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		<title>Growing Up In Mississippi, Alcoholism, Dysfunction..Redemption</title>
		<link>http://londonstimes.us/blog/?p=183</link>
		<comments>http://londonstimes.us/blog/?p=183#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 12 Jun 2011 02:45:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://londonstimes.us/blog/?p=183</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:url='http://londonstimes.us/blog/?p=183' addthis:title='Growing Up In Mississippi, Alcoholism, Dysfunction..Redemption'  ><a class="addthis_button_facebook_like" fb:like:layout="button_count"></a><a class="addthis_button_tweet"></a><a class="addthis_counter addthis_pill_style"></a></div>(Caveat) I will be posting Londons Times Cartoons and various products I design and even a pic of my gorgeous wife in case you get bored at any time reading my blog; you can take a visual break and start back when /if you&#8217;re ready. Thank you. The management. When I lived in Washington, D.C. [...]<div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style" addthis:url='http://londonstimes.us/blog/?p=183' addthis:title='Growing Up In Mississippi, Alcoholism, Dysfunction..Redemption' ><a class="addthis_button_preferred_1"></a><a class="addthis_button_preferred_2"></a><a class="addthis_button_preferred_3"></a><a class="addthis_button_preferred_4"></a><a class="addthis_button_compact"></a></div>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>(Caveat) I will be posting Londons Times Cartoons and various products I design and even a pic of my gorgeous wife in case you get bored at any time reading my blog; you can take a visual break and start back when /if you&#8217;re ready. Thank you. The management.</p>
<p>When I lived in Washington, D.C. throughout the 1980s and early ’90′s   I was lured to newly-formed self-help groups that taught   victimization.  One was the “Men’s Movement” by Robert Bly &amp; Sam   Keen (Bly had been a protoge’ of Jack Kerouac and a former   beatnik-turned extreme capitalist after his book “Iron John” was   released). He did the speaking circuit to all men audiences and took us   into the woods to “become men”. That consisted of dressing in Native   American attire and yelling very loudly.  Each of us in the audience   left several hundred dollars poorer, but at least we could now  yell   like real men.  That meant a lot.  For a day or two. Who could have  known being a man simply meant yelling loudly in the woods loudly while  painted in traditional Native American war paint.  <img id="cid_1279385" src="http://open.salon.com/files/hyenasm1307847666.jpg" alt="hyenasm" hspace="5px" width="285" /> While  that was occurring the 12-step programs decided on a new  self-help  group based on the victimization of having grown up in an  alcoholic  home called ACOA or Adult Children Of Alcoholics.  It taught  us the  fine art of whining about our tragic lives due to the effects of one or  more parent that drank alcohol and found it more appealing than they  found us.  Don’t get me wrong. There were some terrible   dysfunctions that, if not for interventions, could have turned into   even more tragedy.  But this group never seemed to want to get to the   core issue so it became a whining contest and a “My Mommy Or Daddy Was a   Worse Alcoholic Than Your Mommy Or Daddy”.  I lasted there about 3   months.  I can’t say that I didn’t learn the fine art of whine.  I   learned blame. I learned guilt. I learned all the emotions I had stifled   for many years.  But I was not seeking these skills. I was seeking  ways  to bring serenity and a bit of happiness into my life.  This group  was  definitely not the answer.  I left the group and that was a  positive thing to do. That was 17 years ago and I bet the same players  are whining the same whines about their parents in the same chairs in  the same rooms.  It was cathartic a few times, then rather silly, mainly  because it was clear that it not only wasn&#8217;t effective, it was  counter-productive; substituting whining for action to change one&#8217;s  life.  I decided changing mine was a better idea than chronic lifetime  whining.  <img id="cid_1279388" src="http://open.salon.com/files/londons_times_logo_final_large1307847775.jpg" alt="londons times logo final large" hspace="5px" width="285" /> Fast-forward   about a decade sitting in a coffee shop in Lumberton,  Ms on Main Ave. I  was sitting with my best friend an Episcopal Priest  (Ed) discussing  life; as we did about three to four times a week.  We could talk for  hours about politics, religion, war, peace, movies, books, and (you name  the topic).  He was an intellectual giant so I felt humbled that he  would choose to spend that much time with me and apparently enjoyed our  conversations.  We both had come from childhoods that were far  from exemplary.  But we both still had our senses of humor intact, and   neither of us were chronic complainers or whiners. Yes, like any human   we had our bouts, but it was not traits by which people identified us.    We were more known as creative productive thinking people.  Not   necessarily great, in fact probably not. But good guys.  In other words   we’d moved past our childhood. Faith and humor were two important  factors for both of us in that &#8220;moving on&#8221; process.  <img id="cid_1279389" src="http://open.salon.com/files/joel_chicken_or_egg1307847862.gif" alt="joel_chicken_or_egg" hspace="5px" width="285" /> I  became a writer, cartoonist designer and musician. Ed earned two PhD’s   and became (in addition to a priest in a wonderful church) and was also  a professor at the local university.  He also often went on road trips  on his  “Harley-looking” BMW vintage motorcycle in mint condition.  He  had two  beautiful children in college.</p>
<p>Ed  was a few years older (and a few centuries wiser).  One day I decided  to  ask him an important question. He had been the black sheep of his   family and I’d been the black sheep of mine.   Some of the treatment (to   both of us) was brutal at best, torture at worst. And that is a fact.   I  asked Ed,  “Ed, why do you think my family treated me that way?”  He   said, “I have theories, but I can’t be positive.”  I couldn’t wait to hear his answer.  <img id="cid_1279395" src="http://open.salon.com/files/queen_elizabeth_black_bags1307847949.jpg" alt="queen elizabeth black bags" hspace="5px" width="285" /><img id="cid_1279406" src="http://open.salon.com/files/queen_elizabeth_slip_ons1307848062.jpg" alt="queen elizabeth slip ons" hspace="5px" width="285" /> He  added, “It was probably a combination of things Rick.  Your  parents  were in a war zone.  They had issues between them that were not working  out.  Couplease counseling was not really an option in their  generation.  They were most likely very good people and  cared  about you the best they could with the tools they had, but when a couple  is married and at war full time, their tools are not very functional.   Plus, if your Dad was drining 2-3 large martinis a night (and he was)  alcohol played a major part in your Dad’s life.  You rebelled, as any  bright child would, and consequently acted out (the only way a child or  teen really knows how to make changes). The changes didn&#8217;t work, but you  did try.  You had to be sacrificed and/or scapegoated.  It is sadly  psychology 101. It happens more often than you&#8217;d wish to know. You were  more or less &#8220;orphaned&#8221; emotionally by the time you&#8217;d reached about 18.  How did he know? I never told him I worked for my dad&#8217;s real  estate firm  for nearly 4  years and was only paid sales commission on   real estate  sales in a department he was about to close. He paid not a  penny beyond earned sales which, during the Jimmy Carter years with  interest rates at their highest, was slave wages.</p>
<p>Years later, after  Dad had closed the fledgling residential department my younger brother   started in the commercial/apartment department and he was making a very  nice salary from the start.  He now  owns it.  I am happy for him, and  he has a good life.  And even better new is that his oldest daughter has shown an interest and may take it over.  So that part of the family is happy, and I turned out happy. And the real estate legacy will continue which is very good news. The injustices were long ago.  But I&#8217;m alive today because of those injustices. I&#8217;m happy. I  am doing just what I wish to do with my life.  If life had been fair,  I&#8217;d have been dead a long time ago.  Ed added, “You hated real  estate.  You had this creative existence in  a town (Hattiesburg,  MS)  which, at the time, had no outlet for my  talents.  You were made  persona non gratis and forced to live in a tin shed like an animal.  In  reality, they thought I was crazy; but as it turned out, I  had a  dysfunctional vagus nerve, and thank God, in 2005, a procedure  was  approved, an implant that pretty much cured it; certainly controls what  had appeared to be garden-variety depression, but was nothing more than a  vagus nerve which didn&#8217;t function.  It functions with an implanted  pacemaker now;  and I was one of the few lucky ones to get one.  UALR  Medical School in Little Rock was able to prove the Ms psychiatrists  wrong; there was no depression or mental illness, simply a bad  functioning nerve that runs up the chest to the top of the neck. I do  not know if the procedure is available in Ms. but if someone has thought  they had depression, tried at least 6 therapy and/or medicine modicums,  and they did not work, chances are very good you are in need of a Vagus  Nerve Implant.  See Cyberonics.com; the firm in Houston that invented  it.   Don&#8217;t expect your psychiatrist or M.D. to go along with it; he/she  is losing a patient and a lot of money.  But you are getting well.   It&#8217;s worth it, trust me.  <img id="cid_1279412" src="http://open.salon.com/files/a_sushi_salmon_roe_mini1307848121.jpg" alt="a sushi salmon roe mini" hspace="5px" width="285" /></p>
<p>Finally  Ed said, “Just think, Rick. What if they had treated you as  you  deserved to be treated?  What would you be?  A bored (probably  mostly  drunk) Realtor in a town that did not encourage you to be  creative,  probably drinking in some neighborhood bar every night.  But you   probably would not have done it for long.&#8221;  I asked why.  He said, &#8220;Because you wouldn&#8217;t have lived to be fifty, that&#8217;s for certain&#8221;.  He  was so right; even if that long. And even those fifty years would have  been pure misery.  God was looking out for me and sometimes it takes the  free will of humans (acting badly) for the right thing to manifest in  someone else.  Thank God for them.  Back home to stay busy,   I had already  started my offbeat  cartoons with an inventory of over 1000 on a free website with popup ads  which were quite aggravating, but I couldn&#8217;t afford a domain at the  time.  I had  plans to move to Hot Springs, Ar in 1999 which I  did (where I live now with my wife Lee  Hiller-London, the woman of my  dreams). We hike in the mountains often  and commune with nature.  We do  not smoke or drink.  She is a master photographer and designer.   She teaches me a great  deal of things I could never have learned in my  hometown.  Hot   Springs  is only 1/5 the size of my hometown and is as  progressive as any big  city in the world.  We have millions of visitors  annually from nearly  every country in the world.  It is an amazing  little place.  A fairly  well-kept secret.  Since my move, this is what has happened.  I  enrolled at age 46 at Western Governors University; one of the best  colleges for business and IT in the country.  It should be.  The  advisory board consists of Bill &amp; Melinda Gates, Google, Michael  Dell, HP, IBM and many others.  I learned a great deal, pragmatic  knowledge that was easily transferable to run an Internet business.  I  run eight Internet businesses; or for the most part they run themelves.   I mostly design products, create cartoon concepts and go hiking if I  wish.  I have the number one Google and MSN-ranked cartoon on the  internet.  My website has 5000+ cartoons which have lured 8.7 million  visitors and  my manufacturing plants have an inventory of over 1/4  million products  carried by such outlets as Amazon, Sears and others.  I  receive emails  worldwide asking for my autograph.  I just discovered my  autograph sells on Ebay  for $45 by an  authentic-autographer-finder firm. My first compilation  cartoon book is  published and will be in Barnes &amp; Nobles &amp;  Amazon within a  month.  I am working on my second one.  My signed  cartoons sell for up  to $200 at charity and other non-profit auctions.   It boggles my mind.  <img id="cid_1279419" src="http://open.salon.com/files/shirley_temple1307848213.jpg" alt="Shirley Temple" hspace="5px" width="285" /> Now  I also design shoes, clothes and gifts.  My shoes have been featured  positively in USA Today. Last month I opened ShoeShies (Sushi Shoes  &amp; Gifts).  Yes,  I am grateful and full of good cheer for the negative way I  was treated. I am lucky to have been demonized.  I don’t whine. I  wouldn’t have it any other way.  To live the life of  one’s dreams does  not often come easy.  It didn’t for me.   And I  finally know the  meaning of happiness. It’s an inside job…and outside…in  nature . Ironically, sometimes others hate, fear or mistrust of you, is your ticket to paradise.  And  by the way, that kind of &#8220;treatment&#8221; does not happen in our little  village.  Everyone knows everyone.  We know each other&#8217;s neighbor&#8217;s  character as well.  Am sure there are the gossips and troublemakers but  that kind of behavior does not stand, not for long, in a town like this,  that believes in equality, liberty and justice for all.</p>
<p><a href="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/lee-333333333333333.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-191" title="lee 333333333333333" src="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/lee-333333333333333-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a></p>
<p>My beloved wonderful wife Lee.</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;  Rick London says he&#8217;s a natural mountain man.  He also happens to be a cartoonist who launched Londons Times <a href="http://www.londonstimes.us">Offbeat Cartoons </a>which have been Google and MSN #1-ranked since 2005.  He has licensed image shops with over 1/4 a million <a href="http://www.ricklondoncollection.com">funny gifts</a> &amp; collectibles. He founded the worlds only famous <a href="http://www.shoesthatamuse.com">love quotes</a> shoes ShoesThatAmuse.com and a shop that sells sushi print shoes &amp; <a href="http://www.shoeshies.com">sushi gifts</a> called ShoeShies.com</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>The Intimate Twitter Story Of Lee &amp; Me by Rick London</title>
		<link>http://londonstimes.us/blog/?p=137</link>
		<comments>http://londonstimes.us/blog/?p=137#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 May 2011 01:49:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://londonstimes.us/blog/?p=137</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:url='http://londonstimes.us/blog/?p=137' addthis:title='The Intimate Twitter Story Of Lee &#038; Me by Rick London'  ><a class="addthis_button_facebook_like" fb:like:layout="button_count"></a><a class="addthis_button_tweet"></a><a class="addthis_counter addthis_pill_style"></a></div>My wife Lee (@LeeHillerLondon) and I (@RickLondon), started on Twitter about the same time; she in January 2009 and I started February 2009.  I didn&#8217;t have a clue how it worked.  While elementary students were running circles around me conquering facebook, I was busy studying articles about Twitter and was determined to tackle this mysterious [...]<div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style" addthis:url='http://londonstimes.us/blog/?p=137' addthis:title='The Intimate Twitter Story Of Lee &#038; Me by Rick London' ><a class="addthis_button_preferred_1"></a><a class="addthis_button_preferred_2"></a><a class="addthis_button_preferred_3"></a><a class="addthis_button_preferred_4"></a><a class="addthis_button_compact"></a></div>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>My wife Lee (@LeeHillerLondon) and I (@RickLondon), started on Twitter about the same time; she in January 2009 and I started February 2009.  I didn&#8217;t have a clue how it worked.  While elementary students were running circles around me conquering facebook, I was busy studying articles about Twitter and was determined to tackle this mysterious social media site.</p>
<div id="attachment_140" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 105px"><a href="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/rickq1.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-140" title="rickq" src="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/rickq1.jpg" alt="" width="95" height="95" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Click To Enlarge  This Is Me</p></div>
<p>I bet I read 200-300 or more (mostly self-serving articles designed to get the readers to follow the author), but I started getting the idea of how it worked and as William Wordsworth once said, &#8220;To begin, begin&#8221;.  He always put a guilt-trip on my system of procrastination.</p>
<p>On the first day I think I managed to round up eight followers and I may have even doubled that my second.  People were posting messages to me, and I felt like I knew them; or at least the icons they portrayed to be them next to their name. I was told later most persons icons were ten to twenty years old and a lot of senior citizens were still tweeting away with their college sophomore yearbook pics.  That turned out to be true.</p>
<p>I also discovered that though many of Twitterers were interesting, and I still believe that, I was not only out of my league, I was out of my category, and a lot of that was my fault.  Though I had been posting for several months as an offbeat cartoonist who loved animals, that was about as much as I had in my profile.</p>
<p>When someone presents oneself in such an unfocused way, they are bound to attract a lot of unfocused people with unfocused agendas.  And agendas flew left and right and it would not be unusual to wake up one day and be &#8220;hated&#8221; by someone who &#8220;loved&#8221; you the day before, simply because you were friendly with someone who &#8220;done them wrong&#8221;.</p>
<p>My then friend Lee Hiller, now my wife Lee Hiller-London was quite a bit more savvy, more than slightly ahead of the learning curve than me.  She suggested I change my background which she happened to know how to do. I still have the same one up she installed, a wall of Londons Times Cartoons. She suggested I focus my short bio (Twitter allows about once sentence) and I did.</p>
<div id="attachment_141" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 160px"><a href="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/lee-3333333333333331.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-141" title="lee 333333333333333" src="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/lee-3333333333333331-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Click To Enlarge (Please Meet My Dear Wife Lee)</p></div>
<p>A month or so later three Twitterers opened accounts with my name claiming to be the founder of Londons Times Cartoons. That is my website and has a high visibility on the Internet. It has been Google&#8217;s #1 ranked offbeat cartoon since 2005 and MSN #1 since 2008 and remains so on both engines. It has had 7.8+ million visits.  At this time, Twitter was offering nothing aggressive to correct that, but did finally come up with a &#8220;verification system&#8221; that they provided for (mostly film, tv, and business celebrities) but also those with high-profile websites that could easily being cloned.</p>
<p>I filed my complaint and within three weeks, I woke up with a little blue Twitter verification next to my name.  This did not prevent &#8220;the clones&#8221;, but it did help my friends and fans to know who &#8220;the real me was and is&#8221;.</p>
<p>Then Lee, at that time my fiance, was building her own brand and a well-known Twitterer, not verified, used her good name to enable him to use it in his own complicated scheme.</p>
<p>Her brand was then at its very early vulnerable stage; not yet a few months old, but we could not provide the kind of proof (he had deleted it after we wrote him a scathing tweet), so she has continued without verification, but fortunately has such a huge following; nearly 25,000, people know they are really dealing with her, plus, she is a professional nature photographer and shares during her daily hikes the wildlife and flora that she encounters. So now, if someone tried to do a copycat scheme, they would have to re-create links to photos and merchandise she creates at her Lee Hiller Designs Shop that is distinctively part of the Hot Springs National Forest. Unless they live or move here, most would know they were &#8220;the wrong Lee Hiller-London&#8221;.</p>
<p>Below are some recent photos Lee took while hiking in Hot Springs National Forest for her Hike Our Planet <a href="http://www.hikeourplanet.com">Nature Blog</a>. She is also a very talented gift and clothing/shoe designer where her nature pictures and original graphics appear on countless Lee Hiller Brand Products.</p>
<p><a href="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/a-lee-canadian-geese.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-142" title="a lee canadian geese" src="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/a-lee-canadian-geese-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a> <a href="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/a-lee-flower.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-144" title="a lee flower" src="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/a-lee-flower-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a><a href="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/a-lee-goat-rock-trail.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-145" title="a lee goat rock trail" src="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/a-lee-goat-rock-trail-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a><a href="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/a-lee-luna-moth.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-147" title="a lee luna moth" src="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/a-lee-luna-moth-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a></p>
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<p>Meantime we Tweet along.  Our agent and syndication Great Southern Writers Syndicate @GSWSyndicate,  tweets famous quotes, and the occasional plug of one of Lee&#8217;s or my shops or Lee&#8217;s nature blog HikeOurPlanet.com. I have somehow accumulated 12,000+ followers (Lee and I call them my friends because actually they are).</p>
<p>Below are a few <a href="http://www.leehillerdesigns.com">Lee Hiller Brand Products</a> which she designed. Please click To Enlarge:</p>
<p><a href="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/a-lee-shoes-peace-sign.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-148" title="a lee shoes peace sign" src="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/a-lee-shoes-peace-sign-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a> <a href="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/a-lee-cardinal-stamp1.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-149" title="a lee cardinal stamp" src="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/a-lee-cardinal-stamp1-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a> <a href="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/a-lee-crow-tie.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-150" title="a lee crow tie" src="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/a-lee-crow-tie-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a> <a href="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/a-lee-colorful-tree-poster.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-151" title="a lee colorful tree poster" src="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/a-lee-colorful-tree-poster-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a></p>
<p>Today we are more focused.  We let our work and our products speak for us for the main part. We do work hard. We don&#8217;t just sit and tweet. It is very different than when we started on Twitter. We use a pre-scheduled Twitter client to get out information of our promotions and specific products and shops. It works, and leaves us time to create products and personally tweet with those with whom we prefer.</p>
<p>If someone is inappropriate, creepy, or both, (or shows signs of hate or bigotry),  we simply block them (we usually talk about it first and there has to be a very good reason). We try to give everyone a second and sometimes third chance if they &#8220;done wrong&#8221;.  Please don&#8217;t get me wrong. Most who tweet are normal people trying to get by in life, make a living and/or friends, and make a contribution.</p>
<p>Below are a few of my Londons Times Cartoons. You can see these and about 5000+ other full color cartoon at our main<a href="http://www.londonstimes.us"> offbeat webcomics</a> site.</p>
<p><a href="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/univ-sox-fan.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-153" title="univ sox fan" src="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/univ-sox-fan-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a> <a href="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/will-a-slim-reaper-small.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-154" title="will a slim reaper small" src="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/will-a-slim-reaper-small-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a> <a href="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/univ-ggg-goober.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-155" title="univ ggg goober" src="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/univ-ggg-goober-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a> <a href="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/univ-eee-woodchuck.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-156" title="univ eee woodchuck" src="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/univ-eee-woodchuck-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a> <a href="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/twitter-god-small.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-157" title="twitter god small" src="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/twitter-god-small-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a></p>
<p>Since joining Twitter I have branched out to open various types of online shops. My <a href="http://www.ricklondoncollection.com">funny gifts</a> shops also remain Google &amp; MSN&#8217;s #1 ranked offbeat cartoon gift shops and have been since 2005.</p>
<p>All in all, Twitter is very fun. But it can be very hard work.  One has to create their own strategy for whatever reason they are there; whether it is to make friends, money, or find spouses.  Actually Lee and I were not there to find spouses. We were both promoting our Internet businesses.  We ended up spouses and glad we did.</p>
<p>We both have strengths where the other has a weakness (and vice versa).  Two heads, truly can work better than one, and get a lot more done, on or off Twitter.</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p>Rick London is an Arkansas-based writer, cartoonist and designer living in the beautiful Ouachita Mountains where he regularly hikes with his wife Lee and is an avid wildlife and nature lover and active in those causes (including environment).  London founded the #1 <a href="http://www.londonstimes.us">offbeat cartoon</a> on the Internet in 1997 titled Londons Times Cartoons.  He later founded the world&#8217;s only<a href="http://www.shoesthatamuse.com"> famous love quotes</a> shoes, Shoes That Amuse, featured on APWire and in USA Today.  He has created four funny gift shops featuring his licensed cartoon images on gifts with an inventory of over 1/4 million sold by Google Shopping, Sears Marketplace, Amazon, and many other shopping channels.  London recently founded his own line of Sushi Shoes (ShoeShies.com) and has now expanded to sushi fine art gifts and clothing as well which he calls ABoyNamedSushi.com. To see Rick&#8217;s <a href="http://www.shoeshies.com">sushi gifts</a> <a href="http://www.aboynamedsushi.com">click here</a>.</p>
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			<wfw:commentRss>http://londonstimes.us/blog/?feed=rss2&#038;p=137</wfw:commentRss>
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		<title>Ridding Your Home &amp; Life Of Rodents &amp; Life Coaches by Rick London</title>
		<link>http://londonstimes.us/blog/?p=128</link>
		<comments>http://londonstimes.us/blog/?p=128#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 May 2011 11:22:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://londonstimes.us/blog/?p=128</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:url='http://londonstimes.us/blog/?p=128' addthis:title='Ridding Your Home &#038; Life Of Rodents &#038; Life Coaches by Rick London'  ><a class="addthis_button_facebook_like" fb:like:layout="button_count"></a><a class="addthis_button_tweet"></a><a class="addthis_counter addthis_pill_style"></a></div>I particularly love to write a blog in which I haven&#8217;t a clue what the subject might be and this is for several reasons.  And when it is early in the morning like now, I tend to regurgitate experiences that have recently occurred. And what person who has been on Twitter more than a month [...]<div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style" addthis:url='http://londonstimes.us/blog/?p=128' addthis:title='Ridding Your Home &#038; Life Of Rodents &#038; Life Coaches by Rick London' ><a class="addthis_button_preferred_1"></a><a class="addthis_button_preferred_2"></a><a class="addthis_button_preferred_3"></a><a class="addthis_button_preferred_4"></a><a class="addthis_button_compact"></a></div>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I particularly love to write a blog in which I haven&#8217;t a clue what the subject might be and this is for several reasons.  And when it is early in the morning like now, I tend to regurgitate experiences that have recently occurred. And what person who has been on Twitter more than a month (I&#8217;ve been on 3 years) has not encountered the deadly &#8220;Life Coach On The Town&#8221; aka &#8220;Bronx Zoo&#8217;s Other Cobra&#8221;?  They want your money and will go to ANY means to get it. Really.</p>
<p>Of course the first and main reason the gratuitous slap in the face to all the life coaches, social media experts, &#8220;wisdom experts&#8221; (who either lift quotes and/or articles and take credit) or edit them just enough to insult our intelligence with their name as the credit.  I love such &#8220;writers&#8221; who do not understand that we&#8217;ve been to college, because they certainly haven&#8217;t.  Most of those are what are known as &#8220;life coaches&#8221; who are nothing more than a &#8220;gang of literary thieves&#8221;.  What they do is often attractively package and sale mundane and sometimes exciting philosophy that we learned in college and is, of course, now free on the web. They charge a fortune for books, tapes and the like, leaving their victims (clients) bleeding in the streets, but with the opportunity to become such a &#8220;literary-thief-in-training&#8221; as well. So it has a &#8220;Donald Trump/Amway MLM feel to it&#8221;.</p>
<p>My wife Lee and I decided a long time ago that was not for us. Don&#8217;t get us wrong. Nearly every major life coach on and off Twitter has tried to recruit us&#8230;let me rephrase that..recruit our wallets, but we decided it might be safer to put what extra we have in savings and invest in our our clean businesses which involve designing and selling gifts and collectibles. Our business is very simple, very clean, and offers products of tangible value, no regurgitated philosophy or wisdom, simply usable and/or collectible gifts, clothes, etc.</p>
<p>Lee is an amazing nature photographer who writes a<a href="http://www.hikeourplanet.com"> nature blog</a>, Hike Our Planet, and I&#8217;m sometimes told I can turn a phrase and create a cartoon that goes on all our products.  Though we often deal with POD&#8217;s (Print On Delivery) manufacturing companies, our main factory for six years now is in Rhode Island and the majority of our products sell at Amazon.  Recently the Sears Marketplace picked up a good many of my cartoon gifts. Lee has taught herself not only photography, but how to take that photography and her own unique graphics and create products such as shoes, tees and gifts at her  Lee Hiller Designs Shop. Her items are also available at associate shops all over Amazon.com. She has no snake oil for sale. It&#8217;s the real thing.</p>
<p>Why do I make this &#8220;comparison story&#8221; between &#8220;life coach&#8221; and legitimate businessperson?  Early on, especially in social networking, it could have so easily gone the other way. The life coaches are artists. Con artists. They are friendly. They know all the right things to say. They can win one&#8217;s hearts and minds the way no politician or army even dreamed of doing.   And they have built in radar that heads straight for the pocketbook.</p>
<p>Life coaches often &#8220;build a name for themselves&#8221;, then start the process of writing books, making cds and tapes, having seminars, and talking nonsense that sounds somewhat like wise philosophy, and it should, as it is more often than not lifted from major names like Emerson, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and so many others, edited and/or watered down, and their own (the life coach&#8217;s name) placed on it. I&#8217;ve even seen them lift Biblical quotes, change them a bit, and wala, guess who the new author is?</p>
<p>If you&#8217;ve just started Twitter, you probably have many of them on your friends list who are following you. They seem to be predatory (the most) to newcomers who haven&#8217;t a clue.  Many of the wiser ones change their moniker to &#8220;spiritual coach&#8221;, &#8220;spiritual advisor&#8221; &#8220;life author&#8221; &#8220;coach/author&#8221;, and the list goes on and on.  In any case, watch for subtleties; the devil is in the detail and as I mentioned earlier, they are con-artists of the highest degree.</p>
<p>My wife Lee once quoted, &#8220;You are your own best life coach&#8221;, and she is so right.  The alleged purpose of the life coach of whom you pay thousands of dollars is to motivate.</p>
<p>I prefer the freebie by Walt Whitman who would laugh at any life coach. His great quote is, &#8220;To Begin, begin&#8221;.   Really, what more does one need to know?</p>
<p>Oh, look in the yellow-pages under &#8220;pest control&#8221; to rid ones home of rodents. I almost forgot that part of the story; but should note it since rodents and life coaches seem to be in the same category (sorry rodents, I know you&#8217;re better than that).</p>
<p>When I read an article, I don&#8217;t just want information, I want a remedy. A solution.</p>
<p>The solution is, when you find yourself being called and/or emailed by these &#8220;Oh, so nice life coaches&#8221;, and you will, cut off all ties.  Yes you will hear cries like a baby. They will &#8220;badmouth you&#8221; on Twitter, facebook and wherever.  Trust me, in the long-run, these are the types you DO want to bad-mouth you; for persons of goodwill know, that if these crooks think you are &#8220;no-good&#8221;,  you must be a person of substance.</p>
<p>And you really are if you were able to out-maneuver these cyber-whacky sharks by cutting them off and blocking them from your Twitter stream. It is as simple as that.  Oh and screen your calls. You may receive a few curse-word filled calls for your sinful betrayal.  That means &#8220;You Done Good&#8221;.  Congrats.  Now it&#8217;s time to play REAL Twitter. The riff-raff has suddenly disappeared and the drama and chaos has magically dissolved.  Oh, and you still have your money. Now, wasn&#8217;t that fun and easy?</p>
<p>On the side of the blog I&#8217;ve posted some recent products I&#8217;ve made from my various shops (the cartoon store, ShoesThatAmuse, and ABoyNameSushi) shops for your entertainment enjoyment. Oh, and please don&#8217;t be shy to purchase. If you don&#8217;t, I may have to have a life coach call you for an appointment. <img src='http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;</p>
<p>Rick London is a writer, cartoonist, and designer.  He created Google and MSN’s #1 ranked <a href="http://www.londonstimes.us">offbeat cartoons</a>, Londons Times in 1997. Less than a decade later he launched online shops which now feature over a quarter million licensed products which are featured at such shopping channels as Amazon, Sears, Shop.com, Shopping.com and many others.  He also has his own shops such as Rick London Collection where he sells his favorite cartoons on tshirts, mugs, greeting cards and other <a href="http://www.ricklondoncollection.com">funny gifts</a>.  London founded the world’s only famous<a href="http://www.shoesthatamuse.com"> love quote shoes</a> in 2007, ShoesThatAmuse.com which have received the thumbs up from APWire and USA Today.  This year he launched ABoyNamedSushi, a division of his ShoeShies which are<a href="http://www.shoeshies.com"> sushi artwork</a> shoes and gifts.  London has published over 500 articles and his cartoons have appeared in the Jerusalem Post. His main Londons Times Cartoon site boasts 5000+ color offbeat cartoons which have lured 8.7 million visits.  Several of his originals are a permanent part of the Roy Orbison Collection and Mayo Clinic Medical Library.</p>
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		<title>The Glamorous Life Of A Cartoonist by Rick London</title>
		<link>http://londonstimes.us/blog/?p=30</link>
		<comments>http://londonstimes.us/blog/?p=30#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 11 Mar 2011 01:01:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://londonstimes.us/blog/?p=30</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:url='http://londonstimes.us/blog/?p=30' addthis:title='The Glamorous Life Of A Cartoonist by Rick London'  ><a class="addthis_button_facebook_like" fb:like:layout="button_count"></a><a class="addthis_button_tweet"></a><a class="addthis_counter addthis_pill_style"></a></div>I don&#8217;t think a day goes by that I don&#8217;t get asked what its like to lead the glamorous life of a cartoonist or humor writer. I s&#8217;pose I could put it in as few as words as possible, &#8220;Charlie Sheen, eat your heart out&#8221;&#8230;or, tell it like it really is.  My wife Lee isa [...]<div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style" addthis:url='http://londonstimes.us/blog/?p=30' addthis:title='The Glamorous Life Of A Cartoonist by Rick London' ><a class="addthis_button_preferred_1"></a><a class="addthis_button_preferred_2"></a><a class="addthis_button_preferred_3"></a><a class="addthis_button_preferred_4"></a><a class="addthis_button_compact"></a></div>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I don&#8217;t think a day goes by that I don&#8217;t get asked what its like to lead the glamorous life of a cartoonist or humor writer. I s&#8217;pose I could put it in as few as words as possible, &#8220;Charlie Sheen, eat your heart out&#8221;&#8230;or, tell it like it really is.  My wife Lee isa fine writer and photographer and we both work in the living room.  Lee goes out nearly daily and hikes about 3 mountains a day, amounting to around 4-6 miles.  I snore and contemplate my 55 foot commute to my home office.  I sleep a little more.</p>
<div id="attachment_31" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 160px"><a href="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Shirley-Temple.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-31" title="Shirley Temple" src="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Shirley-Temple-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Shirley Temple Of Doom</p></div>
<p>You see, if there is any glamor whatsoever in the world of independent cartooning it is that I set my own deadlines, create my own SEO and PR, tweet when I feel like tweeting, and say &#8220;Hi Ya&#8217;ll&#8221; to my childhood Mississippi friends most of whom no longer live there but still want me to say &#8220;Hi Ya&#8217;ll&#8221; and they always say &#8220;Hi Ya&#8217;ll&#8221; back.  It is sort of a ritual.</p>
<div id="attachment_32" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 160px"><a href="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/will-a-sox-fan-small.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-32" title="will a sox fan small" src="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/will-a-sox-fan-small-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Always A Sox Fan</p></div>
<p>I often hear, &#8220;How do you do it? How do you create all these cartoons&#8221;.  That is a question that truly is not answerable and if someone teaches a class (for money) in humor writing and/or how to create funny cartoons, go find a guy named Elmer Gantry and buy some snake oil. It will probably do much more for you.  Like football, chess, tennis, math, or plumbing, it is something you have, or something you don&#8217;t.  At first, only you know it. Then when you create it and push it out into the public, and anywhere from 20 people have seen your cartoons, you get a general idea if you &#8220;have it&#8221; or not.</p>
<p>Sometimes I&#8217;m in the bathroom, sometimes out hiking, often watching tv. sometimes talking to a boring person (this is ideal because you shut up, stare at them in the eyes, they think you are listening, and you are mentally creating a cow and a zebra at a formal dinner/dance date in a single-panel form). You both leave smiling and they think you are the most attentive listener ever put on planet earth.</p>
<p>But its really not all glamor.  In fact only a small fraction is.  There&#8217;s sketching out the idea.  There&#8217;s writing the caption. There&#8217;s assigning the final product if I want a team member to create it (which I usually do).  There&#8217;s creating the products. There&#8217;s approaching the appropriate publications.</p>
<p>I often get asked, &#8220;How did you get into the cartoon business?  I don&#8217;t know. I really don&#8217;t.  I tried everything else, and as the late great Charles Schulz once told me, &#8220;I did because I tried everything else, and didn&#8217;t do it very well&#8221;. I could identify.</p>
<p>More on cartooning in upcoming blogs. Thanks for your time. Please feel free to comment.</p>
<div id="attachment_33" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 160px"><a href="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/vs-sushi-bar.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-33" title="vs sushi bar" src="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/vs-sushi-bar-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Sushi Bar Exam</p></div>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p>I am a writer, cartoonist, and designer. My name is Rick London and I founded Londons Times Cartoons in 1997 which have become Google &amp; MSN&#8217;s #1 ranked <a href="http://www.londonstimes.us">offbeat cartoons</a> since 2005.  I have launched about 5 stores that sell <a href="http://www.ricklondoncollection.com">funny gifts</a> and even a serious designer fashion shoe store with the world&#8217;s only <a href="http://www.shoesthatamuse.com">famous love quotes </a>on shoes called Shoes That Amuse. I love my wife Lee, animals and nature, the outdoors, and life in general.</p>
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		<title>A Frog Started My Career</title>
		<link>http://londonstimes.us/blog/?p=15</link>
		<comments>http://londonstimes.us/blog/?p=15#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Mar 2011 20:00:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[blogging]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://londonstimes.us/blog/?p=15</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:url='http://londonstimes.us/blog/?p=15' addthis:title='A Frog Started My Career'  ><a class="addthis_button_facebook_like" fb:like:layout="button_count"></a><a class="addthis_button_tweet"></a><a class="addthis_counter addthis_pill_style"></a></div>When you reach my age (56), it is not unique that one remembers things that happened 50 years ago; but can&#8217;t remember what day it is. That&#8217;s me.  The one thing I will never forget is how and why I started collecting things. Let me warn you ahead of time, this story will not appeal [...]<div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style" addthis:url='http://londonstimes.us/blog/?p=15' addthis:title='A Frog Started My Career' ><a class="addthis_button_preferred_1"></a><a class="addthis_button_preferred_2"></a><a class="addthis_button_preferred_3"></a><a class="addthis_button_preferred_4"></a><a class="addthis_button_compact"></a></div>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_16" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 160px"><a href="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/frogs-croaked.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-16" title="frogs croaked" src="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/frogs-croaked-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Croaked Frog</p></div>
<p>When you reach my age (56), it is not unique that one remembers things that happened 50 years ago; but can&#8217;t remember what day it is. That&#8217;s me.  The one thing I will never forget is how and why I started collecting things. Let me warn you ahead of time, this story will not appeal to &#8220;greenies&#8221; nor &#8220;animal rights activists&#8221;. I should know, I am both. But at age four, when I was just beginning to explore the great outdoors, I found what became my new favorite animal, besides my beagle &#8220;Buster&#8221;.  That animal was the frog.  And since I lived near the woods, I knew I could count on my new friend, the frog, to virtually jump into my hands and into the great big jar full of grass and all kinds of marshy things I put together. It was tall enough to need no top so it generally lived a long time.  I tried to get 3-4 a night so as they could keep company and &#8220;tell frog stories&#8221;, as I imagined frogs often did.</p>
<p>Unlike my two siblings, my parents made a bedroom for me out of the attic of the home. This had its advantages and disadvantages. One advantage was the ability to hide frogs, even though the croak sort of gave them away. One croak was so loud, Mom ran upstairs, ran past the closet they were in, and to me. I was rubbing my tummy telling her I felt it was gas.  She gave me more Milk Of Magnesia than any human should be aloud to ingest and the croaking continued.</p>
<p>Mom was no dummy, even though at times I thought she was.  She asked, as I rubbed my tummy, &#8220;Where are the frogs&#8221;.  I took her to the large jar.  She let them out into the woods and explained to me that was their home and where they were happy. I readily agreed and begin collecting insects in jars.  She gave me the same lecture and we let them go.</p>
<p>Finally it occurred to me that I could be creative, make things, and nobody got hurt. I even begin collecting stamps.  Well into elementary school, creative writing became my love and nobody ever got hurt, except for those forced to read it.  However as time went by, I fared well at it, won a few contests and kept at it.</p>
<p>After college came &#8220;time to get serious&#8221; and there was not much time for creative ventures.  A funny thing happened though. Those creative ventures were still in my heart, and, when the work day was over, I would continue on creating as I pleased.  As time went by, I enjoyed 9-5 work less and less and creative endeavors more and more.  Playwriting took me to book writing, and book writing took me to screenwriting, and screenwriting took me to cartooning which is where I am now.</p>
<p>My cartooning began as a hobby. I had been taking care of a dying Mom and it was something to keep my mind busy.  Never in a million years would I have believed that this little hobby would grow into a business of 5000+ color cartoons and 200,000+ funny gifts &amp; collectibles.  My cartoons are now my own little collectibles. They have replaced frogs, insects, stamps and a multitude of other items that did not serve me well (or vice versa).  Thirteen years of cartooning is a subtle hint that I might be on the right path. With Google &amp; MSN rating my cartoon number one for 6 years, is yet another, subtle hint, this is the right thing for me to &#8220;collect&#8221;.   Anybody got a big jar?</p>
<div id="attachment_17" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 160px"><a href="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/bugged.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-17" title="bugged" src="http://londonstimes.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/bugged-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Place Is Bugged (Click To Enlarge)</p></div>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p>I am a writer, designer and cartoonist who used to collect frogs, insects, stamps and other such items.  Cartoons seem to fit me better. I founded Londons Times Cartoon in 1997 which are the #1 Google &amp; MSN ranked <a href="http://www.londonstimes.us">offbeat cartoon</a> on the Internet. I launched several online stores that sell my <a href="http://www.ricklondoncollection.com">funny gifts</a> and even have my own line of designer shoes featuring graphics of famous philosophers and poets and their most<a href="http://www.shoesthatamuse.com"> famous love quotations</a>.</p>
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