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.)

Barb embraces technology

You may have noticed (if you haven't...you're blind) that I realized what the little Blogger icons mean in my "Create a Post" window and have added the actual strip for today. My knowledge of the Interwebs clearly knows no bounds. I was spurred on to this by gallagher's comment yesterday, wondering whether the archives would disappear, rendering my blog completely moot. (Or moo, like a cow's opinion.) I hope that if they do disappear, it takes a while, as I'll make an attempt to go back and add the actual comics. And maybe even add tags for the older entries. We'll see.

Anyway, today's strip. (Yes, I feel the need to link it. I don't know why.) I kind of love it because of the woman in the lower right corner. Her expression makes me happy. Also, that is a tiny pool, which amuses me. I do wonder whether this visitor to Palm City actually heard these people say they were going for a "swim" or just a "dip in the pool." Did these guys actually talk about getting exercise? And maybe they are swimming around a bit. Or it could be therapeutic! My grandmother swims every week because she has a bum hip, but I doubt she's doing laps. Who knows.

Love the guy asking the others where they're going for "early bird." I really hope that people actually do call it that. It would totally make my day.

All good things...

I'm sure many of you saw at the Comics Curmudgeon that King Features is ending the strip after the final Al-drawn TDIET runs on February 2. Like Josh, I have mixed feelings. I think it would've been fascinating to see someone else draw it...but at the same time, a more modern sensibility would take away so much of what makes the strip awesome. So it'll be a sad day, and, I suppose, the end of this blog. Well, it's been a good run.

I'm now high-tailing it out of town for a few days...I'll be back on Tuesday to cover the last two weeks of TDIET.

Good luck at the tolls, everyone!

Lugbutt's problem in today's strip is obvious--he's used to throwing a horseshoe. As we all know, horseshoes are much heavier than quarters, so he overestimated the effort it would take. Poor guy. But hey, at least he has a first name now! So that's nice. I do admit that this is one of my great fears. Luckily it's not a situation I encounter often, but when I have...yeah, paranoia sets in. At the point Lugbutt's in now, you just give up the quarter you lost and toss in a new one. Very carefully. I'd also like to point out that this strip is timely. AAA estimates that today will actually be the busiest travel day of the year in my area (which doesn't really make sense, but anyway).

Also, I wanted to let you all know that I'm heading across the country tomorrow to visit the folks. I may try and check in next week, but I can't make any guarantees. I will definitely be back January 2. Have a great break, for those of you getting one. And happy new year!

I'm a loser, baby

First, I wanted to acknowledge reader D.B. Echo, who managed to get an acknolwedgement of Al's passing into his newspaper as a letter to the editor. From him (as originally commented on CC):

I’m still rather pissed about the mainstream media generally ignoring Al Scaduto’s passing. So much so that I decided that if my local paper (which carries They’ll Do It Every Time) was not going to mention it on their own, I would make them mention it.

My plan worked, and my letter made it into their Letters to the Editor page. Unfortunately, some good stuff was trimmed at then end. Here is the letter in its original format, with the edit shown in bold. Please feel free to copy and revise for your own local papers.

Al Scaduto died on Saturday, December 8 at the age of 79.

If you don’t know who Al Scaduto is, turn to the comics section of the weekday version of the Citizens’ Voice and look at the lower left-hand corner. Al Scaduto has single-handedly written and illustrated the one-panel comic They’ll Do It Every Time for the past eighteen years, and prior to that co-wrote it as part of the team of Dunn and Scaduto.

Al Scaduto was a gem of a man, gentle, kind, and polite, as noted on the blog The Comics Curmudgeon (joshreads.com) in comments by his many fans, correspondents, and even several family members. Sadly, his passing has gone almost completely unnoticed by the mainstream media. He was loved, and will be missed.

Thanks for sharing, and great job.

On to today's strip. I'm fine with the premise of the strip (guy never wins anything, but the one time he is chosen randomly, it's to find something bad in his food) (he probably also gets chosen to sit on the jury of the trial that lasts forever, and his employer won't pay him for that time, so he only gets the $15/day or whatever). It's the specificity of him finding a stone in his food. That just seems so bizarre, that I have to wonder whether L. Gerner suggested it. I mean, of anything to find in his food, I wouldn't think "stone." But hey, maybe he can be a winner in the end. I bet that since he obviously needs dental work, he can probably sue the caterer (maybe even the location of the event) and get the money for that, and probably damages to boot. I'd tell him to look on the bright side, but that has to be tough when your name is "Loozer."

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.

Rest in peace, Al

It appears that our friend Al Scaduto passed away this weekend at the age of 79. I definitely recommend reading what Josh wrote over at Comics Curmudgeon, and I can't help but echo his sentiments. While we may enjoy poking fun at the strip, and poking fun at Al for his apparent belief that it remains the 1950s (though it seems more recent strips have been bringing us closer to the present), it remains that from everything I've read, Al was genuinely good person. The way he responded to readers and sent submitters the strips was wonderful.

Al wasn't the first person to draw TDIET, and we'll have to see whether King Features decides to continue with the strip. As has been said before, it's doubtful that the new artist could truly replace Al Scaduto.

As for this blog...well, obviously, we'll just have to wait and see. I'll continue to comment on the strips, but it'll be with a heavier heart.

There are better ways to knock local newscasts

Again, today's strip, with the "J'ever notice?" No, I have never noticed that. Admittedly, I don't watch the news that much, but this doesn't seem to mesh with what I have noticed. Local news does cover some worldwide events, but the vast majority of it is stuff like, "Fire in local neighborhood!" That way, the station can have a reporter standing in front of whatever they're talking about. Local news likes that sort of thing. And I've never seen the news interrupted for something like that. And I doubt the anchor would say, "Flash." On the other hand, it does remind me of this time in February 2002, when the emergency broadcast system started to go off, and it didn't say that it was a test. I started freaking out, but it turns out that it was started because of a major snowstorm moving into the area. But yeah, not that similar to this situation.

Oh, and I hope everyone saw the comment about Monday's strip in the Comics Curmudgeon. Very interesting!

I'll be gone tomorrow and Friday for training for work. Huzzah. I'll catch you all in December!

In praise of the RSS

Just a reminder that if you don't feel like actually having to come here, you can always sign up for the RSS feed. I follow about 20 sites on my Google Reader, and I've been nice and set it up so you don't even have to come here to get all the content (unlike some other blogs...). I'm just sayin'.

Have a great weekend, everyone! I may or may not post on Monday; I have the day off work because my employer rocks and gives us our birthdays off. My birthday is Sunday, so I get Monday off. Woo!

Resurfacing briefly

Yes, I realize that I haven't posted in, and I'm estimating here, forever. I haven't died or fallen off the face of the earth. Work, however, has been insane lately, due to an upcoming conference. I've spent the past week or two helping other people prepare for it, leaving me next to no time to do my own work, let alone post about TDIET. However, I'm sure that if you randomly choose a posting from the archives, there's a good chance that the concept is the same as the strips that I haven't had a chance to recap. I should get back to a more normal posting schedule around Columbus Day.

Techno-saavy

Ever notice that when you check a website frequently, there isn't new content, but when you skip a few days, you miss a bunch of posts? Ohh yeah! Avoid this situation by subscribing to my RSS feed--you can find the link at the bottom on the panel on the right. Well, theoretically--if it doesn't work, let me know. I may be a bit more up on the technology than Al is, but I'm no genius.

It's to fight the earth warming trend

I was about to wonder whether the idea for today's strip was submitted, say, 15 years ago. I clearly remember bringing in recycleables to the grocery store for the money. Then I glanced at the submitter, and realized that the issue isn't when but where. When I was recycling like that, I lived in Connecticut. So I guess it's a CT thing. And yes, there were numerous times that the machine would be full. However, the light was already on, so it's not like you would actually put your cans/bottles/whatever into the machine without knowing that it was a futile effort.

And yes, while this is annoying, I can't help but fault Nudnik. Maybe he should try bringing in his empty bottles and cans more frequently; then he wouldn't have to cart those boxes around, only to find that it was a wasted effort. Also, if this happens every time, maybe he should just go to a different store where the recycling machines are more reliable.

I should also note that the best part about those machines (other than getting cash) is the very satisfying crunch when you put the bottles in. Excellent.

On a side note, I've been called out of town on business, and won't be around tomorrow or Friday. My apologies. Feel free to comment on those strips here, though.

I'm not dead yet

No, I haven't been carried away by the TDIET police. I actually started a new job this past week, and thus have been fairly busy and somewhat preoccupied. But I'm settling in, so hopefully should be able to get back to posting regularly. I haven't looked at TDIET this past week, so hopefully I didn't miss anything good. Though I did notice that the strip on Tuesday was the one pictured in that article about Scaduto. Nice!