This is the weekly dispatch from Bizarro Studios North, where I have been writing and drawing the Monday through Saturday Bizarro comics since 2018. My partner and friend, Dan Piraro, created Bizarro in the late twentieth century and continues to do the Sunday comic from Rancho Bizarro in Mexico.
Wayno
Civilization cannot last or advance without culture. Ahmad Jamal (1930-2023)
Pianist Ahmad Jamal is one of many great jazz musicians who were born in Pittsburgh. He achieved significant commercial success while being respected and admired by his peers.
Miles Davis himself spoke highly of Jamal:
All my inspiration comes from Ahmad Jamal. He knocked me out with his concept of space, his lightness of touch, his understatement, and the way he phrases notes and chords and passages.
Jamal's example is a valuable study for practitioners of any creative pursuit. With a simple trio of piano, bass, and drums, and a delicate touch, he created a body of work that rewards repeated listening.
I think of Ahmad Jamal when I (attempt to) cook. I limit the ingredients and allow them to do their thing without a lot of distractions. I also try to keep my comic art uncomplicated to serve the gag, which is somewhat paradoxical since Bizarro is sprinkled with our Secret Symbols. The eyeball, flying saucer, pipe, and other symbols should be thought of as seasoning rather than the focus of the visual dish.
Bizarro field correspondent Derek R. brought this week's pipe pic to my attention.
It's a shot of Albert Einstein with Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard, reviewing a letter they sent to Franklin Roosevelt following the 1938 discovery of nuclear fission. The two scientists warned FDR of the potential for the development of extremely powerful and destructive weapons using nuclear chain reactions.
This photo and the accompanying history can be found on the National Park Service's website. This is an excerpt from that page:
The Manhattan Project was a highly significant chapter in America’s history that ushered in the nuclear age, determined how the next war, the Cold War, would be fought, and served as the organizational model behind the remarkable achievements of American "big science" during the second half of the twentieth century.
The Manhattan Project also raised ethical and moral questions among scientists and citizens alike—questions that continue to this day. More than 200,000 people died by the end of 1945 as a direct result of the atomic bombings. The advance of nuclear science has given rise to nuclear energy and medicine as well as radioactive waste and health problems. The Manhattan Project and its legacies are complex as the science that made the project possible.
Thanks to Derek for the photo and history lesson. I recommend checking out the referenced web page before anti-science zealots take it down.
Let's see how the latest Bizarro panels score on understatement and lightness of touch.
Perhaps I should have saved this for Halloween, but I enjoy doing ghostly gags throughout the year.
That "lumberjack" pattern is known as buffalo plaid in the US, but it originated in Scotland as the MacGregor Red and Black tartan.
Tuesday's panel isn't autobiographical. I took Spanish in school.
In response to the cartoon, my good friend Jeff shared this photo of a reference book from his home library.
Merci, mon frère!
A
caption for the eye rather than the ear. It could be considered a "visual pun" since the words "through" and "trough" look very similar without sounding at all alike; a form of misdirection.
I believe this is what's called an unforced error.
Friday's panel resulted from a sketchbook drawing.
The image of a car mechanic doing ventriloquism using a crash test dummy made me smile, but it wasn't until a week later that I came up with dialogue to flesh it out.
I sometimes watch nature documentaries, and although I've seen many examples of the mating and courtship rituals of animals, plant life is rarely covered.
Thanks for viewing our latest batch of quadrilateral quips. We'll be back with more of this foolishness next week.
The Four Freshmen did a great version of "Poinciana!" My brother was a great jazz trombonist and loved th Freshman, especially their LP "The Four Freshmen and Five Trombones."
Regarding today's strip, check out this deep dive into the mechanics of leaf color change (before it's taken down by anti-science zealots): https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/blog/biology-fall-leaves-its-all-about-chemistry
Although it steps all over your joke, French swearing is different from American swearing. At least in French Canada, a lot of swear words seem to be connected to the Catholic Church: "tabernacle" (sounds like "taberNACK!") is a very bad word, for instance. Good old "merde" is in common use, though.
Swearing in France (and most French-speaking countries except Canada) is not that different from the US. Merde, putain, cul, etc., although there are some phrases that are quite rude but would not make sense to English speakers.
Swearing in Québec is *very* different. As you pointed out, almost all the words derive from Catholicism rather than bodily functions.
I really liked the cartoon about a meeting being cancelled because no one reserved the conference room because, for years, I was the conference room scheduler at two different companies.
Most people were nice and reasonable about their conference room requests though one person was so unreasonable that she drove me to tears and then she berated me for being "unprofessional" because I had tears in my eyes from pure frustration.
The cartoon also taps into my hatred of meetings and my happiness when they get cancelled.
There also is the underlying concern (or fear) of forgetting to reserve a room for a meeting.
Thank you for the comment, and I'm glad you liked the cartoon despite those awful memories! I have speen way too much time in meetings in previous jobs, and I know how lucky I am to draw cartoons for a living now!
Two comments - Did you know that bagpipers were used to lead troops into battle as late as WW2? They were supposed to boost morale and intimidate enemies. But they lost 1000's, so the practice was reduced. That means there are probably lots of plaid ghosts roaming battle sites. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/Scottish-Piper-War-Heroes/#:~:text=Although%20the%20attack%20was%20successful,old%20personal%20piper%2C%20Bill%20Millin.
French swears - My grandparents emigrated from the French-speaking side of Canada and my family spoke it often. So did most of my friends, as our area of town was made up of French Canadians. So when I took French in grammar school, most of the class already knew the swear words. Also, I went to a small Catholic school and the nun who taught French was the one who couldn't speak English. But she told the best scary stories.
I used to bowl (a lot) and took the naming of my bowling teams to a higher level. For instance, I named one team BowlJob, just to enjoy the furtive looks and mispronounciations. However, there was one team that lived up to its name, because we named it Merde du Jour.
The Red and Black tartan was also the traditional pattern worn by hunters in New England (before blaze orange became standard). That's why Cabot Cheddar used it for the package of their sharpest cheddar. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3gimsyc_LULa9Hw8wNpM2Qh9rm5VFRt4q_kgapWRHsa_QJKbrlO7IqbW5eVFMonFd-RVN910KFIkMExDF90qsYmsw3HJFaedFL6yqTib89iNQWjPB-49X-q_jYir67UI65n8N/s1600/download+%25282%2529.jpg
I saw this pipe picture in a book just now, and found a postcard on eBay of it. Not sure of the ownership, but it's interesting: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/166454113983
The Four Freshmen did a great version of "Poinciana!" My brother was a great jazz trombonist and loved th Freshman, especially their LP "The Four Freshmen and Five Trombones."
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4NafK3NFhA
Thanks for sharing that, Dave! You can really hear the influence on Brian Wilson.
DeleteRegarding today's strip, check out this deep dive into the mechanics of leaf color change (before it's taken down by anti-science zealots):
ReplyDeletehttps://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/blog/biology-fall-leaves-its-all-about-chemistry
That's a fascinating article, and, yes, let's hope the anti-science zealots tucker themselves out.
DeleteAlthough it steps all over your joke, French swearing is different from American swearing. At least in French Canada, a lot of swear words seem to be connected to the Catholic Church: "tabernacle" (sounds like "taberNACK!") is a very bad word, for instance. Good old "merde" is in common use, though.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Michael! I never knew that, and it's always good to learn new things. Especially swear words.
DeleteSwearing in France (and most French-speaking countries except Canada) is not that different from the US. Merde, putain, cul, etc., although there are some phrases that are quite rude but would not make sense to English speakers.
DeleteSwearing in Québec is *very* different. As you pointed out, almost all the words derive from Catholicism rather than bodily functions.
Giants of Jazz Radio - Ahmad Jamal 24/7
ReplyDeletehttps://www.radio-uk.co.uk/giants-of-jazz-radio
Thank you, Glenn. Quite a nice playlist!
DeleteI really liked the cartoon about a meeting being cancelled because no one reserved the conference room because, for years, I was the conference room scheduler at two different companies.
ReplyDeleteMost people were nice and reasonable about their conference room requests though one person was so unreasonable that she drove me to tears and then she berated me for being "unprofessional" because I had tears in my eyes from pure frustration.
The cartoon also taps into my hatred of meetings and my happiness when they get cancelled.
There also is the underlying concern (or fear) of forgetting to reserve a room for a meeting.
Thank you for the comment, and I'm glad you liked the cartoon despite those awful memories! I have speen way too much time in meetings in previous jobs, and I know how lucky I am to draw cartoons for a living now!
DeleteTwo comments - Did you know that bagpipers were used to lead troops into battle as late as WW2? They were supposed to boost morale and intimidate enemies. But they lost 1000's, so the practice was reduced. That means there are probably lots of plaid ghosts roaming battle sites.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/Scottish-Piper-War-Heroes/#:~:text=Although%20the%20attack%20was%20successful,old%20personal%20piper%2C%20Bill%20Millin.
French swears - My grandparents emigrated from the French-speaking side of Canada and my family spoke it often. So did most of my friends, as our area of town was made up of French Canadians. So when I took French in grammar school, most of the class already knew the swear words. Also, I went to a small Catholic school and the nun who taught French was the one who couldn't speak English. But she told the best scary stories.
Thanks, Marc. The story of the piper Bill Millin was quite interesting!
DeleteIsn't any story told by a nun automatically a bit scary?
"Isn't any story told by a nun automatically a bit scary?"
DeleteHaha - You got me there! :-)
I used to bowl (a lot) and took the naming of my bowling teams to a higher level. For instance, I named one team BowlJob, just to enjoy the furtive looks and mispronounciations. However, there was one team that lived up to its name, because we named it Merde du Jour.
ReplyDeleteGlenn: I certainly hope you had team shirts!
DeleteThe Red and Black tartan was also the traditional pattern worn by hunters in New England (before blaze orange became standard). That's why Cabot Cheddar used it for the package of their sharpest cheddar. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3gimsyc_LULa9Hw8wNpM2Qh9rm5VFRt4q_kgapWRHsa_QJKbrlO7IqbW5eVFMonFd-RVN910KFIkMExDF90qsYmsw3HJFaedFL6yqTib89iNQWjPB-49X-q_jYir67UI65n8N/s1600/download+%25282%2529.jpg
ReplyDeleteThanks, Andy. I learn a lot from our readers' comments, and now I'm hungry for a Seriously Grilled Cheese sandwich!
DeleteI saw this pipe picture in a book just now, and found a postcard on eBay of it. Not sure of the ownership, but it's interesting: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/166454113983
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jim! I'm putting that in the queue for next year (I have a LOT of pics stacked up!)
Delete