Archives

2009-03-02

Great Moments In Nuclear History 6: Three Mile Island

Spinning World: Great Moments in Nuclear History 6: Three Mile Island

Hey, this month marks the thirtieth anniversary of the meltdown at Three Mile Island! Three Mile Island is often abbreviated as TMI, which nowadays also stands for Too Much Information, which is kind of funny since prior to the meltdown, plant staff had been falsifying records to avoid shutting the problem-plagued reactor down for repairs so frequently.

Spinning World appearsed each month in The Commons.

Updates 2014-06-20:

2008-11-03

Thanksgiving Through The Years

Spinning World: Thanksgiving Through the Years

Transcript

Thanksgiving Through the Years

A Wamponaog adult tells a child, “We give thanks to these plants and animals who gave their lives so we may live…” Unnoticed in the background, Pilgrims appear on the horizon.

A white American man says Thankgiving grace: “We give thanks for this food to the Big Sky-Daddy who so kindly depopulated this great land for us…” Their eyes closed, none of the family yet sees the giant flying saucers in the sky outside the window.

A huge potbellied alien with spindly limbs plucks a human from a jar and says, “We give thanks to Zlarx for these delectable beings (who are also such versatile slaves)…” (“Help!” cries the human in its tiny voice.)

Notes

This month I was so busy and tired that I couldn’t bring myself to do a strip that required research, so I redrew a seasonal strip from the Keene Free Comics days. I think the new strip is clearer, but I still drew the human too small in the last panel! C’est la vie. I will have to fill in November’s Great Moments In Nuclear History at a later date.

Get this strip as part of Square Dance #4.

2008-08-01

Great Moments In Nuclear History 1

Spinning World: Great Moments in Nuclear History 1

Vermont Yankee is an aging nuclear power plant in Vernon, VT, less than 10 miles from my home. It’s current (out-of-state) parent company, Entergy, secured approval to run the plant at 120% its original rated capacity, and is trying to extend its license 20 years past the original planned shutdown in 2012. Hopefully the numerous blatant maintenance failures they’ve experienced in the last couple years will help us prevent that. Just a couple weeks ago, the plant cut back to 25% capacity because the cooling towers sprang some leaks (yes, even the repaired one that’s supposed to be totally fine after fresh inspections).

On August 6 through 9, Citizens Awareness Network will have a Walk For A Nuclear-Free Future through Vermont in honor of Hiroshima Day and Nagasaki Day.

(EDIT 8/3: Several other groups are co-sponsoring the walk. Also, CAN is now going to use this comic and the text under it on a flyer to be given away during the walk. Cool!)

Spinning World appears in The Commons and TWIG.

This comic appears in Square Dance #3.

2007-07-01

Make Your Own Holiday

Spinning World: Make Your Own Holiday

Transcript

Make Your Own Holiday!

A simple example: Elaine Fremont, 1985. Elaine sits bored at her desk, thinking, “No holidays in August…but I want to celebrate something!”

So…

“Are you coming to my Bonza Bottler Day party?” Elaine asks a coworker.

“Your what?” he says.

“It’s a new holiday I invented! It’s when the day and month have the same number—July 7, August 8, etc…”

“Oh…okay.”

An Australian won the naming contest&ellip; “‘Bonza’ equals Super! Great!” explains Professor Koala Bear. “‘Bottler’ equals something excellent.”

When the year’s last digit matches too (July 7, 2007; August 8, 2008; etc.), it’s a Bodacious Bonza Bottler Day, calling for increased celebration! (A made up chart here labeled “Celebration Comparison Curves” shows comparative levels of food, friends, and music.)

Now people all over the world celebrate Bonza Bottler Day! A woman on a scooter rides past a man on a bench with the Eiffel Tower in the background. “Happy Bonza Bottler Day!” they cheerfully greet each other (in French).

Now that you’ve seen how easy in can be, why not try it yourself? Traditions have to start somewhere. Experiment with the technique in other venues—when something seems lacking, take action! The results may surprise you. (The author appears, wearing a party hat and wielding a hammer and noisemaker.)

Official Bonza Bottler Day website