Feb 23rd 2012 08:07 am Supporting cast
I’m sorry, I only have time today to drop off the old cartoon and leave a commercial message: those of you in the Memphis area can meet me Saturday afternoon at one o’clock at The Booksellers at Laurelwood, the old Davis-Kidd location. I’m told I’m expected to make some brief remarks and then sign copies of Beaucoup Arlo & Janis. I hope those of you who can will drop in. If you already have a book, come by anyway!
Posted by jimmyjohnson / Vintage A&J
53 Responses to “Supporting cast”
Tom (Somewhere in Georgia) on 23 Feb 2012 at 8:17 am #
JJ- I hope you have a great time in Memphis. Are book sales as good you’d expected? “Supporting Cast” is another example of someone peeking in our windows! Ha! And today’s A&J really pops…. (sorry)
John in Virginia on 23 Feb 2012 at 8:33 am #
I’ll never forget the first time my wife did that sneaky bra removal thing. I was awed! And I loved the move! First time I’d ever seen that move…and I’d already been married once, which, in retrospect, speaks volumes about El X. [That's okay, she has nothing good to say about me, either!] It’s amazing what pleases and satisfies a male, no?
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 23 Feb 2012 at 8:48 am #
Today’s strip about popcorn hit home. My Grandpa and Uncle both were popcorn farmers and it was a very inexpensive treat that my Mom would make for a large family.
In the last year, we went away from the microwave and use a popper on the stove. Needless to say, butter and bacon grease was involved. Since I started my diet in November, I have lost 25 lbs., but only made popcorn twice.
I have discovered Kale, along with a shop that sells olive oils. I put a touch of sesame oil with olive oil, salt and parmesan cheese on Kale and bake for 15 min. at 350 degrees. It is wonderful.
Jean from Dahlonega Ga aka Trapper Jean on 23 Feb 2012 at 8:53 am #
John, that’s nothing. I have a friend who will do it at stoplights when she’s driving if the undergarment is bothering her. The funny part is that very few other drivers even know what she’s doing.
If I may continue the discussion of cable tv, when we moved to the mountain we found that having a land line for phone service run to our house was ridiculously expensive so we chose not to do it. We all had cell phones already and our neighbor let us piggyback off her Internet service. Several years later the land line was run our way so we got Internet and cable bundled together. Still don’t use the phone but getting some of the major channels is nice. We can watch NCIS and Castle without having to wait til the next day. the one problem we have is that my husband likes Mythbusters, Doomsday Preppers, and military-type shows while I prefer NCIS,CSI, Criminal Minds, and the like. It’s a wonder he hasn’t already installed a tv in his workshop. For older tv shows and movies I have NetFlix. I keep hoping they will expand their streaming feature a bit faster, though.
Whistling Rufus on 23 Feb 2012 at 9:07 am #
@John,
El X should be La X
Jeff in Ann Arbor on 23 Feb 2012 at 9:16 am #
I remember chuckling at the archive strip (ha ha – I made a joke) when it came out. I sent it to my wife this morning at work, as I often do, with the comment, “He’s been looking in the windows again.” She replied, “I guess you are all alike!” Yup.
John in Virginia on 23 Feb 2012 at 9:33 am #
Jean from Dahlonega, the “privacy” of the skill is what’s so amazing! She once did that while I was driving on a long trip when I was getting bored and antsy. I spent the next 250 miles…oh, never mind. And Rufas? You started me on a different line of thought! El X is more like X-Lax! Lord! The Arlo & Janis Community does share some somewhat secretive tales! Is that because Jimmy has gotten us used to a friendly neighbor peeking in our windows?
Mindy on 23 Feb 2012 at 9:36 am #
John, at least it’s not a huge eyeball peeking in the window like something out of a Fifties Sci-Fi movie! Wonder how that would have worked? “Revenge of the 100-Foot Voyeur!” Except that JJ is in no way a voyeur! Jimmy, you’re more like a calming window into our souls. I think…
Hoag in MA on 23 Feb 2012 at 9:46 am #
Have you seen the video of Mr. Bean doing a similar move by putting on his bathing suit at the beach? Doesn’t have the same appeal, but funny as it can be.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZyvm1lMnGY
John in Virginia on 23 Feb 2012 at 9:58 am #
Smile! You’re on Candid Arlo and Janis!
Or did I just give my age away there?
John in Virginia on 23 Feb 2012 at 11:27 am #
That was meant strictly as a very favorable, admired compliment, Jimmy!
Laura in Upstate NY on 23 Feb 2012 at 11:32 am #
As a softball player we often had share the bus with the boys team when we traveled. They were always amazed at how girls who got on the bus in uniforms after the game got off the bus in our regular clothes. Funny my husband just laughs at me when I do this move. Maybe the part being removed isn’t interesting enough??
Whistling Rufus on 23 Feb 2012 at 12:33 pm #
el and la refer to masculine and feminine gender. If X is female, she is la X.
curmudgeonly ex-professor on 23 Feb 2012 at 4:30 pm #
Laura/UNY:
OK, I’ll ask: Did your team members each have a large poncho-type garment under which to crawl? I cannot imagine – and I claim to be good at this kind of imagining! – any other suitable arrangement.
billinbossier on 23 Feb 2012 at 4:32 pm #
If memory serves, that move was done in a scene in ‘Crocidile Dundee’.
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 23 Feb 2012 at 6:17 pm #
I don’t know Curmudgeonly, but now I wish that I had grown up to be a bus driver.
Just Jay on 23 Feb 2012 at 9:01 pm #
billinbossier
It also appears in Flashdance. I grew up in Pittsburgh and it was fun to see a movie with locations I recognized.
Jay
Alan in Nashville on 23 Feb 2012 at 9:37 pm #
Just now reading this. Been busy as a one armed paper hanger (don’t you love those southern, politically incorrect sayings?). When will you be in Nashville?
Laura in Upstate NY on 24 Feb 2012 at 7:20 am #
@curmudgeonly ex-professor : no we didn’t, you would be surprised at how much bus seats cover
actually we just got really good at putting a shirt on then taking the uniform shirt off. Sort of a reverse of what Janis is doing in the cartoon.
Bob, near Mark on 24 Feb 2012 at 9:30 am #
Years ago, at my son’s middle school graduation ceremony, one of the mothers complained that her daughter’s bra straps were showing. The daughter sat there in the middle of the graduating class, took off the thing, and threw it to her mother. Talk about graduating “class.”
sandcastler on 24 Feb 2012 at 10:46 am #
Jimmy, love today’s cartoon on philosophy. Would make a wonderful limited edition print. I would buy one since this has become me due to a forced retirement plan not of my choice.
Joni in Western ND on 24 Feb 2012 at 11:52 am #
I can do the bra removal while driving.
curmudgeonly ex-professor on 24 Feb 2012 at 1:41 pm #
Upon second viewing, Janis’ garment lacks shoulder straps, so ought to be removable quite easily. Perhaps the squirming is for Arlo’s benefit!
Joni: So can I, in a sense: I’ve been known to help my better half in a similar endeavor, also while driving. That was many moons ago, however. Guys like to be helpful….
Laura/UNY: Wow! I cannot imagine how such would be possible, even for a contortionist! I may have to ask my long-suffering better half about that. Is it possible to explain how?
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 24 Feb 2012 at 1:41 pm #
Joni, that is cool as long as you are not texting.
curmudgeonly ex-professor on 24 Feb 2012 at 1:48 pm #
Laura: Maybe I figured it out: 1) remove arms from uniform shirt without unbuttoning it. 2) slide regular shirt under uniform shirt, with its back on your back. 3) place arms into sleeves of regular shirt. 4) tighten regular shirt as much as possible by buttoning it a bit or a lot after pulling its collar up towards your neck. 5) unbutton uniform shirt and remove it. 6) finish buttoning/arranging regular shirt.
If your team members wore regular skirts and not slacks/jeans, that lower replacement is easily pictured.
Mary in Ohio on 24 Feb 2012 at 2:38 pm #
Today’s philosophy was another gem. And so true.
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 24 Feb 2012 at 2:54 pm #
I am more than half-way thru Neal’s book and will easily finish it before my long trip on Sunday. So, I will be purchasing another of his books on my Kindle. One of the things that my wife appreciates when folks read her books is a review at Amazon.
Neal has some nice reviews, but he could always use more. Just go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Imperfect-Neal-Sanders/product-reviews/1434869482/
John in Richmond Texas on 24 Feb 2012 at 3:14 pm #
So many times I’ve had a bad job and went on interviews during lunch or something and had to make my whole trip quick, I changed into a suit and tie in my car in a parking lot. I could do it pretty fast and then straighten up in a restroom inside.
Mark from Maine on 24 Feb 2012 at 4:18 pm #
Last January, I was helpfully helping my wife dress after a long orthopedic surgery and I was having a hard time getting the bra clasps to, well, clasp. I am much better at getting them unclasped. One-handed even!
Steve the Rigger on 24 Feb 2012 at 4:28 pm #
I agree with Mary and Sandcastler. A beautiful strip and with a weekend upon us, a great time to reflect on the sentiment.
Thanks Jimmy.
Leo in LA on 24 Feb 2012 at 9:29 pm #
24 Feb Cartoon. BEST since the “Since I lowered my expectations.” I love the reflective Arlo. I consider it some of JJ’s finest.
Jerry in Fl on 25 Feb 2012 at 12:28 am #
The one-handed unclasp! Who says that we didn’t learn anything worthwhile in college? Totally different subject-just got back from taking my mother home from the nursing home. How do you guys get into the most interesting subjects while I’m away?
Jerry in Fl on 25 Feb 2012 at 12:40 am #
Just glanced back over some of the postings that I missed. Apparently no one viewed the GM billboards, your loss. Was surprised to find that extreme profanity doesn’t go into moderation. You might be surprised as to what I don’t object to, but I thought that we found this forum to be on a level much higher than the youtube, facebook garbage.
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 25 Feb 2012 at 7:27 am #
I viewed them.
Neal in Bahstawn on 25 Feb 2012 at 7:40 am #
Thank you, Steve in Royal Oak! I hope the rest of the book lives up to your expectations and, yes, I can always use more reviews. I post a lot of stuff to Goodreads (think 1500 word reviews) and get a lot of favorable commentary as a result.
As for the ‘retrospective’ strip that has been at the top of this blog since Thursday, it is another of my all-time favorites because it expresses one of those eternal truths: There are two kinds of men: those who are fascinated with women’s breasts and the undergarments that keep them in place, and those who are just like the first group but who refuse to acknowledge it. That look on Arlo’s face, drawn with a simple line, is neither a leer nor a smirk: it is a look of wonderment that the object of his fantasies has dropped into his lap. I have been married 36 years and still get that same look, and my wife still has that same balloon thought (“Men!”) over her head.
Llee on 25 Feb 2012 at 7:51 am #
JJ, do you have to pack the trunk of your car with books when you go to signings? Or perhaps a trailer (because of COURSE a lot will sell), and then have to set up everything before the show? Or do the books get shipped to the location during the prior week, leaving you free to just walk in and have fun? Just wondering about logisitics… and it is none of my business but I wondered.
Hope you are having a great time!
Judy in Conroe on 25 Feb 2012 at 8:27 am #
Neal in Bahstawn: yes “MEN!!” And they start so young. When my son was a toddler I had to start buying front closure bras, because he would unhook the back of mine (while he was braced on my hip) as I was writing a check to pay for groceries, etc. Whoops! Where’d that draft come from? Had to quit wearing shirts with snaps instead of buttons, because I got even more exposure. And don’t even get me started on what happened when he was standing next to me while I was wearing a skirt. MEN – they start young and don’t change much as they grow up. (But we love them anyway, right?)
sandcastler on 25 Feb 2012 at 8:29 am #
Jerry in FL,
missed that experience in college since all the girls had burned em.
Joni in Western ND on 25 Feb 2012 at 8:30 am #
I do not text and do the bra removal at the same time while driving. When I lived in San Diego and had a somewhat longer commute, I would remove my shoes and bra because I hate wearing either one. When I mean longer commute, I mean time, not miles. I lived about 15 miles away from work and it took an hour. I live in Western ND now and 15 miles is a short commute and about 10 minutes time. But I have to watch out for deer, antelope, pheasants, coyotes, squirrels, raccoons and other wildlife as it is a very, very rural area. And people’s cows, sheep, llamas and horses that got loose. And random oilfield workers.
Mark in TTown on 25 Feb 2012 at 9:44 am #
Just a note not on the topic, although I approve of it! While reading some news stories on the Net, I came across one talking about a download to control cookies and other internet junk. The website is http://www.ghostery.com and I decided to download it to try out. It works much better than the privacy controls built into Explorer, gets rid of a lot of the banner ads, etc. Since you can block what you want, there is no information for the ad services to pick an ad from to place on your screen.
And no, I don’t work for them, but I have real issues with all the clutter I don’t want to see when I go online. So anything that helps get my vote and support.
Jerry in Fl on 25 Feb 2012 at 1:02 pm #
Was supposed to be windy and raining here this morning but it is sunny and warm. My wife is actually out riding her bicycle
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 25 Feb 2012 at 1:16 pm #
I am packing my bag for a week in Japan. I only use one bag, my computer bag and now my CPAC machine. This is my 8th trip & my colleagues were surprised that I did not check a bag, even though for International flights, it is free. I told them that while I might be comfortable in my running shoes and Dockers, I don’t want to wear them the entire week in case the airline loses your luggage. Besides, you want to pack light because it is a big hike at the train stations. I do carry an older computer bag that has room for my medications, notebooks and the Kindle that I plan to use.
One of the things that I learned from my daughter’s Girl Scout troop was rolling your clothes. They had an annual trip for a week on Mackinac Island and space was limited. Rolling your clothes allows you to pack more and they do not come out as wrinkled. I still hang mine in the hotel bathroom and turn on the hot shower, which helps.
I have lost 25 lbs since November, so I am curious to see my weight in one week. Since I will be eating out with customers 2 nights, I expect to break my diet a bit. The good news is that except for a few Sumo wrestlers, there are not a lot of overweight folks in Japan.
Robin in Fl on 25 Feb 2012 at 6:08 pm #
Steve
Rolling clothes is really not the best idea. Bundling is much better. I rolled for years and had very wrinkly clothes (less than folding but still). Recently learned about bundling and have been very happy I did. You can learn more at onebag dot com I think, or just google it. I have been to Europe twice with one carry-on bag and a backpack. The airlines have lost my bag only once but it’s often the VERY last one off the conveyor, and I mean, like they forgot it and rounded it up before going home. So I try to avoid checking unless we’re going scuba diving and have to check a bag. But try bundling.
Robin
sandcastler on 25 Feb 2012 at 7:24 pm #
Robin,
Bundling is an interesting concept. Had to visit onebag.com to see how. Nice site with some good pointers. Will stick with rolling techniques I learned in the army. Had to many bags rifled by security in third world ports, they do less damage to things when they slide their hand through items rather than disassembling your bag. I can do two weeks in Asia with one duffle and a back pack, total weight is under thirty pounds with electronic gear. Real secret to long trips is use the hotel laundry service to reduce amount of clothing you carry.
Robin in Fl on 25 Feb 2012 at 7:34 pm #
sandcastler
My secret is packing silk shirts that can be washed in the sink and dry in a few hours. Plus being kinda short–my stuff takes up less room (although it sorta makes up for it in width). But I realize guys don’t pack a lot of silk shirts
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 25 Feb 2012 at 7:51 pm #
Robin:
On one trip to Japan, it was dark and I stepped into an open storm sewer. That was the trip that I forgot and only packed one pair of pants besides the one that I wore on the plaine. I threw the pants in the bathtub and rinsed them out. They were OK, but then I’m a guy.
I had just finished packing when I read your post. I have tried to bundle, but found it time-comsuing with all of the buttoning and getting the chlothes in the right position. I never did perfect it so I went back to rolling. But thanks for the link as the instructions were pretty good. Maybe I can try it on the return trip.
Robin in Fl on 25 Feb 2012 at 8:59 pm #
Steve
Have a great trip!
TruckerRon on 25 Feb 2012 at 11:02 pm #
Eat some gyoza for me, Steve!
Galliglo in Ohio on 26 Feb 2012 at 8:28 am #
Love the Sunday strip. Every gal (and guy!) needs some time alone once in a while. Candy, wine, a good book – heaven!
Judy in Conroe on 26 Feb 2012 at 10:51 am #
Me too! I need that room! NOW!!!
TruckerRon on 26 Feb 2012 at 7:17 pm #
Judy, I agree. If I could have that room, soundproofed, kid-proofed… Bliss!
Ahcuah on 26 Feb 2012 at 10:26 pm #
I have to agree: Jimmy is a heck of an eavesdropper! One I particularly enjoyed from the other day reflected what we always used to say to our kids: “Take what you want, but eat what you take!” I forwarded it to them (they’re all adults now) and they all got a good laugh out of it. (It really is a rational way for dealing with children and avoiding all the conflicts–I’m not so sure how well with works with cats
.)
Meryl A on 28 Feb 2012 at 1:01 am #
Learned to do the bra trick when my bedroom as a teen was over the freezing garage. Can no longer put it on under a shirt as I switched to front close, but still take it off that way if it is cold. Comes in handy – we have an RV that is in a Chevy Express Van – can be pretty cold unless we remembered to turn on the propane.