I hope you had a good Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day weekend always means the annual meeting of the National Cartoonists Society and the bestowal of NCS awards, highlighted by the “Reuben,” given to the outstanding cartoonist of the year. At the convention in Washington, DC, this year, that supreme accolade went to Roz Chast, magazine cartoonist and humorous illustrator. The award for Best Comic Strip went to Stephan Pastis, creator of Pearls before Swine. No, I did not attend this year’s meeting, but the Reuben weekend will be in Memphis next May (Remember where you heard it first!), and I plan to be on hand for that one.
Scratching Post
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261 responses to “Scratching Post”
It’s always nice when a national (or international) event is local. I’m sure you’ll enjoy next year’s Memorial Day weekend even more than this year’s.
our friend John went to it this year. I’ve been contemplating on joining for centuries.
Denise, to require a question mark, I believe the sentence would have to read “Am I wondering how Ghost is doing?” 🙂 But Ghost is doing fine, and thank you for wondering. Ghost in turn is wondering, “I wonder how Jean is doing.”
PBS is an OK comic, but the “Best”? I suspect there might be contrary opinions here in the Village.
If they think Pearls before Swine is the best comic strip, then they and I have different taste in comics.
I am glad that I am not a cartoonist. I do not care for Reubens…
My wife had to re-do her website (click on my name) as the web provider would not support changes because her program was obsolete. That meant that she had to very carefully cut and paste everything on the new website program. Half way through she was dragging her mouse and suddenly the new website program went live and she lost all of her old stuff. Fortunately she was able to remember most of it but instead of writing to meet a June 16th deadline, she was putting her website back together. Fortunately I was outside putting out 26 bags of mulch so I did not hear her angst. However when she asked, I did click on the new website and wisely said “Hey, this looks pretty good.” Fortunately, I meant it.
Steve: Tell her she has a typo: “ambitions businessman.”
Words that I am already tired of: any word with uber-stuck on the front of it and second, any word with -ish attached to the end of it.
Touching Memorial Day remembrance. A friend sent this to me today.
I didn’t know this about 9-11
AFTER FLIGHT 77 hit the Pentagon on 9/11, the following incident occurred:
A chaplain, who happened to be assigned to the Pentagon, told of an incident that never made the news. A daycare facility
inside the Pentagon had many children, including infants who were in heavy cribs. The daycare supervisor, looking at all the children they needed to evacuate, was in a panic over what they could do. There were many children, mostly toddlers, as well as the infants that would need to be taken out with the cribs.
There was no time to try to bundle them into carriers and strollers. Just then a young Marine came running into the center and asked what they needed. After hearing what the center director was trying to do, he ran back out into the hallway and disappeared. The director thought, “Well, here we are, on our own.”
About 2 minutes later, that Marine returned with 40 other Marines in tow. Each of them grabbed a crib with a child, and the rest started gathering up toddlers. The director and her staff then helped them take all the children out of the center and down toward the park near the Potomac.
Once they got about 3/4 of a mile outside the building, the Marines stopped in the park, and then did a fabulous thing – they formed a circle with the cribs, which were quite sturdy and heavy, like the covered wagons in the Old West. Inside this circle of cribs, they put the toddlers, to keep them from wandering off. Outside this circle were the 40 Marines, forming a perimeter around the children and waiting for instructions. There they remained until the parents could be notified and come get their children.
The chaplain then said, “I don’t think any of us saw nor heard of this on any of the news stories of the day. It was an incredible story of our men there.” There wasn’t a dry eye in the room. The thought of those Marines and what they did and how fast they reacted; could we expect any less from them? It was one of the most touching stories from the Pentagon. It’s the Military, not the politicians that ensures our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It’s the Military who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag. If you care to offer the smallest token of recognition and appreciation for the military, please pass this on and pray for our men and women, who have served and are currently serving our country, and pray for those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for freedom.
Is allowance made for people with the surname “Uberish”?
domaucan1, check Snopes on that. My ex is one of the world’s worst about forwarding stories to everyone, and so many are untrue that I have stopped paying attention except to verify them and let her know when she has been bitten by the bogus story bug.
Thanks, Boise Ed. I’ll tell her you are her editor.
Any scandal that ends with -gate…
I checked out Snopes and there was an interesting story from that day:
The most interesting story having to do with the Pentagon’s daycare facility that day wasn’t primarily about the children or even the evacuation, but one of the parents. That morning, Col. William Stoppel of the National Guard dropped his 9-month-old son at daycare, then continued on to his office in the Pentagon’s inner ring, where he was assigned to the Department of the Army’s G-1 Office processing promotion packets. News of the attacks in New York prompted this dad to want to check on his son, so at the time the plane hit the Pentagon, he was in the daycare facility on the other side of the building (and thus helped to move kids to the field spoken of earlier).
Unknown to him as he helped shepherd kids, Stoppel’s office had been one of those that sustained a direct hit. Many of his co-workers had perished in the attack, including the man with which he had shared a cubicle. Stoppel himself was presumed dead for the better part of the day.
Read more at http://www.snopes.com/rumors/glurge/daycare.asp#QfYmFAmwgOwtp7qY.99
…and if there is any justice, Our Humble Author will bring home the hardware for Best Comic Strip. Being there in person will be a bonus!
If you really want to keep Luddie away from the sofa, tack some plastic sheeting over the parts he claws and buy him a proper scratching post. Cats are creatures of habit and once he’s gotten accustomed to using hte scratching post you can safely remove the plastic.
I have the alphabet book Steve Martin wrote that Roz Chast illustrated, made sure each set of grandkids has one, she did lots of stuff in the National Lampoon too.. .. . what a weird day ! rain gage tops out at 5 inches, I heard Richmond got 11 and Houston only got 10. I was out in a bathrobe, slippers and umbrella at 2AM to see what I had to clean up in the yard, spent all day doing that (one big hunk of pecan tree) and several pick-up bedfulls of other debris, went to work for a few hours in the afternoon and it was just like a weird quiet day after a hurricane where most people are home and there’s a lot less traffic. . and some dam in Bastrop State Park busted and swept a lot of people away, 3 years ago most of the park caught fire and burned up in the drought
Many years ago, a man applied for the job as the bell ringer at a cathedral. “But my son,” the priest pointed out, “you have no arms to pull the bell rope.”
“It is true that have no arms, padre,” the applicant said, “but I can still ring the bell.”
Backing off, he took a running start and ran full speed into the bell. “BONG!” the bell tolled as he hit it face first. Admiring the man’s puck and determination in the face of adversity, the priest hired him on the spot.
On Sunday morning, the man climbed to the top of the bell tower and, at the appointed time, ran into the bell. “BONG!” the bell tolled. However, he had misjudged the effect of repeatedly hitting the bell with his head and became woozy. On his fourth approach to it, he missed the bell entirely and plunged from the bell tower to the street below.
A crowd gathered and a policeman arrived. “Does anyone know what this poor soul’s name was, so we may notify his family?” the gendarme asked.
A parishioner who had left the cathedral to see what was the commotion looked down at the body and said, “I don’t know his name, but his face rings a bell.”
* * *
There…another agonizingly lengthy pun that Pastis can use as a “Pearls before Swine” comic strip, gratis. Unless he already has.
(A follow-up to Memorial Day)
This past Friday, I received an email from a local theater chain, and it contained the following: “Wishing You a Safe and Happy Memorial Day. ~ Happy Memorial Day Weekend! ~ Yes, we’re open every day. After the parades have ended, load up the family and head to ### Theaters.” It then listed the special movies and merchandise available that weekend.
Fortunately, the ad gave a toll-free number. I called to leave a message about my concern, and I also left my name and number.
I am pleased to say that I received a call from one of their representatives this morning, and he thanked me for the call. He said that he was unaware of the ad’s contents and that he will ensure that the chain does nothing of the kind next year. He said that he knew full well that Memorial Day is a day of remembrance, not a “happy” one.
I am hopeful that he will be able to keep his word. If he can, it is one small victory in wresting an important day of observance from the ever-increasing trivialization and commercialization of our history and culture.
From yesterday post- and I did know what I was doing. It fits there and after
Rick’s post here
A Contemplative Memorial Day
Debbe — Labor Day has since 1894 been first Monday in September.
Decoration Day is May 30 –
1971 Congress declared Memorial day to be the last Monday in May
As it happens 2016 it will be May 30
May 30 was chosen because it was NOT the anniversary of any battle in the Civil War.
Ghost, wonder what this guy’s been eating: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/11631700/Best-photobomb-ever-Seagull-steals-the-show-from-Red-Arrows-display-team.html
I know that there have been numerous parades, speeches, and individual acts to commoriate Memorial Day, but to me, yesterday was a holiday opening the summer season. May 30 is Memorial/Decoration Day. I shall visit the cemeteries and say a prayer for those who have given their lives in support of this Republic… Including my cousin who went down with his submarine mates during WW II. The sea was their cemetery. We ordinary citizens have no idea what our lives would have been like if those men and women had not stepped into the breach.
Thank you, Rick. You are a good man.
Ghost – I believe he already has used that joke.
New company takes over 4 June. Sat through a nine hour meeting just to give us a BRIEF overview of the new changes. If you hear anguished screams, rants and raving originating in the Midwest next week, don’t worry, it’s just us. Keep the embers banked for me – I want s’mores when I get back.
P.S. Bawled my way through the National Memorial concert. To all who served, thank you again. Rick, you rock.
Where’s the next big thing in tech going? Read this and find out: http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2015/05/the-ultimate-technology-fronti.html
Spooky, when every time you turn around you read of a new hack or data loss.
Lady Mindy…not surprised; heard that joke probably 30+ years ago. “…and there is no new thing under the sun.” KJV
Incoming new management normally takes one of two tacks…nothing-will-change-except-for-the-better or everything-will-change-but-it-will-be-for-the-better-because-old-management-was-lame. In my experience, neither should have any particular credence attached to them.
“This, too, shall pass.” Which, by the way, does not come from the Holy Bible but is still a nice thought. Sort of Zen-ish, don’t you think? 🙂