#mrlovenstein

#mrlovenstein

Who Is Your Favorite Child?For last Fathers’ Day, one of my daughters bought me a t-shirt that says, “My Favorite Daughter Gave Me This Shirt.” I like to wear it on outings with the other daughter. When people ask if she gave me the shirt, I sternly answer, “No, the other one did.”I don’t have a favorite child. I love them both equally. But, unlike the father in this comic by Mr. Lovenstein, my daughters are tied for the #1 slot. But they’re not competing against the Children of the Corn. Also, my kids, unlike my dog, doesn’t poop on the carpet.#webcomic #MrLovenstein #parenting #JLWestover

Where Do Babies Come From?How should we respond when our children ask us where babies come from? It’s an awkward question and it’s often popped upon us parents when we aren’t prepared (children are not known for their convenient timing). We can choose to respond by providing an answer that is truthful, age-appropriate, and encourages a healthy view of reproduction, or we can give them a psychological complex which will allow therapists in the future to earn their mortgage payments.The mom in J.L. Westover’s Mr. Lovenstein chose an answer that fully embraces the uncertain truth: we just don’t know and wish that we could make it stop.#webcomic #MrLovenstein #JLWestover

Lethal Social AnxietyIt’s an emergency, so it’s time for extreme measures. But the definition of extreme measures has changed since the invention of text messaging. Now it’s not always necessary to actually speak to another human being. Doing so in person, face to face, is, of course, an inconceivably difficult challenge. We can forget about that. But speaking so another person on the phone seems just hypothetically possible enough that one might consider it to save a life.It's one of those Trolley Problem issues. Is saving the life of that person really worth the horrible cost of talking to another person? There’s too much to contemplate in too short a period of time.#webcomic #MrLovenstein #socialanxiety #JLWestover

Pro Tip: Be a Placebo Co-WorkerHere’s what you do: hold a clipboard and a pencil in your hands and walk around with a brisk pace. Move like “a man with a purpose” as one co-worker once described it to me. With a bit of hustle, you can look like you’re working hard. Sometimes the effort necessary to create this impression is more than actually staying busy doing productive work, but I don’t make the rules around here. J.L. Westover of Mr. Lovenstein understands that sometimes, the best that an employee can do is as little damage as possible. Looking busy as opposed to being busy can reach that goal.#webcomic #MrLovenstein

It's Monday, So It's Time to Catch up with Our CoworkersMaking small talk is a useful social skill that can be learned and improved over time. One of my coworkers has an easy conversation starter that he frequently uses: “So, got any big plans for the weekend?” It’s a good line because it gives people the opportunity to talk about what they look forward to. This is a better approach than the blue man in the Mr. Lovenstein comic. Asking afterward forces people to think about how disappointing their weekend was in contrast to their original plans for it. It’s a lot easier to say, “I’m going kayaking and then to a pottery class this weekend” as opposed to “I stayed home, watched anime and cried all weekend.”#MrLovenstein #webcomic

Our Dogs Tried to Warn UsWe thought that our dogs were barking at nothing in the front yard. We thought that their deep suspicion of shadows was foolish. We thought that their fear of common household appliances, such as the vacuum cleaner, demonstrated their far inferior intelligence.But, as webcomic artist Mr. Lovenstein reminds us, our dogs were always right. It was we, their caretakers, who failed to notice the real threats inside our own homes. If only we had listened, then perhaps we would have survived. Now the dogs are left take their rightful places as Packleaders.Well, at least until the cats remind them of who is really in charge.#webcomic #MrLovenstein #dogs #vacuumcleaner