End of an era

It seems somewhat appropriate that the last regular TDIET strip would be a repeat--from last October. OK, maybe less a "repeat" and more a "sequel," as this does seem to be what the previous strip implies. That being said, this is totally valid; I remember being sighed at more than once by my mother because of how I had my stuff spread out over the table when she was trying to put food on it.

That being said, if you kick the kids out of the kitchen, it seems natural they would've disappeared for a bit. For all we know, they're simply dumping their stuff in their rooms...although perhaps that's supposed to be the door to outside that's open in the bottom panel?

If you go to the Times-Intelligencer TDIET page, you'll notice that it says that last strip is actually today's...though I can't seem to access it. Evil! With the strip over, I may go through the archives and add in the strips themselves so we don't lose them, and add tags to the older entries, but I imagine it'll just be housekeeping-type activities from here on out.

So thanks for following along. If you're particularly bored, you can check out my sort of normal blog...though I should warn you, with the baseball season starting, there will likely be a fair bit of posting about the Orioles. (And I am aware that the comments there don't work. It just looks like they should work, and thus they taunt me.)

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.

Kids and repairmen these days

Not surprisingly, yesterday's strip is essentially a repeat, though I can't find earlier incarnations at the moment. I call foul on this, though. Admittedly there's already a pile of dishes there, but in this case, wouldn't it make more sense to order pizza or go out or something for dinner? I mean, why dirty more dishes when you know you won't be able to wash them? But yes, we get it, repairmen never come when they say they will, inconvenience, blah blah blah.

I can only assume that Wombo, in today's strip, is graduating from 5th grade, because that's about how old he looks. OK, maybe middle school. But readers, get ready for a shocking revelation: Sometimes people look different in pictures than they do in person. I know! I wouldn't believe it, either. Particularly when the photo in question is a formal shot like a graduation photo. What, you mean Wombo doesn't always walk around in a suit with neatly done hair? I am shocked and horrified! (Well, I am kind of horrified by his shirt--what boy who's older than 5 will willingly wear a shirt with a teddy bear on it???) I'm just going to ignore the, "Like yo, you guys!" Al, stop trying to write slang. It doesn't work.

Burger Boss is my fave!

I...kind of don't have much negative to say about today's strip. And God knows I've read enough angry Internet confrontations over the issue of kids in a restaurant that I don't particularly want to stray into it. It upsets me that Al used "Daffina" instead of "Daffia," which he's used before. I hate how he uses these slight modifications to names that don't make any sense to begin with. Also the use of "bistro" when he means "restaurant," because to me, "restaurant" and "bistro" don't necessarily mean the same thing. All bistros are restaurants, but all restaurants aren't bistros.

So...I'm not going to wade into the meat of today's strip, and will instead wish everyone a lovely long weekend.

Maybe Wombo should join 4-Evah and Eva

There's very little redeeming in today's strip. Wombo's hair is that typical atrocious pageboy--and I don't even want to tackle the hair of the kid playing the guitar. And what high schooler starts a band that's drums, a guitar, and a saxophone? And really, Donald Hutchinson, you can't see the difference between a kid liking loud music when he's creating it and a kid who'd like it to be quiet when he's trying to concentrate on his homework? Sure, Wombo should probably just head up to his room instead of being that close to the tv room, but based on the kids we see in these strips, we should just be happy that a kid is trying to do his homework. Seriously, how come he's sensitive? Because he's doing work! And parents, way to support your child's activities in that top panel. Is that the mom's tongue sticking out? Sheesh. Shut up, Al and Donald.

Kids say the darndest things

I'll give Al credit for today's strip; I just love the idea of kid not saying anything, then spewing all of that out. I think it's the happy expression on his face that gets me. I actually laughed. Too bad that we can't see a guy with a big, red nose, though. And neither of the women Wombo is facing looks particularly fat to me, either.

I'm trying to figure out the furniture. What exactly is it that Wombo is standing next to? I want to say a coffee table or something similar, but it's solid. An end table, maybe?

In a bit of sad news for Wombo, it looks like he doesn't age well. He goes from being a fairly cute kid (I think it's the hair) to a typical Scaduto teenager. Sad. And do small children really say "fa" instead of "fall"?

Anyway, we should just realize not to say anything like this in front of small children. If there's anything I've learned from pop culture, it's that they will speak up at the wrong time.

That road looks scary to drive on

Today's strip annoys me because we're clearly supposed to be like, "Oh, kids! They think they're so smart when they don't know anything!" But nothing the kid is saying is wrong. When you're first learning to do something, you're much more aware of everything that goes into it. Once you get used to it, though, you don't notice. True, kids get into a lot more accidents than adults, but it's not from being overly cautious, like this kid. Backseat drivers are never fun, but I certainly have no problem with Wombo here. The father's pissing me off, though. Dude, if you learned to ride a skateboard, you probably would've lectured him on how to do it properly.

Naturally, though, I'm happy about the return of the black convertible.