What, me worry?
Confession: I've always been a bit of a womble. As long as I can remember I've been a finder – one of those people who looks down and sees money lying in the street, bits of jewellery on the footpath, or whatever odds and ends fall out of people's pockets. Over the years I've extended this to fossicking wherever I go, and I've amassed a pretty good collection of indian arrowheads and pottery, American civil war bullets, and all sorts of curious objects which occupy several dusty boxes in the back of my closet. I don't attribute this to any special talent except that I'm observant and expect to find unusual things, whereas most people don't. And perhaps that's a good metaphor for life, if you believe like I do that our consciousness helps shape our reality, you'll find what you expect wherever you go, so always try to expect the best.
Anyway, I was out with some friends last night and we were walking home from a bar downtown when I noticed a small woven bag lying on the footpath. I immediately thought it looked like some sort of shaman's kit, the type containing bits of feathers and crystals that medicine men might wear around their necks during rituals and such. Curiosity outweighed the fear of attracting bad juju or a stray curse so I picked it up. I joked with my friend Matt, saying that it probably had voodoo dolls in it, and was surprised when I opened it to find that it did! Except that they weren't voodoo dolls, but were Guatemalan worry dolls instead. Matt recognised them as such and told me that you're supposed to sleep with them under your pillow, and they'll help ease your troubled soul. A little piece of paper inside confirmed what he said. As regular readers of this blog will know, I've had a few things to worry about recently; although I mostly handle it well, I'd be a liar if I said I didn't sometimes stress about things. With that in mind, and with nothing to lose, I decided to give the dolls a try. Every little bit helps, right?
I'm happy to report that I had a great night's sleep and felt a lot better this morning, though I'm unsure whether that was because of the worry dolls or the soporific effects of a few beers. Whatever, I'm growing attached to the little guys and enjoy imagining how they were created in a country that was once the seat of the Mayan empire, then travelled to New Zealand (probably through a Fair Trade shop), and somehow ended up under my pillow via someone else's pockets and a brief interlude on the footpath. I don't know how you tell when they're filled up with worries and you need to replace them, or if the bad energy is discharged somewhere and they can be reused. Maybe a more enlightened reader can provide some information. Until then, I'll rest a bit more easily knowing someone else can help shoulder my emotional burdens. It's a hell of a lot cheaper than therapy!
Sorry, that doesn't have a lot to do with cartooning, does it?
Here's today's toon on the mixed emotion surrounding the end of summer holidays. All over New Zealand you can hear exhausted mums and dads rejoicing as their children return to school and give them a little break. I know I for one have a new appreciation for teachers and what they must endure. For many kids it's the end of freedom and a return to boring routines, though. I always felt like that, especially when I would've rather been exploring the fields and forests, looking for treasure and building forts. Ah, those endless summer days, when I was more like a mayfly than a boy and a month or two was literally a lifetime.
Here's one way to sort out the motorised hooligans that have been hitting the headlines. Of course, another more reasonable way would be to have compulsory third-party insurance and make it prohibitively expensive for young, irresponsible dorks to own turbocharged death machines. And if they flout the law, relieve them of their vehicles and their right to drive. It's pretty simple, really.
Given that George W Bush's ill-considered invasion of Iraq has caused most of the country's recent problems, it's galling to credit his "troop surge" policies for the recent peaceful elections and a fragile return to democracy. The President left office confident that history will vindicate him, and who knows, maybe it will. You can bet they'll be playing ice hockey in hell before that happens, but with the recent freakish snowstorms across Europe and America, maybe that's not such a remote possibility.
If the banks stop charging an arm and a leg for some of their services, you have to wonder how it will affect other parts of our economy. Everything has a ripple effect, or at least it does if you're a cartoonist.
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Hey Mike,
If funny looking knitted people helped you sleep well, go for it. Anyway would love to continue reading about snippets from your day (or night, as the case may be), cartoon-related or not! You've got a great writing style, and I'm sure the blog editor wouldn't mind... right Editor?
Slick... but the Guatemalan worry dolls are real.
I like the cartoon about sending in Paula Bennet with a tank to sort out the boy racers. Unfortunately the NZ Army doesn't have any.
Sending Paula riding in on what we do have - a LAV* - would be funnier given the connotations of that particularly British/Kiwi euphemism...
Cheers
*Light Armoured Vehicle
Bob, just because we cant see the wind does it mean it doesnt exsist? I certainly see the effects of the wind, just like I see the effects that God has had on my life. However I'm sure Mike doesnt want an arguement erupting on his blog about religion. So I guess we can agree to disagree. Mike, I just hope you havent given them names or anything silly like that!
All nostalga aside... I suspect there are a few educators out there that may take exception to depicting schools as prisons.
I still firmly believe that all forms of insurance should be avoided, but boy racers definitely need to pay for the damage they cause. I like the car crushing idea as it imposes a financial penalty on the offender that makes it imposible to claim poverty and not pay. If you can't pay, take the car and the license. Although perhaps auctioning off the car might make more financial sense--perhaps even given to victims.
In your blogging abscense you skipped over perhaps your most controversial cartoon. Your depiction of the Sanlu/Fonterra scandal being on par or in some way similar to the Cayoning Tragedy was, in my opinion, uncalled for. There are large differences in making bad decisions while engaging in extreme river sports in a few hours vs the systematic disregard for public safety over months in favour of higher profits. One is a bad mistake--the other is a true example of evil. Still a thought provoking cartoon which is the main goal. I can see the general concept being that even though criminal negligence was proved, no one was held accountable. I think the community decided they had suffered enough. I don't think a prison sentence would create more incentive for adventure sport companies to take more caution. The deaths of all those kids was enough.
As Russel Brown points out (http://www.publicaddress.net/5650#post5650 ), "peaceful" in Iraq means only two candidates had their houses bombed, and only three polling stations were under mortar fire :-/
Hey everyone, thanks for your comments on this post and the other recent ones, I appreciate that.
Sorry for the blog lapse but last week was largely occupied with lawyer visits and attending to all sorts of details besides my usual work and juggling of children. Because I upload so many pics there's a certain time component to my blog that I wouldn't have if I was only writing. It's easier if I post every couple of days, harder if I leave it for a while and let the backlog mount. Sometimes if I haven't posted by Friday, then meeting my cartoon deadline and blogging seem mutually exclusive. Unfortunately I only get paid for one, so you can guess which task has priority.
That doesn't mean Tooned In isn't important to me, or that I don't read everything people have to say. I do, even if I'm sometimes terrible about replying. Please bear with me and thanks for continuing to read and share your thoughts. I keep saying I plan to expand the ambit of this blog and I will. Things are settling down, life is returning to a new and much, much better normal, and I intend to write a whole lot more in the coming months and years.
Cheers, Mike
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I guess we all look to different "things" to ease our worries Mike! Not saying I never have any worries, but God has always helped ease mine and I'd prefer to believe in a God than some funny looking knitted people called Guatemalan worry dolls. Any how, nice to have you blogging again and how about another cartoon about the cricketers (a positive cartoon) instead of the gloom and doom of the economy and banks etc. Just a thought!