An astute reader pointed me to artist Aaron Williams and OffWorld Designs. They feature a page full of Cthulhu t-shirts, including Mr. Williams’ (much better drawn) cephaloPod design.
You are all hereby ordered to go salve my conscience by purchasing a t-shirt. Ah, the soothing power of commerce.
I’m thinking I might try illustrating a question and answer every now and again. I worked up a picture for the Fanta question, and I’m going to post it tomorrow morning. I’d appreciate hearing if anyone has trouble with feeds or other displays; feedback about the picture itself is also welcome.

Dear Little Bald Bastard,
Wanna Fanta? Please?
- DoubleThickShake
Dear DoubleThickShake,
If you’re talking about the horrible solution of carbonated water, complex chemical “fruit” flavors and high fructose corn syrup, I’ll pass. I’d like my blood sugar to stay below “Immediate Diabetes” for as long as possible.
If you’re using “Fanta” as a euphemism for some sort of shameful sexual act, the answer is still no. Also, you desperately need to think up a better come-on, or give up your last fleeting hopes of ever scoring.
[click picture to embiggen]
Dear Little Bald Bastard,
Why do people have to use silent letters? Seriously! They should just be eliminated.
- Fonetically Challenged
Dear Fonetically Challenged,
Silent letters are artifacts from the slapped together, ad hoc conglomeration of words that is the English language. They are the linguistic equivalent of the appendix, glaring evidence that the language just sort of happened, without any conscious (or competent) guidance.
Ditching silent letters would go a long way toward simplifying a notoriously difficult to learn language. Unfortunately, spelling nerds have opposed every effort. For those of us without any particular physical prowess or intellectual acumen, an obsession with perfect spelling gives us a rare opportunity to feel superior to more gifted individuals. We’re not about to give up our secret weapon.
I recently had to do an in-class presentation on a federal public service tuition forgiveness program. In order to spice up a Sahara-dry topic, I tossed some illustrations in to break up the monotony of my Powerpoint slides. I’m gonna toot my own horn a bit, and say they turned out pretty well.
The set of 10 is available as a slideshow on Flickr. If you want to humor me, take a look and let me know what you think.