Comic Strip Grand Slam (2 of 4): Be Aware of Ticks When You Go on a Picnic

Greetings again, for today's entry, we take a look at the Sunday comic strips as published in the June 15th issues of "The Washington Post," which has amazingly remained in tact since Amazon.com billionaire Jeff Bezos took over the newspaper a few months ago.

Some of our favorites this week included the Danish import "WUMO" which made fun of animal rights PETA activists going for an outdoor picnic and not being allowed to go after wasps, hornets or ticks (pictured above), which might be enough to make one not take a picnic at Hawks Nest Park in West Virginia.

"The Argyle Sweater" took a great swipe at American cowboys who were called Texas Strangers (as opposed to Texas Rangers, no we're not talking about the baseball team).

"Speed Bump" imagined Superman taking a vacation, while "Dustin" showed a dispute over who gave a famous quote (Winston Churchill or Mark Twain). Meanwhile, "Reply All" showed what can happen when a hipster chick decides to let her thoughts drift during a yoga class while "Brewster Rockit" showed the consequences of a stupid mistake in outer space.

Lastly, Keith Knight provided a wonderful Father's Day strip in "Knight Life"  as he showed an unusual way to reassure little boys that there are no monsters under the bed.

Here is our top ten:

1. WUMO

2. The Argyle Sweater

3. Speed Bump

4. Dustin

5. Reply All

6. Brewster Rockit

7. Knight Life

8. Sherman's Lagoon

9. Lio

10. Prickly City

http://www.gocomics.com/wumo

http://www.gocmocis.com/speedbump

http://www.washingtonpost.com/comics

We Are Suffering from Blogger's Block

Yes, this bout with blogger's block reminds me of the days when I taught English as a Second Language at a minimum-security prison in Yanceyville, NC, just across the border from Danville, Va. I should point out that I wasn't an inmate there myself!

But, hopefully, someone in Finland, Croatia or Iran is actually reading this, and hopefully that person realizes that even in America one can become bored and confused and somehow try to function!

Of course, people like Mark Twain, Nazim Hikmet* and F. Scott Fitzgerald never had to worry about blogger's block!

*- A famous Turkish poet who died in Moscow some 50 years ago.

The Rabbit Ears Quiz (12 of 12)_ Heidi, Girl of the Alps

Today, we close our series on tv shows which aired from the late '60s to the early '80s, with a segment that is actually dedicated to two Japanese cartoons, which were both based on classic German children's stories (we should point out that Heidi was actually written by Swiss author Johanna Spyris in 1880, but it was first published in German).

We'll start with "Heidi, Girl of the Alps," which was part of the anime "World Masterpiece Theatre" productions, which also included Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer. The Heidi cartoon ran for a full year in 1972; I saw in on the TRT (Turkish Radio Television) some five years later.

The legendary film director Hayao Miayazaki, now age 71, who directed the films "Spirited Away" and "Princess Monoke" was responsible for the Heidi cartoon's screen design and layout.

Isao Takahata, now age 76, who directed another acclaimed Japanese animated film "Grave of the Fireflies" (1998) about the horrors of World War 2, directed many episodes of the Heidi cartoon.

Another popular Anime cartoon was "Maya the Bee," which originally ran in Japan from 1975-76. It was based on the German book of the same name, which was written by Waldena Bansels in 1912.

"Maya the Bee" was also very popular in Europe. I saw in on the TRT, circa 1978, when I was eight years old, where it was known as "Ari Maya" (ari is the Turkish word for bee). The cartoon was also trendy in Greece, Israel and Bulgaria, as well as many other countries.

Both "Heidi" and "Maya the Bee" lasted for the exact same number of episodes. Today, we are asking what that number was.

Is the answer?:

A) 36

B) 42

C) 52

D) 60

http://www.animenews.com

http://www.funimation.com

UPDATE (July 5, 2012): The answer is C) 52

Quote of the Week- Mark Twain

Today, we conclude with our month-long quips from cultural radicals and subversives from Mark Twain. Though he is considered a mainstream author today, there have been various times when Twain's works have been considered controversial. The use of the n-word vernacular that was used quite often at the time of publication (1885) of Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" has caused a stir at times for some local schoolboards even though no could rationally suggest that Twain was a racist.

The Mark Twain House in Hartford, Conn., is among the most popular tourist attractions in the Nutmeg State.

Here is Twain's quote:

"A person who won't read has advantages over a person who can't read."

SIDEBAR ONE: Though I am a Democrat, David Frum, a former speechwriter for George W. Bush, is among my favorite politically conservative pundits as he talks in terms of broad pictures as opposed to the likes of Rush Limbaugh who today proclaimed that Barack Obama 'wanted Hurricane Irene to be a huge disaster.'

Of course, like most liberals, my favorite conservative pundit is (of course!) David Brooks, but Frum, who is also keen and objective in his commentary, is a close second.

Yesterday, Frum tweeted the following regarding how Hurrican Irene affected his weekend: "Side benefit from Irene: taking my daughter to see Declaration and Constitution at National Archive with no line at all. Unprecedented."

SIDEBAR TWO: Speaking of Hartford, I actually saw a Hartford Whalers bumper sticker in Roanoke, Va., today. This was interesting to me because the Hartford Whalers have not existed since the team left for the Tarheel State and became the Carolina Hurricanes.

As the 'Canes, the team won the Stanley Cup in 2006, which actually made some people in North Carolina pay more attention to hockey than NASCAR-racing. But, of course, since racing legend Richard Petty is from Randleman, NC, and the late Dale Earnhardt hailed from Kannapolis, NC, that didn't really last. Of course, their offspring is involved in the sport as well.

But, I found out some interesting information while googling the Hartford Whalers. The current minor league hockey team in Hartford renamed themselves the Connecticut Whale last year to honor the Hartford Whalers. And, ironically, the team's previous name was the Hartford Wolf Pack, which is the same nickname for North Carolina State University in Raleigh, where the Carolina Hurricanes now play (they temporarily played in Greensboro).

The Hartford Whalers existed from 1979-1997. And, they left, in part, because the likes of then-governor of Connecticut John G. Rowland, a Republican, didn't want to spend tax payer money on a new hockey arena for the team.

But, there is still an active group that wants to bring the Hartford Whalers back in one way or another (perhaps having a new team with that name, such as what happened with the Cleveland Browns in the NFL). And, The Whalers Watchers, as they are called, will meet in Hartford on Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m.

As for the Connecticut Whale, they have their home opener on Oct. 15

Quote of the Week- Mark Twain

Today's Quote of the Week comes from author Mark Twain ("Tom Sawyer") who is undoutedbly the pride of Hannibal, Missouri. We had a chance to visit the Mark Twain House in Hartford, Conn., in 2007, which is an impressive 19-room mansion. Twain was also an inspiration for the late animator Chuck Jones of "Bugs Bunny" fame.

Here is today's quip:

"A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds."

Quotes of the Week_ Famous Agnostics

Since some kooky Christian group tried to infiltrate my blog (long story), I've decided to seek a modest revenge by posting quotes on my two respective blogs from two famous agnostics.


Today, we shall quote the always quotable Mark Twain whose home/museum in Hartford, Conn. (well, are there any other Hartfords?) is well worth the trek.

Here is the quote:


"Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society."