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The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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This week produced a relatively positive morality play in which Cherry helps one person that results in helping another. After a short phone conversation with Mark, who relayed the results of his Ohio fishing trip, Cherry’s day of reflecting on friend Georgia and the lost bees is interrupted by Violet Cheshire. She needed help removing hibiscus plants because they could cause an allergic reaction in the Sunny Soleil Society’s president. What to do with all of those flowers? Not a problem for Cherry who suddenly gets inspired to take them to Georgia’s place where they can attract bees to repopulate the empty bee hives. Voila! Like Rick and Capt. Renault in “Casablanca” walking off into the distance and talking about the start of a new friendship, Cherry and Georgia walked off into the distance talking about the start of something good for the bees. Okay, it’s not a perfect analogy, but it’s in a similar spirit of friendship. And it’s Bogart! Mentioning Humphrey Bogart in a post is always a great way to make your writing seem more thoughtful.

The well-drawn trail marker in today’s title panel is based on a long-recognized pun. Similar text was very likely the basis for the name of Ed Dodd’s hero. There is, for example, the “High Water Mark Trail” in the Ozarks. I always wondered if Mark’s name was based on some distinctive, functional purpose, like the “mark twain” phrase, being a boatman’s call for a specific water depth. But I don’t know.

In any event, today Rivera breaks her tradition a bit by posting a subject sharing nothing specifically relevant with either Mark’s or Cherry’s storylines or locations. No big deal. As usual, the wildlife is drawn in a more detailed and representational form (i.e., shading/volume), whereas Mark is shown in his standard flat, cartoonish style that rarely displays shading.

Meanwhile on the Hallmark Channel …

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And the next day, Georgia gets a bill from the Sunny Soleil Society to pay for the hibiscus. So, is Rivera wrapping up this story, as well?

BTW: Commenter Daniel P made an interesting observation yesterday about the lack of any “evil doer” in Cherry’s story. That is so. Mostly, it’s been about recovering the bee population in Georgia’s bee hives that were lost to “colony collapse disorder.” It’s a pertinent observation.

Daniel’s comment made me think (and that hurts!). There is almost always an antagonist that the protagonist (Mark or Cherry) has to defeat. Cherry’s current adventure might be a departure from this standard hero-villain format and more of a story about everyday problem-solving and relationships. Instead of a human villain, the antagonist here is natural processes that have to be overcome or worked around.

Still, there may yet be a human villain on the other side of the bush!

Having you cake and eating it, too.

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It’s nice to see that Cherry’s mind can keep up with us astute readers! Okay, so it was not a terribly complicated idea. But that means, if I also thought of it, then there must be something about to go wrong. Maybe Cherry gets billed by Violet for the flowers.

A New Cherry Adventure! Or is it?

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Scroll down and you will soon see the post for Monday, being the conclusion of Mark’s train adventure.

(Tue) Solve what problem? It seems to me talking with Mark creates problems. Anyway, standing beside a nice carving of a male cardinal (it is a carving, right?), Cherry gets interrupted by Violet Cheshire, possibly signaling the start a new story. Like Mark, Cherry’s stable of opponents seems to be limited. This does not bode well, but we can hope for a new nemesis.

 Ignorance and Arrogance: Always a bad combination!

(Wed) One might have thought that Violet would already know whether the SSS president likes hibiscus flowers, as well as whether she is allergic to them, especially given Violet’s prominent position (whatever that is). Apparently, Violet purchased and installed these new flowers without conferring with Cherry or having her do the installation. Does Cherry even still work for the Sunny Soleil Society? Violet seems unfazed and unconcerned. Rivera has made Violet’s pettiness, insecurity, and shallowness transparent from the start. So why would Cherry be surprised?

Cherry ponders the fate of the hibiscus.

(Thur) Let’s just ask the obvious question: Why can’t whoever put them in take them out? Seems pretty logical, right? In any event, out they go! But where, Cherry wonders? I have an idea:  Plant them over at Georgia’s place to attract new bees. In fact, there is a special hibiscus bee, but it tends to be solitary, and it nests underground in hard soil by salt marshes. Fortunately, the hibiscus can attract other bees, too.

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No, Rivera is not insulting Ohio.

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Note: Closing out the “Something Fishy” story, which really turned out to be about other things.

(Mon) Saturday’s strip had that feeling for this adventure coming to a quick, “get out of town” ending. Mark delivers his epilogue today. Maybe Mark intuitively knew that local cops would do almost anything to gain the publicity and bragging rights of arresting a state senator. And maybe Klingons caused the train derailment. Or perhaps the story just got away from Rivera, so she brought it to a quick termination. Was this story about a fishing trip? Faulty trains? Toxic spills? Corrupt officials? Mark’s disregard for the law? Or all of the above?

Some critics have complained that Rivera is bad-mouthing Ohio. I don’t see it that way. Cherry simply wants Mark to get away from the toxic chemicals in Ohio, something she has recently had experience with, firsthand. Mark, on the other hand, mistook her comment for a slight against Ohio, itself. But he quickly corrected her. Of course, husbands and wives never misunderstand each other!

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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Still on vacation, but I had some down time to do the Sunday post. I may wait until Wednesday to post the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday strips.

To say this story went off the rails would be a fitting punishment. What began as a father-son fishing trip in Ohio got interrupted by a breakdown of Happy and Mark’s train (a portent of things to come). Then an explosion at a train station connected with the derailment of another train carrying toxic chemicals influenced Happy and Mark to investigate the incident. This led to reconnecting with Rex Scorpius and his mother, who happened to be living nearby. Mark’s aggressive questioning of a state senator at a press conference led to assumptions of a coverup, the senator’s call for Mark’s arrest, a fist fight with cops, and Mark and Happy’s escape. Whew!

They were spirited away by Rex and his mom with police in pursuit. Later discussions among the four at a remote location led Mark to come up with the goofy idea of livestreaming a report inside Rex’s car, speeding down a highway.  He predicted this scheme would somehow attract more listeners and help expose the chemical spill coverup and the senator’s corruption.

In fact, “Professor” Bee Sharp came online to spill the beans that the state senator was bribed by the Duck Duck Goose transportation company (that owned the train) to cover up any malfeasance. Sharp, who had been hired by DDG to be their official PR face, revealed to Mark that DDG bribed the senator with a wildebeest that he kept in his backyard. An absurd idea, especially if we take this story seriously, which we tend to do, despite Rivera’s tradition of writing goofy stories. This brings us to this past week.

Mark and company sped to the senator’s house. Surprisingly, the senator was also listening to Mark’s livestream report (how he knew this is never explained) and sent the cops to arrest him. The cops, the senator, and Mark all arrived at the house same time, of course. Mark told the police that the wildebeest was a bribe. So, on the say-so of Mark Trail (virtually unknown in Ohio) and the presence of a wildebeest on the senator’s property, the local police arrested their own state senator. Surprisingly, they did not arrest Mark, Happy, Rex, or his mother! Well, let’s take a rest and view today’s nature chat.

Okay, that’s a cute title panel. Today’s topic is not likely known by many people who are not into surfing, though Rivera, herself, is a surfer. Nevertheless, I found it interesting and informative. Well, I found several articles about aggressive sea otters and surfers, but none mentioned the algae connection. On the other hand, I found an informative page on “Environmental Health News” about sea otters and algae blooms. Turns out sea otters often envelope themselves in algae for various reasons, but infected algae are infecting and killing sea otters and sea lions. (https://www.ehn.org/algal-blooms-sea-otters-2651321061.html). But there was no link between the poisoning and the aggressive behavior noted. Still, Rivera may have access to better resources than I do. I do not even play a biologist on TV.

It’s the WILdebeest of the people?

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Editor’s Note:  My wife and I are going on a “short break”, as they say in England. That is, I’ll be on a brief vacation between today (Saturday) and Wednesday. Whether I will get time to post during this trip is unknown. She would prefer I leave all of my electronics at home, but I’ll see what I can sneak into my backpack. At worst, I’ll post a catchup after I get back.

Wait. Hold the phone! Stop the presses!  Just hold on there, Babba Louie! This ain’t how things are done. None of this makes sense. Anyone seeing today’s strip could assemble a list of errors, non sequiturs, and buffoonery. So I won’t bore you going through an obvious parade of absurdities.

More importantly, though, what is Rivera trying to accomplish here? Why does she lay out this series of improbable and outrageous events? Granted that many, if not most, of Rivera’s Mark Trail stories have been outrageous, goofy, or absurd. But this week’s strips take the proverbial cake.

Is this what the story was actually designed to lead us to:  The downfall of a politician who was bought by the big, bad transportation company in order to cover up major accidents that shine a light on corporate mismanagement and corruption? If so, it’s the fastest damn arrest of a state government official I’ve heard of, without the need for documented investigation, evidence, subpoenas, legal search warrants, or due process. It must be a proof of concept that Mark’s nighttime ride and livestream (echoing Paul Revere) really did make a difference.

And what’s with those red and blue geometric backgrounds in panels 3 and 4? Unreal! But that makes me still think this is some kind of nightmare dream that Mark is having on his train ride to Ohio. Else, Rivera has been getting into the mushrooms.

Mark got more attention than he wanted from his livestream

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The suspense builds as drama unfolds. It looks like a very tense moment for everyone. Frankly, I’m on tenterhooks, as I think you are! Will Sam bend to Pavel’s implied threats against his family, or will he . . . oops, sorry! I was viewing Judge Parker. Let me get over to Mark Trail . . . ah, here we are. Oh . . .

Relocate a wildebeest? Does Mark think the cops are going to carry it to South Africa!? Wait. Is Mark concerned about proving corruption of an elected official or indulging in some animal rescue? And what happened to his overriding concern for the safety of all people in the world? Poor Mark, he is plagued by competing transactional priorities.

Art Dept:

I’ve noticed before that Thursdays can feature some of the most questionable art, especially human figures. (Commenter Daniel P. spotted my calendar gaff (this, being Friday, not Thursday), making my “Thursday bad art day” hypothesis obviously invalid. This mistake likely came from my habit of writing most of my posts the night before.)

The figure of Mark in panel 2 is one of the most awkwardly depicted figures I’ve seen outside of grade school. In panel 3, Mark must have shrunk, or Rex’s car turned into a giant SUV. Finally, how come all of Rivera’s cops look more like mall security?

And what would you do if you had a brain?

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Gee, Mark. Since you are blathering online about your surprise visit to the senator’s house, why don’t you also livestream the route you are taking? That way, the police can locate the yacht Rex is piloting and arrest all of you! Then while you are in jail, Sally will have time to tell some more of her “glory days” stories.

I’m entertaining the hypothesis that the problem isn’t that the wildebeest is such a stupid bribe as much as it is a senator who has some perversely strange hobbies.

Tapeworms get no respect!

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From the volume of responses to my closing questions yesterday, it looks like I am either right or I am wrong in my interpretation from yesterday. Perhaps I’ll leave it to History to make that judgement. But for now, I’m going with being right.

Exactly how does Mark know that this senator has actually been “soft” on DDG? And in what ways? I could probably have just copied yesterday’s text and pasted it here. This is all totally absurd, including Rex’s Tardis model of a Trans Am/Firebird.

Anyway, if this is such a serious situation as the first three panels suggest, why does Rivera insist upon concluding with Mark smugly delivering one of his usual, bad Sunday jokes and changing the mood?

I’ll say it again:  I sure hope this is all one bad dream Mark is having on the train ride up to Ohio.

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Okay. I think I’m moving into the circle of critics who claim that Rivera has deliberately debased the main characters (being Mark and his family) and the focus of the Mark Trail comic strip just to see how far she can push absurdity. Many hardliners will claim this happened a long time ago. Perhaps. But when the characters react to the bribe of a wildebeest in a senator’s backyard with an intensity equal to that of discovering your uncle’s 10-year government travel assignment is actually a 10-year sentence in a federal pen for bank robbery, then I think it is clear something is very, very wrong.

The wildebeest is not even an endangered animal! State senators have little to no control over how federally regulated railroads function. So what’s the point of bribing them? By this logic, DDG would have to own politicians wherever trains run. Very expensive and inefficient! You do these things the Good ol’ American Way:  Fund enough members of Congress to pass laws that hamstring federal safety investigators and regulations.

But even then, Mark and Company are looking in the wrong direction. It isn’t the questionable tactics of a local politician that’s important, but the shenanigans of a national (or international) transportation company (DDG) ignoring safety measures and trying to make a bad incident go away. Mark and Happy (remember him?) should know this. Why does Rivera make them act naïve and foolish?

So, am I wrong? Am I missing something?

Gnu cares?

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A wildebeest? Fine. BFD. I’d actually be more concerned if DDG bribed Senator Smalls with something more practical . . . such as money, expensive cars, or available women. What’s Smalls going to do with this creature, start an illegal wildebeest breeding farm? Sell photos of frightened children sitting on it to doting parents?

I’m guessing Sharp told Rex where the senator lives, but how does this side trip move the story forward? There must be something pretty important about this animal that’s not apparent to us rubes.

Finally, why does Mark care what happens to Bee Sharp? Perhaps Mark suffers from a psychological disorder where he finds affirmation through identifying with criminals. Or he is just a sucker, so he continually excuses the crooks and cons that keep ripping him off and trying to kill him. Ugh. This story is like trying to pick up cooked spaghetti with your hands:  It just keeps slipping out and going every which way.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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Miss this week’s strips? As the Fugitive Four stood around their campfire, Mark Trail continued to agitate about his failed attempt to get to the bottom of the train explosion and make sure people knew what was really going on. I’m not convinced Mark knows, either. There was a lot of talk about having to “get the truth out to the world”, or “It’s a smear campaign”, and “We got way too close”; all sounding overly conspiratorial, like what you would hear at a fraudulent election symposium. Realizing he had virtually no online presence, Mark came up with a completely weird idea to stream a live report while sitting in the back of Rex Scorpius’ car, speeding down a highway in the night. That was the hook:  Speeding car = massive online curiosity = opportunity to get the word out.

While they were underway, Mark made his presentation, while Happy kept Mark updated on viewer counts. Surely, if it wasn’t for Mark Trail’s online oratory, nobody would know what’s going on, right? But how can Mark even know what’s going on back in Ohio when he’s on the run in a speeding car, very likely in another state? Oops, perhaps I’m not supposed to bring up finicky details like that.

Suddenly, faux “professor” Bee Sharp texted in (I suppose) and requested live access to Mark’s stream. Sharp declared that his image and presentation had been faked by Duck Duck Goose (DDG) using A.I., made to falsely testify that the trains were safe. Conman Sharp had been scammed! Oh, the irony! He added that state senator Smalls was bribed by DDG, not with money, but with a wildebeest, of all things.

Well, it seems that Mark’s idea must have had some merit, because his viewership increased, and Bee Sharp was even swayed enough to jump in. Such is the crazy world of Mark Trail.

I don’t believe today’s title panel meets Rivera’s usual standard for creativity and style. I really don’t mean to be negative. However, while the information is good, the execution of the panels looks rushed: the environment is really abstracted. Even the animals—where Rivera normally spends more time—look very simplified. That bobcat eating dinner in front of a bush in panel 5 has that highlighted outline that is so obtrusive. It adds nothing to the animal’s verisimilitude or relationship with the environment. In fact, the outlining helps flatten the image. However, it’s nice to see that Mark does have more than one shirt!

Bee Sharp tries to get his own truth out to the public

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Gotta give some credit to Rivera for weaving current social and political issues into the strip. Anyway, this is an interesting turn of events. Bee Sharp claims he has been “deep faked”! This ironic excuse comes from a person already exposed as a phony professor giving out phony information.

However, based on his past history, I have doubts about Sharp’s admission of being victimized. In fact, his statement in panel 2 contradicts his conversation with Chet Chedderson back on May 25. Is Rivera being contradictory here or is she laying the groundwork for Sharp to be found out and then publicly exposed (again)?

By the way, does anybody know if “Wildebeest” is some sort of slang? I thought it might be a term for money, but I’ve not found any reference. Otherwise, who in hell would want a gnu?

“The Misterhood of the Traveling Rants” continues.

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I really have to wonder what the motivation for this whole story arc is. Okay, Mark plays the “renegade reporter” on the run from agents trying to stop him from getting The Truth out to the American Public. Fine, we get the symbolism. But it isn’t exactly “The Pentagon Papers.”

This sort of conspiratorial humbuggery is not new and is still popular in political and social circles. Yet, it just doesn’t seem to fit Mark’s profile. So why is he putting himself out in the Public Eye like this?

If Mark wanted to impress lots of people that what he has to say is worth breaking the law for, he probably should have spent a few minutes up front letting people know who he is (other than his name), what is background is, and how he came to these conclusions.

Instead, through the miracle of comic strip technology, out of all the people viewing Mark, only one person has managed to somehow inject himself into Mark’s live stream. This should work out well.

Nothing says “Quality Journalism” like an unknown schmuck livestreaming himself in a speeding car, talking off-the-cuff without evidence.

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I don’t know:  Do you think Rivera is deliberately trying to make Mark look like a bona fide clown? We all know that Mark is talking out of his ass here, since he has done virtually no research or investigation, other than take photos of dead fish.

Now, if Rivera wanted to parody self-declared “online journalists” posting their nonsense and misinformation on the Internet, she could have created a character to do that while having Mark criticize that person’s lack of professionalism. This would also reinforce Mark’s own standing. Instead, Rivera has made Mark the online half-baked potato.

So, is this what Mark’s vaunted journalism really amounts to? Who knows, maybe in this story the accident really was caused by careless railroad workers not doing their best. But Mark didn’t take the time to actually do an investigation, did he?!

Art Dept:  Since when does the back seat of a muscle car (panel 2) suddenly have the space of a Mercedes Maybach? It’s usually just the opposite. I reckon it’s just another case of “artistic license” so Rivera could fit in Mark, the phone, and the text balloons. I think it could have been resolved in a more realistic manner, such as showing Mark a lot closer, like Happy in panel 3.

“As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.”

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An adult with a dumb idea? Now, this is what I call journalism! By “journalism”, I mean something a kid would write for a high school paper, such as a gossip column or a profile of the basketball coach.

And why the need to drive? What kind of video can Mark produce sitting inside a car? Does Mark want to broadcast a minute-by-minute report on their flight to avoid arrest by the highway patrol? Maybe he thinks they’ll spot the Senator’s car on the road and pull alongside him to ask those “tough questions” reporters and politicians always like to brag about. And avoid.

“Mark, if you can just trick the senator into giving us his bank account information…”

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Huh? A pun in the first panel? Rivera is shaking things up!

Seems Happy is going “all conspiracy”, while Rex helps goad Mark on. Clearly, logical thinking does not have the seat of honor around this campfire. They just fled from the Senator’s press conference after blasting him with lots of leading questions and blasting the police with leading jabs. The Senator ordered their arrest, but they evaded a police chase. None of this bodes well for their plan to trap the senator. Yet, Mark has his own idea. That’s even scarier….

Looking back, Happy Trail has been a major instigator in this entire disaster, starting with his requirement to ride the train. Then there was his overriding need to investigate the explosion at the station, while coercing Mark to help. Who knows, maybe Happy is just frustrated with things and wants his old comic strip back, even if he has to first railroad Mark.

“Not fair! All we did was make accusations and beat up some cops.”

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This is an adventure strip, not a documentary, so I’m always willing to extend some degree of latitude in such mundane things as logic, judgement, and actions. But really, now. Are the railroad and the senator running a smear campaign against Mark and Happy? Hard to say. Do they even know their names? Does anybody else?

Clearly, Rivera portrays the state senator as a stereotypical reactive, “say nothing” politician. In his defense,  he couldn’t know very much, anyway, given that the accident occurred the day before. Meanwhile, the Duck Duck Goose shipping company is publicly spouting the usual misinformation that companies do when trying to position themselves as an innocent party. But I think Mark and Happy have yet to talk to any railroad managers or government inspectors.

So it didn’t help that Mark and Happy barged into a dog-and-pony press conference to try and get answers from a politician, rather than an expert. And it didn’t help that Mark and Happy became belligerent, physical, and need I state it, unprofessional? Mark and Happy sound more like characters on The X Files or Hannity. “Got too close”, huh? Will “the deep state” send out assassins to shut them up, like in the Bourne Legacy?

C’mon, guys! Why haven’t you started working social media and news sites, instead of standing around a campfire in the country, affirming each other’s grievances? Why haven’t you been conducting online research? Why haven’t you bothered to talk with other journalists? In short, why haven’t you two been acting like professional journalists?

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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The week started out so peaceful and self-congratulatory, as the four scofflaws (Happy, Mark, Sally, and Rex) stood around a campfire (where did they get those tents, anyway?) and shared happy thoughts. But all too soon, after scanning his social media sites, Happy reported that they were being sought by the police for inciting a riot (and eluding, I presume), which surprised the always self-contained Mark. “We have to tell the world the truth!” Happy exhorted, as if they were the only journalists in a world of reporters and investigators too lazy or corrupt to figure out what transpired.

We also learned that the Duck Duck Goose shipping company owns the derailed train carrying the chemicals. On top of that, the company hired “Professor” Bee Sharp to be their public spokesperson and pass around the corporate baloney. Mark is really pissed. But he’s pretty much blown whatever credibility he had. As is typical for Rivera, she mockingly refers to their situation as “Dilemmas for the ages.” I wrote briefly about Jules Rivera and her ongoing campaign (from my point of view) to convert Mark from his traditional nature reporter/adventurer persona into a more reaction-oriented environmental activist not above crossing legal lines. Kind of a male Greta Thunberg, perhaps.

Flash! I just read (on Saturday) that Isaiah Wartman, former campaign manager for an infamous Republican politician, was one of several people found guilty in an Ohio court of running a fraudulent charity for victims of the East Palestine train derailment. I wonder if Rivera has enough lead time to work that into her story.

Rivera continues to produce customized title panels as well as Sunday topics that are linked to the location that is the focus of the current story. At least the Ohio River (and its supported states) is not going through the problems that the Colorado River is. So, this is an obvious cautionary discussion.