Recent Comments

1. 12 days ago on Heart of the City

   Do kids really need “help” to get into a PG-13 movie these days?

   I’ve remained under the impression from my long-ago youth that theaters don’t check the age of ticket-buyers until you get to R-rated movies. But perhaps kids are more restricted these days — ?

2. 24 days ago on Warped

   A great tribute to Richard Thompson’s genius, gone way too soon. Thanks, Michael!

3. 26 days ago on Edge City

   I have the good fortune to live on a semi-rural road with beautiful views of the nearby mountains.

   I also have the misfortune to live on a road that is chosen for multiple charity bike rides each year (not to mention weekend rides by smaller groups of cyclists). While I usually support the charitable purposes of the rides, they make life difficult if I, say, want to go to the grocery store.

   Our road is very hilly, with sharp bends throughout. Even very experienced cyclists have trouble going more than 2-3 MPH on long stretches. Imagine what a less experienced cyclist like Len can (or can’t) do, riding a bike for the first time in a long while, without much training beforehand. And multiply that one cyclist by the 50 or 100 usual participants.

   They make our road almost impossible to use for everyday purposes. You’re pretty much forced to follow the cyclists, going at most 5 MPH, because the road’s curves and the cyclists riding (inconsiderately) all over the road (instead of single file) make it impossible to pass them safely.

   It seems like the organizers of these bike rides don’t know what they’re doing. Somehow, the word has gotten round that our road is good for these events, and the organizers send out dozens of out-of-shape riders, without checking out the route and seeing that it’s way too difficult for most riders. One time we came upon about 50 riders in one group, all going about 2 MPH. The organizers should have known better than to allow such a large group to essentially block the road by starting all at once.

   Again, I appreciate the good intentions of the participants of these charity rides. I just wish the organizers would instead use the nearby bike trail, which is level and would be much easier for the average rider. And wouldn’t disrupt the lives of the people who aren’t part of the ride.

   Thus endeth my harangue…

4. about 1 month ago on Heart of the City

   Thanks to all for the replies. As someone with only limited contact with today’s kids, it’s interesting to get a perspective on how they view their lives as stories.

5. about 1 month ago on Heart of the City

   Do kids today really think of their lives as if they’re TV shows, structured as a series of story arcs?

   Seems more like someone writing about kids, rather than something kids themselves would actually do, but I’m no expert on kids…

6. about 1 month ago on Warped

   A very nice tribute!

7. about 1 month ago on Stone Soup

   Several years ago, I worked in an office with a receptionist whose desk was by the outer door to our suite. Besides greeting visitors, she answered our shared main phone line and connected the calls to the called person.

   We found out just by chance that if a call came in for a person she had noticed passing her desk on the way to the bathroom in the outer hallway, she was telling the caller that the person would be right back because he or she was in the bathroom.

   She didn’t mean to embarrass anyone, of course, but one of the supervisors had to explain to her that reporting bathroom trips to callers wasn’t necessary—that she should instead just say that the person would be available for the call in a few minutes.

8. about 2 months ago on Warped

   Good comic!

   But does anyone, besides cartoonists, still use white-out or Liquid Paper?

9. about 2 months ago on Peanuts

   Linus’s punch line has real wit — not that I ever doubted Schulz’s ability in that regard!

10. about 2 months ago on Peanuts Begins

    I like the way Schulz shows a couple leaves drifting down, as they would be on October 3, when this strip was originally published. That’s real care with details, especially given that he probably drew this weeks ahead of time.