Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

...are over for good.

6 (7.2%)

...until someone explains that Hannelore doesn't do puns.

13 (15.7%)

...has an obsession with peas.

0 (0%)

...and Q's.

3 (3.6%)

...has tried so hard to be the "good" child in her family.

6 (7.2%)

...are not over! No puns, no peas!

16 (19.3%)

...Oh, no, not again.

13 (15.7%)

...Waffles? (Wait, that's not a pun.)

9 (10.8%)

...needs to be given a second chance at peas.

17 (20.5%)

Total Members Voted: 75

[K1dmor]

I'd say Marten has more direction then Faye. He knows what he loves, and he's pursuing it.

Faye may have done it, but only because Dora pushed her into doing it. Marten is, at least, actively pursuing it out of his own interest.

 Well...Marten was kind of pushed/recieved an ultimatum before realizing that he wanna progress with his band:
 

 Source: #1982

[nestingkiwi]

...what's the difference?

No, CoD is a dictatorship with baristasants.

This reminds me of a joke.

The punchline is "The baristacrats".

So a guy and a girl walk into a coffee shop and there are a couple of 30 something females bickering amongst themselves about bikini lines. One of them is tall and thin with a teeshirt that proclaims 'mustache rides $1000' while the other is what an art historian would describe as being rubinesque and appears to be wearing an angry bear and horn rimmed glasses. They are trading verbal  blows  and slamming cups down with such force that coffe sprays up  spraying rich hot mist all over the bean-stained counter. Many curse words get thrown around as the argument escalates. Harpy exclaimes one. Battle axe the other replies and the tallest of the two then lets loose a spurt of untranslateable gibberish which fills the observing couple with unspeakable dread. Glaring at the other the rubinesque woman reaches beneath the coffee stained  counter and removes a heavy ladle which she wields above her head. "I'll take no more  of your sass you skelatal gloom hag!" she yells. The taller woman too reaches down lifting a giant knotched claymore above her head. "Consider this your final notice you bourbon soaked wretch." She screams.

The girl who has just walked in turns to her male companion and asks What on earth is wrong with these people?"   

The guy shrugs and says "Meh. it's like this every day."

"Thats what you expect when you buy coffee from the baristacrats.'

[GarandMarine]

I'd say Marten has more direction then Faye. He knows what he loves, and he's pursuing it.

Faye may have done it, but only because Dora pushed her into doing it. Marten is, at least, actively pursuing it out of his own interest.

 Well...Marten was kind of pushed/recieved an ultimatum before realizing that he wanna progress with his band:
 

 Source: #1982

Fair point, but he is at least going somewhere with it. What's Faye done with art stuff recently?

[TinPenguin]

Is art stuff even what Faye actually wants to do? Has she ever said as much?

[Mr_Rose]

Also: made more money with one article than marten's entire music "career" has?

[ZoeB]

Maybe they'll both feel the urge to stop drifting. I think that's coming.

[Jazzmaster]

As much as I hate to admit it, I made an account just for this strip.

I was gonna type out a big rant about how much the fourth panel bothered me, but it sounded too whiny so I quit it.

It's just that I'm having a hard time seeing where these two ladies came off making a remark like that, especially after all Marten has done for them (especially Faye - not a smart move to talk about somebody like that after they went to hell and back for you, but I suppose this is how the adult world works after all).

I'm sure there's some reasoning behind the recent dialogue, but I can't get over the fact that it irked me.  And after just recently reading through every single QC strip again, I have to say this is the first time I've been irked this much.

Oh well, we'll see what happens.  Let life carry on.

[Moanerette]

Also: made more money with one article than marten's entire music "career" has?

Making money does not have to be the point of creative pursuits.

I'm somewhat puzzled by the idea that Angus has an 'opportunity'. As far as I can tell, he simply has a flyer for open auditions for a TV show. Hundreds of hopefuls would probably turn up for that.

[TinPenguin]

It's not really about whether he has a chance in hell at the audition. It's what the flyer says about where he really wants to be in five years.

[Loki]

So a guy and a girl walk into a coffee shop [snip]

Beautiful.

Welcome, new people!

Plus Marten has been IN SPACE!!! Whereas Faye has... made a sculpture. Woo.

Well, to be fair, it's not like that happened because of Marten's efforts. He just happened to be friends with the daughter of a mad scientist, who befriended him by stalking him (the daughter, not the scientist).

[Nepiophage]

I know a man whose life trajectory was like Marten's continued indefinitely. He dropped out of teacher training and spent the next 35 years playing music, occasionally getting a band together which folded after a few gigs, doing odd jobs, smoking weed and living on welfare.  It went fine until his late 50s, then he quarrelled with all his friends and became a recluse. I haven't seen him for five years. 

You have to grow up sometime.

[Delator]

Has Dora ever expressed any sort of goals that weren't related to her business or resolving her emotional issues?

Seems to me you should have goals before ripping on your ex about theirs.

Faye speaks a kernel of truth, but really needs to realize that she's lagging behind Marten in this so-called race.

[Tova]

People are arguing over which of Faye and Marten has more direction, but really the point is that there is not much to separate them, and Faye is acting as though that is not the case.

I can easily imagine Marten making the speech that Faye made in panel 3.

So it gets back to the very first question Faye asked: is contentment the same as complacency? Some would argue yes - that simply being happy with where you are is in fact regression.

Having said all that, just one more comment with regards to Marten's band... yes, he spends some amount of time playing, but he doesn't seem to have any goals with regards to that. If he does, he's certainly not working towards them. He just kind of does it, really.

And yes, Dora does have goals, and they are mainly related to her business. Well, running your own business can be pretty all-consuming. I don't see the problem with that. Well, I can see potential problems, but they are a totally different set of problems, not 'Dora is just drifting' problems.

Anyway, it wasn't actually the last panel that bugged me, really. I can easily imagine Dora and Faye convincing each other that Marten is so different from Faye. It was Jeph's editorial 'Oh Marten' comment that annoyed me. He's being kicked and he's not even there. Bleh. Or as Jeph would say, kdkfjdfds.

Edit: 750. Wheeeeeeeeee.

[Skewbrow]

Folks, these two are Marten's best friends - and likely the two persons who know him best. Surely they appreciate Marten's friendship and all that. It may appear that they speak like this behind Marten's back, but they would not hesitate to say essentially the same thing in his presence. As Marten's friends they have the right, duty even, to try and give the poor drifter a nudge.

Dora has a career. It may look petty to some, but it keeps her focused. Faye apparently has talent, but is uncertain pursue it. May be she would rather teach sculpting (Sam) than do it herself? For that to happen she needs a college degree, which is tough to do, given that she would probably have to pay for it herself. I don't know whether she will pursue sculpting as a more than a hobby. I don't know whether she should? She might continue trying this low volume thing with the local gallery owner, but probably would need somebody else to notice her work to really spread her wings.

5-year plans? I used to have them. But after finishing up my doctorate I sorta started drifting. Other things took over: family, hobbies. I did earn a couple promotions, but have I really done something I'm proud of in recent years? Career stalled more or less. Warning to young  guns: this is how GOMs are made (by failing to make those 5-year plans).

[Latias]

You have to grow up sometime.

This comment bothered me, a lot. This is a terribly judgmental view of you to take on a lifestyle that's not yours. I live my day to day life with no long-term goals and as a recluse, and I have for the past six years, happily. What, about goals, is "grown-up"? Who are you to say what the purpose of one's life is? My objective in life is simply to be happy. To me, the point of my life is nothing more than to be happy on a day-to-day basis. How does that make me any less mature, or "grown-up", than someone who chooses to aim for goals? Or Marten? Or that guy you knew?

I didn't realise it until re-reading the comic, but that bothers me about the comic, too. Originally I was just bothered by the hypocrisy of them criticising Marten for "drifting" when Faye is, at least arguably, "drifting" even more than he is. Dora's statement that it's "important to have goals and strive to achieve them", as if it's a hard fact. I don't agree with that at all. It's absolutely a worthy thing to pursue, if that's what floats your boat. But there also isn't anything wrong with taking life easy and just enjoying the present it for what its worth, if that's what floats your boat. To say one or the other is more important than the other is closed-minded. That's a decision that each person makes for themselves.

[CleoKat]

Has Dora ever expressed any sort of goals that weren't related to her business or resolving her emotional issues?

Seems to me you should have goals before ripping on your ex about theirs.

Having career and personal growth goals are pretty damn good goals to have! What other goals do you expect her to have?

Dora owns her own thriving business and she's continuing to improve it too by making that deal with Jim for the baked goods and making general investments in machinery and stuff (I can't remember the fancy coffee machine, I'm a tea drinker). That's pretty damn impressive at her age and I certainly couldn't do that.

Also, her choice to go into therapy and deal with the issues preventing her from being self-destructive in relationships and her relationship with her brother is more than I'd expect from any non-fictional person, certainly not the Dora I knew. It was a massive character leap and one I was thrilled to read. Now she's in a relationship with Tai and it seems to be going well (early days). That's a huge goal that could improve so many aspects of her life.

Hell, she's responsible for a cat too! Take that life goals, she's got responsibilities too.

If there's one person in the comic who can give someone a talking to on life goals, it's Dora.


As for the whole 'Don't be like Marten' thing I would say that Faye is worse but she's still recovering from a massive trauma so I'm giving her a little slack. Holding down a stable job, relationship and maintaining a wide group of friends probably seemed impossible after her breakdown so she's already come along way. Still, she's got so much potential and verve, she should be grabbing life by the horns and doing what she loves, not coasting at the coffee shop. I think the way Angus brought up the five-year-plan thing was very real, especially as most of my big life conversations have taken place in bed, and I can understand why he disfused the talk with humour after not getting the answer he was hoping for, he needed to recalculate.

I hope tomorrow's strip (or an upcoming strip) features Faye and Marten. I kinda want to see how he'd react to a joke about him being directionless (one of my predictions for the year is that he'd get a proper gig so I'm sorta hoping for that) and that maybe they'd both realise that they've got to do stuff while they're young, even if they work that out during a spat.

[anahata]

I'm having a hard time seeing where these two ladies came off making a remark like that, especially after all Marten has done for them

This hypocrisy may be explained by the fact that both these ladies have rejected Marten in the past, for different reasons. Putting him down like that is a bit of ego protection: pretending to justify that choice, and incidentally masking the truth that in both cases it was their own inadequacy that limited or ended their relationship with Marten, not Marten's lack of direction.

[Neko_Ali]

I'm glad that I wasn't the only one really bothered by the last panel. It really is unfair of Dora. Yes, Marten may be sliding through life, but it's not like he doesn't have goals or interests. Faye on the other hand up until now has been pretty much aggressively fighting to not change her place in life. Angus and Dora have been the ones to apply various amounts of pressure to get her to make any changes in her life, so throwing the same attitude back on Marten is pretty unfair.

[Redball]

I wonder how motivated Marten would be if he had a girl friend. I'm wondering the same about myself, to be honest.

[FunkyTuba]

[...]
The guy shrugs and says "Meh. it's like this every day."

"Thats what you expect when you buy coffee from the baristacrats.'

Brilliant!

[FunkyTuba]

If yesterday's last panel flyer was a Chekhov's Flyer then today's last-panel insult is a Chekhov's insult ... I think Jeph's setting something up for Faye, and Marten too

[Rghfrgl]

 Strip should have just ended with Dora's line. She's successful and can make that punchline. I could rant why Faye can't, but plenty of people have already.

[jwhouk]

(looks at watch)
(looks at page number)

"There's still time for us to hit 10 pages by Thursday night..."

[jwhouk]

Emily's days of punning...

...are over for good.    5 (7.1%)
...until someone explains that Hannelore doesn't do puns.    13 (18.6%)
...has an obsession with peas.    0 (0%)
...and Q's.    3 (4.3%)
...has tried so hard to be the "good" child in her family.    2 (2.9%)
...are not over! No puns, no peas!    14 (20%)
...Oh, no, not again.    11 (15.7%)
...Waffles? (Wait, that's not a pun.)    6 (8.6%)
...needs to be given a second chance at peas.    16 (22.9%)

Total Members Voted: 70

[KOK]

Didn't we all wake up one morning 40 years old and wonder how that happened?

[kyraeus]

Beyond all the above, which seem pretty good, the thing that struck me almost immediately upon reading today's, was that it's extremely ironic and kinda downright pissy of the two of them to be sniping about Marten's lack of direction.  I mean, let's look back a bit.

Faye initially completely treats him more or less like crap after he opens all of what little he has to her, then lets her own past and emotional issues completely dump over any advances he might have tried to make, and then more or less sidesteps any relationship with him by saying 'oh, sorry, I have issues. It wouldn't be fair.  Move along, please.'.  While on one hand that's introspective, you gotta figure that'll screw a guy's ego over a bit and make him not exactly in a hurry to push for better.

Then what happens next?  Dora pretty much hops on him as free, then almost immediately ends up dumping him, ALSO due to her own issues and mental fears.  Is it two for one sale this year on massive female problems?  That of course, is WITHOUT adding in the fact that now suddenly Faye's just FINE enough to go off and have someone to be with now.

I mean, at least now he's not all blah about not getting any, but let's face it, after the duo of emotional issues like that, who would WANT to go out and find anyone new or to push for better?  In his position, I'd be thinking 'Why bother? Every time I try for something better than this, I get crapped on by the universe and roll not just a one, but a SERIES of ones.  Screw that. I'll be here, playing my guitar and chilling out where it's relatively safe'. 

I'm not saying it's completely their fault.  Everyone has had shitty times in their life like that sometimes.  But it seems just a liiiiiittle bit wrong of them to be sitting around griping about his lack of direction, when they kinda both contributed to said lack of direction by screwing him over each in their own way.  Whether he's okay with that is kinda not even really in question there, as he basically for the most part seems to have a bit of serious California zen going on.  'The Dude abides, man'.

[Border Reiver]

(looks at watch)
(looks at page number)

"There's still time for us to hit 10 pages by Thursday night..."

Why worry about things like that?  There's plenty of other things to concern yourself with, such as

a.  How threadbare is the "TEH" tshirt by now;
b.  Are we going to get a real shift in the life of one of the characters in the next few weeks;
c.  Can the posters in this forum stop overanalyzing the strip;
d.  Will I have enough time to get a decent dinner before I have to report for duty this evening;
e.  Is there enough space ham; and
f.  Who's shipping who?

[cesium133]

Obviously, when they're not performing for the comic, the characters ship various members of the forum. Some of the pairings they come up with are horrific.

[Madmartigan]

Beyond all the above, which seem pretty good, the thing that struck me almost immediately upon reading today's, was that it's extremely ironic and kinda downright pissy of the two of them to be sniping about Marten's lack of direction.  I mean, let's look back a bit.

Faye initially completely treats him more or less like crap after he opens all of what little he has to her, then lets her own past and emotional issues completely dump over any advances he might have tried to make, and then more or less sidesteps any relationship with him by saying 'oh, sorry, I have issues. It wouldn't be fair.  Move along, please.'.  While on one hand that's introspective, you gotta figure that'll screw a guy's ego over a bit and make him not exactly in a hurry to push for better.

Then what happens next?  Dora pretty much hops on him as free, then almost immediately ends up dumping him, ALSO due to her own issues and mental fears.  Is it two for one sale this year on massive female problems?  That of course, is WITHOUT adding in the fact that now suddenly Faye's just FINE enough to go off and have someone to be with now.

I mean, at least now he's not all blah about not getting any, but let's face it, after the duo of emotional issues like that, who would WANT to go out and find anyone new or to push for better?  In his position, I'd be thinking 'Why bother? Every time I try for something better than this, I get crapped on by the universe and roll not just a one, but a SERIES of ones.  Screw that. I'll be here, playing my guitar and chilling out where it's relatively safe'. 

I'm not saying it's completely their fault.  Everyone has had shitty times in their life like that sometimes.  But it seems just a liiiiiittle bit wrong of them to be sitting around griping about his lack of direction, when they kinda both contributed to said lack of direction by screwing him over each in their own way.  Whether he's okay with that is kinda not even really in question there, as he basically for the most part seems to have a bit of serious California zen going on.  'The Dude abides, man'.

Gotta agree here....After the way Marten has been treated by these two on many occasion, I don't see where they have room to talk exactly.  Love the characters, but Marten does not need to be brought up.  If you wanna push him and try and get him to do a gig, talk to him about it.  Don't deride Marten to make Faye feel better, who is ever more stalled than Marten considering Faye is in a relationship and is stalling Angus' dream (however unintentionally she's doing it).

I'm biased.  Ever since Dora's breakup with Marten, I just haven't liked her as much.  (Her hitching with Tai is another matter entirely I exhausted long ago when it started).

I will say, it isn't exactly like Marten dwelled on those 2 stringing him along (or in Dora's case, being a control freak who sabotaged everything).  He's moved on.  And that's at least a sense of direction.  He wanted to explore things with Padma, but the universe fudged him over.  He's been fudged over a lot. 

Anyway, I don't even think Dora/Faye are the ones that are going to motivate him.  Marten just needs one good thing to happen to him (which there hasn't been a lot of) to get him moving. 

Bah.  I'm just ranting now.  Folks have already said it better.  Basically Faye is stalling herself with no direction and stalling Angus' dream as well (unintentionally, but even soo...) and Dora really just has no room to talk. 

I mean damn.  Dora was in stalled limbo as well and unless someone forced her into counseling, she'd still be off sabotaging romantic relationships.  Bah.  Just didn't like that last panel.

[Smallest]

I wonder how motivated Marten would be if he had a girl friend. I'm wondering the same about myself, to be honest.

I think, knowing his character, a serious girlfriend/LTR might motivate him, but to us viewers it would look like the opposite, since that first little while would be more 'whoo girlfriend' than 'let's make my/our future look good' and a little while in comic is a long time to us.

On the other hand, a more casual relationship would probably have no effect, and it turning into something more serious over time might ground him.

On the other other hand, Padma and Dora both went bad for him, and it would probably be best he waits a while before seeing someone again.

[Border Reiver]

Obviously, when they're not performing for the comic, the characters ship various members of the forum. Some of the pairings they come up with are horrific.

I've seen the ones I was shipped with... 

It took a lot to get those images out of my mind.

[Mojo]

God, this one depressed me, because it describes my life exactly.

[GarandMarine]

I kinda like the description of Marten's life style as a California zen "The Dude abides" sorta thing. Strikes me as pretty spot on.

[Madmartigan]

But would it be in Angus' character to just up and go like that? He loves Faye, and knows her history with her father, and as such would have an inkling of what could likely happen if he did leave her behind (which could probably be more dramatic than mere drama).

But that being said, Faye will definitely feel like a bitch for not letting Angus pursue his dreams. But can she then just up and leave her social circle that she had a hard enough time to build (admittedly it is only about 3 hours away (Google Maps is my friend...)), and build a new life in New York?

How the hell do you compromise in that situation?

In some cases, I don't think you can compromise.  Love is great and all.  But giving up your dream when you still have no real attachments (kids, etc) is character destruction.  You're begging out on your development, desires, and happiness...I'd be very disappointing if Angus just gave up his dream.  Not healthy.  So, not sure if there's a compromise.  One person has a family she feels comfortable with and may not want to part from.  The other wants to follow a dream....I hate seeing people kill off their dreams just to stay with someone.  So I'd rather Angus pursue his dream.

And I hope he still goes to that comedy interview gig thing.

[onefish]

Man, I *knew* everyone would be mad at either Jeph or Faye/Dora about this one.

But look. Faye might actually be reasonably content where she is. Marten genuinely IS aimless and kind of vaguely wants to "do more," probably musically, but hasn't really done it (though I had thought he was sorta taking steps). Faye and Dora are poking fun with love, and have talked with Marten about this--they're not sniping at him or putting him down.

Also, I know the QC timeline is not *perfectly* clear, but there is no way Dora and Marten broke up "almost immediately."

[Loki]

Also, I know the QC timeline is not *perfectly* clear, but there is no way Dora and Marten broke up "almost immediately."

I don't usually post "seconded", but I agree. They spent quite a long time together.

[Is it cold in here?]

Do we even know that the band is still practicing? Marten's talent deserves better than to die of neglect.

Yes, the Pugnacious Peach wants to be a sculptor.

[Loki]

By the way:

Didn't we all wake up one morning 40 years old and wonder how that happened?

Most of us haven't, but I know that feeling. I often have the thought digging at me that I have wasted a third or a fourth of my life, depending on which life expectancy you look at.

[KOK]

Do we even know that the band is still practicing? Marten's talent deserves better than to die of neglect.

Do we know that Marten has talent? He likes playing, and he plays well enough for a hobby band, but does he have the potential to become a pro? I remember no indication one way or the other.

[Method of Madness]

Talent's only a small part of becoming a pro.

[Pilchard123]

Hanners has 10 ear piercings, five in each ear.

To be precise, Hanners has 5 piercings, ten in each ear.

[Madmartigan]

Do we even know that the band is still practicing? Marten's talent deserves better than to die of neglect.

Yes, the Pugnacious Peach wants to be a sculptor.

This is the problem in-comic.  We don't necessarily have a full grasp of the characters lives.  It isn't as though Jeph is showing us the characters as if we're spying on them 24/7.  Who knows if he still practices with the band.  He very well could be.

And I don't agree that Dora and Faye were just poking fun.  Maybe I'm just ultra-sensitive about folks talking about their friends, but it seemed more of a "at least you're not Marten" line from Dora in order to make Faye feel better about being "content".

Hell, in some ways Faye right now is worse off than Marten.  She's "contentment" and wants to stay put (which I do completely understand btw.  I brought it up first) and her contentment seems to be holding Angus back (again, indirectly and unknowingly).

I don't really understand the difference between Faye's contentedness and Marten's.  They've each dabbled equally in things they like.  Sculpting and music, but neither has really actively pursued making something of it.  So I don't get how either of them is necessarily better off than the other, hence the stupidity of Dora's comment.  Hell, if Faye didn't have Angus, she'd be just as "aimless" as Marten.  I really don't see the difference.  We don't even KNOW what Faye's dreams are really.  At least we know Marten would like to play music, maybe professionally, with a band.

Also don't get why we have to love everything he writes.  He'd probably think it creepy if we agreed with him on everything.   If anyone ever agreed with everything I thought, I think it'd be creepy.

[Pilchard123]

The filler a few days ago was the band, practising. I don't know when that was supposed to be, but...

[Sidhekin]

... but Marten was playing the eight-string, so if it is not alternate history, it's either recent or future ...

[Is it cold in here?]

We can at least acquit them of being snide behind Marten's back since both have confronted him face to face about his aimlessness. The Pugnacious Peach has told him he's "wasting" his life.

[crazdgamer]

I mean, at least now he's not all blah about not getting any, but let's face it, after the duo of emotional issues like that, who would WANT to go out and find anyone new or to push for better?  In his position, I'd be thinking 'Why bother? Every time I try for something better than this, I get crapped on by the universe and roll not just a one, but a SERIES of ones.  Screw that. I'll be here, playing my guitar and chilling out where it's relatively safe'. 

Hello, new person!

I'd like to point out that Padma was a thing, and that had it not been for external factors pulling Padma away from life in Northampton their relationship could have developed further than it did before getting quickly cut off.   

Marteen absolutely took that chance I think.  Unfortunately it didn't work through no fault of his own. 

[westrim]

I'd like to point out that Padma was a thing, and that had it not been for external factors pulling Padma away from life in Northampton their relationship could have developed further than it did before getting quickly cut off.   
Marten absolutely took that chance I think.  Unfortunately it didn't work through no fault of his own.

Well, he did screw up when he blew her off that last time, though not as much as Faye said he did. It was a reasonable reaction to the blowoff by Padme, but it also had suboptimal results as far as his desires go.

[Masterpiece]

This is not Star Wars, it's Padma.

[Loki]

No, this is Patrick.

[Neko_Ali]

THIS. IS. SPARTAAAAAAA!