I really really wanted to contribute some flames to this page but Max-the-artist had a specific look he was going for and insisted on doing them himself.
He’s so mean.
Bobservations
HOT FEELINGS
It was noticed that last week’s update got about three times as many “Likes” as any previous update. It might just be an audience fondness for Max’s skill in creating flame artwork, or it might be that my accompanying blog post had an actual touch of political significance rather than my usual rambling reflections on the fine art of igniting toys.
If it was the latter, don’t worry. Won’t be making a habit of it. If there is anything I’ve noticed over the years, it is that the stronger my feelings are on almost any given subject, the more likely it is that I am completely full of shit. This is especially true of most large-scale news stories, where I’ve come to accept that I’m either being manipulated, lied to, or simply not given complete information. I can either get really upset or I can just sort of back off and see what happens, and I notice that either way, the results are about the same. The only difference is my stress level, and if I really wanted to get worked up over something that I have no control over and which does not care one whit about my opinion, I would watch sports or something.
Some people enjoy it, sure, and more power to them. They love to watch the news and get really angry about things and write furious Facebook posts about them — or maybe just “Share” someone else’s writeup, because doing actual writeups themselves interferes with their wallowing-in-vitriol time. I have friends like this, on both sides of the political spectrum. They are good to have, because I feel they generate more than enough rage for both of us, and while they are boosting their blood pressure and spraying spittle all over their screens, I can get on with doing something that I actually have control over, like trimming a hedge or making sure my comic updates on time.
— Bob out
Bob, I appreciate your dilemma with expressing politics in the comic. There will always be people who disagree with you, and there are some other comics I follow which push viewpoints that I disagree with, and it does somewhat dampen my ability to enjoy them. But at the same time, if I had some form of public platform that reached a lot of people, I would want to use it to convince people of the things that I believe. So it’s a conundrum.
But I also came to a similar realization that you did. I used to be a serious news hound, and would become very distressed when I saw things going in ways that I believe are wrong. But I finally realized that these big national issues will go the way they go and be the way they are whether I stress myself over them or not. So although I still hold the same beliefs, and just as ardently, I follow the politics enough to vote intelligently, and try to not worry myself about them too much more than that.
I wonder if the cops will realize they were saved by the early detonation of the bombs.
And all of this in under 3 minutes. 😉