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Author Topic: There is balm in Gilead (17 Dec. 03)  (Read 7742 times)

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Ryan

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There is balm in Gilead (17 Dec. 03)
« on: December 17, 2003, 12:15:28 pm »
Sounds delicious.

Edited for date in title  -- jld
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FeeReep

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There is balm in Gilead (17 Dec. 03)
« Reply #1 on: December 17, 2003, 12:45:37 pm »
Thank Heaven!

They advertise a product down here called "Chasers", which are apparently miracle pills that prevent hangovers by absorbing nasty toxins should one ingest them whilst drinking. The commercial is hilarious, because its a seemingly whitebread, upper middle-class couple (I think the husband is wearing a dickie) talking over the kitchen table about how bombed they got the night before. I'm more of a ride-it-out kinda guy, so these crazy hangover cures like the one illustrated in today's strip are just funny to me. Any drinkers have a tried and true balm straight outta Gilead?
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MSC

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There is balm in Gilead (17 Dec. 03)
« Reply #2 on: December 17, 2003, 01:30:22 pm »
The image of Ray's paunch and thighs-from-behind is haunting.

Balm in Gilead...incredible line.  

Onstad's writing and art have really gone to a new level lately.
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jay-ell

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There is balm in Gilead (17 Dec. 03)
« Reply #3 on: December 17, 2003, 02:05:36 pm »
Not to nitpick, but....


...the traditional hymn lyrics are: There is a balm in Gilead.  

I just think Onstad's version doesn't scan as well.  

</nitpick>
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"I always hear 'punch me in the face' when you're speaking. But it's usually subtext." -- Martin Freeman as John Watson

Pedro Picasso

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There is balm in Gilead (17 Dec. 03)
« Reply #4 on: December 17, 2003, 02:24:49 pm »
Okay.  Here it comes*.  I haven't really liked Achewood for a while.  I think the Nice Pete/Philippe story kind of blew.  I wasn't impressed by the art, pacing, or story.  It also wasn't funny or even surprising.  Things have been pretty touch and go.  I'm okay with that.  There are far more EVIL things in this world than a really good strip becoming kind of a touch and go strip.  Hell was kind of interesting, and besides, the forum rocked.

Today's strip has in my mind redeemed the series and made it fresh and new to me again.  This series of panels has shown and reminded me of the depth of character that I always find surprising in a comic strip.  Ray the stylish gourmet alcoholic with a love life as empty as his scrotum.  Beef the consummate friend, happy to play the sidekick, only content when desperately alone, and only happy when living in a fantasy of Cheers.  These guys have been through everything together and know the intricate workings of eachother's minds.  The characters and their relationships--ridiculous as they are--have been really touching at times.

The actual makeup of the concoction, the fact that Beef picked it before it was needed, and of course the closing line, all brilliant.

* I feel doubly like an ass writing stuff like this.  One because I know how much love there is for the strip all the time here, and expressing that I haven't really liked it seems tantamount to a 'Screw you guys.'  Two because I really like this one, and I know the guy throws these strips off the top of his head every day and doesn't consider each one to be a masterpiece or anything.

Respite!  Respite and nepenthe!
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miles

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There is balm in Gilead (17 Dec. 03)
« Reply #5 on: December 17, 2003, 04:13:30 pm »
Yes.  However, in the KJV of the Old Testament, Jeremiah 8: 22 reads, "Is there no balm in Gilead?"  Beef was simply answering this rhetorical question posed by the writer.

Quote from: "jldunston"
Not to nitpick, but....


...the traditional hymn lyrics are: There is a balm in Gilead.  

I just think Onstad's version doesn't scan as well.  

</nitpick>
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Order is indeed the dream of man, but chaos, which is only another word for dumb, blind, witless chance, is still the law of nature. - Wallace Stegner

miles

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There is balm in Gilead (17 Dec. 03)
« Reply #6 on: December 17, 2003, 04:20:34 pm »
Oh, oh, I almost forgot.  Later in Jeremiah, the writer states "Go up into Gilead, and take balm..."  Which might be why Beef left out the indefinite article.  Just defending the man...
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Order is indeed the dream of man, but chaos, which is only another word for dumb, blind, witless chance, is still the law of nature. - Wallace Stegner

Pedro Picasso

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There is balm in Gilead (17 Dec. 03)
« Reply #7 on: December 17, 2003, 04:37:42 pm »
While we're tossing it around, there's "Is there, is there balm in Gilead?  Tell me truly I emplore." from The Raven.
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slink

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There is balm in Gilead (17 Dec. 03)
« Reply #8 on: December 17, 2003, 05:54:47 pm »
Quote from: "MSC"
The image of Ray's paunch and thighs-from-behind is haunting.


Absolutely. There's a fluidity to his thighs from that angle...
I feel kind of strange talking about that though.

Trurly, Onstad has taken the quality of artwork he started with the recent NP/Philippe stuff that Pedro despised so much (j/k) and brough colour to it, and made it even more amazing.
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FOOD CHAIN! GET USED TO IT!

St_Zartan

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There is balm in Gilead (17 Dec. 03)
« Reply #9 on: December 17, 2003, 07:01:57 pm »
Quote from: "FeeReep"
Any drinkers have a tried and true balm straight outta Gilead?


Only FeeReep has his priorities straight, here. FOR SHAME ACHEWOOD COMMUNITY

When I lived in Australia, I used to swear by a slightly vile-tasting tablet called Barocca; added to a glass of water, it made a revitalizing fizzy drink. I would love to know of a reliable and preferably tasty remedy, but I'm going to give the balm a miss until someone else tries it and / or establishes that Onstad is not just fuck*ng with us again.

Quote from: "Pedro Picasso"
I think the Nice Pete/Philippe story kind of blew.


See above. It was lovely to look at, and the funny moments (Beef's impossible Tetris moments are a perfect visual shorthand for anxiety attacks) hit their marks, but damn if he didn't deliberately save the most almost-terrible moments for Fridays.
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jough

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There is balm in Gilead (17 Dec. 03)
« Reply #10 on: December 17, 2003, 07:53:55 pm »
Haven't any of you people seen the film Coctail?

This is indeed the hangover cure from that movie.
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Gimpson

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There is balm in Gilead (17 Dec. 03)
« Reply #11 on: December 17, 2003, 08:03:42 pm »
Quote from: "FeeReep"
Any drinkers have a tried and true balm straight outta Gilead?


I'm more of the 1 oz. protection = 1 lb. cure school.  When I truly get my slant on, I make sure to drink as much water as possible early in the evening, usually matching 1 for 1 with beers, and I never fall asleep without drinking at least a liter of water.  As a result, I rarely experience a truly heroic hangover.  

I do still occasionally experience the low grade queasiness of a mild hangover, and I find that Tylenol, V8 and Bananas does the trick.
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Limmo

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There is balm in Gilead (17 Dec. 03)
« Reply #12 on: December 17, 2003, 08:25:57 pm »
I've been told by a lab worker that pure oxygen is an excellent hangover cure.  While in Vegas this past weekend, I took notice of a little oxygen bar at the Aladdin Shops; figured I might need it come Sunday morning.  

But I guess Red Bull and vodka cancel each other out, so the hangover was nothing coffee, Tylenol and a Santa Fe chicken sandwich couldn't handle.  Someone else will have to be the guinea pig for this one.

Or you could try five grams of psilocybin mushrooms on an empty stomach.
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slink

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There is balm in Gilead (17 Dec. 03)
« Reply #13 on: December 17, 2003, 08:56:47 pm »
Quote from: "Limmo"

Or you could try five grams of psilocybin mushrooms on an empty stomach.


What's Saturday nights got to do with hangover cure?
I hear that's called hair of the cow.

My method, though I never get a hangover, just sore legs and a slightly odd spaciness in the head, is flat Irn Bru (a scarily coloured Scottish soft drink, that has no official flavour). It is the UKs highest caffeine rated soft drink (on general market) and is phenomenally sweet. Part of the reason I don't drink it anymore. But cold, and flat, it is sweet and caffeinated enough to make a superb hangover cure.

My usual technique of avoiding sore legs and being spaced out is to stay up for 2 hours or so before sleeping, or to drink slightly slower. Given how stupidly high my metablism is, this way I am either sober before goign to sleep, or am sobering up before my next drink, and thus not getting drunker.
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jough

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There is balm in Gilead (17 Dec. 03)
« Reply #14 on: December 17, 2003, 08:58:46 pm »
I've never had a hangover, no matter how much hooch I pour down my gullet.  I've never gone bile water rafting ride down the porcelain rapids either.

I have, however, felt a bit ill after drinking a bottle and a half of cheap scotch.
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