CSotD: Old wine in new skins
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Interesting day to see how some familiar gags can be repackaged:
Monty has been on a trip through time and has, yet again, found true love. I know this is not breakthrough comedy, that the gag is a variation on all sorts of others, but there is something about Jim Meddick's artwork and timing that knocked me off my stool this morning.
Thing is, there aren't very many untrodden paths. The trick is not to find new things but to do things well, and he does. I love this.
I'd suggest they stay in this arc for awhile, because there have been several good laughs in it. But, then again, I loved the first season of "It's About Time," and, man, that show jumped the shark fast. Best to mine all the good gags and then recite "Twizzle, twazzle, twozzle, twome; time for zis vun to come home."
And meanwhile, in the real world, here's another gag that doesn't break any new ground but puts a spin on an established source of pointless marital conflict:
Leroy Lockhorn is onto something here: Guys need to be more pro-active on this issue. Go on the offensive!
"Up" is the default position. I don't know what just happened in there, but, if Leroy didn't notice until it was too late, well, that's why "up" should be the default position. And, if you put the seat down, flies can walk around on it, and centipedes and mice and … you know, all kinds of things could happen on that seat. You could end up with dust on your butt, and spider webs.
In fact, there used to be toilet seats in public places that automatically went up if nobody was sitting on them. Wise engineering.
Have I ever sat on the porcelain? Yeah, once or twice. I've also sat on a closed cover once or twice. And I know what caused it, and, while I'm not always smart enough to look down before I sit on something, I am smart enough not to tell anybody about it when I wasn't that smart.
Or to blame them for it.
If "up" isn't the default, then "cover closed" should be. And some women know this, so they put fluffy covers on the toilet lid so it won't stay up and you have to stand to the side and brace it with your knee. So the idea that the lid should always be closed is not a male fantasy.
And I'd add that you can't complain about kitchen cupboard doors being left open if you aren't closing the toilet lid consistently, dammit.
So, remember, guys: The proper response to "Does this make my butt look fat?" is "You mean to the point where you won't be able to see what you're about to sit on?"
If that can be established as the reason people don't realize what they're about to sit on, I promise this issue will disappear completely.
And don't worry about the gap in your relationship if that happens: You can always quarrel over proper orientation of the toilet paper roll.
No nit is too small to be picked, and it's not good for sleeping dogs to get too comfy.
Now, shifting gears, here's an argument that isn't pointless, but not many seem to be able to find it:
Yes, Jim Morin, that's why I'm disappointed with Obama.
The difference between "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington" and "Mr. Obama Goes To Washington" is that Jimmy Stewart eventually got wise to the fact that he was dealing with genuine crooks and that his political opponents did not believe all that stuff about patriotism and the public good and how things are supposed to work.
I'm willing to let the first year pass, all the naive ideas about putting Republicans in the cabinet and working across the aisle for the good of the American people. But, come on, man.
Morin has it right.
But, beyond that gem, going through the political cartoons lately has been pretty disheartening.
As said before, the "everybody is to blame" approach stems from either ignorance or cowardice.
Meanwhile, apart from blaming the president for the sequestration — while insisting that the cuts are insignificant, while also insisting that they are significant enough to save the economy — opposition cartoonists have run out of new points to make and have recently even stooped to recycling Teleprompter jokes. Really?
Now they've taken up the cause of poor, misunderstood Bob Woodward, who was threatened or, at least, was warned or perhaps given a friendly tip that he was drilling a dry hole or barking up the wrong tree or something. Poor fellow.
It's not unusual to have Jon Stewart point out the emptiness of one of these drummed up "scandals," but how embarrassing it must be to turn in a "poor Bob Woodward" cartoon on Thursday and, by Sunday, have Tom Brokaw calling out the story as "an intramural fight in a high school cafeteria."
Tsk tsk.
Mike Peterson has posted his "Comic Strip of the Day" column every day since 2010. His opinions are his own, but we welcome comments either agreeing or in opposition.
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