Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for October 05, 2023

Why does Luann have to do it? Why can’t Bernice just observe random couples having coffees together at a Starbucks or something?

I would take a pass. Where is she supposed to meet these guys that’ll have coffee with her? She has enough on her plate with the Imaginative essay assignment.

.

And let’s get real… could any politician be worse than Bernice?? LOL ;)

Now how could this possibly go wrong ..

Suddenly Bernice is oh-so-mysterioso.

This is a no-win situation, Luann.

Yet another possible adventure enters the lists! Can this get any more famciful?

run, don’t wal Luann

No losers? Like politicians?

It’d prolly make a more better data set if Bern observed Luann with sevral guys then observed those same guys with several other girls. To me that’d be a lot more intresting

Let us see who those guys may be. Nil, Jack, Gunther, and maybe go out on a limb and invite Kip and Hair. I doubt Walt will join up because he is a loner. Frankly, I think it would be hard to get the guys in a group for coffee. On Tiffany’s poolside patio maybe so, but not for just coffee. Maybe Luann can bring coffee out to the guys showing their cars at a classic car show while Bernice observes from a distance. I can just see it now, Luann with some paper cups and an old fashinoned coffee pot. LOL!

Bernice what guys Les would not do it Gunther also will be a no! Piro would be a no and TJ would not do it.

Oh, wouldn’t you?

Go ahead LuAnn, it’s not like you have a lo going on.

It’s a trap!

These days, this could be dangerous…

Let’s see…serial rapist? Dog hater? Women hater? Let’s see, I’ll bet I could put together a group.

Unless this is a study about voyeurism as practiced by Bernice, it is entirely invalid. Luann knows too much to act as a test subject, and too little to be an observer participant. Her awareness of Bernice and her consequent self-consciousness can only skew her behavior away from natural interactions. Alternatively, it could be a study about how far Luann’s gullibility can be pushed, ostensibly and deceitfully to help her “best friend”. But the end result of that dehumanizing objectification can only be the destruction of that presumed friendship. It’s a pity that Luann is not likely to be insightful enough to recognize the freight train barreling toward her and to confront her “friend”.

dumb. dumb. dumb. dumb. dumb. dumb. dumb idea.

I would never trust someone who speaks my first name when assuring me that I can trust them.

Sheesh, this is a new low, even for Bernice.

She wants to turn her “friend” Luann, into a “lab rat.”

THIS, is one of the times I’d like for the characters to be REAL just for five minutes.

Long enough for a “real life” Luann to tell Bernice where to get off in regards to her “request.”

And invite her to seek lodging ELSEWHERE.

I hope Bernice gets arrested for stalking and/or harassment. That is, before one of the “guys” puts her lights out—for good!!

If Bern pays for the coffee, I’d not only sit with them but sing a song too!

Interesting that a politician is more someone to avoid than a thief, murderer, rapist or car-jacker. I would have to agree.

A true story that has bearing on Bernice’s experiment. Friends of ours would always take a winter vacation down south (the lucky devils) After their first child was born they had to meals in shifts. The husband would go down to eat while his wife looked after the baby. After he finished eating he’d look after the baby while she ate. When he ate he always ate alone, When came down to eat there were always man asking if they could join her. Did I mention that she was good looking? Of course she was. The conclusion is that single men will swarm around an unattached woman. Bernice is likely going to chart the men’s behavior around Luann.

Hey Bernice, you might want to rethink this experiment of yours. Human subject research is heavily regulated by your university’s ethics department. Engaging in it without proper approval could result in academic consequences.

This project already raises dozens of red flags. It’s weird to think that Bernice wants to use her BFF to gather who knows what kind of data on how a boy and a girl behave on their first meeting. It seems like a way to satisfy her voyeur desire! But at least Bernice seems sincere saying that this won’t involve dangerous or sleazy people and Luann seems to want to cooperate, so let’s hope there are no problems. Maybe from this story she could meet someone important for her future, so Piro would no longer be a romantic interest for Luann… oh no… Bernice is terrible!

I wonder how many of these guys will be politicians.

Bernice does not possess the demeanor for it, but either serving or bartending would give her insight on peoples’ psyches.

If it could further Bernice’s agenda, she definitely would do anything to anyone.

In the end it turns out there was no psychology project, Bern just wanted to set up Luann to have coffee with losers or creeps so she could sit back and laugh at her.

After reading this arc for many many years that of all girls (except Brads wife) I think Bernice might be the prettiest.

Why is it the lead character is also the most boring one? And Bernice too. Every other character has more depth than these two.

The human equivalent of researchers watching a chimp colony?

Oh, they’re totally politicians!

Bernice sounds like a politician in the last panel.

Wouldn’t it have been better if Bernice didn’t tell Luann it’s a project or is the project her behavior when she feels she’s being judged (like her interactions with Tara and Piro)? If that’s the case a better study would be to prove to Luann that she’s great when she’s not trying to impress people and she’s truly herself, but then again Bernice isn’t the type to build her up…

cue the dark ambient music with discordant overtones which, although broadly tonal, is inflected with chromatic and polytonal passages representing the archetypal example of a florid, melodramatic style without being interpreted as an overly heavy-handed metaphor within the context of the thematic material a bit on the frenetic and frantic side with interesting rhythmic devices which seem to counterpoint the surrealism of the underlying metaphor

(Face palm) What could possibly go wrong?

Bernice has already skewed the data by using a subject who will be following instructions and not acting naturally. And how is Luann supposed to have coffee with these “guys”? Just walk up to people who are sitting in a coffee shop and sit down? How many cups of coffee is Luann going to have to drink? I think Bernice will be putting her “friend” in various humiliating situations and THAT is what her psych project is really about. I will say she has the calm, hands folded gesture conquered, which is a must have for every psychologist.

Since they both know the only four or five boys living in their town, aren’t the guys going to wonder why Luann and Bernice are sitting at separate tables?

Aye, there’s the rub. Enter Luann’s new man. Have we already met him?

If the object is to meet some cute guys, and, just have coffee, and, a conversation with them, what’s wrong with a politician? Although there are times we use it as a dirty word, there’s nothing absolutely wrong with being a politician.

Just a point: rag all you want to about politicians, as many have injected here. Like it or not if you want a say in anything, you need to vote. IF you don’t because ‘it won’t matter, or they’re all corrupt, all the same. your vote doesn’t count’ etc, then when it is over, shut the hell up because you will have no right, IMO to complain about the results.

You have to buy a lottery ticket to win the lottery. If you don’t play you CAN’T win. So stop griping about the winners.

Politicians range from living saints to slithering scum. That doesn’t seem to have occurred to Luann. Or to Greg/Karen.

OH YES, she WOULD do that to Luann. Not trustworthy at all.

That absurdly smug face in panel 2 is too much. Luann you’d be running up to a football that’s going to get pulled back. I’m warning you!

Look Bernice, Luann may not be the sharpest person in the world, but even she can see that you’re just using her as a Guinea pig for your stupid project.

Translation: “There are lots of awful things I’d do to you, Luann, but that’s not among them.”

Bernice is totally doing that to Luanne.

Is she kidding…..wise up Luann!

I don’t know that politician in the group would be all that bad, for her. She’d do quite well on the campaign trail. Why, I was in one such group assembled by a psyche phd student. And my group has two upcoming Xn ministers and a Navigator. So, having a politician sounds rather interesting.

In a quote from a Warner Bros. Merry Melody cartoon: “Don’t you believe it!”

Coffee with a politician (any politician) really would be a cruel, cruel fate.

It’s a trick, just like Amy pulled on Penny

“Politician? Well, no. There are human experimentation rules. I have ethics!”

Lu ! Hands up and back away quickly!

Politician, huh? Looks like Karen is going for the low-hanging fruit today. But I’m not sure why Luann would even care, since she can’t be bothered to vote anyway.

This is a set-up to get Luann’s mind on someone else. So she could prey on that poor guy she wants to put under a microscope to study.

Wouldn’t trust her Luann

Uh-oh. Don’t do it, Luann.

“Even I have a bottom beneath which I WILL NOT go.”

Setting her up for dates without her knowledge. Good idea Bernice.

Bernice is suddenly giving me the creeps! She reminds me of someone who uses psychology to manipulate people. I KNOW quite a few. It took me decades and a pandemic to untangle myself from them. Still healing.

Interesting test but the location and times would seem to be an issue. I would think multiple tests/observations at different locations at different times of the day where the coffee is being consumed would be required…..

Is it accurate to say that Bernice is now the worst character in this strip? She should be in the “Antagonists” section in the Wikipedia article on the Luann strip.

How about Luanne having coffee with Scott Adams podcast?

And she should trust Bern not to burn her (pun intended) because——-?

Well Luann, there’s a project for you.

Bernice touching Luann’s arm is a way of providing false assurance to Luann. She’s more interested in her project and is trying to use her friendship to talk Luann into being her guinea pig. I know a little psychology too! ;-)

Like hell she wouldn’t.

Skip the guys entirely and record Luann’s psychological reaction to drinking Starbucks Coffee(in comparison with regular coffee)

Don’t do it Luann. She’s setting you up …………… Again.

The Bernice Derangement Syndrome, as another commenter correctly called it, is especially strong today. People have B actively plotting against L, like she’s Ann Eilfel. I can’t think of any situations where this has happened before. I don’t mean back-and-forth banter that doesn’t seem supportive enough to some. Is it something from the good old days?

If I recall, Bernice had to be dragged to a camping trip with Luann and Dez. And, after Luann & Oz broke up (he’ll be back…), Luann dragged Bernice to New York City.

Yet, Bernice is telling Luann to take charge of her life?

Sorry to say but LuAnn is my least favorite character in LuAnn.

Bernice’s problem is she sees everything as a psychological condition. She doesn’t see the people that she’s analyzing as people.

I think she should go for it! This actually sounds like a fun social experiment and who knows? She might meet someone fun who isn’t Piro. I assume Berniece will set her up with various guys who are also part of the study. Even if none of them are interesting she will still have had an adventure and perhaps some funny stories to tell.

Just exactly how much help does Bernice need? She has to have Luann in a coffee shop sitting alone, interacting with men that Bernice has somehow talked into (or paid), coming to the coffee shop and then approaching Luann? Sounds more like an exercise in speed dating.

I wonder what percentage of politicians are lawyers.

Even Bernice isn’t THAT cruel.

Why don’t I trust Bernice?

The natives are restless tonight. Who stirred them up by using the term, politician? Why, it was that rascal Greg who broke the taboo . Does that mean we have to pacify the gods by sacrificing a virgin non-binary drag queen to some dormant volcano?

I wouldn’t for a minute believe what Bernie is saying. And it looks as though maybe Luann is getting wise to Bernie’s scheming ways….