Staying Home

Since the Googlebots haven't found this blog yet, my visitors have been few so far. I really thought that last post about my Disney trips would have got some of you talking, but then again, it's summer, so hopefully a lot of you are travelling. :0)

Anyways, I still have lots of travel tips, stories, and illustrations to share with you, but right now I'm finding adventure at home... with my comic strip The Inquiring Minds.



Today I am proud to announce my 100th comic strip of The Inquiring Minds! This is a big deal to me. I'm doubly pleased that this 100th strip falls smack dab in the middle of the 2008 Big Summer Adventure currently going on. I honestly believe that when this is over, the Big Summer event will be my best work to date. I'm very pleased with the art and the writing both, and for me, this is something that's been a long time coming.

It's fun, and getting funner, and big things are yet to come!

If you aren't up to date with the story, please read through it before reading the new 100th strip below, as it is a culmination of what's been going on so far this summer. But this is by no means the end! Plot twists are a coming! :0)

See the whole story at www.HappyGlyphs.com/summer.html

Cheers, JOHN :0)

Beckenham, Kent, UK

We interrupt our current feature on Bangalore, India, to bring you the latest news from HappyGlyphs Comics: a new FREE comic called The Wolfman of Beckenham, Kent!

I've had the pleasure to stay a few times in Beckenham, and used to walk past a cute little bed and breakfast on Coper's Cope Road, up from the train station. Unfortunately, I belive the neat little place full of nooks and crannies, and plaster walls, and old paintings of English Hunting Scenes is to be gutted and turned into condominiums. This saddened me, so I wanted to pay tribute to the place. At first I wanted to do a painting, and so took some nice pictured of the place. However, since I'm a Cartoonist by nature, I began to create an occupant of the place... a strange occupant.



The Wolfman of Beckenham, Kent is his story, and the story is my tribute to the Goodwood Private Hotel, and all of the other lovely places like it that are losing their charm so that they can become part of the modern world.

Here is the cover of the story, and here is the link to the story. It's FREE, so please check it out. While you're there, check out our other fine offerings, including a fine poster print of the cover to The Wolfman of Beckenhem, Kent, complete with blue MINI cooper. :0)

Cheers, JOHN :0)

A Dichotomy of Travel

I'm going to mention this a lot at this blog, but travel is good for you. Your mind expands from the onset of new sights and sounds, and from adapting to new situations. If you've never left your home state, then it's time to cross that line. If you haven't left your country, then take the first step out, and get yourself a passport. Few things can help you grow, and give you such an education, as seeing the world beyond your doorstep.

Saying all that, there's a certain dichotomy to travel. You'' see this on your first international voyage, especially if you go by air, and travel far. It's an 18 hour flight from New Jersey to India, and 24 hours to Australia. That's a long time to be sitting in a tiny seat, trying to sleep as the air gets staler and your internal clock starts to lose confidence in what time it is. Get a window seat, and make sure you look outside once in a while. The world is a big place.

Passing over the top of the planet, you see miles, and miles, and more miles, of nothing but black dirt and occasional ice. Pass over the middle east, and it can take hours to cross nothing but desert, with the occasional oasis or oil field to break the monotony. Fly to Japan or Hawaii, and there is so much ocean spread before you, that it takes hours to cross. The earth is a truly big place when you see it in this manner.

However, and here's teh dichotomy, you land. At the airport, you see a few familiar thigns, such as currency exchange, and long lines of people. Some airports can appear quite foreign, but if you get out into a big city, you may find yourself staring at a McDonald's, or a Citibank, and several other familiar landmarks. You stop at a market, and there are familiar fruits, candy bars, and of course, Coca Cola. Suddenly, it seems like it's a small world after all.

That will change, of course, if visiting a truly foreign country, but the thing is, we're all people. Go into a restaurant anywhere, and there will be kids eating treats, young couples laughing, older folk in the corner with their coffees... and people in general trying, just like you, to get by in life.

Remember that flight, and looking out that window. Keep that humbling experience of seeing just how big the planet is. But don't forget that its getting smaller every day, perception-wise. And get out there, and see it now, because its changing, and changing fast.

Thanks for visiting, JOHN :0)

PS For a travel illustration, we turn to my first book, Take Me Away From All This!! for today's 'small world' moment. Please click on the image to enlarge.