Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for April 25, 2023

Joe done let me down

He doesn’t have the oatmeal raisin I love in town

Now my woman won’t talk to me

She says I better get her some biscotti

Sing along with Basil: ♫"Well, there’s a rat in the neighborhood / and it just won’t go away, / I said, there’s a rat in the neighborhood / and it just won’t go away; / Well, I guess the traps ain’t workin’, / so I’m gonna have to spray." ♫

Cookie Monster agrees with you.

Sun go down and the trucks don’t come. Oh. The sun goes down and the trucks don’t come. Dunno what what I’m gonna do, feeling downright ooky ‘cause without the trucks don’t come no cookie. Yeah, I got them missing Trader Joe cookie blues again.

They don’t carry my favorite bottled tea anymore either. Still got the olive oil and rosemary almonds though, last I looked anyway.

If they were ever to stop selling the Wisconsin Mac and Cheese, I’d start singing the blues.

Goat and Rat seem to be drawn the same from panel to panel but still I attributed different emotions on them as I read from panel to panel.

Rat got them “No good cookie blues.”

Way back when the Yellow Pages was a thing, they ran a very funny series of ads for it here in NE. The ad theme was “if it’s out there, it’s in here.” They had one for Lonesome Dave’s School for the Blues. It featured Lonesome Dave himself singing some of his hits, all in major keys BTW. I think my favorite was ♫ I blew my SAT ♪ Scored 473. ♫ No more ♪ scholarship for me. ♫

First world problems.

I wrote a song called the ‘First World Problem Blues’. It wasn’t very popular because of the people who can afford to go to blues venues in their Audis and Beemers.

We all have problems Rat…

The I wanted Oreos but they only had Hydrox blues

Somehow that new look fits Rat!

I love their Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups.

“There’s something about that music. It depresses me.”

Echoes of George Carlin…

He’s on a mission from God.

Back when Martin Mull was a musical act, he would sometimes play some suburban blues:

“ I woke up this afternoon, HOOOOO

I saw both cars were gone

I woke up this afternoon, lord mommy

I saw both cars were gone

I felt so low down deep inside

I threw my drink across the lawn”

- Ukulele Blues

" Bet you didn’t know I knew how to rock-n-roll"

At least Rat didn’t resort to violence with a bay at Trader Joe’s.

“You’ve suffered for your art/With the jogging in the park”

I’ve got those steadily depressing low down mind messing Trader Joe’s got no toll house cookie blues!

Rat muddies the waters.

I cannot live without Oreos.

My neighbor made Key Lime Macadamia cookies and brought me 6. They were in the top 5 cookies I have ever eaten. They are gone now and when I asked her if she had more she said she won’t be making them again until next Easter. I’m mad at her now. I’m planning on being extra mad on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I think’s Rat song should be about when Farina left him.

never been to Trader Joes. I guess that’s a blues on it’s own.

meanwhile -

“I got a hole in my budget, I can’t get my ends to meet.

I got a hole in my budget, I can’t get my ends to meet.

If I don’t pay my landlord, I’ll be livin’ out in the street.

I went to my bossman, said can you pay me some overtime?

I went to my bossman, said can you pay me some overtime?

I need me some foldin’ money, can’t live on these nickels and dimes . . . "

(I never wrote the rest of it. it’s in the style of old acoustic blues. like Lightning Hopkins)

Everything I really liked at TJ’s was dropped. They used to have unusual items, not so much anymore.

I am always singing " I’m a Blue woman stuck in a Red State Blues "

And now Rat can’t toss his cookies.

Ah went down to the grocersTo get myself a treatBut they didn’t have my cookies so there’s nuthin’ here to eat.

The best thing about writing the blues is that you don’t have to think of an original tune.

Reminds me of Lisa Simpson’s 2nd grade blues. “This morning my own mother, gave my last cupcake away.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V86xXwaqPOU&ab_channel=LussieOnly

I wonder if Rat is referring to the chocolate hazelnut cookies that I couldn’t find the last two times I was at Trader Joe’s. Love those.

Mick Fleetwood’s blues club in Alexandria, VA (outside DC) was this kinda thing back in the 90s. A bunch of affluent white people spending a hundred a night to listen to drink cocktails and listen the blues. The irony wasn’t lost on me.

Say it ain’t so, Joe. :(

Rat’s song is called “The Trader Joe’s Blues”.

It’s “bimmer” for cars; “beemer” is for motorcycles.

Even white rats get the blues.

I call it the “12 Fig Bar Blues”

I went to Trader Joe’s twice — nearly froze both times and haven’t been back since.

Maybe this year I’ll get to try deep-fried Oreos at our county fair. Normally it’s my one chance to have a funnel cake (split with hubby). I heard they sell fried butter in TX. What are you guys doing?????

Rat and Pig need to pen a memoir together on disappointments in life and how to deal with them.

Anybody remember “The Energy Blues” from “Schoolhouse Rock”?

I’ve got the “Coconut milk in ice cream doesn’t cut it” blues

Oreo Cookie Blues: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsDcBg4X7fQ

Vanilla Joe Joe’s!

Listen Pastis, my doctor told me to cut back on the sugar to avoid the risk getting diabeties. Which means I have to give up ,y beloved red velvet/ white chocolate chunk cookies from Wal-mart. YOU DON’T HAVE TO RUB IT IN!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO THE COOOOKIES

i haven’t been to trader joes in awhile 8/10

I know the feeling Rat! The other day McDonald’s ran out of large soda cups, and I had to settle for a medium Diet Coke! I was devastated! :-)

Well, as for me, I’d say, “Blue, blue, my world is blueBlue is my world since I’m without you….”

I wrote a country western song once. Well, the first line, at least.

“If I told you the truth, I’d only be lyin’…”

Jimi Hendrix talked about this very thing, on the Dick Cavett Show, how you can still have the Blues and be considered wealthy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmVNh-fwl08

I read PBS every day – and with my paper’s layout, its the capstone of the morning.Today I played my favorite game “Identify differences between these panels”. It was a subtle challenge. Stephan cleverly drew only two distinct panels today. With his level of craft, who has time to draw three or four in a single day?

I got a feeling called the bluuooooes cause my cookie went away….nah. That’ll never work.

Cookie crumble blues.

Bravo, bravissimo, bully bully, a really great one, one to be proud of: FINALLY…

Rat, you think you’ve got it bad – the Watermelon Cucumber Cooler has been out for months, and I only have two bottles left!!!!! (True story)

Lonnie Mack had a song called Oreo Cookie Blues. He rhymes cookie with nookie. Definitely worth checking out.

Rat wants to look like what he thinks a Blues Musician looks like, too. For some authenticity, try seeing some videos of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee (I was fortunate enough to see them live, years ago in Washington, D.C.).

Cookies are good (if they are the right kinds)….

Literally the whole strip is copy pasted save for the words… hes just kinda phoning it in nowadays

Well I got the blues becaus Harry Belafonte died. Who was, luckily, not a Blues singer. I mean, the world is depressing enough as it is.