The blog of Richard Thompson, caricaturist, creator of "Cul de Sac," and winner of the 2011 Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Metro Games
In these purse-tightening times it behooves us to make our own fun. This is for all you commuters out there killing some time on the Metro each day. Anybody who wants to organize a team, please let me know.
Solitary game for me, when I used to go into town from MD some afternoons, was to target somebody to draw as unobtrusively as possible. This is fun. Got a few happy quick sketches on occasion, & always felt a little subversive (there a pun there? I can't tell), if not quite dangerous. Loser goes home w/ an empty sketchbook wishing he'd taken something to read instead.
When someone sits down next to me on the Metro and loudly plays an Audio or Video Device Without Earphones that Restrict the Sound to the Wearer, I use the opportunity to practice my Tuvan throat-singing. I always win.
Mike & Mike, yeah, our subway is pretty low-key and less of an adventure compared to NY, but it's still a great place to surreptitiously people-watch. And there are some crazies on our Metro, and they always seem to find me.
Paul & Teach, I've always been to shy about drawing in public, and I've never done it on the Metro, except sub-consciously. But once, like 20 years ago, I realized that somebody at the end of the car was drawing, and among other things he was drawing me (it kinda made my skin crawl). And again, I was too shy to go take a look at what he'd done. Was that one of you?
Freddy, I could listen to Tuvan throat-singing all day, especially if it had some backup singers doing falsetto.
Kid, only if it's a hidden-camera show.
Htgt, did you really? I've come awfully close to losing, especially back when I was riding the Red Line out to Shady Grove late at night. Spooky!
I have played a variation of the nap game; read an interesting book and see if you can reach the end of a chapter before your stop. Last time I tried it I got so engrossed in the book that I overshot my stop. oops.
9 comments:
I think I played one of these when I was in town for the SPX. The Metro is far more civilized than the NYC Subway System!
Solitary game for me, when I used to go into town from MD some afternoons, was to target somebody to draw as unobtrusively as possible. This is fun. Got a few happy quick sketches on occasion, & always felt a little subversive (there a pun there? I can't tell), if not quite dangerous. Loser goes home w/ an empty sketchbook wishing he'd taken something to read instead.
When someone sits down next to me on the Metro and loudly plays an Audio or Video Device Without Earphones that Restrict the Sound to the Wearer, I use the opportunity to practice my Tuvan throat-singing. I always win.
I've played the draw people game - but the way I play you know you've lost when you end up with a sketch book full of dirty looks.
At least we know that if the whole cartoonist thing doesn't work out, you have a future as reality TV show host.
I've played - and lost at - Nap Roulette. It was quite an adventure to get home that night...
Re NYC, our subway goes far less places than the NY one, so of course you see less interesting people which might affect paul bowman's game.
Mike & Mike, yeah, our subway is pretty low-key and less of an adventure compared to NY, but it's still a great place to surreptitiously people-watch. And there are some crazies on our Metro, and they always seem to find me.
Paul & Teach, I've always been to shy about drawing in public, and I've never done it on the Metro, except sub-consciously. But once, like 20 years ago, I realized that somebody at the end of the car was drawing, and among other things he was drawing me (it kinda made my skin crawl). And again, I was too shy to go take a look at what he'd done. Was that one of you?
Freddy, I could listen to Tuvan throat-singing all day, especially if it had some backup singers doing falsetto.
Kid, only if it's a hidden-camera show.
Htgt, did you really? I've come awfully close to losing, especially back when I was riding the Red Line out to Shady Grove late at night. Spooky!
I have played a variation of the nap game; read an interesting book and see if you can reach the end of a chapter before your stop. Last time I tried it I got so engrossed in the book that I overshot my stop. oops.
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