Gary VandenBergh remembers the great Will Elder. Someone named Dave sent me the link.

My favorite actress in the world is the legendary June Foray, the first lady of cartoon voice acting. My pal Earl Kress and I are helping her with her autobiography and when it's out, you may be stunned to learn how much she's done…I mean, besides being the voice of Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha, Dudley Do-Right's girl friend, Tweety's owner, etc. An amazing lady who's had an amazing career.

When will you be able to read this book? Well, we're hoping to finish it in time for its publisher to have copies at this year's Comic-Con International in San Diego. June is a Guest of Honor and we thought it might be nice if attendees could buy a book and get June to sign it. So we're racing to finish…and we need help. (My assistant recently left me for a real job.)

Is there someone out there who'd like to transcribe 5-6 hours of June Foray interviews for us? It has to be done in the next few days and while it doesn't have to be perfect, it would help if the transcriber had a little knowledge of cartoons. This can be done via the 'net: I send you MP3s, you type it all out and send it back to me, and then I send you very low money, plus you get thanked in June's book and we'll have her sign you a copy. If you're interested, drop me an e-mail. [UPDATE: I have over a hundred applicants…so thanks but no more are needed.]

More hotels in Las Vegas are trying out that new kind of meal deal where you pay one flat fee per day and get unlimited access to the buffet. The Luxor charges $35, The MGM Grand charges $30 on weekdays and $40 on weekends, the Stratosphere charges $20 ($25 at certain times) and the Excalibur, which started this idea, charges $25. That's for as many visits per day as you like, as much as you can eat. The Luxor deal even includes beer and wine.

I'm curious about the math on these offers. When buffets started in Vegas, they were priced so low the house would rarely break even on anyone's gorging…but they were good investments. They brought in the gamblers. So what if the hotel lost four bucks per person with the buffet when the average guest who walked in the door was leaving five pounds heavier but $20-$40 lighter? At some point, however, prices were adjusted upwards and now most hotels make a profit on their buffets…though maybe not if you consider how many slot machines might be situated in the same floor space. In that sense, there's still a bit of "loss leader" in some buffets.

So I wonder if these all-day dining passes are in that vein. If you did purchase one at the MGM Grand, let's say, I don't think you'd be straying far from the place. Might that not discourage you from wandering across the street to New York, New York for a little gaming? Are you going to eat breakfast at the MGM Grand, then go downtown for a while, then catch a cab back to the MGM Grand for lunch? Seems to me you'd have to eat at least three meals a day at the same buffet to have a chance at getting your money's worth.

That's possible (even easy) for Max, the cat I feed at my back door…but I'm not sure most human beings could do it. In 50-some-odd trips to Las Vegas and other Nevada towns that have buffets, I can't recall ever visiting more than one buffet within a span of 24 hours…and that was back before I had a doctor-type person reduce the size of my stomach. Matter of fact, buffets don't really work for me at all now, not so much because of quantity but timing. Instead of eating three normal-size meals a day, I function better if I eat six or seven small ones which collectively equal about two normal-size meals.

Where the all-day dining option might work for me is if I could take in my laptop and sit there all day working on it…and then every time I felt like a snack, I could wander over to the steam tables and get a cup of soup or a lamb chop or a handful of mashed potatoes (I detest serving spoons) or a slice of that weird roasted animal they pass off as Prime Rib. That would be ideal but somehow, I don't think they'll let me do this.

Sorry I haven't posted anything for a while but I've pretty much spent the last twenty-four hours on one of those scripts that's gotta be in when it's gotta be in. It is now in. Life was dull around here today, which suits me fine. In fact, a dull life is kind of exciting. My big achievement, apart from getting that script in, was faking out a cat.

The cat in question is Max the Bulimic Cat, a feral feline who shows up at my back door incessantly to howl as if he's starving. Often, there is already food in the bowl out there but since it's a good ten minutes old, it won't do. He demands fresh.

So what I've learned to do — and you probably already knew this trick but I just figured it out — is that I take the half-filled bowl in, putter around, slam the cabinet door in which the cans of fresh food are stored…and then I just put the exact same bowl back out there. And Max eats it. You have no idea how proud this makes me.

I'm going to post a great video link and then hit the sack. Good night, Internet!

And this one's from David Anthony…

I hope you will indulge a response to your critique of beauty pageants in general and Miss America in particular. I have found your posts to be thought-provoking and welcoming of criticism, so you will forgive me for feeling the need to dispute your characterization of Miss America, but one might say you asked for it with your kindness.

I spent the better part of a year accompanying a Miss America local title holder (someone who is eligible to compete for a state title but does not win) as she made presentations and attended events throughout a major metro area (I am purposely being vague so as not to appear as though I am writing to inflate my own importance or promote one local pageant over another). While the ribbon cuttings and celebrity events were a great time, the other 75% of the appearances were visits to hospitals and schools where children and adults would light up when they interacted with the title holder. I will never forget many of the reactions and expressions of gratitude for acts as small as singing a song or reading a children's book. Particularly poignant in a time where much celebrity is based on a sex tape or topless photoshoot, the Miss America program offers hundreds of girls the chance to go out into their communities and make a difference (albeit limited) in other people's lives.

It's true that many of these girls fail to realize the value of truly interactive appearances and instead book only the ribbon-cuttings and other celeb events. Fortunately, the majority choose to spend their time making other people happy, and having seen what I've seen and met so many of these truly exceptional women, I will happily defend the Miss America program against any charges of obsolescence or shallowness.

Please note, I have no experience with Miss USA (the Trump pageant system), and do not wish my comments to reflect on that organization in a positive or negative light. Thank you for your time and your blog.

You know, I'm glad you sent that, David. It's easy to forget that some folks are genuinely thrilled to meet Miss America or Miss North Dakota or Miss Lansing, Michigan or whatever. It's also easy to forget that some of those crownings represent golden moments in some woman's life and great joy for their families and friends. I wouldn't dismiss any of that.

I do think however that Miss America and similar pageants aren't as meaningful as they once were…and you can look at the low ratings and see proof of that. Perhaps that didn't have to happen if the pageant operators had allowed their contests to evolve with time. Or perhaps it was inevitable in a time when females are taken a lot more seriously for reasons other than their looks. But hey, where and when it still makes people happy, that's great.

Personally, I never liked those contests. It always struck me as cruel in a way that at the Miss America pageant, one stunning woman was going to be almost arbitrarily crowned and 49 stunning women were going to go home as "losers." Later, when I was writing a lot of variety shows on TV, I was asked twice to write beauty pageants (neither time, the Miss America one) and met with their producers. Both times, the show they wanted didn't sound like something I wanted to do so I passed. Both sets of producers made it clear they were out to promote a product — a temporary celebrity they could "own" for a year and rent out to christen the new Olive Garden at the mall or something. But you're right that within the context of that job, a lady could do a fair amount of good. Thanks for reminding me of that.

The other day here, in a kind of negative defense of the Miss California who came out against gay marriage, I said "Carrie Prejean may be a right-wing bigot." I was basing that as much on some of her recent interviews as what she said at the pageant. Apparently now, she's telling interviewers that when she was asked about the topic at the beauty contest, that was Satan tempting her.

In the last twenty-four hours, I've received a dozen nearly-identical messages. In fact, five were verbatim, including the same typo, and were apparently cut-and-pasted from the same source. Here, from Gary Sobel, is one of the messages that at least put the argument slightly into his own words…

You called Carrie Prejean a "right-wing bigot" for her statement in the beauty pageant that said, "In my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised."

The President you voted for said, "I'm a Christian. And so, although I try not to have my religious beliefs dominate or determine my political views on this issue…my religious beliefs say that marriage is something sanctified between a man and a woman."

So in your view, is Barack Obama a right-wing bigot?

Obviously not…since just about everything about him seems to enrage people even you'd agree were right-wing bigots. But no, I don't think just opposing gay marriage makes someone a right-wing bigot.

I was disappointed in Obama when he said that, even though his phrasing left a fair amount of wiggle room. I was disappointed because I don't think he believes that…though in an encouraging sign, I saw an awful lot of Conservative pundits (here's one) try to argue that he was lying about his position or "flip-flopping" to get votes. So one difference between Ms. Prejean and Mr. Obama is that the latter does have some history of supporting gay rights, opposing Proposition 8 and pledging to repeal "Don't ask, don't tell." And of course, that means a lot coming from him since unlike Miss California, he's in a position to actually change laws and policies. Barack Obama might do a lot for those folks, in spite of that statement. Miss California won't.

Sadly perhaps, I am cynical enough about politics to not believe everything said or promised by any politician, including the ones for whom I wind up voting. The only possible exceptions are guys who are never going to get within twenty furlongs of getting elected…like, I suppose Alan Keyes believes every word he utters. The fact that he has about the same shot at the presidency as I do may suggest why we don't have more candid candidates. You can't get elected that way. I wish you could.