It's a bird, it's a plane, it's CHRIS CHRISTIE!!!

From an editorial in today's Press of Atlantic City:

"The U.S. Attorney for the state of New Jersey, Christopher Christie, has finally served a subpoena on the state Office of Legislative Services, seeking memos, e-mails and other communications with lawmakers involving the “Christmas tree” items that are tacked on to the budget every year."

"This last-minute spending, which invariably goes mostly to districts controlled by the party in power, involves hundreds of millions of dollars. Christie apparently wants to know whether some officials steer some of that money to organizations that benefit the lawmakers or their families. (Naaah ... in New Jersey?)"

"But OLS, which serves as the Legislature's nonpartisan legal counsel and research arm, is fighting the subpoena. The agency, which is supervised by 16 lawmakers serving on the Legislative Services Commission, has refused to comply with the subpoena and, according to The Star-Ledger, has even hired an outside attorney to make its case at $275 an hour."

To read the full editorial, click here.

I want the truth!

Pocket Cartoon Course

Over at the ComicsDC blog, Mike Rhode has posted pages from The Pocket Cartoon Course, a portable drawing guide for wanna-be cartoonists "on-the-go."

I wish I'd known about it. Maybe I'd have reconsidered the whole Joe Kubert School thang. Althought I don't see a Hy Eisman how-to-letter section. Suckers.

Thanks to Mike Lynch where I first saw this.

Aggressive negotiations for Corzine

Well, good old Corzine now has to put his money where his mouth is. He's insisted all along that a component of property tax cuts would have to be a cut in the costs of benefits and salaries to state employees and labor unions, a stance that has been greeted harshly among those it would effect. As the property tax bill was being considered by the assembly, Corzine insisted that he would handle the negotiations to lower costs with the unions themselves, and that the legislature should take a "hands-off" approach.

All right Governor, let's see what you've got.

Here's the sketch:

Be my Valentine?

As I heat up my truck this morning, hopefully defrosting the think ice it received last night, I thought I might as well post my latest cartoon. I should have it colored by this afternoon, so check back later and let me know what you think.

Here's the sketch:

Guess that cartoon!

I sketched my cartoon today at work, so I thought I'd post a sneak peak and see who can guess what it's going to be about. I'll finish the cartoon tonight and have it posted tomorrow morning, so check back and see how close you were.

Handelsman shows how to draw

I don't know how long it's been up on the Newsday website, but their editorial cartoonist Walt Handelsman has a short flash slideshow showing his creative process as he draws, inks and finishes an editorial cartoon. There is also a link to the animated cartoons that he's produced.

Moor-MAN! Moor-MAN!

For anyone that questions the toughness of the Buffalo Bills, check out this play from Saturday's NFL Pro Bowl, where Brian Morman gets decked by Sean Taylor of the Redskins. Morman, a punter on the AFC squad, jumps right back up after the hit and congratulates Taylor, one of the most feared safeties in the league.

Thanks to my boy, theSon of Davinci for the link.

New cartoons

I'm just posting these cartoons now, b/c I'm going to be out of the town for the weekend. I wish I could type more about them, but I'm flat out of time, so I'll have to save it for a later date.

Have a great weekend out there!

New Jersey lowers your property taxes...this year

Sorry to keep this brief, but here's the second Wizard of Trenton cartoon I've done. I'm glad my editors enjoy them, b/c they're really fun to do. Here's the first:

I wonder if the diapers were approved for shuttle use

If you haven't heard, this has to be one of the weirdist stories of 2007.

A NASA astronaut accused of trying to kidnap a romantic rival for a space shuttle pilot's affections was charged with attempted first- degree murder Tuesday and jailed on $25,000 bail. She had already been charged with attempted kidnapping, attempted vehicle burglary with battery, destruction of evidence and battery. If convicted of attempted murder, she faces between 30 years and life in prison.

Although the astronaut, Lisa Nowak, claimed that she just wanted to "talk" to the romantic rival, she had in her possession upon her arrest a new steel mallet, knife, rubber tubing and large garbage bags. Hmmm...nothing weird going on there.

Making the story even more bizarre is the fact that Nowak, a 43-year-old Navy captain and married mother of three, drove 900 miles from Houston to Orlando while wearing a diaper so she wouldn't have to make any unnecessary stops. Upon arriving, Nowak donned a disguise and was armed with a BB gun and pepper spray when she confronted a woman she believed was a competitor for the affections of Navy Cmdr. William Oefelein, an unmarried fellow astronaut.

All this from a woman who passed all of NASA's rigorous mental and physical tests, and flew a shuttle mission a little over 7 months ago in July of 2006!

I wonder if she wore a diaper up there too?

Here's the sketch:

To read more about this story, check out an article from the New York Times by John Schwartz here.

So much for being greeted as liberators

Manning in COLOR!

I didn't have time to post it yesterday, but here is the Manning cartoon in glorous color! I've also posted the cartoon without the line drawing. I always think it looks cool and weird as I'm coloring my drawings, but I've never had an outlet to share it, until now. At least I've found some use for this blog!

(Reposted b/c of the Colts win in the Super Bowl, and Peyton Manning's MVP award.)

Non Sequitur attacks editorial cartoonists

So I'm relaxing yesterday morning, reading the Sunday funnies, when I come across 'Non Sequitur' by Wiley Miller (a fellow member of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists). Funny think is his strip attacks EDITORIAL CARTOONISTS! You can read the cartoon here.

In response, over at the Editor & Publisher, Dave Astor reports on the strip, and there is a rebuttal from current AAEC President Rob Rogers, cartoonist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and Vice President Nick Anderson, the cartoonist for the Houston Chronicle. You can read the article here.

Thanks to the AAEC.

Thurman Thomas makes the Hall of Fame

The 2007 Hall of Fame inductees have been announced, and congrats go out to Thurman Thomas, long-time Buffalo Bills running back, who was elected into the hall of fame along side Michael Irvin, Gene Hickerson, Bruce Matthews, Charlie Sanders and Roger Wehrli.

For those out there who just remember his 3 bad Super Bowl performances (He had a game high 135 yards rushing in Super Bowl XXV, along with 55 yards receiving), Thomas was the league's most valuable player in 1991, when he gained more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage. When he retired in 2000, he ranked sixth all-time in career yards from scrimmage (16,532), with 12,074 yards rushing. Only Emmitt Smith and Barry Sanders ran for more yards in the 1990s. He currently ranks 12th on the all-time rushing list, and 8th in yards from Scrimmage with 16,532. Thurman also ranks 2nd among all NFL running backs with 472 career pass receptions, and 4th in receiving yards with 4,458. In the playoffs, he had 1442 rushing years and 21 touchdowns. He was also elected to 5 straight pro bowl appearances.

Here are some interesting links worth checking out:

Thurman Thomas video highlights on the Buffalo Bills official website (must have RealPlayer)

Coverage of the selection on the Buffalo News website

Photo from Bills Daily

Knock'em out!

In Atlantic City, the 2nd Legislative District seat is up for grabs, and ever since State Sen. Bill Gormley announced his resignation, a power vacuum has existed in the GOP. Gormley supports Assemblyman Frank Blee, but he is opposed by U.S. Representative Frank LoBiondo. LoBiondo supports Egg Harbor Township Mayor Sonny McCullough.

An interesting plot-line of this opposition involves Gormley's failed attempt to capture the 1994 Republican Congressional primary. He faced LoBiondo in that primary, who eventually was victorious, and many say a rift has existed between them ever since. A claim they both deny.

And waiting patiently on the side to battle whoever emerges is Democratic Assemblyman and former Atlantic City Mayor Jim Whelan. He will be a strong candidate for the democrats, and his position could actually strengthen depending on how heated the battle between Blee and McCullough will become.

Stay tuned!

Read more about the battle in this story by Press of Atlantic City staff writer Thomas Barlas here.

Pile of Newspapers

Quick sketch of some papers on my desk that I did as I waited for Adobe Creative Suite to upgrade on my computer. I'm designing a new website for the newspaper I work, so I'll post my progress as I go (and what I'm allowed).

Meeting sketch

Just posting a quick sketch I did in a meeting today. All that gibberish floating around is head are notes that I'm supposed to read.

Oh well...

Nick Anderson interactive cartoon

Another animated cartoon, this time from the Houston Chronicle's Nick Anderson. Over on his blog, he's posted a new cartoon that is interactive, and it's exciting to think about what's possible with this new wave of desktop technology, especially with someone as creative as Nick behind it.

You can check out the animated cartoon here.

Will Eisner's new website

One of my favorite artists, Will Eisner, just got a beautiful new website with lots of cool features, like a page devoted to John Law (currently being written and illustrated by Gary Chaloner, who also designed the new site).

Check out the new site here.

Thanks to The Comics Reporter.