Cop shows

So I've noticed a change in cop shows in the last few decades. Obviously, some of the change would be expected since it is now a quarter of a century into the future. Rapid advances in real life police technology would filter through to the fictional TV world. One thing I miss is when an undercover cop used to go into action. One arm would be driving in hot pursuit and the other would be reaching around through the window, placing that magnetic blue police light on the top of the (usually enormous) vehicle. The viewer would then know at that time that this cop is 'all business' right now.
Another previously common behaviour of the TV-cop was to commandeer a vehicle. "Excuse me, sir?... I need to commandeer this vehicle!" And then, in what was borderline theft/vandalism, the hero would chase after the bad-guy in a variety of modes of transportation, and often resulting in destroying the citizens property. I mildly looked it up on the internet and at least in some parts of the USA, it is actually something that cops are allowed to do, even today. I could imagine that it is very rarely used these days since the courtroom aftermath that would inevitably follow would deter most boys in blue. This real life deterrent is probably acknowledged by the writers and now we hardly ever see it.
A third thing involves terrorists. Why are police shows needing to be fighting them all the time? Maybe it's more sensationalistic to be fighting terror than crime these days. Maybe the people that make shows think that's what people want. Since I'm a person myself, I can say that we just want the odd cop show with decent writing with characters that we actually care about.

Free gym membership

So it was a cold, dark and rainy night. I was waiting for my fish and chips amongst my very-casually dressed, hungry neighbours. Being inside the warm and dry shop, listening to the battered and starchy food sizzle in hot oil, we all were there for the same thing.
I noticed a clear plastic box to one side of the counter. I could fill out a form and win a prize - a six-month membership at a local fitness club. Being transparent, I could see that this box was empty. I've entered this raffle before at a video store and although I didn't win, I was offered a week's free pass. I took them up on the offer, enjoyed my week and decided not to sign up after that time. But this box... I could see that this one was going to be abandoned for some time. We all were imagining our greasy seafood and potatoes. Wearing any old clothes to brave the elements on a rainy night like this, we were on a mission. We were reading old magazines, watching re-runs on a mounted TV screen in the corner and mildly paying attention to a large tank of goldfish. No one was filling out any entry forms.
I can see that how putting a box in a place like this seems like a good idea. Target the people who feel guilty about their poor diet choices while they wait. Even with the logic, there was a missing factor that they didn't consider. When I entered the draw at the video store there were plenty of other entries. Maybe that is more the type of place where you could be overweight, feel self-conscious and want to enter the draw. However, tonight I was in a place where you could gain weight, safely not care about your appearance and go home.

Blogomatic

So I missed a week. When I started this blog, I didn't set out to make this a weekly thing but it evolved and settled into a punctual once-a-week illustration.
I've never done a blog or anything like this so it's a bit of an experiment for me. I'm deciding how to make the drawings the best that I can and still meet a regular production deadline. I feel that if I miss another week, it will make it easier to miss another after that. I can see how it could spiral out of control and then I'd stop doing it. There's the instinct to keep on working on illustrations and ideas until they are good enough and then post. There's also a 'I could post something when I get inspired' approach. I'm starting to notice that it's probably not going to happen if I wait for each post to be perfect or just the 'right moment'.
It's about discipline. Although I am enjoying doing this (and getting faster as I go), I feel like some sort of 'Blogomatic' - pumping out ideas. (Which is a good thing!)