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.

To take a relevant example, look at William “The Jolly Roger” Powell’s 1971 classic The Anarchist’s Cookbook. The author saw two already successful products, anarchism and cookbooks, and synergized them into a popular new product, perfect for those anarchist housewives looking to try out fun new recipes (I assume – I haven’t actually read the book). Inspired by The Jolly Roger’s double-up piggy-back, we decided in 1972 to develop our own line of anarchist-related books for the family. And we had all sorts of great ideas for titles in the series, like The Anarchist Guide to Etiquette, Spain for Anarchists, and Talking to Your Teens About Puberty (and Anarchism), to name a few.

Unfortunately, we were only able to publish one title, A is for Anarchy: An Anarchist’s Alphabet.

Citing an enthusiastic endorsement from Abbie Hoffman emblazoning the cover, our publisher reported more copies of A is for Anarchism were stolen then sold. Hence, they canceled the rest of the series. Lesson learned? Maybe sometimes the success of a product isn’t measured in units sold. Maybe, just maybe, it can be measured in the amount of money won from a favorable verdict in a breech of contract lawsuit.

ALSO, in case you are wondering why I wasn’t able to post anything last week, you have this man to blame:

Justin Townes Earle, son of Steve Earle and namesake of  country music legend Townes Van Zandt, has been touring in support of his fantastic new album Midnight at the Movies, and I was lucky enough to catch his show at the Tractor Tavern last Monday. Sorry about that! Well, not really.

By the way, I have been to a lot of concerts here in Seattle, and I defy any locals to name a better venue than the Tractor Tavern. I love that place.

Driving home from an election party last night, Amber and I came across a police barricade behind which 4,000 insanely happy Seattlites chanted, danced and shouted. Heading towards the throng, looking for a parking spot, we nearly hit a topless woman flagrantly disregarding the Don’t Walk sign. The event was incredible. Fueled by sheer joy (and plentiful beer), Capitol Hill spontaneously exploded into a celebratory frenzy, taking their isolated parties to the corner of Pike and Broadway to merge together into one chaotic expression of excitement and relief. Folks were climbing on street signs, leading people in cheers of “O-BAM-A, O-BAM-A!” American flags were being hung and waved everywhere. Smiles, high-fives and Miller Lites were shared freely. Someone hooked up a speaker on a nearby rooftop and the crowd participated in a singalong to the dance remix of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.” Hipsters loudly repeated “USA! USA! USA!” unironically. Fireworks blazed up into the sky, briefly drawing attention to the three helicopters monitoring the festivities from above. All this while the police stood guard, smirking and periodically getting asked to have their pictures taken with a reveler.

I’m so happy I was able to be part of that celebration, happy to live in a city whose priorities include active political participation and indulgence in the true meaning of the term “political party.” But more than that, I’m happy that last night America said no to the politics of fear, no to business as usual in the other Washington, and no to an ideology that is dangerous for both Americans and the rest of the world. I don’t anticipate things will get better immediately, but I’ve got this strange feeling – I think it’s called “hope”- that over the next few years, with a lot of work and effort from both the government and the citizenry, we can ensure America lives up to the principles set forth by its founders.

Yesterday was a good start. Let’s keep the party going.

(Poster courtesy of Christopher David Ryan. Get your own, printable version here)

And speaking of flammable McCain supporters, my friends Jonathan and Krista were recently wed in Kelowna, BC, a beautiful town at the heart of the BC wine industry and home to Lord Chumley’s Seafood Restaurant (true fact!). My wife and I, together with a few friends, decided to turn the trip into a camping excursion, which was loads of fun once I muscled past my minor camping anxiety that – since I was asked to MC the event – was compounded by performance anxiety, and further exacerbated by my ever-present anxiety about existence in general. Along with me on this trip I brought a sketchbook I’ve dedicated to immortalizing precious moments, images from which I will now share.

Enjoy!

And mark this date: today’s the first time a Monday Sketcharoo features actual sketches!

*No, really I am only kidding. But please, I beg you, don’t vote for McCain.

This poster was illustrated by Pascal Blanchet, a man whose abounding creativity leaps right off the page and kicks the viewer in the face. It was created in response to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s “bare-bones approach to arts-funding” (to quote Canadian author Yann Martel, who has decided to protest in his own unique fashion). Oh, for those of my readership who don’t know Harper’s reputation, he’s basically the George Bush of Canada. Yeah, that bad.

Now, as a red white and blue-blooded, bald eagle making out with, Iraqi-invading under false pretenses American, I have been appalled time and again to discover my favorite cartoons and cartoonists are –good lord,choke!- Canadian. “The Cat Came Back,” CANADIAN. New Yorker-esque cartoonist extraordinaire Seth, CANADIAN. “Ren and Stimpy” creator John K, CANADIAN. Chester Brown, CANDIAN (okay, so considering his magnum opus is a biography of Louis Riel, I saw that one coming). I suppose when the weather constantly forces you indoors, you have to find something to do with your time.

Well, here’s a salute to those hard-working Canadians artist, and here’s hoping Harper and his conservative cronies will get their TimBits handed to them this coming election.

For more Pascal Blanchet, who makes amazing comics himself, go here. You will not be disappointed.

When you think about it, the difficulty the USSR had with Communism was that it is an ideology, and as such it wasn’t as easy to sell to the surrounding countries as, say, a particular kind of shampoo. Sure, Soviet Communism as a brand had a striking and easily-identifiable aesthetic, but a clear brand identity can only take one so far. And as logos go, the hammer and sickle always lacked a certain allure to the non-hammering and non-reaping consumer. The USSR needed a little something extra if it hoped to seriously compete in the global marketplace.

Therefore, in my continuing efforts to create advertising for obsolete products, I bring you the next phase in USSR marketing. Less focus on the ideas and all that brainy pish-posh, and greater emphasis on what really speaks to the common man:

Shout out to Michael Cho, whose style I’m ineptly aping in this drawing.

NEXT WEEK: My viral, YouTube-based marketing strategy for the cotton gin. In the meantime, enjoy this fun example of Soviet-era Russian animation, “The Hedgehog in the Fog.”

By the way, I’ve been reading Wallis’ blog lately, and I’m amazed at how much injustice slips through the cracks. Did you know slavery still exists in America, and it’s being perpetuated by that monarch of meat Burger King. The company they get their tomatoes from were recently “indicted in federal court on charges of indentured servitude and peonage.” Indentured servitude and peonage, that old-time favorite from the Medieval Era, still alive and kicking in America. That’s why he’s a Burger King, and not a Burger Prime Minister.