Matthew Distracts Himself

Political "Humor" Explained

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:39:00 -0500

Tom Toles in the Washington Post. November 4, 2009.

Uh huh. See, Republican supporters are mostly people who can’t afford Republican policies. That is, you have to be rich to benefit, and most of us Americans are not. No where is this more true than in the health care debate. The Republican plan is, essentially, to let rich people buy better care, while the rest of us deal with the fact that we cannot afford health care, and there is no relief in sight. Sadly, the Republican train is being driven by the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, who seem to have lost sight of the fact that Americans - and even Republicans - actually want real health care reform. Remember, health care reform was a very real part of the Republican presidential primary conversation, because people need relief.

I digress. And I guess it’s not that funny after all.

Count Your Cash

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:43:04 -0500

But mix it up a little. No one else in the world does it the way we do here in the states.

I wonder if there is anthropological interest in why we have developed very different ways of counting very similar paper currencies?

'The Wizard of Id' Explained

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:25:00 -0500

Parker and Hart, Nov. 12, 2009, via comic.com.

Something bad happened to the Wizard’s brother-in-law, and now the Wizard has to go the to the opera with his wife because his Brother-in-Law cannot use the tickets. The Wizard is so ego-centric and caught up in his own crap; he thinks he is the only one with problems - attending the opera is a fate worse than death - while completely ignoring the fact that his Brother-in-Law has an injured back!

It is funny more in the ironic sense than in the sense that suggests hilarity, and it speaks to all of us.

Notice the appropriate use of a semi-colon to separate two independent clauses up there?

The End of Rugged Individualism?

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:30:00 -0500

The Cash for Clunkers program has come and gone. It was not without problems, some of which persist (the vehicles received were supposed to be scavenged for parts and then destroyed, but there are so many parts to be salvaged that it is likely the deadline for destruction of the last vehicles will be missed by a full year). The list of most traded-in vehicles is interesting. People seem to be done with their SUVs and 4WD pickups. There are two models of Ford Explorer in the top ten, along with two Jeep models. Check it out:

Ford Explorer 4WD
Ford F150 Pickup 2WD
Jeep Grand Cherokee 4WD
Jeep Cherokee 4WD
Ford Explorer 2WD
Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan
Chevrolet Blazer 4WD
Ford F-150 Pickup 4WD
Chevrolet C1500 Pickup 2WD
Ford Windstar

If tanking sales and the above list were not enough to convince auto manufacturers that we are losing our desire to drive vehicles that have miles per gallon ratings in the low teens, look at the list of most-purchased vehicles for people participatin in the Cash for Clunkers program:

Toyota Corolla
Honda Civic
Ford Focus
Toyota Camry
Hyundai Elantra
Toyota Prius
Nissan Versa
Ford Escape FWD
Honda Fit
Honda CR-V AWD

The two “off-road” vehicles both get better gas mileage than any vehicle on the trade-in list.

The Thin Man In 1934, William Powell and Myrna Loy created the...

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:24:00 -0500

The Thin Man

In 1934, William Powell and Myrna Loy created the roles of Nick and Nora Charles in “The Thin Man,” based on a novel by Dasheill Hammett. There would be five more movies, at least two of which were reprised by the original actors for Lux Radio Theatre.

The audio above is the Lux adaptation of “The Thin Man,” which aired June 8, 1936, and was their 84^th screenplay adaptation. You can download others here.

Lux Radio Theatre used original actors whenever possible, in order to present fairly faithful one-hour radio adaptations of screenplays.

A Great Pastime

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:42:00 -0500

Fun for the whole family via xkcd

'Henry' Explained

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:56:00 -0500

“Henry” by Carl Anderson. Thursday, October 1, 2009.

Henry is at the zoo when he sees a sign. The sign depicts a human hand pointing the way, as such signs sometimes do. Henry thinks the hand should look more like it’s attached to a monkey’s arm, because it is pointing to the monkey house, and so he draws some hair on it.

Henry’s clever like that.

By the way, Carl Anderson was 67 when he was first picked up for syndication in 1932 as a cartoon. Anderson died in 1948, and the strip was thereafter drawn by Don Trachte on Sundays, until his death in 2005. On weekdays, the strip was drawn by John Liney, until his retirement in 1979. If you receive one of the 75 newspapers that still run “Henry,” as I do, you are seeing vintage strips, not new work.

What Did You Expect?

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:08:39 -0400

Eating out at 2AM on Friday night/Saturday morning in a college town is an invitation to long lines and drunken conversation. This weekend, I found myself in a Steak ‘n’ Shake in the wee hours. It was a choice - that or Denny’s. The lot at Denny’s was full, so I aimed for Steak ‘n’ Shake.

Steak ‘n’ Shake was full, too. And I mean full - wait for a table full.

I was seated next to a table full of young college kids fresh from a party (which was the topic of a very loud conversation). One young Jewish lady - which I mention only because she did. Ad nauseum - ordered a steak burger with everything. When it came and she started eating, the “everything” part started running down her arm. With disgust and vigor, she threw the sandwich on her plate and announced,

“This is unnecessarily messy!”

I fell out. I LOLed. I LMAOed. I barely avoided pointing and laughing.

Spiderman via atypyk

Fri, 22 May 2009 13:35:30 -0400

Spiderman via atypyk

Preto Velho via Giovanni Tabolacci Artworks

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:54:20 -0400

Preto Velho via Giovanni Tabolacci Artworks

Tetris by Erik Johansson.

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 07:25:00 -0400

Tetris by Erik Johansson.

via curiosidadesnanet.

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 11:34:21 -0500

via curiosidadesnanet.

via xkcd.com

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:29:59 -0500

via xkcd.com

5 Minute Mysteries from 1948, Episode:...

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:06:20 -0400

5 Minute Mysteries from 1948, Episode: “Zombies!”

Happy Halloween

I know - it’s old news. It’s still fun. And Harvey...

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:11:00 -0400

I know - it’s old news. It’s still fun. And Harvey Danger rocked. Maybe they still do, but i don’t get to see them much since i moved back to the midwest.

Candy Matson, YUKON 2-8208

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 21:22:00 -0400

Candy Matson was a female detective, created by Monty Masters. She was played on radio by his wife, Natalie Parks, in a total of 80 30 minute episodes. The show aired on NBC out of San Francisco.

Once a model, Matson became a PI to pay the rent on her penthouse apartment. She didn’t use her gun very often, but she sure could fill out a size twelve business suit.

Candy Matson - “Donna Dunham Case” April 4, 1949...

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 21:16:00 -0400

Candy Matson - “Donna Dunham Case” April 4, 1949 (pilot)

Giant Drag - “Wicked Game” - Chris Isaak

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:08:00 -0400

Giant Drag - “Wicked Game” - Chris Isaak

The Blue Beetle - Origin, Pt. 2

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:34:45 -0400

The Blue Beetle - Origin, Pt. 2

The Blue Beetle

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 09:55:00 -0400

The Blue Beetle aired from May through September, 1940. The radio show was based loosely on a comic book character of the same name. In the radio show, the Blue Beetle was a police officer who realized that the police couldn’t fight crime effectively without assistance. Like Superman, he’d duck into an alcove, and slip into his crime fighting suit.

Part 2 of the Origin comes tomorrow.