Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for October 04, 2019

Nothing like getting caught with your pants down…

uh… you’re welcome, Professor Zebo, for THAT kind of demonstration?

Grayscale is like an indecisive Luann. That does make sense.

AH, so Luann’s life is in grayscale.

Should I stay, or should I go now?

Exactly… A perfect example… Bravo, my dear!

“Well said, Ms. Degroot!”

Reminds me of an old, recurring dream. Test time and I suddenly remember that I never attended the class. Oldest building on campus, upstairs, small room with wooden floors. Totally lost.

“A perfect demonstration. Thank you, Miss DeGroot.”

“Should STAY, or should GO!”

And professor Zebo DID give Luann some GOOD advice after all.

“Wonder on your OWN Time!”

Now, get back to work!!! ;)

“Ms. DeGroot, will you please demonstrate?”

.

“Sure… Down with the establishment!”

Did Zebo give Luann advance instruction on this topic? If not – no wonder Luann is caught empty handed.

Re: “The enigmatic haze between black and white, shadow and light.” Fourth wall murmuring again. The expression seems to apply to many if not all of the Luann characters – selfish or nefarious motives from time to time – but they have their good moments.

The background of panel two is a perfect representation of grayscale.

And the echo of yes/no from panel one to panel three reiterates the illustration.

For further reference, listen to oldies radio…

The Beatles – White Album

Procol Harum – Whiter Shade of Pale

The Monkees – Shades of Gray

The Rolling Stones – Paint it Black

“Welcome to…The Twilight Zone.”

“Thank you, Luann, point well made.”

Probably the next thing LuAnn will run into as the Prof’s teaching assistant is finding out Quill is the next nude model and possibly that the Prof and the Aussie are “involved”…. Makes sense as the LGBT has been under represented by Evans on the strip (with the exception of Pru) and the likely candidate (Gunther) is surprising us all by holding his own in the “Odd Couple” cottage and dating a nice girl who has got over all his flaws (depending on LuAnn via phone, rudely choosing said phone over his date, etc…). This thread should be interesting!

If her pants were down then at least she’d have some clarity… Maybe.

Opaque, what is behind the opaque screen between knowing and confusion? I wonder if Luann is meant to figure that out be Saturday? Ahhhh, Clarity!!?

“But today there is no day or night

Today there is no dark or light

Today there is no black or white

Only shades of gray.” – Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil (via the Monkees)

Why does Luann feel the need to make a decision? She had a brief, casual lunch with Ryder. Why not relax, hang out & get to know him a little better?

This will be a very hard class for Luann. And probably the after class will be even worse. Also, Zebo Is awesome.

Ah, what we have here is the quantum state of indeterminacy or perhaps the Yin and Yang of all things.

What we have here is a chance for LuAnn to give a good lecture on quantum physics and indeterminacy or the Yin and Yang of reality.

See: The Dancing. Wu Li Masters. An Overview of the New Physics. Gary Zukav

So by Saturday will we see Luann break out in song?

♬When I’m stuck in a day/That’s gray,/And lonely,/I just stick out my chin/And Grin,/And Say…♬

♬The sun will come out/Tomorrow/So ya gotta hang on/’Til tomorrow/Come what may..♬

♬Tomorrow/I love ya/Tomorrow!/You’re always a day away♬

Just imagine that everyone in the audience is in their skivvies.

Might have been appropriate to have today’s strip run in black and white instead of color.

The Monkees – Shades of Grey

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt58waQOdlo

I had a feeling his “wisdom“ wouldn’t be worth too much. But Luann does need to get it in gear and focus on the tasks at hand. He should have said, “If you have to ask yourself about him then he is NOT the one. When you are drawn to someone (pun intentional) then you don’t need to question it. It just happens. Like with Quill. Now, obviously it takes more than just this for a lasting relationship but no good relationship can happen without this element.

The image fades

To blacks & blues & subtle grey

It’s modern song, the cry goes on and on

—Triumph (Battle Cry)

This IS a great experience for Luann, teaching

Poor old charlie brown So wishy washy. Oh wait…

Of course, you could always just install a dimmer switch on the wall of the classroom. Then, instead of exploring grayscale, take the lights way down and explore each other.

Good for the teacher.

I feel so bad for the young folk of today. The pressure to be in an exclusive relationship is terrible. It starts so young. I heard my middle schoolers talking about going steady. Back in the day it was a good thing to date many people. That way you got to known your likes and dislikes better. You weren’t considered to be “cheating “ if you dated someone else after going on three or four dates with the same person.

I’ve known a lot of artists and art instructors from the 70’s thru today. None of them own an ascot, nor wear a nice suit to work. Can’t see this guy cleaning up spilled paint or running the pug mill.

And that’s a definite maybe, subject to change.

I don’t know about anybody else, but this arc has gone from lame to worse.

Yesterday, it was implied that we might get some whiz dumb from el maestro / der Lehrer. Today, all we get is get back to work (“wonder on your own time”).

Earlier this week, Luann showed promise that she was ready for whatever was planned for class, this in spite of her interrogation by Tara. Yesterday and today, we are informed that Tara was right, not Luann (quite the opposite result from what we would find in the so-called “real world”).

So, at the end of today, we see Luann fully regressed into the “boy crazy” teenager that launched this strip, what was it, decades ago?

Now that the entire two week arc has been wasted, one day left to go, what can we look forward to? Another cheap shot at Luann, then switch to Les training guide cats for the blind? Or yet another “cliff hanger” and another week of “overtime” in an arc that should have been over last week?

Bonus points: There is a record album by Les Barker called Guide Cats for the Blind.

I honestly do not know G&K can make this arc any worse.

But I have faith that they can, and will.

By the by, anybody know where we can get some Wurst?

By the by, for a comic strip that makes excellent use of grey scale, see Endtown, also in Go Comics.

Boring

I think she demonstrated it perfectly!

I like this sub-arc. It is the Evans’ own artistic statement. Art often gives us reason and cause to look inwardly and question ourselves, and the world around us. Zebo is playing the role of artiste-provocateur, enabling the Evans to do so, as well. He is also in the role of Luann’s inner voice, for now, but she is not conscious of that, yet.

I always thought Greyscale was that disease that makes your skin all grey and flaky.

Zebo gave some good advice to Luann

Perfect answer to her question. Didn’t like Zebo at first but he’s starting to grow on me.

Where’s this going?

Zébo knows that there are 50 shades of gray.

Luann did it perfectly.

She should be able to get through the class trying to explain Tír na nÓg.

It looks like an object lesson to me.

6

Interesting to watch Luann as a TA…. and interesting to watch Professor Zebo.

But….. in terms of Luann being in “gray scale” …. suggesting her being wishy-washy about Ryder…..

I tend to instead think of Luann as being “gray scale” about darn near every facet of her life….. she in some ways just drifts along from thing to thing, often with little or no rhyme or reason since she started Pitt CC. Back at Pitt HS….. she was very focused (albeit about boys). But really….. no focus on anything for any longer than a gnat can focus…. which is close to zero. Sure…. she does “stuff” ….. and in fact does a fair amount of “stuff” ….. but I keep wondering when Greg will develop her character so that she realizes and works towards some sort of purpose in her life?

Now…. that said….. if she did work towards some purpose…… does that mean her destiny is set? Hell no. But, I truly think that by this time, Luann really would have at least an idea of her goals.

Remember a few days ago when I said Luann’s behavior (second-guessing and overthinking after a first date) was common and relatively normal? Yeah, I’d like to take it back. Doing such things when you’re by yourself is normal, but turning into a confused sputtering mess in the middle of work? It wasn’t a proposal or anything; they just went out for pizza! There’s no reason for Luann to be this much of a mess. Plus it all seems wasted, since we all already know nothing will come of it. Maybe next time don’t telegraph the fact that the guy is a one-off plot device whom we’ll never actually get to see: kinda takes away the dramatic tension. And considering how insanely low-stakes Luann’s storyarcs tend to be, we could use all the dramatic tension we can get.

The Monkees – Shades Of Gray: https://songmeanings.com/songs/view/52655/

Yes, wonder on your own time, Ms. DeGroot.

boy did she nail it -?

tomorrow: total meltdown?

And that’s what she gets for not having her mind in the right place.

Black and white/grayscale is very difficult, even in photography

Thank you, T.A. DeGroot. Your demonstration was excellent. Now get back to work….

Common Luann; learn how to compartmentalize……. but for the moment she may actually be getting it right; her confusion and indecision represents the gray-scale.