Who ya going to vote for in the California Primary?

I thought everyone could use some help on this. I’ve been doing cartoons on California and the upcoming elections for almost 6 months now for CalWatchdog, this extraordinary journalism site for a think tank in Northern California, but haven’t posted many of them here yet. It’s time.

demon sheep campaign by Carly Fiorina vs Tom Campbell

Okay, now this was  a pretty impressive campaign move. This Youtube on Tom Campbell as a demon sheep – or is it all other Republicans in general are sheep? – by Republican Carly Fiorina is classic Hollywood, and it went viral in days! Gather calls it “the most bizarre political ad ever.” And oddly enough, the makers of this video, just set up their own website 2 days ago, calling this a trilogy!

I think Fiorina’s…exaggerating. Plus, it’s not my voting dealie, so no comment on that election. More cartoons below. Read more »

I had a rough week, so sorry about that. Could this be why I couldn’t find any funny cartoons for the third week of May?! Maybe! I did find some clever ones, however, and clever is a close cousin to funny.

Of course, the PB oil spill continues to be the biggest story around. In one way, I’m happy about that, but before you label me an oil-hugger, let me explain that it’s because environmental issues, or green, as the kids call them, are almost always B or C stories in the news. Just blips most of the time. And now everyone is seeing what a terrible natural disaster (MANMADE, you BP asshats) does to the whole world.

Also, this is a great issue for cartoonists to dive into. Yes, it took an oil spill tragedy to get cartoonists to STOP dwelling on Sarah Palin. Forgot about sniping for a while, didn’t you, guys? SNAP.

Speaking of, I’ll do another oil cartoon roundup later this week, as there are a couple of great cartoons on that, but will focus on other news with this LA Times editorial cartoons selection.

nate beeler on incumbents from politicalcartoons.com

I thought I knew what incumbents are – those people already in office- but wondered why there were a number of cartoons about them recently. Ask and ye shall receive. Half hour ago from the LA Times:

Discontent with incumbents and anti-Washington anger are adding up to a potentially record-breaking crowd of congressional challengers this election year.

More than 2,300 people are running for the House and Senate in the midterms, the highest number in at least 35 years…

Like Senator Specter was tossed out on his heinie. Well, there aren’t any dramatic incumbents in California, but I think LA needs to think about other cultures, like the East Coast, more. Like this homeless man. He’s very rude, which is natural back there. Nobody in LA would ever talk like this, nor would they throw food. ( I thought this was a general wearing medals at first, but now I see that it’s fruit on his suit.) However, we’ve all worked on or visited a movie set, so we get the pandering part.

Read more »

Any excuse to draw a cemetery.

soldier's grave and ipad cartoon

This cartoon cracked me up, but I am dark, so dark.

I don’t know who gets my cartoons, really. I’m just grateful that most editors do. But my editor at Slate didn’t put this really interesting drawing, with toned colors and mood and a really funny joke, on the front page! Astounding! Also, annoying.

Yes, I know Memorial Day is to honor downed military. But not everyone gets the gravity, especially young people.  The fact that the delayed health care plan may have killed this guy… and that getting his new iPad was equally as important (and it’s purple, which seems to be allowed at Apple)… This is Saturday Night Live humor, at least in my eyes.

Caption for blind Google: Gramps, thanks for protecting our country…I’m sorry Obama didn’t get the health bill done in t ime for you…and I finally got that iPad I wanted… JACK SHEPHERD, SOLDIER, LOST, HUSBAND and Here lies Politico.

Have a peaceful, honorable, and, yes, funny Memorial Day.

Also, I’m kind of behind in doing my LA Times editorial roundup, but look for one tomorrow.

I had to do something.

goodbye lost cartoon

Haven’t watched the finale yet, but they said on Jimmy Kimmel that Vincent will live. Good boy.

After watching it: It made me cry buckets, but I was unhappy in a fan/writer/shipper way that is longer lasting. That was not an ending I appreciate, after watching for 6 years.

Tom Richmond, a famous MAD cartoonist with a very active blog, wrote a good summary here. (He writes at one point that he doesn’t watch much TV, but that’s my line, and we know that ain’t true!)

My comment I left there:

I loved this show – it showed that television can be art. Every other show will be held up to this one, and it’s good to have something to aspire to.

This season kind of sucked – the mystical temple, magic waters, and mythology was overdone and hammered into the scripts.

I don’t know anyone who didn’t get the ending – it’s pretty obvious if anyone watched the series, or even this season. But the NYT poll said only 2/3 of the viewers liked the ending, and I’m in the unhappy part. First of all, when I say I want a happy ending, I don’t want the protagonist to DIE in the last 5 minutes.

And is there really a happy? Because if Jack’s OWN SON wasn’t real in the sideways world, who’s to say all the happy reunions were real? Okay, he gains his LOST pals, but loses a son. Yeah, maybe the son wasn’t real, but then what about all the people we know? Logic disconnect.

I’ll write more in my TV blog, when I get time.

As far as the science mentioned here…

Molecular biologist J. Craig Venter, the primary author of the report detailing the findings, described the converted cell as “the first self-replicating species we’ve had on the planet whose parent is a computer.”

Not that impressive, it turns out: the inside part is artificial, but it still lives in a real cell! Spin, much?