Our Top Ten Comic Strips from the Dec. 28th Sunday Roanoke Times

Greetings to our blog readers in Dubai, Nigeria and Indonesia....

This week, we look at our ten favorite comic strips from the Sunday Dec. 28th "Roanoke Times" in Roanoke, Va., which unlike "The Herald-Journal" in Spartanburg, SC, does NOT feature "Gasoline Alley.," but they do have "Hi and Lois," which once in a while cracks our top ten.

Our favorite comic strip is once again "Pearls Before Swine," as Stephan Pastis once again delivered a hilarious strip which once again deals with a dispute between Goat and Rat, two of the three main characters in the strip, along with Pig. This spat revolves around whether Rat wants to stay at his fenemy Goat's house or not....the alternative is, of course, staying in a hotel/motel (top image).

Second place goes to "Get Fuzzy," which is reportedly horror writer Stephen King's favorite comic strip, and this week's Sunday strip actually features "Catch-22" (middle image) and "Moby Dick," which are two novels King has not written (forgiven the English major humor).....

And. Dave Coverly's "Speed Bump" has a penguin meeting a polar bear, hence the reason for our image of Chilly Willy (bottom)...

Here is our top ten:

1. Pearls Before Swine

2. Get Fuzzy

3. Dilbert

4. Speed Bump

5. Agnes

6. Doonesbury

7. Non Sequitur

8. Zits

9. Family Circus (wow! Three weeks in a row.......?!)

10. Garfield

SIDEBAR: Here is the top ten from the previous Sunday (Dec. 21, 2014), which we never posted: 1. Pearls: 2. Get Fuzzy; 3. Agnes; 4. Doonesbury; 5. Dilbert; 6. Speed Bump; 7. Non Sequitur; 8. Jump Start; 10. Family Circus

For this week's Sunday Washington Post survey, go to our sister blog's link: http://nocturnalguy38.blogspot.com/2015/01/top-ten-comic-strips-from-sunday-dec.html

http://www.visitutah.com/

www.roanoke.com/

http://www.gocomics.com

http://comicskingdom.com/

http://www.goupstate.com

Yes, We Have Experienced Distractions

Since I have used the test pattern image from TRT (Turkish Radio Television) in the 1970s when I lived there from 1977-79 (though my late father was Turkish, I was born in America) and watched American shows such as "Space 1999" and "Flipper" many times on this blog, I thought I would go with the test patter from Bulgarian-TV around that same time. But, I had to settle with this test patter from Swedish TV instead. Somehow, I don't expect there was all that much difference between test patterns back then. Curiously, I'm not sure how often the test pattern comes up in the modern age. It could yet be another Casualty of Modern Technology.

Speaking of which, I just had to get up and change sides on a vinyl record version of "Stop Making Sense," a 1984 concert album from Talking Heads. I am now listening to "Once in a Lifetime," which may have inspired the Coen Brothers to make their quirky, dark comedies where a man's leg goes through a wood chipper in Minnesota.

While vinyl is making a comeback these days, so are zealous extreme forms of the Christian faith here in America. I respect people's faith, but when they start saying the world will end on Saturday (and, yes, there is a pretty significant group out there which has made this gloomy forecast), I think the rest of us have a Constitutional right to say: "Hmmmm...yes, you are insane."

Additionally, more businesses have actually implemented religion into the names of their hotels and restaurants, in addition to those that put "He Lives," "The Tomb is Empty" or "He is Risen" on their store marquees assuredly driving any Egyptian gas station managers to decide they would rather have a Whopper at Burger King.

Amazingly enough, there is apparently a restaurant called Jesus Kitchen, in North Hollywood, Calif., of all places.

And, if you want to make sure 'God is spending the night with you," then the Christ the King Motel in Kingsport, Tenn., a place I have seen for myself, might be the place for you as long as there are no Jews, Buddhists, Muslims or Hindus in your party. There is another Christ the King Motel in Beckley, W.Va., but we could not find out if the two places with the same name had the same owners. Assuredly, they may kick you out of your room if you come to the front desk to ask where the Coke machine is as you are dressed in a Slayer t-shirt.