Tycho's comments (from site news):
] Have you heard that old saw where somebody says that
] "children today recognize less than ten plants, but
] over a thousand corporate logos"? Putting aside the
] fact the logos have the name of the company on them
] and plants typically don't, you're supposed to be just
] shocked by that plants/logos thing, and I've just never
] been able to muster the indignation over it. Here's
] where it starts to get tricky: when I want to tell
] people where something is, I don't tell them to look
] for the largest poplar, so it doesn't matter if they
] can recognize its tulip-shaped leaves. I tell them to
] turn right at the Texaco. Or the Pizza Pipeline. Or
] Jack In The Box. They actually determine geography.
] I actually can't describe my surroundings without
] using these brands.
]
] I can hardly have thoughts without utilizing brands.
] So, American McGee's creative propensities amuse us.
] What would happen if he turned his dark gaze on one
] of those sweet girls' toys from the eighties, like
] Rainbow Brite or Sweet Secrets or My Little Pony? No,
] I've got it: Strawberry Shortcake. Counting American
] McGee, a single train of thought requires no less
] than five products. Look at Penny Arcade, for Christ's
] sake. I can't even express concepts without leveraging
] some organization's coveted intellectual property. In
] the case of the now infamous strip, it wouldn't have made
] sense to use anything but a commonly known product. So
] now that these Goddamn characters and concepts and
] products are completely intrinsic to our language and
] thought processes, they are, in fact, inextricable, they
] can effectively police speech. I'm not even trying to
] make a value judgement about that. I'm simply amazed
] by it.

This comic is PA's response to American Greetings flawed understanding of Fair Use, Parody, and Satire. Needless to say, its funny as hell.

Writing software, speaking at conventions, using the internet, making webcomics, finding a job, etc.. Wow, we are really getting screwed on all fronts these days, arn't we? Starting to see posts to articles about these incidents with comments like "where do we draw the line?", and its not in reference to where fair use begins and ends, rather its more like "when do we start showing up at the offices of these companies with chainsaws and gasoline cans?"..

[ Update: The Comic Book Defense Fund has lept into action.. http://www.cbldf.org/ ]