Ian Belknap is Brilliant

1) Ian Belknap is brilliant!

2) Today is Cranky Doodle Day in the blog.

How do these two "fun facts" connect? Ian Belknap is the best cranky doodler I have ever met.  And I have met him.  Briefly.  At the Encyclopedia Show.  Where he is the stern, frequently cranky "fact-checker."  He scares me.

Just look at his rants here, at his blog!  There's a lot of swearing as well as ranting.  I think he might like Clockwise Cat, where there is also swearing and ranting.  The new issue, #21, is up there now.  I do think Alison Ross, editor/publisher of Clockwise Cat,  might like the ranting of Ian Belknap, formerly attractive man.

One of my favorite rants by Ian Belknap is this Essay Fiesta about the difficulty of obtaining corporate sponsorship. And it's not just because it was written to benefit the Howard Brown Health Center. I like it because it is funny, right on, and descends into the depths.

One of my persistent cranks is how corporations keep trying to improve their images by aligning themselves with causes, and the brilliant Ian Belknap decimates them and himself for that impulse.  (Wait. "Decimate" means to kill every 10th person. Oh, never mind. I'm cranking at myself now.)

For instance, yesterday I was watching The Daily Show and The Colbert Report--both were doing a nice job of decimating idiots--and a J.P. Morgan Chase commercial kept playing, muted grays and white animation showing how great a company they are, and how good they are to people! I loved the irony of it all.

And I love the Japanese Hornet.

And this guy, at Arthropoda.

I would say more, but it's late in the day. Blogger was down in the morning (which made me cranky), and I am headed to a Cinco de Mayo party with margaritas today.

Yes, I know, it's not Cinco de Mayo. It's Friday the 13th. But here is the Battle of Puebla, and there will still be margaritas, so I am going!