Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

Casa de Jetpacks sits on a canal near the Wekiva River Conservation Area, so it is not uncommon to encounter all manner of wildlife in the yard and around the neighborhood. Sand hill cranes are regular tenants, as are otters. Lizards, snakes and turtles are of course ubiquitous. Every morning and evening you can spot deer so tame that they just look at you as if you've interrupted their private breakfast or round of cocktails in their reserved room at the club. Hawks are always on the lampposts, and they are always being harassed by smaller birds, but the hawks just sit there cool as hell while being darted at by noisy little pests. The occasional alligator wanders into the yard. Earlier this week I got so tired of an armadillo rooting around in my garage and yard that I dispatched him to Armadillo Hell, where I'm sure all armadillos go upon expiring. And then sometimes we get bear, but only at night when the trash cans are on the street waiting to be emptied the following morning. Until today, that is, when a bold bear decided he'd have a broad daylight lunch of pears from the tree in the yard. The dog followed me out and scared him/her off with some vicious barking that had it been tested, would not have been backed up by any sort of bite. 

Got my copy of Mad Men Unbuttoned today in the mail. (I had already received a galley.) Written by Natasha Vargas-Cooper, it is a complete dissection of the era in which the hit series takes place, as well as THE authoritative history of ad agencies of the time - and just in time for the new season. Copyranter has an entry in there. So does Bad Banana. So do I. Buy it for the fan in your life. Now. (That was a call to action.)

Saw a tweet from Flashman of Sydney this morning. Seems there's a course on media, society and politics at the University of New South Wales that uses one of my Mike Adams cartoons on a handout promoting the course. Cool.

Saw another tweet today from Ad Pulp that announced a contest being put on by BBR Saatchi & Saatchi of Tel Aviv. They call it "The Impossible Brief." They're asking people to solve the Middle East Crisis, since Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush and Obama or any of their staff of career diplomats, or the UN, or Bono, or Madonna, or Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie couldn't. Hell, no one can, can they? Since I'm not doing anything this summer in the way of real work, I took a stab. Frisbee, after all, is universal.

And I will commute weekly to Tel Aviv if that's what it takes to get an ad job in this economy.

Some Outtakes From The Previous Post

I'm calling this one, "Game Over," in which my dog, tired of catching a Frisbee for the camera, puts an end to the play.

This Beats a Killer Whale Show Any Day

In a matter of days, expect an ad agency with a dog snack client to steal this idea and use it in a commercial.

Jumbo Dumbo

I have a pet. He is treated well. And I eat meat. YES, even the red meat! I enjoyed some free range buffalo a week or so ago. And while I have never been a psycho PETA type, I've always hated zoos and circuses. Elephants in particular, seem ill-suited to life on a concrete slab, waiting for death. But elephants flying? Cool idea. Not sure what it means, though. PSA for International Fund for Animal Welfare, who say the spot "makes the point that travelers should think twice before purchasing souvenirs made from animal products." Uh, OK. If you say so.

So When Your Monkeys are Bad...Do You Spank Them?

A monkey escapes because he was mad at the PETA lady?

Wait? There's actually a "Liebling Family Circus" at the "Fruitland Park Flea Market."

What? The monkey is married?