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.

Well at home, you know it's a telemarketer

The most confusing thing about today's strip is the waiter's expression in the bottom panel. He looks, at the very least, amused. I mean, he's smiling. Maybe he figures that if these people are on the phone, they won't bother him too much? And God knows if I were a waitress, I wouldn't want to deal with the folks from TDIETland.

Anyway, I'm not so sure this is the case. There is a grain of truth in it, but I don't know that people who were adamantly anti-phones at dinner are now OK with being on their cell phones at restaurants. I do love the "Hee hee" when the woman realizes that both she and Lula are eating dinner.

Lu's mom is as busy as my grandmother

Parts of today's strip make sense...but parts just confuse me. Really just one part--the "and often" in the bottom panel. I guess Mom frequently guilts Lu into calling, but also has a social life. I guess I just don't see the disconnect there. I wish my sister would call more, but that doesn't stop me from going out with my friends. Of course, I also don't leave her messages like that. I think Al should've had the message include the mother saying something like, "Is it asking too much to call your poor mother, all alone? I sit around and look forward to talking to you, etc." It would've come together much better, I think.

And Al, you don't "turn on" your "voicemail," particularly when by "voicemail," you mean "answering machine." Lu isn't on a cell phone, dialing into her voicemail. She's hitting "Play" on her answering machine. There's a difference. Al, feel free to drop me an e-mail, and I can go over the details.

(Although, honestly, it's stuff like that that makes reading this strip so charming.)

Annoying friends, underage drivers, and a decent strip

So apparently there are times when I actually have to work at work, and work at home. So today is catch-up day!

I suppose the top panel of today's strip has happened to me--we've all experienced boring people who talk our ears off. I don't think I've ever heard any of them ever say anything like, "Let me go," though. The rest, sure--they've got stuff to do, etc. (Which does rightfully make you roll your eyes.) I could almost see the "Let me go" comment if the person saying it was joking, but that obviously isn't the case here. I also think Al needs to cut back on the use of cobwebs; he's been using them a lot lately.

Yesterday's strip was frustrating because there is NO WAY that Junior looks anywhere near old enough to drive. Al drew him the same way he draws small children, so Junior looks like he's maybe 10, which just makes the strip frightening. As for Junior's predicament, it's a tough one. Honestly, if I were him and found talking on the phone to be that much of a distraction (and I admit that I do occasionally talk on the phone while driving), I'd just let it ring and deal with the consequences. Obviously his mother won't be happy, but the alternative is getting smooshed by a huge truck while ramming into the side of another car. And what is up with the seat in my car? It looks like a couch cushion.

Tuesday's strip was, as I know, submitted by a reader of the Comics Curmudgeon. You can tell because it's a decent concept, and is even well executed. I think we can all relate to that, though in my experience, the beginning of the message isn't so much a person saying "ah" and "um" a lot so much as rambling about whatever pops into the person's head. The buttons on the right side of the phone/answering machine confuse me a bit, but I'll give props to Al for actually drawing a cordless phone. Good work!

Sounds like one heck of a meeting!

I'll be honest: Today's strip made me laugh. Well, not the strip as a whole, really. It was the phrase "cell telly." I mean, really--what's not amusing about that? Oh, Al. So on top of the current lingo.

"The urge to long distance him to the moon" doesn't make sense on a few levels. I realize that he's just going for a phone reference, but it's not like cell phones differentiate between local and long-distance calls. Maybe it's a reference to Catastra making long-distance calls? Possible, but we have no way of knowing.

And again, Cat, if it's pissing you off, just call out Leadbutt for his hypocrisy. Or at least point out that he can use his phone in the house while she's on the phone. It's win-win!

(And I'm including a "Loyal Order of the Caribou" tag, as I assume that's the "lodge" that Leadbutt refers to on the phone. I refuse to believe there's more than one of these organizations in TDIETland.

An argument for ordering take-out

Strangely enough, I actually let out a "Heh" in reaction to today's strip. Although, looking at it now, I'm not sure why. (Maybe I'm just easily amused when I first get to work.)

The thing here is that neither of the players in this strip--the father or the phone lady--is right. The dad needs to get his kids in check (and not be such a jerk to the phone lady), but just because you have a couple of obnoxious kids at the next table doesn't make it acceptable to talk on a cell phone in a restaurant. (If you have to take a call, excuse yourself and go to the lobby.) Two wrongs do not make a right.

What really intrigues me here is the obnoxious son. Look at his hair! That is the hair of a Bad Kid. Now Al needs to figure out a way to give little girls Bad Kid hair. And, you know, not have their faces be identical to adults' faces.

I'd also like everyone to check out the cell phone the Phone Lady has. It's the size of her head. Not quite a Zack Morris phone, but it's pretty big.