Sunday Strips

Another session with the tiny tinkerers of Henge primary.

For readers who are not 'Mac-heads', the Power PC partnership was an attempt by IBM and Apple to produce a fast 64bit chip to drive PCs that would put a dent in the then market leading share of Intel. IBM would then be producing PC 'clones' running the Mac OS. It failed due to bickering and third-party delays in producing the envisaged 'wizard' new chip. Of course, this was before the return of Steve Jobs to the Apple fold... following which, everything the company dreamt up turned to gold.

Double Talk

If whole nations are seen to be embodied in their leadership... Australia is going to be in deep trouble trying to rebuild its reputation when the post-Abbott era comes around. Maybe it will by then be irreparable?

Driving the debate?

Time to put the pedal to the metal Bill?

Pyne on Math?

Christopher Pyne thinks mathematics should be a compulsory subject for all students up to year 12.  And, if a majority of students are interested in other key subjects required to prepare a strong basis for their chosen life career... then, the time and money wasted on swotting mathematics is justified... because C.P. thinks it's important?

Stick to your own knitting Chris, I recently passed my 80th birthday of what has been a moderately successful working life, most of which was spent as a 'coal-face' manager in the airline industry. Sure... an understanding of basic arithmetical theory was necessary to perform my many and varied role(s) day to day, but I can say without doubt that I've never been called upon to use 'higher' forms of mathematics (eg. Algebra) to achieve any purpose whatsoever in paid employment during my lifetime.

If I'd wanted to be a mathematician... or perhaps a related profession like some forms of Engineering, I would've needed to opt for math-rich study at secondary and later level education. As things turned out for me (and I suspect the massive majority of ordinary citizens) such study and time wasted would not have enhanced my subsequent working life one jot!

Quotable Quotes?

In retrospect, perhaps a simple 'no' would've sufficed?

Sunday Strips

The further adventures of those Neolithic neophytes of Henge Primary...

Back Numbers mini strip

I've been quiet over the past week for a number of reasons, not the least of which was a chance to contemplate a change in the way I use cartoons to express my ideas on humour and other life matters. No concrete decisions made yet... but I'm edging towards dabbling in comic-strips again after straying into current affairs commentary over the past 4  or 5 years.

Watch this space.

Meanwhile, here's another example of the I.T. oriented mini-strips I was churning out during the late 1980s. This one dealt with the mysterious inner workings of computers using binary units as the only characters. Like other strips of that time, these were published in B&W only. For this outing, I've added colour to highlight characters and text balloons from the printed-circuitry back-ground used for each episode.

  

Mates '80s style

Strange bed-fellows during the Hawke ascendancy. Can't remember the actual circumstances which spawned the 'toon... but perhaps they were just learning to get along in a difficult ideological arena?

Sunday Strips

The fruits of I.T. training?

Brandis' Arts...broken 'arts?

Tradie TA?

Plumbing the depths?

Avago ya mugs!

Out of sorts yesterday... so no blog post. However, I did browse the media response to the federal budget tabled the night before and had hoped to produce a cartoon based on the government's apparent fixation on sloganeering. The budget theme 'Have a Go!' seemed too good to let pass un-scathed ... so, here's a little tit-bit I pencilled earlier today delving its meaning in the real world.

Budget '15

On the cusp of Joe's make it or break it performance...

Comic strips cont'd/...

During 2011, I devised a short run strip to be posted on a Melbourne-based  over 50s web-site named BONZER! This was the first episode.

Sunday Strips

More of the doings at Henge Primary...

Making Mum's day?

This is a slightly reworked version of my MD contribution to a predecessor blog on May13, 2012.

Saturday Strips

Here's more examples of c.1987 short-run comic strips supplied for special interest 'mini-mags' (all I.T. related) published by Isaacson's whilst I was the kinda in-house cartoonist 'jack of all trades'.

Once again, they were intended for B&W repro and though I'd like to add some digital colour for this outing, I think that would be a form of mis-representation (albeit mild in nature).

Letterman

I've never really been into 'on the spot' caricaturing (though I admire greatly those 'toonies' who do it successfully). However, I often scribble quick pencil sketches from TV, just as practice in capturing likenesses.

Back in early 2006 I was recovering from a bout of major surgery which had severely curtailed my cartooning activities. One night, lolling in front of the TV... the David Letterman show came on. More in frustration than anything else, I grabbed a small drawing board, the nearest piece of paper within reach and a chisel-point marker. In less than a minute, I ripped-off a caricature of DL which remains today as one of my proudest accomplishments. Here it is... unedited except to add a BG colour to highlight what was essentially a B&W image on the back of a local Domino's Pizza 'special offer letter-box drop.

Would you believe Large varieties were only $4.95 at the time?

Greener Pastures?

Richard Who?

Let's hope the new Greens' leadership can begin to distinguish and engage the real world and its profound problems through the barrier of trees.

Mushrooms?

Very lethargic today. My usual first fall-back position when creative juices are stagnant is to see what I was doing 'on this day' in the blog over the past 4 years. My fancy hit pay-girt today with my contribution for May 6th. 2011.

Just proves once again that time goes by, but some things stay as they were?

Vic. Budget

Dan the Man brought down his government's first budget today. Winners and losers as usual... but the most interesting point of it all is possibly the planned moderate SURPLUS.

Remind me... what IS a surplus again?

Deficit loose!

Warning! warning! Large budget deficit at large! ... or, should that be the other way round?

Sunday Strips

The continuing chronicle of Henge Primary inmates.

Capital Offence?

In the wake of the recent Indonesian 'lawful' execution of convicted felons, the invective employed in social media by both sides of the capital punishment debate tells me this question is not going to be an easy one to resolve politically.

Budget production?

This little bit of 'fizz' came to me today when I heard a radio commentary which included a reference to the government's focus on producing a more acceptable budget than was the case last year (or words to that effect).