A thoughtful-ish husband, for once

Today's strip marks the return to the Great Dishwashing Debates. I can't say I'm surprised; while I haven't been married, I do recall that who washed the dishes was quite an issue when I had roommates and no dishwasher. Anyway. Clearly the problem is that Fauna shouldn't be that nice to her husband. (And honestly, can we take a moment to acknowledge that Nudnik actually does the dishes? It's one of those things that's complained about so often, and I know I shouldn't praise him for something that he should do, but still.) Anyway. If that's how he is, that's how she should be. I know that sometimes I wash dishes as I cook...but sometimes I don't.

But hey, he did cook. And clear off the table. Though, again...what are these people making that they dirty this many dishes??? And what did they have in the top panel that they had so few?

Just divorce him!

I debated whether or not to tag today's strip as "abusive husband," but decided that this qualifies as emotional abuse. I mean, honestly. Fauna, get out of the marriage! For a second I was contemplating why she even had to ask her husband if she could take night school classes, like, she isn't a child, Al. But then I realized that in Al world, Fauna obviously doesn't have a job (Women in the workplace? The horror!), so she'd need the money. Obviously if she's taking a number of classes, it's something to discuss...but man.

And why would Fauna believe that "enjoy her company" and "talk to her" nonsense? I mean, she's married to him. She knew that this is how it would be. She had to have known. It's pissing me off, because you can see that Fauna is upset. You'd think she would know that she was married to a jerk. Agh!

Maybe I should track down this Fifi Meisner and have a talk with her.

Also, what the hell is up with the batter on the tv? I'm just going to assume that we're seeing the end of a swing.

Soapy restaurants...no, that's not right

It seems that all King Features syndicate comics were out of commission yesterday, and the inability to see what happened in Mary Worth was killing me. Damn you, Washington Post, for stopping carrying that fine comic! Anyway, that means two-for-one today!

Yesterday's strip returns us to the world of soap operas. I've never been a soap fan (other than primetime soaps; I went through a phase with Sisters), other than for a couple of weeks in college. Clearly this woman's problem is that she missed a Friday episode. Absolutely nothing happens from Monday to Thursday; Friday's where the action is at. Of course, Fridays normally end in a cliff-hanger, to bring you back on Monday. Honestly, this woman is probably fine; the soap is clearly going over exactly what happened. I think it would've been awesome if this had been about the soap comic strips. I mean, it's essentially the same concept, but it could be about someone who missed Aldo crashing to his death in Mary Worth.

In today's strip, we learn that Al doesn't understand the difference between simply stacking plates and actually cleaning up a kitchen. Even the addition of wiping crumbs off the tables doesn't even begin to compare to actually washing dishes and pans, etc. I love how the husband's solution to the wife complaining about cleaning up the kitchen isn't volunteering to do it himself (because God forbid any man actually do housework), but to go out to dinner. And "the little woman"? Hold on while I wait for my head to explode. My question is what the heck did these three people eat to result in so many plates? Anyway, this one kind of reminds me of one from last November--I guess it's the combination of restaurants and acting the same at home and while eating out.

Catching up

It's two for one today, since I didn't post yesterday.

Yesterday's strip is awesome for having Fauna and her boyfriend go steady. I'm debating whether or not he looks like a shiftless loafer. I want to say no, mostly because he's wearing a suit and tie, which I find impressive. I wonder where he and Fauna are going! The person who annoys me the most in this strip is the dad. Hey, Dad! You could've stepped in and stopped Fauna from being a brat yourself! Raising a kid doesn't rest solely on Mom's shoulders! Sorry, I think I'm making too much sense.

Today's strip is another case where the basic premise is correct--one frequently does come back from vacation to find a lot of voicemail and e-mail waiting. And we again see a computer! Shocking. But..."E-mail glop"? And did you not bring a cell phone? Maybe they don't have them. Even if I accepted the answering machine premise, the recording should clearly be something like, "You have 23 new messages and 4 old messages," not what he has. Also? That mail is probably mostly junk. Sure, everyone still gets regular mail, and some of it is important. But there's no way that there would be a large pile like that that isn't easily sorted into junk mail vs. personal mail.