To say I’m not a big sports guy these days would be an understatement. It was only a few days ago that I pretty much stumbled on the fact that my hometown baseball team, the L.A. Dodgers, were in the playoffs and potentially making another run at the World Series. I used to follow them a lot more as a kid, but these days, yeah, I’m one of those bandwagon jerks who only maybe gets excited when they’re doing well.
Also before any of you internationals comment, I am well aware that the World Series is a highly ironic moniker for the championship of a sport that most of the world doesn’t care about. Hell, baseball is maligned by many in the United States as well, with such luminaries as George Carlin mocking “America’s pastime” as irredeemably boring.
But despite what I say in the first paragraph, I still like it. I won’t necessarily go out of my way for it, but I can still get caught up watching in a way I don’t with other sports. My half-remembered youth still downloads the intricacies of batting averages and designated hitters and ground rule doubles into my brain so that I can play armchair manager and shout obscenities at the batter who decides to chase a wild pitch on a 3-0 count.
Don’t get any of that? No worries. I’ve come to a conclusion over the years that I still prefer baseball over many other sports in the same way I prefer the X-Com video games over, say, Starcraft: baseball is turn-based. Baseball is thought and strategy free from the pressures of a clock, that is then punctuated by moments of white-knuckle excitement as the element of chance comes into play. The “downtime” in between plays is for me not a bug but a feature.
And as I found myself drawn into watching it this week, it occurred to me that it wouldn’t surprise me to find out that fans of serial webcomics either enjoy baseball or would enjoy it if exposed to it. Because there is that similar feeling of moments of drama couched in between periods of reflection. There’s a want to know what happens next, but also a patience to let that happen in its own time. Even a webcomic that updates seven days a week will never approach the “real time” experience of a movie. But does that make it any less impactful?
Maybe, maybe not. But baseball survives to this day. And serial comics do, too.
6 thoughts on “540 – Trick Hello”
Scarsdale
Called it, she figured he’d do this, if by choice or by zombie voodoo. I’m sure the “friendlier” questioning will start soon, if she doesn’t just kill him out-right. Or just add him to the herd.
Crazyman
Gotcha!
Zombatar
This turn of events is a surprise only to Eustace. And, maybe, Eustace’s subconscious. After all, this way he doesn’t have to actually risk actually attacking Suzie, which gives him a greater chance of survival than actually attacking her. I wonder what he was promised/threatened with?
ConcordBob
Not to nit-pick, but since sights are on target, finger should be on the trigger. Especially this close.
The usual rule is “keep finger straight and off trigger until sights are on target”.
Dr. Norman (not a real doctor)
Not to nit-pick, but since that was current philosophies regarding trigger discipline have evolved.
Of course, it will depend on who you get/got your training from.
Experiments have determined that the fraction of a second to go from finger off the trigger to finger firing when appropriate is insignificant, and the risk of firing unintended is greatly reduced.
Dr. Norman (not a real doctor)
I did the google thing and I believe I saw how you reached this conclusion … but there are two parts to it – One should not omit the second part.
“Trigger Finger Discipline: · The practice of keeping your finger “off the trigger” until your sights are on target AND YOU ARE READY TO DISCHARGE THE FIREARM.” (Caps are my own)