A New Philosophy Of Cartooning by Rick London

A New Philosophy Of Cartooning by Rick London

by Rick London

Picasso's Peanuts: A Londons Times Cartoon

I entered the business of cartooning in March of 1997 having no idea what was to come. Before I embarked upon this “mysterious venture”, I decided it would be to my advantage to consult with top cartoonists around the country. I was surprised how many of them were “open and available” to speak with me were. Fortunately, I was both too young and naive to know NOT to bother “the masters”. So when Charles Schulz picked up his phone, I started asking the five journalistic W’s (Who, what, when, why, and where). His (and others) advice turned out to be just what the doctor ordered. I was starting to “develop a philosophy” of cartooning even though I had not even yet begun my amazing adventure into online cartoon merchandising.

Why did Schulz become a cartoonist? Like me, he’d tried just about everything else and didn’t do it very well. I asked him if there was any money to be made in such a venture. I could almost “see” his smile on the other side of the line. He assured me there was plenty, but not to expect it in newspapers. He told me that even if you do get syndicated, the money is still just pennies per newspaper and that the smart way to approach it, that is, to look at it as a career, is licensed merchandise, such as tees, caps, mugs, etc. He told me he made millions more in licensing than in publishing.

I told him I did not draw very well (which is true) and, that I wanted to try something very new and different. It was to be a color cartoon in which the artwork, for the most part was more “fine art” than cartoon art, and that I wanted a “different look and feel to each cartoon, but a theme, focused on wordplay and picture-play in which, at times, the viewer might have to take a second or two to “get it”.

Seeing Guide Cats: A Londons Times Cartoon

Schulz assured me that nearly 20% of all cartoons we see in the newspapers are “team efforts” that is, an artist and writer, and that if I did not feel my own artwork was “up to snuff”, to recruit an artist to draw my concepts. He also encouraged me to read as much as I could about Walt Disney because what I was about to attempt was actually a “Disney model without animation”; he actually called it “Disney meets Gary Larson”, which was a bit flattering to say the least.

I also spoke with several other cartoonists, most of whom created in the same genre as Gary Larson’s Far Side, such as Leigh Rubin (Rubes), Dave Coverly (Speed Bump), and Jon McPherson (Close To Home). I was amazed, again, at how open and available they made themselves. In fact Leigh and I became good friends and talked regularly on the phone. He was already one of the world’s leading cartoonists, and I was just starting. That didn’t matter to him. I will never forget that kind of generosity and his willingness to lead me in a direction that made it work for me. And of course the same is true for Charles “Sparky” Schulz (Sparky by the way was what he liked to be called. That was the name of his favorite dog, a Schnauzer; and I knew I liked him right away. I have a tendency to “hang with” fellow animal lovers, and Schulz also had an uncanny biting wit, often held back in “Peanuts”, even though it was always funny, was meant for family audiences, his target. In real life, he displayed a sense humor that reminded me a great deal of some of my British favorites such as John Cleese of Monty Python.

There seemed to be a common thread regarding “the philosophy of cartooning, amongst all of the masters. That is, “Sure, you must make a living in this world, but keep the day job. Cartooning is a labor of love, and, only 1% or so actually end up doing it for a living. One must approach it with a very open mind and a love for making people laugh, and to be flexible, as the Internet at the time, was changing the whole nature of the “cartoon business”.

All of this advice turned out to be pragmatic. The Internet changed everything. Licensed merchandise became even more of “the key” to making it work than Sparky Schulz had felt; and he had seen it coming. Today, though my cartoons appear in publications worldwide; mostly trade magazines, college textbooks and on websites, the majority of my take is from the sales of funny gifts and collectibles. When I look back over the past twelve years it has all becomes a blur. I have had the opportunity to work with some of the finest illustrators in the world, who could comprehend and render my concepts and writings, Thinking back to the words of the cartoon masters it is still a labor of love.

Roach Infidelity: A Londons Times Cartoon

Although I am one of the few lucky ones who has been able to eek out a living via cartoons, even if I didn’t I would probably still be doing it, or something creative, merely because I don’t care for water fountain gossip and power-ties that choke my neck while doing work I despise (or simply can’t do very well). In the end, if someone is entertained, or feels better because of something I have created, or a job or jobs are created because I thought of a cartoon and it was created, I go to bed thinking, “No, I didn’t save the world (as I felt surely I would in the ’60’s), but I hopefully, when I leave it, it will be a little bit nicer place to live.

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Author Rick London is the founder of Londons Times Cartoons, Google’s #1 ranked since 2005 and four funny gift stores featuring his licensed images.   He also is the founder creator of ShoesThatAmuse.com, the worlds only women’s footwear featuring famous philosophers and their love quotes. He designs licensed Hemingway gifts and collectibles for actress/author Mariel Hemingway, and is co-founder of SEO firm PenAndInkinc.com

$500 Gift Certificate Contest For “Most Friendly Twitter” From Cartoonist Rick London

My Jewish Dentist

TOP GOOGLE OFFBEAT CARTOONIST AND  E-GIFT SHOP OWNER OF LONDONS TIMES CARTOONS & GIFTS  OFFERING $500 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO LUCKY TWITTER WHO CAN PUT HIM AT THE VERY TOP (OF TWITTER)  (If he doesn’t go to “The Twitter Top” he’s still giving a $250 gift certificate to the one who retweets him most)

Dateline: Hot Springs,Ar. March 11, 2009:   Cartoonist E-entreneur Rick London announced today his firm, Rick London Group, LLC., is offering a $500 gift certificate to his award-wining top-ranked offbeat cartoon funny gift stores, if Twitters will put him at the top of Twitter. Making it “to the top” simply means having the most followers. (His user name is “ricklondon”) on Twitter.

London is the founder of Google’s #1 ranked offbeat cartoon, Londons Times.

London’s six award-winning Internet stores feature over 165,000 gift items such as coffee mugs, T-shirts, gourmet coffee gift baskets (his own line of farm-fresh coffee beans with cartoon mugs and coasters, teddy bears, maternity wear, magnets, buttons, jogging suits, caps, aprons, hoodies, shoes, wall and desk clocks, and much more more.

London is also the designer of (Shoes That Amuse) women’s casual sneakers with famous love quotations and graphics of the famous person who penned them, featured recently in USA Today and AP Wire which will also be included in the contest. London adds, “But not to worry, even if I don’t make it to the top, (Obama is there now), so we are also giving a $100 certificate for the most ‘retweets’.

So I really don’t have to be at the top for other Twitters to win. Simply following me and retweeting, and one can still win a $250 gift certificate, easily, without even a drawing. Second most retweets #50 gift certificate.

We simply count the retweets of each Twitter member at the end of the contest. A re-tweet is when another blogger at Twitter copies and pastes your tweet with an “RT” in front of it which stands for “retweet”,  giving the original blogger credit for the post, and, sharing it with , often a whole separate network of followers.

London will allow 120 days for the contest to end, and a name to be drawn at random on his birthday which is July 16th, when the winner will be announced, and paid on August 1 via Paypal or check (winners choice). London plans to print his page of followers, cut the names into squares, place them in a box, and draw one.

London adds, “In addition, we plan to issue a press release, if the winner wishes, including his/her name and web address to the wire services for yet more value to the prizes. Londons says, “There also will be a second prize winner, of a $250 gift certificate. In addition, a $50 second prize for the second most “retweets”.

The gift certificates will be good at all of London’s stores. He founded Londons Times on March 22, 1997, and it has grown to be one of the most visible sites on the Internet, and Google’s #1 ranked offbeat cartoon and gifts since 2005.

He will also add an extra $25 bonus gift certificate if the winner has visited his main superstore site and signs up for his monthly newsletter. His stores include Rick London Special Editions Top-selling funny gifts Rick

LondonWear rare line of funny rock star memorabilia and other novelty gifts

Rick London Collection Huge variety of best-selling funny gift ideas

Londons Times Superstore Londons largest funny gift store and exclusively sells world’s only gourmet coffee cartoon gift basket (Londons Own Line).

Rick London Organics (organic cotton tees) bearing his top-selling cartoon images. Shoes That Amuse (World’s Only Famous Love Quotation Shoes) These are not cartoon products but women’s casual shoes he designs. For more information: contact: info@londonstimes.us

A Londons Times Cartoon

A Londons Times Cartoon

I Laugh Therefore I Am (Alive)

by Rick London

There are numerous reasons why we laugh and use humor in our lives. This impulse goes wayback to the prehistoric days (I have read). Since that was a few years before my time (but unfortunately not too many years before my time), I will have to take archaeologists word for this phenomena.

I remember loving to laugh as a child. My mom was the “sense of humor proprietor” of our home,and making her laugh, was especially fun, as she was a tough audience. Especially when I was in trouble, which was a majority of the time.

Though the basic principals of laughter are the same as they once were, in a nutshell, one person’s tragedy is another person’s comedy, aka slipping on a banana peel, still holds true to a certain degree. But audiences have gotten tougher, savvier, and more demanding, and rightfully they should be.

We live in a different world than our ancestors. We suddenly woke up in a world that was notquite as predictable as we were taught it would be in grade school. To say “the world has gottenmore dangerous” or “the world’s gone crazy” has become the commonplace “talk of the town.

We have more anxiety, more worries, stranger happenings, our generation has experienced everything from Woodstock to Dolly The Sheep, when I say “our”, I mean the fringe side of the baby boomer generation. We are survivors to a certain degree. We have seen more wars thanany generation before us.

So we can laugh or cry. Or stay ambivalent. Laughing does not mean we are endorsing it.

Humor is a way humans can cope under circumstances that seem to have spun out of control, which, frankly, today, happens in most of our lives now and again.It is easier to cry. And it is ok and healthy to cry. But to leave humor and laughter out of one’s life can make it bleak and miserable. People go to therapy. Just because one has a sense of humor about life, does not make them immune from psychological services. But you can be rest assured it can be a deterrent for many. After all laughter, like running or walking is therapeutic. We release endorphins when we laugh, walk or run. Imagine doing all three at the same time.

I remember years ago working in my father’s real estate business. It was a thriving business, but one without much laughter. I was the youngest Realtor there, and I felt my job was to (continue) to be the class clown, as I had been in school. It was a nice, but staid bunch of folks. Basically, as in mostsales situations, though there may be some altruism involved, money, or the bottom line is the focus.Don’t get me wrong, I like money as much as the next guy. But I have keenly observed that, though there are plenty of very happy wealthy people, when people get into a business simply to make money, they end up highly disappointed. Hence I found myself surrounded by a lot of disappointed people who really needed some laughter and humor.

Finally, after many years of soul searching, I left the world of sales, and struck out on my own. I had read a biography on Walt Disney, and how he launched his Magic Kingdom. I loved cartoon humor, still do, am not a great artist, so recruited a team of excellent illustrators and launched my own cartoon. That was a decade ago. I still love doing it. Not only do I get to (occasionally) give myself a chuckle, but sometimes others as well. Doing what you love, whether its making people laugh or not, will make you happier inside, and those around you seem happier. And the money will follow (hopefully, one day…it better!!)

Rick London is a freelance writer/cartoonist, entrepreneur, and founder of the Internet’s most visited cartoon site, Londons Times Cartoons.  He operates several mega-gift stores featuring his licensed images which he ships worlwide such as www.ricklondonfunnygifts.info

Intenet Cartoonist Rick London’s Life Saved By 2 Different Dogs 2 Different Times

The year was 1994 and I was still relatively new to southern California. I had sold my business in Washington D.C and moved to Los Angeles to try my hand at screen-writing. Not much was

shaking for me for the first few years. Except the ground. I settled in Sherman Oaks in the San Fernando Valley area. I can clearly remember being awakened about five a.m by my golden retriever puppy Otis who was barking wildly. Otis slept on the bed with me but he had hopped down onto the floor to begin his ranting. This was no ordinary bark but I took him outside anyway into the back yard which met an alley. Otis kept barking and was clearly agitated but did not relieve himself. I rubbed my eyes and looked around and there was dozens (if not more) cats walking around in circles in the alley. I had never seen this before. They were clearly not acting the way I normally see a cat act, but it was as if they were trying to escape something. Otis’ barks continued loudly.

The next thing I knew I was thrown to the ground which was rumbling. It felt as if I was in the center of a volcano minus the heat. Then I heard loud crashing sounds. My home and a few others on the block had caved in. Part of the roof was at ground level and the rest was hanging in various places. It no longer resembled a roof, and shingles were strewn everywhere. The wall had caved in where my bedroom used to be and a giant ceiling beam lay across the bed where I had just been sleeping not more than 10 minutes earlier. The ground continued to shake and more structures were falling apart. Otis had quit barking but the cats continued in their circle. (I since read that before the tragic Indonesian Tsunami, most of the animals in the region climbed to the top of a mountain before it even developed and saved their own lives, so I guess it was no coincidence of what I saw in L.A.).

I was unable to get inside of my home for a few days. The ground continued to shake on and

off for another few weeks. I had lost everything. I was okay about the furniture, as those things

can be replaced, but family albums, memorabilia that dated back to kindergarten, childhood videos,

college and travel collectibles were never to be found again. So I rented an apartment, which was not easy, as they were being filled rapidly. The apartment would not allow animals, so first I had to find a good home for the dog who had just saved my life. Fortunately, from an emotional standpoint, as much as I hated to lose this wonderful animal, he was not one with which I had a lot of memories, since I was away from home so often and he was still a puppy.

I called the insurance company but the wait would be long. Then my mother called from Mississippi to alert me she had contracted an incurable form of cancer. She needed me there. I left, and did not resolve any of my valuables. But I will always remember the beautiful blond golden retriever puppy who saved my life, sensed the coming danger, and alerted me. I would definitely not be here writing had it not been for Otis.

Being back home in southern Mississippi after being gone for so long was hard on me. I had worked around the country and was very different from my childhood friends who had never left home. It proved difficult to form friendship bonds because of lack of similar interests, hence not a lot of conversation. So I focused on taking care of mom and a sales job I took at a local television station.

Mom died in 1996. I was devastated and was becoming very depressed. Some college friends from near Boston, in Newburyport invited me to stay with them for a week. I did. They kept me my spirits up with movies, dinners etc. One of the movies was with Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt “As Good As It Gets” in which a dried up writer (played by Nicholson) has his life changed by taking care of a neighbor’s (Greg Kinnear’s) dog, learning unconditional love.

After the movie, I realized that the character played by Nicholson could have easily been me.

I had been a writer for twenty years (as far back as fourth grade, writing everything from sit-coms

to movies, to short stories to, finally cartoons. I had wanted to start an offbeat cartoon project similar to The Far Side, but was too drained and depressed to launch it, plus, I was too depressed to work, and

just sat at home for months and watched the news (which led to more depression).

Finally I got out and started volunteering at the local university equestrian center, cleaning out barns and feeding horses. One very stormy day, with tornadoes in the vicinity, a pack of three dogs showed up. I fell in love with one immediately, who looked just like Benji, but he was a bit scared of people. He obviously had been abused and/or hit by a vehicle and his hair was one big mat. His coloration was superb, and his soulful eyes showed he wanted love, and had a lot to give. They begged for help. I could tell this one was a survivor. We left food and water out for him every night since he did not want human interaction, and he would eat and drink a little and slept in the barn with the horses.

He barked Thunder, hence his name “Thor, Dog Of Thunder”.

My vet friend said she would take him home and revive him which might take a month or so, if I would adopt him, otherwise, he was ready to be put down. I was not in a good space, I felt to take care of an animal, but I agreed. Little did I know that one day, that animal would take care of me. She shaved his mats, put him on drips, and cared for him in her home night after night.

Almost a month later, he was socialized, loved to be petted, ride in the car, go everywhere with me, lay by my side, and even sleep in my bed. He was housebroken. Though still scared of Thunder and loud noises, it wasn’t long before I realize this was not just a pet, but a gift from God. He knew my every mood. I was working from home, and like magic, creating my cartoons. He stayed right by my side, always smiling. If I called his name, he would wag his tail, come over to me, I would lean down, and he would kiss my face and keep smiling. The look seemed to say, “Keep doing what you are doing Rick, one day you will see. It will happen for you.” I felt this was all my imagination, but I continued my daily rituals with Thor. He could be very playful and manipulative. When he was in the mood to play, he would let me know that just a kiss was not enough. He wanted me on the floor with him to play, roll around with him, or play with any of his favorite toys. I always obliged. Oddly enough, the longer I had Thor, the more productive I became.

As the months went by, and finally the years, I noticed my cartoon venture had grown rather large.

Publishers began asking to buy rights to use them for magazines, newsletters, brochures,
websites and other promotions.

 

Out of the blue, emails were coming in asking me for my autograph. “Why?, I thought. What have I done.” Thor continued to smile as if he knew. It was what he had done. He was slowly helping me regain my creativity and spirit by offering me something I had never had…unconditional love. When my mood was down, he automatically came to me full of kisses, and would jump on the bed and sleep with me, right by my head on my pillow if I really felt bad. He knew when I felt good, his smile would return and he would lead me to my computer, as if he knew, that was where I was going to “make it”.

I followed Thor’s direction. He rarely left my side.

The vet estimated Thor was about eight years old when I found him by his teeth. Four years later, he developed some sort of disease that made him act catatonic and simply stare at walls. He would not even respond to his name or eat much. I rushed him to the vet who made an immediate diagnosis: “juvenile seizures” and that he would have to be put on barbiturates daily (and other medicines) and would live a short, and not a very good quality of life, and to prepare to put him down soon.

I immediately got on the Internet and started researching. I finally found a controversial
veterinarian surgeon in Australia named Dr. Ian Billinghurst, who had written several books on what is known as the b.a.r.f diet (bones and raw foods) and I researched more about it. There was not much science behind it, but the theory made good sense, in that a dog’s digestive system had not evolved that much from when they were still wolves, just as a cat’s had not since they were lions (the diet allegedly works for both). This would be the first time I had ever tried something so dramatic with no science behind it. The first month was terrible. Though Thor devoured the food, his elimination was very discolored, a lot of diarrhea and vomiting, and lethargy.

One day I woke up and he had jumped on the bed next to me. He was ready to play and play a lot.

We played for hours on the floor. He was not only his old self again, he was a brand new dog. His

elimination was working properly again. He quit vomiting. When he was ready to eat, he led me to the fridge. He ate only raw fruits, vegetables, meat and bones. He was now turning 13 and walking five miles a day with me. This would continue until he was eighteen, and it would be done so without one illness nor vet bill. I stopped his vaccinations, and started giving him homeopathic nos odes and for heart worm protection, walnut hull tinctures. He thrived. He remained the happiest, healthiest most energetic dog I had ever owned, much less seen in my life He was so special that shop owners came outside just to talk to “Thor” when I took him on his long walks. They simply could not believe a dog that old could walk so far, without being out of breath, and have such a love of people.

Thor continued to prod me to work hard. He even stood by me through 3.5 years of college. I went back at age 45 after a major heart attack. Friends who kept him for me when I was in the hospital told me he simply laid in the corner with his head on his front paws. He was almost totally inactive except to go outside to do his business. When I came home, he was happy again, but actually sensed I was unable for awhile to get on the floor to play so he jumped up on the bed to be with me while I recovered. Never bothering me if I was too tired, but just being there for me.

By the time Thor turned twenty, he started developing minor heart problems so I put him on

some special herbs that I also took and still take, including samento, cayenne, hawthorn berry, and several others. This kept his disease minor but he was still unable to take the long walks. Finally,

about a year later, it reached another stage which was more serious. Thor finally passed away

on the floor, in my arms, at age 22 about four months ago.

The vet told me he did not want to be put down, though I was prepared and even asked him to. He advised me that Thor had made too many comebacks, and to give one last try, a “flushing out” as his kidneys were failing since I was now having to give him heart meds.

They gave me morphine to administer to him every four hours. I lay on the floor with him as he could no longer jump on the bed. I set the alarm clock for every four hours, and put the pill down Thor’s throat. He showed no signs of pain, and the vet advised me what he had was not painful; that heart ailments and such do not manifest in animals the way they do humans; they simply grow tired

and numb; and, to be sure, the morphine would prevent any pain in case the liver had damage.

I took Thor home from the vet, still thinking putting him down would have been more humane, but, since I’d seen him come back so many times before, this was worth a try.

I gave him his morphine around the clock and stayed on the floor right by his side stroking his back which he seemed to appreciate I fell asleep about 3am the next morning after giving him, what would be his last dose. When I woke up, Thor was not breathing, yet he still had a smile on his face. I could feel the tears building in my eyes. “I kissed him, and told him I loved him very much, and how much he had done for me.” The dog that a vet begged to rescue, ended up rescuing me.

I wrapped him in a blanked and had built a small coffin out of a wooden box. I dug a hole

on a mountain in the backyard of my building in Hot Springs, Ar where Thor’s body lay today.

I had a tombstone there and wrote the epitaph, “Thor, The Most Wonderful Animal That Ever Lived Lay Here Rest In Peace”.

Thor is out of any pain (he may have experienced), and is in a better place. I get relief knowing that.

I try to think back to all the good times I had with this amazing animal. They cannot be described in words. Even my local pristine corporate bank, down the street, Bank Of America of all places, not only wanted, but demanded that I bring Thor in at every visit. No matter where I went, everyone wanted Thor there too. He was that special.

I even had a wonderful girlfriend not long ago for several years named “Rosy” who had a fear of dogs due to having been attacked by one in her youth. I had talked about “Thor” to her. She lived far away, but we visited often. She came one day, and met Thor (when he was about twenty one) and he loved her immediately, rubbing against her leg, demanding to be petted by her. This only surprised me a little, as I know that dogs have a 6^th sense of person’s fear and sometimes bark or attack. But she was not scared of Thor in the least and bent down and hugged and petted him. They were immediate friends. This was a good sign, as, though Thor loved almost everyone, if someone came even close to me that he did not have a good feeling about, he would bark nonstop. I believe Thor sensed that Rosy knew how to practice unconditional love, felt it, and responded to it. This was in our apartment, his space, where he could be very territorial with people and other animals, but he accepted her immediately, and vice versa. And her dog fear had been an acute one, and for good reason. It was now gone.

Some days go by and I think of his final months which were difficult for me. There was no more playing together. It was taking care of a geriatric animal, using the same skills I had learned taking care of my dying mom; something that was my responsibility, something I knew I would never regret doing,

but not something that is necessarily easy or fun.

Looking back it was rewarding. I was able to do everything I could for both the person who gave me life (my mom) and the dog who eventually taught me how to live and give unconditional love.

These are things that I can assure you money cannot buy, and they are worth so much more than money, they are not even in the same league. People with money are a dime a dozen (no pun intended); people who practice unconditional love are like finding a needle in a haystack. Thanks to my long-time friend “Thor”, I am becoming one of those needles. Otherwise, it would have never happened. I will miss you, “Babydog” (that was one of his many nicknames that he loved to hear), and remember you the rest of my life.

 

RICK LONDON GROUP MOVING CARTOON EMPIRE TO SANTA FE, N.M

Cartoonist/entrepreneur Rick London announced today from his Los Angeles HQ

that he is  moving his Londons Times Cartoons business to Santa Fe, N.M.

London said, “Before people start asking ‘why’, it is for a myriad of reasons.

One is, it is more conducive to the type of creativity that we do.  Yes, Los Angeles is

a terrific town for creative projects, but it is an ‘industry town’ and a very busy one at

that. And the industry is movies and television.  We are in the cartoon and cartoon merchandising business.  We enjoy the creation process and like being in a non-hectic environment without the brutal deadlines (most of which we’ve
already met), to complete our projects.”

London started his cartoon empire in an abandoned Mississippi warehouse in 1997, with no backing after his mom died and he lost his job in sales.

He had no idea where it would go, but felt it was something to do until he landed another job.

Little to his surprise it would take on a life of its own and eventually become the largest and most visited offbeat cartoon site on the Internet, and highest-ranked of its kind by Alexa.com.

London has also managed to launch 11 e-stores featuring items such as hoodies, clocks, t-shirts, aprons, Christmas ornaments, mouse pads, framed tiles, pen holders, and many other gifts and collectibles, even the world’s first line of cartoon gourmet coffee gift baskets at his main Londons Times Superstore.   In all, his stores feature over 100,000 items bearing his cartoon images. And he started the whole project with $300, a book called “Internet For Dummies” a phone line with dial-up Internet,  a free sub-domain, and a used clone computer. That was a decade ago.  It remains a private entity with no other backers and partners. London says he kept it that way to keep prices down on

people wanting publishing rights and for discounted gift prices which remain.

Study Shows High Self-Esteem Works Wonders For High Self-Esteem

Self-esteem can do wonders for your self-esteem. I know you probably are going to go back and read that first sentence to make sure I worded it properly.

A lot of people think that one has to be either born with self-esteem, or maybe was popular in high-school and held onto that for the rest of their lives, always succeeding at whatever due to public support. The truth is, nothing could be further from the truth.

In many cases the opposite happens. The slim-trim blonde high-school cheerleader who maybe relied totally on looks for self-esteem later marries, has children and stretch marks, not to mention her hair turned gray from dealing with the children and possibly irate husband and she gained a good bit of weight from the extra bon-bons passed around at her literary club.

Much is expected of children of successful and/or famous parents. One thinks this may give them a “free ride” onto the high self-esteem track when it usually does just the opposite. In fact, many rebel and get into destructive habits to find their own voice, and never grow out of it. No self-esteem found here

So, once again, self-esteem can do wonders for your self-esteem. That might not make sense if you feel your self-esteem has diminished for whatever reason. My point is, it can be learned for the first time, or be established maybe for the first time in a whole new lifestyle. We have the right to reinvent ourselves.

Were you the star-wrestler in high school with rippling muscles and worked out regularly and was applauded every time flexed? Did you make good grades and were used to positive feedback? Maybe this enhanced yoru esteem early in life. But now life is different. Perhaps you have a big money-making business that does not interest you and you want to sell it. The pay all goes to an ungrateful wife who spends it on fashions and takes vacations with her girlfriends. Look around now. Did the self-esteem go down?

The simple fact is, that in adulthood, we have to create our own self-esteem. We do not necessarily receive all the unconditional love, attention, and acknowledgment of our deeds we did when we were younger. We can’t do it in a day, and there is no one path in which to build it.

Even on a depressing day, drive yourself to a soup kitchen and volunteer. Visit a shut-in; run an errand for someone wheelchair-bound. Tutor a childwith his/her homework. Do something positive to get outside of yourself. You will not get back your self-esteem most likely in one day. But if you find yourself making it a habit of helping others, you will slowly find your self-esteem rising. It is a natural consequence of helping others and getting outside oneself. Maybe it’s physics. The universe works in this fashion. We can fight it or join it.

The battle with low-self esteem can last a lifetime. Some never win. If one tries just a little, they usually do win. One day, not long ago, I looked up and I was turning fifty and had a major heart attack so I was becominging more aware of my mortality. Me? A major coronary? That was what other people had, not me. My ego loves me to think I’m so unique. So I took a week and analyzed my life. I took, (as Richard Dreyfus’ book in ‘What About Bob?’, baby steps. I studied. I researched. I learned. I even went back to college online. I volunteer to help the elderly and shut-ins learn the Internet and a few have even enrolled in universities in their 60’s and 70’s.

Adulthood has been my first stab at self-esteem. I never could manage to do it in my youth. Now I have a few tools.

With all the obstacles and challenges I have endured in my life, and I am certain there are many others who have much tougher stories, if I can do it, anyone can. I just take a little time out of each day and do something to build my self-esteem. I may do a lot of other things incorrectly, but I try to learn to do them right, and still, I take time for myself to do just a little something positive for me or someone else, or both, with no thought of compensation.

I’m a slow learner, but in ten years, I’ve accomplished a thousand times more than I did in my first forty-three years.

I launched Londons Times Cartoons which makes people laugh. I then opened numerous gift stores like LTSuperstore, RickLondonCollection, Justfunnygreetingcards,Justfunnycoffeemugs, Justfunnyaprons, Mirthgirthbirth, RickLondonwear, Justfunnymousepads, Justfunnyhoodies, etc. People order my cartoon gifts and collectibles from these stores and other people laugh and feel better about themselves as well.

Being around humor makes us feel “lighter”. It is human nature to want to laugh. We should laugh. Laughter, like crying, are both very important releases. And they both put us in touch with our feelings. And our feelings put us in touch with who we are. And when we know who we are, we have our self-esteem.

So, as I said, self-esteem can do wonders for your self-esteem. Build some today. Baby steps.

As Big A Thrill As One Cat Get At Starbucks Showing No Skin

Now I know this might not sound like a thrill to some, but for those interested in human behavior and what attracts what and if opposites attract (or not) or like attracts like, I did a recent experiment and had the most fun I’ve ever had at Starbucks (front patio) wearing clothes. My clothes to be exact. My matching ones that I sell. But not just any matching ones. Matching theme cartoon clothes. Men, please put down “How To Pick Up Women” books now, toss away the pheromone cologne. I have the secret. This goes for women too. Forget eHarmony and perfect attraction. This is simpler, cheaper, and faster.

This is how the experiment went. I am a cartoonist. I sell cartoon merchandise on clothes, and caps and buttons and gifts and such. I took a subject in which I was interested; well to subjects actually, health foods and philosophy. I happen to have a cartoon called “Complex Carbohydrates” with the image on these products. So rather than just wearing a hoodie, I wore the hoodie, matching cap, matching button, and matching tote bag. I even carefully poured the French Vanilla from the Starbuck’s cup into my own matching oversize Complex Carbohydrates mug, for yet more excitement.

I cannot begin to tell you the stir it caused at Starbucks (stir = no pun intended). People came to my table just to talk. They wanted to know about the cartoon, and some invited themselves to sit (if I didn’t invite them first).

By the way, guys, some were attractive very nice women, so beware. Works better than pheromones fragances!!

I must have been there 3 hours just talking or listening. Everyone wanted to tell me their point of view on health foods, vitamins, philosophy, cartooning, or whatever. It was great fun and the quality of people was nice. The majority were degreed or post grads (i always try to do a casual demographic study when casually marketing my wares), and were bright people. All taught me something.

One of the main things they taught me was that they considered it “cool” to do something like that; that is, not just wear a tee, or sweat, but some fun peripheral decorative apparel that made a statement. It told them I was communicating and I didn’t even have to say hello to do so. It drew them to me.

I highly recommend it. It was only an experiment but one that really turned out to be a positive experience.

I will try it more often with different theme cartoons such as movies and dogs and other things I enjoy. I will keep you updated what happens.

You can try it too. It’s not expensive and great great fun. Just order what you like;
be sure it’s matching on the same page at www.ricklondoncollection.com

I’ll keep ya updated on future experiments.

Top Internet Cartoonist Rick London Launches Just Funny Greeting Cards

Top Internet cartoonist Rick London announced today the launch of Just Funny Greeting cards www.justfunnygreetingcards.com which sells high quality funny greeting cards, note cards, and post cards each bearing a popular Londons Times Cartoon image. They are all-occasion cards with topics such as dogs, cats, science, sex love and relationships, outerspace & UFO’s, celebrity and fame, medicine, dentistry, lawyers and others. He invites all Londons Times fans and future fans to drop by. Quality paper greeting cards are hot this year, and this is the place to get the best.

www.justfunnygreetingcards.com
Main cartoon site: www.londonstimes.us

The Far Side Of My Cartoon Life
by Rick London

I was a power-type-of-guy in Washington, D.C. in the mid-1980’s. I had a cushy job, and wore nice clothes. I resided near the Smithsonian on Capital Hill, a place I rarely frequented unless company was in from out of town.

One day, my friends Julie and Beverly called me and told me to get dressed, that we were going to a Gary Larson Far Side exhibit at the Smithsonian. I didn’t want to go.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved and still love The Far Side, but at the end of the day I was usually exhausted and the though that went through my head was, “Why wait in a long line for an exhibit, when I can simply open the Washington Post the following day and see the cartoon?”

The girls insisted I go with them. So I did. They picked me up and we were on our way. The lines, though long, moved quickly and the exhibit was beyond my wildest imagination. The panel cartoons had been blown up onto 5 or 6 foot poster boards and were hanging from the ceiling. Many of them were my Far Sides of all time.

I was like a little kid in a candy store running from one cartoon to the next. I had seen almost all of them in the Washington Post. Suddenly I was a kid again and a happy camper.

Then, in the middle of all this fun, my mood started to change. I started getting chills and feeling isolated and terrible. I could not pinpoint what was happening. I continued, I think, to be amused and act happy but all I wanted to do was go home and cry.

It was a long exhibit with hundreds of images but well worth it. Now, back home, I was too sad to eat or watch television. Then I remembered. I had created a similar panel cartoon in the early ’70’s and stuffed it away in both my psyche and closet. I had done so with so many dreams, I wondered if any of them would ever die. Obviously this one was with me a long time.

Rule number one: Never show your parents any lofty dreams no matter what your age, especially if they are full-blown business professionals. MY mom hated them and insisted my dong my homework first and then deciding. I did my homework but had already decided. I just didn’t know how or when, only that it would somebody happen

I remembered sharing them with mom and her negative response, but, I remember thinking, “Even if Mom is not around, I would still be scared to launch such a project for fear that people had thought I lost it”. It was then that I realized Gary Larson was not just a cartoonist but a brave pioneer in the world of print journalism.

A decade passed. I created Londons Times Cartoons with one other artist. several top illustrator and I continue writing and assigning the cartoons. to my team illustrators. The site has become the biggest of its kind on the Internet and certainly the most visited (nearly 5 million a year since 2005 when we began counting). Londons Times Carotons was founded in 1997, seven years after that Far Side exhibit.

The motto of this story is “build it and they will come”; though that was not my favorite Kevin Kostner quote of his movie career. But the concept is true. If one focuses hard enough on a project or profession, sooner or later, something will break. The secret is being patient enough to hang in there until it does.

Rick London once considered himself a failure in every aspect of his life. Now he owns 8 e-stores and a main cartoon site of offbeat incredibly funny cartoons It’s All Gary Larson’s Fault

www.mirthgirtbirth.com
www.justfunnymousepads.com
www.justfunnyaprons.com
www.justfunnyhoodies.com
www.ricklondonwear.com
www.ricklondoncollection.com
www.LTSuperstore.com
www.londonstimes.us

Relentless Cartoonist/Etailer Rick London Adds Funny Lawyer Gifts

It is said that persistence is more important than genius. Cartoonist e-tailer Rick London, founder of Londons Times Cartoons and more recently The Rick London Collection www.ricklondoncollection.com, says that describes him perfectly. He says he is persistent, no even “relentless” in his pursuit to build the best web stores on the Internet. He asks his customers and potential customers what they want. London says for some odd reasons he has a lot of attorneys as customers and they want funny lawyer gifts and collectibles but not our lawyer tee shirts, mousepads, aprons and the like. They like our beer steins, framed tiles, even teddy bears and unique gifts and collectibles. London has added about 300 new lawyer products bearing two of his best-selling lawyer cartoon image products.

London says, “In fact, the whole idea of opening The Rick London Collection was to feature our best selling products from all our other stores.”

The store has started its after-Christmas sale with all items in the store market down up to 75%. The sale lasts until Jan 10, 2008 at 12 midnight EST.”

London adds, “When dealing with attorneys, of which I grew up with many, I am very good about precision, and dates and times are included. Tort for tat!”