Restraining map of the stars

We haven't done a "Map of the Stars" gag in a while.  Here's one from Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller.  Are there "Apps of the Stars"? Yes, of course there are (not to be confused with apps for stargazing).  Have "Apps of the Stars" put the "Maps of the Stars" vendors out of business?  I dunno.  Economics thesis anyone?

Flat Earth two-fer

Ah, the Flat Earth myth. It's probably the simplest geography-based shorthand for political cartoons and debate.  Unfortunately, as I've mentioned before, it's unfounded.  The widely accepted concept of a nicely rotund Earth pre-dates Columbus by centuries, and probably millennia. Sure, the ancient Greeks may have been the first ones to estimate the actual dimensions of Earth's sphere (unless the Chinese beat them to that too). But the concept of the Earth being round was well known long before that.

So in the end equating a loathsome idea or concept to a Flat Earth mentality is not the best tactic because the analogy it's built on is false (similar to the false belief about suicidal lemmings)

So what to use as an alternative?  Geocentricity would do nicely.  The idea that the Earth is the center of the universe was very widely believed until Copernicus proved it wrong in a monumental feat of scientific genius.... yet the false belief still persisted many decades after the data was comprehensively falsified.

But the Flat Earth shorthand remains commonplace in editorial cartooning... and has been applied to a wide range of topics.  Here's a small collection (to add to previous collections)

Rex Babin

Rex Babin applying it to different administrations' science policies

Mike Lester

Mike Lester on climate change

Steve Greenberg

Steve Greenberg on the recent flat tax debate

And finally a pair of Non Sequitur  strips (by Wiley Miller) about political discourse that ran back-to-back (so even though the first one isn't "Flat Earth" per se, it seemed appropriate to post them together) 

No more bogeymen

This Non Sequitur strip by Wiley Miller came up randomly, but it's nicely related to yesterday's post.  There's a good argument to be made that the military industrial complex (or is it the security industrial complex now?) is very adept at maintaining a level of fear in the general public.... a level of fear they need to sustain their existence.... a level of fear I'm happy to reject.

Earth strikes back two-fer

 

 Here are two different strips that ran only one week apart, one a Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller, the other a Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, by Zach Weiner, both involving blowing up aliens using a power laser-like device on Earth.  Go figure.

Heavenly Parents

 

I very much believe in the concept of Heavenly Parents and I very much like that Wiley Miller has now depicted Heavenly Mother in cartoon form in newspapers across the nation in his Non Sequitur strip. I also like God's male-symbol-shaped Pangaea continent that he's got going there on the pre-Eve-Eden proto-Earth.

Recacluating the apocalypse

It's beginning to look like "Recalculating" type gags are becoming faily common. This will be the fifth one that I've posted so far, this time from Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller.

There is a decent chance that this comic was written in response to the recent "End of the world on May 21st, 2011" silliness that happened recently.

Earth 2-fer

Who would have thought that  Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller would have a two-fer with Alley Oop, by Jack & Carole Bender. And yet here we are, with the connection being, of all things, the "Earth 2" concept. The children in this Non Sequitur story arc are visiting their friend Lars on his Earth 2 which, just like the one in Alley Oop, is identical to Earth, but escaped detection all these years by orbiting directly opposite from our Earth.

Of course if it actually existed the new Solar Dynamics Observatory would probably have seen it by now.

Click on any of the images to make them larder and more legible.

You are mall test

Mall directories are one of the commonest "you are here" type gags. This is another example from Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller.

Treasure Maine

Here's another episode of Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller from July of 2008.  Click on the image to make is larger and more legible.  This kind of imaginative activity is par for the course for the Danae character in Non Sequitur.  Her miniature horse pet/buddy hasn't yet been able to talk much sense into her.

This is, however, the first time Maine gets a direct mention in the blog, so that makes 16 of the 50 states appearing in various posts so far.

Not Helsinki

Getting so lost that you end up in Hell is a fairly common theme in map-themes comics.  I'll post more.  This is from the strip Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller .  This isn't the first time he has done a Mapquest-themed gag.  Mapquest was a relatively frequent theme for a while, but directions on smart phones might  be supplanting that trend.

Easter Bunny Island

The first time I heard about that place called "Easter Island", an image vaguely similar to this popped into my head. It's as good an explanation as any for why those giant head things might be there. This is, of course, from Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller.

Speaking of Easter, please forgive the following:
Knock knock. Who's there? Ether. Ether who? Ether bunny.
Knock knock. Who's there? Samoa. Samoa who? Samoa ether bunnies.
Knock knock. Who's there? Estelle. Estelle who? Estelle Samoa ether bunnies.
Knock knock. Who's there? Consumption. Consumption who? Consumption be done about all these ether bunnies?

Sorry.

Not Kansas

Does it surprise anybody that there'd be a GPS-based joke that'd reference Dorothy and pals, the most lost girl in literature? Or is it simply a surprise that this joke hasn't been done sooner? Thank you Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller!

Hedge Fund Navigation

Appropriate for the times, 'tis a criticism of the disaster that is the hedge funds market. Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller is always good for this sort of thing. I still like how ubiquitous navigation systems have become in the pop culture.

Mapquest Moses

What else would keep Moses and his crew wandering for 40 years? 

Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller