Recent Comments

1. about 3 hours ago on Crankshaft

   Really? Your state has made it illegal to possess, sell or read certain books in the last two years? Please name them.

   I know, you (like Batiuk) are talking about the state prohibiting the use of certain books in schools, or prohibiting taxpayer-funded libraries from shelving them. That is reprehensible (in most cases, anyway; Melania’s book of pictures may be an exception), but it is not banning in any realistic sense. Not as long as people are free to buy the book with their own money and read it on their own time.

2. about 3 hours ago on Crankshaft

   I was tired of it back when Skippy was interviewing Batton Thomas.

3. about 3 hours ago on Crankshaft

   Yeah, I think the OED proves my point. Deciding that a particular book (which is readily available from bookstores) should not be a required part of a taxpayer funded high school curriculum does not meet the definition of “interdict, proscribe, prohibit.” I am not particularly in favor of schools doing this, but it is not the same thing as the government saying it is illegal to sell, possess or read a particular book. Enjoy your salad.

4. about 8 hours ago on Crankshaft

   I’m bored this morning, so I started thinking of how a competent writer might construct a plausible book-banning/bookstore-burning story in the universe of this strip. Consider, if you will, the following:

   In his class, Les mentions in passing the existence of the book Fahrenheit 451, says it is a provocative book about censorship and a good read. When a student asks where he/she can find it, Les says the school library has a copy.

   Student borrows the book from the library, is fascinated, shows it to another kid, who tells his parents, who are outraged and demand the school remove this offensive book. When the school refuses, said parent gathers up a few like-minded parents (none of whom have read the book), forms an organization with a dumb name and bombards their state representative with angry letters.

   Eventually, the representative holds hearings and the Worstview school board caves to pressure and has the book removed from the library. By now, of course, the “forbidden fruit” has become more attractive than ever, and when kids ask where they might obtain a copy now that the school library’s copy is gone, he suggests Lizard Lil’s bookstore. A plot device might be needed to explain why Les doesn’t just suggest they buy the book online.

   Upon discovering that dozens of Worstview students are now reading this offensive book, the angry parent organization goes to picket Lillian’s store. Their pet state representative gives an inflammatory speech, realizing this might just be what he needs to assure re-election and a desirable committee chairmanship. Tempers are hot, one thing leads to another and the bookstore is torched, in broad daylight, by an angry mob.

   Afterward, the mob and the town have to come to grips with what happened, and hopefully learn some lesson.

   This is a thing that can happen in the real world (and probably has). Don’t expect Batty to do anything like it, though.

5. about 8 hours ago on Crankshaft

   I was reading xkcd this morning, and the “alt-text” pop-up was a quantum theory joke. Which caused me to think about the quantum nature of the arsonist in this story. We know nothing about the arsonist beyond the fact that he/she had two hands (or was two people using one hand each… Skippy and Becks?) and isn’t very good at starting fires. I think there is a reason for this. For all his desire to be seen as “provocative,” Batiuk writes as if he’s terrified he’ll anger one or more of his readers. As long as the arsonist is unknown, readers can make their own assumptions about who he/she is, and more importantly what his/her motives were. We see that on this board, where some people assume the “banning” is coming from conservative politicians and some assume it’s the work of liberals. As soon as Batiuk identifies the arsonist, he collapses the both-at-once quantum waveform and identifies the person’s motives… which are likely to PO some part of his readership.

   In other words, the arsonist is Schroedinger’s cat. Who, in the context of the FunKrankyverse, can only be Le Chat Bleu, the sometimes-here, sometimes-not talking cat that Les hallucinates from time to time.

6. about 8 hours ago on Crankshaft

   Yeah, the word Zeppelins have been pretty small by Batty’s standards, barely word Goodyear Blimps.

7. about 8 hours ago on Crankshaft

   The kids figured, “why should we drive from Worstview to Centerville just to pick up books we can order from Amazon with free overnight delivery?” I hope Les didn’t pay for these books with his own money, because he’s gonna be stuck with them.

   On second thought, I actually hope Les did pay for the books with his own money.

8. about 9 hours ago on Crankshaft

   Three pages a day! About as much as he can read!

9. about 9 hours ago on Crankshaft

   A quick google (a few weeks ago, early in the “story”) said Ohio has never banned any books.

10. about 9 hours ago on Crankshaft

    Better: Lillian, just walk out, lock the door behind you, go back to bed and let Ed rant all night.