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June 22, 2007

Probably Not a John Jacob Jingleheimer Reference

Filed under: Bill Bickel, CIDU, comics, Far Side, humor, John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt — Cidu Bill @ 12:07 am

senatorschmidt.jpg

20 Comments »

  1. Are you sure you didn’t miss the caption on this one?

    Comment by Janice — June 22, 2007 @ 10:22 am

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  2. This is all I was sent. Agreed, a caption might go a long way toward explaining it…

    Comment by Cidu Bill — June 22, 2007 @ 10:31 am

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  3. While I was searching the internet to see if I could find this cartoon and it’s supposed caption, I stumbled on this site http://www.worth1000.com/cache/contest/contestcache.asp?contest_id=3486&display=photoshop#entries

    It has some of Gary Larson’s cartoons brought to ‘life’ with the magic of photoshop.

    And I still don’t know what the caption is — or should be

    Comment by Nicole — June 22, 2007 @ 12:06 pm

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  4. Someone out there must have that huge “COMPLETE FAR SIDE” book, right?

    Without seeing the caption, all I can tell about this cartoon is that the guy waving goodbye is supposed to be some sort of psychoanalyst. That’s how head shrinkers were invariably drawn in cartoons back then. The other guy seems to be a senator, but he doesn’t look much like one. He looks more like a refugee from the margins of an R. Crumb comic. And do senators really carry briefcaes with their own names writen on the side in HUGE capital letters?

    Incidentally, was this cartoon printed on a napkin?

    Comment by Joe Blevins — June 22, 2007 @ 11:25 pm

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  5. I’m thinking possibly the man with the case isn’t Schmidt, but someone being sent off to campaign for Schmidt. Perhaps the ‘psychiatrist’ is Schmidt….

    None of which brings us any closer to a punch line. But I wonder if there’s any chance it DOES have something to do with John Jacob Jingleheimer — it’d make quite a campaign tune…

    Comment by Brian Leahy — June 22, 2007 @ 11:52 pm

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  6. Yeah, I think there’s definitely a missing caption here.

    Incidentally Bill, you have the weirdest damn “Categories” for postings on your blog…

    Comment by sm — June 23, 2007 @ 1:02 am

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  7. sm, I prefer to think of it as “eclectic.”

    Comment by Cidu Bill — June 23, 2007 @ 1:22 am

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  8. Instead of investigations along the “Far Side” route, I googled for “Senator Schmidt” and found an article entitled “Pharmacy Commends Senator Schmidt for Ensuring Uninterrupted Access of Medicaid Patients to Needed Medicines” about some issues with Kansas prescriptions. It was the first Google link, but you need to use the cache to see the article.

    So, I’d guess this cartoon is trying to espouse, correctly or not, that the senator is possibly influenced by the medical establishment (i.e., why are the pharmacies, and not the patients, commending the senator for providing continuous access? One would speculate that the patients who actually need the medication would be far more grateful…). By the way, Senator Schmidt from the article is female – but I an unsure whether this cartoon is referring to the same one. Does this help?

    Comment by Someone else — June 23, 2007 @ 7:38 pm

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  9. Larson rarely, if ever, got that topical.

    Comment by Powers — June 24, 2007 @ 8:07 am

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  10. I think it might have something to do with the sandwich in the doctor’s hand… Maybe?

    Comment by Charlene — June 24, 2007 @ 8:56 am

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  11. I have read the complete Far Side collection twice, but I don’t remember this comic (however I may have just forgot).

    Maybe this isn’t a comic, but just a sketch that some one happened to dig up and though it was -suppose- to be funny

    Or perhaps it was drawn for a magazine article, but I’ve never heard of Larson drawing anything that wasn’t a comic for any magazine or newspaper

    Comment by Helen — June 24, 2007 @ 1:53 pm

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  12. Technically, Larson did draw things that weren’t comics for a magazine or newspaper. The book, “There’s a hair in my dirt!” is a must-read!

    Comment by Janice — June 25, 2007 @ 10:50 am

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  13. Actually, if you’re going to purchase the book, use Bill’s Amazon link and support the continuation of this website.

    Comment by Janice — June 25, 2007 @ 10:52 am

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  14. He just gave him a Schmidt sandwich.

    Comment by Krusher — June 25, 2007 @ 3:27 pm

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  15. It looks like it’s scanned from a T-shirt. I’m guessing it’s a bootleg that someone has doctored to add the “Senator Schmidt”.

    Comment by Alan Hamilton — June 26, 2007 @ 12:14 am

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  16. Dig it: I tried attaching the jpg to an email and (not expecting any response) sent it, along with a request for clarification, to an address at the Far Side web site. To my great surprise, I actually got this reply:

    Dear Mr. Leahy,

    The strip you attached to your e-mail is indeed a Far Side cartoon. There is not a missing caption; the cartoon is intended to run as it appears here. While Mr. Larson does not offer explanations of his cartoons, my personal understanding is that the humor comes from the fact that a senator would be exiting a psychiatrist’s office. The implication seems to be that someone who makes our laws is potentially mentally unstable.

    Thank you for your interest in The Far Side. I hope that clears things up for you a little.

    Best,

    Andrea Fryrear
    Permissions Department
    Creators Syndicate

    Comment by Brian Leahy — June 26, 2007 @ 5:21 pm

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  17. First of all, I don’t think that’s a sandwich, it’s a notepad. Secondly, political humor is about the cheapest kind around; it’s not really funny anymore to imply that politicians are crazy, crooked, selfish, full of hot air, etc. This must have been an off day for Larson…

    Comment by Jim Moore — June 26, 2007 @ 7:23 pm

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  18. Nice work, Brian. If that’s all it is, it’s *really* disappointing.

    Comment by Powers — June 27, 2007 @ 5:43 am

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  19. I’d be careful about putting The Far Side and CIDU together. The Far Side could totally consume it.

    – Kef

    Comment by furrykef — June 28, 2007 @ 4:28 pm

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  20. Hey I finally looked back at the CIDU and there is a beautiful answer. Thanks Guys. I asked Bill about this one as living in Australia I thought there maybe a local slant to this one. I can’t remember where I gleaned this one from.

    If anyone every wants to find a cartoon I am glad to help, I will locate in my database of Far Side cartoons.

    http://www.geocities.com/simmicht/wanted.html

    Comment by Terry S — November 19, 2007 @ 6:56 pm

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