Theodore Roosevelt said the above phrase during a speech to the Hamilton Club of Chicago on April 10, 1899 (the entire speech can be found here). The next line is, “In this life we get nothing save by effort.” I love it. It is also refreshing. The speech is called “The Strenuous Life” and applauds hard work and earning success and riches through that hard work. It hit me as particularly poignant as our culture celebrates being rich but does not celebrate the hard work that usually goes into achieving those riches. It is a culture of entitlement where people want to be rewarded for doing nothing other than looking good while acting outrageous (Kardashians and Jersey Shore anyone?) and actual hard work and those who earn their rewards are demonized and called unfair and unpatriotic.

Speaking of strenuous and hard, drawing a Gourdo-ized version of Theodore Roosevelt was driving me nuts until The Mrs. told me to draw him more like a walrus. Good advice. Thanks, honey!

(I first read this quote in an atricle by Charles Wheelan in the April 28-29, 2012 Wall Street Journal called “10 Things Your Commencement Speaker Won’t Tell You.” I highly recommend giving it a read.)

May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light,
May good luck pursue you each morning and night.
~Irish Blessing

Filed under: doodling Tagged: art, beer, cartoon, cartoons, doodle, doodles, doodling, drawing, drawings, humor, party, St. Patrick's Day

Those of you familiar with the show know that the opening credits finish with the image of figure (Don?) falling from a building.

This is Gourdo is doing a reenactment of that scene.

I like it.

Awww. Monday has a crush. I’m not surprised it’s Tuesday. Tuesday is the day-next-door type and is good at calming a cranky Monday. Wednesday is nice but is way out of Monday’s league, being Hump Day and all. Friday and Saturday are more Wednesday’s type. They’re fun. Thursday has been in a long-term relationship with Sunday.

Update: My apologies, I forgot to give a head-nod to @notorias who tweeted this line last week about Monday’s dapperness. Don’t want you to think this is all about me.

I am green. So much so, I even recycle my old drawings when lacking inspiration for something new. I drew this in 2009 at the height of the vampire craze of True Blood, Twilight and a plethora of hangers on copy-cat fang banging shows and before the beginning of the Walking Dead and the new infatuation with all things zombies. I guess that means I am forward thinker; ahead of my time, on the cutting edge, etc.  A member of the advanced guard, if you will.

This is our family most mornings. We just kind of grunt and point until the coffee starts to flow and then we just grunt.

I’m a geek of many things and I am a big geek for Mad Men. I just love the show. I drew this one a couple years ago of Gourdo as Don sitting in his Sterling Cooper office. Ah, if only I were as cool.

It’s the simple things, really. A pot of coffee. My own bathroom…

I first drew this about three years ago for a Valentine’s Day doodle contest. It didn’t win (surprise, surprise) but I still kind of like it. Saturday and Sunday mornings in our house consists of egg sandwiches, coffee and the newpapers in front of the fire. Nothing but love. The epitome of that love is the coffee warm-up. When one of us gets up to warm up our mug, we make sure to warm up the other’s.

Love is a warm-up. Happy Valentine’s Day.

Monday keeps stalking me. I’ve told it many times that we are through. But then I will be out, enjoying a nice weekend, and there it is, lurking around a corner. Watching me. Reminding me that all good things must come to an end and I will be back with Monday. Maybe counseling will help.

Or a restraining order.