I love chatting with my old friends; many of them are back home in Hattiesburg, or are from Hattiesburg, grew up with me, and live in other parts of the country (or world).  facebook is like a barometer. It tells me where I was three to five decades ago, and real life and even Twitter tells me to a certain degree “where I am now”.

By Londons Times Cartoons (Click To Enlarge)

I love hearing of my friends both old and new successes, overcoming obstacles and illnesses, falling in love, and sometimes even out of love because they may have found themselves with the wrong mate. It happens, and it is not a failure (to break up or divorce); in fact I imagine it is a failure not to, if one is in the wrong relationship and makes it the status quo and surrenders to unhappiness.  That saddens me.

Divorce by Londons Times c2011 (Click To Enlarge)

But nothing saddens me more than running into old friends who I know to be very bright who have gotten stuck in some political dogma and it is basically all they can discuss.  I know they don’t mean it.  I know they do not even know they are more or less in a cult.  It can be “on the far left” or “far right”.  They are so predictable.  It is like being in a physics 101 class.  You can say one thing and they say the opposite. You can agree with them, and they’ll find a way to disagree and find a monster under the bed and describe it in rapid detail because it is only seconds away from taking over America.  Usually it is somehow connected to The President, some senator or congressman, a tv network, or you name it.  The conspiracy is as real to them as the glass of bourbon they have just downed to fuel it and keep it alive.

Osama Bin Banana In His Birthplace Of Lemon

I make light of it, but it is not funny at all. I have lived and worked all over this great country and I know the ending of people who are like old 45 records that get stuck because of a big scratch.  They talk about it and as the years go by the conspiracies get more real (they find real researched blogs and books to back it up) and they describe it louder and louder.  In Los Angeles, I was at the death bed of a man who I admired but he was like that.  He told me at the end he knew he was wrong but it was “like a gang”. There was no way out.  He would have become persona non gratis in his small town. He commuted to L.A.  I told him he had enough open-minded friends in L.A. who didn’t care what he believed and he could be who he wanted.  It was too late. He died while I was there.

by Londons Times Cartoons

It was a lesson for me; one of the most valuable lessons I would ever learn.  Though I was then in my 30′s, it was time for me to get educated. I mean really educated.  That meant re-evaluating everything I learned from my teachers, my parents, my Sunday school, my college, and my experiences. It did not mean they were all wrong. It meant it was important for me to write them down and study them closely. Many of the ideas of which I hung onto are ideas I formulated decades before. Did they still serve me? Some did but most didn’t.  But that left “the great unknown”. If I let go of a lot of this political, religious and educational dogma that was no longer valid, but of which I identified myself and bonded me to my friends, and dropped it, what then.

I wasn’t getting any younger nor any happier. Nor were my friends. It was mandatory that I be honest with them.  I was changing. They may or may not like the changes but that was their issue, not mine. It took some bravery on my part, bravery I didn’t think I had.  But I had it, which led me to believe that most if not everyone has it if need be.

Nobody needs to die in their own toxic dogma.  They can change midlife.  The average college student is now in his/her 40′s and when I went back to college at 51, many of my colleagues were in their 60s-80s. As I got to know them, and my professors, I discovered they were going through healthy mid-life changes, as opposed to mid-life crises.

By Londons Times Cartoons

We never quit learning. If all we are doing is teaching, we might as well be dead.  Socrates and Aristotle even knew that.   Perhaps rethink your ideas.  Many of them may work for you, but many may no longer serve you well.  You can learn new things.  My wife and I do almost every day.

God gave us this beautiful planet to enjoy.   Yes, life can be a struggle but if all your doing is struggling, fighting, arguing, fighting, etc., I can almost guarantee you, its time to rethink your life.

Dance a bit, sing a song even if you’re alone.  Do something nice for yourself and/or someone else.  Smile.  Be yourself.  Experiment being your new self.  That does not mean letting go of  your moral or ethical principals. It is understanding and celebrating others opinions that might be different. It is re-learning tolerance. It is re-learning understanding.   It is celebrating life.  And do it often, even, no especially when you get the urge to flex your political muscles and “show them the light”.  We’ll never get perfect at it.  But we will make progress; and with that progress, love ourselves and others a lot more for it.  It’s scary at first..no absolutely frightening….then so sacred and positive, there’s really no going back.

Shirley Temple Of Doom by Londons Times Cartoons c2011 www.LondonsTimes.us

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I am a mountain man from rural Arkansas. I founded Londons Times Cartoons in 1997 and it has been Google and MSN’s #1 Offbeat Cartoon since 2005. I founded numerous stores that sell over 1/4 million funny greeting cards, tees, mugs etc.  I design unique shoes and clothes at shops like Shoes That Amuse that sell the world’s only famous love quotes shoes & Shoeshies.com which sell Sushi Shoes, Clothes & gifts.

It’s been quite a day and tonight we’re watching Ed Wood with Johnny Depp.  Lee has seen it but she’s seen now catching me up on all the films I missed when I went back to school in my latter years.  I’m 56 now and went back to school on and off through my forties to early 50’s; at times, full-time.  Much more fun in one’s youth. LOL.  I wish I’d paid more attention my first time in school in my late teens but I guess I forgot to pay attention after forgetting to listen to my dear late mom (who had a degree in education) say, “Pay attention!!!”.

Since my first job selling records at Pal’s Music Company in downtown Hattiesburg, Ms at age 12 in 1966 until the early 2000’s, I had so many odd jobs to support my “life as a writer”, I can’t even count them all.  Had a lot of false starts too.

Anyway, fast forward to June 18, 2010. I married the woman of my dreams (Lee) atop Hot Springs Mountain with a handful of guests.  It was a gorgeous indoor/outdoor nature wedding (if there is such a thing).  We had so much fun.   We still do.

Well, most people by now know that I founded my offbeat cartoons & funny gifts, Londons Times back in 1997 but I had a few near stops, real stops etc due to health, school, etc.  Then around 6 months into our marriage Lee suggested I’d probably be happier if I started a Londons Times Gen 2 cartoon reflecting all that has occurred in the world since my early cartoons, which a lot of people still thought were fine, but they didn’t reflect the changes of today. She was onto something (I later discovered).

Since I launched that cartoon came Google, blogging, 9/11, social media (Twitter, Facebook et al), med-resistant e-coli, tornadoes that went on for months, and so much more.   So I recruited a new creative team after reviewing several hundred portfolios. This new team was/is the tops. The new toons are much larger.  The text is more to the point, and hopefully the whole finished product is more productive.

We work as a team, as most cartoons you see in the newspaper do.  I write them, and do what is called “blueprinting them” which gives more detail such the expressions on the various persons faces, their body language, the pictures on the wall (if inside); what kinds of trees, dogs etc if outdoors.  I think blueprinting might be the hardest part of the process, but the most fun.  In a way it is like being an art director in a film. I’ve watched them work and it reminds me of that (only not so complex); I mean after all it’s only a cartoon.

I now have about 5000+ cartoons on my site and over a quarter million funny gifts. The funny t-shirts,  gifts & funny greeting cards by brand name sites such as Sears & Amazon.  Over 200 or the cartoons are new Gen 2 as are about 1000+ of the offbeat gifts & collectibles. Let me preface the rest of this paragraph with I dare not put myself in the same league with the master,  Gary Larson, but I remember when he took his all down from the net and demanded all others do the same. Finally he had to threaten suit and possibly sued, I can’t remember for those who would not remove them.  I loved Gary’s personality and his work.  I never understood why he had the cartoons removed (at first).  Then one day he said in an interview, “I had them removed because they are like my babies”.  I didn’t understand it at 1^st.  5000 cartoons later, I don’t understand how anyone couldn’t understand it.

Cartooning and creating merchandising is work that can be difficult or easy; but its always fun, and sadly, it is work that most people don’t see you do.   Lee sees me work, and as a fellow designer, she knows how hard I do work. It seems like I’m always working though it seems like play.  Between all the crazy jobs I had to take to get to our little piece of paradise in the Arkansas Mountains, I can truly say it was all worth it.  But what a journey!! I have learned new digital design skills and am now making the world’s only famous love quote shoes at my shop Shoes That Amuse and a line of Sushi Shoes & Gifts at my ShoeShies Shop. I’ll feature them in a near-future blog.  Meanwhile please feel free to take a look.  About 400 of the items have also been picked up at Amazon.com and I expect Sears Marketplace to carry them this year.

PS: Since I wrote this blog my beloved wife Lee & I watched Ed Wood and it was brilliant and strange. I loved it. She loved it (again); she’s seen it many times. In the middle of the film, we received a phone call on Lee’s phone from a very close special person in our lives and she couldn’t get to the phone in time.  When we checked the message, our dear friend had sung “Happy Anniversary To You” in a voice as atonal as mine; but we absolutely loved it.  (Let me add she is a most talented woman and known around the world for various advanced skills….but like me, singing does not happen to be one of them.  But it surely was fun and we surely did laugh aloud the rest of the day.   It was a beautiful day with my amazing wife Lee on our 1st anniversary and I felt the love and support from everyone who wished us well, who have supported us in our business ventures, and been there for us. It does not go unnoticed.  We love you all.

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 & 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. 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’t effective, it was counter-productive; substituting whining for action to change one’s life.  I decided changing mine was a better idea than chronic lifetime whining. 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 “moving on” process. 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.

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. 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’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’d wish to know. You were more or less “orphaned” emotionally by the time you’d reached about 18. How did he know? I never told him I worked for my dad’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.

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’m alive today because of those injustices. I’m happy. I am doing just what I wish to do with my life.  If life had been fair, I’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’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’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’s worth it, trust me.

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.” I asked why. He said, “Because you wouldn’t have lived to be fifty, that’s for certain”. 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’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 & 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 & Nobles & 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. Now I also design shoes, clothes and gifts.  My shoes have been featured positively in USA Today. Last month I opened ShoeShies (Sushi Shoes & 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 “treatment” does not happen in our little village.  Everyone knows everyone.  We know each other’s neighbor’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.

My beloved wonderful wife Lee.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Rick London says he’s a natural mountain man.  He also happens to be a cartoonist who launched Londons Times Offbeat Cartoons which have been Google and MSN #1-ranked since 2005.  He has licensed image shops with over 1/4 a million funny gifts & collectibles. He founded the worlds only famous love quotes shoes ShoesThatAmuse.com and a shop that sells sushi print shoes & sushi gifts called ShoeShies.com

My current one saved my life a year ago this past April with two stents.  Three of my four main heart arteries had blown out; and the only one holding things together was one that was put in a stent back in 2001.

I had gone to the hospital because edema had set in and I noticed my feet swelling.  I thought I’d get a diuretic and go home the next day. It was not to be. It required two separate procedures.

Now every 6 months, I go see (“Surfer Dude”). That is what my wife calls him (my cardiologist) as he is young, good looking and always tanned and in good shape and wore a pooka shell neclace in both surgeries; a bit discomforting at 1st but I adjusted.  A little over a year later, today, he did an EKG and checked my weight, blood pressure etc.  Everything was perfect. I explained to him that my wife Lee has been watching out for my health prodding me to eat better and exercise more. I go hiking with her every other day. I drink 1/2 gallon of our “magic 2000 year old thermal water” every other day.  I eat salads, sushi, and other health foods.  Salt has virtually disappeared from my diet.

But my blog is not about heart disease and I rarely bring it up.  But its been a little over a year and but for the grace of God I have cheated death yet again.  Don’t get me started on all my near-death experiences…there have been quite a few more than the two heart attacks; most having to do with accidents, etc.  I am a klutz as well.

Today, I wore one of my cartoon caps to Surfer Dude’s Office. I think I’ve worn it there before but he never brought it up. He was rather chatty today and aske me where I got it. I told him the story of Londons Times Cartoons and gave him one of my business cards and then asked me if I had any medical cartoons. I assured him I do (in fact probably several hundred). That’s what happens to your psyche when you are klutzy all your life and later end up with heart disease.  But I digress.

I have always heart that attitude is half the battle and taking care of oneself is the other half. I am a nonsmoker and nondrinker.  Lee and I hike 2-4+ miles depending and they are mountain miles which means you can just about double that as far as the aerobic value of it.  Plus the miles are in the middle of the most beautiful National Park in America, Hot Springs National Park, which, like the water, is very healing.  It is impossible to be suspicious of a turtle, silly to feel hatred toward frolicking squirrels, and impossible to be angry at an affectionate mockingbird who is following you just for a collaborative melody. In other words it is a safe healing place.  And I’ll be damned if more often than not, I can look at all the beautiful wildlife and flora which surrounds us, and an idea for a cartoon doesn’t pop up. So I keep a pen and paper in my pocket on every hike (though that is not why I go).

My hope is to encourage everyone, especially younger people to take care of themselves *now*; in other words it is never too early to prevent heart disease. Eat right.  If you smoke, stop. If you’ve stopped and started back, not to worry. Stop again, and again, and again. It is that important. For many it takes 10+ times. It will finally make sense as you learn to re-enjoy the taste of fresh air.

Look at your diet.  Simple is better. Fresh fruit and veggies.   Less or no salt.  The lower the sodium the better.     Exercise!!!  If you are immobile you can still exercise.  You can learn tai chi on the Internet.  Lee & I do Tai Chi before every hike.

I hope I don’t sound preachy.  If you are reading this, chances are you are probably a Londons Times Cartoon & Gifts fan and I’d like you to be with us a long time.  Plus to be honest, I don’t want you to have to go through what I’ve gone through because you truly don’t have to. It is a choice.  Seems complex but it is simple.  Choose to be healthy.  That does not mean perfect; it means conscious of healthy things vs unhealthy things from food to emotions to exercise to career.  Choose what feels healthy and the younger the start, the faster habit becomes lifestyle.  Cheers, Rick London

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Rick London is a writer, entrepreneur, designer, and outdoorsman.  He founded Londons Times Cartoons & Funny Gifts which have been the #1 offbeat webcomics & gifts on the Internet (MSN & Google ranked) since 2005.  He has founded numerous online shops which feature his cartoon images and also others which are unique fashion such as the worlds only love quote shoes, Shoes That Amuse, and ShoeShies.com, Sushi Shoes & Gifts.

Click To Enlarge This Is Me

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, “To begin, begin”.  He always put a guilt-trip on my system of procrastination.

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.

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.

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 “hated” by someone who “loved” you the day before, simply because you were friendly with someone who “done them wrong”.

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.

Click To Enlarge (Please Meet My Dear Wife Lee)

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’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 “verification system” that they provided for (mostly film, tv, and business celebrities) but also those with high-profile websites that could easily being cloned.

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 “the clones”, but it did help my friends and fans to know who “the real me was and is”.

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.

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 “the wrong Lee Hiller-London”.

Below are some recent photos Lee took while hiking in Hot Springs National Forest for her Hike Our Planet Nature Blog. 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.

Meantime we Tweet along.  Our agent and syndication Great Southern Writers Syndicate @GSWSyndicate,  tweets famous quotes, and the occasional plug of one of Lee’s or my shops or Lee’s nature blog HikeOurPlanet.com. I have somehow accumulated 12,000+ followers (Lee and I call them my friends because actually they are).

Below are a few Lee Hiller Brand Products which she designed. Please click To Enlarge:

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’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.

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 “done wrong”.  Please don’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.

Below are a few of my Londons Times Cartoons. You can see these and about 5000+ other full color cartoon at our main offbeat webcomics site.

Since joining Twitter I have branched out to open various types of online shops. My funny gifts shops also remain Google & MSN’s #1 ranked offbeat cartoon gift shops and have been since 2005.

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.

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.

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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 offbeat cartoon on the Internet in 1997 titled Londons Times Cartoons.  He later founded the world’s only famous love quotes 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’s sushi gifts click here.

Then came college. The importance of specializing became even more important though it was demanded of me to pick a major and minor which I did about ten times at four different colleges. I didn’t finish but I did study hard and a lot of subjects. I was always a hit at cocktail parties because I learned words like “ethnocentric” and “Kierkegaard” and phrases like “To thine own self be true”. I stopped using that Shakespearean gem as it seemed to depress most of my fellow college students (including me) as, which of us was truly being true to ourselves if we were sitting at a desk listening to the most boring professors on the planet? Do as I say, not as….

In my twenties I simply decided to go out and conquer the cold cruel world and almost did so a few times. I worked on a few major projects for others and a few of my own and learned a good deal about how the world works. Of course the more I learned, the more I learned I needed to learn.

The years passed and early important lessons never left. “Learn to do one thing and do it very well”. I learned to do a few dozen things and none of them all that well.

I went back to school in my mid-40s and everything had changed. The new mantra was “Be flexible. Learn to do a lot of things because things are changing so fast you are most likely to be doing something else tomorrow”. In fact none of the nearly 100 hours I had accumulated my first time in college applied (even though I didn’t need to take the classes again as I was tested for life experience and apparently had learned my lessons). But the new pragmatic (right in your face) lessons were harder than anything I could imagine. But some of them manifested and transferred into the workplace.

Do I do any one thing very well? Not really. I co-create Londons Times Cartoons with my very talented team. I founded it in 1997. I founded several funny gift shops which feature my cartoon products with an inventory of over a quarter million of them.

I founded ShoesThatAmuse.com in 2007, the world’s only famous love quote shoes. APWire and USA Today wrote a very nice story about them.

This past month, I launched ABoyNamedSushi.com a division of ShoeShies which are sushi shoes and gifts and I enjoy that very much though sales are far from brisk, but then again inventory is far from full. So I keep plugging away.

Sadly, most of my early professors who (not on purpose) misled me to do one thing and do it well (how in the world could they see how technology would change our lives and future) are now deceased.

My more recent professors and students from Western Governor’s University are now on Twitter and facebook and, like me, are attempting to become more renaissance every day (as am I). We all have so many balls in the air, at times, it looks like an online juggling convention.

My wife Lee started with a simple photography blog HikeOurPlanet.com which has turned into a very popular nature wildlife blog and she makes her own line of gift and home decor products, LeeHillerDesigns.com.

On the way to doing what we do now, Lee and I did what we had to do to survive; that is, SEO, article marketing, blogging, promoting on Twitter and other social networks; you name it.

We do all this and still have time for our favorite charities and causes such as wildlife, environment, Japan recovery, domestic animals and much more.

We’ve learned to do a lot, and though we may have received an “F” for that 40 years ago in college, it is what is the norm today.

Times change and so do people. I was thinking recently if Einstein came back and lived in our generation, a 6th grader would have to not only have to teach him how to work a PC, but tell him what it is.
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Rick London is the founder of Google’s #1 ranked offbeat cartoons, Londons Times and its licensed shops such as The Rick London Collection which is currently seeking associates. There is no fee (EVER), our manufacturer Zazzle pays YOU for sales, you never pay us a penny. You visit my Zazzle Shop, sign up for a free shop and affiliate account.  Post items you like from my shop, promote, sell, earn. Just like in the olden days.  To sign up CLICK HERE.
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Above was our 1st Londons Times Cartoon logo. I remember thinking “This is brilliant”…proof, there was much work to do!!

I do now understand a little more how the cartoon became successful (there were two main elements) 1. Hard work. I mean relentlessly hard and not giving up when obstacle after obstacle arose, and they did, often fast & furiously. I couldn’t have done it alone.

I had and have an amazingly talented creative team, and supportive friends (some call them fans, but they are real friends) who are very loyal. That part often seems strange. I think it was the struggle of getting 20 people per day to visit at the start which was difficult to now; having had 8.7 million visitors since January 2005. One can imagine the surprise. Anyone would be.

Click To Enlarge

Above is our current Londons Times Cartoons & Gifts logo. Maybe not brilliant, but doesn’t it beat that Partridge Family looking thing???

By the same token, everything I’ve learned in school tells me, it would have been even more surprising if we’d not had the result not have been as it turned out. All the elements were in place. Everyone involved worked and work very hard. I am surrounded by talent I believe to be way out of my league. It works. My wife Lee is very supportive and offers consistent support. I’m grateful every day.

14 years ago, I was on the floor of an old tin shed in rural Ms. begging artists and web people to work with me for peanuts.

Click To Enlarge

Above is the View From My Hot Springs, Ar Home Office

Today I’m looking up in my office at numerous cartoons (two of which just appeared in the Jerusalem Post; one they left up for a month), and several that are in the permanent collection at Mayo Clinic Medical Library, and one that Barbara Orbison, widow of the late great Roy Orbison has placed permanently in the Roy Orbison Archives.

Click To Enlarge

This Londons Times Cartoon (and one other) is part of the permanent collection of Mayo Clinic Medical Library

We received an email from them several months ago requesting signed copies for their Medical Library which we sent. It is part of their permanent collection. The Library’s founder, Dr. Polly was “a cartoon fanatic” (in their words).

In 2001, I launched Cartoonists Against Terrorism to raise funds for the families of fallen 9/11 responders. A heart attack and resulting bad literary economy afer 9/11 put that effort on hold, but cartoonists worldwide have contributed and we are building a 9/11 Memorial Shop which will open in September 2011 to benefit 9/11 families.

Click To Enlarge

This Londons Times/Panel Hollywood Cartoon is in the permanent collection of the Roy Orbison Archives

The above cartoon is part of our “Panel Hollywood” series. It is now a permanent fixture in the Roy Orbison Archives at the request of his widow, Barbara Orbison.

My loving wife Lee is a wonderful wildlife/nature photographer. She has the popular Hike Our Planet nature blog with incredible photos of Hot Springs National Park.

Click To Enlarge

Above is the logo of Photos4Japan.Org founded by my wife Lee-Hiller London (Lee Hiller). Her user name is @LeeHillerLondon on Twitter to follow her updates.

She recently launched Photographers For Japan in which some of the best nature photographers I’ve ever seen have contributed photos to help raise money for our favorite charity Mercy Corps.

I was briefly involved with a Mercy Corps project in which both Lee and I were very impressed.

Above is a graphic of the cover of our 1st book “Londons Times Cartoons 13th Anniversary available at Lulu.com as a coffee table book or download cartoon E-book at Lulu.com and soon at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, etc (6-8 weeks from now).

I decided to launch Cartoonists to help Japan, starting with cartoons from our Londons Times collection, and placing want ads on various artist websites recruiting others (worldwide). We also placed a Mercy Corp donate button and it is becoming a popular site.

This is the logo for our Cartoonists For Japan blog. On Twitter, the user name is @cartoons4japan in case you would like to follow; we’d be honored.

Click To Enlarge

This Londons Times Cartoon & One other appeared in the Jerusalem Post Feb 2011 (stayed up a full month)

The above cartoon and one other appeared in The Jerusalem Post in February 2011. They ran this one for an entire month in their online paper during the Egyptian uprising. The other cartoon appeared for a day in their paper edition.

I sit at my desk in my Hot Springs, Ar office which overlooks the mountains of Hot Springs National Park. I think back to the start and it all seems like a blur. I can remember how few believed the project would ever work. I tended often to be on their side. My own belief in it was slim to none. But there were a few who felt I might have some talent and encouraged me. I remember them as if they are family A few are no longer with us but their spirit is. Without them, we would not have these cartoons.

Now it is too late to turn back…too late to throw in the towel. Not that I’d want to. Every day I feel like the adventure has just begun.

I’m designing shoes at my Shoes That Amuse famous love quotes shoes shop. I go hiking and absorb and enjoy nature with my wife Lee as she snaps some of the most fascinating photos I’ve ever seen. And we’re happy. Next week is the Royal Wedding of William & Catherine. Everyone is very excited so I designed a lot of gifts and collectibles with a caricature of them we created plus designed several styles of shoes. Its all available at our Shoes That Amuse Shop.

Click To Enlarge

Above is the lace-up style of Royal Wedding Shoes I designed on U.S. Keds. (Champion Keds for women). I also made tees, mousepads, etc and two slip on shoe designs at our ShoesThatAmuse.com shop.

Click To Enlarge

Looking back and seeing what happens (when one gets out of one’s own way), one can easily have faith that God really does want us to be happy. I happen to believe that; not to worry though, in case you don’t share that belief, it doesn’t matter to me. I wish everyone joy, happiness and laughter. Get your work done, but go out and play, no matter what your age!!

Above was our 1st Londons Times Cartoon logo. I remember thinking "This is brilliant"…proof, there was much work to do!!

      I do now understand a little more how the cartoon became successful (there were two main elements) 1. Hard work. I mean relentlessly hard and not giving up when obstacle after obstacle arose, and they did, often fast & furiously.   I couldn’t have done it alone.

I had and have an amazingly talented creative team, and supportive friends (some call them fans, but they are real friends) who are very loyal. That part often seems strange.  I think it was the struggle of getting 20 people per day to visit at the start which was difficult to now; having had 8.7 million visitors since January 2005. One can imagine the surprise. Anyone would be. 

Above is our current Londons Times Cartoons & Gifts logo. Maybe not brilliant, but doesn’t it beat that Partridge Family looking thing??? 

     By the same token, everything I’ve learned in school tells me, it would have been even more surprising if we’d not had the result not have been as it turned out.  All the elements were in place. Everyone involved worked and work very hard.  I am surrounded by talent I believe to be way out of my league.  It works.  My wife Lee is very supportive and offers consistent support. I’m grateful every day.

      14 years ago, I was on the floor of an old tin shed in rural Ms. begging artists and web people to work with me for peanuts. 

       Today I’m looking up in my office at numerous cartoons (two of which just appeared in the Jerusalem Post; one they left up for a month), and several that are in the permanent collection at Mayo Clinic Medical Library, and one that Barbara Orbison, widow of the late great Roy Orbison has placed permanently in the Roy Orbison Archives. 

The above cartoon is one of two we did about Mayo Clinic. We received an email from them several months ago requesting signed copies for their Medical Library which we sent. It is part of their permanent collection. The Library’s founder, Dr. Polly was "a cartoon fanatic" (in their words). 

       In 2001, I launched Cartoonists Against Terrorism to raise funds for the families of fallen 9/11 responders. A heart attack and resulting bad literary economy afer 9/11 put that effort on hold, but cartoonists worldwide have contributed and we are building a 9/11 Memorial Shop which will open in September 2011 to benefit the families. 

The above cartoon is part of our  "Panel Hollywood" series. It is now a permanent  fixture in the Roy Orbison Archives at the request of his widow, Barbara Orbison. 

      My loving wife Lee is a wonderful wildlife/nature photographer. She has the popular Hike Our Planet nature blog with incredible photos of Hot Springs National Park. 

Above is the logo of Photos4Japan.Org founded by my wife Lee-Hiller London (Lee Hiller). Her user name is @LeeHillerLondon on Twitter  to follow her updates.  

       She recently launched Photographers For Japan in which some of the best nature photographers I’ve ever seen have contributed photos to help raise money for our favorite charity Mercy Corps. 

       I was briefly involved with a Mercy Corps project in which both Lee and I were very impressed. 

Above is a graphic of the cover of our 1st book "Londons Times Cartoons 13th Anniversary available at Lulu.com as a coffee table book or download cartoon E-book. 

      I decided to launch Cartoonists to help Japan, starting with cartoons from our Londons Times collection, and placing want ads on various artist websites recruiting others (worldwide).   We also placed a Mercy Corp donate button and it is becoming a popular site. 

This is the logo for our Cartoonists For Japan blog. On Twitter, the user name is @cartoons4japan in case you would like to follow; we’d be honored. 

The above cartoon and one other appeared in The Jerusalem Post in February 2011. They ran this one for an entire month in their online paper during the Egyptian uprising.  The other cartoon appeared for a day in their paper edition. 

      I sit at my desk in my Hot Springs, Ar office which overlooks the mountains of Hot Springs National Park.  I think back to the start and it all seems like a blur. I can remember how few believed the project would ever work.  I tended often to be on their side. My own belief in it was slim to none.  But there were a few who felt I might have some talent and encouraged me. I remember them as if they are family  A few are no longer with us but their spirit is. Without them, we would not have these cartoons.

     Now it is too late to turn back…too late to throw in the towel. Not that I’d want to.  Every day I feel like the adventure has just begun. 

      I am working on my second book Londons Times Generation Two Cartoons which should be out before the 2011 holidays. 

      I’m designing shoes at my Shoes That Amuse famous love quotes shoes shop.  I go hiking and absorb and enjoy nature with my wife Lee as she snaps some of the most fascinating photos I’ve ever seen.  And we’re happy.   Next week is the Royal Wedding of William & Catherine.  Everyone is very excited so I designed a lot of gifts and collectibles with a caricature of them we created plus designed several styles of shoes.  Its all available at our Shoes That Amuse Shop. 

Above is the lace-up style of Royal Wedding Shoes I designed on U.S. Keds. (Champion Keds for women). I also made tees, mousepads, etc and two slip on shoe designs at our ShoesThatAmuse.com shop.  

      Looking back and seeing what happens (when one gets out of one’s own way), one can easily have faith that God really does want us to be happy. I happen to believe that; not to worry though, in case you don’t share that belief,  it doesn’t matter to me.  I wish everyone joy, happiness and laughter.  Get your work done, but go out and play, no matter what your age!!