I think I can honestly say that this section of the Driveway was created just so I could express my never-ending love and devotion towards this site. It would have been featured in the introductory "Best of the Web" article but since "sidetalkin'" was in the process of being heartbreakingly reduced to just "talkin'", I decided to put it off for the second installment.

Unlike our innagural BOTW site, most of you have probably heard about HomestarRunner.com (especially if you've ever had a conversation with me that has lasted beyond ten minutes). Perhaps you even visit it on a regular basis. I first discovered H*R about two years ago, finding myself in the same situtation that most loyal fans find themselves in when they get hooked. I was making my way through some new flash toons on AlbinoBlackSheep.com (to be featured in a later installment of BOTW) and came across this one called "Everybody To The Limit" a.k.a "Come On Fhqwhgads". I clicked on it to find a poorly animated flash music video featuring Strong Bad, a short mexican wrestler wearing a red mask, and a furry little yellow thing that didn't really resemble any animal I'd ever seen before, deviously dubbed "The Cheat." I laughed it off as a good addition to the ABS roster and thought little else of it.

A few weeks later I got the typical private message on IRC from Gray telling me to check out this website online where the insulting and narcissistic mexican wrestler checks his fan mail and hilarity ensues. I was hooked and have checked H*R every Monday religiously ever since. Needless to say, I was quite surprised when I realized that Strong Bad was not actually the site's main character. Enter the Homestar Runner, an alleged terrific athlete. This stupid little no-armed, propeller hatted, white........ thing is a charming, more often than not dim-witted character who originally began as the star of children's book penned by Mike and Matt Chapman in 1996 titled "Homestar Runner Enters The Strongest Man In The World Contest." He quickly evolved into the star of mutiple toons and games on the Bros Chaps website which features other amiable characters such as Pom-Pom, Strong Mad, Strong Sad, Marzipan, The King of Town, Coach Z, The Poopsmith, and Bubs. Cameo characters have also had reocurring roles such as Homsar, Trogdor, Marshie, and Eh! Steve. Matt Chapman does all the character voices with the exception of Marzipan's, which is recorded by Mike's girlfriend, Melissa Palmer.

In the past four years since its inception, the H*R website has recieved online critical praise and an ever-growing fan base, currently upwards of 250,000-500,000 unique visitors a day! Impressive since they rely solely on word-of-mouth advertising. They often receive thousands of emails every week for Strong Bad and are filling hundreds of orders daily from their extensive merchandise line which includes t-shirts (of which I have two), hats, figurines, hoodies, bumper stickers, totes, stuffties, and even a "Strong Bad Sings" album (which Gray fired up at my latest New Year's party.) The next project in line for the Bros Chaps is the first RPG ever designed for the Atari 2600 (yes! the Atari 2600!) featuring the H*R characters called "Homestar Runner RPG" due for release this summer, and seeming as Gray still has a workable Atari 2600, we'll actually be able to play it! I'll let you all know how amazingly awesome it is, but until then, check out what should have been the first BOTW installment......