Beetle Bailey on communism

I was telling a friend tonight about where I am with my writing at the moment: the book, getting back into the swing of op-ed writing, what have you.  He asked me why am I writing at all: for fame and fortune or to get a message out that's burning my bosom up from the inside.

I want a bit of all of that, to be honest.  After half a lifetime of battling demons, I still hope to find a little success as a writer.  It doesn't have to be an awful lot of fame or acclaim.  That's never been what this blog is about or anything else I've put my hand to for that matter.  I suppose if there is a gauge I'm going by, it's that I wind up feeling like Dad would be proud of me.  He never gave up on me and I want to do right by that.

Anyhoo, my friend said that if there was a message to be shared, that a true writer would get it out there.  Even if it meant making graffiti art of it.  That reminded me of this Beetle Bailey cartoon from several years back.  Amazing how much wisdom there is to be found in a comic strip...

(Click image to embiggen)

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"Make Mine Freedom" from 1948: Don't drink the Ism!

So help me, I'm going to show this cartoon from almost eighty years ago until I'm blue in the face, if that's what it takes to stop people from drinking Ism!

It was in 2009 when I first came across "Make Mine Freedom", a 1948 educational film produced by Harding College.  I was immediately struck by how prophetic this animated short was.  How it warned against the dangers of socialism.  "Ism" is a blight that corrupts and destroys everything that it touches.

Not for the first time, not for the last, there are people in this country trying to sell "Ism" to us.  But it is a bitter elixir that will do naught but poison us and rob us and our children of precious liberty.

America is not perfect.  It never has been.  It never will be.  We have made mistakes along the way, just as any other nation has.  But we as a people have done pretty good in owning up to that.  America does NOT need MORE government "fixing things" that we can do on our own.  In America there is equality of opportunity.  There is no guarantee of equality of outcome though, however.  But that is what today's supporters of "Ism" are trying to sell us, and all it results in is that much less freedom and prosperity.

Here is "Make Mine Freedom".  Remember: Don't drink the Ism!

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The Berenstain Bears learn about sound economic policy

I knew it!  I just knew that I hadn't imagined this.  A cartoon from 37 years that I saw only once ago and I still remember it!

Around the mid-Eighties there was an animated series based on the beloved Berenstain Bears children's books.  The show ran on Saturday mornings on CBS.  It was pretty good as I seem to recall.  And often quite humorous.

Well, the other day one of the episodes sprang to mind as I was reading the news about the latest attempt to avoid a government shutdown.  It involved the Bear kiddies learning all about money.  How those little green pieces of paper don't have value on their own.  Instead they must be backed up by something with real tangible worth.  In the bears' world this happens to be the purest honey in existence.  Without that backing, as the kids' father puts it there would be total chaos.

In other words: fiat currency is a very terrible thing for a society to have.

This is wise economics from a nearly forty year old animated cartoon made for youngsters.  Even a child can understand the enormity of it.

If only more people had grasped the concept.  This country would not be headed toward the disaster it is hellbent on achieving.  It is indeed chaos and there is not going to be any avoiding it.

Here is the episode: "Raid On Fort Grizzly".  Well worth watching.

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May it never be forgot

Seventy-nine years ago today.

That's a still from the animated special What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown?  It was the follow-up to the film Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown.  Charlie Brown Linus, Peppermint Patty, Marcy, and Snoopy are on their way back to America.  They stop and camp for the night and Linus thinks they're something familiar about the place.

Wow.  That premiered forty years ago last week.  It's well worth tracking down and watching.

Remembering all who came ashore at Normandy on this day nearly eighty years ago.

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THE TICK's very special Christmas episode!

I will go to my grave believing that the Nineties gave us the best television animated series that have ever been produced.  Think about it: Tiny Toons, Gargoyles, X-Men... and of course Batman: The Animated Series, a show that forever raised the bar and redefined what cartoons were capable of.

But of all those shows and more, it's The Tick that holds the most special place in my heart from that era.

Based on Ben Edlund's underground comic book, The Tick premiered in 1994, ran for three seasons and stunned everyone with its unique style of superhero parody and screwball comedy.  The Tick was the one show I made a point to always watch on Saturday mornings (even if I worked late the previous night and was low on sleep).  It was such a big influence on me that when I finally got Internet access for the first time, the very first screen name I used was "The Man Eating Cow".

Anyway a lot of shows - including the animated ones - put on a Christmas-themed episode, and The Tick was no exception.  Of course, the one we got wasn't like those of other series.  So far as holiday episodes go, the only one that remotely approaches The Tick's entry is the "Turkeys Away" episode of W.K.R.P in Cincinnati.  It's just too whacked for words to adequately convey.

So without further ado, here from December 1995 is Tick fighting Multiple Santa in... "The Tick Loves Santa!":


"Ho Ho Ho, make them work! Ho Ho Ho, make them work!"

They just can't make humor like that anymore.

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Today's DILBERT a must-read for people with bipolar (like me!)

Dear Scott Adams:

Today's edition of your comic strip Dilbert is one of the most encouraging - and one of the funniest - cartoons that I've come across in a long time. As a person with bipolar disorder and on behalf of many others who must deal with having a mental illness, thank you for giving us something to laugh and smile about :-)

I think after reading this, I'm gonna begin referring to most other people as "normals" and myself as... how does "meta-human" sound? :-)

Sincerely,
Chris Knight

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Today's ultra-scary BLONDIE comic strip

Out of the mouths of babes...

Click to enlarge

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Calvin as the Doctor

I'm trying to determine who came up with this 'cuz it deserves proper attribution.

But this is way too good not to share in the meantime. I found this on Facebook on the Doctor Who and the Tardis by Craig Hurle page...

It's definitely embiggenable so click and save away! No doubt to become wallpaper for your desktop or your iPad :-)

Here's the pic's link on Facebook. I like what one person commented: "Brings new meaning to the phrase 'Madman with a Box!'"

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Walt Disney presents... "The Story of Menstruation"

This video turned up on my YouTube front page this afternoon. Why, I've no idea whatsoever, apart from wondering if Google/YouTube is aware of my fondness for old animation. Especially old animation that isn't shown anymore for various reasons.

From 1946, here is the ten-minute long "The Story of Menstruation", produced by Walt Disney ("through the courtesy of Kotex Products")...

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I need to laugh. Heck, we ALL need to laugh...

Trying to move forward on some things, after the events of the past few weeks. Our family is still dealing with Mom's passing, and all of the matters pertaining to that.

I'm gonna try to resume blogging in earnest during the next few days, 'cuz a lot of y'all have been sending some really nice compliments and condolences, and apparently this lil' site is a pleasurable pastime for more people than I had realized. That means more than I can possibly convey. So for sake of this site's regular readers as much as my own, I need to get back into the swing of things.

I can share the news that my first real film project in quite a long time is in the very early stages right now. It's something that Kristen and I had the idea for together so we're writing it together! Lord willing we'll start shooting it in the spring. The hard part is finding the right props, though I'm pretty sure the cigarettes and sweaters will be easy to score...

Okay well, we could all probably use a good chuckle, and I know I could. So here's something that I've always found hysterically funny for some reason or another. From 1941 it's Tex Avery's last black and white animated short: "Porky's Preview"!

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"Peace on Earth" and "Good Will to Men"

The 1939 classic and still heartbreaking animated short, "Peace on Earth"...

The 1955 "remake" produced by none other than William Hana and Joseph Barbera, "Good Will to Men"...

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Bil Keane, creator of FAMILY CIRCUS, has passed away

The very sad news today is that Bil Keane, creator of the long-running comic strip Family Circus that has entertained readers for more than half a century, has died at the age of 89.

Family Circus was one of the best examples of what comic strips could be in their finest form: entertainment for people of all ages. As Keane once said in an interview...

"We are, in the comics, the last frontier of good, wholesome family humor and entertainment... On radio and television, magazines and the movies, you can't tell what you're going to get. When you look at the comic page, you can usually depend on something acceptable by the entire family."

His friend Charles M. Schulz, the late creator of "Peanuts," once said the most important thing about "Family Circus" is that it's funny.

"I think we share a care for the same type of humor," Schulz told The Associated Press in 1995. "We're both family men with children and look with great fondness at our families."

A lot of people today are no doubt going to share their favorite Family Circus cartoon in remembrance of Bil Keane. This blogger however is choosing not to do that. Because my most very favorite cartoon that Bil Keane did wasn't for Family Circus at all!

It's from April 1st 1997, the day of the now-legendary "Great April Fools' Day Comics Switcheroonie". Forty-six comic strip artists "swapped places" with each other for a massive April Fools gag that played out across the funny pages. To many people, myself included, the very first sign that something was amiss that day was when we turned to read Scott Adams' Dilbert and found this instead...

And in case you're wondering what Scott Adams did to Family Circus, click here.

Thoughts and prayers going out to Bil Keane's family today.

Thank you for sharing Billy, Jeffy, Dolly, P.J, Mommy, Daddy, Barfy, Sam, Kittycat, Not Me, Ida Know, and Grandma with us Mr. Keane. Through them, you brought us many years of great laughs and good memories.

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How about a Mister Magoo cartoon?

Couldn't resist sharing this lil' gem that I found a few days ago. Okay yeah it's awesome all on its own. But for me there's whole other significance. You see: this was the very first thing that I watched on a VCR in my own house! It was sort of a "late Christmas present" to ourselves. So on December 31st 1983, I came home from a sleepover at my best friend's place and Dad was hooking the first VCR we ever owned up to the TV, and to try it out he rented a tape with a bunch of Mister Magoo cartoons on it. I think we must have watched that thing over and over half a dozen times before the tape went back to Cobb TV and Stereo Barn (the only place in Reidsville at the time to rent videotapes from) on Monday morning.

So from 1957 here is "Magoo Breaks Par", in which our nearsighted hero (voiced by Jim Backus) thinks he's off to play golf at the Ritzy Vista Country Club... with hilarious results!

Magoo Breaks Par

I've read that there is movement afoot to make all the Mister Magoo theatrical cartoons available on DVD. If so, I'll be the first in line to buy that set :-)

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"Hold still, dumb-ass!" It's the first new BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD since November 28th 1997!

I choose to take this as a sign that there is hope yet for our culture.

At Comic-Con 2011 going on this weekend in San Diego, Mike Judge announced that Beavis and Butt-head - one of the most classic and beloved shows of the Nineties - is coming back with new episodes this fall!

'Course, things have changed for MTV since the boys last graced (?) that network with their presence in the autumn of 1997. For one thing, MTV doesn't do the music videos thing like they did back in the day. Based on the following clip, looks like Beavis and Butt-head are gonna now be ragging on things like reality television and such.

So look! New Beavis and Butt-head footage!

Looks fresh as ever! Now I'll just have to clear some space on my DVR for when the show begins running :-)

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Creepy, and all too true...

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Lee Shelton presents... WHITE NOISE!

Good friend Lee Shelton IV, who already has proven himself a profound and entertaining blogger, is at it again! This time he's coming at us with White Noise: an old-school style "cartoon blog" thingy drawn entirely on white board...

Mash down here for more madcap mischief from Lee's White Noise. And Lee, it's lookin' great! Can't wait to see what else you come up with :-)

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"Twenty-one dollars a day, once a month!"

Alright, sure. Why not? :-)

So I'd been working on something for Memorial Day, for a huge chunk of this past weekend and late into last night and several drafts later, the finished product was nothing like what I had originally envisioned.

And that's perfectly fine. The other things that had been on my heart to convey, those can wait for another day. But I gotta tell y'all: I was really looking forward to closing it out with something decidedly upbeat.

So it didn't make it into the Memorial Day tribute proper. That's fine. I still think this is well worth sharing for... well, lots of reasons! It's a catchy lil' ditty that'll no doubt be stuck in your head the rest of the night! It's a classic cartoon from Walter Lantz Studios (look for cameo appearances by one or two famous characters).

And then there is the sheer weight of its theatrical release date: December 6th, 1941.

Think about that for a moment. This cartoon premiered on the very last day of true American innocence. While audiences were first enjoying this cartoon, the navy of the Empire of Japan was steaming across the Pacific toward Pearl Harbor and the date of infamy.

In every way possible that I can imagine, what you're about to see is a historical document of amazing import. It's like one final glimpse of the America that we once were and haven't been since.

Okay, 'nuff from me. Without further ado, here is... "$21 a Day (Once a Month)"!

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Merry Christmas 2010

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"Death Trap": Boba Fett blasts his way back into Star Wars!

Just finished watching this week's episode of Star Wars: Clone Wars on Cartoon Network. This is one show that has gradually and without ceasing, surpassed my expectations. But I had especially high hopes for tonight's installment, "Death Trap". Wouldn't surprise me if this episode had a series' record number of people watching it.

And why? Because it's been known for awhile that "Death Trap" hails the return of Boba Fett: the most infamous - and most popular - bounty hunter of the entire Star Wars pantheon.

It will be thirty years next month since Boba Fett was first seen in The Empire Strikes Back, and fully eight since a young Boba fought alongside his father Jango in Attack of the Clones...

So he's not yet the Mandalorian-armored mercenary that will eventually stalk the galaxy. But "Death Trap" definitely gave us plenty of the up-and-coming Boba Fett in high-gear action! Heck, by my rough count this one half-hour of Clone Wars showed us Boba wrecking more havoc than everything he did in the live-action movies combined! And yet at this stage in his career (voiced by Daniel Logan, who played the ten-year old Boba in Attack of the Clones) he's still a bit uncertain of himself, still blessed with a child's conscience... albeit a child obsessed with killing Mace Windu. He's not what we know he'll be, but he's well on that path.

And then there were the last few moments of the episode: practically porno for everyone who's ever loved the Star Wars bounty hunters too much than is probably healthy. Yeah I'm speaking of Bossk and Aurra Sing but if you watched this episode then you know what I'm thinking of most of all: the return of Boba Fett's hyper-deadly space vessel, Slave I.

(I wonder if we'll ever get to see Bossk's ship, the Hound's Tooth. 'Specially that wicked automated skinning table tailor-made for Wookiee prey. Prolly not: as daring as Star Wars: Clone Wars has been this season, it's not that daring... yet anyway.)

All in all, I thought "Death Trap" was a superb episode: well-scripted, beautifully animated, and finely orchestrated as a story of both action and character. I'll likely watch it a few more times from the DVR over the next several days.

"Death Trap" will air a few more times this week, and then Boba returns for the Clone Wars season finale next Friday night. No doubt Fett-heads across the planet will be waiting out the week with baited breath :-)

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Lucasfilm developing animated Star Wars sitcom

Yes, April Fools Day was a week ago. But no, it's not a joke.

A quarter century ago, on Saturday morning cartoons gone far, far away...

That's the title sequence from the short-lived Star Wars: Droids animated series on ABC. The theme song "In Trouble Again" was co-written and performed by Stewart Copeland of The Police. Anthony Daniels again provided the voice of C-3PO.

Twenty-five years later and with Star Wars: Clone Wars a certifiable success for Lucasfilm and Cartoon Network, an animated Star Wars situation comedy is now in the works. Among those involved with the project are Seth Green and Matthew Senreich: the creators and executive producers of Robot Chicken (which has a long history of lampooning the saga).

Ehhhhh... hmmm... don't know what exactly to say about this one. I knew that Lucasfilm was working on an animated Star Was series aimed at pre-schoolers and for most of the week I thought people were referring to that show. I now stand corrected (and befuddled).

Star Wars and comedy. Well, I guess it could work. We've already seen Star Wars do blood-curdling horror recently (the novel Death Troopers). And Kevin J. Anderson's book Darksaber was in my opinion slapstick humor (Darksaber is also in my opinion Anderson's best work of Star Wars narrative, make of that what you will). I suppose this might be something worth taking a stab at.

But what's this show going to be called? Two and a Half Jawas? The Fresh Prince of Cloud City? Sithfeld? Cantina (filmed before a live studio audience)? Everybody Loves Jar-Jar? R*A*S*H (short for Rebel Army Surgical Hospital)? Tatooine Junction?

Or how about the show focuses on Luke Skywalker and his kinfolk? It could be called All In The Family.

Okay, I'm stopping while I'm ahead...

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