...then escape and do something fun, thought Cecil Bun.

...especially if you wanted things done with passion.

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- For most of our lives cartoonist Lynn Johnston has had us hanging on every plot twist and complication she could pack into 29 years of "For Better or For Worse."

Lynn Johnston ended the original run of "For Better or For Worse" Sunday, but is now returning to the past.

Take one of the biggest, longest-running ones: Would Elizabeth, seriously challenged in picking men, finally dump that silly helicopter flyboy boyfriend of hers and just marry Anthony, for God's sake? He'd been her sweetheart off and on since their grade-school days and had rescued her from the crazy would-be rapist she once worked with. So forget that the mustache Anthony grew in recent years made him look so much like a dork that even other comic strips began making fun of it. Life is, as Johnston would say, for better or for worse.

But then the cartoonist pulled the rug completely out from under us Sunday with a plot twist that made even the heartbreaking death of the Patterson family dog Farley (as he saved little April from drowning) seem pale in comparison. Even the comic strip that outraged readers by the thousands in 1993 when Lawrence acknowledged he was gay couldn't top this.

There it was in full color in the big Sunday strip: As Elizabeth's parents are dancing at her wedding (to Anthony, thank God) Johnston herself enters the strip in cartoon form and tells us that starting the next day "For Better or For Worse" will rocket back almost 30 years in time to soon after it began.

Elizabeth, now 27, would be a baby again. Michael, who loved to taunt his sister, calling her "Lizard Breath" when they were growing up, would be about grade-school age. On the positive side, family patriarch John Patterson would shed that pot belly he'd been growing in recent years and his wife, Elly, could finally put away all those anti-wrinkle products she'd been obsessing over for about the last decade.

And readers of some 2,000 newspaper comic sections would be left to scratch their heads and mutter, "What the ... "

"Interesting idea and it may very well work with the fan base that she's got," says Dave Strickler, a comic-strip fanatic who runs the Web site comicsaccess.com and has compiled a list of every comic strip syndicated in the United States from 1924 to 1995.

Strickler, like other fans of the strip, complains that it has gotten a little too sentimental in recent years, with Johnston concentrating too much on the philosophical musings she is famous for saving until the final panel and not enough on the story line.

At the same time, he says, the strip has grown to include so many characters that it was getting hard to tell them apart. He would sometimes mistake Elizabeth for her younger sister, April, or even her mother, Elly. (Those anti-wrinkle products must really be working!)

"If she goes back to the original art and carries on with the wit she's capable of, there's no reason to believe current fans won't be loyal and new fans won't enjoy it as well," he said of the change.

For the time being, fans are left to try to figure out what would have happened to the gang had they kept on aging.

Johnston did tie up some loose ends in that last strip, explaining that Michael, who nearly died a few years ago when he ran into a burning apartment to save the manuscript of his Great Canadian Novel (the comic strip is set in Johnston's native Canada) has gone on to publish four books and sign a movie deal.

Ailing Grandpa Jim, she said, would live long enough to hold Elizabeth's first baby before dying at age 89.

Barely able to speak after suffering a stroke, Jim still managed to think one of the strip's better quips last month when, after seeing the bride and groom rush into his hospital room straight from their wedding, he declared their act "a classic case of hitch and run."

Whether editors will embrace the strip or cut and run remains to be seen.

About 2 percent of the 2,000 newspapers in the U.S. and Canada that carry "For Better or For Worse," canceled when Johnston changed things from a real-time serial to a daily comic set in a fixed time, Universal Press Syndicate spokeswoman Kathie Kerr said Wednesday.

For some of the newspapers that did, reaction was swift.

Kathy Lu, features editor at The Roanoke (Virginia) Times said about 100 people e-mailed or phoned over the next two days, most of them unhappy.

"It felt like we were just going to be doing the same thing over again, even though she said she was going to be drawing some new stories," Lu said of deciding not to continue the strip.

It was an argument die-hard fans weren't buying.

Although Johnston has said that from this point the strips will be about a 50-50 mix of "classic" repeats and what she calls "new-runs" that will be drawn in the old style and set in the previous time but involve new stories, one man told Lu he wouldn't care if every strip was old.

"He said, 'It's like watching '(The) Andy Griffith (Show),' " she said of the 1960s sitcom still in reruns. "He said, 'I watch that show over and over again.' "

In an interview she recently posted on YouTube, Johnston said she was aware of fans' concerns and hoped they would "hang in there with me and see what I do because it's never been done before."

In recent years, she has talked of simply ending the strip when the time came or of handing it off to someone else. She indicated in the YouTube interview that splitting with her husband of more than 30 years last year prompted her to abandon those plans.

"I never thought I'd be single at this time in my life," the 61-year-old artist said. "And with that in mind, I still want to work. I still want to keep my hand in it."

...and even happier to be right.

Autobiografico. N.B. A San Valentino e affini, comunque, non do più importanza da parecchio tempo ;-) Realizzato tramite il sito stripgenerator.

As a company, Monster is known for their cabling. They have now started tackling charging and powering your gadgets in an eco-friendly way with a new range of standby disabling power strips. The Digital Life PowerCenter GreenPower are aimed at being connected to your computer and its peripherals. Once you turn your computer off, all of the peripheral sockets get turned off as well. This first line has three different models, the MDP 650, 800 and 900.

My latest from Unplggd...

La locandina di uno dei film più belli mai visti. Realizzato tramite il sito stripgenerator.

Realizzato tramite il sito stripgenerator.

Il mio primo esperimento (pubblicabile)... cosa ne dite? ;-)
Realizzato tramite il sito stripgenerator, armata di molta pazienza.

...and also a bunny with taste.

Call me a fag if you must, I don’t care.  I love board games.  I don’t think I could ever play enough board games.  I don’t even like video games that much.  It’s really just further proof that I was born in the wrong generation.  If I were alive in the fifties, I could carry a gal’s books to class, I could play board games with my chums, and really, back then I could have probably been the most edgy comedian in the world, with the possible exception of Lenny Bruce, with whom I would engage in a violent public feud.  That would be the life.

Thus, it is only too appropriate that today Matt has assigned me the distinguished task of making the list of the Top Five Board Games.  I hate to toot my own horn, but quite frankly, I am by far the best, most qualified person in the world to make this list.  I’ve played every single board game ever made, and have even created my own board game, Strip Club: the Board Game (you have to maneuver your way through a strip club, avoiding the waitresses asking if you want to buy overpriced sodas and strippers trying to entice you into private dances.  The goal is to get out of the club without spending all your money, a true challenge because the game comes with a breathalyzer and can only be played if you blow a .12).

Alright, here it comes.  It’s the Top Five Board Games; let’s get it on.

Unfortunately, this list is not exactly perfect.  There is a game that deserves to be on this list, but I can’t figure out: a) how to spell the name of it, or b) any information about it online.  It’s called (as best I can spell it) Kommisar Spulnasse.  It’s a game where you can either play as an inspector or one of a team of criminals.  I’m not nearly articulate enough to explain how to play, so suffice it to say that it’s a fun game from Germany that no one outside my family knows even exists.  Anyway, it belongs on this list, but for now, it will remain conspicuous in its absence.

5) Chess

Ah, chess, or as I know it, “the gentleman’s checkers.”  I enjoy chess, I like the thought, the planning, and the strategy involved in the game, but at the same time, I’m not nearly smart enough to compete against anyone who didn’t eat a lot of glue as a child.  I can’t even beat my fucking computer on easy.  Yet, I appreciate the beauty and quality of the game even if I’m not good at it, and I include it on this list because I don’t want to piss off the RZA.

4) Clue

Clue is a lot more fun to think about than it is to play.  It may actually be a better movie than it is a game.  That may not really be a feather in its cap.  Yet, I still like Clue.  It’s a remarkably simple game that becomes bizarrely complex if you’re stoned.  The last time I played Clue, I was high as a kite.  I was positive that it was Professor Plum in the Conservatory with the knife.  It turned out that it was Pelican Pete on the Dock with the Beak.

3) Candyland

Some of you out there might be saying that Candyland is a simple game for children.  To those of you who say that, I say “go fuck yourself.”  There’s nothing like a good round of Candyland.  Hanging out with Gloppy the Molasses Monster, taking a dip in the Ice Cream Sea, trying to foil the evil plans of Lord Licorice; it’s all a great time.  My only complaint about Candyland is that damn Gramma Nut.  What a bitch!  Peanuts are great as they are, there’s no need to make magic peanuts.  A little bit of interesting trivia about Candyland: it was created by a woman who had polio, who intended the game to be for kids with polio.  I was unaware that kids with polio loved candy so much.  I would have thought they would have preferred a game like Iron Lung Land.

2) Scrabble

This one easily could have been number one, but in the end, it took the number two spot.  I have an obsessive relationship with Scrabble.  Often when I’m reading, I get distracted by trying to figure out what the words I’m reading would be worth if I played them.  Often, I’ll see a word and I’ll get lost in trying to rearrange the letters into a different word.  I know what every letter is worth (in both the English and Dutch versions of the game), and I know how many of each letter there are.  It’s a sickness.  Scrabble’s a great game, and can be played drunk or high and it’s just as fun.  I speak from experience when I tell you that you can’t play Scrabble when you’re on the mushrooms, though.  In that state, you can’t spell and most of the stuff you’re going to come up with isn’t going to be a word.  Plus, if you lose, it could send you into a bad trip.  But that’s not Scrabble’s fault.

1) Risk

As if there was ever any doubt.  Risk is the best board game because it takes forever to play, requires complex strategies, and involves global domination.  It allows us all to live out our inner Napoleonic fantasies.  The thing that makes Risk great is that different people have different strategies they tend to employ.  Retards think that the key is claiming Australia and hiding out and fortifying there.  My buddy, Dr. Fox thinks that the key is controlling Africa, and thereby controlling the center of the board.  Personally, I prefer to start with Europe, then branch out into North America, then South America.  It seems that the only thing about which everyone agrees is that it is impossible to hold Asia, especially early in the game.  Those seven armies per turn are attractive, but everyone is going to be trying to stop you from collecting.

I have been inspired here.  In honor of Risk coming in at number one, I am going to make a secondary list of the Top Five Countries in Risk.

5) Siam

4) Madagascar

3) Egypt

2) Ukraine

1) Kamchatka

The only thing I don’t really understand is how colonial attitudes have lived on through Risk.  Africa is undoubtedly a very important part of the game, yet you only get three armies for controlling it.  North America is fairly useless in terms of the game, yet it’s worth five armies.  Holy shit.  Africa’s only worth 3/5 what North America is.  James Madison would be giddy if he could see this.

dr house, cuddy, strip, lap dance

Ecco cosa succede al 15° episodio della quarta serie di Dr. House. Tenetevi forte!

Not every club out there fits into a bad category,

This club in particular supports a much better story.

You have ladies being friendly, and not being trashy,

Who can prove to care more about you rather than your money.

The atmosphere is nice and clean,

Their new bar is sharp looking and very keen.

But it is the friendly atmosphere that makes me want to go back for more.

Especially now they eliminated an expensive fee just to walk through the front door.

This club is definitely happening,

The ladies make this a very awesome place.

Every seat is now comfortable,

And the club has plenty of space.

The music is guarantee to be rockin’

Even gets me into the groove and be boopin’

With some fabulous women for everyone who you want to see,

Heck, I was even given the nick name Rockin’ B.

Got to be a regular to a certain degree,

And even have a couple of favorites who I always want to see.

I may even clap alone when the room is full of drunken duds.

They can always rely on me putting gentleman back into gentleman’s club.

If this lousy world would let me,

I would guarantee the daily outing to see me.

I practically demand boat loads of spending money,

So I can spread the wealth out to everybody.

And even though I can’t always befriend everyone,

Someone in this club always comes to my side and makes my welcome fun.

There are even those who work here who just respect my presence,

Which that alone brings a warm smile to my positive essence.

So to those who enjoy me and appreciate my company,

I toast to you all for being the greatest club ever, even if it’s just me

Who thinks this way.

There is always someone working here that makes me want to stay.

Even in my darkest of times, someone here will make my spirits soar.

That alone brings me back, wanting to be with my favorites even more.

Mr. Pink and i, dr. power - - are friends - and competitors

here's what Pink drew:::

and i dr. power:::

friendship is about exchange. your friends should challenge, bring you up instead of holding you down. should excite, encourage and dare. remind you of who you are and what you can be. your friends.

email::: newdeference@gmail.com

Yes, I'm not going to lie, she is a favorite here. Nick Haramis of Blackbook has a nice little interview with Burlesque icon Dita Von Teese in which she discusses her profession, how she stays ahead of the game, clothes, and other little tidbits about her life and outlook. After the break ->

Is it difficult to negotiate the glamour and empowerment you feel during performances, with the suspicion that you’re being objectified?
You always have that double-edged sword. You’re like, Well, I feel empowered because I’m independent and no men in my personal life can tell me what to do. I’m paying my own rent, and no one can tell me where to be. But then there’s the other side of things: Am I using my body? I’ve had a lot of arguments with myself over this, but I think that if I were Nicole Kidman, and I were in a movie, and they were negotiating over my body parts—what my tits are worth, what my ass is worth, how much extra money that’s going to get me—how is that any different?

How do you feel about the burlesque revival?
I think it’s great. I’m never threatened because I definitely have a specific brand of burlesque. How should I put this? I’m not really concerned by the competition, because I’ve already moved on to the next thing by the time they think they’ve caught up to me. I used to be the only one who did the fan dancing and now it’s like, Okay, that was a long time ago and I’ve already moved on. Then I made a martini glass. And now other people are making martini glasses, so now I’m making other things or making bigger martini glasses.

Are you at all interested in contemporary fashion? Everything you wear seems to reference the past.
Since I was 16 years old, everything I’ve done has been a little retro. I’ve gone through my phases where I’ve thought, I’m going to be really modern today. For years, I had this Diane Von Furstenberg black wrap dress, just sitting in my closet. I recently gave it to my mother. When I put on a really modern dress or jeans, it looks like a Halloween costume. Actually, every year I say I’m going to dress up as a normal girl for Halloween. I haven’t done it yet. One of these days, though, I’m totally going to get a bunch of spray tans and put on some jeans and get some high-heel sandals and see what happens. There’s something deeper in me that makes me like things from the past. I never ever wanted to be a little girl, ever. When a lot of friends were into the whole schoolgirl fantasy, I was always like, I wouldn’t be caught dead. I’m 35 years old. I’m not 19 years old anymore, playing around with different looks. I know who I am and I’ve known for a long time.

For the full interview, head over to Vintage Von Teese