Any day of the week I can do a Google image search and discover a new violation of my copyrights by someone using my images without payment or permission. People think that if it’s on the internet and they can “right-click, save-as” it, they are free to use it for whatever they want. Even WITH my copyright watermark right on the image! Then there are the ones that contact me directly…

An email I got from, let’s call him… Martin van Trierum this morning:

I fount a great cartoon on your website. I would like to use it for my scription as a information and edit the text in the balloon. It is for a non commercial use. Can I use it please?

My Response:

Sure Martin! How does $25 sound?

Martin’s Response:

No thanks, I was just tying to be polite… Is the honor not enough? we’ll mention ur name It’s non commercial use. later

My Response:

It doesn’t matter if it’s commercial use or not, it’s my property and you do not have legal right to use it without payment of $25.

FYI: for full disclosure, my lawyer has been cc’d on this email…

Martin’s Response:

Too bad, Don’t even wanna use it anymore Already found an image way funnier wich we are allowed to use. that artist did think it was a honor. Really man, too bad…..

Oh the pain… Best of luck to you in your future endeavors Martin.

My buddy Ryan Newgard entrusted me with the video portion of his Survivor application last summer. Now I’m posting it on my website for your amusement…
(click here if you can’t see the video below)

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

My wife and I are actually pretty big fans of the show and for the life of us, can’t figure out why he hasn’t been chosen. He should’ve been a shoo-in especially with such weak casting the past couple of seasons. One of the funniest guys you could ever meet.

I never thought I’d say this… but is Seth Godin is ripping off Chris and I over at Blaugh?

I always knew Blaugh was a great conversation starter and lived on the cutting edge of fine humor and current events, but I think Seth really danced much too close to the line of cartoon ethics and crossed over it.

It’s been noted to me by several readers, and is quite obvious to most who view the striking similarities, that he directly swiped out from under us the cleverness that we published earlier this month.

Here’s a cartoon we at Blaugh published on December 21st:

Here’s the cartoon we at Blaugh published on February 13th:

And here is the infamous permission marketer’s post he published on February 23rd… a FULL 10 days after we let our latest genie out of the bottle:

“If no one reads your post, does it exist?”

Coincidence? I think not.

I mean c’mon now, I can take being the backbone and source of most A-lister’s material, but when a guy this high up on the ranks blogs our thoughts this blatantly, takes full credit for it, and doesn’t cite us at all?? Well, Mr Godin… them’s fightin’ words, my friend.

We’re coming for you Seth Godin. And you know how I like to draw big noses.

tags: seth godin, blaugh, chris pirillo, permission marketing, squidoo

That’s a pretty good sized diamond, I don’t think many gals would be thinking about a background check after seeing that rock… but the credit report is probably a smart idea.

Even though I draw funny little pictures for a living I’m always on the lookout for good advice when it comes to improving my writing skills. Here are a few helpful resources I refer to on a regular basis that keep me moving forward when the spark gets choked. If you know of any other good writing resources that would compliment this list, please feel free share them in the comment area below. Thanks!

Writing Articles:
Ten Tips for Great Blog Writing
Find Your Voice
Getting Started On a Paper
47 key tips from the World’s best BLOGGERS

Downloadable PDF eBooks:
MYCPS by Ken Evoy
Viral Copy - Trading Words for Traffic by Brian Clark
Turn Words into Traffic and Video by Jim Edward’s

Books on Writing:
Writing With Power by Peter Elbow
If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland
The Right to Write by Julia Cameron
On Writing by Stephen King

Wacom Tablets are great but no matter what anyone says, they are no substitute for real life paper and pencil… not even close. I hear the Cintiq bridges this gap considerably but until I can afford the $2500 price tag, I’ll have to keep going on the rumor.

The biggest factor that makes drawing on a Wacom Tablet so difficult is the lack of pen control, the surface is just too darn slippery and it doesn’t feel natural. I may as well be drawing on a ceramic tile with a greasy plastic spoon…. Okay it’s not that bad, but it does get frustrating when you have to “undo” 45 times in a row.

However there is a way to improve the feel of the drawing surface… did you know you can buy felt-tip replacement nibs for your pen?? Oh yes, these are awesome. They have a marker-like feel which creates friction and causes “drag” so you gain much more control than you have with the standard plastic nibs. Almost feels like real paper.

They come in 5-packs for only $4.95 on the Wacom Direct Site. It’s a bargain steal for the difference it makes.

You still here?

tags: wacom, tablet, cintiq, drawing

Here’s a treat… Dave just gave me the heads-up of a great little audio interview of childhood favorite Mark Kistler over at The Glass is Too Big. Mark & J talk about PBS�s Imagination Station, The Secret City, drawing in 3d, teaching children how to draw, and how learning to draw improves the lives of children and adults alike.

Click here to listen to the Mark Kistler interview

Don’t be scared of the pencil!

If you’re anything like me and work way too many hours on the computer, you’ve no doubt experienced some kind of chronic pain as a result. I’m constantly adjusting my workspace trying to find that holy grail of perfect pain-free workstation symmetry.

Although my run with physical therapy helped me a great deal to get through some severe pain resulting from long-time neglect, I tend to find myself slipping back into bad habits without realizing it. Until the pain slowly creeps back in, of course. I recently stumbled upon a great little checklist and information page that has some excellent tips on the subject. I felt better within 10 minutes after making just a couple of minor adjustments.

It is often working overtime and the stress of deadline situations that force people to ignore and work through their pain and discomfort. It is very important that once you start to notice some pain or discomfort to be very careful.

Pain that goes away over night is usually a sign of fatigue, pain that is continuous and does not go away over night is more serious and should be attended to immediately… It is much easier to treat and recover from a pain episode the earlier you are treated. Ignoring pain can lead to serious injury.

Here’s the link… I was hoping that at the end of the page there would be a “submit’ button to click and it would take the information I entered via the check boxes and magically give me a personal assessment of what my problems specifically are. It’s simple to figure it out manually just by addressing all of your “No’s” but I like “easy” buttons.
Computer Workstation Self-Audit Checklist

For some reason I’ve been getting an unGodly amount of forwarded email chain letters, poems, and jokes lately so I decided I should finally take the time to write an “informational” email to family and friends on my contact list. I actually have some “Chonic Forwarders” in this list (who btw never use BCC) but I haven’t asked them to stop before now because I’ve always been afraid of hurting someones feelings.

Well, thanks to this recent barrage of junk and the following paragraph from a BreakThe Chain.org article, I have now conquered this fear.

“Do not get defensive in return, this will only make them more defensive and escalate matters. To make them understand your point, you have to help deflect their guilt/doubt. Tell them that you appreciate them thinking of you, but it embarrasses you to see your friends falling for hoaxes, lies and half-truths. They did what they believed was right and you’re doing what you think is right.”

I’m glad I got over this fear because every time I get one of these things it causes me severe pain knowing my email address has once again been exposed to any possible number of spammers or shady third-party characters out there as it gets forwarded along to the rest of the universe.

So - I spent some time this morning carefully crafting an email that hopefully will not be taken the wrong way by someone who might be having a sensitive day. I included a copy of the email below, if you are in a similar situation please feel free to use it freely yourself if so desired. (but of course, use bcc

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I don’t usually post to the blog unless I have some artwork to go with it but I’m making an exception with this one because I need to get this off my chest.

I recently started using the iTunes client to listen to my music here in the studio while I work, which I’m thoroughly enjoying I should add. One feature I really like is shuffle, I’ve been using it non stop on my 20+ gig music library so there’s a seemingly endless random variety of songs constantly in rotation.

Anyway, as I was listening just now, a song from Kenny G’s Christmas album started playing without me really noticing. About halfway through the song I became aware of it and I was actually starting to feel pretty good about it. So good in fact, I went straight into iTunes and clicked off the shuffle button so I could listen to the whole album.

This concerns me on a multitude of levels, and I’m not at all feeling good about the situation. I know there’s a message here somewhere that I need to be aware of and concerned about.