Another scary road!

Today's strip is, not surprisingly, a repeat. And honestly, I don't have much new to add to what I said then. And I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be a driver's license on the moon. Astronaut license?

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!

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 my car to have a specific make, Al!

In today's strip, we learn that people treat themselves differently than they treat their cars. Shocking. I guess it's bad because Barfwell treats his car better than he treats himself? Eh. I don't understand why Mrs. Barfwell is all, "How could you?" I mean, he's eating a lot--and randomly (oysters, chili, hot dog, and custard pie? Barfwell's going to live up to his name real soon)--but it's not something to get that worked over. I guess it'd be a concern if he always ate like that, but it almost seems like Mrs. B is more upset about him looking gross in public. That could just be my take, though.

And shouldn't it be "What kind of gas and oil I put in this car"? It's not like you put gas or oil in a car; you put in both.

Also, "din-din" is what a dog eats. Most of us humans have "dinner."

What's up with the blue seat in my car?

I love the guy in the top panel of today's strip who's so enthusiastically saying, "It's so easy to read!" Wow, thanks, random guy! Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to figure that out. And of course it's easy to read. It's a town sign. The problem in the bottom panel isn't with the sign itself; the problem is with the grass blocking it. The expo boxes acknowledge that; hence the condemnation of the town for blowing big bucks. And I kind of hope it was the town that spent the money, not the county.

I feel bad for the kids in that town, unless the schools aren't "Dorksburg Middle" and "Dorksburg High." Can you imagine the rivalries? Poor traumatized children.

And hey, Trumbull should be lucky that the sign is that big. From what I remember of the "Welcome to Ridgefield" signs when I lived in Connecticut, they weren't nearly as easy to read as that sign is.

Mmm, meatball sub (not hero)

Today's strip is a sad one, as it appears that something's wrong with my car. Boo! That being said, P. Manchester, you didn't pull into a "service station," you pulled into a "gas station." Not all gas stations do repairs. It's possible that every single gas station used to do repairs; I don't know. I do know that you can very quickly tell whether or not you can get your car serviced somewhere because places that do repairs have a shop.

And Al and P. Manchester, there is nothing wrong with a gas station also having various snack foods. If you don't agree, then clearly you've never been on a road trip of any length.

And if this were an actual sign of the current times, you would not see a gas station employee in a uniform like that.

Not so great with the pop psychology

I'm confused by the wife in today's strip. She seems rather nonplussed in the top strip. Maybe she understands that it's silly to get a new car every 4 years? Although, you know, it's really not bad, assuming that they're leasing it. If you want a new car that frequently, I imagine that leasing would make the most sense. As for furnaces, well, I have no idea how long the average lifespan of one of those is. For some reason I'm thinking 25 years, but I could be completely off. But I live in an apartment, so I don't need to know!

But no, I don't know why Fester (no relation to the Addams Family, presumably) would think of 19 years as "practically new." It could be psychological. Maybe he and Mrs. Fester were the ones who replaced the furnace, and to admit that 19 years is a long time, he'd have to admit that he's old. Or something.

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!

I don't think the golf clubs fit in my car

What impressed me about today's strip is that it's actually season-appropriate. Spring has come and gone. Anyway, I can't get particularly worked up about this. Was Mrs. Arfo particularly counting on those vegetables, or is she just annoyed that Arfo is all talk, no action? If the latter, then it's probably just the latest thing in a long line of disappointments. I feel bad for her, but she's probably used to it. I like how Al is piling on Arfo--not only did he not plant the garden, but he's a crappy golfer, to boot. At least he drives a nice car.

On a different note, I'm taking a short break. I'll be back Tuesday. Tomorrow I head off for a long weekend with my sister and baby niece!

Women like shopping, men like sports

I think the big question about today's strip is, Why is there so much red? Both Annoyia and Alf are wearing red, and with one exception, everything in Flo's Boutique is red, or has red in it. I'd accept it if this were the February 14 strip, but...got me. Maybe to Al, we commemorate President's Day by wearing red? It's patriotic, I guess.

(And speaking of Al, faithful reader Setgreen emailed me this link to an article about Al. And seeing that picture of him makes me feel really guilty about making fun of this strip. It feels really mean. So I'm trying to forget I ever read it.) (Hey! I wonder if the strip included is the one from tomorrow! We'll have to wait and see, but I'm excited.)

I'm confused about the timing within this strip. I suppose Annoyia could've gone, bought the gift certificate, seen the dresses, and picked them out. But it seems kind of odd. Clearly she either didn't actually intend on shopping while she was there, or went through the motions of buying the certificate first as a ruse. In either case, there's no way that Alf has already been standing there long enough to have cobwebs magically form on him.

And now I'm totally distracted by the "Dream on, brother," as it's making me think of Desmond from Lost.

People don't live in the suburbs, do they?

I hope today's strip has taught everyone a lesson: There's traffic in the suburbs, too! I know, I know, you're all shocked. But nobody would go to a movie in the suburbs on what's probably a weekend night! you think.

Dear reader, I know. It's almost as though people who live in the suburbs for some reason don't want to trek down into the closest city to see a movie. I don't understand it either.

I also don't really understand where Lula and Alf live. Is this some sort of artsy film they want to see? Otherwise, why do they have to drive a half hour to see a movie? If they live close enough to a "downtown," they should probably be closer than a half hour from a movie theater. Although I suppose traffic (particular the traffic on Long Island, where Jericho, NY, is located)could add up.

But really, in general, why would anyone think, ever, that a movie theater in the suburbs would be empty? Has this person ever been to the 'burbs?

Actually, the real question is why is everyone still standing in line when the "Sold out" sign is up. I refuse to believe that more than just the one movie ("Purple Love"?) is playing. Look at the marquee!

Times in my life I've dealt with my house being on the market: 3

Today's strip gets kudos for including my car and Fignewt. And...that's about it.

"Their old homestead"? Are they in Oklahoma in the mid-19th century? It's a house. Or a home. And I imagine they did jump for joy. Selling a house is a pain in the butt. You always have to keep it fairly neat and clean, because who knows when someone's going to show up to look at it. You get kicked out so realtors can show it. And it's weird trying to make plans when you're not sure when you'll be moving. There's really nothing enjoyable about selling a house, and I'm not even mentioning people coming into your house and making snide comments about it.

On the other hand, I can also understand driving by the old house and sighing over it. And really, who knows what their situation is now? Maybe they moved into a place that turned out to be crappy. It's entirely possible that they didn't realize how small apartments can be, and just miss having the room. And if this conversation is anything like ones I've had, as soon as they get past it, Lula will say, "Yeah, but remember what a pain it was shoveling the driveway?" and Fignewt will say, "Yeah, that was awful. And our utility bills are so much lower now!" And then they'll both forget about it.

I mean, I sigh over places I used to live...for about two seconds. And we're talking about places I was all too happy to leave. Such is life.