Funny Bone

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"The Simpsons" once again claimed U.S. television's highest honor for a prime-time cartoon on Saturday at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, extending the show's record winning streak. It marked the 10th time that "The Simpsons," airing on the Fox network for 19 seasons, as the longest-running comedy series in prime time, was named best half-hour animated show. The latest accolade for the hit cartoon came during a 3 1/2-hour presentation of the 60th annual Creative Arts Emmy Awards, mostly honoring achievements in categories like makeup, costumes, sound editing and art direction.

The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom which was created by Matt Groening, a satirical parody of the middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its titular family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in the fictional town of Springfield, and it lampoons many aspects of the human condition, as well as American culture, society as a whole, and television itself.

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So you’ve fallen for WALL-E and want to keep the buzz going on into the millennium. Don’t worry. There are plenty of brilliant animation movies with an environmental message, and maybe even a few on this list that you haven’t seen before. Among the top nine picks of enviro-flicks by Flixster.com:

Chicken Run

Animal rights activists can get their fill from this charming clay-mation chicken comedy set in a British poultry farm in the 1950s. Featuring the voices of Mel Gibson and Miranda Richardson, this hilarious fowl flick comes from Nick Park, creator of the acclaimed Wallace and Gromit.

Happy Feet

This truly heart- warming film covers a lot of ground – literally. When baby emperor penguin Mumbles is exiled from his community, he gains acceptance by discovering the cause of the food shortage: irresponsible fishing practices. Winner of the ‘Best Animated Feature’ Oscar in 2007, Happy Feet’s star-studded cast includes Robin Williams, Elijah Wood, and Nicole Kidman.

The Simpsons Movie

One could argue that what makes The Simpsons so side-achingly funny is not just the grand over-arching humor, but also the little things, the wisecracks, the peripheral gags. This flick is chock full of subtle bad taste – but in a good way – with an overt anti-pollution agenda.  read more »

*UPDATE 22 Aug 2016* Knighted penguin Sir Nils Olav inspects his guard and gets promoted to Brigadier

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For the com- manding officer of the Nor- wegian King's Guard, it was a moment as surreal as it was moving. As Lieutenant-Colonel Ingrid Gjerde surveyed the scene before her in Edinburgh yesterday, she must have wondered whether she was dreaming. For the King's Guard was about to award a knighthood to what was already the world's most decorated penguin.

Nils, or now Sir Nils Olav, waddled into the history books Friday when he was knighted by a visiting royal Norwegian regiment in Scotland. The king penguin became the first black-and-white pint-sized Norwegian Sir with wings after inspecting the Norwegian King's Guard, which is visiting Edinburgh for the annual Military Tattoo.  read more »

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Brad Pitt became a hero yesterday at the 65th annual Venice Film Festival after he saved a young fan from falling into a lake.

The star was happily signing autographs for a group of young fans on a boat – but one overwhelmed teen tripped and fell into the water. Pitt acted quickly and grabbed the youngster out of the water and out of harm’s way before he then continued to sign his book. The rescued youngster certainly won't forget why he is a Brad fan.

Brad Pitt and George Clooney came to the Festival for the world premiere of "Burn After Reading" from Oscar winners Joel and Ethan Coen. They were joined there by the Coen brothers, along with co-stars Tilda Swinton and Frances McDormand.

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Everyone has a dream, right? Like rock star fantasy camps, Vocation Vacations gives ordinary folks the chance to live out a dream for a moment. It is the brainchild of Brian Kurth, a former business executive from Oregon. His company, born in 2004, connects curious people with mentors who have the dream jobs they've only, well, dreamed about pursuing. Here are the 20 most-popular "Vocation Vacations," according to Kurth.

Actor
Yeah, we've all dreamed of being a Robert DeNiro or Angelina Jolie -- the lights, the fans, the glamour. How could you not love being a famous star of the screen or stage?

Baker
If you like to see something come of your work, then perhaps you're meant to be a baker. Because best of all, after you're through admiring it, you can eat your work.

Bed-and-breakfast owner
There's nothing quite as calming as spending time around the house. As a bed-and-breakfast owner, you can -- with a few guests.

Brew master
Consider yourself a beer connoisseur? Brew up your own drinks and maybe sneak in a sip on the job.

Chocolatier
Like bakers and brew masters, chocolatiers get to sample their work. But going overboard might be a problem. How tough is it to be surrounded by chocolate all day? Talk about temptation...

Dog day-care owner  read more »

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NEW YORK (AP) — A former writer and producer for "The Simpsons," a former writer for "Saturday Night Live" and a former president of the Harvard Lampoon are finalists for the Thurber Prize for American Humor, a $5,000 award.

Larry Doyle, a contributor to The New Yorker and Esquire magazines whose previous credits include "The Simpsons," was nominated for "I Love You, Beth Cooper," his debut novel, inspired by his experiences at Buffalo Grove High School.

Doyle is now in post-production for the movie version of "I Love You, Beth Cooper."

Patricia Marx, an author of humor books and children's books who has written for "Saturday Night Live" and "Rugrats" and is a contributing editor to Time magazine, was cited for the novel "Him Her Him Again The End of Him."  read more »

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Desperate attempts are underway to save a baby humpback whale which is trying to bond with yachts in Sydney harbour, after mistaking the boats for its mother. The two week old calf, which has been separated from its real mother, was spotted nuzzling up to a whale-sized boat in the picturesque Pittwater waterway just north of Sydney on Monday.

Rescuers from the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service towed the yacht out to sea hoping to entice the calf to find other whales who would adopt it. Eventually the calf detached itself from the boat, although it remained swimming close to it. However today the baby whale had returned to the Pittwater basin, where spotted swimming “rather energetically” around other yachts in the area.

The race is now on to save it, but wildlife experts are pessimistic about their chances. The calf, which needs urgently to find a mother to suckle to, is in “grim danger” if it does not find a substitute, said John Dengate, a spokesman for the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service. The only option is for the calf to find another pod of whales with a mother who can adopt it. “We’ve wracked our brains to think of some kind of captive approach we can do, by taking it in and rearing it ourselves, but it seems to be impossible in Australia, and possibly around the world,” Mr Dengate said.  read more »