Sheikh Muhammad Al-Munajid has just posted a video on YouTube, responding to media coverage of a weekly program that he presents on a satellite television channel.

He says that Western media organisations have quoted him out of context, and wrongly implied that he issued a fatwa calling for killing Mickey Mouse.

Related articles:

Islam in the Age of Globalization
By Bruce Lawrence , Duke University
(Vol. 3, May 2008)
Religion Compass

Wait. What?

The exhibit, named Splatter, is the first in the world to be issued a parental advisory. It features Daffy Duck's head being blown off, Tweety's bloody corpse in a cage, and Tom cutting up Jerry like a carrot. Bloody and over the top, I'm not sure if artist James Cauty (and his 15-year-old son) are making a comment on the violence of cartoons (*see Itchy and Scratchy) and see the parental advisory as a sort of way of getting their message across. According to his Web site, he is not new to using existing imagery (i.e. Mickey Mouse in a soldier's outfit gunning down a person) in order to subvert social and political themes. When asked about the warning for Splatter, Cauty said, "I guess they have to do that because of the violence."

Here's a full article.

As a media-soaked Gen-Xer, I've grown accustomed to seeing my childhood memories bastardized by the Hollywood Nostalgia Patrol. Cases in point: The Wachowski brothers' CGI-laden "Speed Racer," Tim Burton's pointless remake of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," and Richard Linklater's even more pointless remake of "The Bad News Bears."

Now, as if to rub salt in my culturally sensitive wounds, The Walt Disney Company is planning to overhaul the Muppets.

The New York Times' Brook Barnes reports that Disney, which acquired the rights to the Muppets in 2004, has had trouble marketing Jim Henson's furry friends to a generation weaned on Pixar and Hannah Montana. This is to be expected considering that "The Muppet Show" bowed in 1981, and it's been nearly a decade since Kermit and the gang have appeared on the big screen. The most recent Muppet incarnation I can think of was Miss Piggy's Pizza Hut commercial. And, let's face it, the last thing Miss Piggy needs is another helping of mozzarella sticks.

 So, okay, I'm a realist -- I understand that cultural entities will, over time, evolve to meet the sensibilities of ensuing decades. Moreover, I've always considered the type of pop-culture purism practiced by the comic book set impractical. (Imagine if the creators of Tom and Jerry had never done away with Mammy Two Shoes.) But when I hear that Disney is tinkering with my beloved Muppets to appeal to today's youngsters, I fear the worst. The genius of Jim Henson, after all, was that he aimed his puppet characters at adults. Somehow I doubt Disney will do the same.

I swear if Kermit starts rapping I'm going to kill myself.

دبي- العربية.نت : أثارت فتوى لداعية إسلامي معروف بقتل الفأر "ميكي ماوس" الشخصية الكرتونية المشهورة، غضب الكثير من وسائل الإعلام الغربية والأمريكية بعد أن تداولتها الكثير من المواقع الإعلامية ومنتديات الإنترنت، وجرى مناقشتها في العديد من البرامج الحوارية والإخبارية بعد ترجمتها للانجليزية، وذلك وفقا لما أفاد تقرير إخباري نشر الأحد 21-9-2008.
وكان الشيخ محمد المنجد قد طالب في برنامج تلفزيوني بث مؤخرا بقتل "ميكي ماوس" لأنه من فئة الفئران ويحل قتله في الحل والحرم، وأوضح الداعية المعروف أن الفئران من جنود إبليس ويسيرها الشيطان، مشيرا إلى أن الإسلام سمى الفأر "فويسقة" ويجوز قتل الفئران في أي وقت لأنها نجسة وهي كائنات ممقوتة.
ونقلت جريدة "شمس" السعودية عن المنجد قوله إن الرسوم المتحركة التي يتابعها الأطفال غيرت نظرة الأطفال للفأر حيث أصبح الفأر من الأشياء المهمة العظيمة، ومن الشخصيات المحبوبة لدى الأطفال، رغم أن الشريعة ترفضها فهي كائنات ممقوتة ومفسدة، واختتم بأن الفأر "ميكي ماوس" شخصية عظيمة لدى الأطفال رغم أنه يقتل في الحل والحرم.
وأوضحت الصحيفة أن الشيخ محمد المنجد يعد أحد الشيوخ المعروفين في السعودية وخارجها، وهو إمام وخطيب جامع عمر بن عبد العزيز بالعقربية في مدينة الخبر، كما أنه من أوائل الشيوخ الذين قاموا باستخدام الإنترنت في الدعوة، إضافة إلى أنه يشرف على عدة مواقع إسلامية وله العديد من الكتب الدينية.

لقد آن الأوان .. لإعلان الجهاد المقدس ضد الفئران .. سواء كان ميكي ماوس أو غيره من الجرذان .. هيا بنا يا طالبان .. يا أبناء تورا بورا و أفغانستان و بيشاور و وزيرستان .. هيا نحرر البلدان من جنود الشيطان .. توم و جيري و ميكي عملاء الصهاينة والأمريكان ..

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119:11

I watched Caleb as he sat there in deep concentration just staring at the book. Finally, I asked him what he was doing. His response was one I had never heard before. He said, "I'm staining it into my brain."

He was memorizing Scripture verses for AWANA Club.

The thing is he knew what he was doing. He knew that he was trying to burn the words into his memory so he could pass on to the next challenge.

I like how today's verse applies to Caleb's staining power. The psalmist gives the reason why he is hiding God's Word. What is it? So that he will not sin against God.

The reason for Bible memorization is to help us to abstain from sinning.

Oftentimes we resist Bible memorization. Instead we choose to stain our brain with TV shows depicting adultery, murder, and obscenity. Then we get ourselves into a moral bind and we wonder how we got into that place. We shouldn't wonder. We should realize that what we choose to watch and/or memorize is what is going to stain into our brain.

"Oh, that sex scene isn't so bad, at least they muted the sounds."

"Why yes, the whole point of the show was that the husband didn't get along with his wife and had an affair. But at least he was able to get a divorce and the mom was able to keep the kids."

"Well, sure there was a lot of swearing but the story was great and the murder scenes were so realistic. Cinematography has really advanced these last few years."

Folks, these are stains. They will stain your conscious and your heart and those of your family.

What are you staining your brain with these days?

Intersecting Faith & Life: Spend some time this week with your family memorizing key scriptures about salvation, like Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Acts 16:31, and 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.

Further Reading

Why Memorize Scripture?
Teaching Memorization and Speaking Skills to Your Children
2 Timothy 3:16-17

****************************************************************************************

I'm reminded of Philippians 4:8... "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virture and if there is anything praiseworthy -- meditate on these things."  How perfect God's word is!

This week Noah said he was watching Tom & Jerry and Tom got drunk. I didn't know all the details at the time, but decided on the spot that it probably wasn't something he needed to be watching anymore. He tried to tell me it was only a little part of a great show... and used the old analogy of the brownies.

"If I gave you some brownies, and they had lots of yummy chocolate in them... but only a little bit of dog poop.. would you want to eat them?"

"No!"

"Just a little bit of something bad can completely ruin something good, can't it?"

I kind of got that "Aaaaaw, Mom..." line and look.

I then shared with him this verse from Philippians. He needed no other explanation. He stated it simply. "No more Tom & Jerry." Just from hearing the words, he knew that Tom & Jerry were not something that really fit with God's instruction in the passage above. Sometimes he'll question my judgment, but how I love that he never questions the Lord's! If he reads it in the book, the matter is settled... period. 

In retrospect, we discovered that Tom got drunk because he fell in a tub of fermented cider. But Noah thinks that when Jerry saw that while under the influence, Tom let him do anything he wanted... he decided to find ways to get Tom to drink the cider. I don't know if that's considered a gray area or not. Maybe I'm being too harsh and overly critical. But when you come right down to it, are there other things Noah could be staining his brain with? Absolutely!

This discussion with Noah, along with the devotional above has caused me to examine my own life and habits, though... there is plenty there that could be replaced with more wholesome content. Am I as quick to let the Lord's Word settle the matter for me as Noah is? Sometimes... but then there are other times that I practice avoidance and try not to think about what I let pass through my "filters."

This goes beyond the programming I watch, or the things I read. Taken a step further, do I tend to focus on the positive in other areas? How about my relationships? Do I notice and encourage someone when I see them behaving in a manner consistent with Scripture, or do I tend to dwell on the criticisms of others that fill my mind?  Do I seek out the good in people and give them the benefit of the doubt, or am I waiting for them to disappoint me? What is my attitude toward the ministries I'm involved in? Do I grumble and consider them a burden, or do I rejoice over the blessing of being able to serve God by doing something that I love? How much time do I spend complaining instead of giving thanks? Do I worship as much as I whine? Thought provoking questions, eh? I think it's time for some major remodeling if my heart is to truly be Christ's home... but praise God He is faithful to give me an accurate picture of both where I am, and where He wants me to be. He has revealed to me, through His Word, what His "home" is to look like, and He has given me His Holy Spirit to empower me to do the redecorating... and yes, even knocking down a wall or two if need be. He is the Master Carpenter, after all. Who better to make the changes than the One who designed the blueprints? He is the author and perfector of my faith. :)

Numero avvistamenti: Quattro.

Caratteristiche del soggetto: Tre o quattro centimetri di lunghezza, per due di altezza. Colore grigio chiaro. Musetto, orecchie a punta e coda sottile.

Ieri sera me ne stavo comodamente al letto a leggere di marketing e pubblicità, mia vecchia-ritrovata passione, quando vedo un movimento sinistro e imprevisto all’angolo tra l’armadio e la porta.

Suggestione, penso. Abbasso lo sguardo e mi rimetto a leggere. O meglio, faccio finta, e tengo un occhio mezzo alzato.

Ecco allora che lo vedo. Un piccolo esserino esitante che zampetta dietro le mie scarpe da ginnastica, in direzione muro.

Un topo!

Lancio un urlo che sveglia metà del vicinato, incluso il povero my Mr Big che – dovendosi comportare da “vero uomo” – si lancia all’inseguimento dell’esserino con una scopa di stramma. Quella delle streghe, per intenderci.

Risultato: Il topo scompare, lasciandoci più a bocca asciutta di Tom quando invano cerca di acchiappare Jerry.

Ancora adesso, ogni volta che sento un piccolo rumore (che non è raro in questa casa ottocentesca fatta di travi di legno), non so se sia meglio indagare o chiudere gli occhi. Del resto, a causa dei topi, la mia amica S. ha smesso di mangiare e cucinare in casa, mentre L. ha comprato una specie di lampadina a ultrasuoni che dovrebbe spaventare i roditori. In realtà quelli non si spaventano affatto e alla fine è lei a scappare dall’appartamento per rifugiarsi a casa del vicino.

Domani aspettiamo l'Exterminator, reale seppur surrealistica figura professionale assai diffusa in questa zona. La cosa divertente è che la disinfestazione contro i topi qui è un servizio offerto dal comune, tanto è diffuso il problema. Addirittura puoi segnalare i tuoi problemi con topi, altri roditori, scarafaggi e via dicendo direttamente sul sito internet del comune. 24 ore su 24; 7 giorni su 7.

Questo sì che è customer service!

TOM & JERRY - Mouse in Manhattan

Esse é um episódio bastante diferente de Tom e Jerry já que o Tom quase não aparece. Ainda sim, é o melhor episódio do desenho e a trilha sonora (que até hoje é musica de abertura das jornadas esportivas da rádio Guaíba) é deveras épica

PICA-PAU - Niagara Fools

Muita gente prefere o pica-pau roxo, aquele malucão dos rachadores, e de modo geral eu concordo mas esse pica-pau quebra todas as expectativas e se torna pra mim o mais invencivel de todos.
AEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWW \o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/
MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARCHE!

CHAVES - Seu Madruga Professor

Apenas a melhor cena da história. Só isso.

CHAPOLIN - A casa do Doutor Zurita

Apenas o melhor xingamento da história.
(o segundo lugar vai para )

SNOOPY - She's a good Skate, Charlie Brown

Woodstock é foda, o resto é moda.
Alias não confundir com a tirinha em quadrinhos, é uma coisa completamente diferente

COWBOY BEBOP - Hard Luck Woman  

Com Steve Conte e Yoko Kanno é até covardia. Vá lá, pode admitir que chorou...
Chorou? Freeeeeeescão! 

PERNALONGA - Rabit Hood

Alem das frases épicas ("levante-se duque das roupas, levante-se ser royal do bife!"), e do lance do Robbin Hood, o pernalonga simplesmente aplicou uma pegadinha no cara que durou meses, quiça anos... simplesmente a melhor de todos os tempos. O que dizer? A ponte de Londres está caindo...

Concorda? Discorda? Sugestões?

Click HERE to see more from Danielle's session!

Cele mai enervante reclame sunt alea cu Mărirea... credeam că Google e firmă serioasă şi nu se încurcă cu toate prostiile.

Bonus: Bugs Bunny e în sfârşit omorât. De-a binelea:

P.S. : Nu mă întrebaţi cum am ajuns eu pe site-ul cu desene animate. :))

A questão é que esse ser bonitinho, simpático, é altamente cruel. Como podemos observar na imagem, ele  é capaz de realizar façanhas malignamente científicas, para destruir seu inimigo, o simpático e inofensivo gato Tom. Um bixano que não faz nada além de defender sua casa, sua família, e seus donos.

O que a imagem nos passa não é mentira, Tom é um gato alegre, simpático, que não faria mal há uma formiga sequer... Enquanto Jerry é um ser carrancudo, malvado e capaz de destruir uma casa inteira por um pedaço de queijo. Pobre Tom... Quem não se lembra daquele episódio em que Tom morre, e precisa de uma assinatura de Jerry para que entre no paraíso?

O malvado rato nega até a morte, e faz com que Tom agonize... Isso sem contar com as armações mirabolantes, armadas em parceiria com o maquiavélico cão Spike. E isso sempre se repete em diversos episódios da série. Jerry não é um simples rato, é um demônio! Não há explicação para tanta maldade realizada em episódios de tão pouco tempo de duração. Crianças, por isso que peço, passem a torcer pelo Tom, ele merece nossa atenção. Um gato de ouro!

Muito ao contrário desse ser repugnante mostrado abaixo.

This morning I watched Tom & Jerry Episodes with my brothers, Tom & Jerry embodies that classical nature of cartoonage, pure entertainment, albeit (purely violent) the characters don't have to obnoxiously talk to be funny. I don't understand why television, in our generation, doesn't have the same gentle way to illicit a laugh from  viewers. Television ,these days, may not be as violent as Tom & Jerry, but it seems as if the media will do almost anything to capture our attention and gain laugh. Maybe its because in the earlier days of television shows had limits and forced people to be more creative and inventive to be funny.

I find shows that can somehow embrace the quietly funny innocence that older television and silent films have tend to gain almost instantaneous followings. I get tired of seeing my brothers watch spastic cartoons where the main characters seem to have had too much early morning coffee. Its hard to be funny. I know from telling jokes and looking at an audience stare at me that being funny isn't a naturally easy thing to do.

This conversation isn't just about the spastic cartoonage of now-a-days. I guess we can continue it on to my age group. Why do comedians tend to think that sex is the FUNNIEST thing in the world. People tend to let it slide, but really there's no excuse. Its just vulgar. Especially...when there is a whole world of things to laugh at and the comedians get lost in their own web of crude dirty jokes. Not funny. In no way does it rival the pure hilarity of Chaplin's Table Ballet. Or is it funnier than Chaplin's boxing scene in City Lights. But then again, some people would say slapstick antics are MORE funny. I guess what is thought of as funny really depends on the person laughing at it.

Challenge#4

Tom y Jerry

Y sí, otro infaltable. Lo que me fascinaba de este capítulo (y lo sigue haciendo) es cuando Tom prepara la poción y van cambiando los colores. Eso, y cuando Jerry se empepa.

El Contra

Lo veía con mi viejo. Creo que lo pasaban los viernes por la noche. No entendía muy bien los chistes, pero me gustaba Calabró porque era fanático de Johnny Tolengo.

Acá el video de mi tema preferido "Estás para ganar".

El video es brady, kitsch y tiene un toque de Cacho castaña.

Droopy

El perro depre que más me hacía reír. Debería ser un ícono dark o emo.

Típica la frase: "Estoy taaan feliz". Con su característica voz nasal.

Bugs Bunny

Terriblee las que le hace pasar ese marcianito!. Lo odié.

Garfield

Creo que hacía apología a la obesidad infantil. Grave problema en los E.E.U.U. Parece que no tuvo mucho efecto en mí. La película... cual-quie-ra.

La Granja de Orson

Era buenísimo el huevo con patas. Yo quería que rompiera el cascarón de una puta vez!!!

Los Double Dragon

Qué alegría que tuve cuando me compraron los muñecos!!. Todavía los tengo. El otro día, revisando en el placar, encontré una caja con todos los juguetes. Me puse a buscar las armitas, por las dudas que me agarre ganas de jugar de nuevo.

Las Tortugas Ninjas

Me acuerdo que mis viejos me dijeron que no me querían comprar a Rafael porque habían escuchado en el noticiero que contrabandeaban droga en el caparazón de las tortugas ninjas. Mmm... cómo podían frutear tanto!! Era el que me faltaba!!! Rafael!!!

Los Moto Ratones de Marte

Sí, definitivamente creo que estos eran los más fumados. Ratones marcianos que andan al palo en 2 ruedas. Fumantástico!

Demasiado heavy para mi edad.

Super Campeones

Zar-pa-do. Otra serie de esas que me marcaron la niñez mal. A la altura de los Caballeros del Zodiaco.

Cuando jugaba a la family cantaba el tema de la intro y gritaba en la parte que dice "En grandes torneos, partís sin parar". Hoy me doy cuenta que dice: "En grandes torneos PARTICIPARÁN."

Con decir que no apagaba la family para no perder hasta donde había avanzado. Así fue como se terminó quemando la consola.

Cuando aparecía el personaje que se llamaba "Andy", se me paraba un poquito el corazón. Tenía el mismo apodo que yo!

Los Picapiedras

No hace falta decir mucho. Hace un par de años les hice un homenaje en una fiesta de disfraces. Chaucha era Pablo y yo era Pedro. O yo era Pablo y él era Pedro? No sé. Los disfraces eran un poco confusos.

Los Supersónicos

A mi hermana y a mí nos gustaban mucho más que Los Picapiedras. Ella fue quien me hizo notar que era lo mismo pero en el futuro. Le molestaba que dijera "Copetín" en lugar de "Cometín".

Acá va una parodia de la intro por Family Guy. Jajaja. Muy buena.

قررت ان اضع لكم بعض هذه الالعاب لمن يحب ان يرجع قليلا بنفسه الى زمن الطفولة و المرح.

لعبة ( Prince of Persia ) الجزء الاول
 

 
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لعبة ( Prince of Persia ) الجزء الثاني
 
 
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لعبة علاء الدين (Aladdin)
 
 
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لعبة Doom1

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لعبة Doom2

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لعبة ( Lion King )
 
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لعبة ( Operation Wolf ) وتعتبر من اقدم العاب الكمبيوتر الشخصي
 
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اتتمنى ان نالت الالعاب اعجابكم .. وتقبلوا تحياتي واشواقي :)

Comments:
1] There's something both funny and courageous about Shirley Bassey's name appearing amongst those other female singers!
2] OK, so I had to google the name "Jacqui McShee". Singer in Pentangle apparently. That'll be why I didn't know the name - some old 70's folk rubbish.
3] Hold on, Hold ON.... wooooaaaaah!...... Number 6 Best TV Show - Tom & bloody Jerry???
4] The fact that Lindisfarne's mournful "Lady Eleanor" was voted Best Single proves there were a LOT of drugs around in the seventies.
5] Those DJ and Radio show names have rekindled a LOT of fond personal memories.
6] Isn't funny that in 1972 David Bowie was considered a "Bright Hope"
7] I had to look up Jonathan Kelly too - again, folk nonsense
8] Aaaaaaaaah, Vinegar Joe.... featuring Elkie "Pearl's a Singer" Brooks and a certain Robert "Addicted to Love" Palmer...

It's hard to know exactly when it happened, but sometime between January and June of 2008, my five-year-old (now six) outgrew most of the post-toddler "kid" shows on Playhouse Disney and PBS, and became a crazed fanatic about Cartoon Network.

It would be easy to blame it on my wife, since she does not share my mistrust of the network itself, and started turning it on for him when I had previously been steering him away from it. But it's my fault, too. For one thing, I'm doing what we said we would not do: using the tv as a babysitter, to keep him occupied and safe while we try to get other things done (like this damned blog! ...which magically turns minutes into hours!). Or rather, his body is safe... his mind may be another matter.

I'm trying to nip it in the bud by setting some time limits, but I fear Pandora may already be out of the box, and my kid's a budding cartoon junkie. He hasn't asked  to read a book in months. He blurts out random non-sequitr quotes from unknown shows while we're riding in the car. He doesn't want to go outside when it means turning the tv off. I don't want to sound alarmist, but I'm concerned Cartoon Network will make my child into a brilliant idiot.

There are two reasons I don't like and don't trust Cartoon Network's daytime programming:

1. commercials for junkfood, bad toys, and more crap we don't need but that he will bug us to buy. He's being groomed as a consumer, and I don't want the corporate monstrosity that is AOL/Time/Warner reprogramming my child and undoing the good work we've done for six years
2. too much 'toonified violence... watered down, bloodless, but aggressive nonetheless, and pushing values I definitely don't share. There's a marked difference between the spirit of conflict between Wile E. Coyote vs. Roadrunner, and the power rays, magic and kung fu of today's cartoon violence. I can't always put my finger on it, but something about most of the current "drama" and adventure 'toons just seems to rub me the wrong way as a parent and a pacificist-leaning Christian. Plus it's mostly just bad... badly written, badly drawn, badly acted. For example, I won't willingly let Graham watch Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs until he's 17... but when he does see it, I want to be the one to show him how good movie and tv-makers can do up violence and double-crossing with great intelligence, humor and style, instead of the cartoonish hollowness and CGI flashiness of The Incredible Hulk.

Just as an experiment, though, let's switch on Tuesday morning's Cartoon Network offerings for awhile and see what we get:

7:56am   Ben 10  is just wrapping up. Or is it Ben Ten: Alien Force. I don't know. There are two current series featuring the same characters, and I think Ben 10 is Graham's new favorite show. He clearly idolizes Ben, who is ten. (How'd you guess? No wait --on Alien Force, Ben is 15. I'm confused now.) It's not bad overall. Fairly innocent, with today's villain being a midget hypnotist who wants all the people at the mall to rob the cash registers and bring him cash. Ben has some wristband thing with a button he can push to transform himself into other entities, like Fireball Guy, or Plant Guy. Silly, but not all that different from the animated adventure/superhero stories that formerly appeared only on Saturday mornings or after school. The downside: I put on Playhouse Disney as Little Einsteins was wrapping up today, and Graham howled, "No! I don't like this show anymore!" It used to be his favorite. Poor innocent little glasses-wearing Leo, cast aside in favor of one of the "cool kids", complete with a shape-shifting gizmo and a preteen's smart-aleck attitude.

7:59am        Wedgies. I had neither seen nor heard about this show until just moments ago. Oh wait, I see -- it's only a little bumper, a time-filler, a 1-2 minute mini-toon called Flapjack. Maybe these pilot-y sorta things are called Wedgies 'cause they're wedged between two other shows. And unless I miss my guess, that's Brian Doyle-Murray I hear voicing one of the two featured Flapjack characters. Brian is Bill Murray's older brother. He's a fairly decent, funny actor in his own right. But apparently nowadays, in an era where scripted tv comedy is third in the pecking order, behind hourlong dramas and semi-scripted reality tv, A-list character actors like Brian have to take what they can get. That means voicing car commercials (Matt Dillon is the current voice of one of the major car companies), or little wedged-in bumpers, or cartoons, just to keep working steady. (Brian's done some Sponge Bob, some Disney tv stuff, a wide range... his scratchy voice is good for cartoons.) It used to be that movie actors (I think) did this type of work on the side, for fun, or after their biggest career successes were well in the rear-view mirror. But with increased competition, for fewer on-camera jobs, I've noticed more and more recognizable actors slogging away on cartoons. Take the PBS show Cyberchase, for example. It has two: Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future's Dr. Emmett Brown) and Gilbert Gottfried (better known as a stand-up comedian, and for that aggressively annoying voice). Now maybe these two actors actually like working on a quality show that subtly builds math skills into the plotlines. And I know Mr. Lloyd has done stage work on and off for years as well. But part of me can't help but wonder if the less expensive, less creative, tenement-style programming that is reality tv is the main reason that cartoons have become the bread-and-butter for a whole class of actors now. Meanwhile, have you looked at most of the crap that passes for live-action network sitcoms aimed at 18 to 32-year-olds these days? Big Bang Theory ? Puh-leeease!

8am      Johnny Test - (Not to be confused with Jonny Quest, for all you old-schoolers out there.) I've only popped my head in and watched partial episodes, but when I did watch, Johnny Test had a time machine. This is an old trick: it gives the writers permission to put their own goofy spin on thousands of years of human history. Now Graham will probably think Atilla the Hun was just a scowling ham of an actor with a beard and a clearly un-American look, unlike the dashing, blond and ironic hero, feisty little Johnny T.

8:30am    missed it - TVGuide.com says it was Skunk Fu! - probably typical of the snarky, hugely ironic and self-referential nature of entertainment in the Oughts. Everything's a lefthanded rip-off of something else...

9am    Tom & Jerry Blast Off to Mars. A feature-length movie, produced by TBS cable network. Actually, Ted Turner and/or AOL/Time/Warner (owners of Cartoon Network) own alot of those old cartoon franchises now. When Cartoon Network first started it was mostly just an outlet for a wide range of those shows I grew up with, like the Hannah-Barbera stuff. (Now , CN shows alot of original and syndicated programming, some of which is imported, much of which is crap that definitely will not stand the test of time.) I blogged about this once, in the context of a discussion on Scooby Doo's staying power. Meanwhile back here at the ranch, Graham just saw that Tom and Jerry were on, and got very excited. I was gratified that at least two of the more "classic" characters and situations strike his fancy as much as, if not more than, the Pokemons and Ben Tens of the cartoon universe.

Long live Bugs Bunny, Felix the Cat and Fred Flintstone!