A pithy comic strip about life, love, lust and puthy cats.

Est. 1985

Extra, Extra!

Channeling Frustrations

By Jimmy Johnson

January 22, 2009


From this date in 2009. No wonder Janis thinks she’s gained weight. She has! However, I’m not wading into that quagmire. As you probably have guessed by now, it’s been a busy week around here, and it’s Friday already. I suppose this is as good a time as any for a commercial. If you go to CoComics to read Arlo & Janis by clicking on the blue logo below, or by any other means, I hope you will consider clicking the “follow” button on the upper left portion of the A&J page. You will be asked to sign up for a GoComics account, but that is easy and need not cost anything. This will enable a reader to “follow” as many comics as he or she wants and to assemble them into a custom-made “funny page” of favorite comics. I say “need not cost,” because a premium membership is available that, among other things, enables you to read comics in an ad-free environment. And, yes, we artists are permitted to wet our tiny beaks. Mainly, though, I am encouraging you here simply to “follow” Arlo & Janis. These little things help us cartoonists as we transition, kicking and screaming, from the cozy comfy confines of your local newspaper.


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47 responses to “Channeling Frustrations”

  1. Kathleen Bruner Avatar

    I have a favorite comics page setup as you mentioned that I read every day. I even have my REAL favorites in the beginning of the list, so if I’m really behind, like after a vacation, I only go back and read all of the first few. Of course, A & J is in that beginning! Can’t miss my A & J fix! 🙂

    1. Jimmy Johnson Avatar

      Thank you! (And it didn’t hurt a bit, did it?)

  2. MontanaPhil Avatar
    MontanaPhil

    I really like the strip from the day following. (Jan 23 2009)

    1. Jimmy Johnson Avatar

      Thank you! One of my faves, as well.

  3. Dawn Avatar
    Dawn

    i’ve had a favorites page at GoComics for longer than I can quite remember now, and Arlo and Janis is the first one in my list. Whenever I add a new comic, it puts it first in the queue. And then I always have to go into my settings and move it, because I always have to read A&J first each day. I guess I’m a creature of habit, but simple routine makes me happy. 🙂

    1. Galliglo from Ohio Avatar
      Galliglo from Ohio

      I read A&J last – always save the best for last!

  4. Ghost Avatar
    Ghost

    Mine would be a very short favorites list, as I only read one daily comic on gocomics with any kind of regularity. Could one guess which one that is? *But* I could do that (“follow” A&J) if it helps you, Jimmy.

    1. Ghost Avatar
      Ghost

      Oh, and we are still doing “likes” there, are we not?

      1. Jimmy Johnson Avatar

        Yes, you are! (Modesty compels me to sit on the sidelines and cheer.)

      2. Jimmy Johnson Avatar

        And BTW, in case anyone wonders, you can “like” and comment on the old strips on GoComics, too.

        1. Rick in Shermantown, Ohio Avatar
          Rick in Shermantown, Ohio

          I have noticed, though, that the strips of a few years ago have been stripped of their likes and comments. Is that done to save disk space on the server?

  5. Tom (formerly) from the front range. Avatar
    Tom (formerly) from the front range.

    Just saw the sad news about the loss of Hammerin’ Hank.

    Hank Aaron was the star I followed in my early adulthood. I had the privilege of seeing him play when he was an Atlanta Brave in the mid 60’s.

    1. Ghost Avatar
      Ghost

      Time is merciless. RIP, Hank.

    2. Jimmy Johnson Avatar

      I did not see that, yet. Sad. Growing up on the Georgia line in east central Alabama, the Braves were “my” team. I remember it as if it were yesterday.

      1. Tom (formerly from the Front Range) Avatar
        Tom (formerly from the Front Range)

        As a service tech for a company that make phototypesetters, I spent many after-dark hours on the road driving around the south (usually from one small town newspaper to another.) Car radios then were mostly AM only. For consistent entertainment (and to stay awake) I would dial in a Braves game. Virtually every station in the southeast that could broadcast after sundown carried the Atlanta Braves. Usually it only took a small twist of the dial to move from one 250 watt station to another to continue with the game.

  6. Rick in Shermantown, Ohio Avatar
    Rick in Shermantown, Ohio

    Solely because of “Arlo & Janis” I became a premium member either two or three years ago.

    1. JJ Avatar
      JJ

      Thank you! I hope you find the extras worthwhile.

  7. RayRay Avatar
    RayRay

    Sadly my Local paper died out this last year. I had a subscription to it for the last 30 plus years but I suspect most didnt and forced them to quit. not even a digital edition anymore. also i have been a premium member at comics.com for a good while and always start my mornings by comeing here to click the blue box to get started.

  8. Ginger in Auburn Avatar
    Ginger in Auburn

    Sadly, because I know you prefer newsprint, I can see the comics so much clearer on a monitor and in color. Sometimes I miss the nuances that make your comics so enjoyable until I pull it up on gocomics. Color also helps define some of the details of your drawings. I have had an account with gocomics for many years for that reason (and I can see the old Calvin and Hobbs as well!), and I am diligent to Like your comics, because I really do like them!

  9. Nancy Kirk in AZ Avatar
    Nancy Kirk in AZ

    Premium member of GoComics for years, Follower of A&J ever since Jimmy told us a while back that it would be useful. But I read my comics on my email from GoComics and don’t see a way to “like” there. Am I wrong about that? Anyone?

    1. Blinky the Wonder Wombat Avatar
      Blinky the Wonder Wombat

      Nancy Kirk- If you click on the comic in the email, it will send you to A&J at the GoComics website, were you can comment, like, and dive into the archives to our heart’s delight!

      1. Nancy Kirk in AZ Avatar
        Nancy Kirk in AZ

        Thanks, Blinky. I did know I could get there that way but am generally too short of time/lazy to do it since I’ve already read the strip on the email. Maybe I’ll take the time in order to do a like–at least when I do especially like it!

    2. Mark in TTown Avatar
      Mark in TTown

      If you go to GoComics you have to log in before you can like or comment. So, sorry Jimmy. I subscribe and read what I signed up for in my email, but don’t take the time go log into the GoComics site after work. But, hey. I’m getting your strip daily, and others I enjoy seeing before I start my workday, so I think I”m “liking” with my money and time.

      1. Tom (formerly from the Front Range) Avatar
        Tom (formerly from the Front Range)

        This might be browser or browser setting dependent. I open my premium account every day without the need to log in. Of course A&J is a the top of my favorites.

        I usually start on the Dilbert site as there is only one strip to absorb there then I move on to GoComics. I have Dilbert Classics in my GoComics favorites. It is amazing how many of the late 90’s strips are relevant today.

  10. Ruth Anne in Winter Park Avatar
    Ruth Anne in Winter Park

    Guess I’ll have to break down and go Premium so that I can put my favorites in the right order 🙂

  11. Jackie Avatar
    Jackie

    I long ago quit reading all co.ics but two. I read A snd J around 12.30 a.m. each night daily.

    My other I gk days/weekz without reading then read backwards. Monty runs in arcs, totally different than Arlo and Janis.

    The only two that require minds and drawn and written by cartoonists

  12. emb Avatar
    emb

    About “bag balm” & such for skin care. Elaine & I started using USP pure lanolin in the early ’70s, having found a very old jar in my mother’s effects [she died on the Ides of March ’71]. Guess she had bought it at Glass Block or City Drug in the late ’60s, but it [& also the hydrated form] seem not to be on Bemidji pharm shelves. But druggists can order it, & it’s relatively cheap. Both pure [USP] & hydrated come in 1 lb. jars that are [or were] produced by several small independent suppliers.
    Lanolin is the substance that makes your fingers tacky when you work them into a sheep’s wool at the County Fair. But less than an hr. later, they are no longer tacky. Your skin absorbs the stuff. Don’t know if it’s a single organic molecule or several. Pre-COVID-19, I rubbed a bit into my lips before leaving home in the morning & never had wintertime chapped lips. Still have a few unfinished lip-chap sticks in a drawer. Elaine regularly used it to keep her feet from drying & cracking, especially in winter, & I now follow suit. It also soothes mosquito & spider bites.
    You can add a little water to make your own hydrated lanolin, which is easier to spread, but it takes lots of stirring. The mix, however, is stable; I’ve never had the water separate out. Am working on a USP jar we bought > 10 years ago. Price never varied much, maybe depends on particular supplier, or phases if Luna. Have bought only 5-6 jars over the years, no correlation of price & time, $16-22. Peace,

  13. emb Avatar
    emb

    About “bag balm” & such for skin care. Elaine & I started using USP pure lanolin in the early ’70s, having found a very old jar in my mother’s [she died on the Ides of March ’71. Guess she had bought it at Glass Block or City Drug in the late ’60s, but it [& also the hydrated form] seem not to be on Bemidji pharm shelves. But they can order it, & it’s relatively cheap. Both pure [USP] & hydrated come in 1 lb. jars are [or were] produced by several small independent co’s,
    Lanolin is the substance that makes your fingers tacky when you work them into a sheep’s back at the County Fair. But less than an hr. later, they are no longer tacky. Your skin absorbs the stuff. Don’t know if it’s a single organic molecule or several. Pre-COVID-19, I rubbed a bit into my before leaving home in the morning & never had wintertime chapped lips. Still have a few unfinished lip-chap sticks in a drawer. Elaine regularly used to keep her feet from drying & cracking, especially in winter, & I now follow suit. It also soothes mosquito & spider bites.
    You can add a little water to make your own hydrated lanolin, which is easier to spead, but it takes lots of stirring. The mix, however, is stable; I’ve never had the water separate out. Am working on a jar we bought > 10 years ago. Price never varied much, maybe depends on particular supplier of when Luna is full. Have bought only 5-6 jars over the years, no correlation of price & time, $16-22.

  14. Jackie Avatar
    Jackie

    Long ago when Dave Robicheaux and I were far younger I read James Lee Burke. I grew up visiting Acadiana all my life, lived in Lafayette and New Orleans several times, attended university with him, married old family with secrets I am still learning. Reading his books I recognize every road, every setting.

    Dave is now even older and (at my age of 77) in his next to last book “New Iberia Blues* still beating people mercilessly and potentially shooting the bad guys. He still gets the beautiful women and awesome meals.

    I lost count but by end last night around forty had died creatively. James Lee Burke is in his late 80s and has a more recent mystery yet. Dave would be 80 as it takes place!!

    1. Ghost Avatar
      Ghost

      So you’re saying I could still be the Southern James Frickin’ Bond?

      1. Llee Avatar
        Llee

        You mean you AREN”T????

  15. Ghost Avatar
    Ghost

    From the Department of “Say Wut?”: I made a quick stop at one of the local food markets this morning on the way back from picking up our fresh vegetable order from the Bountiful Basket co-op. (You may have one in your state; check online.) I noticed a sign in the meat department for sale-pricing on ground beef packaged in a 10-lb “tube”. At the top of the sign was “73-20”. I’m used to seeing 80-20, 85-15, 90-10, and so forth indicating the lean-to-fat ratio of the meat grind. But 73-20? What do you suppose the other 7% is?

  16. Judy in Conroe Avatar
    Judy in Conroe

    LOL – I shudder to think! Maybe they tossed in some sawdust? That was a standby in WWII times, so I’ve heard. Added bulk with no calories.

  17. Nancy Kirk in AZ Avatar
    Nancy Kirk in AZ

    Fiber too, right??!!

    1. Ghost Avatar
      Ghost

      Well, if you find termites in your hamburger…

      1. TruckerRon Avatar

        Or splinters in your teeth…

  18. Ghost Avatar
    Ghost

    Re the 1-23-21 real-time cartoon: Rather than the live audience, what sports should have eliminated was the TV “common taters” the guys (and the occasional gal) who bloviate and pontificate about the game and everything related (even if remotely) to it; describe, often in painful detail, what you’ve just seen on your screen; and sprinkle in a ration of esoteric “inside baseball” remarks (yeah, even in football). I believe one network experimented with just showing the games with the crowd noise and PA announcer for audio several years ago. Apparently, that didn’t last for long, probably due to pressure from the “common taters”, many of whom seem to have acquired prestige, at least with their networks, that is wildly out of proportion to their actual talent, worth or importance. I’m looking at you, _________. (Fill in the pompous sports commentator/announcer/color-man [not to be confused with a “man of color”] of your choice.)
    Note: I’ve have not watched a televised basketball game since well back into the 20th Century, so it’s possible my remarks do not apply to coverage of that sport. But I somehow doubt it.

  19. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    Maybe water? After all, they pump up ham and other meats with a X% solution of seasoning (water and spices). Or maybe somebody just programmed the label printer wrong.

    1. Ghost Avatar
      Ghost

      Probably the latter. I found a sales circular in one of the bags, and the item is listed simply as 73% lean. I knew about water-added ham, but I’m not sure that would work with ground meat. And that 10-pound tube would have to contain what seems to me to be a lot of water mixed with the meat. If only I knew someone with a degree in agriculture and who knows about processing meat. 😀

    1. Ghost Avatar
      Ghost

      I used to kid sandcastler™ about jumping out of perfectly good airplanes, but BASE jumpers take that to a whole ‘nother level. Also, those wing suits have gotten some of them into trouble…at least if you consider getting killed “trouble”.

  20. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    This is so neat. My grandparents had the coupe version of this same car, in a lavender paint scheme. Seeing the interior of this one reminded me of the family trips they took us on when I was a kid. Great memories. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwcRG2aEi3s

    1. Ghost Avatar
      Ghost

      My best buddy in HS drove a ’57 Chevy, gray and white coupe with red interior. Beautiful automobile.

      About 20 years ago, I heard someone opine that if GM put them into production (with modern technology and safety features) they would sell like crazy. Perhaps so, but by now many of the generation that knew and loved them are too old to buy or drive them.

    2. curmudgeonly ex-professor Avatar
      curmudgeonly ex-professor

      My first car was my dad’s ’57 Chevy BelAir. He sold it to me when I entered grad school in fall 1961. $400. It had been purchased in early 1957 for about $2500, if I recall correctly. Dad selected the Chevy instead of either of the other lower-priced brands simply because I (about 6’4″) fit into it – and so did he, with his hat on. The others didn’t have the headroom for the driver.

  21. Ghost Avatar
    Ghost

    Re the 1-25-21 real-time cartoon: “The WiFi is out!” So, undoubtedly, is the squirrel.
    Q. Do you know what we call an InterWebNet* outage here in Longtown (“The Gateway to Eufaula”)?
    A. An average day.

    * We have satellite service from the area electric cooperative. They are now offering a service upgrade that sounds promising. We are going to look into it, along with upgrading our on-site computer equipment, since the combination will provide some things for Jackie to use to pass the time while her leg heals.

  22. Oldbear Avatar
    Oldbear

    ce-p Whether true or not I heard the reason Chevy had more head from than the
    others was the design Head like to wear his hat while driving – thus a design lag.
    .
    The “Non nutritive fiber on some breads is sawdust flour.
    .
    Bologna Bulls (OLD bulls) got a higher market price because their meat absorbed more
    water than younger animals. As I recall.

  23. emb Avatar
    emb

    Here’s an old 9CL that even those who shun Brooke may like.

    https://www.gocomics.com/9-chickweed-lane-classics/2021/01/26

    Peace,