Oxendine actually emailed reporters, last night, to prepare them for this amazing clip. And:

The [event where the ad will be released] is being held at an undisclosed laser-tag facility and is closed to the public. After viewing the commercial, the volunteers will enjoy pizza and laser-tag.

Jesus. Wow. Laser-tag, pizza, new media, yes. If you laugh at this why don't you go back to Hollywood, New York, Washington, or France?

Georgia Gov. Candidate Produces ‘Citizen Kane'-esque Technical Breakthrough Of Our Time [Wonkette]

You may recall that last month Yale University Press refused to publish images of the controversial cartoons *in a book about the cartoon controversy*. Because they were scared of offending the type of religious fanatic that would find this book, hop a plane to New Haven, and burn down the Yale University Press headquarters. Even repeating that story is giving us palpitations of rage.

Anyhow, now the cartoonist, Kurt Westergaard, is coming to make appearances at Yale and Princeton in the name of Free Speech. Good for him! You know what else? The cartoon did kind of suck! Were you offended by it? Go tell him that, at his appearance! Go tell him his cartoon sucked and was not funny and that you were offended by it! Call him an asshole if you must! Just don't kill anyone. That's what free speech is all about.

Fuck you, Yale University Press. See?

E&P reports from the front lines of the controversy that kids are totally not taking the fact that this comic strip ran in their school paper lying down or whatever:

"We don't care if it was a black, white, orange, purple, pink person who wrote this article," Audrey Foreback, a sophomore, told local radio station WYTV. "They should not have been allowed to print it and publish it throughout the school. It's just wrong."

That extraordinarily stupid statement appears even more stupid once you read the actual comic strip in question. Also stupid is the fact that "some students showed up at the student center with nooses around their necks in protest of the cartoon," which simply does not make sense, if the sight of a man in a noose offends you so (unless the offense is only taken when said noose is rendered in cartoon form).

Keith Knight himself is gracious about the whole thing on his blog but what he's really trying to say is: Shut up, college.

[Pic: K Chronicles]

And, for your Friday amusement, the debut of the hit single "Aloof?" by Stewart featuring the guy from Kreepie Kats

For decades, young MBA's have stepped off the Greyhound with little more than an attaché case and a dream — a dream of making their fortunes by turning a moribund 1960's comic book character into a gazillion-dollar international film franchise. Today that dream just fell out of reach for many young dreamers.

The news that Disney has shelled out $4 billion to buy Marvel comics means, for all purposes, the ownership of America's beloved cartoon characters is now in the hands of two companies — Disney and Warner Bros.

Of all the issues facing Washington now, superhero rights no doubt fall low on the list, but what will it take for the government to step in with anti-trush legislation and let these animated citizens enjoy the full pleasures of the free market?

Facing off each other across from opposite ends of Burbank now, America's cartoon titans stand amassed in two armies like The Legion of Doom and The Teen Titans.

Serving now on Disney's payroll:

The classic Disney characters; Mickey, Minnie and the Country Bears

The Pixar Universe - from Buzz Lightyear to Up's formidable Carl Fredricksen

The Muppets

And now Marvel's Spiderman, the Moon Knight, Kingpin, Captain America and the Human Torch.

Here's what's in the Warners camp:

The DC Universe from Batman right on down to Mr. Mxyzptlk

The hangdog but never to be counted out Hanna-Barbera world — including Scooby Doo, a Tom and Jerry film in production, and the perpetually unquenchable demand for updated versions of the Jetsons and Flintstones, not to mention a little outlet known as the Smurfs.

And how could we forget Bugs Bunny and the Warner Brothers cartoon empire

Which leaves very very little for the other studios to pick over.

In fact, if one looks at Empire Magazine's list of the Greatest Comic Characters of All Time, Art Seigelman's holocaust allegory Maus stands as the lone member of the Top 20 not now in the Disney or Warners camps. Of the complete Top 50, the ten remaining free agents are a fairly motley collection of satirical characters (The Tick), untranslatable imports (Astro Boy) and edgy "alternative" characters (Harvey Pekar). When Steven Spielberg's work-in-progress Tin Tin finallys hits the screens, it may be a brave last stand for independent comic book characters, free from the iron chains of the Disney/Warners duopoly.

But ultimately, the greatest losers on this historic day are certainly the other studios whose coming summer slates are heavily dependent on help from their Marvel friends. Sony's Spiderman franchise, Paramount's Iron Man films and Fox plans for a thousand year reign of Avengers origins and team up films are now dependent to some degree on the good will of their friends at Disney.

And all that assumes the winds don't pick up and the fires raging in the hills don't consume us all in flames sometime before tea time today.

Fred: If you wear an orange manscarf all the time and spend countless nights in the back of a van with a hottie like Daphne and haven't hit that, then you are a giant fag—just like Fred.
Race Bannon: He is Johnny Quest's the long-suffering babysitter bodyguard and the constant companion of his father, Dr. Quest. He also looks a lot like a certain grey-haired CNN anchor.
He-Man: This muscle Mary wears a harness and gets his power when he holds his sword erect. He might as well be bent over wearing chaps in an alley in Chelsea.
Snagglepuss: He's lisping and pink. Do you need it spelled out for you? When he says, "Exit, stage right," he's probably going to a rest stop on the New Jersey turnpike.
Rudolph: There's a reason why none of the other reindeer want to play his games, namely doctor. Good thing he married a big ol' queen. But that queen is a doctor, well, dentist. His Jewish mother is so proud.
Peppermint Patty: Bad hair. No makeup. Birkenstocks. Walking cliche.
Chip and Dale: Two guys who live together and love nuts.
Zan: Not only does the wondertwin wear purple spandex, but he also comes with his own fag hag.
Every Thundercat: Seriously, look at them. It's like someone made an Andrew Lloyd Weber musical even gayer. They've even recruited!

To reiterate: this book, entitled The Cartoons That Shook the World, is about this cartoon controversy. But Yale told the author that it was banning not only images of the cartoons themselves, but also three other classical representations of Muhammad which were to be included. This is their reasoning, according to the NYT:

John Donatich, the director of Yale University Press, said by telephone that the decision was difficult, but the recommendation to withdraw the images, including the historical ones of Muhammad, was "overwhelming and unanimous." The cartoons are freely available on the Internet and can be accurately described in words, Mr. Donatich said, so reprinting them could be interpreted easily as gratuitous.

So now books are no longer including any content that is "freely available on the Internet?" Time to shut down the publishing industry. The images are offensive to some people. And? Books are published about Nazis, and lynchings, and genocide, and include copious images of awful events. That is called "communicating information," and it's what books do.

May we repeat: This book is *about* these cartoons. But Yale University Press will not print the cartoon, because religious fanatics once went crazy over them.

Donatich says he fears "blood on my hands" if he publishes them. First, this is a preposterous fear, as many other experts point out in the story—the images have been shown everywhere by now. Second, John Donatich, you have zero respect for academic freedom. You live in fear of imaginary bogeymen. You value the idea of the possibility of upsetting religious zealots more highly than you value your own author's right to publish freely. Why don't you just resign?

[Or go to work for a newspaper? The NYT didn't publish the cartoon either.]

That's from last Sunday! Sean Delonas: furnishing you with exquisitely timed tributes to diversity, since 2009.

Ha, this is Dan Wasserman's editorial cartoon in the Boston Globe today. Luckily Pinch Sulzberger is enough of a mensch to think this is funny. Until he sees tomorrow's cartoon, which portrays him as Satan, fucking Boston with a pitchfork.

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.Today is the tenth anniversary of Jonnie Friedman's media column! Yes, we've made fun of Jon on this blog—a fact which takes up the majority of his anniversary column. But here is another totally true fact: you will not find a nicer media reporter in New York than Jon Friedman. Seriously, we are all jerks relative to him!

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.News Corp is reportedly close to selling the Weekly Standard, Bill Kristol's pet conservative magazine that in some quarters has a reputation for being "smart" (although not in smart quarters). Rupert Murdoch will sell the little mag to billionaire wingnut Phillip Anschultz because, hey, Murdoch already has the WSJ, and Bill Kristol sucks, so why not?

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.Peter Doocy, the son of smarmy Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy, has been hired as a reporter by Fox News. Don't get it twisted: Peter Doocy was objectively the most qualified applicant named 'Doocy.'

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.Mark and Gary Stern, brothers and veteran newspaper publishers, are planning to launch a new daily print newspaper. In Detroit. "'We aren't going to get into a situation that will put us in the red,' Mark Stern said." Does not compute.

The New York Post's resident bigot funnyman has not drawn even one amusing caricature of Sotomayor. She is Hispanic, Sean! This should be a no-brainer! Is he at his desk staring at one depiction of her serving Swine Flu-laden tacos and another of her in a maid's uniform, paralyzed with indecision? Is he unable to draw a sombrero? Is he just upset that Obama didn't pick a homosexual? Who knows! But we are disappointed.

Yes, he did! See, New York Gov. David Paterson is in his office there surrounded by pictures of Mr. Magoo—another blind man, who was blind, like David Paterson's blind. Ha, burn, Paterson! You are so blind. Sean Delonas Pwns the government fat cats again!

No idea why our blind governor is pictured looking over at the taxpayer here. Ask Sean Delonas. [NYP via Balk]

[via Animal NY]

Update: Drat. It's just his normal day off. Nevermind. You'll be seeing his regularly scheduled racist, homophobic fever dreams tomorrow.

Last month, Delonas shook up his usual routine of hysterical gay-bashing, misogyny, and politically astute "all Democrats are Muslims are terrorists" analysis with a little old-fashioned (barely) coded racism. Oddly, his charming cartoon about a monkey who was shot after writing the stimulus bill did not go over well with the black community! Or "the non-asshole community"!

There were protests, and two apologies—a fake one from Col Allen and a realer one from Murdoch himself.

But besides those apologies, the Post didn't actually do anything. Well, they fired Liz Smith. But Delonas soldiered on, mocking Murdoch critic Michael Wolff for sleeping with a lady and for having the trademark Delonas "swishy gay-leg."

But on today's Page Six? Some other cartoon from some guy named Gorrell, who is obvious and unfunny instead of crazy offensive and unfunny, like our Sean.

Delonas' last cartoon ran on Friday, and it makes no damn sense at all, as it is about a terrorist snowman scaring the FBI, an apparent reference to all those news stories about the FBI being scared of snowmen. Right? So either Delonas finally lost his mind from the stress of people paying attention to how much of a bigot he is and is taking a much-needed break, or the Post actually fired him (unlikely!), or he just took the day off.

Cityfile broke the affair story last week. Wolff said his lawyer would be in touch with them—but they've heard nothing, prompting them to taunt him today (worth reading for the kicker).

But far more annoying for Wolff is the New York Post, which jumped on this story with a level of interest reserved for its enemies. Of which Wolff is one, because he talked bad about the boss, Rupert Murdoch! You can just tell the Post is gonna run this one into the ground. Page Six had one item yesterday reviewing the rumor itself, and then another item today plugging Wolff, just because they can. And they gave him the greatest honor of all: A Sean Delonas cartoon mocking his body.

No matter how this turns out, that's something to be proud of.

[UPDATE: As an alert commenter points out, Delonas even drew Wolff with the telltale "gay sheep fucker" prancy-leg under the covers. Delonas cartoons are multi-leveled things.
UPDATE 2: An alternate theory we've heard: The Post's payback is for Michael Wolff saying that Col Allan should be fired for Delonas' monkey cartoon. Either way: beef!]

Reason rejected: "The Times can't publish a bare breast and a nipple!"


Reason rejected: Howell Raines said "It looks like an ejaculation."


Reason rejected: Teat-sucking.


[Flavorwire]