It’s embarrassingly simple but it changed everything. — Of all the habits I’ve tried over the years to reduce my ridiculous stress levels, keep all my plates spinning, and generally try to maintain a base level of wellbeing, there are only 3 that have stuck: Only drinking on Sundays. Meditation. Walking first thing in the morning. One small…

I recently had a reader tell me what one of my cartoons was “really” about, which is always fun. I’ve gotten used to it since it happens so often these days. My response is usually no response, followed by getting on with my day. This is — and has always…

A rule for life. For everything. I have a finite amount of time. of attention. of space. I live in a tiny Manhattan apartment, so I own exactly 100 things. …

Psychologist Todd Rose has debunked 8 common myths so mainstream we all believe them. They are the result of Collective Illusions. — What are those? Collective illusions occur when most members of a group privately reject what appears to be the widely accepted group norm. This phenomenon has also been referred to as pluralistic ignorance, but Dr. …

I sat at that desk for weeks on end drawing and writing and vanishing into my own little world. It was left there by the deceased previous tenant who happened to be the poet laureate of the Lower East Side. There’s something magical about the desk. I fixed it up…

First Published on New York Cartoons —

A redux of a 2017 observation of social polarization. — Back in 2017, I wrote about the polarization that I saw turning America into a bilious cesspool. I’d just returned from doing comedy in a bunch of Red States in late 2016, and noticed an unsettling number of Trump/Pence billboards and bumper stickers. As an immigrant, it was a real…

This is an extract from Day #5 of NO-Vember: the 30-day challenge to teach you how to say NO to the right things. “The more you add — the more you’re opening up to negotiation. Just leave it as close to the ‘no’ as possible.” ~ Marie Forleo Saying NO to others isn’t easy. For that reason, sometimes we make up lies and excuses to get out of things. We put…

Several professional cartoonists have shared a curious part of their process with me. I thought I was the only one! — This weekend I was wandering around the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum in Columbus with fellow cartoonist Maria Scrivan. We were shamelessly drooling over the original artwork on display by Charles Schulz. The wide-ranging exhibition was celebrating what would have been “Sparky”’s 100th birthday.