Don't Have a Cow: New York Times Art Critic Awestruck by Simpsons Stamps

I've always had a soft spot in my heart for "The Simpsons," and not just because watching it is one of the best ways to improve a crummy day. Likenesses of several landmarks in my Massachusetts hometown have wormed their way into the fabric of Springfield, thanks to Lance Wilder, one of the show's background designers, who grew up a few blocks away from me, and whose mother was our elementary-school music teacher.

Bart's prison-like school on the show is based on my even more suffocating middle school, and the town hall is modeled on the library where I spent so many hours as a kid (because we had no internet in ye olden days). Hometown lore says that Lance pulled three all-nighters in a row during finals week his senior year at the Rhode Island School of Design to create an audition tape that won over "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening, and has been working there ever since.

This May, the Simpsons family was immortalized on 44-cent stamps, and their simple yet evocative artistry have sent New York Times art critic Roberta Smith rhapsodizing over their perfection. While it took three months for her to need stamps badly enough to run to her nearest P.O. and take notice of them, the ordinarily restrained Smith comes close to gushing about these beauts.

You can tell she had a hard time restraining herself, but her prose glows. Among her compliments: Their "peerless expressions" "[project] maximum psychic and visual power" with their "succinct encapsulations of each character" and "extraordinary chromatic wattage." She even compares their artistry to that of Andy Warhol and sculptor Richard Serra (!), and asks, guilelessly, "Really, are these not among the best American stamps ever?"

While I shudder at how the hapless quintet of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie reflects upon our country, I have to say Smith's criticism dignifies the show and further elevates Mr. Groening's status of cultural genius. Bravo to the show, to Smith, and to the U.S. Postal Service!

How Long Might Your Next E.R. Visit Be?

Several years ago, a scary statistic circulated heavily in the press: The average managed-care doctor visit in the U.S. averaged a mere seven minutes.

I just read an even scarier health-related stat: A third of Americans who head to an emergency room for medical care will need to wait at least two hours.

In a Boston Globe article, New Republic writer Jonathan Cohn details how doctors and citizens in France and the Netherlands wouldn't trade places with U.S. citizens when it comes to medical care. He points out that usually we hear about Canada and Britain in this respect; the sentiment that America's health-care system is broken is spreading, apparently, and a two-hour typical E.R. wait is just one of the problems.

Just wondering--could this negative perception (entirely warranted, IMO) affect our tourism industry? Are people afraid to come to our country because they're afraid of the treatment--or lack thereof--they may receive if they become sick or get injured? And, as an extension of that, could our troubled health-care system eventually lead to a drop in immigration?

Hmmm....maybe that's what the Republicans' grand plan is when it comes to opposing Obama's health-care reforms?

Cohn's article sure made me want to trade places with the French. Instead of heading to an E.R. if you're very sick outside of your doctor's office hours, you're more likely to get a house call from a doctor on call. Ooh, la la.

My six-year-old son had an innovative idea for cutting down your E.R. wait time: Cover yourself with fake blood, like the kind he saw big kids use last Halloween. That might be something that gets the doctors' attention, he said.

Photo of Amsterdam canal by Ian Britton from FreeFoto.com.

Seattle Times' Web Search Stymies

One story that has Seattle abuzz (haha) this week is the potential liquor shortage the state may face, due to a software glitch at the State Liquor Board.

This story isn't just newsworthy to those Seattleites hoping to drink a gin or tonic or two now that summer's here. The state depends heavily on liquor taxes to fund road projects and even schools, as Washington is an income-tax-free state. Last I checked, it charged nearly $1.50 in tax per liter of hard liquor.

I first heard the news of the potential shortage from MSNBC.com, which picked up the story from local NBC affiliate KING5. I wanted to email the story to a friend who couldn't quite believe the news. The MSNBC/KING story is quite short, and I hoped the local press had fleshed out the story.

I had a heck of a time finding the story on the Seattle Times web site. I searched for "liquor" and then "liquor shortage," to no avail. I tried "liquor board," and "shortage" by itself. I was further dismayed to see the radio buttons on the Times' site defaults to their network sites, not the website itself, so for a few minutes, I was searching altogether in the wrong location.

A neighbor informed me that the story did indeed run in the Sunday paper, with the headline "Liquor Shortage Possible." Yet a search on that header yields nothing on their website. The online edition inexplicably has this mouthful instead: "Statewide Distribution Problem May Limit Alcohol Sales During Fourth of July Weekend."

Come again? The whole experience was so irritating I found myself wishing for a bourbon at 3 p.m.

Only by searching by the story's author, Jack Broom, was I able to find the story.

Readers shouldn't have to work so hard!!

Fourth Time's the Charm for Chantix?

More bad news for drugmakers today. Chantix, the prescription smoking-cessation aid from Pfizer, will now require a black box warning, the FDA said today. Reports that the drug may increase suicidality as well as seriously altered behavior aren't being taken lightly by regulators. 

Forbes.com mentioned something significant about this decision that many other media outlets didn't: This is the fourth (!) label change for the drug. Zyban, from GlaxoSmithKline, will also require the black box label. That pill is better known as Wellbutrin--the name used when it's sold as an antidepressant. But the FDA's edict will affect Pfizer more, as it's struggled to find another market blockbuster like Viagra. Chantix has been a big money maker for Pfizer in the past, but sales have plummeted as warning after warning has been slapped on the pills. 

While of course this decision was made to protect lives, MediaNewser worries it may mean higher prices for other Pfizer products across the board--and another hit to health consumers' already stressed wallets. 

Photo courtesy of FreeFoto.com.