The 3 Conjectures
In today’s reprint of For Better or For Worse, Connie Poirier is in the Jazzy Club, listening to Phil Richard’s band. The Warthog Good Times Boogie Band appears to consist of Phil playing what I think is supposed to be a trumpet (although it has no valves), a bass player playing what appears to be a giant guitar ( judging from the neck and body of that thing), and a balding man with a goatee playing what I think is supposed to be a trap set (although the cymbal is in the wrong place and the drum heads are not rotated towards the player). To be honest, the man on the drums could just as easily have a pair of pliers in his right hand getting ready to operate on a set of pipes. A real trap set looks like this and a real bass viol looks like this and a real trumpet looks like this, in case you want to see just how far off Lynn is.
Here we see Connie surrounded by silhouettes in a situation which, oddly enough, actually calls for silhouettes to be able to distinguish Connie from the crowd. I take a small comfort in knowing that at one time, Lynn Johnston really did know how to use silhouettes.
For fun, let’s examine Connie’s thought processes:
1. I feel foolish. What if he sees me! Connie starts off feeling foolish, because she does not know what will happen if Phil sees her there. To satisfy her curiosity on this matter, Connie begins to make conjectures about possible outcomes to this event.
2. If he sees me, I’ll die. Connie fears that the result of Phil seeing her will be her death.
3. If he sees me, I’ll go nuts. I’ll get up and leave! Connie fears that the result of Phil may not actually be death, but perhaps insanity, or maybe it will cause her to get up and leave.
4. When’s he going to see me?! Having speculated about 3 possible outcomes from the event of being seen by Phil (death, insanity, departure), Connie now wonders when that event will occur, so that she may be able to judge which conjecture she predicted will be correct. Having seen the strips coming up, I can tell you that Connie does live and Connie does not get up and leave. The result which is left is insanity. Yeah! I can believe that.
Here we see Connie surrounded by silhouettes in a situation which, oddly enough, actually calls for silhouettes to be able to distinguish Connie from the crowd. I take a small comfort in knowing that at one time, Lynn Johnston really did know how to use silhouettes.
For fun, let’s examine Connie’s thought processes:
1. I feel foolish. What if he sees me! Connie starts off feeling foolish, because she does not know what will happen if Phil sees her there. To satisfy her curiosity on this matter, Connie begins to make conjectures about possible outcomes to this event.
2. If he sees me, I’ll die. Connie fears that the result of Phil seeing her will be her death.
3. If he sees me, I’ll go nuts. I’ll get up and leave! Connie fears that the result of Phil may not actually be death, but perhaps insanity, or maybe it will cause her to get up and leave.
4. When’s he going to see me?! Having speculated about 3 possible outcomes from the event of being seen by Phil (death, insanity, departure), Connie now wonders when that event will occur, so that she may be able to judge which conjecture she predicted will be correct. Having seen the strips coming up, I can tell you that Connie does live and Connie does not get up and leave. The result which is left is insanity. Yeah! I can believe that.
posted by howard at 4:04 PM
8 Comments:
I can also believe that Connie is insane; what's more, I can believe that Lynn will replace the brush-off strip with a week of Phil calling her on her insanity and thus proving his evilositude. The same woman who can't draw musical instruments is going to be the same one who makes a man a baddie because he wants Connie to grow up, quit chasing rainbows and be grateful for the son she has.
Connie's seriously acting twelve. And like she's talked to this guy once, instead of having a pseudo-relationship with him for a year. Yep, she's insane.
DreadedCandiru2,
I can also believe that Connie is insane; what's more, I can believe that Lynn will replace the brush-off strip with a week of Phil calling her on her insanity and thus proving his evilositude.
I can’t imagine this will be the case. The theme for the new-runs involving Phil and Connie has been “You are leading her on. You are breaking her heart.” My guess is that Lynn will try to alter or make additions to the brush-off strip along this theme.
Clio,
Connie's seriously acting twelve. And like she's talked to this guy once, instead of having a pseudo-relationship with him for a year. Yep, she's insane.
At least we are all in agreement on this point. Lynn writes it so Connie thinks it and her readers agree with it.
The theme for the new-runs involving Phil and Connie has been “You are leading her on. You are breaking her heart.” My guess is that Lynn will try to alter or make additions to the brush-off strip along this theme.
Point taken; I should think that on the thirteenth, we'll see him on the phone with Elly saying that it isn't his fault that Connie has an active imagination. Not only will it allow Lynn to hammer home her Aesop, it'll also foreshadow Ted telling John much the same thing.
dreadedcandiru2,
...we'll see him on the phone with Elly saying that it isn't his fault that Connie has an active imagination.
This is very likely, and that would be a nice lead-in to the strip where Elly tells Connie that Phil said he had a good time with Connie in Montreal. That way Elly can fulfill her mission of both encouraging and discouraging the relationship.
Phil is playing a bugle in Panel 1.
It doesn't have valves like a bugle doesn't have valves; but there is some interiour pipework which makes it look neither like a bugle nor like a trumpet nor a cornet nor a flugelhorn nor any brass instrument I have ever seen.
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