matouenpeluche

Michael Maslin encore

More of my favourite cartoonist direct from The New Yorker. 

 

All images from here.

The Frantic Meerkat

The Frantic Meerkat is the significant other of that extremely cool artist The Mincing Mockingbird. I featured The Mincing Mockingbird here a few months back, so I thought it only proper that I featured his equally talented wife here too. I love her work - it's sort of surreal kitchen sink dramas!!! I can only imagine the hilarity over scrambled eggs and coffee every morning in the Mincing Mocking Bird/ Frantic Meerkat household. 

I have selected my faves here - they are all cards - how nice is that? However, her shop on Etsy has magnets and other neat things so you should go check it out for yourself.

All images from here.

Holiday update!

Whoopsie! Bit of a blog break there folks! I'm sorry about that, but I shall endeavour to rectify it immediately by explaining (in part) what I've been up to. Well, I'm on holiday at the moment (*crowd cheers in the background*) which has been pretty darn good so far. Below is a diagram explaining the goings on (or future goings on) at the house of Matou.     

1. I've been catching up with friends! I think there's nothing nicer than having dinner with friends knowing that you don't have to wake up at the crack of dawn the next day and decide what to wear.

2. Drawing. Yes, there'll be plenty of that.

3. Swimming! I shall endeavour to experiment with the local beaches and pools.

4. Reading - for some reason I find getting stuck into a book a bit difficult when I'm at work. Now's my opportunity to sink my teeth into a few I've been meaning to read and also re-visit a couple of my all time faves like Dr. Bloodmoney!

5. As season 6 of Mad Men won't be ready for another 6 or so months *sniffle*, I have been valiantly trying to find a series nearly as good to distract me in the meantime. So far I've tried Wallander *yawn* and Homeland - yeah right *scowl*! Wallander was lovely to look at and very well acted, but I found the story line about the brilliant but troubled detective with family strife a bit hodey hum to say the least. Homeland I was initially quite keen on but when it got to our heroine having a fling/ affair with the main antagonist/person of interest (or is he???) I thought to myself "Come on! As if!" ...and I haven't watched it since...

6. I have been trying to avoid shops and particularly the piped Christmas carols/ muzak. There's only one thing worse in my opinion than dreary Christmas music and that's dreary Christmas music sung by Phil Collins. Sorry about that.

7. Night walking! It sounds exotic, doesn't it? Actually, it's a strategy to get my favourite activity in even though it's getting quite warm/ hot here in Sydney. Rather than walk whilst the sun is about, I've decided to walk when it isn't about at all. It makes sense really. 

So, that's about it so far, but I shall keep you abreast of anything exceptionally out of the ordinary should it occur.

Ronald Searle encore

It's no secret that I am a huge Ronald Searle fan. I have blogged about his work so often, I've created a section in my index specifically for him! Anyway, imagine my delight when I stumbled across French blog Ma Galerie Paris and found a heap of Ronald Searle book covers! Joy! Here are the ones that particularly took my fancy.

All images from here.

More Michael Maslin

I'm not exactly sure why, but Michael Maslin is definitely my favourite New Yorker cartoonist. I've done a blog post on his work before. However, as that was a while ago, I feel it is as good a time as any to do another post of his cartoons. You can see more of his work here...and he has his own website here. 

All images from The New Yorker.

What I've been up to...

So, it's been a while since I've given everyone an update on what's been happening at the House of Matou. Quite a bit as it so happens. Please see under the diagram for a more detailed explanation... 

1. I have been taking full advantage of the camera on my iPhone. Unfortunately, when I go and have a look at what I've got in my photo library it turns out I've just been photographing cats and flowers which is a bit of a worry really.

2. It's spring! Yes, indeedy. Sydney weather has been all over the place as a result. Yesterday for example, it was snowing in parts of New South Wales, whereas just a week ago it was 34 degrees. It makes it a bit tricky knowing what to wear each day.

3. Food wise, it's been blueberries and eggs! Blueberries are now affordable. A couple of weeks ago they were outrageously expensive. Only the landed gentry and kingpins of the underworld could afford them. Eggs! Two of my colleagues have chickens in their back yard and I've been lucky enough to score a couple of half dozen. Fresh eggs really are more lovely than the store bought variety.

4. *sigh* I've been attempting to watch Game of Thrones. I've been enraptured, highly amused and totally appalled by it. And that's in the space of five minutes. 

5. I have been listening to a lot of music on my iPhone. This has resulted in much longer and more frequent walks! It's been fun!

So, there you have it gentle readers. It's been nothing but non-stop action here at the House of Matou, wouldn't you agree?

Krazy Kat

Krazy Kat is a strangely surreal cartoon first published in the New York Times Journal in 1913. Drawn by George Heriman, it's the story of a nutty cat called Krazy who's in love with an evil mouse called Ignatz. Ignatz can't stand Krazy and so spends his whole time throwing bricks at the besotted cat. In Krazy's weird brain this is interpreted as a sign of love and affection from Ignatz. Meanwhile, Krazy is loved by a police pug dog called Officer Bull Pup who spends his time trying to prevent Ignatz from throwing bricks at Krazy by locking him up in jail at every opportunity. 

I find the strip strangely addictive and the more I read, the funnier they get - but that's just me! 

All images from here.

Down With Skool!

You possibly might already be familiar with The Compleet Molesworth, but if you're not, it is a helpful field guide to the ecology of St Custards prep school circa 1958. It's narrated by Nigel Molesworth: the "curse of st custards" and "gorila of 3B". Chapters in the book include: Boo to Sir or are Masters Nesessessary?, Lessons and how to Avoid Them and Ho for the Hols. Actually, it's a very funny book written by Geoffrey Willans and illustrated by the master illustrator Ronald Searl. Below is an extract from the book about masters.

 

All images form The Compleet Molesworth.

Feline Funny.

Ouch! Sorry about the pun in the title there folks. However, I have to ask, are these cat jokes so bad they're good ...or is there no such thing as a bad cat joke? You can decide:

1. Q: What do you get when you cross a chick with an alley cat?

   A: A peeping tom.

2. Q: Why don't cats play poker in the jungle?

   A: Too many cheetahs.

3. Q: Where does a cat go when it loses its tail?

   A: The retail store.

4. Q: If lights run on electricity and cars run on gas, what do cats run on?

   A: Their paws.

5. Q: Why is it so hard for a leopard to hide?

   A: Because he's always spotted.

 

Image from T.S.Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats.

Freelance Theodore Seuss Geisel

Did you know that Dr.Seuss did freelance work illustrating and writing advertisements for companies such as General Electric, Ford and NBC?  No, I didn't either. Apparently he did these before his famous children's books, but you can see some of his characters beginning to take shape here. What a fantastic style he had going on! You can see more of Dr. Seuss' advertising work at Flavorwire.

All images from Flavorwire.