I can only smile when I think about the admission made by Maria Seriego (see my previous post) and this recent comment made on this blog by Sameer Borate: Just read your Manifesto today. I’ve been suffering from Adultitis for the past 6 years (I’am 32 now). The symptoms had already started when I was 25. The surprising thing is that I knew that I was slowly morphing into some stupid, dumb adult but was unable to do nothing. …
Archives for August 2005
Universality of Childhood
I'm happy to report that my manifesto is circulating its way through the blogosphere. Pretty cool to see that this whole "Escape Adulthood" thing is striking a nerve. My favorite mention comes from blogger Maria Sariego, who writes: I found out Sunday that I have advanced adultitis... Oh yeah ... and then there's taking the car to inspection ... and getting the fireplace flu and dryer vents cleaned (which we now have to do by Oct., per the new neighborhood association rules) ... and filling out the U.S. American Community Census Survey (for which I was lucky enough to be picked at random, …
Cramming for Kindergarten
Have you ever read something that immediately makes you feel sick to your stomach? This is how I feel right now after having read the article entitiled 'Cramming For Kindergarten,' featured recently on CBSnews.com. I think the title gives you an idea of what road I am going down. Yet another example of adults, and in this case parents passing on their Adultitis to their little ones. Tragic! The article talks about parents who have chosen to seek out tutors for their pre-schoolers, in order to help them 'be ready' for the academic demands of Kindergarten. Christine Califano, one of the …
Googling Abe Lincoln’s Nose
I got a chance to dust off the ol' illustration skills while working on this past week's strips. Of course, I'm always in drawing mode, but it's been awhile since I've actually done some more photo realistic renderings. In a few weeks, you'll be treated to another epic adventure in which Kim & Jason climb into their trusty cardboard box and fly off to some uncharted territories (at least for them.) What strikes me is how different technology has made things since I was last in school a little over five years ago. In the old days, illustrators and cartoonists would have bulging files …
The Gooey Gray Gift
This morning as I was leaving church, I remembered that the priest had mentioned there would be cement trucks outside getting ready to pour the new sidewalks. As I was walking to my car, I noticed an older man 'park' himself about a foot from the area that would soon be freshly poured concrete. He looked on with great anticipation, as if it was 9:15 pm on the 4th of July. When I drove past in my car, I noticed a middle-aged man, holding his three-year-old, walking back towards the cement show, from his car. He must've thought they could just walk past without stopping, but the three-year-old …
Become a Playaholic
It's amazing to me. At one time or another in our lives, we've all been experts at playing. I'd even go so far as to say that a vast majority of us were playaholics. And yet, how is it possible that so many of us can grow up and completely forget how to play? Is it possible for a dentist to retire and then forget how to brush his teeth? Or for a kindergarten teacher to forget the alphabet? Of all of the secrets from childhood that we once knew so well but have since forgotten, play might be the one disregarded trait that befuddles me the most. …
Escape Adulthood Manifesto
A big, fat, juicy thank you to everyone who voted for my manifesto at ChangeThis.com. The happy news I have to report is that it garnered enough interest to be published on their web site. Basically, it is a summary of my book, an overview of why and how to escape this thing called "adulthood." The manifesto itself is free to download, and you can even e-mail it to your friends to pass along. If you really, really like it, a more in-depth version was printed on dead trees in book format. Read the manifesto. Spread the word. And cure Adultitis. Thank you and good night. …
Get a Clue
In my book I mention the idea that the things we dreamed about being when we were kids are clues. Clues to what, you may ask? Clues to what you're supposed to be doing with your life. I was fascinated with all things Star Wars as a young tyke. I dreamed of being just like George Lucas. While I don't live in California and am not secretly involved in writing Episodes 7, 8, and 9, I do spend a good portion of my time developing characters, telling stories, and entertaining people. (And fortunately, my special effects budget is several million dollars lower than that of Mr. Lucas.) …
Lost: Childhood
Do kids these days really get to have a childhood? Having worked in a school, I have heard first-hand the debates between schools and parents about the amount of homework children receive. I'm all for working hard and succeeding in school but why do kids have to then go home and work more? Even most adults only work eight hours a day. This really bothers me. Not to mention the high pressured high schools. These students are not even nineteen years old and they have full-blown Adultitis. Anand Vaishnav from The Boston Globe recently wrote an article entitled: 'Suburban high schools try to ease …
Do You Still Jump Rope?
Why not? No matter how "old" you get, you're still and always will be the same kid who "climbed trees and chased around the yard." Evelyn Bence offers up an interesting devotional about how the age of your body really has nothing to do with the age of your spirit. …