Jun 27th 2012 08:17 am Rip tease
Speaking of the Osher Lifelong Learning event Monday, it was too successful. I just recieved an email from the director saying we’d gotten in trouble with the Auburn Chamber of Commerce, where the event was held. It seems only 85 people are supposed to be in our meeting room, and we had over 115, with some turning away because there were no more chairs. I guess I’ll go down to the fire department and turn myself in after I write this.
I don’t mention this to brag. Well, maybe a little. I mention it, because it made me think of my audience and others before it, and I’ve been following the discussion here. It is a fact that most of the people in my audiences are, well, about my age, or as Aunt Bea’s physician would have put it, “They’re not spring chickens anymore.” I attribute this partly to the fact newspaper readers in general these days tend to be much older on average than ever before. However, I also like to think A&J is emerging as the voice of the Boomer (There, I said it.) generation, because the characters age but do not act old. There are a lot of strips out there these days trying to attract the same audience—and I”m not naming any names—where the older characters are white-haired and irrelevant cranks, like some escapees from a Depression-era old folks’ home. I don’t think we see ourselves that way.
Posted by jimmyjohnson / Vintage A&J
113 Responses to “Rip tease”
Russ M on 27 Jun 2012 at 8:34 am #
I believe you’ve hit the mother lode. Looking from inside out of my 65-year-old eyeballs, everything looks very similar to how it looked when I was 20 (fashion/style excepted). Smells, sounds (speak up, please) and feels the same, too.
On the other hand, I have no problem with the old fogey comics, as they may very well be the coming attraction.
Darin on 27 Jun 2012 at 8:40 am #
Your style and A&J also appeal the the 30 year old crowd…well, mid 30′s anyway. Keep it up, loving the current series.
Rickmeister on 27 Jun 2012 at 8:47 am #
“Growing old is inevitable…growing up is optional.” (Used to have a t-shirt with that saying)
Galliglo in Ohio on 27 Jun 2012 at 8:58 am #
I mentioned yesterday that I (usually) feel 20 years younger than my actual age. I really don’t think I would want to feel much younger than that. I have always said that I am a “slow” learner. It seemed to take forever before I was comfortable in my own skin… understanding of others… in short, to appreciate life as it IS.
And, like many of your other readers, I don’t want to grow up too much! I am silly – and I glory in it!
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 27 Jun 2012 at 9:05 am #
1 Corinthians 13:11:
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.
I once had a Pastor state that he hoped we would put childish ways behind us, but we would always stay child-like. I agree with him on that one.
Symply Fargone on 27 Jun 2012 at 9:05 am #
JJ, yes we are Symply Fargone Boomers, there I said it and I’m proud of it too!
Symply Fargone on 27 Jun 2012 at 9:08 am #
Oh yeah Symply is 55, going on 22 or so….
Whistling Rufus on 27 Jun 2012 at 9:09 am #
I’m way closer to 60 than 50.I relate to Arlo and Janis the characters, as well as the situations presented in the story lines. For instance, my son just graduated from college,(daughter will be a sophomore this fall ,go Hokies!). I’m attuned to the savings and retirement issues that were mentioned during the boat deal. It’s the only comic that’s a daily must read for me. It just resonates with me.
John in Virginia on 27 Jun 2012 at 9:12 am #
Jimmy, except for aches and pains that come with age and some earlier professional injuries, I don’t feel my age. I’ve slowed down, yes, but with the exception of diminished short-term memory, I don’t think my outlook has changed much at all. (Mindy says I’m still half-child but she’s prejudiced.) I think you hit the nail on the head. You’re emerging as the voice of the Boomer Bunch. Incidentally, one of those generic comics you alluded to draws my attention every morning simply because I can related it to other “elderly” friends who do fit the mold. Noto bono — I think that means “note well” or something similar — those friends ARE older and actually don’t quite fit the “boomer” niche. Keep on keeping us feeling younger, Jimmy! There’s a Pulitzer in it for you, eventually, I betcha!
Neal in Bahstawn on 27 Jun 2012 at 9:15 am #
“The characters age, but do not act old.” I like that. I feel like it describes me, at the ripe old age of 62. But if I may be allowed to pick a nit, Arlo has managed to keep a full head of blond hair. Not even a hint of gray around the temples? Janis, on the other hand, is entitled to keep her brunette features until she gets tired of them, just as in real life.
Also, if you are following this discussion, there was a crowd control situation yesterday with rumors of a Boston-area appearance. Could you please either confirm or deny?
Bill in Paducah on 27 Jun 2012 at 9:16 am #
“the characters age but do not act old.”
Nail on head.
billinbossier on 27 Jun 2012 at 9:16 am #
Baby Boomers are whipper snappers….I am a War Baby. Just hit 68, know the saying, ‘Growing older, but not up’.
Bob, near Mark on 27 Jun 2012 at 9:20 am #
How old? I still have my WWII ration book.
Charles on 27 Jun 2012 at 9:29 am #
I’m 22 and I read A&J everyday and keep up with this blog. I love it. I feel like A&J speaks to life in a big sense. How even as things change, some things are worth holding onto like family.
Mindy from Indy on 27 Jun 2012 at 9:39 am #
I’m in my mid 30s and have been reading Arlo and Janis for years. I don’t put Arlo and Janis in any specific age bracket (despite Gene being a grown man). We’ve all seen the strange predicaments Arlo has gotten himself into, and didn’t Janis just get tongues ‘ahangin’ at the beach the other day? No way they are “mature” or “old.” (Whatever THAT is, anyway.) Arlo and Janis do not represnt a generation so much as they do a sensibility and attitude about life. The proof is this blog. We came because we love the strip. We stay because we enjoy the conversation. There is a wide range in the ages of posters, but our ramblings aren’t about “kids these days” (okay, there may be a *little* bit of that), but our own misadventures and shared intrests. That is awesome.
Taylor on 27 Jun 2012 at 10:00 am #
27 years old and been a fan since I was a kid reading the funnies! Young people like A&J too!
Sam in Alabama(a) on 27 Jun 2012 at 10:05 am #
My wife showed me a photograph of her mother’s fiftieth high school reunion (from about 30 years ago). It looked like one of those kind of sad nursing home social events.
Now my wife’s class is having its fifitieth reunion this weekend, and it’ll be nothing like her mother’s. Lots of music, dancing and crazy skits by her classmates, with activities spread over three days. Much younger people request to attend their every-five-year reunions. Even some of her classmates’ children ask to come. Although her class had only 62 members (and 14 of those have passed on), there’ll be in excess of 80 in attendance.
Not bad for old folks (even thought they’re technically not baby boomers).
Will Overby on 27 Jun 2012 at 10:07 am #
I’m amazed at the diversity of age groups represented here. It further shows what a universal appeal A&J has. You’ve not only hit the nail on the head, you’ve struck gold, dude.
AU in VA on 27 Jun 2012 at 10:18 am #
Jimmy,
A thought about your first statement. If the War Eagle football faithful can takeover the town and be “standing room only” in the stadium during the whole of fall, I think it is funny the chamber would raise a ruckus about your enlightened conversations. You are just as much an institution (At least to us !!) as football.
Neal in Bahstawn on 27 Jun 2012 at 10:20 am #
billinbossier, I take offense at that. I’ve never snapped a whipper in my life. I’ve never even a seen a whipper. Or at least I don’t think I have.
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 27 Jun 2012 at 10:58 am #
Neal:
Even if you had seen a whipper, what happens in Bahstawn, stays in Bahstawn….At least that’s what she said.
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 27 Jun 2012 at 11:02 am #
Weight? [Remember, I'm not the one who brought it up.]: ten and a half stone when I was stationed in the UK in ’52-’53, but more now; 162-3 lb. in the morning, 164-7 at night, depending on how much salt I’ve taken in. I pay 0.15 more [$1.65] for Dei Fratelli tomato juice than I would for Our Family [1.50] because OF has significantly more salt. Other data: only child, spoiled rotten: Mom 37, Dad 51 [his first wife died and I had 3 half-sibs, old enough to be my parents]. Wife was also an only child, 8 months my junior, but not spoiled. We were blessed.
Mike Shetter on 27 Jun 2012 at 11:05 am #
tis always better to look down at the grass than up at the roots. Age is just a number, and as a accountants and politicians prove everyday you can do anything you want to with numbers. Just keep track of where you’re looking.
Sam in Alabam(a) on 27 Jun 2012 at 11:06 am #
From the song “No Time at All” in the musical “Pippin.” (Sung by Irene Ryan, “Granny” on the “Beverly Hillbillies”):
“I believe if I refuse to grow old
I can stay young till I die”
That’s our boomer credo.
Hoag in MA on 27 Jun 2012 at 11:33 am #
You can only be young once,
But you can be immature forever.
Dave in MA on 27 Jun 2012 at 11:40 am #
Oh my, the comments about ages!
Let’s see. My grandfather fought in WWI. My father fought in WWII. My siblings were born in 1949, 1951, 1951 (yes, 2 of them) and 1964. They’re all boomers. I was born in 1965, the last (and the ONLY male child) of the 5 siblings, all part of the same “generation” of the family, and yet, I’m not considered a boomer because that ended with 1964. (Who makes up this arbitrary garbage?)
AU in VA, I don’t think it’s the size of the crowd that is the issue. I think it’s the size of the venue the crowd has, um, over-crowded into.
I grew up with the music of my folks. Love the big bands. And having 3 sisters in their teens when I was born in 1965, I constantly heard 50s and 60s music from their radios. Love it all. My own friends were listening to 70s, and later 80s, and I love all of that too. (Yes, even disco.) My cousins were into jazz and progressive rock. Have a soft spot for a lot of that stuff too.
The other night I went to see a “package tour” of oldies acts titled the “Happy Together Tour” (I’ve seen the Happy Together Tour many times over the years since the first one back in the 80s, love all the various acts that have been on the tour over the years) and this time around it was The Buckinghams, The Grass Roots, Gary Puckett (no union gap in sight), Mickey Dolenz (doing Monkees songs not solo stuff) and The Turtles (well, Flo and Eddie at least). One of them, I think it was one of the Buckinghams, but the whole night was like this, so it may have been one of the other acts, started off their set by saying, “You thought you were going to a concert and look what happened! An AARP meeting broke out!”
As for looking down at the grass and not up at the roots, my facial hair got gray, then white and is now, after 25 years, shaved off. My eyebrows are half brown and half white. My hair? Still almost completely brown with just one or two grays just over the ears.
So, where do I belong? Am I a boomer? Am I a whatever-came-after-the-boomers? I guess I’m an A&J fan and will just classify myself that way.
Still wondering what all this talk about an appearance in Boston is all about. Details or refutations sought….
Neal in Bahstawn on 27 Jun 2012 at 11:58 am #
Dave in MA was doing fine until he said he loved disco…
The ‘Boomer’ cutoff, per the census folks, is 1964 because the first post-war babies born in 1945 would have turned 18 in 1963, could have gotten married (such a quaint notion) and sired or given birth to offspring in 1964. Thus, you’re the first of the baby boom ‘echo’ which later got trendily renamed ‘Generation X’.
Dave in MA on 27 Jun 2012 at 12:08 pm #
Disco is usually just big band music with a modern repetitive driving beat. Lots of horns and strings. From that perspective, I enjoy it as much as Glenn Miller or the Dorsey brothers.
As for being Gen X, no way, not on your life.
And since I’m still part of the same family generation as those born in 1964 and before, I maintain I’m a boomer.
Dave
Maggie in Michigan on 27 Jun 2012 at 12:09 pm #
I’m 62 and have always felt Arlo and Janis to be my age, so we progress together. Same with Ellie and John in “For Better or For Worse.” But the FBFW folks
got to go back and start over–nope, I don’t want to do that!
Norm in Utah on 27 Jun 2012 at 12:16 pm #
Rickmeister,
Actually, growing older is inevitable. Growing old is a choice people make.
chill on 27 Jun 2012 at 12:33 pm #
63 tomorrow (6-28), so a boomer for sure….sisters are 10 and 12 years older, so got interesting age difference attitude growing up. Parents “older” than most my age, but many friends had folks like mine that lived the war. Father was survivor of Hickam Field on Dec. 7th, then police officer. Don’t feel my age nor act it according to my children and wife, but wonder how that “old guy” that looks like my dad gets into the bathroom mirror when I shave…
Having good health simpl;y means you’re dying at the slowest possible rate.
Darrel in Minnesota on 27 Jun 2012 at 12:35 pm #
Xer and proud of it (1963)! And Arlo speaks for me a lot of the time.
Robin in Fl on 27 Jun 2012 at 1:01 pm #
chill
Happy birthday a day early. Hope you enjoy your day (with or without a new boat)
Mindy on 27 Jun 2012 at 2:00 pm #
I once snapped a whipper, Neal. But that is definitely a story for yet another day!
As for age, as John says, it doesn’t matter how old you are or aren’t, if you’re in here you’re one of the tribe. And I happened to like Disco. Some of it. And in small doses. Nothing beats the Stones and Mark Knoffler…except Mozart, Beethoven, Vivaldi…and Peter, Paul and Mary, not to mention Clarence Clemmons or Dave Bruebeck…or Willie Nelson…
…Or the Smothers Brothers…ah, fhooey! I like most music except for that which I don’t like. How’s that for an all inclusive statement? And I love Glen Miller and _____ Vaughn. I can’t remember his first name!
sideburns on 27 Jun 2012 at 2:06 pm #
Neal, you and I are the same age. My hair (what’s left of it) is still the same dark color that it was fifty years ago. And that’s odd, in a way, as my father’s hair was going grey by the time he turned forty.
Dave in MA on 27 Jun 2012 at 2:12 pm #
Mindy, do you mean Billy Vaughn?
sideburns, you get your hair from your maternal grandfather, not your father. Different side of the family.
Dave
Bob, near Mark on 27 Jun 2012 at 2:26 pm #
Dave in MA,
Perhaps Mindy was thinking of joining Vaughn Monroe and Racing with the Moon? That would be a sight for another day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIbOevVYV3I
Rich in Belchertown on 27 Jun 2012 at 2:26 pm #
Born in ’56 so i guess that makes me a boomer, although I hate that term. I won’t kid myself that 50 is the new 40, but I also believe that you’re as old as you feel, and barring serious illness, how you feel is controlled by how you think. I remember my mother saying she was old at 50; then, when she was in her 80′s, she said that she regretted not appreciating how young she still was when she was 50. Gather ye rosebuds and all that.
Mindy: Vaughn Monroe?
Mindy on 27 Jun 2012 at 2:35 pm #
Vaugn Monroe, yeah, Dave, that’s the guy…and isn’t racing with the moon something everyone does so it’s hardly a story for yet another day? Good Heavens! I started doing that when I was seven! And Dad spanked my butt twice for doing it…and before I learned to be more careful.
Mindy on 27 Jun 2012 at 2:35 pm #
Vaughn.
Mark in TTown on 27 Jun 2012 at 3:38 pm #
Dave in MA. You are right on with the hair. My dad kept all his till he died, although it went gray. My maternal grandfather, on the other hand, only had a fringe when he went. Mine is disappearing from the center outward, just like his. Although since I’m 6′ 5″ you won’t see it until I bend over or sit down. Unless you are at a higher elevation.
On the age thing, I like Arlo’s comment the other day on the retro strip. You are only as old as you feel. Or as some friends put it, only as old as who you feel, but that is a story for another day. (grin)
Mindy on 27 Jun 2012 at 3:46 pm #
Mark, it’s not who you feel as much as it is how.
Mindy on 27 Jun 2012 at 3:46 pm #
I hit ENTER and I just KNEW that I’d goofed! That didn’t come out quite right, did it?
chill on 27 Jun 2012 at 3:56 pm #
Robiin if FL
Thanks for the early wish—spouse thinks I already spend too much on my boat, so got me new bike (pedal type) to keep me in shape!
Like the music selections, Mindy. Been hearing all types in my head…..not like the disco
chill on 27 Jun 2012 at 4:03 pm #
Robin if Fl
Sorry for too many i
Mindy
came out just right
Ghost Rider 6 on 27 Jun 2012 at 4:20 pm #
Based on the small sample of those reporting, the age range here is wider than I would have imagined, although it does seem to be clustered at the higher end, as I would have expected.
I agree with what seems to be a consensus…older folks are younger now than they used to be. I’m sure that doesn’t have anything to do with our changing point of view.
Mindy, did you actually mean to say, “It’s not how you feel as much as it is who”? On second thought, it seems to work either way.
Mark in Boston on 27 Jun 2012 at 4:25 pm #
Difference between “childlike” and “childish”:
Childlike: Harpo Marx
Childish: Pee Wee Herman
Judy in Conroe on 27 Jun 2012 at 4:50 pm #
Late coming into the room, as usual. Boomer here, born 1950, so that makes it easy to keep track of my age.
Neal in Bahstawn – re: Arlo’s light hair – my dad was blond (1/2 Swedish) and one day when I was visiting back home and he was about my age I noticed with surprise that his hair was white. My sister, who still lived in my home town, said yes, it had gradually whitened over the course of several years but since he was blond hardly anyone noticed the color change. Maybe that’s what is happening with Arlo.
Rick in Shermantown, Ohio on 27 Jun 2012 at 5:28 pm #
Did Jimmy put that misspelling in there to test us?
CW in 617 on 27 Jun 2012 at 5:48 pm #
I’ve been counting in binary since I was 111, so that makes me 111001 now.
That also makes me “CW in 1001101001,” which makes me very glad that we don’t have binary phones.
Mindy on 27 Jun 2012 at 8:35 pm #
I have a short binary joke for CW but I’m afraid he wouldn’t like it, so I’ll keep it to myself.
Galliglo in Ohio on 27 Jun 2012 at 8:44 pm #
Rick in Shermantown, Ohio – Of course he did it intentionally… He doesn’t want us to feel badly about all the errors we make in our postings!
Ghost Rider 6 on 27 Jun 2012 at 8:48 pm #
Aw, come on, Mindy, share the fun. Besides, how often does one get to hear a binary joke?
Wait, I just thought of several binary jokes. They just don’t have anything to do with mathematics.
CW in 617 on 27 Jun 2012 at 8:54 pm #
Mindy -
So this means I don’t sleep tonight, worrying about a joke I’ll never hear?
How about this – A T-shirt reading “There are 10 types of people in the world, those who know binary and those who don’t.”
It’s base 8 jokes that are really funny.
Mindy on 27 Jun 2012 at 9:09 pm #
Perhaps if anyone wants to hear/see the joke that will be something for Thursday…to make up for only one wet T-shirt story last Thursday. Maybe. I don’t tell jokes very well.
phil in Missoula, MT on 27 Jun 2012 at 9:17 pm #
Trucker Ron;
We went on a raft trip down the Salmon River, near Riggins, ID. To get there we went down White Bird grade on US95. Whooee. I wondered if you’d ever had occasion to go down it in a truck.
Even worse would be the old road, which you can see from the grade and has more bends than a dyspeptic snake. Somewhat like the old US 99 Grapevine in California before I-5 came along, except that 99 had walls to crash into and 95 has edges to go over.
Ghost Rider 6 on 27 Jun 2012 at 9:22 pm #
Mindy, you’re going to make me fall for that again, aren’t you?
I dated computer science major in college, but I only got to base 2 with her.
Mark in TTown on 27 Jun 2012 at 9:49 pm #
Mark in Boston: perfect examples. Way to go!
Mindy, nothing wrong with your sentence.
Don’t know any binary or binary jokes. Oh well.
Any thoughts on the mass t-shirt wearing I suggested a couple of days ago?
Mindy on 27 Jun 2012 at 10:41 pm #
I missed the “mass t-shirt” idea, Mark in TTown. Please refresh my memory which John says is like a leaky sieve, whatever that means.
Mike near Naperville on 27 Jun 2012 at 10:55 pm #
Mindy, I’ve got a binary one-liner. You’ve got dibs, so I’ll follow tomorrow if it’s not a duplicate.
TruckerRon on 27 Jun 2012 at 11:47 pm #
phil in Missoula, MT: I’m glad I never had to drive those switchbacks, though I do miss the ones they ironed out of UT-20. Of course with I-5′s Grapevine being mostly straight now a brakeless truck can really get its speed up.
The only one I saw go whizzing by was on I-80 WB coming down from Donner’s Pass. He (confirmed by screaming heard over the CB) managed to find the escape ramp. When I caught up to him the dust was still settling. At least he survived, unlike so many others through the years.
sideburns on 28 Jun 2012 at 2:27 am #
Are you familiar with the Conejo Grade here in Ventura County, TruckerRon? It’s on US 101, just past Thousand Oaks if you’re outbound from LA. It’s about 2.75 miles long and posted as a 7% grade. That means, on the way down you drop 1,000 feet in under three miles. And, there’s no escape ramp because the downhill side (where you’d need it) is next to the drop off of a cliff. However, there’s an off ramp at the bottom that might be of use. If you’re heading from LA to San Francisco and points north via 101, it’s the steepest grade you’ll hit between LA and the Bay Area, possibly the steepest on the 101. There’s also a weigh station right at the top, and when it’s open it’s a mandatory brake check if you’re on the way down.
Rick in Shermantown, Ohio on 28 Jun 2012 at 4:54 am #
Galliglo:
That makes sense, and that idea didn’t occur to me.
What did occur to was the idea that he wanted to see who would be the first to be unable to resist the temptation to make a comment.
Pardon me now. I must excuse myself to go somewhere to Jimmy’s hook removed from my mouth.
Dave in MA on 28 Jun 2012 at 6:14 am #
Today’s strip, “I’m the beard” – what the heck does that mean? Anyone?
Mark in TTown on 28 Jun 2012 at 6:25 am #
Mindy, I suggested Jimmy get tshirts made using the art from the front cover of his book. On the back put the web address and a suggestion that if people ask their newspapers to carry the strip if they don’t have it now. I’m sure readers of this blog would be willing to wear them sometimes. And maybe we could all wear them on the same day. Quoting another Arlo, “…and pretty soon they’ll start to think it’s a movement!”.
Galliglo in Ohio on 28 Jun 2012 at 6:34 am #
I’m the beard: Can be used for different situations. I believe that the one Jimmy is using is–using a person as camouflage to hide ones true motives.
Lost in A**2 on 28 Jun 2012 at 6:44 am #
Dave, in this usage, ‘the beard’ is . . . Shoot, I can’t find a way to say it that I like.
When homosexuals want to go out without being seen as homosexual, they sometimes take someone of the opposite sex as their “date.” That person is ‘the beard.’
Dave in MA on 28 Jun 2012 at 8:56 am #
Lost in A**2, so, like a wingman?
Nodak Wayne on 28 Jun 2012 at 9:09 am #
Dave, more like camoflage
John in Richmond Texas on 28 Jun 2012 at 9:31 am #
I hazily recall JJ using beard a while back – something about Janis getting Arlo to help so she wouldn’t eat all the brownies? or something?
Mindy on 28 Jun 2012 at 10:01 am #
Not too long ago — as in Monday — the word “beard” was used in a novel I was reading to indicate that a man’s wife was his “beard,” his disguise in a heterosexual world to hid the fact that he wasn’t. Apparently the word has several/many uses, all of which are some form of deliberately presented illusion, cover, disguise. Or a false reason for doing/not doing something. “Maskarova,” I believe the Russians call it. For some reason I think Shakespeare used it in one of his plays which might explain why he was known as the “bard.” I’ll sit back, now, and wait for my grammar to be corrected and to be told that I’m a dolt, dullard and dim wit who has no idea what she’s talking about.
Mindy on 28 Jun 2012 at 10:03 am #
Forget it. I wish I’d kept my mouth shut and my fingers still. Both get me consistently in far more trouble than I feel comfortable with. How about some suggestions for Fourth of July meals? I wonder how many people we’ll offend by displaying the United States flag…and the banner of Dixie as well.
John on 28 Jun 2012 at 10:28 am #
Sit, Mindy, sit!
Neal in Bahstawn on 28 Jun 2012 at 10:34 am #
“Beard” appears in my mystery, “Murder Imperfect” on page 107:
I had never put guilt-free sex into the mix as a reason to kill my husband. Maybe it was because my other reasons were so strong or maybe it was because my extramarital sexual encounters had been free of guilt anyway. In a sense, George had been the perfect beard; any fling I had was of necessity clandestine and ultimately doomed, and so therefore „not serious?. I was protected by my wedding ring.
Mindy from Indy on 28 Jun 2012 at 11:44 am #
Happy birthday chill! Keep. Cool today!
Dave in MA on 28 Jun 2012 at 12:29 pm #
Mindy,
I am neither offended at the U.S. Flag, nor the Dixie Flag, nor the display of either, or both at the same time.
Fourth of July meals? Apple pie……
Dave
Ghost Rider 6 on 28 Jun 2012 at 1:53 pm #
Mindy, I’d not challenge your grammar, your wit, your intelligence nor your knowledge, as I’ve never been one to beard the lioness in her own den.
Bob, near Mark on 28 Jun 2012 at 2:04 pm #
Mindy,
If Shakespeare is known as The Bard of Avon because of his beard, I’m sure Avon Products has a few shaving products he can use.
chill on 28 Jun 2012 at 3:50 pm #
Thanks Mindy from Indy….is cool on the southern Oregon coast.
John, did Mindy sit? Probably not………
Charlotte in NH on 28 Jun 2012 at 5:47 pm #
Mindy, please don’t put yourself down. Your pun, or whatever it is, about the Bard’s beard, is perfect. Keep on keeping on.
Vicki Meetze on 28 Jun 2012 at 5:51 pm #
Jimmy,
My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the OLLI meeting on Monday. We are so glad that we were part of the lucky group of 115. We enjoy your blog and of course A&J and look forward to hearing you again.
John and Vicki Meetze
Galliglo in Ohio on 28 Jun 2012 at 7:46 pm #
Yea to John & Vicki Meetze! Sometimes this group needs to be brought back to earth! We love Arlo & Janis – we love Jimmy! You are most fortunate to have been able to see JJ and hear his words of humor and wisdom.
Robin in Fl on 28 Jun 2012 at 8:36 pm #
But now John and Vicki have identified themselves publicly as scofflaws who ignored the room-vacancy rules, and will have to go into hiding until the statute of limitations has passed (which I think is two days)
John on 28 Jun 2012 at 8:44 pm #
I suggested to Jimmy a T-shirt deal the very same day he introduced the new 427 Cobra illustration at the top of the page. [Look up, Ghost! Quit trying to peek down the sundress!]
And, Thank you, Charlotte! All compliments are hoarded and greatly appreciated. Speaking of grammar, as soon as John made the “sit, Ubu, sit” comment, he started singing Bob Dylan’s grammatically incorrect early venture into actually singing rather than pre-Rap yammering. Not that I dislike Dylan. Some of his work was pure beauty. But once he did try to actually sing I think he died for the most part, perhaps excluding the Lady song I mentioned and Ballad of the Hurricaine which I liked but wasn’t necessarily supportive of in real life.
I’m rambling again, aren’t I?
Okay, so Ghost won’t be able to ride me for not coming through a second time on a delayed story, here’s the binary joke. I hope you like it.
00110001100111010101010000101100000111111000
10010010010111100000011100101010100010001011
11100110101000110100100110101010100010101010
Hope you like it. I don’t tell jokes very well.
John on 28 Jun 2012 at 8:45 pm #
Oh, I forgot: 100110010100111010010.
Mindy on 28 Jun 2012 at 8:52 pm #
Dag nabbit! John did it to me again! I keep telling him to put my name back on after he makes an entry! Beg, John! Beg!
Lost in A**2 on 28 Jun 2012 at 9:11 pm #
(Switch OSes. Find one that allows y’all to use separate accounts, like WinNT or MacOS X. Or use separate browsers, although that may not work on Windows.)
It took me to the end of the first paragraph to realise what had happened. Again, Mindy/John.
I’m curious: Which banner? I’d guess the saltire, but it wasn’t the only one the Confederacy used. (A quick check shows that the modern flag doesn’t quite match the Battle Flag, which was square, not oblong.)
Ghost Rider 6 on 28 Jun 2012 at 9:22 pm #
Well, John/Mindy, I guess you’re right…you screwed up the set-up which ruined the punch line. But you still get an “A” for effort. And it was apparently still better than my “base 2″ joke I made up last night, the one that obviously when over like a lead zeppelin.
And hey, that’s what sundresses are for! (One of them, anyway. And like you didn’t know.)
Ghost Rider 6 on 28 Jun 2012 at 9:37 pm #
Mindy (I’m leaving John out of this for a reason): Your sundress remark reminded me of a theory I once heard…that females have a highly developed sense of exactly which parts and how much of their anatomies are showing at all times. If true, this would seem to negate the idea of the “accidental peek” so loved by some (ha!) males. Being as you are an intelligent and discerning person of the female persuasion, I’d really like to get your take on that theory. What say you?
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 28 Jun 2012 at 9:40 pm #
Lead zeppelin? That was a great joke.
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 28 Jun 2012 at 9:43 pm #
Maybe not quite “at all times”, but often. And of course with variation from female to female. For instance, with Tiffany [in the comic Luann], it’s at all times.
Mike near Naperville on 28 Jun 2012 at 10:17 pm #
There are 10 kinds of people in the world; those who understand binary and those who don’t.
Mindy’s was better, even if she submitted it under an assumed name.
Mike near Naperville on 28 Jun 2012 at 10:19 pm #
On second thought, the name Mindy submitted it under was not the name she assumed she was using.
Mindy on 28 Jun 2012 at 10:45 pm #
Ghost, I thought the Base 2 joke was excellent. And, yes, women generally have that “highly developed sense” you mentioned. Teasing, in a relationship, can and should be mutually pleasing and rewarding. What is humiliating to the nth degree is when a perfect stranger [does that phrase mean that some strangers are imperfect?] catches the same peek. John asked me once why a woman gets so uptight and perturbed if a males sees her wearing nothing topside but a bra and why that same woman will think nothing of wearing a thin blouse through with the very same garment is nearly as visible. Or why a woman will wear a bikini top on the beach and not be embarrassed.
Good Lord! What topics we have in here!
Beg, John, beg!
TruckerRon on 28 Jun 2012 at 10:53 pm #
I’ve climbed the Conejo Grade several times, usually with an empty trailer, having delivered products to the wine country north of there. I only went down it twice with light loads and excellent engine brakes, so it was a piece of cake to set the cruise control to the posted truck speed and steer my way to the bottom without touching my brake pedal. And I did see a couple of trucks with smoking brakes zip by, just like I often did here in Utah going down Parley’s Canyon.
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 28 Jun 2012 at 10:59 pm #
Ghost Rider 6: In the words of one of the great philosphers of our time: “There’s just something about a peek.”
Ghost Rider 6 on 28 Jun 2012 at 11:08 pm #
Hum. I see. So to speak.
So I gather a peek opportunity, if somewhat revealing and yet unhurried, is likely to be more offered than accidental. Interesting. Thanks, Mindy.
Got that right, Steve.
Mindy on 28 Jun 2012 at 11:31 pm #
No, Ghost! You misunderstood me! [Why does this always happen to me?] More offered than accidental in many cases but, in most cases, not intended for strangers to enjoy.
On second thought, all “peeks” are accidental. There! And, yes, P E E K S rather than P E A K S.
Dennis Ewing on 28 Jun 2012 at 11:45 pm #
Gee I can’t believe anyone ever was able to call disco music. It was an abomination the led to the current crap music. My dad used to complain about how loud I played the Dead. I wish I could be selling hearing aids in 20 years. The business of the future.
All I will say on my age is I was born on a Father’s day and Father’s day was my BD and I qualify as a boomer.
curmudgeonly ex-professor on 29 Jun 2012 at 12:09 am #
John/Mindy: OK, explain the humor in that (presumed-to-be) binary digit sequence. I’m an old mathophile, but missed this gem.
Thanks for answering Ghost; admittedly, I had wondered the same thing he wondered.
Mindy on 29 Jun 2012 at 1:16 am #
I never could tell jokes very well, ex.
sandcastler on 29 Jun 2012 at 5:31 am #
Mindy, last day of my Eurp trip and I find your top discussion most amusing. Need I say more?
sandcastler on 29 Jun 2012 at 5:31 am #
Euro
Mark in TTown on 29 Jun 2012 at 6:23 am #
Good move Arlo! And you did it for Gene, rather than just for yourself.
Brenty on 29 Jun 2012 at 7:34 am #
And so it is. *golf clap* Now, about that test……….
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 29 Jun 2012 at 7:38 am #
Dennis: My Dad worked at a radio station from 1958-1987 and he complained about the music, but once admitted to me that “There is good music today and we had crappy music (Big Band era) in our day”. This led to an important discussion on what is the definition of good music and the ability to hear new things and adapt to them. When my son was in high school I exposed him to the music of my day and vice versa.
Today I enjoy Contemporary Christion music which gives me a taste of pop, rock, country, folk and even a little hip hop. At my Dad’s station, WOWO in Fort Wayne, that was what we were exposed to. Then marketing gurus decided that stations needed to cater to one segment. Today WOWO is news talk. They still have a news department, but when I go home I rarely listen to it.
Neal in Bahstawn on 29 Jun 2012 at 7:56 am #
Steve, WOWO, as you probably know, was a ‘clear channel’ station (for those born in the era of FM radio, ‘clear channel’ stations were those AM stations that shared their broadcasting frequency with only a few, geographically distant, peers. WOWO was a rock and roll station in the early 60s and, from my bedroom in subtropical Miami, I would tune it in on winter evenings for two reasons: to hear what music other parts of the country were listening to and to listen to a DJ intone, “it’s 30 degrees and snowing right now in Ft. Wayne; in South Bend, it’s light snow and 24 degrees.”
Dave in MA on 29 Jun 2012 at 8:16 am #
Lost in A**2, WinNT ??? Let’s see, since Win NT came out we’ve had Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows Millenium, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7…… I doubt they want to go back to NT…..
Beg, John, beg! Hmmmm, I think Mindy is revealing a little too much (about their relationship!)….
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 29 Jun 2012 at 9:05 am #
Neal: Clear Channel AM radio and Ham Radio (both my Dad & I were Hams) were kind of like the internet today. You could hear folks from other parts of the country and even the world.
The one nice thing about Ham Radio was that you would talk for a a minute or two without being interupted. It is a tactic that I have used in my sales career. I will the person that I am talking with that I will listen without interuption and ask that they do the same. It is amazing how quickly you can resolve an issue when you take time to listen….
Lost in A**2 on 29 Jun 2012 at 10:27 am #
(It’s been a long time since I administered a Windows machine. They have them at work, but I’ve never bothered to figure out which version they are running. Now that I think about it, though, I know that that version does support separate accounts for different users.)
Mark in Boston on 29 Jun 2012 at 4:57 pm #
Should binary 10 be pronounced “ten”? In decimal, 100 “one hundred” because there is a 1 in the hundreds place. Likewise 200, 300 etc. (Note: in Chinese, the word for 10 is literally “one ten”, 20 is “two ten”, 80 is “eight ten” etc. 12 is “one ten two”. Makes more sense than “twelve” or “twenty” or the ridiculous French “quatre-vingt” for 80.)
So if decimal 1101 is “one thousand one hundred one” then binary 1101 should be “one eight one four one”, or since there can only be zero or one of anything, “eight four one”.
Which means binary 10 would be pronounced “two”. “There are only two kinds of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who do not.”
So it’s a joke you can’t tell out loud. You have to read it.
Sort of the opposite of “You say tomato, I say tomato, you say potato, I say potato, tomato, tomato, potato, potato …”
Mindy from Indy on 29 Jun 2012 at 11:01 pm #
WOWO! I grew up listening to oldies (and listening/hoping for school delays) back in the day on WOWO. For the life of me I can’t remember what the FM station was – really sad as my dad a AM 1190 / FM ??.? WOWO bumper sticker on the side of his dresser (no, I don’t know why) for years.
And am I correct that there is Ovaltine in that thar binary joke?
Bonnie from Gloucester MA on 01 Jul 2012 at 6:39 pm #
Congratulations to Arlo & Janis for taking the boat ownership plunge. A milestone day in the life of this wonderful comic strip.