I’m a guy who likes to watch every episode of a show. In the last couple of years, due in large part to the availability of streaming services like Hulu and Netflix as well as too much time spent working on things while having videos on, I have worked my way through every episode of a series of shows. These include (but are not limited to, and are in no particular order):

• Eureka
• Space: Above and Beyond
• Warehouse 13
• House
• Dexter
• Doctor Who
• Veronica Mars
• Farscape
• The Wire
• Mad Men
• Deadwood
• Reboot
• Firefly
• Terriers
• The new BSG
• Sports Night
• The West Wing

And probably more I can’t think of right now (but am now sick of their theme songs). So I find myself just finishing Farscape (the latest of these) and in need of a new show to devour. Consider this an opportunity to get me to watch that show you won’t shut up about, as well as discuss in the comments shows that you think are worth devouring.

For that matter, I think this whole devouring of a show is kind of a new thing due to the ease of DVR and streaming services. I think it’s interesting and really changes how you watch a show and what you notice about it. Seeing them all in quick succession helps you pick up some of the little details, but it also doesn’t give you the time to really digest all of the things you’ve seen. I think you lose some of the dramatic impact but it makes you hyper-aware of all the subtle things that change from episode to episode and season to season.

But it’s kind of like getting into a band that’s already broken up, you know the end is coming soon. Which has really been the worst part about it. At the end of each one I’m more than a little sad and sometimes even a bit lost trying to figure out what’s next. Such is the exciting life of a workaholic.

Feel free to weigh in with your thoughts on any of this, or shows to start watching, in the comments! For my sake and the sake of your fellow Systemics.

It’s true, Comedy Central has a new logo that they revealed the other day (thanks to Marty for the link!) and will be going live in January. A very many blogs have been picking on this logo for being too boring for such a funny network, looking too much like the Chanel logo, and just not being that interesting. And, of course, the similarity to the copyright symbol.

One thing is for sure, this logo lends itself much more to being a simple and clear logo. In an age of swooshes and 3-D messes for logos, I for one am excited to see something look so clean with a slight visual wit. Of course it will be rare that this logo sits still. It will be on screen, on web, etc. and in that context it will have its chance to really shine. I think those haters will be turning tides. I mean, come on. This isn’t the Gap logo. This is clear and a refinement of what came before.

Btw, how has nobody made the obvious reference? Comedy Central is going to build Robocop. Check out the OCP logo:

THE WALKING DEAD “Opening Titles” from Daniel Kanemoto on Vimeo.

These aren’t the real credits from the show, these are more of a fan interpretation using artwork from the comics. Still, when it comes to the show, I can’t wait to see this thing.

I’d like to dedicate to the person I was talking to while I was writing this, but he might get the wrong idea about it. Did I mention I submitted today’s Hello With Cheese joke? Just sayin’.

And just to point out, this comic is not about being overweight (though the U.S. is getting fatter), it is about guys with a gut and their options. With the right pants, you can easily be fine. But for some reason, especially older men who wear suspenders with belts and hang out at every rest stop on I-95, they are instead hit with the gut dilemma. At some point they must have made a crucial decision, like Picard getting stabbed by a Naussican. They had to decide whether to:

• Getting new pants. But that would mean admitting defeat, or maybe pants cost too much. I’m not sure but not many people appear to have taken this option.
• Let the gut hang over the pants. Therefore allowing for seemingly smaller “waist size” in pants and keeping the pants under the gut at all times (allowing for easier slippage.)
• Bring the gut over the pants. Fred Mertz. The pants are slowly eating him I swear.

I once had a guy tell me that letting a gut hang over your pants can actually cause intestinal issues. I don’t want to look it up but I’ll believe it. I’m gonna go eat a salad.

Stay tuned, the “Venn F-cking diagrams” shirt is coming, along with an Otakon writeup.

I’m sure it should come as no surprise that as a big fan of design, I’m a big fan of Mad Men. It is an amazing show. I’ve taken some flak for this in the past, with Gary “Fleen” Tyrell saying about my blog:

It’s heavily focused on a) graphic design and b) Mad Men;

So here’s one big-ass post to gear up for the season opener just 10 days away.

Everything Don Draper Said

Ever read Unlikely Words? It’s a great blog by the one-time Kottke guest blogger (it’s how I found him) Aaron Cohen. He put together a list of everything Don Draper has said in Mad Men. If you think he was eloquent before, taking out the surrounding dialogue starts to treat it more like Garfield Minus Garfield. It works in a totally different way. A sample:

“Don’t get up.”
“Don’t let me interrupt.”
“You’ll have take radio the way it is.”
“During the Depression I saw somebody throw a loaf of bread off the back of a truck. It was more dignified.”
“Campbell, did you tell him who this idiot’s father is?”
“Horace, Sr is connected to Bert Cooper in a million ways and I don’t know if he would like what just happened in there.”
“Well, there you have it.”
“Has anybody been outside, do I need a coat?”

It’s good stuff. There’s all that and more, here.

Some Awesome Mad Men Posters

I needn’t say anything more. LINK »
(Via Kottke.org)

Mad Men Unbuttoned

A site which strives to provide cultural context to Mad Men episodes by showing articles, book covers, excerpts, music, etc. from the time and scenes depicted. Oh and they feature that poster thingy I just linked to above, so there’s that too. LINK »

Mad Men Yourself

Finally, your own Mad Men 60’s style personal character creator. Here’s me, sippin’ coffee and explaining something about girls in underwear. And I’m pretty psyched about it. It’s proabably the coffee. LINK »

Obama Can’t Be Wrong (In This Case)

And of course our own president is looking forward to the new season.

…after finishing the third season he sent the show’s creator, Matt Weiner, a letter. It now hangs outside Weiner’s office, “congratulating me on my and the show’s success,” and to say “he enjoyed Season 3.”

Wonder what TV shows Bush wrote to? Wow, that’s opening up a can of worms, isn’t it? LINK »

Okay, that’s about it! If you’re a fan, feel free to use the comments to discuss your thoughts on the new season. Are you psyched? Are you ready for the awesomeness? I, for one, could not be more excited. And if you’re not caught up, let’s just assume that there’s spoilers in the comments. Catch up already, you’ve had a year.

Lost 365 (via Systemic Manima) is an original piece of artwork devoted to Lost every day for a year. This is from Jin’s piece on day 32. Yeah, so far they’re on day 32. LINK »

I wonder what this could do for my amazing ability to eat peanut butter out of a jar…

As seen on BoingBoing. Can you guess either of these? The one on the left, probably. LINK.

This one originally ran as a guest comic for Steve “Dueling Analogs” Napierski, and did pretty well for him making the rounds on Reddit and the like.  I couldn’t let him have all the fun, not to mention I wanted it somewhere in The System’s archive. An old addage says “the more things change, the more they stay the same”.  In this case, “the more things change, the more buttons you have to memorize”.  Sometimes less is more, simpler is better.

Oh, and what’s that? You want a print? It’s even for sale in the store, Hilariawesome.com!

Here is that recap I promised, in the same vein as #100 and #200.  As I said in the post on #300, thank you all for reading, commenting, sending in System in the Wild posts, and doing all the little things you do to support The System.  I notice.

Remember, this, along with all comics, can be purchased as a comic print through HilariAwesome.com! This one comes out to a Super A3/B print (13″ x 19″ paper for all you laymen) that is high quality poster awesomeness.  It may be way bigger than the normal comic, but it’s still the same $10 at HilariAwesome.com!

UPDATE: Systemic Lextrical put together a little “magic bean”, a piece of music based upon this comic. Here it is!

What We’ve Learned Lately by lextrical