Recent Comments

1. over 2 years ago on Junk Drawer

   Ah yes, known talentless hacks of the Modern Art age such as reads notes Henri Matisse, Mary Cassatt, and Vincent van Gogh.

   Even if you mean abstract art in general and not Modernism (which ended decades ago), the use of geometric shapes with no basis in a real-life figure has been around for an incredibly long time – just look at the arabesque genre.

2. about 4 years ago on Luann

   Friendly reminder: The entire reason Shannon’s been foisted onto Toni and Brad in the first place is because both of her biological parents are deadbeats, with her mother walking out of her life entirely and her father constantly dumping her onto others on short notice.

   There’s a whole mini-arc in August 2016 where Jonah guilt-trips Toni into watching over her even though she’s got a meeting with a wedding planner, in the process breaking a promise he made to Shannon and leaving her AND Toni miserable (to the point where Toni has a complete breakdown shortly afterwards). Shannon’s clearly aware of her family situation, and elementary-age children aren’t exactly known for coping with parental abandonment in calm and healthy ways.

   But nah, I guess cutting herself on scissors is the rightful penance for her sin, eh? Is that the lesson Luann needs to carry forward in her Kids 1st job she talked about last week? Her solution of doing nothing but mutter about how annoying children are will be very useful when she has to interact with a class of kindergarteners.

   Of course Shannon needs to be disciplined! She’s been throwing GARBAGE at people! But the entire time she’s been there raising chaos, all Brad and Luann have done is sit around making quips about her, instead of actually doing something. Up until she hurt herself, the only indication they interacted with her was letting her eat something that barely qualified as a meal; they’re just as culpable for not actually putting her in time-out or for letting her run around unsupervised. At least to Brad’s credit he’s quick to go look for a bandaid when she actually does show up hurt.

3. about 4 years ago on Luann

   Six-year-olds aren’t exactly calm, either. Mature enough to be taught right from wrong, but still young enough to be screaming and reckless. Now, if she was past elementary age and still acting this way, then it’d start being concerning.

4. over 4 years ago on Luann

   …Ann’s not simply Daddy’s annoying girlfriend. She is outright abusive to almost every person she knows, including her own son Les. In fact, Les and Tiffany bonded over this very fact (January 24 2018), and given what we’ve seen of how she treats Tiffany there is no reason to believe she wouldn’t be an abusive mother to her too. And that’s not even getting into the way she intimidated and harassed her employees back when she managed a fast food place.

   Why’s the onus on her victims to “grow up”? It’s not Tiffany and Les who are the issue here (though Les’s suggestion to raise the baby themselves is… well-intentioned but impulsive), it’s Ann herself. A person like her rarely makes a turnaround, and even if she WANTED to atone it isn’t her victims’ job to guide her down the road of enlightenment. The only reasonable thing Tiff CAN do is cut her out of her life, and if her father continues to side with someone who’s caused so much harm to others including his own daughter, then she may have to consider cutting him out of her life, too.

   Easier said than done, of course, because Tiffany loves her father dearly and cares about his feelings. She clearly doesn’t WANT to lose him. He needs to be considerate of her, though, and not associate with people that belittle her endlessly. Besides, she’s economically insecure with a small support network, so where would she stay if she cut herself off? With Les (and a baby)? With the DeGroots? She has options, but it’s going to be a difficult step for her to take, financially and emotionally.

   Tiffany’s come a long way, though. I hope this really is building up to her and Les getting away from someone that’s constantly hurt them, and not building up to them smiling and nodding just to keep family harmony.

5. over 4 years ago on Luann

   Wow, how dare someone be happy about their job… Must be a sign of a crisis!

6. over 4 years ago on Luann

   I really am reminded of some quotes from a sitcom… “It’s only one banana, how much could it cost? Ten dollars?” “You’ve never actually stepped foot in a supermarket, have you?” “…I don’t have time for this.”

7. over 4 years ago on Luann

   …Why are some basic ingredients in quotes like they’re some strange, exotic, foreign substance? Wow! Cumin! Such a rare and perplexing ingredient that it’s in most $5 chili seasoning packets!

   That isn’t to say there aren’t some unusual ingredients in there. You probably don’t need to pick up grains of paradise or cardamom unless the recipe specifically asks for them… and if the recipe calls for BOTH of them then I question how good the recipe is, since they’re so similar in taste that you could substitute one for the other. If the recipe DOESN’T ask for them, then don’t. Get. Them. Impulse buying extra items will very quickly drive up the final cost.

   And kefir? What kind of generic E-Z stew is asking for an ingredient most grocery stores don’t even have? I can’t even find a beef stew recipe that uses kefir… it makes me wonder if there’s even an actual stew recipe being referenced here, or if the writers just decided to throw in whatever sounded exotic and expensive, even if it makes no sense.

   On that note, I really have to wonder how this ended up at $65. Meat can be expensive, though stews usually use the cheapest meat cuts. Kefir might be expensive depending on what form it’s in. However, a store that’s selling kefir is likely large enough to also have a Hispanic or Asian section, where you can often find better deals on spices. I’ve seen small 1-oz bags of spice that go for a buck or two, maybe five if it’s a really fancy spice. It’s not feasible if you need it bulk, but if you just want it for a few dishes then it’s a good buy.

   In other words, the only way I can see a simple stew going to $65 is if Luann bought brand-name organic roasted cumin and beautifully marbled steak instead of just getting the value items. And if that’s the case, there are are a lot deeper problems here than having to buy exotic ingredients like thyme.

8. over 4 years ago on Luann

   Well said, Mr Don Draper of the hit AMC series!

9. over 4 years ago on Luann

   Gunther, moral clarity? The guy who leeched 50% off Tiffany’s ebay sales even though he knew she was struggling?

10. over 4 years ago on Luann

    ( * Stepmother is a strong word to describe Tiffany’s dad’s live-in girlfriend. But their interactions have been painful enough that the mere mention of her name is reason enough for her to skip out on holiday reunions she was looking forward to. January 24 2018 and November 28 2019 have insight.)

    As a sidenote, it shouldn’t be forgotten that Gunther’s skimming way more money than he should be from Tiffany than he should be (October 12 2019, I can’t remember when the deal was first struck). It should also be noted she’s gone hungry at least once because of a lack of money: November 29 2019.

    TLDR: EVERYONE in this group of friends is a horrible person, and the only way for Bets to fit into their circle is continuing this character assassination on her. So… if that’s actually the writer’s intention then they’re doing a pretty good job of making her look like the bad guy? Good work?