12/11/2009 - Sousaphone

[CortJstr]

http://www.daisyowl.com/comic/2009-12-11

It's so wonderfully Seussian. I don't get why Steve is opposed to the comparison.

[pmcd9]

I want to see this thing built.  That would be FRIKKIN' AWESOME!!!!

[Asherdan]

Steve is making a grand FRIKKIN' AWESOME thing. Why would his buddy go and dump on it by bringing Dr. Seuss into it? This is not a silly Seuss thing of things.

No, indeed.

[Choop]

why is it dumping to mention seuss. seuss may have been silly but the world needs silly, and seuss was a Good. Dude.

[Asherdan]

From the standpoint of awesome and Seuss silliness interaction Steve is standing in the corner of the Venn that does include Seuss.

A friend would know this. The owl has committed a friend-faux-pas.

[jay-ell]

It would be less Seussian if he hadn't described it in rhyme.

[dejavroom]

Even less if the owl hadn't continued the rhyme for him.

Steve's contraption reminds me of this:

[Asherdan]

But less funny if they hadn't because then there wouldn't have been the abrupt transition to Steve's line in the last panel that made this something worth talking about...

[Mr Trout]

That is a pretty cool relics cover. Mine looks like this:



I'm assuming the drawing is vinyl and the photo is from the CD release?


edit: research indicates my assumption was correct: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relics_(album)#Cover

[bluemoon72]

why is it dumping to mention seuss. seuss may have been silly but the world needs silly, and seuss was a Good. Dude.

With the minor exception of this:  http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/1aa/1aa291.htm

Excerpt:  However, it is Dr. Seuss's portrayal of the Japanese that is most disturbing. His Japanese characters don't represent Hirohito or any other well-known World War II figure, in contrast to his obvious pictures of Hitler. Instead, Minear wrote, "...Dr. Seuss draws 'Japan' - piggish nose, coke-bottle eyeglasses, slanted eyes, brush mustache, lips parted (usually in a smile)." He went on to say, "Perhaps it is no surprise that American cartoonists during the Pacific War painted Japan in overtly racist ways. However, it is a surprise that a person who denounces anti-black racism and anti-Semitism so eloquently can be oblivious of his own racist treatment of Japanese and Japanese Americans. And to find such cartoons - largely unreproached - in the pages of the leading left newspaper of New York City and to realize that the cartoonist is the same Dr. Seuss we celebrate today for his imagination and tolerance and breadth of vision: this is a sobering experience."

[Asherdan]

Interesting, I don't think the pictorial treatment was oblivious in any way, on T. Geisel's part or anyone elses in that time period. It was, in large part, rage and hatefulness directed at an enemy.

As an example of the cultural tone along this line:

Vice Admiral Halsey was at sea in his flagship, USS Enterprise, during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Upon learning of the Japanese attack, he was rumored to have remarked, "Before we're through with 'em, the Japanese language will only be spoken in hell."[3] Halsey's contempt for the Japanese was well-displayed throughout the war to the officers and sailors under his command in very successful campaigns to boost morale. One such example was the slogan attributed to Halsey, "Kill Japs, Kill Japs, Kill More Japs!" The more of the little yellow bastards you kill, the quicker we go home!

There was winning and hating to do, people to moralize and mobilize.

I let y'all decide if that makes it any better or worse, but I find the 'oblivious' comment obtuse.

[Choop]

well, sure, but nobody's perfect. and during that war, everybody was doing whatever it took to beat back the bastards and bring our boys home. in light of all the work seuss did trying to eliminate prejudice and increase tolerance, that one misstep is forgivable; the metaphor i want to use here is an intentional foul just before halftime to protect your team's lead (shaq can't sink 'em from the line). fouling isn't cool, but it can be understandable given certain contexts.

[theinevitable]

I love how even the good guys in WWII were fucked-up racists. fuck.

I am a strong proponent of the "once you start doing what the enemy does (torture, assassinate, whatever), YOU AREN'T THE GOOD GUYS ANYMORE" concept. Although my more "sophisticated" friends laugh at this, because they are cynical assholes.

there has to be some sort of line that I can be happy with between cultural/historical relativism and absolute moral judgment, but I haven't found it yet.

[greenkoolayd]

I love how even the good guys in WWII were fucked-up racists. fuck.

I am a strong proponent of the "once you start doing what the enemy does (torture, assassinate, whatever), YOU AREN'T THE GOOD GUYS ANYMORE" concept. Although my more "sophisticated" friends laugh at this, because they are cynical assholes.

there has to be some sort of line that I can be happy with between cultural/historical relativism and absolute moral judgment, but I haven't found it yet.

all heroes have flaws, dude.  all we can do is take the good ideas and run with them, while leaving the bad ideas in the burn pile.

[Asherdan]

Psst, hey Inev. I bet if you were growed up in the right timeline you woulda had a dandy time doing a blackface routine just like Mr. Jolson to entertain the fellas down at the plant.

But you're a smart dude. You know we can't judge past times through the filter of our times.