Harrison Wheeler's Blog, page 3

#CARTWOONS TWEEP #3 ~ AMY VANSANT

#CARTWOONS w/ @KidFreeLiving

I’d like to introduce you to a new #cartwoons friend of mine, Amy Vansant.  She is FUNNY, a true creative, I totally relate to like her comedy stylings. Amy is a humour writer, and creator of the blog ‘Kid Free Living‘, which houses a huge variety of funny in different forms.  I’m actually totally stunned by her blog ~ how in the world does one person output so much content?  Like unless she’s independently rich…in which case I should really hang out with her more.  Kid Free Living boasts Cartoons, Photos, Blog posts, Articles, Recipes, Original Fiction, and a bounty of other random funny links and stuff.

Amy has even contributed to the legendary McSweeny’s legacy online.  To that I raise an overflowing glass of wine. Which she loves, apparently.

It’s great to stumble upon a space on the web that really speaks to you, right?  A place that gives you a few servings of the warm and fuzzes, a place you bookmark and make a mental note to revisit later.   I often forget that there are real, living people behind these OuterWeb windows.  So it’s even greater to make contact with the person who created the site, like a pair of giggling protons, and then collaborate together!  Amy’s tweets are definitely worth following, and I can’t help but draw her stuff when I get a chance.  Check out this latest collaboration of ours!  I look forward to many more!

http://www.harrisonwheeler.ca
http://www.kidfreeliving.com

KILL YOUR TV. GET CREATIVE BEFORE YOU DIE OF BOREDOM.

Courtesy of http://www.twitter.com

I believe that if you aren’t expressing yourself creatively, if you aren’t using your imagination regularly, you are probably sad, depressed, or unfulfilled in your life.

Have you postponed a creative idea?  Shelved a dream you never thought could happen?  Have you looked at artwork and said, “I could never do that”? You are bottling emotions that need to be unleashed!

By journaling, drawing, making music, telling stories, acting, dreaming, and drinking in as much creativity around me as possible, I would never be able to manage my Bipolar Disorder, or participate in LIFE.

Often when people hear talk of ‘the imagination’ and ‘creativity’, there is much rolling of eyes.  How silly, people might think to themselves, to bother with such trivialities.

Creativity is as much a part of being human as needing to eat and communicate.  Music makes us groove, cartoons make us laugh, stories help us connect with each other.

It’s for this reason I’m currently on a ‘Kill Your TV’ campaign.

Courtesy of http://www.cafepress.com

I’d love to defend TV, because I grew up with it.  Sitcoms and cartoons and movies shaped me to a large degree.  But perhaps because I am older, or perhaps because producers are in desperate need to stay ‘new’, all I see on TV now is killing, dark insult humor, and celebrities exposing their sexuality for ratings.

I can’t defend it.  TV is a life-sucking vortex of other people clamoring for attention.  And we’re giving it to them.  There are some redeeming shows, but they are few and far between.  Ultimately, TV robs us of our very valuable, brief time on earth, and perpetuates stupidity, laziness and obesity.

Being creative for the sake of being creative is much different than being creative in order to end up on TV, for example.  Creativity is an itch that needs to be scratched.  Our ideas are like precious gems that need to be worn around our necks and shared.

I’m more certain of this than I’ve ever been before.  I’m adamant about it because I’ve suppressed my imagination for so long, at least to its full potential.

Kill your TV.  Buy a journal and start writing about YOUR life.  I can think of no bigger shame than death by boredom.  Your friends and family are going to want something slightly more expressive left behind after you die than a well-worn remote.

MEET S.C. HARRISON, #CARTWOONS TWEEP #2

As I mentioned earlier (that’s a silly thing to say, isn’t it?  Everything we mention happens earlier!), I’ve been getting to know people on Twitter via my #CARTWOONS.  That is when I find a tweet I think would look good as a cartoon, I draw it, and then send it to the tweeter.  This is my way of connecting, of saying hello, of giving art for the sake of art because that’s what it’s all about, crumbwagons!

The above #CARTWOONS was inspired by a fellow writer, blogger, and tweeter, S.C. Harrison (@SCHAuthor) Since this tweet we have shared quite a few exchanges and I am sincerely happy to have made her acquaintance.  She is witty, talented, and sincerely creative soul.  Actually, she kindly sent me a pic of my ‘toon which she had printed off and pinned on her cubicle at work.  How heart warming is that?

Having followed her for a few months now, I can tell you she is more than heart-warming.  Her tweets cast a wide net ~ from hilarious, to quirky, odd, and Seinfeldian mundane.  I often swing by S.C.Harrison’s blog. (http://psychosocko.wordpress.com/)  Here you’ll find a variety of her many creative outputs which catalogue not only her recent exploits into the writing world, but also chronicle her recent foray into fanfiction.  This is really new to me and so caught my eye, a real mash up of new writing inspired by other’s books.  More accurately, stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator.  S.C. Harrison’s piece, Psybeam Me to Saffron City is a very tongue-in-cheek passage set in a recognizable T.V. world…definitely worth a read!  Also, her Indie Writer’s Guide to Being an Indier is painfully accurate!

My reason for introducing you to S.C. Harrison is because she seems to be a creator very young at heart.  She writes with abandon across the board, from thriller, to fantasy, to comedy, and maintains a virtue of complete disclosure as she works.  I like that.  Deconstructing a writer’s work is one thing.  Being let in asa writer constructs their craft is very much another.

It’s great to meet you S.C.Harrison!  Oh and check out her debut YA novel, Revive, the cover itself is very enticing!

 

 

 

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SCREEN

So, I’m waiting for my friend the other day, sitting in my car, checking out random OuterWeb stuff on my phone.  Exciting, I know, stay with me.  We communicate through hand-held robots via satellite frequencies ~ I’m sorry if you don’t find that absolutely amazing but my mind is still blown away by it.  I look up and catch a momentary glance of a young girl walking on the sidewalk across the street.  Her dark brown hair and cream coloured dress billows behind her as her eyes remain planted on her phone as she goes.

My distracted obsession is 100% social media, I check it far too often, I admit, and based on all logical deductions, I assumed the young girl’s fascination is the same.   She stops walking to text/post something, walks no more than 2-3 seconds, and then stops to check again.  I spotted an elated transformation at one point, as she smiles and gleefully keeps walking upon receiving a response.

A wonderment streamed through my cerebellum.  Why are we all so transfixed by the OuterWeb, by new technologies in general these days?  I mean, really.  It’s not reason enough that the glow is addictive and the gadgets are new and shiny.  No, I surmise that the reason we (or at last me and her) can’t take our eyes off social media is because it’s the first time ever in the history of always that we regular people can see ourselves on the other side of that magical screen.  Up until recently only famous people have occupied this space.  The screen was reserved for people, who in my mind, represented the better-thans, the smarter-than-mes, the amazings, the larger-than-lifes, the rule makers and breakers…wasn’t it like that for you?  I think I’ve harboured an inferiority complex all my life because my smug mug didn’t live on the glamourous-looking flip side.  Even having your name published in the local paper for a, what was it, a high school music competition?  Man, such a thrill!

And now we’re ALL on the other side of the screen!  Just like that we’re among the untouchables!  We can’t get enough of it because suddenly we see our faces on the same news feed as Steve Martin!  Holy crap, if only my avatar had arms I could tap him on the shoulder and take him out for coffee instead of the friend I waited for.  He’d play banjo while I tried out my best material.  That must be it, right?  We’re shinier over there.  We can flip between being a Regular Joe to a Spectacular Francis with an effortless thumb tap.

Another reason we might enjoy the digital interface is because it reminds us of the thrill of passing notes in class.  To keep a second, secret, sometimes anonymous voice perpetually running behind our actual comings and goings.  And is that conversation more important to the ones we have live?  When we’re glued to our screen and someone has to ask our attention we look up, deal with the request, and then quickly get back to our exchange online.  Just like I did when the teacher asked me something in school.  This fascinates me.

I don’t think I communicated this idea in my novel this effectively, but the essence is the same.  Jesters Incognito is about tech obsession as much as it is about creative expression.  I set out to tell a story, and my pontifications on the nature of tech in today’s society peppers the plot arch.  Don’t misunderstand me, I adore technology, and social media is a big part of my life fabric.  Still, I’m curious to know why we’re all transfixed by this otherworldly digital space.  Thoughts?

Good times with my friend, by the way.  We didn’t look at our phones once.  But I really wanted to.

#CARTWOONS ON TWITTER

Twitter.  The site thrills me, teases me, and confuses the hell out of me.  Most of the time, however, it inspires me to the point of brain explosion.  In fact, the entirety of the OuterWeb is so completely amazing, it’s a wonder we’re not all running through the streets with our hands in the air (a phone in one, of course) shouting and cheering for the intellectual, creative freedom we have.  I’m sure we would, but we’re too busy tweeting.

I laugh a lot on Twitter ~ there are a ton of funny people out there!   I appreciate quick wit, I’m totally jazzed by the Tsunami of ideas, and  I wish I had more time to throw my absurdity into the global feed.  Alas, I am but one jester, with only so much fun inside my hat.  Furthermore, I genuinely would like to get to know my Tweeps ~ I often feel like I’m talking into a black hole, you know?  I had no idea how I was going to get to know anyone one on Twitter.

A few weeks ago, however, I had a tiny idea that has satiated this question.  It came to me after I read the following cheeky tweet:

@Leannarenee ”Dear Fox News, keep up the good work.” – Satan

That’s funny, I thought.  I could totally see that as a cartoon!  And then I thought, why don’t I?  I do a quick sketch, send it to the author, and voila, the proverbial ice is broken. Yes!  I’ll create my own hashtag #cartwoon and that’s how I can get to know people!  Of course I had no idea how @Leannarenee would react to a stranger sending her a doodle riffing off her tweet, but you don’t know ’til you try, right?  I  put pen to paper and tweeted her this:

@Leannarenee  Hi! Your funny tweet inspired this #cartwoon!  Hope you dig it!

She LOVED it!  Immediately she responded with a heartfelt thanks and then we had a cool little exchange of tweets.  Guess what?   Leanna Renee Heiber is super cool, a fellow author and actress ~ in fact her new Victorian gothic novel ‘Darker Still’ has a very tasty hook and some great reviews definitely worth checking out.  http://www.leannareneehieber.com/about-1/

Suddenly Twitter looked a lot different to me.  It wasn’t a passive thread of other people’s thoughts anymore.  It was an active, live space of endless conversation.  And why wouldn’t @Leannarenee love a drawing?  As humans we enjoy ~ nay, need ~ validation that we are being heard, and technology shouldn’t obstruct this.  It should enable it!

I’ve drawn a few more #cartwoons since the first, and I look forward to scouting the Twitterverse every chance I get.  As people retweet my doodles, I will mirror our exchanges on my blog, giving you the chance to get to know some of these groovers from my feed.  The creative exchange is a powerful one.  I don’t think I’m going to be any less inspired by Twitter anytime soon!

THE IN-BETWEEN

You may consider public bathrooms, doctor’s waiting rooms, bus stops, elevators, line ups, airports, hallways, and train stations to be boring, transient places.

I don’t.  I happen to think they are magical in-between spaces.  Places where everybody becomes a nobody.

Think about it.

When you are at work, you are somebody.  At school, same thing, you’ve got an identity to uphold.  There is an expectation for you to carry the same story with you wherever people know you ~ at home, at your book club, at your son’s little league game ~ same name, same life, same same.

Now, I don’t mean to suggest that when we step out of these arenas we instantly become a ‘nobody’; that is, an unrecognizable person who suddenly has lesser value than a ‘somebody.’  It’s quite the opposite, actually.   Transforming from ‘that guy’ to the anonymous ‘some guy’, is awesome.

In fact, I feel a palpable power in becoming a stranger in these in-between spaces.  For one, you don’t know anyone else, and vice versa.  And two, very little is expected of you in these spaces.  Typically we’re there to wait, the pressure’s off.  Our personal narratives are PVR’d at the door, we’ll catch up with our plots later.

And I don’t know about you, but being unknown in a place where very little is expected of me, screams FUN.  We all go out to restaurants, and yet we don’t talk to any one around us!  We chose to go out in public, to inhabit this in between place together, so what’s with all the feigned eye-contact and cliques?  Honestly, dispense with the lame stranger routine!  If we’re in the same space, I’m going to talk to you.  Deal with it!

Recently, along with a random assortment of nobodies, I sat in my doctor’s waiting room for two hours.  I’m very well rehearsed in this in-between space.  I’m sure my collective hours in doctors’ waiting rooms would surpass a hamster’s lifespan. Now there’s bragging rights.  I considered navigating my way through the pancake stack of well-thumbed but barely read magazines, until a rotund octogenarian sporting a shiny new walker sat himself down next to me.  My curiousity kindled.  This guy, with his two woollen sweaters and distinctly oatmeal odour possessed more entertainment potential than a million magazines.  Unfortunately, he bore an obvious, pained expression ~ sad and defeated by his failing body.  To be expected, as we were in a doctor’s waiting room, after all.

The power of anonymity surged through my veins.  I was between responsibilities; what did I have to lose with this guy?  Any expectation of who I should be at work or home carried no weight.  My MO was clear.  Raise his spirits.

“Last time I saw this doc he talked my ear off,” I said as the old guy stuffed himself in the chair next to me. “Yadda yadda yadda, blood work stats, you know the routine.”

“Oh I know” he said with a rusty voice, up for a little small talk.  He pulled a dusty kleenex from his pocket and soaked up some drippy nose residue.

“He asked me if I noticed myself shrinking lately,” I lied, reeling in his attention.

“That’s an odd thing to ask,” he chuckled.

“Yup, but I’ve heard of this other doctor.  Isn’t like the others.  I totally want to make up an illness to go see him.  Apparently he prescribes really good food.  And by good food, I mean bad food.”

The old man’s eyes met mine, as if eye contact would help him hear what I said more clearly.  Funny how the word ‘food’ does that, eh?

“No joke!” I continued, with my story brewing in my head faster than the words could fall out of my mouth.  ”I could barely believe my own ears.  He prescribed cheeseburgers and ice cream to my buddy at least three times a week.  That it actually would reverse his calcified hip.  A mandatory half-a-bag of chips before bed and a lollipop to and from a work.”

“That sounds like heaven!” the old guy smiled. “I’m old enough now to indulge a little!”

The nurse called my name.  I wished the old guy well.  And even though he wasn’t in the waiting room when I got out, I know the little story I told made his waiting room stint slightly more tolerable.  Maybe he’ll even pass it along to someone else.

We can ignore each other as we go about our business, and I get that not everyone wants a distraction all the time, but by and large I’ve learned that most people love an innocent jest in unexpected places.  Certainly, our sense of community is strengthened when we actually TALK to one another in public.

That’s my mission, friends.  Entertainment in the in-between.  I’m a playful nobody, a stranger in other people’s plots.  A jester incognito.

VISUALLY SPEAKING

I’ve had a great few weeks at the drawing table, both literally and figuratively.  When I’m drawing I feel like a thread is behind pulled from the top of my head, loosening the many jumbled ideas I have swirling around up there.  Sometimes I figure things out while I’m drawing, but mostly its a stress release.  On the jukebox is Mother Mother & Medeski, Martin & Wood.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSEIK2pJstk    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3X04Ryhnjo

“I WISH I COULD DO THAT”

I showed my book, Jesters Incognito, to a new friend recently. She held it in her hands, felt the satisfyingly slippery covers with her palm, flipped through the pages with a clear expression of amazement on her face and then looked up at me and said, “Feel like a jello bath?”  No, she didn’t say that.  Sorry.  It’s too easy to slip in silly when leading up to dialogue.  No, she said the classic phrase of all time.  ”I wish I could do that.”

Being creative is so simple, in actuality.  It is not at all like shaving a berserk camel. As far as I’m concerned, for anyone who desires a creative hobby or passion, it should not be a daunting task.

It’s a matter of commitment, like trying to hit the gym regularly to feel better, to drink green shakes to look better, and refraining from holding the door open for old ladies and waiting until just the right moment before letting go and watching the door slam them in the face.  Being creative is about developing a new habit, is what I’m trying to say with my tongue pressed firmly up against the inside of my cheek.

Allow me state the bold claim that EVERYBODY CAN BE CREATIVE.  By virtue of being human, every single warm body on the planet can be creative.  Next to being aware of our mortality, it’s the other quality humans have that set us apart from animals.  I’m not saying every creative endeavour in the world is astounding or mind-blowing, but it still holds immense value to the person who has created it and to those who see it and experience an emotional response.  And it’s unarguable that some people are more creative than others.  Yet even gifted artists who don’t need to try hard at expressing themselves still struggle with their creative ideals until it pushes them to the edge, to drugs, to total imaginative paralysis/writer’s block.

Creativity is an elusive goal, to be sure.  But the key word in my claim is ‘can’.  I’ll say it again.  Everyone can be creative.

I’m not being trite.  It’s not a back handed way to ask for another compliment.  The only reason I can now consider myself a creative person is because I’ve always wanted to be creative.  I’ve always been attracted to art, in all it’s glorious forms, and for whatever reason I’ve just stayed at it.  Despite the many obstacles I have had, I’ve always kept practicing my art.

‘So, how did you do it?’ I’ve been asked.

Well, [big breath] I drew and wrote a  lot of stories as a kid.  Read a lot and listened to a lot of music and decided I wanted to do some of those things.  Then I busted a nerve early on in my career as a trumpet player, at the end of high school.  So what did I do?  I sang instead.  Then I practiced my terrible cartooning skills and eventually published a few indie comics.  Then I started a comedy troupe and got into storytelling.  We wrote radio plays and sketch comedy shows.  At the end of university, I was diagnosed with Bipolar.  I spent the next decade in and out of mental hospitals seriously without hope.  I kept drawing.  I journaled.  Finally, healthy and back on my feet (thankfully!), I started to refine my drawing and started to see a style emerge.  That was so amazing!  I was about 30 yrs old at that point.  With at least twenty sketchbooks filled I found some cool ideas for a story.  There were some big ones in there.  I wrote and wrote and wrote and decided I could pull off a novel, that the idea was good enough.  Long nights followed, and to be honest I kind of got obsessed ~ I wanted to finish it so badly because I had had so many road blocks, disappointments, failures up until then with my creativity.  I obviously pushed myself too hard, because then I got sick with an auto-immune disorder and almost died.  Luckily I finished a first draft before I was put in a coma.  A year later, a dramatic year later, I finished it.  I’m 37 years old.

So, how do I do it?

Simple.  I keep doing it.

Do you wish you could be creative?  It takes DETERMINATION.  That’s all.  Your work is going to be rough at the start, everybody’s is.  Try to take comfort in that.

Maybe the real response to ‘I wish I could do that,’ should be ‘Why don’t you?’

This is a cool quick video by Ira Glass I found that supports this idea completely.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ResTHKVxf4

You can be creative, anonymous and supposed non-creative reader!  Pick up a pen or an instrument this weekend and enjoy the mess you make.

 

THE NEXT BIG THING!

Greetings!

I’ve been tagged in a writer’s blog chain called ‘The Next Big Thing’.  Through a series of passed on interview questions, spotlights are shone on new and upcoming novels.   In other words, it’s a literary game of ‘blog tag’.   Just like regular tag, only considerably more wordy and digital.   More keyboards, more monitors, no human contact, no eye contact, more sitting, and no running.  Oh, and it’s a good thing when you’re ‘IT’.  This week, I am IT! Thank you very much to Marissa Campbell for offering me this space. Her next novel, Raven’s Blood, a historical romance, sounds very intriguing!

Ten Interview Questions for Harrison Wheeler, author of Jesters Incognito:

What is your working title of your book?

I’m working on two books at the moment.  The first is a YA novel called: The Fathom Five.  The second is a middle school graphic novella called: The Exclamation Box.

Where did the ideas come from for the book?

The seed for The Fathom Five was planted years ago during a conversation I had with a good childhood friend.  He had visited a place called ‘Fathom Valley’ in northern Ontario I believe, and we imagined what wonderful things could be ‘fathomed’ there, and who would do the fathoming. The idea germinated for years, I wrote a children’s stage play in the late 90s by the same name.  It will be the sequel to my first book, Jesters Incognito, in the Incognito Series.

The idea for The Exclamation Box came long ago from a comic I drew, and then again from Jesters Incognito.  In the book, modern jesters deliver boxes decorated with exclamation mark designs to spread their message of a spontaneous, creative revolution.  I feel it’s an idea worthy of it’s own book, told from a child’s perspective.

What genre does your book fall under?

Both are humour/speculative fiction.  The Fathom Five is a YA book (12+), and The Exclamation Box is a junior/middle school book (5+)

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

No one recognizable.  Fresh talent who can creatively interpret the roles.  There are 7 billion people in the world, and we watch the same 200 Hollywood actors over and over again.  Quite frankly, I’m sick to death of them!

That said, DeNiro would be perfect for the lead role!  Ha, ha! Not.  A few cameos wouldn’t hurt though, and The Fathom Five is a comedy, so maybe some comedian faves like Ricky Gervais, Mike Myers, Jim Carrey, Bill Murray, Eddie Izzard could make appearances as the five immortals?  That’d be fun!

[image error]What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

The Fathom Five:  After returning from a revolutionary research experiment, Dr. E. Roger is a quantum physicist competing to win a spot in the elite genius collective of immortals, The Fathom Five, and finds himself in a fierce battle between scientific method and morality as he and his trickster friend, Vincent the Jester, track down the answers to life’s most coveted secrets through time, space, and multiple dimensions.

The Exclamation Box:  During a city-wide black out, a depressed young boy discovers a curious box that stirs his imagination, and leads him to uncover the story behind a new modern myth known as The Jester.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

From my brain to my heart, down through my hands and reviewed by my eyes, then yes, both will be self published, at first at least.  I understand publishers aren’t usually interested in authors who illustrate their work…

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I’ll let you know!  Ha! I just began late in 2012. Jesters Incognito took about 18 months before I felt I had a solid first draft.  Because I’m illustrating The Exclamation Box, the time line may be a little quicker than The Fathom Five.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I’m not sure what The Fathom Five could be compared to yet.  Perhaps a cross between Labyrinths by Borges with a twist of the Martian Chronicles by Bradbury and a humorous dash of Happiness by Will Ferguson.  I only reference these in ‘flavour’ of their ideas and style; of course I’d be writing for a younger audience.

The Exclamation Box is drawn in a original style, and has a similar layout to Shaun Tan’s Lost Thing, but with a style more akin to Lemony Snicket.

The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Ideas, in a nutshell. Anything that I find hard to fathom!  Insects, gravity, the incredibly tall and incredibly small.  I’m influenced by my father’s career as a professor, my brother’s as a biologist, my own teaching career, and I’m addicted to TED talks, The National Geographic, and technology news.

As for The Exclamation Box, I guess Kinder Egg Surprises could be an inspiration.  That, and I spent over a decade of my life depressed and I want to help others who may be suffering from the same condition. It’s no fun.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

I’m happy to say I’ve had pleasant feedback from Jesters Incognito, and both of these new projects are written in same style:  1st person, and in a comic voice.  The fact that I merge dystopia with humour I think makes the books more approachable!  This sketch may entice readers too, from the Fathom 5.  I like to sketch my book as I write it ~ seems to kickstart the imagination! 

I’ve really enjoyed this interview, and thanks for taking the time to read it.  It’s been like folding an origami crane with very firm paper.  In a good way!  So brilliant to meet other authors and learn of their many exciting, imaginative projects being birthed.  Creativity abounds!

Speaking of which, please enjoy the next authors who have agreed to participate in this interview. I’m tagging Amy Durham, a YA novelist with a spirit for adventure, romance, and life lessons for young readers, and Joseph Eastwood, a writer with a penchant for the supernatural and fantastical.  Thanks in advance to both of you, I look forward to reading your interviews next week!

TAG!  YOU’RE IT!

DOODLING WHILE THINKING

No texting while driving.  No yawning during first dates.  Got it.  How about doodling while thinking?  Is that cool?

I thank my dad for this habit/skill/social no-no that I’ve developed over the years.  He was the master of busting out the pen and inking his thoughts on the go.  The reason behind it is very simple, and not meant to offend.  Perhaps you do it too?

My mind is clearer when I’m doodling.  I focus, listen, and understand better when my pen is moving across the page.  Or whatever happens to be at hand.  A bar coaster, a napkin, a cheap paper placemat, the back of a business card.  I used to have, somewhere in my sketchbook tomb, samples of university notes I took entirely in doodle form.  There was a Cultural Studies intro course I took, I remember it vividly, and almost every one of our 2-hour lectures I translated into 81/2 x 11 landscapes replete with key graffiti words and animated concepts bouncing off the page.  And I remember it because I drew it.  If only the prof would let us doodle our answers on the exams, that’d be sweet.

Over dinner with friends?  All the time.  Some people have told me flat out it’s rude, which is their opinion.  I offered for them to take me out to the parking lot and beat me up, because I am no fighter I tell ya.  I can’t help it.  A meeting recently presented me with the opportune moment to doodle and I’m quite sure the presenter was non-plussed about it, judging by the sour gaze he shot me.

Whatever.  I fully endorse it.  It’s far less rude than cruising your friend’s profiles while in the company of friends in real life, and the reality is, everyone thinks differently.  Howard Gardner says so.  Heck, if you need to sculpt the butter and jam while we’re shooting the breeze, go for it!  Here is a doodle I drew with my good friend Mike Rooth, who was kind enough to scan it for posterity.  Not only are we still friends, he even thought it was ‘cool’.  He named it Jester ’Sandworms’.