I guess my real problem is that my mood hasn’t changed all that much from earlier today. I could blame everything else. But I won’t. I woke up in it, I’ve been in in and somehow I’ll get my tail out of it.
being of no cheer…
I have no cheer right now. I’m a little bit depressed right now. Although, I’m not sure if you can be a little depressed…seems to me if you’re a little of that, you’re pretty much all the way. I tried faking a cheer-like smile… but it hurt really bad. So bad that I may need some surgery. I woke up this way… feeling like I’m probably going to go to sleep this way. Nothing triggered it that I can think of, no fuse under me was lit. I floated through the night and woke up on this depression island. I don’t even have a Ginger or Mary Ann to say it’s going to be alright. Not even half a coconut.
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Today is my Birthday…
This is something that Frank posted on the main Bob the Squirrel website. I’m cross posting this just because…
February 10, 2002.
Today is bob’s 11th birthday. He made his first print appearance in the Sunday Sentinel on February 10, 2002. It wasn’t something that happened with a lot of fanfare. I honestly didn’t even really know who he was. I had only created him literally days before this panel was drawn. Those of you that have heard me at speaking engagements are already familiar with this origin.
This is the paragraph where I dump all kinds of cliches on you: It doesn’t seem like it’s been 11 years. Where did all that time go? Hard to believe … blah, blah, blah.
I do know where the time went. It went into drawing 3000+ strips. It went into molding a character into someone who has life… adding and subtracting along the way.
It does seem like 11 years… my face looks way different than it did in 2002. My hairline is not only thinner than it was, but I now have the added bonus of flecks of gray in it. I’m more sore than I used to be.
Hard to believe? No way. I wanted to create a comic strip that had legs… that’s not easy. It’s not hard to believe because I know how HARD I work on this. I work harder now, even with 11 years in the rear view mirror. But, in addition to working harder, I work SMARTER.
The person who created this character is not the person who is now writing 11 years later.
This strip is a huge part of my existence. HUGE. At the end of 2011, I was giving some serious consideration to ending bob and just moving on. If you have a moment, go back to that post and read it. It pretty much says it all.
I’ve sacrificed untold amounts of everything in order to keep this strip going. Financially, in time, effort, blood, sweat, tears, earth wind and fire. In 2011, I wanted to maybe see what my life would be like without Bob…when hundreds would kill for the privilege of what I have.
Could I have done things differently? No doubt. Could I be making much more money with this thing? Probably. I could change this strip to make it more popular…ride the wave of the moment and benefit in the short term…It would be easy. Too easy. I won’t do that. If that means I lose out, so be it. In a world that more often than not turns its back on that which is genuine, I will not change. The strip is as perfect as it’s going to be… and I should know, I’ve invested nearly a quarter of my life into it…and I’ll probably invest even more.
When this began, I dreamed of a day where Bob would be everywhere. Everyone would know the strip, everyone would want to wear the clothing, watch the cartoon…etc. THAT was something important to me… when I didn’t know who the character was. Today? I would absolutely welcome all that stuff… but not for the same reasons. It’s not about that anymore… it’s about (and forgive my MFA coming out right now) the art. It’s about the reliability… you always know Bob will be there for you. He may not always make you laugh, but he’ll be there. He’ll always be there.
Happy Birthday buddy, Happy friggin’ Birthday.
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cookies… it’s what’s for dinner
cookies are awesome. that is all…
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blizzard of bob…
I stay inside when it’s nice out, so a blizzard to end all blizzards doesn’t really mean as much to me as someone who actually leaves their living space. I don’t interact much with anything outside this little frozen, soon to be potentially covered with snow circle.
I live in Central New York. Most people who don’t live in New York think that New York is just New York City… all the rest of that stuff attached to it is merely the stand for New York City. There’s definitely a lot more to New York. Upstate used to be quite the manufacturing mecca…but technology, economy and just plain time has gutted a once vital center. We still got the goods… just not as much as we once had. Someone sarcastically once said the only thing we make around here anymore is Chicken Riggies, Tomato Pie and snow. Sarcastic as the tone of the statement was, it was was completely true… we do make all that stuff pretty well.
So if the snow does hit hard, we’ll all be inside…eating chicken riggies and tomato pie… Not a bad way to ride a storm out, huh?
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the other edge of technology…
Technology moves so fast that by the time this sentence ends it will already be obsolete.
Do I have to elaborate any further? I’ll bet a years worth of nuts that those of you reading this right now are doing so on technology that will end up in the utensil drawer real soon. In fact, I’ll bet you fished some technology out of that drawer already! Pretty sad that this is how we advance. Also feel free to use that new, used or other technology to share this image with tech savy friends. Hey, might as well get as much out of it as you can, right?
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tanlined bright side optimism…
Optimism and I don’t necessarily get along. It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s more about we’ve rarely been in the same room at the same time to get to know each other type of thing. Whenever I make an effort to get to know optimism, I’m more often than not let down, disappointed or flat out dismissed. It’s not a good feeling.
Why can’t that concept come to me for once? Why can’t it make an effort? Why does it always have to be me putting my tail on the line and foot forward? Don’t I deserve some consideration? Some optimistic thoughts? Seriously?
I really have to dig sometimes for the positive spin. And, let me tell you all out there in Bob the Squirrel land, that can be one slow spin.
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profoundly profound…
I am profound… mostly because I’m against lost.
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from snot to philosophy… a tribute…
It can’t be easy… snot one minute, philosophy the next. I have to hand it to Frank, the cartoonist I adopted… he is a lot of things. The one thing he’s not is lazy. Sure, there are many things he doesn’t want to do and puts off… but that doesn’t mean lazy… it means selective. I won’t lie though… there are some days where he can be a total jerk… so much so that I’d love nothing more than to bite him right on the nose (you probably thought I was going to say another anatomical area… if you did, you’re sick… and please continue reading).
The man needs a break. A big break, a little break, a coffee break… maybe even a lunch break…
The life of a cartoonist is a mostly solitary one. He spends so much time alone at that drawing board…even if his drawing board was a two seater… still, he’d be by himself. Some days, he just cranks stuff out and never looks up. Other days he can’t get a good idea going and ALL he does is look up. It’s not easy living with him, with Lezley, Lauren and the menagerie of crazy dogs and cats that seem to inhabit every corner of this little house…but so what? Living is living. There have to be a few creases in the tablecloth…if there weren’t any, how would you know where to put the plates and silverware?
As I type this, I can Frank trying to get some snot going. The flu finally got him. I’m sure he’s thinking philosophy every time he looks into those phlegm filled tissues. Wouldn’t you?
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rubber band bob…
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self-esteem and an order of fries…
I may seem as though I have a truck load of self esteem, but I don’t. Self-esteem is a pet subject Ilike to feed now and then. It’s a pretty heavy subject… not only is it how you perceive yourself in the world but also how you think the world perceives you. IF you think you’re relatively worthless, you’re going to ooze that vibe like a runny nose on the second day of the flu. You can fake it for the world… but you’d have to be pretty darn good at it. The problem with that is when the world is gone, you’re just tat much more deeper in self-doubt, self-hate and a bunch of other selves I can’t think of at the moment.
There is no answer to this. I have wanted to change myself time and time again… but this isn’t Star Trek… and as much as it pains me, I have to use what I have. I make it work, but sometimes it can use a tune up… still other times it could use a total rebuild. Those are the days you sit in the dark. If you make the mistake of listening to other people, that’s fine… just so long as you don’t BELIEVE them. If you believe them, goodbye self-esteem, hello fast food.
You’re fine the way you are. Express… don’t regress. Now if I could only follow my own advice.
