Comic for Tuesday, February 19th, 2008

Posted: 7:55 am, Tuesday, February 19th

A few things - I really should probably make sure I can draw a good picture of the guy before dedicating a strip to the sudden appearance of Obama, but I don't think that caricature is *too* bad. Better than Tinsley's, which is saying nothing. Also, not exactly sure where this all is going. I think I'm poking fun at the cult of Obama, of which I am a proud, flag-waving member (how can you not love a political candidate who inspires fund-raising aerobics classes in a state whose primary has already occurred?). And, finally, we haven't seen Jen's dresser in like two and a half years, I don't think.

Good op-ed on poverty and its affects in the Times... Uh, yesterday, I guess. (Affects, right?)

Hit the Brooklyn Museum this past weekend. One of my favorite things about the Met is the bizarre series of rooms that are set up near the American art, and are evidently called the American Wing Period Rooms (virtual tour here). I don't know why, but I love those friggin' things. Well, imagine my surprise when we accidentally discovered that the Brooklyn Museum has the same damn thing. Oh, man, it was great. The best two were the Rockefeller apartment right there on that splash page, and then a children's room with just an amazing toy set of Noah and the Ark. Just awesome. (Also interesting was the Dinner Party, and the Ghada Amer exhibition.)

Geez, weird things at the Dome this weekend. We had one dude die my senior year, just dropped dead at the computer cluster. You don't get a 4.0 - I ran into the roommate or the roommate's friend or something, and it came up.

Former Soul Coughing frontman Mike Doughty has a new solo album coming out today - has anybody heard much of his solo stuff? I fucking dug the Cough but for some reason let it go when they broke up towards the end of collitch. I've downloaded a few tracks from this new album, but haven't given 'em a listen at press time. (Last minute thing before bed last night. Also finally grabbed some Vampire Weekend that I'm sure won't live up to the buzz, but, eh, whatever.)

The ex-prosecutor of the Gitmo trials writes in to the Times pleaing for torture to be discontinued in these United States. And speaking of Cuba, I never, ever, expected this to happen. I'd like to think this has to do with Pete's dream of consuming the flesh of Raoul Castro, but I'm probably wrong.

So, because we are nothing but non-stop fun here at Five Bucks World HQ, 2.0 and I randomly watched the first of Frank Capra's Why We Fight films last night. (It was on the Documentary Channel, which we apparently get.) It is a total propaganda piece, but is really interesting all the same. The stock footage that Capra got is just amazing. Also interesting is that only the Japanese are referred to derogatively - the Italians and Germans get away with just being evil, but the Japanese are almost solely referred to as the Japs, and once as Germany's "buck-toothed friends". Really a very interesting look at American propaganda, and I like to think the Documentary Channel was saying something about showing a documentary video about freedom-squelching governments on the last President Day Shitwit will be in office... Anyway, Google video has it all (didn't know Google video still existed):

And when you're done watching Why We Fight, you can watch about the plan that worked. The - worst - movie - ever - made.

As I have not actually ever seen that all the way through, I am jazzed by this discovery. For some reason it never dawned on me to look for old flicks whose copyright expired. Just a quick search turned up Plan 9, Nosferatu, Dracula (which I actually disliked), Metropolis, Night of the Living Dead, and Freaks (really excited for that one). And, oh my God, DW Griffith's Birth of a Nation is on there. Wow. This is exciting stuff. For me.

bullfrog

MJL -- Tuesday, February 19 2008, 08:56 am

I would've gone with "effects"... Which means you're probably correct.

Wait, there's a cable channel called the Documentary channel? Freaky.

http://documentarychannel.com/main/index_new.php

I never knew, either. Not sure if we always get it, it was on the low end of the dial with a ton of Public Access stations. (Our free cable is a bizarre and nebulous thing, with stations slipping in and out of watchability. Cartoon Network was nearly all-white for months, and now is clear; CNN and TLC have recently developed five-second lags between video and audio, making them maddening to watch; Spike and SciFi vary radically in their volume for no clear reason; two weeks ago, we began getting Comedy Central.)

the documentary channel show we saw--I believe--came through to us on BCAT.

In other news...Maine Coons!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_Coon

I just love these cats. Apparently they're as smart as dogs (that's right, I said it, I don't think cats are all that smart) and can turn on faucets and open doors with their paws. I'm totally getting one!

Update on the one kid who died in Dillon this past weekend, looks like diabetes is the early call.

http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2008/02/19/News/Diabetes.May.Have.Played.Role.In.Mcgraths.Death-3218979.shtml

Also, I was evidently a sophomore and not a senior when the dude died in the computer cluster.

Wait, what? Where in the hell are we keeping a cat the size of a beagle?

I read that they've found a prehistoric frog about the size of a bowling ball. Or the same size as your Maine Coon.

Does every state have a state cat?

No. Only three, evidently.

http://www.netstate.com/states/tables/state_mammals_cats.htm

Other awesome categories, "State Flying Mammals," and "State Furbearers".

http://www.netstate.com/states/tables/state_mammals_flying.htm

http://www.netstate.com/states/tables/state_mammals_furbearers.htm

Milk is evidently the official beverage of New York state - hell yeah, Empire State - and our official fossil is that of the sea scorpion.

http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/ny_symb.htm

affect = verb

effect = noun

Where's the editor on this call?

Probably working.

And, yeah, I think it's effects now. Oh well.

Hark! Do I hear the call for an English Major? Let me . . . aw, rats. It would be the day I had to deliver all morning.

Zero

The sad thing is, MJL and I also were English majors. And possibly ad, I can't recall. I can tell you all about Dante, though, and a good amount about 19th-century American lit.

Vote Hobbes the Tiger for Illinois State cat in 2008! http://www.everypicture.com/shop/books/038aa2dd606d94b1929e642d4757a7d4/calvin-and-hobbes.jpg

He'll be running unopposed, as long as I can find a way to get him on the ballot.

I wonder what the state mineral of New York is?

one of our cats is part Maine coon- very fluffy and large, with the M on the face. characeristic-wise he fits wiki's description pretty well. and he actually will play fetch with a hair-tie sometimes. but otherwise, he's not particularly smart.

English major and six years of teaching HS English means I know all kinds of ways to massacre the language. Affect/effect is one of the more minor injuries, really.

Hobbes is on the Democatic ticket.

We rollin'.

The seriously racist WWII stuff is from Warner Brothers. Hitler gets it bad from Bugs Bunny, but as for their depiction of Hideki Tojo: holy yellow peril, Batman!

Urgh -- our Park Slope congresswoman, Yvette Clarke, is a superdelegate for Hillary:

http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.typepad.com/only_the_blog_knows_brook/2008/02/yvette-clarke-a.html

Follow the link in the link to get to contact information for her.