The New York Times On William Steig’s Shrek

Here’s a welcome out-of-the-blue, awkwardly headlined New York Times article by Brian Raftery on William Steig and his most famous creation, Shrek.

“Nobody Once Told Him the World Was Gonna Meme Shrek” 

I have two bones to pick with this otherwise terrif piece — both concern “a thousand illustrations” found in this sentence:

“Steig began selling his art to publications including The New Yorker, to which he’d ultimately contribute more than a thousand illustrations.”

Bone #1: technically, “…more than a thousand…” is correct, but of the very few New Yorker cartoonists who have contributed 1000 or more cartoons to The New Yorker (approximately 20 something out of the approximately 850 cartoonists who have contributed since 1925), only four have contributed in the range of 2000: Steig, James Stevenson, Alan Dunn, and Lee Lorenz. A (perhaps weedsy) feat worth mentioning, at least here on the Spill.

Bone #2: cartoons are not illustrations, and illustrations are not cartoons. The New Yorker has had a 100 year practice of making sure the cartoons in the magazine do not refer to the accompanying text. Illustrations accompany and refer to accompanying text — cartoons do not. Cartoons stand alone — they are graphic islands.

_______________________________________________

William Steig’s A-Z Entry:

William Steig (photo above) Born in Brooklyn, NY, Nov. 14, 1907, died in Boston, Mass., Oct. 3, 2003. In a New Yorker career that lasted well over half a century and a publishing history that contains more than a cart load of books, both children’s and otherwise, it’s impossible to sum up Steig’s influence here on Ink Spill. He was among the giants of the New Yorker cartoon world, along with James Thurber, Saul Steinberg, Charles Addams, Helen Hokinson and Peter Arno. Lee Lorenz’s World of William Steig (Artisan, 1998) is an excellent way to begin exploring Steig’s life and work. New Yorker work: 1930 -2003.

TikTok executives decided not to disable notifications during school hours, ignoring recommendations from their own safety team, and paid millions of dollars to parents’ and teachers’ associations to promote the social network in schools. Snapchat sent alerts to teenagers while they were in class urging them to share what was happening in the classroom. Google executives knew that YouTube was recommending videos to students during the school day that were unrelated to their lessons. Meta paid “teen ambassadors” to promote Instagram and hand out gifts to their classmates.

Seguir leyendo

COPENHAGEN, June 11 — Copenhagen’s Noma, long regarded as the world’s best restaurant, announced yesterday that it will re-open in August under new leadership, after founder Rene Redzepi stepped down over allegations that he abused staff.

For the restaurant, which closed at the start of the year, it is “the beginning of a new chapter” with a Mexican head chef, Pablo Soto

“This spring have led us to reflect more closely on who we are, what matters most, and where we want to go next. And now, we’re ready to share that with you,” Noma said in a statement.

As it was closed, Noma did not appear among Copenhagen’s three-star establishments in the 2026 Nordic Michelin Guide.

Facing allegations of having abused and bullied his staff, star chef Redzepi stepped down in March. He remains the owner of the establishment and its creative director without taking part in daily operations, according to Noma’s statement.

Cooks were punched, publicly shamed or humiliated, several former staff told the New York Times, which said it talked to 35 former employees.

In a video posted to Instagram when he stood down, Redzepi took the blame and said “Noma has taken big steps to transform the culture over many years.”

“I recognise these changes do not repair the past,” the 48-year-old added.

“An apology is not enough. I take responsibility for my own actions.”

Starting August 5, Noma plans to offer a different menu every month at an initial price of 4,500 kroner (RM2,837). — AFP