See You In The Funny Pages

No, I'm not closing down the blog.  I'm just going to tell you about two comic strips that I've stumbled across recently that may bring a smile to your face and a little laughter to your sick, twisted, demented heart.

Coincidentally, they both reuse artwork.

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The first one is called Last Kiss.  John Lustig, a former comic book writer for Disney, bought the rights to some old romance comic books, and rewrote the dialog and had them re-colored.  I guess this is what happens you write Donald Duck stories.  After a while, your mind kind of… SNAPS!

Here's a few examples:

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The second one is called That Is Priceless (@ Go Comics) / That is Priceless (@ blogspot).  Steve Melcher has won two Emmys for comedy writing.  He's taken some great masterworks, and retitled them for the modern day.

		These two were Cora's favorites.

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See, recycling isn't just for those damn dirty hippies.

Happy Anniversary

So, I haven't been blogging as much these days, but this summer, I totally let two big ones slip by.  I didn't even realize I'd missed it until recently.  The thing is, the kind of bookended my 3rd wedding anniversary, so I totally flaked.

25 years ago, July 1, 1988 – I moved to the Chicago area.

25 years ago, July 5, 1988 – I started my first real job working for Arthur Andersen.

I still remember the move up:

• Hot as blazes, hauling my stuff up to a 3rd floor walkup.
• I moved everything up in a pickup truck and hatchback (now it would take 2 moving trucks)
• I had a 9" color TV, a C-64, a king sized waterbed, and 3 suits.
• Having to go to the gas station to use the payphone.
• The radio station, 97X, was doing a stunt called "Topless Weather" from their rooftop ("Tar Beach") with a buxom listener going to the edge of the roof, and reading the weather.

I still remember those first days of work:

• Hot as blazes, heading downtown in my suit and tie.
• Living of Patio frozen burritos and Lean Cuisines.
• Not knowing a soul at the office.
• Losing my wallet and train pass (link).

Life's really changed tons since those days.  It's seems like yesterday, but it was really half a lifetime ago.  The best part about being that guy at that time?  Those times and those experiences led me to where I am today.  And if I knew then where I'd be now, the then me would be stoked.

And I would tell him to buy Apple stock @ under $10.00 a share.

Flag–You're It!

Does your city/town have a flag?  Most medium and up sizes cities seem to.  It's a form of civic branding, I guess.

And some brands images are just stronger than others.

I live in Chicago, and we have a pretty good flag.

There's all kinds of symbolism in the blue and white stripes, and each star stands for an event and each point a virtue.  Yada-yada-yada.  (Link for details.)

And I'm the only one who thinks so, the North American Vexillological Association conducted a survey in 2004, and Chicago came in second.  And then there's the vote of the residents.  To say you see the Chicago city flag everywhere is an understatement.  And I'm not simply talking in front of city hall and on police uniforms, either.  I mean everywhere.

You see it on all kinds of clothing and decorations and tattoos.

And you see its motif riffed all over the place, too:

	This one is for you, Joshua.

It's so common, that a few months ago, when I was talking about how ugly the Illinois flag is, Cora was confused.  I was talking about how it looked like it was drawn by a 5th grader.  I started talking about the clunky eagle and the rock, and it became clean quick that we weren't talking about the same flag.  She'd just seen the Chicago one all over the place, and hadn't see the Illinois one:

that she just presumed that it was the state flag.

But no matter how ugly your city flag is, it's probably not the hot mess that is Chicago's neighbor to the north Milwaukee.

I mean, that would hurt like a mofo to get tattooed on your bicep.

Logan's Rum

I know I posted this last week on Facebook, but for both of you who read here but not there, and to provide a little backstory (and to put some decent content out on the blog), I'd thought I'd repost it here.

So, the other evening, after another long day in a string of long days, I was riding the L home.  The 30 something across the way had a blue re-useable shopping bag with a logo for a charity even called "Logan's Run".

I remember thinking, "It's so tough, it will kill anyone over 30."  And I wondered if she even knew of the movie that the bag was riffing on.

And then I thought, "I could sure use some 'Logan's Rum' about now.".  Sandman myself.

Not having my own distillery, this is the best that I could brew up.  It was harder to find a decent looking booze bottle to mod than you would expect.  All had horrible watermarks all over them.

Smooth Move, EX-LAX

Have you ever played the French card game, Mille Bourne?  As you drive along, you can either advance your cause my playing mileage, or you can try to thwart your opponents with a "hazard" card.

But, you run the risk of having that attack ricochet back on you in the form of a "coup-fourre".  I recently saw someone coup-fourre themselves.  He didn't have to do it.  He'd been warned to change his approach, but in the end, he was the source of his own doing.

Hoisted on his own petard if you will.

Now I know what you're thinking, "What did Cora's EX do this time."  Nope, not him.  He's been quiet as of late.  (And he has read this blog on occasion, so there's that, too.)

No, this is about a temporary boss I had.  He only "worked" at my company for about 4 months.  And by that I mean, "collected a paycheck" not "was in his office performing any actual work."  In 4 months, I'm certain he didn't put in one full week of 5 X 7 hour days.  (Yeah, 7 hour days.)

Now, I'm reporting to a friend of mine who I've known across 3 companies for about 23 years.  Not too excited about this.  Now we've each lost the one person at work who we could safely bitch to.  And there's a big project that's behind schedule because of the previous boss, and she's trying to get it back on track, and I'm already working from 8:00 to 6:00, and things are only going to get worse.

Sigh.