Ginger Meggs by Jason Chatfield for April 24, 2010

Yes Mom, that is the New Wave!

G’day Jason, Joe, JFri, and usfellers!

Good one, Ginge! LOL

G’Day Joe, Jason, Usfellers and ALL Meggsie fans!

G’day Jason, Joe, Lonewolf, Dry, Barb, Bjorn and Meggsie fans

Mum has let herself get behind the times. Laughing at myself over this one, I had to ask an email friend what it meant not all that long ago.

We could have a permanent LOL if someone could dream up what the acronym LIPOP might stand for.

Grafitti: Yeah, I too have my way of relaxing when at the computer. One reason why I haven’t got a cam. Can anyone remember the pop song ‘Beans In My Ears’ and the furore it caused when it came out, not to mention the beans that did come out of kids’ ears during a visit to the GP..

Well, that just goes to show. I am still way behind and if there are acronyms as you say Joe, then I prefer to stay that way.

Usfellers–With all the texting that goes on, there are so many acronyms now a days. Hard to keep up.

Does anyone know what the old acronyms RADAR and LASER stand for?

Usfellers

RADAR by NASA is “Radio Detecting And Ranging”.

LASER by the military is “Light Amplification Stimulated Emission Radiation”.

I don’t find anything for text abbreviations for those.

Thanks Lonewolf, at one time I knew what they stood for but had forgotten. While NASA may be able to give the words of RADAR, it was a product of the RAF (Royal Air Force) which used it during WW ll. They very publicly declared that their success in hitting enemy aircraft at night was a diet based on carrots to help pilots see in the dark. This not only deceived the enemy as to the true reason, but sent them off cultivating any available plot of land they could. LOL

The first use of an acronym that I can recall was, at the age of 15, agonising for hours over whether I should put SWALK on the back of an envelope, It was a letter to my first girlfriend while I was on holidays. I did but my holiday was too long and my agony was in vain, she found another beau in the meantime. SOB (Sad Old Boyfriend).

Ain’t life grand.

usfellers…. what does the “L” stand for in SWALK?

Hi Frank The whole thing is ‘Sealed With A Loving Kiss’. For this 15 year-old it was a risky thing to say.

We always used SWAK.

Frank Corona, Is that where you are coming from?

Hi Lonewolf.

Yes, I know the alternative SWAK but this nervous boy was angling for his (believe it or not) first kiss. Alas, it was not to be, that had to wait a little longer.

I have a question: How long have those “panel grafftis” been in the strip?

Since 1996

(GDay all!)

Hi Josh,

That is a question for Jason. It was introduced by James Kemsley who drew Ginger from 1984 to December 2007. Ref. All About Ginger on this site. Grafitti does not appear in the book of a collection of his work with Ginger titled ‘Some Day’s You’re A Legend … Some Days You Ain.t’ which came out in 1995, but but it is in ‘When You’re Into Grafitti … The Writing’s On The Wall’ which was printed in 1998.

Must say it’s great stuff.

Yes, Lonewolf, It was always SWAK. But I was too shy to actually use it.. It was different in my time.

Hi Jason

Appears entries to ‘Comments’ get a little out of phase. Thanks for the information, have wondered when the grafitti was introduced. How’s the trip going?

Frank Corona Hey, you too mate. I agonised over including the ‘L’ which was a daring quantum leap for a love-struck lad at the time. Am sure I would still prefer it to be like that if I was 15 today.

OH! Sackcloth and ashes for me for one month. Been misspelling graffiti. Forgive!.

There are a lot of times when I read posts and imagine crayons in the nose and elsewhere.