As is often the case, we all tend to overlook the many small blessings we have in our lives. For example, if you're reading this today, you have Internet access and a piece of technology to read the Daily Felltoon on at the moment.
That's more than many folks in the world have right now.
Something many Americans often don't look at as a blessing these days is a day away from their responsibilities. Whether at one of our multiple jobs, or in the search to find employment that pays enough, a day off is something too many Americans don't get these days.
So as a gift, our namesake and Editor-In-Chief, Paul Fell, decided our staff should have this week off - after we send out today's edition.
We're giving you a full set of cartoons for the week, including a Daily Felltoon, a HuskerNutz cartoon, and Paul's Prediction for next Friday's Husker football game (not including highly questionable officiating).
Before we step out for the week, we want to thank you for your continuing support of what we do here at the Daily Felltoon.
Thank you for reading, and enjoying our work.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving week. We certainly will be.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Friday Funday: Sad News - But Hope Springs Eternal
It was both a surprise and another gut check for us this week as the online publication The Washington Independent was forced to close its doors, another casualty of both the recession and the pervasive attitude that everything online should be cost-free for the user.
As at least one of our staffers has said elsewhere, this wasn't a left versus right issue. TWI, while slightly left-leaning, was a solid publication, winning awards, and helping lift quality journalists like Dave Weigel to the next level.
We hate to see yet another great media product of any kind go away, either online or offline. As so many have been lamenting of late, quality sources for news and information are far too hard to find. We were proud to link to The Washington Independent many times over the last two years, and are saddened to see them go.
So why are we telling you about this on Friday, when we're supposed to be having fun?
Whether it's writers, cartoonists, photographers, editors, web-personnel, or others in the media world, all of us - and many of our readers - have been saying for MANY years that the internet needs to find a better way for those of us who work in cyberspace to get paid for our work.
The sad fact pointed out by our webmaster Shawn, is that, in the beginnings of the internet, some of the original designers wanted to make EVERY link bidirectional - meaning every link connected the original source to the current page that link was on. That bidirectional system also was designed to allow micropayments - which would allow every writer, cartoonist and other content creator to get thousands or millions of tiny payments.
The way the internet works these days doesn't allow for this.
Enter the folks at Google, specifically Google News, with one of their newest inventions, Publishing Metatags.
While the experiment is still in the initial stages, its implementation is relatively simple. Because it's a product of Google, the idea of content creation being able to be tracked - and maybe earning money for its creators - seems to be one that's finally being taken a bit more seriously. Even if Google's current approach doesn't work, their entrance into this field seems to be spurring a growing number of serious discussions of how micropayments could make online content creation fiscally viable.
We hate that more of our fellow media professionals are looking for work once again.
But there is hope - growing and serious hope - that those of us who create great words, pictures, and other media for you, may soon be able to actually get paid fairly, allowing us to continue to do what we do well, whether online or in print.
In that there is some serious hope, and that's a cause for celebration for all of us.
Enjoy your weekend.
As at least one of our staffers has said elsewhere, this wasn't a left versus right issue. TWI, while slightly left-leaning, was a solid publication, winning awards, and helping lift quality journalists like Dave Weigel to the next level.
We hate to see yet another great media product of any kind go away, either online or offline. As so many have been lamenting of late, quality sources for news and information are far too hard to find. We were proud to link to The Washington Independent many times over the last two years, and are saddened to see them go.
So why are we telling you about this on Friday, when we're supposed to be having fun?
Whether it's writers, cartoonists, photographers, editors, web-personnel, or others in the media world, all of us - and many of our readers - have been saying for MANY years that the internet needs to find a better way for those of us who work in cyberspace to get paid for our work.
The sad fact pointed out by our webmaster Shawn, is that, in the beginnings of the internet, some of the original designers wanted to make EVERY link bidirectional - meaning every link connected the original source to the current page that link was on. That bidirectional system also was designed to allow micropayments - which would allow every writer, cartoonist and other content creator to get thousands or millions of tiny payments.
The way the internet works these days doesn't allow for this.
Enter the folks at Google, specifically Google News, with one of their newest inventions, Publishing Metatags.
While the experiment is still in the initial stages, its implementation is relatively simple. Because it's a product of Google, the idea of content creation being able to be tracked - and maybe earning money for its creators - seems to be one that's finally being taken a bit more seriously. Even if Google's current approach doesn't work, their entrance into this field seems to be spurring a growing number of serious discussions of how micropayments could make online content creation fiscally viable.
We hate that more of our fellow media professionals are looking for work once again.
But there is hope - growing and serious hope - that those of us who create great words, pictures, and other media for you, may soon be able to actually get paid fairly, allowing us to continue to do what we do well, whether online or in print.
In that there is some serious hope, and that's a cause for celebration for all of us.
Enjoy your weekend.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
The Ruling On The Field? Delay Of Game.
Maybe it's just a coincidence, that the new version of the START treaty - one of the few bills that has had wide bipartisan support in the Congress - has been stalled so far in the 2010 lame duck session of Congress.
Unfortunately, the only starting we've seen on Capitol Hill so far is the race to make sure every House member has some special kind of committee to chair.
Instead of short debates about extending unemployment insurance - so that holiday gatherings at American households don't turn into permanent, long-term living arrangements - we're seeing stories about who gets what Congressional title, or who won't have a meeting because of some perceived slight nearly a year ago.
Instead of putting on their battle armor, and suiting up for one more try at accomplishing worthwhile legislation - like funding our military or securing nuclear weapons - our legislators seem to have headed back to Washington in rhetorical party dresses.
Don't the fools on Capitol Hill get it? If they're going to go the 'mean girls' route, like some pampered teenaged prima donnas, they're going to have to dig one hell of a lot deeper into the resentment bag than, "That guy came to my party last year, when we embarrassed ourselves on camera - so we're blaming him for it."
The thing that tends to irritate us most isn't that nothing much is getting done during this Congressional overtime period. It's that while Congress can't find the time to get legislation passed, they all seem to find the time to poke their tiny heads in front of microphones and cameras. They remind us of too many so-called professional athletes we've all seen - in print ads, on TV, in movies - but rarely in the end zone or at the awards ceremony.
We've pointed this out a dizzying number of times already in the 15 days since the election, but what Americans voted for wasn't a wholesale change. No matter where you fall along the political spectrum, an honest accounting of the results will tell you that Americans were voting for Congress to hurry up and help get Americans back to work. Instead, we get musical chairs, empty promises, and lots of wind-testing and coin tossing to attempt to see which way will be easiest for politicians to try and score points on their rivals.
As far as many voters on both sides of the aisle are concerned, if Congress keeps this up for two more years, we may just bench every one of them in 2012.
Unfortunately, the only starting we've seen on Capitol Hill so far is the race to make sure every House member has some special kind of committee to chair.
Instead of short debates about extending unemployment insurance - so that holiday gatherings at American households don't turn into permanent, long-term living arrangements - we're seeing stories about who gets what Congressional title, or who won't have a meeting because of some perceived slight nearly a year ago.
Instead of putting on their battle armor, and suiting up for one more try at accomplishing worthwhile legislation - like funding our military or securing nuclear weapons - our legislators seem to have headed back to Washington in rhetorical party dresses.
Don't the fools on Capitol Hill get it? If they're going to go the 'mean girls' route, like some pampered teenaged prima donnas, they're going to have to dig one hell of a lot deeper into the resentment bag than, "That guy came to my party last year, when we embarrassed ourselves on camera - so we're blaming him for it."
The thing that tends to irritate us most isn't that nothing much is getting done during this Congressional overtime period. It's that while Congress can't find the time to get legislation passed, they all seem to find the time to poke their tiny heads in front of microphones and cameras. They remind us of too many so-called professional athletes we've all seen - in print ads, on TV, in movies - but rarely in the end zone or at the awards ceremony.
We've pointed this out a dizzying number of times already in the 15 days since the election, but what Americans voted for wasn't a wholesale change. No matter where you fall along the political spectrum, an honest accounting of the results will tell you that Americans were voting for Congress to hurry up and help get Americans back to work. Instead, we get musical chairs, empty promises, and lots of wind-testing and coin tossing to attempt to see which way will be easiest for politicians to try and score points on their rivals.
As far as many voters on both sides of the aisle are concerned, if Congress keeps this up for two more years, we may just bench every one of them in 2012.
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