Dec 6th 2012 08:09 am A Christmas Growl IV
I’m a little behind the curve on this one, but I was disappointed to hear “Brother’s Barbeque”, Hurd’s restaurant enterprise in Bay Minette, Alabama, ceased to operate late last month. I don’t know what the pressures were, but I know it wasn’t lack of barbecuing expertise. Hurd brought a rack of ribs to me when I made an appearance in Mobile last spring. They were delicious. I’ve always heard the restaurant business is tough, and I know Hurd worked hard. I’ll wager it wasn’t an experience he’ll ever forget!
I don’t bring this up to tweak an expert like Hurd. He can spell barbecue any way he wants. However, I had a stickler of an editor when I was a young newspaper reporter who insisted we spell it “barbecue,” with a “c.” Most people, including myself until I was upbraided, spell it with a “q.” Dictionary.com lists “barbecue” as the preferred spelling, but it also lists “barbeque” and even “barbque” as acceptable alternatives. Every young reporter needs one such editor in his career. But only one.
Posted by jimmyjohnson / Vintage A&J
142 Responses to “A Christmas Growl IV”
Jim in TN on 06 Dec 2012 at 8:34 am #
“one such editor, but only one.”
Absolutely! (Are there still editors around?)
John in Virginia on 06 Dec 2012 at 8:43 am #
Mindy is my editor.
Lost in A**2 on 06 Dec 2012 at 9:02 am #
The books I read often include acknowledgements of an editor’s help. However, all of them could have used a proof reader.
For example: a man graduated from West Point in 1915. By 1920, he had risen to Lieutenant Colonel. Well enough, that was his rank in 1920. However, the author says, “after fifteen years of service.” Now, even if you include the four years at West Point, he had only served nine.
Hurd in Bay Minette on 06 Dec 2012 at 9:42 am #
Thanks for the kind words Jimmy. I will attest to the fact that it is a tough business and your mind NEVER turns off thinking about it. This experience reminds me of the boat story. A former boat owner once told me that the second happiest day of his life was the day he got his boat. When I asked him what the happiest day was, he grinned and said, “The day I sold it.”
As for spelling I always run any official writing I do past three different English teachers here at my school.
As for the holidays my family and I are officially celebrating Festivus this year with no gifts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festivus
phil in Missoula, MT on 06 Dec 2012 at 10:07 am #
And this editor was the reason you took up cartooning, where there are only censors?
Blinky the Wonder Wombat on 06 Dec 2012 at 10:37 am #
We heretical Yankees usually spell it “Bar-B-Q”. Of course, Bar-B-Q is never as good as authentic barbecue (or barbeque).
Blinky the Wonder Wombat on 06 Dec 2012 at 10:39 am #
BTW, JJ, I love the turn of the phrase in today’s retro. I think one of the joys of A&J is that you are as much a very good writer as a very good artist.
CIDU Bill on 06 Dec 2012 at 11:12 am #
Sorry, Jimmy, but I have to side with the editor on this one (and not just because I am one, because I’ve spent most of my life on the other side of the table): it’s his job to keep uniformity to the newspaper, at least as regards style and spelling. Also, once you start taking the “dictionary says this can be used as an alternate spelling” road, you can end up with a mess.
And I remember the advice another writer once gave me: Don’t use an alternate spelling. It might be technically correct, but it’ll attract the copy editor’s attention, and once he gets started, God knows what he’ll do to your story.
Steve From Royal Oak, MI on 06 Dec 2012 at 11:15 am #
We went through/thru a lengthy debate yesterday on the spelling of the word “through” or “thru”. One engineer asked the other to change it and the engineer that we were sharing our screen with told him not too. Since I am the Sales/Account manager, everyone turned to me to settle the dispute. Why? Maybe they thought I had one more class of English in school.
My gut said that the spelling was more of a matter of application and preference, so I did what any other 21st century man would do: I googled it. The dictionary stated that “thru” is a much more informal use of the word. Since this was an important presentation, I chose “through”. However, had the word been “pass-thru” I would have opted for the alternative spelling, because that is the widely accepted spelling of the term.
The engineer on the other end of the line thanked me and said if anyone in our office used the spelling “nite” instead of “night”, he would go ballistic.
Dave in MA on 06 Dec 2012 at 11:55 am #
A group of employees where I work who are not native English speakers have a whole bunch of intentional mis-spellings that they use to save time.
nyc instead of nice
gud instead of good
etc
but the one that threw me for a loop was:
rit instead of right.
Sorry, when I see rit, I think of writ, instead of right.
The first two I could sound out subconsciously. The last one had be totally baffled. I guess it’s all a matter of how your mind works, but for me that didn’t come across as an abbreviated form of right.
Dave in MA on 06 Dec 2012 at 11:56 am #
Nice nod to Family Guy in today’s “current” strip, (which is also a re-run).
TruckerRon on 06 Dec 2012 at 12:01 pm #
While I had a lot of nits to pick as a technical editor (prior to trucking) I quickly learned to pick my battles carefully. Most of the time I could get the engineers to accept my revisions since I never touched the critical, technical stuff other than to standardize spelling or acronyms for the units of measure. They certainly didn’t care about the softer stuff they had mostly borrowed from previous publications (engineers have to be the biggest plagiarists around!).
One little thing that’s caught my eye lately in the local paper has been the foolish over-reliance on the spelling checker, resulting in gems like “I ate to much” and “I did to!”
Lost in A**2 on 06 Dec 2012 at 12:04 pm #
I hadn’t recognised “Family Guy”! Not the first time I read it, nor this time. Thank you, Dave.
On Monday, I thought perhaps Mr. Johnson was taking this week off. Then I remembered his lead time, and decided that he’s probably back by now.
Dave in MA on 06 Dec 2012 at 12:24 pm #
Lost in A**2, he was back before he left because he owns a Delorean with a special triangle shaped capacitor on it’s back wall.
Boise Ed on 06 Dec 2012 at 1:31 pm #
Dave in MA: To me, “nyc” would say “New York City.” I well remember the first time I, as a young technical writer, had a conference with a really good editor. We went through my software manual page by page, graf by graf, like two divorce lawyers. Looking back now, I’m a bit surprised how patient he was with me.
Boise Ed on 06 Dec 2012 at 1:33 pm #
TruckerRon: THANK YOU for referring to the “spelling checker,” eschewing that other engineer-speak term that has become so awfully commonplace now.
Mindy from Indy on 06 Dec 2012 at 1:55 pm #
“Thru” drives me bonkers as well. I also get it is the accepted term in automotive-based commerce, but I don’t have to like it. I completely bypass it by writing drive-up window (which is technically more correct, anyhow. You are not driving “through” the stupid window!). We’ve recently rehashed education standards, but a basic grasp of homophones ought to be required. I have an acquaintance whose Facebook posts are a disaster of mangled English.
Mindy from Indy on 06 Dec 2012 at 2:01 pm #
Hey! I didn’t want to post that yet!
As I was saying, his posts are horrible, but he tends to be a bit emo and rather proud of his horrible posts, so I hold my tongue. Being proud of poor communication skills ought to be a punishable offense.
Blinky the Wonder Wombat on 06 Dec 2012 at 2:12 pm #
For quite a few years, the Chicago Tribune used simplified spelling for some words: “thru” for “through”, “tho” for “though”, etc. Eventually, they gave up the quixotic battle (or would the Trib call it a keyotic battle?) A nice summary of the history of the project is here:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-01-29/site/ct-per-flash-simplespelling-0229-20120129_1_spelling-texting-tribune
sandcastler on 06 Dec 2012 at 2:21 pm #
Remember Chaucer wrote in very readable English as defined at his time. The King James Bible was translated from Latin/Greek into period correct English. Latin of the Roman Era devolved into Vulgate Latin of the Church. If the string of words can be meaningfully understood communication has occurred.
Living and working in a multicultural environment makes me realize we can communicate with some brutally corrupted language. I am reminded of a late night taxi ride in Hanoi. Driver spoke no English, my Vietnamese was brutish; we made it back to the Hotel through some imaginative communications.
Tom from the Front Range on 06 Dec 2012 at 4:12 pm #
Sandcastler, hopefully that wasn’t the Hanoi Hilton. I understand the rooms there are substandard lacking many of the conveniences we expect from a hotel.
Ruth Anne in Winter Park on 06 Dec 2012 at 4:29 pm #
I wonder if the Chicago Tribune’s experiment was influenced by Melvil Dewey (of decimal system fame). He was a strong proponent of simplified spelling, leading to a favorite bit of library school graffiti: Melvil Dui cudn’t spel.
Some of Dave in MA’s co-workers’ time-savers actually resemble some of the examples in this section from Wikipedia’s article on Dewey – Late in his life Dewey helped found the Lake Placid Club as a health resort. His theories of spelling reform (to which end he founded the Spelling Reform Association in 1886) found some local success at Lake Placid: there is an “Adirondac Loj” in the area, and dinner menus of the club featured his spelling reform. A September 1927 menu is headed “Simpler spelin” and features dishes like Hadok, Poted beef with noodls, Parsli or Masht potato, Butr, Steamd rys, Letis, and Ys cream. It also advises guests that “All shud see the butiful after-glo on mountains to the east just befor sunset. Fyn vu from Golfhous porch.”
sandcastler on 06 Dec 2012 at 4:33 pm #
Tom, was the Westlake Intercontinental. The Hoa Lo prison is a grim place in the heart of Hanoi. Was actually a French prison during the colonial years, it was here that the Vietnamese learned how to torture of prisoners. Lessons learned are lessons retained,sorry to say.
sandcastler on 06 Dec 2012 at 4:40 pm #
Ruth Anne, that we can read and comprehend Dewey’s reformed spelling speaks volumes about communications.
Though I would think it could be, Poted beif wit newdls.
Chris in South Jersey on 06 Dec 2012 at 5:10 pm #
My spelling pet peeve is the lack of understanding the difference between a contraction and possessive. Case in point: you’re / your. My husband and I were having a discussion with our granddaughter about her English class … Well, we were discussing, she was whining. When I said that I could still diagram a sentence, the granddaughter was utterly baffled.
phil in Missoula, MT on 06 Dec 2012 at 5:32 pm #
I work with a Vietnamese fellow and he sometimes uses ‘me’ when he means ‘I’. I’ve been trying to think of a simple rule to give him to determine which he means. Any suggestions?
Another programmer I knew (also Vietnamese) was trying to converse with the East Texas accountant and I got a kick out of listening. He was saying ‘oy’ and she was saying ‘awl’ and they were talking about ‘oil’
Ghost Rider 6 on 06 Dec 2012 at 5:40 pm #
In my opinion, spelling still matters from a business and career perspective. What you write will not likely be taken seriously if it is riddled with misspellings…and, by extension, you will not be taken seriously. Good luck if that’s your résumé or an important report you’ve been tasked to produce.
Galliglo in Ohio on 06 Dec 2012 at 6:34 pm #
I am not the world’s greatest speller but my pet peeve is… young people who text a lot seem to think that “text-speak” is acceptable in other venues. When I get an email from my daughter, I want to scream! And then start editing! Ah, me… guess I am a dinosaur as far as acceptable spelling and grammer.
sandcastler on 06 Dec 2012 at 6:54 pm #
GiO, try speaking with or reading emails from programmers, they spend their days with another language. Now add in that their native language is Russian, Polish, or Slovakian and you start looking for Mr. Data to translate. Back during the Y2K fiasco we would meet with these two Indian programmers, they had the habit of talking head to head in a high pitch hum; Star Trek Binar,s?
Between the government, the military, and the techies, look at the layers of richness added to our modern vocabulary. Now think of how many common words or word meanings our great grandparents used that are almost Greek to the modern speaker. Language is truly evolutionary.
Ugh. Me build fire. Woman cook fur ball. Yum!
Mark in Boston on 06 Dec 2012 at 7:52 pm #
Various groups have had fun with deliberate misspellings. Now it’s LOLCAT posters on the Internet. Here in Boston in 1839 it was the Anti Bell-Ringing Society, a club founded by several young people in the city just after the Boston Common Council passed an ordnance forbidding the ringing of dinner bells.
ABRS members liked to abbreviate common phrases, for instance K.G. for “no good” and K.Y. (Know Yuse) for “no use”. But only one of their catch phrases caught on: O.K. (Oll Korrect) for “all right”.
You can look it up.
Mark in TTown on 06 Dec 2012 at 8:24 pm #
Just wondering how many of these “simplified” spellings are closer to the original words than the ones we use for them now? Considering that much of what makes up English today started out as Germanic words and then began incorporating French after the Norman Conquest.
Mindy from Indy, sorry to annoy you with thru. I just get in a hurry and use the short form. Bad habit, but my keyboarding work has normally required high productivity and so I take shortcuts when I can.
Mindy from Indy on 06 Dec 2012 at 8:43 pm #
Mark in TTown, It’s okay, I know it’s gaining momentum and I am just being a fuddy-duddy. Call it my go-to scapegoat when I see lines and lines of mangled spelling, punctuation, and grammar. There is a difference between making a conscious choice and laziness/indifference.
sandcastler on 06 Dec 2012 at 9:18 pm #
Thru dates back to at least WWII. When Field Marshall Montgomery first had Americans under his combined command it was one of the “American words”he forbid in documents.
Mark in TTown on 06 Dec 2012 at 11:10 pm #
Check the information on this link to Wiktionary about through. It looks as if I guessed right about older forms of the word.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/through
Deb on 06 Dec 2012 at 11:54 pm #
It is axiomatic that the places with the best barbecue invariably spell it barbeque.
Lost in A**2 on 07 Dec 2012 at 2:45 am #
Not quite, Mark. The gh was a pharyngeal fricative. Note the final consonants of the related words. We don’t pronounce ‘through’ the way it was pronounced when the spelling was stabilised. As an example, I have a recording of “The Daughter of Rosie O’Grady” in which the singer pronounces the gh in both ‘caught’ and ‘daughter.’
Russel Trojan on 07 Dec 2012 at 6:39 am #
Spelling and punctuation are very important for accurate communication in my mind. Merely “getting the idea” seems incomplete and potentially dangerous. However, one must admit that English, as a result of it’s evolution, is a rather odd language. My favorite example of said oddness is the word “ghoti,” pronounced “fish”.
‘gh’ from enough
‘o’ from women
‘ti from ‘tion
Someday when I have time (which means never), I’m going to collect the various pronunciations and write a book. I’m sure it will be quite unreadable, but it will be fun.
phil in Missoula, MT on 07 Dec 2012 at 8:23 am #
In addition to being Pearl Harbor day (for those of you old enough to remember), today is the earliest sunset for the Northern Hemisphere (depending on you latitude). From here on out the sunsets get later in the day, but the sunrises do also, until around Jan 4th, with the shortest day being around Dec 21st.
phil in Missoula, MT on 07 Dec 2012 at 8:24 am #
Only 14 shopping days untile Winter Solstice!
phil in Missoula, MT on 07 Dec 2012 at 8:30 am #
Regarding spelling, here’s an extreme example of phonetic spelling:
Hare’s annulled furry starry, toiling udder warts, warts welcher alter girdle deferent firmer once inner regional virgin:
Wants pawn term dare worsted ladle gull, hoe lift wetter murder inner ladle cordage honor itch offer lodge dock florist. Disc ladle gull orphan worry ladle cluck wetter putty ladle rat hut, end fur disc raisin pimple caulder ladle rat rotten hut.
You can probably find the rest of the story by Googling ladle rat rotten hut.
Mindy on 07 Dec 2012 at 8:48 am #
Google? Every other time.
phil in Missoula, MT on 07 Dec 2012 at 9:40 am #
Well, you could google it on Bing, I suppose.
sandcastler on 07 Dec 2012 at 10:43 am #
Thank you Mindy for making an effort to Google more.
Mindy on 07 Dec 2012 at 11:27 am #
I always try to help my friends, sandcastler.
Ghost Rider 6 on 07 Dec 2012 at 11:48 am #
Except when it comes to giving joke hints.
Blinky the Wonder Wombat on 07 Dec 2012 at 12:03 pm #
While the rest of the nation pauses to mourn Pearl Harbor Day, I’d rather wish the rest of the country a Happy Delaware Day!
A wag once aptly noted “English doesn’t borrow from other languages. English follows other languages down dark alleys, knocks them over and goes through their pockets for loose grammar.”
Michael in Pleasanton, CA on 07 Dec 2012 at 12:16 pm #
Excuse me? What the heck is a BBC? Why, that’s a broadcasting network. OK, what’s a BBQ? Everyone knows that that involves meat on a grill. Or corn, or zucchini.
So, the editor and the dictionary are wrong. It’s Barbeque.
I have spoken.
sandcastler on 07 Dec 2012 at 12:24 pm #
Blinky, thanks for the gem.
Mindy on 07 Dec 2012 at 1:20 pm #
What help with what joke?
Okay, I need help here. I know that airplanes flying east to west and airplanes flying west to east fly different altitudes, which is nice since it helps avoid those uncomfortable and messy collisions. What I mean is that one direction flies an even numbered interval while the other direction flies an odd numbered interval. Am I making myself clear? For instance, westbound flies at 11,000 while eastbound would fly at 12,000 feet. Am I right? And in which direction would the even numbers fly? [Assuming that the odd numbers would fly in the opposite direction.] Help me!
Ghost Rider 6 on 07 Dec 2012 at 1:29 pm #
Odd that I would be one who knows that, isn’t it?
sandcastler on 07 Dec 2012 at 1:37 pm #
Mindy, best answer I could find. GR6 may be able to add meaning to what sounds like gibberish.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070911171427AA1CtFO
Mindy on 07 Dec 2012 at 1:55 pm #
That helps a lot, thanks. Odd think is that I Googled and Binged it and couldn’t get an answer. I’m just sayin’… Thanks!
And since Ghost didn’t tell me, I won’t give him the joke’s punchline.
Ghost Rider 6 on 07 Dec 2012 at 1:56 pm #
To show that I don’t hold grudges (for say, lack of joke hints), I can offer the following as a simple answer to your question:
For Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flight, the general altitude rule is odd thousands of feet (9000, 11000, etc.) for eastbound tracks (000-179 degrees) and even thousands of feet (8000, 10000, etc.) for westbound (180-359 degrees). Above 18,000 feet MSL (Mean Sea Level) in the US, Flight Levels (FL210 for 21,000 feet, etc) are used instead of altitudes in feet. However, this a throwback to the days when there was little radar coverage and most airspace was considered “uncontrolled.” (Two of the best words pilots flying IFR can hear are “radar contact.”) These days, IFR pilots fly the altitudes assigned to them by air traffic controllers when flying in controlled airspace (which is almost all of it), regardless of heading, although controllers seem to still use the odd-even rule as a guideline when they make those assignments.
Similar rules are used for uncontrolled VFR (Visual Flight Rules) flight, except they are +500 feet (eastbound at 5500 feet, westbound at 6500 feet, etc.).
Simple, huh?
Ghost Rider 6 on 07 Dec 2012 at 1:57 pm #
Argh.
Lost in A**2 on 07 Dec 2012 at 2:13 pm #
Do commercial airliners ever fly VFR?
Robin in Fl on 07 Dec 2012 at 2:15 pm #
Blinky
Yes, thanks for that mot. I have used it elsewhere.
sandcastler on 07 Dec 2012 at 2:23 pm #
Mindy, I am a trained Google researcher, with other certification to back up the claim. Always glad to be able to help a friend.
Ghost Rider 6 on 07 Dec 2012 at 2:44 pm #
Lost: That would be extremely rare in the US.
Apparently, almost as rare as Mindy giving a joke hint.
CW in 617 on 07 Dec 2012 at 3:26 pm #
(Yes, this is a day late.)
Years ago, sometime in the late 1960s, Dave Brubeck performed at the Concord Jazz Festival. Concord CA was his home town, so this was a very large deal.
How Dad scored tickets, I don’t know, and probably never thanked him appropriately.
About halfway through a set, they did “Take Five,” which they could be sure everyone knew. After the first two bars (that’s ten beats), the audience would break into applause, and then quiet down to listen (but to applaud the Paul Desmond and Gerry Mulligan solos).
Mom and Dad had bought a piano for the family, and we soon found out that the opening chords (e-flat minor and B-flat major, if memory serves) were remarkably easy to play (mostly black keys), and that unusual rhythm was easy to pick up.
One brother played B-flat clarinet and another played E-flat alto, and the bridge, in the major key, was just plain fun to play.
This was also the time when “Mission Impossible” hit its first run of popularity, and the theme music, also in 5/4, was a hit on radio.
I’ve actually played a guitar-recorder duet including one piece in 7/4. That is hard work, but worth it.
(Sorry to run on. I did, however, look up the spelling of “rhythm”.)
Mark in TTown on 07 Dec 2012 at 4:04 pm #
Blinky, it’s a funny coincidence, but I had just finished reading that quote in a book I am reading. Only there, the author used it in reference to a fictional language, but I guessed it really referred to English.
Mindy, I prefer Google, but there are other search engines specialized for certain tasks. Which one I use depends on the results i am looking for.
sandcastler on 07 Dec 2012 at 4:19 pm #
Mark, thank you for using Google. Are you running the Chrome browser?
Mark in Boston on 07 Dec 2012 at 5:11 pm #
Airplanes: So do the northbound and southbound airplanes go up and down over and under the others like when you’re weaving a basket?
Sentences: So you think you can diagram a sentence? Let’s see you diagram this one: “The more Arlo eats, the fatter he gets.”
Boise Ed on 07 Dec 2012 at 5:19 pm #
sandcastler, your tale of the Vietnamese taxi ride reminds me that it’s always a good idea to carry a matchbook or business card from your hotel, so you can show it to the taxi driver.
Dave in MA and Russel Trojan: Here we are, talking about grammer (how is the old lady, anyhow?) and I see “it’s back wall” and “it’s evolution”. Harrumph.
Boise Ed on 07 Dec 2012 at 5:24 pm #
Oh, and regarding Dave Brubeck: Today’s Fresh Air on NPR has a 1999 interview with him. Our station repeats it at 7 pm, so yours might also. If not, go to the http://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/ Website.
Ghost Rider 6 on 07 Dec 2012 at 5:40 pm #
Mark, rigid application of the odd-even altitude rule would mean that there are no northbound or southbound aircraft, only eastbound and westbound ones. Which is probably why in the United Kingdom they cut the pie into four slices instead of two and throw an additional 500 feet vertical separation into two of the quadrants.
I forgot to mention that the US VFR altitude rule doesn’t apply below 3000 feet. And also that, contrary to what some of my non-instrument rated pilot buddies seemed to think, IFR does not mean “I Follow Roads.”
Jerry in Fl on 07 Dec 2012 at 6:23 pm #
Hello friends, I just returned from Nashville and had a fantastic trip, better than New York and Boston. I was in Nashville when an earthquake occurred in eastern Tennessee. Considering my experience with New York, would anyone like for me to visit your state? Other than having earthquakes and super storms following me around, I’m looking very much forward to a great new year, assuming that there is a new year. My previous attitude was that I have a pretty good life and if some tremendous calamity strikes the planet then you have to go sometime. At this point I am going from being retired to being on the verge of some exciting changes that will change not only my life but family too. My health situation hasn’t changed or may be overall somewhat better. I always say that I’ve done some things that I wouldn’t want to stand up in church and talk about, but recent events are a different story and I am feeling now that I will be remembered as someone who made a difference. I’m sorry that I haven’t been able to keep up with the forum, but if it’s ok I will continue to drop in when I can and here’s hopeing that you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Ghost Rider 6 on 07 Dec 2012 at 6:41 pm #
Welcome back, Jerry.
Anyone planning an Apocalypse Eve party for December 20th?
Mindy on 07 Dec 2012 at 7:01 pm #
MSL? Doesn’t anyone ever AGL anymore? See: Obscene Red Riding Hood joke. As for Jokes, Ghost, I’ve given you so many hints even a ________ could come up with the punch line.
Thank you, sandcastler. There are times when I wish I had that training as well. Instead I’m stuck in the rut of being intelligent, sexy, vivacious, humorous, physical and a great cook. I left out a few things so it wouldn’t appear that I was bragging.
Robin in Fl on 07 Dec 2012 at 7:03 pm #
Jerry
can you give us any details or hints? Sounds wonderful. Except for the whole Apocalypse thing.
Speaking which, can anyone explain why people are in a panic in Russia about the Mayan Apocalypse and are stocking up on matches, canned goods etc? I mean, if it’s the end, why bother?
GR6: I’m thinking we oughta get Hurd to throw a BBQ (or whatEVER you want to call it) and we all show up and go out with a bang!
TruckerRon on 07 Dec 2012 at 7:29 pm #
Does anyone remember when we discovered that JJ’s software didn’t like a day of the week to be mentioned? It was used in another strip today:
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/One-Big-Happy/40847/2012-12-07.php
Mark in TTown on 07 Dec 2012 at 7:39 pm #
sandcastler, no, not using Chrome at this time. I was running it on my old Dell 8400 before it died and I found it to be much better than the IE7 I replaced it with. (just a side note, when trying to type IE6 the computer gave me IED, I didn’t like Explorer as well but I wouldn’t call it a bomb!) I just got a new HP loaded with Windows 8 and I am not ahead of the learning curve yet.
Mindy on 07 Dec 2012 at 7:59 pm #
I still love my Windows 95 although it is a bit complicated. I’m sure I’ll master it sooner or later. Lord knows I’m trying. John says if I’m especially nice to him he may even finally get me a computer! Wouldn’t that be great? It surely would simplify matters.
Ghost Rider 6 on 07 Dec 2012 at 8:03 pm #
Dang, Mindy, I’m still working on the Jolly Green Giant joke, and now I’ve gotta figure out one about Little Red Riding Hood, too? I did finally come up with a sheep joke…the one that ends, “And his wife said, ‘They’re all in the back of your truck, except for the one that’s honking the horn.’” Does the Jolly Green Giant joke have anything to do with honking something?
Oh, wait…I just got the Little Red Riding Hood one. Ghost is blushing.
Ghost Rider 6 on 07 Dec 2012 at 8:06 pm #
Good Idea, Robin. Most things go better with a bang.
Ghost Rider 6 on 07 Dec 2012 at 8:30 pm #
Come to think of it most of the parties I attend could qualify as Apocalypse Eve parties. They just usually don’t fall on a Thursday.
Jerry in Fl on 07 Dec 2012 at 8:50 pm #
Ghost, that sounds like a variation on Lewis Grizzard’s pig joke. He’s been dead for years, but two of my favorite jokes were his. One joke is the sitting up with the dead joke and the other is about Uga, the University of Ga mascot. Robin, I always say that if you type it on your keyboard you may as well put it up on a billboard so, unfortunately at this point, no. As far as having a party I’m all for it and my choice of location would be Cheyenne Mountain except that you won’t be able to get within miles of the place on 12/21. I have a second choice and, believe it or not, it’s a castle, and I was there this week. I will give you a hint and some of you may have possibly been there although it isn’t really a tourist attraction. It would be a good choice because it is defensible, isolated, liveable for a large number of people and contains an extremely large amount of one of the few things that may be valuable in a worldwide catastrophe. No, it isn’t Fort Knox. It also isn’t Boldt Castle, which I also recently visited.
Mark in TTown on 07 Dec 2012 at 9:11 pm #
Jerry in FL, “That dog’d bite you!!”
Mark in TTown on 07 Dec 2012 at 9:14 pm #
And Mindy, I like Bing at this time of year. Especially “Silver Bells”.
Ghost Rider 6 on 07 Dec 2012 at 9:45 pm #
Hershey’s Silver Bells, too.
Ghost Rider 6 on 07 Dec 2012 at 9:49 pm #
Another dog joke punch line: “You could. But you’d better make friends with him first.”
Jean in Dahlonega Ga aka Trapper Jean on 07 Dec 2012 at 9:54 pm #
Phil in Missoula, I tried to read that, but even knowing what it was I couldn’t make head nor tails of it and now I have a headache.
Blinky, the version if that quote I’ve seen was “follows them down dark alleys, beats them up, and goes through their pockets for loose grammar”.
I’m pretty sure I’m still running Windows 97 on my computer. Husband won’t load anything else because he’s afraid I’ll yell at him if anything changes…and he’s most likely right. I did ask his opinion of Chrome since it became a topic of conversation here, and he said that while some people at his office love it he doesn’t think much of it, so I shouldn’t worry about it. You have to understand at this point that Technology hates me, and the fact that I have a computer at all, and that it usually works is a marvel. Some days even my toaster oven doesn’t like me.
And I haven’t a clue about the airplane question.
Jean in Dahlonega Ga aka Trapper Jean on 07 Dec 2012 at 9:56 pm #
Ghost, “Outside of a dog a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s very dark.” Mark Twain
TruckerRon on 07 Dec 2012 at 9:59 pm #
My favorite dog joke ends with “That’s not my dog!”
Ghost Rider 6 on 07 Dec 2012 at 10:22 pm #
Jean, I’m wondering about the airplane question myself.
Mindy, may I ask why an intelligent, sexy, vivacious, humorous, and physical (as opposed to ethereal, I suppose) woman who is a great cook was asking about the altitude at which airplanes fly? Are you perhaps going on your first solo cross-country flight tomorrow morning, and your flight instructor forgot to tell you that?
Steve from Royal Oak, Mi on 07 Dec 2012 at 11:02 pm #
Tonight, I am in Beaumontt Hospital herel in Royal Oak.
I had total hip replacement on my left hip. I was not scared but the experience was a little bit surrealist. I kissed my wife goodbye and the next thing I know I’m in recovery. I was sound asleep for several hours. There was a glitch in the system so my wife didn’t know I was in my room until I already ordered dinner.
Not a lot of pain but I really can’t move it yet. I will be standing on walking tomorrow morning. Still rather groggy and hopefully will sleep through the night.
My mom was a nurse so these ladies are getting the most respect and love. Hug a nurse today!
Ghost Rider 6 on 07 Dec 2012 at 11:20 pm #
Hey, Steve. Wishing you the best of lucky and a speedy recovery. I know it won’t be a cakewalk, but I also know you were having a lot of problems prior to the surgery, so I trust it will turn out to be worth it.
Bob in Orland Park on 07 Dec 2012 at 11:28 pm #
Trucker Ron
Does it start with “Does your dog bite?”
phil in Missoula, MT on 07 Dec 2012 at 11:55 pm #
Jean in Ga;
you have to read it, smoothly, out loud. “Here’s an old fairy story, told in other words, words which are altogether different from the ones in the original version”….
Jerry in Fl on 08 Dec 2012 at 1:17 am #
“Well, if you’re going to sit up, I’m going on to bed.”
TruckerRon on 08 Dec 2012 at 5:32 am #
Bob in Orland Park, that is indeed the version of it I first saw in “The Pink Panther Strikes Again.” Here’s a more recent, very funny variation on the idea:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xaiwbl_just-for-laugh-that-s-not-my-dog-fu_fun#.UMMkoY76q9Z
Mindy on 08 Dec 2012 at 6:41 am #
Well, Ghost, obviously I’m trying not to get hit in the head by flying airplanes and it helps to know what the standards for flight levels are if they’re heading east to west or obversely. I would have thought that to be rather obvious. Death Grip! And that’s the absolute LAST hint I’m giving! p.s. I may slip into a sundress for a few minutes today just because I’m lonesome for summer.
Ghost Rider 6 on 08 Dec 2012 at 7:24 am #
Thanks, Mindy. Got ‘em…uh, I mean, got it.
If you “slip into” the sundress, let me know. The quality of my dream plots has been suffering lately.
Jean in Dahlonega Ga aka Trapper Jean on 08 Dec 2012 at 7:58 am #
Steve from Royal Oak, here’s to a speedy recovery and pain free walking!
Debbe59 on 08 Dec 2012 at 8:05 am #
…meanwhile,two and half weeks later, the hen house is full of pullets. Several roosters were removed and taken to an employee’s home who will fatten them up and bring in fried chicken. My boss says they’re not really good eating, because it’s like my son said…..they are genetically engineered, bio egg laying machines. They are laying tiny eggs now. Looks like I’ll be taking deviled eggs to the family Christmas get together.
On another note, referring to Jean’s “one french fry short of a happy mean”, my son and I were discussing a certain step-brother…..he said the step brother was “the skidmark in the underpants of society.” That was a first one for me !!!
Going to put a few things up around the house today to get in the reason for the season…amen
leave you with this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQNirj6lbGY&annotation_id=annotation_924414&feature=iv
excellent song…..Trans-Siberian’s Canon Rock
Ya’ll have a blessed day…
Debbe59 on 08 Dec 2012 at 8:14 am #
Yes Steve…may you have a speedy recovery; therapy, therapy and therapy. Before you know it, you’ll be doing the “Jingle Bell Rock and Rocking Around the Christmas Tree”:)
Steve from Royal Oak, Mi on 08 Dec 2012 at 10:13 am #
I asked the doctor when I could start playing the piano.However I don’t know how to play the piano! Other folks wondered when I would go dancing with my wife again. but I am rrythmically challenged, so that’s not going to happen.
Ghost Rider 6 on 08 Dec 2012 at 11:02 am #
Good to see you’ve retained you sense of humor, Steve. Or is that just the drugs?
Just got home and discovered Giada on the Foodie Network, wearing a gauzy, see-through blouse and cooking, ah, something or other.
Mindy on 08 Dec 2012 at 11:12 am #
When the old Delta Airlines pilots were flying the twin-engine Fairchilds, one of which had it’s starboard [that's the sandwich hand, Ghost] fall off, IFR then meant either “I Found Roanoke” or “I Found Richmond.” Sometimes it got confusing because they couldn’t remember the direction in which they were heading. PSA, I think, crashed more often back then, beating out Guatemala Air Bananas by three one year. Have I abused the aviation industry enough?
Ghost Rider 6 on 08 Dec 2012 at 11:45 am #
Mindy, it will probably be comforting to you to know that pilots are also watching out for your head, especially if they are flying low enough to collide with it. Pilots have a vested interest in not crashing, as they are usually the first to arrive at the scene of said crash. I know personally of at least one case when that was not entirely true, but so as to not ruin anyone’s breakfast, brunch or lunch, I will skip the details.
Air Bananas reminds me of TACA, the El Salvadorian flag airline, and the common belief that “TACA” stands for “Take A Chance Airline.”
Sundress time yet?
Galliglo in Ohio on 08 Dec 2012 at 12:44 pm #
Best wishes Steve! I hope you come thru the rehab with flying colors. I know several individuals who have had that surgery and they are ALL so glad they did. There is one gentlemen who attends my churc whom we call the Bionic Man – he has had two knees replaced, two hips and one shoulder. Now if only they would fix his hearing…
Robin in Fl on 08 Dec 2012 at 12:53 pm #
Steve
Speedy recovery!
GR6: Having flown TACA many times, I know it was also called Take A Coffin Along (some wag was flying when they were transporting a coffin!) Ever flown with them? Once, they loaded the baggage after we were in our seats. the baggage was put in the doorway we had just used, secured with bungee net, and off we went!
Not the smallest plane or worst flight I ever took though. When you stand on the tarmac and your luggage is delivered by Mario Andretti’s long-lost cousin driving the luggage go-kart, and your luggage is under the live chickens, you know you are off the beaten path!
Ghost Rider 6 on 08 Dec 2012 at 1:26 pm #
Robin, a friend once claimed he was put on such a small aircraft on a commuter flight that when he turned on his seat’s reading lamp, the plane slowed down.
Have made a number of flights transporting cadavers in single-engine, four-place aircraft. All seats but the pilot’s are removed and replaced with a stretcher on the right side of the cabin. No other details necessary. Only one in a coffin (thankfully) was that of a homicide victim fished out of Corpus (how appropriate) Christi Bay a couple of days after someone dumped him into it. Never minded transporting the deceased…looked at it as helping to expedite the bringing of closure to some family.
Mindy on 08 Dec 2012 at 1:30 pm #
Recover well and quickly, Steve!
Ghost, John says the sundress was absolutely ravishing. I don’t understand that at all. The dress didn’t do any of the ravishing part!
Ghost Rider 6 on 08 Dec 2012 at 1:44 pm #
Maybe I can figure it out. And without as many clues as for the Jolly Green Giant thing. Or things.
Mindy on 08 Dec 2012 at 2:19 pm #
You’ll have a ball working on it, Ghost.
Ghost Rider 6 on 08 Dec 2012 at 4:07 pm #
Cooking show today had chefs preparing “lamb fries.” All in all, I’d rather watch Giada jiggle.
Shelly on 08 Dec 2012 at 5:51 pm #
On the Cannibal Channel today the cooking show had guest bakers preparing Chef Fritters and Baked Alaskans. How much does Giada jiggle? And who is Giada?
Bob, near Mark on 08 Dec 2012 at 5:59 pm #
Shelly, Giada De Laurentis’s grandfather Dino was in the cartoon series The Flintsto… Oh, wait a minute. Wrong Dino. Her grandfather was Italian movie producer Dino De Laurentis.
As for your other question, I haven’t seen enough of her (program) to be able to answer.
Charlotte in NH on 08 Dec 2012 at 7:00 pm #
To Jerry in FL — I am thrilled to hear of your good fortune. Congratulations !
Debbe59 on 08 Dec 2012 at 8:06 pm #
Gr…like Springsteen?….You must have in your collection the Album “Magic” with the single”girls in summer dresses: I dedicate this to you: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/brucespringsteen/girlsintheirsummerclothes.html
sideburns on 08 Dec 2012 at 8:48 pm #
For those of you who don’t watch the Food Network, here are some pictures of Giada: http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/behind-the-scenes-of-giada-at-home/pictures/index.html
Ghost Rider 6 on 08 Dec 2012 at 9:28 pm #
Thanks, Debbe. I do like The Boss. And I like that song. The video of it, with its use of images of “Jersey girls” of all ages, is a good one, too.
But how did you know the phrase “girls in their summer clothes” would get my attention?
Mark in Boston on 08 Dec 2012 at 9:38 pm #
I remember when the three famous aviators arrived in America, in the movie “Monkey Business”. Asked about their record-breaking flight, one of them, who for some reason sounded exactly like Chico Marx, said “The first time we flew across the ocean, half-a-way through we run outa gas, so we had to go all the way back. The second time we got ALMOST all the way to America, but we run outa gas, so we had to go all the way back. The third time we got almost all the way but then we remembered we forgotta the plane.”
Ghost Rider 6 on 08 Dec 2012 at 9:45 pm #
I once had a flight student much like that. The scariest aviation-related thing I ever did was to solo him.
Jean in Dahlonega Ga aka Trapper Jean on 09 Dec 2012 at 12:50 am #
Debbe, any TSO song is a good one!
Ghost, I saw that show. It was a recent episode of Chopped. Lamb fries, indeed. I love watching the chefs open the baskets and try to figure out what the heck “THAT” is! The ones that really irritate me are the “the judges don’t understand my vision” whiners. They lost…pull up your big-girl panties and get over it.
I do like Giada, but obviously not for the same reasons some of you do. She does have some good recipes, and she is cuter than Rachel Ray.
Ghost Rider 6 on 09 Dec 2012 at 1:10 am #
Giada has recipes??
“Sometimes, Señor, the bull wins.”
Mindy on 09 Dec 2012 at 1:45 am #
Having Googled [please note, sandcastler, that it was Google's time and I alternated on schedule] Giada, I know know who & what as well as how much she is. I obviously do not like her for the same reason as Senor Macho, Ghost [I can't resist: or his minions] do. [I also can't resist the following.] Or do I? [Which should raise some eyebrows and cause multiple head scratchings, which is an approvement [[for some reason speel check hates that word]] over what most of you guys normally scratch.] Having done my good deed for the day [yesterday; I was admittedly late] I shall now leave our Falstaff friends to their fevered conjecture and go to bed, to sleep, perchance to dream.
Good night, y’all!
Ghost Rider 6 on 09 Dec 2012 at 6:50 am #
Ghost has minions??
Jean in Dahlonega Ga aka Trapper Jean on 09 Dec 2012 at 8:33 am #
Ghost’s Minions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eA9JxAAPkc
Ghost Rider 6 on 09 Dec 2012 at 9:19 am #
Which one is sandcastler?
Mindy on 09 Dec 2012 at 11:45 am #
Oh, my, now I have to wait for the Croods. Ghost’s Minions, Jean, you think? I was thinking for along the lines of…oh, well, since we’re talking about the weather, it’s currently 73.0 outside and I just noticed that some wildflowers I planted last spring are blooming again! This is the second time since September! Everything but the Cosmos and Sunflowers are perking up again…including what bamboo is left, the dastardly, vile, evil Spawn of Satan! BUT! The good news is that the areas where I have, on my hands and knees, dug out the malignant root systems no additional growth is apparent. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Clause..which is a legal document or some sort, codifying something or other…and Ghost has Minions. The exact number of Minions is not known and no effort has been undertaken or is planed to exterminate them. For the most part they’re rather cute, if highly weird and strange…
Jean in Dahlonega Ga aka Trapper Jean on 09 Dec 2012 at 12:29 pm #
Mindy, maybe what you need to get rid of the Evil Bamboo is Sandy Claws.
I think sandcastler is the one at the end with the apple:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYBw_o_2nG0
Jean in Dahlonega Ga aka Trapper Jean on 09 Dec 2012 at 12:32 pm #
As long as I’m here, more Christmas music! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kJ8kE5Kf3g
Mindy on 09 Dec 2012 at 2:45 pm #
Christmas music? AAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Ghost Rider 6 on 09 Dec 2012 at 5:42 pm #
Jean, I like Christmas music. And I like women’s underwear…in its place. But somehow, after getting off to a promising start (except for the elf buns), this song didn’t quite turn out how I expected.
Jerry in Fl on 09 Dec 2012 at 7:58 pm #
Charlotte in NH. Thanks, and your state is beautiful. I hope to be able to return next year to further explore an archelogical find that I accidently made there. I know that many people by now are discounting most of what I post, but what you don’t know is that I never discuss the weird stuff. I am a quiet, fairly boring person who, through little effort of my own, has led a strange life. I’ve never been abducted by a UFO, thank goodness, but I’ve seen three on one occasion and one, in of all places, Gulf Breeze, infamous in UFO circles. It strikes me that this would be a good time to shut up,so
Mark in TTown on 09 Dec 2012 at 8:01 pm #
Mindy, I know what you mean about the plants. Here in West Central Alabama, we have had several times we have had very cold nights, followed by eventual warming trends. Some of the flowering shrubs and plants have bloomed again, even as the trees are losing their leaves! Very strange.
I’ve found my Christmas gift to myself now. Yesterday, while looking for a pc game at Best Buy, I struck out on the game but hit a homer on The Ultimate Three Stooges collection. It is currently going for $39.99 there, down from over $200. I am not promoting the store, but just wanted to let other possible fans know about this deal. The set is 20 DVDs with all of their 2-reelers plus other films they made for Columbia.
Mark in Boston on 09 Dec 2012 at 9:07 pm #
How could Red Riding Hood
Have been so very good
And still keep the wolf from the door?
Father and mother, she had none,
So where in the world did the money come from?
Please let me ask it,
Who filled her basket?
The storybooks never tell.
They say that she found a wolf in granny’s bed,
A big sun bonnet pulled over his head,
But you know and I know what she found instead!
How could Red Riding Hood
Have been so very good
And still keep the wolf from the door?
(A.P. Randolph, 1925)
Jean in Dahlonega Ga aka Trapper Jean on 09 Dec 2012 at 10:45 pm #
Mindy, not so much Christmas music, but relief from over-played Maul muzak.
Ghost, so what did you expect?
Mark in Boston-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JOwxnVoG6Q
Lost in A**2 on 09 Dec 2012 at 10:48 pm #
Jerry, would that have been “the American Stonehenge”? Or did happen across something else?
Bob, near Mark on 09 Dec 2012 at 10:55 pm #
Mark in Boston,
Janet Klein and Ian Whitcomb singing “How Could Red Ridinghood?”
She’s billed as “Janet Klein and her Parlor Boys”, and calls herself a “ukulele chantusie”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCzBpI8uObY
The song was supposedly the first song ever banned when originally recorded in the ’20s, because it inferred that Red Riding Hood may have been a woman of ill repute. I seem to remember reading that the original 78RPM record was recalled, and re-released with a replacement for that side.
Ghost Rider 6 on 09 Dec 2012 at 11:30 pm #
WOMEN walking round in women’s underwear, Jean! What did you think?
Don’t forget this one…it’s my personal favorite version…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FA85RO89HA
But I’ll bet you ladies suspected that already.
Big Bad Wolf on 09 Dec 2012 at 11:35 pm #
Something really should be done about these blatant displays of wolfism. You’d think all we do is go around trying to eat innocent young ladies.
Virgin Mindy on 09 Dec 2012 at 11:48 pm #
Oh please, next you will be claiming Goldie Locks was a home invader and the Three Little Pigs were running a fraudulent home construction business.
Big Bad Wolf on 10 Dec 2012 at 12:26 am #
Best look out, little girl. It’s not just big teeth I have.
Roy Baty on 10 Dec 2012 at 12:30 am #
Tell her, BBW. We non-humans must make our solidarity obvious.
curmudgeonly ex-professor on 10 Dec 2012 at 3:45 am #
Today’s new strip is a keeper! I surmise other cartoonists will be using similar stuff during the next week or ten days….
Debbe59 on 10 Dec 2012 at 5:14 am #
I agree Sandcastler….I like to read the comments too.
Today is my Dad’s 84th birthday and is still going strong….loves those casinos. My paternal grandfather once said: “I know why your Dad keeps going back to Vegas…to find his a$$.)
ya’ll have a blessed day
Jean in Dahlonega Ga aka Trapper Jean on 10 Dec 2012 at 8:21 am #
Debbe, Happy Birthday to your Dad!
Does anybody else here watch the show Once Upon A Time? The writers have an interesting take on Red Riding Hood (aka Ruby) She’s really a werewolf and the red cape has a spell on it that keeps her from turning during the full moon.
John in Richmond Texas on 10 Dec 2012 at 8:30 am #
I may have been looking at the Three Stooges Collection the same time as Mark in TTown. We were in Best Buy, my wife was looking for a new phone. I was wandering since all I ever do is maybe make a cell phone call once every three months and would be no help to her in choosing among all the options. I was holding that box musing on the wonders inside, so very tempting, the price here was somewhat more than 39.99, but still OK. It’s probably going to be in my head until I go back and buy it, must own it !! and hide it from wife.
John in Richmond Texas on 10 Dec 2012 at 8:34 am #
my wife follows Once Upon a Time and was disenchanted a few weeks ago, when apparently there was a big kissing scene and she thought the characters went way overboard, too long and too deep with the suck face, she still watches it, she just thought it looked out of place
Jerry in Fl on 10 Dec 2012 at 1:44 pm #
Lost, if you are speaking of the Georgia guidestones I have never seen them. I would like to, but I do have a theory about the person known as R. C. Christian. This is not the only mystery associated with him. Possibly associated with this is a copy of the Washington Monument located in Alabama.