Funny Papers

Article Tools

Print friendly
E-mail story
Tip Us Off
iPod friendly
Comments

Bookmark This

del.icio.us.
Digg!
furl
google
newsvine
reddit
technorati
Facebook
Yahoo!

OPUS SAYS THBBFT!: Opus, as any reader of the L.A. Times Sunday comics knows, is a goofy but lovable penguin, the creation of Montecitan Berkeley Breathed. (His real name.)

In last Sunday’s panel, boys and girls, Opus was perched on a tiny Smart Car-looking auto, mooning pictures of a sheik and the public-spirited folks at Exxon and giving them the raspberry: “THBBFT.” On the ground, a small boy is mooning a photo of Dick Chaney, U.S. Vice President of Oil.

On the Beat

Once upon a time, the vulgar act of turning one’s naked backside to anyone or anything would not be a fit subject of a newspaper and certainly not in the “funny papers.” But today things have both loosened up—thanks to Doonesbury—and because the comic pages are just about the last places to ridicule the outrageous stuff happening out there. How better to show contempt than to point your posterior his or her way? (Do not try this at home, kids. And apparently we are not supposed to wonder why a penguin is wearing pants in the first place, as well as a red bow tie.)

But Breathed has a message beyond poking fun at oil profiteers. The little car is hooked up to an extension cord that is hooked to an SMA 5,000-watt inverter, which is hooked up to rooftop Mitsubishi 185-watt solar panels. A square “balloon” reads: “Cost of fill-up: $0.” Of course, one has to invest in the panels and inverter. Another square “balloon” with an arrow pointing to the car reads: “Speedy but bug-like plug-in hybrid (coming!).”

There are reports that an electric version of the Smart Car is coming to the U.S. at some point. It’s being called a hybrid even though it’s all-electric. The electric Smart Car will have a range of 120 to150 miles and a top speed of 80. It will charge up in five to six hours using a standard household outlet.

A friend says she can’t wait until Toyota’s Prius comes out with an electric model so she can hook it up to a solar charging unit. In the meantime, she’s turned her Prius’s cruise control to 60 on her trips to the L.A. “basin,” increasing her MPG to around 50. “I used to drive 70,” she told me. “Now I’m going with the flow. The biggest benefit is not my gas savings but the reduction of stress, because I’m less frustrated with other drivers and not trying to get around them and competing. I don’t get mad at others. My stress level is way down, and I don’t have to look for cops. I get to my destination on time by leaving earlier. Now I want to set my cruise control to 55.”

HEARD ON THE STREET: Word on State Street has two former Santa Barbara News-Press reporters landing on their feet at the Chumash Casino. Cammie Barnwell, who quit during the paper’s meltdown, has been promoted from PR specialist at the casino to manager of guest relations. And Hildy Medina, who also quit and went to Hispanic Business magazine, was hired to fill Cami’s Chumash spot.

SPEAKING OF CASINOS: The revamped Coral Casino at the Four Seasons Biltmore is now open and the Tydes Restaurant reopens in September. (No gambling, natch.)

GHOSTLY PAPERS: “I canceled my subscription to Santa Barbara News-Press about a year ago and still keep getting the pesky thing,” growled Ted Smith. “Do they do that to keep their circulation up or what? I browse through it sometimes, but it’s truly past its prime. Do other folks out there seem to be receiving it for free, but can’t shake it off like tenacious snot? Do the advertisers really think they are reaching as wide an audience as NP numbers say?” (Ted, it could be just garbled bookkeeping by a shorthanded staff—or maybe…)

NEIL SIMON COMEDY: Looking forward to the Santa Barbara City College Theatre Group’s upcoming production of Neil Simon’s comedy Rumors, due at the Garvin Theatre July 11-26, with a preview tonight, July 10. It’s about a 10th wedding anniversary party that goes horribly and hilariously wrong. The host shoots himself in the head (it’s only a flesh wound) and his wife disappears. Only Simon could make this funny.

HOPE RANCH RULES: The enclave of Hope Ranch has issued a long list of rules to help residents guard against violations by building contractors. In 60 percent of calls to the ranch office, there’s unapproved construction activity going on, risking a red tag stop work order, HR said. Construction activity is permitted only between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. “County work hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. do not prevail in Hope Ranch.” No warming up of tractors or other heavy equipment before start time. “No exiting of construction sites at break-neck speeds.” No loud cussing. “Do not dump materials into cargo containers to achieve the ‘loudest bang’ effect.”

Related Links

• More On the Beat columns

Comments

Discussion Guidelines

Currently:
Clear Sky
Temperature:
52.0°
Wind:
5 SE