No, the Dr Who “fezzes are cool” thing was awful and upset a lot of people. It was cultural appropriation in a way that mocks the culture it came from, and a type of Western fetishisation of Eastern cultures known as Orientalism, a form of racism. Read this article on it, it’s pretty short.
When I was a child I had a make believe box, with a collection of old secondhand hats. There was a top hat, a fez, a pilot’s hat, a cowboy hat, a sea captain’s hat, etc. That is what I was pulling these hats from in my mind. Lupin came very close to having the Sea Captain’s hat, but the brim was difficult to work through his ears. I am happy the Doctor Who fans are excited, but it really is just a child’s tea party with different hats. Usually I like to leave the interpretations of the comic up to the readers, but when people single out something as a choice–good or bad–that was not the choice I made, I try to clarify.
I did not mean to make this a Doctor Who thing. If the Doctor got in there for anyone to see–well, I mean, that’s kind of his thing.
It seems to have been one of those bad luck things, and I’m not blaming you for a second. I bet I had some things in my dressing-up box that were considered perfectly usual at the time but would be problematic now. I’m sorry about the clumsy phrasing, that was hurtful and not fair.
Although folks saying “fezzes are cool”, it’d be great if you could read that article I linked to. All TV shows mess up from time to time, even the best ones, and that is a place where Dr Who messed up.
Instead of a tempest in a tea pot, we appear to have a tempest in a tea party! Georgia, I LOVE Lupin’s fez. The fez is the perfect fashion accessory for a sartorial cat. Just google cat+fez and enjoy.
Cultures are just collections of ideas that got passed around and stuck together. No need to get bend out of shape just because someone decided to borrow something they thought was neat. After all, if people didn’t do that, the good ideas would never spread- there wouldn’t be any risen bread outside of Egypt, for instance (yes, they had it first, or at least that’s the first archaeological evidence we have of anyone using yeast-rising deliberately)
Actually, fezzes weren’t even an eastern creation. I researched them when I bought one. The reason that people in the east wore them was because they wanted to copy the fashions in Europe at the time.
For some reason I had thought they were Austrian or Turkish. It seems like there’s truth in a few places claiming them–This has me
reading the history of the fez–it’s more interesting than I believed history on a hat style could be! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fez
Oh my god, at first I thought you were being sarcastic. You know since it’s a cartoon about talking cats delivering the news and that doesn’t happen in real life.
I know wikipedia isn’t always the most authoritative source, but according to the entry on the fez, it was viewed by many as a colonial relic, and didn’t even exist till the 1800’s. So, and I do apologize if this sounds dismissive or offensive, I honestly don’t see what the kerfluffle is about. Georgia wasn’t trying to offend anyone, or sneer at anyone’s culture. Her imaginary version of her cat is wearing a fez and drinking tea whilst doing a news report. It’s all make believe and not meant to be taken seriously.
You give us such pleasure with BKN. The humor is wry, but gentle, and the characters captivating. I was in a sorry mood this afternoon, but the strip has turned me around. Flirtatious Lupin with his fez and dreamy eyes have booted me back into action. Many thanks.
I’ve been assured that cats believe when the people have been gone too long, it’s because they’ve been eaten by predators. Ours were most relieved (and shocked) when we came back from a week’s vacation to go meet the Space Shuttle Atlantis at Kennedy Space Center.
I was greeted with disbelief and, if I might say so myself, a tad bit of awe after my last vacation. Since not only did I manage to ‘escape from the predators’…I also managed to find my way home. After being minutely examined (probably for wounds from said predators), I was allowed back into the fold. I’m so grateful I still have a home. 😉
The last time I dared leave home for more than a day, I had to cover my bed with plastic tarps. The time before that, I came home to several ‘unpleasant’ expressions of disapproval at my absence. But they are always glad to see me.
ROFL!!!!! Oh this was so much fun to read!! Lupin is so happy with whatever is goingnon! Last two panels priceless, how do you keep getting in, and Puck and the Happy Apple!!! Funny!!
Aw, Puck looks so anxious – I hope Date Night went well but that you didn’t stay away forever, poor boy! I adore Elvis’s protectiveness, and now I’m looking to see if Lupin is going to have another Outside Adventure soon – surely Elvis’s remark about how it must be nice to just leave the house whenever he feels like it is a hint of Adventures to Come???….And yay, teeshirts arrived today, they’re awesome! Now the prints and soon I hope the book – I’ll need at least a dozen copies when it’s available….
I come home from a long day and I find Elvis exasperated (ok, that’s normal), Puck is perplexed and Lupin, in a FEZ, is loopy in love with the intruder! ROFLMAO!!! Love Lupin’s ears at the table, and he just looks so great in that Fez, I want a print of “We meet again”. Can’t wait to see what hat he will wear next. Love the Toddler’s props, he’s a Knight flying Ace, so very cute. Thank you!!
I made “Mr. Pizza’s Best Friend Buffet” to be everything I would want in a children’s play food toy set, haha! As a child I had these little action figures that were food dressed as soldiers (engaged in a “food fight,” get it??) and I wish I could find them again. They were cute as heck.
Aww!! Elvis protecting the new baby from the dreaded phone! Reminds me a lot of my first cat Chelsea who would protect me from everything as well. This comic really makes my day!
Thank you! Thursday is always Date Night at our house (even though we are childless and, at the moment, have no cats to come home to), and I read this one out loud to my husband and laughed at practically every panel! Glad to see the last panel explained, I didn’t quite get it at first. Love Elvis’ continued fierce protection of the baby!
This is soooo cute! I don’t know why people have to read so much into things. It’s a tea party and people are wearing all sorts of different hats. I love that Lupin is in love with the Intruder and that the penguin has a hat too! And Elvis is such a good guard kitty.
Love your sister’s little finger sticking out when she drinks her tea!!!! Very royal! And Lupin is smitten – no worries for your sister there. Even the stuffed owl appears to be engaged in the tea party. Of course, Elvis will always be Elvis and sweet little Puck trying to stay out of the way but still a little freaked out by an apple with a face. They are all entertaining!!!!! I really hope you are able to do a daily strip eventually. Thanks for bringing all of us sincere smiles and laughs out loud!
I love the last wordless panel so much.
Lupin is in a fez! Fezzes are cool!
OMG FEZZES ARE COOL
It’s not hard to find a fez,
when you need one, simply take it out of the Fez dispenser
No, the Dr Who “fezzes are cool” thing was awful and upset a lot of people. It was cultural appropriation in a way that mocks the culture it came from, and a type of Western fetishisation of Eastern cultures known as Orientalism, a form of racism. Read this article on it, it’s pretty short.
http://zahrawithaz.livejournal.com/22354.html
Georgia, I adore your work, but on this occasion I think you made a bad choice.
When I was a child I had a make believe box, with a collection of old secondhand hats. There was a top hat, a fez, a pilot’s hat, a cowboy hat, a sea captain’s hat, etc. That is what I was pulling these hats from in my mind. Lupin came very close to having the Sea Captain’s hat, but the brim was difficult to work through his ears. I am happy the Doctor Who fans are excited, but it really is just a child’s tea party with different hats. Usually I like to leave the interpretations of the comic up to the readers, but when people single out something as a choice–good or bad–that was not the choice I made, I try to clarify.
I did not mean to make this a Doctor Who thing. If the Doctor got in there for anyone to see–well, I mean, that’s kind of his thing.
It seems to have been one of those bad luck things, and I’m not blaming you for a second. I bet I had some things in my dressing-up box that were considered perfectly usual at the time but would be problematic now. I’m sorry about the clumsy phrasing, that was hurtful and not fair.
Although folks saying “fezzes are cool”, it’d be great if you could read that article I linked to. All TV shows mess up from time to time, even the best ones, and that is a place where Dr Who messed up.
Instead of a tempest in a tea pot, we appear to have a tempest in a tea party! Georgia, I LOVE Lupin’s fez. The fez is the perfect fashion accessory for a sartorial cat. Just google cat+fez and enjoy.
Cultures are just collections of ideas that got passed around and stuck together. No need to get bend out of shape just because someone decided to borrow something they thought was neat. After all, if people didn’t do that, the good ideas would never spread- there wouldn’t be any risen bread outside of Egypt, for instance (yes, they had it first, or at least that’s the first archaeological evidence we have of anyone using yeast-rising deliberately)
I loved the fez..Fezzes are cool..Brilliant work Georgia.. 😊
Also, they used them in a musical dance number in Bye Bye Birdie and they were cool then too 😊
Actually, fezzes weren’t even an eastern creation. I researched them when I bought one. The reason that people in the east wore them was because they wanted to copy the fashions in Europe at the time.
For some reason I had thought they were Austrian or Turkish. It seems like there’s truth in a few places claiming them–This has me
reading the history of the fez–it’s more interesting than I believed history on a hat style could be! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fez
Oh my god, at first I thought you were being sarcastic. You know since it’s a cartoon about talking cats delivering the news and that doesn’t happen in real life.
There is a difference between cultural appropriation and cultural apreciation.
This is neither. This is a tea party at Mr. Pizza’s best friend buffet.
Cats and kids will wear what they want to wear, and will do so without malice or understanding.
I know wikipedia isn’t always the most authoritative source, but according to the entry on the fez, it was viewed by many as a colonial relic, and didn’t even exist till the 1800’s. So, and I do apologize if this sounds dismissive or offensive, I honestly don’t see what the kerfluffle is about. Georgia wasn’t trying to offend anyone, or sneer at anyone’s culture. Her imaginary version of her cat is wearing a fez and drinking tea whilst doing a news report. It’s all make believe and not meant to be taken seriously.
zomg fez Lupin is bezt Lupin
Lupin is smitten! So sweet. (I hope you enjoyed date night thoroughly because it looks like you’ll never hear the end of it from Elvis.)
haha, love the scroll at the bottom. “The ‘T’ is not silent.”
…I can’t tell if Lupin is in love, or drunk on fake catnip tea, but either way, his fez is cool. (Fezzes are cool.)
Panel #10 ~ Fezzes are cool!
You give us such pleasure with BKN. The humor is wry, but gentle, and the characters captivating. I was in a sorry mood this afternoon, but the strip has turned me around. Flirtatious Lupin with his fez and dreamy eyes have booted me back into action. Many thanks.
I never knew Lupin was so suave! Does he have a crush on the Intruder?
I’ve been assured that cats believe when the people have been gone too long, it’s because they’ve been eaten by predators. Ours were most relieved (and shocked) when we came back from a week’s vacation to go meet the Space Shuttle Atlantis at Kennedy Space Center.
I was greeted with disbelief and, if I might say so myself, a tad bit of awe after my last vacation. Since not only did I manage to ‘escape from the predators’…I also managed to find my way home. After being minutely examined (probably for wounds from said predators), I was allowed back into the fold. I’m so grateful I still have a home. 😉
The last time I dared leave home for more than a day, I had to cover my bed with plastic tarps. The time before that, I came home to several ‘unpleasant’ expressions of disapproval at my absence. But they are always glad to see me.
Is Puck’s raised paw an admission of allowing “The Intruder” to enter? And I love Elvis’s devotion to Gwen. And Lupin looks adorable in love.
I thought he was scratching his head in confusion
I think he’s averting his eyes from the creepy anthropomorphized apple? Because it’s weird and oddly captivating.
Yes!! That is what I intended for that panel! 😀
That’s cool. I’m glad you explained it because I was concerned he was worried.
Aghast Elvis is aghast. And hilarious.
As the Doctor Who fans come out in droves.
Dr Who fans are cool. Like fezzes
Oh, I wasn’t complaining! Just making observations.
Pick is worried that you’ll never return?
“Some of us have Responsibilities!”
That panel is becoming my new avatar on FaceBook!
Yay!!!! 🙂
my favorite bit too
I LOVE Elvis protecting Gwen from the ringing phone. SO fiercely protective! And yes, the fez is fantastic. =)
I love Elvis with the baby: “Those of us defending our baby from the Intruder are NOT having a good time! “
Doctor ?
but fezzes are cool
This is JUST hilarious. It is right up there with “The Baby’s Alarm is going off”! Great Job!
I think lupin has a crush on the “so called “intruder.I’m sure of it!Obviously!
The toddler has flight goggles! Lupin has a fez! (But no bow tie?) 🙂 Everything has googly eyes! Errmahgawd!!
ROFL!!!!! Oh this was so much fun to read!! Lupin is so happy with whatever is goingnon! Last two panels priceless, how do you keep getting in, and Puck and the Happy Apple!!! Funny!!
Aw, Puck looks so anxious – I hope Date Night went well but that you didn’t stay away forever, poor boy! I adore Elvis’s protectiveness, and now I’m looking to see if Lupin is going to have another Outside Adventure soon – surely Elvis’s remark about how it must be nice to just leave the house whenever he feels like it is a hint of Adventures to Come???….And yay, teeshirts arrived today, they’re awesome! Now the prints and soon I hope the book – I’ll need at least a dozen copies when it’s available….
I come home from a long day and I find Elvis exasperated (ok, that’s normal), Puck is perplexed and Lupin, in a FEZ, is loopy in love with the intruder! ROFLMAO!!! Love Lupin’s ears at the table, and he just looks so great in that Fez, I want a print of “We meet again”. Can’t wait to see what hat he will wear next. Love the Toddler’s props, he’s a Knight flying Ace, so very cute. Thank you!!
Poor Puck, I think he’s afraid of the eyes staring at him.
“We meet again” is possibly my FAVORITE panel in the history of this comic! This whole strip is my new favorite. Thank you!!!
Who is the character in the top hat? Another cat?
That is the Toddler’s stuffed penguin. 🙂
Looks like Lupin needs a “Day Night” with the babysitter. 😀
Is Lupin holding up his pinkie while sipping pretend tea? He’s such a charmer! ❤️
“How do you keep getting in?”
Elvis: Always going after the questions that need answers. XD
Also, Lupin in a fez is beyond adorable.
I want “Mr. Pizza’s Best Friend Buffet”!
I made “Mr. Pizza’s Best Friend Buffet” to be everything I would want in a children’s play food toy set, haha! As a child I had these little action figures that were food dressed as soldiers (engaged in a “food fight,” get it??) and I wish I could find them again. They were cute as heck.
I actually googled “Mr. Pizza’s Best Friend Buffet”, just to see if it was an actual thing.
Aww!! Elvis protecting the new baby from the dreaded phone! Reminds me a lot of my first cat Chelsea who would protect me from everything as well. This comic really makes my day!
might never stop giggling at Lupin’s adorable fez.
Thank you! Thursday is always Date Night at our house (even though we are childless and, at the moment, have no cats to come home to), and I read this one out loud to my husband and laughed at practically every panel! Glad to see the last panel explained, I didn’t quite get it at first. Love Elvis’ continued fierce protection of the baby!
Love the intruder’s hat – tres chic 🙂
Is the intruder in fact Alice, at the mad hatters tea party? Lots of tea cups, lots of hats!
ok, but imagine Elvis’ reaction if The Woman’s Sister and Tommy both got into the house at the same time. XD
I have a feeling that when I have kids, I will be getting the stink eye from my cats on “Day Nights”.
“HOW DO YOU KEEP GETTING IN?!”
I really do love Elvis.
This is soooo cute! I don’t know why people have to read so much into things. It’s a tea party and people are wearing all sorts of different hats. I love that Lupin is in love with the Intruder and that the penguin has a hat too! And Elvis is such a good guard kitty.
Much as I’m not a fan of Facebook, I often find myself wanting to ‘like’ comments here. Lupin schmoozing the Woman’s Sister is adorable.
That being said, I WANT THAT HAT!!!!!!!!!! Preferably with some gauzy veils.
Love your sister’s little finger sticking out when she drinks her tea!!!! Very royal! And Lupin is smitten – no worries for your sister there. Even the stuffed owl appears to be engaged in the tea party. Of course, Elvis will always be Elvis and sweet little Puck trying to stay out of the way but still a little freaked out by an apple with a face. They are all entertaining!!!!! I really hope you are able to do a daily strip eventually. Thanks for bringing all of us sincere smiles and laughs out loud!
Love panel 13. It’s lovely!
Plastic… Plastic Food? Please tell me the plastic pizza at least has anchovies.