ulo.tricho.us

I’m working on a megaman-themed spot at the office, so I indulged myself on the plane back from New Orleans by making a megaman boss for the library. What a blast, pixelart is very addictive! I’m also eagerly awaiting my block party portrait from Diesel Sweeties. R Stevens said I have the coolest hair he’s yet done. He said that.

It’s an ebook.

This is one of those moments the internet was made for: I wish to lodge a complaint about the new Long Haul puppet on Cartoon Network Fridays. I am not ashamed to admit that I watch, and enjoy, a show intended for 7-10 year olds, although I do, er, watch it primarily for the Foster’s. For the uninitiated, Fridays is Cartoon Network’s friday night block, including their most popular cartoons, and usually a new episode or two. Between the shows, a couple of vapid, forgettable hosts make awful jokes amongst a carefully ethnically balanced studio audience of screaming kids.

However, in addition to the cringeworthy, chemistryless patter of the two human hosts, there are a number of segments mixed in that are truly funny. One of the standouts is Whiskers, the kitten who can name fruit, who is simply a live kitten that appears to say ‘Plum’, or ‘Honeydew’. Also, there’s Mr. Baby and Baby, a baby puppet in a suit who is a ventriloquist for a smaller baby puppet. However, the true star of the show is Long Haul, a trucker bear who acts a co-host and injects a lot of life into the live action bumps. Long Haul is performed by the completely amazing Andy Merrill, a producer responsible for some of CN’s very best shows (and also Fridays), and the voice of some of CN’s funniest characters including the inestimable Brak, the bavarian alien Oglethorpe of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and the gone-but-not-forgotten nancy-locust Lokar of Space Ghost Coast 2 Coast.

The picture of Long Haul that appears above is the before. It’s fluffy and goofy, with perfect sunglasses, a big, big contrasting nose, a gaping, alligatory maw, and a voluminous, Rowlf-like neck. He’s unique, and he’s got character. He could be a muppet if he wanted to be. Recently, a new creature, who sounds like Long Haul, and is wearing some of his clothes, has replaced the one true Long Haul. This new Long Haul, this imposter, is a very plain-looking, unremarkable dark brown creature, with a short, whiny snout, off-the-shelf eyes, and a demeanor not unlike that of the cloying and alarmingly ubiquitous Baby Bear. Plus, fake sunglasses.

This will never do.

What’s interesting about this is that Merrill, as the producer, ought to have some say on these sort of things, which means he either approved of Long Haul’s new look, or was overruled, probably by someone in a suit. At any rate, it’s not a positive change, and now, having vented sufficiently, I can get on with my life.