Is it too late to post a Christmas card? Here's one (above) that I never finished. I just couldn't get enough time in the days before Christmas. The caricature of me is from the sidebar. John K drew it and I redrew it.
Well, Christmas was great, one of my best ever. It was indescribably wonderful to have my son home for a week. I refrained from lecturing him, which parents are apt to do, and just enjoyed the experience of hanging out with him.
My Christmas present to him was a truly enormous "Russian Divers Watch" (above) which I got from Amazon. He hated it, and now it has to be returned. I didn't mean to get a watch that big. It looked normal size in the promotion, but in real life the thing was big and heavy as a grandfather clock. It might even be a real divers watch, something you wear over a wet suit when you're way down in the Marianas Trench spearing luminescent devil fish.
The present he seemed to like best was one given to him by a girl FBI agent. It was a book about running barefoot called "Born to Run." Apparently there's an Indian tribe of super runners in Mexico who beat everybody in races, and who never wear shoes. They admit that padded shoes reduce pain, but they say that's the problem; only by allowing yourself to experience pain do you undertake the necessary correctives in your stride and stance. They believe padded shoes lead to permanent injury. Now my kid is hot to run over gravel in his bare feet.
I'm dying to tell you about my wife and daughter's Christmas adventures but they won't let me, so I'll have to keep those stories to myself.
John just got back from Europe and Canada. He says that British guys are wearing low crotch pants like the pair pictured above, except the pants he saw were torn all over. Fascinating!
Mike is back from the East Coast and he's discovered a new fez site.
Some of his favorite designs (below):
Man! Those are classy hats!
13 comments:
Yikes! Woody looks like he had too much whiskey last night. Anyhow, I can finally confirm that it really is 2012 with this very first post you did today along with the Japan earthquake, the Iowa caucus, and the Los Angeles fires. 2011 was one of the quickest years that I've ever endured. Here's to another year of great cartoons and theories, and hopefully more cooking recipes as I get closer to becoming legal in July, even though you don't like them as much as I do.
Best to you & your friends in the new year, Eddie & more art from all if us
Take it easy, Eddie!
I like the Woody Woodpecker drawing. Is that from the 1999 revival? I recall that you worked on it.
Roberto, Mush: Many Thanks! I hope you have a great year!
Brubaker: Is it from that show!? I didn't think of that when I posted it!
Thanks again for the face drawing device. I dug it up with the intention of using it over the holiday, but I didn't have time. I still intend to give it a try out.
Next year I want to spend Christmas with you. It sounds like you had some great fun. Let me wish you a Happy New Year full of lots of pain-free imagination and invention. (By the way, I can tell you now that I'm not going to wear the low-crotch pants when they hit the US.)
Michael: Haw! No, I don't think I'll be wearing pants like that either, but you never know....
I'll buy that watch off you! if it's as big as you say. I do barefoot running and hiking. I love it. won't go back to running shoes ever.
happy new year.
Hope you'll have fun with the face drawing thing. I'm guessing it'd be fun game to play with when cartoonists get together.
Out of curiosity, Eddie, do you remember Blackwing pencil? Apparently it was the standard pencil in animation for years. Chuck Jones claimed that it was his favorite pencil.
Have you ever used it? How was it?
Best wishes for a happy, creative, brave & prosperous New Year, Eddie!
To your credit, all the young people are wearing those enormous watches. (All due credit to your son for not wearing it.)
HOLY #@*% that fez site is so cool.
Brunaker: Blackwings were great, though in my opinion nothing compares to the present-day Tombow.
As you said, Chuck loved that pencil. He told me the correct way to handle it was hold it as high up the shank as you could and still have control.
Blackwing is for a person who wants the precision of a hard lead pencil mixed with the dark, brushy quality of a soft lead. It was perfect for Chuck's later style.
Jimmy: Many thanks for the offer, but I think I'll stick to my plan just for conveniece.
So you're a barefoot runner! Do you use those slippers described in the book? It seems like you'd need something to keep off broken glass.
Pappy, Jules: Thanks!
They still make Tombows? (quivering)
Just to let you know - that Tomainian fez... it's up for ordering. :) Seems you and Leonard Maltin liked it. Have fun. - Joe
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