Big Bird Finished

Just finished up a new piece I'm calling, "Big Bird."

Too much bird seed.

Amazing ISIS Footage from VICE

Check out this video footage VICE posted from the head cam of an ISIS soldier.
I thought it was amazing to see.

What It's Really Like to Fight for the Islamic State

Are Dog Mouths Cleaner Than Human Mouths?

I've always heard that a dog's mouth is cleaner than a human's mouth, which seems absurd to me, partially because my dog chewed on a dead bird today (and that's not the grossest thing that's been in her mouth).

It turns out that statement is untrue, but it's true-ish.

Scienceline.org says:

“It’s like comparing apples and oranges,” says Colin Harvey, a professor of surgery and dentistry at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine. He is also the executive secretary at the American Veterinary Dental College.

And ABC News says:

[Veterinarian Marty] Becker says many of the bacteria in the mouth of a dog are species specific, so it won't harm its owner. 'So a staph or a strep for a human is not transmissible to a dog, if you were to kiss it, and vice versa,' said Becker.

So their mouths aren't cleaner, but their germs aren't likely to be harmful to people.

Mystery solved.

The Song Test

The things we hate to do feel like wastes of time.

But I was humbled yesterday when I finished one of these dread chores during the playtime of 1 song.

So, if you want to know how long something actually takes, start a song or an album and see how many songs you get through.

John Stuart Mill on Opinions

If you read nothing else from this post, read the last quote.

It is FANTASTIC.

This paragraph from On Liberty by John Stuart Mill is speaking to me this morning.

If you don't have it in you to read the whole thing right now, I'll highlight the most interesting bits.

Unfortunately for the good sense of mankind, the fact of their fallibility is far from carrying the weight in their practical judgment, which is always allowed to it in theory; for while every one well knows himself to be fallible, few think it necessary to take any precautions against their own fallibility, or admit the supposition that any opinion, of which they feel very certain, may be one of the examples of the error to which they acknowledge themselves to be liable. Absolute princes, or others who are accustomed to unlimited deference, usually feel this complete confidence in their own opinions on nearly all subjects. People more happily situated, who sometimes hear their opinions disputed, and are not wholly unused to be set right when they are wrong, place the same unbounded reliance only on such of their opinions as are shared by all who surround them, or to whom they habitually defer: for in proportion to a man's want of confidence in his own solitary judgment, does he usually repose, with implicit trust, on the infallibility of "the world" in general. And the world, to each individual, means the part of it with which he comes in contact; his party,[Pg 33] his sect, his church, his class of society: the man may be called, by comparison, almost liberal and large-minded to whom it means anything so comprehensive as his own country or his own age. Nor is his faith in this collective authority at all shaken by his being aware that other ages, countries, sects, churches, classes, and parties have thought, and even now think, the exact reverse. He devolves upon his own world the responsibility of being in the right against the dissentient worlds of other people; and it never troubles him that mere accident has decided which of these numerous worlds is the object of his reliance, and that the same causes which make him a Churchman in London, would have made him a Buddhist or a Confucian in Pekin. [emphasis added]

And here is the best line:

Yet it is as evident in itself as any amount of argument can make it, that ages are no more infallible than individuals; every age having held many opinions which subsequent ages have deemed not only false but absurd; and it is as certain that many opinions, now general, will be rejected by future ages, as it is that many, once general, are rejected by the present.
On Liberty, John Stuart Mill

Colorful Bird

Added a new piece to the shop.

We All Miss Prince

In honor of the passing of an iconic musician, I'd like to share my favorite Prince video with you:

While My Guitar Gently Weeps featuring The Purple One

He rolls in a little over halfway through and shreds.

What a great performer.

Want to Improve Your Drawing Immediately?

If you like to draw, and you want to make your drawings better instantly (drum roll)...

...measure.

Not with a ruler -- proportionally. You've seen artists with 1 eye closed sticking out their thumbs or pencils. They are comparing different areas of their subject to see what's in line with what and how big this is compared to that.

It's all about getting the right proportions, not absolute measurements per se.

If the relative proportions of your drawing are correct you're going to be in great shape.

Alcohol and Pills

I was turned on to this Todd Snider song today:

Alcohol and Pills

I believe that Fred Eaglesmith wrote the tune originally, though:

Alcohol and Pills - Fred Eaglesmith

"Fame don't take away the pain; it just pays the bills." 

Alcohol and Pills 

Gavin Mcinnes and Education

I just listened to a podcast with Gavin Mcinnes and an anonymous guy who's been running charter schools. They talk about how much better charter schools can be than regular public schools. They also talk about education in general. I found it fascinating.

It lasts about an hour. If you don't want to hear rough language, don't bother. And if you don't like strongly expressed opinions, don't bother.

Checkitout.

Finished a New Owl Print

I finished up an owl print and added it to my Etsy store.

Checkitout

It's Time for People to Grow Up

If you want to have a debate with someone, the first bad habit you need to drop is outrage.

How do you debate with an offended / outraged person? And that's what it's all about today. What can my group and me be offended at next?

Grown ups can talk and disagree. And grown ups can debate -- and this is the real key issue -- grown ups can debate in good faith, meaning I will allow you to be right; I will admit if I'm wrong; and we're both willing to give ground if it brings us closer to the truth.

I wish we could, as Americans, and as people, learn to really debate instead of parsing our opponents words for the phrase or idea that will "shock" and "offend" us.

The great thing?

I believe we can!

The Shortest Distance

A funny thing about the internet: You can be busy doing things, but never do the meaningful things.

The most effective action is often the most direct, which is exactly the kind of thing that people don't want to do. Why do you think we're so passive-aggressive?

The upside? You can break through that and become a direct action kind of person, which is going to put you miles ahead of most other people.

And, yes, I'm talking to myself.

Chickadee on a Branch

I finished up a new piece today.

You can check it out, along with other works, in my Etsy store.

Woe to the Loss of Civics

I was listening to some pundits discussing our delegate selection system -- observing the wide variety of opinions which felt, to me, like they were based on partial and incorrect information. And some were talking about how this Republican election felt like it was being stolen.

I wish that we all understood our republican system of government more, and the way our political parties work. If we're going to argue, let's at least all have our facts straight.

Randomness

Amazingly, I didn't have a single bowl of cereal this weekend.

That fact makes this bowl I'm eating now taste so much better.

Ah.

Bear on the Rocks

You can purchase a 6"x 6" glossy digital print at my Etsy store. If you're like me, and you've bought everything under the sun for your parents, siblings, spouse and friends for birthdays, etc., then you know how awesome it is to find a new, interesting gift!

You've found it.

One More John Locke Quote

I've got one more John Locke quote I need to share. This is from the Second Treatise on Government:

As Usurpation is the exercise of Power, which another hath a Right to; so Tyranny is the exercise of Power beyond Right, which no Body can have a Right to.
-John Locke

We put up with far too much Tyranny in this world. We would be well served to understand what it is and resist it every time.

Tyranny should be a non-partisan issue.

Weezer News

The Weez just released a new album.

Like the blue album, the green album and the red album, this one is called the white album, although it is officially called "Weezer."

I've only listened to the album once, but it was good. They are channeling some of that early 90's rock energy that put them on the map.

Check it out.

Remember Maniac Mansion?

I stumbled onto this fun video from Ron Gilbert about the making of Maniac Mansion. I thought you might enjoy it, too.

Ron Gilbert - Maniac Mansion Postmortem