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?

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?

But does she have the urge to scream?

I admit that today's strip made me all warm and fuzzy--it was submitted by a teenager! There's hope that TDIET will live on. I don't care if she's reading it ironically, it still makes me happy. Not that Loopina looks like a teenager in the strip; maybe a tweener. The bow in her hair reminds me of the year (fifth grade, maybe?) that I wore a headband every day. Good times.

I guess the moral is that Loopina's mom is crazy. Look at all Loopie has to do in the top panel--she's lugging a huge box, there's a broom behind her and other boxes and piles all around. This seems like a major project. Is she cleaning out the garage or something? Why is her dad just sitting around? (Oh, right. Because he doesn't have to worry about cleaning, or intervening on behalf of his daughter.) Are the two jobs comparable at all? Is this something that happens often?

Yeah, Loopina's mom sucks. OK.

The return of Rachael Ray

At least in today's strip, unlike the last time we explored this topic, the at-home chef managed to complete the recipe in the correct amount of time. That being said, we have seen the insanely large numbers of dishes before. Honestly. The woman making the recipe obviously knew how many dishes she was dirtying. If she glanced at the recipe beforehand, she knew there'd be a ton of them. But really, how are there so many dishes? I just don't understand. There are piles of them everywhere! It looks like some have even snuck into the living room. How could that meal require so many dishes? This just makes no sense to me.

Blah blah, exaggeration. I understand. But there's a limit, people. That being said, I love her agreeing with the television. "Me, too!"

Frantic catch-up

Today's strip strikes as kind of completely bizarre. Garbage cans? The kid who's clutching his mother in fear totally makes the strip. Clearly Dad has rage issues. You'd think he'd plan ahead when taking the garbage out, but apparently not. I kind of want the passer-by to lecture him on raccoons. Or, have a raccoon attack him! That would be awesome.

Yesterday's strip delves into a side of the medical world we rarely see--how doctors relate to their spouses. I'm kind of disappointed it's not more like Grey's Anatomy. Epsom is no McDreamy. The issue is Mrs. Epsom's expression in the top panel. I'd imagine that she's been sick before and dealt with his treatment (or lack thereof); her expression in the top panel should be more ironic; at least a smirk. I guess she doesn't want to know what a crap husband Epsom is.

In Tuesday's strip, we delve into the fascinating world of mommy issues. Love how Ragmop says "Ohh yeah" not once, but twice. Excellent. I'm also fascinated that he actually knows how his mother made this mystery concoction--honestly, the men in this strip don't seem that perceptive. And again, it's like Al can't say "divorce," but has to keep saying "Grounds for you-know-what." Unless by that he means "murder." Hmm. And again with all the dishes! Geez.

Newsflash in Monday's strip: Boys will do things for the girls they like that they complain about when their mother wants them to do it. (Man, what an awkward construction. My bad.) Although, honestly, it looks like Yorkie and his girl are planning to hike the Appalachian Trail, given the size of those packs.

And I do recommend that everyone check out Sunday's strip. As reader Cedar pointed out, it contains so many TDIET highlights--squid, yoyoitis, an odd highlighting of technology (i.e., CDs), "Oh, Daddy, what you said!" We also get a glimpse of how Al draws cats. It's...neither pretty nor realistic.

Return of the killer squid (casserole)!

What's bizarre about today's strip is Al's need to point out that Dragbutt is recently retired. It really has no bearing on the strip, which is more about a married couple and a division of labor. Maybe he needed to say this, because otherwise his readers would get up in arms at the thought of a working husband having to clean up a kitchen. (Of course, this is patently untrue, as it appears that the readership of They'll Do It Every Time consists of Comics Curmudgeon readers.)

So why did Catastra have to use all those dishes to make a casserole? Honestly, if she did dirty all those making the casserole, then it's not "simple" and she and Dragbutt are about even on the labor division, I'd say.

Seriously--where did all those pots come from? The more I look, the more I wonder. And if they've been left there for ages as part of a nefarious plot to get Dragbutt to wash them...well, good for Catastra. Dragbutt deserves it if he hasn't been in the kitchen for that long.

At least he'd be neat if she vacuumed his hide

Today's strip makes me wonder whether there's a divide here between the older and younger generations when it comes to chores. I admit that I, too, have indignantly done chores while hoping that a housemate would pick up on the cue and help. Even so, I can't feel too bad for the wife. Mrs. Leadbutt by this point should realize that he's not going to lift a finger without prompting. So she either needs to say something to him, or not get into a snit about it. I mean, at least he's offering to help, right? (Which reminds me of a story that I may have told before: So one time after dinner, my dad says to my mom that she shouldn't clean up after. "No," he said, "Barb can do it!" How very generous of him.)

Again, obviously it's not good that Leadbutt just sits there. At the very least, he could leave the room. But who knows...maybe he mows the lawn while she sits in a deck chair and reads a trashy romance novel.

And let's notice that it was submitted by a couple. Interesting. I guess they've been arguing about chores lately?

Again with the spiderwebs

Today's strip is making me cranky because, yet again, I have problems placing the blame for the situation with Yorick (whose name made a lot more sense the last time we saw him--Yorick -> Shakespeare -> language). It's another case of a parent clearly not taking on the responsibility he should, and having it come back and bite him in the butt. If Yorick feels that he can ask for money the day after he got (and spent) his allowance, then it means that this has probably worked for him before. Hey, Yorick's Dad? Here's a solution: Don't give him any money. I know, I'm all with the crazy talk. Teach your child some fiscal responsibility? Perish the thought! Sure, he'll whine--probably because you give him money whenever he asks. Tough. He needs to learn sometime.

I can guess why it's taking Yorick so long to rake the yard; he looks older than his dad. And really, unless there's some pressing need for the yard to be all pretty, I can't get on his case too much if it's only been two days. Unless, of course, he's only worked on that tiny patch of the yard. Not that I'm entirely sure what he's raking; the yard looks fine to me.

Also, nice slang. I wonder if Yorick were a good kid who did his chores and didn't blow through his allowance, would that mean that he talked more normally?

And Mom, stop rolling your eyes in the background. I doubt you're helping the situation any.

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.

Well, Mom's washing is finished

Now, I'm not blaming the mother for what's happening in today's strip, but...I'm kind of blaming the mother for what's happening in today's strip. Her three sons (one of whom looks like a girl) all look pretty old. By this point, you'd think Mom would have realized that she's not getting all the clothes when she gathers them up to do the laundry. In any case, I can't believe she's all shocked by this development. (And I like how Al has to specify that she's machine washing them--no more of those pesky washing boards! This mom has all the latest gadgets!) And if she's smart, she'll just tell her boys that tough, she just finished the laundry. They can either wait until she does it next, or they can wash their clothes themselves.

I do like how they're all piling on at once. They practically have enough for another full load right there!

Hey, I actually shoveled more than I had to this weekend

I feel like we've seen today's strip before, but I'm in too much of a rush to be able to dig through the archives. Al gets props for timeliness--winter, snow, etc. It makes sense. My main problem with the strip is not that Dragbutt is balking at shoveling the sidewalk. It's that there's only an inch of snow. Does that really need to be shoveled? I don't really think so. It's not that much. I suppose it'd be nice, but it's hardly necessary. Unless, of course, the weather there is such that the snow probably won't be melting anytime soon (and, seeing how the submitter is from Maine, it probably won't) (but then, if these people did live in Maine, they wouldn't blink at a mere inch of snow).

And really, I'm more concerned about my back than my heart when I shovel snow.

Rachel Ray, she ain't

Today's strip is annoying because it's really not the chef's fault that he's making a somewhat complicated recipe and a person at home is trying to copy him and gets frustrated. If I'm watching a cooking program and the chef is saying stuff like, "Turn the egg whites inside out," then I know that this isn't an easy recipe to make. And thus I am probably not going to complain, except perhaps to wonder who these people are who can copy recipes like that off the tv.

And really, most of what the chef is saying isn't that hard. Other that the egg whites inside out thing. Although, if he's talking about hard-boiled egg whites, that isn't hard. But can you whip them? And do people actually turn on a cooking program and expect to make the dish along with the chef--no pauses or anything? I can see maybe recording a program (particularly something like 30 Minute Meals) and trying to go along with it--with a a lot of stopping the recording.

Honestly, what impresses me in those shows is how they can chop up everything. You should see me try to mince garlic or chop up an onion. It ain't pretty.