Frazz by Jef Mallett for November 09, 2024

Sounds like the theme of Forrest Gump.

Just as likely to end up on a windshield.

… and being an “annoyance” to (bugging) others in the biosphere.

I can imagine some band group members sitting around a table in a bar bouncing ideas for a name of a new song back and forth. . .

“What about bugs in amber?”

“No…I kinda like Bugs in the wind….”

“We don’t have many bugs in Kansas…just dust”

“. . . . . .hey, wait a minute!”

:0)

Depends on the bug. And I was thinking of “Dust in the Wind,” too. And that always reminds me of an article I read in The Skeptical Inquirer (Enquirer?) in which an atheist/rationalist was telling his fellows they should drop the pretense of imitating the optimism of Believers and accept that nothing really matters — if this natural realm is all there is, let’s face it and admit we might as well just live for pleasure, you can light a candle or just curse the darkness, it’s all the same in the end. Very sad, but logical, honest and realistic.

“Have you ever seen bugs trapped in amber?" “Yes.” Billy, in fact, had a paperweight in his office which was a blob of polished amber with three lady-bugs embedded in it. "Well, here we are, Mr. Pilgrim, trapped in the amber of this moment. There is no why.”― Kurt VonnegutVonnegut’s, Slaughterhouse Five, has been banned in many elementary school libraries.

I see us as getting on a train when we are born and remaining on it for the full run. There is no schedule of stops, no timetable, and no conductor – only the engineer. There are some long straight runs, some shunts onto sidings where we wait for life to pass, and occasional trips to the round house for a change of direction, The end is always the same.

Eventually we reach the terminus, sometimes earlier than we like, and sometimes later, but it’s the same stop for everyone. What we do along the way is partially up to us and partially up to the settings in which we find ourselves. Whether or not we enjoy the trip is on us.

This is in honor of my dad, who was a fireman and an engineer on the RF&P out of Richmond VA between 1933 and 1972.

A dung beetle would prefer the latter.

So bugs think they’re in charge? I really doubt it.

Greater? Absolutely. Indifferent? Not a chance.

A great song!

Frazz….. always the pragmatist!

Perspective

…and so it goes!

I used the “Contact Us” feature at the bottom of the screen to beseech GoComics to reinstate comments on the editorial cartoons now that the election is over. I’m reproducing below their response to me (my emphasis added) so that other people won’t bug them about it as well:

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As of July 17, 2024, GocComics will no longer offer commenting on political cartoons. Our goal is to foster an engaged, thoughtful community. However, maintaining a respectful environment has become increasingly difficult given the divisive nature of certain topics and the tendencies of some to provoke controversy as the 2024 election approaches.

On top of this, GoComics uses an outdated commenting tool that lacks the capability to effectively moderate the comments and ensure compliance with the site’s commenting policy.

Given these circumstances, we’ve made the difficult decision to remove commenting from political cartoons. This is likely not a permanent measure—we hope to reinstate comments in 2025 with an improved commenting platform.

We appreciate your understanding as we work to uphold the integrity of the GoComics community.

“Here we are, trapped in the amber of the moment. There is no why.” — Kurt Vonnegut

Everything is a matter of perspective.

I am increasingly finding a lot of people have pretty warped and distorted perceptions.

“Here we are trapped in dog doot of the moment. There is no why.” — paraphrase of Kurt Vonnegut

I pray to land on the flower.

I’m assuming that “doot” is a Michigan colloquialism? For my family (Ohio) it was just “dirt”.