Westview High School – Page 19

The Les You Know-Part 4

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.

The Les You Know-Part 3

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!

The Les You Know-Part 2

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!”?

The Les You Know-Part 1

Link to today’s strip.

Naturally, when “officials” are worried that the county fair isn’t going to get enough publicity, they’re going to call the most important man in town–and he’s going to work tirelessly to make sure other people do the work.

So, Les being Les, he’s volunteering his students without asking them first. And he’s also volunteering their parents to drive them to school that day, unless Westview has a number of bus runs. (None of these students look old enough to do solo car school.)

I am puzzled as to exactly what the students are supposed to be covering–people putting up stands, spreading hay, making sure power receptacles are turned on and that the porta-potties are visible? Most of the fun activity at a county fair would happen after school hours, and on weekends…unless the fair is being held when school is out, which is clearly not the case here. Let’s not even mention that the school channel is not a broadcast channel, so the only coverage the fair will get from Les’ class will never leave the high school. I’d think a bunch of posters would do just as well, but then, I’m not an award-nominated cartoonist.

By the way, Batiuk teased a “Funky-Crankshaft” crossover story, taking place at the fair. Prepare to dread!

Food Poisoning

Link to today’s strip

As usual, the Sunday strip wasn’t available for preview. Normally I would try to tough it out till midnight, just to make sure whatever horrors Sunday brings are properly commented on. However, the strain of trying to find amusement in drying paint has finally broken me, and I’ve come down with the Westview flu. Not as deadly as the Spanish flu, maybe, but virulent in it’s ability to sap me of energy, leaving me with a headache, and slightly nauseous. So pretty much what you would expect after spending two weeks with Les Moore.

Here’s hoping that it’s not able to be transmitted through the interwebs, because Beckoning Chasm is taking over for me tomorrow, and I’d hate to think I had contaminated the controls.

Goodnight, and Good Luck.