The Walking Dead: Television vs. Comics (SPOILERS GALORE)

This article is mainly for my own reference and for those curious about the difference between the two stories.  I will say that if you haven’t read the comic books yet, you should do so or stop reading this post now as I’ll be ruining a great deal of the TV characters ultimate fates in the comics and the comics are well worth reading.

The largest departure from comic to screen is the continued life of Shane.  His story in the comics is in large part the same as the television show except for one tipping point.  He does not make it to Hershel’s farm; he is instead killed by Carl for throwing a self-righteous pity party and attacking Rick in the woods.  This murder in defense of his father starts the Carl character out on the road to becoming a tragic Alpha male like his father and frees the reins for Dale to swoop in on Andrea.  Aside from the side trek to the CDC in the first season the continued life of Shane is the largest flapping of the butterfly’s wings in the series.  Because of Shane, poor T-Dogg is continuously left with nothing to do, so much so that the character actually laments it to Dale on the series.  In the comics, T-Dogg is actually a character by the name of Tyrese who serves as Rick’s right hand man, father of another survivor, and gets to tap a better looking Carol (mother of Sophia) and the as yet unpicture sword swinging badass Michonne.  Between Shane and the invented solely for the series Daryl, T-Dogg’s largest contribution has been getting accidentally cut on a pipe.

Also, season 2 of the series in reality takes place over maybe 1 issue of the comic and that is being generous.  Carl is shot by a non-morbidly obese Otis.  Hershel helps to heal him.  Rick asks why his group has to sleep in the fields when there is a perfectly good barn, and Hershel nonchalantly points out, that that is where the dead people are kept.  That’s it, three frames of the comic.  But since Shane survives, the ripple effect once more kills Otis. In the comics, an accidentally escalated escape from the barn proves to Hershel that he was wrong in stockpiling them, after the death of some of his children, in the comics Hershel had more than just the daughter who bangs Glenn. Hershel lost a son, a zombie son and the son’s fat girlfriend in the Comics Barn incident.  It is this tragic loss that eventually brings Hershel to cede control to Rick.

After leaving the farm, the group of survivors come to a Prison, which they manage to secure through the help of Tyrese and Rick. They meet Michonne, and run afoul of some other locals in nearby Woodbury, namely the memorable villain THE GOVERNOR.  I have no idea if they will continue along this path in the series, but if you have not read the comics, I strongly recommend them.

Summation of Key Differences:

Comics:

Shane dies. Hershel loses many children. Tyrese plays a major part in the show.  There is no Daryl or Meryl. They never go to the CDC.  Carol is much more attractive and Sophia’s mother.  Her husband was not abusive. Sophia does not die or end up in the barn, she remains Carl’s lil girlfriend.

Show:

Shane lives.  Tyrese becomes T-dogg and has nothing to do on the show.  Ed is the abusive husband of Carol. CDC doc whispers a secret to Rick.  Shane murders Otis. Shane bangs Andrea and fractures the group. Pretty much every scene with Meryl or Darryl.

Feel free to point out in the comments any other distinctions I missed or got wrong.

“White” Power

Now, I’m not saying that Dana White is a racist.  I’m not even saying he rushes to judgment.  All I’m saying is that in the past two months THREE UFC fighters have ‘touched’ on the topic of rape; 2 via twitter and one via full-on press conference. First, Forrest Griffin tweeted, “Rape is the new missionary.”  He later apologized, deleted the tweet and made an ‘unprompted’ donation to a Rape charity.  Miguel Torres was recently released upon his rape-related tweet: “If a rape van was called a surprise van, more women wouldn’t mind going for rides in them. Everyone like surprises.”

 

Despite the travesty Forrest Griffin called his last fight in Brazil, he is a moneymaker for the UFC; a name.  Rashad Evans is also a name, and the erstwhile #1 Contender for going on 2+ years.  Miguel Torres however, is a minority with a Mullethawk and a WEC import to the organization.  His release from his contract was not shocking.  He will be the scapevato in all of this.  Ironically,the press conference incident was the most prominent and ignorant of the three.  I say ignorant because Rashad Evans is so bad at shit-talking he couldn’t even properly frame his out-of-line remark towards Phil Davis. At least the other two instances were gramatically clear and correct.

“Because I’m going to put my hands on you worse than that dude did them other kids at Penn State.”

 

Thoughts on UFC ON FOX…..

First of all, MORE IS MORE. I think they bet the farm on this fight, and while it’s great exposure I don’t think it sold any future pay-per-views in America. I’m hoping the numbers were good because I would like to see this sport become an ADVERTISING JUGGERNAUT like the NFL instead of a 59.99 HD Chiseler each month. Not airing the Benson Henderson/Clay Guida fight before the main event was a mistake. I think a casual fan would have been drawn in by the high energy back and forth more than the chump style knockout suffered by Cain in the main event. I do not think that Cain was knocked out by Junior Dos Santos, I do think that Cain quit. Cain was up too quick after the ref stopped it. I think he was in a terrible position and CHOSE to stop intelligently defending himself in order to stop the shitstorm of rights and lefts raining down on him.

They say that fighters learn a lot more from a loss than they can from a win, if that’s the case when we see Cain V. Dos Santos 2, count on takedowns early and often. I’m sure a lot of it can be written off to ring rust and the shoulder surgery, but I think that Cain may have bought into the pre-event hype. Joe Rogan couldn’t stop singing the praises of Velasquez and his lack of weaknesses prior to the fight. Unfortunately no one can condition the side of their head to collision. If they could, football fighters would not wear helmets and Mackens Semereizer would not have been TKO’d on the undercard.

Like it or not, trauma to the head causes unconsciousness, end of story. As the belt changes hands, we gain yet another “NICE GUY” Champion. From the school of GSP and Bones Jones (who tries to talk shit but can’t), Junior will be killing his future opponents with kindness (and vicious overhand rights).

Personally, I think Submission of the Night should have gone to Dustin Poirier vs. Lamas, but that’s just my opinion. Either way as a UFC fan I remain one, I just don’t know how many new AMERICAN fans were brought in. Certainly the 60 million viewers in Brazil will help the sport grow and grow. This will become an insanely popular WORLDWIDE sport, but Americans pay for the PPV’s that Europe gets for free on ESPN, and it’s going to take more than 64 second ass whoopings of pudgy ring rusted champions to get them to part with their recession cash.

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I believe my man, Jay Z would dispute your ruling, Computer.

Grand Theft Auto V is 5 in Roman Numerals

Just in case you weren’t a Rocky fan or schooled in the states. November 2nd will reveal the first game trailer and…that’s it. That’s the big news. Seeing as I’ll probably be a parent by the time it gets released I won’t be getting the game until the 33% price drop that generally occurs 3 months after release. ..saving me $20 dollars and insuring that I will be slaughtered online by every 10 year old who has been playing since day one. It is with this in mind that I can say with almost 100% certainty that I am over video games. Sure I’ll pick this up and UFC 3 but i’m 31 years old I can’t devote enough time to a game like Dead Rising 2 to BEAT it. I have become a casual gamer despite my 5 digit gamer score.  I’m currently contemplating a cancellation of my netflix sub which means xbox gold is on the chopping block too.

When did I become so boring?

Heckler Videos Are Apparently All The Rage

At the time of this writing my youtube captured altercation with Pat Breslin’s almost black friend Showtime is just under 44000 views in 7 months on youtube. A video from the same night breaking Pat Breslin’s balls has 160 views. They’re both from 2008 and posted 3 years too late. The popularity of this video bugs me for many reasons. For starters, I am piss drunk. This was the second show that night and I was downing Yuengling like the Volstead act was being signed at midnight. Also, I am dressed like an asshole wearing a Soul Joel shirt over a hoodie. So not only is the joke out of date but my attire is as well and I am indirectly advertising for some dude that doesn’t even talk to me anymore and unlike all the other bridges I torched I have no idea why.
So drunk,check. Poorly dressed, Check. Funny, not as funny as the matured version of the original joke is today. Why not let 40000 people see it? To put it in perspective the spanking video one of my oldest and most search friendly videos has 10K views after 5 years. This video now has more hits than my website after 6 years.

A few months back, I was talking about this video with comedian Andrew Schulz and he had an interesting take that may or may not have been his own, I forget if he attributed or not as it was rather loud in the bar area, but the gist was this:

People are generally unimpressed with material. Comedy has an adversarial relationship with the listener, essentially: Make me laugh, assclown.

If you succeed, they are pleased but not impressed because that is what you are supposed to do, however, if you fail its glorious because you have lost your pedestal and are just like them an unfunny jackass who requires others for entertainment.

It is the same principle behind heckler videos. Material is something you wrote on your own, its yours, so it is the enemy. A heckler however is outside the norm. It is a once in a lifetime situation, and therefore by discovering and sharing footage of this event the viewer not only conspires with the comedian but is able to claim some ownership in the humor itself.

I was just nodding at the time because I could only hear every other word and I would have knifed him for a cigarette but 40K viewers later, I’d have to say he was right. The sentiment above was his, the paraphrasal mine. Should you take exception take it up with him or the guy he may or may not have been paraphrasing.

Chris McDevitt: Comedian, Blogger, Father?

Our first Quarter Ninja is expected this January. I’m hoping for a boy, Jess is hoping for a girl. Either way one of us will be happy. We should know the sex by the end of August, either at the 16 week or the 20 week Ultrasound/Sonogram (I can’t actually tell the difference between those two things).

BOY BOY BOY BOY.

I Kill Me: The Podcast is in the House

Episode 5: Pat Breslin
I Kill Me: The Podcast – Episode 5 – Pat Breslin

The “I Kill Me” Podcast is Here!

You can check out episode one of my new podcast at http://www.ikill.me or http://ikillme.podbean.com

Let me know what you think!

Still trying to figure out Youtube

I get what Youtube is for. I also get that it’s a gnarly beast that can’t be depended upon. However, when I log in 1 month after posting 3 videos and see what video at 150+ views and the other two at 8 apiece, it hurts my feelings.

So I’m posting these lackluster received videos to halfninja, and to facebook, and to ikill.me in the hopes of boosting them to the mid-three digits. They don’t have to be blockbusters, just seen enough that I’m not ashamed of them when strangers somehow stumble upon http://www.youtube.com/chrismcdevitt

College Kids Laugh At Purple Heart Winner

I am not going to vilify those in the audience who laughed at the speaker, nor am I going to take their side.  I’ve embedded the actual speech given by Mr. Anthony Maschek and I’ll let you come up with your own conclusions.  I will say that while I thank Mr. Maschek for his service, I do not believe him to be the strongest orator, nor do I think his arguments held enough wait or sway to discourage dissent amongst those attending.  This was not Mr. Smith Goes To Washington.

While I respect and admire those Americans courageous enough to serve and protect their country, that very trait does not give them a Pope-like infallibility for the rest of their life.  Maschek was shot 9 times in Iraq.  50 Cent was shot 9 times in NY.  I’m not prepared to take public policy advice from either man.

That being said there is absolutely no reason NOT to offer an ROTC program at Columbia University.  Unlike many countries in the world, some of the countries Mr. Maschek was broadly mentioning in his statement, we have an all volunteer military.  No one is going to be forced to join the ROTC, it would simply be another program offered to those attending Columbia like the Film Club or the French Honor Society.

If your college doesn’t have an ROTC program where are you going to steal a horse from when you want to pull an extra funny prank on your Dean?

Arianny Celeste Makes My Compression Shorts Tighter

Ah Maxim Magazine, how I miss the days when you were relevant.

UFC’s Phil Davis has real life Lady Gaga Shoulders

Perhaps Phil Davis was BORN THIS WAY.

Decide for yourself:

Good luck to Phil Davis, he’s going to need it against my man, Lil Nog.

News Caster Serene’s Grammy Flub

I’m not a hundred percent sure, but i’m thinking perhaps Jim Carrey had something to do with this.

John Hughes Dead?

Apparently John Hughes has been dead since 2009.  I just saw a tweet from Andy Milonakis that said RIP John Hughes and I totally thought this was breaking news.

 

It’s not, mufuh’s been dead awhile.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is still one of my favorite movies.

Sorry, Ms. Jackson

Just in case you perverts were wondering the name of the actress who plays Karen Jackson a.k.a Jailbait in the Tub on this past week’s episode of Shameless on Showtime is Laura Slade Wiggins.  She’s 23, so you don’t have to feel too bad if it moved a little, despite her playing a high school Lolita.
But it does beg the question where do you draw the line?  Somehow, I still feel better about this, than when I found out that Thora Birch in American Beauty really was 16 when they shot her topless and the producers had to get all kinds of affidavits and permission slips from her parents.  Parents who really couldn’t say shit since they were both in the original theatrical production of Deep Throat.

4 Episodes in I’ll say that I’m really digging Shameless.  The second episode was by far the weakest.  I’ll stay tuned, but I won’t stay UP for it.  Thank god for DVR and Showtime on Demand.

Egypt- Just A Few Highlights

 

Egypt 019, originally uploaded by cmcdevittnj.

I’ve always looked forward to returning one day, hopefully, it works out for the people of Egypt.

 

Egypt 275, originally uploaded by cmcdevittnj.

The museums in Egypt don’t subscribe to the whole ‘permanent display’ ideals of Western Museums, it’s index cards and post-its all the way.

 

 

Egypt 270, originally uploaded by cmcdevittnj.

It’s not all mummies and sand. NileFM Where Hip Hop Lives….

 

Egypt 243, originally uploaded by cmcdevittnj.

The Step Pyramid of Djoser, pronounced like our dog’s name, Dozer.

 

Police Camel Ride, originally uploaded by cmcdevittnj.

Here Jess and I are at Dahshur on the outskirts of Cairo riding on Police Camels.

 

Nintendo Releases Another New and Improved DS

This one does 3D, son, 3D! Which is admittedly awesome and if I had an extra long commute in a carpool I would definitely consider it, but since I drive myself and my inspection sticker is expired I can’t afford to be playing Mario3D as I tear up 22 east.

Plus it’s $250 bucks, that’s great and all but it can’t do half the shit my phone can do, (like write this blog entry) and it costs two and a half bills. No thanks, I think I’ll wait a few years and pick up the inevitable Nintendo 3DSiXL Lite instead.

Black Ops: “Somebody Get A Sponge”

I play Black Ops at a rather unique time of day. Normally between 5:20am and 10Am.  Most normally between 8am and 10am.  This morning I experienced a wonderful “Somebody Get a Sponge” moment during a game of Domination on the Jungle map.  As many of you know who play the game, each side has a sniper’s perch located off the main team camp to the left.  At the very beginning of the game one of my teammates who has a live mic calls out ” There’s a sniper up there on their sniper thing.” I believe his name was MeanGreenSchween, or something to that effect, there may or may not have been more E’s in his name.

Our team is not winning.  Personally, I’m just trying to accomplish some inane contract like extended mags perk kills or killing 5 people with an M1911, so I could give a shit about the sniper on the perch.  Apparently the rest of my team felt the same way.  The sniper however kept shooting people which aggravated MGSchween to no end, because, he told us he was there.  Since he identified the problem it was our responsibility to take the sniper out.  He was absolved of any action since he had told us loudly over the microphone that the sniper was there.

Over the course of the 6, 7, maybe 8 minute game, he melted down completely because no one took out the sniper.  When the sniper unleashed the killer dogs killstreak, I thought Mr. Schween was going to have an aneurysm.  He absolutely flipped out.  He could not grasp the fact that no one gave a shit about the Sniper but him, nor did he realize that no matter how many times you took the sniper out, the guy would just go back to the perch because THAT’S THE BEST PLACE TO SNIPE FROM IN THE MAP IF YOU’RE A SNIPER.

If you haven’t seen the “Somebody Get a Sponge” episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm by all means look it up.

Not what you want to see two weeks before a cruise

From  CNN.com

A U.S. Navy aircraft carrier was scheduled to rendezvous Tuesday afternoon with a stranded cruise ship off the coast of Mexico, according to a Navy spokesman.

The USS Ronald Reagan was receiving 10,000 pounds of food and supplies by airlift for the cruise ship Carnival Splendor, with its nearly 3,300 passengers and nearly 1,200 crew members, Cmdr. Greg Hicks, spokesman of the U.S. Third Fleet, said. Those provisions were made available by Carnival Cruise Lines, he said.

The Carnival Splendor remained stranded some 130 miles west of Ensenada, Mexico, Tuesday, a day after it lost power following an engine room fire, Carnival Cruise Lines said in a statement.

The fire occurred about 6 a.m. Monday in the aft engine room of the Splendor, the cruise line said Tuesday in a statement posted on its website. The blaze was extinguished and no passengers or crew were injured.

However, engineers were not able to restore power to the ship, which was operating on auxiliary generators, the statement said. As of Tuesday, “several key hotel systems, including air conditioning, hot food service and telephones are not available,” the cruise line said.

Announcements advising guests of the situation began early Monday, the cruise line said. Guests initially were asked to move from their cabins to the open upper deck areas of the ship, but later were given access to their cabins and were able to move about the ship, Carnival said. Bottled water and cold food items were being provided.

On Monday night, engineers were able to restore toilet service to cabins and public bathrooms, along with cold running water, Carnival said, adding, “The ship’s crew continues to actively work to restore other services.”

The voyage — a seven-day cruise along the Mexican coast that departed Sunday from Long Beach, California — was terminated, Carnival said.

Tugboats were en route to the ship, off the Mexican coast about 200 miles south of San Diego, Californand would tow the vessel to Ensenada, Mexico, “in an effort to get the guests home as quickly as possible,” Carnival said. The tugboats were expected to arrive Tuesday, the cruise line said.

At the request of the U.S. Coast Guard in San Diego, the Navy diverted the Ronald Reagan from training  maneuvers to assist the Carnival Splendor. Thirty-five pallets of supplies for the ship were being delivered to the aircraft carrier from a nearby Naval air station, officials said.

Guests will receive a full refund and reimbursement for transportation costs, and will also receive a complimentary future cruise equal to the amount they paid for this voyage, Carnival said.

“We know this has been an extremely trying situation for our guests and we sincerely thank them for their patience,” Gerry Cahill, president and CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines, said. “Conditions on board the ship are very challenging and we sincerely apologize for the discomfort and inconvenience our guests are currently enduring. The safety of our passengers and crew is our top priority and we are working to get our guests home as quickly as possible.”

The ship’s normal itinerary included stops in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

The 952-foot Panamanian-flagged ship is carrying 3,299 guests and 1,167 crew members, according to the cruise line and the Coast Guard.

As much as it would suck to be afloat off the coast of Mexico, unwashed and bored, living off Cheerios and Vodka; this kind of situation is very much a FirstWorld #whitepeopleproblems .  Sure their vacation was ruined on the morning of the second day, but it’s not like they’re being asked to spend 70 days underground in a Chilean mine.