Cat Nipped

There have been quite a few toonz here lately that have featured or included dogs. As I've said before, dogs are very emotive and that makes them great subjects or additions to a cartoon. So I admit that I have been a bit remiss and have not satisfied the cat lovers in the audience. I love cats too and actually favor them slightly over dogs. To me what makes cats so interesting is that they are the intersection of where "cool" and "weird" meet. Its aways entertaining to have one or two around the house.

As far as catnip goes; it seems that cats either absolutely love it, or don't care at all. There's no middle ground. See yet another cat toon  here

Calamari on a Mission

This week’s episode: How a Cartoon Was Inspired by a True Story and A Children’s Book. My regular readers know that I fancy a bit of wordplay now and again. Admittedly this week's pun is a "groaner", but perhaps you'll forgive me when you hear the story behind it.

I was at one time a regular contributor to a dandy little comic news monthly called the Fish Wrapper, located in the Seattle area. The publishers were a husband and wife team who were very involved with the local boating and sailing community in the Puget Sound area. An acquaintance made them a lucrative offer to deliver a new sailboat to Hawaii for him.  Nice work if you can get it, right? One day while on their voyage, my friends were lowering the main sail and they noticed a small squid had attached itself to the canvas. The squid was found at the very top of the sail which stands at least 20 feet in the air when fully deployed. Squids have been known to jump a bit, but not that high. There had been no storm activity that could have possibly tossed the squid way up there either. It was a complete mystery as to how this little guy managed to get to the very top a sail that reaches over 20 ft. above the water line. When I heard of this super cephalodic feat it reminded me of the classic American children’s story “The Little Engine That Could”. Its a tale about a plucky little train that pulls an over sized load up a mountain side, all the while affirming to itself,  “I think I can, I think I can!” It's a nice lesson about the power of positive thinking, how to believe in oneself, and overcoming obstacles.

So there you have it--a cartoon is born. Am I forgiven?

The B-Word

This is one of the few times in life when I can make proper use of the word bitch, and not get into trouble for it. Well....that's my theory anyway. I will now go and check my inbox for any unwarranted hate mail.

If you enjoyed this cartoon (and get the point I'm making with it)--then you are a prime candidate to become a Follower of this blog. It's easy to do and will make all of your friends jealous. Now wouldn't that be fun?

Vacant

There was a time that if you went a day without thinking anything of importance, nobody would know it but you. Not anymore. Social media allows for a torrent of useless information to be at our fingertips every hour of every day. Why people feel compelled to update the world on the banal minutiae of their day is beyond me. As a society are we that self-absorbed? Is every single thought that passes through your head really worth sharing? Do you actually need the constant approval of others? Do you live to be "Liked"? I think  that within a certain age demographic, we turned into a nation of "insecure puppies".

Ok, so we're more connected than ever before. We talk, text, tweet, and post constantly. But are we saying anything meaningful?  Don't get me wrong, I think social media is a terrific thing but I'm just disappointed with how most people choose to use it. A large percentage of Social Media is a wasteland of insignificant blathering. Why not share something that's truly fun and interesting instead? Why not promote something positive and useful? Spark a meaningful dialog? Offer people something? Try to add some value to the lives of others with your commentary. Go for quality and not quantity in your posts and tweets. Posting, Tweeting and Friending is not a competition. Make an effort to unplug every now and then. I dare you. Your world will not end. Trust me. 

We have had visits with Bob & Al before. You can see them here and here again.

The Struggle

While preparing this week's post I noticed for the first time how our starring character resembles action hero Vin Diesel,  however this toon was originally published before he became famous. And it was during that time a number of years ago we were also having difficulties with our economy. Although what was happening back then was quite tame in comparison to where we are now. I don’t want anyone in the audience to get the wrong idea about this week’s cartoon. In no way am I making light of people who have been negatively affected by America’s poor economy. God knows I’ve been unemployed for extended periods of time myself, and have had my own struggles with survival. My aim with today’s post is to encourage people in these harsh times to be patient, resourceful, and to make creative use of their entire skill set.

There are thousands of blogs out there filled with political rantings and BuckToonz is not one of them. But if it was, you might hear me say something like this; these down turns in the economy are usually cyclical, and historically our capitalist system always corrects itself within a few years. Now that's true unless the government starts monkeying around with the economy. Government  interference prolongs the problem and increases our pain. The bottom line is this--if you’re not happy with the economy or anything else, then you must hold your elected officials accountable. Remember-- they work for us, and we can and should "fire" them for incompetence and poor performance.

On a lighter note, I want to welcome our new readers in Iceland. You have a beautiful country that holds a particular fascination for me. Visiting Iceland is item #7 on my "Bucket List". 



Imagineering

Have you ever heard of an adult being described as having "a very active imagination"? Why not? That comment is normally used in reference to a child. Albert Einstein said once, "Imagination is more important than knowledge". Now that really says something, because old Einstein was a pretty sharp guy. If your particular "reality" falls short of your expectations, then use your imagination (plus consistent directed action) to alter the landscape. Imagination is also wonderful cure for boredom.

Easy Pickings

Extraterrestrials have appeared several times on this blog because it's a fun subject that offers many comedic possibilities. See past posts here, there, here again, and once more.  In this week's post we see that these off-planet visitors/trespassers/invaders have come up with a better method to obtain subjects for their experiments. Perhaps they are feeling a bit guilty about the whole "abduction" thing and see this new protocol as being a bit more like having "volunteers".

This cartoon first saw the light of day a number of years ago. I have a cousin who saw it in print somewhere and promptly displayed it upon her kitchen refrigerator door, unaware that I was the creator. While visiting her a few months later I noticed the toon, solved the mystery as to its authorship, and thanked her for the compliment.

For my international readers; here in the States the kitchen refrigerator door is a place of honor for displaying children's art works, and favored cartoons. It is high praise indeed to make it onto the old 'fridge door.

If you enjoyed this week's cartoon then please share the link with other folks. Your feedback and comments are always welcome.