Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for May 08, 2024

Awww.. there goes the Italian adventure. Too bad. It would’ve been fun.

Well, let’s hope the Italian cooking class is at Moony, and we can get the whole gang together!

If they wanted to make this more realistic.. they’d have thrown in a few protesters on their campus. ;)

They have Italian cooking in Italy near where the Circus Arts School is. Just saying.

Tara is such a drag, Luann wants some Italian food cooking class.

Regardless of where this quest for chalk goes, I’m happy we pivoted away from the BATUBS arc. I would have liked to see Lu in Italy though. I guess pasta fazool is gonna have to do.

♬ When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore,

When the world seems to shine and you had to much wine, you pass out and snore – ay ♪

A cooking class could be good. She probably doesn’t cook at home, so she could try it out and see if she likes it. And if she does, the Fuse might hire her for the kitchen. She can learn culinary skills at a community college; where I live, there’s one that has its own student-run restaurant — they get paid and get some professional experience.

And now Luann is living up to Tara’s standards for getting a life. What. A. Tool.

Why do I get the feeling today’s strip is going to open a floodgate for rants against Olive Garden? P.S. I don’t care what the consensus says; I love Olive Garden.

Will Luann actually adventure out in any way? Will she fill her blank slate with anything? Luann, go ziplining, and maybe then you will feel motivated to study something exciting.

I have to agree with Luann on the Circus Arts fantasy. I can’t visualize a believable arc where Luann attempts to follow up on that. Also what would Luann’s extensive cast do with themselves in the meantime?

As a budding writer, one might expect Luann to show more interest in language — at least in the languages that relate to English or are sources for some of its peculiarities. So it’s a bit odd that she should quail at the thought of learning one or more of them, possibly as a prelude to visiting countries where they are spoken — in this case, Italy being the first suggested opportunity. It’s also no big deal to obtain a passport. It’s worthwhile to have, and getting it is good experience in learning to deal with governmental bureaucracy.

Even so, she needn’t travel anywhere. But if she pursues a class in Italian cooking, will she learn Northern or Southern styles, or both? Might a serious course include recognition of even more localized characteristics, such as Sicilian, Neapolitan, Bolognaise, Venetian, et al?

Seriously Luann? Italian cooking? That is recreational course. A lot of people go to CC to learn recreational skills. Like your course with Mrs Horner. Like I said you keep finding ways to squander your time and money. Come on focus. You already know you’re good with little kids. What’s stopping you from taking early childhood courses? Toward either daycare worker, preschool or elementary teacher or aide. Find a legitimate career path. You can take other recreational classes such as theater, art, and many others for your free time activities.

She does already have the tee shirt. Why ruin the message?

Sadly, Tiffany, the person who is more than capable of taking an overseas trip, apparently has NO plans to do so.

Too Bad.

A European Summer adventure with Tiff, Bets, Lu and maybe one or more of the guys, would have been a HOOT.

Hey Tara.

If you’re so HOT on Lu taking an overseas jaunt, why don’t YOU loan her the money??

On second thought…….., ;-)

An example of “Nothing is impossible to the person who orders the task.”

Tara’s right. There’s a huge difference between tourism and travel. Travel will fill that slate up. The experience of going to another country can be totally life-changing. Even if she didn’t work in the circus; the attempt would give her a ton of perspective and make the world smaller in a really great way.

She should join Monty Python’s Flying Circus instead!

If Tara thinks going to Italy to learn circus is such a great idea, why doesn’t she do it herself instead of criticizing Luann? Luann isn’t the one who thinks Italy is such a good idea.

Personally, I’ve never wanted to step one foot in Italy. Nothing against Italy as much as I have no interest in Europe.

My ancestors are from Europe, and from what I’ve heard, I can see why they left.

Colors have been pretty vibrant lately. Did the Sheriff get a new supply of ink? New tech probably doesn’t even use old fashioned ink. I would also guess that Greg does not even hold a pencil to draw with anymore. Pretty soon, A.I. might take over everything.

Should Luann become efficient and proficient in Italian cooking here, then she could go study in Italy.

Luann is right. She’ll need a passport and those take some time to get.

Sure, Luann, listen to Tara, whose actions made you have to leave a job you loved and apparently never regretted it.

Luann really should just tell her to shove off with her passive-aggressive “advice”.

Is this a school sponsored study because I can’t imagine a community college offering a study overseas.

join the circus, like you wanted to, when you were a kid…

Welcome to today’s edition of “Unsolicited Advice from People Who Don’t Have Their Own Lives in Order”.

Ah, they could have done a remake of Trapeze.

He steers these arcs like that captain who ran the barge into the Baltimore bridge.

Do it, Luann. Now’s the perfect time to learn Italian, and trapeze acts.

They should be getting ready to take finals and this should be her final semester at CC. So I assume she is looking for a summer school blow off class. The circus school in Italy is likely a one month at most course.

Youngest daughter has taken several Italian cooking classes in Italy.

Imagine Luann in Italy.

And expand her waist. (Among other places.)

Italian cooking is a good start, and could actually lead to a career. Circus arts could too, but you’d be better off starting about ten or fifteen years earlier. I’m not joking, either. Circus arts is serious business.

Mmm, filling your face with delicious Italian cooking is a worthy goal!

Fill your face and your soul! A college student who can cook, amazing.

Tara is totally wrong, Italian cuisine is much more than eat a lot of food. It’s a fundamental part of culture, Art, the subject of endless discussions, passionate demonstrations of love and furious arguments, even between siblings, over food eaten without offering or for keeping the secret of a family recipe. If the course is done well, Luann will not only learn important things, but have a lot of fun and meet new friends. It could also be an excuse to studying Italian, perhaps starting with using apps like Duolingo.

I think Tara’s role here is, in a bit of a mocking way, to make Luann realize the lunacy of her thinking, not that the blank slate with potential concept is wrong ; it’s valuable. But Luann is going overboard in embracing it. She doesn’t have to take every course or participate in every available activity in order to find her true path. Hopefully Tara can make her realize that.

Tara, there are two ways to fill Luann’s blank slate: one that helps her accomplish something in life, and one that wastes time and money.

If I were her parents I wouldn’t be mad, just terribly disappointed.

will luann make a spicy meatball ?

Luann sure can’t tell a good friend from a jerk.

Maybe Monty Python has an opening…

sacrebleu

Wow, so Luann’s charade didn’t even last a day before she made it clear that she didn’t actually intend to fill in that blank slate. I wonder how long her delusion would’ve lasted if Tara hadn’t called her out on it?

Let’s all vote, YES, so Luann DOES go to Italy for the summer so we can see her adventure.

And so the grand tour continues, which frustrating character comes next eh! Maybe Bernice, maybe someone even less predictable. What could it be, hmmm, what else could almost happen before it changes direction again. I like this storyline and I like what Luann is showing here. Maybe she knows her friends better than they think she does huh? Just sayin! ;-)

So do community colleges offer a calendar of classes that any student can just attend? Does each class have a fee and does Luann have the money for all this experimenting? Maybe she should start creating a budget for the extra classes.

Let’s have a segue to a different arc as fast as possible. This “blank slate” theme is too stupid for words.

But a usable and money-saving skill.

Head for New Orleans….if it’s food,they have it

Quit pushing yourself so hard Luann.

Tara is always trying to bait Luann into doing something that probably is not exactly the best thing for Luann to do.

And college circus will help you in the real circus of life in what way? So many college offer classes and programs that offer no life skills. It’s only money and time you will never get back. Oh right, student loans that no one wants to or apparently has to pay back now. But everyone else has to…….

I really do not like Tara

At least Luann is being realistic this semester.

No, Tara, that’s a useful skill that will fill stomachs, and could be a fallback for Luann if her choice of career doesn’t pan out. Not everything has to be a daring and dangerous adventure.

Tara is Luann’s gateway to adventure. Luann didn’t go skydiving last time, but she did make it to the airport. An Italian adventure would be fun to follow!

A touch of makeup and the hint of a feminine shape, but Tara still looks too “butch” to take seriously.

Tara needs to cut her hair. I really liked her edgy pixie cut better. I hope Luann WILL do something out of her comfort zone but something that will also move her forward toward finding a real direction for her life. I don’t care if she studies early childhood education for the next 20 years. She can have a real major and still take lots of fun classes on the side. Fill up that slate, Luann! But fill it up with something good and nutritious and not just a lot of the “junk food” of life——aimless classes that never really get you anywhere.

I’m beginning to think Tara is Luann’s TJ.