A Little Excitement

by Jimmy Johnson

April 24, 2008


Commenters, line up! “Charcoal-lighter fluid doesn’t flare up like that.” Well, it does if you let the coals get hot and then douse them a second time! I shouldn’t be telling you this kind of thing. The current A&J strip is bigger than usual, so I’m guessing it’s Sunday. I’ve kind of lost track of the days. Speaking of the current strip, it admittedly is not one of my better efforts, but sometimes you just have to shove ’em out the door. All cartoonists do. However, its timing, something out of my control, is terrible. Sunday strips have a longer production lead-time than daily strips. The strip in question originally was drawn several weeks ago. Arlo was speaking of election coverage. Remember the election? I suppose the premise, wobbly though it is, holds up, but now it seems a bit callous. Bad timing. That happens to all cartoonists, too.


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30 responses to “A Little Excitement”

  1. Steve From Royal Oak, MI Avatar

    Yes and no. Fortunately I have been able to find bread. Now if you had said bring some Toilet Paper, that would be serious.

    What he are seeing on TV is not a circus as I would enjoy going to a circus. But the craziness and the hyperbole does match the circus. I can only watch for a few minutes, then it is off to Hallmark movies, old classic movies, MASH episodes and the Food or HGTV networks

    1. Mark in TTown Avatar
      Mark in TTown

      I finally found bread in my favorite store Thursday after its two week absence. Still no toilet paper though. And still not desperate enough to watch network tv, especially since I don’t subscribe anyway. I have been reading two books by Robert Heinlein and enjoying them both, along with a smattering of Charles Dickens.

      1. Jym Dyer Avatar
        Jym Dyer

        @Mark in TTown – Showing my ignorance here, but isn’t “network TV” the stuff that gets broadcast through the air for free, as opposed to “cable TV?” (I don’t have a TV, but I do watch a show now and then in a tiny little low-quality YouTube screen.)

        1. Mark in TTown Avatar
          Mark in TTown

          I gave up on both the free broadcast and cable tv years ago. I tried an indoor antenna but could not find any that would pick up more than one channel clearly here and decided it wasn’t worth it. Between my smart tv and a Roku I can find almost anything I really want to watch without the expense and inconvenience of cable tv, and avoid the meaningless drivel that is provided as “entertainment” by them.

      2. Nancy Kirk Avatar
        Nancy Kirk

        Are you re-reading the Heinleins, Mark? Which ones? I think we own (and re-read) all of them.

      3. Dan Avatar
        Dan

        I enjoyed a lot of Heinlein’s work. In his later efforts , it seemed to me that he started to write like a dirty old man. As I recall I was a younger man, so I didn’t mind it much if at all.

  2. Ken from Framingham Avatar
    Ken from Framingham

    I may have needed a minute to “get” the Sunday strip, but felt well-rewarded for the effort! I think it’s a fine, funny and memorable strip!

  3. David Schimpf Avatar
    David Schimpf

    I grew up in the Bratwurst Capitol of the World, and, presumably, the Universe. We “fried” (our word for grilling) all year, even in the weather that gave the “Frozen Tundra” its name. When boys were early teens, our dads relegated the frying chores to us. That included starting the fire. With gasoline. They tried to blunt our pyrotechnic impulses, mostly successfully, imploring us to put the gas can some long distance away, occasionally twirling around to disperse the trail of gas fumes. Since we never burned the house down or ended up in the ER (if ERs even existed back then), I guess they were successful. And once the coals burned down to that perfect white ash covering, the brats were perfect.

    1.  Avatar
      Anonymous

      Glad you’re here, David. Literally.

  4. Mark From Maine Avatar
    Mark From Maine

    A work of art is never finished, only abandoned. Timing is everything. Happy Sunday!

  5. ruralbob Avatar
    ruralbob

    Watching TV and calling it a “circus” is timely no matter what they’re talking about.

  6. Otis Avatar
    Otis

    I think it’s still timely, Juvenal was referring to how people give up their civic duty for spectacle and the free wheat handed out to appease the masses.

    Substitute Tiger King and $1200, and it’s frighteningly current.

    Nearly two thousand years later… Ouch.

    Cheers. Y’all

    1. Jimmy Johnson Avatar

      You may have something there, Otis.

    1. Jimmy Johnson Avatar

      I saw that. Wouldn’t that be great if it could be made to work? When I was young, I had a gig as a technical writer (i.e., PR flack) for the AU School of Engineering. This would make me very proud. Should have stuck with that job; I’d be retired with a state pension now.

      1. Mark in TTown Avatar
        Mark in TTown

        I sure hope they can make it work. I have been using a CPAP for years now and feel it has saved my life. What a great thing it would be for them to be able to save so many other lives now.

  7. joe d Avatar
    joe d

    JJ-Thanks for a Sunday post

  8. Neal H Sanders Avatar

    No apology needed when you’re batting .928!

  9. Llee Avatar
    Llee

    art, humour, education, wisdom…all this and more, available here in the Village 🙂

  10. Llee Avatar
    Llee

    oh! and TR, the clouds have been here for the last few nights (years?). Were you able to go skywatching? Did you see whatshername among the sisters?

    1. TruckerRon Avatar

      As it happens, yes! Thursday night was very clear when I looked at 10 pm with binoculars. Friday night ended up being wondrously clear most of the evening with Venus right in the middle of them. Last night cleared for about 45 minutes, which was long enough to set up and use my telescope with its automatic tracking to keep them in view. These three nights were just the second time this calendar year I’ve had decent viewing, good enough to justify setting up my gear. And all three were very cloudy for the first hour or more after sunset.

  11. emb Avatar
    emb

    Now 4 eggs in the Great Spirit nest box. Rats!
    https://explore.org/livecams/birds/peregrine-falcon-cam
    Peace,

  12. Judy in Conroe Avatar
    Judy in Conroe

    I just read an article that explained the lack of toilet paper in stores, and it makes more sense than hoarders! It also explains that, sadly, we will be short of the precious stuff while the pandemic rages. Seems that 40 percent of toilet paper use is in public places (mostly work) and most of us are now using the facilities at home. Even if we could purchase the rolls used in public restrooms, they wouldn’t fit in the home bathroom dispensers, so I guess we are out of luck until the lock downs ease up.

    1. Ruth Anne in Winter Park Avatar
      Ruth Anne in Winter Park

      I remember noticing, a few months after I retired, that we were buying TP more often. When you’re not going TO work or school, you’re not “going” AT work or school 🙂

  13. emb Avatar
    emb

    E NB crane cam just did 360. Not a sure crane in sight, except when site switched back to “highlights.” ‘Spect the last to leave may be those that nest nr here, NW MN, in the bed of Glacial Lake Agassiz. That’s a topic worth googling.
    https://explore.org/livecams/birds/crane-camera
    Peace,

    1. curmudgeonly ex-professor Avatar
      curmudgeonly ex-professor

      What is “E NB”? If Nebraska, it has been “NE” for more than 50 years…. “NB” is reserved for New Brunswick in Canada.

  14. emb Avatar
    emb

    Wrong. At least a good fraction were out feeding. Hurry.
    https://explore.org/livecams/national-audubon-society/crane-camera
    Peace,

  15. Jerry in Fl Avatar
    Jerry in Fl

    Using a CPAP machine as a ventilator? Why didn’t I think of that? Oh yeah.

  16. Ghost Avatar
    Ghost

    From “Life In The Slow Lane”: Just got back from a grocery market run, where it occurred to me that if I’d walked in there a few months ago wearing a mask, a cap, dark glasses and gloves, I’d likely have had LEO’s called down on me as a possible armed robber. Today, no one batted an eye. (Banks in my Deep South neck of the woods have long prohibited the first three of those being worn in their lobbies. Wonder how that’s working for them now…)
    Jackie told me when I got back that the recommendation is now that we not go out more than once a week, even for “essential” trips. I’ve been keeping it down to no more than two trips a week, for food shopping, banking, mail pick up, etc., but unless there is an emergency, I should be able to make one trip do. To be honest, I was getting uncomfortable going out even twice a week, from seeing how many people don’t seem to be taking even elementary infection-protection precautions.

    1. TruckerRon Avatar

      Some of those elementary infection-protection precautions, especially the masks, won’t fly with my girls with autism. Fortunately they don’t have to enter any buildings where masks are required… and I’d challenge any security guard or nurse to force one onto them if we had to go to an ER.