Getting Kicked on Route 66

 

In the last comic of the year, I reflect on a trip earlier in the year when we had the joy of experiencing Route 66 for a quick getaway to VA. Well, it would have been a quick getaway if there hadn't been multiple construction zones that we needed to pass through. But it was a nice getaway, once we got there. 

Text:
M: Traffic and construction everywhere! This highway is horrible!
L: Are we getting kicked on Route 66?
M: Yes.

Life is a Gridlocked Highway

 

I heard this song on the radio and this comic sprang to mind. I might have even been sitting in traffic. It might have been a Thursday since this is quite a throwback of a song - it was popular like when I was in college which was forever ago. But pre-pandemic seems forever ago as well. Maybe the past just seems a long time ago, whether or not it was a few years or a decade or longer. 

Text:
A: 🎵 Life is a Highway 🎵
B: Gridlocked and going nowhere fast?

Santa Puppy

 

Merry Christmas! I hope you have a wonderful holiday with family and friends, and remember the reason for the season. Christ came as a baby to live a perfect life so He could pay the price for our sins. He came to pay a debt He didn't owe, because we had a debt we couldn't pay.

As for the comic, I really don't like the song parodied here, but I do like the change I made to adapt it to a puppy. And now I know that the original version of that song is sung by the woman who voiced Yzma in The Emperor's New Groove, so that's ... interesting. I'm gonna resist drawing that character singing that song. 

Text:
Title: Santa Puppy
Dog: I left you a present under the tree!
Owner: *facepalm*

Wanted Hippo

Little did you know, that song is a call to the public to find a wanted criminal. I feel like if I think too much about that song, I'll realize how much this comic doesn't work, so I'm not gonna do that. What did the hippo do? What didn't the hippo do. Do you know much about hippos? They are extremely aggressive and quite murderous for being herbivores. Per Wikipedia, "Hippos are among the most dangerous animals in the world due to their aggressive and unpredictable nature." So there's that.

Text:
A "Wanted" poster with a picture of a hippopotamus, subtext "By Dec. 25".

Pear Tree Partridge

It's a package deal, if you have a pear tree then you need to have a partridge. Just one per pear tree. If you have multiple pear trees (and therefore multiple partridges), that means you have multiple true loves and that's something you need to think about. Yes, this applies to everyone, even orchard owners. And now I'm thinking about the Relient K cover of the song - "What's a partridge? And what's a pear tree? Well, I don't know so please don't ask me. But I can bet those are terrible gifts to giiiiiiiiiive." Also, I like their Christmas album names - "Let It Snow, Baby... Let It Reindeer" and "Deck the Halls, Bruise Your Hand." Actually they are quite good at album naming in general. 

Text:
A: Is that a pear tree?
B: Yep.
A: Where is your partridge?
B: Don't have one.
A: *gasp*

Three Kings Misread

 

Traditionally, the Three Kings are named Gaspar (or Caspar), Melchior, and Balthasar. The Bible doesn't give their names, or even their number - just that they (so more than one) brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the newborn Messiah. The item that Melchior is holding is the Hammer of Thor, named Mjölnir, which can only be lifted by those deemed "worthy" - hence the other kings being impressed. 

Explanation: The three kings from Christ's nativity brought three gifts, one of which was myrrh, and the hammer of Thor kind of sounds similar to myrrh so a mix-up happened. 

Text:
B (holding a sack of gold) : We're impressed, Melchior, but I think you misread the gift list.
G (holding a box of frankincense) : *impressed*
M (not holding myrrh) : *holds Mjölnir over his head*

Lidl Drummer Boy

 

Lidl needs to step up their game. Then other grocery stores will step up *their* game. Then shortly we will have full orchestras serenading us as we enter and exit the grocery stores in December! I like this plan. 

Explanation: "Lidl" and "Little" sound similar. and The Little Drummer Boy is a popular Christmas song.

Text:
A: Who is playing percussion outside of the grocery store?
B: The Lidl Drummer Boy. 

About All This Bustle

Drawing a bustle on a dress was an experience, still not sure about the final product. Also, I neglected to draw a reflection in the mirror because that was going to be a challenge and I declined. If you don't know (or don't want to click the link), bustling a dress is how you make a dress with a train look like it doesn't have a train - basically what you need to do with a long fancy dress if you want to socialize (i.e. dance) in it. 

Text:
Song: ♪♪And above all this bustle you hear - ♪♪
B: This wedding dress has quite the train.

Advent is Out There

Oh, why didn't I post this on the first Sunday of Advent? That would be because I drew it that day. I tend to be inspired as a deadline passes, so I can either post it late (I think it works with Advent since it's so many weeks) or I can store it away for next year and hope I don't miss again. Sometimes I file comics all properly then forget to check my files when a holiday approaches then after the holiday I look and am disappointed in myself. But I get over it quickly and .... sometimes repeat the process.

Explanation: The movie Up uses the slogan "Adventure is out there!" in a fancy cursive script, and the main character Carl attaches a bunch of balloons to his house as a major plot point. The fourth Sunday before Christmas marks the start of the season of Advent. "Advent" and "Adventure" are similar words. 

Text:
Advent is out there!

Head Rice

 

When do the Christmas comics start? Next week, so be ... ready? This comic was inspired by another toddler who came to church with rice in his hair and someone proclaimed that he had head rice. That's way easier to handle than head lice. Also way better since yeah. Our toddler often gets food in her hair, especially when she puts her plate on her head. 

Text:
M: What is in our child's hair?
L: Whoops, leftovers from dinner. She has head rice!

Wild Goose vs Moose

 

Geese (especially wild) are quite vicious - I have been scared by them sticking their wings out and hissing while charging at me when I just wanted to check out a local pond for turtles or tadpoles. But I have to say, though I have never met a wild moose, I hear they are quite worse. I am not sure how I would react but probably the same as with a wild goose, which is to say by putting maximum distance between me and the wild critter. I feel like the saying "wild goose chase" is implying that you are chasing the goose, while "wild moose chase" gives the feeling that the moose is chasing you. Maybe it can be a thing - try using it whenever the conversation lends itself to it. For example, "It's been a wild goose chase, trying to find enough people to join my committee" vs "It's been a wild moose chase, trying to avoid getting pressured into joining a committee." 

Text:
A: I mean, what is worse than a wild goose chase?
B: A wild moose chase.
A: True.

Raise a Hallelujah

Happy Birthday to my sister!

There's a song that mentions "raise a hallelujah" and I always struggle with how to spell that word, but now I know that the song is actually named "Raise a Hallelujah" so that made it easy to find since that's the main part of the lyrics that I can remember (to be fair, they mention that phrase a.lot.a.lot). This comic was, unsurprisingly, inspired by the song which was playing in our kitchen off whatever playlist was selected. Back when I was in high school, I had a classmate named Julianna and most people sung her name to the tune of the initial "hallelujah" in the Hallelujah Chorus. I feel like if you named your kid Hallelujah, she would get sung at more than Julianna did. 

Text:
M: Are you ♪♪raising a hallelujah♪♪?
L: No, we are raising a Lucy.
L2: *raising her arms since we're talking about raising*

Alexa, Wrong Song 2

Happy December!
So apparently "Everyday I'm Shuffling" is a line from "Party Rock Anthem" and that could be an explanation for the scenario in the previous comic. Still not sure many times what's going on with Alexa's music selection. There was one time we asked her to play Indian Restaurant music (because we were cooking Indian food for dinner) and she said she couldn't because we have a "no explicate music" filter that blocks said things and I don't know why there was an overlap between the two, but I'm glad we have that filter to stop very wrong selections from automatically happening. 

Text:
L: Alexa, play "Sunday Everyday" on shuffle.
A: Playing "Everyday I'm Shuffling" by -
L: Alexa STOP.