I had an idea yesterday which, having survived the night, might not be a bad one. As you might know, I’ve been fumbling around for weeks, wondering what’s wrong with me. I’d concluded that it’s because I don’t have a project on the go. It’s all fine drawing these gag cartoons which I might (probably […]
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Sometimes it takes a pandemic to change our behaviour. Other times it’s the sight of something so outrageously idiotic that makes you realise that things haven’t been good for a long time. Take the lamentable sight of MPs snaking around Westminster this week. Could there be a more convincing argument about reforming a system that’s […]
Continue ReadingI’m writing a second blog post for the day because I haven’t quite satisfied my urge to write. I guess it speaks to my underlying need to feel relevant (even to myself) whilst recognising the reality that people aren’t exactly beating down my door to ask me for work. It’s probably one of the many […]
Continue ReadingI’m beginning to regret mentioning education in the last podcast. I seem to be getting nothing but criticism from people who believe they understand my life better than I know it myself. The fact that I think reading is taught poorly in schools and that students should be introduced to a wide range of material, […]
Continue ReadingI was going to write today but my neighbours have decided that this is…. GRRRR… the day they’re going to drill/hammer through the damn wall. I get these fifteen-second windows in which I can think and write before… GRRRRRR… And I’m back with another snatched thought. My intention was writing an article about last night […]
Continue ReadingI missed the two-month anniversary of the blog which happened sometime last week when I was giving myself anxiety attacks over the Dominic Cummings story. Well, okay, “anxiety attacks” isn’t entirely the truth but I was feeling a bit Henry Fonda in Twelve Angry Men. I didn’t want Lee J. Cobb to shout at me. […]
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I was wrong. I admit that now, though I still think I was wrong for the right reasons. If you recall, I couldn’t get behind the hounding of Dominic Cummings because I didn’t think what he did was wrong. Looking after your child shouldn’t be something that weighs against any parent and I don’t care […]
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My Friday wasn’t great. It was one of those days when the world rejected my efforts, so by the time 10PM rolled around, I was done. No late-night drawing session watching one of the American news networks. I’d had enough of Trump, having written that long piece in the morning. The rioting was also getting […]
Continue ReadingOvernight rioting in the city of Minneapolis saw protestors burn down the 3rd Precinct police building. This came after days of increasing tension. Video footage emerged on Monday of a police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a 46-year old man who had been arrested for trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill. […]
Continue ReadingEvents overnight in Minneapolis ran ahead of my ability to keep track. It meant that when I sat down this morning to write a piece about them, I was faced by a staggering number of facts, details, and narrative threads that I struggled to contain within a simple linear argument. The insanely quick news cycle […]
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I got up on Thursday thinking it was Friday. I think this was largely down to my waking up and finding that I couldn’t move. I might have mentioned that I’d done some weeding yesterday. I’d forgotten. My back hadn’t. Anyway, before I’d realised my mistake, I’d entered into my usual Friday routine, which often […]
Continue ReadingUnless I find time later in my day, just a brief update… Wednesday morning, I wrote a new piece for Reaction, which you can read over there. I usually write a piece each week and I should try to remember to link to them when I can. My new piece deals with one of my […]
Continue ReadingHere’s my dilemma, which perhaps I’m uniquely qualified to explain because only I would be dumb enough to admit it… I’m worried that the virus might not come back. So, okay, I phrased that in the very worst way because I’m being deliberately provocative. Obviously, I don’t want the virus to come back. I want […]
Continue ReadingWhy Dunciad.com?
It’s a cool domain name and it was available. Yes, I know. Available. Crazy, isn’t it?
Really?
Yes. It also helps that it’s also my favourite satire written by Alexander Pope, one of the most metrically pure English poets who also knew his way around a crude insult or two. If you’ve not read it, you should give it a try.
So this is satire, right?
Can’t deny it. There will be some. But it’s also an experiment in writing and drawing, giving work away for free in order to see how many people are willing to support a writer doing his thing. It’s the weird stuff that I wouldn’t get published elsewhere in this word of diminishing demands and cookie-cutter tastes.
