Showing posts with label cartoons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cartoons. Show all posts

10.12.2015

We're Peanutized

So there's a new Peanuts movie coming out. And the good people behind the movie have launched a neat little website where you can create your likeness as a Peanuts character. ...

I created our family as Peanuts characters. Left to right, that's Kates, Phoebe, Faye and me.



Here's the Peanuts trailer. ...

6.26.2015

06.26.2015

When I awoke this morning, like I do every morning, I first reached for my phone to check the news alerts and emails I received over night. We’re on vacation, though, so it was a little delayed this morning. It was a few minutes past 9:30 a.m., and the girls already were awake and downstairs.

That’s when I saw the news that the Supreme Court had ruled same-sex marriage should be legal in all 50 states. It’s one of those “Where were you when …” days our society will talk about years from now.



Without getting too political, I’m pleased. Pleased that our country now provides equal rights for all to marry who they want. I’m pleased for the people I know personally who have waited for a long time for this day to come … Just a few minutes after I saw the news, Kates came up to the bedroom and I shared the news with her. I then handed her my phone on which I had opened Facebook to see, at the top of my newsfeed, posts by two friends who are in separate same-sex relationships. …

The first from my friend Tim read: Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all.

The second from my friend Diane read: We are free to move about the country and live as wife and wife in any state in the union. HOT DAMN!!

Pretty cool.

Throughout the day, I’ve sat here and watched the endless stream of tweets and posts about the decision, and the momentous cultural shift. Late this morning, it occurred to me – Man, what a week our culture and society!

After all, yesterday the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act, saving healthcare for millions, and the Confederate flag is coming down any day now at the South Carolina capitol grounds … Tonight, the federal prison escapees on the run for weeks in New York appear to have met their demise.

To top it off, President Obama launched into a solo of "Amazing Grace," while delivering a eulogy at one of the funeral services today in remembrance of the nine people killed in a senseless act at a church last week in Charleston, S.C.



Here's how the NBC Nightly News ended its broadcast tonight.



From Time, here are today’s best marriage equality memes.

This one is my favorite.


This is one of my favorite cartoons of the day



And then there’s the White House, which is lit tonight in celebration of today’s decision.


Beautiful.

(Updated 06.27.15)

Here are two more entertaining bits related to this week's news ...

First, from NowThis on President Obama's week ...



And second, in line with the debate about the Confederate flag in South Carolina, every state flag is wrong, and here is why. As my friend Ann, who initially shared it, wrote, this is funny and worth every minute of your reading time.

1.25.2015

An eternal Game 2 for Ernie

I had one of those time-pausing, heart-sinking moments Friday night when I saw one of the first tweets to break the news of Ernie Bank's death. ...

As a lifelong Cubs fan, I'm almost ashamed to admit he wasn't one of my childhood favorites, since he retired and was inducted into the Hall of Fame years before I was born -- as a kid, Ryne Sandberg was my guy on the Cubs. And I never read as much about him or watched old footage of him like I did of the other greats of his playing era. Like Roberto Clemente, Ted Williams or Hank Aaron. ... I didn't know he had played for the Kansas City Monarchs until I read his obituary.

I only saw him in person once or twice, from a distance, in all of my annual pilgrimages to Wrigley Field. But I was always aware of the aura of "Mr. Cub, and his "Let's play two" optimism. The New York Times' obit is an especially good read.

As a long-time Cubs fan, this cartoon is perfect ...

Mr. Cub Cartoon

Good reads ...

12.19.2013

Christmas funnies

My dad forwarded to me an email full of "Christmas funnies" today. Here are some of my favorites ...


 















7.31.2011

Hot, hot hot

If there's one thing I've learned during this round of summer heat: Never underestimate the fun you can have with a sprinkler.

We've had it out the last two weekends and it's created some undeniable weekend highlights.

(Update 8.01.11: After our outside fun and heading back indoors yesterday aftermoon, Phoebe fell asleep in Kates' lap at around 5 p.m. Waking her up later for supper was impossible and we ultimately carried her to bed, where she slept until 7 this morning.)


And to think that six months ago we were snowed in and dealing with bitter cold.

3.01.2011

On Wisconsin

I sat up and started taking notice on a Friday more than a week ago. Feb. 18.

Sitting at the desk in my office, I started taking notice of all the tweets and status updates rolling in about protesters converging on the Madison Capitol building. Having just finished watching days of unrest in Egypt, it appeared as though another rebellion -- with major backing, like the situation in Cairo, from social media users -- was about to play out in our old backyard.

I texted Kates. "I'm thinking Wisconsin is going to go all Egypt on Gov. Walker."

Then again, Paul Krugman smartly wrote the situation has more similarities to Baghdad in 2003.

Even as we sit miles away, Kates and I have been paying close attention to the news coming out of Wisconsin since that first Friday about Walker's budget bill, which would severely limit the bargaining power of public employees. News feeds and Facebook connections keep us uprised of the latest developments. Several of our family members and close friends have participated in the marches protesting Walker's proposal. And if we still lived there, there's a good chance we would have been marching, too.

It saddens us to see unions and public workers so discounted. Ok, livid when we read and watch some of the news reports. Kates has been moved to tears ... The fact that it's causing such divide in family circles and busting friendships is heartbreaking.

I get that budgets need to be balanced, tough choices need to be made. Every state faces the same dillemma. But as so many journalists have noted, there are other ways to solve the budget crisis in Wisconsin. And union workers already have offered finacial concessions. ... Whether the 14 Democratic Senators who fled the state to defy a vote on the measure are acting nobly or cowardly is another debate.

Growing up and preparing for our careers, Kates and I never saw ourselves as union people. Never in a million years. ... But eventually, each of us slipped into a union as part of our respective jobs -- she as a teacher, me as a journalist -- and both of us saw the immense benefits of unions first hand.

It's not a matter of having extra powers over employers or non-union workers. Believe me, there were limits to participating in a union that flustered me, too ... Rather, it's a matter of having the basic right to negotiate for benefits and wages. Plain and simple. It's a benefit all employees would be lucky to have.


And the idea that teachers have it easy because the kids leave at 3 in the afternoon and they have summers off? Don't get me started about the early mornings and late nights Kates spends at her school in meetings, conducting parent-teacher conferences or preparing projects. Or the nightly paper-grading sessions on the couch. Or the Sunday afternoons she spends in her classroom preparing for the next week. I'm only scratching the surface.

Now, I've joined the public education sector. Not because I thought it would be easy -- I'm working harder now than I ever have in my career -- but because I find it exciting. It's an area I'm passionate about, proud to be part of, and I want to make a positive impact on young people.

We'll continue to watch the debate closely.

Good stuff ...
a Majority in Poll Back Employees in Public Sector Unions
a The Best Wisconsin Protest Signs
a The Open Capitol blog
a Union Bonds in Wisconsin Begin to Fray
a Thank You for Your Support. Now, Can We Sweep the Capitol?

The Daily Show's coverage of the debate has been marvelous. Our pal Jon Stewart is behind us.

1.01.2011

Happy New Year



After a year of earthquakes, WikiLeaks, oil spills, bailouts, bedbugs, iPads, vuvuzelas, Silly Bandz, “refudiations,’’ and shellackings, it’s safe to say we could all use a night out. ~ The Boston Globe 

For us, 2010 was about adjusting to new challenges. And reflecting on the past.

2011 will be about making the most of our opportunities and building anew.

Hopefully that includes finding (or building) a home to call our own.

11.28.2010

Brett Favre

I've maintained this season that the fact the Vikings had to send players to Mississippi to convince Brett Favre to return for another season was the ultimate indicator of how things would play out in Minnesota.

Tim Dahlberg said it all about Favre, Brad Childress and the Minnesota Vikings in his column this week: Desperate coaches like Childress don't last. ... Dan Shaughnessy had a good one about Favre a few weeks ago as well.

I'm finished discussing Brett Favre.

6.20.2010

Happy Father's Day

... A little while ago -- having reached a stopping point in my painting and cleaning -- I decided to dial up Kates and Phoebe on Skype  to check in and see how their day was going ...

Kates answered and Phoebe, as usual, came running to the computer. Phoebe knows the routine, and Kates lifted Phoebe on to her lap so she could see me.

Then, with a huge smile on her face, Phoebe shouted out, "Happy Father's Day!"

Then, while Kates and I are tearing up, she pulls herself from Kates' lap and announces, "I go get my present!" ... Phoebe's little head bounced out of my picture, and she returned with a flower pot she made at her daycare for Mother's Day. She proudly held it up and said it was her Father's Day present.

It was such a moment, I can't describe it ... Best Father's Day present. Ever.

Three more days.

5.09.2010

Happy Mother's Day

... I'd wish my mom a Happy Mother's Day on Facebook or Twitter. But she doesn't have either ... So I'll probably do it on Skype instead.

(Check out more great Mother's Day cartoons here.)

9.11.2009

Remembering

It's been a great day.

I was productive at the office, knocking out two lengthy, in-depth stories for the weekend. I took off from there at my customary time, worked outside, painted a cabinet I'm refinishing while listening to Pat & Ron call the Cubs on WGN. Made myself a tasty toasted ham, turkey and cheese sandwich with lots of fixings for lunch. It's a gorgeous sunny day. And now I'm watching the rest of the Cubs game on television -- and they're winning (Correction: They were winning when I started this post. The Reds have just tied the game.)

But underneath it all, the memories of this date never cease in my mind ...

And it hardly seems like its been as long as eight years ago, making it hard for me to fathom some students remember little of it ...

9.07.2009

Teach your children

I'm not getting the controversy over President Obama's upcoming speech to school children.

In fact, the furor over it upsets me.

Sure, I'm of the opinion that George W. Bush made some questionable calls in the Oval Office. But I still respect him for his courage and ability to take on the highest office in the land. And still, would I raise the kind of ruckus that people are raising over Obama's speech if it were Bush talking to school children? Of course not.

He's the President of the United States. The leader of the Free World.

The President is a figure schoolchildren should be encouraged to look up to for his work ethic and leadership. He's a person we, as citizens of this country, should respect and honor, whether he's black or white, male or female, Democrat or Republican.

For all of his accomplishments, why wouldn't a parent want Obama to encourage his or her child to work hard in school and go after their dreams?

The speech -- which will likely last a mere 10 minutes and probably won't seriously disrupt classroom instruction, as some opponents of it are charging -- implores students to take responsibility for their education and work hard toward their goals. The Presidents relays some of his own childhood experiences and makes a request for the students to "show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed."

A news report on the controversey tonight included a parent who cited Obama's stance on abortion and healthcare, among other hot-button issues, as her reasons for not allowing her child to have the president's views "pushed down her child's throat" -- or something to that effect. ... For godsakes people, the speech is a universe away from those subjects! He's only encouraging your children to stay in school and put forth their best efforts!

And what else does it say of the schools who agree to block -- or censor? -- students from seeing Obama's speech. To borrow a point from one of my cohorts, it's almost like parents telling their children's schools that they can't teach about the legacy of Abraham Lincoln, or the lessons of 9/11, or science.

One school in our area is prohibiting its teachers from showing the speech to students on Tuesday, but allowing them to show a recorded version later only if it fits into the teacher's curriculum. Furthermore, the school is barring any student from entering the White House's video contest in conjunction with the speech because "it violates the school's policies on proper Internet usage," or something like that. ... What does that say about encouraging our students to learn technology, or be creative, or helping them discover new interests that could, say, inspire them to become filmmakers?

I applaud the schools that encourage their students to watch Tuesday's address.

See Cartoons by Cartoon by John Cole - Courtesy of Politicalcartoons.com - Email this Cartoon

7.30.2009

Beer Summit '09

... So the President, the professor and the police man had their beer summit today.

Wonderful. Can we get on with solving the rest of the world's problems now?

... Best political cartoon I've seen in a long time came the other day via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. (Check it out here.) ... I could totally hear the music of those classic beer commercials playing in my head as I read the lyrics ...

7.02.2009

Don’t stop ‘til you get enough

As more than a few people have said in the last few days, we’re starting to enter the realm of Michael Jackson information overload …

And yet I can’t. stop. reading.

And watching.

I’ve probably driven Kates crazy with all the Michael Jackson tributes, documentaries and video specials I’ve loaded on our DVR the last few days …

The latest material to fascinate me is the sudden and gargantuan draw to his music. Not that there wasn’t a huge draw to his music already, but to see him grab top-spots on Billboard years after those records were released is huge. … Yesterday my cohort Joe mentioned he got a tweet from the local library reminding the public that they can get Michael Jackson music there for free. Yeah, with the run on his music, most people won’t be able to get their fingers on those library copies for months.

Here’s some more of the stuff I’ve enjoyed reading over the last several days …

From the Washington Post: A Man Whose Talents Far Outweighed His Eccentricities ...

A funny sort of thing happened Thursday when word of Michael Jackson's death started to sink into our cultural psyche: We weren't sure how to react … is it possible to honor one while continuing to back away from the other? To reconcile the very real disdain for the man while at the same time recognizing his music as every bit worthy of praise?

And by admitting that we appreciate the art of someone we find morally objectionable, are we selling out our own ethics?
A tribute from The New York Times

Michael Jackson made the sweetness of that high voice guttural and demanding. He showed that it was rooted in his feet and hips and hands. He re-sexualized it in a way that you could never really mistake — then — as androgynous.
From The New York Times: His Moves Expressed as Much as His Music ...

Michael Jackson will be remembered as a great and widely imitated mover. Other things about him will be remembered too, but it is amazing how many of them are apparent in his dancing. … But to watch “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough” (1979) is to be amazed at just how much charm the 20-year-old Mr. Jackson had, and the charm gets more infectious as the dancing proceeds.
From the Washington Post: The Dancing: That Precision, Grace -- and a Wicked Groove ...

The dance style that Jackson honed into a corporeal autograph is one not of physical or emotional release -- it's not flashy or overblown. It's a statement of fierce, obsessive control, and in the way only the best of the best can do it, he made it look supremely easy.

From the Washington Post: The Man in Our Mirror ...

He was Elvis with an androgynous tenor, Sinatra with a moonwalk and killer pop instincts, Prince with more mass appeal, John, Paul, George and Ringo with high-water pants, white socks and a single, sequined glove.
From the Boston Globe: A persona that floated above reality ...

As Jackson’s fame reached stratospheric levels, all the grit, the abrasions, and the dragging weight we associate with real life seemed flushed out of him, and he attained a kind of hovering, artificial aura that chimed with his much-invoked Peter Pan syndrome, his stupendous revenues, and the impression he gave of levitating even above the law.
From the Washington Post: Thread of pain ran through Jackson's career ...

It was the last day of shooting for a Pepsi commercial at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles in 1984, and the only hiccup had been an argument between Michael Jackson and an ad executive over whether the young superstar would take off his sunglasses.

"Then," as the executive later wrote, "we set his hair on fire."
From the Boston Globe: Even when the hits stopped, his influence remained ...

In the days since Jackson’s death, music fans have debated his relevance. While it’s true that it’d been nearly a decade since he threatened the top 10, and even longer since a song of his was justified in being there, Jackson’s sound has never left the charts.
Finally, Paste resurrected its terrific tribute to Jackson from last year: What I Miss About Michael Jackson. It’s so good I couldn’t come up with a few lines to pull out.

Cagle's, of course, also has some excellent tributory cartoons. The first one you see is arguably my fave.

5.28.2009

How About a Hug?

Fascinating story in The New York Times today about hugging ...

I love hugs. Seriously, there's few things better than a good hug. And when the hugger gives a hug that's as good as the one coming from the huggee, it's bliss.

Reminds me of my all-time favorite Family Circus cartoon ... I saw it and clipped it out of the newspaper about 11 or 12 years ago ...