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!

Another twofer

Apologies for another double-up...my life just gets away from me sometimes.

It makes me sad that Al never seems to do any holiday strip. I have to believe that people have foibles related to holidays. Unless we assume that in yesterday's strip, the couple is going out to a nice Valentine's Day dinner. But really, M. Hariton, this is why we have Tivo or a DVR or even a VCR. Love how the husband actually swears about all these shows being on at the same time. My big question, though, is the "Only an old movie on at 2 a.m." almost makes it seems like there's literally nothing on tv, not just anything good. I will give credit for the feast vs. famine thing. Somewhat clever. Good job.

In today's strip, after reading just Loopina's dialogue, I got annoyed with her. I think it's the hand wave. And then I read the mother's dialogue. Good God. Talk about your overreactions. Of course, judging from her her freakout in the bottom panel, this seems to be common. And at least in the bottom panel, Mom appears to be whispering; it's obvious in the top panel that whoever's calling can hear every word being said. And now I'm curious about why Loopina doesn't want any calls. Hmm. Anyway. People are hypocritical! Shocking. I do like "The phone was on the other ear," though.

And why is that red rag so emphasized in both panels?

Well, that was a bold move of Dragbutt in today's strip: buy a cordless phone! And those wacky, wacky cordless phones--so easy to lose! (I'll ignore the fact that the base of most, if not all, cordless phones have a button to push so the handset beeps, letting you know where it is.) Wow, this sure is cutting-edge humor! Oh, wait. It's not 1987? Hmm. That puts a damper on things. I mean, even the updated version of this (Kid with cell phone: "I lose it all the time! If only there was a phone with a cord, so I wouldn't lose my phone!") is old.

And I know I've seen it before in this strip, but no child would ever say anything like, "Oh, Mommy--What Papa said!" What Al is looking for is, "Did you hear what Dad said?!" And really, Dragbutt has some anger management issues if he gets that upset about being unable to find the phone. It doesn't even seem like it's ringing, so really, he could just use a phone with a cord.

I'd suggest that Mrs. Dragbutt and Dragbutt Jr. get out while the getting's good.