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it was metrically and ctocepnually excellent.  A gold-glow day, that was. How I valued your approval..As “To every coin ….”, so to every situation:  the pluses and minuses.  The upsetting minus of you working at 3 or 4 am Florida-time meant that your nights, in fact, were disrupted rather than restful..On more than one such no-sleep occasion, we joked about King David’s influence on you, adapting Psalm 57:7-9. Like King David, your.07: [...] heart is ever steadfast..And like King David, you  .08: […] wake the dawn.09: (to) celebrate you, Lord,     among the people; and sing      your praise among the nations..But the plus of those sleep-arrested nights meant that the time differences between us seemingly dissipated, and emails could fly back and forth. A 3 a.m. mail from you was a  welcome midmorning coffee break for me.  And how could it be anything but welcome?    this respite, full of mind teasing, brain twisting, and word tweaking, a stimulating flurry of exchanges. Combat over the difference between awe – yir’AH,  fulfilling G-d’s laws through our observation of His wondrous works in our surroundings, and fear    PA’khad – keeping G-d’s laws only to avoid punishment, and the implications of each  of these words in the texts.  Battles over the fine line between mercy and pity.  Tug-o-war over ‘loving-kindness’ – what does one do with such a long and awkward word?    which incidentally is quite short in the original: KHESS’edd.   But which also raises the issue of synonyms… and the fact that a synonym in English isn’t necessarily so in Hebrew. Bit by bit, you prized the treasure chest open, Alan, its trove of prizes being polished by your special touch..And there was plain old fun teasing too. Lots of it. Like the time you advised that you’d come up with a great solution to Psalm 68:4 after extensive debate, but that you wanted to think it over for a day before releasing it.  Another brilliant clinch in the offing …. The suspense was too much – were there 2 or 3 or more whining requests from me: oy vey, no, no, please  send  now!  You sent it shortly afterwards, of course, flourished your trademark  ‘heh’:.04: Sing unto God and laud his name.      Prepare the way for the sky’s rider.     His name is LORD. Exult before him..Though vital to your health, paradoxically you often viewed medical appointments as another setback in this race against time. When the second half of your week hadn’t been easy, following treatment, you sadly let me know it would not be possible to finish the particular psalm we were working on before the Sabbath commenced. With your keen sensitivity to wording, even when I mentioned no names in brief messages, you learned to identify which of my children would be coming home, and wish us a restful Shabbat..Luckily, unproductive ‘long weekends’ were not too common.  Instead, there were many other evenings when, around midnight or later as I was about to close the computer and go to sleep… ping!  Who can resist the tantalizing ping of the inbox!  OK, skim through, acknowledge: I’ll check first thing tomorrow. But this work was so rewarding for us both that it was impossible to ignore your draft until the next morning, especially knowing that you’d probably have time to review response notes that very same day if you received them back immediately..So: coffee, close reading, corrections;  and 30 to 40 minutes later, sometimes an hour for a longer or more complex piece, back the notes went. Always considerate of my schedules, you would add something like: It’s very late for you now. Don’t stay up for the sake of this draft.  But the beauty of the project burned within our hearts, yes, like a kind of love, and who can turn away from love?************.How many parallel experiences we discovered in our lives, Alan, from puppies to orchards and growing up near large bodies of water. Both of us, sticklers for accuracy in our work; both of us sharing two pet peeves, ‘proactive’, and ‘impact’ as a proactive(!) verb; both of us loving our language of preference..We worked well together because we truly admired each other’s spheres of knowledge. Your gratitude was warmly sincere.   And your  humility in the face of the powerful poetry woven into these ancient words made working with you a delight. You tackled the raw material, hammering at it until you spun  as described in Psalm 12:6 –silver, refined in earth’s crucible,strained and purified seven times over..I was awed by how you approached the work, and told you what a privilege it was to observe the process closely, from the inside out, as it were. We both felt privileged by this versified translation, the chance, as Psalm 33 says, to -03:      Sing a new song to the Lord.          Play it with skill and verve..In psalm 9 verse 12, King David delineates how G-d[…] recalls them:      he never forgets the cry of the meek..We weighed the inferences of recall, and never forget, the first being active, a purposeful raising into the conscious mind, by stating and restating; the second being more passive, an undertone or background; we explored how these words connected with that core of Bible, the Ten Commandments.  Working intensively with you this past year-plus leaves me with so many funny or special shared moments and anecdotes; I will never forget them. As for classes on Davidic Psalms and their link to principles of Torah, I will keep my promise to you, Alan, and dedicate them in your name, this year, next year, whenever I give such classes, thereby actively, publicly recalling – for, as we discussed in Psalm 86, a name mentioned in connection with study of Bible gladdens the namesake's soul..Throughout, your achievement was a source of encouragement to many, as we watched you determinedly gain time with the psalms. It was only recently that you wrote the following:.When we got done with 145, I had no idea so much work might still remain. It is daunting, but it has gone well, I think, and it certainly motivates me to stay alert and fight through my medical troubles. I shall be grateful to let go when the time comes. I am so tired. But not yet..And still you managed to edit so many of the psalms since that note, even completely recasting some of them. But with every day that passed since your hospitalization, and no email winging into my inbox, my heart fractured that bit more. You could, chronologically, have been my older brother, and what a wonderful older brother you often seemed to be throughout this laden but beautiful year of working together. Who better to express how I feel now, than King David in Psalm 22:14    I am spilled like water. / All my bones disjointed; / my heart is beeswax, / melting within.  This, because I mourn you as only a close Elder Sister can.***.Alan        May your insightfulness be a long-lived tribute to your depth of thinking;.May your keen learning that so enhanced our working together, and the many other traits of character that we all respect and admire, infuse our memories with hues of love;.May these, and so much more, be a comfort to all who were close to you.And may these words which I have spoken stand as testimony in your good stead before God..Alan, dear spirit-kin, if I have unthinkingly offended you or been inconsiderate in any way, I ask your forgiveness..Let’s  turn again to Psalm Eleven, the psalm that brought us together:.01: I hope in the Lord.     Would you wish of my soul      be off like a bird …...May your soul, like the bird, be off      to settle beneath wings of everlasting peace and blessed rest.   ta'NOO’akh    ba’sha’LOM.  [rest peacefully]   Amen.
+
{{comic
 +
| number    = 1023
 +
| date      = February 29, 2012
 +
| title    = Late-Night PBS
 +
| image    = late night pbs.png
 +
| titletext = Then it switched to these old black-and-white tapes of Bob Ross slumped against the wall of an empty room, painting the least happy trees you've ever seen. Either PBS needs to beef up studio security or I need to stop using Ambien to sleep.
 +
}}
 +
 
 +
==Explanation==
 +
{{w|PBS}} stands for Public Broadcasting Service and is an American TV broadcaster that is predominantly supported by the viewers themselves through pledge drives. It often runs (and sometimes co-produces) acclaimed British {{w|costume drama}}s, including the mentioned ''{{w|Downton Abbey}}''.
 +
 
 +
[[Megan]] falls asleep with the TV on after watching ''Downton Abbey''. When she wakes up, around 3 AM, "Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego" is airing. Unlike typical late night TV, which is usually re-runs of previously recorded episodes, she claims that the episode she watched is set in the modern day (i.e. PBS had ordered new episodes of the show) and all of the people on the show have aged accordingly.
 +
 
 +
"{{w|Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego}}" was a {{w|computer game}} series in the mid-80s. The series moved to a {{w|Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego (game show)|game-show TV series}} in the early from around 1990 to 1995. The point of the series was to learn about geography and the world while playing a game or watching a game show. {{w|Carmen Sandiego}} was a mysterious character that you tracked around the globe, attempting to find clues to find out where she was headed to next. The show was split into 3 rounds. In the first round, there were 3 sleuths. Each question they got right gave them additional points. The top 2 scoring sleuths moved onto the next round, where they had to play a game (like the game Memory) where they had to find the thief, warrant, and loot in the correct order. Whichever sleuth did so captured the thief, saved the loot, and moved onto the next round, where they had a chance to catch Carmen Sandiego herself. Success was not always guaranteed in this round, as contestants had to plant flags correct on 7 different countries in a continent within a very short time period. If the sleuth was successfully able to do this, they captured Carmen and won the grand prize (a trip to a place of their choosing in the continental US). If not, Carmen would escape and the sleuth would win a lesser prize (like a computer).
 +
 
 +
The role of The Chief was played by {{w|Lynne Thigpen}}, a role she played in all 3 computer games (Where in the USA, Where in the World, and Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego) and both TV shows (Where in Time and Where in the World). She was responsible for telling the detectives (sleuths) what had been stolen, which of Carmen's thieves was suspected of stealing it, and some relevant information about their last whereabouts (effectively, telling the sleuths what their mission was). Whenever the detectives would catch a thief (or Carmen), she would appear and congratulate them or console them if Carmen got away (unlike what she does here).
 +
 
 +
The host of the TV show was {{w|Greg Lee (actor)|Greg Lee}}. When the show originally aired, Greg was in his late 20s/early 30s. His job was to ask the questions of the contestants and tell them which flags to plant on the map in the final round, as well as engage in silly situations with The Chief and Rockapella to keep the show moving and provide clues. If the show were still airing today in 2012 he would be 50, hence the aging joke. This comic is not the first time a host of one of the Carmen Sandiego TV shows was mocked and shown as drinking on the job; Robot Chicken showed a similar scenario with the host of Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego in 2010 ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EIULR-zLEk link] — the voice of the host in the skit is the voice of the actual host from Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego).
 +
 
 +
{{w|Rockapella}} was the '{{w|A cappella}}' group (keeping up the tradition of punny names for a cappella groups) which sang the theme song to "Where in The World Is Carmen Sandiego." 'A cappella' is a loan word from Italian meaning "''in the manner of the Church''" hearkening back to {{w|Gregorian chant}}; in the 19th century the term evolved to mean any vocalization without accompaniment. In the TV version of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, Rockapella also acted as a "house band" of sorts, singing songs while the contestants transitioned between events, providing clues, playing pranks on Greg Lee, etc. At the end of each show, Greg Lee and the episode's winning contestant would shout "Do it, Rockapella!" at which point the band would sing the shows theme song. Thus, it is unsurprising that they would be on the set when the contestants captured Carmen Sandiego. The humorous part is that, instead of singing, like everyone else in this comic, they make the contestants feel uncomfortable by glaring at them (something they would never do).
 +
 
 +
In the Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego TV show, the places the contestants went were always portrayed as fun and happy, unlike the places that they have to visit in this comic. Situations like those mentioned in this comic were never really discussed.
 +
 
 +
{{w|Mogadishu}} is a battle-torn city in {{w|Somalia}}, where there was the aptly named "{{w|Battle of Mogadishu (1993)|Battle of Mogadishu}}" in 1993, which would coincide with the air dates of "Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego" game show.
 +
 
 +
{{w|The Killing Fields}} are a number of sites in {{w|Cambodia}} where large numbers of people were killed and buried by the {{w|Khmer Rouge}} regime, during its rule of the country from 1975 to 1979, immediately after the end of the {{w|Cambodian Civil War}} (1970-1975).
 +
 
 +
The reference to "A Bookshelf in a Dutch Apartment" is a reference to {{w|Anne Frank}}, who was a Jewish girl who hid from the {{w|Nazi}}s in a Secret Annex hidden behind a bookshelf in an apartment in {{w|Amsterdam, Netherlands}}. She wrote the famous diary, {{w|Diary of Anne Frank}}.
 +
 
 +
One continuity issue in this comic is that the places they have to visit in this episode seem to require traveling to different periods in time (1993, 1975-1979, 1940s, respectively). Episodes of Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego usually did not deal with this — this is what the TV show Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego (the successor to Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, albeit with a different house band and a different host) did.
 +
 
 +
The last frame also makes mention of how some programs intended for children often have subtle themes for adults who may be watching the show with their children. {{w|SpongeBob SquarePants#Reception|SpongeBob SquarePants}} and The Fairly OddParents are other examples of shows that have hidden meanings in things for the adults watching the show with their children. The joke in the panel is that these sorts of underlying themes were always present in the show, but the young/less mature viewers weren't able to pick up on them. When [[Cueball]] expresses his doubt that the show was this dark when he watched it (presumably as a kid in the early 1990s), Megan tells him exactly this, that maybe these scenarios were always there but they were too young to understand them.
 +
 
 +
In the title text there is a reference to {{w|Bob Ross}}, a famous painter with a painting show on PBS called "{{w|The Joy of Painting}}" that ran for 12 years. Bob Ross was known for using "happy little _____" to describe components of his paintings. For example while painting trees he would encourage viewers to add "happy little trees" to their paintings.
 +
 
 +
{{w|Ambien}}, also known as Zolpidem, is a prescription medication used for the treatment of insomnia, as well as some brain disorders. Known side effects are vivid dreams and hallucinations if you wake up (or haven't yet fallen asleep) while it is still active.
 +
 
 +
Thus, the joke in the title text is that Randall/Megan isn't sure if this is hallucinating from taking Ambien, or if something horrible has happened because PBS's security staff isn't large enough.  The entire comic, in general, revolves around this notion.
 +
 
 +
==Transcript==
 +
:[Megan is rubbing sleep out of her eyes and talking to Cueball.]
 +
:Megan: Have you ever watched PBS late at night?
 +
:Megan: I fell asleep after Downton and woke up at like 3 AM.
 +
 
 +
:[The upper portion of the panel continues dialogue, while the lower shows a drunk gameshow host and several contestants. The monitor shows a field of crosses, presumably graves.]
 +
:Megan:  Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego was back on, except the host hadn't aged well and he'd clearly been drinking.
 +
:Megan: Every question took them to some horrible place like Mogadishu or the Cambodian killing fields.
 +
 
 +
:[Now it shows a bookshelf revealing a hidden room.]
 +
:Megan: The kids were freaked out, but they kept playing. Eventually they were told they'd found Carmen Sandiego hiding behind a bookshelf in a Dutch apartment.
 +
 
 +
:Megan: The Chief appeared and asked "Are you proud of what you've become?"
 +
:Megan: Then Rockapella walked out and just glared at the kids until they started crying.
 +
:Cueball: I, uh, don't remember the old show being that dark.
 +
:Megan: Maybe we were too young to pick up on it.
 +
 
 +
{{comic discussion}}
 +
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
 +
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

Revision as of 16:05, 9 December 2014

Late-Night PBS
Then it switched to these old black-and-white tapes of Bob Ross slumped against the wall of an empty room, painting the least happy trees you've ever seen. Either PBS needs to beef up studio security or I need to stop using Ambien to sleep.
Title text: Then it switched to these old black-and-white tapes of Bob Ross slumped against the wall of an empty room, painting the least happy trees you've ever seen. Either PBS needs to beef up studio security or I need to stop using Ambien to sleep.

Explanation

PBS stands for Public Broadcasting Service and is an American TV broadcaster that is predominantly supported by the viewers themselves through pledge drives. It often runs (and sometimes co-produces) acclaimed British costume dramas, including the mentioned Downton Abbey.

Megan falls asleep with the TV on after watching Downton Abbey. When she wakes up, around 3 AM, "Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego" is airing. Unlike typical late night TV, which is usually re-runs of previously recorded episodes, she claims that the episode she watched is set in the modern day (i.e. PBS had ordered new episodes of the show) and all of the people on the show have aged accordingly.

"Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego" was a computer game series in the mid-80s. The series moved to a game-show TV series in the early from around 1990 to 1995. The point of the series was to learn about geography and the world while playing a game or watching a game show. Carmen Sandiego was a mysterious character that you tracked around the globe, attempting to find clues to find out where she was headed to next. The show was split into 3 rounds. In the first round, there were 3 sleuths. Each question they got right gave them additional points. The top 2 scoring sleuths moved onto the next round, where they had to play a game (like the game Memory) where they had to find the thief, warrant, and loot in the correct order. Whichever sleuth did so captured the thief, saved the loot, and moved onto the next round, where they had a chance to catch Carmen Sandiego herself. Success was not always guaranteed in this round, as contestants had to plant flags correct on 7 different countries in a continent within a very short time period. If the sleuth was successfully able to do this, they captured Carmen and won the grand prize (a trip to a place of their choosing in the continental US). If not, Carmen would escape and the sleuth would win a lesser prize (like a computer).

The role of The Chief was played by Lynne Thigpen, a role she played in all 3 computer games (Where in the USA, Where in the World, and Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego) and both TV shows (Where in Time and Where in the World). She was responsible for telling the detectives (sleuths) what had been stolen, which of Carmen's thieves was suspected of stealing it, and some relevant information about their last whereabouts (effectively, telling the sleuths what their mission was). Whenever the detectives would catch a thief (or Carmen), she would appear and congratulate them or console them if Carmen got away (unlike what she does here).

The host of the TV show was Greg Lee. When the show originally aired, Greg was in his late 20s/early 30s. His job was to ask the questions of the contestants and tell them which flags to plant on the map in the final round, as well as engage in silly situations with The Chief and Rockapella to keep the show moving and provide clues. If the show were still airing today in 2012 he would be 50, hence the aging joke. This comic is not the first time a host of one of the Carmen Sandiego TV shows was mocked and shown as drinking on the job; Robot Chicken showed a similar scenario with the host of Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego in 2010 (link — the voice of the host in the skit is the voice of the actual host from Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego).

Rockapella was the 'A cappella' group (keeping up the tradition of punny names for a cappella groups) which sang the theme song to "Where in The World Is Carmen Sandiego." 'A cappella' is a loan word from Italian meaning "in the manner of the Church" hearkening back to Gregorian chant; in the 19th century the term evolved to mean any vocalization without accompaniment. In the TV version of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, Rockapella also acted as a "house band" of sorts, singing songs while the contestants transitioned between events, providing clues, playing pranks on Greg Lee, etc. At the end of each show, Greg Lee and the episode's winning contestant would shout "Do it, Rockapella!" at which point the band would sing the shows theme song. Thus, it is unsurprising that they would be on the set when the contestants captured Carmen Sandiego. The humorous part is that, instead of singing, like everyone else in this comic, they make the contestants feel uncomfortable by glaring at them (something they would never do).

In the Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego TV show, the places the contestants went were always portrayed as fun and happy, unlike the places that they have to visit in this comic. Situations like those mentioned in this comic were never really discussed.

Mogadishu is a battle-torn city in Somalia, where there was the aptly named "Battle of Mogadishu" in 1993, which would coincide with the air dates of "Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego" game show.

The Killing Fields are a number of sites in Cambodia where large numbers of people were killed and buried by the Khmer Rouge regime, during its rule of the country from 1975 to 1979, immediately after the end of the Cambodian Civil War (1970-1975).

The reference to "A Bookshelf in a Dutch Apartment" is a reference to Anne Frank, who was a Jewish girl who hid from the Nazis in a Secret Annex hidden behind a bookshelf in an apartment in Amsterdam, Netherlands. She wrote the famous diary, Diary of Anne Frank.

One continuity issue in this comic is that the places they have to visit in this episode seem to require traveling to different periods in time (1993, 1975-1979, 1940s, respectively). Episodes of Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego usually did not deal with this — this is what the TV show Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego (the successor to Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, albeit with a different house band and a different host) did.

The last frame also makes mention of how some programs intended for children often have subtle themes for adults who may be watching the show with their children. SpongeBob SquarePants and The Fairly OddParents are other examples of shows that have hidden meanings in things for the adults watching the show with their children. The joke in the panel is that these sorts of underlying themes were always present in the show, but the young/less mature viewers weren't able to pick up on them. When Cueball expresses his doubt that the show was this dark when he watched it (presumably as a kid in the early 1990s), Megan tells him exactly this, that maybe these scenarios were always there but they were too young to understand them.

In the title text there is a reference to Bob Ross, a famous painter with a painting show on PBS called "The Joy of Painting" that ran for 12 years. Bob Ross was known for using "happy little _____" to describe components of his paintings. For example while painting trees he would encourage viewers to add "happy little trees" to their paintings.

Ambien, also known as Zolpidem, is a prescription medication used for the treatment of insomnia, as well as some brain disorders. Known side effects are vivid dreams and hallucinations if you wake up (or haven't yet fallen asleep) while it is still active.

Thus, the joke in the title text is that Randall/Megan isn't sure if this is hallucinating from taking Ambien, or if something horrible has happened because PBS's security staff isn't large enough. The entire comic, in general, revolves around this notion.

Transcript

[Megan is rubbing sleep out of her eyes and talking to Cueball.]
Megan: Have you ever watched PBS late at night?
Megan: I fell asleep after Downton and woke up at like 3 AM.
[The upper portion of the panel continues dialogue, while the lower shows a drunk gameshow host and several contestants. The monitor shows a field of crosses, presumably graves.]
Megan: Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego was back on, except the host hadn't aged well and he'd clearly been drinking.
Megan: Every question took them to some horrible place like Mogadishu or the Cambodian killing fields.
[Now it shows a bookshelf revealing a hidden room.]
Megan: The kids were freaked out, but they kept playing. Eventually they were told they'd found Carmen Sandiego hiding behind a bookshelf in a Dutch apartment.
Megan: The Chief appeared and asked "Are you proud of what you've become?"
Megan: Then Rockapella walked out and just glared at the kids until they started crying.
Cueball: I, uh, don't remember the old show being that dark.
Megan: Maybe we were too young to pick up on it.


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Discussion

I still remember playing the Carmen San Diego educatonal games. Oh, good, good days. Davidy22[talk] 13:17, 18 February 2013 (UTC)

Now I know why my copy was glitchy... Anonymous 17:20, 5 December 2013 (UTC)

The show is Downton Abbey, not Downtown Abbey. I feel like if I actually edit it the strip Randall made about that very annoyance will win. 199.27.128.190 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

So, it has come to this. 108.162.216.33 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)


I've just gone through the whole explanation, correcting spelling and grammar. As I went I fixed other issues, so it's not JUST spelling and grammar - I've updated links, reworded sections, and revised sentence order. I think we can remove the Incomplete tag now, but in light of the heavy editing and the low activity this explanations receives, I'll leave it a week or so for comments before I do so. Cosmogoblin (talk) 14:36, 9 July 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for cleaning up my mess. 108.162.216.32 19:36, 12 July 2015 (UTC)

I would like to suggest for someone to edit the explanation for this comic. The killing fields were created in the time period mentioned, however they still exist to this day, so Carmen Sandiego could *easily* have gone there. However, not stepping on a landmine might have proved to be a problem. I am not editing it personally because it's a really big explanation and I'm fairly busy at the moment. Znayx (talk) 19:45, 20 March 2016 (UTC)

Are we going to mention the excellent cartoon Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

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