There are better ways to knock local newscasts

Again, today's strip, with the "J'ever notice?" No, I have never noticed that. Admittedly, I don't watch the news that much, but this doesn't seem to mesh with what I have noticed. Local news does cover some worldwide events, but the vast majority of it is stuff like, "Fire in local neighborhood!" That way, the station can have a reporter standing in front of whatever they're talking about. Local news likes that sort of thing. And I've never seen the news interrupted for something like that. And I doubt the anchor would say, "Flash." On the other hand, it does remind me of this time in February 2002, when the emergency broadcast system started to go off, and it didn't say that it was a test. I started freaking out, but it turns out that it was started because of a major snowstorm moving into the area. But yeah, not that similar to this situation.

Oh, and I hope everyone saw the comment about Monday's strip in the Comics Curmudgeon. Very interesting!

I'll be gone tomorrow and Friday for training for work. Huzzah. I'll catch you all in December!

Ah, good ol' college days

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving. The arrival of my family meant I missed last Wednesday's strip, which was submitted by a reader, if I recall. MWGallagher, can you remember what exactly you sent to Al, and how it compares to the final strip? I only hope you like beans...

In today's strip, we deal with what appears to be a college student. Have we encountered one of those before, in his natural habitat (i.e., a dorm room)? This may be new ground! How exciting! I don't think I ever heard of anyone who had a "no shoes" rule in college. That seems wrong. I'd accept this more easily if Hekkie was post-college. (His room seems less dorm-like and more like a first apartment, but what do I know?) I'm too distracted by his mom's feet in the bottom panel to give anything else much thought. What are those lines? Is she supposed to be wearing socks? You'd think she'd be wearing stockings, as she's wearing a skirt. Or she'd be bare-legged, but she wouldn't be wearing socks. Seriously, what are those lines???

And ew, cigar ashes. How is he talking in the top panel? And are they leaving their shoes in the hallway? From the top panel, I guess so. I guess shoe thievery isn't really an issue wherever they are.

I'm trying to sing the ring tone

The most surprising thing about today's strip is that I didn't already have a Lugnut tag. I'm sure that's because I've just missed it in the past; I feel fairly confident we've seen a Lugnut before. Anyway.

When I think of things about cell phones that annoy me, their tendency to ring in the middle of a joke certainly doesn't pop to mind. Clearly the joke-teller in this strip needs help with his delivery (here's a hint: Pausing to say, "Wait'll you hear this!" is a sign of bad delivery); judging from the end of the joke, he probably could've finished it before the phone rang. Anyway. Admittedly, it is very bad form for Cell Phone Guy to tell other people to be quiet--he's apparently in some sort of restaurant (a party? I mean, what's with the guy standing up?), so proper etiquette is for him to take it outside.

On the other hand, I don't have much sympathy for the spectators. The one making a snide comment about Cell Phone Guy's wife is particularly out of line. And I love how everyone apparently knows him! I guess everyone knows everyone in TDIETland.

Ironically, as I was typing this, I encountered what's probably my #1 problem with cell phones: People who leave their ringers on at work. I've accepted that people will have their cell phones on at work, despite the fact that they're sitting next to another phone. But why can't they turn them to vibrate? Hey, at least my coworker went out into the hall to talk.

Losing wallets, losing patience

The thing in today's strip that's annoying me is something that pops up in a lot of the strips: The bystander who has a look of shock/horror at the main action of the strip. When I'm stuck behind someone at the grocery store who's taking a long time, I don't have a look of shock on my face. My face probably mirrors the clerk's in this one--eye rolling. Meanwhile, most clerks in real life would be bored more than eye-rolly. If that makes sense.

And of course the wallet fell to the bottom. It's probably the heaviest thing in the purse.

And Al? Please stop with the cobwebs. She is obviously moving.

You DO need to say more

One of the biggest problems with today's strip is that it's labeled as "sign of the times," and yet everyone in it looks like they belong in 1956. Just having the kid say "like" and "awesome" doesn't make him contemporary. Of course, I don't get this at all. So is the implication that the popular hairstyle today is insanely short? Is that...bad? And what does the "Tomahawk cut" remark mean? It looks like someone who's been scalped?

I just don't know. Al, you continue to confuse.

Just give those kids some Lemon Drink

Today's strip kind of makes me want to go to a grocery store and check this out. I will say that while I love things called "Lemonade Drink" and "Cheese Food," I don't fool myself into thinking that they're in any way healthy. I don't think this means we're "losing it" or "wot"-ever. Hey, points for originality, I guess. As long as this doesn't evolve into "How come we park on a driveway and drive on a parkway?" strip.

Yesterday's strip again examines the family dynamic. Honestly, it just isn't fair to hold how people acted toward their parents as teenagers against them when they're adults. Also, there is a huge difference between parenting a teenager and parenting a small child. Al and Jill, I don't know if you've heard, but traditionally, teenagers go through periods of rebellion as they learn to become adults. This isn't really an issue for a 6-year-old. (Or four.) And why is Mom/Grandma upset that the kids are being told to do as she says? Wouldn't that be helpful?

At least the movie isn't about doctors

Today's strip is so blandly inoffensive that I'm having problems focusing on it, other than it was submitted by "Paula and Paul" which is just wrong. I'm kind of grateful that there isn't a male version of my name so I don't have to worry about that sort of situation.

The situation here is somewhat universal; it's not like it's the "salesman" (I've always thought of them as "clerks"; I mean, in the movie Clerks, one of the guys worked at a video rental place!) at the "film rental shop" (is it OK to still call them "videos" if they primarily rent DVDs?) is the only person who recommends movies you don't enjoy. Even the best of friends don't necessarily enjoy all the same movies. You do run into dull movies now and then.

Man, this strip is putting me to sleep. But I gotta ask--Why are there actual pillows on the couch for Mom and Dad to be sleeping on?

Sometimes you have to make it on your own

Wait. So I'm supposed to feel bad for the wife in today's strip? Really? Her husband hears her coming and gets the door for her once, and we're supposed to condemn him for not standing near the door forever after? Good God, woman, just put the bag down and open the door yourself. I mean, really. Is he supposed to know that she's gone out shopping, estimate how long it'll take, and be on the lookout for her? Whatever.

Hey, Donna. Maybe you should've hung out with me at my old apartment. If I got the closest parking spot, I had to walk maybe 10 yards from the car to my building (not the 2 feet it looks like in the cartoon). Then I had to unlock a door, go up some stairs, open another door, then unlock my apartment door. Doesn't that sound super fun if you've gone shopping and thus have to make multiple trips?

No sympathy whatsoever.

Edit. I just saw that this was submitted by a Comics Curmudgeon reader. As such, I can only hope that this was a one-time occurrence, and as Donna simply sighed and wished that her husband would open the door for her, she also thought that hey, this would be good to submit to TDIET! As drawn, though, I remain firm in my "no sympathy" stance.

This is another case where I wish I could see what she actually submitted. I assume most people who write in are actually much more mild than the vitriol-spewing folks we usually wind up seeing in the strip.

The Al hatred boils over

I went digging through the archives a bit to find the strip that today's strip repeats, but couldn't do it. Honestly, as soon as I saw "Florence Nightingul" I wanted to just write "Screw you, Al," and be done with it. (And...am I blind? I'm not seeing a contributor. Huh. So this one is all Al.) Maybe it's that I started working with a lot of nurses and for nurses, but, dude. Not cool. I see how it's annoying, but it's not like the nurses ganged up to most inconvenience the patient. What, like they're supposed to stop treating other patients during an emergency so they can pop by? I guess this patient could've been having an emergency (what exactly was he buzzing them for, anyway?). But, honestly. Shut it, Al. I'm not in the mood.

...Sorry. I imagine I'll be less cranky on Monday.

TV > Church

I kind of love today's strip just for the "Amen." at the end. But N. Fugazy, you want to know why Wombo can stay still to watch television for hours at a time but can't sit still at church? For one thing, television is a lot more interesting to him than church is. He also probably has a lot of pent-up energy after sitting still for so long. Maybe Mom and Dad could encourage Wombo to do some sort of physical activity instead of sitting in front of the tv. (Although, for all I know, he does a lot of energy-sapping stuff and is watching tv in his down time.) (And wow, that's a big screen.) Besides, don't most churches have Sunday school for the kids to attend? I know we always left before the sermon, and the beginning part of the service was varied enough to keep most kids' attention.

But ultimately, why? Because he's a kid, genius. Sheesh.

Ragweed and the closet. PLUS! Pushover mothers and

From the name of the wife (Nubbia? Really?) to the concept, I don't get today's strip. I mean, I do to a point--you think getting more closet space will lead to having more room, but it still fills up! But why does Ragweed look so upset in the bottom panel? It's really those Disgust/Anger Lines over his head that confuse me. Ragweed, dude, if there's not enough room in your closet, it's your fault, not the closet's. Just go through and get rid of whatever you don't wear. (And judging from the suit in the top panel, he should also get rid of the stuff he does wear.) I mean, both Ragweed and Nubbia look mad in the bottom panel. Why? Also, it doesn't look much worse than before; it looks the same.

Are there honestly parents like the mom in yesterday's strip? I cannot imagine telling my mom that I didn't want to eat when she called me for dinner. (And Alonzo looks like a teenager; aren't teenaged boys always hungry?) At the very least, I'd have to come down and sit at the table, and probably pick at my food. I'm assuming that Mom tells Alonzo that he can find his own food at this point, because if I were her, I certainly wouldn't be serving him anything. Or telling him he would just have to wait until breakfast, if this is something he pulls with any regularity. There is absolutely no reason why she should put up with this behavior.

In Monday's strip, we're again in an office. [Insert usual comments about lack of computers, etc., here.] I'm kind of at a loss for words. "No alibis"? Shouldn't that be "excuses"? Except, of course, that it was used in the expo box. Not that it makes it better. And Honcho is smoking in his office? I don't think that's legal in many places. Honestly, I think this would've worked better if it had just been that Honcho insisted on punctuality, but was still late in getting shipments out. Ha ha! The company is clearly headed down the tubes! Oh, yeahhh! Honestly, though, I wouldn't think that Boss Honcho would be in charge of making shipments, would he? That seems to be a bit below his pay grade.

In praise of the RSS

Just a reminder that if you don't feel like actually having to come here, you can always sign up for the RSS feed. I follow about 20 sites on my Google Reader, and I've been nice and set it up so you don't even have to come here to get all the content (unlike some other blogs...). I'm just sayin'.

Have a great weekend, everyone! I may or may not post on Monday; I have the day off work because my employer rocks and gives us our birthdays off. My birthday is Sunday, so I get Monday off. Woo!

Carrying the golf bag probably isn't good for his back

Anyone else think that today's strip should've appeared either in December or in April? I mean, Al could've held on to this for a month, and it would've been better. (Much better would be holding onto it until April, but I'll let that slide.) There's also a real disconnect between what Annoya is saying and her expression. If someone just included the dialogue box, I'd just assume a low level of passive-aggressiveness, trying to keep Arfo at home. (It's the "take it easy" that's throwing me off.) But her expression...that's blatant hostility. I guess I just wish I knew why she wants him home. Is she just trying to stop him from having fun, or is there more to it than that?

Not surprised it was submitted by a Texan

Today's strip encapsulates one of the things that bothers me most about football--how the last few minutes take forever. I admit that I don't like football; I'm a baseball girl. And while baseball games aren't exactly quick, either, there's no clock telling me how long it takes to get through three minutes of play. The lack of a clock is one of the things that I love about baseball. Anyway. You'd think that Drusella would've realized by this point in her life that the typical football game is going to run about three hours. The bottom panel just doesn't bode well for either Dru or Dragbutt--she's clearly pissed off and he...good Lord. It's another case where I debated whether to use the "abusive husband" tag because he is just losing it. I'm guessing that it's a close game and so he's tense (if it's not close, he should just miss the end of the game to eat dinner), but that doesn't excuse the expletive-filled tirade.

I really can't figure out how Al feels here; the "and don't try to explain" kind of throws me off. I admit that Dru clearly isn't the brightest if she still hasn't grasped the basics of football when her husband is clearly a big fan...but is that supposed to excuse how Dragbutt reacts? I'm thinking that if he had just looked a bit exasperated, I might've been more sympathetic. But it's not happening today.