New version of Marxist Musical Chairs!

Here's another new version of an old cartoon, that's also going to be in the 2011 diary. It's a very obvious pun on the last line of the Communist Manifesto: 'Workers of the world unite: you have nothing to lose but your chains!'

Mark Steel has a very funny lecture about Marx. Check out the first part here, if you have time. It's great!

becca xo

something for the meantime

While I work hard on the new diary, here's a new version of an old cartoon i did, that will feature in its pages. The Excluded Middle (the little green chap on the right) is an idea of Derrida's I believe, and is essentially the idea that we can create a suspension between what seems like a simple opposition. For example in the case of gender, rather than preferencing male or female, we can question the necessity and morality of making a choice at all. The act of suspension takes place through the act of writing, as we continuously question and deconstruct all notions of stability.


I think it's rubbish.

becca xo

Being & Tim 3: The Heidegger Years!

The next lot of Being & Tim cartoons have been photo-copied and enveloped for your enjoyment. This collection includes 6 Being & Tim cartoons inspired by the work of Martin Heidegger (left) (including Being-in-the-world, Tool-Being, Ready-to-hand, Naked Dasein, Being with a Big B, and Not-at-home). They're a great summary of the main themes of Being & Time! ;-)

Yeah, I know you could just print them off yourselves, but then again, how would you get your hands on the EXCLUSIVE Being & Tim Stickers that are in this pack?! That would take a LOT more planning, and at £1 a pack plus P & P it's a lot simpler just to order them straight from my email address: rasdyer@gmail.com. I could also send you Being & Tim 1 and 2 for £1 each too, as they all make great stocking fillers!

For those of you still waiting on diaries, I have nearly completed the final formatting, and will let you know as soon as they are ready for me to send,

becca xo

Coming to a cinema near you!

The return of the repressed is the process whereby repressed elements, preserved in the unconscious, tend to reappear, in consciousness or in behavior, in the shape of secondary and more or less unrecognizable "derivatives of the unconscious." Parapraxes, bungled or symptomatic actions, are examples of such derivatives.  (http://www.answers.com/topic/return-of-the-repressed#ixzz161hl3G95) Y'know Freudian Slips (not to be confused with Freudian Slippers). When you say one thing but mean you mother, and all that. Whereas Kant was all about rationality, and motorbikes, as you can see. You can see Kant in action here here and here, if you're a particular fan :-)

(This will most likely be featured in the exclusive 2011 Being & Tim handmade diary, available for order at £18 each!) 

Oh, I've got a new post on my other blog too. Hope you like it 

becca xo

Being-for-itself

Here's another one! Inspired by Sartre's use of the term 'l'etre-pour-soi' (see the Blackwell Dictionary of Western Philosophy for a proper account, although there is as yet no sign of Nothingness in this cartoon...maybe Being's detachment from the world will cause him to emerge tomorrow?!!!)

Extra points will be given for knowing which philosopher inspired the Existential porn mag 'The Body in its Sexual Being'. Without using Google, you big cheats. xo

Naked Dasein

'Even in the most indifferent and inoffensive everydayness the Being of Dasein can burst forth as a naked 'it is and it has to be'

Oooh matron.

xo

I hope Adam Smith don't mind it.

This is so good it merits a whole post for itself.

AMAZING!

xo

Schrodinger's LOLcats

 Awhile ago I talked about my plan to do a cartoon called Schrodinger's Cat in the Hat, based on the famous thought experiment by Schrodinger that everyone knows about but no one really understands. As such, I have had to do a bit of extra research before turning my pen to a quantum-physical rhyme, and in one of the many deep philosophical discussions I had with friends on the subject, was inspired to do my own take on the internet phenomenon that is lolcats (thanks to kesh for the idea.)  It turns out that pretty much everyone has made this joke, but it's just still funny! Here's another picture I found on the web, just to be fair to the cats, and a few more below i edited myself. 

Incidentally it's pretty hard to find an animal that hasn't already been attached to Schrodinger on the interwebs. I found Schrodinger's poodle, but let me know if you find anymore!

becca xo

another blog

I've got a new blog. I've not finished making it look nice, but i put a post up,
check it out, if you feel like it at...

http://friendsonbenefits.blogspot.com/

becca xo

Being does not belong to man

Simone Weil says that 'being does not belong to man' on page 33 of Gravity & Grace, the most famous of her works. Wikipedia says:

'It is difficult to speak conclusively of Weil's theology, since it exists only in the form of scattered aphorisms in her notebooks, and in a handful of letters. Neither of these formats provides a very direct path to understanding or evaluating her beliefs<sup>' 


and I'm inclined to believe it, not because it's right but because I'm exhausted by a weekend of gigging and making nettle ale! 
Thanks to Nicole Holgate for the reference, her blog is here, and she does a cool zine entitled 'What Would Nietzsche Do?'
She would say that it's more about zombies than Nietzsche, but I think the important themes are all there: existential angst,
sceptical self-reflexivity, moustaches....

I've also been working on another blog, for my illustration work. It's not going to be half as fun as Being & Tim.

'Til Thursday,

becca xo</sup>

A book of Freudian jokes.

 

I think this one explains itself! More on Monday. xo

Being & Tim Update!

Just thought I'd let you know that I've not disappeared, I've just been working on some varying projects, and planning some Being & Tim Christmas gifts including a BEING & TIM 2011 Diary!

The diaries will be A5 size (ish, maybe more on the square side), hard-back and hand-bound with 18 (or more, haven't decided yet!) A5 colour Being & Tim illustrations, and a number of smaller ones, quotations etc, to make 2011 your most philosophical year yet!  Pre-order at rasdyer@gmail.com and get it at a reduced price of £18! (It'll be ready some time in October sort of thing but you can pay when i send it or summat)

Also Being & Tim 3 should be out for Christmas time, including more Being & Tim cartoons, some STICKERS and a BADGE! I'll keep you updated on that....the other two collections are still available for £1.50 each or £3.00 for both, plus p&p, email me if you would like me to post you them :-)



Anyway, I've also been doing a few different illustrations for different projects. This one (featuring Descartes, Hume and Kant)  is for a cartoon/comic/satire/newspaper set in 1791 and based on a sinister story of a scientist and his dream machine.....dah da DANNN! The paper is coming out as part of the White Night event in Brighton. For more on the newspaper see their website, but if you haven't heard about the White Nights thang, then check them out too! Should all be lots of fun.


Anyway, more Being & Tim to follow, let me know if you're interested in those diaries....

Cheerio!

becca xo

Video clip

My pink pen ('Being'-colour) ran out yesterday, interupting the new cartoon I've been working on. I bought another one today so hopefully it'll be finished by tomorrow, but while you're waiting, here's a funny clip from comedian Ricky Gervais about the Nazi's misappropriation of Hitler. Chortle.                      becca xo

Being & Technology

Heidegger talks about Dasein and its relationship to technology quite alot. I don't think he quite meant this....

 And while we're on the subject of technology, check out this website that my brother and dad are setting up: www.carebook-dev.org.The idea is that it's a support network for patients and carers, as well as providing information and medical advice. Like Facebook, for cancer!

becca xo
(P.S Geeky favourite thing about this cartoon: Kierkegaard is on facebook chat as idle, because of what he says about idleness!! ;-) )

something completely different

Here's a little cartoon featuring Data-Entry pig.
'Give a man a banana and he can eat for a day....'

More B&T to follow
bxo

Tool-Being

I thought this book deserved a cartoon

The Return of the Fat Pink Duke (BEING not me...!)

Hej hej and hello folks!

I got back from Sweden & Dragonfly festival yesterday morning at about 6am, but thought I'd wait until after a long sleep to update the blog! (Didn't want to drool on the keyboard for one thing!)

The festival was great, set in a forest near Falköping, what I didn't realise was that the forest is home to a reconstruction of a pre-historic village! So Being & Tim were exhibited, and I was sleeping in, an actual hut. (Although I like to think of it more as a hobbit hole.)

Outside the hobbit hole!

Inside the hut (Being & Tim on your right!)

Oh, before I go rabbiting on, here's the actual cartoon for today. Being-not-at-home. It's a Heideggerean term (again) about feeling das unheimlich: out of place in the world (literally 'not-at-home'). Part of Dasein's authenticity is its ability to recognise its displacement from the objective world, its own particularity and individuality...I'm sure a Heideggerean could explain better than that. Actually, does Heidegger actually use that word or am I getting him confused with Freud? Gosh I really should read Being & Time...

Anyway, Being's using the term to try and avoid Heidegger. What larks!

Part of the point of not posting while I was away was to catch up with some new cartoons. Unfortunately Ryanair's baggage policy (one lunchbox each) made it impossible to take my big sketchbook so I spent a lot of time just doodling really, plus being inspired by one of my fellow artists at the festivals, the lovely Emma. You can see her work at www.emmaekstam.com, it really is amazing. It's inspired me to start drawing things again, (I put a picture of my hands here for comedy value!), plus we talked about doing some illustrations together of Thus Spoke Zarasthustra. It's a pretty Romantic book (well I'd say it was satirical more than Romantic, but let's not split hairs right now) but the point is that all the references to dancing stars and tightrope walkers and hurdy gurdy songs would lend itself well to illustration. Y'know, spreading the word through imagery, like stained-glass windows! haha. Anyway, I'm going to try and put some more sketches up on here, to develop my style abit. But tell me if you just want more Being & Tim!  (I don't really know the etiquette of blogs, can I change subjects a bit? Is that a betrayal?!)

Anyway, here are some more photos, in case you're interested. You can also see an animation I made at the festival on my youtube account. It's about my bandmates Jimmy & El, who in many ways are similar to Being & Tim!

A proper fairy tale mushroom (there's a pixie under there if you look hard enough)

Anyway, I'll update tomorrow, just to make up for the lack of posts over the holiday. (I'll also forgive you for not voting on my poll. haha)

becca xo

another hut

susanna gets her prehistoric skills on, cooking on an open fire!

a viking boat at the Gothenburg City Museum

Gothenburg

Susanna & Sara dancing in the Main Tent at Dragonfly

Apologies.

Hi there everyone,

I'm terribly sorry i've not had a chance to update anything recently. I've been busily preparing for the Dragonfly festival in Sweden which i've been going on about. Yesterday I ordered some prints, and also got some rather posh looking business cards! heehee. But i've been sketching too, some new ideas: Being-not-at-home, Tool-Being...and i ordered a book on quantum theory so i can double check my schrodinger's cat in the hat!!

I don't think I mentioned that I put a lot of paper 'business cards' in all the copies of Being & Time at Sussex University library...!! If that's what's led you to this site then welcome!!! Please feel free to leave a comment! But it turned out to be quite a good way to find new ideas (apparently Heidegger talks about 'naked Dasein' somewhere! Maybe I should do an 'adult' Being & Tim??!)

So, I'm off on Tues/Weds, and back the next week on 24th, so i probably won't have any time to put anything up before then... but i'll make sure that I take lots of photos and most importantly do lots of sketches! I've put up a new poll as a kind of compensation for while i'm away....

See you in a week or two!

becca xo

Saturday

The compARTment space, featuring Nic Blair's elastic installation

Books from Matthew James Kay

Zines

Paul from POG and a sunny sky!

Comics by Paul

Clare plays uke

Live Graffiti from Wet Paint Productions

A beautiful collection of Peach Melba zines

Thanks to everyone who came along for the Compartment opening at the open market on Saturday, especially everyone who played music or brought along zines. It was a nice day, starting off a bit rainy and gloomy, but ending up with the sun shining merrily as we ate cake and listened to music...
 Here are some pictures for you...

The Death of Me plays the first set of the day

Ben from Boy in the Cupboard sings about the

 end of the world

Me.

mmmmm zines again

The compartment space, with Ben from Brighton DJs

Clothes and Art at one of the Maker's stalls

.

Dresses by Dig for Victory at another stall

Zine Stall tomorrow: featuring NEW BEING & TIM!

Well tomorrow is the opening day of compARTment, you may have seen the posters that I made in an earlier post. Just to get you excited (if you live in the Brighton area) I thought I'd post a photo of some of the zines that'll be at the Open Market, off London Road, at some unspecified time after 9am. Poetry and apocalyptic postcards from the Young Hanoverians, some stuff from Andy P (creator of Celph, there in the background) and some other stuff about zombies and social unrest....and apparently my friend Nicole is bringing her comic down, which apparently has something to do with Nietzsche! Score!

But eagle-eyed viewers might have noticed a new-looking-brown envelope! Yes folks, that's right, there's a new edition of Being & Tim, featuring 8 more ontological adventures...Still only £1! Available at all good comic shops once I get round to putting them in there. But available at the open market tomorrow from about 9ish....!!

Last thing now, too good not to mention, I finally got round to collecting my friend's spinning wheel, i am officially A SPINSTER!!! WOOOHOOOOO!!!!! And if you don't believe me that spinning wheels are related to the word spinster then check out the dictionary!

Cheerio, hope to see you tomorrow!

becca xo

almost what i said it would be...!

so, I got distracted from scanning in the first ever sketch of Being & Nothingness, by my friend. But on the up side I was distracted by drawing more cartoons! These are a couple of sketches for my new blog (which is still under construction) about humourous ways of dealing with cancer! My brother was diagnosed with a brain tumour in January, and it helps a little bit to be able to appreciate how bizarre the whole situation is. The cartoon on the left details how absurdly sensitive one becomes, while the one on the right focuses more on the homocidal tendencies brought up by tragedy. In fact, maybe I intentionally killed my pot plant out of suppressed rage? hum.

In other news, I'm going to be exhibiting Being & Tim in Sweden for the Dragonfly festival in August! I'm very excited about this, but also a bit scared, as it'll be my first proper exhibition, and there's still a lot to do....!

Anyway, I'll put that Being & Nothingness cartoon up soon, it's pretty cute

becca xo

Simone Weil STRIKES again!

Here's ANOTHER joke gleaned from the writings of Simone Weil featuring Nothingness, Being's binary opposite, who you may remember from  here and here. It's funny cos they're binary opposites!

Anyway, as always i'm in a permanent rush. I'll post some news tomorrow, with a little cartoon that my friend Kevin drew of Being and Nothingness (he kinda came up with him, so he deserves some credit!)

'Til tomorrow!

becca xo

a not very philosophical post with FREE Being & Tim Business card!

Exhibit A

well, the two things i've been working on this week are: exhibit A: Being and Tim business card! Print some off and pass them around your friends! You'll soon be the coolest kids in town! And if you live in Brighton, UK, you might be interested in printing out the other poster I made: another (better) design for my friend's open space regeneration group compARTment. I'm hoping to run a zine stand there in a week or two, so will probably have less time to draw cartoons cos I'll be e-mailing and doing all the boring stuff that you always seem to forget is involved in the glitzy glamourous world of zine fests. But come along if you're in the area, July 31st at Brighton's Open Market. There'll be music and zines and lots of elastic! (intriging no?!)

 Exhibit B

So sorry for the boring post, but I'll try and work on the long-awaited Schrodinger's Cat in the Hat for next time! Cheerio!

becca xo 

Well, you asked for it...

we

So, the votes from the poll are in, and Karl Marx and Simone Weil are the winners! (Although it was a pretty close thing as you can see.) To celebrate here's a Simone Weil 'joke', of which i have no idea about the reference. My friend Stuart is doing his phD on Forgiveness and he sent this joke to me once in a text message. Perhaps if you put a nice comment on the blog he will recall the reference for us. No pressure Stu!

Anyway, Simone Weil, despite being one of my favourite philosophers, doesn't exactly 'brim' with comic potential: in fact she's up there with Adorno as one of the most austere philosophers I've ever read. If you're unfamiliar with her work then check out these quotes for starters. Could be a good 'straight man' though? Custard pie in the face routine perhaps? All ideas on a Stamped Addressed Email to rasdyer@gmail.com please....

However Mark Steel has recently opened my eyes to all the comic potential available from Marx: he sure was a colourful character! So expect lots of cartoons based on this video very soon! (I'm sort of in love with Mark Steel now)

Also, despite my attempt at garnishing your opinion about the direction of Being & Tim, I'm still a Nietzschean and therefore don't really believe in democracy! Should I have mentioned that before hand?!

See you soon suckers!! ;-)

becca xo