Category: Cartoons and Trivia

Smells Like

Smells Like

I totally hate the smell of cooked or cooking cabbage.

Hate it.

It all goes back to the time I was in the fourth grade. I went with my mother to the eye doctor to be examined for glasses. As part of the examination, he dropped a chemical in my eyes to dilate my pupils. The after-effect (and it still applies today) was that I became slightly nauseous and particularly sensitive to smells. My mother decided that it was the perfect night to introduce the family to something called “Cabbage Rolls.” I couldn’t stand the smell and gave them a pass.

To this day, the smell of cooked cabbage kills any appetite I may have.

My reaction to cooked cabbage became even more pronounced when we moved to a town with a paper mill. There were mornings walking to school when the smell was so bad that it was all I could smell for the rest of the day. The town and the paper mill were famous for creating a stink, leading some to call our burg the armpit of the Midwest. The TV weathermen in Columbus would regularly point out any stink coming from our paper mill whenever the wind was coming out of the south. They ignored the box plant between us and them which was much more aromatic. It kept everybody happy! (There might be a few people who will see what I just did.)

My better half is well aware of my aversion to cooked cabbage. When we went to the warehouse store the other week, she saw and wanted to try Kimchi. I know about Kimchi. It’s a Korean concoction made of fermented cabbage. Not cooked. She got a bottle of Kimchi and has enjoyed every bite she’s had so far. As for me, well, I know it’s not cooked cabbage, but somehow I just can’t handle the idea. Next week I might try it. And the Hindenburg will successfully fly into DFW after crossing the Atlantic.

There are all sorts of smells which are, shall we say, easily identifiable. Like Marijuana. (“I don’t smell anything, and you don’t either!” – Willie Nelson) Cigar smoke or the residual smoke from cigarettes. Or wet dog. Very few people don’t know what wet dog smells like.

The smell of wet dog doesn’t seem to bother the dog. Perhaps that’s because the dog is too busy smelling just about anything coming within a few feet from their noses – apparently even other dogs downwind of them. When I take the dog Filbrix out on one of her several daily walks, there are a few places where I can just count on being barked at by dogs behind six-foot privacy fences. I get in on the smelling when I am out with the dog. For instance, I can pretty much tell when someone in the neighborhood is doing laundry by the smell of dryer sheets vented outside the house. Pinion is another smell, as is barbecue, or wood burning in a fireplace, diesel fumes from passing trucks, and one other which I couldn’t quite place until another someone pointed out the source.

There’s a landfill a few miles north of us and fumes from the landfill seem to envelope our little corner of the DFW Metromess whenever the wind blows from the north. It’s not cooked cabbage by any means. But it’s getting close to being the second most annoying smell I’ve encountered.

As Simpson’s character Nelson Muntz would say, “Smell you later!”

Be Seeing You!

{For those not familiar with vaudeville entertainer Ted Lewis, his catch phrase was “Is everybody happy?” Ted Lewis is celebrated as Circleville Ohio’s native son. There was a cardboard box plant in Circleville at one point in time. Nowadays, they host a toilet paper plant.}

The Penguin – A Prophet

The Penguin – A Prophet

I have a Saturday night routine which leads down strange paths. I watch “Me-TV” for a string of shows, starting with The Three Stooges and ending with the first few moments of Star Trek. In between are Svengoolie (a direct descendent of Ghoulardi), the horror movie host, and Batman (In Color!). I have reasons (mostly nostalgic) for watching this Saturday night block, but I won’t get into those reasons for the moment.

What struck me was the Batman episodes run this past Saturday: Hizzonner the Penguin, followed by Dizzoner the Penguin from the second season. Burgess Meredith does an excellent job of portraying a costumed criminal with a bird fetish. In the pair of episodes shown on Me-TV this past Saturday, The Penguin stages an event enabling him to run for Mayor of Gotham City. Since it looks like he will win the election, Batman is asked to run against the “Fowl Fiend,” vowing to concentrate on the issues while Penguin works on making the Mayoral race into a popularity contest.

Included in Penguin’s bag of tricks are twists of logic (“I’m always seen in the newspapers with the police, while Batman is seen in the newspapers with criminals… therefore, I am more trustworthy.”) Hints of ballot manipulation, and finally, when the ballot counting shows Penguin losing, there are demands of a recount, accusations of fraud, and a kidnapping of the Board of Elections.

Sounds vaguely familiar. Like what transpired fifty and fifty-four years later in a pair of certain Presidential elections involving someone wearing a red hat.

A few major points stood out.

Penguin first threw his hat in the ring with a staged event. The man in the red hat descended an escalator in a staged event where he threw his hat in the ring.

Instead of building up his own qualifications, both preferred to take pot shots at their opponents.

Both called the election process to be stacked against them, especially when they were losing; both taking to subverting the process and demanding that no more votes be counted when it became obvious that the tide had turned.

One other takeaway from the pair of Batman episodes – Penguin declared that when he won, he would place a variety of costumed criminals in places where they could essentially pillage Gotham City. Judging from the number of indictments stemming from the election when the fellow in the red hat won, he was able to do what Penguin never did.

Sixty-Six years later, the parallel continues.

Some of it from a piece of literature from a long-dead British author – J.R.R. Tolkien.

There was a piece I read Monday where it seems that the man in the red hat was sounding conciliatory in something he said over the weekend. My mind jumped to Chapter 10 of the second book from Professor Tolkien’s epic trilogy of Lord of the Rings. Titled, “The Voice of Saruman,” it essentially says that the evil wizard’s voice sounded just like listener wanted to hear it. To some, his words were harsh and unforgiving. To others, he sounded like he was apologetic – his words flowing like honey over his tongue. Much the same can be said about the man in the red hat and those around who still support him. His words flow like honey, but reek of revenge.

Note that both were able to get a measure of revenge. Note also that Saruman’s end came from the knife of a once-trusted advisor.

Art imitates life and life imitates art. Or so it is said. Sometimes that old saw can be alarmingly true!

Be Seeing You!

Happy Birthday (?) George Jetson

Happy Birthday (?) George Jetson

Earlier this week, I encountered two references relating to the impending birth of George J. Jetson, future employee of Spacely Sprokets – an enterprise which should be in full operation in 40 years. You know George, his boy, Elroy, Daughter Judy, and Jane, his wife. Sure you do. Well, George is 40 in the year 2062, meaning that he will be born sometime this year. To be specific, he will be born sometime between July 31st and August 27th.

I’ve seen both dates posted this past week, on the same data card presumably from Hanna Barbara productions. I’ll presume that both were somehow photoshopped by some enthusiastic fans.

Writers create backstories for their creations – assisted by enthusiastic fans who will somehow embellish the writer’s backstory to the Nth degree. For instance, Jane, his wife’s birthday has been pegged by fans to be on the 23rd of September, 2024. Judy and Elroy’s birthdays are still a bit hazy – Judy will be born in 2043 – Elroy in 2053.

I’m sure that Judy and Elroy’s exact dates of birth will be forthcoming before too much longer. Fans will tell us.

While musing about the impending birth of George Jetson, I recall a line I heard on an episode of The Simpsons, where Bart pointed out that a couple of Hanna Barbara cartoons were based on sitcoms: Specifically mentioned were The Flintstones, based loosely on Jackie Gleason’s The Honeymooners, and Top Cat, with characters cribbed from Phil Silvers’ Sergeant Bilko.

Allow me to add The Jetsons to that list.

I’m thinking of a comic strip family who made it to theatric shorts and at least a couple of attempts at a television series.

Blondie.

The elements are there, if you look for them.

George Jetson and Dagwood Bumstead both work for bombastic bosses (Mr. Spacely and Mr. Dithers) in ordinary jobs despite having a pedigreed background. (George’s grandfather was named Montague, a sure sign of family wealth – The original premise of Blondie was that she was a gold-digger, prompting Dagwood’s father to disinherit him.)

Jetson and Bumstead each have two children, an older girl and a younger boy, and both have non-descript dogs (Ast – er – Rastro and Daisy) who figure into the story lines.

The clincher is with the wife. Jane Jetson is voiced by actor Penny Singleton – the actor who portrayed Blondie Bumstead in the theatrical shorts and in one of the attempts to bring Blondie to television!

How’s that for detective work!

Regardless, we have a window for George Jetson’s birthday. The question now is, will our technology catch up with what we’ve been told to expect for 2062?

Time will tell.

Till then, Happy Birthday, George!

Be Seeing You!