Bizarro is brought to you today by Inter-species Love.
Happy Valentine’s Day to all you Bizarro Jazz Pickles. I know that VD is a mixed bag (Valentine’s Day, not venereal disease, which is a terrible bag and not a mixed one at all) and it can be everything from sublime to inconsequential to racist? to depressing as hell. I have no control over that fact (if any of you thought I did, I apologize for leaving that impression) but I do hope that whatever your circumstance today, you’re dealing with it in stride.
Because I am going through my second divorce (first one in 1996), I decided this year to portray a darker, yet completely realistic view of romance. Lately, I’ve been fond of saying,
“Romance is like Russian roulette with five bullets –– the odds of escaping unscathed are extremely slim.”
I have long believed that, even when I was happily married. Years ago, a psychologist friend of mine said, “All relationships end. You either break up or one of you dies.” So it is undeniably true that the only way to leave a relationship without pain is to die first. That doesn’t mean the relationship isn’t worth it, of course. In my nearly ten years of marriage to CHNW, I can honestly say that most of them were the happiest of my life.
But all things, especially great things, must come to an end so I am not morose today. I am thankful for the years of happiness within the marriage and look forward to years of friendship now that it is over.
On the lighter side of things, here is a cartoon about skunks. I think it was the J. Geils Band that had a hit back in 1980 called “Love Stinks.” I didn’t like that song or that band and this cartoon has nothing to do with it, but it comes to mind. The larger idea behind this cute love story is that it is inexplicable why we fall in love with who we do. You can site all kinds of psychological reasons reaching back to the way your dad treated you as a child or whatever, but in the end, the process is so subconscious and natural that you cannot control it. Who among us has not looked at other couples and thought, “What in the world does he/she see in her/him?” It boggles the mind sometimes. But 3 million years of evolution kicks in and there you are, a victim of your own desires, whether they make sense or not. As Woody Allen famously said of Sung Yi, “The heart wants what the heart wants.” That compulsive, IQ-reducing brain drug that we call infatuation is unpredictable, unrelenting, and irresistible. Sometimes it leads to ecstasy, sometimes to prison. No way to know which you’re in for until it’s too late.
So today I am wishing all of you luck in love, healthy and reciprocal relationships, and that you are not wishing you were dead, which, unfortunately, is also a common feeling associated with falling in love.
Hang in there and stay crunchy, Jazz Pickles!
That is a really beautiful and profound essay (calling it a ‘blog post’ does not do it justice). Thanks for so eloquently sharing your feelings and thoughts.
And, as a friend of mine posted: Happy Corporate Love-themed Merchandising Day!
As the one dill in a bowl of bread and butters, thanks for the post. I enjoy the cartoons in my daily paper so I don’t get to the blog as often as I should. And yes, I too thought of Peter Wolf singing Loves Stinks. I smiled.
I really loved the stylistics of the cartoon you did for today. I was a comic book fan back in the 60s and 70s. I probably quit after someone through out my collection of comics and Mad Magazines.
That’s pretty dark for a Happy Friendly Place! Still love your comics though.
I admit to not being a fan of VD, but my sentiments are more along the lines of
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“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_L7XN2oLcQ”
I love the skunk cartoon. It reminds me of that awesome story about the woman who married the Berlin Wall.
Love your comics.
Been married 19 years now to a woman who I love more each week. Don’t know why it has worked out that way, but I suspect we want it to be so. Combined selfishness and selflessness.
Many congrats! Not an easy feat.
But somehow it’s possible. Give the CHNW a call. Share the remaining days together.
George Burns and Gracie Allen style.
I think it all reduces down to scent…pheromones…a chemical reaction. It’s the way other animals on the planet become attracted to each other, why not we higher apes?
You’re right. Chemical compatability is a huge factor in attraction. Life would be so much simpler if that’s all there was to it. :0)
//I think it all reduces down to scent…pheromones…a chemical reaction. It’s the way other animals on the planet become attracted to each other, why not we higher apes?//
Because we have evolved away from using pheromones to communicate, for better or worse. Human fetuses actually exhibit vomeronasal organs, but they disappear or atrophy to the point of uselessness by the time we’re born.
It seems a shame; I think being attuned to the pheromones wafting through the air would open up a whole new way to understand the environment around us. Then again, there are enough unpleasant scents to pick up with the nose already; I’m sure there are more than a few pheromones wafting about we’d be thankful not to experience.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vomeronasal_organ#Humans
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What a great picture of you and CHNW…
Your breaking up is a severe bummer to me. I believe I’m bummed out because I read about what happened to end your first marriage (HORRIBLE) and I was so rooting for you to find the love of your life and live happily ever after with her. Loved your quote on the chickens and Tyson. Yep.
The two skunks are adorable : o ) and I love the comic.
Dan, do you ever read Dorothy Parker? I always enjoy her poetry and short stories…the comic about LOVE and death..sure reminded me of her dark humor…she was considered to be controversial in her lifetime by some people. She had an outspoken free thinking spirit… I really think youd like her stuff.
Yes, I read some Dorothy years ago and really enjoyed it. I should have another go at it. Thanks for the reminder.
The Chinese post card is hard to read. The pink banner says “Still waiting to meet (something)”. 仍待见*
It somehow bugs me I can’t decipher the last character. Maybe it puts a spin on the Chinglish text. Or maybe it’s just a crappy racist drawing.
Surely you know what you link to :-)
I have no idea what it means, either. I just find odd images to use as links and have no idea where they come from. :o)
Dan, the Lichtenstein Effect in the first one is a plus. Great work as usual