Dec 8th 2009 09:10 am They’ll believe anything
I really hate to begin almost every post with “Remember when…,” but I think this recollection is worthwhile. Remember when there’d be an annual holiday countdown to Chrismas Day? The newspapers and the radio stations and the television stations would remind us of the “shopping days” left until Christmas. I’m not necessarily a fan of “blue laws” or compulsory store closings, but I think it’s very quaint that we in this country ever thought of any day as a non-shopping day.
Posted by jimmyjohnson / Vintage A&J
David on 08 Dec 2009 at 9:32 am #
I don’t think you can lie to a cat because they never believe anything you say, anyway. Why would Janis be upset by Arlo’s revelation?
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 08 Dec 2009 at 10:02 am #
If giving a cat a Christmas card would keep him from climbing into my trees, I would give it to him. We have one real one and one fake and I have a ton of fur to pick out of the fake one.
I remember the countdown and the “shopping days”. Now the days fly by so fast I don’t need it, but as a kid it seemed like it took forever.
We had a local TV show in Fort Wayne where kids would visit with Santa. I always wanted to go, but my parents work schedule precluded it. I did do a promo for the radio station that my Dad worked for when I was 5 years old. I guess that I was cute.
Rich (NE IL) on 08 Dec 2009 at 10:08 am #
Remember when: Cigarette cartons were printed with ribbons and bows at Christmas? Perfect for gift-giving!
Bob, near Mark on 08 Dec 2009 at 10:11 am #
I “remember when,” back in the ’50s, how there was a minor uproar because the downtown stores were going to stay open one night a week until 9PM. They began with Friday evening, then later expanded to include Thursday. The local merchants were trying to combat those new-fangled (I never heard anything described as “old-fangled”) shopping malls. A lot of the downtown store owners thought that shopping malls would never catch on. They thought who is going to want to park in a large parking lot and have to walk all the way to the store they’re visiting, when they can park right in front of our door? And then they’ll have to walk to the next store they’re going to instead of driving there.
It’s amazing how we engaged in all that exercise walking in from the parking lots and still put on weight. :>)
Bob, near Mark on 08 Dec 2009 at 10:15 am #
Steve from ROMI,
When I was in the 3rd grade, I did a one-shot taped commercial for a local restaurant. It was going to be broadcast during school hours, and I was quite upset that my parents wouldn’t let me stay home from school to hear it.
Soleil on 08 Dec 2009 at 10:15 am #
Steve, that wouldn’t be The Big 1190, WOWO Radio, would it?
Rickmeister on 08 Dec 2009 at 10:30 am #
With the media push to “buy, buy, buy” for the holidays anymore, I frankly wouldn’t be surprised to see the malls and big chain stores stay open 24 hours a day from Black Friday to Christmas Eve next year. {Guess I’m becoming a bit of a curmudgeon at the ripe old age of 51.}
HC on 08 Dec 2009 at 10:42 am #
Our local paper does do a countdown - shopping days to Christmas. They use a Peanuts square - today it’s CB telling Snoopy (sitting on his dog house) that they won’t let dogs have their picture taken with Santa at the mall… 17 days to go.
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 08 Dec 2009 at 10:46 am #
Soleil:
Yes it is/was. My Dad was Homer Evans and our friend Bob Sievers would mentioned his name every day as the guy that was (mining those Kilowatts) . You would not believe how many people would recall that and tell me that they knew my Dad. My Dad was a mini-celebrity!
Mindy on 08 Dec 2009 at 10:59 am #
It’s the principle, David! And, Jimmy, the Christmas Shopping Days Countdown started around here with only 352 days to go!
Leary on 08 Dec 2009 at 11:10 am #
Christmastime (or anytime) in a small town (or medium town) in the 1950’s was the best. Where I lived, the stores closed at noon on Wednesday but stayed open until 9pm on Thursdays. Other than that, they opened at 9am closed at 6pm every day, except Sunday. The exceptions were, of course, the hardware and feed stores that opened early and closed early.
Life truly was simpler then, but of course, I was just a kid. My allowance was $0.25 a week and that was enough to live the good life for a kid under 10.
Ed on 08 Dec 2009 at 12:23 pm #
But back to the retrotoon: Like David, I don’t get why Janis would be upset.
dAVE on 08 Dec 2009 at 12:48 pm #
And I, like David and Ed, still do not understand why Janis is upset.
Bob, near Mark on 08 Dec 2009 at 12:58 pm #
Leary,
Our City Hall still closes at noon on Friday, but stays open until 9PM on Wednesday.
And back in the ’50s, “bankers’ hours” were still in force.
Who doesn’t lie to their cat when, headed out the door, they say to the worried cat (or dog), “We’ll be right back.” Of course you won’t be, but your cat can’t read an analog clock. :>)
sideburns on 08 Dec 2009 at 1:13 pm #
My attitude toward Chri$ma$ mirrors that of Ebeneezer Scrooge: “I think that every idiot who goes around with a ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart!”
Happy Hanukah, everybody!
Mindy on 08 Dec 2009 at 1:39 pm #
Ed, if Arlo would lie to a cat he’d lie to ____________ (fill in the blank).
(And, no, it isn’t dirty!)
Janis has had her illusions shattered!
Would I lie to you?
Leary on 08 Dec 2009 at 1:43 pm #
Bob, near Mark:
Are you implying that cats can read a digital clock?
Sideburns:
I don’t buy into the commercial side of Christmas, but I do enjoy the spirit of good will and charity that it evokes. Spend less, give more…
As for you Sideburns, Happy Hanukah (or Hanukkah) to you!
Scrooge eventually had an attitude change.
Apparently Janis hates any kind of a lie.
sandcastler on 08 Dec 2009 at 1:53 pm #
sideburns…..
Read your comment; had a sudden increase in body tempature and extreme heart pain. Have a Happy Hanukkah; may your latkes be burnt and your gelts counterfit.
To all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Bob, near Mark on 08 Dec 2009 at 2:17 pm #
Leary,
My cat always had trouble telling the big hand from the little hand, and was totally confused by that skinny hand racing around the clock face once a minute. She kept trying to catch it.
With a digital clock, the numbers are right there. They don’t have to try to figure out what hand is pointing to what number.
No lie. You think I would fib to, or falsely fabricate a fable about, a family feline? :>)
John in LA late of PNS on 08 Dec 2009 at 2:36 pm #
And on the 21st of December–A JOYOUS SOLSTICE. Happy HOLIDAYS to all regardless of the holiday you may or mayn’t observe.
“Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Season’s Greetings,
Happy Hanukkah, Dreamy Gorgelfrump, Joyful Eating,
Glad Tidings to you, to you and your kin
Whatever you celebrate when year’s at its end.”
Light your candles each night w/ thanks for the light.
Trim your trees w/ ribbons and baubles so bright.
Soak your turkeys in brine or polish the menorah
Dance on the Solstice or roast your fedora.
Do it w/ happiness and spread your good cheer. ”
by Elizabeth Trever Buchinger, Columnist, Pensacola News Journal -18 Dec 2005
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 08 Dec 2009 at 2:47 pm #
I had a cat that often woke me up at 6:29 and my alarm would go off at 6:30. When he started waking me up at 7:59 and 8:29, on weekends, each time a minute before I was supposed to wake up, I figured that he was just showing off.
That cat lived nearly to 21 years of age. When I told a friend that I was planning to take him to a bar for his 21st birthday, he said “I know some resturants that serve cats” Meow.
Dave in MA on 08 Dec 2009 at 3:00 pm #
Sandcastler:
Apparently sideburns woke up on the wrong side of the bed today and feels like trying to be offensive.
Leary on 08 Dec 2009 at 3:09 pm #
Bob, near Mark
Ok… I don’t disagree that a cat might be able to read a digital clock, but I really don’t think they care what time it is.
And I suppose it could be true that an analog clock would be considered an overly complicated cat toy. I know you wouldn’t lie to me.
On a different subject….. Wouldn’t it be interesting if JJ incorporated some of the regulars to this site into Arlo & Janis? I would be curious to see how he perceives some of the cast here. Would Sideburns be tall and skinny… would Bob always be standing near Mark… Would Mindy look a little like Janis, but even more up-tight… Would Catshoes always be sneaking around… Would Debbie always be flirting with Arlo…
K in ND on 08 Dec 2009 at 3:23 pm #
Interesting question, Leary. I actually pictured Catshoes as wearing heavy work boots, á la Caterpillar.
Actually, Mr. Johnson probably wouldn’t use any of us. Too much fear of legal liability!
K
John in Richmond Texas on 08 Dec 2009 at 3:29 pm #
The Blue Laws were very haphazard, some grocery stores literally roped off non-food sections, while some drugstores would get away with selling everything. Car dealers closed on Monday, cuz the law was just that you had to be closed one day a week. My libertarian side says stores can do what they want, but there was something special? or weird? about a day you couldn’t shop. It was a brave new world being in a mall on Sunday.
Never had a cat, wouldn’t know how smart they are, but I’ve heard said, dogs can be trained to be all sorts of service animals, while cats won’t do nuthin’, well….who’s smarter?
And to add(?) to the discussion, remember, Christmas is an official US Federal holiday.
Phil in Sugar Land, TX on 08 Dec 2009 at 3:42 pm #
This thread reminds me of Stan Freburg’s recording Green Christmas which was a scathing criticism of the commercialization of Christmas. People would wonder what was funny about it now.
Deck the halls with advertising,
Fa la la la la la la la la.
While you can be enterprising,
Fa la la la la la la la la.
On the fourth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me
Four bars of soap,
Three cans of peas,
Two breakfast foods,
And some toothpaste on a pear tree
http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/thecapitolsinglescollection/greenchristmas.htm
Mary in Ohio on 08 Dec 2009 at 4:10 pm #
Well, Ludwig is lucky if his owners can AFFORD cat insurance. I need an umbrella policy that covers all members of a species in my vet’s care. No routine maintenance, just emergency care (the local hospitals charge $300 the minute you walk in the door, and you don’t walk out til that is paid. I once had to call a friend to come pick me up with a credit card.)
Deck us all with Boston Charlie!
Walla Walla, Wash. and Kalamazoo!
Nora’s freezin’ on the trolley -
Swaller dollar cauliflower allegaroo!
-Walt Kelly
debbie on 08 Dec 2009 at 5:25 pm #
I kind of think, that possibly Janis is humanizing the cat and Arlo is jerking her chain. I find this quite amusing. As to being in the strip, I will be the sultry neighbor who Janis ‘just cannot stand’ and sprays with the garden hose. This would be funny considering that Janis picked up a different Arlo once upon a time that looked exactly like him.
debbie on 08 Dec 2009 at 5:28 pm #
and by the way, whatever became of bill of paducah? he is out buying the new jimmy buffett CD perhaps?
f on 08 Dec 2009 at 6:32 pm #
As I put it, joyous winter holiday of your choice! (I live in a very diverse neighborhood–if there’s a holiday, somebody within a few blocks is probably celebrating it.)
K in ND on 08 Dec 2009 at 7:28 pm #
Who’s Jimmy Buffett?
Speaking of smart cats and dogs, I just found out that an average kangaroo is several times smarter than the smartest cat or dog. I didn’t know anybody even cared.
K
Jean from Dahlonega GA aka Trapper Jean on 08 Dec 2009 at 8:10 pm #
I think that Janis sees Loodie as a member of the famil, and you don’t lie to family.
Leary-I agree with you, my cats (and dogs, for that matter) don’t care what time it is, as long as it’s dinnertime. And I, too, wonder how we’d be portrayed by Jimmy in the strip.
Hey Jimmy! I hereby give you permission to use a walk-on character based on your concept of me. Please, be kind.
debbie, no offense, but I don’t think I’ll be standing right next to you when Janis is out watering her flowers.
Where *is* Bill from Paducah, and catshoes, too.
Happy Solstice, Blessed Yule, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa,and Merry Christmas!
debbie on 08 Dec 2009 at 8:49 pm #
Buffett: He was featured in the strip long ago and I think he may very well be our Jimmy’s friend. I seem to recall JB playing guitar in the dinghy, mayhap though it was another boat. I was always amused by Arlo going the distance in his mind…he may do better with A 1000 miles from Nowhere by Yoakam instead of drinking the dreams. I am still wondering what happened to bill from paducah?
debbie on 08 Dec 2009 at 8:54 pm #
My only excuse aka Trapper Jean: I was at work and hurrying to get the comment in on my break before the ‘boss’ caught me…because I really don’t like having to explain ‘hey, boss, I’m on my break.’ I am much more apt to get up, get my junk and walk out.
Bill in Paducah on 08 Dec 2009 at 9:42 pm #
Hi debbie, et al;
Just got in from rehearsal. Busy time of year for a trombonist who is in the jewelry business in real life!! (and also has to squeeze in 30 hours of C.P.E. before 12/31!)
Here’s a cat that knows what time it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0ffwDYo00Q
Mary in Ohio;
Don’t we know Archaic Barrel
Lullaby Lilly Boy, Louisville Lou
Trolley Molly Don’t Love Harold
Boola Boola Pensacoola
Hullabaloo!!
Check this out (may have to scroll down to Boston Charlie):
http://whirledofkelly.blogspot.com/
Debbie in Alabama on 08 Dec 2009 at 10:04 pm #
Jimmy Buffett has a new cd?
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 08 Dec 2009 at 10:39 pm #
K in ND. “Speaking of smart cats and dogs, I just found out that an average kangaroo is several times smarter than the smartest cat or dog. I didn’t know anybody even cared.”
As you might expect, somebody cares. Mammal intelligence is a matter of some controversy, but all the info I’ve run into says marsupials are short on smarts. Relative brain size is certainly not the whole story, but H.H.T. Jackson, in his Mammals of Wisconsin [1961] measured the cranial capacities of two similar-sized adult North American omnivores, an opossum [marsupial] and a raccoon [placental]. His simple but ingenious method, which neither the opossum, raccoon, nor Ludwig could have conceived of, was to see how many navy beans the brain cavities of their respective skulls could hold. Result: opossum: 26; raccoon: 139.
Where did you hear/read that “an average kangaroo is several times smarter than the smartest cat or dog.”? And what were their criteria?
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 08 Dec 2009 at 11:19 pm #
“an average kangaroo is several times smarter than the smartest cat or dog”
I don’t know, my cats get fed twice a day, they get their litter box cleaned out every week, they are warm in the winter and cool in the summer in our climate controlled home and they sleep about 20 hours a day.
Meanwhile, I work up to 10 hrs a day, 5 days a week, mow my yard every week during the summer, rake several mountains of leaves every fall and shovel snow from December to February…..My guess is that the average cat or dog is a heck of a lot smarter than me!
I know, Jimmy already did a strip on this.
CG from MN on 08 Dec 2009 at 11:50 pm #
There is a electronic billboard I pass on the way to work that is counting down the days.
Still can’t buy a car in MN on Sunday — because the state motor vehicle office is closed.
(That is the excuse) But you can buy a car on other days when the office is closed. Dumb!!
Arlo is giving the card to Ludwig - ergo it is Ludie’s, It is just reused. Something we all should do.
curmudgeonly ex-professor on 09 Dec 2009 at 2:21 am #
emeritus MN biologist: Many people could take lessons from (at least some) animals. At night, we often have both an opossum and a raccoon cleaning up the remaining pecans we feed our local fuzzy-tailed rodents during the day. They do so peacefully, although but only a foot or two apart. Maybe their heads don’t hold as many beans as ours do, but those two seem to have learned the concept of sharing far better than the squirrels and chipmunks.
Either that, or that the available food just isn’t worth the hassle & potential bloodshed….
Jean from Dahlonega GA aka Trapper Jean on 09 Dec 2009 at 6:10 am #
debbie-you said “I was at work and hurrying to get the comment in on my break before the ‘boss’ caught me…”
Not a problem! I was referring to your earlier post that you would be the sultry neighbor who Janis ‘just cannot stand’ and sprays with the garden hose. In order to not get wet I think I’ll stay on my own side of the fence.
debbie on 09 Dec 2009 at 6:51 am #
well, I’m just a little worried about Bill/P and Catshoes now!
Phil in Sugar Land, TX on 09 Dec 2009 at 7:50 am #
Only 12 Shopping Days until Winter Solstice!
Maggie on 09 Dec 2009 at 9:27 am #
Well, after doing very much testing I have come to the conclusion that our cats are reading the digital clocks. I don’t think they can tell time on the clock with hands. They are right there telling me it’s time to get up when my alarm goes off. I started taking Tuesdays off & don’t set my alarm. They would still wake me at the time it should go off. When the time change happened they changed over too, so it can’t be an internal biological clock. On work days I get up & feed them & then go back & start preparing for work. They don’t make a sound until 15 til 7 & then they start hollering to go out. They still did it at 15 til 7 after the time change. The only logical answer is that they read the clock (actually, I think the female reads it & tells the males).
And it may be ok to lie to them cuz they definately lie to us. They tell my husband that I haven’t fed them when I have & he believes them & feeds them again. They can even suck their fat little cheeks in so they have a starving appearance. What hams!
Bob, near Mark on 09 Dec 2009 at 10:20 am #
If JJ puts us in the strip, I want to be the guy who’s away on a camping trip.
Actually, that’s where my last cat acquired me. Someone had dumped her off in the woods in New Hampshire about 15 years ago. She hung around all summer, and then said she was going to come home with me. She already knew how to tell when it was dinnertime, so I agreed.
sandcastler on 09 Dec 2009 at 10:50 am #
Snow shoveled and roof raked, for the moment, IPS restored and barn cat snuggled on my lap; time to check-in. I believe cats have a wonderful internal clock, they know my schedule down to the minute, why would they ever need to learn to read? Think back on all the cats that have owned us, they were all smarter than me.
Bill in Paducah on 09 Dec 2009 at 11:10 am #
Here’s the comment I left from home (went to moderation):
Hi debbie, et al;
Just got in from rehearsal. Busy time of year for a trombonist who is in the jewelry business in real life!! (and also has to squeeze in 30 hours of C.P.E. before 12/31!)
Here’s a cat that knows what time it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0ffwDYo00Q
Mary in Ohio;
Don’t we know Archaic Barrel
Lullaby Lilly Boy, Louisville Lou
Trolley Molly Don’t Love Harold
Boola Boola Pensacoola
Hullabaloo!!
Check this out (may have to scroll down to Boston Charlie):
http://whirledofkelly.blogspot.com/
Jayne in Richmond, VA on 09 Dec 2009 at 12:44 pm #
Debbie said, “As to being in the strip, I will be the sultry neighbor who Janis ‘just cannot stand’ and sprays with the garden hose.”
Debbie, you remind me of a former co-worker named Debbie in another state. Bright, smart & quick… and yes, the neighbor ladies would be jealous. But a good friend that I seem to have lost touch with…..
This year at our house, insurance companies seem to be the majority of the arriving Christmas cards. Does they say we have too much insurance?
Jayne
Bill in Paducah on 09 Dec 2009 at 12:51 pm #
Well, looks like I have been gone awhile. All my comments are going to moderation!
Bill in Paducah on 09 Dec 2009 at 12:58 pm #
Hmmm… that one went thru. Maybe it’s because I put links in:
Here’s the comment I left from home and work (both went to moderation):
Hi debbie, et al;
Just got in from rehearsal. Busy time of year for a trombonist who is in the jewelry business in real life!! (and also has to squeeze in 30 hours of C.P.E. before 12/31!)
Here’s a cat that knows what time it is:
(link deleted - go to youtube and search on “cat man do”)
Mary in Ohio;
Don’t we know Archaic Barrel
Lullaby Lilly Boy, Louisville Lou
Trolley Molly Don’t Love Harold
Boola Boola Pensacoola
Hullabaloo!!
Check this out (may have to scroll down to Boston Charlie):
(link deleted - try a website called whirledofkelly dot blogspot dot com)
YooperBill on 09 Dec 2009 at 1:08 pm #
And let’s not forget Tom Lehrers tribute to the holiday..
Christmas time is here, by golly,
Disapproval would be folly,
Deck the halls with hunks of holly,
Fill the cup and don’t say “when.”
Kill the turkeys, ducks and chickens,
Mix the punch, drag out the Dickens,
Even though the prospect sickens,
Brother, here we go again.
On Christmas Day you can’t get sore,
Your fellow man you must adore,
There’s time to rob him all the more
The other three hundred and sixty-four.
Relations, sparing no expense’ll
Send some useless old utensil,
Or a matching pen and pencil.
“Just the thing I need! How nice!”
It doesn’t matter how sincere it
Is, nor how heartfelt the spirit,
Sentiment will not endear it,
What’s important is the price.
Hark the Herald Tribune sings,
Advertising wondrous things.
God rest ye merry, merchants,
May you make the Yuletide pay.
Angels we have heard on high
Tell us to go out and buy!
So let the raucous sleigh bells jingle,
Hail our dear old friend Kris Kringle,
Driving his reindeer across the sky.
Don’t stand underneath when they fly by.
Actually I did rather well myself, this last Christmas. The nicest present I received was a gift certificate “good at any hospital for a lobotomy”. Rather thoughtful.
Bob, near Mark on 09 Dec 2009 at 1:51 pm #
Bill in Paducah,
I have the album, Songs of the Pogo, that is mentioned on that whirledofkelly blog.
I think I would rather enjoy doing as Walt Kelly and Chorus suggest at the end of the song, “Lines Upon A Tranquil Brow.”
“Break out the cigars,
this life is for squirrels.
We’re off to the drugstore to whistle at girls.”
I wonder if that had anything to do with JJ’s earlier strip where Arlo and Janis became squirrels? I’d whistle at Janis any day.
BTW, Kelly opens that album with a tune called “Go-Go Pogo.” Sounds like the same place he got the lyrics for “Boston Charlie.” :>)
“Landalive a band o’Jive
will blow go Pogo
I go you go who go
to go Polly voo go
From Caravan Diego
Waco and Oswego
tweedle de he go she go
we go me go Pogo”.
Bob, near Mark on 09 Dec 2009 at 2:00 pm #
You can listen to exerpts of Walt Kellys “Songs of the Pogo” at Amazon.com. Go to
http://www.amazon.com/Songs-Pogo-Kelly-Norman-Monath/dp/B00008OM8O
and click on the arrows at the left side of the track listing.
Bob, near Mark on 09 Dec 2009 at 2:02 pm #
Sorry, I spelled excerpts incorrectly. If I had mis-spoken, it would have been a slip of the tongue. Since I was typing, it must have been a slip of the finger. :>)
Bill in Paducah on 09 Dec 2009 at 2:07 pm #
Bob;
Had a friend who owned a copy - he made me a (cassette) tape - loved those songs!
anne on 09 Dec 2009 at 2:46 pm #
My pets growing up always got a Christmas stocking and a gift to unwrap, so why not a card?
Mary in Ohio on 09 Dec 2009 at 3:39 pm #
My goodness! Thank you for the links! In college I was regarded as the only one who knew THAT much of “Boston Charlie” - and that was a good thing.” Had I but known…”
Cris in NC on 09 Dec 2009 at 4:06 pm #
Speaking of cassette tapes - well, we weren’t really but anyway - last week my 19 YO nephew was in the attic bringing down the Christmas decorations for his dear old Auntie. He happened across an 8-track tape (anybody remember those). The kid didn’t know what it was! Boy, do I feel old!
But then, I come here and you guys are discussing Walt Kelly - and magically, I feel younger right off. Bless his heart, Mr. Walt passed away when I was only 5 YO…but I remember my Grandpaw laughing over his POGO antics. My Grandpaw passed away when I was only 11 so memories like that are priceless - thanks to y’all for bringing them back.
I love coming here and reading what y’all regulars have to say. Some of y’all are downright hilarious! I’ve never “been owned” by a cat (allergies, unfortunately) but I can just see your cats (Maggie’s post above had me in stitches as my dog does the same thing!). Thanks for letting a “newbie” play along occasionally…A & J (and Jimmy, of course) are wonderful but y’all are the butter on the biscuit! Hope all y’all have a wonderful day!
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 09 Dec 2009 at 5:51 pm #
Bob near Mark:
Just be careful which finger you slip there. This is a family blog.
Bob, near Mark on 09 Dec 2009 at 6:31 pm #
Steve from Royal Oak, MI ,
It was the letter c, so it must have been the index finger of my left hand.
Mark in Boston on 09 Dec 2009 at 7:08 pm #
Back when the Blue Laws were in effect in Massachusetts, on Sundays you could buy Playboy magazine but not the Bible, and beer but not milk.
Many people were against the legalization of marijuana because if it were legal they wouldn’t be able to buy it on Sunday.
Jean from Dahlonega GA aka Trapper Jean on 09 Dec 2009 at 8:41 pm #
Hey Bill from Paducah! Glad you’re back. You didn’t ha[[en to see catshoes while you were gone, did you?
By the way, Bill, as it happens a very good friend of mine is from Paducah. He has fond memories of growing up there.
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 09 Dec 2009 at 9:19 pm #
YooperBill: Thanks for Tom Lehrer’s yuletide song. We and college friends enjoyed it when it first came out on LPs [not long after LPs first came out]. I think Tom, Arlo, and I have pretty much the same take on Christmas.
Leary on 10 Dec 2009 at 6:33 am #
Christmastime has become a wonderful time of the year since my wife and I only give presents to the younger grandchildren. These presents consist of warm coats, good age appropriate books or a soft cuddly stuffed animal. This still requires some shopping, but not as much as before. We give the larger gifts on their birthdays…
Laetitia in Australia on 10 Dec 2009 at 6:48 am #
Greetings all - it’s a toasty 27 degrees Celsius (80.6 F) in my kitchen and at least 30 C (86 F) in the room from where I’m posting this missive. All my ceiling fans are going and, as it is 9:40 pm, it is slowly cooling down.
I’m packing to move - removalists come next Friday (aarrgghh!). I guess that means that in A&J I’d be the young woman (halfway in age between Gene and A&J I guess) moving in across the road.
As for kangaroos being smarter than cats and dogs, I can tell you that the ones I’ve “met” (aka hit on the road) most certainly aren’t! Most cats and dogs attempt to get off the road before the car gets to them; roos tend to charge your car after the headlights have passed or jump onto the road inside your headlight distance and then stop!
The reality is that at that point you need to hit them hard and hope (1) that they go over your car, not through your windscreen and (2) that you’ve killed them outright because you won’t find them in the dark to put them out of their misery. Your own misery at the cost to repair your car is another story.
YooperBill on 10 Dec 2009 at 7:09 am #
FYI. For those of you who live with cats…never, never, EVER, put Bubble Lights on the tree.
Bob, near Mark on 10 Dec 2009 at 7:28 am #
Laetitia in Australia,
Here, moose are dangerous for the same reason. The length of their legs puts their bodies at just the right height to come through the windshield if you slow down. What you have to do, if you can think quickly enough, is speed up, so that the force of the impact throws the moose over the roof of the car. I know that in Australia, you have roo bars, but I’ve never heard of anyone here looking for a moose bar. And just in case anyone is wondering, that’s not anything like a sports bar. :>)
YooperBill,
Another interesting experience is to find out a day or two after the fact that your cat has eaten a piece of tinsel from the tree.
Phil in Sugar Land, TX on 10 Dec 2009 at 8:34 am #
I guess it has to do with where one grew up but I’ve always wondered how people down under view Christmas in summer. There is an Austalian exchange student in the LuAnn comic strip who comments on how cold it is in the U.S. at Christmas.
I was in Bangkok one time around Christmas and the shopping mall was full of Christmas trees and fake snow and Santa Clauses. Couldn’t help but wonder what all those good Bhuddists in a city that has never seen snow thought about all this. Since then I’ve concluded that people don’t really think about traditions…they just are.
There is a definite need for a celebration when the days are dark and cold in the northern hemisphere, but I think a lot of people would be happier about the situation if we separated that celebration from Christmas. Perhaps we could go back to Saturnalia, which is where this whole tradition started.
Laetitia, what reasons for partying do Aussies find when the days are short. Not that the Aussies I’ve been acquainted with needed a reason to party…
Maggie on 10 Dec 2009 at 9:10 am #
I can remember in the early 80’s they talked about reinstating the “Blue Laws” here & I was almost in a panic. I was manager of a store that was a retail store & a popular pharmacy. We were told that we would have to be open on Sundays still, and the pharmacy would be able to fill prescriptions & we would be able to sell a few items, but not most items. I could picture people (lots of them) coming in for scripts or not, but desperately needing to purchase something that we couldn’t sell, like diapers or something. As manager I would have to tell them we couldn’t sell it to them. What a nightmare! I had already been cursed out by a priest wearing his collar on a Sunday morn cuz we were out of something that just went on sale in a flyer. They would force us to put the stuff out at regular price & we never knew if or when it would be put on sale. As manager I couldn’t tell this priest how bad this was that he was cursing me out …..and on a Sunday no less. Thank Goodness they didn’t go back to the Blue laws after all.
K in ND on 10 Dec 2009 at 10:11 am #
e MN biologist:
I’m sure you’ll think my source very primitive: It’s an iGoogle gadget that updates Useless Knowledge. I do realize that, at times, it can be potentially incorrect. Fortunately for the creators of the gadget, most people don’t know when it’s incorrect.
Having never met a kangaroo, I’m afraid I don’t have much basis for personal comparison. I will say that my cats and dog can be very smart; most of the time, we mistake it for stupidity.
While I realize that opossums (possums?) and kangaroos are both marsupials, would I be wrong in saying that there’s considerable difference? Or would you expect their proportionate ‘cranial capacities’ to be the same?
YooperBill on 10 Dec 2009 at 10:56 am #
Talk about useless knowledge.. Mother Kangaroos hate rainy weather. It means the kids have to play inside.
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 10 Dec 2009 at 11:16 am #
K in ND: 1. Vocabulary. Opossum is the older word, in English. It first referred to our “Virginia” opossum and its numerous Latin American relatives. Australian marsupials were discovered by Westerners later, and the Brits who settled there called some of the mid-sized ones possums. Possum is the proper Australian term. Some Americans use the colloquial term possum. One reason biologists use formal Latin names is that common names vary so much.
2. Marsupials (now divided into 3 or 4 orders by mammalogists who study them) vary a great deal, but most of what I’ve read suggests that there’s not a lot of measurable intelligence among them.
As a mammalogist, I have little expertise in mammals’ behavior or intelligence, but I find that most of the anecdotes about how smart some beast is have little to do with mental ability. After all, if you consider it “wise” to conserve energy by doing nothing when you have nothing to do, most reptiles do that more consistently than most mammals.
One of the more striking aspects of human behavior, as I see it, is that many zoologists willl concede that there are degrees of intelligence/self-awareness/consciousness among mammals and birds. The most strenuous denials, aside from religious ones, are among social scientists, some of whom essentially argue that if it doesn’t have true language, it’s basically a fancy automaton.
It was not too many decades back that some social scientists declared that signing among deaf people was not true language. Actually, rich sign languages developed spontaneously and independently among groups of deaf people in many cultures. That’s an interesting area to pursue, and I suppose one could do it on the Web.
Dave in MA on 10 Dec 2009 at 12:10 pm #
“The most strenuous denials, [snip] are among social scientists, some of whom essentially argue that if it doesn’t have true language, it’s basically a fancy automaton.”
I’ve often heard that same argument from the birds who feel that human squawking is not true language. You can even see proof of such discussions among the birds by reading the comic strip Rose is Rose…… especially the strips in the spring when the birds are returning from migration.
Dave in MA on 10 Dec 2009 at 12:20 pm #
By “social scientist” do you mean a sociologist?
I had a class in sociology in college. It was an elective. Just filling credit needs. I have nothing against sociology. I had a LOT against my sociology professor. In any event, he took it as a personal mission during that semester to convert me away from religion. Many times in front of the class he would berate me for having religious beliefs. Didn’t matter what my religion was, simply the fact that I had the beliefs was enough for him to attack.
He told me that human nature is such that one day we believe things and the next day we don’t. That of course prompted me to ask him if he truly believed that while sitting in a class full of students who were cringing at him taking another attack at me. He responded of course he believed that. So I asked if that meant that tomorrow he wouldn’t believe that. The whole class burst out in laughter. I told him I’d rather have religious beliefs than be wishy washy like he was.
After I passed in my final exam at the end of the semester, he chased me down the hallway and said something to the effect of, “you know, if you’d just get rid of those religious beliefs, you’d be a pretty ok guy. Thanks for making class interesting this semester.” To which I replied loud enough for those still taking the exam back in the classroom to hear, “you know, if you got some religion in your life, you’d still be a dreadful, arrogant, boorish and unfulfilled man. Thanks for making class a total waste of my time this semester.” As I walked away, the classroom full of students still taking the exam were laughing.
I’ve since met many sociologists who are quite engaging and wonderful people. I’ve even met some socialists who are engaging wonderful people, but that’s a different story.
(Oh yeah, I managed to still get a B+ out of the guy.)
buzz on 10 Dec 2009 at 1:33 pm #
Today’s A&J (Thursday, Dec. 10th) is one of the best things you’ve ever done, Jimmy. A good but unexpected capper, and further proof why Arlo is a keeper (even if he has sharp toenails).
K in ND on 10 Dec 2009 at 1:47 pm #
Dave in MA:
I took sociology in high school and hated it to smithereens. Psychology seems much more interesting.
e MN biologist:
I don’t know exactly how I’d define animal intelligence. Colloquially, we seem to identify it as an animal’s ability to act human. Sometimes it is difficult to determine the difference between intelligence and instinct.
For humans, intelligence seems to connote one’s ability to learn and comprehend. So I suppose animal intelligence refers to an animals ability to pick up new behaviors or adapt mentally to its surroundings. I’ve heard that koala bears kill themselves in captivity. Intelligence? I don’t know.
buzz:
I agree. A very touching strip, that.
sideburns on 10 Dec 2009 at 2:07 pm #
Phil, Christmas is one of the two holidays you’re likely to see in anime, with Halloween being the other. It’s not that either is celebrated in most of Asia, it’s just that everybody there knows about them and what’s done for them. Using them means that people in other Asian cultures can understand what’s going on without confusion.
Also, it’s gotten colder here in the LArea, and I’ve taken to using the Magic Blanket. Gully Foyle, my cat (Extra brownie points to anybody who recognizes the name.) is Most Appreciative.
debbie on 10 Dec 2009 at 2:59 pm #
Of course, I recognize Gully Foyle from ‘The Stars My Destination’ by Alfred Bester. I remembered the name of the book, but not the name of the author and had to look that up.
John in LA late of PNS on 10 Dec 2009 at 3:06 pm #
“Maggie on 10 Dec 2009 at 9:10 am #
‘I can remember in the early 80’s they talked about reinstating the “Blue Laws” here & I was almost in a panic . . . .Thank Goodness they didn’t go back to the Blue laws after all.’”
Maggie. Thank Odin they didn’t go back to those idiotic, repressive, “Blue Nose Laws”. Blue laws were made so that Blue Noses could get off by telling other people what to do and how to live.
sideburns on 10 Dec 2009 at 3:10 pm #
Very good, Debbie! He’s part Main Coon Cat and a tabby, with flame-like markings around his face, which is why I named him that.
Bob, near Mark on 10 Dec 2009 at 3:11 pm #
sideburns,
After taking a Pohl of the Galaxy, looking for a del Rey of hope, the Bester I can do is two Tigers and one Gulliver. I’ll set the old Analog clock to remind me to check again later, Asimov to go grocery shopping. It just might make an Amazing Story. Of course, if I were in Britain, I would have to search throughout the Nebula. But then, that’s just as Wells, since I don’t have a Passepartout.
John in LA late of PNS on 10 Dec 2009 at 3:30 pm #
“RE: Phil’s
There is a definite need for a celebration when the days are dark and cold in the northern hemisphere, but I think a lot of people would be happier about the situation if we separated that celebration from Christmas. Perhaps we could go back to Saturnalia, which is where this whole tradition started.”
Yesh Phil. So right. Seems the early Xians co-oped Saturnalia so the common folk wouldn’t be upset losing their holidays. Just took a popular one and gave it a new Xian name. Thus Saturnalia became Xmas. POOF.
All this tied in w/ the Roman holiday, “The festival of natalis Invicti [Birth of the Unconquerable (Sun)], { Mithra perhaps} held on 25 December, was a general festival of the Sun . . .” (that quote taken on Wiki) Kind of the same thing w/ the Solstice and all. Indeed the SUN was unconquerable and the days got longer. More SUN. So I guess this is how it all morphed, some way or other, into the son stuff we have at Xmas.
Ever notice also how modern folks have mushed the visits of the shepherds and the Magi into one holiday? Epiphany? WTF is that?
I think I will just get my aluminium Festivus Pole and dance around that thing and celebrate the holy day of Festivus on the 23rd of Dec.
HAPPY FESTIVUS EVERYONE.
Mary in Ohio on 10 Dec 2009 at 4:10 pm #
Bob, Near Mark- An Amazing Story - I hope you are driving an Omni.
I think any of us that live closely with animals feel that they are sensate beings. As well as sensible: two of the feline purrsuasion are settled on my more than ample bosom as I type this on my laptop. To quote Garfield: There’s a lot to be said for body heat. (It is negative F on the wind chill, and I just came in from exercising the Elkhound, who has yet to use his house if it is not raining.
Laetetia, where are you moving to? (”Ending a sentience with a preposition is something up with which I will not put!”-Winston Churchill)
YooperBill on 10 Dec 2009 at 4:19 pm #
Mary, Did you know that the Second Law of Thermodynamics does NOT apply to cats?
Sideburns, Any points for this?
Gully Foyle is my name,
And Terra is my Nation.
Deep Space is my dwelling place,
And Death’s my destination.
debbie on 10 Dec 2009 at 4:28 pm #
Wow, YooperBill,
THAT brings back memories!
Lost in A**2 on 10 Dec 2009 at 4:54 pm #
I’ve long enjoyed Bester. I had to check the credits for CSI a couple of times, because I kept misreading the name of the actor who plays Brass.
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 10 Dec 2009 at 7:03 pm #
Today’s strip (12/10/09) reminded me of losing my boyhood buddy a few years ago at Christmastime. He was my next door neighbor and in the rural area that I lived, he was about the only friend that I had during the summer. I moved to Michigan and we had lost touch, but it was a very sad Christmas for me.
A few years before that, I remember having a dream where my first girlfriend (from the 6th grade) was in my hallway next to my bedroom. I got up and gave her a hug. She just asked me if I was doing all right before I woke up. A few months later we were getting ready for our 30th HS reunion and I found out that she had died of cancer about the time that I had the dream. Again, I had lost track of her and did not even know that she was sick.
debbie on 10 Dec 2009 at 7:11 pm #
I did not realize, sideburns, that you were referring to the flames of the ‘burning man’ I just thought you were referring to the way cats could teleport themselves in and out of certain dimensions and situations given their incredible abilities.
debbie on 10 Dec 2009 at 7:15 pm #
Merry Christmas and God Bless Everyone!
Jim in SE Mississippi on 11 Dec 2009 at 2:04 am #
Thank you, debbie.
Rick in Shermantown, Ohio on 11 Dec 2009 at 6:00 am #
I am surprised that no one has yet mentioned that Janis is quite likely describing someone with whom she was intimate. Perhaps he was her “first,” as the vernacular goes.
Priscilla on 11 Dec 2009 at 7:30 am #
Exactly what I came here to see what others were saying, Rick. She knew him in the Biblical sense.
It sounded like she knew a few too.
debbie on 11 Dec 2009 at 8:44 am #
You’re very welcome Jim in SE Misissippi….where is everyone? Are the posts getting stuck in moderation again?
Jean from Dahlonega GA aka Trapper Jean on 11 Dec 2009 at 8:55 am #
And in the discussion of Alfred Bester, one must mention Mr. Bester of Babylon 5, a man of ultimate evil, played by Walter Koenig. Yes, he was named for the author; the character Bester, a telepath and cop (PsiCop), was loosely taken from the book “The Demolished Man”.
TruckerRon on 11 Dec 2009 at 9:46 am #
Bill in Paducah —
Nice to see someone else is in CPE. My group meets at the Utah State Hospital. It’s unlike anything else I’ve done in life, but the rewards are GREAT!!!
TruckerRon on 11 Dec 2009 at 10:29 am #
Bob, near Mark–
Don’t try that acceleration trick with a moose. They gave it a go on Mythbusters, and it didn’t work. All you’ll succeed in doing it increasing the force with which it comes through the windshield.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythBusters_(2008_season)#Moose_Mayhem