CSotD: Short takes
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This was a really good day for comics, starting with the latest installment of a Doonesbury arc about Walden College becoming a for-profit school. The fact that there already is a for-profit Walden University is, well, something for someone else to sort out, because Trudeau had the name first, though, granted, not by much.
But I like the idea of for-profit college sports, because, as Zipper and Jeff suggest, they'd have a huge, nationwide fan base. And Glenn McCoy just happened to provide a portrait of one of their fans right here in the Duplex:
And speaking of people sitting around talking (hey, the segues are gonna be a little rocky today), Agnes has been contemplating a career as an accordion player for the past several days, but that seems to be over.
Hmm — seems it was doomed to end anyway, if we can trust that old saying, "The eighth time is the charm." Tony Cochran really knows how to craft a droll punchline. Even when a particular story arc doesn't shine, this strip offers timing and phraseology that make it worth reading for the craft alone.
I like the fact that DailyInk lets aficianados read the works of the old masters in this trade, and while much of my affection for "Mandrake" is based on its campiness, today's strip happened to remind me of a story:
The hidden camera is in Sonya's compact. The laugh comes not from the strip but remembering a confrontation between a young security guard at the gate of Plattsburgh Air Force Base and Jack Laduke, a seasoned and notably feisty videographer from WCAX-TV several years ago.
Jack (and a colleague of mine from the local paper, who gleefully reported on this to the newsroom later) were going onto the base to cover the annual open house, but the airman was under standing orders that he wasn't supposed to admit any journalists with cameras because it was a secure facility.
Jack tried to explain to him, with increasing vigor, volume and frustration, that the rules couldn't possibly apply during an Open House, that Soviet spies were not going to come on base disguised as journalists and that the vast majority of the several thousand carloads of tourists he had already waved through were also carrying cameras and that this would be a much more practical cover than trying to bring in a huge 16-mm-sound-on-film-camera with a tripod.
It eventually required tracking down the base public affairs officer, which was a somewhat lengthy process in the days of Soviets, cameras that shoot film and phones with cords. During which Jack fumed and not entirely in silence.
Good times.
Less humor and lots of truth in this Randy Glasbergen panel, which is not from his syndicated strip or his other syndicated strip. Randy does a lot of freelance work for a variety of clients as well as creating spec pieces that publications, newsletters and public speakers can license.
I really, really like this one, which he posted on Facebook yesterday:
Wow. I got nuthin to add.
On the other hand, I'm certainly not going to let this posting end on a serious note, so, in the interests of taking that single step from the sublime to the ridiculous, here's a link to Ces Marciuliano's MediumLarge website, where you can get some cooking tips for the upcoming holiday. (Don't fret, foreign readers — you can readily adapt these for Christmas, Hannukah or, if you hurry, Diwali. Yeah, I know, we missed Eid, but you can bookmark it.)
And, speaking of gift-giving, Matt Bors has reached his initial Kickstarter goal and will be publishing a collection of his cartoons, but he's closing in on a secondary goal that would allow him to publish a second collection. I'm in favor of that, and, while they won't come out in time for this holiday season, you can stash a couple of signed copies for birthdays and suchlike.
Or, like the best gifts, to decide to keep for yourself instead!
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