Tee-shirts, sweatshirts, and totes are now available for the "librArian" and "We Rogues of Wool" designs. As long as sales keep coming in, they will remain available, so get 'em now! What, you want posters too? Of the "librarian rap battle" AND reprints of "The Rogues of Wool"? OKay! Okay! I'm working on it! And if you wish to help by linking to all this on knitting and librarian blogs, message boards, or to friends, please do. Thanks again to Bill Barnes for links from Unshelved! -christopher Buy This Artwork! Blog 8/23/08 - Okay, no details but there WILL be a "librArian" tshirt/sweatshirt. Hopefully next week. ------------------------- 8/20/08 - Three things on the agenda today. First, I'm going to try to have an "Anarchist Librarian" t-shirt/sweatshirt available. I will post more later this week as I know more details. Second, if you like libraries or librarians, you should check out the wonderful comic Unshelved by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum. Third, Vachel is full of literary. He's rapping to librarians after all. Panel one (not so literary) is a nod to the final rap battle from the movie "8 Mile." Astraea is the Greek daughter of Zeus and Themis, she personified justice and holds those scales. Has a constellation named for her. Descartes, of course, said "I think, therefore I am." Let's see, "The Hollow Men" is a poem by T.S. Eliot. And a Mcguffin is an object in a play or book which serves no purpose at all except to move the plot. ------------------------- 8/19/08 - It's very strange. I get very serious about my work. Panel 3 in today's strip, I am actually kinda moved by, and drew it in all serious earnestness. I feel it sets a tone. But it's almost contradicted. First of all, I have a vulture doing a rap battle against a duck in an underground library which he has returned to, to help a child he is caring for with a bear and a dog. Serious? Earnest? It's also contradicted by the fact that even though that panel is utterly sincere, I find it to be the funniest part of today's strip. Anyhow. Strange. The whole rap battle is strange. I'm writing it in earnest while giggling. Go figure. ------------------------- 8/14/08 - The meter in yesterday's strip was too unbearably unfollowable, and so I changed it. I hope you like the re-write. :) ------------------------- 8/13/08 - I've wanted to do a rap battle for at least half a year. I'm glad I finally figured out how to make it work. Although, I think today's meter sounds better in my head than read. I'l have to record a version of this one too, when I get the chance. ------------------------- 8/10/08 - Probably the last week Im offering it: Over at my Diary Strip, I am offering to draw people's day for a reasonable price. Read about it there. ------------------------- 8/8/08 - I forgot to mention. This week's storyline is another lovely crackpot scheme from my brother. The last one was the taxidermy company. I love my brother, he makes me laugh. :) ------------------------- 8/5/08 - Over at my Diary Strip, I am offering to draw people's day for a reasonable price. Read about it there. ------------------------- 8/4/08 - I was actually done with the cowgirl storyline, but on Friday, Julie T--- suggested I do a western song. And it formed in my head. I can't help it, I love writing lyrics. But this is not the Musical nor the Rogues of Wool, it's just today, short, simple, and sweet. ------------------------- 8/2/08 - things in the not-so-o.k. coral. ------------------------- 7/31/08 - Yay! I'm back and the week is inked. Enjoy! ------------------------- 7/28/08 - I am down in Philadelphia and New York again briefly, visiting friends, family, and to help my brother move a Hammond organ (oof). Little Dee this week mon-wed will be in pencil until I return, and all should be inked by Thursday. Enjoy! My best, -christopher ------------------------- 7/22/08 - I recently went for a sushi lunch at a friend's house, 6 adults, 5 kids, and myself (which am I?) And the kids and I started playing the chopstick glasses while the adults were in the other room, and it was a din and lovely. And then we were asked to stop. heh. btw, for those of you who enjoyed my other works on baldwinpage.com, know that the Bruno books as well as Little Dee books are for sale at Topatoco. Sorry that T-Shirts got shelved briefly. It's a long story, but it was out of my hands. There WILL be T-Shirts, but it might be another month or two. ------------------------- 7/15/08 - So, as many of you know, "Little Dee" is not the only cartooning I do. I do not talk about it much here because some of it is considered not all-ages. I did an eleven year daily comic called "Bruno," I've been writing and drawing for MAD Magazine for a couple years now, and I also do an experimental comic every month. For the month of May, my experimental comic was a diary strip of my life. It looks like I may end it any day now (a month and a half more than I had planned already), and I felt I should share it. In general I'm a pretty happy person these days. Sadly the diary strips don't express that too well, as this past month has been a difficult time for me. A romance which didn't happen, and going to my home town to face old ghosts. Anyhow, if you're curious about two and a half months of my life, here they are (updated daily here or RSS feed here, for however much longer I continue to do it). ------------------------- 7/10/08 - I find it funny that when I went swimming on Monday, I tried to keep my senses pricked for things I could put in the strip this week, but came away with nothing. That night, M--- suggested finding a rock. Then the next day my mind remembered that the only thing kids were allowed to use in this swimming area were floatation vests or arm floaties. And then I remembered M--- had brought a boogie board (which he couldn't use, as stated above), but on it was a drawing of several sharks. And the week ploughed ahead. The mind is baffling and dang silly, I tell you. ------------------------- 7/8/08 - My little friend M--- helped me brainstorm today's strip. Smart lad. (Thanks, M---!) ------------------------- 7/4/08 - You foreigners know we Americans blow things up on the 4th of July to celebrate our Declaration of Independence, right? I just got back from NYC and Philadelphia. Friends and family respectively. Good times, but I'll be happy to get a good night's sleep. After a 12 hour journey back, I walked in the door, ate some cottage cheese and sat down to draw Little Dee. But now... NOW! Now I sleep. ------------------------- 6/30/08 - This week of strips was inspired by a friend's son and daughter who I was babysitting, and who played in the rain. Me, I have been adventuring in the humid streets of NYC this weekend. Waterfalls and rooftop dancing. Good times. ------------------------- 6/19/08 - Thank you all for the overwhelming response to the tee-shirts. What's funny is I went from being unsure, to being utterly bewildered. Soooo much info. I will try to sort through and categorize it all and come up with some intelligent choices, possibly one more poll before I send one or two to press. Thank you again, you always come through for me. it's awesome. ------------------------- 6/18/08 - I have tee-shirt designs. I know my tee-shirt instincts aren't terrific, and so I am asking ALL of you to take a poll I've set up. Let me know if any of them even come close to hitting the mark (there's an option for "no, none" as well) (of course, if you have your own ideas, throw 'em my way!). Please, go and look atthe designs and give me a sense of things. Thanks! -Christopher ------------------------- 6/16/08 - So, the scanner has arrived, and I have scanned in the last week-and-a-half and posted them. And all orders for original art during that time will go out Monday or Tuesday (I couldn't send them until I could scan a high-res copy, sorry!) Also, I listened to (audiobook) Steve Martin's fairly new autobiography "Born Standing Up" this weekend, because I appreciate his work and view standup as very similar to daily cartooning. And this passage stuck with me, and I think is very pertinent to my work as well: "I learned a lesson: it was easy to be great. Every entertainer has a night when everything is clicking. These nights are accidental and statistical. Like lucky cards in poker, you can count on them occurring over time. What was hard was to be good, consistently good, night after night, no matter what the abominable circumstances." Yup. Felt that many-o-times. ------------------------- 6/14/08 - Yay, scanner! Also, today's strip was inspired by Fran, who told me about her dear Irish Wolfhound pup, Keva, who is "better known as the Diva or "I'm digging to China, wanna come?". ------------------------- 6/12/08 - Some of my last batch of boxes I shipped to myself arrived. But NOT the one with the scanner. Annnnny day now, I'm sure. Heh. :) ------------------------- 6/11/08 - Ha ha ha ha! I know where I'm going to take this storyline. One of those nice moments. I thought this gravedigging was a funny idea and that I would do it for a week and move on, and then suddenly I wrote two weeks of what will probably be a 3-4 week long plot. Good to have those moments of inspiration. If you don't enjoy it. Then curse my inspiration. Curse it! ------------------------- 6/9/08 - Hm. This is an odd week (I've been saying that every week for about a year). I wonder where I'll take it. It may be partly inspired by the fact that I've been listening to (audiobooks) too much Terry Pratchett lately, and his character of Death always puts me in stitches. I've always found the grave diggers in Shakespeare's plays to be a hoot too. Hrm. heh. Last week seemed to be well enjoyed, I'm glad. They were fun and quick, like candy. I enjoy breaking reality, but only as an exception (these will not be put in book #3 with the normal strips, but may be included in the back). For those unsure, I did do this once before last year when I interviewed the cast. Scanner should arrive today or tomorrow. ------------------------- 6/3/08 - I am still in the chaos of moving, although I am arrived in Greenfield. Unfortunately, my scanner died in transit (2nd offed scanner this year). Fortunately, I have a spare, which should be arriving with the rest of my stuff within the next week. Until then, I am using my digital camera to take photos of the strip and uploading that. ------------------------- 6/2/08 - I am moving this week back to Massachusetts. The date has arrived. To ease things for me a tad, I am doing a somewhat shorthand week, as you can see. The artwork is still for sale, but at a reduced price, for those interested. That's it. :) ------------------------- 5/31/08 - June has almost arrived. Sunbathing for some parts of the country, rain slickers for others. I got a fun (and really nice) email yesterday about grilling, and asked permission to post parts of it. Hi Chris, Regarding the fastest way to light a grill: liquid hydrazine in addition to LOX is faster than just liquid oxygen, as my engineer husband B--- pointed out to George Goble in 1995, shortly after the videos of the initial experiments were released. I don't think George has ever worked up the nerve to try it, but his reply was quote: "Interesting". A--- Note from B---: I actually suggested DRY hydrazine and in very small (teaspoonfuls to start until the right mix is found) amounts. Dry hydrazine can be purchased from farm chemical dealers. LOX and hydrazine is what they use to power the space shuttle rockets along with solid fuel rockets. You want to light the grill, not send it and the neighborhood into orbit, so it's best to use small quantities. Another trick I've seen (at a biker party west of Indianapolis) is some Vietnam vet took empty wine bottles, filled them with gasoline with a little bit of air at the top, melted wax over the top as a "cork", then set it straight up in the middle of a campfire. Everyone that was around the campfire ran back about 80 feet or so, and in about a minute and a half, the gasoline boiled inside the bottle, the wax melted and whoosh - a pillar of flame shot straight up for about 60 feet lighting up the night. It didn't explode at all. He did this trick several times during the night (24 hour party) and was one of the most spectacular things I've ever seen. I'm working on a nuclear fusion generator in my garage. This is NOT a joke (but could be.....) There are about 25 of us in the US working on a "fusor" which technically is an inertial confinement fusion generator to produce better than break even fusion. They are roughly 40% efficient whereas the tokomak reactors are only 30% efficient even after 30 years and several billion dollars of taxpayer money. http://www.fusor.net is the link. Anyway, Thank You for years of fun with Little Dee, A--- & B--- ------------------------- 5/28/08 - Yesterday's strip is inked, if you wish to see it. ------------------------- 5/24/08 - Apparently, the best way to light a grill is in fact (or at least in spirit) with three gallons of liquid oxygen (thanks, Purdue University!). ------------------------- 5/20/08 - Yes. Not quite summer, but warm enough for grilling. Of course, for some people, if the lid isn't frozen shut, it is warm enough for grilling. On a side not, amusing yet true, if you have a Broil King Signet 90, you might want to return it before the bottom melts into molten metal drippings of pain, according to Consumer Reports. ------------------------- 5/17/08 - Komondors are real, by the way. ------------------------- 5/12/08 - Little Dee (and Bruno) books are now available at TopatoCo. Jeffrey and everyone there is awesome, and they gots good stuff aside form mine. This also means that T-Shirts will be sometime this year. Really. ------------------------- 5/9/08 - Yes, the rumors are true. I'm moving back to Massachusetts. Beginning of June. Wish me hella luck. ------------------------- 5/8/08 - I think I have been spending too much time around children. I cannot explain this strip nor the grin it puts on my face. ------------------------- 5/6/08 - SuperMe is back on top of things again. Today's and yesterday's strip are finished and uploaded, and I feel geared up and ready to tackle whatever comes by May. Yay. :) ------------------------- 5/5/08 - I'm off to the weekly potluck with my friends in Olympia, who I love. I'm sure it will be a fun and relaxing this evening, as it usually is. I was officially overworked this past week. And it's gonna be like the next couple weeks probably. Got several art projects going on, plus am unpacking and re-packing everything I own. I've learned to not do this to myself because it burns me, but at times everything kinda coalesces and you slog through. All's good though. Just, hopefully this will create as little inconvenience or delay to you as possible. Have a fun Cinco De Mayo! - Christopher ------------------------- 4/29/08 - Stumptown was funny this year. I was simply there. I had many lovely conversations, but couldn't get the muster to do hard selling or much networking. I did fine, and had a good time, but it was simply strange. Good strange, i think. Shared my table with Kevin Moore, who always makes me laugh. Sat next to Meredith Gran of the lovely Octopus Pie, who was excellent company; and on the other side of her was Erika, who I fumbled telling her how much she's loved. Had some long chit-chats with Kate Beaton, who was really nice and is very talented and you should check her out. Lovely to see the usual faces and some new ones. Sorry Shaenon I had to be so tight-lipped! Nicholas, you're weird! Steve, you galoot, you make me want to use words like "galoot." And Jenn and Kip, I am soooo happy for you. And so many others, I love you all! Here's a picture of me at my table knitting. Now I just need to convince Kris to desire my company at the New York Sheep & Wool Festival (although Jen just gave me her first hand-spun skein, you're awesome Jen!). ------------------------- 4/25/08 - Don't Forget! I'll be tabling at the Portland Stumptown Comics Fest this weekend, April 26th and 27th. Stop by! ------------------------- 4/22/08 - there's something woefully universal about a band-aid (sticking plaster, for you europeans) on the head. ------------------------- 4/19/08 - They're saying "frrriieeennnnds" the same way a zombie might say "brrraaaiinnns" although I'm not sure if there's any further correlation. :) ------------------------- 4/15/08 - Thank you everyone, for helping with the "I'm slightly shy on taxes, oh crud" sale. I was hoping I had reached the point of needing no more bailing for my boat. But I did. And you helped. And I'm in the black again. Thank you. ------------------------- 4/10/08 - I'm having a "I'm slightly shy on taxes, oh crud" sale! All books are reduced $2, and all original artwork is $5 off, going on through Monday! I have changed the prices on the books, but the artwork I'll have to do via a $5 refund, as there is no easy way to go in and change the price on all of them. So, today, or this weekend, isn't it time you perused the archive and saw what lovely strips are for sale? I can answer that: it is. And for $35 apiece? Heck, yeah. It really is. My best, -Christopher ------------------------- 4/9/08 - Feeling much better! :) ------------------------- 4/8/08 - Was feeling a little low last night and didn't finish the strip. Today I'll have it up as soon as I have my tea and get to it, I'm sure. ------------------------- 4/7/08 - It's strange. I've been spending a lot of time with children lately, and watching them develop negotiation and conflict resolution skills. And today, like spilled milk, it seems to have spilled over into the strip (today's is just the intro). ------------------------- 4/4/08 - who'd of ever thought I'd get so profound and philosophical in Little Dee, in it's own little way. I tell you who didn't! Me! Strange times. Fun times. And here's a page on an awesome website (like Wikipedia, but more entertaining), about Kettles. Bethanne and I had a good giggle about this last night. She was very tired. ------------------------- past Dee blog notes Thur, August 28, 2008 Little Dee Info Current Week The First Week Main Archive The Cast About Chris Email Me Banners Livejournal RSS Chris Baldwin is an author and illustrator for MAD Magazine. Little Dee has been written up in the Washington Post and the UK Daily Telegraph. 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