I was thinking that I should do some sort of September 11-related cartoon for this week, since next week's strip will run in papers after that date. Specifically, I wanted to highlight the gross negligence of the EPA -- under White House pressure -- in pronouncing the air in lower Manhattan safe to breathe when it was filled with dangerous toxins that continue to plague the health of rescue workers and who knows how many thousands of others. But I had trouble coming up with a way to make this funny, and eventually decided to avoid the subject altogether. I figure there will be more than enough discussion in the media of 9-11 in the days to come.

The Museum of Lost Formats is an idea I've been kicking around for years now; it had actually become something of a running joke between Mr. Slowpoke and myself whenever I got stuck. "Well, there's always the Museum of Lost Formats," one of us would say wistfully. And then I would proceed to do something else. So, you see, this strip is somewhat momentous. Now I need a new idea to joke about doing when nothing else seems to work.