Mind Your Manners

By Beau Smith

I’ve written about my distaste for lack of manners on the internet before. If you’ve read any of my columns you might know that I’m not in favor of those that make needless, snarky remarks about news features, people and then hide behind a cowardly “aren’t I clever?” screen name.

I understand that some folks like their privacy and hence the screen name, but I also think that most of you know that a bulk of posters do it just so they can post things they would never say to a person’s face and not really have to answer to it.

It’s true that I don’t buy or enjoy manga and anime, but I also don’t get on the manga and anime sites and try to get others to not enjoy it. Why would I waste my time?

Recently I read a piece by comic book creator, Jimmy Palmiotti about he and Amanda Conner attending the NYC Premiere of the movie LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD on a news site. If you’ve ever met Jimmy you’ll know that not only is he a gifted comics creator, but he is a very nice person as well. I read his piece and found it to be an insider’s POV of a pop culture event that most would enjoy going to. It wasn’t a piece with bragging or conceit. It was a nice on the spot report of the event and the film. Jimmy also related how he felt the Die Hard films were very super heroic and how that applied to comics.

Then I read the posts under the article. My mistake. Quite a few folks, not all, but one is enough, began to spit venom about the piece. It was like someone complaining because someone helped an old lady across the street. It made me think that somebody’s parents didn’t teach their kid any manners. Jimmy didn’t provoke anyone with his piece. There was no controversy, but still there were people that felt the need to expose how unhappy their lives are by spewing crap on something innocent.



I’d like to see sites do this: (most do) if you want to post comments on an feature/article/interview, then you should have to click on a link to take you to a forum where you can post up your thoughts. I’m not asking for censorship, I’m asking for a place where it won’t distract from something as simple as an unbiased report, interview or new release. If your opinions are truly that strong (likes or dislikes) then clicking on a link shouldn’t be a big deal. If it is, then maybe your opinion isn’t really that strong after all.

Some sites do this as a regular thing. Others sit on the fence. If the feature they’re running is an exclusive with never before seen artwork provided by a publisher or creator they like, they’ll have you click to a forum. That’s because they don’t wanna piss off the person/company that gave them that exclusive. If it’s not exclusive then they feed em’ to the hounds like raw meat and let them fend for themselves. That right there lets you know that they know about the venom.

Some are afraid that if they don’t let the posters post up under the feature that they’ll lose posters/readers. Hmmm… if all you’re gonna get is pissy, unhappy little sissies with too much time on their hands, then I say don’t let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.

I’d like to see internet sites handle the posters the way publishers used to do with letters of comment. There should be structure, manners and some dignity. Don’t empower the rude and unhappy. If you man up then maybe they will too.

It’s all common sense and manners. It’s nothing hard. It’s nothing against free speech. If the monkeys wanna throw their own crap then give em’ their own glass cage to do it in. Think more journalism and less tabloid.



Make sure you pick up some of Jimmy Palmiotti’s comics http://www.paperfilms.com and check out PAINKILLER JANE on the Sci-Fi channel. Jimmy co-created this ass kickin’ character and the show is well worth watching. Don’t wait until the DVD, see it now!

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Busted Knuckles Manly Cover Of The Week



Little Archie #23
Archie Comics

When a man’s a … a kid!

Not too many people realize that in the 1960s one of the best full throttle adventure comics was Little Archie. These were the tales of Archie Andrews and his friends when they were kids. The Little Archie comics were quite different from the stories of teenage Archie. They were filled with thrills, chills, adventure, action, monsters, and bad guys. I always wondered as a kid why these stories weren’t cartoons on TV. The story telling and art in these books were amazing and I highly recommend them to anyone that loves adventure or wants to introduce or read them to their children.

On this cover Little Archie shows us all that chivalry isn’t dead, it just hurts a lot.

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Busted Knuckles Babe Of The Week




Megan Fox
- actress

Yeah, yeah…I know…she’s a FOX! Okay, that line is out of the way.

If you don’t know of Megan Fox today, you will in a few days when The Transformers movie is released. Megan is a young dark haired beauty with dazzling eyes and a real way about her. This beauty of the south comes from Tennessee and is very proud of it. She’s gone from sitcom kid to silver screen queen.

I hope you enjoy seeing her in action in The Transformers movie. I’m usually not a big Michael Bay fan and was way too old to care about the Transformer toys, but from what I’ve seen of the movie it looks like great building crumbling fun and action. I like the cast and I might even like the movie. We’ll see.

In the meantime, let’s hope we see more of Megan Fox.

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The Roundup

Summer’s here. I went and got my summer haircut… nearly shaved, cut the sleeves off my shirts and once again exposed my mighty oak-like legs to the world. All tan and ready to be bad!

It’s been like a summer in Viet Nam around here. Way too humid and hot. I swear there are rice paddies out front here at the ranch. I’ve cranked up the central air enough to make Mr. Freeze feel at home. I’m ready for summer.

We’ve got a HUGE gathering of family this weekend to celebrate the Fourth of July. There’ll be around 60 friends and family. Swimming, corn hole (the game you moron.), beer, food, and kids running around causing trouble. Ya know, it’s kinda like that here all the time.



I hope you have a great Fourth Of July… all of you that live in other countries can just be jealous.

Your amigo,

Beau Smith
The Flying Fist Ranch
P.O. Box 706
Ceredo, WV. 25507
http://www.flyingfistranch.com

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Prove your manhood by visiting Beau at the Flying Fist Forum!

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