Home Slide Snooze
It has been a long time since I have seen a slide show done in someone's home showing their vacation. I think the last one I saw was in my uncle's house in Iowa, back when I was in 5th grade, so that would have been about 1973, I think. My uncle had gone on a vacation somewhere, and he pulled out the carousels and the slides of the vacation and proceded to put me into a stupor. I cannot imagine how dull an Elly and John slideshow would be.
Since, the last time I sat down to see someone's vacation it was recorded on a videocamera and that was back in 1993, I think. It was memorable to me, because the couple had gone to Germany, and visited one of those beaches where you can wear a lot less clothing, and the wife of the couple showing us the video did not realize that there were pictures of her wearing next to nothing. Her embarrassment made the rest of the video showing interesting.
However, even though today's For Better or For Worse technically shows the age of the author, what is even more telling are the organizational schemes being proposed by John and Elly. Picture-taking is usually event-oriented. In the panel that says "Your Graduation, Our trip to Mexico, Michael's First Birthday, etc." that makes sense. What makes less sense is arranging the pictures by people, unless John and Elly made it a point to take model shots of the people they knew over time. Otherwise you end up in situations like, "Here's a picture of Liz at Michael's fst birthday. Should that be in Michael's first birthday stack or in the Elizabeth stack?" It makes me wonder if Lynn Johnston has ever actually organized her slides.
Ultimately, it does not make any difference, because they are only means to get to the final punch line, "get our lives in order." And that is funny because...
Since, the last time I sat down to see someone's vacation it was recorded on a videocamera and that was back in 1993, I think. It was memorable to me, because the couple had gone to Germany, and visited one of those beaches where you can wear a lot less clothing, and the wife of the couple showing us the video did not realize that there were pictures of her wearing next to nothing. Her embarrassment made the rest of the video showing interesting.
However, even though today's For Better or For Worse technically shows the age of the author, what is even more telling are the organizational schemes being proposed by John and Elly. Picture-taking is usually event-oriented. In the panel that says "Your Graduation, Our trip to Mexico, Michael's First Birthday, etc." that makes sense. What makes less sense is arranging the pictures by people, unless John and Elly made it a point to take model shots of the people they knew over time. Otherwise you end up in situations like, "Here's a picture of Liz at Michael's fst birthday. Should that be in Michael's first birthday stack or in the Elizabeth stack?" It makes me wonder if Lynn Johnston has ever actually organized her slides.
Ultimately, it does not make any difference, because they are only means to get to the final punch line, "get our lives in order." And that is funny because...
posted by howard at 9:44 PM
22 Comments:
John's little joke about putting their lives in order is funny on two levels. First, their lives have never been in order. What's more, they never will be because they actively resist the steps needed to do so. Second, he's too dim to realize that he's just implied that Jim will be attending their funerals instead of the other way around.
When April was a young 'un and Gramps was living with the Pattersons, there was a strip where Jim was viewing slides and April asked why there were none of her. Elly (IIRC) told her it was because they made the switch to video when she came along. But Lynn won't let continuity get in her way, will she? And "Our trip to Mexico"? You'll have to be more specific--it's not as if they've only vacationed there once.
My dad's an artist, so my earliest experience with slides was to see his art work as he worked out which pieces to include in a collection. And he also taught art history, so he'd put together sequences of famous works for his lectures. I remember being a bit surprised when I first learned that people used slides for pictures of people. :)
aprilp_katje,
Elly (IIRC) told her it was because they made the switch to video when she came along.
Have we ever seen Elly using a video camera? I know we have made the move to digital, from those sequences where April's friends would shoot pictures of themselves and then laugh at what they shot; but I don't recollect a video camera.
By the way, I think your take on April's Real Blog is right on target. I would put money down that the reprint from the beginning sequence will be framed by Elly doing a slide show presentation.
dreadedcandiru2,
Thanks for explaining the funny, although it is not really tickling my funny bone.
I would put money down that the reprint from the beginning sequence will be framed by Elly doing a slide show presentation.
"Hey, kids! We're going to start a SLIDE SHOW now. It's going to last.... FOREVERRRRRRR!!!!!"
The first and last panel in today’s strip struck me the most. I took it to mean that LJ’s personal life is in disarray, that she’s stuck carrying the entire burden, and that she is now trying to get her life together. (Obviously this Cool-Aid Mom has been reading too many of your posts…)
PLEASE, not a week of old slides!
Anon NYC
PLEASE, not a week of old slides!
There's hope since Sunday strips are not usually used as lead-ins to the daily arcs. Not that she won't bring the slides into the dailies at some point--but we might, at least, have a reprieve for a while. :)
It didn't tickle my funny bone that much either. That's because nothing much really happened today. Come to think of it, nothing actually going in is the problem I've had with the strip lately. It's like the engine that drives the plot is stuck in neutral.
It's hilarious, because it implies that John and Elly plan to die soon. Which would make this strip a hell of a lot funnier.
Also, my first reaction was, "What do you mean, TRIP to Mexico? Don't they go every flippin' year?!?"
I am deeply grateful to come from a family that understands the fundamental truth in life: NOBODY ELSE CARES ABOUT YOUR STUPID HOME MOVIES/SLIDES/ETC. I never had to watch home movies or see slides because nobody in our family or social circle made them. They took a few pictures for their own enjoyment, and that was it. Thank God! Fortunately, my friends also feel this way. I think the ones with kids may tape dance recitals for the grandparents, and that's it. When I visit, I'm not expected to watch movies of their vacation or their trip to the zoo or even of the dance recital. Hallelujah.
My guess is, none of the Patterkids will want those slides. Well, Mike might. But Liz wouldn't like anything beyond her "Nizzie" years ("I look like a dog! I hate my hair! I'm too fat!!!") and poor April probably doesn't feature in any of them anyway.
qnjones:
That's the stupidest part of this whole strip: as I said on the Foobiverse, it's an exercise in pointless busywork. I honestly think that Elly blew thousands of dollars finding a lab to process photographic negatives into slides that no human eyes will ever see after they slam the crematorium doors on her and John's feet. This tells me why Mike is soooo pooooor: his parents are brainless spendthrifts too.
Also, my first reaction was, "What do you mean, TRIP to Mexico? Don't they go every flippin' year?!?"
Yes! This was my reaction, too. Which friggin' trip to Mexico? These idiots go to Mexico so often, there are pictures of them at the U.S./Mexico border, with a warning that people should run and hide if they happen to see these foobish gringos.
And it's just painfully cruel to subject Elly's children to pictures of the time she decided to get cornrows. Even Dubya wouldn't hesitate to label that as an illegal torture method that even the worst terrorists--or Mike--doesn't/don't deserve.
It was bad enough when they had to open that mess in their e-mail, without having to watch it again in slide form. :)
Has anyone else seen the picture Lynn has posted of herself under the "Studio Tour" portion of the website? I shouted, "Holy s--t!" when I saw it! She's decked out in a loud, red flower print blouse, unbuttoned and tied at the waist, and has struck what she must mean to be a "come hither" pose. It SCREAMS "desperate 60-something single woman"! Sheesh Lynn, try to maintain some dignity!
Be nice, qnjones! I’d say more like Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard.
“All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up.”
Anon NYC
The best part of being an adult is that I don't have to be nice if I don't want to! That photo is frighteningly obvious.
Lynn also looks like she's lost weight.
Yeah, it's called "the divorce" diet.
Yes, but because I'm not nice, I wonder if she lost weight because she was depressed and not eating, or if she lost it because she's on the make, looking for a new man. The clothes and the pose in that picture make me think it's the latter.
Why shouldn’t a 60-year-old divorced or widowed woman or man--especially someone who had a reasonably good marriage--try to find a new partner?
Good luck Lynn!
Anon NYC
Did someone say that she shouldn't? I certainly didn't.
I do think that picture makes her look ridiculous and desperate, though.
qnjones,
I think the Halloween costume picture was even better, but I don't think I can find a reference to it anymore. However, just to start a vague rumour, there was that mysterious reference to Follis Shoes, owned by a John Follis, who did also get an honorary degree from Nippissing University, just like Lynn Johnston did. Was Lynn trying to support a local business, OR did she have a different motivation? Hum?
Yes, let's start some rumors. The outfit Lynn wears in the picture is clearly cruisewear (gaudy flowered top, white pants). So perhaps Lynn and Mr. Follis are planning to retire to an island in the Caribbean along with her vast fortune, someplace with bank secrecy laws and no extradition or reciprocity treaties, before Rod can get his hands on half of the cash--?
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