On one hand, it's apparently more
important to be up-to-date on Justin Bieber's troubles than to understand what the NSA's up to; the Trans Pacific
Partnership appears likely to pass without opportunity for debate;
the Keystone XL pipeline is about to get approved, after which it
could easily do to the environment of middle America what the TPP is
going to do to our economy; parts of the former Soviet Union are
exploding; Iraq and Syria aren't doing too well, either; the Seahawks
guy is a thug, but the New Jersey guy just trusted his staff too
much; the Sochi Olympics are about to confirm not only my belief that
we should probably get rid of the sports that require judges but also
my growing suspicion that we should just get rid of the Olympics and
let each sport have its championship; and Net Neutrality is in danger
of disappearing.
On the other hand, no one's much
concerned about Duck Dynasty anymore, and a cursory Google News search
finds a whole lot more bar fights and domestic violence fueled by alcohol
than by weed. So there's that.
Today's toons were selected out of what
Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon decided it was in their best interest
to let us find on line, from the week's offerings at McClatchy
DC, Cartoon Movement,
Go Comics, Politico's
Cartoon Gallery, Daryl
Cagle's Political Cartoons, About.com,
and other fine sources.
p3 Picks of the week: Mike
Luckovich, Jack
Ohman, Pat
Oliphant, Mike
Lester, Steve
Sack, Lisa
Benson, Tom
Toles, Rob
Rogers, Clay
Bennett, Signe
Wilkinson, J.D.
Crowe, Taylor
Jones, Jeff
Darcy, Matt
Wuerker, Jen
Sorenson, and Monte
Wolverton.
p3 Best of Show: John
Darkow.
p3 Award for Best Adaptation from
Another Medium: Randy
Bish.
p3 World Toon Review: Patrick
Chappatte (Switzerland), Paresh
Nath (India), Loujie
(China), Olle
Johansson (Sweden), and Bernard
Bouton (France).
Ann Telnaes brings news of the
great new passtime that's sweeping the nation: West
Virginia Roulette!
Mark Fiore reflects: At
least he still can give a good speech.
Taiwan's Next Media Animation
has the harshest yet funniest take on La
Beiber's troubles.
Tom Tomorrow presents: The
Surprisingly Small World of Governor Chris Christie. (Bonus
points for getting the classic film allusion without clicking
here.)
Keith Knight has a strange, sort
of market-based, sort of libertarian solution
to a persistent problem.
Tom the Dancing Bug presents,
among other things, the further adventures of Percival Dunwoody,
Idiot
Time Traveler fro 1909.
Red Meat's Ted Johnson
emphasizes the importance of being
an informed health-care consumer.
The Comic Strip Curmudgeon has
nearly made "Hi and Lois" too
depressing to read, even if they don't call their neighbor
"Thirsty" Thurston anymore. Not that it's not all true and
hanging right out there to be seen; it's just that getting it in one
burst like a firehose is a little too . . . too.
And just to keep the depression
quotient up there, Comic Strip of the Day looks at the ugly,
stinking, bloody, and possibly intractable mess
that is Syria.
Paths Crossed – Guaranteed Bad
Luck: Directed by Tex Avery in 1949 (and with uncredited voice
work by Avery as the dog and Dick Nelson as Blackie), "Bad Luck
Blackie" trades in a superstition that's cost the lives a lot of cats
who were otherwise minding their own business over the centuries, but
this time around becomes a force for good. In signature Avery style, the violence escalates quickly into the surreal. (Did
you see the horse gag coming?) "Bad Luck Blackie" placed at
#15 on the list of the
50 Greatest Cartoons. According to Wikipedia, the barbecue gag
was trimmed on Nickelodeon and Boomerang at the end to avoid showing
the bulldog's head with what looks like a Chinese-style hat on it.
Blackie's encounters with the dog are accompanied by a couple of bars
of the tradition (hence, free!) song "Comin' Thro' the Rye"
– except the one that uses Brahm's Hungarian Dance #5, and "Pop
Goes the Weasel."
The Big, But Could Be Bigger, And
We're Working On That, Oregon Toon Block:
Matt Bors says you can have his
popcorn when
you pry it from his cold, buttery hands.
Jesse Springer's still not
feeling the love for Cover Oregon:
Test your toon captioning mojo at The
New Yorker's weekly caption-the-cartoon
contest. (Rules here.)
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