Rhett Butler is dreamy

Wow. iPods, plasma tvs. Today's strip is just crazy! I can't imagine anyone watching Gone With the Wind on an iPod. My eyes hurt just thinking about it, but then, I don't particularly like watching movies on my computer, which has an 18" screen (yes, making it bigger than the actual television I have sitting next to it).

In fairness, though, it appears that Mom and Junior are watching something else on the 60" tv, so it's not like Dimwitty could watch GWTW on that. And I wonder how much of this is the novelty factor, too. The follow-up to this would be showing that 2 weeks later, Dim's iPod is gathering dust.

Other notes: Why is the salesman in the top panel wearing a ribbon? And shout out to Highlands, NJ. I used to go to a restaurant there somewhat regularly (hey, Bahrs!).

Well, if the cartoons are shown in HD, why not?

Today's strip was another that I had to read a few times to understand. I guess I underestimated how helpful those exposition boxes are. Anyway, looks like we're supposed to be down on Hekkie for suggesting a new, high-def television. I'm not really sure about the snide comments. If his dad is having problems getting a good picture on a tv that's only 5 or 6 years old, then there's a problem. (My tv is about 7 years old now and is just fine, thanks.) And HD is how things are moving; at this point, if you're getting a new tv, it makes sense to buy HD. The prices are coming down and everything's going digital. You're just setting yourself up for becoming obsolete if you go non-HD. (Here I mean for something like the family room's tv. I'd have no hesitation to buy a small, non-HD television for my bedroom or something.) (But really, you shouldn't take technology-buying advice from me. I have the very bad habit of buying this sort of thing impulsively.)

Anyway. Widescreen is a bit much, but what kid wouldn't pull for that? And Hekkie looks older than 8; I'm sure he's watching more than just cartoons. As for the "wrecking crew" comment, I have no idea where that came from. Who are those people in the other room, anyway? Random commentators?

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!

TV > Church

I kind of love today's strip just for the "Amen." at the end. But N. Fugazy, you want to know why Wombo can stay still to watch television for hours at a time but can't sit still at church? For one thing, television is a lot more interesting to him than church is. He also probably has a lot of pent-up energy after sitting still for so long. Maybe Mom and Dad could encourage Wombo to do some sort of physical activity instead of sitting in front of the tv. (Although, for all I know, he does a lot of energy-sapping stuff and is watching tv in his down time.) (And wow, that's a big screen.) Besides, don't most churches have Sunday school for the kids to attend? I know we always left before the sermon, and the beginning part of the service was varied enough to keep most kids' attention.

But ultimately, why? Because he's a kid, genius. Sheesh.

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!"

Almost a feel-good Friday

I admit that I stared at today's strip for a few moments, uncomprehending. Wow, I thought. So today's strip is just giving credit to someone doing something nice? That's...kind of cool, actually. And it would be. Most of the topics are about the tiny, petty little things that tick people off. What a great change of pace, to have a strip like this! Of course, upon examination of the strip, I found that while it's partially a "Good job!" strip, it's also a subtle complaint against the people who gave the PILES of presents that need assembly. Do that many toys really require assembly? Would a steam shovel like that be something that someone puts together at home? I don't know. Instead, I'll ignore the complaint, as it's a bit subtle, and focus on the cake. Mmm, cake.

Yesterday's strip is also a bit confusing. Once again, it's not the concept that I have a problem with ("They can sleep through a loud tv program, but not a bug flying around the room!"), but the execution. The top panel is the real culprit. Is that kid sleepwalking? And just have the mom be sleeping, not yawning. With her eyes closed. But for content? I don't really have a problem. I should say that I don't really see an issue of sleeping through a tv show but being bothered by a mosquito (which, duh, yes, kill it!). Things like that happen to me not infrequently.

And I'd like to point out that this is at least the third Fifi Meisner-submitted strip (the other two). I really should look her up.

HDTV, but no computers

I love the juxtaposition in yesterday's strip between the plasma HDTV (and wow, correct terminology throughout! Al must've had an assistant help him with this) and the actual image we see on the tv. It's in a shade of gray, and the ancient-looking ballplayer is tossing the ball in some random fashion. It doesn't look like he's throwing the ball on a play; maybe they're just tossing the ball around the horn after a strikeout? Anyway. The strip. Some of the set-up Junior is going on about isn't required for having a plasma HDTV (not that I do know what is required, seeing as I have a 27" regular tv). But home theater and DVR? Nope, not necessary. My parents just got an HDTV, and I don't believe they have a DVR. They certainly don't have a home theater system. I do like how Al not only had to write "Dunce" on the dunce cap, but tell us that this means "Dummy." Thanks!

Today's strip confuses me. Who are the two women in this strip? Is the woman next to Ragweed someone who works in his "home office"? Is she a maid? What's going on there? And really, this shouldn't come up. Mrs. Ragweed should say, "I'm sorry, my husband is working right now." If the jerks go into his study and start talking to him, he should just say, "I'd like to chat, but I'm really busy and possibly broke, as this 'Past due' invoice indicates. I'll give you a call later." If they won't go away, just don't engage. Continue working as though they weren't there, and they'll get the hint. And honestly, does this happen? Do whole families stop by in the middle of what's presumably a workday? If he's doing work on a Saturday, then I can see an issue. I feel bad for Ragweed and His Ladies, but they need to grow a spine, as is the case in so many of these strips.

The yoyoitis pandemic is over

I, for one, am happy to read about the cure for yoyoitis in today's strip, as it's been a plague on TDIETland since at least last July. I wonder why the couple is so interested in it--perhaps someone close to them died of yoyoitis? Really, I know that tv stations do that all time (pst, Al and submitter Charles--it's to make you sit through the entire show; I mean, you know you'll turn off the tv right after that story), but Al could've come up with a better example. Good ones are interviews with big celebrities, or shocking information about how air can kill you. It doesn't have the same pull when it's some random disease you made up to afflict characters in a soap opera.

And yes, I do recommend cartoons. Even ones not for the kiddies. Honestly, they're always a good antidote to the news.

The real clue that the couple shouldn't even be watching? The station is WDULL (which is one letter too many, but I'll let that pass).

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).

TV, hospitals, and more tv

Wednesday's strip makes no sense to me. The basic problem is that if a movie is being aired on television, then it's already out on tape. (And, by the way, Al, most of us buy DVDs nowadays.) If it's on tv and not already released for purchase, then you're probably watching it on pay-per-view or On Demand...and in both cases, you'd be seeing the original uncut version. And if the movie is that bad, then it's probably rated R, which the parents should've noticed. So, no sympathy from me. I do like the replacement use of "You're just a meany--you ol' fuddy duddy." We just don't use the phrase "fuddy-duddy" enough these days.

Yesterday's strip once again takes us to a hospital (although submitted by someone from DC, not Florida, so that's nice). Do hospitals actually provide menus to their patients like this? That would be obnoxious if you were given a choice and didn't get it...but really, is this an actual situation? We don't know why this guy is in the hospital (no IV or bandages), but roast beef, mashed potatoes, pie, coffee, and biscuits (mmm, biscuits) does not sound like something that a hospital would offer to most of its patients. At least there aren't any totally bizarro foods mentioned.

Is it wrong that in today's strip, I'm more interested in the food on the table than in the actual substance of the strip? I didn't think so. I'm just trying to figure out whether that's a fast food bag next to the hamburger and the bottle of ketchup. Or is that soda? Probably soda. Maybe those are fries? I'm not sure. I appreciate the newspaper proclaiming that the ballgam that Arfo wanted to watch was a "big game"--subtle. Nice. Why he's so intent on listening to the news, though, is beyond me. Unless he's making a point about not being able to hear the tv. Situations like this always get me. I assume that Arfo and Migraina have been married for a while. He's sitting about 1 foot from the television. I refuse to believe that he can't just tune out his wife. But I do feel for Arfo. It reminds me of growing up, my dad would insist on having the tv on a certain channel...and then would read a newspaper. But we weren't allowed to change the channel. Typical.

It's all about the aunts

I can't help but sympathize with Migraina in yesterday's strip. I think part of it is that I don't have enough information. Is Aunt Elpina on Migraina's side of the family, or her husband's? Because if it's her husband's side of the family, honestly, he should know. She really should at least know how Aunt Elpina is doing...assuming that she hasn't been in the hospital long. To be frank, though, when my aunt was in and out of the hospital last year, I couldn't tell you what hospital or who her doctor was (and honestly, unless it's local, why should they know?). I generally knew how she was doing, but wouldn't necessarily know how long she would be in for. Yet, like Migraina, could at the same time give details about the lives of television characters ("a bad case of amnesia"?). I guess...that makes me a bad person? I'm not proud that I know as much random television trivia as I do, but that doesn't mean I don't care about my family. Dammit.

In today's strip, we contemplate the empty nest. Which is funny to me, only because today I became an aunt! Yay! That has nothing to do with TDIET, but I'm really excited about it. Honestly, I have really nothing snarky to say about today's strip, to the point where I'll ignore "J'ever". I imagine that is what the house feels like. At least at first. Then you get over it and enjoy not having to deal with those bratty kids. Particularly if you don't have their college to pay for anymore.

When Al meets Lynn

Apologies for not updating earlier this week. But it's not like those strips weren't anything we'd seen before, right? I'm fairly confident I've discussed those previously, even though I couldn't find the actual strips in the archives.

Anyway, holy crap. Today's strip is just a rehash of Sunday's For Better or For Worse. I actually love it when this happens in the comics, because comics are written so far in advance and it's just kind of crazy to see that two writers planned the same idea for the same time. Obviously this is a few days off, but I'm ignoring that.

I'm impressed that Yorick gets five hours of grammar a week in school. I wonder what grade he's in. We certainly covered grammar when I was a kid, but I don't think I ever consistently had an hour of grammar a day. And honestly, if he gets that much grammar in school, then hopefully he's learning it correctly. A person doesn't always have to speak or write with perfect grammar--I'm aware than I ended the second sentence of this paragraph with a preposition, but it's not about to keep me up at night. As long as Yorick can come off sounding reasonably intelligent most the time, and can write decently, I'm not going to fret over some oddly phrased song lyrics. I'm not even going to get into the spellings--he's just listening to the lyrics, Al; odd spellings can't affect him.

And let's look at the lyrics: "Yo, baby/Who don't love you/I can't getcha off of my brain/No how/You're my favorite chick." Well, yeah. That doesn't make too much sense. But really, most lyrics don't. I have a book that's about how the Beatles wrote their songs, and a bunch of them are just like, "I liked the melody and threw in some words." So...yeah.

Al meets Hollywood

Today's strip is just to annoy me because the other day, after much debate, I decided not to include "show business" as a tag. Typical.

Do Al or submitter R. Feinstein pay any attention to show business? Why is it shocking that an actor might be asked to gain (or lose) weight for a part? Admittedly, that happens more for movies (famous examples: Raging Bull, Bridget Jones's Diary) than in television, and apparently this is for a television part. But still. And if Chuck Chiselchin doesn't realize this, then he shouldn't be an actor.

Maybe Chuck should realize he's not a leading man. He's not being offered a lead role here--unless the show is about an uncle and his niece(s)/nephew(s). Which is possible, I guess. And if it is a lead, be happy! Yay! A lead on a tv show. Though it's obviously a local show, so maybe he shouldn't be too excited. But still. Be grateful for the work.

Two other things: "Y'know, have a paunch stomach." You could just say "paunch." Doesn't that imply stomach? Also, how is this a "living on the edge"? Is Chuck going to start whaling on the tv exec? If so, man, he's less ready for stardom than I thought.

Inching closer to accuracy

While today's strip does seem to depict life in a period somewhat close to modern times, it's still not right. The only way this could possibly be accurate is if the "soap serial" Wifey likes is on E!, which does have a scrolling banner with headlines. But if you're just watching a regular soap opera, you're not going to see that. You know what channels have those? News channels. Which, last time I looked, don't actually show entertainment programs. (I'm using "entertainment" loosely here.) The only time I've seen those during regular programming is if there's something the network deems important--generally weather. So I can buy them having a "Heavy floods" warning up. And the ad for the Hap Hapless Show is acceptable as well. (And hey, congrats on the creator of Hap Hapless at the jump from a comic strip to a tv show!)

I'm gonna tag this as "stupid husband," too, because I blame him for not watching the show itself. I understand the scrolling marquee is distracting, but still.

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.

Cartoons trump football--but not baseball

The wording in today's strip took me a while to understand. The "in come your daughter and granddaughter Loopina" completely confused me. I didn't really register that the daughter and granddaughter had just walked in the door; I only noticed Loopina walking into the living room. Combine that with naming only the granddaughter and not the daughter (not that we need either name), and I was like, "Why is he saying both the granddaughter and daughter are walking in? Only one person is!"

I will give credit. I saw "Granpa" and got annoyed at the lack of a "d" in there, but then I noticed that Al put in an apostrophe. So that's OK.

But I'm having a hard time accepting this strip, particularly after yesterday's strip that ripped on a daughter for not talking to her mom (the theory being that she only talked to her mom when she wanted money, but I'm not buying into that). It's not that I'm not sympathetic to Grandpa. I'd be a bit annoyed, too. But I refuse to get worked into a huff because a granddaughter, cuddling up to her grandfather, has certain shows she wants to watch. She has just as much right to get upset about having to watch football (which, pst, Al, football season is over) as Grandpa has to get upset about having to watch cartoons. Loopina would probably prefer to be at home as well.

Honestly, it's lose-lose here, except for the mother and grandmother, who look like they're having a jolly time in the background. Good for them.

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.

Adult programming

Am I supposed to feel bad for Junior in today's strip? Really? Darn that mother for wanting her child to complete his homework before allowing him to watch television! This way he'll get a good education! Really, if his homework takes him so long that only "dumb grown-up programs" (psst, Al, most of us normal people call them "shows"), then he should probably be going to bed, because those shows aren't coming on until 9 or 10--it's a medical program, shockingly enough, and Grey's Anatomy and House come on at 9 (I think; I don't actually watch House) and ER comes on at 10.

I think Junior's complaint isn't so much that only grown-up programs are on (psst, Al, there's this thing called "cable" that many people have, allowing for more than just 4 channels), it's that his parents are monopolizing the television. And again, this isn't something I'm going to come down on. I think my parents pretty much let my sister and me decide what to watch, but I also got stuck with Wall Street Week on a somewhat regular basis. And God help you if you wanted to watch something other than MacGyver when it was on. Really, the parents pay for the tv. They pay for the cable (or, if there isn't cable, then the electricity at least). I'm going to yield to them.

If there is more than one television and they do have cable...then I don't know what to tell Junior. He either needs to expand his horizons or...I don't know.

I'll take "Idiotic comic strips" for $200, Alex

Thanks for all the Christmas wishes, folks. I had a lovely time while also managing to frighten my sister with my passionate dissing of Anthony from For Better or For Worse. My sister hasn't read it in ages, and was all, "Oh, I like Anthony!" Big mistake on her part.

On to today's strip. On what game show is someone picked out of the audience like that? The only shows that I can think of that involve people being picked from the audience are shows like The Price is Right or Supermarket Sweep (man, I miss Supermarket Sweep), where it's just totally random. It's never, "Do we have any smart people? Come on down, smart person!" And really, most trivia shows are all over the board; few specialize in travel-related questions (or whatnot), and if they do, they're called Travel-Related Quiz Show (or, you know, Supermarket Sweep), not The Big Buck-a-Roo Show (and "buck-a-roo" can really be one word, Al). Any show that's giving away a quarter of a million dollars is probably one that is supposed to appeal to a general audience; hence, there is a question about popular culture. I actually took the test for Jeopardy and trust me, it had some lowbrow (well, comparatively) questions on there.

And stop glaring at the reader, Mr. Crankypants. Just because you're ancient and don't listen to what the kids these days listen to doesn't make the question an invalid one. I'm just going to assume that the wife is shocked by how befuzzled the contestant is (I'm not going to acknowledge the name Al gave him).

I'm guessing the gangster isn't saying "You dirty rat"

Today's strip asks a good question: Where does li'l Hekkie pick up those naughty words he uses? Why, cable tv, of course! (Note the conspicuous tv guide on the coffee table.) Of course, the real question here is whether we're supposed to be all, "Television! How horrible! Corrupting our children!" or whether we're supposed to note how complacently Ma and Pa Hekkie are watching the television without bothering to do anything about it. If it weren't for that "Cable TV" guide on the table and the heading of the expo box, I'd probably actually think we're supposed to be blaming the parents--Hekkie's expression and the ghost-like question mark bubble over his head seem to indicate that he's confused why his parents would be watching that in front of him. Maybe they don't notice him in the other room?

Really, it's an enigma. Maybe we're supposed to blame both negligent parenting and those bums who allow this filth on the air. Of course, it's not like Hekkie would only hear those words on tv, unless he's never allowed outside the house.