Hobbes seems to read Kafka and Orwell. In one strip, he says to Calvin “Without a good night kiss, you get Kafkaesque dreams.” He meant himself rather than Calvin.
In another strip, Calvin was enjoying a TV show in which people had sent in embarrassing videos of their family members and Hobbes commented “Who would have thought Big Brother would go commercial?”
Hobbes’s familiarity with Kafka and Orwell suggests that he reads Mom and Dad’s books as well as Calvin’s comic books.
Geez Calvin, there wasn’t an independent UHF station showing Scooby Doo, He-Man, Thundercats, the Flintstones, the Jetsons and other cartoons on TV after school in 1991? You must have lived in a small TV market with just the 3 major networks (4 if Fox was already in your city) and PBS.
999 channels and 899 of them are infomercials I pay for. Of the remainder there are sports channels (college baseball, skateboarding, beach volleyball – all the big sports), the 24-hour “Jesus Channel” (got several of those), some Spanish channels (alas, no habla), the NCIS channel and so on.
The best channels are the ones that rerun programs from the 1950’s and 60’s – but these are either truncated or run about 4 minutes over the original so they can cram extra commercials.
My wife and I were watching a movie channel. At one point they ran (yes, I counted them) 17 consecutive commercials.
Jeopardy is a 30-minute TV program. If you pause it for 10 minutes, you can fast forward through the crap. In other words, commercials which back in the 1950’s took up about 10% of air time now take up 33% of air time.
Even more annoying is the promos for upcoming shows. They will show about 4 hours of the same promo clip for a one hour (make that 40 minute) show.
In 1981, I got stuck at a gold mine in the Northwest Territories for a week. They had HBO via satellite dish, but this was back when HBO had 3 movies a month that they played over and over. There’s only so much Little Darlings and Where The Buffalo Roam a person can take.
Oliver Twist may be some advanced reading for Calvin’s grade level. However, it is far more beneficial for your mind than “Sorority Row Horror”. Be thankful you have a dad who is taking an interest in homeschooling.
Before the COVID-19 quarantine, whenever I tutored my students after school at the public library, I had two copies of the same paperback book. I corrected their pronunciation as we read To Kill a Mockingbird together. Jessica Finch’s hero, her father Atticus Finch. “Never judge a person until you walk around inside their skin for awhile.” Thank you, Harper Lee.
BE THIS GUY over 3 years ago
“Please, sir, I want HBO.”
Renatus Profuturus Frigeridus Premium Member over 3 years ago
Well done, Dad.
Kymberleigh over 3 years ago
I like the non-cable retro channels better anyway.
Johnny Q Premium Member over 3 years ago
OLIVER TWIST seems heavy reading for a six-year-old…
Bilan over 3 years ago
Please, sir, may I have some more boring books?
in.amongst over 3 years ago
Twisted parenting for a twisted child.
montylc2001 over 3 years ago
Not really missing out. Hundreds of channels and still not much worth watching.
Bullet Bronson Premium Member over 3 years ago
Oh, the sarcasm just leaps off the screen. Well played, Dad.
Bullet Bronson Premium Member over 3 years ago
Sorority Row Horror? I just love that movie.
Blitzy reads comics! over 3 years ago
Poor Calvin,he doesn’t know the wonder that is youtube
bignatefantic2.0 over 3 years ago
Unrelated to this, but do you think Hobbes as ever watched The Lion King before? If he did, what was his reaction?
Katsuro Premium Member over 3 years ago
Well, these days people mostly don’t have cable TV or VCRs, and we still get along fine. :)
Calvinist1966 over 3 years ago
Hobbes seems to read Kafka and Orwell. In one strip, he says to Calvin “Without a good night kiss, you get Kafkaesque dreams.” He meant himself rather than Calvin.
In another strip, Calvin was enjoying a TV show in which people had sent in embarrassing videos of their family members and Hobbes commented “Who would have thought Big Brother would go commercial?”
Hobbes’s familiarity with Kafka and Orwell suggests that he reads Mom and Dad’s books as well as Calvin’s comic books.
TampaFanatic1 over 3 years ago
Geez Calvin, there wasn’t an independent UHF station showing Scooby Doo, He-Man, Thundercats, the Flintstones, the Jetsons and other cartoons on TV after school in 1991? You must have lived in a small TV market with just the 3 major networks (4 if Fox was already in your city) and PBS.
NeedaChuckle Premium Member over 3 years ago
I think that is the one where the slasher uses an electric drill, corded yet!! Really stupid, that is why I liked it!!
dflak over 3 years ago
999 channels and 899 of them are infomercials I pay for. Of the remainder there are sports channels (college baseball, skateboarding, beach volleyball – all the big sports), the 24-hour “Jesus Channel” (got several of those), some Spanish channels (alas, no habla), the NCIS channel and so on.
The best channels are the ones that rerun programs from the 1950’s and 60’s – but these are either truncated or run about 4 minutes over the original so they can cram extra commercials.
My wife and I were watching a movie channel. At one point they ran (yes, I counted them) 17 consecutive commercials.
Jeopardy is a 30-minute TV program. If you pause it for 10 minutes, you can fast forward through the crap. In other words, commercials which back in the 1950’s took up about 10% of air time now take up 33% of air time.
Even more annoying is the promos for upcoming shows. They will show about 4 hours of the same promo clip for a one hour (make that 40 minute) show.
sandpiper over 3 years ago
One book I wouldn’t give him is The Adventures of Tom Sawyer_. Too many do-it-yourself adventures.
Redd Panda over 3 years ago
?? What’s a VCR? Is that an old version of tiktok?
e.groves over 3 years ago
I didn’t care for summer reruns when I was younger. Now all I watch are reruns.
david_42 over 3 years ago
I didn’t have cable, even when I worked for a cable company and could have had it for free.
meetinthemiddle over 3 years ago
In 1981, I got stuck at a gold mine in the Northwest Territories for a week. They had HBO via satellite dish, but this was back when HBO had 3 movies a month that they played over and over. There’s only so much Little Darlings and Where The Buffalo Roam a person can take.
vaughnrl2003 Premium Member over 3 years ago
Not even a hint about the bounty of trouble called the internet. I wonder if Calvin could get interested in coding long enough to become a hacker?
jagedlo over 3 years ago
Why the complaint, Calvin…with watching re-runs, you may see something you missed the first time…and then you could be a contributor over at IMDB…
prairiedogdance Premium Member over 3 years ago
How novel… a middle class parent that doesn’t indulge their precious’s every single whim…
USN1977 over 3 years ago
Oliver Twist may be some advanced reading for Calvin’s grade level. However, it is far more beneficial for your mind than “Sorority Row Horror”. Be thankful you have a dad who is taking an interest in homeschooling.
royq27 over 3 years ago
Oliver Twist wreaks horror on sorority row…
ElwoodP over 3 years ago
I’m a follower of Cycle Sluts Meet Road Scum.
mindjob over 3 years ago
Oliver Twist. First play I ever saw, music was fantastic. I still cry when I hear “boy for sale, he’s going cheap, only 7 guineas”
wiley207 over 3 years ago
Of course, the Dad is both a cheapskate and not a fan of newer technologies.
Indianapolis Smith over 3 years ago
I want my MTV.
Unicorn55 (Happy New Year 2022!) over 3 years ago
“How cruelly we mistreat you Calvin.” Why does that remind me of Star Wars?
Steverino Premium Member over 3 years ago
Calvin doesn’t need to read Oliver Twist. He’s already full of the Dickens.
globalenterprize1990 over 3 years ago
Before the COVID-19 quarantine, whenever I tutored my students after school at the public library, I had two copies of the same paperback book. I corrected their pronunciation as we read To Kill a Mockingbird together. Jessica Finch’s hero, her father Atticus Finch. “Never judge a person until you walk around inside their skin for awhile.” Thank you, Harper Lee.
Troglodyte over 3 years ago
Oh no! Sorority Row Horror is an all-time classic! :D
davetb1956 over 3 years ago
Since when does Calvin spend time with other people?
hagarthehorrible over 3 years ago
Better sleep with your stuffed feline instead of deluding with the monsters below the bed after watching “Sorority Row Horror”, fella.
Otis Rufus Driftwood over 3 years ago
Building Calvin’s character, yet again.
Laurie Stoker Premium Member over 3 years ago
Poor Calvin! Without a VCR, he can’t even watch the musical movie Oliver!