Monday May 31st

The comic:

There is no "classic" by Brad Wesner that is patriotic and sappy?

Why doesn't he have glasses on? The way his eyes are drawn, it doesn't look like he can see much.

Also, why does she care?

Unless she recommended the book based on its ending. (Shutter Island for example - though its last lines give nothing away.)

Sometimes I like knowing spoilers/endings ahead of time because it's fun to see how it all adds up - and I will watch or read something again going nah, it's not gonna happen and bam, it does. Also, while watching Bunty aur Babli, I get nervous each time they're on the train towards the end - will they go to jail or not?! My friend thought I was so batty because I told her I'd scene it 50 times and was still like oh no what will happen!

...I really get into movies.

Saturday May 29th

The comic:

This looks familiar.

Of course, the premise is so old and insulting.

Ha ha, men can't cook! Ha ha, they're eating pizza!

And take-out? I guess you save on a tip.

Meh. Stereotype, not funny, rerun not marked as such - grade F.

Another Hi and Lois Plugger Sighting

The comic:

I last sent a hand-written letter in 2006. It was sent with a check in gratitude to a friend who sent me a big box full of MAD magazines from the '70s and '80s along with the books.

And there is a thrill in getting mail in the mailbox... though you learn quickly that most will be bills and junkmail.

Comics where the characters don't age are so... weird when they talk about technology. I can't pinpoint why.

Though they don't age in Foxtrot and it works. I think it's because Bill Amend actually knows things about technology and pop culture.

This is just another way of saying "the old ways are best." I do want to send more mail to save the post office and mail on Saturday - I mean, Netflix may jack up their prices if there's no USPS anymore.

But a letter is touching - and so is a card. It's a sign you spent some money in addition to the thought. Though the best is a short note in a big box from Grandma that has candy and old family pictures and peppers that mom and her brother will fight over...

Anyway, this is non-soap opera comic without a joke or punchline. Or is it that we think progress is good, but it really isn't? I think most women, non-white Americans, GLBTQ people, people with disabilities, poor people, and on and on might disagree. Some old things are nice, but for the most part, we're always moving forward and it usually has good results. (I can't imagine my life a generation ago - no internet, shoddy psychiatric care, and college without the internet?! I saw the registration scene in "Back to School" and was quite shocked.)

Oh, I do have a point. Letters have their place. So does e-mail. So does texting. It's not a zero sum game, you can use all - nothing is stopping you.

The attitude I get from this comic and most Pluggers related to technology is that one (the older) is better - period. And the new ways are bad - period.

Text messages are awesome - one morning, I got a text from my mom (because I wake up after she's at school - and the reception for texts is better than that for calls in a lot of places) saying I was smart. It really made me happy. Of course, most days her texts "just" said that she loved me.

Friday May 28th

The comic:

How would the cashier know if he tried them on or now?

And why would she care?

Men are so lucky - 44 inches is 44 inches no matter what the brand. A 12 isn't a 12 everywhere and neither is a Large.

I hate trying on clothes (I get overheated, and it's so fun to see this perfect dress that you thought was near your size show off your tits if it can get up there), so I try to get comfy clothes that are labeled with letters and assume I need a L or XL. For something new or fancy (not a t-shirt or basic tank), I'll try it on.

I got new shorts last week and tried them on over my shorts... and tennis shoes. They fit fine.

Also, I am envious of people - no matter what their size - who don't have fluctuating weight and know their sizes won't change from year to year... or week to week. That's why I stick with sweats/yoga pants/whatever.

Though last time I bought jeans, I only tried on the first pair in the size that worked, then bought others from the same brand, so the sizes would mean the same thing. And they fit wonderfully! However, jeans hurt whether they fit or not, so... elastic.

Bah. Men's clothes seem so easy, but they do have a minefield in what's "acceptable" at work - just what is business casual? But men don't have big boobs, a big waist, and a small butt. Or the reverse. Curves are a bitch to cover without looking like a hooker or wearing something way too big - and then there are height issues...

And I haven't even wandered into the world of suits and work clothes.

Oh, where were we? Male Pluggers are smug lucky jerks. (Pluggers are smug by default. Except RhinoMan.)

I'm surprised they didn't go for the stereotype of having the wife do the shopping - some men honestly don't know their sizes, because the women in their lives have always shopped for them.

Oh! I just remembered a funny (and humiliating) sequence from The Agony of Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor.

Alice needs new jeans, and her older brother takes her shopping. He gets her many sizes and they don't fit, not even the smallest pair! She thinks she's a freak of nature, until a female sales associate tells them that she needs girls jeans.

So maybe we should do the shopping.

Does a long post make up for a... huh... only four days? It felt like a longer absence.

Monday May 24th

The comic:

Because he handles iron, geddit?

This isn't objectionable, it's not funny by any means, but look, he's got a job! They're talking about a movie that came out recently!

But you'd think Pluggers would enjoy comic books and movies made from them - don't Pluggers deserve 2 hours or so of escapism in some AC?

Monday May 10th

The comic:

Ha ha, Pluggers wear their pants up high!

This is what you kick off "classics week" with? Reed Hoover is a hack, but Brookins is worse.

Saturday May 8th

The comic:

His ears scare me. Also, going on the RhinoMan's story - he is at a friend or relative's house and they lent him decent pajamas. Or he broke in and put on the pjs and is raiding the fridge because his biggest fantasy in life is having a midnight snack. Ha, imagined poverty is funny!

Also, he's not thinking outside the box. If he was, we'd see an open cupboard (though the angles that would require showing more than RhinoMan and an open fridge in a blank void would probably break our heads) or at least the freezer would be open. That would be literal.

Is this supposed to be literal - he'll take food out of the box. Or is it, ha, Pluggers only think of food and that's funny because um, it just is.

No idea.



I'm not doing better health wise, but school is over (except for a 12 page paper, I just want to take an F, I'm so lazy) and I'm on the couch and the dogs need to be in. So mentally, I'm in a better place. So Monday, maybe?

Friday May 7th

The comic:

Pluggers have butts?

Pluggers have curves?

Pluggers don't have a Hank Hill butt? (And he is such a Plugger - so smug. He and Andy Griffith are total Pluggers - "real" folks and so damn smug.)

I think the point is "Pluggers are fat" and the drawing says "Pluggers are fat and it depresses them."

Or maybe this has something to do with guy jeans I don't get?

Anyways, Pluggers are fat! Hoo doggie, what a knee-slapper! Fat people are funny! I tell jokes and make people laugh, and I'm fat. Now I know they only laughed because I'm fat. (Or when I was sick and skinny, because they could tell the future and knew I'd be fat one day.)

Thanks Pluggers for clearing up my misconceptions! Now I know I'm nothing more than my hilariously fat body.

If "Pluggers are fat" wasn't funny, why would it be repeated on a regular basis?


That still doesn't mean this comic makes a lick of sense. Oh well, Texans. What can you expect.


ETA: Ha! "Fat jokes" are funny - Hagar the Horrible writer Chris Browne agrees with me! Or he wouldn't make one every week as well. It's so much fun breaking things and possibly hurting yourself, oh man, I'm going to laugh so much I might cry. Or punch the monitor.

Saturday May 1st

The comic:

Ahahahahahahahahahahaha - finally, the comic does its job. I can't stop laughing.

Wish they'd gone with the original name, because the Plugger could oh-so-innocently bring some tea bags to the tea party. (Someone must have finally told the teadiots about urban dictionary, le sigh.)

Hahahahahhahahahahahaha, shit I'm going to tumble off the bed soon.

Thanks, Marion!

Blogging Against Disablism Day 2010

Because of various issues related to my disability, I cannot sit down and write a post about Blogging Against Disablism Day or something in general, abstract. I cannot think properly due to pain and the side effects of medication.

So I'm throwing up a link to the site, which includes a round-up of various posts dealing with disabilities/chronic illnesses and how much society just SUCKS when dealing with them.


Blogging Against Disablism Day 2010

From my personal blog, I have three posts dealing with disability and disablism.

I've talked about my health since the beginning (it's why I started - to record my horrific experiences in a psych ward in 2006), but the first addressing disability and activism and such was in November of last year with "Spoon Theory and Me (It's all about me)".

Since then, I have had many posts mentioning my health and whatnot, but recently, I did two separate posts dealing with disabilist attitudes and health.

"Medication for Bipolar Disorder and TV Shows"

"Pajama Jeans and ableism"

Off to watch Dexter.