I stumbled upon this from someone on Youtube. I love it.

I will have an announcement about a new project I am doing!

It’s a secret surprise!! I will announce it soon! In fact, by the time you read this, I will have already announced it, so just scroll up and read it! Geez!

_D

I’ll be onstage all day as MC, cracking wise, making fun of the previous performer, saying things that will doubtless get me banned from next year’s event. Can you afford to miss it?

Come tell me you showed up because you saw this on my blog and I’ll say your name into the microphone FROM STAGE! Holy cow!

Ok boys and girls, here is it....

I have a new line of trading cards and they are truly the most rad!! (as the kids say)

Please check them out! if you like them, buy 100 packages and convince a hundred of your closest friends to do the same. And remember, trading cards are just like high stakes poker, but without the risk!

http://www.bizarrotradingcards.com/

Hey, boys, girls, and undecideds! I've finally had enough of this creepy MuySpace blog and am moving the whole caboodle to Blogger. Here's my new blog address:
http://bizarrocomic.blogspot.com/

I'll be posting there once a week or so and promise to try to keep you entertained with thoughts, cartoons, photos, recipes, fashion tips, and instructions on how to vote this fall.

Smooches from Brooklyn, hope you're digging '08.
Dan

Since it is the end of another arbitrary period of time on Earth, I thought I would recap my year and share it with you, my dozen-or-so blog readers.

A couple of weeks ago I did a cartoon about Meet The Press's host, Tim Russert, as a child on Santa's lap. This past Sunday he mentioned the cartoon, mispronounced my name as "Don", and showed the cartoon. (Perhaps somewhere there is a Don Piraro who doesn't remember drawing that cartoon but is excited for the publicity nonetheless.) I'm a fan of Russert – though not in a creepy way like I can't stop drawing pictures of him as a child on an oddly-dressed old man's lap – so it was a big kick to see my cartoon on his show. I'd like to be a guest on Meet The Press one day, but I'd have to get into politics or political journalism to do that and I'd rather suck the toes of a stranger on the subway than be that close to politics, so I'll have to get over it.

The other amazingly cool thing that happened recently is that I was a clue on Jeopardy! I've been a fan of that show for decades and even wanted to be a contestant on it back in the nineties when I was smart. The category was "comics" and the clue was something like,"'Weirdo' could be another name for this cartoon by Dan Piraro that first appeared as a replacement for 'The Far Side.'" (That thing about being a replacement for The Far Side isn't strictly accurate, Bizarro began running a few years before Far Side was retired, but at least they didn't call me "Don".) Best of all, the first contestant to ring in got it right! How depressing would it be if I was the subject of a clue on Jeopardy! and all three contestants just scratched their heads and huffed? (By the way, the exclamation point at the end of "Jeopardy" is actually part of their official name. I didn't want you to think I was just tremendously excited every time I type it.)

I'd love to post tiny vid clips of both of these television events on my web site, so if any of the handful of folks who read this blog know how to get hold of the Jeopardy! folks, let me know.

Last summer we hired a guy to tear out the tiny kitchen in our Brooklyn apartment and put in a bigger one. He said it would take 8 to 10 weeks and x amount of money. He is still not done and it has cost 2 times x amount of money so far. We've been living like junkies for four months now, with no kitchen, no money, and lots of dirt and noise.

On the plus side, nobody close to me has ended up in prison, I have no terminal illnesses that I know of, and more Americans each day realize what some of us have said all along about the Bush administration. Too little, too late, but I'm trying to end the year with a positive spin.

That's it for this week. I hope you had a dandy holiday season, if you're into that sort of thing. Attached is my wife's and my holiday e-card from this year. It is not Photoshopped, we found that gravestone in Montreal last summer. Enjoy!

I try to remember to post this thing once a week but it is difficult. My brain is already busy with thinking all the time, and then there is sleeping, fantasizing, zoning out, drinking, hating the Bush administration, etc. So much to do.

I read some good books lately: "Cloud Atlas" by David Mitchell. Awesome.
"The Kite Runner" by a guy with an Afghani name. Not a great writer but a story that really holds your interest and I enjoyed it.
"The Life of Pi" by somebody whose name I can't recall. An interesting philosophical study the ending of which makes the whole book worth it.
I'm currently reading "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins. I'm a big fan of his and so far this book rocks. I first read his book "The Selfish Gene" back in the 80s and LOVED it.

Saw two Robert Altman films recently, "Nashville" and "Prairie Home Companion". Hated the first one, enjoyed the second one much more.

In one of my past blogs a couple of people worried that the chicken in that picture didn't like my cigar. What you don't know is that that chicken has twice started fires in the barn by smoking cigars of her own. We've had to resort to searching her and her nesting box before bedtime each evening. She is allowed to smoke outdoors, however, and the two of us often enjoy a Cuban together on the porch at sunset.

In case it matters to you, I have been selling freelance cartoons to Parade Magazine, that one that comes in some Sunday papers around the country. If your local paper has it, check them out. They've finally updated their comics section, which has been the same three features since the invention of gravity. (I know the folks who produced those and they're terrific and talented. I'm glad Parade is updating, however. Time marches on.) Now they're printing cartoons from a small group of single-panel folks like me. If you like my work, email Parade and tell them so. That way they'll be less likely to replace me with some other cartoonist who maybe has better dope or a bigger gun. Thanks!..

Here is a picture of me and one of my friends at Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. I can't remember her name now, which makes me a pretty crappy friend come to think of it, but there are over a hundred chickens at the sanctuary and I lose track sometimes. My wife and I are founding board members of WFAS and we regularly rescue and foster chickens and other farm animals from live markets and god-knows-where else in NYC, then find them permanent homes. By "permanent" I mean ones where they will be allowed to live out their lives in peace and not be killed for their flavor. I wasn't killed as a child and turned into a nugget, so I try to treat others with the same respect. Yes, you're right, I'm pretty radical about this stuff.

You might notice I'm smoking a big-ass cigar in this picture. I love fine cigars. No, they don't give you cancer like cigarettes because you don't inhale them. No, mouth cancer is not a big risk, as it is extremely rare. If you want cancer and heart disease, however, eating animal protein and fat is a MUCH better way of getting it. But don't get me started.

Thanks for checking out my blog. I hope it is bloggy enough to give you a smile.
Your freaky pal,
Dan

"I've been monkeying around with turning my cartoons into short animations. Not sure what I'll do with them yet. Here are the first two efforts, hope you like them." Tell me your thoughts.

Just wanted to give a shout out to my blog list and tell you all how psyched I am. I've been getting emails all day telling me that I was a clue on Jeopardy last night! How cool is that?!

The category was "Cartoons" and the clue was: "Weirdo" would be another name for this Dan Piraro comic that began as a replacement for "The Far Side"

And the contestant GOT IT RIGHT! After 23 years of syndicated comics, I've finally hit the big time! Of course, my cartoon started running ten years before The Far Side was retired so it wasn't accurate, but STILL!

-Dan