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

Est. 1985

Extra, Extra!

Secrets of the Deadline

By Jimmy Johnson


Buy the new book, "Beaucoup Arlo & Janis!"Today's "Arlo & Janis!"
In English, the Rosetta Stone translates, “Very expensive language instruction that can be had at the local bookstore for a fraction of the price.” In the age of the internet, one must be careful. There are many “this date in history” sites that are not entirely reliable, particularly concerning celebrity birthdays. This, one finds out the hard way.

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201 responses to “Secrets of the Deadline”

  1. Debbe Avatar
    Debbe

    Good one Rick πŸ™‚ Never was a Black Sabbath fan, bet there will be a lot of Geritol on hand πŸ™‚

  2. Rick in Shermantown, Ohio Avatar
    Rick in Shermantown, Ohio

    Blinky:

    Thanks – I am now looking forward to the Sir Paul concert even more. Myself, I give a slight nod to Lennon as the most influential force in The Beatles, but I’m not firm on that stance. McCartney was definitely the bigger showman and perhaps the better businessman.

    However, in terms of current music, I have become a big fan of Railroad Earth.

    Eclectic and cerebral – they’re astounding.

    I’ve been to two of their concerts and am looking forward to the next one. They’re always on tour, so it shouldn’t be long.

  3. Blinky the Wonder Wombat Avatar
    Blinky the Wonder Wombat

    Rick in Shermantown, Ohio-

    Ever hear of a band called Here Come the Mummies? They are a group of Nashville session players that tour mostly in the midwest. Their gimmick- they are dressed in rags and makeup so as to look like mummies. (supposedly some members are well known in the music industry, but this gimmick lets the audience focus on the music and not the players.) I’ve never seen them, but I friend of mine in Indiana raves about them. Lots of brass and rock.

  4. Jerry in Fl Avatar
    Jerry in Fl

    I’m a fan of Grand Funk Railroad, but I’ve never heard of Railroad Earth. Maybe a regional thing, like the Swinging Medallions from Birmingham. Anybody remember Doubleshot? Mindy from Indy, you are probably just busy these days and Trucker Ron, what happened on the work at home front? Debbe, I just occasionally remember to check the web on BCN. I do keep it on my favorites list.

  5. Jerry in Fl Avatar
    Jerry in Fl

    I just read BCN’s comments. It appears to be a very friendly group, but, knowing nothing of the strip’s history, I don’t really know what they’re talking about.

  6. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    Rick in Shermantown and Jerry in FL, heard this yesterday on Sirius. You might like it too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbHJyhER3t4

  7. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Debbe πŸ˜‰ Since you are an Eagles fan, too, hon, you wouldn’t even have to have the million dollars. πŸ˜‰

  8. TruckerRon Avatar

    Jerry, all my plans and thoughts about working at home got sidelined by my wife’s suddenly declining health… which is now improving since her thyroidectomy a few weeks ago. Also, with the school year restarting our one married daughter is finally finishing off her final semester of student teaching, so we’ll be doing a lot of babysitting of our two grandsons (2.5 years and 9 months old) between Labor Day and the first week of December.

  9. Jerry in Fl Avatar
    Jerry in Fl

    TR, Glad to hear that your wife is doing better. These are supposed to be the golden years and they are for a reason I can’t say here.

  10. Trapper Jean Avatar
    Trapper Jean

    Debbe, I’ve been reading BCN and loving it. I still need to go read all the back strips, but that is no hardship.

    Ghost Sweetie, if you’re not up to pole dancing you might want to try this. You might have to cut-and-paste to see it. Sorry, but Technology doesn’t like me today, it seems.

    https://video-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hvideo-xpt1/v/t42.1790-2/10867775_642629892510147_852280212_n.mp4?efg=eyJybHIiOjc3MiwicmxhIjoxOTg4fQ%3D%3D&rl=772&vabr=429&oh=27d8696ad055236a7b9d890c6ce97964&oe=55E9DE96

    Jackie, thanks for the kind words! Always happy to be of service! You will enjoy the above video, too, I’m sure. πŸ˜‰

  11. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Jean dear, when I get my upper body in as good a shape as that dude’s, I’ll seriously consider it. Besides, great way to meet some of those awesome female belly dancers. πŸ˜‰

    Thought about you yesterday, when someone online mentioned being in Atlanta for Dragoncon.

  12. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Trucker: Wow. Good luck with that babysitting thing. πŸ™‚

    Yeah, I know, this is probably just the result of the “green car” version of running out of gas, but it still strikes me as funny. All energy has to come from somewhere. The First Law of Thermodynamics is not just a suggestion, it’s the law.

    http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/attachments/chit-chat/325003d1440459821-11892204_1007599575938547_1352036488920771693_n.jpg

  13. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    Ghost, that must be one of the all-electric versions of the Prius, since the others have their own gas engines under the hood to recharge the battery. And after all, the all-electric versions must depend on electricity generated by some means. Most likely coal-burning, hydroelectric or nuclear plants.

  14. TruckerRon Avatar

    Considering the potential burden on our infrastructure, all-electric cars aren’t the best idea (Imagine the load on your local system* if significant numbers of people went to them and needed to recharge on a sultry summer night!). Hybrids make a lot more sense since their batteries are recharged as needed by the gas-powered motor. That also eliminates the wasted gas while idling at traffic stops.

    * Tesla claims the load isn’t that much, that our systems are set up to allocate power as needed, etc., but I also keep seeing articles about much of our aging electrical infrastructure being over capacity as it is…

    http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/snapshot-electric-car-electric-grid

  15. Ghost Rider 6 Avatar
    Ghost Rider 6

    Yeah, too many people seem to think that the energy to power their all-electric cars just appears magically out of the air, like fairy dust or unicorn dander, without any carbon footprint of its own. Sure, it may be a relatively smaller footprint, but still, TANSTAAFL.

  16. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    Mark, well thank you too. But how about their version of RC Cola and A Moon Pie? Here it is, the true Southern breakfast of champions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4W_KDGQoVM

    Or dinner and lunch as well.

    Good morning and afternoon all, I have friends from South Africa with their camper in my back yard and it is danged hot here, they may feel at home. I need to go get my two cats from the vet before they lock up for weekend and they get a Labor Day bed and breakfast in the kennel.

    I am heading for the gym and the pool for rest of afternoon, my celebration for the day. I am supposed to be going to a nautical flea market in OKC tomorrow and a kayaking seminar. If it is this hot tomorrow I may or may not enjoy it. Ditto the Raft Race on Monday. I have volunteered to sell beer at the Budweiser beer truck since I don’t actually drink. I will have to bring my own water cooler! But I will be under shade!

    And yes, I am wearing shorts to sell beer and if it is too hot I will just drip ice on myself and if I spill beer I can hose off. Love, Jackie

  17. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    Jackie, get yourself a bandana if you don’t have one. Then you can dip it in the water in your cooler and cool off with it. Another thing that works is to get a spray bottle and fill it with water. Whenever you get too hot, mist yourself with it. Evaporative cooling works great.

  18. The Village Orphan's Society Avatar
    The Village Orphan's Society

    The Board has directed me to tender on its behalf this emendatio to its missive of the 29th ultimo. One of our erstwhile vagabonds, Master Malcolm Burkwistle, has taken leave of the big top circus to which he had absconded, and he is now returned to the slightly peeved but nonetheless welcoming bosom of the Orphanage. He discovered forthwith that a necessary, nay, vital element for one’s success in the profession of circus clown is a sense of humor, an attribute which the dear boy sadly and conspicuously lacks. Happily for the fortunes of the Orphanage’s dining hall, he was able to recover and bring with him a good quantity of the less over-ripe produce which had been flung at him during the course of his first and only performance.

    Malcolm reported that his fellow vagabond, Master Cyril Bicksford-Smythe, was manifestly vexed by the malodorous conditions that are an inexorable part of the position of elephant mucker, as well as his continually demonstrated inability to muck at a speed anywhere near that which would be necessary to keep apace of the prodigious amounts of excrement produced by a half dozen well-fed and Brobdingnagian pachyderms. Malcolm urged Cyril to avail himself of the opportunity to also take to shanks’ mare and accompany him back to the Orphanage but was instantly rebuffed by Cyril’s sharp rejoinder, “What, and give up show business?”

    In a separate but somewhat related matter, the King of the Gypsies has offered to treat with the Board regarding terms for the return of Nigel Arbuckle to the Orphanage. The Board has advised the Roma King, who seems to be either discombobulated or agitated or both, that they will take his proposal under advisement and place it in the second third of the agenda of the next semi-annual meeting of the Board.

    I have the honor to be, &c.
    (s) Rosamund Wainwright-Altringham
    Corresponding Secretary to the Board of the Village Orphan’s Society

  19. TruckerRon Avatar

    I heard Nigel had gone to visit his brother, Jon Arbuckle, and his cat and dog.

  20. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    That was so funny and so well written that I almost choked on my Greek yogurt and fresh raspberries, tried to wash it down with some bottled water and almost lost it all up my nose!

    Whoever you are Rosamund, please keep posting reports on the n’er do wells and miscreants. I loved the adventures.

    And the vocabulary. Love the vocabulary! Words are not always just words. Love, Jackie

  21. Jackie Monies Avatar
    Jackie Monies

    Rats. just heard I have been assigned to check in participants and complete paper work instead of selling beer! Probably figured they wanted more nubile and pulchritudinous and pneumatic beer girls in the Budweiser tent. I wanted the shade of the tent.

    I do get free rides on Uber and all the free beer and goodies I want, along with an official volunteer shirt to wear. I hope they still have some large sizes left when I pick mine up!

    Thanks, I will take the cooler, my water, my bandana, my very large hat, a spray bottle and that thingy I bought for sailing that the military uses in the desserts. Just heard from my committee lady, so bye! Love, Jackie

  22. Mindy from Indy Avatar

    Jerry – Work life has been aggravating to say the least. Working ridiculously long hours again. Splitting my time between looking for new employees and looking for new employment for myself. It is highly suspected the new company is setting us up to declare bankruptcy and reopen under a new name. If the universe is willing, I will be long out of the picture before this happens. I forgot to ask before, how did Elvis and Cilla judge the quarters? And speaking of Elvis, BCN is very much autobiographical, so the non sequitur comments likely relate to something Georgia has posted elsewhere. P.S. – Thanks for the tropical updates. I’ve missed them.

    Blinky – Have seen and heard the Mummies myself. My boss loves them. Lots of innuendo and double entendre.

  23. Mindy from Indy Avatar

    TruckerRon – I used to have a clerk who always came up perfect. Just to annoy her, I’d toss random change into her drawer. Wrong? Sure. Entertaining? Absolutely. πŸ™‚

    My tills almost always are over. When people tell me to “keep the change,” I will throw some of it into the take-a-penny bin, but leave the rest in my drawer. I’ve had way too many people just pocket anything in TAP bin or try to pay for their entire purchase with it. I keep a running total in my head of roughly how much “extra” is in my drawer and will cover honest shortages as I can. The universe approves of this mrthod too. Late one night, not long after I had started with my present company, an elderly gentleman came in with his severely disabled, grown, daughter. He fussed and cooed about her as he helped her select a few treats. At checkout, they came up sixteen cents short. He was going to have her chose which goody to put back. Sadly, I happened to have no money with me that night, and the TAP bin was empty. But I couldn’t bear the thought of the girl having to sacrifice a treat during an obviously rare outing and purchase over sixteen cents, and sent them on their way with everything. The dad was bowled over at my willingness to short my drawer for his daughter. I assured him I would collect enough spare change to cover during the night to cover it. After they left, I rummaged through the front counter candy boxes. Sure enough, I found sixteen cents. I was almost completely back around the corner when a heard something hit the floor behind me. I turned around to see a single dime settle to the floor, no where close to anything, and I was alone in the store. Where it came from, I have never figured out.

  24. Galliglo in Ohio Avatar
    Galliglo in Ohio

    Mindy: Pennies – and sometimes dimes – from heaven…

  25. Ruth Anne in Winter Park Avatar
    Ruth Anne in Winter Park

    Thanks, as always, for introducing new musical groups for us to look for. Heard some interesting covers of old songs on Sirius today. One was by a group called Me First and the Gimme Gimmes – don’t know about all their music but it’s a great name.

    If you like blues, check out Beth McKee. She definitely qualifies as a GRIT and has created her own group known as Swamp Sistas.