Balance Issues
Yep, Monica gets her hair cut! 🙂 This week I’ll be plugging Locks of Love!
Locks of Love
234 Southern Blvd
West Palm Beach, FL 33405
Please also note our new phone & fax numbers:
561-833-7332
561-833-7962 (fax)
Wapsi Square
Slice of supernatural life YA comic PG-13 to R
Latest Medusa Comic
Oopsie! A new do makes for head brusing!! Film at eleven!
And there she goes… XD
Oh, my. This ought to be a thing to see. Without the weight of the hair counterbalancing the bosom, the poor girl might find it difficult to walk.
And lookit! we have a new character!
Boy, Deedra has strange eyes. With those glasses, it looks as though they are tiny aquariums, with minute fish swimming in them.
That would be a neat novelty item. Aquarium glasses. Two lenses on each side to allow water to be held in between them. Stock them with really tiny fish and other tiny aquarium things. Difficult to see through but a conversation starter.
It’s not quite the same thing, but don’t laugh too much.
I would hope those aren’t real fish.
Well, they wouldn’t be real live fish for very long, at least.
If you click on the enlarged image it’s fairly obvious that they are fake, but it looks like there might be liquid in there, so maybe they slosh around some. I would have thought that the heels would have been solid acrylic, but maybe not. I’ve never seen a real pair of shoes like that, so I don’t know.
Yes, she went from the Purple Mantis, to the Bloated Buffalo, and now … the Protruding Pixie! Able to topple over just standing still! We hear her catch phrase battle cry as she moves into action … Timmmmberrrrrrrr!
Followed by “Booiiinng!”
Bobble Body. Well, except that it’s one way.
Depends on how springy they are. Besides, this is a comic.
Well, walk without falling over. Hopefully she’s not going to take this “get rid of body parts that weigh almost as much as she does and she’s tired of lugging around” idea too far, or she might look down and start wondering what some careful internal ‘poit’ing might do to reduce her bust size…
Oh no. They give her too much power to ever consider reducing. And she likes to abuse that power once in a while.
Was the hair acting as a counter-balance weight for her upper chest? 🙂
I’m gonna miss the long hair. 🙁
Should throw her demons off balance as well, them not liking change and all. Keven, however, is not gonna like this. Oh, he may say it’s fine, but men like long hair.
You can say that again.
Not all men do. 🙂 Mine prefers shorter hair, and tells me so every time I go more than three months without a haircut.
Indeed, I actually find the short hair look really attractive on women
For me, either way can look very attractive.
There are oddballs in every group. This group being odder than most notwithstanding.
No, not all men. I was pretty happy when Shelly cut her hair and glad she’s kept it short. I’m looking forward to seeing Monica with a pixie cut.
NNooo! 😮 The hair was awesome. 🙁
Now would be a great time to put in a plug for Locks of Love. If your pony tail is as long as your beautician’s comb, Locks of Love can use it to create “hair prostheses” for a child whose hair has fallen out due to illness or treatment.
http://www.locksoflove.org/
Good cause. That’s the only time I’m ok with someone butchering their hair.
That’s nice, but why do they have to call it a hair prostheses? It’s a wig.
Why do they call what women wear post-mastectomy a “prosthesis”?
It’s a falsie.
In both cases, it’s a replacement for something lost due to medical reasons.
Gus3: look above the column of comments, at the header. Paul’s a jump ahead of us.
“This week I’ll be plugging Locks of Love!“
He edited that, after I had posted this.
Hooray for Locks of Love! I cut off all my hair to above my shoulder a few years back and donated my ponytail 🙂 Looking back the pixie cut wasn’t good on me, but it was for a great cause. I immediately thought of it during today’s strip and thought “Ooh, if Paul chops off all of Monica’s hair he’d better be doing it for LoL!” Good for him.
My adult daughter regularly grows her hair out until it’s about 18 inches long and then donates it to Locks of Love. I think it’s a very good idea.
Cool, I’ve been donating since middle school! I love knowing I’m helping and how light my head feels after!
Eeeee! This is going to be so CUTE!
…or terrible, and she’ll get a big collection of hats for the year or so for it to grow back to a reasonable length…
😉
Locks of Love is awesome.
…and now the rebound of her neck muscles snaps her head back and her boobs bounce up and hit her in the chin…
Oooo…that would be terrible…and terribly funny. 😀
I love letting my hair grow out and then cutting it all off, it’s so refreshing! Also, paul, “that a lot of hair to cut off” seems like maybe you meant to write “that’s”. Or not. Just wanted to let you know incase it was a typo.
Not going there not going there not going there —
Ohhhh. “Pixie cut”.
Creepy Girl is gonna have a field day with that…
so… who’s gonna be the one to do a ‘spit take’ upon seeing Mon’s new look?
Pretty much everyone. Monica is going to walk around pretty wet from the chest up for a while.
Until they see her from the front they’re not going to be sure who it is.
I mean, she’s lost one of the three most identifiable things about her.
Well…front or side really. She’s got one hell of a body profile. Besides, Shelly can’t say a thing about it since drastic hair chopping is something she does so well.
Wonder what Tina will make of it. Does such a drastic body alteration change one’s aura?
So, Monica and Shelly are both pixies now!
Yes. But we can tell them apart – Monica’s the pixie with the rack…
I thought Shelly’s appearance was a lot better post-hair-surgery… whonder what Monica’ll look like…?
I don’t know, but I keep envisioning a 1920’s flapper hairdo.
I didn’t like Shelly’s long hair punk look and I would hate to guess what she had to put in her hair to make it behave like that. Beyond that, long hair didn’t seem to fit Shelly’s personality. If you spend a lot of time lifting weights and sweating, you wouldn’t want to have long hair. It would also have been a nuisance when she worked as a mechanic.
Deedra said that Monica’s haircut would be a pixie cut. So it will be fairly straight, short in the back and sides, and long enough in front that she will probably still have her eyebrows showing through her hair.
I know cartoonists have to show eyebrows to depict emotion, but sometimes it seems strange to see them through hair or floating off in space. I’ve gotten so used to seeing distinct eyebrows on animals that they rarely jump out at me, though.
Thank you Mr. Taylor for mentioning Locks of Love . A worthy cause .
Wow . There’s just more and more reasons to love this comic . BTW , I can’t wait to see Monica sportin’ her new do .
NNOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! DON’T CUT THE LONG HAIR!!!
Too late. Unless Paul makes this a dream sequence caused by custard.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO – Not the Hair!!!
*vote for dream sequence*
Cool!
Gotta agree. The males love the long hair.
And Monica without her iconic long hair? What’s next? Breast reduction? Leaving archaeology for a job selling cars? Ditching Diesel for a LOLCat?
…Scary thought along those lines – Usually when people do something significant in their lives, it’s due to bad things happening…
Aw, no, not “Locks of Love”….. 🙁 They benefit from not correcting the misconceptions people have about “wigs for cancer kids.”
If you donated to them, your hair was probably sold for about $4 a ponytail.
They SOUND like a good idea, and a caring cause, but they are NOT very responsible. They’ve had years and years of trouble meeting basic criteria for financial reporting for charities, (Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance (WGA)), and I hate to tell people who’ve donated their hair to them…. but there’s nearly NO chance that hair ended up in a child’s wig . Americans’ hair isn’t good for wigmaking, and almost all of it is sold to professional salons, to cover costs. “wigs for kids” is also unreliable as a charity. If you’re dead set on this, try Pantene’s Beautiful Lengths.
Also, talk to your salon about Matter of Trust. They use the hair scraps salons would throw away as natural oil soak mats for environmental cleanups. There’re pretty funny pictures on the site showing even dog hair clippings being used.
Anglo hair ends up being sold to models and stars for the color and texture.
http://www.paganspace.net/forum/topics/the-hairy-truth-about-locks-of
This happened to me! I have really thick hair, and grew it out to donate. I cut off 13 inches for locks of love, and got a pixie cut. At the end of the day my neck was aching, and I realized I was holding my head too far forward because I was used to compensating for the weight of my hair.
NOOOOOOOO! KHAAAAAAAN! And yes, I think the hair was a partial counterbalance for her boobs — walking will be interesting for Monica. She’ll probably save major bucks on shampoo though.
And Kevin will probably freak. It’ll be interesting to see if he can manage to control his reaction enough to be “supportive” of Monica’s new look. (Speaking as a guy, women *really* don’t realize just how much this sort of major overhaul affects their guys. While they’re gushing over their new look, we’re dying a bit inside.)
Except when we don’t notice at all.
“What do you think, sweetie?”
“About what?”
…
“DIE!!!“
LOL!
After the first look that we fell in love with is gone, all future messing about with hair styles becomes rather pointless — basically all the changes become equally objectionable and thus one style is as good/bad as any other to us. We know that it’s not something we will ever have any input into anyway – and noticing each change just makes it worse (because most of the time when we “notice” a change, they haven’t changed anything at all for months — which gets you in the doghouse even worse). Blissful unawareness is the safest course – just nod and say “Looks nice!” and avoid all specifics.
Which is but one reason long term relationships are an exercize in pointless frustration.
I think there’s always a shocked, “NO!!” reaction when this sort of thing happens. There is no chance for a real opinion from a guy until the shock wears off.
L4L is truly a good cause. I’ve worn my hair long for a while, and occasionally, I’ll switch up and cut it all off. I donated nearly 11″ of hair (a HUGE tail of it) the last time.
…granted, it was mostly brown and gray… but it was given freely!
No not the hair……NOOOOOOOOOOO!
Ahhhhhhh! Nooooo! The Hair! ;_;
Ooooo spooky! I’m getting my hair cut shorter today as well O.o Not that short mind, but getting rid alot of it’s weight!
Honest criticism: Deedra looks horrid.
The cobbler’s children go barefoot…
From now on I guess Monica will have to walk around with a backpack.
PS “That a lot of hair…” is that a typo or just a linguistic idiosyncracy?
YAY locks of love! I did it twice before i decided to keep my hair short, and it’s majorly worth it 😉
My first initial thoughts were ” HOLY SHIT! “
Hair isn’t that heavy… is it?
Oh it can be. It depends on how thick it is, and Monica’s hair has always looked super thick to me. Heck, I get 3 inches cut off, and I feel like I’ve lost a pound…and my hair’s not -that- thick. Monica’s hair was down to her waist, so that weighed a fair amount.
Granted, this is a comic, so her reaction can be attributed to a slapstick level of humor; however, the one time I had enough hair to donate, my head did move forward a little when they cut the pony tail off. In my case it was mostly due to the tension I’d been maintaining as they pulled the tail back for cutting. 🙂
The other thing is that she should be a lot cooler. If she had been thinking, it would have made sense to get her hair cut at the beginning of the summer.
Ooo…also a very good point! I much prefer shorter hair in summer. If my hair is long when temperatures are 85 or above, it will stay in a pony tail. Period.
My cousin’s girl has alopecia, and so has worn a wig since she was young. She once modeled for Locks of Love’s catalogue. Each of my kids (even my sons) have donated to Locks of Love.
I’m cook with the “Locks of Love” thing, but when I first read the comic I went “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!1!” And the part of me that bears the Y chromosome as a battle standard stands by that opinion. 🙂
Coll… not cook… gah! See what this incident has made of me?
I wanted to post this last night, but I had to sleep on it. I’ve decided folks deserve a heads up, so here it is.
So I went to the Locks of Love site last night as I’ve got long hair and am getting it cut soon. They didn’t have a locator for participating salons, but they suggest a google search for one’s local area. So I did that and turned up some forums posts by people who have, apparantly, dug up some… unsettling information about LoL.
You can read what I found for yourselves in the following links. Caveat, they are somewhat older links.
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=305664
http://www.network54.com/Forum/235232/message/1099684836/Good+Works+–
http://verybigblog.com/2006/04/24/locks-of-love-is-a-scam/
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/34753/locks_of_love.html
For the sake of brevity, I’d like to sum up some of the allegations made within.
* LoL is “not in good standing with the Better Business Bureau’s 14 point guide for a viable charitable organization” and “previously they had a total of 3 violations and presently 1 violation”. (Nov. 2004)
* The majority of hair recieved appears to not be made into wigs, but is instead sold. Multiple sources note that LoL’s own numbers about received hair and resultant wigs produced show a discrepancy of an order of magnitudes. As one author noted “they do sell hair supposedly “unsuitable” for wigs (without) explaining if unsuitable for a wig then what is it suitable for”.
* Even assuming the notion of selling hair for funds to be charitably used, the number of wigs provided does not correlate to the finances of LoL. So where is all the money going? Well given that LoL used to be a for-profit organization, and given their questionable numbers, several authors note the funds are likely providing exhorbitant salaries for the organization’s managers.
* Et cetera.
Now, it’s not damningly conclusive and irrefutable, but it sure is fishy. I’m all for helping out kids, but these links seem to suggest that LoL is not a good way to go about doing that. I for one have decided not to donate my own two-foot ponytail at this point, at least not to LoL. I’ve been looking for a suitable replacement, but I’ve read about similar concerns for Wigs 4 Kids as well.
Just thought you all would like to know.
~D.
I just checked and they apparently are accredited with the Better Business Bureau now. They say they meet “all 20 Standards for Charity Accountability.”
http://www.bbb.org/charity-reviews/national/children-and-youth/locks-of-love-in-west-palm-beach-fl-1839
Last panel reminds me of that old woman in a rocking chair photo/painting.
You all know that Monica hasn’t always had long hair, right?
It’s very easy to forget those shoulder-length days though. She’s been waist length for quite some time now.
I went from a tail down to my wist to shaved head. I couldn’t walk up stairs unassisted for a month and if I dropped something it stayed there on the floor, it was just too risky. Hang in there Monica, it’ll grow back.
I’ve done the Locks of Love thing too — A tidbit of information for those who have never donated but want to: If your hair has been colored/dyed, they won’t take it. — Not that the 12-inch braid I contributed the last time I got my hair cut was anything other than the real McCoy. The hair salon I went to had a great deal– If you donated a braid that was longer than 10 inches, your haircut was free.
Been there, done that! Is is THAT drastic a reaction? No. Is there definitely a change in balance/tension? Oh, yeah! I can’t wait to see the pixie cut!
not your hair Monica
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I find it interesting how much of the male Wapsi population has had minor heart-attacks from this strip, when so many guys also leave comments about how attractive Shelly and Jin are (the shortest cuts in the strip, if I’m not mistaken).
What you read is not a case bemoaning short hair, rather it’s the loss of what was lovely long hair. Very long hair is rare and it’s a shame when it’s gone.
I understand that, but very long hair is also not easy to maintain in a healthy (and therefore attractive to the desired sex) state. It’s generally ridiculously expensive when it comes to hair products (as a fellow commenter noted).
Just think…all the money she was spending on shampoo and conditioner can go towards more of her high-quality undergarments! 🙂
Yeah, but Paul doesn’t let us see the undergarments all of the time, you know. Besides, when they are on her head, it’s not really quite the same thing.
Actually, it’s probably the guys being more nervous about how it will turn out than Monica probably would be. Actually, though, I was a little surprised at the reaction, too.
We just need to trust Paul. He’ll make Monica look good.
It’s nice to see a fresh face, even if she might just be a cameo! I would love to do Monica’s Nails sometime! LOL!
Oh Man! Well the worst that can happen is M doesn’t like it. Besides she can always regrow it to where she wants.
At which point she’ll be about forty-seven.
JULIE: You forgot Tina!
Oh! I forgot that Tina’s rocked the short hair! The image of her that’s permanently locked into my head is from the first night she went to the Cerberus Club with Monica and friends.
No doubt she made an impression, but not with short hair. Sorry.
Phix’s hair was pretty short lately and some guys really went for her look. Then there was Luci, the receptionist at Jacqui’s place (Ooh! Baby!). Well, she might be someone’s type. 🙂 But the shortest hair was on Vicki Talbot, the girl that Heather hooked up with. (See the strip “overaglassofwine”, for example. I can’t link to it or this will wind up in the SPAM bucket until Paul frees it.)
Oh, heck, it’s for a good cause.. 🙂
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/overaglassofwine/
This is absolutely true! It happened to me!
WHIPLASH!
I hope Monica knows a good lawyer…
Monica’s gonna’ need an ice pack after she’s picked her face up from the floor
The only way this is going to end is with a forehead-shaped impression on the countertop. I can definitely relate to what Monica is experiencing; when I had my hair cut, after years of having it real long, the weight change was noticeable. Granted it was not as extreme as Monica’s.
oh MAN! giving up her Godiva-like hair? I can’t wait till THIS hits the industrial fan…
Well, this guy doesn’t mind short hair on a woman, if it’s done up right. But NOT the bloody pixie cut, PLEASE. Google-image it; it’s a freakin’ RAT’S NEST! *shudder*
I’ll follow up my comment by suggesting that a bob or page-boy might look a lot neater. Google-image both of these for examples. A page-boy might be a bit dated (although there are modenized ones in the images), but they’re both a darn sight neater than walking around looking like you had your hair caught in a blender while sticking your finger in a power socket.
LOL Not that it matters, but since I know, I’m gonna share…
Stylists usually cut above the ponytail holder when they’re cutting off locks of love hair… I’m sure you can imagine why. 😉
Yep, I forgot to draw the other band.
I do wonder if Monica, developing some of the talents shown by the G³, might not work out Jin’s trick — variable hair length on demand.
That would be tricky to pull off. How could she explain to someone if they suddenly saw her with much longer hair than she had recently, and it wasn’t a wig?