April 29, 2006
Dreaded Bliss: A Labor of Love
By KAT CAVERLY
I have always been about hair. HAIR I AM! But nothing compares to having
dreadlocks. First off I thought I couldn't have dreadlocks. Next I thought
it required no work at all. I was wrong on both counts.
Anyone, with any kind of hair, can make dreadlocks. And it requires many
rituals and lots of work and workers. You cannot do it alone and have beautiful
dreadlocks. And even with help, half the time they are very messy. It is part of
the locking process. That is why you see folks with dreadlocks wearing various
hats, scarves, tams, bandanas.
Washing dreadlocks is more of a bathing and requires planning. And within 24
hours you must wax and twist them otherwise they will combine and do their
own thing.
I love my dreadlocks. I even dream about them. But they are a constant surprise;
even a shock sometimes. They make me laugh and they cause me worries. They
have taken me more time than any other hairstyle or salon ritual to get use to and
above all they are a commitment.
And they look fabulous with tie-dye!
Posted by photocartoonist at 12:21 AM | Comments (9)
April 27, 2006
Carl Sowerby: True Magician
By DEANNA DAHLSAD
Carl Sowerby's always had a passion for drawing -- be it on paper,
cardboard, wood, or Graphics Tablet. He credits falling in love with
animation to viewing a TV program about the Disney Studio during the
"Golden Age" of animation. He was about 12 years old, and "It seemed
like the closest thing to true magic!"
Carl was schooled in his home town, Appleby, then went to colleges in
Cambridge and Carlisle, where he studied English literature, then
Creative Digital Technology. After leaving college he worked as an ad
designer at the local newspaper for 4 years before making the big leap
and going freelance in 2003.
Initially he worked on the BBC children's series BB3B and did some flash
animations for the American Comedy Network. One day at the AWN
(Animation World Network) website, Carl noticed an ad for E-card
designers. He replied, sending samples of his work. Kat, who had
placed the ad, got back in touch very quickly asking for additional
samples showing Carl's personal style and sense of humour. Carl did so
and remembers the reply: "The reply that came back was: 'You made me
laugh Carl'. This was a good sign!"
Carl started working for No Evil Productions in 2005. Since Carl's come
aboard, he's enjoying being a member of the Dream Team. He appreciates
Kat's professionalism, her drive to succeed, and her willingness to
embrace new technology -- be it in terms of the medium, the hardware, or
the software. On a more personal level, he enjoys Kat's interest in
culture. "I can remember various online chats at some ungodly hour
about such things as Spinal Tap, Marcel Marceau, Curb your Enthusiasm
and Asian Cinema."
But his favorite things at No Evil are the flexibility and variety. The
flexibility allows Carl to remain a nightowl, and the variety of
projects keeps things fresh. "Up to now I have animated E-cards,
shorts, and am currently working on a flash game! There is a good sense
of teamwork too - with ideas/opinions being valued at every stage."
Some of Carl's favorite projects are the Martha Stewart ecard and
Subpoena Power, the flash game.
"I like the Martha Stewart ecard because it successfully parodies Martha
- but also because there is humour in the secondary characters too. I
enjoyed diverting the attention with the 2 musicians "Gabble Zindar" and
"Gog Puh". They threaten to steal the animation - much like a
supporting actor will steal a film!"
"Subpoena Power is very exciting because it's actually a game rather
than simply an animation. The interactivity involved opens a whole new
set of possibilities. It's like a 5th dimension. I've been interested in
Flash games for a while - and finally I get the chance to work on one. I
have high hopes for this!"
In 2005 Carl also won a competition to get his work showcased on the 4th
Gorillaz single from the album Demon Days. The single is called ElManana, and he
worked on the video to one of the b-sides on the DVD version.
Thirty-one year old Carl now lives in Carlisle, in the county of Cumbria
(North West England). Probably most famous for being the location of
the Lake District, Carl is spoiled by the very picturesque collection of
lakes and mountains. And his day job -- err, make that night job
isn't bad either. Life is good.
photos © Neil Boothman
Posted by photocartoonist at 8:09 PM | Comments (1)
April 18, 2006
What would you do if Dick Cheney got in your car?
By DEANNA DAHLSAD
Wise Amin, the taxi cab driver, pulls over to pick up his fare. At
first he is impressed that such a powerful businessman has selected his
superior cab, but when the fare gets in, Amin realizes he has a problem...
The passenger wheezing "Take me to the hospital" is none other than "The
Big Dick" Cheney -- "the shadowy power behind the throne, the
puppetmaster, Darth Vader but without the barbecue grill" -- and he's
having a heart attack.
Amin is no longer impressed with his fare, but he takes his duty as cab
driver seriously, so he can't just push him out onto the street or take
him to the animal clinic on the corner. No, as the self-dubbed CEO of
Quickly, Amin rushes Cheney to the nearest hospital.
However, for the few minutes the two share the taxi, Amin shares his
thoughts. From his personal fears that he will need to make a public
apology or end up at Guantanamo Bay, to his thoughts on politics in
general, Amin reveals it all.
This is one fare that leaves Amin saying "Get out!" and vowing "No more
politicians in my cab!"
Posted by photocartoonist at 8:10 PM
April 16, 2006
Hope Springs Eternal In My Easter Bonnet
By DEANNA DAHLSAD
Once upon an Easter time women proudly displayed their Easter Bonnets.
A tradition since the 18th century, Easter Bonnets may seem silly,
frilly and outdated to some, but call me a traditionalist when it comes
to Easter. The current holiday fad is little Easter trees. Apparently
in vogue, spindly bare trees are decorated chiefly with plastic eggs.
Some folks prefer the small, indoor decor Easter trees, with designer
painted wooden eggs etc. But not my neighbors... they prefer to string
their as-yet-unbudded-bare-branch-of-a-tree with cheap plastic eggs
which, by the way, continuously fall off the string and roll around the
block. I'd prefer the return of the bonnet.
If I sound anti-Easter, it's just not so. I'm a traditionalist. I
prefer traditional symbols of Easter, of Spring -- rabbits, chicks and
eggs. Symbols which represent the rebirth of earth. Near dead trees
with plastic eggs do not give me this sense of joy. I also enjoy seeing
bouncing baby bunnies and cute, cuddly chicks. (There's no monotony in
neoteny!) I even love to watch the Cadbury bunny 'buck' like a chicken
(who doesn't?)
Ahh, Spring's symbols of rabbits, chicks and eggs... Wait, which came
first, the chicken or the egg?
Why the egg, of course. Obviously it was much more amazing to see a new
life emerge from a seemingly dead object than to just see a young chick
walking about... though I'm sure many a man felt that way about chicks
in Easter Bonnets... too cute, and such a reminder of fertility!
And that's what this season is about, really. Rebirth. Like flowers
pushing their soft selves from earth that was once hard and frozen, we all
long to stretch and return to the world invigorated and renewed. So add
flowers to my list -- rabbits, chicks, eggs, and flowers.
These natural symbols make me feel that I too may Spring forth in
rebirth. And heaven knows that I'll need to, what with the egg
decorating, egg hiding, meal preparation, basket filling -- and now I'm
supposed to decorate another tree? Please, Christmas has dibs on the
tree! (But I could find time to buy a bonnet...)
Posted by photocartoonist at 12:03 AM
April 15, 2006
April 15th: Deep in the Heart of Taxes
While some of us ponder why we must pay taxes or why taxes are due on April 15th,
most of us just worry about filing on time, and properly. In fact, according to a
Discovery Health Channel Poll, 57% of the Americans polled fear the IRS more than God (30%).
April 15th may put the scare into some of us, but in Deep in the Heart
of Taxes, we can take a moment to laugh at it.
Deep in the Heart of Taxes, hosted by George W, is a really big show,
featuring a stirring performance of "Audits On My Mind" in which Prairie
Dog "Willie" sings a sorrowful spoof of Willie Nelson's "Always On My
Mind." Instead of lamenting his lost love, Willie regrets his neglect
of IRS. It's something we can all relate to. So get ready to sing along...
"Maybe I didn't file, well within the deadline time
Maybe I never told you, those deductions were not mine..."
Posted by photocartoonist at 12:01 AM
April 14, 2006
Yankee Paki Cabbie
when is a name more than a name?
By DEANNA DAHLSAD
A number of years ago, I moved from the midwest to the south. I worked
part-time in the non-profit center, making phone calls to those who had
made donations in the past, asking them to renew their pledges. On day
the phones were down, putting the 10 or so of us temporarily out of work
until the problem was fixed. I immediately went to the supervisor,
asking what else I could do to occupy my time. My co-workers, who had
previously called me by my name, began calling me Yankee because I
wasn't content to sit and let time pass while I got paid anyway. I know
this, because some of them told me so. Our supervisor never called me
Yankee, because as a good southern gentleman, and a boss, he wouldn't
dare call me any derogatory names. But my co-workers did. Or so they
thought.
I, taking great pride in the reason they called me Yankee, began to
refer to myself as The Yankee. I took back the name, claiming it for my
own. In the insult game, my ownership of the word was better than
playing rubber to their glue. I don't mention this to make this blog
all about 'me' -- I do have a reason. And that reason has to do with
the power of names.
You see, No Evil Productions has created an animated short in which a
character, a Pakistani, refers to himself as a Paki. At the time that
the animation and its song were created, none of the team knew that the
term Paki had any negative connotations. After all, there are official
Pakistani websites and publications as well as decent folks who refer
happily and proudly to themselves as Paki. But then it was pointed out
that the term goes back to a pejorative use by the British, who not
coincidentally, also used the work Yankee in a negative manner. Since
No Evil Productions is literally about producing nothing evil, there's been
some concern that the character's use of the word Paki (and indeed, that
Americans produced the animation) will create or perpetuate ill
will. That's not our intention.
While we did not ask every person in Pakistan, nor all those of
Pakistani heritage their opinions, it seems that the use of this word
Paki may be very much like my claiming of the use of the word Yankee.
Someone may mean for it to be an insult, but those characteristics or
things pointed to as 'bad' are the very same things someone takes great
pride in, so the word is taken or reclaimed with new ownership, new
meaning. Time passes, and the old definitions no longer apply.
When our character, Amin the taxi driver, sings "I'm a Yankee Paki
cabbie..." he's just showing his pride in both his heritage and his new
home. He's not the brunt of any joke. He's not a negative stereotype.
He's the most intelligent character in the series of films.
But yet we wonder... if our use of the word is an affectionate nickname,
with no negative connotation, nothing mean in the context of
delivery, will the old history of the word bring about controversy?
Despite the rather common use and acceptance of the word, will some feel
it is inappropriate?
At the time of this writing, the animation has not been released, and so
I don't know if there will be any negative reaction to Amin's song. But
if there is indeed any fuss, Amin likely would wonder what all the fuss
is about. Why would people rush to defend him when he himself is not
offended?
Posted by photocartoonist at 4:26 PM | Comments (1)
April 12, 2006
Evil Kangaroos: The Story of Deanna Dahlsad
By DEANNA DAHLSAD
Kat asked me to write another profile of a Dream Team member -- and
this time the member is me. Lucky for me, not only am I one of my
favorite subjects, but I am very knowledgable in this area. And so I
give you, "The Story of Me, Deanna Dahlsad, As It Pertains to Kat
Caverly and No Evil Productions."
Do you remember when Donny Osmond sang this?
"When you were born a gypsy said that you
Would be the last of the red hot lovers
The last one of our time."
Well, if a gypsy spoke at my birth, her prediction would likely
have been that I was a red hot communicator.
Exhibit A: When I was a young woman, a psychic told me that one of my
gifts was communication and that my future was in communication. She
also told me that I would move west, which, in moving from Wisconsin to
North Dakota, I have since done. This is all the proof I need of her
predictions and psychic abilities -- or at least all the proof that I am
willing to share with you today. However, if you don't believe in
psychics, let me tell you a story of youthful indiscretion (yes, even
more of an indiscretion than paying to see a psychic).
One night in my early 20's (which is when one ought to make their
youthful indiscretions rather than hear "you're old enough to know
better"), I was out with friends partying heavily. Since this was the
mid-eighties, and video games were all the rage, I happened to be
standing near the coin operated Kangaroo game by Atari. Under the influence,
I was convinced the marquee kangaroo was out to get me. I logically knew this
was impossible. But over-served, I swore the cartoon kangaroo
was not only evil but fully capable of doing me harm. I could have
screamed. Or ducked from the punches I saw. But instead, I turned
calmly towards my group of friends, and asked them to confirm that the
only kangaroo in the bar was indeed the one-dimensional-lighted-game-marquee,
and that therefore I need not do anything other than ignore it. Favorable replies
not only confirmed that my logical brain was 'right', but soothed me. It was
proof that I was not alone with my kangaroo demons. And this taught me
that if I could communicate, if I could be understood and also understand
replies, nothing bad could really happen.
I learned that communication is proof that you are not alone.
That's pretty powerful stuff. I became a true believer in the power of
communication. I even received one of my degrees in Professional
Communications from Alverno College. But more than this, I became
committed to a philosophy of "I communicate, therefore I am."
So, when Kat and I, two active, enthusiastic communicators, met on a
website forum years ago, we hit it off immediately. Early on, Kat
declared her intentions for me to work for her, but my other commitments
at that time made that impossible. Time passed, and life took me on
another path, including away from the internet for a period of time.
When I returned to writing on the internet, in May of 2005, Kat quickly
rediscovered me -- and like Columbus, she quickly declared me as her own.
Making use of my love of and need for 'talking' she put me to work on
this blog. Here I put into text form what the other creative folks have
already expressed in visual and audio form. In other words, I am a
translator of sorts, helping Google and therefore you, the reader, find
what Kat Caverly and No Evil Productions has created. Along with
writing sentiments, this work allows me to celebrate, preach and embrace
the virtues of human expression.
Kat has promised (threatened?) that I will one day be required to work
on other writing needs for No Evil Productions. This is both intriguing
and terrifying. I'd like to consult that psychic or a gypsy about
this. Or perhaps have a drink to calm my nerves -- heck, I'd settle for
a pep-talk from the animated (yet potentially evil) Atari kangaroo!
But if that day arrives, and I am asked to collaborate more with the
other creative communicators on the team, I'll just turn calmly to them
and discuss my anxieties. I'm sure I'll find that my fears of such
projects are as founded as my fears of that punching kangaroo.
Posted by photocartoonist at 10:38 PM
April 5, 2006
Good Intentions
By DEANNA DAHLSAD
Letters, notes, emails and greeting cards are all attempts to find and
bind relationships, deepen friendships and unite people to the ones they
love. Correspondence creates connections to the past as well as forges
affections of the future -- Saying "We will engage again and again."
Some would argue that greeting cards and ecards are 'lesser' ways of
doing this. 'Tis true a lovely handwritten letter or handmade card is
far more personal than anything prefabricated, but if one waits for the
time to sit and compose such items, will they ever truly be created?
Hell is paved with good intentions.
If your intention is to stay connected, isn't timing at least of equal,
if not greater, importance than how the message is generated? Isn't a
card created by another, filled with your sentiments, with an added dash
of your own personality injected via typed text or personal signature,
delivered in a timely manner worth more than a letter that never
arrives?
Greeting cards are like the proverbial bird in the hand when compared to
the two in the bush of hand-created works.
On the other (empty) hand... If you send a card empty of genuine
personal feeling, you offer nothing. And you too will come up empty handed.
Businesses used to send holiday cards, or anniversary cards celebrating
the union of being in business together, as a way to seem more
personable and friendly as opposed to appearing like some cold
corporation (which they may or may not be). Unfortunately, now many of
these cards are sent with an emotionally distant printed signature, or
(heaven forbid!) just a printed corporate logo.
Many wise salesmen send personal rather than, or in addition to,
corporate cards. They know sales is about building and maintaining
relationships with real people. And it's difficult to feel a real
person sent you their earnest wishes with a rubberstamped signature next
to a corporate logo. The same is true of software that 'personalizes'
emails via the insertion of the receiver's name. We as receivers may
understand why this is done, but we really don't feel valued, and we
must wonder if in fact we will engage again and again...
So, what are you to do with your well wishes and good intentions then?
You are to express them as personally as possible at the time when they
are needed.
Posted by photocartoonist at 11:40 PM
Dick Cheney's Taxi Ride
from huffingtonpost.com
Well we made it to the front page of the huffingtonpost.com! And I can
hear the crackling of the wildfire as it spreads through the blogosphere.
Burn baby burn!
Posted by photocartoonist at 6:20 PM
April 1, 2006
The Big Dick
By Team NoEvil
What would you say if you suddenly found yourself alone with the most
powerful man on Earth, Dick Cheney?
There was that guy in New Orleans who rudely blurted a most profane
suggestion to the Vice President just as Cheney was explaining how well
the Katrina disaster relief was going. The guy was caught on tape for his
15 minutes of fame, but I understand that the Secret Service subsequently
gave him their undevided attention for a much longer interval in
the following days.
I’m not sure what I would actually do; I might be dumbstruck and just end
up politely mumbling, “Pleased to meet you.” as my mother taught me ,
but not my friend Amin bin Amin bin Amin bin Amin. He’s the sort of
no-nonsense American who is not afraid to speak truth to power.
Making his debut on Arianna Huffington's Contagious Festival, Amin
stars in "The Big Dick", a political satire featuring Dick Cheney. Full of wit and
dry dry humor The Big Dick says what many would love to say to Mr. Cheney
if given the chance.
Well, Amin is given that chance and he definitely runs with it, or should I
say, takes The Dick for a ride for his life.
Posted by photocartoonist at 7:11 PM