pensilsword - on a plate

Social commentary?
Tick
Class injustices?
Tick
True to life?
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Still going on?
Tick

By Toby Morris / Pencilsword, from here.

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bad news about mr schrodinger's cat

From The New Yorker, by Benjamin Schwartz.
It's probably been done before (or a variant on it), but it's the first time l've seen it.
Funny and clever.

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peeping tom

This appealed to me a lot, especially as l didn't notice him at first, which made the revelation and joke all that much better.

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charlie hebdo

L’indépendance de la presse, c’est Charlie hebdo! Pourquoi ?

I know who's side l am on concerning the freedom of the press and the killings at the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, and Albert Uderzo, the illustrator of Asterix agrees with me.

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the weekend starts here!! - plus rival sons - keep on swinging

The weekend does indeed, start here!!
I'm heading out later around Catterick and Richmond with Robbo and the lads today, then seeing Rocker's band in Richmond tonight (no doubt followed by takeaways and a recording of 'Match of the Day').
Manchester United v Liverpool tomorrow at 1.30pm, (hopefully 6 wins on the trot), then off to see Rival Sons in Newcastle on Monday, followed by a day of doing bugger all on Tuesday, before heading back to Newcastle on Wednesday, and resuming work thereafter.
Admittedly a rather long stretch of the definition 'weekend', but it certainly suits me.



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true detective - cartoon style

I loved True Detective so much that l stayed up all night and watched the series on the internet, one episode after another (because that's the kind of crazy guy l am!).
Now somebody's only gone and matched some of the dialogue with cartoons.
Genius!  Rather like the old Charlie Brown and Peanuts / The Smiths mix from a while ago.
More here.

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breaking bad - my take and family guy's take

Ok Ok, I know everyone has been gushing about Breaking Bad, but as l have recently watched all of the episodes from the beginning to the bitter end (over 60 hours worth!), l thought l should at least post something, but without giving the ending away (although everybody probably knows it by now). I had seen the first series years ago, but decided to start again so l wouldn't miss anything significant, and I'm glad l did. It was one of the best TV dramas that l have ever seen, even if l thought they were clutching at straws a bit towards the end, with the involvement of the Nazis. Saying that, the 'Ozymandias' episode in season 5  was the best of the lot, and will be up there as one of the best hours worth of TV - ever!. For those that don't know, it is a poem by Shelly about the decline and disappearance of a once great ruler, and let's just say the title was perfect.
The cinematography throughout the series was interesting, quirky and evocative, and as for the acting,  Walter White (Bryan Cranston) performance was colossus, and most of the supporting characters added an immense amount to the story arc, tension, comedy and believability. Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) as Walt's sidekick was magnificent, but there were so many others that also excelled, especially the fast food owner Gustavo Fring (Giancarlo Esposito), general all round fixer Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks), and lawyer to the poor and the dodgy, Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk).
My abiding memories will be the shots of the desert and the inside of machines, the walk out of a room after an explosion (with the unexpected facial shot afterwards), plus the high levels of tension and numerous twists and turns that kept you always wanting more (rather like the metamphetamines they were cooking).
It has now joined the likes of The Sopranos, Six Feet Under and Boys From the Blackstuff in my personal higher echelon of televisual delights.
I suppose now l should get round to watching The Wire.

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the cartoon graph of wealth

No comments on this, as once l get started, l'll never get to bed.

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compassionate conservatism - now it's the post office

Next up, the Post Office is to be sold off.
Nothing surprises me any more.  There will be bugger all left to sell soon, but by then the pockets will be full, their friends taken care of, the troughs will have been emptied, and they will (hopefully) be booted out of power. Not that it will bother most of them too much, as they would have set themselves up in high paid advisory roles with their buddies firms. You scratch my back, l'll scratch yours.
Bastards.

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the simpsons say no to drugs

Seeing this poster on drugs would be enough to put you off them for life. It would certainly freak me out. Apparently this is in a Chinese nightclub.

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michael jackson and alfred e newman in mad magazine

What a great and prophetic cover this was. Michael Jackson and Alfred E Newman on the cover of Mad magazine

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magician cartoon

I like it.

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charlie brown, peanuts and the smiths

My admiration for the Charlie Brown / Peanuts cartoons by Charles M Shulz is second to none, as l used to spend most of my (meagre) pocket money on the books when l was a nipper, identified with some of the stories way too much, and my crappy 'cartoon style' is heavily influenced by them (for what that is worth!).
Putting the lyrics of Morrissey  together with them was a genius idea, and it has been superbly realised by This Charming Charlie in this here tumblr page, where there are plenty more to be found.
As in many things in life, l wish l had thought of it first, and, although l do like The Smiths, the amalgamation of the lyrics and cartoons highlights how poignant (or just downright miserable) Morrisey's lyrics are.
By jove, Morrissey was easily mocked (and still is), but he sure was good.

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the mantis shrimp

This is a great informative cartoon strip about the Mantis Shrimp.  Fascinating little creatures with psychedelic eyesight that can more than hold their own in a scrap.  I was only saying to the FPO the other day about creatures having different eyesight than humans, and having a completely different perception of the world, but 16 colour receptive cones is taking the piss.
Check out the complete strip here (where you can also buy posters and goodies).

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cleaning out the garage and doodle bug comic

Myself and the FPO spent some time yesterday sorting out some of the crap that was in the garage, resulting in me bringing in a load of boxes to see what was in them, to check if they were water damaged, as the door has been broken for ages.
There was some damage to old press reports for bands, but other than that, it was like being in an ideal junk sale, as l had forgotten about lots of the boxes contents, and of course they were originally stored away because they were items l wanted to keep in the first place.
I now have crap all over the house which l have been slowly working through, and you can expect plenty of scans and photographs of the crap in the near future, starting with these editions of 'Doodle Bug', a comic that l got involved with in 1987, and helped to start off and sell, mainly around the Catterick Garrison, Richmond and Newcastle area, with the main man and main artist himself, Royston Robertson.
I think l can safely say that it would not have been put together if l had not met and advised him (at Colburn stores), but once underway, he was the main ideas man and artist, and did most of the work. Looking at them now (and even at the time) there was a lot of room for improvement, but there was some great ideas and it was fun thing to do.
Only eight editions (I think) were put out, but the others must still be in the garage (trust me, there's still plenty more crap out there).
I am glad to say that Royston has since managed to make a career as a cartoonist, and books of his can be purchased from his site, which can be found here.  If asked nicely, he might even sign them for you.

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