Hey, isn’t there some holiday around now?

Fourth of July comics galore … if you’ve skipped the hot dogs, how about some Shrimp and Grits?

Thanks to Boise Ed for this Shrimp and Grits:

FYI, Andy Marlette who does this strip is apparently the nephew of the late Doug Marlette, known as creator of Kudzu and for his editorial cartooning.


But wait … there’s more!

Like most male wearers of Speedos, he really shouldn’t. With that body type, there’s nothing solemn or sacred. Scared, maybe.

In my neighborhood there are unofficial fireworks for all sorts of holidays and unexplained occasions, chiefly firecrackers. But indeed the loudest and longest-running are the official displays for The Fourth and other sanctioned events …. but always supplemented by local enthusiasts.
And so most major holidays are accompanied by topical responses in pet advice blogs, veterinary newsletters, and pet supply store tracker ads, on how to soothe and de-stress the furry friends in the face of the startling noises.

If you noticed an OY category marker for this post, and wondered which item(s) may have triggered that, here is one answer.

Back in OY territory!

And finally, time for “Ballad for Americans”


In seventy-six the sky was red
thunder rumbling overhead
Bad King George couldn’t sleep in his bed
And on that stormy morn, Ol’ Uncle Sam was born.

Independence Day!

Let’s appropriately start with the Pledge of Allegiance.

A serious moment from Nancy. The Gilchrists could do this type of thing well.

Now it’s time for a picnic and fireworks!

And one good Baldo deserves another! We never got anything more exciting than sparklers, regardless of what the neighbors got.

The Founding Fathers had to contend with a lot of logistic difficulties in declaring independence.

Let’s not forget, though, that the Founding Fathers were also quite interested in making a buck, and modern America continues that tradition!

But eventually the Founding Fathers brought their interests into harmony with each other.

But beyond commercialism and politics, there’s a country out there to treasure.

This land is your land and this land is my land
From the California to the New York island
From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me (Woody Guthrie)

Call for 4th of July comics

CALL FOR HOLIDAY COMICS

We’re going to succumb to Independence Day fervor and have a potpourri posting on the Fourth, with any and every kind of comic, whether funny, punny, or puzzling, as long as it relates to that holiday.

But it’s scheduled to go live on the day! So we need items that are already out there! Thanks!

So far all we have is a nice stock photo of people watching fireworks, which serves as featured image. It would be sad to have this presiding over an empty page.

Sunday Funnies – LOLs, June 19th, 2022

Okay, is it missing a beat, or brilliantly leaving unsaid, that Martin changes his mind because the patron reveals he is preparing to use highlighter or underline if he doesn’t have Post-Its?

Thanks to Boise Ed for sending this in and noting how it does “clever damage to the fourth wall”.

And a nice plus here is that Percy was not brought in just for this meta moment, but in following days has some entirely non-meta joke conversations with Clayton.

Would you like to join the CIDU editorial team?

Contact Mitch and WinterWallaby at the usual submission address if you are interested in being a Co-Editor in Training.

What you will be doing (immediately or soon)

• Join in maintaining email correspondence with readers
   • and content submitters
   • and grey-eminence type advisory panel members
• and our sponsors/publishers (the Bickel family)
• Read and monitor the flow of comment posting, manage the Pending (“moderation”) and Spam buckets, and make your own comments or edit reader comments as necessary to avoid out-of-line ill-tempered disputes. (And of course to enjoy expressing your own views!)
• Initially in consultation with the rest of the editorial team, and later independently, decide how and when to use material submitted by readers.
• Share the mouse-and-keyboard tasks of getting that reader-submitted material uploaded, posted, and editorially framed.
• Find material for posting from the course of your own comics reading, and post it

What you need to be/do/have/know to “apply”

• This is a volunteer activity, not a job. Unpaid. No set office hours.
• You should be in general familiar with the CIDU site and our usual contents and style, and in general enjoy comicstrip humor. But you don’t have to be a prolific commenter.
• You should be able to maintain a sense of humor and relaxed cooperation for negotiating collaborative plans, decisions, and solutions
• You do not need to be familiar with WordPress admin pages or app! But you should be someone who considers yourself adept at picking up and using web-browser-based forms and tools, with only casual instruction (email texts and maybe some Zoom screenshare sessions)
• You should be able to work from a full screen desktop or laptop computer with reasonably uptodate OS and web browser and related tools.
• You should not insist on tech eccentricities that would prevent effectively using the WordPress editing web app.

Saturday Morning Oys – June 18th, 2022

Thanks to Bill R, who says “It’s like they’re daring us to figure it out”. Which is why there is a CIDU category (“tag”) on this, along with the “(Not a CIDU)” for the OYs list in general. Look, don’t question it too hard. Oh, and it’s not a pun really, but gets an OY as a language-related item. Also this list was sitting bare too long …

The usage they’re disputing over was taught in my schooldays as one of “those common mistakes to be avoided”. 

OK, I think (but am not positive) that I get the alternate meaning the joke depends on — from too many crime shows, the best deals a defendant’s lawyer might hope to extract from a prosecutor would involve setting no additional jail time, so the defendant gets to “walk away” or “take a walk”.

First I thought the outside guy was wearing an odd bathrobe; but throw in his laurel wreath and I guess he is at a toga party. But not the inside guy. Oh well, it doesn’t seem to affect the joke.

Possible cross-comic banter, based on spelling of the name?