Recent Comments

1. about 22 hours ago on Luann

   Given Stefani’s possessive nature, it is quite understandable that she may have latched onto Kip at an early stage of his football career — being close at hand as a cheerleader — and kept him from dating anyone else. He also does not appear to be the sharpest tool in the shed, to have questioned that relationship until recently — and even now is inclined to return to that familiar state rather than even think about someone else, even when she places herself explicitly in front of him with a direct verbal challenge. One may wonder what Tiff actually finds attractive in him, and whether she will become disenchanted as she experiences his dullness over an extended period. Today’s strip shows just a touch of that sort of disenchantment as she can’t even get a response from him to her direct face to face approach.

2. 3 days ago on Luann

   Apparently Kip has forgotten that he initiated the breakup in no uncertain terms, and for no uncertain reasons. Tiff, on the other hand, is not listening to the conversation, to misread the word “us” that was clearly a reference only to the broken relationship between Kip and Stef as if it could apply to herself and Kip. TJ seems to have another breakup in mind, to break Tiff away from Kip to get her back to work. It’s looking like Tiff is still a bit too self-centered to actually start a coupled relationship.

3. 5 days ago on Luann

   Kip doesn’t seem to realize that Stef’s characteristic of always being there was a consequence of her possessiveness. That possessiveness was also the basis of her perennial readiness for sex. Kip will have to adjust his notion of togetherness to accommodate a bit more independence for both parties in a coupled relationship. They might need discussion to coordinate their schedules, and to decide such things as where to spend holidays together.

4. 6 days ago on Luann

   Pushy? Clueless Kip just lamented his loneliness of not having someone with whom to share. That is nothing less than a declaration that it’s open season for someone like Tiff to offer herself as a solution to that lament. Her mistake is presuming that simply placing herself in front of him will be recognized as such. Kip requires more than that. He requires actual verbal intrusion into his consciousness to jolt him out of his introspection. He would need Tiff to forthrightly challenge him by saying something like: “Kip, if sharing is what you want, share with me. I’m right here, and I’ve had a crush on you for more than six months. Stef never deserved your attention, and you finally recognized her controlling possessiveness enough to break up with her. Aren’t you ready to try a more honest relationship such as I’m offering to you right now?” Of course, she would be then obligating herself to pursue that kind of honesty and forthrightness. Would Kip be willing to reciprocate? Or is he really just a “dumb jock” who doesn’t deserve it?

5. 9 days ago on Luann

   And will we ever find out about the toes and the tuba?

6. 9 days ago on Luann

   Ho, Ho, Bernice! Listen closely! If Piro says that the childcare is the easiest part, you need to think very hard about any attempt on your part to “help” or fix his challenging situation. If you’re really serious about it, you’ll need to “walk a mile in his moccasins” by following him around for a day or two, maybe even a week, to evaluate yourself and whether you’re actually able or willing to keep up with his schedule. You’ll need to do a lot more childcare and homework helping. You may need to help his mother in the bathroom. You may need to help with meal preparation and shopping. You may get very little discretionary time with him to talk about how he is feeling or coping. Nonetheless, it would be very educational.

7. 10 days ago on Luann

   The only tech manuals that have been hinted at here are medical, not anything related to weaponry requiring security clearances.

8. 10 days ago on Luann

   If we then add a couple of years for Piro to meet Bernice at college and attend classes with Luann, as we have seen in this strip, that would make him about 5 years older than the girls. However, since I’m answering this after having seen the following day’s strip, there is no longer any need to explain an age difference due to Navy service.

9. 10 days ago on Luann

   My perspective is rather different, ILK. In my view, posts less than your 50-word limit tend to be facetious or superficial — or narrowly focused on some single point rather than considerate or analytical about the comprehensive sociology of the issues or events depicted, nor likely about impending developments. Of course, not every strip depicts something which lends itself to such treatment.

10. 10 days ago on Luann

    Bernice has reduced the notion of full-time childcare for six pre-adolescent children to “babysitting”?! Obviously she has no appreciation for “mothering”. Now, it could be more demanding if Piro were also homeschooling them rather than getting them ready for public school, transporting them, picking them up afterward, and helping with their homework. But clearly he has a very demanding schedule of activities, given that he also has a demanding professional position as a technical editor. Bernice is also oblivious to the background knowledge Piro would have to have absorbed to accomplish that as well — even though one may expect that he is not editing for technical content but only for clarity of language, pacing, coherence, brevity, spelling, et al. She has likewise neglected entirely any of the likely demands of caring for an ailing mother, whose disability requires Piro to care for his siblings and pay the bills. And there has been no mention of who is responsible for meals and shopping, though these are also likely responsibilities that Piro must shoulder. Given all this, Bernice is not qualified to enact the “help” that she feels drawn to offer. Luann is quite correct to point out the “bad dynamic”.

    But at least Alan has clarified the connection with medical knowledge and the Navy — which also clears up questions about Piro’s age. He also now demonstrates that he is a more reliable reporter than his younger siblings. But perhaps it could still be interesting to explore their tales about Piro’s toes and his musical and linguistic abilities.