In the Mood to Write
I was in the mood to write today. One long post after another. I decided to key off the “picking up and kissing” part of today’s For Better or For Worse strip and had all my characters have an instance that discussed that. Since the strip featured Michael, I decided to post as him commenting on April’s discussion of what happened. Normally when I post as Michael, I search across his monthly letters for dialogue he has used appropriate to the situation to help me match his style. Today was pretty difficult. Michael hardly uses any affectionate terms in his writing about his children, which I found a little surprising, considering how florid he normally is in those letters.
The other thing I used was the For Better or For Worse website’s celebration of grandpa Jim’s birthday. Never mentioned in the monthly letters in the website, but it has 2 Sunday colour strips devoted to the subject in 2004 and 2005. In the first one, the birthday party is being held at Jim’s apartment and the guests are supposed to be Mike and his family, but we don’t actually see them there, just Jim being cranky. In the second one, the birthday is held at Elly’s house with Iris, April, John and the two dogs in attendance. This is the one referenced in the website, where Jim falls asleep and imagines being fed, bathed, sung to, and foot-massaged by what appears to be a harem. I did not realize when I originally looked at that strip, when it breaks back out to reality and we see Iris rubbing Jim’s foot, that there is a guitar nearby, and fresh fruit. So, it is possible that Jim was actually fed and played to, but imagined it coming from his dream harem. I cannot explain the bath part though. I decided to snark this too, with the part of the foot rubbing. I went a little gross on the condition of Jim’s feet in order to draw a little humour out of the bath strip.
I have unfortunately had the nonhumourous experience with my beloved late grandfather. After my grandmother passed, he had apparently had an experience in his bathtub where he accidentally turned on the hot water, and was too panicked to turn it off before he scalded himself. He decided after that point, he was going to bathe only out of his sink, which is to say, wash his face and shave only. Because he was living by himself, it took awhile for his family to realize what was happening. The bath that occurred after that was not pleasant.
Tomorrow’s strip: Everything that is wrong about the Pattersons expressed in a single strip. It could not be more perfect. Clearly Michael and his parents have no affection for each other whatsoever, but at least Michael is helpful and polite. Their greeting was ice cold. Michael could just as easily been a man hired by the Pattersons to pick them up. And yet, the Pattersons pat themselves on the back for being good parents.
The other thing I used was the For Better or For Worse website’s celebration of grandpa Jim’s birthday. Never mentioned in the monthly letters in the website, but it has 2 Sunday colour strips devoted to the subject in 2004 and 2005. In the first one, the birthday party is being held at Jim’s apartment and the guests are supposed to be Mike and his family, but we don’t actually see them there, just Jim being cranky. In the second one, the birthday is held at Elly’s house with Iris, April, John and the two dogs in attendance. This is the one referenced in the website, where Jim falls asleep and imagines being fed, bathed, sung to, and foot-massaged by what appears to be a harem. I did not realize when I originally looked at that strip, when it breaks back out to reality and we see Iris rubbing Jim’s foot, that there is a guitar nearby, and fresh fruit. So, it is possible that Jim was actually fed and played to, but imagined it coming from his dream harem. I cannot explain the bath part though. I decided to snark this too, with the part of the foot rubbing. I went a little gross on the condition of Jim’s feet in order to draw a little humour out of the bath strip.
I have unfortunately had the nonhumourous experience with my beloved late grandfather. After my grandmother passed, he had apparently had an experience in his bathtub where he accidentally turned on the hot water, and was too panicked to turn it off before he scalded himself. He decided after that point, he was going to bathe only out of his sink, which is to say, wash his face and shave only. Because he was living by himself, it took awhile for his family to realize what was happening. The bath that occurred after that was not pleasant.
Tomorrow’s strip: Everything that is wrong about the Pattersons expressed in a single strip. It could not be more perfect. Clearly Michael and his parents have no affection for each other whatsoever, but at least Michael is helpful and polite. Their greeting was ice cold. Michael could just as easily been a man hired by the Pattersons to pick them up. And yet, the Pattersons pat themselves on the back for being good parents.
posted by howard at 11:07 PM
5 Comments:
Couldn't agree more on the way today's strip reflects on Mike's relationship with his parents. Ick.
The scary part is that Lynn probably thinks her protrayal is warm and endearing.
I know--I think we're supposed to love Mike and the wonderful parents who made him that way. ::retch::
There is oftentimes a disconnect between the author's intent and the works' reception. For there to be a better connection, there has to be someone or some persons impartial to feed this back to the author. I don't think there is anyone in Lynn's staff who provides this for her, even though it is clearly felt, given how the monthly letters often seem to be apologizing for the way the strip was done.
I wonder if the false stiltedness of the exchange is the part that's supposed to be funny? Sadly, I'm sure it's unintentional.
You are probably right, but every once in awhile I am convinced the strip is snarking itself. On those occasions, I wonder if FBoFW has moved into self-parody.
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