Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for May 02, 2018

Yeah, you had me hypnotized

Not me, I don’t own a smartphone. Though I do know at least one of the members of my family is just like Rat.

I replaced the battery in my smartphone myself earlier today. Took all of about five minutes.

So long, farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, goodnight. I hate to go and leave this pretty sight.

So long, farewellAuf Wiedersehen, adieu,

Adieu, adieu, To you and you and you

Rat, next time get a backup phone. All you have to do is move the sim card.

So before he dies, he turns into Ozzy Osbourne?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0siYUjV9UM

Didn’t know Rat was a millennial!

Isn’t Rat’s mother alive?

He’s feeling a little ozzy. I mean woozy.

Better Call 9 1 1. Oops, dead rat in the middle of the road and it’s stinking to high heaven.

I look at mine once or twice a day, but I feel naked when I don’t take it with me when I leave the house.

Two hours to replace a battery???? Not to mention that people rarely (if ever) replace a battery since the phone itself (thanks to Google’s constant updates to Android…) has to be replaced way way before the battery’s first charge is gone.

Berkeley Breathed did an “Opus” Sunday strip on this topic some decades ago. This syndrome has been around for a while but it’s getting worse.

I lost my cheap pre-paid phone the other day, and I don’t think I’m going to get another. I have gone as long as 3 months and never made a cell call, or gotten one, either.

I’ll never forget when Ozzy said….“Hmpf azzle mumble dorf” in that commercial.

Stephan is really beating a dead horse with the “We’re too dependent on our phones” thing.

I have a dumb phone…

OMG just noticed there’s a little teabag string dangling from Goat’s mug!

Is that device your servant or your master?

People who are proud of never needing a cellphone are very strange. There’s no pride in not needing a utility item, you just haven’t come across a situation where it’d be relevant to you.

Rat, Mama hears you and is laughing.

Must be one of those with in built batteries.

Coming home on the “Crazy Train”.

It’s the biggest one yet, Elizabeth. I’m coming home!!!!!

President Rat is unable to go on a tweeting rampage

“Landru, guide us!”

I confess I do own a smart phone. And, if the statistics are right, I’m one of those people who use only about 3-5% of its capabilities. Essentially, I make phone calls and send a few text messages on the silly thing, and that’s about it. I am in agreement with Reaven above, it’s a matter of relevance and need. I never needed a chainsaw until a storm brought down a couple of trees. Being of the elderly persuasion, my handsaw because very irrelevant very fast.

goodbye to romance…

I must admit that cell phones (smart phones not so much) have valid uses. However, I am so happy when I go camping and finally get to where there are no bars on the #$%R!$#!#% thing.

That is so true, Goat. True of other cell phones too.

Mama is saying, “Rat, stop being such a drama queen!”

In addition to Ozzy, it brings back memories of Fred G. Sanford (Sanford & Son show) in times of stress, " Fred looks up (as to heaven) with his hand across his chest, faking a heart attack and saying, “This is the big one, Elizabeth! I’m coming to join ya honey.” No one believed him, either.

I lost my phone for three days. I was annoyed with myself, but that’s about it.

Went practically a lifetime without a phone in my car without incident, but now find if I’ve forgotten to bring it I worry the whole time that I’ll get in an accident, a victim of cosmic irony.

And I’m the guy who set the appointment.

My new fav character is Rat..he quotes my fav Ozzy song

I’m still waiting for smart smoke signals.

I think when I retire, I may get rid of my smart phone – until then, however, it is a required part of the job.

Mister Pastis,

I congratulate you. You have a wonderful take on the characters. And you are able to marry the art and the dialog and the humor in a way that reminds me of some of the great cartoonists of the twentieth century. Like Charles Schulz, Walt Kelly and Al Capp.

I like the way that the peak of the action falls on the second to last frame while the punchline in dialog falls on the last frame,

I only wish that I could afford to buy one of your prints.

Best of luck.

It’s so easy to make fun of the Smartphone Zombies. But, then again, they deserve it so richly.

Besides, I know a lot of readers would probably say “good riddance” to Rat if he really did check out….

With Samsung, the Batteries You Replace.With Apple, the Batteries Replace You!

How ya gonna hook up on Tinder without a smartphone?

Definitely true.

Smartphone addiction is dumb.

I’m kinda like Rat in this one! If we’re on an overseas family trip and I don’t get to use my computer for more than 24 hours, I would end up in some serious dramatic withdrawal.

I use my phone so little that I ususally have to blow off a week’s worth of dust to see the screen!