Dan Piraro's Blog, page 23

Gag Trance

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Here is a weird little idea that came from who-knows-where. I like this kind of gag because it is unconventional, affords some interesting visuals, touches on a modern social issue, and makes me smile. It's hard to write cartoons that do all of those things at once, so when I am blessed with one, I'm happy.

Writing cartoons is an odd activity. Since I don't have regular characters or story lines,...

Stress Can Kill

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Here's my shot at advocating organ donation. When you die, you won't be using your organs anymore, why not donate them to a church whose choir is forced sing a cappella?

Speaking of potatoes, I like doing Mr. Potato Head gags, as do many other cartoonists, but I am troubled by the fact that this kind of gag requires me to draw the potatoes so enormous. Technically, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head should be the size of actual potatoes. It's quite a ...

Smart Apes

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Is there nothing to see here? Really?

One might have thought that there was nothing much left of racism in America until recently. Racism is a very primitive impulse, at one time in our distant past, it was beneficial to distrust those not from your "tribe." And while most of us have evolved to see the foolishness in that kind of thinking in modern society, there are still plenty of us who operate from the primitive parts of our brains. This k...

AMAZING COMEDY

One week from today, April 1st, I'll be appearing in a terrific comedy show in NYC benefiting Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. We have an amazing lineup (myself notwithstanding) and have just added Lizz Winstead, a true hero in the comedy world.

Lizz co-created The Daily Show, served as head writer, and hired such talents as Stephen Colbert and Lewis Black. She's also a well-known, national headlining comedian appearing on HBO, and in The Aspen Comedy Festival.

You won't get a lineup of headlin...

Parrot Psychology

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Knowing how to ask for what you want in life is an important skill. Many people suffer through years of discomfort within a relationship because they don't know how to ask for what they want from their partner.

This includes everything from simple things like, "I'd like you to spend more time on the backs of my knees during our lovemaking," to more complex issues like, "I would feel more comfortable if you did not sleep in full combat gear....

Craigslist

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One of my favorite sites on the Interwebs is You Suck at Craiglist. Notice I didn't link to the name just then? That's because if you go there, you'll be trapped for hours and won't get back to my blog. So there is a link at the bottom of this post for those of you who want to go there after you've read my own clever, daily musings. And for those of you who have already jumped to the bottom and clicked that link, I HATE YOU, YOU'RE UGL...

The Game or Life

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The seed for this cornstalk of a cartoon came from my good friend, Richard Cabeza. We call him "Dick," and sometimes translate his last name into English. But that's not the point.

The point is that I grew up in Oklahoma with fundamentalist Christians who believed that the popular Ouija Board game could be used by The Devil to control you. Grown adults at church would preach to other grown adults that they should not let their children play with ...

Socks that Kill

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Here is another stereotypical cartoon about the amazing powers of static electricity. Each year, several hundred people are killed in the U.S. alone by not using some form of anti-static device in the dryer. Usually, you just get a little crackle and pop when you pull the clothes out of the drum, but when conditions are just right, you could be in for a shock of up to 12,000 volts, which is nearly five times as much as is used in prison electric...

I'm in a Comedy SHOW!

CLICK THIS IMAGE TO MAKE IT BIG SO YOU CAN READ IT!

I'm going to be in a terrific comedy show in NYC week on April Fool's Day of this year, 2010. It's for charity, so bring your self, laugh your ass off and get a nice dose of good karma.

The links in this image don't work, so go here for more info and tickets!

Apatow Now

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Here's a kooky crazy wacky fun idea from my good friend and colleague, cartoonist extraordinaire, Wayno. He donates ideas to me from time to time and I love this one. I almost regret not making the clown Seth Rogen instead, but it still works. When I use other people's suggestions, I often change them to better suit my style or facilitate the joke, but this one is pretty much exactly as Wayno conceived it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Hope you enjoy...