What's the economic stress like in your neck o' the woods? Check out this interactive map and find out.

In case anyone's curious: Jim Brochu informs me that this morn's clip of Zero Mostel singing "If I Were a Rich Man" is from Carol Plus Two, a 1966 special which was the pilot for The Carol Burnett Show. The "two" were Mr. Mostel and Ms. Lucille Ball…and Jim oughta know as he was friends with both guest stars and has recently been playing one of them (guess which one) in a one-man show.

Also, here's a follow-up from long ago: Back in September of 2006, I was watching the Jerry Lewis Telethon and I saw (and reported here) about something that confused me. Jerry sang the song, "Even Now," in tribute to a lady named Lil Mattis who had either passed away or left his employ. He wasn't clear as to which, though I assumed the former. What really baffled me was that he said, "She wrote that" — and I knew and verified that "Even Now" was written by Marty Panzer and Barry Manilow.

I recently heard from the son of Ms. Mattis. She did indeed pass away, and he also informs me that she was a successful writer of lyrics and special musical material, and she wrote material for Jerry, among many other performers. Her work for Lewis included special lyrics for "Even Now," done with the composers' permission, to turn it into a song about helping kids the way his telethon does. I'm not sure Jerry actually sang her lyrics on the telethon that year. Several correspondents, including one who worked for Barry Manilow, wrote me that Jerry sang most of the real ones, and I don't know for sure. Nevertheless, that's the answer to my confusion over her connection to the song.

We get to the bottom of things here. Sometimes, it takes a couple of years but we get to the bottom of things.

I'm putting up one of my little tipbars because I need to pay for some eBay purchases and also cover some expenses relating to the collection of comics for my friend Len. And as an incentive, the person who donates the highest amount will be contacted and told that he or she may designate a subject for an upcoming post, either requesting a specific anecdote I haven't told here or asking me to hold court on some topic of their choice.

This offer does not apply to a certain person with the initials F.B. — you know who you are — who has sent me way too much money in the past. I will accept no more loot from you, kind sir. The rest of you can send as much as you like. I won't stop you.

If I were in Las Vegas this weekend, I'd go see Shecky Greene performing at the Suncoast. I've never seen the man in his natural habitat (a Vegas showroom) but my father used to come back from every Vegas trip, raving and giggling over Mr. Greene's onstage antics.

This is the first time in quite a while that Shecky's done what he reportedly does so well. I hope he does it some more and I hope I get to go see him. Here's an article about the guy.

As you may remember, some of us have been busily trying to replace the comics that our friend Len Wein wrote and/or edited and which were lost in a recent house fire. The details of the project are over at this webpage but the "latest list" of what's needed ain't been updated in a week or three. Reason? Donations are arriving at such a good clip that I've been unable to keep up with the avalanche. This morning, I went to my mail drop and hauled home about forty packages of comics that kind, generous folks (like, for example, you) have sent in. I hope to get them indexed in the next few days, at which time I'll update the list and you'll be amazed at how few we still need. I'll also try to catch up on e-mail from those of you who've offered goodies.

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.