Working within the contest’s confines of “Create something funny about coffee cup lids”, today’s is my favorite strip so far.

Just for the sheer randomness of it.

(Plus, I’ve always thought that the line “Building a better tomorrow…today!” is the single greatest piece of cheesy copy ever written. The 1950’s copywriter who first thought of that phrase must have known, on that grand day, that their career would never, ever top that.)

Since the site launched in November, we’ve gained a few thousand new readers. And with all the new Unshelved readers dropping by these past few days (…you guys will like this strip, by the way), now is a good time to review some of the cool site features:

For new readers, I’ve tried to put together a Welcome Page to introduce you to the strip. Check that out first.

Then, when you’re ready to start reading the archives, use the back/forward arrows in the blue box underneath the strip; or click the Archives button for a wider calendar selection; or click the Random button to jump randomly into the archives. (It’s pretty fun.)

The blue navigation bar also lets you purchase the original art for that day’s strip with one click. Any strip that doesn’t display the word “Purchased” is available for sale.

After you’ve read through some of the archives, you may want to check out the Extras page, with a bunch of fun, additional stuff to see.

And of course, at any time you can drop by the ol’ Sheldon forum to talk about the day’s strip or say hi to other readers from around the world.

If you’d like to sign up for free delivery of the strip to your e-mail, use the yellow post-it note underneath the strip, or click Here.

Prefer to get the strip by RSS? We have that, as well.

Want to send a particular strip to a friend? Just type in their e-mail address in the grey napkin underneath that strip…and off it goes!

And of course, down the line you’ll want to pick up the Sheldon book collections at the Store. They make every reader 36.5% better looking, which is awesome.

So welcome! Enjoy the strip! And help yourself to some lemonade!

And if you have any questions or comments, drop me drop me a line personally. Thanks!

There’s only one day left in the Rex Chestington auction, if’n you were interested.

I just wanted to extend a huge thanks on behalf of myself and the Blank Label Comics crew to Jim Demonakos and the folks at ECCC. The convention was top-notch — and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Whenever they’d like to invite me again, I’ll be there in a heartbeat.

Even bigger thanks to all the Sheldon readers who came out to say “Hi”. In addition to all the Seattlites (Satellites? Seattlerons? sp?), we had folks from Oregon, Canada, and even three separate Aussies! You guys made my day. Also: I forgot to bring my camera…so if you’re a Sheldon reader who took some photos (and many of you did), forward them along, as I’d love to see them. And if you don’t mind them being shared, I’ll post them up for everyone to see. Thanks!

And so it begins! Today is day one in trying to find six days of funny out of a thin, circular piece of plastic!

If you remember, the lads behind Unshelved threw down the gauntlet a few weeks back, challenging me to a one-week duel of comics…where the topic is the mundane, unfunny, thoroughly boring coffee cup lid. And today the battle royale starts!

And you! You will be able to tell your grandchildren you were there, at “The Great Coffee Cup Lid Challenge”! You were among the throngs that watched as two comic strips tried desperately (emphasis on desperately) to find something funny to say about plastic coffee cup lids! You were among those who paraded the victor through the streets, like the ancient Roman Triumphs of old! And you were there as the mob proceeded to sack the home of the losing cartoonist, taking all of their moderately-priced furniture for their own!

So make sure you add Unshelved to your daily reading list…then sit back and enjoy the show.

(Sidenote: I highly suspect that, by day six, we’ll both be dipping into old Vaudeville jokes about seltzer water, desperately looking for anything funny to say about coffee cup lids).

As one sci-fi lover to another, allow me to lean in close to relay this in serious tones:

Firefly is some of the best sci-fi to ever originate from TV. If you haven’t yet seen it, do yourself a favor and get the DVDs.

My wife and I missed the show when it originally aired (as did most people, in all honesty). But when we popped the DVDs in, we were totally enthralled. And a little heartbroken when we got to the last one. It was one of those brilliant shows that was killed long before its time — and for all the wrong reasons.

So if you haven’t seem ’em, rent ’em! Well worth the watch.

Also: my my buddy Kris Straub has a pretty brilliant take on the Future/Cowboy/Mandarin language structure of the show. After you’ve watched the DVD, check out his character Zillionfor a laugh.

Also! Tomorrow! The Star Wars storyline has to go on hold for the big six-day contest between myself and the Unshelved guys! Who can make the most funny out of coffee cup lids? Man, I hope it’s me! If not, don’t hate me!

I’m sorry to say that the last of the three-book Bundle Packs has sold out.

Hoping to get one, but didn’t get to the store in time? There are still Two-Book Bundle Packs available. Getting the bundle pack saves you two smackers off the normal price…and saves on shipping, too!

While moving to the new Sheldon studio in February, my wife discovered a box of “A Well Balanced Meal” books.

“A Well Balanced Meal”, if you remember, was my first collection of comics, and features the first appearance of Sheldon.

We had sold out of these books a good while back…so finding a box o’books kind of took us by surprise. (Ah, the joys of clutter.)

After thinking about what to do with them, I’ve decided to keep three for myself, and offer up the rest as a bundle pack. Sheldon newsletter readers got first crack at ’em…so now there are only 20 left.

This book will never be printed again, so if you’re interested, pick up a bundle pack.

In one throw, you’ll own the entire three-book collection: “Pure Ducky Goodness”, “The Good, The Bad and The Pugly”, and “A Well Balanced Meal”. And if you already have one of the books, you can give the gift of Sheldon to a loved one, get on their “Awesome” list, and still pick up something cool for yourself.

These last copies of “A Well Balanced Meal” are ever-so-slightly scuffed on the binding edge, but in such manner as may not even be noticeable. All three books will be signed and dated, wrapped in collector’s plastic, and shipped with love.

Nice!

An interesting note from Sheldon reader Doug regarding “dead as a doornail”:

Want to know what that phrase means? Ask your friendly neighborhood blacksmith. I’ve been doing living history for years at a reconstructed 1820s military fort. The doors to my quarters are made from thick planks held together by cross and diagonal planks. These are secured by large square handmade nails. Doornails to be exact. The article is correct concerning the way the nails are bent. They are then actually driven back into the surface of the door (buried) so that nothing remains to catch clothing, fingers, etc. Thus the nail was referred to as dead. Until the late 1800s nail were all handmade by blacksmiths, one at a time. So it wasn’t unusual for old nails to be salvaged, heated, straightened, and used again. But the technique used to set doornails rendered them both immobile and forever after unusable. This information was all imparted to me by our blacksmith one day while I was watching him make nails. Ain’t history cool!

Thanks, Doug — that is pretty neat.

Also, thanks to the 58 people who e-mailed me to let me know that my *snif* long-cherished origin story for “saved by the bell” was *snif* incorrect. It’s NOT connected to the Black Plague.

“Learning! It’s not just for students anymore!”™

Growing up, my folks always encouraged us to learn by looking up any word or phrase we didn’t understand. There was always a nearby dictionary, bible, and encyclopedia at the Kellett house, ready to solve arguments over word usage or phraseology. As I’ve aged, that’s an impulse that’s served me well. But it’s transmuted into a weird interest in word and phrase origins.

Today’s use of “dead as a doornail” got me wondering how old that phrase is. Turns out, it’s from the 14th Century! If you’re interested, here’s a good description exploring the possible origins of the phrase.

(Want another good one? Look up the origin of the phrase “saved by the bell” from the Black Plague days. That’ll leave you terrified for a while.)