Frazz by Jef Mallett follows the adventures of an unexpected role model: an elementary-school janitor who's also a Renaissance man. While he's sweeping the hall, he's whistling Beethoven. Or Lyle Lovett. He paints the woodwork in the classrooms; he paints a Da Vinci on the cafeteria wall. He's a trusted authority figure who is every kid's buddy. He took the janitor's job while he was a struggling songwriter, and when he finally sold a hit song, he decided to stay on at school. Frazz appears in 200 newspapers worldwide, including the Los Angeles Times, Seattle Times, Chicago Tribune and Detroit News. "A few years back, I wrote and illustrated a children's book," says Mallett. "When I was traveling around reading it at school assemblies, I noticed that often, the most respected, best-liked grown-up in the building was the janitor. And I thought, 'Hmm, there's a comic strip in that.'" Often praised for its intelligent wit, gentle spirit and effortless diversity, Frazz won a Wilbur Award from the Religion Communicators Council in 2003 and 2005 for excellence in communicating values and ethics.
© Jef Mallett - All Rights Reserved.
Frank & Ernest by Thaves
Fred Basset by Alex Graham
Comments (38) (Please sign in to comment)
Varnes said, 4 months ago
If a kid doesn’t seem to be getting the concept, and gets frustrated, just remind him that you can’t learn what you already know…But you can learn this,,,sayin’
Nabuquduriuzhur said, 4 months ago
What is weird is that small amounts of radiation appear to have some benefits. No one has ever tried to find the help/harm threshold, though, as far as I know.
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Sitting here at elevation, during the day, I get about 15% more UV than sealevel. Presumably other wavelengths as well.
vwdualnomand said, 4 months ago
heard that marie curie’s notebooks are still radioactive and that it will be a very long time.
rshive said, 4 months ago
It’s interesting how attitudes evolve. In my youth, every shoe store had an x-ray machine. You put on the shoes and stuck your feet in; so you could see where your toes came to. Now just to get a dental x-ray, you get the lead bib. And the technician stands in the next county. I’ll bet people got more radiation exposure from buying shoes than they have in a lifetime of dental x-rays.
Leo Autodidact said, 4 months ago
@rshive
Some did, and paid for it, Dearly!
Richard S. Russell said, 4 months ago
@Leo Autodidact
Leo speaks truly. Here’s the Straight Dope from Cecil Adams, world’s smartest human:
http://tinyurl.com/bxwxp25
rshive said, 4 months ago
Well, I don’t need to get into a debate because I don’t have any numbers. But out of the multitude of things that expose us to various types of radiation over a lifetime, someone can pick a single culprit for something? More likely that culprit will be the designated “bad stuff”’ of the moment.
-———IMO certain segments of our society are paranoid and like it that way. Zero risk has become a mantra. But there’s a price for everything in this world, even “good”. IMO we’ve paid heavily, both in money and in stuff available to us, for the zero risk mantra. And continue to.
This is not to say that we should go about deliberately courting all sorts of risk. But I certainly think we need more appreciation of what costs are involved in avoiding it. Seems to me that we get an excess of sensationalization on the “risk” side and not nearly enough info about what we’ll pay to avoid it.
Fairportfan2 said, 4 months ago
@Richard S. Russell
Can’t recall the specific instances, but i’ve caught “The Straight Dope” in more than one error over the years.
strickmaedel
said, 4 months ago
“A little learning is a dangerous thing,” actually.
Ronald Davis said, 4 months ago
@strickmaedel
“If a little learning is a dangerous thing, then where is the person who has enough to be out of danger?” – Thomas Henry Huxley
Ewal Doh said, 4 months ago
@rshive
Amen! I don’t have the complete reference, but a book called THE PRICE OF FEAR documents the actual process carried out by corporations and Congress to judge the cost basis in designing or legislating safety. Included is the historical rise in the “Price of a Single Life”. Example: redesigning a car will add $16 million and save 4 lives. So a life is worth $4 million if we decide to do it. Conversely, if it cost $16 M and only saved two lives, no go. Good read.
olddog1 said, 4 months ago
I remember when a school science teacher would open a jar of mercury and let students play with a small amount, hold it or push it around on the desk. Now the same amount would call for an evacuation of the whole building and a shutdown.
no1scouse said, 4 months ago
@olddog1
I remember that as well. Run a little on our palms from hand to hand, student to student. I’m 65 now and don’t seem to have any ……erk!!!!
abbatis said, 4 months ago
Ahh yes… palming the beads of mercury, smelling the various burnt chemicals and compounds… all so very toxic, and yet we lived. Now some towns are so paranoid, they won’t even allow actual cooking in a home-ec class for fear someone might smuggle in nuts or other potential allergens.
DutchUncle said, 4 months ago
Mercury: I remember having a drop in a little bottle, that had come from a maze – the kind of thing that would have a ball bearing now – oh, wait, it would be a plastic ball now.. It was considered acceptable for a child’s toy.