roaming gnomes take 2

I've been looking at pages of gnomes lately. Mostly to find stuff for this blog, but also because I'm bored.

I ran into some gnome napping sites. If you don't know what gnome napping is, its basically a variation on an old prank. Stealing a friend's (or non-friend's) semi-precious item and then sending pictures of that item back to them in a variety of different places has been around for a long time. I believe this happened in Calvin and Hobbes. They kidnap Suzy's doll, but she gets Calvin back by kidnapping Hobbes.

Gnome napping is the same premise, but specifically with Gnomes. The idea is one steals someone else's gnome from their property and then travels everywhere with it, sending back pictures of the gnome on vacation. Travelocity picked this idea up and uses a gnome-napped traveler to sell online travel deals. This gnome is probably the most well known, wearing a blue coat, black belt, and pointy red hat.

Other famous depictions of gnome napping include the 2001 film Amelie, starring Amy Tautou. The main character, Amelie, steals her father's gnome and sends it on a worldwide trip with her stewardess friend. It is also a plot device in the 1994 film Threesome starring Lara Flynn Boyle and Alec Baldwin and appears in the 2009 film Up in the Air starring George Clooney.


According to the Christian Science Monitor, gnome napping is not very unusual.   

Dr. Emery, an urban legend specialist (another cool-ass job I want) says stealing gnomes is a trend dating back at least 20 years. UPI published a story of an Illinois woman losing 14 gnomes to theft, and stated that gnome napping in the United States is starting to catch on. The police released a statement labeling this theft a felony... True, stealing is stealing, and illegal, but a felony? Pretty sure theft of property under $300 dollars in Illinois is only a misdemeanor. 14 garden gnomes can not possibly be more than 300 bucks.   

The Christian Science Monitor states that "gnome-napping" can be a serious offense when "gnome-nappers" go "too far".  Apparently there is (no lie) the GGLF, the Garden Gnome Liberation Front, which has "liberated" thousands of gnomes. The GGLF has a website. I looked it up, of course, in the name of research.  

The website pledges to free the gnome from garden enslavement by returning them to "the wild". There are pictures of freed gnomes, mail from disgruntled "oppressors", and calls for boycotts on Scotts Lawn Care (sells lawncare and garden care products), Home Depot (trader in gnome slaves and gardening supplies), Great Britain (for allowing such abuses in gnome rights). They even have an FAQ on how to start a GGLF cell at your local college.... You can put this on the list of things people do when they have a lot of imagination and no hobbies. Its also pretty damn funny.  

This kind of takes all the fun out of the prank of gnome napping. I think, family members and close friends taking things on trips and documenting the experience is amusing and fun. Stealing gnomes from random strangers in the name of liberation and civil rights for "woodland creatures" is silly and also allows the law to overreact with threats of felony, which is also silly, given the circumstance.   

Anyway... here are some websites devoted to this sort of thing:  

Gnomes on the Roam. This site is warm and fuzzy, despite Phil being an Eagles fan.  

Kyoto has a Blog. First hand account of gnome napping... this could lead to kleptomania

There is a Wikipedia entry also.

more comic time: Legend of Bill

I can not believe I haven't seen this online comic before! Legend of Bill is an epic fantasy comic farce. It reminds me of Hagar the Horrible, the Wizard of Id and Dave the Barbarian. The comedy is funny and well done, even if it feels like its been done before. The coolest part of these comics, unlike other cheap barbarian gag strips, is that it tells a story.

Even though bumbling barbarians are hilarious, this post is on a gnome themed blog...

Which is perfect for the Legend of Bill Gnome Syndicate section. Its about gnomes...  spying gnomes. The CIA of gnomes.  I am so excited for this. Cheap gnome jokes with a serialized storyline. Awesome!

The main characters of this side strip are Gnome 12 and Gnome 13. Apparently syndicate gnomes only have numbers, like the MIB. Gnome 12 seems to appear only in the Legend of Bill cartoons, Gnome 13 appears to be the main protagonist of this Gnome Syndicate cross-over. Other characters include Gladys, the Todd, Miss Keebler, Agent Shirley, Kirby, and Chief Perry.

Definitely a cartoon to read and follow.

Update: 

Apparently this comic is in some kind of limbo. The website is down? In progress? Being Built? Anyway, the website is linked above and on the Links Menu. Dave Reddick, the artist/writer, has his website here. but even he links to the same website.