The Tower Garden gets personal.

Posted on May 8, 2012 by dickevans

I just got my own Juice Plus+ Personal Tower Garden…and planted it with a variety of tiny starter plants, lettuce, kale, tomatoes, etc. 

May 5th is not a normal planting day in Northern Michigan… but, the Tower Garden is not your normal garden.  It’s space-age gardening!  Grow Green… Grow vertical.  It will someday be how millions of us get fresh, ripe produce…on demand… at our doorstep.  A veritable farm market on our patio.

As I planted the tiny little seedlings in my tower, I was struck by how fragile they were… babies, so to speak.  And, like all babies, they were really cute.  (Mine, of course, are the cutest!)  I couldn’t believe how quickly I “bonded” with them.

At night, because the temperature was going to be in the low 40′s, I tucked them in a frost blanket and kept them warm with an aquarium heater in the water reservoir.  Several times during the night I would check on them to make sure they were all right… the perfect DAD.

Prior to planting them outside on the Tower Garden, I had nursed them along (figure of speech, of course… I’m a guy) with one of those indoor hydroponic table-top devices with grow lights.  I have pictures of them warming themselves in a seedling tray ( Plant incubator for those of you raised in the city).  It reminded me of a tanning bed and the thought occurred to me, “Do I need to protect them with sunscreen?”… That was a sleepless night!  To my relief they seemed fine in the morning and actually appeared to be getting bigger.

You have to understand.  My previous experience raising plants wasn’t very positive.  I’m all thumbs and none of them are green… if you know what I mean. 

My worst nightmare was the result of normal parental pride…envisioning what they would grow up to be.  It was then I noticed the look in other people’s eyes as they admired the rapid growth of my babies.  Something wasn’t right.  It came to me in the middle of the night.  They were looking at my babies as FOOD!  Can you believe it?

I don’t know if I’m cut out to be a plant DAD.  I feel like a traitor.  I actually wrote a children’s book about eating a rainbow diet!  What if some kid reads my book and comes after my babies?  This is too much responsibility.  I should have stuck with the worm farm.

 

 

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GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY DOESN’T ALWAYS WORK

Posted on March 27, 2012 by dickevans

Okay, let’s face it.  Government transparency, if there is such a thing, might not always be in the best interest of the general public.  This cartoon was drawn to point it out.

I hear a lot about “unmanned Drones” being used for surveillance these days.  Drones, if I I recall correctly from my brief exposure to entomology,  are male bees without stingers.   So now the government is using unmanned, stinger-less male bees for surveillance purposes.  Hmmm…

Actually, it makes perfect sense from a government standpoint.  Our Congress, that bastion of common sense fed by the skillful application of earmarks, is the perfect organization to propose this plan.  What could be more logical than a sting operation by bees without stingers… Perfect!  Nobody gets hurt.

Then, there’s the transparency issue.  We want our government to be transparent and let us know what they are doing…out in the open for all to see.  It makes sense sometimes.  But operating an undercover sting operation in the open with unmanned, stinger-less male bees can only happen in America… with Federal Funds, of course.  No one in the private sector would fund it. 

I rest my case.  Governmental transparency is NOT always a good thing.

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The “MAGIC” Computer Cookie… Does it come in flavors?

Posted on March 24, 2012 by dickevans

Anybody who knows me would never accuse me of knowing anything about computers.  I cringe when a young person uses the words “intuitive” and “computer” in the same sentence.  “Just click and drag it.” they say in their most patient, Kindergarten teacher’s voice.  Assuming that works, my next question would be: “Where do I drag it after I’ve clicked it?”

Clicking and dragging a mouse somehow seems cruel.
You know I’m kidding, right?  It’s really not that bad but you get the picture.  I feel  like a dinosaur biding it’s time in a technological age. 

The other day I was with Deward Knapp, my website designer and we were trying (translation: Deward was doing the work and I was watching)  to get a downloadable version of my Cartoon FUNdamentals book ready to go on Kindle, Amazon.com and my website.  There were a significant number of technological barriers and Deward said we needed “Magic Cookies” to get the job done. 

When I asked what he meant, he gave me that patient, Kindergarten teacher look and simply said it was programmer’s talk for tricks they use to work around problems in the system.  In other words, there was no way he could explain it in a way that I had any chance of understanding.

I guess the lesson here, if there is one, is know your limitations.  My problem with that is there’s not a lot of satisfaction in being able to brag that you were able to turn it on…all by yourself.  Oh to be 4 years old again… and intuitive.

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Mixing Politics and Investment Strategy…Sound advice?

Posted on March 15, 2012 by dickevans

This might be insider information but I have it from a knowledgeable source… the Seniors at Big Boy, “Bull Pucky” is on the rise.

The cartoon idea came from one of those tongue-in-cheek conversations about maybe it was best to supplement your Social Security by putting your money in Casino slot machines.  Not the companies that make them… a “direct deposit” so-to speak.  It seems a safer bet than trusting Wall Street these days.

Once someone brought up trust, the topic pivoted to politics and “who do you trust?”…. Nobody, was pretty much the consensus opinion.  The natural progression of thought then turned to what politicians were saying.  We pretty much agreed they said whatever they thought the voters wanted to hear… regardless of how stupid it seemed or out of touch with reality.   A cartoon idea was born.

It seems like a really bad idea to base your future on what politicians say….  What do YOU think?  Is “Bull Pucky” likely to rise between now and the next election?  Come to think of it… Maybe a good back-up strategy would be to buy waders.  You might need them to get to the polls.

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Mich. Governor Snyder reads “Discover the MAGIC of Rainbows” to Elementary Students

Posted on March 7, 2012 by dickevans

How cool is that?  The Governor of Michigan reading my book!  In honor of  “Read Aloud Month” and “National Nutrition Month”,  Governor Rick Snyder visited Traverse Heights Elementary School in Traverse City, Michigan and read “Discover the MAGIC of Rainbows” to the students and their parents.

As often happens when reading to kids, chaos broke out  just as he was getting ready to read.  A cute little girl sitting right in front of him  stood up, looked up in the bleachers  cried out loudly, “MOM…I DON’T HAVE MY BOOK!”  She took off and ran up in the bleachers to get the book  given to her by the Traverse City Area Public Schools.  It started a mass exodus of kids who had also had forgotten to bring their books for the  reading.

Governor Snyder handled it in good humor, like a seasoned father.  He grinned, leaned back and waited for the kids to regroup.  I suspect he knew on an intuitive level that being Governor in this setting was less important than being the Reader.

From a personal perspective as the author and illustrator, it was great to see the expressions on kid’s faces when they got the book and then as he read it.  Kids don’t mask their emotions and the look of joy when they received the book was priceless.  They paid rapt attention as he read, a good sign that the message of eating a rainbow diet was being well-received.

My hope is that kids start looking at their plate and recognize the value of the colors represented by fruit and vegetables.  If they do, change can happen.  A good healthy diet including fresh fruits and vegetables along with exercise can be the cornerstone of a healthy lifestyle reversing the trends of childhood obesity and diabetes.

The special day was sponsored, among others, by the “Michigan Land Use Institute”, a strong proponent of farm to table and local food economies.  We all know the best source of food is grown by farmers in your own locale because it is picked fresh and at the peak of goodness.  Produce grown for nutrition is a lot better for you than produce grown for shipping.

EAT A RAINBOW!!!

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DRIVEWAY SALT… OH, DEER!

Posted on January 1, 2012 by dickevans

At Big Boy Restaurant the other day, we were discussing the different merits of snow and ice removal for driveways and sidewalks.  There was an upcoming blizzard warning… something you don’t take lightly in Northern Michigan.

Just before the conversation switched to keeping driveways and sidewalks safe, we were talking about the mild winter and the impact on the deer population.  Deer seemed to be everywhere and when someone mentioned using salt on the driveway, in my mind, I saw an image of deer coming to the driveway for a “deer-lick”.

Maybe you don’t live in an area where there are hunters and might not be familiar with the term “deer-lick”.  Usually, it’s a block of salt hunters put in the woods to attract deer for hunting season.  This is not to be confused with the “Cow-lick”, the same type of salt block but for cows.  Since farmers normally don’t shoot their cows, we can only assume cow-licks are to make the meat tastier… or, more likely, to make you thirstier when  you eat a burger or steak. 

I suspect cow-licks are subsidized by the beverage industry… Do you see the logic in all this?  Isn’t it amazing how a conversation about deer and driveway maintenance can end-up exposing a little known secret of the food industry?  Makes you wonder what else we’re missing.  I’ll be watching and report any other suspicious things my mind uncovers.  In the meantime, keep your eyes open and ears to the ground… Not in the driveway, of course.  You might get trampled by a herd of deer and occasionally, a cow…

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WINNING THE DOOR PRIZE… Does anyone ever win a door?

Posted on December 21, 2011 by dickevans

I was at an event a couple of years ago and they put a lot of emphasis on the drawing for a door prize.

What’s a cartoonist supposed to do?… Just let it go?  So I drew it.

Then, I wondered what I would do with a door if I won it.  Fortunately, I didn’t win… I never do.

And, you know what else I learned?  They lied… nobody got a door!  A bunch of people won a lot of stuff… but, no doors.  Everybody seemed okay with the way it worked out so I decided not to call the authorities and report it.  They were probably in on it anyway…

 

 

 

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Elf-On-The-Shelf…Timmy had a plan…

Posted on December 21, 2011 by dickevans

Grand-children at Christmas bring new meaning… to a lot of things.

I remember playing the “Naughty or Nice” card with my son to control behavior around Christmas.  It never seemed to work more than about two weeks out.  I think that is when the pressure begins for a kid.

Recently, on the day after Thanksgiving, my four year old grandson Jack gave me the finger to the lips signal and pointed upward.  It took me a couple of seconds to figure out what he was being so secretive about.  And then, I saw it… There, lurking on the shelf, was the dreaded “ELF-ON-THE-SHELF”!  I had heard about him, but before Thanksgiving, knowing the “Elf-on-the-shelf” was on his way apparently didn’t seem to be much of a threat. 

That all changed the day after Thanksgiving… Each morning Jack would come downstairs and warily look around until he located his nemesis.  Apparently, that pesky elf was a tricky little fellow and could appear almost anywhere.  Jack never made a move until he had located him.  You never could be too careful when it came to the Elf-on-the-shelf.

Jack is a pretty sharp little guy and has already figured out that the elf stays in the same place all day.  I’m guessing it’s just a matter of time before Jack figures out the elf doesn’t move his head, his eyes fixed in one direction.  Once he notices that, his little sister is in trouble…  There’s only so much self-control possible in a four year old!

The cartoon idea came one day when I was thinking about Jack and his attempts to outwit the Elf-on-the-shelf.  Jack is a thinker and usually plans before he goes into action.  I tried to portray one of the options Jack might decide on… I changed the name to protect the identity of the perpetrator.  You never can be too careful, you know.  I caught that elf looking at ME the other day!  I need to teach Jack about Duct Tape…

 

 

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Bah Humbug! A Christmas post… with a twist.

Posted on December 21, 2011 by dickevans

I paint rocks… among other art ventures.  Over the years I have painted hundreds of rocks with “Smiley Faces” and given them to friends and business associates.

One of the rocks was given to a friend, Jeff, to display on his counter at Shoreline Center for Healing.  The idea  was to create a friendly atmosphere of  positive vibes.  What better message for a Healing Center?

Jeff was telling me he has a friend that jokes about having a bad day and hitting someone with the smiley rock to take out his frustrations.  The idea of getting hit with a smiley rock conjured up all kinds of images… mostly conflicting.  The cartoon portrays the mixture of emotions we all experience during the Holiday Season.

I think we have all had the symbolic feeling of being hit with a smiley rock during the Holidays.  The everyday stresses of many emotions can highlight the conflict we all have at one time or another.  “It’s supposed to be a happy time… why am I so stressed out?” 

Maybe I should start painting smiley faces on foam.  It could serve as a great Holiday stress reliever when you throw it at someone.  What do you think?  Trade in your “Pet Rock” (remember them?) for a “Pet Foam Smiley Rock”…and get rid of your stress at the same time!  Try it out by throwing it at your Legislator… Come to think of it,  I’ve got a better idea…use the Smiley Rock.

 

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HARK! THE HAROLD’S ANGELS SING…

Posted on December 18, 2011 by dickevans

This is a re-run of a cartoon I drew in 1990.  I was reminded of it when I was in New York City over Thanksgiving and saw a guy wearing a “sandwich board” advertising a local restaurant.

“Olde English” is interesting.  Did anyone actually say, “Hark”?  Is it an early form of “Look”?  Does anyone actually care?…

The first version of the cartoon came about when I heard “Hark, the Herald Angels sing” on the car radio and saw a sign in a tent-like formation that reminded me of sandwich boards.  To this day, I almost never see a sandwich board type sign without thinking of “Harold’s Angels”… and, by association, Christmas.  Maybe, with a little luck, you will now have the same association when you see a sandwich board.

So… if you happen to be standing on a street corner, near a sandwich board sign, don’t be surprised if the person next to you breaks out into an enthusiastic rendition of “Hark, the Herald Angels sing!”.  It’s just a matter of time…

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