under construction

"I went walking by a happy wood..."

"That's not my name."

 

MY APOLOGIES FOR POSTING MORE OF THESE CARTOONS, like Mr. Sad Sack here. I just can’t help myself. I have 193 previous posts, done since last year, this being #194, I think. Most are poems, rants, book reviews and shout-outs, but also cartoons and doodles. 
Since Blogger is free (thanks Google! Algorithms are WAY cooler than people!) and blogs are a dime-a-dozen, and since the format is the way it is, the newest post is what gets read first. So it’s just got to be the best one. Right?  Oopsie on that! There are no guarantees in life, or at Mister Bottom’s Folly...

    DON’T PEE IN THE POOL!

     (That Meant You.)

The other day, I discovered a few random cartoons in my fallout shelter in the backyard. They were in my lead-lined-underwear drawer, where I keep several pairs of heavy-duty gonad protectors in case I’m called upon to help repopulate the earth after Armageddon; I don’t want my DNA getting fracked by any radiation spikes in the local environment. (I sleep with a Geiger counter under my pillow these days—you can’t be too careful! Just sayin'.)

He wore a vacuum cleaner on his head
to help with his sucking sense of humour.

I’m thinking of moving back into the shelter for the next while; what with all the talk about Russia and Ukraine, and Jack Ryan uncovering Venezuela’s plot to lob nukes at the US! Jeeze Louise! Those Latins sure are hot-blooded! They've been eating too much yellow cake--their brains are fried! Can’t they take a coup? I’m worried that one or two incoming will land this side of the border. ¡Olé!   

p.s. If there’s any blood on the pics, it’s from all the paper cuts: doodles and cartoons tend to get a bit frisky when you try to bring them into the light of day!

"leavemealoneleavemealoneleavemealone"

"Giddy Up! Cummon! Go!"

LEAVE ME ALONE! This one is like the song, “A Horse with No Name.” It makes you go, "Huh!?"  I’m not sure where it comes from. Some high-anxiety moment, I suppose. It makes me a little nauseous looking at it, if I'm being honest. It looks like drones or something in the air above what appear* to be farming fields. They're like angry birds. They have a mechanical cruelty to them, and they seem implacable and deadly. Maybe I'm reading too much into the thing, but the little guy in his cave (he’s sure turtled in there!) seems terrified, and justifiably so. But, it’s just a doodle after all, and it likely won't provoke nightmares or anything. I hope. [Joni Mitchell's Blue album is currently on my player as an antidote for such thoughts. Ed.]

So, some doodles come from deep recesses of the psyche and some come from the cheaper veneers of the brain.

My Fav Salt Shakers!

"Please! Do I have to beg?"

But about drawing in general: I wonder if there are other creatures that 'draw' naturally, the way humans do--I don't mean those orangutans or elephants in zoos that paint like Jackson Pollock when you put a paint brush in their hands (or trunks). Rather, I mean, do other creatures do something similar in their natural environments [Aside: If I was in a place that kept me away from the world I was born to be in,  I'd be painting the place in poop! Ed.] I can't think at the moment if there are other creatures that puzzle on paper (or something similar) the way we do. Though, a spider's web is like a 3-D drawing or a sculpture. Come to think of it, so too are wasp and bird nests, and bee honeycombs; they're all wonderful structures. And then there's beaver houses, badger holes, hobbit homes, etc., and...well, maybe that's for a future post....

            Worst Comb Over Ever!

WORLD’S WORST COMB OVER. Of course, it’s the second-worst example of follicle vanity. We all know who’s #1.

Speaking of batshit crazy, is anyone following the Democratic presidential primaries in the US? I think they need more billionaires to run. Make those b******s foot the bill! Seriously though, at the moment Bernie stands a good chance at getting the nomination and is probably the only one who can beat Trump, IMHO. But the US these days: man, what a clusterfuck! It's FUBAR times ten!

Frontal Lobe Freedom!

          Carbon Feetprints

They say Trump’s poll numbers are down a bit with his core, what with all the impeachment nonsense, I guess. Though this whole impeachment thing will backfire on the Dems, wait and see. Still, there may be an opening for a Democrat prez candidate. But will the DNC allow Bernie his chance to run? That remains to be seen—they absolutely hate him! Some commentators have suggested the party establishment would rather see a Trump second term than launch a Dem progressive into the White House. Which is interesting. 

After a time he became

a mere decoration in their lives.

Of course, I’d prefer to see a progressive, anti-imperialist on the throne as president down there, someone at least trying to change the course of American empire. But I don't think left politics or socialism will save the US in the long run—or us, for that matter—too much of what will happen, and probably needs to happen, is already baked in, regardless of what they want, or we want. So it goes. But leftist political initiatives might soften the blow of future’s hammer. 
Oopsie! I didn’t mean to go all political on you while discussing a ‘toon about male pattern-balding. So, I’ll leave that for a future Rant. Comb away, soldier!

                    Land Doodle #23

LAND DOODLE #23. After a while, all my landscape doodles kind of look the same: Fields or streams in the foreground, hills in the middle and sky and clouds in the background. I don’t try to draw cities or buildings much—all those straight lines and perspectives drive me nutts! Trying to render a realistic building, for me, is like trying to carve a turkey with a spoon; I just don’t have the equipment. So, I content myself with imagining lands that are vast and empty and full of possibilities.

 

I was listening just now to an interview done by Jimmy Dore with Christopher Ryan about his new book, Civilized to Death. Ryan's book is about hunter-gatherer societies, and one thing he mentioned is how all h-g societies share three common characteristics: mobility, equality and gratitude. He explores each characteristic in turn, and argues how these ancient lifestyles are beneficial for creating happy and useful lives.

Now when I look at my Landscape #23 doodle, I wonder how many folk are living there beyond the river, in the hills and meadows. How many swam by while I was doodling, and I missed them? And another thought occurred to me: except for things like arrows and knives, there isn’t a straight line to be found anywhere among them. I’ll drink to that, matey! I’ve requested the next available copy of Ryan's book from my local library. (That's one good thing about civilization—libraries.)

        Adam Atom’s Atomic House

SCHEMATIC FOR ADAM ATOM’S ATOMIC HOUSE. I can’t draw buildings, but I thought this rending of the home of one of the great follies of our times—wasn't too bad. More and more, atomic power is being looked at (wrongly, I feel) as a green, alternative-energy source, with mini-nuke systems designed and proposed for a variety of settings: Backyard Nuking—Do Away with Dirty Charcoal Barbecues! Grill GREEN! Today. (What could go wrong?)
But, isn't this a bit like digging that deep, radioactive hole we're in even deeper? ("Honey! The tap water is glowing again! Call a de-contaminator!") 
... And, I could keep adding these pics for ever. So, maybe that's enough for now. 

[When you're done with them, toss them onto your compost pile--the 'toons will lay there laughing their gases off. Ed.]


                                                                           Cheers, Jake. 

 

Each day was a day of discovery

for Professor Piffle and his wonderful

Whatchamacallit machine!

 
* A reminder that all these drawings are just lines on a page: What they look like (or, for cartoons, what they say or do) is the result of my own neurons pinging around my head. What they mean or look like for you may be way different than for me. It's all good. It's a shared psychosis. Enjoy. Have a break-with-reality, today! 😁