
Over the Hedge
Is there anyone out there who has a relaxed carefree Christmas free of material expectations?
Didn’t think so.
Over the Hedge
Is there anyone out there who has a relaxed carefree Christmas free of material expectations?
Didn’t think so.
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“The Supreme Court has ruled that they cannot have a nativity scene in Washington, D.C. This wasn’t for religious reasons. They couldn’t find three wise men and a virgin.”
Jay Leno
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RJ gives until it hurts.
Hurts your eyes.
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That’s going to take a LOT of insulin to get down.
Pancreases on ALERT!
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Nice subtle character work by T today. RJ and Hammy in the first panel. RJ in the last panel. His work helps sell a slight gag.
Thanks, T!
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Sometimes we haveĀ a well constructed gag.
And sometimes we just use the word snood.
Whatever works.
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The Denise McCoy Legacy Award goes to the best humorous children’s book of the year. Past winners include Lois Lowry (The Giver), Jeff Kinney (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), Tom Angleberger (Origami Yoda), Tommy Greenwald (Joe Jackson’s Guide to Not Reading) andĀ Jarrett J. Krosoczka (The Lunch Lady). Ā The late Denise McCoy was a beloved Albany NY bookseller who loved children’s books. Her friends and family giveĀ this award every year together to honor the best in humorous children’s literature.Ā
Thank you so much for honoring me with Denise McCoy Legacy award. Thank you to Lynn Derry and Tom OāBrian, the 15-Love program and of course all the Albany area librarians that chose to honor Odd Squad King Karl. Iād also like to thank my publisher, Disney-Hyperian, my fast-talking editor Lisa Yoskowitz and the hardest working man in show business, my agent: Dan Lazar.
Itās humbling and a little surreal to see my name along with past recipients like Lois Lowry and Jeff Kinney. When I sit down to write I donāt think about awards all that much. AĀ little. Maybe a little more than a little. Okay, I wrote this speech two years ago. Thank goodness youāve saved me the embarrassment of never being able to give it.
I am not a natural writer (or cartoonist for that matter). Ā It does not come easily for me. I come from the self-loathing school of writers. As Alain de Botton said, āWork finally begins when the fear of doing nothing exceeds the fear of doing it badly.ā Ā Itās a fear based business for me. I fully realize this is not healthy. Two years of therapy have convinced me itās not healthy. Despite that I procrastinate. I waste time. I play Candy Crush.
Why do I struggle? After all, this is supposed to be a FUN job. Itās better than almost any job I can think of. Maybe not as much fun as being Beyonce, but a lot more fun than being Donald Trump.
I think I struggle because writing is rewriting. It never comes out fully formed or even semi-formed. It comes out ugly and stupid and unfunny and just plain bad. I once did a presentation where I showed the first paragraph of King Karl from the very first draft to the 25th. Ā Iāve only done that presentation once. Itās too embarrassing. And boring. No one really wants to see how the sausage is made. Iāll give you an example. I was fortunate to sit on the sidelines and watch the making of a 70 million dollar movie based on the comic strip I co-created. Itās not pretty. They made that movie twice. Once with Jim Carrey as RJ and with a completely rewritten script with Bruce Willis as RJ. About six months out from release it was just okay. The bones of a good movie were there, but it hadnāt quite gelled. Then, with the pressure of a deadline, it got better. Then, a lot better, And finally it came together and turned out to be pretty darn good. The point is you canāt tell when youāre watching the process (or you are the process). And thatās terrifying.
So, youāre wondering⦠Mike, if itās so horrible, why do you do it? Ā Four reasons:
Writing childrenās books is an honor and a privilege. As difficult and tortured as I make it sound, in the end itās worth it. I get to create something out of nothing. Iām like a magician, except the first two dozen times I reach into the hat I pull out a beet, or a potato or a dry-cleaner ticket or a coupon for nasal strips. Ā Eventually, I find the rabbit. And itās beautiful and perfect and Publisherās Weekly says āitās circuitous story line and over the top characteristics can get in the way of the points Fry tries to make about friendship, bullying and outward appearances.ā
This is when the rabbit looks at me and says, āPublisherās Weekly can kiss my furry ass.ā And I smile. Because even though I pulled him out of thin air. I had no idea he could talk.
How cool is that?
Thank you again for this wonderful award.
Filed under Random Musings, Uncategorized
Top Five Occam’s grooming impliments:
5. Occam’s Nose Trimmer
4. Occam’s Q-tip
3. Occam’s floss
2. Occam’s hair gel (spiky)
1. Occam’s razor (Shave of the Month Club)
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Credit Crisis
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Tagged as cartoon, Christmas, Comic, credit cards, gifts, Hammy, lights, meditation, RJ, true meaning of Christmas, Verne