Bizarro (11/7/09)

It might seem like the would-be taggers in this strip have made a mistake by purchasing white spraypaint, but they actually might have stumbled onto a goldmine. All they have to do is paint some rudimentary images on this igloo and put the whole thing up for auction. It might just go for a mint, like the outrageously expensive, white on off-white painting that stirred up such controversy in the play Art by Yasmina Reza. Of course, it’s hard to display an igloo inside one’s home, but I’m sure anyone who could afford an expensive art collection could also afford to build a meat locker devoted to housing their latest acquisition.

The Duplex (11/6/09)

This is a pretty awful pun, but it made me laugh. It’s also sage relationship advice. When something isn’t working, it’s best to just end things. To rip off the proverbial Band-Aid quickly instead of inch by agonizing inch. To hit control-alt-delete and force the non-responsive program to quit, if you will. But I’m sure the wisdom of the strip will be lost amidst the groan-inducing punchline. It is an awful, awful pun, after all.

Scary Gary (11/5/09)

It was only recently that I began keeping my bananas out of the refrigerator. Up until a few weeks ago, I would pack a banana with my lunch and put the entire bag in the fridge, not thinking that it would ruin the tender yellow fruit. And while an evening in cold storage didn’t turn the thing black, it did make it less appetizing to eat the next day, even after it had returned to some semblance of room temperature. Curiously enough, I was convinced to change my habits after reading a chain e-mail extolling the virtues of bananas and warning, quite sternly, that they should never be placed in a refrigerator. I guess those e-mails serve a purpose, after all.

Brewster Rockit: Space Guy! (11/4/09)

For all the times I’ve seen it referenced in popular culture, I’ve still yet to watch Ingmar Bergman’s classic art film, The Seventh Seal. According to critics, it’s a powerful and austere meditation on mortality that is genuinely thought-provoking. According to almost everyone else, it’s an impossibly pompous piece of cinema that’s ripe for ridicule. I suppose I should rent the film and judge for myself, although I’m not sure I’d be able to watch it without conjuring up images of Hungry Hungry Hippos.

Sherman’s Lagoon (11/3/09)

I’ve been on a number of boats in my life, but can’t say that I was taken with the experience of venturing out on the water. When I think back on my two whale watching expeditions, for example, I tend to recall things that have nothing to do with the ocean. My memories of playing gin rummy with my aunt or eating clam chowder with my grandfather are stronger than those of staring out at the water and waiting for whales to surface. Not that I wouldn’t go again in a heartbeat, but I’d be sure to bring a deck of cards and a good book to help kill the time.

One Big Happy (11/2/09)

As someone with a hyphenated last name, I can appreciate the usefulness of that particular piece of punctuation. It both separates and joins together the two parts of my last name, which are my mother’s maiden name and my father’s last name, respectively. And though my name can be difficult to explain, and even more difficult to spell, in the company of strangers and customer service representatives, it has served me well over the years. I’m just glad I don’t have to include my middle name in the conversation and that there’s no junior, senior, or esquire to contend with.

Wizard of Id (11/1/09)

Allow me to make a grammatical point that is probably not worth making: it is redundant to write “$500 bucks” with a dollar sign in front of the number 500. It would be sufficient to write “500 bucks” or “$500.” Otherwise, the phrase would be read as “500 dollars bucks.” It’s the same as saying “ATM machine” when the M in the acronym already stands for machine. I hate raising this point because, I found this strip to be genuinely funny and, grammar aside, quite worthy of praise.