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

Est. 1985

Extra, Extra!

The Finish Line

By Jimmy Johnson

(Might as well see this Gene thing through. I’m guessing the Summer Olympics were going on when these posts appeared in 2012.)
The closing ceremony is upon us; our Gene Olympiad is coming to an end with today’s 10 classic cartoons from 1992. You don’t have to suffer withdrawal, though. Come back regularly to arloandjanis.com for an
Arlo & Janis cartoon from the past and other activities. Extinquish the torch! Furl the flags! The official proceedings are concluded, but stick around: the Rolling Stones and Elton John will be along any minute now.

Buy the new book, "Beaucoup Arlo & Janis!"Today's "Arlo & Janis!"

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101 responses to “The Finish Line”

  1. emb Avatar
    emb

    Should be, “… everyone’s response, but that’s not what he’s miffed about.”

  2. Ghost Avatar
    Ghost

    Yep, one of the things that got me hooked on JJ and A&J was when I realized how often my snap and superficial evaluation of a cartoon was replaced by a more nuanced one on my second take.

    Layers.

  3. Old Bear Avatar
    Old Bear

    Had a co-worker who’s father died because they HAD to do paperwork first. Chest pains.

    Friends MIL survived because he insisted – screw the paperwork – into the ER NOW. Stroke.

  4. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    Here’s a bit of the story DJJG7 was recommending: https://www.gocomics.com/gasolinealley/2018/08/18

  5. curmudgeonly ex-professor Avatar
    curmudgeonly ex-professor

    Good one, Mark! 8:10pm

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

    Mark:

    Why are they always little green men?

    Myself, I favor the aliens of “People of Earth.”

  7. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    Rick, I like “the people” of Zenna Henderson’s books, myself.

  8. Ghost Avatar
    Ghost

    I read an article some years ago that tried to trace the origin of the term “little green men” as used to describe “aliens from outer space”. As I recall, the author didn’t reach any persuasive conclusions.

    Ever wonder why the movie “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes” didn’t feature green tomatoes? Because as soon as they invaded the Deep South they’d have been sliced; dusted in corn meal; fried; served up with rémoulade sauce; and devoured.

  9. curmudgeonly ex-professor Avatar
    curmudgeonly ex-professor

    To the southern contingent: Do y’all ever fry, etc., the ripe red tomatoes? I am not a fan of tomatoes in general, with exceptions for pasta & pizza sauces and ketchup, so don’t make it my business to know more about them.

  10. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    https://scontent-dfw5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/39441614_10214714308243321_3827966551194075136_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=843f62a1d342b167f7f4b5bbe179d2c0&oe=5C0E1D6A

    curmudgeonly, I never saw a fried red tomato in Alabama. I think they would be too soft for that. The green ones have a good texture for frying since they are not soft and juicy.

  11. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    Sliced ripe tomatoes with mayonnaise are delicious, too.

  12. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    Even a partially ripe tomato will not fry well.

  13. emb Avatar
    emb

    Jackie, Mark, c x-p:

    Likewise, use only the hard, totally green tomatoes to make green tomato pie. May have sampled someone else’s decades ago, but only Elaine’s ’60s-2008 or so since. Still have some mix in the freezer. Worked well w/ her signature oil crust and, of course, w/ apple-pie spices. Totally un-tomato-like; c x-p might like it. Goes well w/ sharp cheddar.

    Mom didn’t like tomatoes, but Dad and I did. Helen Lane’s restaurant on Waverly Place in the Village used to feature green apple pie.

    Peace,

  14. Llee Avatar

    it can be done. Messy, but crisp, too. (or burnt, depending on your classification or crisp)

  15. Ghost Avatar
    Ghost

    If your tomatoes are too ripe to fry, a good use is to slice firm ones in half horizontally; spread a generous portion of Heinz 57 sauce* over the cut sides; cover with breadcrumbs, with perhaps a bit a finely-grated parmesan cheese added; and place cut-side up in a baking pan with a cookie rack in the bottom. Place on your heated outdoor grill with the lid closed and bake them until tender but not mushy. That also works in a 350 degree F oven.

    Per Jackie, if you are not fond of tomatoes, substitute yellow squash or zucchini sliced long ways.

    *Actually, my only use of that concoction or any other commercial “steak sauce”. If a steak is worth eating, it is favorable enough that it needs nothing but a bit of salt and coarse ground black pepper. (Yeah, I’m a steak snob, even though my consumption of them is much more limited than it once was.)

  16. Galliglo in Ohio Avatar
    Galliglo in Ohio

    Mark: “I like “the people” of Zenna Henderson’s books, myself.”

    You are one of the few people I know who are familiar with Zenna Henderson. Awesome!

  17. Rick in Shermantown, Ohio Avatar
    Rick in Shermantown, Ohio

    Mark and Galliglo:

    And I was not until now.

    Thanks.

  18. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    Galliglo, discovered them in high school and read the rest in the Navy. I don’t know why they are so unnoticed, as they are both great stories and well-developed characters. I guess the publishers and critics didn’t know how to characterize the books. Plus science fiction and fantasy didn’t get much promotion in the early 1970’s.

  19. emb Avatar
    emb

    There’s also How Not to Get There:

    Where? How Not to Get There
    Hills of Minnesota Wabash Cannonball

    Peace,

  20. emb Avatar
    emb

    Sorry, I had them nicely spaced.

    Where?………………………………….. How Not to Get There
    Hills of Minnesota…………………. Wabash Cannonball

  21. Charlotte in NH Avatar
    Charlotte in NH

    Zenna Henderson — I heard some of her stories, decades ago, on a Reading Aloud FM Radio program, and wanted more but they were hard to find back then — where would I have looked? She wrote the short story Aunt Dade, didn’t she? Probably I’m not spelling it right, it was pronounced Ain’t. That one story has haunted me, now and then, for … fifty years or nearly so. Maybe forty.

    For Galliglo and for Mark (any others?)