One of the things a person quickly learns as a beginning cartoonist is that he or she must master onamonapia, a word that replicates a sound, as in the “clink” of glasses. Of course, in the case of cartoonists, we most often are called upon to invent our own words using onamonapia. Using the above cartoon from last November as an example, how does one replicate the extremely arresting—and grating—sound of that horrible horn, the klaxon, which blares repeatedly when the heavy metal doors are about to close and you have 30 seconds to get to the last shelter on earth before the nuclear bombs start raining down, or the sound a game-show contestant hears when giving a disqualifying answer. Well, this was my stab at it. Onamonapia can be fun! Splut. Blop. Plap. Try it at home.
237 responses to “The Sound of Mayhem”
I thought it was a tribute to Kardashian rear ends? I don’t watch game shows so I thought it was a joke about how often the Kardashian women married and unmarried and handed out rewards.
I gave you credit for being more outrageous than you were Jimmy.
Maybe the word BUZZZ with little squiggly lines coming out of it? I have to admit that I first thought that she was screeching, like after seeing a mouse.
I’ve seen the klaxon redered (rended?!) as “AROOGAH!”, Jimmy; add Os and !s as required.
RENDERED!! Did you ever see that movie, The Hands of Orlac? I reckon that’s what happens whenever I try to type!
Also reminds me of the Batman comics and later the TV show with Adam West and Burt Ward.
Still makes me think of Keeping Up With the Kardashians but I have never seen the TV show either nor the quiz shows. I just know what I pass by on the “newspaper” aisles in the grocery store checkout lines.
The joke of course is that Arlo gave Janis the wrong answer. He was supposed to say “Honey it isn’t big at all.”
He could have answered “You are right in style, some people require implants.”
“Walt Kelly always had some great mangling of various carols this time of year. I really miss Pogo.” I miss him too, Mark. Now it really IS Chistmas, complete with Boston Charlie. And thanks to Jackie for the YouTube link.
Jimmy, in our often silly household, we use onomatopoeia to decribe a certain class of meals. Think of serving saucy casseroles, really cheesy macaroni and cheese, and foods of that ilk. They are “splorpable.”
Ironically, just last evening I happened across (as in, no, I wasn’t looking for it) an on-line photo purportedly from a Miss Bum Bum “beauty contest”, featuring three young ladies with not-tiny derrières wearing tiny thong bikinis. Said contest was taking place in…where else…Brazil.
For some reason, I think Jackie might be the winner of this contest: How many Pulitzer Prize winners have you personally known that have had their names on the side of Pogo’s boat?
My score is just “one”.
Did you know Faulkner and Miss Welty? They were alive in
Your tenure at Oxford I think.
Here is wonderful blog essay on Walt Kelly’s genius Christmas carols. I haven’t found anyone singing Good King Saurkraut yet on YouTube.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/humorinamerica.wordpress.com/2014/12/01/opossum-carols-or-walt-kellys-xmas-postludicrosity/amp/
Oh how I wish someone wanted to go spend Christmas in a beautiful restored historic mansion that is guaranteeing a white Christmas with me. The resident child is a precocious Lego constructor, has hundreds of trains and tracks, likes to cook and is a good kid.
Got to send off permissions to Oxford, MISSISSIPPI on Trigger. He has been dumped in an open lot now that other company got their money.
After much searching I found this album from 1956 called Songs From the Pogo. Have listened to first one. Don’t know if the carols are on here?
https://youtu.be/hl8_DP2m72A
Here’s Churcy being turned into green turtle soup by Highland Owl.
https://youtu.be/Zu619oL33hs
Remember. Your answer must be in the form of a question. It took a second. Good one JJ. We had a major emergency yesterday and last night. Spunky has always been excellent at finding hiding places where I can’t find her. If I call her long enough she will walk into the room like “Take a chill pill. I’m right here.” Last night we realized that we hadn’t seen her since yesterday morning. We started looking, under beds, in closets, in cabinets, you name it. We finally decided that she was definitely not in the house and had definitely slipped out somehow. I went outside and called her and got in my car and drove around the area. I thought that she was gone and I was fighting against the beginning of tears. This morning I was sitting right here and Tippy went over to the closet, put his paw under the door and looked over his shoulder at me with a look like “I need for you to open this door.” Being well-trained I immediately went over and opened the door. Of course between myself and my wife we had looked in the closet at least half a dozen times. Now remember, Elvis can open every door in the house and this closet frequently has a door open. When we lived in our house previously it had sliding glass doors in the bathrooms and Elvis slid the door open, Spunky jumped in and Elvis closed the door. We were out of town a couple of days, but she was ok. Anyway, when I opened the closet door she walked out. There is a filing cabinet (remember those) in that closet and the back of it is toward the wall with just enough space for her to get behind it. That had to be where she was hiding. What a relief!
Glad you found her. I hate when they do that.
Jerry, relief indeed. Sounds like Spunky is a direct descendant of Carroll’s Cheshire Cat.
Mine doesn’t pull of full invisibility, but he must follow behind me and jump to the side when I turn around. If an urge comes to locate him — never really know why; maybe he sends out a Hide-and-Seek vibe? — I can spend fifteen minutes systematically covering the entire house. Only to go sit down and see him staring at me.
I interpret his gaze to say, “You, OK pal?”
Eating a bowl of red beans sans rice. The rice is brown so I could eat but eating like a soup. Made this without roux so nothing but vegs and beans, ham chunks and low fat turkey chicken sausage.
I have eaten worse.
Having fun reading Pogo cartoons and listening to YouTube with Pogo and Pogo songs. Not bad thing to do.
Arlo should know that the only response to that is, “As far as I’m concerned, it’s just the right size.”
Treading lightly here. But I’m surprised Berliner Christians are not receiving the same outpouring of support that Charlie Hebdo writers did. I know the later concert massacre was more horrific. But I am disappointed if it desensitized us to this.
Someone help me with an accurate Deutsche, ‘We support/are German/Berlin Christians/Citizens!”
I am not glossing over history. I just feel Germans are people too.
Or “Warning All Objects in the Mirror May Appear Larger Than They Actually Are”…Then again maybe not.
I’ve always written it as “eeent”, with varying amounts of ‘e’s and ‘n’s depending on force/mood/etc, I guess I just hear it with a harsher ending than is supplied by “aeeh”.
I’m surprised Spellcheck didn’t catch the misspelling of onomatopoeia. It is a difficult word – I have to admit! 🙂
Morphy, there is always “Ich bin ein Berliner” from President Kennedy’s 1963 West Berlin speech.
I met Miss Eudora and spoke with her briefly when I was in Jackson for a meeting many years ago. I don’t think her name was ever on Pogo’s boat, but so many were that I could be wrong.
I never met Mr. Faulkner. Going bar-hopping with him would have undoubtedly been awesome, though.
GR6, my first thought as well. But it had been widely, mistakenly, criticized. And borrowing from a different historical event doesn’t feel quite right. We would never reuse the day of infamy reference, for example.
But maybe the simplicity speaks for itself.
Ich bin ein Berliner!