Author: DOuG pRATt

Left vs. Right Coast Cartoons

For most of the 1930’s, the contrast couldn’t have been greater between the cartoons of the Disney brothers in California, and the Fleischer brothers in New York. While Disney pursued realism, the Fleischer cartoons were unreal.

Something that persisted at both studios was the depiction of cultural and racial stereotypes. To the credit of the Fleischers, they would feature black performers, including Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, and the Mills Brothers.

The Fleischer studio wasn’t the same after Max moved the operation to Florida. That was his first big mistake. His second big mistake was deciding to compete head-on with Disney by producing feature-length cartoons, leading Paramount to call in its loans and take over the business.

Dare to Compare

Compare the sound of speakers, online, while listening to headphones?? HUH?? Audio retailer Crutchfield says yes! You’ll need a pair of headphones that’s in Crutchfield’s database, like the inexpensive Audio-Technica ATH-M20x’s I have.

This setup, created by a couple smart guys with doctorates, is causing quite an online buzz. I’m having a lot of fun playing with it, using WAV files of my own, made over the years. Some music has striking differences between speakers, while other samples sound surprisingly similar.

Tax ‘n’ Vax Day

I have been informed that my 2020 taxes are done. Having prepared my own returns since I was 16, I am for the first time ever using an accounting firm for my personal taxes.

Beckle contemplates why he needs to do his taxes, but life in cartoon land is no different than it is in real life.

The time seemed right to let someone else prepare my returns, after a good experience with a CPA in Arizona, who handled the Trust taxes after my father died. Combined with some bad experiences with Intuit, the parent of TurboTax.

Today I will be getting a shot in the arm, by invitation of Massachusetts General Hospital. AFAIK it will be the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.