CSotD: Hahaha … hmmm
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Let's start the day today with an odd but so-far wonderful story arc at Retail.
Several weeks ago, Marla's insufferable assistant manager, Brice, accepted a job at Delman's, the other department store anchor in the mall. The joke was that their boss, Stuart, had been about to offer him a management position elsewhere, but off he went and good riddance and life at Grumbel's switched to Marla's attempt to hire a replacement.
But here we are — and have been for a couple of days — at Delman's, where for the first time ever, we begin to feel sorry for Brice as he settles into his new gig. Norm Feuti has always delighted in depicting bad management, but he's having way too much fun with this arc.
And so are his readers. This is a level of toxicity that, if he brought it into Marla's world, wouldn't be funny, but is a hoot as long as it's happening down the hall.
Start here on Monday and click forward.
(Editor's Note: "POS" here stands for "Point of Sale." Though that other interpretation probably works in this context, too.)
Juxtaposition of the Literalists
(Bizarro)
There is a horologist somewhere over in Vermont who used to have a sponsorship on public radio, but nobody right here, so I don't have to drive by a "Watch Repair" sign. That's good, because today's Bizarro is now permanently etched on my brain and I wouldn't be able to avoid thinking of it every time.
Though it's better than "Void Where Prohibited," which I don't think any cartoonist has attempted to capture in a graphic, though I've seen a similar gag using the sign "Wet Paint," generally involving a dog on three legs.
And, yes, every "Wet Paint" sign makes me think of it.
But the "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" gag in the Lockhorns puts me more in mind of a very bright friend who had a talent for seeing through the most innocent joke to find some monumentally depressing subcontext, so that he'd laugh "hahaha" and then pause with a "hmmm" and launch into something that would bring you right down, though, granted, in an intelligent and thoughtful way.
So I laft at the notion of Leroy and Loretta spending like crazy to match the wretched excess of that wretchedly excessive family and then I said "hmmm" and wondered how many people in real life are actually setting their sails based on that stupid faux-reality show.
Which in turn made me think of my theory, expressed here recently, that there seem to be a lot of people who know that wrestling is fake but assume that everything else is, too, and pursue their lives accordingly.
It made me think, too, of "Braxton Family Values," which, from the promos, appears to be a TV show in which a group of wealthy, over-dressed, good-looking black women scream threats and insults at each other.
Which in turn made me think of a time I was standing outside the office of an elementary school principal in a rural school from which you could look out any window and see dairy cows.
She was dealing with three little Anne-of-Green-Gables fifth graders who were venting their fury with each other in "talk to the hand" gestures and head-bobs they had clearly picked up by watching "Jerry Springer."
Hahahaha.
Hmmm.
Pick a little, talk a little
Glad to see Sarah Laing get back into blogging. Her slice-of-life observations are like a conversation with a good friend whose moments of "hmmm" are elevating even when when they're bittersweet.
And in this case, her description of recreational lock-picking — of which this is only a snippet — is hilarious simply because, as she observes in a note at the end,
The internet is amazing in the way that people with niche interests can find a place to converge. I never realised there were so many lock picking enthusiasts in Auckland!
Nor did I.
And I cheated, because she has since posted another entry, so read that, too. It's about fish-net stockings.
She goes through these odd moments and random encounters with an aura of normalcy that feels like a 21st Century, feminist/artistic version of Candide.
Which is not particularly common, but is very welcome.
As long as I'm cheating …
Boulet may have been playing with us, by leaving his piece on writer's block posted forever and then dropping this piece on the cartoonist's job and promptly posting over it two days later with a reflection on the topic of bubble wrap.
Apparently, the writer's block is over, and, once again, I'm cheating by posting something that is no longer the current piece, but, then again, it's a topic comics fans and cartoonists will enjoy, much as Hollywood gets a kick out of movies about making movies.
So, again, this is but a snippet and the rest is here, and the bubble wrap thing is here.
Is there such a thing as FLOTUS Derangement Syndrome?
Mike Luckovich uses the slap-away on the red carpet to note that Trump may have more loyalty over at the tattered remains of Fox News than within what may be the tattered remains of his marriage.
I like the cartoon, but I don't like the commentary I'm hearing from people who can apparently read the mind of this woman and see behind closed doors.
Or perhaps who simply hate anyone with money.
Or good looks.
Or two X-chromosomes.
I'm wondering if a young woman might make a bad choice and find herself locked into an ironclad pre-nup and non-disclosure agreement, with a young son whom she protects like a lioness, refusing to drag him through the empty, soul-crushing dog-and-pony show she herself cannot always avoid.
I like Luckovich's take, but my response is hahahaha …
… hmmm.
"Stand By Your Man" isn't the only song Tammy sang
Mike Peterson has posted his "Comic Strip of the Day" column every day since 2010. His opinions are his own, but we welcome comments either agreeing or in opposition.
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