… she’s stewing anxiously over whether to tell him
… she told him and he freaked out
… she didn’t tell him, they got a bit too comfy and cozy, things warmed up, and she started to sphinx out again
… she didn’t have a chance to tell him because Bud seduced him and they’ve run off to Cancun together.
Most likely the first possibility, I’d guess… Shelly is on tenterhook about how to introduce this very sensitive and complex subject to Justin, and is probably really scared and upset about doing so.
In any case, it appears that Monica doesn’t register suggestions such as “Don’t talk to Shelly” very clearly 🙂
with Tina saying “until she cooled down” to me implies that Shelly is Pissed Off, not “stewing in an undecided manner” so i’m leaning with a slightly modified version of option D… Shelly saw Bud asking Justin out and he accepted, or maybe she saw bud all decked out and asked “why?”, the answer being “I’m gonna ask this nerdy cop i know for a date” and Shelly’s ASSUMING it’s Justin… remember even WE don’t know for certain if it is or isn’t him… but the Comedic Laws of the Universe tend to make it so that it IS him…
Well, I have to disagree a bit. After seeing Shelly catastrophise herself into a knot of nervous tension about Justin and her sphinx-nature, I can easily believe that she could once again be in a serious state of Needing To Cool Down over the very same issue.
Shelly is prone to anxiety. It’s part of her nature. She frets. She has to… she’s a bass guitarist!
(deposits a front-row ticket for an upcoming Sacred Locomotive concert in the Pun Jar)
i guess we’ll just agree to disagree then. it’s no biggie, i just think the words “cool down” imply that she’s mad/pissed/spun-up and needs to be not-mad anymore… whereas if Tina had meant that Shelly was tense/stressed out, or fretting as you say, she wouldn’t have said it that way, and would have said something like “Shelly needs to depressurize, or relax / take a few more meditation classes” etc… just a semantic difference, no prob.
one other thing is that if i were to need to say that whole line i would have said a “…don’t talk to Shelly, until she’s cooled down a bit. she’s sitting behind you” to me it just makes a smoother flowing more logically ordered statement that way. the way it stands now is like Tina is telling M not to talk to Shelly just BECAUSE she’s sitting behind her, with “oh yeah, she also seems to be mad” is added as an after-thought. and Paul needs to add an “a” between the words “be” and “worry” in panel 2… um, end Grammar Nazi mode… sorry.
@scantrontb Ok, the grammar thing may not apply to Tina. She is a committee of demons; her grammar may be more like legislation than composition, you know full of compromises. Just my take on it.
scantrontb, of course, it really isn’t too critical–and in any case, I suspect in a day or two we will know one way or ‘tother, when Paul reveals what he has in his fiendish mind.
It could be as simple as Justin casually mentioning this “crazy” girl who seems to have a crush on him and giving enough details for Shelly to realize the girl is Bud.
I doubt it; she’s got enough relationship questions with Justin.
Based on what we’ve seen, Bud would take a hands-off attitude if she knew Shelly had caught Cute Officer Tight Buns; until she does, though, she’ll be testing the waters for any hands-on prospects…
Watching Bud with OTB, I feel a little pang of embarrassment sometimes, because the vibe I pick up on with those two reminds me exactly of having a crush on a guy who just has no reciprocal interest, and how I behaved trying to get his attention. #o_o# So obviously I’m projecting here. But I wanna grab her by the waistband and slow her down a bit before she gets hurt!! You can pretty much see the little heart-shaped bubbles above her head. /awwwww
It’s worse than that. If there’s a reset cycle, everybody will buy you presents (probably everything you want) but you won’t get to enjoy them.
Look on the bright side, though. Since there gave been 56 (or is it 57?) reset cycles already, all occurring just before your birthday, you may end up getting all of your presents multiplied many times over this year, as a sort of cosmic backlash of goodies!
SHDHFHDJKFHSA OMG. ScantronB, Are you talking about Wapsi-canon or a different source, because there’s some people who really do believe exactly that come 2012 we’ll be ‘reset’ in a way. Interesting stuff.
um… nooo… it was Wapsi cannon, but could you link to one of those “other sources” you mentioned? the only ones i found were about the Mayan Long Count Calendar resetting
Yes, having spent 4 years in P’burg getting my BS (gad, it’s almost 30 years ago!), I can confirm that “YINZ” roughly translates to “All Y’All” (southern) or “youse guys” (new yawk).
Wishing everyone a Happy New Year. Well actually I wish you a moderately unpleasant New Year, that seems to be about the best I can come up with for such a large group.
but… but… but… Don’t Wishes follow the calculus of the infinities? meaning that for whatever amount of “happiness” you use up for a particular person you don’t run out of it no matter how many people you wish the same amount of happiness to?… if that’s the case then you should be able to wish EVERYBODY an equally Happy New Year and still not decrease the overall amount given to each person… AND still have enough Happiness left over for yourself! 😀
I’m working probabilities here. If I wish a Happy new year that is a low-probability outcome. however if I wish everyone a moderately unpleasant new year that is only incrementally better than what normally happens so more people may get that outcome as it is higher probability than happy. So to get the best possible year to as many people as possible, have a moderately unpleasant new year… 😛
That sounds a trifle like “If you start out every day by eating a live bug, you can be fairly certain that nothing more unpleasant will happen to you during the day.”
I think I’d rather wish on the high side of the probability curve… not necessarily for the unreasonably wonderful, but for the achievable (rather like New Year resolutions, in fact).
As the saying about dating goes, “It’s better to shoot for the moon, and miss it, than to shoot for a skunk, and hit it.”
yes, dave.. 🙂 the point of wishing happiness is NOT to say “you go and be happy” 😮
It is to say “I hope you will be happy 🙂 :)” – and YES we know that may not happen, BUT a smile travels much further… just try it for a week with everyone you meet in your local store .. you will find they soon start smiling and talking with you!! 😀
Oh man that’s a great comment! But as I understand it, the point of wishing people a Happy New Year is not to be as correct as possible in predicting the actual measurable quality of the upcoming year, it is to express your hope that the upcoming year be as positive as measurably possible. 🙂
I cannot possibly know the outcome of the next 364 days for you, but my friend I hope they are as wonderful as they can possibly be! <3
I figure it’s simple arithmatic. (Happyness of new year x number of people wishing it / number of people who mean it) x number of people actively trying to create happiness during said new year.
nah, just hugging herself, a defensive reaction to hearing bad news, that being that Shelly has a problem that Shelly DIDN’T TELL HER ABOUT! and she had to find out via a third party.
a new year and Tina seems to have done some remodeling of the shop as well. it looks different from when Nudge got the stuffing beat out of her. i think that’s the last time we saw more of the interior of the shop? please correct me if I’m wrong!
I had this wierd urge to post a comment without reading the comic first. I read it anyway, and my comment almost seems to make sense… But I’m very tired. Hence I post it anyway. Feel free to scoff.
“Burninating the countryside… Burninating all the peasants… And the Trogdor comes in the NIGHT!!!” Shelly=Trogdor.
I always follow mine, but I make the same ones every year:
1. Shelve and inventory the homemade wine in my cellar.
2. Support local pizza shops.
3. Don’t neglect to drink good beer just because of the results from resolution 1.
Sadly, we did not make any wine in 2011 because the weather pretty much wrecked the harvest, so resolution 1 won’t take long this year.
I used to hate resolutions and make a point of not making any. I’ve come to find them useful though. What works well for me is to make a realistic resolution, and to make a couple additional, super easy ones. Knocking the easy ones off the list early in the year is motivating.
If my resolution is to ‘get into shape’, that’s great but it’s so vague. So the first week of the year I go jogging, which I hate, but DAMMIT I WILL GET IN SHAPE. And I overdo it because I’m excited to get started on the resolution. And I get sore. And it’s a pain to adjust into my schedule. And I don’t like it at ALL. So within 3 weeks I give up, and decide that resolutions are useless.
I find the people who give up on their resolutions the fastest are the ones who set the loftiest goals. 😉
How different it is, if I make my resolution “I will go for a 10 minute walk once a week.” Now THAT is something I can do. It’s almost embarrassingly easy. But it’s easy to stick to also, and to document on a calendar to see my progress. The happiness that comes from meeting a small, realistic goal is encouraging. Positive feelings encourage setting bigger goals, like a 20 minute walk twice a week. So by the end of the year, I might ‘be in shape’ after all, but getting there was a lot more fun and rewarding, and the habits stick.
Sorry for long post! And this is all first-hand experience that worked really well for me too, not just lip service. 😉 Maybe it helps? It feels really good to be able to keep a resolution!
Ugh. Chewing rocs sounds as unappetizing as eating crow, and only slightly better than having stewed loon for dinner (boil the loon in a pot for six hours with a large stone, then discard the loon and eat the stone… it’ll be less tough than the loon)
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Happy New Year Forumies and to all members of the Taylor family.
yay, happy nu year!! 🙂
and hey *somebody* had to say it, so here is the last word on the ‘end of the world’ scenario…. 🙂 😛
http://xkcd.com/998/
Happy New Year, 2012!
…Not nearly as happy as New Year 2013 is going to be…
I’m assuming that Shelly is in a bad mood about the situation with Justin and her sphinxiness.
That seems the most likely reason. Perhaps…
… she’s stewing anxiously over whether to tell him
… she told him and he freaked out
… she didn’t tell him, they got a bit too comfy and cozy, things warmed up, and she started to sphinx out again
… she didn’t have a chance to tell him because Bud seduced him and they’ve run off to Cancun together.
Most likely the first possibility, I’d guess… Shelly is on tenterhook about how to introduce this very sensitive and complex subject to Justin, and is probably really scared and upset about doing so.
In any case, it appears that Monica doesn’t register suggestions such as “Don’t talk to Shelly” very clearly 🙂
with Tina saying “until she cooled down” to me implies that Shelly is Pissed Off, not “stewing in an undecided manner” so i’m leaning with a slightly modified version of option D… Shelly saw Bud asking Justin out and he accepted, or maybe she saw bud all decked out and asked “why?”, the answer being “I’m gonna ask this nerdy cop i know for a date” and Shelly’s ASSUMING it’s Justin… remember even WE don’t know for certain if it is or isn’t him… but the Comedic Laws of the Universe tend to make it so that it IS him…
Well, I have to disagree a bit. After seeing Shelly catastrophise herself into a knot of nervous tension about Justin and her sphinx-nature, I can easily believe that she could once again be in a serious state of Needing To Cool Down over the very same issue.
Shelly is prone to anxiety. It’s part of her nature. She frets. She has to… she’s a bass guitarist!
(deposits a front-row ticket for an upcoming Sacred Locomotive concert in the Pun Jar)
i guess we’ll just agree to disagree then. it’s no biggie, i just think the words “cool down” imply that she’s mad/pissed/spun-up and needs to be not-mad anymore… whereas if Tina had meant that Shelly was tense/stressed out, or fretting as you say, she wouldn’t have said it that way, and would have said something like “Shelly needs to depressurize, or relax / take a few more meditation classes” etc… just a semantic difference, no prob.
one other thing is that if i were to need to say that whole line i would have said a “…don’t talk to Shelly, until she’s cooled down a bit. she’s sitting behind you” to me it just makes a smoother flowing more logically ordered statement that way. the way it stands now is like Tina is telling M not to talk to Shelly just BECAUSE she’s sitting behind her, with “oh yeah, she also seems to be mad” is added as an after-thought. and Paul needs to add an “a” between the words “be” and “worry” in panel 2… um, end Grammar Nazi mode… sorry.
They fly, you know.
@scantrontb Ok, the grammar thing may not apply to Tina. She is a committee of demons; her grammar may be more like legislation than composition, you know full of compromises. Just my take on it.
Sorry I broke the internet Paul, the problem is I didn’t ecape scantronb in the correct order. I put the slash after the b
Hmm, let’s see if this fixes the Intertubes… to bolyly ungo where no tag has gone before…
scantrontb, of course, it really isn’t too critical–and in any case, I suspect in a day or two we will know one way or ‘tother, when Paul reveals what he has in his fiendish mind.
Let’s see if this works?
It could be as simple as Justin casually mentioning this “crazy” girl who seems to have a crush on him and giving enough details for Shelly to realize the girl is Bud.
I’d also expect to find Shelly sphinxed out.
@scantrontb – Hit refresh, it should read more the way I wanted now. 😀
huh, it’s that catch 22.. cant think without coffee.. need to think to get coffee… at least tina is there to do it though 🙂
she shouldn’t have mentioned shelly though.. least said, soonest mended! – then full of coffee, M could see shelly and help.. 🙂
I guess Tina does noT understand ‘tact’???
Then she might just say
” take a good drink now, hon, and then I’ll tell you something 🙂 “
And the New Year is off. Of course y’all ready knew that. LOL
On to the storyline; Does anyone else think that Shelly has figured out that a certain blond golem has a thing for Officer Tight Buns???
I doubt it; she’s got enough relationship questions with Justin.
Based on what we’ve seen, Bud would take a hands-off attitude if she knew Shelly had caught Cute Officer Tight Buns; until she does, though, she’ll be testing the waters for any hands-on prospects…
Watching Bud with OTB, I feel a little pang of embarrassment sometimes, because the vibe I pick up on with those two reminds me exactly of having a crush on a guy who just has no reciprocal interest, and how I behaved trying to get his attention. #o_o# So obviously I’m projecting here. But I wanna grab her by the waistband and slow her down a bit before she gets hurt!! You can pretty much see the little heart-shaped bubbles above her head. /awwwww
Oh. This should be interesting… Even for Wapsi Standards..
Happy New Years Ladies and Gents.
Here’s hoping we’re not one of the reset cycles. (>^_^)>
AH!… but we won’t find out about it until DEC 21… and even then we’ll just get reset and won’t be ABLE to remember the reset anyways… 😀
Damn, the day before my birthday. Guess it’ll save people from having to buy me presents.
It’s worse than that. If there’s a reset cycle, everybody will buy you presents (probably everything you want) but you won’t get to enjoy them.
Look on the bright side, though. Since there gave been 56 (or is it 57?) reset cycles already, all occurring just before your birthday, you may end up getting all of your presents multiplied many times over this year, as a sort of cosmic backlash of goodies!
Happy belated birthday.
SHDHFHDJKFHSA OMG. ScantronB, Are you talking about Wapsi-canon or a different source, because there’s some people who really do believe exactly that come 2012 we’ll be ‘reset’ in a way. Interesting stuff.
OK, I’ll fix this mess. That should have done it. 🙂
um… nooo… it was Wapsi cannon, but could you link to one of those “other sources” you mentioned? the only ones i found were about the Mayan Long Count Calendar resetting
Monica: Hooray! It’s a new year, without supernatural Drama!
Tina: Look behind you.
Monica: Aw, again?!?
Rocket J. Squirrel: “But that trick never works!”
Tepoz: Hey, Monica, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!
Brandi (in lion form): RAWR!!!
Bullwinkle Moose: Yup.
“The drama is standing right behind me, isn’t it?”
Okaaay! THIS ought to be interesting.
HAPPY NEW YEAR, Paul and ALL YINZ GUYS N’at!
um… could you give the Tardis translator circuits a whack? i have no clue what you said after the word “ALL”
looks like he’s been holidaying in Pittsburgh, and got it’s circuits a bit fried… 😛
Yes, having spent 4 years in P’burg getting my BS (gad, it’s almost 30 years ago!), I can confirm that “YINZ” roughly translates to “All Y’All” (southern) or “youse guys” (new yawk).
I think it’s “and all you guys in here”. 😉
Wishing everyone a Happy New Year. Well actually I wish you a moderately unpleasant New Year, that seems to be about the best I can come up with for such a large group.
but… but… but… Don’t Wishes follow the calculus of the infinities? meaning that for whatever amount of “happiness” you use up for a particular person you don’t run out of it no matter how many people you wish the same amount of happiness to?… if that’s the case then you should be able to wish EVERYBODY an equally Happy New Year and still not decrease the overall amount given to each person… AND still have enough Happiness left over for yourself! 😀
Plus, the more happiness you wish toward others, the more comes your way. Trufax.
yeah. lighten up, opus… 🙂 🙂
I’m working probabilities here. If I wish a Happy new year that is a low-probability outcome. however if I wish everyone a moderately unpleasant new year that is only incrementally better than what normally happens so more people may get that outcome as it is higher probability than happy. So to get the best possible year to as many people as possible, have a moderately unpleasant new year… 😛
That sounds a trifle like “If you start out every day by eating a live bug, you can be fairly certain that nothing more unpleasant will happen to you during the day.”
I think I’d rather wish on the high side of the probability curve… not necessarily for the unreasonably wonderful, but for the achievable (rather like New Year resolutions, in fact).
As the saying about dating goes, “It’s better to shoot for the moon, and miss it, than to shoot for a skunk, and hit it.”
Happy New Year, all!
yes, dave.. 🙂 the point of wishing happiness is NOT to say “you go and be happy” 😮
It is to say “I hope you will be happy 🙂 :)” – and YES we know that may not happen, BUT a smile travels much further… just try it for a week with everyone you meet in your local store .. you will find they soon start smiling and talking with you!! 😀
Oh man that’s a great comment! But as I understand it, the point of wishing people a Happy New Year is not to be as correct as possible in predicting the actual measurable quality of the upcoming year, it is to express your hope that the upcoming year be as positive as measurably possible. 🙂
I cannot possibly know the outcome of the next 364 days for you, but my friend I hope they are as wonderful as they can possibly be! <3
Perhaps you should go by Opus the Realist?
Not all poets are happy poets…
I figure it’s simple arithmatic. (Happyness of new year x number of people wishing it / number of people who mean it) x number of people actively trying to create happiness during said new year.
Well, maybe not so simple. 😀
Happy Gnu Ears!
The Pun Jar awaits you my friend. 😉
All life begins with Nu and ends with Nu… This is the truth! This is my belief. At least for now…
“Wee fish ewe a mare egrets moose,
Wee fish ewe a mare egrets moose.
Wee fish ewe a mare egrets moose–
Panda hippo gnu deer!”
Seen on a coffee cup in 1987.
Very cute.
What is Monica doing in the final panel? Looks like she is taking off her sweater/jacket.
nah, just hugging herself, a defensive reaction to hearing bad news, that being that Shelly has a problem that Shelly DIDN’T TELL HER ABOUT! and she had to find out via a third party.
a new year and Tina seems to have done some remodeling of the shop as well. it looks different from when Nudge got the stuffing beat out of her. i think that’s the last time we saw more of the interior of the shop? please correct me if I’m wrong!
I thought it was more recent than that… somebody wondered whether we were seeing the chairs and couches in Confusion Corner in the background.
I like the decorations… looks like a Mexican-derived decor, with Mexican festival flags and an image of the Virgin of Guadaloupe?
“Aw crap! NOW what?!” is pretty much what I say every January 1.
Happy New Year!
I had this wierd urge to post a comment without reading the comic first. I read it anyway, and my comment almost seems to make sense… But I’m very tired. Hence I post it anyway. Feel free to scoff.
“Burninating the countryside… Burninating all the peasants… And the Trogdor comes in the NIGHT!!!” Shelly=Trogdor.
WHOOHOO!!
Finally caught up from where I left off. Hope everyone had a Happy New Year!!
Does anyone EVER follow their New Years Resolutions?
i don’t even bother MAKING them anymore. That way i can’t get yelled at/ teased/ etc, for how long it takes to break them!
Several years ago I resolved to never make another resolution. First one I’ve made that I’ve kept.
i have! i broke two already though and they arn’t my main ones so its alright.
I just chalked the breaking down to ‘habbit’ and will try again ^^
I always follow mine, but I make the same ones every year:
1. Shelve and inventory the homemade wine in my cellar.
2. Support local pizza shops.
3. Don’t neglect to drink good beer just because of the results from resolution 1.
Sadly, we did not make any wine in 2011 because the weather pretty much wrecked the harvest, so resolution 1 won’t take long this year.
I used to hate resolutions and make a point of not making any. I’ve come to find them useful though. What works well for me is to make a realistic resolution, and to make a couple additional, super easy ones. Knocking the easy ones off the list early in the year is motivating.
If my resolution is to ‘get into shape’, that’s great but it’s so vague. So the first week of the year I go jogging, which I hate, but DAMMIT I WILL GET IN SHAPE. And I overdo it because I’m excited to get started on the resolution. And I get sore. And it’s a pain to adjust into my schedule. And I don’t like it at ALL. So within 3 weeks I give up, and decide that resolutions are useless.
I find the people who give up on their resolutions the fastest are the ones who set the loftiest goals. 😉
How different it is, if I make my resolution “I will go for a 10 minute walk once a week.” Now THAT is something I can do. It’s almost embarrassingly easy. But it’s easy to stick to also, and to document on a calendar to see my progress. The happiness that comes from meeting a small, realistic goal is encouraging. Positive feelings encourage setting bigger goals, like a 20 minute walk twice a week. So by the end of the year, I might ‘be in shape’ after all, but getting there was a lot more fun and rewarding, and the habits stick.
Sorry for long post! And this is all first-hand experience that worked really well for me too, not just lip service. 😉 Maybe it helps? It feels really good to be able to keep a resolution!
A New Year’s resolution busted in 3 seconds flat. To bad, but it is not even a contender for the record.
oh no! I’m all caught up! D: *sighs and waits*
Define “Cooled Off”.
Could be something along the lines of this generally good advice.
My first thought was: Ruh-row! Now the schist has hit the fan-girl. Shelly seems to be mad enough to chew rocks. . . .
Ugh. Chewing rocs sounds as unappetizing as eating crow, and only slightly better than having stewed loon for dinner (boil the loon in a pot for six hours with a large stone, then discard the loon and eat the stone… it’ll be less tough than the loon)
If there’s not enough eat the rabbit?
Heh. Alan might object.
(I almost made a smutty crack, but i caught myself in time.)
Piffle poo.
Monica is just the cutest ever in panel two. Love it!
I like Tina’s hair – her whole look, for that matter.