Originally published at Writer's Blog. Please leave any comments there.

I’ve found that I don’t really enjoy Non Sequitur is much as I thought I would when I originally started following it a couple of years ago. Usually, when the Danae/Lucy arcs appear, I skip them; same goes for the tall-tale fisherman. I think it’s the fact that I already get a far too large a dose of cynicism in real life to want to “humor” myself with it again in comic strips. About the only reason I still follow it is because every now and then, he comes up with a good one that I can actually relate to.

And it so happens that both Strange Brew and Speed Bump frequently leave me scratching my head. Seems like the creators of these strips are trying to mimic the sort of thing that Gary Larson accomplished. The problem is that Larson always made me laugh; the punch lines in Strange Brew and Speed Bump are far too often too obscure for me to pick out. Rubes does a better job - the punch lines are always pretty clear, but I don’t always find them funny. Ultimately, these comics will always be “Far Side” knock-offs for me - nobody does bizarre humor like Larson.

Tags: humor, politics, rants

Originally published at Writer's Blog. Please leave any comments there.

I’m sitting here watching the news and just heard that New York City has just passed legislation to phase out the use of trans fat in all restaurants in the city. While I can see their point about the dangers of trans fat, is it really the government’s place to legislate how Americans eat? Isn’t it really up to the people themselves to determine whether or not they want to take care of themselves? I know for a fact that it’s not really that hard to exercise a little self-discipline and not eat out, choosing instead to eat in and make your own meals that are healthier than anything you’ll find in any restaurant. The trouble is that people today have no self-discipline and are incapable of self-imposing some stricter guidelines for themselves. Obesity is on the rise, as is laziness. Legislating out the use of trans fat will not, in fact, solve the problem. It is only treating a symptom of a chronic condition, rather than addressing the root cause of the problem itself.

Just one more place where Big Brother would like to tell us what to do and how to live our lives because he thinks we can’t do it for ourselves. Where does it stop?

Tags: culture, politics