Being Jim Davis

Not really much going on in this one, but we did mention Orson Welles, so that's a pretty decent excuse for us all to re-watch the opening crane shot from Touch of Evil. Man, what a shot!Today's strip

7 Des 201610min

In the first ever BJD supplemental episode, we take a look back at our first 100 episodes and discuss each of our picks for our Top Ten of the first century of Garfield comic strips. It makes for what is by far the longest episode of BJD to date, but hey, if you break it down on a strips-covered-per-episode basis, it's by far our most efficient episode. No contest.Official BJD Combined Top Ten (Official):10. "Jon's Watch" (Monday, August 21, 1978)9. / 8. "Garfield v. Steve Martin" (Monday, July 24, 1978) / "Garfield vs. Annette Funicello" (Saturday, July 29, 1978)7. "Garfield v. Soup" (Tuesday, August 22, 1978)6. "Garfield v. Brigitte Bardot" (Saturday, July 1, 1978)5. "Mud Fence" (Saturday, July 8, 1978)4. "Garfield Meets Coffee" (Thursday, June 29, 1978)3. "Return of Smoking Garfield" (Friday, July 28, 1978)2. / 1. "Smoking Garfield" (Thursday, July 27, 1978) / "Garfield vs. G. William Miller" (Tuesday, July 18, 1978)Jim Davis' List:10. "Jon's Watch" (Monday, August 21, 1978)9. "Garfield v. Grapefruit" (Wednesday, July 26, 1978)8. "Garfield Meets Television" (Friday, June 23, 1978)7. "Mud Fence" (Saturday, July 8, 1978)6. "Garfield v. Steve Martin" (Monday, July 24, 1978)5. "Garfield Meets Coffee" (Thursday, June 29, 1978)4. "Garfield v. Soup" (Tuesday, August 22, 1978)3. "Smoking Garfield" (Thursday, July 27, 1978)2. "Garfield vs. G. William Miller" (Tuesday, July 18, 1978)1. "Return of Smoking Garfield" (Friday, July 28, 1978)Jim Davis' List:10. "Garfield v. Disco" (Wednesday, August 23, 1978)9. "Garfield Meets Lasagna" (Wednesday July 15, 1978)8. "Jon's Watch" (Monday, August 21, 1978)7. "Return of Smoking Garfield" (Friday, July 28, 1978)6. "Garfield vs. Annette Funicello" (Saturday, July 29, 1978)5. "Mud Fence" (Saturday, July 8, 1978)4. "Garfield Meets Coffee" (Thursday, June 29, 1978)3. "Garfield vs. Brigitte Bardot" (Saturday, July 1, 1978)2. "Garfield vs. G. William Miller" (Tuesday, July 18, 1978)1. "Smoking Garfield" (Thursday, July 27, 1978)

6 Des 20161h 4min

This one is officially a doozy! If the strip continues in the direction it's headed in, pretty soon Garfield will be overtly declining to disavow the KKK and bragging about sexually assaulting Arlene. It's really pretty much impossible that that will not happen at some point. We discuss authorial intent, the unreliable narrator, Archie Bunker, Luis Buñuel, clothing for dogs, and Odie's potential role as a harbinger of drug overdose.All this plus an EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT about the future of our podcast!Today's strip

6 Des 201614min

Jon has a magical shapeshifting blanket and Garfield is improbably unaware of his surroundings. Why this must be the 99th EVER Garfield comic!We argue over just whose bed this is, how many different songs Jon Arbuckle knows (one), and whether Jon's old college buddy Lyman actually committed suicide after yesterday's confusing events or has merely checked himself into rehab. Christopher Winter repeats an amusing anecdote about his cat and we read our FIRST EVER iTunes review!!!Today's strip

5 Des 201625min

So if your problem with yesterday's episode was that we didn't use the word "parsimonious" quite enough, you're in luck! We also reference Occam's razor, Lyman, steak distribution, and Garfield's dog-nature. This one probably would have been over-long, but Jon had a dinner engagement.Today's strip:

4 Des 201614min

In today's episode, we discuss another installment of the popular comic strip Garfield. We speculate about Jon Arbuckle's college years and then for some reason we use the word "parsimonious" a lot. Honestly, that's about it.Today's strip:

3 Des 201615min

Today's strip starts off with Jon Arbuckle and Lyman sitting around drinking coffee. For that reason -- and for no other -- it's actually pretty great.Today's strip:

2 Des 201613min

Our press and our schools cultivate chauvinism, militarism, dogmatism, conformism and ignorance. The arbitrary power of the government is unlimited, and unexampled in history; freedom of the press, of opinion and of movement are as thoroughly exterminated as though the proclamation of the Rights of Man had never been. We have built up the most gigantic police apparatus, with informers made a national institution, and the most refined scientific system of political and mental torture. We whip the groaning masses of the country towards a theoretical future happiness, which only we can.Arthur Koestler, Darkness at NoonToday's strip:

1 Des 201613min