Apr 12th 2012 08:15 am And step on it!
I don’t have a lot of time this morning, so I’m dropping off today’s retro cartoon as I head out the door. I will leave a hint for all of those speculating about what Janis really wanted Arlo to bring home in today’s cartoon: it doesn’t matter.
Posted by jimmyjohnson / Vintage A&J
112 Responses to “And step on it!”
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 12 Apr 2012 at 9:00 am #
Thanks for the hint. I think that there are so many funny things that come from auto-correct and voice recognition, that you could probably write a book about it.
Neal in Bahstawn on 12 Apr 2012 at 9:00 am #
But speculation is at least two-thirds of the fun!
Speech-to-text has come a very long way since I was at Bolt Beranek and Newman in the 1980s (the running gag was to tell the speech recognition system attached to whatever system, “show me a new display” and see what happened). Dragon and Siri are very good, but they’re still prone to ambient noise errors.
So, what error would send Arlo to a pet store to bring back a small live something? My contribution is, “Bring home a new laundry hamper”, and “Could could you stop at the store and get chervil?”.
Mindy on 12 Apr 2012 at 9:07 am #
Of course it doesn’t matter! How blatantly obvious!
Now what the heck did Jimmy mean when he said it doesn’t matter?
phil in Missoula, MT on 12 Apr 2012 at 9:15 am #
This will probably get me thrown into moderation, but it’s a funny, if sometimes risque site concerning autocorrect.
http://www.damnyouautocorrect.com/category/best-of-dyac/
Whistling Rufus on 12 Apr 2012 at 9:16 am #
I didn’t get it at all (today’s comic @ gocomics) till I read the comments. My vote: steak-snake
billinbossier on 12 Apr 2012 at 9:25 am #
I think, as Neal hinted, that she said stop and pick up a ham steak, and it texted ‘hamster’. Pretty obvious to me.
Mindy on 12 Apr 2012 at 9:49 am #
I thought she wanted dishwasher detergent.
John in Virginia on 12 Apr 2012 at 10:03 am #
Mindy is thinking again…..
Maggie in Michigan on 12 Apr 2012 at 10:06 am #
The strip is so small in my newspaper, I didn’t get the joke until I looked at it on your site.
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 12 Apr 2012 at 10:15 am #
I am at a writer convention with my wife, who is the the author. One of the workshops included a publist who said that “social media is a must, not an option. Writers are seeking and getting feedback from their readers.”
That comment made me think of how Jimmy has been ahead of the curve. He included an email address very early on and of course has been running this blog for quite a while. Once the hardest things for a writer and a publisher to understand is what works and what works in their story. Before, it was totally sales driven, but now authors have the ability to get feedback…for better and for worse!
Norm in Utah on 12 Apr 2012 at 11:38 am #
Mindy is, therefore she thinks.
Norm in Utah on 12 Apr 2012 at 11:39 am #
Mindy either thinks of thwims.
Norm in Utah on 12 Apr 2012 at 11:39 am #
That’s “Thinks or thwims.”
John in Virginia on 12 Apr 2012 at 11:47 am #
Mindy is a Descartes prodigy? Is reputo, poinde est? I think…She lives in a world of her own and we only pick on her cause we care about her so much.
Boise Ed on 12 Apr 2012 at 12:10 pm #
Golly, when I looked at today’s cartoon, I just thought it was a box of pet food for Ludwig. What you saw as air holes, I saw as typical cartoonist shortcut for packaging text.
Mindy on 12 Apr 2012 at 12:19 pm #
Air holes? I thought those were windows!
Laura in Upstate NY on 12 Apr 2012 at 12:43 pm #
Ice but instead she is getting mice, the steak=snake one is a good thought. My first thought was it was a hampster but couldn’t figure out a word that would get reworked to hampster, hamper is probably what she wanted.
Neal in Bahstawn on 12 Apr 2012 at 12:44 pm #
Nope, take a look at the cartoon in the ‘today’s A&J’ frame, which has no shrinkage issue or reproduction problems. Definitely air holes. There’s a live small animal or bird in there. Probably the ‘scroll’ Janis wanted Arlo to pick up. Or, maybe some books of poetry she wanted, you know, “a pair of Keats” (or football apparel, “a pair of cleats”).
But, as JJ says, “It doesn’t matter”.
sandcastler on 12 Apr 2012 at 1:34 pm #
I shall not comment, at my age I hear many things different than was meant. It does make life interesting on occasion. One time a young lady commented she liked her pencils to have pointy tips. I caught only the part about pointy tips, and that I misheard. Pleading a Mindy on the rest of that story.
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 12 Apr 2012 at 1:47 pm #
Sandcastler:
If what you thought you heard about pointy tips did not make your ears perk up, then I would say that you TOO old. I often fake poor hearing just to get a giggle from people.
sideburns on 12 Apr 2012 at 2:11 pm #
Steve, I’m glad that you still have to fake poor hearing. I remember all of the silly comments I got at a meeting of my SF club when I mentioned that the batteries in my hearing aids had died on the way over. Trust me: smart people aren’t always as clever as they think they are. If they were, I wouldn’t have gotten so many versions of the same “I can’t hear you” joke.
sideburns on 12 Apr 2012 at 2:34 pm #
Now that I’ve looked at today’s strip, I see what JJ meant about not trying to guess. However, the folks over at gocomics.com have come up with some good ones. The one I like best is that rice came out as mice. And, I suspect that Luddy would like that one too. What cat wouldn’t like some toys that move on their own?
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 12 Apr 2012 at 2:49 pm #
Sideburns, both my Dad and Grandpa had hearing loss. I know first hand how devasting that can be and I am concerned, especially as a singer, that the same fate will fall upon me. As a matter of fact it is getting worse and sometimes I do not hear well, but I try to joke about it when I can. But then I try to joke about just about everything, however I try not to cross the line into hurting somebody’s feelings.
John in Virginia on 12 Apr 2012 at 3:20 pm #
Sandcastler, go to http://www.urbandictionary.com and enter “plead a Mindy.” I swear I did not do that! Someone else submitted it!
sandcastler on 12 Apr 2012 at 3:40 pm #
John in Virginia, it also has two hits on Google search. Mindy is becoming a legend in her own time. Woe is me!!
John in Virginia on 12 Apr 2012 at 4:23 pm #
More like woe is we!
Mark in TTown on 12 Apr 2012 at 4:29 pm #
Phil in Missoula, thanks for the link! Just on the first page I laughed until I cried. Of course I have always been a fan of bloopers and typos. I have two books collected by the Columbia Journalism school which have newspaper typos. One is Squad Helps Dog Bite Victim, and the other is Red Tape Holds Up New Bridge. The titles clue you in as to what is inside.
sideburns on 12 Apr 2012 at 4:42 pm #
I wasn’t offended, Steve, just glad to see that your hearing is still good. And, in my case, the loss is what’s called “an artillery notch,” caused by too much exposure to outbound 5″54 gunfire back in ’72. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, there’s a smallish range of frequencies you don’t hear well because of exposure to loud noises. If you’re talking to somebody who has it, don’t raise your voice, because that generally means that you raise both the volume and the pitch, often taking your voice right into the notch. What you need to do is speak slightly louder at the same pitch as normal or, if your voice is high-pitched, a tad lower than usual.
John, it could be worse. Years ago, somebody in an obscure Usenet group was making comments about his wife. When warned to be careful, he replied that he didn’t have to worry because she didn’t follow the group. The very first reply to that message was, “What makes you think I don’t?” This soon came to be known as getting “Vikkified,” after the wife’s name.
Kevin on 12 Apr 2012 at 5:35 pm #
I said, “Pick up SOME ICE!”
Said from on top of the counter.
I LOVE the possibilities, though…
Jerry in Fl on 12 Apr 2012 at 5:49 pm #
Thanks to those of you who didn’t get lost and posted in this forum by mistake. Just shows that I’m not the worst crackpot around. I think that I got a little cranky when told that there is a “problem” with my liver. It shouldn’t bother me. I’ve always hated liver. One of you is correct about today’s strip. I just don’t know which one. My poor guess was that It doesn’t matter meant it doesn’t clump as in kitty litter, but now I think that it just doesn’t matter. (What movie or tv show was that catch phrase in?)
Jerry in Fl on 12 Apr 2012 at 6:01 pm #
Got it! Bill Murray in Meatballs. Hilarious. Hold it. Is that a clue afterall?
TruckerRon on 12 Apr 2012 at 7:33 pm #
Jerry in Fl:
FREDERIC:
My eyes are fully open to my awful situation,
I must go at once to Mabel and I’ll make her an oration,
I will tell her I am bound by duty and my moral senses,
And I don’t know what to do about the pending consequences,
Now I do not want to perish by the sword or by the dagger,
But a pirate must indulge a little pardonable swagger,
And a word or two of complement my vanity would flatter,
But I’ve got to go tonight, so it really doesn’t matter.
KING:
So it really doesn’t matter.
RUTH:
So it really doesn’t matter.
KING:
So it really doesn’t matter.
RUTH:
So it really doesn’t matter.
FREDERIC:
So it really doesn’t matter.
KING:
So it really doesn’t matter.
ALL:
So it really doesn’t matter matter matter matter matter.
Tom from the Front Range on 12 Apr 2012 at 7:37 pm #
Wife texts husband on a cold winters morning: “Windows frozen.”
Husband texts back: “Pour some lukewarm water over it.”
Wife texts back: “Computer completely buggered now”
Mark in Boston on 12 Apr 2012 at 8:20 pm #
This particularly rapid unintelligible patter isn’t generally heard, but if it is it doesn’t matter!
Jerry in Fl on 12 Apr 2012 at 8:41 pm #
Trucker-is that from a different Bill? Tom- very good. It reminds me of take one pill with a warm bath. Mark-is that original? I like it. While I’m at it, a serious note. If you picked up an Easter lily over the holiday do not leave it where your pet can get to it. Eating one leaf can be deadly. The animal will vomit immediately and you will see the leaf. Take them to the vet immediately along with a blank check. Elvis survived his experience thank goodness.
TruckerRon on 12 Apr 2012 at 9:00 pm #
Jerry in Fl: Yes, though Bill would probably want to be remembered as Sir William Schwenck Gilbert.
Jim in SE Mississippi on 12 Apr 2012 at 9:35 pm #
Man to friend: “I bought the world’s best hearing aid today. It cost five thousand dollars.”
Friend: “Five thousand dollars! What kind is it?”
Man (looking at watch): “It’s 9:35.”
Mary in Ohio on 12 Apr 2012 at 9:55 pm #
Sideburns – alas, there is also a range of hearing loss in the more common voice range, suffered by elementary teachers. At parties or in restaurants, where there is the background noise of other voices, we can’t hear – or we mis-hear – stuff said right to us. Hilarity can indeed ensue.
Mark in TTown on 12 Apr 2012 at 10:35 pm #
There is also one which afflicts men. We lose the ability to hear women’s voices when the subconscious decides to do so.
Jerry in Fl on 13 Apr 2012 at 1:00 am #
Mark, you meant that as a joke, but when you say subconscious you are speaking of the brain, which interprets the vibrations reaching it thrugh the ear, It is a fact that people who can hear tones and test as having no hearing loss can still benefit from hearing aids. I am one of them.
Dale on 13 Apr 2012 at 8:30 am #
Does today’s (that is, Friday 13 April’s) cartoon mean that Ludwig is definitively black?
Dave in MA on 13 Apr 2012 at 8:31 am #
John in Virginia, I tried that and I get this reply, “plead a Mindy isn’t defined yet. “
Dave in MA on 13 Apr 2012 at 8:33 am #
Dale, I noticed that too. The ones who color the strip changed him to black for today. I guess they got the joke, but I’m surprised they broke with the normal color to do that. Unless that’s not Ludwig…..
hc on 13 Apr 2012 at 8:33 am #
It’s called “selective deafness” We had an Irish setter that was a master at this. He’d hear just fine when it suited his convenience – example, the electric tea kettle clicking off at 4:00 pm when we stopped for the afternoon cup of tea (being civilized Brits) – and he got a biscuit treat. Didn’t matter where in the house he was … he’d hear that click and show up.
I wouldn’t say that spouses can have this affliction too …..
Dave in MA on 13 Apr 2012 at 9:00 am #
I recall my late father in law coming upstairs to our appt and telling my wife and I that we had a faucet dripping. Standing right next to the sink where this was happening you could barely hear it. He heard it downstairs!
Of course, looking right at him and talking to him, he often couldn’t make out the words you were saying.
Depends on the frequency range of the sound, and whether or not that falls into your area of hearing loss, and also your willingness to pay attention to what you are hearing.
I can “focus” on something in a sound, like hearing tape hiss in a recording and completely ignoring the music, or hearing a specific instrument and ignoring the rest of the recording. I can also have the same exact recording play and completely miss every minute of it because I was distracted. And of course, I can listen to it and hear every nuance of it and enjoy it immensely.
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 13 Apr 2012 at 9:03 am #
Dave this cat has ears, so maybe it is not Ludwig. Also in regards to selective hearing, you are absolutely right that outside sounds can distract us from hearing. That is why my Dad could not really enjoy the annual family gatherings in his basement. 35-30 people all talking at once…no hearing aid can help with that.
Mindy on 13 Apr 2012 at 9:18 am #
I hate Fridays now. Jimmy rarely posts on Fridays. “Plead a Mindy” at http://www.urbandictionary.com?
I’m afraid to ask! You guys gotta be kidding!
Mindy on 13 Apr 2012 at 9:45 am #
I thought you were kidding. You weren’t kidding!
Dave in MA on 13 Apr 2012 at 9:49 am #
Steve from Royal Oak, MI, Ludwig has ears on April 3rd. Hard to see in first panel, easy in fourth where he’s wrapped around Arlo’s legs.
Also, April 10, he’s got ears readily visible in 3 panels.
I think Ludwig grew a pair. (pun intended)
Dave in MA on 13 Apr 2012 at 9:51 am #
Mindy, so YOU can see a definition? I go to http://www.urbandictionary.com and type in Plead A Mindy and I get this URL:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Plead+a+Mindy
and this response:
Plead a Mindy isn’t defined yet.
Why is this different from one user to another? Inquiring minds want to know.
Dave in MA on 13 Apr 2012 at 9:53 am #
No fair, I went to moderation for mentioning urbandictionary twice.
But I still get “Plead a Mindy isn’t defined yet.”
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 13 Apr 2012 at 9:57 am #
Trucker Ron and Jerry in Fl: That tune is indeed by Sir Arthur Sullivan; however, it was not in the original 1880 “Pirates of Penzance”, but comes from Act II of the 1887 “Ruddigore”, five operas later. Except for the skeleton of the song, the words are not by Sir William Schwenk Gilbert but by whoever trivialized “Pirates” into a significantly different and inferior Broadway show in the mid 1980s. To savoyards, this is like transplanting “La donna é mobile” from Verdi’s “Rigoletto” into his “Aida”. Nothing can be done about it, as all G&S operas are now public domain, but that does not make it right.
I drove over to Mpls. for the recent Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company’s production of “Patience”, the next opera they did after Pirates, and for many of us, the first of their mature comic operas. As Lord Mountararat sings in “Iolanthe”, GSVLOC “did it very well”. They don’t generally mess much with the original text and setting of an opera, perhaps throwing in a modern reference or an updated verse here or there. They did mess up “Gondoliers” badly several years ago, but a bona fide G&S company is the safest place to go for an authentic “Pirates” or other Savoy opera.
Mindy on 13 Apr 2012 at 10:41 am #
Emeritus, is GSVLOC anything like the Electric Light Orchestra?
Russell Way Out There on 13 Apr 2012 at 10:50 am #
I have an idea: Let’s bring back the old TV sitcom, “Leave it to Beaver,” but name it “Leave it to Mindy.” Shall we take a vote?
I’ve going to go back into my corner now and lurk and not say anything for another week or so. It’s safer that way.
Dave in MA on 13 Apr 2012 at 11:02 am #
Mindy, Mindy, Mindy, there’s an obvious difference. The GSVLOC is VERY light, while ELO is only Light, not VERY Light. Sheesh!
Dave in MA on 13 Apr 2012 at 11:03 am #
Russell Way Out There, all I know is that “Gee Ward, you were awfully hard on the Mindy last night” just wouldn’t be as much of a joke …………
John in Virginia on 13 Apr 2012 at 11:09 am #
Now I know why I keep coming back in here so often, the threads are so fluid they change in a heartbeat. I read Russell’s comment and decided I wouldn’t touch that line with a ten-foot stick. Then I read Dave’s — both of them — and laughed my tush off at the almost infinite possibilities, not one suitable for a family page! Thanks, Dave, I needed that. It’s usually Mindy who makes me roar! Or am I just a dirty not-so-old man?
I think I might join Russell in the corner, swap yarns and keep myself out of the line of fire in here.
We love ya, Mindy! You brighten our days!
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 13 Apr 2012 at 11:56 am #
Mindy: I LOVE ELO and I really like Gilbert and Sullivan so I don’t think you can go wrong with either.
Dave: I was just pointing out a favorite type of post here at A&J.com and that is whether Ludwig has ears.
BTW JJ, When are we going to be visiting Gene? Soon, I hope.
curmudgeonly ex-professor on 13 Apr 2012 at 11:58 am #
Mindy – “Carpe diem!” Here’s your chance to get into that urban dictionary and write the definitive description of what the phrase means. I went to that site yesterday and saw what you did – that the phrase had not yet been defined. So, as it seems to involve you, make the best of it and write in whatever pleases you. Reasonable?
sideburns on 13 Apr 2012 at 12:48 pm #
That’s OK, Dave, I just went there and found it undefined.
BTW, both of our cats are smugly ignoring the fact that there’s a thunderstorm going on outside right now.
Dave in MA on 13 Apr 2012 at 1:14 pm #
curmudgeonly ex-professor, “Carpe Diem” ? Is that anything like “Carpe Ductum” (Seize the tape!) ?????
(ducking!)
Mindy on 13 Apr 2012 at 1:45 pm #
Can I do that, Professor? Modify any definitions since it has not been “accepted” yet? Wow! That is one carpe that I will definitely seize! No, wait….carpe is the seizing part, no?
Does that mean that anyone can add to it? OMG!
sandcastler on 13 Apr 2012 at 2:51 pm #
Sandcastler sees Mindy sweating at the keyboard typing her Urban Dictionary entry. Ponytail whisking to and fro as she composes her prose. Crossing and uncrossing her cammie covered legs and blackbooted feet. Sweat staining the OD undershirt, once more as she types the defo she must again plead a Mindy.
Mark in Boston on 13 Apr 2012 at 4:11 pm #
From Ruddigore: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmBri9kvptE
curmudgeonly ex-professor on 13 Apr 2012 at 4:23 pm #
Mindy, I don’t really know if you could do that, but the impression received was that such was, indeed, possible. Give it a shot. I’m sure we’d all love to read your thoughts – or is that a story for another day?
Mindy on 13 Apr 2012 at 7:11 pm #
How did Sandcastler know about the ponytail??????
I plead a Mindy, ex-professor! [If everyone else can, why can't I?] Besides, my heart is pure as are my thoughts…except for when I…but, that’s definitely a story for yet another day!
CW in 617 on 13 Apr 2012 at 7:46 pm #
An earlier comment, and the inspriation of the cover of “Beaucoup Arlo and Janis” reminded me of the first time I read this one, in “Mad Magazine” of course. I’ll have to describe the gag in words, but I still think it’s funny.
Imagine Rodin’s “Le Penseur” wearing scuba gear, with the caption to the effect of “A man deciding whether to Think or Thwim.”
Mark in TTown on 13 Apr 2012 at 8:01 pm #
Hey, there was a tv show with a Mindy. You know the one with Robin Williams.
I’ll vote for ELO, sorry to say I haven’t heard Gilbert and Sullivan. I got interested in modern musical theater for a while, after a woman I dated introduced me to it. But I haven’t kept up with it for a long time now.
As to the ears thing, all cat people know that when a cat’s ears disappear, look out for trouble!
I wonder, at the Urban Dictionary if it puts a phrase in the list when someone searches for it and then allows a definition to be entered for the undefined terms?
sandcastler on 13 Apr 2012 at 8:34 pm #
Mindy
Mindy on 13 Apr 2012 at 9:36 pm #
Sandcastler is peeking! Sandcastler is peeking!
Jerry in Fl on 13 Apr 2012 at 11:44 pm #
As Mark Harmon is a me lookalike; true except that I now have a beard and mustache again, that means that Mindy and I are married, something that I pointed out a long time ago, but didn’t explain very well. As I catch my breath from that run on sentence, I recall that he is in NCIS which twigs ( tweaks) another memory, which is that I love it when they portray north Florida in the movies, complete with mountains and desert, as in Pensacla NAS, starring Mr. Babwa Strisand. Last name doesn’t look right, but what the heck.
sandcastler on 14 Apr 2012 at 6:58 am #
Oh Mindy, where do you think JJ gets his ideas?
Bob, near Mark on 14 Apr 2012 at 9:10 am #
Jerry in Fl,
I used to dread that extremely difficult drive between Enterprise, Alabama, and Tallahassee, Florida. Getting through those snow-clogged mountain passes was terrifying in the winter. Many times, the only thing that saved us were the bags of boiled peanuts that we bought along the side of the road, and used for traction on the icy highway.
sandcastler on 14 Apr 2012 at 9:24 am #
http://www.ted.com/talks/abigail_washburn_building_us_china_relations_by_banjo.html
For all.
Mindy on 14 Apr 2012 at 9:54 am #
Wrong Mindy, Jerry, wrong Mindy!
And you bought boiled peanuts along the side of the road in the winter? Even the chickiepins weren’t for sell that late! [I know, I spelled it wrong. I'm still disgustingly sore from the bamboo battles yesterday [(^*&^*#%A)_% bamboo roots!] and from what is undoubtedly a story for yet another day last night far, far in the future.
Ah! And how I see! Sandcastler has been peeking and ratting me out to Jimmy and all this time we thought JJ had the secret window!
John in Virginia on 14 Apr 2012 at 10:22 am #
Okay, Mindy, once and for all, I have the nearly perfect method of exterminating bamboo as told to me by a veteran of the 1st Air Cavalry in Vietnam. First you call in an Arc Light strike — a multi-aircraft B-52 bombing attack, I won’t tell you why the ’52 is called BUFF — followed by extensive napalm followed by a Navy Construction Batallion — Seabee — with the big time bulldozers followed, finally, by a 2-megaton nuclear strike. That should work but I suspect it will kill your roses as well. Not to mention that chipmunk you mentioned some time back.
phil in Missoula, MT on 14 Apr 2012 at 11:33 am #
Saturday’s cartoon sure hit home. We went to see Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy a couple of weeks ago and came away wishing that it had had English subtitles. For such a small country there sure is a wide variation in accents.
In Ireland once we listened to a Dublin schoolgirl complain about her history teacher’s accent. Couldn’t understand her half the time and she was from Galway (100 miles away or so).
I suppose, to be fair to our cousins across the pond, I should say that I have run into people from New York and the New England states whom I had difficulty understanding too. Whatdhe say?
sandcastler on 14 Apr 2012 at 11:36 am #
JiV, that first off is over kill. Secondly learn to be one with bamboo, a very useful construction material which is highly renewable.
Mindy, even Santa Claus uses elf labor for spying.
Mindy on 14 Apr 2012 at 11:39 am #
I deplore elves! I hate being around them! The steal bras!
Mindy on 14 Apr 2012 at 11:58 am #
Oops!
Never mind.
curmudgeonly ex-professor on 14 Apr 2012 at 12:17 pm #
Mindy: Now there simply MUST be a great tale behind your elf comment! How about it?
Bob, near Mark on 14 Apr 2012 at 12:30 pm #
Should the correct spelling have been “They steal,” or should it have been “The steel?”
Russell Way Out There on 14 Apr 2012 at 1:04 pm #
I would dearly love to hear that story, Mindy. Share it with us, please! We promise to be an attentive audience and not to make any rude, crude or socially unacceptable comments before, during or after your narration. Don’t we, guys?
Mindy on 14 Apr 2012 at 2:52 pm #
And I suppose you have some prime ocean-front property for sale cheap in Iowa and Nebraska, Russell?
sandcastler on 14 Apr 2012 at 4:06 pm #
Mindy, are you saying your perimeter is unsecure? Or, the ponytail is not the only thing swaying? I could help with the first, but am hands off on the latter.
Mindy on 14 Apr 2012 at 4:11 pm #
You, sandcastler, are incorrigible. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. As for what, besides the ponytail, is swaying, I’ll answer truthfully: the bamboo.
sandcastler on 14 Apr 2012 at 4:36 pm #
See, told you I could not help with the latter.
Lost in A**2 on 14 Apr 2012 at 7:34 pm #
A propos de rein, I saw the license plate ARLOFAN today. Don’t whether the owner likes comics, music, or both, though.
Charlotte in NH on 14 Apr 2012 at 9:16 pm #
I think that what Mindy is trying to eradicate is Japanese Knotweed, not real Bamboo which is renewable etc. It really is a pesky weed. And it has a pet name, which my own mother told me is “inchanouwa” — sounds Aisian, doesn’t it? and I said, “What?” and after some confusion back and forth it turns out to be (the way it grows) “an inch an hour”. My mother had a fine New England accent.
David in Austin on 15 Apr 2012 at 12:24 am #
Saturday’s comic shows Jimmy is still peeking… One of the reasons I love HD is because it does allow me to supplement my less than perfect hearing with lip reading. I can’t do it without the sound, but the combination of sound and mouth movement is much easier for me to understand. My hearing is affected by tinnitus, and loss of high and middle frequencies. It seems that the hearing protection I had that summer I was OIC of the machine-gun range at Ft. Riley was less than adequate. The M2 .50 caliber machine-gun is also VERY loud.
What I really hate is when the audio track is mis-matched with the video. Sort of like watching an old Godzilla movie. I can’t understand the dialog if the video is out of sync. I just have to change the channel and hope something else on the satellite is working correctly.
Jerry in Fl on 15 Apr 2012 at 1:21 am #
I wish that life worked that way.
Mindy on 15 Apr 2012 at 2:26 am #
No, Charlotte, it is real honest-to-gosh bamboo and not kudzu. My plague is the fishing pole variety, or the thatched hut, and not the Japanese erosion control thingie that VDOT, in all its foolish wisdom, planted in huge quantities only to see it take over the world 30 days later. Speaking of DOT wisdom, did you know that the various DOT organizations in several mid-western states planted “hemp” through the thirties, forties and fifties [and, I'm told, even into the sixties] to control erosion? Yep, it was the cannabis sitiva variety. DOT could plant it, but it was illegal to smoke it. Go figure. Too bad smoking kudzu and bamboo doesn’t have the same result as hemp. Not that I’ve ever ingested the vapors of the illicit devil weed! Mindy’s halo is untarnished. Mostly. Almost. Goodnight.
Mark in TTown on 15 Apr 2012 at 7:59 am #
Mindy, there is an idea. Advertise free fishing poles on Craigslist. Cut your own, of course. Or find out if there is a Mayberry Day in your area and offer the bamboo for a fishing contest or something. Remember Tom Sawyer and the fence whitewashing. Best method of getting something tedious done is convincing another person why they should do it.
Mindy on 15 Apr 2012 at 8:17 am #
Mark, those are good ideas…which do not address the pain in the [bleep] cutting the [whoop!] things plus adding the necessity of trimming off the [ah-ooh-gah!] limbs.
Does it appear that I’m frustrated and no longer in any way fond of the nefarious bamboo monster?
Bob, near Mark on 15 Apr 2012 at 9:04 am #
Someone’s been bamboo-zled.
John in Virginia on 15 Apr 2012 at 9:14 am #
Pun alert! Pun alert! If the deer come around, and you chase them away, it’s Bambi-booed.
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 15 Apr 2012 at 9:24 am #
Another option with the bamboo is to bring in an animal that will eat bamboo. It might be hard to obtain a Panda or certain African Gorillas, but I hear certain rats do.
My mother-in-law lives in Northern Michigan with woods all around her. She is about a mile or two from Lake Huron, so the soil is sandy and the Birch trees grow quickly. Birch trees are beautiful, but tend to topple over easily with a stiff breeze, especially when growing in sandy soil. Bamboo looks very pretty, but I don’t think I would want to live next to it.
Jerry in Fl on 15 Apr 2012 at 9:31 am #
Watch out for the panda, which eats shoots and leaves. Three pandas walk ino a bar…..
Bob, near Mark on 15 Apr 2012 at 10:02 am #
Steve fRO,MI,
Last August, the PBS series “Nova” had an episode on bamboo and rats. You can watch the documentary on line at
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/rat-attack.html
Jerry in Fl on 15 Apr 2012 at 1:19 pm #
My father leaned his fishing poles against the back of his shop and there is a grove of fishing poles back there now.
Mindy on 15 Apr 2012 at 5:33 pm #
I just had to say something to make it an even 100 comments. Is that a record? If it is, I know what we all won! Tomorrow is Monday. That means JJ will be back! If that ain’t a win, I don’t know what is! [Death to all bamboo...except that being consumed by Pandas!]
Bill in Paducah on 15 Apr 2012 at 5:52 pm #
I think we went over 300 when JJ disappeared for about 3 weeks* a couple of years ago. Speculation was rampant.
*could have been shorter – seemed much longer.
Mindy on 15 Apr 2012 at 6:20 pm #
I often wonder if Jimmy realizes just how thick his fan base really is? And all because he peeks into our windows and catches us at our most defenseless moments! That makes him a commentator of society as we know it rather than a voyeur, though. I have three top ranked comics that I look forward to every day with A&J right there where it belongs. Even if they brought back Far Side and Bloom County, Jimmy would be at the top. Grin, Jimmy, swagger and be proud. We love ya!
phil in Missoula, MT on 15 Apr 2012 at 6:44 pm #
Well Mindy, at last count here you’ve got 17% of the posts here, not counting the other side of the conversations aimed at you. You need to get a life outside this box, woman!
Mindy on 15 Apr 2012 at 8:08 pm #
Okay, Phil, I’m leaving and I won’t come back. Bye.
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 15 Apr 2012 at 8:23 pm #
Mindy, “You can’t leave!! All the plants are going to die!
sandcastler on 15 Apr 2012 at 8:49 pm #
Mindy, please don’t, your kisses and hugs will be missed. Besides, pleading a Phil is just plain werid.
MarkinTTown on 15 Apr 2012 at 9:15 pm #
And then there’s the sound effects for a one-punch boxing match: “Bam!…booed”.
John in Virginia on 15 Apr 2012 at 9:20 pm #
Kisses and hugs? Did I miss something there? Good Lord! I was out of the country during the “sexual revolution” and now I’ve missed Mindy’s kisses and hugs! Just my luck. I would call out, “Mindy! Come back!” But if I did that someone would say I sounded like Brandon DeWilde calling out for Shane. And if I called, “Mindy! Come home,” sure as heck someone would make a dog comment. Perhaps we could get her a job as the heavy in the next Batman? Heath Ledger did a great job. I’m sure Mindy could match him any day of the week.
MarkinTTown on 15 Apr 2012 at 10:29 pm #
And Mindy, don’t forget he does it without being mean-spirited. That’s what turned me off to several comics, including some hailed as classics.
Tom (somewhere in Georgia) on 16 Apr 2012 at 5:31 am #
Way to go Phil. I miss you already Mindy.
hearing examination on 19 Apr 2012 at 12:20 am #
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