Way too deep thoughts for a Friday night

Today's strip provides an interesting dichotomy (...or something; I have a headache). Al and his readers acknowledge that nurses no longer dress like Florence Nightingale...but that seemingly hasn't prevented him from drawing them as such. Is it because the typical TDIET reader feels more comfortable with it? Is it just easier to have nurses in the strip wear those outfits, because having to distinguish various color scrubs is a challenge in a one-panel strip? Probably a combination of the two, actually. I wonder if a number of the people writing in aren't ol' time patients, but rather people pointing in the anachronism of the way nurses are portrayed.

I will say that while I can see the scrub top having a design like that, I can't imagine those pants and striped socks like that.

Dogs, dieting, fashion, cars...and some meta

Sorry for my delinquence of late; I know, I've been terrible. I do recommend checking out the comments on the entry at CC about Al's death; some of his family and friends have checked in, and some people have also written some pretty moving comments. I also suggest reading this blog entry by a reader. Both he and Josh have managed to articulate their feelings about Al much better than I. (This is why I'm an editor, not a writer, people!) I will say that it makes me sad that there's been virtually no coverage of Al's death. TDIET is one of the few comics that's carried nationally, and has been around for a long time. You'd think the passing of its artist would merit some attention.

Anyway. On with the show. Four days in brief recap...

Monday. Mrs. Goosegg should rely solely on the dog for vacuuming purposes; I mean, why have a vacuum at all if you have a dog? Also, where did that table come from in the bottom panel? I'm sure you all also saw that this is a CC reader-submitted strip. So exciting!

Tuesday. I can't really fault Ragmop here. Part of the key to losing weight isn't to necessarily cut out all fatty foods; it's just to eat them in moderation. If he can be happy with samples only, more power to him. And isn't Fatburger a real restaurant?

Wednesday. This is awesome for many reasons, except the similarity to last Monday's strip. I love that Migraina actually calls him out for not going with her suggestion, and I love that Al included "send him to the moon" with the "striped shirt" piece. It could've been "The urge to stripe his shirt" or something, but the "to the moon" made it all worthwhile. Awesome.

Today. Oh, kids these days, with their loud music. Maybe Hekkie heard the plinking between songs on his radio. Notice that he never says that the noise bothers him; maybe he's just upset by his car making a weird noise? I know I am. And I applaud him for taking good car of my car.

I don't want to see Alf in his undershirt

I'll admit that Al threw me for a bit of a loop in today's strip. I was sure that the bottom panel would show Migraina in the pink dress, saying that she sent the other one back. Migraina doesn't care about her husband's opinions! Ha ha! As it is, though...I don't know. Clearly Alf doesn't really care which dress she keeps. Is this a financial thing? Another, "Oh, women, with their spending money on clothes!" gag? I don't really see an impetus for her to take one back if she likes them both, unless there are other things going on here. Just bizarre. And while the pink dress is OK, the one with the bow looks more suited to a 10-year-old.

I realized this morning who the target audience for TDIET is (other than us, of course): Andy Rooney. Thanks to The Amazing Race coming on directly after 60 Minutes, and football frequently delaying the start, I keep catching Andy's rants. Have other people seen these? They're crazy. He did a whole segment on people who bring books to work, asking them whether they read on the clock. Apparently he doesn't understand the concept of reading on the subway. Or during lunch. Bizarre.

It's nice that someone was transcribing the birthday party

While I'm not a huge fan of today's strip in general, I am impressed with Al playing around with the format a bit. The flashback? Very nice. As for the content...it's strange. I kind of understand where Migraina's coming from; when you get a present, you don't open it and say, "Yuck! How awful!" On the other hand, she could've just said, "What a lovely top! Thanks so much for thinking of me" instead of detailing what she dislikes. And honestly, the clerk at the store doesn't really care why she's returning it. Is it in any way torn/stained/etc.? No? Then he doesn't care. I admit that sometimes I feel the need to justify why I'm returning something, though. But I'm weird like that. And I doubt Migraina is acting out of guilt, which is why I do it. (I have an overactive guilt complex. No, I'm neither Catholic or Jewish.)

In fairness, that is an awful shirt. But honestly, I'm not going to knock Migraina too hard. She was polite to her family members and not particularly rude to the clerk, so I'm good with her.

Paging Joan and Melissa Rivers

In today's strip, Al veers into the unfamiliar territory of the celebrity world. The Fug Girls, he's not. He's also a bit redundant--aren't "face unshaved" and "5 o'clock shadow" the same thing? Ditto "hair uncombed and disheveled"? I didn't realize that the scruffy look was the REAL new look. Honestly, some guys just look better with a bit of scruff.

Really, if you're watching the red carpet of some big function (and I assume we're talking Oscars or Emmys here, because below that, it doesn't really matter), and you're getting upset about a guy having some scruff, then either that's the most boring red carpet ever, or you're just not paying attention.

And, to be quite honest, I'm not going to value the fashion opinions of the average TDIET submitter (excepting, of course, those submitters who frequent this site and the Comics Curmudgeon).

A dinner dance doesn't seem like a formal affair to me

One of the most interesting things (OK, the most interesting thing) about today's strip is that the submitter's female. Is this something that she does herself and knows that it annoys her husband, or is this something she sees her friends do? Or...maybe she's gay and her girlfriend/wife/life partner does this! That would be awesome, because I somehow doubt that Al's too fond of homosexuality.

Anyway. I'm having mixed feelings about the top panel. On the one hand, with certain people--particularly people in the land of TDIET--it's probably a good idea to get a second opinion an on outfit, and I think most women wouldn't mind their husbands asking for an opinion about a tie. On the other hand, if he always asks for her approval, that is annoying. Asking about which tie to wear is one thing; constantly seeking validation is quite another.

And the bottom panel. I...don't know. I can't get upset about it. It seems like she's asking about a specific event (the "club dinner dance"), and part of her questioning is logical; is it an event for some sort of formal gown, or a regular dress? Plus, and I hate to stereotype, but a lot of times, it is easier for guys to figure out what to wear. As long as Migraina doesn't call Elpie for fashion tips every day, I don't thing there's a huge problem.

My big question here is, why is the husband named Anvil?