The Shark Podcast: Episode 3

 

Annoying people virtually is simply not the same.  As much we love our own space, this pandemic has shown us that we are indeed social beings and going without human interaction for long does crazy things to our minds. All the zoom and FaceTime calls cannot match up to ten minutes at a coffee shop in person. 

The Shark Podcast: Episode 2

 

Bob does not think it is right to complain about masks being an inconvenience. There are people actually struggling to breathe because there isn't any oxygen in many hospitals in India. So when people outside are still taking things lightly, it makes us wonder if our apathy deserves a wake-up call. 

When it rains, it pours.

 

It's been a rough few months since I last posted. It's hard to draw when the situation in my country is heartbreaking. The covid-19 pandemic has taken an extreme turn with this new wave - you need to turn on the news (preferably not Indian media) to get a picture of the suffering and despair. And it's getting closer and closer. 

My good friend at Sharktopia encouraged me to draw something to resonate with that pain. So I took a drawing I did at Christmas and made a sort of "how it's going" drawing. It seems like a bleak drawing but we've always found ways to see hope in the midst of storms, rain and floods. As much as people are disillusioned and apathetic, there's something about human suffering that brings out the humanity in us (except for the ruling regime). Blessings come in showers and mercies come in a downpour. I hope we see much of that soon. Pray for India. 

Sharktivity #25: Pray

I’ve been finding it a bit hard to draw something fun or lighthearted in the midst of all that the world is going through. The injustices all around us are growing and it is heartbreaking. From #blacklivesmatter in America to the migrant worker deaths in India to rise of fascist forces everywhere and a virus to top things off, things seem bleak. So I thought this is as good a time as any, in addition to speaking up and fighting for justice, to pray. 

This has also been a sharktivity during these awful times because when we feel helpless and unsure of the future, it’s the most basic thing we can do. We humans cause all kinds of terrible consequences thanks to our selfish ways and then blame God for all that happens (whether we believe in Him or not!). Well, thankfully, we feel a little hope, a little less lonely and a little grateful for what we have when we pray.

Let's pray that the world gets a little better with every struggle.

Sharktivity #10: Blacktip reef shark reflects while watching the sunset

This Good Friday, which is probably the most unique ones of our time, is a good time to reflect on the many things we have, to have hope for the future and to remember the sacrifice that was motivated by love.

Here is a blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) in a reflective setting. These sharks are adorable little harmless sharks common in aquariums.

We all belong.

I did this for my cousin's non-profit Special Sources last year.

Valentine's day 2018: The Shark annoys valentiners

It's simply natural that the word "Sharks" comes after the words "I love". And it's natural to love sharks.
Valentine's day was cute when we were much younger. Then it got annoying. Now I wonder how it's still a thing. Yes, I suppose the companies that paid for all the heart designs keep it going but love really shouldn't need to be highlighted just once a year. Because then the day tends to be more important than everything else, right?
This Valentine's day, don't focus on the cards and flowers and gifts but be grateful that you have someone to call your own.
Also, love sharks.

Mutual learning

I was asked to do a cartoon on what we can learn from the ocean. This one was a bit deeper and more serious than intended so I did a different one for that project (hopefully you'll see it someday soon). But I did like the message of this one so I thought I'd complete it anyway. Quite apt with teachers' day around the corner, isn't it?
I think so much about our planet can be learnt from the ocean. It should be protected and respected but we take it for granted. Ocean life can fill us with awe and wonder every time we encounter it and yet we are systematically destroying it. What an opinion they must have about us!

ps - I do love the idea of these mini-discussion groups around the reef.

Resolutions and solutions

I put off making resolutions for New Year until perhaps a week or two after the initial feeling of obligation to do such things passes. Even then, I'm hoping to simply create new habits for the year. Like being less cynical, make a lot more drawings and do some new activity. Well, good luck to me!

Happy New Hope!

After Carrie Fisher was critically ill, I came across quite a few tweets about how 2016 is the worst and that 2016 must not claim Princess Leia too. Well, the world had just lost George Michael and that reminded us of the dozens of other celebrities who died this year. Sadly, not only did Carrie Fisher pass away but so did her mother Debbie Reynolds. And needless to say, twitter was not feeling the holiday spirit.
But celebrities dying were not and could not be the worst about this year. Terrible things happened all around. Some accidentally but many deliberately. It's not okay to terrorise people and it certainly isn't okay to kill innocent children. What is the point of destroying someone else just because you are miserable? What gives someone the right to exploit a helpless person just so that they can gain pleasure or profit? Who says that being tolerant of their own beliefs but not those of others, gives them the right to dictate what prejudice is? We have become self-involved and impatient and intolerant to the point of misplaced fury. Our children are becoming insolent, uninvolved and unmotivated. And then we say that it's been a bad year. It's only going to get worse. If we think we can fix it, we're bound for disappointment. Millions of people thinking they are right isn't going to set things right.  But let us start with the basics like honesty, moderation, wonder, respect and then we will know what it means to hope.

Feels like home.

It's been a while since I did a "Fence Conversation" and every now and then I feel like writing a mushy one. This is probably the mushiest by far. I was having a similar conversation with a friend and thought it was a really good line and had to use it.
We're all looking for someone to call 'home'. I just hope that when I find mine, it is shark-friendly.

A Shark AND a Pencil! Now that's scary, right?

I was really saddened by the Charlie Hedbo shooting. I can't believe that cartoonists were shot to death because of something they drew. People seem to get offended all the time these days. Since when did it become okay to end human lives over that? I mean, isn't everyone else expected to turn the other cheek if they are offended?

Nice article here.

The Oyster's Song

I once had a blog where I wrote down my thoughts. This was before I discovered I liked drawing better than writing. In 2006, I wrote this poem in one of the posts. For someone who doesn't like poetry much, I seem to have written at least two more than I ought to have (I've written two).
It was one of those things one writes in five minutes by not thinking too much. I thought it was cheesy and therefore funny. So I wanted to share it here. I even drew some cheesy characters around the poem.
I can't say I've found purpose yet. Oh well.

Sea Scapes: Ocean Harmony

My sister asked me to paint her an "underwater" scene for her house. She gave me this rough doodle to describe what she wanted.

After much prayer that my sea creatures turn out alright, this here is my finished drawing.

I didn't add the "sea unicorns". I thought I'd save those for a less surreal drawing.

Redefining Beauty

People shouldn't have the right to dictate what’s “good” when it comes to beauty because they get bored with anything they call beautiful today and set new standards and everyone is expected to keep up with it. And it’s not fair when the expectations are unrealistic. Everyone’s different. Some claim to be “differenter” or want to be “differenter”. But at the end of the day most people want to fit in or belong and if they’re given vain criteria to do so, it ends up hurting them on so many levels.

It's sad that the idea of beauty has been distorted so much. It’s not surprising though – humans have a great knack of taking any good thing and warping it into an “anti” version. Then they crib about how awful everything is and come up with other warped up ideas as attempts to make things better. Like the whole system of dark skinned people not being as good as lighter skinned people – now they’re actually coming with products to “help” the darker skinned people become lighter skinned so that, you know, everything can be better.
So, which is easier to change - The Heart or The Skin? They’re both organs. They both are prone to disease. But in some way, the heart seems to make people behave a certain way or help convince the brain that certain things are right or wrong. It could be the heart that convinces people that its fellow organ, the skin, doesn’t define a person as much as the heart does. It’s the deceptive heart that tells you otherwise. Which brings us back to the question – do some people really have to change their skin just so that the rest of them need not have a change of heart?

Cartoon and post done for Women of Worth (WOW) as part of their "Redefining Beauty" campaign. 

The Cove - Red Water

Ever since I heard about "The Cove" and saw the pictures of the horrid red waters because of dolphin slaughtering, I wanted to draw something about it. Please check Oceanic Preservation Society (OPS) for more information.

The "Social Obligation Smile"

About five years ago, I wrote a blog post titled "The 'Social Obligation Smile'". I'd written the title down in my sketch notebook to remind myself to someday do a sketch about it. Re-reading my old post shows me just how cynical and sarcastic I used to be (I'm definitely mellowing down). However, I still believe that this is a highly useful skill in societies/cultures where social interactions are strangely superficial and yet extremely fundamental.
Also, this could probably help the sharks with their public image, right?

Wise words: Discontentment

I thought that it would be nice if the first post of 2013 was an insightful and wise one.
And in case you were wondering, sharks are wise as well as witty.

Hypocritically speaking....

We're all probably hypocrites in some way or another whether we like it or not.  This is what you get when you point out the Shark's fraudness. 

Genuinely Fake thanks to Facebook!

Yep, I know. We all do it. Facebook has made it so much easier to be fake. But be careful - when we rely on Facebook too much for our fakeness, we may forget how to be fake in real life and end up in some awkwardness. 

Honestly though (yes, really), it is probably easier to display emotion on Facebook and it is probably better to miss people when they're far away. We just sometimes prefer to keep missing people than to actually have them around. Hmm, it is a wonder that I have any friends at all.