Not Digging This Plan.
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- August
- 22
Here’s one for my dear local readers!
For the uninitiated, there’s a guy who really, really, really wants to build a tunnel between The sound shore area of Westchester county and Long Island and is paying a little over a million bucks to study the viability of it. Apparently it would make traveling to Long Island a quick and painless exercise, as it would remove the NYC dogleg you have to take to get there. There are all manner of reasons why people are skeptical of this project, the most compelling of which being how many people really want to to get to Long Island quickly?
Oh. I almost forgot: Tarrytown and Nyack are the municipalities on the Hudson River connected by the overused, perennially-in-need-of-replacing Tappan Zee Bridge. And they are nowhere near the Long Island Sound. Ba-da-boom.
Hmmm. Explaining the punchline of a local cartoon to out-of-towners is a real bore isn’t it? I apologize to you all.
On another note, before he texts his supporters…Anyone here want to guess who Obama will announce as his running mate? I think he’ll go with Hillary. Anyone else on his short list will be a snooze – For a cartoonist.
This entry was posted
on Friday, August 22nd, 2008 at 10:07 am by Matt Davies.
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I just had one of my brilliant ideas! Build the Long Island tunnel—but not for cars. Extend the east-west rail line for the new Tappan Zee Bridge through the tunnel to link with the LIRR.
What’s wrong, Mr. Davies? In the last 10 cartoons, only 1 has had a person in the air. Are you seeing a psychologist now or has there been a major life event?
I’ve been trying to talk to publications so that I may make cartoons, but no one replies to me. Aside from graffiti-ing their walls, is there any other way to make them look at my portfolio? I mean, I could put a fish or an old sweaty sock in with it so they’d at least have to open it to get rid of the smell, but I don’t know where else to turn. Any ideas?
Toaster – I worked through my floating in the air cartoon disorder. Thanks for caring!
Who are you sending your stuff to?
Thank you Matt. We have been urging the NYSTA and the State DOT for years to put a tunnel option on the table for consideration during the Environmental Review process. They have stubbornly refused to do so for reasons that have been refuted by experts. Maybe your wonderful cartoon will tip the balance. As the saying goes “A picture is worth a thousand words.”
Geo. Sherman
Pres., Rockland Branch
Concerned Citizens for Responsible Development
The Riverfront Times, an offbeat paper based in Saint Louis that I once read often.
Alternet.org, an online newspaper.
Ann Arbor News, local small newspaper (buys cartoons from the Cagle Cartoon Index).
I know that this list is short, but I am unsure where else to look. I haven’t heard anything back from any of them. Tempts me to snail-mail my portfolio along with a dead fish so they’ll be forced to at least open it to remove the smell.
Toaster, it has been so long since I had to go out and “sell” my cartoons that I feel like a fraud giving any real advice on this matter. Obviously the print world is an all-out financial panic, and unfortunately many publishers and editors are of the incorrect opinion that cartoons should be the first luxury to get cut. (Cartoons, a luxury? I know, sounds insane right?!)
That said, when I was first starting out, I heard the same tune from would-be cartoon buyers. I think publishers have always been in a financial panic. You have to send out TONS of stuff to a lot of possible outlets. You simply have no idea who will bite (In fact the biggest successes I had initially were from the most unlikely places.)
Of course, when I was starting out (and it wasn’t THAT long ago) there was no web marketplace. You will probably have some luck getting exposure from websites, – But good luck getting $$$. Regardless of what dispassionate Wall Street Media analysts say about its potential for growth, print is still king when it comes to generating revenue and you know, actually paying people for the work they do.
Oh and to Geo. Sherman: You’re welcome.
A lot of people would use it because LI has a ton of work out there compared to business unfriendly Westchester. I commute on the LIE everyday from Westchester and it’s packed. Look at the WhiteStone and Thoggsneck bridges to see how many other are heading that way.