Passbook

Okay, we’ve already established the fact that I’m old, but… not only do I have a passbook account at the local bank, but so does my 14-year-old.

Is Tom Batiuk going a bit overboard on the hyperbole, or am I out of touch with reality?

Fjffl

I don’t expect to Thorax to make any sense — but her reaction, and his third-panel reaction to her reaction… I don’t get it.

Solving the Problem?

Jim Moore: Makes no sense to me at all. The current story arc is that Sherman is eating many of the residents of the lagoon, depleting the population. But the crab has never mentioned a run for mayor. But beyond that…what is the reference to elections, in plural? and why every Tuesday night?

And Let Me Just Add… Carmen Miranda Has NOT Aged Well

Nicole: I get the joke here, what I don’t understand is why this guy doesn’t simply move over one or two seats. It is clear the theater is completely empty except for these two.

Accent

HRH and the ATM

Objects May Be Less Lost Than They Appear

Dave Van Domelen: “Found objects” is a style of art that incorporates stuff the artist found lying around, to greatly simplify. The joke is that the old lady either:
a) is claiming her real umbrella, which the artist “found” somewhere and put in the art, or
b) thinks it’s the Lost & Found, rather than an exhibit.

Once everybody started explaining this to me, I remembered I did know what “found objects” art was: Some years back my sister-in-law, an artist, invited us to a found art show. She managed to briefly convince me that a janitor’s mop and pail lying on the floor was actually part of the exhibition. She took some pride in being able to fool me; but the way I see it, she just demonstrated how silly the whole concept is.

And the “Would Have Made a Better Punchline Forty-Seven Years Ago” Award goes to…

(If you have no idea what either John Deering or I are talking about, click here)

Three Men and a Necktie

Blow, Cat, Blow

Jeff McAndrew: Is the joke supposed to be that the kid doesn’t know how to use the vacuum? Or are those feathers on the ground? Did he just run over a bird and the cat wants it? I really have no idea.

The Apology That Wasn’t (OT)

• You will read headlines today claiming that former Durham (North Carolina) District Attorney Mike Nifong issued a statement in which he admitted that the Duke lacrosse players were innocent, and that he apologized to them. His statement actually did neither. (article)

Back When We Were All Savants

Quick show of hands here… Who’s old enough to remember when “in our head” was the only way to figure out change when we were working behind the register?

Eat Fuzzy

Bill Fishman: I think Sachel started the sentence and then got distracted thinking about all the things he could eat,

Good Luck, Bad Luck, and Just Plain Stupid (OT)

• The latest Crimeweek column

Rainy Knights

Orange Cows

Conundrum

Vas?

Well, Apparently NOT Enough

Filling a Hole

Several people asked me about this Monty strip, and I explained it thus: The reason he’s given 45 minutes to fill the hole is that he’s not supposed to fill it with asphalt: That’s why he has all those doughnuts, to help him drink a lot of coffee.

Whereupon everybody e-mailed me to tell me I was wrong:

Jenn Murphy: I think you might be overthinking that Monty strip. I immediately thought it was a joke on how long it seems to take road crews to get work done.

Filling in a pothole should just take a few minutes, but the whole team has to stand around and “study” the problem, then they have to take a break; they could really be holding up traffic for hours. Each member of the crew has a specific skill, as well, so the whole crew may be needed for the job.

In reality, the new guy should have no trouble filling the pothole within 45 minutes by himself, but, as part of the team, he has to do all the “procedures,” like eating those doughnuts, which makes that time a real challenge for one man.

Scott Davidson: I’ve never worked on a road crew, but I did work as a mail carrier once, as a summer sub, and I got yelled at for delivering the mail too quickly. I suspect Monty’s challenge is goofing off enough to make a five minute job last forty five.

A Comic You Can’t Refuse

Because, you know, I let my kids watch that movie when they were six….

(And actually, lost in the punchline is the fact that he seems to be saying this is what he wants to talk to Uncle Phil about)

This Statement is a Lie

So it’s a toss-up here: Is the punchline that Mom’s a liar, or that she’s good at catching all of Dad’s lies?

More

Okay, More magazine is for 40+ women. I get that. But what’s Janis’s point here?

Remembering Uncle Irv

So these two guys were walking in the woods and they come across a severed head. One of them picks it up and says “Oh my God, it’s Kowalski!” His friend says “No, he was taller than that.”

A Comment About Comments

Over the past couple of weeks, some of you have become frustrated when your comments haven’t appeared immediately after you click “submit.” The explanation is, any comment that contains more than two external links gets sent to me for approval. This is an automatic WordPress feature, designed to weed out spam.