Muaah haaah haaaaaah … Herself has taken off for the Right Coast on business and I am left to indulge my basest impulses with neither let nor hindrance.
By sheer luck, a royalty check arrived as she departed, the fruit of my labors for VeloGear, a year’s worth of Fat Guy® jerseys, T-shirts, jockstraps, nipple rings and the like. I immediately cashed it, went straight to Bristol Brewing for a jug each of Edge City Pilsner and Compass IPA, and now I’m broke again. But at least I have beer.
It struck me today that most of my recent photos have been of cats, various foodstuffs and other items found ’round the house, and as a consequence you may think I never leave the place. Not true.
For example, instead of hewing strictly to my deadlines, today I broke out a mud-encrusted Steelman Eurocross and went for a short ride in the sunshine, up to around Mesa and 31st, where the bike path gives some spectacular views of the Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak.
Then I rolled back to the ranch and whipped out the cartoon marking my 20th anniversary of drawing same for VeloNews. And no, you can’t see it. Not unless you’re a subscriber, a buyer of newsstand copies, or patient.
Back in 1989, I was running out of rope at The New Mexican in Santa Fe and less interested in cartooning than in the VeloNews managing editor’s job. I applied for it, got an interview, and was turned down for my lack of magazine experience (12 years of newspapering as a reporter and editor was worth exactly jack shit).
But the Trio — the troika of owners, which then included Felix Magowan, John Wilcockson and David Walls — said they would have no objection to my banging out some editorial cartoons for the mag. That worked out pretty well for all of us, “us” not counting the advertisers, various functionaries at cycling’s governing bodies and anyone else with an impacted sense of humor. The Trio hired Tim Johnson as ME, and a fine job he did, too, before they airbrushed him out of the company portrait. And I got to poke fun at people for 20 years.
I wouldn’t have lasted 20 months in that ME’s job. Too much like work, don’t you know. And I’ve always been much better than Tim at pissing people off.
Late update: Speaking of work, as I reached one milestone an old friend and colleague reached another — fellow writer and copy editor Hal Walter learned today that two weeks hence his services will no longer be required at The Pueblo Chieftain. The job was beneath him, true — The Chieftain should be printed on soft, perforated rolls of tissue and hung in toilet stalls so that it may be put to the use for which it is best suited — but nevertheless it paid in American money, so Hal will be examining his options, as he has a wife, son and several dogs, cats and burros to support. You can keep up with his doings via his blog, Hardscrabble Times. Indeed they are.
Soon 2008 will be in our collective rear-view mirror, and good riddance, says I. Adios, motherfucker. For the first time since January 2000 the world can look forward to a United States that isn’t hagridden by a clique of junior-varsity fascists bent on making the world safe for their bidness buddies and a bloody nightmare for everyone who doesn’t know their Secret Handshake.
I don’t envy Barack Obama. Sure, he asked for the gig, but cleaning up after The Decider has to be the worst janitorial job since Heracles tackled the Augean Stables. We’re not talking a fresh coat of paint and some air freshener here — more like dump truck after dump truck full of stinking sludge and toxic waste.
So when you’re celebrating this evening, raise a glass to the president-elect. His new year is not likely to be a happy one.
And on a lighter note, for a look back at the year in cycling, pop on over to VeloNews.com. I’ve posted all my editorial cartoons from 2008.
As newspapers circle the bowl, features syndicates circle the wagons and think about new delivery systems for the comic strip. Some strips are already archived online, with social networking add-ons and RSS feeds, but the next big thing is likely to be comics delivered straight to your phone, says Uclick CEO Douglas Edwards in a chat with The New York Times. Writes Leslie Berlin:
In the last two months, Uclick has placed several bets on the iPhone, which Mr. Edwards says is a good platform for comics because it has a relatively large screen that makes text easier to read. Uclick sells comics-themed wallpaper and animations for cellphones. In November, the company began selling graphic novels on iTunes.
Last week, Andrews McMeel Universal introduced a new version of its free GoComics Web site, optimized for the iPhone. GoComics has many of the same features as Comics.com, as well as a pay-to-post area for emerging cartoonists called Comics Sherpa. Mr. Edwards says GoComics is profitable but declines to give specific figures.
Should be interesting. The only cartoonist I follow regularly is Pat Oliphant, and his work is hard enough to decipher on a 22-inch Viewsonic monitor, especially the snide asides from Puck the penguin (who is Oliphant speaking for himself rather than on behalf of an editorial board). Edwards may be able to deliver Oliphant to my phone, but that’s no guarantee that I’ll be able to figure out what he’s on about.
