Token Liberal

Daily Doodle: Obama iPleases the Republicans

 

Daily Doodle: Political Grab Ass ... A Match Made in Heaven

 

Daily Doodle: Conan the Contrarian

 

Music Tip: The HotBats

 
SOMEWHERE WAITING TO BE ROCKED (TL) -- Tip for the new-music starved: The HotRats are making the late night TV show rounds this week (Letterman on Wednesday, Fallon on Friday). The band is a couple guys from Supergrass doing garage band/pub rock covers of songs by the Beastie Boys, Elvis Costello, Squeeze, English Beat, Pink Floyd and others. The snippets on Amazon sound like a decent diversion ... and I haven't heard a good new album in months.

Hume Humbled

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Uh-Oh, Steve's Reading Again: Jeff Koterba's "Inklings"

 

 

SOMEWHERE READING BOOKS (TL) -- I first met Omaha World Herald cartoonist Jeff Koterba at an editorial cartoonist's convention in Oklahoma City. We were freshly graduated from college, where we'd both earned numerous awards for our cartoons in our respective college newspapers. 

Friendship came easy for two Midwestern kids sharing a similar and specific goal of becoming a newspaper cartoonist. We were giddy at the convention, reporting back when one of us had an actual conversation with a Jeff McNelly or one of the other cartooning superstars on hand.

We kept in touch through the years, reporting on our progress toward our shared goal. Jeff scored first: A regular gig as the sports editorial cartoonist at the Kansas City Star. When the big leagues called Jeff -- a staff position as the editorial cartoonist at the Omaha World-Herald -- and he had to stop the weekly sports cartoons at the Star, it was my name he recommended for the now-vacant position. 

So I followed in his footsteps, penning a weekly editorial cartoon for the Star's sports page. The Kansas City Chiefs, then quarterbacked by Joe Montana, were featured on Monday Night Football and the broadcasting team showed and discussed my cartoon on air during the game. A lot of people called me to tell me they'd seen it. The first person I called was Jeff.

Jeff was now a nationally syndicated, staff editorial cartoonist ... and still looking out for me. I'd get e-mails or calls regarding new cartoonist openings. We collaborated on a comic strip that ultimately went nowhere, but was fun to work on. I drove to Omaha and he showed me around town (I keep threatening to return).

I bring all this up because I want to enthusiastically recommend his recently published memoir, "Inklings."

When I heard he was writing it, I was excited because I'm always interested in reading about editorial cartoonists. Having read the book, it's about much, much more. 

Among other things, it's a remarkably well-written book about families and how they function (and sometimes don't). Jeff, true to form, remains eloquently pragmatic and even optimistic in the face of a difficult childhood. 

“I also know we are a family filled with regret. We are the clouds of smoke left behind on the launch pad as the rocket soars skyward. But even in our fog of disappointment, the rocket itself, its power and speed, gives us hope and makes us believe that at any moment our luck might change.”

The book is filled with wonderfully realized moments like this as Jeff trudges toward his dream in the face of an unusual father, being struck by lightning and dealing with Tourette's. 

Ultimately, "Inklings" is about dreams, both realized and unrealized, and the cost and rewards of following them ... no matter how far-fetched they might seem.

It's the best book I read in 2009. Check it out.

Daily Doodle: Craig James Gets Someone Else Fired...

 

Reaaaaally ... ?

SOMEWHERE THANKING THE GOOD PEOPLE OF MINNESOTA (TL) -- I can watch this over and over. Especially when Lieberman says, "Reaaaaaaally..."

 

Daily Doodle: Lieberman Creeps Out the Grinch

 

God of Thunder Earns Place at Oklahoma State Capitol

 

OKLAHOMA CITY (Dec. 15, 2009) -- A day after signing a bill to place a Ten Commandments monument on the State Capitol grounds, Okla. Gov. Brad Henry announced that another god would be similarly honored.

Henry said a larger-than-life statue of the mighty Thor, the Norse God of Thunder and star of a popular Marvel Comics series, would join the Christian monument on the Capitol grounds. 

Legal experts say once the state legislature passed a measure allowing one religious icon on the Capitol grounds, the door was open for Thor and others.

Henry said, "Despite his Norse origins, Thor has Oklahoma ties." Henry pointed out that Thor is the God of Thunder and Oklahoma City is home to the NBA's Thunder. Henry also mentioned that, in the current storyline of the Marvel comic, Thor has relocated Asgard (home of the Norse gods) to rural Oklahoma.

"The son of Odin, most powerful of the Norse Gods, Thor has been an emissary to humanity, a protector of both Asgard and Earth and inspiration for humans and gods alike," said Henry, using words lifted verbatim from the Marvel Comics Web site.

Henry said the statue would be unveiled on May 20, 2011 -- the opening date for a big budget "Thor" movie to be directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston and Natalie Portman. 

More than 40 people, including a large number of comic book shop managers and customers and at least three people identifying themselves as practitioners of Asatru (a religion whose followers worship Norse gods), attended today's announcement at the State Capitol in Oklahoma City.