You may be thinking of "Oswald the Rabbit"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_the_Lucky_Rabbit

Mickey Mouse was created early in 1928 on a train ride from New York to Los Angeles as Walt was returning with his wife from a business meeting at which he lost the copyright of his cartoon, Oswald the Rabbit. Walt spent the train ride thinking up a little mouse in red velvet pants and named him “Mortimer,” but by the time the ride was over, had changed his name to “Mickey.”

Oswald was also a knockoff of many cartoon characters of the time, most notably Felix the Cat.
An intersting discussion on the subject.:
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/did-walt-steal-the-idea-of-mickey.78437/
>> ^Stormsinger:

>> ^Sarzy:
>> ^Stormsinger:
Disney's biggest selling features, like Mickey Mouse and the Lion King, were clearly stolen from other artist's work.

You're definitely right about The Lion King, but what was Mickey Mouse stolen from? The only character I can think of is Oswald, but that was a Disney creation as well.
(and I think Star Wars should be just fine at Disney -- it's hard to argue that they've done anything but a bang-up job with Marvel's cinematic output, and presumably they'll put the same thought and care into future Star Wars films)

You may be right...there was a toy that some claim Mortimer/Mickey was copied from, but that's not what I was remembering. Sadly, I cannot find any reference to what I thought I remembered, so I'll have to drop Mickey as an example.
However, few of Disney's big films were original stories, he had a penchant for taking public domain IP and using it (The Brothers Grimm, and Hans Christian Anderson for example)...then, as we all know, buying politicians to make sure that his own copyrights would never expire. Still a form of theft, but not quite as severe.
Bottom line, it's not a company I care to patronize...but Star Wars is not a property I care about either, so it's a fairly moot point to me.

>> ^Yogi:

Why is Google Fiber only available in a pointless state? Why can't they do it somewhere where people matter?


I happen to agree with you. The San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, or New York would make more sense. Shit they could have chosen Texas or Las Vegas or Florida over fricken KANSASS

The po po in Cali are shell-shocked forever after Watts Riot, Compton's Cafeteria Riot, Sunset Strip curfew riots,the Berkeley riots,the White Night gay riots,the 92'Los Angeles riots(Rodney King),the Staples Center/Championship riot, the 2000' Riots in Santa Cruz~

Anaheim Police, afraid to be added to the list sought to quash a potential mob with rubber bullets and puppy-dogs. Hmmmm....all that got burned was a trash dumpster? Shit man, these folks looked predominately Hispanic which is probably why it never escalated into burning down homes and businesses in the immediate area....Pride of ownership and respect for personal property.

>> ^kymbos:

I think The Onion responded best:
"Embroiled in controversy following comments he made during a recent performance at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, comedian Daniel Tosh chuckled this afternoon while being violently raped by a group of men in a Hollywood alley. “You have to admit, this is pretty hilarious,” said the teary-eyed 37-year-old, his bloodied face slamming against a brick wall as he was brutally and repeatedly penetrated against his will for the 53rd straight minute. “Sure, I’ll be forever tormented by images of my attackers tearing off my pants and holding a knife against my throat as they viciously tear into my rectum, but c’mon, you gotta have a sense of humor about this sort of thing.” As of press time, sources said a disheveled Tosh checked into a nearby treatment center, where he quietly smirked after being diagnosed with HIV."



Now THAT is a funny rape joke.

I think the problem was that his joke was shit. It wasn't clever, thought-provoking, intellectually challenging. It was boring and lazy and unimaginative.

After the woman interjected that rape is never funny, he asked the crowd how funny it would be if she was raped by five men right now.

I think The Onion responded best:
"Embroiled in controversy following comments he made during a recent performance at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, comedian Daniel Tosh chuckled this afternoon while being violently raped by a group of men in a Hollywood alley. “You have to admit, this is pretty hilarious,” said the teary-eyed 37-year-old, his bloodied face slamming against a brick wall as he was brutally and repeatedly penetrated against his will for the 53rd straight minute. “Sure, I’ll be forever tormented by images of my attackers tearing off my pants and holding a knife against my throat as they viciously tear into my rectum, but c’mon, you gotta have a sense of humor about this sort of thing.” As of press time, sources said a disheveled Tosh checked into a nearby treatment center, where he quietly smirked after being diagnosed with HIV."

Also, equating rape to diabetes is just moronic.

http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2011/04/jeremy_marks_attempted_lynchin_1.php

"Jeremy Marks Attempted Lynching Charge Dropped by Los Angeles County DA
Jeremy Marks will not face felony charge​The felony prosecution of Jeremy Marks has been abandoned by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office, which had accused the teen of "attempted lynching" -- a bizarre charge that drew national attention because Marks touched nobody."

As someone who had to sit through Space Jam twice (they played it back-to-back) on a red-eye flight from Tokyo to Los Angeles, I'd say he wasn't angry enough.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

No, it's a trip to the data centre where the rack is in Los Angeles - if you know, he pays his own way.
In reply to this comment by deathcow:
Any truth to the rumor that Zifnab gets a 60 day around the world cruise when he hits 100,000 votes?

Besides just being awfully familiar, what sold me was the wife's bemused indifference at the end >> ^lucky760:

^They've also just been banned in Los Angeles.
I feel like a Vulcan. I think I'm going to need someone to explain to me why this is hilarious. I'm familiar with and appreciate his situation, but I sincerely don't get what's hilarious about the ad.

>> ^jimnms:

What do they use instead? I remember this discount grocery store in the little college town I went to that didn't use bags. Stuff was dirt cheap too. They put out the empty boxes that the stuff was delivered in for you to use. I always thought that was a cool idea.
>> ^dag:
Those kinds of bags are banned here in Canberra.

>> ^lucky760:
^They've also just been banned in Los Angeles.



Shoppers are encouraged to bring their own reusable bags. If they don't, paper bags may be purchased for 10 cents apiece.

What do they use instead? I remember this discount grocery store in the little college town I went to that didn't use bags. Stuff was dirt cheap too. They put out the empty boxes that the stuff was delivered in for you to use. I always thought that was a cool idea.

>> ^dag:

Those kinds of bags are banned here in Canberra.

>> ^lucky760:

^They've also just been banned in Los Angeles.

>> ^lucky760:

^They've also just been banned in Los Angeles.
I feel like a Vulcan. I think I'm going to need someone to explain to me why this is hilarious. I'm familiar with and appreciate his situation, but I sincerely don't get what's hilarious about the ad.


That just means you have a Sense of Humour. This is not funny.

^They've also just been banned in Los Angeles.

I feel like a Vulcan. I think I'm going to need someone to explain to me why this is hilarious. I'm familiar with and appreciate his situation, but I sincerely don't get what's hilarious about the ad.

http://www.reyyer.com/2012/01/electricians-in-los-angeles.html

currently in Rochester, New York
born here. at 15, moved to Coral Springs, Florida
then Point Pleasant, New Jersey
usaf basic training at Lackland AFB, San Antonio, Texas
programmer training at Keesler AFB, Biloxi, Mississippi
stationed at Hickam AFB, Honolulu, Hawaii
then back to Rochester
as a kid, i had a summer vacation in Los Angeles, then London a few years later
been to NYC a bunch of times