Really. We Minnesotans are so uncivil that we never read Lileks, we leave that to foreigners with more tolerance for twee jingo. Out here, we see that face in the Star Tribune and we say "Gah, #%$$&!" (or other such un-mild, un-Minnesotan phrases), and turn the page to the comics section…where we mutter other unholy terms of exasperation at Mallard Fillmore. (How the hell did that mindless, unfunny loon* end up in our newspaper?)
*Whether I'm referring to Lileks or the cartoon duck is left as an exercise for the reader.)
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Man, I'm glad I'm not the only one who hates Mallard Filmore and Lileks.
How can Lileks' column be so unfunny, yet his website is so fun to visit?
Just fyi:
"Britney Spears files for divorce from her husband Kevin Federline, citing irreconcilable differences"
See also - here.
Poor Jimmy's been carrying a load in his britches for over five years now. I understand his collected columns are being put together under the title "Not-So-Brave New World". The last time I read his column, it made me sad to think back to when I first married into a Minnesota family and found his fluffy column enjoyable.
Now, as I prepare for my biennial winter pilgrimage from rainy Seattle to (hopefully) snowy Bloomington, I look forward to the STrib's comic pages, and Uncle Al's perpetually messy garage. At least that never changes.
Lileks should just stick to channeling Erma Bombeck.
We have Mallard Fillmore in our paper too. The only reason I can think of for it being there is some missbegotten idea that it balances Doonesberry. It is the saddest excuse for a comic that I have ever seen.
Ted
Between Mallard and Lileks, I firmly believe Pluggers makes a three-way tie.
Agreed?
Day by Day. At least it isn't in the print media.
Pretty much any time you've got a cartoon with a conservative perspective, you can kiss humor and intelligence goodbye.
MikeM:
Except Pluggers isn't particularly political. I do think it overdoes the joke though -- they should have just let it go when Jeff MacNelly died.
And I don't think Doonesbury is all that great either -- Trudeau's sense of humor is rather lightweight in comparison to the subjects he handles, and I think Doonesbury very likely ran out of gas before I was born. I mean, he has his moments (like when BD lost his leg in Iraq), but for the most part it's an ordeal to read.
Mallard Fillmore is just bad.
The only reason most papers run Mallard Fillmore is, ironically, because of political-cartoon affirmative action.
That's exactly the reason my local paper brought that snotrag of a comic strip, because folks were soiling themselves about Doonesbury having visual-political hegemony on the Opinion page (during the vote, I remember Doonesbury being primarally focused on that kid trying to decide where to go to college). The saddest part is that they auditioned two or three other comic strips alongside it and Mallard is the one that won. A couple readers have pegged it - having it and Doonesbury side by side is a study in the contrast of intelligence, wit, and humor between the political wings.
Lileks writes for a newspaper? And they let him get away with it? If this diatribe is any indication, the guy writes with about as much sense and intelligence as one of MySpace's lesser-evolved life-forms - or maybe Ann Coulter (pick your poison - not much difference there).
Stupid loon. He should spend a few months walking in Salam Pax's shoes. Then he'd know why the citizens of Iraq didn't just rise up and throw the "guy with the bad moustache" out. Sure. It's a little hard to do when you're in constant fear for your life and your families' and friends' lives and spending a lot of your energy trying not to get noticed by the local goon squad.