Jump to Conclusions or Jump the Fence
Remember that fence that Elly bought to keep the dog restrained from roaming the house freely? Remember you had to pass over the fence to get to the newspapers and cage where Farley is kept? Apparently Lynn has forgotten that, because in today’s For Better or For Worse, she has Elly quickly jump to the conclusion that pools of liquid found randomly in the house are dog urine. Elly has to go over the fence to punish the dog, and therefore she should realize that because of this very same fence she has had come to the wrong conclusion about Farley. Aside from ignoring this little detail, someone may need to inform Lynn Johnston that apple juice and dog urine do not smell alike. In fact, dog urine has a very strong, distinct odor to it, very difficult to confuse with apple juice. That’s the way it is in the States anyway. I can’t speak for good, Canadian dogs, like Farley, who urinates a sweet-smelling liquid easily mistaken for apple juice. I understand he also defecates gold.
posted by howard at 10:05 PM
10 Comments:
I wish my cats pissed apple juice. I love apple juice.
The proportions in panel 4 are weird again. At first, I thought the point of that panel was that Farley was cowering in the cage voluntarily while Elly fumed and cleaned up pee puddles. The cage appears, IMHO, to be in the background with Elly in the foreground. Only on the third read did I realize Elly was supposedly shoving Farley into the cage, and that they were both in the foreground.
Question: do kids these days get juice boxes at home? Most people I know/knew do not allow them at home because they are more expensive and create more garbage than pouring a cup of juice. My cousins allow their kids to have them, but my cousins are rich. So I thought this strip was weird. But maybe I'm out of it. I only know a few people with little kids right now.
qnjones,
The cage appears, IMHO, to be in the background with Elly in the foreground.
I didn’t take this view on the first reading, but now I look at this panel with that thought in mind, I can see how you might come to that conclusion. Farley’s body is drawn more cowering than of a dog who is being shoved in a cage. Plus Lynn Johnston has motion lines for Elly’s hands coming in front of the cage, making it look like her hand action is in front of the cage. The problem is that Lynn has drawn one puddle too many, and that does not leave her the space to draw the whole cage with proper room for motion lines. She could have left out panel 3, still gotten the point across, and left more space for a better-drawn panel 4.
Question: do kids these days get juice boxes at home?
Sure. I know plenty of parents who do that. My kids are big enough to pour their own juice from large bottles, but back when they were too little to pour their own juice or not tall enough to get water from the refrigerator dispenser, juice boxes were an alternative that allowed them the freedom to get their own juice when they were thirsty. They are more expensive and create more garbage, but on the other hand, it’s nice for the kids to have the independence of being able to get a drink for themselves, learn where they can drink those drinks, and how to properly dispose of the box. The weird aspect of juice boxes for Elly and company is that they did not exist back in 1980. They first appeared on the market in 1983.
The weird aspect of juice boxes for Elly and company is that they did not exist back in 1980. They first appeared on the market in 1983.
It's just another anachronism that Lynn will inadequately explain away. She wants to make the thing timeless so badly, she's wiling to ignore a trivial little fact like that for the sake of a gag. Besides, this is a minor quibble. The thing that gets me is that Elly is too stupid to tell apple juice from dog pee and thinks Farley is bionic and can jump three feet in the air.
dreadedcandiru2,
It's just another anachronism that Lynn will inadequately explain away. She wants to make the thing timeless so badly, she's wiling to ignore a trivial little fact like that for the sake of a gag.
I suppose in the grand scheme of things, we should be amazed that Lynn Johnston has even realized that there are such things as juice boxes and that they can be squeezed to make a mess.
So now the one-year-old is running around unsupervised with a juice box, including a straw she might injure herself with. Hooray for Elly's parenting. It's a wonder Liz lived long enough to ruin her life 25 years down the road.
(Bonus rude-sounding Word Verification string: "obulva")
Sheesh. And she did the juice-fountains thing later, when Lizzie went to first grade. I actually thought it was a cute child-making-friend bit, except now it's tainted by the thought that noname freckle-faced boy could be Larval Anthony.
I figured this interpol-quel was dumb because who gave the toddler the box? Can she really reach for one and get the straw ready? If she *can*, why hasn't she been taught what is and isn't appropriate use of a juice box?
Surely if she's been spilling from sippy cups, she would only be allowed a drink while being supervised, right? And you wouldn't leave boxes of juice where she could get them.
And then I remember this isn't about real parenting. It's reFOOB.
dlauthor,
So now the one-year-old is running around unsupervised with a juice box, including a straw she might injure herself with.
To be fair, Lynn did draw Lizzie to look a lot older than one. I would put her at least at 3-4 years old from the drawing.
InsertMonikerHere,
And she did the juice-fountains thing later, when Lizzie went to first grade.
A repeat joke done at more appropriate age in the original storyline. Why am I not surprised?
I figured this interpol-quel was dumb because who gave the toddler the box?
Good point. Lizzie would not be able to open a refrigerator yet. That means Michael or John.
Can she really reach for one and get the straw ready? If she *can*, why hasn't she been taught what is and isn't appropriate use of a juice box?
If she can she is very talented. Piercing the little hole on the juice box with the sharp end of the straw can be tricky.
Surely if she's been spilling from sippy cups, she would only be allowed a drink while being supervised, right? And you wouldn't leave boxes of juice where she could get them.
I believe young Lizzie has been shown with unsupervised drinking before.
And then I remember this isn't about real parenting. It's reFOOB.
Which is another way of saying, the important thing is that apple juice and dog urine look alike, and this justifies any lapse of logic necessary for Lizzie’s mess to be mistaken for Farley’s mess.
Yeah, I thought it was too early for juice boxes. I can also guarantee you that in 1983, none of my friends' parents allowed their kids to have them at home for convenience's sake, due to the expense. But then I figured, this is probably part of Lynn's whole "timeless" thing.
qnjones,
But then I figured, this is probably part of Lynn's whole "timeless" thing.
As insertmonikerhere pointed out above, Lizzie did have juice boxes some years later and what we are seeing is yet another variation of a situation previously seen in the strip.
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