Jon Arbuckle's Feet

Recently, I've been watching old episodes of Garfield and Friends, which originally ran from 1988 to 1994 on Saturday mornings. Some of it just doesn't hold up these days, especially the musical numbers about self esteem and such. Anyway, I noticed something pretty disturbing in one episode:

Jon Arbuckle only has 3 toes per foot.

You will never unlearn this fact.

Xmas Creep in Garfield

First, I will acknowledge that I'm perhaps one of the few people left who actually still reads Garfield.

Anyway the strip on Halloween ends with Xmas Creep! That's horrible! There are two places mentioning Xmas in October* is okay: craft stores and my house. In craft stores, you're selling things to people who need months to complete a project so it's fine to start those early. As for my house, I have Death Metal Xmas albums to make. To get it done on time, it's best to start in August. (I didn't start until October this year, so I'm already behind.)

Those are the two exceptions. Now let's not talk about Xmas again until December? Okay? Okay.

*This post is in November, so it's okay.

Twitter in Comics

Dear Cartoonists,

Please stop trying to be edgy and cutting-edge by referencing Twitter in your comics. It sucks and it's not funny.

Here are some examples:
http://www.gocomics.com/9to5/2009/08/10/
http://www.gocomics.com/speedbump/2009/07/09/
http://www.gocomics.com/speedbump/2009/07/20/
http://www.gocomics.com/nonsequitur/2009/07/20/
http://www.gocomics.com/nonsequitur/2009/06/13/

Another Stupid Non Sequitur

Non Sequitur did it again. ...So in previous strips this week, for whatever reason they decided to go to "Mars 3.5" which is "the twin planet to Earth." So the premise is stupid enough.

So anyway, my problem is that he activates the homing signal on his GPS.

What?

GPSs don't have "homing signals." I wouldn't have a problem with this one if he just said "I'm activating the homing signal," and was done with it. Why did he have to mention the GPS? This comic fails.

Yes, I realize that he's in a spaceship and there are dinosaurs/giant birds and the whole premise of this series of strip gives me a headache, but come on.

So I think I figured out why Non Sequitur tries to sound smart. Wiley Miller, the cartoonist, studied art, then worked for several educational film studios prior to becoming a cartoonist. He just thinks he's smart because he worked on educational films. It seems to me he just tries to throw in smart-sounding words every so often and it just doesn't work.

Related: What I Learned Today: Gravity Freezes Things?

What I learned today: Gravity freezes things?

(Click to embiggen)

You know, usually I like Non Sequitur, but today's strip hit one of my pet peeves: stupid people trying to sound smart and blowing it.

"The molecular structure of its liquidity..." If he's worried about the mud being solid, it's stupid to even use the word liquidity, which, I might add, is rarely used to describe something as being a liquid since it is typically used as a financial term. How about something involving the crystal structure or the altered physical properties of a solution? (Is mud a solution?)

"...coupled with gravity." I realize what the cartoon is attempting to say (i.e. jumping), but in panel 4 he doesn't mention jumping into the mud, only that he mud is frozen, implying that the gravity has something to do with the mud freezing.

Perhaps I put too much thought into my morning comics?

This is also why I can't stand that show Big Bang Theory. "WE'RE SMART AND HUMORLESS AND DON'T SHOW EMOTION. QUANTUM." I can't tell if the writing is bad or if the actors are just stupid. Someone please tell me they canceled it.

Coming eventually: When someone uses "I" instead of "me" to sound smart and it doesn't work.