HER OWN MEDICINE

Sunday, July 19. 2009

Gran is pretty hard to get to know. Just look at me. It took twenty years for me to build a semblance of a relationship with her.
That's why I'm not surprised to hear that there's some friction between her and her new in-laws, the Squirrel family. While she and her husband seem very much in love, his relations aren't bothering to conceal their displeasure.
My suspicion is that they're afraid she'll take his money. However, when Mr. Squirrel went to prison he gave Gran power of attorney to manage his finances, and she adroitly steered them through last year's financial meltdown and handed them back when he was released.
On the other hand, it's illuminating that he didn't chose any member of his own family for the task. He apparently is less than impressed with their business acumen, or at least with their ability to work together.
At any rate, what has united the younger generation of Squirrels is their loathing of Gran. Of course, her basic cantankerous nature doesn't help. She's now finding out what it's like to be presumed guilty until proven innocent!

Posted by Lindesfarne at 00:26 | Comments (21) | Trackbacks (0)

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Some people are just reticent about themselves, Lindesfarne. Not only does Gran keep to herself, she also spent much of your life out of contact in the Wild. I agree that Douglas' family are probably concerned that she's after his money. As his wife, she's legally entitled to it. (At least, she would be on our side of the portal.)

There's a (relatively) new TV show on our side called Man Vs. Cartoon. A group of engineers attempt to build some of the outlandish contraptions used by Wile E. Coyote, Super Genius in his eternally failed efforts to capture the Roadrunner. Some of them actually work! Somewhere in Heaven, the late (and much lamented) Chuck Jones must be looking down in both amusement and disbelief... (I can't imagine what those cartoons were/are like on your side. Live action? The biggest shame would be if you don't have their equivalent. They are classic comedy.)

No question for us this week?

#1 CharlieG on 2009-07-19 01:07 (Reply)

i had not realized you'd reached the second decade of your life. congratulations and i wish you well. one thing i can say about my little look ins to your universe thong this comic. you prove that there is always something more to learn and you're never too old to change.

#2 e_voyager on 2009-07-19 02:23 (Reply)

Sorry about the oversight! Since you brought it up, what other reality shows are there? BTW, there's turbulence in the portal's data stream so I may not be able to respond much today.

#3 Lindesfarne Dewclaw on 2009-07-19 09:11 (Reply)

Your question about 'reality shows' makes me sorry I even brought the idea up. In general, most so-called 'reality' shows make humans compete against each other in demeaning ways, usually for a large amount of money. They encourage lying and betrayal as means to get ahead. In short, they demand and exploit the worst in human nature and, not surprisingly, they get huge ratings.

To give you an idea of the level of these shows, the winner of the first Survivor series was a lawyer... who went to jail because he didn't think he had to pay taxes on the money he won. Of course, on our side, all of the participants are volunteers, so those remarks I made about the lowest values are accepted from the beginning. I can guess what the show is like on your side. The survivor is literally that: the only contestant left undigested. Seriously, that version is probably less demeaning to the participants...and the viewers. As you might have gathered, I am neither a fan nor a viewer of these kinds of shows.

Other reality shows (including the first one many years ago concerning the Loud family) basically set up intrusive cameras all over the family home to capture all of the 'drama' involved in family life. My feeling is that this kind of intrusion makes any minor problem worse and any true problem into a disaster. If a family in that situation had a true disaster, we might actually get film of a multiple-murder and suicide! How wonderful for the ratings!

The reality shows I do watch are shows like the one I mentioned and Mythbusters. Shows where the conflict is not manufactured between people but between opinion and fact. I agree there's not great scientific value in knowing the fastest way to cool a six-pack of beer, but it's not a dehumanizing thing to experiment with. (BTW, a small cooler, ice and salt-water: five minutes.) Like Science itself, it's neutral. When you do this, this happens in response. Can this bizarre idea from cartoon physics (the Coyote's Indestructo-Ball) be made to a point where someone could even survive a short ride in it? (The answer's yes, BTW.)

#3.1 CharlieG on 2009-07-19 10:36 (Reply)

Mythbusters can't really be classified as a "reality" show. There no contestants, rules, conflict, prizes, etc. Merely the testing of various myths. If anything, it's more of a "docutainment" type of show.

The only kind of reality shows I like are the ones where you can actually learn something, like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Monster House/Garage, Small Space-Big Idea. Unfortunately, these have all been canceled.

#3.1.1 Mortar on 2009-07-21 12:50 (Reply)

Actually, Mythbusters is classified as "reality" since it deals with real world problems, even if they are "myths". Some of the myths aren't completely ridiculous, such as the ones pertaining to "Old Housewife" remedies or the ones about survival. (Well, like the myth that if you jump before a falling elevator hits the ground you will live. Busted!).

#3.1.1.1 SB on 2009-07-22 21:53 (Reply)

I don't follow reality shows. My favorite show is Mythbusters. I have a question for you. How long do different species of persons live? We know mayflies only live a day. Yet the previous president was a butterfly. On this side of the portal, a POTUS has to be 35 or older. Does the lifespan only of mayflies reflect their human world equivalent?

#4 Thomas Mazanec (Link) on 2009-07-19 11:11 (Reply)

Lindy, there are more reality shows here than I care to spell out. But it sounds like your world has even more of them, due to the sapient species variety.

About the Squirrels... people tend to assume (if they can even imagine otherwise) that other people are no better than they are. I wonder if they're projecting their own greed onto Dorothy. It would certainly explain why Douglas didn't choose any of them.

#5 Classic Steve (Link) on 2009-07-19 13:56 (Reply)

Chuck Jones was a cartoonist on your side of the portal?! Over here he was a coyote with a TV series about tinkering and building gadgets. I never got into it much, but my brother did, and I've known a few folks who credit him with sparking their interest in making things like the stuff you'd see on the MAKE website and at Makerfaire (do you have those over there)?

#6 Terri the Tiger on 2009-07-19 21:18 (Reply)

He also had a show later on where he taught young kids about science every saturday morning. Think Bill Neigh the Science Guy, but a little less focused on education and a bit more on fun. I remember getting up early as a pup to watch 'Will E. Cyotey' Suuuuuper GENIUS! start off the day with a letter from a 'kid' with a equaly punful name asking the scientific question for the day, like a 'Storm E. Skies' asking how rain was made. At this point Dr. Daffy, a regular 'quack' of a duck, would state some silly explination, ie the clouds were sad and crying. 'Will E.' would then take the rest of the episode to tell how it all actualy works, show some neat stuff to do at home, and have a couple highjinx as well. I miss Will E.'s World. Did the humans have an equivilant?

#6.1 Bioman on 2009-07-21 19:02 (Reply)

Oh wow I remember that series! With "Bugs" Bunny the entomologist (because bugs were always eating his plants!) and "Porky" Pig the chef, who showed off kitchen science...and was always making a mess...and when Will E. caught him at it, he'd always get nervous and start stuttering...lol. Will E.'s World got me into the worst trouble for messing up the kitchen and getting hungry before lunch.

#6.1.1 Terri the Tiger on 2009-07-23 10:55 (Reply)

I rember that too. My mom got so mad after I tried Porkey's Viniger and Bakingsoda mix out at home. Unfortunantly though, I mixed up a teaspoon with a table spoon and well....

#6.1.1.1 Bioman on 2009-07-24 01:05 (Reply)

While I am all for a taste of your own medecine and empathy, I hope you aren't enjoying her lambasting too much. She is still your grandmother after all.

I'm not surprised that squirles, with their hoarding mentality, are assuming that this is all for financial gain. They are just most likly worried about their inheritance and what they can get from Mr. Cooper once he passes on.

#7 Bioman on 2009-07-20 11:52 (Reply)

((Boy am I actibe this week.))

Sad news on the celebety front, with yet another celebrety death. 'Lil Pepe' the Taco Bell spokesman, best known for his catchphrase, Yo Quiero Taco Bell, passed away in his sleep last night due to breathing complications.

#8 Bioman on 2009-07-23 10:51 (Reply)

He did? Dang, I missed that...well, at least the little guy died in his sleep. I'm sadder, though, about last week's celebrity death...Walter Prongheight, the retired anchor newsman. Um...since the humans will want to know, he was a very serious-looking deer over here. I was too young to watch him or remember him much, but he was a very big deal...created the anchorman position practically on the evening news, and told everyone "the way it was."

Like I said, I didn't know him, but I'm in a field that's (distantly) related to the press and journalism, and everyone in the industry is feeling the loss. There have been tributes everywhere.

#8.1 Terri the Tiger on 2009-07-24 10:38 (Reply)

By "younger generation" do you mean adults younger than she and Mr. Cooper, or do you mean teenagers?

If she's inspired the mass dislike of teenaged squirrels...she's going to need a bigger umbrella.

#9 Tuyu on 2009-07-24 12:40 (Reply)

well terri we had a show called beakman's world that sounds a lot like what your talking about

#10 xan on 2009-07-25 06:19 (Reply)

For my money, the best "Reality" show of all times was "Candid Camera". They set up absurd situations (often rigged by mechanics and actors), but the reactions were absolutely real.

#11 Robin on 2009-07-25 13:54 (Reply)

Over here, 'Lil Pepe' was actually a female Chihuahua named Gidget. She did pass peacefully in her sleep. I never liked her TB commercials, but the 'Here, lizard, lizard lizard!' ones Taco Bell used as a tie-in to the bad American Godzilla remake were at least funny.

Walter Cronkheit also passed, this side's 'most trusted man in America.' I'm old enough to remember both of his most remembered stories: the assassination of JFK and the Moon Landings.

#12 CharlieG on 2009-07-25 23:20 (Reply)

Wait, how did they get away with useing a female chihuahua for a male role?

#12.1 Bioman on 2009-07-26 11:07 (Reply)

For Humans, you can't a male from a femail just by casual appearance.

#12.1.1 Mortar on 2009-07-26 22:43 (Reply)

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