Watching the Pope's funeral right now, and I'm a little pissed that they pre-empted Conan for this. I mean, don't get me wrong, the Pope was a pretty important guy, but I need my comedy.

I kid, of course. It's been an interesting week for the catholic church. They've been running without a captain, and will continue to do so until they elect one and the white smoke comes out of the chimney. That's a fun process, too. The cardinals under the age of 80 get together and vote secret-ballot style for who they think should be the next Pope. The winner needs a 2/3rds majority of votes to get elected. That's hard to do! Especially if you don't know who everyone else is voting for. I don't think there are any front-runners for Pope this time around, but word around the basilica is that the next Pope is going to be either Black or Latin, which would be a big step forward for the catholic church. I, myself, am not catholic, but Nicki is, and she's saddened by the passing of JP2, remarking that he was a cute old Pope. I'm just amazed at the amount of singing that's going on at the funeral.

Welcome Erin and Kati to the party with this strip. I think Kati is my most favorite-ly drawn character, and is one of the most fun to write for. I just want to give her a huge hug, or be given a huge hug by her. She's the type of person that says things all sing-song-y while teetering back and forth on the heels of her feet with her eyes gleefully closed. She's just really damn cute, and later on, she's in her PAJAMAS. It doesn't get cuter than that. It really doesn't.

Off to feed my fish and go to bed. See you next week!

-SAM

CONSIDER ME AN OBJECT