August 2012
This is a reflective essay about my comic Supernormal Stimuli. The comic is about the work of ethologist Niko Tinbergen, and was inspired by reading a book by psychologist Deirdre Barrett. I discuss where my dinosaur 'reptile brain' artwork concept came from.
July 2012
This is a reflective essay about my comic Purpose. The comic was hugely influenced by the book Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. This essay shares the headspace I was in when writing Purpose.
July 2012
This is a reflective essay about my comic St Matthew Island, which is one of the most popular items on this website. This essay describes my research process, including the real life story of St Matthew Island's reindeer.
March 2012
Released to the web in 2009, my comic Amusing Ourselves to Death was the most popular thing on my website, and a mini internet phenomenon. So how come I decided to remove this comic from my website?
January 2012
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn was my favourite book that I read in 2011. Broadly about the concept of 'sustainability', it is a book about the author's quest to understand the deep reasons why our civilisation acts in destructive ways.
January 2012
Blankets by Craig Thompson was my favourite book that I read in 2010. It is an autobiographical graphic novel which tells Thompson's experiences growing up in small-town Wisconsin in a religious family.
December 2011
Why are we drawn to excessively sweet and fatty foods? Why do we find it hard to pull our eyes away from the flicker of TV sets in waiting rooms and cafés? Why are we compelled to check and re-check our inboxes and Facebook pages throughout the day? These questions are answered in my new comic Supernormal Stimuli.
July 2011
Here is a list of the books I have read over the last two years. I'm trying to mix up my usual raft of environmental/sciencey/economic non-fiction. Newly in the mix are some classic fiction (e.g. Moby Dick, The Catcher in the Rye and Treasure Island), along with modern classics from the graphic novel stable (e.g. Maus, Blankets and Sin City).
June 2011
Triple J is currently polling listeners for their "Hottest 100 Australian albums of all time". Here's what I voted for.