The Comics Curmudgeon

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Sunday confusion!

Apartment 3G, 9/2/07

Oh, crap. Nora, here, who appears to be suffering from the same three-panel age acceleration as Tommie, looks like she’s becoming the focus of a Margo-related storyline. This means that for me to understand what’s going on with Margo, I need to pay attention to this person who looks just like her, but is deeply, profoundly, vastly more boring. Can anybody help? Somebody’s sister, and there’s a sick kid, and a drug addict with a gas leak? China, and some people there? Oh, crap.

Nice skeptical eye-rolling by Tommie ‘n’ Luann in #4, but this Nora thing, hmf.

The Phantom, 9/2/07

I’ll confess to letting ol’ Sunday Stripey slide a little after the Beryl Markham fantasy plot — hey, The Phantom has two separate plots to follow, okay? — but here it is in a nutshell: “Mumble mumble artifacts mumble not really grave-robbers mumble mumble that lady is pretty hot mumble heh heh guy’s making owl noises.” Phantom totally called him on it! NEXT!!!

Funky Winkerbean, 9/2/07

Well, at last here’s something I can understand. Having accepted Lisa’s imminent death just last night, Les is now working hard to bring it about. And he brought Darrin and little Summer along to help! Ah, the family that plays together. . . wait, that’s just not gonna work, is it?

– Uncle Lumpy

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 1, 2007 at 11:50 pm and is filed under Apartment 3-G, Funky Winkerbean, Phantom.

158 responses to “Sunday confusion!”

LTBF
September 1st, 2007 at 11:59 pm [Reply]

If most of the action in The Phantom takes place in Africa, how come the bad guys are usually all white? Why doesn’t he topple the corrupt regime in Zimbabwe?

I’m probably in a minority when I say the Lisa dying storyline doesn’t bother me.
Big Sims
September 1st, 2007 at 11:59 pm [Reply]

Exactly what time zone are you in Uncle Lumpy?
Red Greenback
September 2nd, 2007 at 12:04 am [Reply]

FW: Sweet-no pun intended-Desi Arnaz imersonation in panel 4.
Rainbird
September 2nd, 2007 at 12:04 am [Reply]

2 Big Sims Uncle Lumpy is in the twilight zone.

Spider Man I can’t believe you didn’t snark on this. Peter actually says “My spider sense is tingling, we have to get to a tv set”.

Becaues of course, he is now tuned into that, because all spiders sense danger on TV.
Uncle Lumpy
September 2nd, 2007 at 12:05 am [Reply]

#2 Big S. –

PDT. I use Dean’s Comic Linker to get the Sunday strips at 9:00 local time.
Dicky
September 2nd, 2007 at 12:10 am [Reply]

I don’t usually read comics before breakfast on the day of, but I felt like talking on the ones posted.

A3G – Isn’t Nora just transferring her love of Eric’s brother to Eric due to his being there and helping her through this troubling time during which she does not know if her husband is dead or alive, just missing? Outside of a potentially necrophiliac, incestuous, bisexual threesome, I see no redemption for this woman and hope that Margo tears into her for attempting to “steal” Eric away. That, and treats Eric like a male mantis/black widow after mating for his highly probable defense of Nora’s affect for him that she’s just distraught and it really is nothing even though she’s just caught them in bed together naked.

The Phantom – The Mister Owl panel brings me back to the old Mr. Owl Tootsie Pop commercial. The punch needs to send a number of Tootsie Pops flying off of the man. And while my mind wants to reel off dirty things for Mr. Owl to lick, what is up with the Phantom’s body mechanics?! His body is rotated quite a lot for even a right cross. Somewhat disturbing really with his head like that and all.
Wow, and what perspective for when between he breaks the glass and he grabs Teddy. Did he suddenly gain Mr. Fantastic’s powers?
Mighty Sam
September 2nd, 2007 at 12:12 am [Reply]

FW: “Corn dogs, fried pickles, candied apples, and cotton candy.”

Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.

Or spend the day on the toilet, wishing we were dead. That’s Batiuk’s way of bringing the “can” to “cancer.”
bats :[
September 2nd, 2007 at 12:27 am [Reply]

Sunday MW: I could’ve sworn that Dr. Love came over to Mary’s apartment to tell her The News about him and Vera. Now they’re at Casa Viejo! What gives? Mary’s still in the same dress, too…did that old slut just pretend to leave when Jeff told her he was tired, to throw us faithful readers off her salacious trail?! Some nerve she has telling Drew how to live his tawdry little life!

MT: yay! rabies! Yes, even mama ducks named Shirley can get rabies! Reason enough to build malls everywhere!

Marvin: naked church-goin’! An idea we can all get behind.
Sylphi
September 2nd, 2007 at 12:43 am [Reply]

@LTBF: Probably because it’s easier to avoid accusations of racism this way. Plus, there have been a lot of white doing bad things in Africa and hurting the local folks for a long time, so it’s hardly unreasonable.
Skulking on the Outskirts
September 2nd, 2007 at 12:50 am [Reply]

Uncle Lumpy, just want to say that while the Pope is, of course, the Pope, I’m really loving your turn on the Snarkal Throne. Any chance that Josh and yourself might go partners on this blog, permanently? Two of you might equal more posts. And more posts seem to equal fewer comments for me to desperately try (and fail) to keep up with. Just a thought….

Oh, and btw, so glad to see you back again, Your Imperial Majesty! I need my Chennux. And I hope, Your Scaly Magnificence, that you magmacannoned the hell out of that creepy little homophobic radio station in Chicago.
Hail Chennux!
Uncle Lumpy
September 2nd, 2007 at 12:51 am [Reply]

#1 LTBF, #9 Sylphi –

There’s also the legacy problem — if you change something in the strip (e.g., overthrow Mugabe), it has to stay done and become part of the strip’s history. If reality doesn’t cooperate (and when has reality ever cooperated?!), you’re stuck. Happened to The West Wing on TV all the time — that’s why all their domestic initiatives either were trivial or failed, and why their international initiatives took place in backwaters nobody ever heard of.

F’n reality!
Uncle Lumpy
September 2nd, 2007 at 12:58 am [Reply]

#10 Skulking OTO –

Thank you for the kind words, but I really have no interest of any kind in doing this on a permanent basis. It’s a delightful vacation and a chance to indulge my ~~epic love for Milton Caniff~~ theories on the comics. But around day 7 or so I’m counting the hours.

I honestly don’t know how Josh manages to keep it fresh.
LTBF
September 2nd, 2007 at 12:59 am [Reply]

How did you happen to select the comics you commented on?
bats :[
September 2nd, 2007 at 1:08 am [Reply]

This might’ve gone better in the Cheesecake! postings, but the original idea was to mash up some of McEldowney’s odd creatures with other strips. SecretMargo had a term for this combination:
“McEldowney remixing Johnston = Mescaline Foobery”

http://www.yo-god.com/comics/bats/bats.htm?27
CrabbyGenes
September 2nd, 2007 at 1:10 am [Reply]

#12 Uncle Lumpy, I sympathize with you. AND I sympathize with Josh. AND, I sympathize with other Mudgies. But it’s as though all of us Mudgies are yelling, “More threads, Mule!” isn’t it?

I wish there were some solution.
Uncle Lumpy
September 2nd, 2007 at 1:11 am [Reply]

#13 LTBF –

How did you happen to select the comics you commented on?

Well, it depends.

Sometimes I’ve got a theme in mind (good art, role of women, technology), and I’ll search for strips that illustrate what I want to say. Yesterday’s “Cheesecake” was one of those. They take a lot of time, but are the most fun for me.

More often (and especially when I’m pushing the clock), I read the color comics (which post first), and look for a theme to emerge. Tonight was easy — most of the big soapers were just recaps, but Phantom and A3G produced genuine WTF moments. So that’s the theme: WTF!

Then I just applied a hack speechwriter’s trick to force-fit a third strip (FW): “on the one hand (A3G), on the other hand (Phantom), but in contrast (FW).” Done!
Poteet
September 2nd, 2007 at 1:19 am [Reply]

FW — I like many kinds of less-than-nutritious food, but Batiuk managed to pick four kinds that turn my stomach. It’s as if he knows just what will drive me crazy, and not in a good way.
Poteet
September 2nd, 2007 at 1:30 am [Reply]

# 14 — BWAHAHA, good one, bats, umm…oog. On one hand, very amusing, but other hand, seeing Michael get that kind of embrace from any sentient being is squicky. By the way, per your yesterthread posting, I have never had cable either. But when I visit my parents and their cable TV, I start turning into a channel-surfin’ zombie, which makes me think I’d better stick with my six channels.
Ron Hogan
September 2nd, 2007 at 1:36 am [Reply]

I don’t know that I’m comfortable with a Ghost Who Walks who takes his physical and verbal assault cues from Mike Hammer.
TB Tabby
September 2nd, 2007 at 1:45 am [Reply]

Lio is a fursuiter!
Anonymous
September 2nd, 2007 at 1:52 am [Reply]

14 bats. ew. A great job as usual, but this one is going to give me nightmares.

I don’t usually read Mary Worth, but I’m kind of digging this whole Drew ditches Dawn angle. What’s with the yellow and blue in the last panel? Is that a common MW effect, like the portentious organ music that signals a startling plot development right before the commercial break?
Brown-eyed Girl
September 2nd, 2007 at 1:52 am [Reply]

21 is me. Gah.
Brown-eyed Girl
September 2nd, 2007 at 1:59 am [Reply]

20. TB Tabby. Lio is a pervert. I love Lio, but this one kind of creeps me out. Now that I think of it, many of this Sunday’s comics creep me out. Like FOOB — April certainly looks like she’s stuffed a dead toddler in that backpack. Even if it is Robin, it’s still creepy.
Loopina
September 2nd, 2007 at 2:04 am [Reply]

FW:Is “fried pickle” in the “butter tart” category – some sort of disgusting local delicacy? Urk.
FC: No parents? Perhaps the theatre is simply an airtight room that the children will be trapped in until they resort to cannabalism or run out of oxygen. I notice that PJ got to sit this one out.
Zombie Peanuts: I DON’T WANNA BE STONED!! ‘Nuff said.
FOOB: A dead toddler in the backpack, hmmm… I guess now we know why Robin wasn’t with the rest of the family pigging out on meatloaf and butter tarts!
MT: More information on rabies can be found on the internet. Unfortunately, it’s only for mammals – though Shirley could be infected with bird flu, salmonellosis, leptospirosis, or campylobacteriosis. Let’s hope that Homer hasn’t eaten any of her feces.
Loopina
September 2nd, 2007 at 2:08 am [Reply]

FOOB: I don’t like the way Elly’s opaque glasses make her look like Daddy Keane. Spooky!
LightSyrup
September 2nd, 2007 at 2:08 am [Reply]

U. Lumpy: do you sleep?????
RMMD: How can they use the phrase “Alan Harrington is in bed w/the Chinese” more than once???
MW: Diggin’ the ink smudge effect on Drew’s face in the last panel. Very mysterious-like. Or just messy.
Uncle Lumpy
September 2nd, 2007 at 2:13 am [Reply]

#26 LS –

No – I am in bed with the Chinese.
Trilobite
September 2nd, 2007 at 2:21 am [Reply]

#21 Brown-eyed Girl — You are seeing the “Sunday Yellows,” a disease that strikes most of the soap strips from time to time but which has permanently infected Mary Worth.

Basically, what we should learn from this is that yellow is the color of DRAMA. (Also the color of liver failure, but that’s kinda dramatic too, so it probably still counts.) One of the side effects of the Sunday Yellows is that you perceive all other colors as blue. It is a sad, strange disease.
Skulking on the Outskirts
September 2nd, 2007 at 2:29 am [Reply]

24, Loopina. Urrrk. Um, yeah, let’s hope that. For all kinds of reasons.

And apropos of nothing in particular, I have just discovered lolcats. I have been sitting here giggling like a loon for the last half hour. Now I’ll have to go and get some fast food to take home to my kitteh, just so I can say to her “okeh, u cn has cheezbrgr.” She will probably look at me as if I’ve lost my mind, but I bet she’ll like the cheezbrgr. Er, cheeseburger.

Okay, back to work. G’nite, all.
Robert Whitaker Sirignano
September 2nd, 2007 at 2:55 am [Reply]

Following a thought of thread here, but of the JOHNNY QUEST stuff, there was an excellently done Toby Danger segment done of FREAKAZOID!. It was so well realized my son thought it was going to be a series….not realizing it was a spoof…
Spotted HØrse
September 2nd, 2007 at 3:03 am [Reply]

#14 bats :[
Suffice it to say that I quite literally shuddered at your Pibgorn/Foob mashup. Jeebus GAWD. I really don’t wanna think about Anthony sportin’ a pommel in Pibgorn.

Wait, that is Anthony getting his mom-jeans… area… uh, addressed by the succubus-person, right? Thank God for the sturdy twill weave of humble denim!

#12 Uncle Lumpy: Hey, mi amigo, any time you want to indulge in your ~~epic love for Milton Caniff~~ theories on the comics is okay by me! But as you say, how Josh keeps it fresh is beyond me.
Sheilagh
September 2nd, 2007 at 3:09 am [Reply]

FW: You know what, dying of cancer basically kills your appetite. Lisa’s gonna have like one bite of a candy apple and then not get anything else down. Either that or eat one corndog and start projectile vomiting. No way is she gonna snarf up all that food. No way does she even have eating on her mind. I thought Batiuk claimed some personal experience with this whole thing? Oh, wait — he didn’t actually die., there’s his problem…

Meanwhile, how about that Phantom, huh. His superpower is steroids and spandex? What makes him so darned invincible, anyway? The whole thing is kind of childish — like a six-year-old putting on Superman pajamas and trying to fly. Except for the punching.

Hey, maybe Mark Trail could get an outfit?????
CrabbyGenes
September 2nd, 2007 at 3:18 am [Reply]

#29 Skulking on the Outskirts. I didn’t know what you meant by “lolcats”—-thought it might be some kind of snack food. So I Googled it. Great photos! The things I’ve picked up from this website…..

I think of this as “slow-post” time. Very late at night (or early in the morning, if you prefer) on Sunday/Monday. And especially on a holiday weekend. Over here it is about 5 pm and I am cooking large quantities of things to freeze, and wishing that the day were not so cloudy and gloomy. It’s me and the hamster holding down the fort, since Mr. CrabbyGenes is out for the afternoon.

Who’s out there, and what are you doing? And why, if I may ask, are you still up?

Oh yes. And just so I can say that I have made a comics-related comment, April in the Sunday Foob reminds me of my daughter when she flies to or from Japan. They don’t weigh carry-on, so she stuffs all the heavy stuff in her backpack. Man, I could not do that anymore at my age!
Spotted HØrse
September 2nd, 2007 at 3:45 am [Reply]

#33 CrabbyGenes: Hidy ho! I’m up ’cause there’s no scary homework imperative this particular Labor Day weekend, which meshes nicely with my insomniac ways.

Why am I still awake here in Northern California? Well, it pleases me to stay up and stare at the computer until my eyes are puffy and semi-functional. Then I loll about in bed with a book until I can’t string together sentences. Then I wake up in the morning and curse Ricardo Montalban (KHAN!!) for oversleeping.
CrabbyGenes
September 2nd, 2007 at 3:57 am [Reply]

#34 Spotted HØrse. Hi! Nice to know someone’s out there! And your account of how you do (or don’t) go to bed made me chuckle. thanks!
CrabbyGenes
September 2nd, 2007 at 3:58 am [Reply]

PS to Spotted Horse. Almost forgot. Enjoy your Labor day!
Spotted HØrse
September 2nd, 2007 at 4:13 am [Reply]

CrabbyGenes, Hi right back, friend, and good to see you! Now a note to your sis! Don’t read if state fair foods make you nauseous, CG!

#17 Poteet:

Batiuk managed to pick four kinds [of fair foods] that turn my stomach.

When I was just a dappled colt, my folks were inspired by the state fair’s Pronto Pups (corn dogs). They immediately went into experimentation mode and churned out a dinner full of hot dogs deep fried in Bisquick at a lower than optional temperature. I think you’d be completely surprised at how squishy, doughy, greasy, and unsatisfactory was the result, especially considering how much I despise successful corn dogs.

Hey, I’d better cut my folks some slack here. Nothing in the State Fair midway actually used the expression “corn dogs”, so I guess that Bisquick seemed a workable substitute. Anyway, as a bonus, a humongous pair of clackers came home from that year’s fair, and I remember them shedding big glass chips and my dad eventually replacing the original cord with black dress shoelaces.
Robert Whitaker Sirignano
September 2nd, 2007 at 4:27 am [Reply]

There are weird people trying to selling the initial FUNKYWINKERBEAN comic strip collections (from 1973) on Amazon.com for $200.

Very very sad. They aren’t going to make any money.
Spotted HØrse
September 2nd, 2007 at 4:32 am [Reply]

#38 Robert Whitaker Sirignano: I agree, it is sad, but it’s also very very smirkworthy.
Jordan
September 2nd, 2007 at 4:42 am [Reply]

Lisa is looking more and more like Jack Lemmon as time goes on. If only she were half as funny.
Trilobite
September 2nd, 2007 at 4:46 am [Reply]

#33 CrabbyGenes — I’m around, half-watching a fairly crappy movie on TV (”The Dark Half,” starring Timothy Hutton, based on a Stephen King story and directed by George Romero…you can probably guess what it’s like) and reading a book during commercials.

Anyway, I’m awake ’cause my sleep schedule’s weird to begin with. I’m not really tired enough to go to bed, not really awake enough to do anything serious, so…Good Timothy Hutton vs. Evil Timothy Hutton it is, with chapters of The Elegant Universe in between.

I don’t pretend to have an exciting life, but at least it’s eclectic. ;-)
Spotted HØrse
September 2nd, 2007 at 5:02 am [Reply]

#41 Trilobite: With snark chops like yours, I’ll take eclectic over exciting anytime.

Oh BTW, regarding your post yesterthread concerning lemurs, I checked out the aye-aye on the Duke website. I was intrigued by its elongated middle digit, highly specialized and adapted for locating and extracting insect larvae. I’m sure that many high protein (and fast moving) foodstuffs could be extracted from the Patterfoob’s fridge with such a thing.

Plus, you could give someone the finger and really mean it.
AeroSquid
September 2nd, 2007 at 5:19 am [Reply]

Phantom: What I really love about the second panel is that the he-who-wears-tights dosn’t crash through the window feet or shoulder first…..he just simply punches it in while giving you the ‘look’.

In the third panel Teddy disappears in the same manner as the Nostromo crew.
Trilobite
September 2nd, 2007 at 5:21 am [Reply]

#42 Spotted HØrse — The aye-ayes were thought to be extinct for many years, as the people in Madagascar typically killed any they found; they were pests, evil omens, and there were even rumors that an aye-aye could curse/kill you by pointing that elongated middle finger at you.

Interestingly enough, the first expedition to return with photographic evidence that the aye-aye was still around included author Douglas Adams, of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy fame. He wrote about the experience in his book Last Chance To See, which is a pretty good read, as you might expect.

(Movie’s over. Good Timothy Hutton won, and Evil Timothy Hutton was eaten by a swarm of poorly matted-in sparrows and some low-budget effects cribbed from Ghostbusters. You know, that actually wouldn’t be a bad way for Michael Patterson to go…)
Les
September 2nd, 2007 at 5:28 am [Reply]

This settles it. Lisa is definitely taking medicinal marijuana. There’s no other way she could eat all that stuff.

Afterwards, she’ll be asking for oreos.
Spotted HØrse
September 2nd, 2007 at 5:34 am [Reply]

#44 Trilobite:

The aye-ayes were thought to be extinct for many years… there were even rumors that an aye-aye could curse/kill you by pointing that elongated middle finger at you.

Aww no! Just think how handy they’d be at picnics to spear pickles and drag them out of the jar!

I might track down that Douglas Adams book. Don’t think I’ll track down the good Timothy Hutton/bad Timothy Hutton Eggplant Universe TV movie. Nite, mudges!
CrabbyGenes
September 2nd, 2007 at 5:41 am [Reply]

Hi Trilobite, if you are still up!

Mr. CrabbyGenes and I are watching a Mythbusters in which they test pirate myths. It’s pretty interesting, and I’ll check in again when it’s over!
AeroSquid
September 2nd, 2007 at 5:42 am [Reply]

FC: A theatre packed with screaming kids ! Note Bil Keanes cleverly placed condom ad.

http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComick.mpl?date=20070902&name=Family_Circus
willethompson
September 2nd, 2007 at 6:10 am [Reply]

Re: Yesterthread – I must go on record that any post that references Jonny Quest (UL), the Harvey Birdman parody of same (Dingo) and, oh what the heck, Spacom (SSB) pretty much covers my pop culture high notes. Nice work, crew!

CrabbyGenes, I’m trying to imagine you and your Japanese husband watching quintessential American TV in the UK as your neighbors itty off to various C of E services, both high and low, but the brown acid will need to kick in first. It’s a small world after all.
Big Sims
September 2nd, 2007 at 6:13 am [Reply]

I’m up but busy CrabbyGenes. The boating public just can’t seem to keep itself out of trouble, especially over a holiday weekend. Not much time to snark or even read the entire comics but I am very amused by the théâtre des enfants déments in Family Circus and can’t wait for the hoots and guffaws of more skillful snarkers than myself, like Areosquid!

PS And I hate Funky W, but fried pickes are good.
Trilobite
September 2nd, 2007 at 6:20 am [Reply]

#48 AeroSquid — Isn’t ALL of Family Circus essentially an ad for birth control, though?

What freaks me out is that it looks like the kid in the third row from the top is playing Guitar Hero (or at least playing with the controller for it, since there’s no TV or game console in sight). Did someone at the coloring sweatshop manage to sneak a modern touch into the generically “timeless” treacle that is Keane’s oeuvre? Shocking!

#47 CrabbyGenes — Still up, alas. (I probably should’ve skipped coffee after the big Labor Day barbecue today.)
AeroSquid
September 2nd, 2007 at 6:32 am [Reply]

The long awaited Family Circus spinoff !

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1185/1302844322_50933e0758_o.jpg
AeroSquid
September 2nd, 2007 at 6:35 am [Reply]

#48 Trilobite: FC is the reason why I have only ONE child !
AeroSquid
September 2nd, 2007 at 6:36 am [Reply]

I meant #51…damnable Malt Liquor breakfast !
Wanders
September 2nd, 2007 at 6:42 am [Reply]

Sunday MW: You know, I’m starting to think that Drew is kind of a jerk.

But the Maori war paint may be throwing me off.

And no, bats :[ (#8), Mary was just heading to the door when Drew walked in plastered, in his green suit, presumably to tell his father he’d just made out with a chick. Does Drew actually live with his dad?
Big Sims
September 2nd, 2007 at 6:44 am [Reply]

Ok AeroSquid, I can’t find the condom commercial. I must agree with Trilobite, the entire strip is one long long condom ad. As a dad of two, I’m going through the whole ‘learning to share’ process. It’s madding I tell you. But they’re young still, there’s hope I can teach ‘em right.
AeroSquid
September 2nd, 2007 at 6:50 am [Reply]

#56 Big Sims: Look for the Trojans banner. Either Bil is a college football fan or he is secretly trying to tell us something. Something like: “wear protection against what you see here !”
Trilobite
September 2nd, 2007 at 6:51 am [Reply]

You know, Sunday’s Family Circus is just a couple of ice-skating sinners away from being something Hieronymous Bosch could’ve done.

…well, something he could’ve done if he was half-blind on wood alcohol and had an inexplicable obsession with drawing melon-headed brats, anyway. Those seem to be the two main (and perhaps only) requirements for drawing a Family Circus strip.
AeroSquid
September 2nd, 2007 at 6:59 am [Reply]

#58 Trilobite: Damn you and your clever Jheronimus van Aken references !
Big Sims
September 2nd, 2007 at 7:04 am [Reply]

AreoSquid – Got it, and that’s not even the Trojan’s colors! (odd how Bil got the Colts uniform right) Obvious product placement. Even more obvious regret for having so many kids.
PS Love the spinoff
Trilobite – Hieronymous Bosch!?! Why’d you have to go there! Now I can’t look at the comic without imagining them devouring each other.
AeroSquid
September 2nd, 2007 at 7:12 am [Reply]

#60 Big Sims: I’m sure Bil is a great grandfather now (maybe greater) and all of his ancestory drops off the kids at his place on Friday nights so they can create more big head Keane Spawn. It brings to mind Stephen Baxter’s vision of a millenium-spanning Coalescent society. Hmmmm….no… maybe that will naturally occur in FoobTown.
Robert Whitaker Sirignano
September 2nd, 2007 at 7:16 am [Reply]

#52.

This is a very lame spin off. No one seems to have been run over by a lawnmower or stepped out into moving traffic.
AeroSquid
September 2nd, 2007 at 7:22 am [Reply]

#62 Robert Whitaker Sirignano: Wait for it dammit ! Traffic Cone will be like South Park’s Kenny.
CrabbyGenes
September 2nd, 2007 at 7:31 am [Reply]

I’m back. Very good Mythbusters; one of the best I’ve seen. Unfortunately, Mr. CrabbyGenes fell asleep on the sofa midway through it. He’ll have to catch what he missed when they show it again.

#50, #56 Hi Big Sims! “Boating public.” Hmmm. Possibly you have told us this before, but what do you do for a living? Are you in the Coast Guard? Search and Rescue? Paramedic? Something else? Anyway, I hope you’ll have an uneventful rest-of-the-weekend.

Re the junk food in FW. (And I’m with Poteet—that description turned my stomach.) (And yes, I’m reading FW again. Margo!) Last December, the very first Krispy Kreme doughnuts place opened in downtown Tokyo. I have a weekly obligation that takes me right past the store. I have never had a Krispy Kreme doughnut (not even in the U.S.), but it doesn’t bother me all that much. There’s been so much talk about them that I wouldn’t mind trying one to see what all the hoop-la is about, but the lines are still so ridiculously long at that place (1 to 2 hour waits) that I don’t want to bother.

Anyway, I sent an email about this to my family and friends, and got two very interesting responses. My younger brother wrote back to me and said that he hated Krispy Kremes. My niece also answered my email and said that she loved them. I gather from this that people either love or hate them (?)

I don’t mean to start a doughnut war or anything here, but I confess that I am curious. I would be interested in any opinions people might have!

(And please stick to taste. If there is some sort of controversy here similar to that of a recently-mentioned popular chain-store, I don’t want to know.)
CrabbyGenes
September 2nd, 2007 at 7:33 am [Reply]

#64 me. Okay. I guess I wouldn’t mind knowing, but I don’t want people to get cock-pitted.
Trilobite
September 2nd, 2007 at 7:44 am [Reply]

#64 CrabbyGenes — They’re okay. Very sweet, and maybe a bit fluffier than your typical donut in texture; enough that they seem to melt in your mouth without the usual mealy residue (another way to say this is that if you’re worried about trans fats, this is not a donut you should consider). The other major hook for ‘em is that you can look at the big automated donut-making machine in operation, and they typically have a sign letting you know when they’re serving fresh donuts.

I don’t know that they’d be worth standing in line 2 hours for unless you’re a serious sugar junkie or donut fan. When the crowds die down, go in and check it out for yourself. (De gustibus non disputandum est and all that.)
The Spectacular Spider-Brick
September 2nd, 2007 at 7:45 am [Reply]

Krispy Kremes are your basic glazed donut. They’re exceptionally well-made glazed donuts, but still, nothing fancy about them. The thing that gives them such a rabid following is the neon sign in the front window that says “Hot Donuts Now.” They light that sign when a fresh batch is about to come off the line. As with most foods, glazed donuts are at their sublime best when fresh and hot. Since glazed donuts are most often consumed after they’ve been sitting around cooling and congealing a while, KK has parlayed this basic truism into its trademark. Just imagine if you only ate steak, or apple pie, or tuna casserole after it had cooled to room temperature; how would you later react to tasting them hot and fresh? That’s the extent of the Krispy Kreme legend. I am told that if you microwave a cold one for exactly 5 seconds, they return to their hot-from-the-fryer glory, but they can never recover their initial, well, krispiness.
AeroSquid
September 2nd, 2007 at 7:48 am [Reply]

A3G: HOT Lesbian Muffin Angst !!!

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1294/1303326118_b003cb4537_o.jpg
CrabbyGenes
September 2nd, 2007 at 7:57 am [Reply]

#66, #67, Trilobite and Spider-Brick. I swear, only on this blog would I get such well-stated, detailed, educated opinions. Much more informative than my relatives’ “I hate them. They’re the worst!” and “I love them. They’re the best!” (which was basically what my brother and my niece wrote). Thank you!

I will try one some day, but the lines have been ridiculously long for EIGHT FULL MONTHS now. Sheesh!
AeroSquid
September 2nd, 2007 at 8:08 am [Reply]

A3G: HOT Transgendered Antarctic Flightless Fowl Angst !

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1414/1303443252_344ed0e167_o.jpg
AeroSquid
September 2nd, 2007 at 8:21 am [Reply]

FW: ‘Out of Town’ = ‘Afterlife’ ?
willethompson
September 2nd, 2007 at 8:29 am [Reply]

RMMD: For Heather, the afternoon just got weirder. Like ‘Alice-In-Wonderland-tea-with-the-Mad-Hatter’ weirder. For instance, the conversation with the chauffeur; she tried to fathom the plot by asking, “How could my husband have been so wrong about you and Alan?”

Peter, smirking like a Winkerbean, explained, “Like I said, we thought he was dead! Coffee?”

“Peter, answer the question! I asked how Milton could have been so wrong about you two!”

Deftly pouring two cups of Irish Cream decaf, Peter said, “As I noted, we thought he was dead! Milk and sugar? Or Splenda?”

Heather cast her eyes skyward. What was this, the Pete and Repeat Show? “Let me try again: how could my husband have been so mistaken about your characters?”

“We were pretty sure he was dead! Butter tart? I bought them at Entmann’s this morning!”

Taking a deep breath, she said, “Let me try again, this time using my nanny voice; why didn’t Milty know you two were ka-ka heads?”

A smirking Peter replied, “Our feeling was that he was dead. Do you want some ice cream on that?” He turned his back to reach for the bottle of Hennessy. “How about a splash of cognac in that coffee?”

Carefully, Heather eased toward the open door and darted to freedom. She quickly took her bearings: to the left was another log cabin where two people were arguing whether to dump a helmet-haired teenager or just let her twist in the wind until the inevitable and unpleasant confrontation that would, at minimum, involve vandalism. To the right, at a county fair, an extended family was feeding a frail, bald woman an assortment of deep-fried corn dough, pickles, pies, Twinkies and Snickers bars with the goal of inducing insulin shock. Ahead was a small gathering of the Church of Shirley bowing to their feathered god in the shade of a stalled bulldozer. The service was at mid-point, with a square-jawed man in khaki punching the living shit out of anyone with facial hair.

Inside, Peter kept droning about how they had surmised that Milton was dead, taken a dirt nap, was pushing up daisies, was singing in the choir celestial, how he was an ex-industrialist. “Fuck it,” she said and sneaked back into the cabin. A non-sequitur-spouting chauffeur/assassin was the least of her worries.
AeroSquid
September 2nd, 2007 at 8:32 am [Reply]

#72 willethompson: Love it !
Dollface
September 2nd, 2007 at 8:34 am [Reply]

Does anyone here know where I can find Mary Worth Archived? I’d love to go back and read this storyline from the beginning, but I haven’t been able to find a site.

Thanks
Sheilagh
September 2nd, 2007 at 8:36 am [Reply]

Krispy Kremes… had ‘em once or twice. My main impression is that they’re lighter than your average doughnut — nothing to ‘em, melt in your mouth. This irritates me, because I eat when I’m HUNGRY, dammit, and a confection that requires you to eat half the box before being conscious of anything in your stomach is just not for me. What’s the point?

Of course, I feel the same way about potato chips.
Uncle Lumpy
September 2nd, 2007 at 8:45 am [Reply]

#74 Dollface –

Use the Chron link, and modify the address bar like this:

http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComick.mpl?date=20070902&name=Mary_Worth
http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComick.mpl?date=20070901&name=Mary_Worth
http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComick.mpl?date=20070831&name=Mary_Worth

Et seq. Enjoy!
Buck Ripsnort
September 2nd, 2007 at 8:46 am [Reply]

Out here in PA farm country, I thought I’d seen every type of fried food. But even MY cast-iron gorge rises at fried pickles. Though the folks here believe even cow chips taste good deep-fried, they draw the line somewhere. Are fried pickles common in the rest of the country?
willethompson
September 2nd, 2007 at 8:51 am [Reply]

and as it seems to be a lazy Sunday…

KK vs DD! As a dislocated Yankee (Dunkin’ Donuts was on my paper route) in the Tar Heel state (less than 5 min from a Krispy Kreme), I feel unusually qualified to comment.

DD’s staple was the fried cake donut and never on the face of this island Earth was there ever a more enticing and fattening food. A compact torus of starch, sugar and fat. A bag of the holes could give you enough carbs to get thru a long winter’s night of drinking and driving and then you could burn the grease-stained bag for instant heat. Oh, elitists might want your glazed, or filled, or sprinkle or coconut-encrusted variant, but the wad of fried cake was the ur-snack and mid-shift sustenance of village cops everywhere.

KKs are the DDs counterpoint, or more technically, the anti-matter to DDs matter. They are light, as if fried in helium. Without their bulletproof candy coating, they’d lose all structural integrity and collapse like a day-old balloon. The correct way to eat a KK is to stuff the whole thing into your mouth and bite down. Like a black hole, the donut mass reaches singularity and your face explodes outward in a rush of sugar and complex carohydrates. Sadly, the mamagement of the company liked cooking their books as much as they liked cooking their specialty glazed pockets of air, so their world conquest has been slowed. Soon, though, very soon… Kreme über alles. They spell Krispy Kreme with ‘Ks’ for a reason, or so it is said….
AeroSquid
September 2nd, 2007 at 8:57 am [Reply]

FW:

Summer: I wanna ride the ‘Death Whip !’
Lisa: Already there, honey !
Darin: (Laughing) When are you going to tell Mr. Moore that Jessica is your SECOND love child by Bull ?
Lisa: When are you going to stop having hot monkey sex with your half-sister ?
Darin: Point Taken.
Les: (Walking up with food) Who wants fried pickles ?
Lisa/Darin/Summer: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Islamorada Girl
September 2nd, 2007 at 8:58 am [Reply]

You have not lived until you have been to a state fair where deep fried Snickers bars, deep fried tacos and deep fried Coke is presented to the lardy masses. I think if people in the flyover states could deep fry their children, they’d do it.
The Divine O’F
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:00 am [Reply]

A thunderstorm yesterday took our electricity out for most of the afternoon and night, so I just finally got back to my computer. Uncle Lumpy, your Cheesecake Yesterthread was awesome. It’s a little late to ring in on the male cheesecake question, but since I am one of the loudest complainers about nothing for the ladies, my opinions here are well known. The only character that has rung my chimes in the last year or so is the short-lived Cedric the James Bond Butler from JP. Basically I agree with Islamorada Girl–there are no. sexy. guys. in. the. comics.

Yesterthread Dingo: I think it’s sweet that you are turned on by Ozzie.

14 bats: I can’t get the link to work. Boohoo. I know I would love it.
Dollface
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:04 am [Reply]

Thanks Uncle Lumpy
Mel
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:06 am [Reply]

Dingo and WilleThompson -

“Quest” episode if “Harvey Birdman” is probably my favorite — having the creatures from the opening credits on the witness stand had me on the floor.

“State your first name, your last name, and your occupation.”

“Lizardman, Lizardman, and Lizardman.”
The Divine O’F
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:12 am [Reply]

A thunderstorm yesterday took our electricity out for most of the afternoon and night, so I just finally got back to my computer. Uncle Lumpy, your Cheesecake Yesterthread was awesome. It’s a little late to ring in on the male cheesecake question, but since I am one of the loudest complainers about nothing for the ladies, my opinions here are well known. The only character that has rung my chimes in the last year or so is the short-lived Cedric the James Bond Butler from JP. Basically I agree with Islamorada Girl–there are no. sexy. guys. in. the. comics.

Yesterthread Dingo: I think it’s sweet that you are turned on by Ozzie.

14 bats: I can’t get the link to work. Boohoo. I know I would love it.

And, 80 I-Girl: Just how does one fry coke? I’m assuming you don’t mean the white powdery stuff.
willethompson
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:12 am [Reply]

#80 Ilsamorada Girl: What do you think the ‘dog’ in ‘corn dog’ is?
jules
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:14 am [Reply]

Um. Someone help me, please…I thought Nora and Eric were brother and sister?! Apparently not, I can see that now. But is Eric Tim’s brother, then? What the hell is going on? And how long will Margo take to devour that muffin?

Thank you.
Mel
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:15 am [Reply]

Aaaah, fried pickles, they please me.

Don’t know what the rest of the country does, but on the East Coast they use the sliced ones — little fried disks of pickley goodness.

How about Kool-Aid Pickles?
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/dining/09kool.html?ex=1336536000&en=875172136fcdd722&ei=5124&
queek
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:16 am [Reply]

some disjointed comments, I’m a day behind due to spending all of yesterday drinking black & tans and scoping wenches at the local Renaissance Festival. *has been Bob-mo-tized*

MythBusters had a super-hero myth show on recently, the Phantom’s ring was one of the myths that was busted. Sorry, Ghost-who-has-stripy-buns, but you can’t leave a permanant mark with a punch.

Saturday’s GF was amazing. As wonderful as the Tommy Pooflinger one was, Virginian is for Lemurs was just jaw-dropping. Sunday’s GF was also wonderful, due to BATTLE FERRETS!!!

PBS: man, another great Sat/Sun pairing.

Lio: ewww. Creeeeeeeeeeeeeepy Sunday strip.

Candorville joins the cheesecake sweepstakes on Sunday. “Dance happens.”

HotC: awwwww. But I *like* redheads! *sigh*
The Divine O’F
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:17 am [Reply]

Uncle Lumpy, help! I can’t post!
The Divine O’F
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:18 am [Reply]

Well, I guess yes I can. But I had a longer post that disappeared into the ether. Oh, well, it’s not as if we have a dearth of posts.
AeroSquid
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:18 am [Reply]

Bonus alternate ending to #79:

Les: (Walking up with food) Who wants drippy weeners ? They remind me of Coach Bull when he made fun of me in the locker room. Lisa honey ? You remember Bull, right ?

Lisa/Darin/Summer: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Uncle Lumpy
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:21 am [Reply]

#87, 88, D O’F –

Lemme check the spam weir — but if it has been impugning your character, I shall be most stern with it indeed!

Most stern!
Uncle Lumpy
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:26 am [Reply]

D O’F –

That was it — caught in Spam Karma, for No Good Reason. Fixed at #81 and #84 above.
Uncle Lumpy
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:27 am [Reply]

#93 –

Oh, and I was most stern! Spam Karma shall not soon forget such a beating!
willethompson
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:29 am [Reply]

Paging Uncle Lumpy, paging Uncle Lumpy… UL, please check your Yahoo emailbox…
AeroSquid
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:31 am [Reply]

Yet ANOTHER Bonus alternate ending to #79:

Les: (Walking up with food) Who wants a firm foot long weener ? They remind me of Coach Bull for some odd reason. In 1974, he would make fun of my manhood and mention you while I was stuck on the rope. You remember Bull, right ? Honey ? What are you thinking about ?

Lisa/Darin/Summer: (nervous laughter)HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
The Spectacular Spider-Brick
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:34 am [Reply]

With your Krispy Kreme donut, freshly squeezed Florida orange juice, cup of Sumatran free-trade caramel-mocha java and dish of palate-cleansing honeydew, muskmelon and cantaloupe wedges, may I present your Sunday funnies:

A3G: Margo’s in love with Eric Mills… but what’s this? Now Nora’s set her sights on the Bland Bombshell, too! They’re on a collision course for wackiness! …No, wait, not wackiness. What’s the word I’m looking for? Aha, that’s it. Bloodshed.

BB: The first panel of Baby Blues today is the filthiest thing I have ever seen in comics. American Pie has nothing on it.

The other BB: I don’t know why it took me this long to notice it; perhaps it took a truly dull and uninspiring Sunday strip to make it stand out. But: Why are the cuffs of Beetle’s sleeves and trouser legs a different color from the rest of his outfit? Does he wear long underwear that’s too long for his frame, and so has to roll them up outside his clothing? Are all his uniforms silk-lined for better on-the-job-sleeping comfort? Or are they ermine-trimmed, as befits the comic king of military laziness? Only Beetle and the Sunday coloring monkeys know for sure.

Blondie: Dagwood, forgetting food?! No, sorry, I don’t buy this one at all. That would be like reliable office drone Ted Forth getting fired, or perennial single Cathy getting married, or America’s sweetheart Lisa Moore dying, or inner-city youth Curtis advocating something pointlessly elitist like bottled water, or loser Jon Arbuckle hooking up with the hot veterinarian… OH NOOOOOOOO

FBOFW: I could see an almost identical scene taking place in Anthony’s basement, only there’s no backpack involved. And April’s naked.

FW: The cancer may be killing her, but it’s her diet that’s made her hair fall out.

H&L: Now that his concentration has been broken, Hi will never finish writing that Prince Valiant x Sir Gawaine slash fic. ” ‘Mayhap ye hath a sheath for this sword,’ Val said as he pulled aside his…” *BANG* “Hello?” “Damn it!”

JP: So Sophie urgently needs to interrupt the grownups’ business meeting to tell Sam… exactly what he already knows. Way to deflate the drama, Wilson. At least Rusty’s not deflating in Panel 4! Rrrow!

Lockhorns: Speaking of airbags, I still say that if Leroy can charm these Juggs Magazine centerfold candidates like he does, he must have something going for him. I blame Loretta entirely for their hate-filled marriage. You never see her earning winks from Brad Pitt lookalikes.

MT: “If any animal you see appears sick or acts unusual, notify the Animal Control people, who will come over and brandish a stick at it menacingly.”

Marvin: “Putt n dpr?” “Yes, Marvin, you may poot in your diaper. That’s what it’s for.” Armstrong is trying to capture the cute broken grammar of LOLcats. However, I have yet to LOL at Marvin.

MW: But… will the phone ring?!

Phantom: “In Soviet Matawaan, Phantom finds you!” –Old Yakov Smirnoff saying
So Ghost-Who-Has-A-Reach-Like-Stretch-Armstrong managed to bust a chest-high window, reach in and grab a guy who was standing at least six feet away? Damn, that’s Jason Voorhees-level bad. But leave the snappy banter to Peter Parker, okay, Stripeybutt?

Popeye: What sets this strip apart from your typical Marmaduke is that in the unseen tenth panel, Popeye downs a can of spinach and punches Chester through the wall.

RMMD: So, was the bit about Peter being in the NSA a load of complete boxcar? Trying to keep who’s a good guy and who’s a bad guy straight would be impossible if I hadn’t cut my eyeteeth on (WT)DT, which makes M. Night Shyamalan look like Dick and Jane.

SFx: I don’t know what that eight-legged, carnivorous speed bump is supposed to be, but it sure looks like it finds Slylock’s tail inviting.

S-M: Spidey’s TiVo sense is tingling! He’d better go back to the motel and watch the Maria Lopez special it recorded for him! After all, burros don’t exactly hurry, and I doubt Maria and JJJ have been on the air with their noggins stuck together like a couple of dog burrs for the past two hours.
Dub Not Dubya
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:36 am [Reply]

49 willethompson: I’m a bit confused about why you mentioned CrabbyGenes being in the UK with neighbors going to Church of England services (unless CG left Japan while I was offline for a while), but nonetheless, it gives me a great excuse to share this video that I found, of a Church of England hymn as closed-captioned by Emily Litella:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-ZnPE3G_YY
The Spectacular Spider-Brick
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:37 am [Reply]

Damn it. My FBOFW comment above refers only to panel 7. Way to ruin a great comment, brick-for-brains.
alamo
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:38 am [Reply]

#7 my vote for cotw.

i laughed so hard i have fritters, cotton candy and candied apples coming out my nose. o-o-o-o-o was that just a fried pickle?? thanks mighty s.
alamo
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:41 am [Reply]

foobville follies — now we know why april needs those thunder thighs. we always thought it was to just hold gerald up.
willethompson
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:49 am [Reply]

Dub and CrabbyGenes: For some reason, I thought CG was in the UK…

*slaps self on forehead with same force as the Phantom’s ring in the aforementioned Mythbusters episode with similar skull-cracking results*
Godzooky
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:50 am [Reply]

JP: Today, Barretto zooms in closer on Sophie’s anti-breasts and Rosa’s granny bosom than Rusty’s rack. Could someone explain to him again how cheesecake is supposed to work?

Btw, re: ratio of beefcake to cheesecake, I think Mike Peters (MG&G), in his own way, tries to balance things out.
AeroSquid
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:59 am [Reply]

Fooblings grow up so fast !

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1082/1304140210_16849e7c37_o.jpg
John C Fremont
September 2nd, 2007 at 10:13 am [Reply]

# 72 – Brilliant work, Wille!

# 98 DND – Loved that link!

A3G – We really need to work on our tear-drawing skills. Eew!
CrabbyGenes
September 2nd, 2007 at 10:19 am [Reply]

#98 Dub Not Dubya. That is one funny video! Thanks!

#102 willethompson. I confess that I wondered about that UK comment of yours too. Not to worry. There are so many Mudgies here that it’s impossible to remember everything about everybody, even if you do manage to read every comment on every thread. And it is rather fun to imagine myself and Mr. CrabbyGenes living in England.

And your #78 was a delightful, delicious combination of food poetry and wackiness, which had me laughing out loud. Bravo!

#75 sheilagh, your description was interesting too. Little by little I’m getting a good idea of what a KrispyKreme donut must taste/feel like.

And darn it, now that all of you coming back and just getting started, I have to go to bed. The story of my life. Sort of reminds me of the family get-togethers at my grandparents’ house when I was a kid, and Poteet and my younger siblings and I were banished to our little beds in the attic so that my parents and grandparents could talk about grown-up stuff without us. At least, I guess that’s what they talked about.

Anyway, goodnight all, and have a great holiday weekend! (Though I’ll probably be back before it’s completely over.)
Herro!
September 2nd, 2007 at 10:38 am [Reply]

#29. Skulking–

I discovered lolcats about a year ago, and one day when I was feeling blue, I Googled “lolcats” and found icanhascheezburger.com. I spent an entire day at work going through the archives and cackling like crazy; it’s a good thing my boss wasn’t around. I have yet to submit my own, but I have a good one ready to go. I caught my little stripey cat sitting on my Crim law book and right when I turned on my camera, she yawned, and I snapped the pic. It looks like she’s screaming. I’m going to add the caption “GUILTY!” and send it in…wish me luck.

Happy Sunday, everyone!
Herro!
September 2nd, 2007 at 10:44 am [Reply]

#48, AeroSquid–

I wish I hadn’t opened that link. That is a drawing of my worst nightmare. Keane, get out of my dreams, and into my…cage in the basement at Anthony’s house, and take your little snot factories with you.

Seriously, that’s the grossest thing I have ever seen. The parents of all those kids should have to clean that up. I’m no neat freak, but have a little couth, you know?
boddekker
September 2nd, 2007 at 10:49 am [Reply]

FW: Dang, I thought that the talking cat was going to convince Les to buy a .44 and start shooting girls in parked cars.
fizzy logic
September 2nd, 2007 at 10:54 am [Reply]

Hey, True Fable! Goat story for you. With a picture of a cute little pygmy goat to go with it.
Dean Booth
September 2nd, 2007 at 10:55 am [Reply]

You’re doing a great job Uncle L. And you gave me the idea for a page that shows links to any (color) Chronical comic for a month: Comics by Month.

I’ve been too occupied for a couple of days to keep up with the comments, but here’s some mashups on yesterday’s comics:

DtM: Home Early
A3G: Dinner with the One You Love
FC: PJ the Facehugger
CrabbyGenes
September 2nd, 2007 at 10:59 am [Reply]

#110 fizzy logic. From your link:

“The University of Washington recently hired a herd of full-size goats to eat blackberry bushes and English ivy.”

A kid’ll eat ivy too, wouldn’t you?

(I sneaked down the stairs to see what the grown-ups were talking about. I’ll go back up to bed now, promise.)
hypochrismutreefuzz
September 2nd, 2007 at 11:02 am [Reply]

In GET FUZZY the apartment number is 4F. I wonder if thats a coincidence, eh.
Uncle Lumpy
September 2nd, 2007 at 11:07 am [Reply]

#112 CG –

But mares don’t — they eat something different. Slips my mind right now. . . .
Dingo
September 2nd, 2007 at 11:07 am [Reply]

Riffing on yesterthreads search for hot men in the comics and our love of Brawny (That’s his name, isn’t it? “I’m Brawny and these are my paper towels.”) I’m waiting for the day that someone here — other than me — writes a turgid story in which the Mitchell family takes a vacation out west to Lost Forest and young Dennis meets the adopted son of Mark Trail, Rusty. They’ll explore the forest together… and each other. Pity poor Mrs. Mitchell and Cherry as they return from shopping in the Jeep to find their sons naked and performing procedures in case one of them gets a snake bite.

The Mitchells will return home. Dennis and Rusty will exchange pen pal letters for a few months and then stop. Twenty-two years later, they’ll run into each other at Fulsom Street Fair but each will be with his partner. After the obligatory hugs and introductions, each will go his own way again, pining for that first love in the wilderness.

Oh, crap. I just wrote a Lynn Johnston storyline!
Dingo
September 2nd, 2007 at 11:09 am [Reply]

#110 & #112:

Mares eat oats
and does* eat oats
and little lambs eat ivy.
If given a choice of two, wouldn’t you?

* – Doe: a deer (a female deer)
Rainbird
September 2nd, 2007 at 11:13 am [Reply]

#24 Loopina Yes Hungtinbyrd, my daughter and I have been puzzling over just where the kids in FC were?

A movie theatre without adults? A play without adults? A school assembly, but with pop-corn? Are the Keanes high on something? We counted all the things the kids were doing, talking ont heir cell phones, playing with their ipods? I mean, yes, Huntingbyrd had cell phone in 4th grade, but these kids are what, first grade.

Werid.
Helena Handbasket
September 2nd, 2007 at 11:29 am [Reply]

#88 – What most people don’t know is that the heat from the Phantom’s firey righteous wrath actually brands the skull symbol into the flesh of the wrongdoers he punches.

FW – Is this a FOOB crossover of some kind?

And on the doughnuts question, I like KK because they make a creme-filled chocolate glazed doughnut like no other. The difference is that their creme filling isn’t sad vanilla pudding, but the light fluffy highly-sugared love child of whipped cream and frosting.
He Brought Queenie Baby Jesus
September 2nd, 2007 at 11:41 am [Reply]

FC: Like a million monkeys banging on typewriters, the Keanes have stuffed their panel with so many kids that one of them, the girl in front with the lollipop, looks pretty cool.
SecretMargo
September 2nd, 2007 at 11:43 am [Reply]

118: Hey, I love the weird “custard” they put in supermarket doughnuts! The KK stuff is too sweet and insubstantial for me.

And besides, “Sad Vanilla Pudding” was my drag name back when I did the USO circuit with Oki Merlot before the Army found out we were sleeping together and were both men. So, you know, memories.
Ribinin
September 2nd, 2007 at 11:44 am [Reply]

A movie theater without adults? Saturday matinee of course. Rocket man? Yeah!!
Calico
September 2nd, 2007 at 11:55 am [Reply]

UL – thanks for the Milt Caniff link. Wow.
I vaguely recall some of this stuff from I don’t know where-maybe library archives, or my older relatives or something-not the internet.

I enjoy your renaissance/historical knowledge about the cartoons, plus your snark on what’s currently published. So, thanks!

Some of my faves are the weird old US political one-panel parodies – I believe the first so-called “cartoon” was the one that Ben Franklin drew, with a severed snake representing various fractures of regions and ideals. Please correct me if I am off base!

FOOB – maybe Elly can be April’s packhorse ad knock a few off her bum.

DtM – Ah, Joey, those boots – well, y’know…
Joey Boots! (Refer to Howard Stern show site)
True Fable
September 2nd, 2007 at 11:56 am [Reply]

# 110 Fizzy logic – “They play and butt heads with each other, and play king of the mountain and do goat things.”

Best. Quote. EVER.

When I die, heaven will be a grassy meadow with frolicking goats, doing goat things.

Thank you, fizzy! I’d love to see the look on my apartment manager’s face if I ever brought her the deposit for a pet pigmy goat to live in my apartment.
Mibbitmaker
September 2nd, 2007 at 12:13 pm [Reply]

A3G: Winderful cousin is right. Hey, she even called Margo “Maggie” again! Really coo— No, Ruby, don’t correct yourself! GAH!! What? — Margo doesn’t mind the “Maggie”?? Omigod, what kind of pod-people are these?! Meanwhile, stability returns… unfortunately, it’s in the form of “One-Tear” Nora, the DoppelMargo. Oh, well.

FW: I wouldn’t eat that crap either (never tried a corndog, though), but give Doomedgal a break, certainly a person in her situation can eat whatev— (Reads #32 by Sheilagh)…………. Nevermind[/Emily Litella]

FC: What kind of cartoon Lord of the Flies IS this, anyway? Maybe the next edition of that dopey “reality” show where a buch of kids are dumped in some situation where they’re left to their own devices, with no adults anywhere to be found… except for the camera crew, director, lighting crew, various technical people, caterers for the various crews in question, medical staff in case of emergency, keys grips……?

S-M: The whole city’s in danger?? From The Shocker??? Isn’t he supposed to be some pathetic loser-villian? No, Peter, the lovers from MediaNazi Hell, that’s your big problem.

Fred Bassett: Again, one of my favorite types of humor (meta) is indulged in FB. I have to wonder, though: in my paper, shouldn’t that ball have bonked one of the Bumsteads in the noggin, interupting their punchline?
Framling
September 2nd, 2007 at 12:14 pm [Reply]

Clearly Nora is the person who set up Eric and Margo’s date.
The Spectacular Spider-Brick
September 2nd, 2007 at 12:15 pm [Reply]

I would like to thank McManx @ 9 yesterthread for the link to the Li’l Abner site. I now know where Curmudgeon Joe Btfsplk gets his nom du snark. And it made me wonder why we don’t have snarkers named Fearless Fosdick, Moonbeam McSwine, Stupefyin’ Jones, Jubilation T. Cornpone or The Shmoo.

Egads! It just struck me. What if the Foobs ever discovered the Valley of the Shmoon? They’d eat and eat and eat until their Patterbutts expanded to blot out the sun! Life on Earth would be doomed! <voice="Bender">DOOOOOOOOOMED!</voice>
Mibbitmaker
September 2nd, 2007 at 12:20 pm [Reply]

#124 (me): That’s “Wonderful cousin”. “Winderful” is whenever Brooke MacEldowney waxes pretentious. Sorry for the mix-up.
The Spectacular Spider-Brick
September 2nd, 2007 at 12:37 pm [Reply]

“Winderful” is an adjective describing the Pattersons’ bathroom after chowing on meatloaf and butter tarts.
The Avocado Avenger
September 2nd, 2007 at 12:40 pm [Reply]

#126 SHMOO! Shmoo (plural: shmoon) are the best things ever. Dad used to have some old shmoo magnets and when I couldn’t find them after my parents passed, I bought some on eBay, and discovered a bountiful world of vintage shmoo memorabilia.

I love the shmoo.

Shame about that 1980s cartoon show, though.
fizzy logic
September 2nd, 2007 at 12:52 pm [Reply]

True & CrabbyGenes – Heres that other goat story about the rent-a-goats eating the vegetation at the UW. Should have linked to that earlier, sorry. These goats aren’t as cute – but very useful. Poteet was talking about something similar in a yesterthread as well.

As far as the current law allowing goats on lots of 20,000 sf or more (in city), I can’t think of any neighborhoods that have residential lots that big that aren’t waterfront/lakefront or extremely high rent (property taxes through the roof!) – I’d love to see the neighbors’ expressions when you show them your goat herd. (We have some chickens across the street – I live in a pretty urban setting – it’s pretty comical to see them when they get out, which they do with some frequency. They dodge cars pretty adeptly.)
Poteet
September 2nd, 2007 at 1:07 pm [Reply]

# 37 — Spotted H0rse, thank you for enabling me to add another entry to my mental CC encyclopedia, which consists of all the words, names, and concepts I’ve learned about on this site, some via Mudge explanation and some via looking them up because they were mentioned here. I can now add “clackers” to a list that includes everything from Hugh Brannum to The Shocker.

The Iowa State Fair is famous for deep-fried food on sticks. This year the media reported that seventeen kinds of food could be consumed in this form, including chocolate bars, with corn dogs still the most popular. In the interest of not keeling over right there on the Fairway, I stick to cold water and ice cream.
Poteet
September 2nd, 2007 at 1:23 pm [Reply]

# 80 — Islamorada Girl, I wrote that last comment before reading yours. Yep, you put it very well. As an aside, the Iowa State Fair is also a wonderful place for afficianados of the mullet. There’s even a mullet contest now.
fishmorgjp
September 2nd, 2007 at 1:28 pm [Reply]

32 Sheilagh: Meanwhile, how about that Phantom, huh. His superpower is steroids and spandex? What makes him so darned invincible, anyway? The whole thing is kind of childish — like a six-year-old putting on Superman pajamas and trying to fly. Except for the punching.

The Phantom has always passed the title to his son, back from the days of distant past. So throughout the ages, the then-current Phantoms have shown their sons the ropes, perhaps after dinner, or on the weekends…

Phantom: “Son, one of the tricks of the trade is “Not Being Seen.” Now, you hide in the bushes there, where I can’t see you.”

Sonny Boy: “Okay, Paw!” [Hides in shrubbery.]

Phantom: “Are you hidden good? Where are you?”

Sonny Boy: [Stands up, waving.] “Here I am, Paw!”

[Phantom hits Sonny Boy in head.]

Sonny Boy: “Ow!! What’d ya do that for?!”

Phantom: “To teach you the value of Not Being Seen.”
bats :[
September 2nd, 2007 at 2:02 pm [Reply]

24. Loopina: wow, the no rabies for birds thing is new to me (then again, I was in college/pre-vet a long time ago, and the common thought was that all warm-blooded species could contract rabies…”I learned something today.”–Stan Marsh)
Now the Central American chickens who are preyed on by one species of vampire bats (can’t think of the precise species at the moment) only have to worry about being preyed upon by vampire bats. What a relief! And these bats are so cagey that if they’re feeding and the hen is disturbed for some reason, the bat will make chick sounds to settle the hen down!
Your BatFact for the day.

55. Wanders thanks for the clarification. So Mary Worth isn’t a big ol’ slut (sigh). I don’t think Drew lives with Jeff, I just think he likes to rub it in the old man’s face that he’s getting more action (such as it is) than Cory, Sr.

58. Trilobite: yikes! Keane as a latter-day Bosch! Creepy!

66. The Krispy Kreme franchises went belly-up in Tucson (and most of AZ, I think), and I sez good riddance to bad rubbish. I hated these over-priced, over-hyped things with a passion…for a while our local grocery stores cut back or eliminated their in-store bakeries so the KK’s could be just carted in. They’ve resumed “good donut” production.
And very little is better than the sugary, greasy goodness of donuts from Donut Wheel or especially Le Cave’s Bakery in South Tucson.

70. AeroSquid: muffins and puffins! My world is officially rocked!

77. Buck: I’ve heard from a Texan that fried pickles are a southern delicacy (probably one of the causes of the Civil War, if that’s the case). Supposedly they are a staple on Sonic Drive-In menus in the Southeastern U.S.

And yes, that is indeed Asshathony in the arms of Drusilla. On the spectrum of “Who’s Hot?” in Foobland, the scale starts at a 5 (Michael Patterson? maaaaybe…) and goes down from there to 0 with Asshathony. At least Gerald and Hoo! Guy tend to express some sexual emotion. I think.
Gah! I’m grossing myself out with all of this speculation…
bats :[
September 2nd, 2007 at 2:13 pm [Reply]

129. AA: unless you’re pushing 50 or so, I don’t know if you remember Shmoo crackers. There was a jingle that was played in the ads, and the last line was something like “They love to be eaten! Choose Shmoos!”

A couple of our cats do the Shmoo thing, too. They sleep on their bellies with all legs tucked under them and just the head stretched out (”shmoo kitty”). This is not to be confused with the “gargoyle kitty,” which drapes itself over the back of a chair or an armrest and has its head dangling over the edge.
Citric
September 2nd, 2007 at 2:14 pm [Reply]

At the glacial pace FW is moving, I’m going to take a wild stab at the future of this cancer plot line.

2009: Lisa finally dies, after a couple years of continually mentioning how she’s going to die soon, just so Batuik remembers that he’s going to kill her off.

2009-2014: For the next five years, we get to experience some red hot mourning action. Everyone goes on about how awesome Lisa was, how she was brave and a hero and whatnot. Expect the funeral to last a few months on its own.

2014-2017: Les is learning to love again. Not really learning to love, but maybe talking about being lonely, and then maybe looking at another woman but not really.

2017-2022: Les meets another woman! Which leads to a sappy storyline about how she’s not Lisa/how he’s still getting over Lisa/how he loves her anyway yadda yadda yadda. She looks suspiciously similar to Lisa though.

2022-2027: Finally they wed, and they have a lovely story about their wedded bliss. Until…

2027, it all begins anew, and Batuik just recycles all of his old crap, crossing out “Lisa” and subbing in whatever the new chick’s name is. He won’t even have to age anyone, since the above would have just taken place in a year or two.
romanetti
September 2nd, 2007 at 2:48 pm [Reply]

Lio – I usually really like it but the Sunday strip is deeply sinister and disturbing.

http://www.gocomics.com/lio/
4EvahFan
September 2nd, 2007 at 3:09 pm [Reply]

I love Linus screaming “I DON’T WANNA BE STONED!” in today’s Peanuts. I didn’t even read the rest of the strip, that panel just caught my eye and I thought that’s probably all the giggle I’m going to get out of it, so that one panel was enough.
That's The Spirit
September 2nd, 2007 at 3:12 pm [Reply]

Margo is clearly enjoying those pot muffins.
4EvahFan
September 2nd, 2007 at 3:16 pm [Reply]

#64. As far as Krispy Kremes go, they’re very good, for donuts. I don’t really like donuts (greasy cakes of lead), but once in a while, I can handle an original glazed K.K. or one of their jelly filled. ONE only. Totally not worth a 1-2 hour wait in line, but every six months or so, it’s worth stopping in when the Hot Donuts Now sign is lit.
Baka Gaijin
September 2nd, 2007 at 3:32 pm [Reply]

#33. CrabbyGenes: I’m up because I’m in your time zone. I don’t post often because my snarking skills are weak. And, at 5:26am local time, I woke up to a shaking bed…but I was alone. Damn these tremors!

PS: KK Donuts-do they have a “Hot Now” sign at your store? I would have thought KK donuts to be much too sweet for Japanese people.
man behind the curtain
September 2nd, 2007 at 3:40 pm [Reply]

A3G — Considering the facial resmeblance betwen Nora and Margo, Eric is either heading for hopeless confusion or the threesome from hell.

RMMD — Since this plan was based on Milton’s death, which would have occurred unexpectedly as a result of the plane crash, then Harrington and the “Chinese” just threw this plot to seize Avery International together at the last minute. No wonder it didn’t work.
Baka Gaijin
September 2nd, 2007 at 6:57 pm [Reply]

Drabble: I do this all the time! It works best on a car with bench seats: park as close as possible then slide out the passenger door. If I’m lucky, I can see the look of despair on the other driver as he approaches the cars and squints at the space between the two vehicles. Sunday’s Drabble.
Dan Coyle
September 2nd, 2007 at 7:23 pm [Reply]

I remain astonished that the hack who belches out unfunny episodes of Heart and the City seemingly automatically writes and draws the brilliant Lio.

IT DOESN’T MAKE ANY SENSE. Where’s Lio’s ranting about How Star Wars sucks until he gets a visit from George Lucas and makes it all better?
CrabbyGenes
September 2nd, 2007 at 7:42 pm [Reply]

#141 Baka Gaijin. I missed the tremor. Either I was sleeping too soundly, or it was much stronger where you are. (Where are you, exactly?)

Yes, now that I think of it, KK donuts would probably be too sweet for most Japanese. It’s amazing what hype will do. And no, there is no sign announcing when the donuts are hot. But there is a Disneyland-type sign that says “The wait from HERE is XX minutes.” The line snakes back and forth between cordons, and when it gets too long for the cordons, it starts to stretch across an overpass over the traintracks. (This is right by Shinjuku station.) Once the line starts doing that, it’s got to be even longer than two hours. Amazing.

I’ve wondered about your moniker. Nice to know there’s yet another CC reader over here!
Baka Gaijin
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:58 pm [Reply]

#145 CG: It was a very small tremor. I’m 400 miles north in Aomori Prefecture, so you may not have felt it. I chose that name because I’ve been here almost a year and still can’t speak much Japanese. I can get around but that’s about it. I wish there was a convenient language course around here.
King Folderol
September 2nd, 2007 at 10:07 pm [Reply]

A3G – “Tonight I’ll be with Eric and – although I won’t have an orgasm, it’ll be the closest I can ever possibly come to having a human experience.”

Phantom – Where is this jungle that these old jungle saying derive from? It sounds less like a jungle to me and more like the sub-basement of Hallmark, where the crappy greeting card writers are sent to write cards for the phony holidays, including but not limited to Arbor Day and those Canadian and British bank holidays that show up on my calendar every year, but somehow aren’t recognized by my company.

FW – If Les’s plan is to make Lisa lose her teeth, he should understand that the Grim Reaper will take care of that just fine, thank you very much. It would be more cost efficient to just smother Lisa with a pillow and sell her organs and teeth to the highest Third World bidder.
Jana C.H.
September 2nd, 2007 at 10:18 pm [Reply]

Krispy Kreme moved into the Northwest just a few years back, and I find their doughnuts to be too sweet. I didn’t mind at first, but I’ve gotten to dislike the cloying sweetness. Besides, they’re big on raised doughnuts, and I have a weakness for cake doughnuts. I confess I have never had a Krispy Kreme doughnut hot out of the fryer.

Jana C.H.
Seattle
Saith WSG: “You’re Rose Maybud?” “Yes, sweet Rose Maybud!”
SatanicMechanic
September 2nd, 2007 at 10:36 pm [Reply]

Family that slays together, stays together? Works for me.
CrabbyGenes
September 2nd, 2007 at 10:59 pm [Reply]

#146 Baka Gaijin. You have my sympathies. Well do I remember my first few years in Japan, and I had it better than you do language-wise, being in the Tokoy area from the start. Ganbatte!

#148 Jana C.H. You’re a G&S fan too?? Wow! Ruddigore is my favorite. It was the first one I ever saw; my parents took Poteet and me to a production of it when I was around 7 or 8. I’ll never forget it. I especially remember the chill that went down my spine when those ghosts came out of their paintings.
Jana C.H.
September 2nd, 2007 at 11:33 pm [Reply]

CrabbyGenes– I am a true G&S fanatic, and volunteer each year with the Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society. I blogged this summer’s production of Princess Ida. Go to http://maoistorangecake.blogspot.com/ and page down past the Drag King Contest winner, Ozma of Oz, the Feminist Wagnerian (by me!), the over-long psycho-political memoir, the gator birthday cake, the red-and-white birthday cake, and the Martyr of the Solway to WSG’s drawing of the Lady and the Ape.

Next year we’re doing the Mikado, mainly for financial reasons, and the year after, Utopia Limited. After that we’re probably due for your favorite, Ruddigore, or mine, Iolanthe, though we’ll doubtless have to give Pinafore and Pirates in between to keep the money flowing. The warhorses are good or they wouldn’t be warhorses, but we true fanatics love to see the less common operas.

Speaking of less common operas, I see Iphigenia in Tauris by Gluck at Seattle Opera in October. Wow! Then it goes to the Met for the New Yorkers.

Jana C.H.
Seattle
Saith WSG: …and surmounted by something Japanese– it matters not what.
Trixie Belden
September 2nd, 2007 at 11:57 pm [Reply]

# 64 #140 # 134 – re Krispy Kremes – the Krispy Kreme in my northeastern city opened with an absurd level of fanfare about two years ago, then quietly went belly-up just a few months ago. I never understood all the hype although I actually did like their donuts – they were nice and light and fluffy, but they weren’t that good. Also, there was something that I found kind of annoying when I went to buy some one day – I asked the clerk for a half a dozen donuts, because I only had a couple people at home to eat them. The clerk said “Well, wait…” and he then went on to explain to me that the donuts were priced so that a full dozen cost only a small amount more than a half dozen ( I forget exactly what the price difference was. I think it was something like $6.00 for six donuts and $6.50 for twelve). The clerk said, “So, you want a dozen, right?” and I replied “No thanks, I still want half dozen, just like I said.”
Whether you wanted them or not, they were always trying to get you to buy a full dozen. And people wonder how obesity has become such a problem in this country.
Uncle Lumpy
September 3rd, 2007 at 12:13 am [Reply]

#151 Jana C.H. –

Sometimes I feel guilty for living in the SF area — saw Sir Willard White and Laura Aikin in Messaien’s St. Francis two years ago, and will be front and center for Day 1 of Philip Glass’s Appomattox this Fall. Mmmmmm. . .tasty!
dale
September 3rd, 2007 at 3:27 am [Reply]

152 – Trixie
That type of pricing always suggests to me that the real cost of the product is the packaging and general overhead. I might even be right, but I’m no economist, …

Did you consider a return trip with: I’ll give you 50 cents for the second 6. I brought my own bag.
Foolster41
September 3rd, 2007 at 1:15 pm [Reply]

A3G: What is the book in the dark haired lady’s car? I didn’t notice tommie’s eye rolling until i saw the clomment. It’s one of the funniest thing I’ve seen in A3G, and I love how the blond woman (can’t remember her name) is in on the joke “Yeah, Margos a moron, isn’t she?”

Margo: “You can call me what you want.”
She’s really asking for it, isn’t she? It looks like Ruby’s going to stuff that muffin right in her face.

Phatom: I have to admit the owl line made my laugh..
Phantom doesn’t just knock out a guy, he first makes fun of his stuttering! Destroy that bad man, spirit and body!
Chuck W
September 3rd, 2007 at 8:49 pm [Reply]

Panel 4 – Apartment 3-G….

I’m new to this strip. Please explain why the blonde girl pats the redhead on the ass.
nemoErensenuT
February 9th, 2008 at 6:14 pm [Reply]

I’d prefer reading in my native language, because my knowledge of your languange is no so well. But it was interesting! Look for some my links:
Anonymous
November 17th, 2008 at 8:34 pm [Reply]

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