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

Est. 1985

Extra, Extra!

But seriously, folks…

By Jimmy Johnson


Buy the new book, "Beaucoup Arlo & Janis!"Today's "Arlo & Janis!"
Today’s classic A&J is from August of 1994, and it first appeared mere days before the changeover to digitalization. In other words, it was one of the last daily strips actually to be shipped by Federal Express to the syndicate offices in New York. Speaking of digitalization, remember when I mentioned earlier this year that I wanted to revamp this Web site? I’ll bet you haven’t forgotten. You just assumed I had. Well, I haven’t. I have decided, though, that I need professional help. With Web-site design, I mean. I have been in contact with said professionals, and I’m hoping I might have something new to show you early in 2015. I know we go through this sort of thing a lot. Believe me, I know, but please humor me. I’m going to ask you, again, to make suggestions for the new Web site if you’d like. That way, I’ll have your input all in one place and fresh when I meet with the Web people after the Thanksgiving holiday. Any new suggestions, or restatement of old suggestions, will be appreciated. And I haven’t forgotten about the T-shirts, either.

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251 responses to “But seriously, folks…”

  1. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    And a very “furry” or wooly sweater vest.

  2. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    I’d think that men’s sock garters (worn around the calves of the legs) became unnecessary when socks with elastic tops became common. Garter belts served the same purpose for women’s stockings, of course, until rolled garters arrived on the scene, and then progressed to self-supporting stockings and (evil) pantyhose. Stockings of any sort seem so rare today that I don’t know if (evil) pantyhose have pretty much replaced individual stockings, or not. Garter belts, I’m sure, are now used exclusively for their erotic appeal. (Not that I’ve studied the subject, or even given it much thought, of course.)

    Sleeve garters were used by bookkeepers (see Bob Cratchit in any production of “A Christmas Carol”) and others who wrote using quill pens and kept their shirt cuffs pulled up to prevent them from becoming ink-stained. Professional gamblers and casino dealers perhaps wore them less by choice than at the insistence of the other card players, to minimize the practice of cheating by pulling cards out of sleeves.

  3. emeritus minnesota biologist Avatar
    emeritus minnesota biologist

    Jackie:

    According to legend, it was a lady’s garter that had slipped down her leg while she was dancing. I thought that was a known item, but I guess they really don’t know.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Garter

    Peace, emb

  4. sandcastler™ Avatar
    sandcastler™

    Glorious Sunday morning Village!

    Jimmy, love the Sunday funny, thanks. I see that occasional mother out and about who tries dressing like her teenage daughter. Very few can care it off, thirty years changes the body.

  5. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Considering all the walking Janis does, I’m sure her calves and thighs are shapely enough for her to wear her skirts as short as she likes. Although perhaps not as short as Arlo would like.

  6. Symply Fargone Avatar

    Stop making my thoughts go Symply Fargone….always had a thing for the Benny Hill shows and Jerry Lewis movies et maintenant je trouve que la cause est les porte jarratelles! Mince alors! Ca gen.

    a la procahine fois mes amis.

  7. Symply Fargone Avatar

    that would be prochaine hence the need for edit button for the francophiles amongst us eh Solange?

  8. Steve from Royal Oak, Mi Avatar

    Jimmy, I was really pulling for them Tigers last night. I was hoping that Alabama would try a late field goal that Auburn could have run back 109 yds for a 28 point touchdown, but sadly it did not happen.

    I live in Michigan but am not a um fan. My Dad was born and raised in Ohio and I was not a Buckeye fan either. As a matter of fact, I really dislike both teams When OSU’s QB Barrett was tackled awkwardly and broke his ankle, I was really impressed with Mich’s QB kneeling next to Barrett and telling him that he was praying for him. Fans can be brutal and frankly I dislike all of the chest bumping and trash talking. They need to look at that picture and realize what athletics is all about.

    http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/11/jt-barrett-devin-gardner-michigan-ohio-state

  9. curmudgeonly ex-professor Avatar
    curmudgeonly ex-professor

    I’m with ghost in the opinion that pantyhose is an evil! However, I carry that on to include garter belts – singularly unappealing to me.

    New York City transportation: When I was a kid (’40s), fares were still in cash for most modes. A little later, tokens were used, said tokens to have been purchased earlier…perhaps to minimize some reasons for hold-ups? Transfers between various lines were often available in the form of little slips of paper torn from a pad about 1.5″ x 4″. I have no memory of transfers in the format of tokens, but maybe that was done in earlier times. As to getting all the way to Philadelphia, I really doubt it. The transfers were for switching between the various carriers within the city, to the best of my knowledge.

    I am aware of interurban rail lines existing (mainly earlier?) in different parts of the country, and I’d think there must have been such a connection between NYC and Phila. Whether or not the intracity lines were involved, I cannot say. Maybe eMb recalls things a decade earlier than I.

  10. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    Enjoyed reading about the Order of the Garter and all the pomp that goes along. Explanation of the fluffy white feathered hat and the robes and accompanying bling was most educational. The amount of gold in the “necklace” they wear was impressive. And they have to give it all back upon death.

    Made me wonder if they then melt it down and make new golden insignia for the replacement knights or if they reuse the returned medals? Or if the returned medals are kept historically?

    Things we learn here are diverse and interesting. Like the people in the Village.

    Last night I was trying to show my mom Google maps from the air of the parish she is from and the property our family owns. I don’t think she quite caught how “miraculous” it was to be able to “drive” down a highway and see houses, fields where the rows are clearly plowed, cars parked in yards and even trash thrown out in yards.

    I think she still thinks of computers and the internet as a way to write to people?

    Just one use. Love, Jackie

  11. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Ever get the feeling the Village stays a step or two ahead of the World? First thing I saw online this morning was the latest totally unnecessary political hubbub involving short skirts and the White House turkey pardoning ceremony. Gimme a break.

    At least we can discuss things here with civility and a modicum of humor.

  12. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    That thought passes through my brain and out the other side frequently Ghost. Don’t think I would voluntarily discuss a lot of this around where I live!

    We are civil and polite and often funny. Heck, there seem to be a few people like that over on TDS. It is who Jimmy attracts of course.

  13. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Some of the Village People (wait, that didn’t come out right) show up on TDS from time to time. And of the others, the majority seem to be people who would fit in here just fine. There is sometimes a lower signal-to-noise ratio over there, however.

  14. sandcastler™ Avatar
    sandcastler™

    It’s fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.
    It’s fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.

    They have everything for you men to enjoy,
    You can hang out with all the boys …

    It’s fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.
    It’s fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.

    😉

  15. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    Debbe, since you have D*** satellite, if you have the MGM channel you might be able to catch Thief there. They have been showing it pretty often lately. It was even on around 9am CST this morning.

    Jackie, Google maps are great and Google Earth is even better since it lets you see under the sea and into outer space.

  16. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    You all know I come from Louisiana, a state not known for decorum among our politicians. In my teens we had our Singing Cowboy governor, Jimmy Davis of “You Are My Sunshine” which I had to live down, as I was in school elsewhere. I am someway related to Cousin Huey and Uncle Earl, as I am to anyone from the parish of Winn.

    Who honestly cares about decorum in our politicians or their families? Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton had embarrassing families and didn’t do badly on their own!

    Not to single out any one party, the Reagans had their share too.

    So, among things we might criticize, how teenagers dress or roll their eyes in embarrassment , hardly seems worth discussing!

    Let people wear what they like, they seem to be doing that anyway. Or not wear, which seems equally displayed!

    Love, Jackie

  17. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    We sometimes use the satellite maps to try to figure out sailing routes along Texas and Florida coasts in the shallow coastal waters. The funny part is the sand bars and water depths change between when they photograph the shore and when you are using it. But the really tech savvy can allow for time lapses, etc. and pick out specific boats and distances, who was in what sector, etc. Maybe they have served in military?

    One night in a sleep deprived daze, Mike and his partner ended up in some channels that ran through a subdivision full of piers behind houses. That was when I discovered you could see garbage cans, mail boxes and small items in yards!

    I do consider being able to talk to you in Tuscaloosa as miraculous as Google maps. Your library in Tuscaloosa that you were mentioning as historic is haunted, by the way.

    Love, Jackie

  18. emeritus minnesota biologist Avatar
    emeritus minnesota biologist

    We know Janis’s legs are shapely from the drawing of her lazying in the boat with Arlo at the tiller.

    Latest from the OF site: “Predictions will resume when the Visitor Education Center reopens on December 15, 2014.”

    Peace, emb

  19. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    Strange, I was just reading about Yellowstone in winter and seeing Old Faithful erupting in a snow storm. According to the author, going there in winter is the best time of all. It is something I have wanted to do all my life.

  20. Jerry in Fl Avatar
    Jerry in Fl

    Is she back? Possibly. Which leads to another perhaps complicated idea. Is there a way to link name to email address so that one person cannot post under another’s name?

  21. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    As best as I can tell the First Daughters were caught in the act of acting like teens. Hey, guess what…they *are* teens. And no matter how you might feel about the matter personally, is that really what congressional staffers should be wasting their time on while on the public payroll?

    Sadly, many are probably wasting their time and our money on even less important things.

    OK, sand, now do the chorus from “In the Navy”. 🙂

    I understand some brass in the USN’s head shed wanted to use that song in a recruiting commercial until someone on his staff had a talk with him. Of course, that was back in the days of DA-DT. Probably wouldn’t even be an issue now.

  22. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    She whose name cannot be mentioned hasn’t surfaced that I know of but on the websites I monitor you can tell when one checks in/posts and computer/program will send the offending email over to moderator to allow/disallow. Don’t know if JJ’s program does or not?

    Hope no one suspects me! I will link anyone suspicious to a dozen
    or more websites where I own or moderate or write for. Some have photos, unfortunately!

    Love, Jackie

  23. sandcastler™ Avatar
    sandcastler™

    This request goes to a certain av8tar down near Biloxi.
    Keep them wings level, and the wheels out of the trees.

    In the navy
    Yes, you can sail the seven seas
    In the navy
    Yes, you can put your mind at ease
    In the navy
    Come on be bold and make a stand
    In the navy, in the navy
    Can’t you see we need a hand
    In the navy
    Come protect the motherland
    In the navy
    Come on and join your fellow man
    In the navy
    Come on be bold and make a stand

  24. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    Alabama is #1 just announced. I pulled for Auburn as hard as I could!

  25. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    Re-read Ghosts comments on hose. I am pretty certain you can still buy them, not just panty hose. I hate panty hose too, even when I was thin/small they NEVER fit me. And they ran runs like crazy. I am so old I wore hose when they had seams and you had to keep them straight on back of leg. I was so excited when they came out with seamless hose. But they also had toes and heels back then, so finding them for sandal type heels or toeless heels was hard to do.

    Anyone else among us remember REAL hose?