Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for May 18, 2016

gee, Luann and Bernice sure thought that one through

Because the Destiny Deck turned out to be so right about Prudence …

They might as well try the deck, they can’t come up with a plan on their own.

Why not ‘career counselor’, or ‘guidance counselor’, or ‘self-help book’? Or, for that matter, why not ’I’ll talk to Mom and Dad’?

Why a bunch of sayings on little pieces of cardboard?

In the past, Bernice always seemed to be the level-headed one, and saw right through Luann’s goofiness. But these days she seems to be pulled into the goofiness right along with Luann. Very curious change.-If Luann plunges headlong into something totally bonkers, it would seem too bad if Bernice got pulled in right with her.

Plans?? At 19 – Who has a plan???

What form of superstition is next? Voodoo?

If Bernice were actually a psychology student, she’d see the Destiny Deck as a kind of Rorschach Blot playing with archetypal imagery. She wouldn’t attribute occult powers to it, but she would be interested in seeing what it stirred up from her unconscious mind.

Time to smoke some pot.

Maybe that’s because they’re too busy living & enjoying life (hopefully)!

Luann & Bernice are developing the right spirit and attitude. A good, positive start. Goals can follow. And again, we witness Dez “out counseling” the counselor (Bernice). Perhaps an intentional ironic twist here – the smartest people aren’t always the ones with degrees.

Caesar: The ides of March are come.Soothsayer: Aye, Caesar, but not gone.

So instead of doing the mature thing and make your own plans, they will let a cold impersonal, know nothing, non human, cards decide their future? I thought that they grew up a little….I was wrong.

I wonder if Leslie is next in her bumpy ride through life…. you can’t rule anyone out!

LOL, Destiny deck. Right,

Better than using a Destiny Duck. I heard that those are quacks.(ducks)

I figured they wouldn’t actually do anything, but I wasn’t expecting this particular form of not doing it.

Mmm…coconut cream…

gee, now we get to parse through Dez’s words in her prediction! Oh wait …. we do that anyway, don’t we ???

Let’s see. At 19, I’d already been building houses (minimum wage) for 3 years and knew enough to make living that way. I had saved enough to build and mortgage 1/2 a duplex. Left home to go to school and was working part time (warehouse), to pay living expenses, while in my 2nd year of an Electronics Engineering Degree.

I had plans and fall-back plans.

Oh, and a salute to Calvin0007!

8This should be entertaining, to say the least. I have come to the realization that I think Dez’s “Destiny Deck” is a sort of “4th Wall Breaker” device of sorts being used by Greg. In the past, the Destiny Deck has given us, the readers, a vague set of clues about future events that we can then speculate upon for weeks and months as they transpire within the story line. In the past (at least as far as I recall) it seems the “Destiny Deck” has been used for Luann’s future only. Perhaps this time the Destiny Deck will be giving us a vague glimpse of Greg’s plans for BOTH Luann and Bernie.

Tom Sullivan says that some of the most interesting people he has met are in their 50’s and 60’s and still do not know what they want to be or do when they grow up.But the most interesting man in the world does know, my friend. Although he might decide to try not knowing – just for the experience!

I like the scenes with the Destiny Deck, and, more generally, scenes with Dez, who is possibly interning as a Wiccan-style witch. Sorry to stir the pot… If G & K decide to sell a Destiny Deck, I will definitely buy one.

Why are self-confidence and enthusiasm only allowed if you already have a plan?

Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.John Lennon, “Beautiful Boy”English singer & songwriter (1940 – 1980)

Argy, you take Mordy/Moose WAY too seriously! I tend to view him as our own Ed Crankshaft.

This week is meant to show the openess to change in a light-hearted way. Maybe they will decide to interpret something from the “destiny” deck to mean they should take some classes or type of summer or volunteer work that they otherwise woukd never have tried and each discover interests they never realized they might have.

pictorial

You may be thinking of tarot cards

Didn’t see that coming.

Argy… I think you are being quite a bit too harsh with MordocK999. In my read of his comments over the years, he has an enjoyable and humorous perspective on Luann and the character’s comings and goings. To suggest he is a “hater” or that he is “mean towards female characters” is I truly think…. far too harsh.You may not agree with his poking fun at some of the character’s exploits (in this case the female characters), but that does not mean he is a “hater” or “mean”. It is simply a difference of opinion you have with him.

Dude… seriously…. what is going on? You are more sarcastic than usual and are seemingly trying to be purposefully provocative and hurtful to others. All I am promoting is trying to be kind to each other. This is a comment board…. not a life-or-death grudge match.

Argy.bargy2…. I am trying to be a bit more thoughtful here, and seriously… are you doing ok? Your comment I am replying to seems like you may be in anguish about something. And, I cannot fathom it being Mordock’s comment, so I think perhaps something else many be going on. If there is something wrong, I sincerely hope that there is a way for you to feel better soon.Just a few thoughts about what you stated:You said: “No, no, no Moose. I’m NEVER right. Your professor says so, so it must BE so.”I am not really sure if that comment was in reference to me, but I looked back at other comments and it seems like I might be the “perfessor” that you are referring to. If so, however, I want to state that I have NOT said you “are NEVER right”. I said and was suggesting that your comment to Mordock was overly harsh given what Mordock said. Another comment you stated was: “Your prof even says I shouldn’t be reading your posts if I don’t love them.”I never said anything remotely like this to you or anyone. I merely suggested that we all try to get along more and treat each other civilly. When terms like “haters” are bandied about it causes me to cringe. It is a harshly strong word to me, and I truly do not think it represents Mordock, nor does it represent you, nor any of the folks here who are regular, thoughtful commenters on Luann.

Frank, I have heard that too (sites considering eliminating comments boards). I think it would be sad and unfortunate if that were to occur. I am of the belief that for the most part, the lion’s share of folks who comment here (and on other comics I post on) do so because it is enjoyable, fun, and sometimes even thought provoking. It is a “community” of sorts. Are there vitriolic folks? Sure, sometimes. Are there folks who are trying to be rude? Sure, unfortunately. But, I sincerely believe that represents a very small, unimportant minority of folks. I find a lot of value in the comment boards here at GoComics and relish reading them daily.

Unfortunately, I feel the death of courtesy and civility is not just an internet thing. These days, even in real life, if you treat people well and expect the same in return you get accused of being PC.

They both have plans already: going to college, getting a degree and job. They should continue with those plans until a new plan takes form naturally.

I actually wasn’t sure who the “Professor” Argy.Bargy2 spoke of was either. But, in glancing back through today’s comments prior to that post, I thought perhaps he was referring to me…. although IMO the comments he stated did not seem to fit my actions nor my intentions. So, If Argy.bargy2 responds, it will be nice to know if he meant me or someone else.

Not too many light hearted people out there. Too much pain I think.- -NG, perhaps so, but if so then perhaps those who are hurting could be helped a bit by laughter, so maybe that is one of many ways that being receptive to new ideas coukd be as important for the readers here as for the characters.

vanisleson said, "Enough already ; move on from Luann and Bernice’s stupid “self-admiration society”

So did Bern give up on yesterday’s snark, or is she really NOT excited today?

Night Gaunt 49…. Interestingly, it seems Mordock must have deleted one or more of his comments from earlier today.So, I am not sure what all is going on. The one comment I read from Mordock earlier this morning seemed fine and not inflammatory… so that is what I was responding to. Perhaps there were others I was unaware about, but I cannot say.

Bernice experienced the placebo effect with those brownies. Of course she did. And that’s my point – a level-headed person might not be expected to succumb so easily to placebo pot. Just my view.

Must you play into it? Just ignore it, not get agitated over it. Totally in agreement Night-Gaunt. In fact when people start counter-punching by yelling “Troll!”, they become even more obnoxious. Let it go, like the Beatles’ song.

My plan at 19 was to become a mother at 20.

“I have read that many sites are considering eliminating their comment boards because there is so much vitriol. "*FF: back in the bad ol’ days, many of the comments on this strip dealt with immature discussion of body parts. Then a few commenters took a stand— and announced they would begin flagging any such posts. And the comments both cleaned up and quadrupled in number. Thanks, Templo et al!!!!

In high school we were assigned to make 5, 10 and 15 year goals. I never had any, Couldn’t think of a one. Never in the next 55 years did I have a goal. Life has just kind of happened to me and I’ve been happy with it. :-)

Reply function is down. They are instead providing an eye exercise because the page jumps around. Hey, not necessarily an unproductive exercise… ;-)Pipe, i did not read anything you wrote that was objectionable. I did not read all comments yet and did not read Mordy’s today. Scrolling can be a useful approach for people who feel uncomfortable, as can remembering that most if not all of the people who post are peripheral to each other’s lives so really should not cause terrible upset usually.Crash7 said, about 4 hours agoUnfortunately, I feel the death of courtesy and civility is not just an internet thing. These days, even in real life, if you treat people well and expect the same in return you get accused of being PC.“PC” is a term i truly dislike. People use “not being PC” and “I tell it like it is” to excuse themselves for quite a range of hateful, demeaning, or destructive comments. Often enough what people term “PC” is simply courtesy.

There seem to be a lot of thin-skinned people in this group. Regarding Bernice, I See Bernice being playful, needling her friend. My daughter who is a junior in college will often echo what people are saying with a ‘YAY’ before it. It is mild sarcasm, but meant as a joke, such as saying me saying “I’m tired” and she responding " YAY Fatigue!" It actually cracks me up, because it is so absurd.

Once I get my Destiny Deck, all my decisions, however trivial, will be based on how the cards come up. Of course, since I am retired most of my decisions are trivial anyway. Should I get up at 6am? The cards counsel “Prudence”. So I sleep in until 6:45.

Luanaphile and Trilogy: YAY, 45 extra minutes of sleep!BTW, if you were worried about being late you might figure the prudence card meant getting up earlier.

Plans?[…crickets…]We don’t need no stinkin’ plans!

So, let’s play fortunetelling cards….

Anyway, was it ever said in the strip that there are words printed on the cards, or are they all pictorial?

Looks like pix-only to me:(That was the first appearance of the Destiny Deck, in April of last year.)

I just noticed something …Bern’s arms-wide-open pose has been seen before, in the Breakup-with-Quill-then-go-to-NYC-with_Bernice story arc:Does the Destiny Deck come with a pair of party panties?

Actually, it comes with two pairs.

My plans at 19. 1)-4) meet the girl of my dreams. 5) do something with math or physics or maybe psychology.or linguistics 6) Write a brilliant sci-fi novel. 7) Convince my mother to pay for a trip to Europe.

Luannaphile… Did you ever write the sci-go novel? It has always been a goal of mine too! I have tried a few times but would grow discourages and give up each time. I still would like to try again though.

Oh no. Is that a shark I see circling the strip? sighs I keep hoping to read something better. Something more interesting besides thinking NYC is all that.

Is school over for the year?

Spoiler: limitation revelation