Here it is, the video for the lecture I delivered last Tuesday at the Adventure School Store!

Thanks to Aviva Palmer for inviting me to participate in the lecture series, Mathew Chasan for the video handiwork, Brian Murphy for feedback on the first draft of the lecture, Greg Flores for the poster design, and Erin Gainey for getting the word out. Also, thanks to everyone who took time out of their Tuesday evenings to attend, you guys were wonderful and had some really great questions (which, unfortunately did not get recorded).

Hope those of you who couldn’t make it enjoy the video, and if you have any questions or comments please feel free to shoot them my way!

Oh, and all images in the video are copyright their respective owners. Durr.

My wife and I have recently become obsessed with the British television comedy The Thick of It, after having seen the movie adaptation of the series, In The Loop. It’s superbly written, and all the actors in the series and the film do an amazing job as ineffectual, self-important bureaucrats vying for power in a fictional department in the UK government. But the show would be nothing without Peter Capaldi’s portrayal of Malcolm Tucker, Director of Communications for the Prime Minister.

Malcolm Tucker is the most wrathful, vulgar, cruel, and just friggin’ hilarious character that’s graced the idiot box in a long time. Watching him bend the other characters to the PM’s will and spin their public foibles into something manageable is like watching an obscene Baryshnikov perform political ballet in a blinding haze of spite and vitriol.

It’s fantastic, so I went ahead and drew him. For my wife. As an anniversary gift.

If you’re interested, I’d highly recommend picking up In The Loop. Or, you can start on YouTube with this montage of Malcolm’s best bits. I warn you, though: I am not kidding about the vulgarity, this is massively NSFW stuff.

Ladies and gentlemen, the one and only Shawn Levy.

Now please, go eat your ice cream.

In light of last night’s Academy Awards, I’ve decided to make this week’s Sketcharoo film related! And in light of being me, I’ve decided to make the film allusion as obscure as possible. If you don’t get this joke, don’t worry, you’re in good company. If you DO get this joke, though, you’ll possibly find it hilarious. Either way, enjoy!

HINT: No, that’s not Freddy Mercury.