6 Responses to “Ken Ard”

1. Jim Sloan on April 1st, 2011 8:58 am

   That’s a good one, Robert! However, if there are readers who haven’t been “enlightened” by Li’l Abner, they won’t know who the character is.

2. Robert Ariail on April 1st, 2011 3:03 pm

   You’re right, Jim- sometimes I take a chance with an obscure reference (actually, this isn’t that obscure, except to the under 35 group) in the hopes that most people will figure it out. For our readers who do not get the reference, Joe Btfsplk is a character from Al Capp’s great comic strip, Li’l Abner. The strip ran from the 1940s through the 1960s. Joe is a jinx and everything bad befalls him- sort of like Job from the bible. If it weren’t for bad luck, Joe wouldn’t have any luck at all.

3. J. G. Braddock Sr. on April 1st, 2011 7:20 pm

   You’ve missed some great opportunities to use Senator Jack S. Phogbound.

4. Jim Sloan on April 4th, 2011 4:41 pm

   The other thing about “Btfsplk” is its pronounced like a “Bronx Cheer” sounds.
   I know/remember this from an interview with Al Capp some number of years ago. The interviewer asked him about his characters and when Joe’s last name came up, Al Capp pronounced it just that way.
   So, “Btfsplk!”

5. Robert Ariail on April 4th, 2011 5:40 pm

   Thanks, Jim- I didn’t know that. It makes sense, now.

6. Jim Sloan on April 5th, 2011 8:44 am

   Its one of the memory “dust bunnies’ that will only help if the question comes up on a “Trivial Pursuits” card or is stirred up by a political cartoonist! LOL!!
   Enjoy your day!

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