Surely, Spongebob is a recording artist as well? Well, anyway it seems WB aka Spongebob is not welcome in Tarpin... "The title character is an earnest, gap-toothed sponge who works as a short-order fry cook and spends time with his best friend, a starfish."

I don't know if you guys want to organize a protest...



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http://www.sptimes.com/20..._com.shtml

SpongeBob? No way, commissioners say
Tarpon officials don't welcome the cartoon character to the city. "What are we trying to portray as our image?'' one says.
By KATHERINE GAZELLA, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published July 5, 2002


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TARPON SPRINGS -- A proposal to bring the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants to the sponge capital of the United States appears to be dead in the water.

WFLA-AM 970 radio host Jack Harris recently suggested a promotional event in the city involving the character from the wildly popular Nickelodeon cartoon. Mayor Frank DiDonato thought it was a good idea and said he "jumped on the bandwagon."

But at a City Commission meeting Tuesday night, the idea of a SpongeBob day got a chilly reception.

"I watched it, and I really don't want to be associated with it," Commissioner Karen Brayboy said of the cartoon.

"What are we trying to portray as our image?" Commissioner David Archie said. "I don't think it really fits with us. ... I'd rather for SpongeBob to maybe do his thing somewhere else."

Commissioner Beverley Billiris said she heard concerns from old-time sponging families.

"They don't want the industry made a mockery of," she said.

Commissioners also said they didn't like that SpongeBob is not a natural sponge, the type the city is known for.

"I can't fathom why it's a square, synthetic sponge," said Billiris, whose husband, George, is a sponge merchant.

Even so, DiDonato said, a SpongeBob event could have brought a lot of people into the city.

"Whether we like a synthetic sponge or not," DiDonato said, "the idea is for a promotion of Tarpon Springs."

The idea came from Harris, who thought the popular character would be a good way to promote Tarpon Springs.

"I was thinking, "SpongeBob. The guy's a sponge. What a natural for Tarpon Springs. He could have been born there,"' Harris said in May.

A Nickelodeon marketing executive was "less than enthusiastic" about a SpongeBob tie-in in Tarpon Springs, Harris said in May.

Harris said this week that he was disappointed by the commissioners' reactions. "I think they just don't understand the SpongeBob culture," and popularity, he said.

Harris said he might try to talk to some local business people about a SpongeBob event. "Perhaps there are some merchants who know how big SpongeBob is."

SpongeBob SquarePants is one of the most popular programs on basic cable. The title character is an earnest, gap-toothed sponge who works as a short-order fry cook and spends time with his best friend, a starfish.

While he is not popular among Tarpon Springs city commissioners, he is the subject of many fan clubs among children and college students. Many of the fan clubs have Web sites, which offer episode guides, SpongeBob screen savers and hyperbolic statements.

"This is my personal tribute to only the greatest cartoon ever made!" says one Web site devoted to SpongeBob.
[This message was edited Fri Jul 5 13:56:08 PDT 2002 by Aerogram]

I'm sure WB is heartbroken...he was just born that way, he can't help it if he's square and synthetic!

AnotherLoverHoleinYoHead said:

Yup... They "don't understand Spongebob culture". They don't know "how big Spongebob is".

The fuckers...

wellbeyond said:

They probably don't even know that Hip to be Square is SpongeBob's favorite song. I say it's Tarpon's loss.

think they'll go for a "contraceptive sponge festival?"