Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for October 25, 2023

The 2007 New England Patriots were 18–1.

The 2007 NY Giants were 13–6.

But the Giant were HAPPIER!

All he is saying is give pizza a chance.

as long as it is not a sausage pizza eh Pig?

That’s a basic problem with the ever-so-empathic “progressives.” They want for there to never be any losers, but if that’s the case then there aren’t any winners either. That won’t work.

Fortunately, the great wise-ass is wrong on this one. Happiness in life is not a zero-sum game. When my wife and I found each other and married, we both won. That said, pizza is quite delicious.

Life is NOT a zero sum game. Pig needs to find games where he can win AND the others can win too. We use the form “win-win” for that circumstance.

The Wise A$$ is wise.

I’m making pizza today. New York style. I live in Germany now so I can’t get it here. Made the dough yesterday. It is rising nicely in the fridge. This is my first attempt at New York style pizza. Wish me luck.

Pig loves things that involve cheese.

Very wise. Then you die. No matter what you do. Enjoy.

And a " two " piece pizza ?

Pig, there’s pepperoni on that pizza and you do realize what pepperoni is made from, right?

I’ll have mine with a side dish of ice cream.

And make sure it’s a pizza topped with plenty of bacon and ham.

Well, it’s a pretty good start, anyway. What if they held a war, and everyone just stayed home and ate pizza?

Aww, Pig is so considerate.

Zero-sum thinking by Pig, caused by two words with the same spelling and pronunciation and part of speech: Competition.

Artificial competitions — sporting events, elections, etc. — are inherently zero-sum.

Natural competitions — two people dickering over the price of a used car, vegetation seeking sunlight, etc. — can go either way.

If the seller and the buyer can agree, both benefit when the car sells. (Otherwise, why agree?) Positive sum.

And if they can’t, it’s pretty much zero-sum. They’re both where they were at the start, minus the time wasted on negotiations, plus whatever they learned about negotiating and about the used car market.

The grass in the meadow might divert deer from eating the bark off the trees and the trees might provide safety to the deer, so the success of the grass might benefit the trees, and vice versa.

I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:11-13)

Do you win if you don’t lose? If you don’t lose do you gain? Do you win more is you gain more … Wait! … Where was I going with this?

The Wise Rat on the Hill would say “That’s the Point”. >:) Rat is a Count kind of guy. >:)

Even the Great Wisea$$ can learn.

But then the pizza would lose, right? Is it okay for pizza to lose? :)Btw. Is that bacon on his pizza? :D

Silly PIG! He told you what you wanted to hear.

Fortunately, in life it is possible to succeed without tearing someone else down. Yes, it is easier to be self-centered and “win” by causing someone else to “lose”, but that type of “win” is shallow. True WINNERS look to see how they can make life better for other people as well as themselves.

If I could only FIND a good pizza near my current location. I miss Cleveland’s Little Italy.

I know where Pastis lives and I know they’re all socialists. And they don’t believe in win-win. Rich people don’t take poor peoples money. Au contrare, A rich entrepreneur opens a large business in a small town and the entire town benefits either directly or in many little ways.

Try to constantly win small and not lose big.

Did Pig manage to stop Rat from selling Stephan’s car? (See yesterday’s strip)

Just another vote for “life is not a zero sum game.”

…and donuts. Don’t forget the donuts.

Beer and a good movie also helps.

I think that pig is too good for this world.

Good food is definitely part of a happy existence…….

Winning is a zero-sum gain.

Pizza is a 5 pound gain.

Donkey te$ticles are a great cheap hors-d’œuvre in Denver.

Getting in shape is a win. Being healthy is a win. Doing something good for someone else is a win. There are countless wins that don’t require someone losing. You can win without competing with others.

I wonder how many “letters to the editors” flew out when this hit the papers? I read a few where Oh My God was used in the Crabgrass strip and a few called for its immediate cancellation. Can imagine the bloomer twisting using (donkey) in a strip caused.

Being happy is going what you’re good at, so I guess Pig has found his bliss.

I like the way Wise-A$$ thinks ♥

Pig, you are too kind-hearted for this world!

Happiness can be as complex as you want…or as a simple as a good slice of pizza.

There is a Sufi story about a guru who found a new young disciple in his class.

“Where is your old master?” the guru asked him.

“I left because he would hit me with a stick whenever I asked him ‘what is the meaning of life?’.”

“I see.”

“I came to you to ask ‘what is the meaning of life?’.”

The guru picked up a stick and hit him. “Go back to your master and thank him for his grandfatherly kindness.”

Sufiism is very pragmatic. The disciple gets struck because he is asking a stupid question rather than getting on with life and learning his own answer.

I expected better from the Wise Donkey than life being a zero sum game.

Pig is happy. Pizza is good. Vegetating on the sofa and getting fat is Not Good. Finally, the Wise A$$ is an a$$….

This misconception of everything being a zero sum game leads to a lot of unnecessary misery in the world. In reality, very few things are like this.

If you share love it’ll increase and you’re both happy.

Go to the shelter and adopt a rescue. The pet will be happy and so will you.