Aug 20th 2012 08:05 am Straining compassion
The classic A&J cartoons on the Web site the next few days will be from the turn of the century. Doesn’t that phrase still blow your mind? I think it was about the turn of the century, when William McKinley was president, that Arlo & Janis began to take on its modern appearance. The strip would vary in small ways from then until now, but the characters had taken their current form, and the voice of the strip was basically the same as it is today.
What comic strip still in syndication today was running at that other turn of the century, the one when William McKinley really was the president? Yeah, it’s an easy one.
Posted by jimmyjohnson / Vintage A&J
50 Responses to “Straining compassion”
John in Richmond Texas on 20 Aug 2012 at 8:17 am #
Katzenjammer Kids ?
Matt from Terra on 20 Aug 2012 at 8:24 am #
Garfield?
sandcastler on 20 Aug 2012 at 8:26 am #
Terry and the Pirates?
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 20 Aug 2012 at 8:55 am #
It is the Katzenjammer Kids, although obviously the authors have changed over the years. It is a tribute to Jimmy for being able to create a daily strip with little time for “reruns” A few times that it has happened, it has taken me a couple days to realize it.
So what do we call the last decade? Is this the teens?
Bob, near Mark on 20 Aug 2012 at 9:08 am #
Steve from Royal Oak, MI,
The last decade ought to be called the “aughts”.
I think this decade is the tens until we hit 2013, then it will be the teens.
sandcastler on 20 Aug 2012 at 9:13 am #
Bob, near Mark, I agree we survived the ‘aughts.
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 20 Aug 2012 at 9:28 am #
Well I guess it aught to be then, huh?
Bob in Central FL on 20 Aug 2012 at 10:22 am #
Katzenjammer = hangover.
There was also the rival “Captain and the Kids”. I don’t remember all the details.
buzz on 20 Aug 2012 at 10:42 am #
This is one of my all time favorites
Boise Ed on 20 Aug 2012 at 10:56 am #
I just have to applaud today’s 2012 A&J. It warmed my cockles.
Dave in MA on 20 Aug 2012 at 10:57 am #
You don’t want your cockles to get cold now…..
Dave in MA on 20 Aug 2012 at 10:58 am #
Katzenjammer can also mean “depression” or “blues”.
Mindy on 20 Aug 2012 at 11:57 am #
Cookies? I don’t understand….
Bob, near Mark on 20 Aug 2012 at 12:23 pm #
Cockles and cookies are both fine with me. Seafood is one of my favorite food groups. Cookies are another. I just can’t eat too many of them. Just don’t combine the two. Cockle cookies would get soggy.
Ghost Rider 6 on 20 Aug 2012 at 12:31 pm #
What, Mindy, you feedin’ me straight lines now?
If this decade is the “teens” the last decade must have been the “pre-teens.”
I’m guessing everyone here has now lived in (at least) two different centuries. If not…do your homework, kid!
Galliglo in Ohio on 20 Aug 2012 at 12:36 pm #
Loved today’s real-time strip! I was wondering – since JJ was giving us the Gene retrospective – he would start up on following Gene and Mary Lou. Perhaps there WILL be a wedding!
Mindy on 20 Aug 2012 at 12:41 pm #
Feeding you straight lines, Ghost? Whatever do you mean?
Mindy on 20 Aug 2012 at 12:46 pm #
I am somewhat conflicted, however. At http://www.name deleted].com it has been noted that Ebay hads banned the sale of potiens and spells! ["Name Deleted" is used to keep everyone guessing whether or not I check "that" news source.] That will not only abbrogate a marvelous source of herbs and spices but will also curb a source of unreported income that has helped feel one of my favorite hobbies. Alas. Alak. Etc.
Mindy on 20 Aug 2012 at 12:46 pm #
“Fuel” not “feel.”
Ghost Rider 6 on 20 Aug 2012 at 1:07 pm #
Mindy, I wouldn’t touch that correction with a ten-foot cockle.
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 20 Aug 2012 at 1:31 pm #
John is a hobby? Well enjoy, Mindy
Michael in Pleasanton, CA on 20 Aug 2012 at 1:33 pm #
Ghost Rider, you beat me to it.
Bob, near Mark on 20 Aug 2012 at 1:40 pm #
Mindy,
Feel conflicted no more. You can stock up on herbs and spices at
http://www.artemisiabotanicals.com/
They’re located in Salem, MA. (Where else would they be?
)
Bob, near Mark on 20 Aug 2012 at 1:51 pm #
And about a block and a half down the street from Artemisia Botanicals, there’s a statue of my 11th-great-grandfather standing in the middle of the street in front of the Salem Witch Museum.
Steve Conway on 20 Aug 2012 at 1:52 pm #
Skeezix is an oldie. I remember it as a kid. It’s still running under another name and with characters aged.
Our paper is stingy with the better strips, so am not seeing as many as some folks.
Mutt & Jeff
Smoky Stover (A real fav)
Moon Mullins
Orphan Annie
Lil’ Abner
The Little King…….and on and on.
Mindy on 20 Aug 2012 at 2:21 pm #
Bob, near Mark, I started to scoff but then I noticed Salem, Mass., the one place outside New Orleans or Memphis I could expect to get the good stuff. Unless, of course, it’s a tourist attraction. And John is not a hobby, Steve. He’s more of an avocation. In a very good way, or course.
Steve from Royal Oak, Mi on 20 Aug 2012 at 2:48 pm #
Mindy: I understand. John is a commitment. Or is HR commited? I always get those terms confused.
Bob, near Mark on 20 Aug 2012 at 3:02 pm #
Mindy, one night a year EVRYTHING in Salem is a tourist attraction.
Mark in TTown on 20 Aug 2012 at 4:37 pm #
Bob in Central FL, katzenjammer- caterwauling, as in a tomcat calling his lady friend.
The reason for the nearly identical strips is that the artist who created the original (and I can’t remember which came first, although I think it was the Katzenjammer Kids) took the strip to another paper for more pay. Owner of original paper sued and got rights to name with strip drawn by new artist. Creator got to keep doing a strip but had to change the names.
Mindy, you need some kind of potion to rid you of the bamboo!
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 20 Aug 2012 at 4:38 pm #
How old is Krazy Kat? Or is not still running?
I believe it’s “warm the cockles of your heart”, and does not refer to shellfish as such. The heart’s “cockles” are the ear-like flaps, or auricles, on the upper chambers of the four-chambered mammalian heart, the right and left atria [s. atrium]. Both atria receive blood from veins, the right receiving venous blood relatively low in oxygen from most of the body, the left receiving well-oxygenated blood from the pulmonary veins. The R & L atria give venous blood a light push into the respective R & L ventricles, which then give it a major push, the R ventricle to the lungs via the pulmonary arteries and the L ventricle to everywhere else via the aortic arch and subsequent arteries.
In fetuses, of course, the highest oxygen concentration is in the various veins.
You can derive more than a few great multiple choice questions out of that neat system; neat as long as it works well. It works well for a bit over a year in some shrews, up to a max of 20 or so in some bats [think about why in such small mammals], 50 or so in our closest relatives, chimps and bonobos, and I’m hoping for four score and 10 or more in careful people. Watch your fat intake, eat your veggies, drink your milk, exercise prudently, and choose your parents carefully.
Mary in Ohio on 20 Aug 2012 at 4:39 pm #
Re: today’s retro strip – my team teaching partner and I once had a parent (at a conference) tell us not to roll our eyes. Needless to say, we didn’t blink.
Mindy from Indy on 20 Aug 2012 at 4:47 pm #
@GR6 – The hair is still long, although it’s had a few close shaves (I’m really glad this group doesn’t mind bad puns.) this summer. It grows so sloooow. That said, I’m seriously considering one good whack before the weather changes. However, normally I cut it and the weather turns within the week. I detest the four-letter s-word, so I’m really trying to hang tough.
RIP Phyllis Diller!
Ghost Rider 6 on 20 Aug 2012 at 6:30 pm #
Trapper (from early this morning): Ego? Moi? Naw, I know how good I am.
Dear Mindy: Keep your powder (and your gris-gris) dry.
Lady Mindy: Don’t go crazy if you decide to cut it. I could be entirely wrong, but somehow I don’t picture you with a pixie cut.
Yes, RIP, Phyllis. My favorite joke of hers…How to cook a roast: Put a big roast and a little roast in the oven. When the little one is burned, the big one is done.
Jerry in Fl on 20 Aug 2012 at 6:35 pm #
Remember her husband-Fang. Also played with Paul Revere and the Raiders for awhile. If you’re under 50 I envy you your energy and techno knowhow, but I wouldn’t have missed the 50′s, 60′s, and 70′s for anything. I’ve got to tell you though you look just as silly in plaid pants as we did.
Ghost Rider 6 on 20 Aug 2012 at 7:06 pm #
Leisure suits, 1970′s version. Some of them in plaid! Worn with big-collared, open-necked shirts! You know who you were. Ha!
Honestly, if your name wasn’t John Travolta and you didn’t have a Saturday night fever, you shouldn’t have bothered.
Jerry in Fl on 20 Aug 2012 at 7:14 pm #
The opening song with John walking down the street, my 1972 Riviera, Boones Farm and Ripple for 89 cents a bottle, 2001 movie, Baretta and Columbo, you could play whatever you wanted in your car on the 8 track. Life had never been so good, except the 60′s cars were gone.
Ghost Rider 6 on 20 Aug 2012 at 7:30 pm #
GR6′s BOOK CLUB (If Oprah can do it, so can I.)
Someone’s mention of Travolta (oh, that was me wasn’t it?) reminded me a novel I read recently. If you like music and light, humorous science fiction, and dislike Big Music and Windows (that covers a lot of us, doesn’t it?), you should read “Year Zero” by Rob Reid. The playlists at the end are alone worth the price of admission. And yes, there really is a song named “Teenage [redacted] from Outer Space.”
Disclosure: I have no financial stake in any of the above mentioned, unless (unbeknownst to me) my crummy 403B happens to own a few paltry shares in some of them.
Mark in TTown on 20 Aug 2012 at 7:51 pm #
Here is a funny video for you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-382M7r67y0
Ghost Rider 6 on 20 Aug 2012 at 8:08 pm #
I enjoyed the one about five videos down, the one with all the attractive young Bollywood ladies in it. “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag” indeed!
David in Austin on 20 Aug 2012 at 8:26 pm #
Today’s retro A&J really strikes a chord… for dialysis patients, it isn’t really a joke though. That’s the way life is–a little activity, then rest. An hour or more of activity on one day means that the next day is pretty much a loss. Not really fun or funny. : (
I’m going to take today’s retro as an opportunity to remind everyone that is interested in being an organ or tissue donor to: 1) Make your wishes known to your physician and your family, 2) mark your driver’s license as a donor if that option is available in your state or territory, 3) Include your desire to be a donor in your will, any living wills or advanced directives, 4) In the US, register as a donor with your state procurement organization.
There are 114,844 transplant candidates waiting as of today. Since January, there have been 11,469 organ and tissue transplants.
See http://www.organdonor.gov/becomingdonor/index.html for more information and how to locate the donor registry for your state.
The rules for Canada are different. Here’s a place to start, at least, if you live north of the 49th parallel.
http://www.canadianliving.com/health/prevention/organ_donation_what_you_need_to_know.php
David in Austin on 20 Aug 2012 at 8:27 pm #
Today’s retro A&J really strikes a chord… for dialysis patients, it isn’t really a joke though. That’s the way life is–a little activity, then rest. An hour or more of activity on one day means that the next day is pretty much a loss. Not really fun or funny. : (
I’m going to take today’s retro as an opportunity to remind everyone that is interested in being an organ or tissue donor to: 1) Make your wishes known to your physician and your family, 2) mark your driver’s license as a donor if that option is available in your state or territory, 3) Include your desire to be a donor in your will, any living wills or advanced directives, 4) In the US, register as a donor with your state procurement organization.
There are 114,844 transplant candidates waiting as of today. Since January, there have been 11,469 organ and tissue transplants.
See http://www.organdonor.gov/becomingdonor/index.html for more information and how to locate the donor registry for your state.
David in Austin on 20 Aug 2012 at 8:28 pm #
Couldn’t include this in the first message… two hyperlinks in one comment causes “moderation”.
The rules for Canada are different. Here’s a place to start, at least, if you live north of the 49th parallel.
http://www.canadianliving.com/health/prevention/organ_donation_what_you_need_to_know.php
Lost in A**2 on 20 Aug 2012 at 8:59 pm #
Fifty-four Forty or Fight!
Ghost Rider 6 on 20 Aug 2012 at 9:03 pm #
I just looked at the back of my DL, and whataya know? Somehow the words “Organ Donor” have ended up printed here. Hopefully, by the time I kick, I’ll have one or two parts left that may be of use to someone. And I know which ones I hope they are.
What’s in YOUR wallet?
Rick in Shermantown, Ohio on 20 Aug 2012 at 9:19 pm #
JJ:
The phrase that completely befuddles me is “turn of the millennium.”
TruckerRon on 20 Aug 2012 at 10:53 pm #
Rick, how about that. We’ve not only managed to live in two centuries but two millennia as well! Who’d a thunk it?
Lost in A**2 on 21 Aug 2012 at 12:28 am #
Re Tuesday’s strip: The Bachelor of Arts, the degree that prepares you for nothing. And for everything!
Jean in Dahlonega Ga aka Trapper Jean on 21 Aug 2012 at 7:40 am #
Not only did we lose Phyllis Diller, but we also lost William Windom. Not only was he a fine dramatic actor, but he had a good comedy career, too. Anybody else remember the tv show “The Farmer’s Daughter” with Windom as the congressman and the lovely Inger Stevens in the title role? probably most will remember his turn as Commodore Decker in the Star Trek episode The Doomsday Machine.
GR6, I’m not sure even Travolta looked that good in a leisure suit.
Jerry in Fl, how about that bottle of Cold Duck that was always in the fridge for special occasions?
Lost in A**2 on 21 Aug 2012 at 8:20 am #
I remember the opening montage from “The Farmer’s Daughter,” but none of the shows.
Lost in A**2 on 21 Aug 2012 at 8:55 am #
IMDb tells me that I’m confused, as usual. The opening I was thinking of was for “Tammy.”