Friday, January 30, 2026

Graphic Grandeur (Inalienable Wrongs Edition)

 


There's a new sheriff in town, so to speak. Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino having been sent into exile, it's now Tom Homan's job to rid Minnesota of undesirables. But where to find them?

Cartoonist Mike Luckovich suggests he start here:




Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Lost in Frost

 


Almost looks like fog, doesn't it?  

Saturday, January 24, 2026

Graphic Grandeur (Star Force One Edition)

 

 

You can fret about what went on at Davos all you want. As for myself, I worry more that...




...Earth may soon be paid an unwelcome visit by otherworldly beings!



Cartoon by Matt Reuter

Sunday, January 18, 2026

Vital Viewing (Another Nice Mise-en-scène You've Gotten Me Into Edition)

 


Comedian Oliver Hardy was born on this day in 1892 (he died in 1957.) Here's a 1950 TV interview he did right as he was about to set sail for France: 



The interviewer makes mention of Hardy being part of a famous comedy team, so without further ado, let's see that comedy team in action:



Uh...That's not the comedy team I had in mind.



That's more like it, pilgrim!





In 1956, two of the funniest men who ever lived got together one last time to have their picture taken, though you'd be forgiven if you didn't immediately recognize the one on the right. So what accounts for Oliver Hardy's gaunt appearance? It seems the comedian, spooked by a mild heart attack he had suffered in 1954, went on a crash diet, shedding a whole 150 pounds. However, in a letter to an acquaintance, Stan Laurel speculated his longtime comedy partner had cancer. We do know that a series of strokes felled Hardy about a year after this photo was taken. At least the master of the comic reaction was able to give us one final feat of foolery for the camera.

Monday, January 12, 2026

Quips and Quotations (Naturalized American Film Auteur Edition)

 (Originally posted on 12/8/2014. I've made a slight adjustment to the title--Kirk)





























I’m not against the police, I'm just afraid of them.

--Alfred Hitchcock.

Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Wednesday, December 31, 2025

Smart Art (Ringing In the New Year Edition)

 


New Year's Eve couldn't come sooner! After all, it's been 365 days of rising prices, heightened international tensions, increasing inequality, burgeoning racism, growing sexism, skyrocketing attacks on the LGBTQ community, and fascism in the ascendency. Any downward trends? Yeah, myself, because all of it has left me down in the dumps. Funny how that works. Not that I've entirely given up hope. I mean, 2026 just gotta be better! There's no place to go but up (assuming prices, international tensions, inequality, racism, sexism, attacks on the LGBTQ community, and fascism all go down.) So what's the best way to celebrate the deep-sixing of 2025 and the welcome arrival (and hopeful course correction) of 2026? To best answer that question I went to a seance and asked the medium to contact birthday boy Henri Matisse (above), who suggested that at the stroke of midnight, we all start...



...dancing!

Happy New Year

from Shadow of a Doubt