Rumours

Today's title is a Flashback to the famous Rumours LP released by Fleetwood Mac back in the late 70's. Here, though, I am referring to the ever-present rumors at work. However, in today's comic, they are trying to do something about it. Well, they are trying to do something to get around it. Will it work? Try it at your place and see.

Expert Organizer

One of the joys of words that can mean multiple things is the opportunity to twist it so that the expected meaning is lost and the unexpected meaning can be applied. After all, doesn't it seem that an "Expert Organizer" is one that could organize experts? No, I don't know where this came from. It has been in my idea file for several months. I probably saw a book about this at a Goodwill one day and decided it could be worth exploring as a CoV.

Job in Jeopardy

Surely, you suspected that this strip would be about game shows since the title included the word Jeopardy. I do have the other character saying some game show references even before he finds out what Mr. Blue is meaning. Yeah, I toyed with revealing the creating games as his job part earlier, but it did not make the cartoon any funnier, so I left it as I created it.

Lovable Buffoon

I did not know I was going to mention the President until I started writing the cartoon. I needed something against which to balance the lovable buffoon that would not be expected. Then, I thought of the Where's Your Mama, Obama name and I knew it had to be him. This does not imply I think he is a buffoon nor that I think everything works out in spite of him. I just needed a clever foil (FYI: A foil is a character who serves as a contrast to another perhaps more primary character, so as to point out specific traits of the primary character).

Flipped Off

Another idea pulled from my idea log. I was trying to think of a clever cartoon about Sarah Palin possibly moving to AZ, but nothing came. I thought of her choosing Arizona because it comes next after Alaska alphabetically. I though of having her bring her own moose so they could hunt it in the backyard. I thought of going from a really cold state to a really hot one. Nothing really gelled.

On today's comic, my notes simply said :He flipped off my lights," so I had to consider how to make a four panel strip out of it. I created version 1, then decided to add the final comment, so I deleted a couple of quotes, moved a few comments to earlier panels, and ended up with what you see above.

I.R.A.

I did not realize until this morning that today's topic continues the theme of acronyms. I read an article over the weekend about I.R.A.'s and 401K's and how well Baby Boomers are prepared for their retirement. Not so great overall. Anyway, I.R.A. does have more than one meaning, and that was where the idea formed.

S.T.U.P.I.D. A.C.R.O.N.Y.M.S.

Trust me, this is about as far as I plan to carry this trend. If I were to reach for an acronym even longer, I would not have room to put any characters or any other text in the cartoon. Plus, even coming up with words that could work together to complete the meaning of the acronym was a challenge.

L.O.O.Q.W.A.R.M.

Of course, you suspected that I would move from C.O.O.L and H.O.T. to something in between, right? Starting with the letter L led me to make it a legal group name, meaning the name of a group from the Legal department. I did try to find a good name spelled as LUKEWARM, but the K and then E made it more challenging. I toyed with Legal Union Keeping Every Writ and Registry Manageable, but it didn't flow for me. So, I went with two Os and a Q.

H.O.T.

Now today's comic strip completes the original idea that led to yesterday's cartoon. I did not know what H.O.T. would stand for until this morning, but I knew I wanted to contrast C.O.O.L. against H.O.T. It might be too much trouble to figure out one that spells L.U.K.E.W.A.R.M.

C.O.O.L.

This must be a first cartoon in a series of at least two, right? I don't know where the idea came from, and I am not sure where the series is going. So, for this comic strip, I simply built off of the concepts of a grouped whose name is actually C.O.O.L. and them choosing a member whose skills are availability to take minutes and little else. I will be as interested as you in where it goes.

Knockoffs

Sure, who doesn't like savings? How grey does the market need to be before you will not buy something? A Mickey Mouse watch for $30? Probably OK. A Sony laptop for $157? Probably risky. A 2009 Jeep Cherokee for $4000? Sounds way too suspicious.

So, this cartoon came about after searching Craigslist for a new Mac computer. I just didn't feel comfortable. Yes, many people buy safely from there every day. Well, more power to them.

Furbished Computer

Another word caught my ear last night. Yes, furbished is a valid word, although I don't know that I have heard anyone use it. Anyway, it is uncommon enough that this comic works with the replacing of refurbished with second furbishing.

Made It To 500

A coworker challenged me to write a strip about making it to number 500. I thought it would be easy, but even on today's commute, I did not know what to do. I researched and found the first was written on March 19, 2009, so I decided to add that in. Once I had the characters saying numbers, it sounded like headcount reductions, so I went with that. Finally, I was trying to find a twist for panel four and decided to do a self-burn. Let the characters break the fourth wall, if you will.

Second One This Month

I woke up with a couple of ideas this morning. At least one of them was an idea for a comic strip. Neither of the ideas was this cartoon, though. Then, once I thought of this, I forgot the other two ideas. I guess I can only carry so many creative concepts at once.

No, I don't think I am in danger of being laid off right now, but maybe I need to get to know the programmers in the HR area soon? As they say, it's who you know that counts.

Other Germs

I pulled this idea from the CoV Ideal log file. I don't know what made me add it. My notes mention the factoid that some people still do not wash their hands after being in the bathroom, so I could have observed that. I also had written the point that some people let their dog lick a plate when they are finished. I don't think that was it. Anyway, I was not sure how to end it and decided to use a person not breathing due to fear of the air, and then playing of of Mr. Blue.

Negative Is As Negative Does

Don't you hate those who dwell on the negative aspects of others? So, I wondered if people like that aren't becoming like those they claim to dislike. I am not sure where I got the idea, but it is so common that you should have no trouble affixing a face from someone in your life to the story.

Taste Buds

I am sure my kids said funny, silly things when they were young, but we did not have Facebook to immediately capture and share it. Luckily, in today's world, when kids say the darndest things, we can remember it. So, today's CoV is almost verbatim from my oldest granddaughter.

Taser Parties

On my commute this morning, I heard about a woman who is giving local Taser parties and brings both a live Taser and demo units. She said that she started doing this after "a couple of stalkers forced her to buy one." Now, if you heard that, I think you would have immediately started interpreting it the same way I did. I knew then that this was today's comic strip, but I was not sure how to end it. Then, I wondered if maybe that was Taser, Inc's strategy all along? So, the fourth panel was then obvious.

Lessons From Forefathers

I cannot remember what gave me the idea for this comic. I am sure I heard someone mention something about our forefathers. I just mentioned to the title of today's CoV to a coworker and she said "Hmm. Forefathers. Four fathers." So, even a reader is starting to think like me.

Dude Looks Like a Lady

I knew I wanted to make one of my granddaughter's comments into a cartoon when I heard about it. And she is right. He does look kind of weird. I just had to decide how to present it. So, I chose to make a magazine cover out of his photo and then add some song references from the mother.