As that old t.v. commercial implied, some jobs never end. And if you’re in the comic strip biz a never ending job is all you could wish for! But still, there are some projects that once completed demand to be done all over again. My annual Sticks wall calendar is one of those.
Just when I lean back, close my eyes and breathe the word “done” it rears its little head ,cocks an ironic eyebrow my way and whispers “Wanna bet?”
For me the calendar cartoons are paramount and I spend all my storehouse of anxiety there. But for many readers it seems the birthdays and odd facts are the most intriguing bits. For instance, here are a few from January 2010.
Jan 1 Betsy Ross birthday
Jan 2 Linda Barry birthday
Jan 6 Sherlock Holmes birthday
Jan 11 [1878] Bottled milk marketed
These factoids require a lot of searching and plain hard work on my end (I actually use real hard-copy sources MOST of the time ) but as long as users approve it’s worth the grind. However, I’m not above asking for help. Historic birthdays are one of my bigger challenges as they are often recorded by birth year alone. Does anyone out there know Jane Austen’s birthday; that would be a plum for sure. Help me shake it up for 2011 with your favorite birthdays or interesting tidbits and they just may appear next year!
January 5th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
I like the pic of crazy-looking Lynda Barry directly under domesticated Betsy Ross – great juxtaposition. I also loved the old milk bottles.
I, of course, have no cool dates to give you. But it’s nice to know God has guilt, too.
January 5th, 2010 at 12:53 pm
Our local paper (which I only get for the comics) has a section in the comics page called “Today’s Birthdays”. Some of the good ones for January 5th are, Robert Duvall, King Juan Carlos of Spain, Diane Keaton, Iris Dement, and Marilyn Manson. They give their ages too. I could fill you in as the year goes along, but that would only help up until about October? By the way, I like everything about your calendars, including the extra little jokes you include in the margins.
January 5th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
Thanks, you two.
Iris Dement is a real find, Isy! The Buff News always ran a similar section once a week. Quite a few of mine came from that source.
Peg, if God doesn’t feel guilty he darn well should; he invented the concept!
January 6th, 2010 at 1:52 pm
I’m happily consulting my calendar daily! Thank you for the [what look like] English milk bottles…just need a birdie to peck the bottle tops off. I’ll excavate around for some fun facts. Happy New Year!
January 7th, 2010 at 6:59 am
Hey, Margaret — big fan of the calendar and it’s interesting facts!
By the way, Jane Austen’s birthday is Dec. 16th (1775).
Happy belated birthday, Jane.
January 8th, 2010 at 6:31 am
Happy New Year to you too, Kassie. And thanks for the amazing card; I have to research the source.
Rina, bless you; did you know Jane’s B’day off the top of your head?? I’m a big Austen lover and having ol’ Jane’s dates is a real gift!
January 8th, 2010 at 7:57 am
No — not off the top of my head — i just googled it.
I’m a huge fan of Austen, too!
January 8th, 2010 at 8:55 am
Googled it, huh? Hmmm I’ve heard of that.
So, Rina, do you have a favorite book? That’s probably not a fair question since I would be hard-pressed to choose one myself but I will say that I think “Persuasion” is a sleeper. It failed to fully captivate me the first time through but with each successive reading it shines brighter! Love that Jane!
January 8th, 2010 at 9:16 am
Love the calendar, Margaret and it’s always a treat to get it! How about the Chix birthdays? Mine was Jan. 3. When is everyone’s? We ought to know that anyway, after all this time!
Steph
January 8th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
Hi Stephanie
You’re absolutely right and I have thought about adding all your birth dates but that’s as far as I got.
I just wrote yours down. Four to go!
January 9th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
Margaret,
When is yours?
Steph