Cultivating: to loosen or break up the soil about (growing plants). Nothing to do with burying. Or planting. Yes, this is basically all the reaction I had to today’s lame strip. Other than noticing the weirdly non-specific sign in the background. After specifically and obviously being the Ohio MEA for years it makes me wonder if either Batiuk thinks he somehow has a global audience and needs to be non-specific or maybe he’s mad at the OMEA or what. Maybe if the strip was even slightly more interesting I wouldn’t be wondering about this.
I just love Becky’s “my soul died twenty years ago” expression in the second panel. Like, this gag is supposed to be funny, right? So shouldn’t be smiling? If not, if it’s supposed to be lame, shouldn’t she be rolling or eyes or looking exasperated? I mean the guiding philosophy behind this strip has been “I don’t care anymore” but it really doesn’t need to be seeping into the actual facial expressions of the characters.
Tag: Becky
Where Are They, Again?
Oh, Becky, I’m sure you can relate to this. It’s not like you took over your mentor’s job or anything.
These arcs seem like nothing but fan service in the weirdest way, so it seems a little weird to imply that it’s a useless degree or whatever’s going on here. Also, if you graduate and can’t find a job, you’re not an out-of-work music educator. You’re a college graduate.
Sorry, this is the best I can do with the material. Even the art is especially boring. Hey, a doorknob! Hey, Dinkle’s face seems to be melting away from his eyes! Whee.
This Is A Bad Sign
Oh thank goodness, no more Les.
Uh, Dinkle? Literally ZERO of these sessions have practical applications for you. You’re retired. You are no longer a music educator. The only reason I can imagine they still allow you to attend these conferences is because you pay for it. The only session that would be practical for you would be “How to step away and fade into the sunset and let the current band director do her job, it’s almost as if a certain writer can’t let go and is terrified of having his Dinkle crutch”.
Chop Fooey
Sigh. I have to assume that this is a play on musicians “busting out” their musical “chops” or possibly an attempted malaprop or maybe even both. I’ve been pondering it for ten seconds now and it’s another ten seconds I’ll never get back. Thanks, Tom. Nothing’s ever easy in this daffy Funkyverse of his, you know? It’s either a tedious, grueling plod to a barely-perceptible resolution or it’s a really dumb sort of ambiguous gag that takes a half an hour to get. This one-time Pulitzer nominee (fluke thing) can’t just tell a story or crack a joke, you have to wade through layer after layer of nothingness to get nowhere instead. Bah, humbug.
Key Of (zzzzzzz)
Blech. As if we needed yet another reminder of how utterly unfunny Lefty is. Why is Dinkle even there? Is he like the official WHS underminer or something? I mean it’s a school, not the local Moose Lodge, you can’t just hang out there all day years after you retired. And wasn’t there just a whole Becky/Dinkle arc just a few short weeks ago? God help us all.
Son of Stuck Funky 