A lot of people won't take no for an answer. I wanted you to know that I'm not one of them. I can be discouraged.
If I could go back in time, I'd want to meet Snoopy.
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I had a bad day at work. I had to subvert my principles and kow-tow to an idiot. Television makes these daily sacrifices possible. Deadens the inner core of my being.
Lethem was raised in the Boerum Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, and lives there currently. His mother (an activist) and his father (the avant-garde painter Richard Brown Lethem) were Bohemians living in a pre-gentrified area of NYC during the 1970s. Lethem's mother died while he was still a teen.Intending to become a visual artist like his father, Lethem attended Bennington College in Vermont in the early 1980s but soon dropped out. He hitchhiked cross-country to California and settled there for a decade or so, working as a clerk in bookstores and writing in his own time. After managing to publish just a few short stories in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Lethem broke into the literary scene in full force once his first novel was published. Gun, with Occasional Music was a merging of science fiction and the Chandleresque detective story, complete with talking kangaroos, radical futuristic versions of the illegal drug scene, and cryogenic containment cells. The novel was a finalist for the 1994 Nebula Award, and placed first in the "Best First Novel" category of the 1995 Locus Magazine reader's poll.Lethem put forth very different books at each successive turn. The 1995 novel Amnesia Moon explored a multi-post-apocalyptic future landscape highly influenced by Philip K. Dick, a poly-dystopia rife with perception tricks.After publishing many of his early stories in a 1996 collection (The Wall of the Sky, the Wall of the Eye), Lethem's next novel, As She Climbed Across the Table was a love story set in motion when a physics researcher falls in love with an artificially generated spatial anomaly. Her previous partner is spurned, and his comic struggle with this rejection, and with the anomaly called "Lack," constitute the majority of the narrative. (Lethem's friend, novelist David Bowman, helped him name the novel, suggesting that Lethem -- who was having a hard time deciding on a title -- take the title from the last line of the novel: also the technique Thomas Pynchon used for The Crying of Lot 49. Bowman later dedicated his novel Bunny Modern to Lethem.)In the late 1990s, Lethem moved from the San Francisco Bay Area back to Brooklyn. His next book, published after his return to Brooklyn, was Girl in Landscape. Its plot bore similarities to the John Wayne 1950s movie classic The Searchers. A young girl is forced to endure puberty while also having to face a strange and new world populated by aliens known as Archbuilders.The first novel begun after he returned to New York City is 1999's Motherless Brooklyn, which takes on the detective theme once again, this time maintaining objective realism while exploring subjective alterity through a protagonist with Tourette syndrome. Edward Norton is adapting and planning to star in a film adaptation described as being "in production" as of 2006. [1] The novel won the National Book Critic's Circle Award, The Macallan Gold Dagger for crime fiction, the Salon Book Award, and was named book of the year by Esquire. It is generally regarded as Lethem's most endearing and irresistible novel.Following the success of Motherless Brooklyn his UK publisher brought out new editions of his back catalogue. This included the first UK edition of Girl In Landscape and a revised version of The Wall of the Sky, The Wall of the Eye .In the interval of four years during which he wrote his next novel, The Fortress of Solitude, Lethem also published story collections, edited volumes, wrote magazine pieces, and shepherded his 55-page novella This Shape We're In to an eventual niche as one of the first offerings from McSweeney's Books, the publishing imprint that arose from Dave Eggers's McSweeney's Quarterly Concern.Lethem also married and divorced during this period, living briefly in Toronto in the process. In 2003 he finally published his semi-autobiographical bildungsroman, The Fortress of Solitude, a novel of encompassing ambition featuring dozens of characters in a variety of milieus -- but which centers on a tale of racial tensions and boyhood in Brooklyn during the late 1970s. The main characters are two friends of different backgrounds who grew up on the same block in Boerum Hill. It was named one of nine "Editor's Choice" books of the year by the New York Times, and eventually published in over fifteen languages. For many readers, this engaging, sprawling, uneven tome is Lethem's greatest testament to date.His second collection of short fiction, Men and Cartoons, was published in late 2004. In March, 2005, The Disappointment Artist, his first collection of essays, was also released.Lethem is at work on a novel about a rock band in California, a return to the setting of much of his earlier fiction.The polarity between California and New York, between the West Coast of Chandler and Dick and the East Coast of Lethem's childhood, black music, and graffiti, is one of the most important semantic axes in his oeuvre. Considering The Fortress of Solitude is a partly autobiographical novel, Lethem's Californian novels become an escape from his New York childhood, while the New York City diptych (Motherless Brooklyn and The Fortress of Solitude) is a return to the author's origin and past.On September 20, 2005, he was named as one of the 2005 recipients of the MacArthur Fellowship, often referred to as the "genius grant."He is currently working on a revival of Omega the Unknown for Marvel Comics that has met with severe opposition by creators Steve Gerber and Mary Skrenes.In September 2006, Lethem published a lengthy interview with Bob Dylan in Rolling Stone magazine; the interview contained Lethem's reflections on Dylan's artistic achievements, as well as revealing Dylan's dissatisfaction with contemporary recording techniques and his thoughts on his own status.[1]Motherless Brooklyn inspired singer-songwriter Deb Talan's composition "Tell Your Story Walking", winner of the first Songs Inspired by Literature International Songwriting Competition, in 2002, and included on the album Songs Inspired by Literature (Chapter One), a benefit for Artists for Literacy.
Burbank, Calif. (December 18, 2006) -- Animation legend Joseph Barbera, co-chairman and co-founder of the world renowned Hanna-Barbera Studios, died today at his Studio City, CA home with wife Sheila at his side. He was 95 years old."Joe Barbera truly was an animation and television legend," said Barry Meyer, Chairman & CEO, Warner Bros. "From the Stone Age to the Space Age and from primetime to Saturday mornings, syndication and cable, the characters he created with his late partner, William Hanna, are not only animated superstars, but also a very beloved part of American pop culture. While he will be missed by his family and friends, Joe will live on through his work.""Joe Barbara was a passionate storyteller and a creative genius who, along with his late partner Bill Hanna, helped pioneer the world of animation," said Sander Schwartz, President, Warner Bros. Animation. "Bill created a landmark television production model and Joe filled it with funny, original show ideas and memorable characters that will stand for all time as his ultimate legacy. Joe's contributions to the both the animation and television industries are without parallel - he has been personally responsible for entertaining countless millions of viewers across the globe. His influences upon generations of animation professionals have been extraordinary. While the Warner Bros. family and the animation community will mourn his departure, we will also celebrate his life and the many lives to which he brought great entertainment. I was inspired to work alongside Joe and I am proud to have had the blessing of his friendship."Born in the Little Italy section of New York City, New York, on March 24, 1911, Barbera and his partner William Hanna (who passed away in March of 2001) created hundreds of beloved cartoon characters during their 60-plus-year partnership. They enjoyed one of the most enduring and successful relationships in entertainment history and together created some of the world's most recognizable and beloved characters including Tom and Jerry, Huckleberry Hound, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo and Yogi Bear among many others.Barbera worked as a New York banker until the 1930's when Collier's Magazine published some of his hand drawn "comics." After studying art at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, Barbera honed his animation skills at the Van Beuren animation studios in New York. It wasn't until 1937 when Barbera was hired by MGM as as an animator and writer that he met William Hanna, whom MGM had also just hired as a director and story editor. Hanna's precise comedic timing and ability to manage top creative talent were the ideal complement to Barbera's strong animation skills and storytelling instincts.The pair's first collaboration at MGM was entitled "Puss Gets the Boot," which led to the creation of the immortal Tom and Jerry. The duo won tremendous acclaim in the 1940s when their cartoon cat and mouse danced alongside Gene Kelly in the motion pictures "Anchors Aweigh" and "Invitation to Dance," and alongside Esther Williams in "Dangerous When Wet." Over the years, Tom and Jerry have been honored with seven Academy Awards.Concerned by the advent of television, MGM eliminated the studio's animation department and, suddenly unemployed, Hanna and Barbera decided to make cartoons directly for the small screen. In 1957, twenty years after the birth of Tom and Jerry, Hanna-Barbera Studios opened its doors as one of the first independent animation studios to produce series television.The fledgling studio's first production was "Ruff and Reddy" followed by "The Huckleberry Hound Show" in 1958. The lovable blue canine became an immediate hit and won Hanna-Barbera its first Emmy Award, marking the first time an animated television series had been honored with an Emmy. The studio's next series, "Quick Draw McGraw," premiered in 1959 and showcased the lanky, Stetson-wearing horse on two legs, ol' Quick Draw McGraw himself. The series also introduced America to Jellystone Park's most famous bears, Yogi and Boo Boo, and the mischievous mice, Pixie and Dixie.Breaking new ground became a tradition at the Hanna-Barbera Studios. In 1960, the team created television's first animated "family sitcom," "The Flintstones," a series marked by a number of other firsts -- the first animated series to air in primetime, the first animated series to go beyond the six or seven-minute cartoon format, and the first animated series to feature human characters. "The Flintstones" ran for six years and went on to become the top-ranking animated program in syndication history, with all original 166 episodes currently seen in more than 80 countries worldwide. Fred, Wilma, and Pebbles Flintstone, along with Betty and Barney Rubble are some of Hanna-Barbera's most celebrated classic characters and have spawned spin-off television series, specials and feature films. Hanna and Barbera served as executive producers of 1994's "The Flintstones" feature film and even made a cameo appearance. "The Flintstones" soon paved the way for other primetime cartoons including "The Jetsons," "Top Cat" and "The Adventures of Jonny Quest."Another popular offering from Hanna-Barbera featured a cowardly Great Dane named Scooby-Doo, who eventually made his own place in television history. The popular series "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" remained in production for 17 years and maintains the title as television's longest-running animated series. In 2002, the character returned with an all-new series aptly-titled "What's New Scooby-Doo?" The popular snack-eating canine has inspired a pair of live-action feature films, and an ongoing series of direct-to-video movies that now numbers in double-digits. As further testament to the character's everlasting appeal, the new series "Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!" currently airs on Kids' WB! on The CW as the top-rated Saturday morning children's show.In addition to their award winning animated series, Hanna-Barbera also produced animated feature films including the award-winning "Charlotte's Web," and "Heidi's Song," a full-length animated musical based on Johanna Spyri's novel "Heidi."In 1981, Hanna-Barbera developed the phenomenally successful "The Smurfs" which won two Daytime Emmy Awards in 1982 and in 1983 for Outstanding Children's Entertainment Series and a Humanitas Award (an award given to shows which best affirm the dignity of the human person) in 1987.After nearly 50 years of making animation magic, Barbera and his partner William Hanna were elected by their peers to the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Hall of Fame in 1994. During his 80s and into his 90s, Barbera continued to report to his office regularly, taking an active role in the creation of new Hanna-Barbera projects. In 1992, he served as a creative consultant for the animated feature film "Tom and Jerry - The Movie" and executive produced "Tom and Jerry Kids," the Hanna-Barbera/Fox Children's Network series which ran from 1990 to 1994. In 2000, he lent his voice for a small part in the Tom and Jerry short "Mansion Cat." The beloved cat and mouse have enjoyed a lengthy career that continues to thrive today. Tom and Jerry have been featured over recent years in several top-selling direct-to-video films and a new television series, "Tom and Jerry Tales," premiered in Fall 2006 to strong broadcast ratings for Kids' WB on The CW.In 2000, Cartoon Network launched the Boomerang Network, created specifically as a showcase for the Hanna-Barbera library. The popular cable network airs animated programs 24 hours a day, bringing the delights of the Hanna-Barbera legacy to new generations.Barbera wrote his autobiography, "My Life In Toons" in 1994. He is survived by his wife Sheila, and his three children by a previous marriage -- Jayne, Neal and Lynn.