Was not expecting today’s strip to be a standalone gag, but I guess we should be grateful for some respite from Bull’s swan song. And it’s been a while since my high school band days, but we didn’t start practicing Christmas music until football season was almost over. Speaking of football, we’ll get back to Bull’s plight on Monday; the good news is that your guide will be Epicus Doomus!
Tag: Westview High School
The Les You Know-Part 6
Link to today’s strip (eventually).
Saturday’s strip was unavailable for preview, but we all know we’re going to get another Kids Today Are Terrible lesson.
It’s funny (in a peculiar way) how Les has spent an entire week telling the kids what a newspaper is, and this hasn’t dissuaded him at all from his plan of having them write for one. Of course, has he really gone into any details of what the kids should be writing about–their experience at the fair, the stories of the folks running it, an overview of events…no, apparently “You’ll write for the paper” is all the instruction he intends to give.
Now, I haven’t seen the strip, so it’s possible that Batiuk’s baiting us, and that Saturday’s egg will be jam packed with informative and insightful content. But, you know, trolling people for five days sounds stupid, not to mention “informative and insightful content” takes actual work–something Batiuk seems loathe to do.
I guess we’ll all find out together!
The Les You Know-Part 5
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?
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
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!
Son of Stuck Funky 