Category: Beartoons

William Shatner Depantsed by TSA

The Cartoonist Studio Editorial Cartoon Contest continues and I made it to week NINE!! So I am almost done asking for votes. Thanks to all for voting. Click the image above or here to go to the voting. You should do a search of “Bearman” and my cartoon will come up front and center and then vote. Again, as long as I stay in the contest, there will be two editorial cartoons a week to vote on – Mondays and Thursdays. Oh and you can vote multiple times in each round if you want (resets every six hours) until EOD Tuesday.

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A little humor for the week prompted today’s editorial cartoon. It seems actor William Shatner (Star Trek, TJ Hooker, Priceline Negotiator) has a little embarrassing moment with TSA agents at LAX. He was going on an international flight out of LAX and as he relates it, he didn’t want to be wearing anything binding…so he went to the airport in loose clothing and NO UNDERWEAR. Shatner, who had a hip replacement always sets the metal detector off and has to have extra security pat downs. Well it seems an inexperienced TSA agent got the “short stick” and was a little aggressive in his work causing Shatner’s proton torpedo to be visible to everyone in airport security.

See the video of Shatner relaying the experience to Craig Ferguson.

August 6, 2012
US Media – The Olympic Dopes

The Cartoonist Studio Editorial Cartoon Contest continues and I made it to week EIGHT!! Thanks to all for voting. Click the image above or here to go to the voting. You should do a search of “Bearman” and my cartoon will come up front and center and then vote. Again, as long as I stay in the contest, there will be two editorial cartoons a week to vote on – Mondays and Thursdays. Oh and you can vote multiple times in each round if you want (resets every six hours) until EOD Saturday.

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Today’s editorial cartoon was inspired by the lovely media in the United States. So when Michael Phelps breaks records it is because of his hard work and dedication to perfecting his craft. When Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen breaks records it is because she is doping or even worse actually a man. Seriously?? We can go into the potentially unethical way the Chinese Government pulls kids away from their parents at a young age to mold them to be an Olympic great and then dump them when they don’t perform up to expectations. But does this poor girl, who has not failed a single drug test, have to be put up to that level of scrutiny??

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So some of you know my friend Lynn of Trippin With Rip fame has gone off the radar and is spending time in Thailand (including at least one night in Bangkok). She has created a foundation in memory of her son Christopher that will work to help those in the tribal communities of Asia and Thailand. She has set up a Facebook page titled The Christopher Robert Project. Those of you who know her, please go give it a “like”. Those of you who don’t, check it out and possibly do the same. She’s good peeps.

August 2, 2012
Editorial Cartoon: Olympic Sponsorships

The Cartoonist Studio Editorial Cartoon Contest continues and I made it to week EIGHT!! Thanks to all for voting. Click the image above or here to go to the voting. You should do a search of “Bearman” and my cartoon will come up front and center and then vote. Again, as long as I stay in the contest, there will be two editorial cartoons a week to vote on – Mondays and Thursdays. Oh and you can vote multiple times in each round if you want (resets every six hours) until EOD Tuesday.

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OK kids after some heavy posts last week, I thought we were all due for some lightening up with today’s editorial cartoon. The Olympics are in full swing in London. I love the Olympics and everything about it. And I completely understand the International Olympic Committee working hard to protect its brand from those who try to profit off it illegally. But are they too heavy handed? While reading the Popehat Blog a few weeks back (I highly recommend it if you are into whats going on with the law and rights) and came across a quote from this article:

Olympics organisers have warned businesses that during London 2012 their advertising should not include a list of banned words, including “gold”, “silver” and “bronze”, “summer”, “sponsors” and “London”, if they give the impression of a formal connection to the Olympics. See examples of banned and allowed advertising below.

I have heard of some crazy things they have tried to do in the name of protecting the brand including telling butcher shops not to display their sausage in the shape of the Olympic rings or trying to ban vendors from selling chips (fries) around the Olympic venues because of their McDonald’s sponsorship. They backed off from the latter.

However another quote from the London Organizing Committee rings true

“These rights are acquired by companies who invest millions of pounds to help support the staging of the Games…People who seek the same benefits for free – by engaging in ambush marketing or producing counterfeit goods – are effectively depriving the Games of revenue.”

Thus….giving birth to today’s cartoon. Why not take the sponsorship that one step further?

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The other day I came across a posting by former Star Trek guy and techy Wil Wheaton promoting what he refers to as Don’t Be a Dick Day. It was Sunday. Were you? Shame on you. Make up for it today. This was the image I created for it that was actually shared by Mr Wheaton on Google Plus.

July 30, 2012
Editorial Cartoon: Chick-fil-A and Same Sex Marriage

Given the subject matter of Monday’s cartoon, I wasn’t promoting the Editorial Cartoon studio so now you owe me at least 2 votes this posting. The Cartoonist Studio Editorial Cartoon Contest continues and I made it to week SEVEN! Thanks to all for voting. Click the image above or here to go to the voting. You should do a search of “Bearman” and my cartoon will come up front and center and then vote. Some people were clicking the link and then accidentally voting on the first thing that popped up. Unfortunately no way to direct link to my cartoon. Again, as long as I stay in the contest, there will be two editorial cartoons a week to vote on – Mondays and Thursdays. Oh and you can vote multiple times in each round if you want (resets every six hours) until EOD Saturday. And thanks to Jande Rowe at E-Orbits for the great photoshop brush I used in the background of this cartoon. You can get that one and several others free on her site.

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OK folks sit back and relax because this is going to take some explaining and I am sure in the process I am going to piss off someone on either side of this debate. It seems historically that a hot button issue during an election year is Abortion. People hate discussing it because you are marginalized at one extreme or the other. Not me. Want to know where I stand? I am against it. HOWEVER, I am not sure that gives me the right to say it should be illegal. So for personal reasons I am against it but legally I am more on the fence.

Seems this year the hot button issue will be Gay Marriage. First, I am all for gay marriage and couples being afforded the same rights as I have to commit to one another and therefore have the government recognize that bond including adoption, hospital visitation rights, survivorship benefits, etc. Does that mean I will be upset, if as in England, they call it a “Civil Partnership” instead of “Marriage”. No but that is just my opinion because I think the rights are more important than the word.

Well no one has done more to bring on the topic this week than Chick-Fil-A President and CEO Dan Cathy. You see it is no secret that Chick-fil-A runs as a Christian based company. They have been closed on Sunday’s since inception and tend to donate money to faith based organizations. So it should come as no surprise that when interviewed by The Baptist Press that he would come out in favor of “Traditional Marriage.” Yet to read comments by bloggers and the press, you would have thought he came out picketing with the “God Hates Fags” assholes from the Westboro Baptist Church.

Here is what was actually reported in the original article:

Some have opposed the company’s support of the traditional family. “Well, guilty as charged,” said Cathy when asked about the company’s position.

“We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.

“We operate as a family business … our restaurants are typically led by families; some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that,” Cathy emphasized.

No bashing. So once again, whether you are in favor of same-sex marriage or not, it is unfair to marginalize the other side. People have their own reasons for being for or against it and we don’t have to always demonize them for their stance. Westboro Baptist…hell yes they should be marginalized. But what about the people that oppose it for reasons other than thinking the gay community is an abomination. Should they all be bigots?

Moreover, is it the government’s responsibility to mandate away businesses that politicians don’t agree with? Or should people do it with their wallets and boycott those businesses if they choose? In Chicago, an Alderman has proposed shutting down Chick-fil-A’s request to build in his neighborhood because of the remarks. Ken at Popehat had this take when describing a similar action the Mayor of Boston tried to take:

I think that rich people donating millions to anti-gay causes promotes evil in the world — though they have every right to do it. But I’m far more afraid of government thuggery than private evil philanthropy. Menino appears to be speaking disingenuously and ass-dampy when he talks about Chick-Fil-A “opening their policies.” I haven’t seen any evidence that Chick-fil-A discriminates in hiring or service. Rather, they give money to a cause I despise, one that promotes social discrimination. But the government doesn’t get to pick and choose what social causes are permissible, and any government actor who aspires to that power is a lowlife thug.

So the Jim Henson Company saying we don’t want to partner with Chick-fil-A anymore is a perfect example of private organizations taking a perfectly reasonable response. A Mayor/Alderman saying we are going to block you from even building in the area is wrong.

So to my friends who are against Gay Marriage: Is it the entire idea of it or is it just the word choice? If the word choice alone, great…let’s change our discourse to say that you are open to legally binding federally recognized union that is called something other than “marriage” So those who feel Marriage is a religious thing between a man and a woman get to keep the word but gay couples get to have the rights.

And to my friends who are for Gay Marriage: Please don’t use this political cycle to bash Mitt Romney for his stance against it. If you think he is a bigot for opposing it, remember, if you voted for Obama in the last election then you voted for just as big of a bigot because it was only recently he came out in favor (and even then his hand was forced by Biden).

Comment away…but as always, let’s be civil.

July 26, 2012
Editorial Cartoon: Colorado Memorial

Today’s editorial cartoon memorializes all those who senselessly were the victims of a crazed shooter in Colorado during a midnight screening of the Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises”. Don’t know if this is too harsh an image for some but I didn’t want to sugar coat the tragedy either. My heart goes out to all the victims’ families this week. No more to say.

July 23, 2012
Editorial Cartoon: Obama and Romney Censor Reporters

The Cartoonist Studio Editorial Cartoon Contest continues and I made it to week SIX! Thanks to all for voting. Click the image above or here to go to the voting. You should do a search of “Bearman” and my cartoon will come up front and center and then vote. Some people were clicking the link and then accidentally voting on the first thing that popped up. Unfortunately no way to direct link to my cartoon. Again, as long as I stay in the contest, there will be two editorial cartoons a week to vote on – Mondays and Thursdays. Oh and you can vote multiple times in each round if you want (resets every six hours) until EOD Saturday.

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Today’s editorial cartoon was inspired by an article in the New York Times, that said that in exchange for access to the candidates or their campaign advisors, the media/reporters must provide any on the record quotes to the campaigns to censor or redact. So essentially if I am a reporter for the Times, in order to be able to talk on the record with either candidates advisors, I have to agree to send them the quotes I want to use in my story and allow them to agree to them, remove them completely or just remove certain words. Any reporter that fails to do so is left out in the cold when it comes to top level meetings including those with the candidates.

WHAT?? Ridiculous. At the point that an entity can determine the course of a story it is no longer reporting, it is PR!!! Shame on any media outlet who agrees to abide by these rules.

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BONUS TOON:

Normally I would post this cartoon as a regularly scheduled update. But since I am in the middle of the editorial cartoon contest, I didn’t think it would fit in. But sharing it with you anyway given the timing of the latest Batman movie coming out “The Dark Knight Rises” Of course I had to go there with the title – Erectile Dysfunction.

July 19, 2012
Why Geeks are the Real Superheroes at Comic Con

The Cartoonist Studio Editorial Cartoon Contest continues and I made it to week SIX! Thanks to all for voting. Click the image above or here to go to the voting. You should do a search of “Bearman” and my cartoon will come up front and center and then vote. Some people were clicking the link and then accidentally voting on the first thing that popped up. Unfortunately no way to direct link to my cartoon. Again, as long as I stay in the contest, there will be two editorial cartoons a week to vote on – Mondays and Thursdays. Oh and you can vote multiple times in each round if you want (resets every six hours) until EOD Tuesday.

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So today’s editorial cartoon is inspired by Comic Con that took place this past weekend in San Diego. Considered the granddaddy of comic conventions in the U.S. it attracts thousands of people. Many of them people (men and women) who like to dress up like their favorite superhero or super villain. Two things I notice about this practice.

1. Normally geeky shy people become the biggest extrovert when they put on the outfit. Suddenly the power of the person they are representing flexes through their veins and the take on their persona.

2. No matter how awful the costume is, people want their picture with or be near this group (though I know many who purposefully steer clear as well.

So jocks need not apply at a comic convention. The women aren’t going to give you a second look.

I am what you might call situationally shy. When I was single, I could never approach a woman in a bar but if she came up to me I had no problem conversing. What about you? Anyone an extrovert in some situations and an introvert in others?

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Check out this great fan balloon art of ME!! This was provided by Google Plusser Chryle Elieff. She wanted to thank me for the *MUGGING* (ie. Caricature) I did for her.

July 16, 2012
Editorial Cartoon: Mitt Romney Paternity Test on the Maury Show

The Cartoonist Studio Editorial Cartoon Contest continues and I made it to week FIVE! Thanks to all for voting. Click the image above or here to go to the voting. You should do a search of “Bearman” and my cartoon will come up front and center and then vote. Some people were clicking the link and then accidentally voting on the first thing that popped up. Unfortunately no way to direct link to my cartoon. Again, as long as I stay in the contest, there will be two editorial cartoons a week to vote on – Mondays and Thursdays. Oh and you can vote multiple times in each round if you want (resets every six hours) until EOD Sunday.

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Today’s editorial cartoon is inspired once again by Presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Don’t know if the Maury Povich show is shown outside the United States but he has a daytime show in the U.S. that can’t be missed when you are home sick from work. What Jerry Springer is to fighting and getting naked on his show, Maury Povich is the king of Paternity tests. Deadbeat dad after deadbeat dad come onto the show swearing they never even slept with the mother of a baby in question. Maury’s typical phrase is something like, “When it comes to baby Jessica….George Ford, you ARE THE FATHER!”, causing the “new” dad to be in shock and the baby’s mom to stand up pointing in his face telling him “I told you so, I told you so”

It came to me this week that Mitt Romney is a dad trying not to claim his responsibility for Obamacare. When then Governor Romney was in office in Massachusetts he passed almost the exact same program that Obamacare is based on. And yet throughout the Republican debates, he only would say what works in Massachusetts wouldn’t work for the rest of the country. Now he is promising to get rid of Obamacare if elected. Instead, I would prefer him say, “Sure I passed this. Here is what was right about it, and here is what is wrong. And THIS is what I will change to make it better for everyone.” If anyone has heard him say it, please link me to the article. Would love to eat my words on this one.

July 12, 2012
Tom and Katie Jump the Couch

The Cartoonist Studio Editorial Cartoon Contest continues and I made it to week FIVE! Thanks to all for voting. Click the image above or here to go to the voting. You should do a search of “Bearman” and my cartoon will come up front and center and then vote. Some people were clicking the link and then accidentally voting on the first thing that popped up. Unfortunately no way to direct link to my cartoon. Again, as long as I stay in the contest, there will be two editorial cartoons a week to vote on – Mondays and Thursdays. Oh and you can vote multiple times in each round if you want (resets every six hours) until EOD Tuesday.

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Today’s editorial cartoon marks a sad week in celebrity news. The breakup of the marriage of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. No one saw it coming several years ago when Tom Cruise jumped Oprah’s couch. It spawned a new Urban Dictionary phrase: “jump the couch” now means the “defining moment when someone has gone off the deep end.”

On the surface it seemed like a fairly strong marriage (for Hollywood standards), though it appears on the surface that Katie didn’t fully embrace the Scientology lifestyle that Tom is fully into. Not surprising as couples tend to divorce many times because of issues related to money or religion. Suri is of the age where she could be sent to Scientology schools. Katie may have rejected that and thus why she is seeking sole custody so she can choose what kind of school Suri is exposed to. One former Scientologist explained it to the Hollywood Reporter as “”By filing for sole custody of Suri, she’s making it very clear she’s not going to let what happened with Nicole Kidman happen to her.”

I personally don’t know enough about Scientology to say whether or not it should actually be considered a religion. Though several countries will not offer religious status including tax non profit status. My feeling is whatever your religious (or non religious) beliefs are, are really none of my business for the most part. Though I have two things I don’t understand about Scientology.

1. Why aren’t the teachings open? I could study Judaism, Christianity, Islam, or Atheism all from published bibles/books. Yet beyond some Dianetics books, the “church” only reveals more details about it’s beliefs the more you move up to higher levels of belief….however,

2. It ain’t cheap. In order to move to higher levels you have to have money. So you can’t be a poor Scientologist. Sure other religions want you to donate or tithe but honestly you don’t have to in order to fully understand the teachings.

What do you think?

July 9, 2012
Editorial Cartoon: Obama’s Wedding Chapel

The Cartoonist Studio Editorial Cartoon Contest continues and I made it to week THREE! Thanks to all for voting. Click the image above or here to go to the voting. You should do a search of “Bearman” and my cartoon will come up front and center and then vote. Some people were clicking the link and then accidentally voting on the first thing that popped up. Unfortunately no way to direct link to my cartoon. Again, as long as I stay in the contest, there will be two editorial cartoons a week to vote on – Mondays and Thursdays. Oh and you can vote multiple times in each round if you want (resets every six hours) until EOD Saturday.

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Today’s editorial cartoon was inspired by our President Barack Obama. Seems a few weeks back the President’s staff came up with a genius way to raise funds for his reelection campaign. He started a gift registry on his site.

Got a birthday, anniversary, or wedding coming up?

Let your friends know how important this election is to you—register with Obama 2012, and ask for a donation in lieu of a gift. It’s a great way to support the President on your big day. Plus, it’s a gift that we can all appreciate—and goes a lot further than a gravy bowl.

So yes, a donation goes further than a gravy bowl….unless of course you need to serve gravy. So if you are rich enough will the President officiate at your wedding too assuming you drop enough cash? I am sure there are some billionaires out there would pay several million for that chance.

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On a separate note, I had the fortune of scoring some great tickets to the Opening Ceremony of the World Choir Games held in Cincinnati and for the first time in it’s seven year existence, held in the United States. Very enjoyable experience but I was a little disappointed in the choice of music. They had the world renowned Cincinnati Pops and the Cincinnati May Festival star in the last half of the show after all the formality and speeches were done. It was indeed a great concert but it seemed like just another July 4 (Independence Day in the US) Concert that I have seen before. I would have preferred they use the choir groups from multiple countries to highlight some of the different types of choral music that we could be exposed to over the next 10 days of competition. But my hat still goes off to the organizers as overall it looks like a well thought out competition and I need to find some time to get to some of the many competitions each day.

July 5, 2012