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Saturday, December 15, 2007

That damned...

What's Mallard raving about today?

I'm hoping to find out.

Since starting this blog over a year ago, the most satisfying aspect for me has been the insightful and funny comments. Today I'm hoping one of them will explain what the hell this is about.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I haven't a clue, but I have to say the first letter in Wiggerman only barely qualifies as a W.

Anonymous said...

Maybe he's making fun of how doctors oftentimes share offices?

I got nothin'.

BillyWitchDoctor said...

Truce noted: I haven't a clue, but I have to say the first letter in Wiggerman only barely qualifies as a W.

Well, there you go. One of Tinsley's good buddies dared him to put a certain word in one of his strips, and Bruce is never one to stagger away from a drunken bet.

The other names are all ones that Neo-Con pundit, chickenhawk, "classicist," and failed party clown Victor Davis Hanson trimmed from his original penname at his publisher's request, along with "Pigknot," "Reginald," and "Tarquin F'tang F'tang Ole Biscuitbarrel," which were probably left out because of space limitations.

Anonymous said...

Jay Garrett?

Oh wait, that's the Goldern AGE Flash.

Anonymous said...

I initially read it as "The Golden Flush". I found that far more amusing than what was written -- still didn't make any sense, though.

Where is that asterisk and reference to help us out on this one?

Anonymous said...

Either he's complaining about how multiple Doctors use the same switchboard, or Tinsley's finally succumbed to alcohol psychosis and is just writing down whatever random bollocks is in his head at the time. If the latter is the case, Mallard Fillmore might become funny for the first time.

Anonymous said...

I asked the folken on LJ if any've them had an idea. As I go to press, only one answer-like thing.

@NW: Actually, that was Jay Garrick. (-8

Anonymous said...

he hates jews?

Anonymous said...

a Golden Flash is

a) Kent State University's mascot
b) a motorcycle
c) a casino
d) a special Six Flags pass
e) a horse
f) a martini
g) a design company
h) a dog

and that takes me into the fifth page of google.

I'm going to vote f) a martini!

Yeah, I don't get it.

BillyWitchDoctor said...

I assumed "The Golden Flash" was a Freudian slip, combining two of Tinny's favorite sexual acts.

Scott H. said...

Brucie has finally entered "Cow Tools"* territory - published a strip dug from so far inside the deep recesses of his curmudgeonly skull that Dennis Miller couldn't understand what he's trying to say.

*("Cow Tools" was an infamous Far Side panel trying to make a joke out of "what if cows used tools?" Apparently the joke (such as it was) slipped past everyone and Gary Larson received stacks of mail begging him to explain it. See The Prehistory of the Far Side.)

Michael Foley said...

He finally remembered how to draw Mallard again... but at the cost of his own sanity.

I can imagine Tinsley saying that same phrase all day - not just every time he answers the phone, but also to the ham he takes out of the fridge.

Kaitlyn said...

But "Cow Tools" is hilarious!

You're going to hell, dave robidenza! And the only thing to read will be Mallard Fillmore - all of them, forever and ever!

::ahem::

No, I don't understand this.

I think he's trying to make a joke about how many doctors share an office/main phone number, but the "Golden Flash"?

Wait - the Flash's main power is speed, right? I've gone to many doctors, and I usually have a bit of a wait ahead of me - both in the waiting room and the exam room. And then the doctor spends less than 15 - 20 minutes with me.

Doctors see many patients in one day and can only spend a few minutes with each.

Is that what he means?

I have never heard anything like that when I call a doctor's office. Sometimes I talk to a receptionist who greets me with "Clinic's name, can I help you?" When it's a recording, the greeting is not a list of names, but the name of the clinic! Only after you press a button - "leave a message for a nurse" - do you hear the names - "to leave a message for Dr. Wiggerman, press 1; to leave a message for Dr. Heintz, press 2" and so on.

But hey - Mallard is saying the health care system isn't perfect! What a little socialist he's becoming.

I remember someone asking during a run of anti-education rants why attacking American schools is good while attacking American health care is bad. American health care is controlled by the free market - you can pick and choose any doctor you want! if there's a bad one, you can see another! (If your insurance covers another one in the area that isn't booked solid for 6 months!)

With all that in mind, this still makes less sense than ever. Yes, all of his are crazy, but you can kind of see what he meant.

Anonymous said...

I think I understand what "The Golden Flash" is supposed to mean. It's a hip-hop reference. To wit:

1.) A number of MC's use "Doctor" in their title, including at least one (Dr. Dre) that Tinsley would know.

2.) Tinsley recalls, dimly, that there is a DJ called "Flash" (Even Tinsley would have heard of Grandmaster Flash, what with his being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame).

3.) Tinsley mistakenly adds the word "Golden," I'm guessing because he couldn't remember the actual name and was too lazy to Google it. Either that or he had a bottle of Cuervo with him and liked the color.

So, the central joke is what everyone here is guessing, and the mysterious "Golden Flash" is a hip-hop doctor who doesn't actually exist.

Anonymous said...

All the "real" surnames are "white-sounding" ("Wiggerman" being necessarily so, if interpreted as "Wigger Man"), except for Dr. Golden Flash. Tinsley's ragging on a perceived penchant of African-American celebrities to adopt flash nicknames for their professional identity, and postulating that African-Americans in more "respectable" fields than hip-hop and pro sports will soon be following their lead.

Tony said...

I thought "The Golden Flash" might be a really fast urologist....