Tag: Bearman cartoons

  • I love Kangaroo

    Bearman Cartoon I love KangaroosSo once again today’s cartoon was based in some semblance of truth.  One of my top 3 things we did was visit the Australian Zoo (aka the Steve Irwin Zoo).  Because of liability and stupid people, you don’t have the same level of interaction with animals in the U.S. as you can in Australia.  We literally could enter the pen with the Kangaroos, Wallabies and Koalas.

    Kangaroo-being-fed-Bearman- Koala-Bearman-Cartoons

     

     

     

     

    BUT……………..as cute as they were and typically not being an adventurous eater,  I only hesitated for a moment when I saw Kangaroo on the menu.    Much like Ostrich or Buffalo is in the states, Kangaroo is a very lean meat.  Unlike the other two it didn’t seem as gamey and was quite enjoyable.

    One of the guides said we could minimize green house gases caused by cows by instead moving to a kangaroo diet for our meat.  However, the guide wasn’t entirely correct.  While the majority of methane that cows produce come from their burbs (an affliction that seemingly kangaroos are immune), the roos do fart.   Yet the amount of methane produced by kangaroos is about 1/3 of that produced by cows.   So why aren’t there kangaroo farms cropping up all over the states.  Climate.  According to this article “The meatier breeds do not thrive outside of the Australian climate. They are sensitive to humidity, which means that it’s very difficult to breed them outside of Australia.”

     

  • Australian Taxi Cab Drivers

    Bearman Cartoons Australian Cab Drivers and Apple MapsToday’s cartoon is an ode to the wonderful men and women who drive the taxis all around Australia.  I am sure most of them are very competent.  So why the heck did you send the others to us?  It was if someone had installed Apple Maps (notorious for getting people lost) in their brains.   We walked most of the time but in our trip we probably took 6 cab rides.  Here were the facts:

    • 4 out of 6 drivers had no idea where we were asking them to go (even with cross streets mentioned)
    • 3 of those 4 even had GPS
    • Only one tried to use it unsuccessfully
    • 3 of the 4 lost drivers were in Sydney

    And it wasn’t as if we were going to some obscure place.   But in Sydney, where we had most of the issues, it wasn’t limited to cab drivers.   Walking one day without my map, I got a little disoriented on Sydneys spoke and wheel system of streets.  I asked a cop how to get back to my hotel.  He pointed in a direction that I knew was wrong even when I told him what street it was on.

    Actual Cab Conversation:

    Us:  We would like to go to Nick’s Seafood

    Driver: (blank stare)

    Us: In Cockle Bay Wharf?

    Driver: (bigger blank stare)

    Us:  Darling Harbour??

    Driver: (puzzled look)

    Us:  Here on the map!

    Driver: OK

    Us (after many minutes of driving): I think you are on the wrong side of the Bay.   The restaurant is on the other side

    Driver finally uses GPS.  Puts in a restaurant none of us ever mentioned and started off.

    Us: That isn’t the restaurant.  And I think we are driving in a big circle.

    Finally the driver stopped about 1/4 mile from where we were going and pretty much gave up.  Thankfully we were only charged half the meter rate.

    Now to be fare, all of our tour bus drivers and the drivers as part of our transfer shuttles never got lost for a minute.  This actually was the opposite of our experience in London several years ago.  The cab drivers knew every little pub and alley everywhere.  The guy who brought us from the airport got lost.

     

  • Tipping in Australia

    Bearman Cartoons Tipping in Australia

    To commemorate my trip to Australia (yes that is where I have been) I am going to do a series of cartoons that give you and idea of what it is like to experience the great Down Under.   The Series is “Ken Groo with the Low Down on the Down Under”

     

    Ken Groo's Low Down on the Down Under

    Obviously the first in the series has to do with tipping and what is customary in Australia.   You read the guides and ask people that have been there and you find out that tipping is NOT customary in Australia like it is elsewhere in the world.  That is because they charge more and therefore pay a higher salary to waiters, clerks, etc.  Well that is what they tell you.

    What actually happens is that you are bombarded by Tip Jars everywhere.   As an American we are accustomed to tipping for any service such as throwing in your change to the coffee shop clerk or putting in a percentage of the check for a meal as a tip.  So it becomes confusing Down Under.  Am I looked at as a cheapskate if I don’t throw in a tip?  Or am I looked at as a sucker if I do because I don’t know any better.   Luckily for me I don’t have a conscience so I went with the guides and screwed everyone out of extra money.

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    I thought it was the end of the world already as my site crashed for about 6 hours.  Something over my head with a php something so I updated it to the most recent version and then I could see the site but not get to the admin page.  So I dropped it back to 5.2 and finally got back online.  So sorry if anyone had trouble getting in.   All that to say that just in case the world really comes to an end before my update on Sunday, remember when you see all the memes/cartoons about the end of the world, back in 2009, I was the first.

    End of the World Again Mayan Calendar 2012 Cartoon by Bearman Cartoons

  • Webcomics at 1 or 100

    So I am taking off for a few weeks and won’t be trolling your sites much if at all in that time.  I asked and recieved some great guest cartoons in my absence.  The task was to draw your cartoon character at either age 1 or 100.   The above was what I made of myself when I did this several years ago.

    Here is the schedule:

    So as always give them the love you don’t usually afford me and share their work on social media and talk them up.  And please try not to make a mess while I am gone.

     

  • Gangnam Style Takes over Justin Bieber

    Bearman-Cartoon-Justin Bieber Gangnam Style

    So Korean pop sensation PSY’s video for his song Gangnam Style has just surpassed Justin Bieber’s Baby video as the most watched on YouTube.   Now I am not a Justin Bieber hater like most.  In fact if you look at the stats, he has more unlikes on his YouTube video than likes.   I think he has talent.  But with many celebrities, I think sometimes they screw up royally when trying to remain relevant.

    That is why the caption “Gangnam Takes Over Bieber” is a double entendre.  Obviously the first way to look at it is PSY’s video taking over Bieber’s.  But with the second you have to fully understand what Gangnam Style means.  It mocks people that are posers.  Those who act like something they are not.   Well it seems for all his success, it isn’t enough for Justin.  Now he has resorted to stunts like this.

    According to the Huffington Post Article, he tweeted this shirtless pic to his followers. Seriously? Not only do you have to try and show your “sex appeal” but really you had to pull your pants down too? Interesting strategy.

    Well good news for Bieber is that he and PSY have the same manager so maybe there will be a forthcoming collaberation.

  • Retro Cartoon: Recycled Campaign Promises

    11 5 07 Recycled Political Candidates copy

    OK this is a twice recycled cartoon post.  So I am lazy.   But it is still relevant.  I originally created this in 2007 before I had a blog.   Reposted it in 2009 and now reposting again since half of you are new here since then.  From my 2009 post:

    I did this editorial cartoon about 2 years ago after an election. In the states, the landscape is cluttered with yard signs that promote candidates and issues in the month leading up to the election. While the volunteers are quick to put up the signs they are slow to remove them.

    Locally we have laws that say you can’t put the signs on public property, yet no one pays any attention to that because there really isn’t a penalty for violating it.

    So be a good citizen and clean up your campaign yard signs, recycle them and please STOP recycling your campaign promises.

    Funny how things never change.

  • Long Island Medium & Hairspray

    Bearman Cartoons Long Island Medium and HairsprayToday’s cartoon stars Theresa Caputo, better known on TLC as the Long Island Medium.   Sure we have seen tv psychics come and go: John Edwards, Sylvia Browne and of course my favorite Ms Cleo.

    First of all let me say I am a:

    Optimistic Skeptic

    I don’t believe in psychics but I would love to find proof for myself of life beyond this one.  But I have to say, I am impressed by Theresa.  Not because of her abilities so much because as always on TV, we don’t know what is cut.  But rather her over the top personality and the melding of her family (and husband Larry or as she in her Long Island accent says “Laaarrrry”) into the show.

    Of course one recurring theme is Theresa’s overuse of hairspray.   My wife used to overdo the hairspray.  She has since dropped her usage to about 1/4 of what she used in the past.  I think (and she agrees) that her hair and she looks even better now than when I met her.   So put it down Teresa!!!

    I know there are skeptics who think that all mediums do harm to those they read by taking advantage of their grief.  I take a less harsh view.  I think those who would continually try to profit on the sorrow of a grieving person should be called out.   However, if a person has the ability to make you feel better about the loss of a loved one in one session, how is that different than going to see a psychologist?   Sadly, I think there are those who are addicted to mediums and are constantly looking for answers.

    What say you?   Believe in spirits, mediums, good/bad?

  • Romney Cuts off Head of Sesame Street

    Romney Cuts off Head of Big Bird by Bearman Cartoons

    Whoa!  What are you doing posting an editorial cartoon on a Tuesday you ask?  Well my friends this is a two part experiment.  The question in the experiment is can I piss off both my liberal friends and conservative friends using the same cartoon on two different days.

    Today’s cartoon might of course irritate some of my more conservative friends.  Seems since the debate, candidate Mitt Romney has been taking flack for his assertion during the debates that he would consider cutting funding of PBS, the broadcaster of shows such as Sesame Street.   There have been memes galore floating around on social media blasting Mitt for it, but I thought nothing said it better than Mitt Romney holding a knife in one hand and the head of Big Bird in the other.

    So how could this possibly irritate my liberal friends?  Well you have to wait until tomorrow to find out.

  • Social Media Copywrong

    Editorial Cartoon Social Media Stealing

    Today’s cartoon was inspired by some conversations I have been seeing more and more from cartoonists and graphic designers bemoaning the practice of companies who crowdsource graphic work.   The process of crowdsourcing is where a company invites anyone and everyone to submit graphic/cartoon work but only choose one or a limited number of people to win.  And even then there may or not be a monetary prize.   Personally I don’t have a problem with the contests except when (and it is becoming all too frequent) when the contest rules state that any submissions become the property of the sponsoring company.  BS!!!

    However, some of my same friends who will be irate over crowdsourcing don’t seem to have any issues with illegally downloading music, tv shows, or movies.   It becomes a larger group when you include some others that I follow on social media.   Some complain when someone posts something they found/made without attribution to the original poster.   I am in full agreement with that complaint provided that you aren’t yourself in the practice of stealing content from someone else.

    Know your meme is a great site to find out the history behind certain memes that suddenly become popular on social media.

    Those of you who are artists/designers, what are your thoughts on crowdsourcing design work?

     

  • Overwhelmed Underwhelmed

    Feeling Overwhelmed Underwhelmed Cartoon

    Today’s cartoon is based on an actual conversation my wife and I had today.   As I was saying it I realized underwhelmed is NOT the opposite of overwhelmed even though “over” and “under” are.

    overwhelmed

    • Bury or drown beneath a huge mass.
    • Defeat completely.

    underwhelmed 

    • Fail to impress or make a positive impact on (someone); disappoint

    You would think they wouldn’t BOTH be bad.  Anyone else think of two words that should mean opposite things but really aren’t?