Strictly Taboo

It was some time back when I began writing the current Rachel storyline ... neither presidential candidate had yet chosen a running mate, and such matters as comprehensive sexual education, teen pregnancy, and age-appropriate curricula were somewhere well under the radar of the news media.

And now that I've got the storyline up and running, those issues are long gone from the cultural spotlight. So much for fortuitous timing.

But in fact I think this storyline is less about sex education than it is about taboos, and the role of writers and artists to push at the public consciousness, challenge comfort zones, and facilitate dialogue that we might sometimes rather avoid. Lofty goals, maybe, for a little web comic ... but I can only hope that it succeeds to some extent.

And hopefully it's funny, too. That's always the most important thing.

Rachel and the Art of Advice Columning

From the beginning, Rachel's voice and attitude as an advice columnist were heavily influenced by Washington Post advice columnist Carolyn Hax. I began reading her column years ago when it ran in the Portland Press Herald. When I left the Portland area and could no longer read it locally, I started looking it up online.

It's hard to say exactly what it is about her column -- the kind of letters she seems to attract; her straightforward, take-no-BS approach; the cartoon illustrations by the immensely talented Nick Galifianakis -- but I daresay it is hers more than any other advice column I read that gives me the best comic ideas. Wednesday's comic was practically lifted from one of her past columns, as was this one from the comic archives.

What is most remarkable is that I didn't have to change much at all of the writers' tones or their approaches to the questions they were asking.

She's Up and Running

So. It took some doing, some trial-and-error, and a considerable (and ongoing) learning curve. And it remains a work in progress (but then, isn't that true of life in general?) but the Ask Rachel comic now has its very own website.

Enjoy!

Writing on the Walls

Sixty-eight years ago today, two boys in the southwest of France wandered into a cavern looking for buried treasure. And they found it -- though not the sort of buried treasure they were hoping for. What they found was the Cave of Lascaux -- the Sistine Chapel of Palaeolithic culture.

Which leads me to wonder if today's B.C. is a tribute to this particular moment in art history, or if it's entirely a coincidence?

What we call Carbonated Beverages

Here is a curious little map I stumbled upon, which gives quite the comprehensive accounting of what regions favor which terms when referring to soft-drinks. Of course I was born and raised in "soda" country, though it appears that "pop" is by far the national favorite.

The data does become suspect, though, when you look further into the website that is presenting it. Consider some of the responses filed under "Other":

pop. is this word used to describe soda because of the carbonation or the noise it makes when the can is opened? i asked someone in Indiana once why she called it "pop" and that was her answer. well thats just plain retarded. i dont call a cat "meow". i dont call a baby "waaa" please. as i look at my soda on my desk now.. it says plain as day on the can "A&W Cream Soda" . if the company that is producing the product has labeled it as soda, then my friends ... it is (TM) and ready to go as soda. just accept it you northern hicks and toothless southern rednecks, pop is what you call "yer daddy". soda is what you call your beverage.

Or:

Coke. And for all of you America-bashing backwards retards out there, take a look around you. You live in a culture engulfed by American things. So either stop being ignorant and hating America or give up all of those things that you depend on. Stupid foreigners.

Or my personal favorite:

Dear web designer, you should have put a limit on the number of characters that can fit in this field. It would eliminate a bunch of wordy, mostly irrelevant responses. Like this one.

I'm thinking it's not the most scientific of surveys.

But at the very least, it's an interesting glimpse into the dialogue and exchange of information that this internet makes possible.

Retail Retreads?

First it was Corey Pandolph's TOBY: Robot Satan. This week, Phil Dunlap's Ink Pen is muscling in on Norm Feuti's territory. Not that I'm all that surprised; there is a lot of comic potential to be mined from the retail industry.

Personally, I've always believed the more we can poke fun at the way the public treats its service-industry workers, the better. I'd like to see this country impliment a mandatory retail-work service, much like some countries have mandatory military service. Every US citizen should be required to work at least a year in some sort of service-related industry. Then, maybe, more people would be more sympathetic and show a bit more respect to these hard-working, underpaid, underappreciated workers.

Actually, probably not. But it's a nice fantasy.

Promises, Promises

According to this Yahoo!News headline, "McCain Vows to End Partisan Rancor in Washington".

I guess he must have slept through his running-mate's speech last night.