August 1, 2017

"There's a probably tedious book of Dick and Jane grown up, after the divorce."

Wrote rhhardin in the comments to "Have you ever seen a sentence written on the 50th grade level?"

I said "It's called 'The Dynamics of Interbeing and Monological Imperatives in Dick and Jane: A Study in Psychic Transrelational Gender Modes.'"

I wouldn't have gotten the reference myself, so let me share this:

21 comments:

eddie willers said...

God I miss Calvin & Hobbes.

G.R.O.S.S (Get Rid Of Slimy girlS)) was a great club.

rehajm said...

The Complete Calvin & Hobbes.

I recommend the hardback edition.

Unknown said...

It was a sad, sad year when Calvin and Hobbes, the Far Side, and also Outland (successor to Bloom County) all closed up shop.

Comics haven't really been good since. Only Millard Fillmore and Shermans Lagoon, for my taste.

--Vance

tcrosse said...

Wait. I thought Dick and Jane were brother and sister.
More likely Dick and Jane would move back in together after their messy divorces, complete with their wise-cracking kids and some wacky neighbors and crazy exes as a sitcom.

tcrosse said...

Calvin & Hobbes: Greatest. Snowmen. Ever.

Fernandinande said...

Speaking of imperatives, where is "n.n"?

Beth said...

I learned the word transmorgify from Calvin. My wife and I both have different Calvin and Hobbes tattoos.

mockturtle said...

The company I used to work for required us all to take a course in low-fog-index writing and clarity even in technical articles. Of course, for many writers the goal is not to be understood but to impress and obscure.

buwaya said...

"Wait. I thought Dick and Jane were brother and sister. "

Of course they are. What's not mentioned is that they are Dick and Jane Ptolemy, of the old Imperial family that adopted all the ancient Pharaonic customs. They are, of course, in hiding, dressed as commoners, for bloody good reasons.

The story of their later years is an incredibly popular but somewhat decadent tale of political and personal intrigue in a continental game of power politics.

mockturtle said...

Wait. I thought Dick and Jane were brother and sister.

They were, which makes the situation even more dysfunctional.

Meade said...

That's right — Dick and Jane were siblings and Sally was their little sister.

I imagine Dick and Jane were traumatized by their parents' divorce and in late adolescence, for emotional escape they turned to drugs, alcohol, and high risk sex.

Sally, being a mere baby, had no significant pre divorce experience so she was able to adjust to the harsh realities of their broken home.

Spot, their dog, probably got sent to a farm somewhere in Illinois.

Meade said...

Divorce is almost always damaging for children and dogs.

tcrosse said...

"I don't care what the fucking books say. Mother always loved that little bitch Sally best", Jane explained to Doctor Phil.

mockturtle said...

Spot, their dog, probably got sent to a farm somewhere in Illinois.

No, alas, Spot was run over by the family car during an alcohol-fueled conflict.

mockturtle said...

tcrosse writes: "I don't care what the fucking books say. Mother always loved that little bitch Sally best", Jane explained to Doctor Phil.

I know how Jane felt. In my family, it was my little sister, 'Princess' Pam, as my brother and I maliciously called her. She could do no wrong. Until she became a teenager, then she did everything wrong. Schadenfreude, anyone?

Michael K said...

"Millard Fillmore "

That was the president.

The cartoon was "Mallard Fillmore."

Meade said...

Sally was the one who continued living with Mother well into adulthood. Sadly, there developed a folie à deux and Mother was found dead early one Sunday in October — stabbed 17 times. The jury found Sally guilty of 2nd degree murder even though DNA evidence pointed to 3 individuals never identified. 20 years, no parole. Out Spot, out.

Meade said...

Damn Spot.

gpm said...

In Catholic school, we had David and Ann instead of Dick and Jane. Seemed kinda Jewish, but we're all about continuity.

--gpm

Larry J said...

Reruns of classic "Calvin and Hobbs" and "Bloom County" comics are still available on Gocomics.com. I loved them both in their heyday. I think "Calvin and Hobbs" holds up much better than "Bloom County" because Bloom was more topical. For example, in the past few strips, Prince Charles and Lady Di have been arguing about the name of their first child.

Bloom County
Calvin and Hobbs

mikeski said...

I learned the word transmorgify from Calvin.

You should teach it to your phone's autocorrect; it's "transmogrify".

I learned something, here... I thought "transmogrify" was a word made up for Calvin and Hobbes, since I never saw it used elsewhere. Apparently, it's been in use since the 17th century, per Oxford's online dictionary.

My wife and I both have different Calvin and Hobbes tattoos.

I hope your tattoo artist spelled it right! :)