Interview with Dr. Paul Breslin

I have worked with Paul for over seven years. Here, he talks about a cool scientific journey from observation to probably saving lives.

Anti-inflammatory properties of extra virgin olive oil: D…

Carry the One Radio

Rap City Rabbit

Let’s travel back in time. When I was a kid, growing up on a farm in Oman (few people actually know this fact), I watched a lot of Tom and Jerry, old episode of the original Bugs Bunny, and not much Mickey Mouse. And Tom and Jerry made a lasting impression on me. I still watch these short animated masterpieces with the same enthusiasm as 15 years ago, only now I have an even greater appreciation for these pieces as art.

For one, there’s very little dialogue – which means the shows can be disseminated globally with very little revision (aside from censorship: funny story, an episode of Yogi Bear was edited in the Saudi Arabian version. A scene where the Beat’s wife throws water on him is deleted). And yet, these cartoons cannot be aired in their original states. And i’ll show you why.

Check this out: It’s by far one of my favorite animated pieces. Call the Cat Concerto, it shows Tom playing Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 and his antics with Jerry of course. The piece itself is wonderful in its own right, and it rightfully won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.

Now, compare it with this. It’s Rhapsody Rabbit. Notice anything similar?

Sorry I couldn’t find a decent quality English version. But that’s a point that should be raised. There is dialogue in the Bugs Bunny toon (although it’s minimal) and none in the T&J version. As you’ve noticed both pieces use similar gags to play out the same musical piece, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. In fact, both were released in the same year and both groups have sued each other for plagiarism; until this very day the controversy has not been cleared up.

Somethings you might also notice. Bugs Bunny, in the very beginning, murders, in cold blood but with complete impunity, one of the audience members because he is coughing. I mean, you can’t get any more outrageous than that. There are more violent gags that I don’t need to point out that would be completely censored in today’s dull world of cartoons.

Something you might not notice: There are no cut scenes in The Cat Concerto while Rhapsody Rabbit is full of them. And at the end of each, I feel that the former held my attention more. I mean, even the use of an annoying mouse seemed forced in the Bugs Bunny version. In my opinion, Tom and Jerry take the cake on this one.

Then I found The Opry House. An early Mickey animation using the same music as these two more famous pieces. And this all brought me back to the sampling entry Jeff wrote a while ago.

Notice the tobacco Mickey spits out at around 0:49?

–Cover #24–

Batman#364

One Small Step

Check out my new camera.

It’s a Sony CyberShot. It’s actually the first item I’ve ever bought on Black Friday, or as my Mom likes to call it, “The Day of Death after the Giving of Thanks”. (My mom has never said that in her life.) And I only participated because I didn’t actually have to leave the house. I bought it online. Finally, someone who cares about the lives of his fellow humans had the bright idea of making the super saver deals available via internet. That way, the economy is still stimulated by the sudden rise in consumerism, but less people actually die due to the Mecca style stampedes.

In order to make that Mecca reference, I searched the internet to see how many people actually die during the Hajj Pilgrimage. I thought there’d be about 10-20 deaths per year or so but because there are millions of pilgrims each year, it’s a little higher than that. Let’s say, high enough to be too depressing for me to draw parallels with the Black Friday stampedes.

Now I’m too depressed to right more

Let me change topics quickly. Back to my camera. I am proposing something new. Are you ready? Below is a picture that I’ve taken from one of my trade paper backs. It’s published by Vertigo but these are all the clues you’re going to get. If you figure it out, I will send you today’s comic book of the day (Cover #23 below). Best of luck.

Take a Guess

I don’t know how to use my Mac yet so I just uploaded the raw image… no post editing today. Sorry.

–Cover #23–

And possible prize to the Detective who figures out what that image above is referring to. Post your guess in the comments below. If you win, email me your address.

The Amazing SpiderMan: Fear Itself