The Space Boat logo

The Space Boat

Subscribe
Archives
December 9, 2023

Caramel Ripple is so dang handsome

"Wherever we go, we are friends" -Sloth and Manatee

Not seeing the images in your email? You can Read online here

When you can't see, but you gotta believe

It's not possible to perceive all of everything. Also, if time didn't exist, then everything would happen at once, and what a mess that would be. And so, we are limited to our senses, and where we are, and what we're looking at, listening to, and noticing.

Cartoon with man with words on the back of his shirt: "If you can't see the front of my head I can't see you"

Sloth and (Moon)atee

Sometimes you don't see it, and then you do see it, and you're still confused

Sloth and Manatee comic in which they meet an octopus who is keeper of the bloop, or the bloop master

Apparently we're living in the "attention economy" where our very own brain power is being used to generate profits for other people. That's weird.

Cartoon in which a homeless may holds a sign amongst a bunch of ads that reads, "Will pay attention to ads for food"

Although I've also read that what you pay attention to literally is your life, since that's what you experience, so this attention thing seems kind of important.

Cartoon in which a man says to his friend, "What were you saying? My inner voice drowned you out for a second."

Many people have blathered on about how to "take back your attention" and such, and how capitalist it all is, so I won't. Instead,

Here are some things to look at for a couple seconds, just because.

Like: This goat, whose name is Caramel Ripple, who is just so dang handsome

Color illustration of a handsome goat wearing vintage earphones
This fellow's in the print shop

And a dancing rainbow bear

Animated GIF of a dancing bear

And also a fashionable giraffe

Pencil drawing of a giraffe wearing fashionable boots

Which is a way of saying, for everything that you're paying attention to, there's infinite other things. For every icky news story of someone being icky, there's tons of people out there quietly being not-icky. For every business-y tech-y thing out there, there's a crunchy leaf or a rain drop. For every accident, there's a happenstance. For every ice cream cone, there's an elephant. And so on.

Drawing of Sloth asking, "Maybe silliness is the common denominator?"
Good point, Sloth.

This week I saw an installation at SFMOMA by Fernando Palma Rodriguez, a collection of kinetic sculptures that were moving around in response to far-away meteorological measurements from various parts of the Earth. I spent quite a while in there watching these sculptures do their thing.

Here is a page on the exhibit and describing the work.

One of the sculptures:

Photo of a sculpture from Fernando Palma Rodriguez' installation, Macuil Xochitl (5-flower)
It cruises around in a circle, like it's alive.

Oh! Also: I'm making a teeny animation every day in December leading up the the Solstice or so. It's like an Animated Advent Calendar, I guess. This was Day 3:

Animated GIF of a flower blooming and a bug coming to sit under it and read a book
You can follow along on my Instagram if you like

Okay! Don't forget there's veritable tonnage of cartoons available now in handy book form as well as Sloth and Manatee books and I love sending em direct to people from my book shop. With stickers!

Image of copies of the Brainwaves cartoon collection book, and an alien
Photo of the two Sloth and Manatee comic books

Okay! That's enough nonsense for now.

May you get to pay attention to something ridiculous or colorful or both, may your day be filled with stuff you actually want to pay attention to, won't you be my neighbor?

-Betsy


HELLO AND THANKS FOR READING!!

Pika mighty 400.jpg

Shop for books n art on my site yes yes

INPRNT has prints, mini-prints, carts, stickers

CartoonStock has gobs of cartoons to license

Don't miss what's next. Subscribe to The Space Boat:
BlueSky Website
Powered by Buttondown, the easiest way to start and grow your newsletter.