“in richness and in poorness, poorness is underlined, in impotence and in potence, in quiet solitude or blasting across the alkali flats in a jet-powered, monkey-navigated… and it goes on like this.”
“But in the eyes of the woman I love,
I’m a hero, a giant, a man who’s as tall as can be
Anyone can see
She’s looking through the eyes of love
Looking through the eyes of love
Looking through the eyes of love
When she looks at me.”
You got creepy from that? Yeesh. Those are LOVE EYES. When you look at the person you love and they are just the most beautiful person in the world and just want to look at them forever.
….
It is also true that my wife and I have had conversations that amounted to:
Me: **LOVE EYES**
Wife: “… why are you staring at me?”
Me: “You’re so beautiful!”
Wife: “… I’ve got runny nose, haven’t showered in three days, and just woke up. I look awful. THe fuck is wrong with you?”
Me: “… I wuv you?”
Wife: “Ugh…”
LeslieBean, I’ve had almost the exact same conversation with my fiancee, except her self-description was “I look like Samara hung over after a three-day bender”.
Worst thing is that ethanol withdrawal is one of the only withdrawals that can actually kill you outright. Other bad ones like opioid withdrawal suck, but aren’t lethal like ethanol withdrawal is. I really hope Billie or Ruth realizes she needs to go to the doctor, and get on an actual regimented plan.
Ruth’s alcoholism does not seem to have been nearly as bad as Billie’s has, or we just didn’t see her withdrawal symptoms, but if Billie is having vomiting after less than 24 hours after cessation, she’s definitely in the severe dependence category. Lets hope she doesn’t start getting the DTs or hallucinations.
We’ve seen withdrawal symptoms from Ruth before – the first dramatic time in her confrontation with Blaine. We’ve never seen them from Billie, which was a sign that she hadn’t given up drinking.
It’s not quite clear when Billie last drank, so it could have been more than 24 hours. The last confirmed time was Friday night (coming back drunk to Lucy’s movie night) and it’s now Monday morning. She went to Galasso’s to drink Sunday evening, but didn’t have time. Most likely she drank Saturday, but we didn’t actually see it. She could have drunk sometime earlier on Sunday, but again, we don’t know.
I am extremely curious about the medical science behind alcohol withdrawal — that is, how and why it is so dangerous and potentially lethal. Do you happen to know a lot about it or know any good sources to read up on it? I ask because your comment makes you sound decently informed about it, though I understand that may not be true regarding the more scientific side of things.
Basically, alcohol is a depressant (a substance that slows processes in body function) and when a person has a problem with alcohol addiction their body can’t produce enough neurotransmitters (chemicals important to brain function) while they’re still a consistent drinker. When that person stops drinking, their body is suddenly able to produce way more neurotransmitters than it had been used to functioning with, which takes time for the brain to adjust to and leads to the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal in the meanwhile. Alcohol withdrawal can include nausea, vomiting, tremors (especially in the hands), racing heart, elevated blood pressure, confusion, visual/auditory/tactile hallucinations, even seizures. It can be a really nasty process to go through, though not every person hits the point of hallucinations or seizures. I’m not an expert myself, but part of my hospital nursing job is taking care of people through their withdrawal experience. Look up “Complications of Alcohol Withdrawal Pathophysiological Insights” for a really good NIH paper on the topic. (Can’t remember if I’m allowed to post outside links here! Sorry!)
My sister explained this to me after I sort of snapped at her because she bought an alcoholic homeless man a beer. He looked really sick and was shaking horribly, my sister said on the streets he could die without it, especially when he was that bad. I don’t exactly remember what happened afterwards but I hope he eventually got in a hospital because god damn, that poor man.
Jury’s out on whether opiate withdrawal can kill – that is, there’s anecdotal evidence it may be, but the literature is still investigating as far as I can tell (but so far, it’s not been borne out). But yeah, alcohol withdrawal can be very dangerous and should be done under the supervision of a doctor.
Damn. I hope she doesn’t get too fucked up from this. I know withdrawal can suck, especially booze, which can be outright deadly. So, I hope she keeps an eye on that.
There’s some anecdotal evidence opiate withdrawal can too, but the literature hasn’t found anything yet that I’ve seen. Still, it’s recommended you detox from those with a doctor.
I feel bad for Billie because alcohol withdrawals are no joke, but mostly I’m just happy to see proof that she is actually keeping her promise this time.
Hey, if this means she’s actually gone without booze for a significant amount of time, I’m counting this as a win. Not because I want Billie to suffer, but because it means she wasn’t lying earlier.
Now is when your body fights you because it wove alcohol into your metabolic processes and you just took it away.
I am curious to see if Billie is willing to go through with this when really starts to suck. The temptation to take alcohol medicinally just to relieve the symptoms, get through midterms etc will be strong. She hasn’t shown a ton of grit. And the underlying issues such as “what is my value as a person if I’m not a high achieving cheerleader?” I imagine she was drinking to ignore aren’t any more resolved.
Not that it’s great, but campus clinic of some kind? Local AA, or other form of treatment? I mean, if you’re at the point of getting withdrawal symptoms, anything would help. Please Billie, just try it. I know you aren’t the only recovering alcoholic in a college town.
That’s a nice, optimistic hope but something tells me that Billie is going to be busy in the ER due to food poisoning or something today! So, it’s going to be up to Ruth to do the heavy lifting and I suspect that the number of parties she’s planned to date is very small.
It’ll be fine. Sarah still isn’t old enough to drink yet, so all Ruth has to do really is rope Joyce in to help throw an impromptu, alcohol- (and Jesus-)free birthday party.
On the bright side, we now have confirmation that Billie has been sticking to her going cold turkey on booze. She may have a hard time seeing that bright side as she scrubs her vomit off the floors though
So, I was out of reading material and rummaged in the garage for a bit. I found an old graphic novel I hadn’t read in a few decades and decided to give it another read. Being the geek that I am, I read the forward, where the author was giving the “How I got inspired to do this thing” spiel, plus some details on how he and some friends came up with the characters.
It’s called: Southern Knights the graphic novel, a superhero team story apparently gathered into graphic novel from from a prior comic book print run circa 1983. It is dedicated to (and lettered by) some guy named David Whilius? Wyles? Oh, it’s David Willis.
I remember Southern Knights – mostly from seeing ads in some other comic, though I think I’ve got an issue or two. Didn’t remember the name from it though.
Not the same Willis of course. I think he would have been a toddler then. 🙂
Well, it’s not like I stalk you or anything, so I have no idea how old you are. And although any name (except mine…) is very likely to have duplicates, the same name in the same field shrinks the pool quite a bit. Oh well, so much for my serendipitous discovery…
Yeah, well, voice acting and webcomic writing/drawing are diverse things, so that’s not a connection I would have made even if I had known the name of the Meatwad voice actor…
Do comments just get disabled after some time? I’ve been reading the strip since two days ago and only just figured out how to access the comments in any way.
Thanks to both of you. I only found this webcomic like 3 or 4 days ago and so was reading from the beginning and so many people in the comments are wrong.
Loading ...
in sickness and in health 😬👍 (mostly sickness rn tho)
aww ♥
**SQUEEE**
Ruth is SO CUTE!
Agreed, and nice comment-gravatar synergy!
“in richness and in poorness, poorness is underlined, in impotence and in potence, in quiet solitude or blasting across the alkali flats in a jet-powered, monkey-navigated… and it goes on like this.”
HOLY SHIT IM FINALLY EARLY
Also billie you dum dum
Ruth is being kinda creepy again. This new trend is troubling.
Yeah, she stared at Billie with her green eyes until she made Billie turn green.
Alien.
She can make things turn green with alien powers? I knew those This Island Earth guys were Canadian!
Billie: Well, suddenly I have a refreshing mint flavor!
(Crystal Gayle music)
“And don’t it make my pink cheeks green”
What’s creepy about gazing at the woman she loves?
My reaction as well. I went back and looked at the comic like three or four more times trying to figure it out.
The woman she loves who *loves her back,* no less. If that’s creepy then life is sad and boring.
“But in the eyes of the woman I love,
I’m a hero, a giant, a man who’s as tall as can be
Anyone can see
She’s looking through the eyes of love
Looking through the eyes of love
Looking through the eyes of love
When she looks at me.”
You got creepy from that? Yeesh. Those are LOVE EYES. When you look at the person you love and they are just the most beautiful person in the world and just want to look at them forever.
….
It is also true that my wife and I have had conversations that amounted to:
Me: **LOVE EYES**
Wife: “… why are you staring at me?”
Me: “You’re so beautiful!”
Wife: “… I’ve got runny nose, haven’t showered in three days, and just woke up. I look awful. THe fuck is wrong with you?”
Me: “… I wuv you?”
Wife: “Ugh…”
Ours is a love for the ages, truly. ^^
Lucky, the both of you.
I call it “gazing lovingly” and it’s emoji equivalent is heart eyes 😍
LeslieBean, I’ve had almost the exact same conversation with my fiancee, except her self-description was “I look like Samara hung over after a three-day bender”.
Love is truly a many-splendered thing.
“The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.”
Creepy how?
Aaaaand THERE’S those withdrawal symptoms. Sorry, Billie, they suck, hope they don’t hang around for too long.
So it begins.
Worst thing is that ethanol withdrawal is one of the only withdrawals that can actually kill you outright. Other bad ones like opioid withdrawal suck, but aren’t lethal like ethanol withdrawal is. I really hope Billie or Ruth realizes she needs to go to the doctor, and get on an actual regimented plan.
Ruth’s alcoholism does not seem to have been nearly as bad as Billie’s has, or we just didn’t see her withdrawal symptoms, but if Billie is having vomiting after less than 24 hours after cessation, she’s definitely in the severe dependence category. Lets hope she doesn’t start getting the DTs or hallucinations.
We’ve seen withdrawal symptoms from Ruth before – the first dramatic time in her confrontation with Blaine. We’ve never seen them from Billie, which was a sign that she hadn’t given up drinking.
It’s not quite clear when Billie last drank, so it could have been more than 24 hours. The last confirmed time was Friday night (coming back drunk to Lucy’s movie night) and it’s now Monday morning. She went to Galasso’s to drink Sunday evening, but didn’t have time. Most likely she drank Saturday, but we didn’t actually see it. She could have drunk sometime earlier on Sunday, but again, we don’t know.
But yeah, get thee to a doctor. And your therapy!
I am extremely curious about the medical science behind alcohol withdrawal — that is, how and why it is so dangerous and potentially lethal. Do you happen to know a lot about it or know any good sources to read up on it? I ask because your comment makes you sound decently informed about it, though I understand that may not be true regarding the more scientific side of things.
Basically, alcohol is a depressant (a substance that slows processes in body function) and when a person has a problem with alcohol addiction their body can’t produce enough neurotransmitters (chemicals important to brain function) while they’re still a consistent drinker. When that person stops drinking, their body is suddenly able to produce way more neurotransmitters than it had been used to functioning with, which takes time for the brain to adjust to and leads to the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal in the meanwhile. Alcohol withdrawal can include nausea, vomiting, tremors (especially in the hands), racing heart, elevated blood pressure, confusion, visual/auditory/tactile hallucinations, even seizures. It can be a really nasty process to go through, though not every person hits the point of hallucinations or seizures. I’m not an expert myself, but part of my hospital nursing job is taking care of people through their withdrawal experience. Look up “Complications of Alcohol Withdrawal Pathophysiological Insights” for a really good NIH paper on the topic. (Can’t remember if I’m allowed to post outside links here! Sorry!)
My sister explained this to me after I sort of snapped at her because she bought an alcoholic homeless man a beer. He looked really sick and was shaking horribly, my sister said on the streets he could die without it, especially when he was that bad. I don’t exactly remember what happened afterwards but I hope he eventually got in a hospital because god damn, that poor man.
Jury’s out on whether opiate withdrawal can kill – that is, there’s anecdotal evidence it may be, but the literature is still investigating as far as I can tell (but so far, it’s not been borne out). But yeah, alcohol withdrawal can be very dangerous and should be done under the supervision of a doctor.
Aaaaaand… Withdrawl?
withdrawal, or hangover
Yeah, only Sal talks withdrawl.
Sorry… I’ll let myself out now…
Ba dum tshh
Don’t let the drawl hit you on the way out.
Hopefully.
Morning sickness!
She’s lesbian pregnant?
Where do you think gaybies come from?
I just assumed gay storks
Dumbing of Age Book 10: HORRK!
…you win.
Awww, their gonna have gall stones together.
Last panel Billie is so ailing that even the arms of her hoodie turned green.
The majestic cheerleader in her natural habitat.
Oh no, Billie is pregnant. Dammit Ruth!
It’s Not Easy Being GREEN…
It ain’t easy bein’ brown…
Well withdrawal had to happen sooner or later, at least you’ve got Ruth by your side right?
I’m guessing this is withdrawal symptoms.
Yup. I feel bad for her. Withdrawal is the work of the devil, even when it’s mild and she’s already worse than I was coming off my seizure meds.
It’s HORRKening!
[Ron Paul freaking out gif goes here]
down with the sickness
I get it. That is sickeningly cute.
Heh
First thought is withdrawal but maybe Billie has the flu? Colleges are a good place to spread germs around.
Why isn’t this storyline titled “Monday Morning Coming Down”?
“Well I woke up
SundayMonday morningWith no way to hold my head, that didn’t hurt”
Ruth: “I am not cleaning.”
Ruth … is smiling? With BOTH corners of her mouth? Why, I’ve suddenly become violently ill!
I thought that at first too, but then I figured it’s probably withdrawal from booze.
Damn. I hope she doesn’t get too fucked up from this. I know withdrawal can suck, especially booze, which can be outright deadly. So, I hope she keeps an eye on that.
Booze and benzos are the only ones that can literally kill you. Booze and/or Benzos, I guess.
There’s some anecdotal evidence opiate withdrawal can too, but the literature hasn’t found anything yet that I’ve seen. Still, it’s recommended you detox from those with a doctor.
At the very least, opiate withdrawal can motivate suicide.
It went from cute to oh shit in a single panel.
That’s usually the way their relationship works.
Sometimes it is the other way around.
Let’s face it, for the two of them this still counts as cute.
Love is holding someone’s hair while they pray at the porcelain altar.
I feel bad for Billie because alcohol withdrawals are no joke, but mostly I’m just happy to see proof that she is actually keeping her promise this time.
Exactly!
BILLIE’S PREGGERS!
…Naw, I’m certain that there’s lots of much more rational explanations than that.
…BILLIE’S PREGGERS!
LESBIAN PREGNANT! HOWARD WAS RIGHT! I AM AS SURPRISED AS ANYONE!
Genuine question from a reader who is somewhat older than Willis:
What is “lesbian pregnant”?
It is… whatever american sex ed has led Howard to believe it is.
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/04-just-hangin-out-with-my-family/appearances/
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/04-just-hangin-out-with-my-family/urrgl/
Ahhh, that’s it! Of course.
Somehow I thought I missed out on a meme.
But which one of them grew a weenus so that they could do it?
Billie is gay-pregnant with Ruth’s lesbian love baby, and nobody can give a good argument to the contrary.
nothing says lesbian love like a gayby
Hey, if this means she’s actually gone without booze for a significant amount of time, I’m counting this as a win. Not because I want Billie to suffer, but because it means she wasn’t lying earlier.
… She’s going through withdrawal?
She DID mean what she said! 🥰
Now is when your body fights you because it wove alcohol into your metabolic processes and you just took it away.
I am curious to see if Billie is willing to go through with this when really starts to suck. The temptation to take alcohol medicinally just to relieve the symptoms, get through midterms etc will be strong. She hasn’t shown a ton of grit. And the underlying issues such as “what is my value as a person if I’m not a high achieving cheerleader?” I imagine she was drinking to ignore aren’t any more resolved.
Do not neglect the “I killed someone with a car,” guilt. I b’lieve she has that .driving. her drink as well.
Billie didn’t kill anyone, she crashed her car while drunk-driving and has a DUI as a consequence.
Alice thinks that Billie almost killed her in that crash, iirc.
I guess the other question is, did Ruth see Billie dry heave / throw up in her mouth? If yes she would know that pain and can at least help her.
That, AND she would have some evidence that Billie is being true to her word.
First time seing someone puke has given me warm, fuzzy feelings.
Yeah that’s true, proof her body is withdrawing, and by extension that she cut it off from alcohol.
Not that it’s great, but campus clinic of some kind? Local AA, or other form of treatment? I mean, if you’re at the point of getting withdrawal symptoms, anything would help. Please Billie, just try it. I know you aren’t the only recovering alcoholic in a college town.
That therapy she was supposed to be going to?
Sonofa-
Delirium tremens?
That’s a nice, optimistic hope but something tells me that Billie is going to be busy in the ER due to food poisoning or something today! So, it’s going to be up to Ruth to do the heavy lifting and I suspect that the number of parties she’s planned to date is very small.
It’ll be fine. Sarah still isn’t old enough to drink yet, so all Ruth has to do really is rope Joyce in to help throw an impromptu, alcohol- (and Jesus-)free birthday party.
Joyce will be all over it like a dirty shirt. 😀
Despite everything, I’m back to fully rooting for these crazy kids to go the relationship distance.
…a real (girl)friend will
help you move a bodyclean up your puke and get you to the urgent care clinic.Well, if this is from withdrawal, that’s a good thing in principle, right?
Yep!
>> HORRK! <<
Greatest 'invented' sound effect since the world lost the legendary cartoonist Don Martin.
Google him if necessary.
UH-OH
NOW BILLIE’S LESBIAN PREGNANT
Suddenly Billie has other commitments
On the bright side, we now have confirmation that Billie has been sticking to her going cold turkey on booze. She may have a hard time seeing that bright side as she scrubs her vomit off the floors though
And that was a terrible idea. Severe alcoholism+Cold turkey detox=suckiness.
“To the garbage roof!”
Romance isn’t dead, but it most certainly seems to be under the weather.
Stop everything and listen to the butt chant: https://wellmanicuredman.tumblr.com/post/76381088917
So, I was out of reading material and rummaged in the garage for a bit. I found an old graphic novel I hadn’t read in a few decades and decided to give it another read. Being the geek that I am, I read the forward, where the author was giving the “How I got inspired to do this thing” spiel, plus some details on how he and some friends came up with the characters.
It’s called: Southern Knights the graphic novel, a superhero team story apparently gathered into graphic novel from from a prior comic book print run circa 1983. It is dedicated to (and lettered by) some guy named David Whilius? Wyles? Oh, it’s David Willis.
Anyone ever heard of that guy?
I remember Southern Knights – mostly from seeing ads in some other comic, though I think I’ve got an issue or two. Didn’t remember the name from it though.
Not the same Willis of course. I think he would have been a toddler then. 🙂
Oh, wow. And here I thought I’d found an artifact of his earlier works that I’d read so long ago that web comics weren’t even a thing.
yeah i was four
Well, it’s not like I stalk you or anything, so I have no idea how old you are. And although any name (except mine…) is very likely to have duplicates, the same name in the same field shrinks the pool quite a bit. Oh well, so much for my serendipitous discovery…
I’m also not the Dave Willis who voices Meatwad, while we’re on the subject.
Yeah, well, voice acting and webcomic writing/drawing are diverse things, so that’s not a connection I would have made even if I had known the name of the Meatwad voice actor…
Do comments just get disabled after some time? I’ve been reading the strip since two days ago and only just figured out how to access the comments in any way.
Yeah, Willis disabled the addition of new comments to older comics.
Comments are disabled after 30 days.
But the reality is that almost no one goes back and reads more than a couple of days back.
Thanks to both of you. I only found this webcomic like 3 or 4 days ago and so was reading from the beginning and so many people in the comments are wrong.
Also, why are they called “gravatars”? And apparently the comments are non-editable.