Duane
February 16, 2013 at 3:30 pmThis whole week’s story should have just been done in ONE Sunday comic, not wasting a whole week.
Indubitably! In fact, today’s strip packs about as much entertainment as did the six strips that preceded it, which is to say, none.
You would suppose that the two people who accompanied Harry to this convention might already be seated in the front row. Instead, Harriet and Becky arrive “just in time” for Harry’s session.
On Thursday TB made a joke at the expense of trombonists; today it’s the flautists’ turn. I suppose that only those who play flute, and not brass or percussion players or the rest of the woodwinds, are prone to “diva” -like behavior, and to such an extent that an entire session is devoted to their special “care and handling”? For the second day in a row I must Google for context, and, unlike “liquid sound”, the term “flute diva” does yield some results that might relate to school bands, and even some merch.
For better or for worse, reading and commenting on Funky Winkerbean every day for nearly three years has enabled me to pick up on Batiuk’s jokes, however weak, and his references, however obscure. It’s kind of a challenge to search the web for background on what goes on in this strip. Having said that, today’s strip has me at a complete and utter loss.
Googling “liquid sound” turned up a bunch of results, but nothing really relating to school bands or music education. Wikipedia talks about “a method of attaining underwater sound reproduction of music or meditative sonorities in swimming pools, combined with lighting effects.” There’s a liquidsound.com website. I found lots of images of fountains made of musical instruments, but not any that were on display at a music education convention.
I finally decided that it’s just TB once again indulging his fetish for musical instruments being doused in water.
Don’t know if the book signing‘s been canceled or if it just hasn’t taken place yet. Meanwhile Harry and Becky view the wares on display, including “a GPS system for your trombone section.” Because if you’ve seen Animal House, you remember that trombonists have a terrible sense of direction.
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Happy Valentine’s Day from SoSF! |
Today we learn that Harry’s not just in town to “compare notes” (HA!) with his fellow music educators…in addition to being a retired band director, Harry’s also a member of that most esteemed class of humankind: Author and Signer of Books! Get ready for the sight of adoring music teachers queuing up for their personally autographed copies of Vol. II (!) of Dinkle’s autobiography. And what does Harry have in common with Les Moore, Westview’s other A&SOB? Why, both have published books with the same titles as those by Tom Batiuk!
Son of Stuck Funky 
