Happy Thanksgiving and news

Tap, tap, tap . . .Anyone out there?

So, yes, I've almost completely given up on the blogging. I am working from home, taking care of the baby . . . just not enough time. I guess I could find the time to blog, but I've sort of cut reading the comics out of my daily routine. I mean, I really, really dislike them, so why spend the time . . .

However, I couldn't let some momentous news from the News & Observer pass without comment. We are getting Pearls Before Swine!!! Hip, hip, hooray! Maybe I'll find time to read the funnies after all. We're also adding Frazz, and two others . . . I can't remember. My brain don't work so good as it used too.

Anyway, to make room, we are losing Cathy, Hagar the Horrible, Drabble, and The Boondocks. I hate Cathy, Hagar, and Drabble, love PBS, and love the fact that some other strips are getting a chance. I feel personally vindicated. I am also a Boondocks fan, and hate to see it go, but Aaron McGruder has been on an extended hiatus, so . . .

Charles Shultz has also been on an extended hiatus six feet under, but they continue to run Peanuts. Can't win them all, I guess.

Now I get to stay tuned for all the complaints about losing Hagar and Cathy! Can't wait!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

But I Didn't Order Any Pizza

But as I see it, it's really the ONLY possible excuse. What other excuse could there be? Well, OK, "I really like the middle" is another possible excuse, but it's really just the yin to "I don't like the crust's" yang.

And aren't they ancient Vikings? And they can have pizza delivered? Maybe it's not delivery -- maybe it's Digiorno's. Or maybe Helga actually made it -- she is wearing an apron, after all. But, then why did she put it in a box? These ancient Scandinavian cultures baffle me.

And here's some liberal propaganda courtesy of Beetle Bailey:

Then, where would Beetle and company be? That's right! In Camp Swampy, just where they've always been. These guys need to be sent to Iraq. The Army needs all the help it can get (although the Administration says it is doing fine, so maybe I've got it wrong). Anyway, I think the denizens of Camp Swampy could use some thinning out, and Iraq is the place to do it. Who wouldn't make it back? My money's on Zero. Just too dumb. Then again, Lt Fuzz doesn't seem to be brimming with street smarts.

It's Dick Tracy Day!

In my paper, Shoe, Gil Thorp, and Beetle Bailey are all celebrating Dick's 75th Anniversary! Too bad we don't also get the Dick himself!

Apologies for the sporadic posting . . . the little one sleeps a lot less now that he's more alert and interested in the real world. He does get the comics read to him every day. He seems nonplussed. Good for him -- they really are nothing to get worked up about.

Misc.

A friend sent me a link to something called the Marmaduke Project. Check it out, because it is most excellent. My favorite part is what the New Yorker would be like if Marmaduke appeared in every cartoon.

Speaking of Marmaduke, is it just me, or is there a hidden message to the American Association of Retired Persons in this strip?


It's a shout-out to the strip's most loyal readers, no doubt.

And, imagine my joy at yesterday's Gil Thorp:


A Gil Thorp character may attend my alma mater?? AWESOME. Just great. I can’t imagine anything I’d like better. Even the return of Brick House would pale in comparison (although I still really, really want Brick to show up again). Actually, I know what I'd like better: If Brick House would go to the Naval Academy! Not in real life -- he'd be eaten alive -- but in Gil Thorp world, it would be nirvana for me. Still, it will be cool if Stormy heads off to Annapolis.

Stormy? Brick? Love the names!

Looney Tunes in Kudzu

It's been a long time coming, but the News & Observer has finally printed another letter to the editor re: the comics. My guess is that with The Boondocks on hiatus, the paper has gotten fewer letters complaining about the comics. So, yesterday's paper had this letter:

Malpracticing 'Kudzu'
I have enjoyed Doug Marlette's work for years, but am very disappointed in his Sept. 17 "Kudzu" comic. It appears to equate depression with an "addictive personality." While the the disease of depression can co-exist with addictive disease, most persons suffering with depression are not addicts. I consider this irresponsible on the part of Marlette and The N&O to misrepresent an illness that so many Americans battle every day of their lives, and further perpetuate the stigma of mental illness.
Mary Bracey, R.N.
Raleigh


I think it is important to point out that Ms. Bracey is not the one accusing Kudzu of malpractice. That's just the letters editor having a little exaggeration fun. But Ms. Bracey does say that it is “irresponsible” of the artist and the paper to print this mis-information about mental illness. Really? You’d have to be totally off your rocker to get your mental health information from the comics. I mean, you’d have to be a total lunatic. Oh, wait. . . maybe that’s her point!

OK, for all my liberalness and PC-ness, I can’t help poking fun at the mentally ill. Actually, no I can. They definitely deserve our consideration and shouldn’t automatically be lumped in with drug addicts, that’s for sure. But it doesn’t seem to me that this comic is equating depression with addictive personality. It seems to be making the joke that the patient in question is now reliant on drugs to control his depression. And, I do believe I have read somewhere that many of the most effective anti-depressants are addictive. Stopping them can cause severe headaches, exhaustion, and other withdrawal symptoms.

I think that the drug manufacturers would have more of a beef with this strip than mental health advocates would. It seems to be implying that anti-depressants are addictive, NOT that depressed people are drug addicts.

But it’s Kudzu, and I think if you are going to get your mental health education from a comic strip, it shouldn’t be Kudzu. Kudzu is where you should get your religious teachings. For mental health education, I think I'd recommend Cathy.

Symptoms

Are you surprised that Popeye still runs as a strip? I sure as hell am. We don’t get it here in the Raleigh News & Observer. So, I have absolutely no idea what is going on here. Swee’pea gone? Gone where? Did Bluto take her? Or him? Or . . . who exactly is Swee’pea? Olive Oyl and Popeye’s baby? I have no idea.

I just thought I’d point out that the problem in Panel 3 probably ISN’T that Popeye is so touchy. The problem is more likely that Popeye is succumbing to the devastating effects of E Coli O157:H7. I think I heard on the news that some of the signs of infection include a sweaty brow, stars and spirals circling your head, and shaking feet. Also, Popeye’s hat fell off, but he kept that pipe clamped tightly in his maw. Way to go Popeye!

Mold, Pac-Man, and Cathy's Purse Mom

First of all, thanks to everyone who wrote in to explain the "green plate" B.C. joke to me. I agree: it is a "joke" about mold! Aha! But, I do want to say something in my defense: when food gets old, the food itself turns green and moldy, but the plate usually stays the same color. I just want to point out that that is probably why I didn't "get" the "joke" right away. That, and 3 weeks with no more than 3 hours consecutive sleep.

But! Last night I had a good long 3 and a half hour sleep, so found great humor in one of today's comics. Normally, this is a site for complaining and "I don't get it," but I would like to praise today's Bizzaro, which struck me as very, very funny:



Lest you think I've gone soft, I do want to complain about Sunday's Cathy:



Given Elektra’s presence in panel 3, you are tricked into thinking Cathy is going to carry her dog around in her purse a la Paris Hilton et al. I guess this wouldn’t make any sense from the joke-telling standpoint, because why give away your punch line so early?

Instead, we are given the old switcheroo, and find out in the last panel that Cathy is really going to carry her mother around in her purse. The switcheroo is a typical Cathy joke. You will think she and Irving are talking about having children, but no – HA HA – they are really discussing adding more electronic gadgets to their household! Or, you will think Cathy is talking about going on a new weight loss program, but no – HA HA – she is going to get a smaller purse!! HA HA HA. So, we shouldn’t be surprised at the old switcheroo here.

But, while having the “reveal” be that she is going to carry her dog around in the purse wouldn’t make sense from a joke-telling standpoint, carrying her mother around in her purse doesn’t make sense from a sense-making standpoint. Stated a less roundabout way: It makes no sense. No offense to my mother, or mothers worldwide, but why would you want to carry her around with you everywhere? A) she would get heavy and B) what would you do with her all the time? Would you take her in the bathroom stall with you? And, come to think of it, as much as you probably wouldn’t want to carry your mother around with you everywhere you went, why would SHE want to go everywhere with YOU? Does she not have her own life? What is she going to do at Cathy’s work? Will she hang out with Mr. Pinkley and Charlene and look at co-workers' vacation photos? Help Cathy sort through her in box?

So, I guess this is a metaphor (or simile? Whichever one doesn’t take “like” or “as”): Cathy just likes the thought of her mother to be with her wherever she goes -- her words of wisdom, her slight nags, her joy at spending time with her daughter. Good for Cathy and good for Cathy’s mom. But, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Cathy has the lowest self esteem of anyone in the comics. Are we sure her parents did such a great job raising her?

Speaking of mothers, time to go tend to my little one. If he carried a purse, it might make sense for him to carry me around in it. He does seem to need me A LOT. Just like Cathy and her mom! But for a slight age difference in Cathy and my three-week-old. Also, he doesn't carry a purse because #1 that would be gay, and #2 he is too little to carry anything.