Tag Archives: Emily

Link to today’s strip.

I suppose it’s natural for Tom Batiuk to resent the decline of newspapers–they are, after all, his bread and butter.  And I can’t really argue with Les’ dismissal of Logan’s question–this crew has proven itself remarkably cretinous.  (How much of this can be laid at Les’ feet is a question studiously avoided.)  It still seems rather nasty-minded, though.

Plus, if they spend all their time on their smartphones and their Nintendos, being internuts and twitter tots, how are they going to know what a “gas station” is?

A high point is Bernie’s expression in panel two:  Whoah–you’re actually wanting to do extra work?  What’s wrong with you?

Link to today’s strip.

I’m not sure about the obscurity level of “above the fold.”  I’ve heard the phrase for decades, but I’ve heard a lot of things for decades so I can’t judge about whether it’s commonly known.  Thus, I am uncertain if the twins are supposed to be stupid or not.

Oh, who am I kidding, they’re Kids Today so of course they’re stupid…in myriad ways, too.

Les’ dialogue in the last panel is really odd, with all those ellipses, and the fact that it just peters out.  More evidence that Tom Batiuk just can’t be bothered with thinking how something should be constructed to convey meaning in the best way.  “Okay, back in the old days, a story appearing above the fold would signify importance.  Just like your stories will!”  I mean, that took maybe ten seconds of thought.

Think what it could have been if I’d had a whole year to refine it.

If you’ve ever watched a kitten playing with a toy, it’s a mad rush of whirling and pouncing, followed by batting to start the whole thing over again.  Tom Batiuk and his writing remind me of that same toy and cat, now at least a decade from kittenhood.  The cat takes a couple of desultory slaps at that once beloved toy before adjudging the playing process “complete” and returning to its nap.

Link to today’s strip.

Okay, perhaps Les’ students do know what a newspaper is, they’ve just never heard of the Westview Gazette.  Some communities will have a main newspaper, with local and national news, weather, ads, and so forth; they might also have a smaller, more-locally focused paper that’s a sort of “goings-on around town” thing.  They’ll have articles like “8 Signs You Should Replace Your Lawn Sprinkler” and “New Fish-Themed Restaurant Hopes to ‘Hook’ Diners.”  That could be what we’re talking about here, but leave it to Batiuk to absolutely refuse to be clear.

As for the joke…well, I can’t find one.

Update:  Well, I was wrong–the Westview Gazette is the town’s main paper.  And it has been for some time.  So, my attempt to excuse those darn kids’ ignorance was equally ignorant!

Link to today’s strip.

Okay, so the “joke” today is that kids are stupid and don’t know what a newspaper is.   Pretty typical of the “jokes” he makes when the setting is high school.  What I don’t get is that the Bleat crew, who make in-school videos, are also going to be writing copy for the local paper?  Can they do this?  Do they have any training?  It should be obvious that writing for a newspaper is not the same as writing for broadcast; I guess Batiuk feels that some of the crew wear headphones, so that’s like a hat with a “PRESS” card in it, so they can do both.  Right?

A podcast is probably more the Bleat crew’s speed, though I question the value of putting it on the county fair’s website.  County fairs do their best to be colorful and eye-catching, so a video would probably be much better.  (I’m assuming the Bleat crew could make a competent one.)  My understanding is that a podcast is an audio file of people chatting.   Would visitor’s to a fair’s website, upon seeing “Westview High Podcast,” click so they could hear “Look at the lights on that Ferris wheel!”  “And these hot dogs are great, I’ve already had forty!”?