WHEN:
Now until noon US Eastern Time on Sunday September 12.

WHAT:
Get yourself and as many of your friends on facebook to go to my facebook fan page (http://facebook.com/beartoons) and hit that “Like” button and then tell me that they are now following me because of you.  They can tell me via this post or via facebook.  You can also just click the “like” button on the Facebook widget on the right.

For every person that is added as a fan (including yourself) and credits you will earn you an entry into the drawing.  And for those already a fan…no you cannot unlike me and then like me to earn another entry.

HOW:
Use your blog, facebook, twitter and get the word out.  For example you might post on facebook.

I want to win a caricature of myself.  So do me a favor and go to http://facebook.com/beartoons and hit the “like” button and tell Bearman I sent you.

PRIZE:
Your choice of either a  caricature of your face (or someone elses) or select your favorite design from the store and I send you a t-shirt.

I will select at least one winner (assuming I get at least one more fan).  I’ll have two winners if the number of fans goes over 175 and three if it goes over 200.

CAVEAT:
a.  The caricature, if chosen, will be a 8×10 image of your head only and will be in my style so…
b.  It may look like you, it might not.  Depends on what you look like.  I make no promises that I won’t make you uglier or better looking than you actually are.

I’ll be online some but not posting again until I announce the winner.  I’ll make comments here when I can and try to make my usual blog rounds on occassion.

Good luck.

UPDATE:  Blog about this on your site and I’ll throw in another entry.  Just let me know in the comments if you do.

Long time readers may remember this shirt but given it is a top seller at the store, it is one I like to highlight each year.   This is the first t-shirt I ever designed for the store:  it depicts a guy in lederhosen carrying a large sausage.  The back say’s “Grab your Sausage and Have Fun”.

Why highlight an Oktoberfest shirt the end of August?  Well, while Munich Germany’s Oktoberfest actually runs into October (Sept 18 – October 3), Cincinnati celebrates it smack dab in September (the 18th and 19th) and Covington, KY (right across the river from Cincinnati) celebrates the weekend before.

Quick trivial facts.  Cincinnati has the largest Oktoberfest celebration in the United States.  Last year an astute commenter indicated that it was Canada that held the distinction of the largest outside of Germany.  However, he is wrong according to my spot Wikipedia sources.  The largest celebration outside Germany is in Blumenau, BRAZIL!  But here is where Cincinnati gets back some of it’s swagger.  Estimates for the Canadian and Brazilian Oktoberfest are in the 700,000′s.  However each lasts about a week.  Cincinnati pulls in around 500,000 people in just 2 days.  Now who drinks more?

More designs created over the years:

Click image to go to page.

Normally a joke this bad would fit under the category of “Rejected Reader’s Digest Cartoons” but today happens to be National Banana Lover’s Day (no Susi NOT what you are thinking).  Interesting though, according to this list of food holidays, I did miss a golden opportunity for a cartoon on August 3 AKA  “Grab Some Nuts Day” 

Oh and if you don’t get the joke in today’s cartoon, please ask a 3rd grader to explain it to you.

To celebrate Banana Lover’s Day, some other cartoonists have done their own take on a Banana Gag.  Check them out and tell ‘em who sent you.

• The Wannabe Pirates
• Promises Promises
• Robot Beach
• Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic
• Capes & Babes
• Life’s a Witch
• Neko the Kitty
• Familiar Ground

A group of cartoony folks do something on twitter called #tuesdaysketch whereby someone sends out a topic and people sketch a cartoon under the theme.  

This week the topic was “muppets”.  Sometimes I wish I could be as honest and Waldorf and Statler. Check out all the entries at the Flickr Group.

Come back Friday for something I am postive will “A-Peel” to you.

Today’s editorial cartoon was inspired by national radio host, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, who announced on Larry King last week that she was going to quit her show at the end of her contract (in four months) because she felt her free speech was being limited.  Seems few would accept her apology on the air for not only dropping the n-bomb multiple times during a call but actually told a black female caller that maybe she shouldn’t have married outside her race if she was “hypersensitive about color and don’t have a sense of humor.”

Now one thing I agree with Dr. Laura in her announcement to Larry King was when she used the phrase, “Debate don’t Eradicate” when it comes to speech you don’t believe in.  I think people tend to focus too much on what everyone else is doing and not enough on dealing with their own racist beliefs.  So if I can call you out as a racist before you can do it to me, I win because no one wants to defend themselves after being called a racist.

HOWEVER,

A.  Read the transcript of the call.  Not once did the caller ever get to finish any point because Dr. L constantly cut her off and didn’t listen to her entire example or point.  I get that radio hosts have to move things quickly but don’t complain about having your speech limited when you are in the power position.

B.  READ the TRANSCRIPT.  The arrogance that some people have that they assume with the power the hold.  Oh my.

C.  She was planning on not extending her contract prior to this incident.  So this just looks like grandstanding to me.

D.  She mentioned to Larry that even without radio she still has her website, podcasts, YouTube, books (and not mentioned were her speaking engagements) so is her speech really being limited?

E. Just because you have a 1st Amendment right to Free Speech in the United States, do NOT mean I can’t have an opposing opinion.  Yet people only think Free Speech applies to themselves and not the other guy.

Nate, who has more cartoon sites than Tony has changed his mind between wordpress and blogger, is at it again with a new cartoon on Go Comics Called Break of Day

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Gruff Guano is a recent addition to the madness here. Click the link to check out his blog.

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Duncan and Nobbly have been too lazy to send me a banner ad so I made one based on their header.

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A Graphic Novel from Jande, E-orbits, Eccentric Orbits, J.A. Rowe or whatever the heck he/she is going by today.

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And finally Gatoons. Since half my readership is from Australia, you will be happy to know that he is a fellow contrymen.

I know there are some of you who I am still waiting on 125×125 banner ads of your site. If you are a regular reader (or just passed by on the way to the bathroom) and want to get on the links page, just let me know.

This was actually based on a conversation I had with someone about the proposed Mosque to be built a few blocks from Ground Zero in New York.  Unfortunately, as the media tends to do, they keep referring to the proposed center as the Mosque AT Ground Zero.  When I asked the person if they would be OK if the Mosque were built a few blocks away, she said yes.  I said, “well that’s the plan anyway”.  Then she backtracked and came up with more reasons why it shouldn’t be built.  To which I replied, “How far is far enough?”.

Matt Sledge of the Huffington Post did a nice article that showcased that you can’t see the proposed site from Ground Zero and even if you came via the subway, you would have to go out of your way to see the Mosque.  So for all the arguments against it, which I am open to discussing, can we at least agree that the Mosque will not be AT Ground Zero?

For those concerned about the impact of a sixteen story Mosque that close to ground zero, I have a simple solution.    Build a seventeen story Synagogue and an eighteen story Church right next door.

Today folks is a special treat.  As I typically struggle with just one caricature in a cartoon, this week I had FOUR.

Sylvester Stallone’s new movie, The Expendables, was released on Friday.  It’s both a whos who and a whos that of action films.  The main guy in this cartoon is former Everybody Hates Chris dad, Terry Crews.  Before that show (and to some of you now) he is one of those “That Guys” in Hollywood where you might not know his name but you definitely have seen him in plenty of movies including the classic “White Chicks”.

But as I got to thinking about the other cast, they are known for either being misunderstood, monotone or mumbling their lines.

- Stallone – Mumbler
- Arnold Schwarzenegger - Misunderstood
- Li – Mumbler (and sometimes Misunderstood)
- Roarke – Mumbler and Misunderstood
- Jason Statham – Monotone
- Dolph Lundgren – Misunderstood
- Randy Coutoure - A who’s that unless you are a UFC fan (and I have never heard him talk)
- Stone Cold Steve Austin – A who’s that unless you are a Wrestling fan (but he has great mic skills)

So I could see Crews in this movie saying he wasn’t expendable as even the enemy needs him to interpret what these other guys are saying.  Yet I love all these guys movies because I am an action junky.  Though I think they should have included Richard Roundtree.

Side note:  See those buttons below.  If you like something I do, vote it up.  If you use reddit or digg and are signed in (assuming it has been posted to either) all you need to do is click the up arrow or thumb it up.  Thanks!

This cartoon was inspired by Wired Magazine.  Each month in their issue they ask readers to consider what different products will look like in the future.   Then, they combine all the most popular elements into a feature on the final page.

This month they asked what the Taco Truck of the Future would look like in 2025.  When you combine mystery taco meat and rolling food carts, I don’t think this truck should wait that long.  They need to start production right away.

So help me out and upvote it on their site.  They don’t make it easy to find my entry but here is what you need to do.

1.  Go to this page on Wired.com

2.  Scroll down to the entries and by “Show Entries that are” select “new”

3.  You should see my cartoon as one of the first.  Depending on your screen settings you may need to scroll the box right to see the arrows. 

4.  Click the up arrow and viola….er voila (or for you non french  Wa Lah!)

Two things happened this past week in Cincinnati.  First council approved a controversial plan to build a street car in the city.  I’m not going into the good and bad of it per se but once again Cincinnati tries to follow plans of other cities to promote tourism while never seeming to lead the way.  One reason it is controversial is because opponents say that fares will not cover the cost to operate the streetcar and the city will continually have to pony up money to keep it in business.

Secondly, they decided to double the parking rates in downtown from $1 per hour to $2 per hour.  While not New York pricing, this is one of the highest in a 250 mile radius.  On top of it they increased the rates for city garages.  So let’s see…what was the plan to bring more people downtown?

What stuff does your city do that you question?