Episode 599 - Thursday, February 7, 1980

In today's episode, we discuss (again?) what Garfield's thoughts sound like. Then Chris tries to do a bit about the weather in Muncie, Indiana but to be honest it really doesn't go anywhere. Sad!Hey, off-topic, but have y'all read Ta-Nehisi Coates' retrospective on the Obama presidency in The Atlantic? Damn, that guy can write!Today's strip:

15 Dec 201613min

In today's episode of Being Jim Davis, we talk about phonetics some more -- or do I mean phonology? If you're a linguist, or just someone with access to the internet and no other purpose in life, why not drop us a line to let us know? (email: info@beingjimdavis.com; twitter: @beingjimdavis) You might be surprised how few people contact us about this show. Or maybe you wouldn't be surprised?Also, I guess we talk about Garfield or something. Today's strip:

14 Dec 201614min

Believe it or not, today's strip actually made Jon laugh. Weird, right? We also debate whether Lyman has become a born-again evangelical Christian, or whether he just has congenital analgesia -- a term neither of us knew at the time.Today's strip:

13 Dec 201611min

In today's episode, something-something Garfield something Jon and Chris something-something-something lawnmower something "I hate Mondays" something-something, with predictably hilarious results!Today's strip:

12 Dec 201612min

Look, this is extra-textual, but I'm fairly certain Garfield is in fact singing the Ariel's aria from Thomas Adès' The Tempest. You wanna argue about it? Hit us up on twitter, motherfucker. @beingjimdavis. I'm dead serious. Bring it on.Today's strip

11 Dec 201619min

Little known fact: Biffbop Smackpoke is Spongebob Squarepants' long-lost brother. Why do they have different last names, you ask? I don't know; why are you listening to a podcast about a 40 year-old comic strip?Today's strip

10 Dec 201612min

The distinction between responsible moral agents and beings with diminished or no responsibility is coherent, real, and important. It is coherent, even if in many instances it is hard to apply; it draws an empirically real line, in that we don't all fall on one side; and, most important, the distinction matters: the use we make of it plays a crucial role in the quality and meaning of our lives. [...] We want to hold ourselves and others responsible, but we recognize that our intuitions often support the judgement that a particular individual has "diminished responsibility" because of his or her infirmities, or because of particularly dire circumstances upon upbringing or at the time of action. We also find it plausible to judge that nonhuman animals, infants, and those who are severely handicapped mentally are not responsible at all. But since we are all more or less imperfect, will there be anyone left to be responsible after we have excused all those with good excuses? - Daniel Dennett, Elbow Room: The Varieties of Free Will Worth Having.Today's strip

9 Dec 201610min

On today's episode, Christopher Winter has VERY strong feelings regarding phonetics which threaten to derail the podcast. Today's strip

8 Dec 201619min