It's the Day's Day of Days! Because Kamen Rider Black RX.
There was a time when an event like the debate would have merely gotten smug gloating from Muir. Now it's smug gloating filtered through an indecipherable jargon that sees anything that isn't bigotry as evil.
As always, the peanut gallery amazes me. To them, Joe looking weak in the debate is just proof of yet another overarching conspiracy where the debate is "rigged" because the Dem Party wants to get rid of him (and install Gavin and Michelle, I guess). Again, it must be exhausting to live in their world, with a sinister plot behind every corner. Of course, I'm terrified that Trump will get re-elected, so it's exhausting to live in my world too....
ReplyDeleteThat it is. The difference is, we're constantly rending our garments over things that are actually happening. THEY"RE in constant freakout mode over what are basically vast gaps between empirical facts that they fill in with conspiracy theories and paranoid delusions. It may be awful and exhausting to be us, but you know what? At least our view of life isn't paranoid, hateful, Machiavellian and ugly like theirs is.
DeleteHey --- this may not be quite relevant to today, but it's the only venue available to bring this up anywhere.
ReplyDeleteI have always been baffled by a couple of early DBDs. Maybe one of you can explain them to me.
11/5/2002
"If that's the case, why hasn't Gore gone public?"
What does Jan mean by "going public" in this context? Obviously it's a setup for Damon's pun/punchline acting as a jab as Gore's supposed hypocrisy, but I don't get what the setup itself actually means.
11/6/2002
"I hate digital technology."
What does "digital technology" have to do with Damon doing simple arithmetic and counting on his fingers? I've never been able to make sense of that punchline.
Also...
I don't understand what that green thing is that Zed was often fussing around with, including in the first installment. If I didn't know this was 2002, at casual glance I'd assume it was a smartphone. But given that it WAS 2002, I'm not sure it makes sense that it would have even been a FLIP phone. What could you really do on a 2002 flip phone besides call people with it? Can't remember anything else. (I didn't have a cell phone at all until 2003, actually, but I'm assuming there hadn't been some miraculous technological downgrade from the prior year.)
So what is it, then? A calculator? Why would he always be fussing around with a calculator?
A handheld video game? I don't think so.
I have no idea what that thing was supposed to be.
Okay, I can cover this.
DeleteThe first one is the classic clumsy Muir setup line. Even that early, Muir frequently had characters saying incomprehensible gibberish to set up the joke.
The second one is a pun. Damon is counting Sam's age on his "digits".
Finally, as for the mystery device--your guess is as good as mine. Flip phones did in fact have other functions, but nothing too elaborate. It honestly seems to be a classic prop--something for Zed to hold that can symbolize him doing some business during a chat.
I don't understand that "Gore going public" punchline either.
DeleteI squinted for a while at that green thing...it looks for all the world like every time Zed holds it in his hand, he's punching something in with his finger, so some kind of tech seems likely.
In other news, I'm spending way too much time analyzing this strip...heh.
(1. Well, it sure does SEEM like gibberish. No matter how I look at it, I can't make that "gone public" make any kind of sense within the context of the exchange.
Delete(2. If you're right about what the "digital" in question means, that is an INCREDIBLY stupid joke. Far beneath the level of wordplay he's capable of (one of the few things he's genuinely talented at).
(3. Sure, but "doing business" on what?
I guess it could have been one of these early 2000s devices that were more common in office use at the time. (Got here from googling "Blackberry" which I remembered Obama had made a big deal about reluctantly having to give up in 2009.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartphone#History
As I said, Muir's done this from the start, had characters spout clumsy setup lines to get the appropriate witty response, and he continues to do this. As for the digit pun--yeah, I never said it was particularly clever.
DeleteFinally, I think the Blackberry suggestion fits the bill. Again, this is largely a prop so Muir can draw Zed doing things and also, not have to draw his hands to detailed.
Another reason for all the coffee drinking.