house. …Although it would be nice to reactivate my World of Warcraft account.