Constant Readers know how much I hate March 17, but that means I got a kick out of John Cole’s contribution to the day, because it’s entirely silly start to finish. Darby O’Gill and the Little People is not, by far, the worst Irish-American film ever shot, but it does play on sentimental archetypes and […]
David Horsey offers a practical take on whatever debate about climate change remains. You have to be something of a Flat Earther to still deny climate change. The vast, vast majority of scientists who study climate have long accepted that it is changing and that we’re to blame. “Vast, vast majority” being over nearly everyone […]
If you’re old enough to remember The Comic Weekly Man, you’re also old enough to make the connection between Big Ben Bolt (KFS)‘s current opponent in the 1963 Vintage Sunday arc, Chief Thunderhand, and his very close namesake, Chief Thunderthud. I don’t know why it didn’t hit me until today, but, once it did, Cowabunga! […]
Dave Granlund points out that Thanksgiving, as a national holiday, was not about Pilgrims. It would be nice to say that it was instituted to give thanks that the Civil War was over, but, in fact, it was declared in the midst of the conflict. Note that Sarah Josepha Hale, when she asked the president […]
Today’s Non Sequitur (AMS) offers my favorite: A combination of humor and potential for serious thought. It’s only funny if you recognize the blend of fact and folklore that runs not only throughout most religions but most ancient histories as well. Fundamentalists on either side simply don’t get it. One group feels you should […]
Timing is part of context, at least to the extent that, had this Rubes (Creators) run in December, it wouldn’t have taken me so long to get the joke. Not saying that’s a bad thing or a good thing. There’s nothing wrong with making an extra demand or two of your audience, and I probably […]
There’s a full docket today, but let’s start with something specifically timely: Marc Murphy’s commentary on the start of the Kentucky Derby, which will be run Saturday in Louisville, where Murphy is cartoonist for the local paper. In posting the cartoon, he explained, “It’s almost time to sing just the good parts of the old […]
Clay Jones (Ind) strikes the right note on the ridiculous question of whether people deserve the titles they’ve earned. Spoiler: Yes. Plenty of people have noted that the term “dottore” was applied to educators before it was applied to physicians. For that matter, it was applied to educators before there was such a thing as […]
With so many comics about Thanksgiving leftovers, it seems okay to feature a Thanksgiving leftover from the editorial page, with praise for Signe Wilkinson (Phil Daily News) for acknowledging that (as noted here previously) the Pilgrims were, indeed, “known superspreaders” by the time of that feast. In her commentary on the cartoon, she writes, “As […]
Editor’s Note: I brought “My Cousin Vinny” into the conversation two weeks before Rudy did, and hardly in the same context: Poor Fred Gwynne was a decent judge stuck between nitwits from both sides of the cultural divide, with (spoiler alert!) the outcome decided by a blue-collar city girl who knew an awful lot about […]
Tank McNamara (AMS) dips a toe into troubled waters this morning, with the joking suggestion that an NFL team that has finally abandoned its offensive name might consider a politically correct but absurdly clumsy one instead. By which I mean that I can’t imagine sportscasters saying “The Indigenous People” in place of the still awkward […]
Marty Two Bulls certainly has standing to make this observation, but I would point out that he’s saying something less about “cancel culture” and more about honest history. That’s not to say that a frank reassessment of our history might not require some adjustments, including settling some land claims in the case of Indians, and […]
I’d have been surprised if Marty Two Bulls had let the day go by unremarked, and he’s on point in calling out the idea that there was some time in our post-Columbian history that was truly “great.” America is a work in progress and after more than 500 years it’s appropriate to point out how […]