Dirty Laundry

In today's Dinette Set, Burl and Joy hang laundry while the reader:

• Wonders why the artist only drew about 1/3rd of the background and left the rest blank.
• Is astounded to find that laundry-hanging is some sort of spectator activity.
• Recoils in horror at the sight of one of Burl's flabby love handles.
• Struggles to determine what previous noun Ma's pronoun "them" refers to: fresh air? everything?
  

South Mountain

In today's Dinette Set, the gang head to the movies in order to:

• Disgust the reader.
• Make the reader retch.
• Place into the reader's mind an image which the white-hot heat of a thousand suns going supernova could not possibly burn away.
• Demonstrate a continuing and disturbing inability to recognize where "the line" is.
  

Aarf Aarf!

In today's Dinette Set, Burl and Joy laze in their backyard so the reader:

• Can be introduced to neighbors we never knew they had.
• Can be witnesses when the police ask if Burl did, in fact, threaten to harm the neighbor's dog.
• Can wonder about the point of the prominently-placed pinwheel.
• Can stare at the neighbor with black covering her face and ask: Is that seriously the best you can draw a pair of sunglasses?
  

Antiques Horrorshow

In today's Dinette Set, a estate sale provides the setting for:

• A panel in which we are supposed to accept that a dresser is an antique based on scant visual and textual evidence.
• A continuation of the class struggle between Burl and the college-educated class.
• A shadowy background which appears to include giant Rock 'em Sock 'em robots.
  

Spider-Sense

In today's Dinette Set, the men go to ACE Hardware in order to:

• Make an incredibly stupid observation regarding the standard spelling of a person's name.
• Demonstrate that Burl has a spider-sense which kicks in whenever he encounters an unusual fact regarding the naming of twin brothers.
• Reference Tom Harke and give him a customer service award for no apparent reason.
• Place a hammer in clear view, obviously referencing Chekhov's gun, and insinuating that either the men or the clerk will soon be dead when that hammer "goes off".
  

A Thief in the House

In today's Dinette Set, Burl and Joy visit Dale and Marlene's house for the purpose of:

• Illustrating that Dale, who steals money from his grandson, may be a bigger jerk than Burl. Though, in his defense, it may be that Dale is in financial distress after having taken out a sub-prime loan from the poorly-punctuated "Su Casa Mi Casa Mortage. Co."
  
• Engaging in blatant product placement for Cheetos, probably in an attempt to score free product.
• Penning one of the least comprehensible sentences in comics history, rather than simply asking "Why's Timmy rummaging about in your room, Marlene?"
• Illustrating what unconvincing forced perspective looks like.
• Setting a record for the most extreme head swivels in a single panel.
  

A Kernel of Truth

In today's Dinette Set, Burl and Joy return to the Doctor for the purpose of:

• Making the reader question why Joy accompanies Burl into the Doctor's office, as if she were his mother.
• Demonstrating that a joke based on a kernel of truth (patients' blood pressure tends to be slightly elevated from stress) does not necessarily assure success.
• Perhaps suggesting that Burl's weight is over 700 lbs, but not being clear because of the inability to either print clearly or accurately draw a scale.
• Use the musty upside-down "This End Up" gag incorrectly and in the wrong context.
• Place a band-aid on a Doctor's head for reasons passing understanding.
• Insinuating that the Doctor's office is a haven for voyeurs.
  

Peanut Butter and Bacterium

In today's Dinette Set, Burl and Joy discuss food poisoning for the purpose of:

• Illustrating that The Dinette Set is only topical in the most inappropriate instances.
• Accidentally creating a parallel between the phrase "born yesterday" and the fact that Joy and Burl purchased peanut butter yesterday, despite the fact that there's nothing to be gained from examining the parallel.
• Demonstrating that there is no such thing as a toilet joke worth making when you don't fully grasp the distinction between being scatological and simply being gross.
• Deeply saddening the reader with the knowledge that Burl and Joy will survive eating those jars of peanut butter.

A Visit to the Doctor

In today's Dinette Set, Burl and Joy visit the Doctor for the purpose of:

• Asking a stupid question only to set up a dubious punchline.
• Visiting an Escheresque space in which the receptionist area appears to be several feet below the floor level.
• Exposing the reader to one of the stalest puns ever syndicated.
• Seeing a secondhand sign mounted in a doctor's office despite the rather unusual use of the word "lobby" instead of "waiting room."
  
• Seeing a large amount of space used to make an unnecessary comment about the timing of doctor's appointments juxtaposed with the current time.
  

Meta-Post: Another Go

For whatever reason, The Dinette Set has really been bothering me lately. Enough that I decided something had to be done. I still don't have the energy for a full-blown deconstruction, so I am going to try a simpler format here and see where it takes me.

As always comments welcome, especially since they are likely to be the best part of the blog ;-)