FBOFW Recap Question

[SkeptiJess]

And, RachelChristine? The books go all the way back to the beginning of the strips. If you live near Yorktown, Virginia you can come borrow mine – I have all of them except the latest. And I’ll have the latest as soon as I get to a bookstore (I didn’t realize it was out yet). I also have all the FoxTrot, Baby Blues, Get Fuzzy, Bloom County/ Outland, Calvin and Hobbes, Dinette Set, Zits & Agnes books. And a random selection of others – several Pogo collections, some Peanuts, Luann, & Cathy books.

Yes, I’m a comic strip geek.

[ninevah]

@Jess

I thought the strip was ending in '09 – its 30th year. Has she moved up the ‘retirement’ date?

From this Washington Post article , dated 4 October 2004, Johnson says

…the strip will end in three years, so April will be 16, Elizabeth will be teaching, and Michael will have two children, and we’ll end the story as it began. It’s a full family cycle from childhood to adulthood to a new generation of children.

This due to the her contract expiring and hence means that the strip will end in 2007.

[Snooooopy]

@kunilou

I have a very basic question. Is the strip supposed to be set in any particular place? I know it’s Canada, and it seems to obviously be English-speaking Canada. But is it supposed to be suburban Toronto, or a small town in the Prairies, or just any old place?

For the longest time I had no idea where the strip was set. Even when I noticed that the Pattersons had relatives in Vancouver, it didn’t really occur to me they were Canadians. I know, I know – typical American way of looking at things.

What finally tipped me off was when the kids talked about going to “university.” Does anyone in America speak that way? As far as I know, we all go to “college” – even if we’re going to a university.

[DeadlyAccurate]

@Snooooopy

What finally tipped me off was when the kids talked about going to “university.” Does anyone in America speak that way? As far as I know, we all go to “college” – even if we’re going to a university.

I do. I also say, “They’re going on holiday.” But that’s because I spend too much time on this board and I’ve picked these up subconsciously.

[ninevah]

@Snooooopy

For the longest time I had no idea where the strip was set. Even when I noticed that the Pattersons had relatives in Vancouver, it didn’t really occur to me they were Canadians. I know, I know – typical American way of looking at things.

You’re not the only one - as an Australian, I always figured for many years that the strip was American (such is the saturation of Americanisms into Australian culture). It was only when I visited the website did I realise how fiercely Canadian it was.

[Jodi]

@Snooooopy

For the longest time I had no idea where the strip was set. Even when I noticed that the Pattersons had relatives in Vancouver, it didn’t really occur to me they were Canadians. I know, I know – typical American way of looking at things.

What finally tipped me off was when the kids talked about going to “university.” Does anyone in America speak that way? As far as I know, we all go to “college” – even if we’re going to a university.

Years ago, when Elizabeth was small (eight or nine?), Elly sent her to the store for a milk, which came in a bag, which Elizabeth broke. Johnston actually explained in one of her retrospectives that in some parts of Canada at that time milk came in bags. And when Michael went to univeristy in London, Johnston actually had Elly take out a map of Canada and show April where he was going, in an attempt to forestall letters asking how he could get home from England in two hours. I think I read in an interview once that, due to extensive syndication in the States, she receives letters every year “correcting” her on when Thanksgiving is.

I caught that it was set in Canada when a kid Elizabeth did a report on the “Copulation [instead of Population] of Canada”.

[Snooooopy]

@Jodi

I caught that it was set in Canada when a kid Elizabeth did a report on the “Copulation [instead of Population] of Canada”.

Well, there’s a fairly obvious tipoff right there – in America, we just say “fucking.”

[kaylasdad99]

I noticed when I saw a mailbox with a maple leaf instead of an eagle head.

[Mister_Rik]

@Snooooopy

What finally tipped me off was when the kids talked about going to “university.” Does anyone in America speak that way? As far as I know, we all go to “college” – even if we’re going to a university.

I figured it out some years ago when they mentioned that Michael was getting ready to start “Grade 8” (or whatever grade it was). In the US we’d say “8th grade”.

[D_Odds]

@Skald the Rhymer

But how am I supposed to home in on you? You give your location as “Center of the Universe,” but as we all know, the inflationary model implies that the universe has no center–that space itself is what is expanding and any spot in any galaxy may be conceived of as the center–and–and–and–

::head explodes::

You’re right behind me! DUH! :smack:

[Skald_the_Rhymer]

@D_Odds

You’re right behind me! DUH! :smack:

That’s metaphorical.

Besides, I was just waiting for you to do the head smack thingie so the monkeys could home in on the smacking sound. They have been dispatched, and you are getting SUCH a thrashing when they arrive.