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Shashi Tharoor tonight resigned as Minister of State for External Affairs after the high-level Congress Core Group decided that he should quit in the wake of controversy over the IPL Kochi franchise, capping a week-long drama that threatened to suck the government and the party into it. - Times of India, 19 April 2010

Cartoons – The Perfect Holiday Gift

Posted: 11 Oct 2011 11:26 AM PDT I was at the mall the other day and all of the stores had their holiday stuff out. At first I was indignant. "What the...?! Already? We're just barely into October!" Then I began to think about putting together gifts for my clients, and almost instantly I went from "too soon" to "OMG! THE HOLIDAYS ARE COMING!" After some deep breathing and brainstorming I'm feeling better about the gifts I'll be sending out, but in case you're in the same boat I was, might I suggest a novel idea for your holiday giving? Cartoons! Andertoons is now selling both framed hand drawn original art, and premium matted prints of all of my cartoons.  They're the perfect unique gift for that hard to buy for client, co-worker, boss, friend, or family member. And there are thousands to choose from, so you're sure to find something that's just right. Think about it, it's a piece of art, it's a conversation piece, and it's a good laugh to boot. And I can pretty much guarantee you'll be the only one getting them a cartoon this year. I'm offering any cartoon in my inventory as both framed hand drawn art and as matted prints. Here's what they look like and some info on each: Framed Original Cartoons Matted Cartoon Prints

New Cartoons Up! Posted: 11 Oct 2011 08:14 AM PDT

Avengers Trailer Posted: 11 Oct 2011 08:11 AM PDT Hoo hoo, baby! So can't wait to see this!

Halloween Cartoons – Witches Posted: 11 Oct 2011 06:00 AM PDT Every year I get the standard Halloween costumes at my door. You've got your ninjas, your superheroes, your princesses, but my favorite is always the witch. Put a sweet little girl in a black robe and pointy hat and I'm shoveling out candy like there's no tomorrow. So, with trick or treating right around the corner, I thought I'd share a cauldron full of my favorite Halloween cartoons involving witches. Enjoy: I tend to do a lot of tech humor, so when I made a list of Halloween topics to write about, a witch's "spell" immediately suggested "spellcheck" to me. That being said, I have not idea how that would work. Does it involve the cauldron somehow? The stirrer? Some other device? See, this is why its better not to think too long about cartoons. Another cauldron comic. But this time our witch apparently has her own cooking show. Which kind of makes sense. Spells are always full of ingredients, instructions about cooking times and methods (bubbles and toil), they sound very much like recipes. But for me the last sentence, "Tune in next week when I'll be fattening and baking children I find in the forest," makes this cartoon for me. I labored over those 16 words for a good long time. And I'm glad I did because they still make me laugh. Again with the Halloween tech! Apparently my witches are quite modern. The tricky part on this one is drawing something small and generic enough to not bring any particular device to mind, but recognizable enough to read visually quickly. Its also a little punny, but just barely. This cartoon is a good example of one of my favorite writing tricks. Take an oddball character and insert them into a very normal setting and see what happens. The name "Helga" was the sticking point on this one. What's a good witch name that's not too jokey? Hazel? Too Warner Brothers. Esmerelda? Too long. Elphaba? Too showy. I'm still not convinced that Helga is the absolute best choice, but, as the saying goes, sometimes you just have to name your witch and move on. Wait, that's not a saying at all. Well, that's it. Be sure to check out all of my funny Halloween cartoons!

The Latest from Andertoons Cartoon Blog

LEGO Catwoman For The Win! Posted: 13 Oct 2011 07:33 AM PDT In case you hadn't heard, LEGO is coming out with some superhero sets in 2012. They've got licenses for both DC & Marvel and if you've read even only a few posts here at the blog you know that I'm fairly giddy about this. Anyway, LEGO's been holding a contest where you submit your LEGO superhero creations and, drumroll please... I won! Yep, LEGO Catwoman here won me all of the upcoming 2012 LEGO DC Universe sets! Hee-hee! Hee-hee-hee! WOO! See? Giddy!

My Mom’s Painting Posted: 13 Oct 2011 07:23 AM PDT My mom retired a while back, and she's gotten to finally enjoy some time following one of her passions, watercolor. She's been on a tear lately, painting furiously and   winning awards at some art fairs. Above is her latest and I thought it would be fun to show her off a bit and see where I inherited my art ability from. (Click on the image to enlarge it.) Apparently people have been pestering her for prints of this and previous work. Maybe I'll have to be her manager.

Awful Superhero Halloween Costumes I’d Love To See – Bug Catcher Spider-Man Posted: 13 Oct 2011 06:00 AM PDT This week's awful costume I'd like to see made real is from a toy I used to have on a shelf in my office, Bug Catcher Spider-Man: You know, if this was Insect Catcher Spider-Man, I'd be less concerned, but "bug" is so non-specific... There's all kinds of awesome details to this costume, so don't miss checking out all my old pics. And, please, someone put this costume in production!

The Latest from Andertoons Cartoon Blog

LEGO Thriller Posted: 26 Oct 2011 07:00 AM PDT I can't think of a better way to end a spooky month of  LEGO than this:

DRY BONES COMIC STRIP

Sukkot (2004) September 20, 2004 Today's Golden Oldie was published in 2004 ...but it was a rerun ...another one of the very few cartoons that I repeated a cartoon. So 2004 was the second time that I ran the cartoon, but I just can't find the original. 2004 was before I had the blog, which, for me, defines it as a "golden oldie". So here's one of my favorite cartoons! Again!Tomorrow is Erev Sukkot, the eve of this week-long holiday. To browse my previous postings about Sukkot just click on the word Sukkot. -Dry Bones- Israel's Political Comic Strip Since 1973

CERN latest cartoons

CERN cartoon You probably blinked and missed two news items recently out of CERN. The first item was that physicists at CERN had reported that they had observed neutrinos moving faster than the speed of light!! CERN is the European Laboratory for Particle Physics in Geneva, Switzerland and the speed of light is the fastest that anything can move, according to Einstein's theories. That first CERN news item was discussed in a piece in the Chicago Tribune headlined "Was Einstein wrong?" "...a cornerstone of Einsteinian theory is that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, about 186,000 miles a second. If that is wrong, and something can outstrip light speed, then 100-plus years of physics — everything from the subatomic to theories of how the universe evolved — suddenly is up for revision. The universe doesn't work the way we thought it did. We don't really know what we thought we knew. "It would be amazing, everyone would be jumping up and down like crazy," Cal Tech theoretical physicist Sean Carroll told us. "It would certainly be the most surprising discovery in the last 100 years." * * * The second CERN news item that week was the news that the CERN project had officially made Israel the fifth associate member of the project, joining the United States, Russia, India, and Japan. According to the Jerusalem Post: "Israel last week officially became a formal associate member of the Center of European Nuclear Research (CERN) particle accelerator project, lending the country significant prestige in the global academic and research community... ...Israel was named one of five countries recognized unanimously as "being worthy" of joining the project. CERN has even ordered parts from Israeli industry and sent experts to visit on a regular basis. It took two years for the final invitation to be received. Israel's high level of theoretical and practical know-how – much greater than Israel's proportionate size – was greatly appreciated at CERN and is responsible for Israel's path toward recognition as a official member..." Take a good laugh at these funny cartoons.

3-day weekend - 1980s cartoons

September 15, 1980 Today's Golden Oldie is from 1980. Now, as back in 1980, we've just had a three-day Rosh HaShana weekend. Shana Tova!

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The Latest from Andertoons Cartoon Blog

Cartoon in October 2011 Reader’s Digest Posted: 02 Oct 2011 05:24 AM PDT

Unnecessary LEGO Batman Vehicles Posted: 01 Oct 2011 01:11 PM PDT After finishing my massive LEGO Alphabet Spaceships project, I was looking for something a little less restrictive design=wise, and this collection of Unnecessary LEGO Batman Vehicles filled the bill. The idea here is that in addition to the Batmobile, the Batwing, the Batcopter, etc..., that Batman has a Bat-vehicle for pretty much anything, even the mundane. I've posted a few along the way, but now that I've finished with an even dozen, here's all of them, including my last entry: The Bat-Tractor The Bat-Gondola The Bat-Supermarket Scooter The Bat-Blimp The Bat-Bumper Cars The Bat-Zamboni The Bat-Balloon The Bat-Golf Cart The Bat-Segway The Bat-Go-Kart The Bat-Riding Mower

Stock Market Cartoons Posted: 01 Oct 2011 07:00 AM PDT Cartoons by Andertoons

Obama, Pollard, the Jews, and Joe Biden

Obama, Pollard, the Jews, and Joe Biden The Story, breaking as I write this: Biden: Pollard pardon over my dead body "The NYT reported Saturday that in a recent meeting between Biden and 15 rabbis in Florida – meant to bolster the Jewish community's support of the presidential campaign – the vice president was asked about the Obama administration's reluctance to release Pollard, who was imprisoned in 1986, after he was convicted of spying for Israel. "President Obama was considering clemency, but I told him, 'Over my dead body are we going to let him out before his time,'" Biden reportedly told the group. "If it were up to me, he would stay in jail for life."  And more details here: Biden prevented Pollard clemency, NYT reports October 2, 2011 (JTA) -- "President Obama was considering clemency for convicted spy for Israel Jonathan Pollard until Vice President Joseph Biden prevented it, the New York Times reported. "President Obama was considering clemency, but I told him, 'Over my dead body are we going to let him out before his time,' " Biden said during a meeting with rabbis in Boca Raton, Fla., according to the newspaper. "If it were up to me, he would stay in jail for life," he reportedly added. Pollard was sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for spying for Israel. He is scheduled for mandatory parole in November 2015. In recent months, Obama has received a flood of appeals from Congress members and former government officials to grant Pollard clemency. Pollard recently successfully underwent kidney-related surgery. Obama is relying on Biden for help in his reelection campaign with American-Jewish voters, the New York Times article said."