I found myself cursing Uncle Ben’s yesterday. Not because of the news that they’re about to undergo a name change. I’d bought their Spicy Mexican rice not realising that I wanted “Mexican-style” rice. The difference is sweetcorn, a substance that was put on this earth simply to torture me. I’m not sure why it exists […]
Continue ReadingI’m not sure this book is generating much interest on the blog (yes, it sounds crap until you “get it”) but I want to publish it anyway. I should never have unpublished it years ago but I certainly shouldn’t leave it lingering as a file on my PC. I also wrote the damn thing and […]
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So I drew the cover. Not what I initially planned, which was more outlandish and crazy but really beyond me. This is a straight cartoon and I would have preferred to shift into illustration, an area where I still feel weak. I browsed some book covers I liked and thought probably scale back my ambitions […]
Continue ReadingThe humidity has finally eased and the weather is fresher, which means it’s dipped below the threshold above which I struggle to work. Monday I wrote solidly. My piece appeared on Reaction yesterday [click here]. Tuesday, however, was a wipe-out, except for my proofreading my old book. I really want to get back to other […]
Continue ReadingI got no drawing done yesterday. I was asked to write a piece on US politics so I got side-tracked until very late. Hopefully, it will appear sometime today. If it doesn’t, it will eventually appear here. I might not get much drawing done today either. Last week I mentioned that I’m putting together a […]
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Chatting with Rob about Philip Schofield (in my previous post) reminded me that I’d drawn a cartoon strip last year that I’ve never made public. There’s a good reason for that. I’m sure there are cartoonists out there far more obscene than I am (in fact, I’m certain of it) but if you like my […]
Continue ReadingMonday, so time for one of those general rambling blog posts, which isn’t about any of the big issues of the day but my outlook, plans for the week, and where I am. First of all: still in lockdown. Admittedly, it’s largely because my ordinary life wouldn’t look hugely different to non-lockdown life, though it […]
Continue ReadingA not particularly insightful thought occurred to me yesterday as I watched the ugly scenes around Westminster. My opposition to the far right is as much a physical reaction to their kind as it is an intellectual position I’ve found myself taking throughout my life. I hasten to add that this doesn’t mean I’m not […]
Continue ReadingI have never flashed a stranger in my life. I thought I better get that out there (no pun intended) at the start. One of the current trends that annoys me the most is the need to state things which, in a mature and civil society, shouldn’t need stating. I’m also not a serial killer. […]
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Wrote too much yesterday (my statue piece on here and that Reaction article) and I’m still a bit rough (sinusitis) so I’m going to take it easy today, perhaps draw or read a book. Have a new doodle to fill the space.
Continue ReadingA new piece by me, over at Reaction, about cultural sectarianism and why we’re in such a bad place. Read it by clicking here… (Though there might be a paywall. Sorry!)
Continue ReadingThe re-emergence of the Black Lives Matter as a cultural force means the usual divisive stories are again dominating the headlines. They amount to a screaming match going on around the so-called “cancellation of white culture”. Classic movies such as Gone With The Wind are being withdrawn so producers can give them more historical context […]
Continue ReadingAffected by pollen yesterday, my sinuses flared. I blame lockdown. The upshot was that I didn’t do a thing. Couldn’t write jokes. Didn’t feel funny. No mood to draw. Just felt lousy. I eventually went to bed and watched two films. I’m a fan of Community and especially Ken Jeong, so I thought I’d see […]
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Feeling a bit knackered today so I probably won’t write a huge amount. I will, however, post the above cartoon because it’s another of those that I wouldn’t get published anywhere else. It’s one that either works for you or it doesn’t. I could explain why I think it works (the incongruity, the cruelty, the […]
Continue ReadingAn example of a very modern problem which, of course, begins on Twitter… It was over there that I read a “fact” which was so good that I had to verify it. Martin Rowson, always a great source of political stories, quoted something he remembered reading by Geoffrey Wheatcroft about the young Winston Churchill defacing […]
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.
