Distribution Automatique

Tuesday, March 18

Check out -Froth- (Maryann Shaneen) for up to date news on anti- war demonstrations and a special message from Paul Chan. Links to your left.

September 11 cartoons by Art Spiegelman, "In the Shadow of No Towers" in the March 6 issue of "London Review of Books" are the first September 11 jokes that actually made me laugh out loud - with the exception of The Comedy Channel's incredible Jon Stewart. Shortly after Sept 11, Jon, who "hosts" what he calls a "fake" news program, and who is never ever anything but funny, actually wept on his show when describing his experience of witnessing the bombings, at the moment he mentioned that because of their absence he could now see the Statue of Liberty. Since then, as before, Jon will never shirk at laughing at anything or anyone, very much including himself. Spiegelman witnessed the bombings also but in one of the cartoons in this terrific two page spread says: "He ran back home to phone the school so he only saw the second plane smash into the tower on tv (a voice says) Art! forget the damn phone- just HURRY (then) though he heard the deafening crash right outside his window (next box) He saw the burning towers as he and his wife ran to Canal Street toward the school... but the view was obstructed as he ran up the next block (next box) He could only see smoke billowing behind a giant billboard...it was for some dopey new Scharzenegger movie about terrorism (next box with poster of Collateral Damage) Oh my God!...oddly in the aftermath of September 11th , some pundits insisted that irony was Dead..." I can't think of anyone better qualified than Art Spiegelman to find a way to laugh about Sept 11- just didn't think it was possible- but I guess honing your cartoon skills on the Holocaust could do it.