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

Est. 1985

Extra, Extra!

Jumping Jack Flash

By Jimmy Johnson

It’s Tuesday: Reset Day. Today’s old A&J is from 2010. Cats are not into vigorous exercise. That’s one reason I like them. I watched “Casablanca” for about the 100th time on Turner Classic Movie’s Sunday-night program, “The Essentials.” I realized I don’t watch TCM as much as I once did. I rely on Netflix’s streaming catalog more than anything else. Sometimes I watch movies on Amazon Prime. I suppose I could watch movies on demand from my cable company, but I never have. As for the myriad other options out there, I’m rather clueless. Weather permitting, I sit outside most evenings or go out somewhere, but with the approach of winter, I’m studying my entertainment options again. Which leads me to my point: what do you watch, and how do you watch it?

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

Recent Posts

Ghost of Christmas Past

This holiday Arlo & Janis comic strip from 2022 is similar in concept to the new strip that ran yesterday. I thought the latter ...

Spearhead

I have produced a number of comic strips related to Veteran’s Day. Especially in latter years, I have tried to emphasize the universal experience ...

Dark Passage

Remember: it’s that weekend. The return to standard time can be a bit of a shock in the late afternoon, but I rather enjoy ...

What’s old is old, again

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to build a web site, but there are similarities. Everything needs to be just right, or ...

Back to the ol’ drawing board

I don’t have a lot of time this morning. I wasn’t going to post anything, but I’m tired of looking at that old photograph ...

Thursday’s Child

On Sunday, I teased you with the suggestion there are more changes coming here. There are. They will appear soon, and I think you’ll ...

94 responses to “Jumping Jack Flash”

  1. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    Interestingly I don’t. I used to be a huge movie buff, read reviews, opinions, went to theaters in the day. Then I switched to tapes, then cds, then nothing. I just stopped.

    Interesting. Why?

  2. Bonnie from Gloucester Ma Avatar
    Bonnie from Gloucester Ma

    Love going to see movies at the local cinema although not happy about prices. Also watch movies On Demand via cable. Watch some TV programs on an actual TV. No Netflix, streaming or other methods. It would become all too consuming. Options are very convenient to have but they also suck up your time. No thank you.

  3. Don from Broken Arrow Avatar
    Don from Broken Arrow

    We also like to use Netflix and Amazon Prime. But we love to go the the new Warren Theater from time to time and watch the new releases. Once we went to the Warren Theater, we have been a bit spoiled and really love the seats and the overall look and feel of the experience. We had dinner with friends and watched Sully while in the theater the other night.

  4. Library Gal Avatar
    Library Gal

    My kids just gave me a gift card for Netflix, and I am enjoying that. I enjoy watching all the TV shows from the beginning that I missed first time around. Currently enjoying Murdoch Mysteries based on the characters created by Canadian author Maureen Jennings. Still watch the occasional movie on TCM…love those too!

  5. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Thanks all, for caring. I will make it “through December”. Remember, I’m the one with the motto, “Non deficere”.

    Jackie is right. Who knows? Perhaps the remainder of the year will pleasantly surprise me.

  6. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    Have to confess I turned off television when my husband died and took all out of house except largest one. I still pay for service and put the dish back up but not on roof. I have no idea what I have but lots of cds if I decide to watch some good movies. I am looking at TV in my hotel room, draped in scarves and caps, so you know it is not going to be turned on.

    Now were I to be invited to attend a movie I would love it. I have already put in far too much solo time staring at a small screen.

  7. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    Resilience is my middle name. The lovely friend who helped, read did, rig Stella is Tenacious. That is how you survive.

    Got that date with the customs man. Gotta go. Wearing a black sweater but it’s not for him.

  8. Steve from Royal Oak, MI Avatar

    My Mother-in-Law cut off her telephone conversation with my wife to announce that Casablanca is on and she just had to watch it for the umpteenth time. We started to watch it but realized that we had the DVD that was made by the French brothers on 911 when they were following a Plebe fireman around. To be honest, it was one of the best documentaries that I have ever watched. It told such a gripping story.

    I always ignored Casablanca as a kid as I was not a Bogey fan. In 1982, when I was dating my wife, my mother-in-law read that it was being shown at a local theater and that we should watch it. Of course we had to listen to the audience recite the best (and most famous) lines, but as someone who loved history and Ingrid Bergman, I was quite impressed. My wife and I have often stumbled upon it on cable and it feels like a hidden treasure. I even bought a book about the making of it. The line “But it’s still a story without an ending” was quite literal. They did not know the ending, when they wrote the line!

  9. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    There is a Spyderco folding knife named “Tenacious”. Perhaps I should add one to my collection.

  10. sandcastler™ Avatar
    sandcastler™

    Loon is our movie and TV watched, mainly sci-fi and mysteries. I did get engrossed in the Netflix series” The Ranch.” It was reminiscent of my youth, pre-military, and explains much about why I ran off to join the Army.

  11. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Ha! There is also a Sypderco “Resilience” model.

  12. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    I prefer the TCM channel myself, to most of what’s on. I don’t have the major pay movie channels, but do have what Dish calls Blockbuster/On Demand. I had been watching the HD channels only and forgot the many non-HD choices. Found out I could watch Barney Miller and Night Court, which are two of my all-time favorite shows.

    Keep hanging in there, Ghost. May your life change for the better soon.

  13. Dave Avatar
    Dave

    I have no cable, but there are lot of extra channels now ever since the over the air stations went digital. So I watch reruns of old TV shows. My wife and I also like to watch old and not so old shows on DVD. So I buy the DVDs, one season at a time, and we (or just I) watch them. We binge watch, except that we watch only a couple of shows per month. Can that really be called binge watching if it takes you a year or more to watch one season of an old show?

    Reruns of Barney Miller are certainly a fine way to spend one’s time, along with reruns of Law and Order and Law and Order: SVU, not to mention good old All in the Family and Hogan’s Heroes.

    I have never seen Casablanca, although I did like the Maltese Falcon.

  14. TruckerRon Avatar

    Put me down for watching movies and shows commercial-free on DVDs. I mostly watch the TV when my wife shouts that there’s something important on the local news.

  15. TruckerRon Avatar

    When the fall season starts, you’ll find me watching new episodes of favorite shows a day or two later on my computer, where I’m free to walk away during commercials and then “rewind” to the end of them when I get back.

  16. ilovedaisymae Avatar

    I own most of the movies I live including Casablanca. My favorite right now is a British sitcom called “Last of the Summer Wine.” It was on for more than 30 years but no one has ever heard of it. I highly recommend it.

  17. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    What I watch: People of the female persuasion
    How I watch: Early, often and anyway I can

    Seriously, I seldom watch movies anymore. (Ironically, one I do plan to see is “Sully”; I hope they don’t screw up the story, but you never know about Hollywood.) In the past few years, I have used my spare time to return to my first love…reading. As Bonnie said, movies seem to create too much of a time suck.

  18. Bob Avatar
    Bob

    I like TCM’s Silent Sunday Nights, which I try not to miss. I also enjoy The Essentials, but as I’ve seen many of them already, I’m not as religious about recording them. Some of the best things about TCM are the hosts’ comments on the movies and the “fill-ins” they have at the end of the movies before the next one starts (e.g., interivews, reminiscences by actors about a film or other actors, shorts, and even propaganda films).

  19. Bryan Avatar
    Bryan

    I like movies and rely on my own library of DVD/BluR or Netflix streaming. Wife and I are in a 2 month trial of HBO Now so we’re watching it more to see if it’s our cuppa’. She’d like to take Hulu for a test-spin as well.
    TV shows have almost zero interest for me. Wife is addicted to television so I see way more than I care for.
    But to be honest I’d much rather watch the pages of a good book than anything on the tube.

  20. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    My late MIL spent a life time watching movies and recording them on first 8 track and then tapes and cds. She claimed it was to save for posterity. She owned thousands.

    I told her I was going to bury her with them like a mummy with papyrus scrolls. If there was room. Instead she was cremated and Mike sent every movie to the landfill. That is a sad commentary on a life.

    Dickens and I are sitting in harbor in sunlight and peace on Stella. Date with customs went well. Waiting for my lunch date. I love marinas after everyone leaves.

  21. The Old Kuss Avatar
    The Old Kuss

    We cut the cable a few years back and haven’t missed it. We stream (Acorn.tv: We’re big Brit show buffs!), and watch antenna TV. For movies, we have a rather large collection (around 600 movies) on DVD. The only trouble is to decide what to watch!

  22. Sharon Avatar
    Sharon

    We stream from Netflix and AcornTV.

  23. ursen Avatar
    ursen

    We use a Roku player and Netflix. We were using one DVD at a time as part of the Netflix, but return on the cost just wasn’t there, too much to do other than watch that many DVD’s. Roku has a wide selection of free and low cost streaming channels. One of my personal favorites is the Smithsonian channel. And if all else fails and I want really old cartoon entertainment there is the Popeye channel. Other than that I play a lot of my favorite MMORPG, GW2. Yes cable internet is pricey, but the wide range of uses make it worthwhile for us, just no cable tv thank you.

  24. ursen Avatar
    ursen

    BTW my better half likes to watch Murder She Wrote, Columbo, and Rockford Files. Together we are slowly working through all episode of DS9, then will move on to Voyager and STNG.

  25. billinbossier Avatar
    billinbossier

    I guess I am still a fuddy duddy. I still watch, mostly, TV, but then mostly History and Travel Channels. When you are retired, you can do that.