Caption contest Winner

"It's like a frisbee, but a with a chewy soft center."

-Beth Hundsdorfer

Congrats Beth! If you would like a signed copy, complete with your caption, email me at dunlapshohl@gmail.com

Pete

Return to Sender

Film Fest Rebukes Tinsel Town, Picks Second D-S Flick

In a move that industry observers called brave, uncompromising, and perhaps suicidal, the intrepid selection committee at the Anchorage International Film Festival chose "XT and ME" for inclusion in its Snowdance program of Alaska films.

The animated expose, not starring Matt Damon, nor Julia Roberts and without a special appearance by Wallace Shawn in a tour de force performance as the star-crossed little alien, is an unflinching, gut-wrenching look at the seamy underbelly of Hollywood itself.

Piling laurels on the shadowy and reclusive director, who goes only by the name Peter Dunlap-Shohl, the committee also added his animation "Susitna Story" to its Snowdance selections. Susitna story is still slated to screen in the festival's animation division as well.

When reached for comment, the unassuming director plugged the upcoming performance of the band Whiskeyjacks at the downtown Anchorage Pub McGinley's, muttered something about realizing a lifelong dream to appear as a member of a Pogues cover band, and then abruptly hung up. More proof, as if any was needed, that life in Alaska is getting stranger by the hour.

The Cutting Room Floor: Death of a Music Video

I was about halfway through this project when it suddenly hit me that I was actually about 1/16th of the way through this project. Accounting for my sunny optimistic nature, I had to knock it down from 1/16 to 1/20.

Worried studio heads were called in, histrionic entreaties were made, lawyers summoned, threats exchanged, desperate deals were put together and then fell apart.

To make a long story short, the bastards pulled the plug on the Snow Blind Rooster Schnozzbone music video. But I did manage to salvage this little animated snippet of the immortal Rooster performing "Talking Sarah Palin Blues". You're welcome, posterity.

(If the video piques your curiosity and you would like to hear Schnozzbone's entire rendition just drop down two posts and click on the title of the post "Whatever Happened to Sarah Palin")

Carded

Whatever Happened to Sarah Palin (Talking Sarah Blues)

Click on the post title above to hear something, uh, Dylanesque. And a one... and a two....

Bad Hairday

In which an impulsive, seemingly inconsequential decision by a young man to shave his head, ends up in shocking carnage. WARNING: Contains footage hairy people may find disturbing.

Gag me! Frozen Grin Caption Contest

One of the funnest things I did at the Daily News was creating and running the reader caption contest "Name that 'Toon" Since one of my objects while passing through this vale of tears is to have fun, I decided there is no reason not to have a caption contest here.

No sooner said, than done.

I'm not inclined to make a lot of rules for this so here are the guidelines:
1. Peter will be Judge, Jury and Lord High Executioner.
2. Of course my friends, dimly remembered acquaintances and relatives will be allowed to participate, who else reads this blog anyway?
3. Total strangers also welcome. A stranger is just a friend you haven't met! (Thank you Matt Groening.)

4. Deadline: Noon the Thursday following a week after publication of the cartoon. Winner will be announced within a few days.
5. Submit your caption by clicking the comments link under the post. It will help if you start the title of your post with "Caption" so I can easily identify it as part of the caption contest.
6. Kibitzing is welcome, and if well thought out will likely influence the judge. Then again, maybe not. But the judge's decision is the ultimate authority on the question of who won.
7. These guidelines in no way limit the judge from imposing rulings judgments etc. at a later time should his exalted supremeness change his mind about something or should an issue not covered explicitly in these guidelines rear its ugly head.

I'll be happy to send a printed copy of the cartoon with the winning caption to the author provided that they identify themselves with the submission and later provide me a snail mail address. Participants may submit anonymously, but anonymous submissions will not be eligible to receive a printed copy.(Note: Their are no "originals". My drawings are created entirely on the computer, there is no "hard" version on paper.)

All set? Let's try it!

Unintelligent Design

This was inspired by a cartoon pamphlet warning that I and practically everyone I know will go to Hell in a fiery hand basket. I decided to come up with some fire and brimstone of my own. Here I present The Apocalypse, as it might have been engineered by the great Rube Goldberg

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Stop Me Before I Remodel Again...

Anchorage International Film Fest Picks "Susitna Story" for one of its animation selections

Riding Frank Gerjevic's strong breakout performance as narrator, my animation "Susitna Story" scored a place in the 2008 AIFF. As the Brits say "YEE-HAWR" I got so excited I created a trailer for it, posted here. I hope it whets your appetite for the screening to be held in early December. More details as they emerge.

Lost in Translation: Sarah Palin Captioned for B.S. Impaired

STATE OF DENIAL

The Alaska Flag song, Corrupt Bastards Verse

Back in the early 60's, students at Turnagain Elementary School would start the school day with a flag raising ceremony during which the assembled multitude would raise their shrill little voices in a rousing chorus of the Alaska Flag Song. Then we'd skin a moose and turn the meat over to the lunch ladies to make into stew for our afternoon meal. Often in winter, we'd watch Dr. Bill Mills' classic film about the dangers of frostbite. This included graphic footage of how to deal with the resulting "blebs", which resemble overgrown red grapes. Invariably at least one kid lost his moose stew. Sometimes more hapless tykes would join in, for the second choral performance of the day.

I never got frostbite, and I never forgot the Alaska Flag song. But this ain't the Alaska of the sixties, and the song was desperately in need of an update, given the Alaska we live in now. Reluctantly, I took on the job, adding today's panhandling politicians to the gold panners of yore. Who needs a frostbite flick? Now you can get nauseated singing our state song!

Note: This originally appeared in the Anchorage Daily News, where it prompted complaints to the publisher. That's keeping your eye on the sleazeball folks!

Cosmetics

Mean Streets North

We mark the passing of time with a series of holidays. These are the days without which the year would be incomplete. Some are official, like the Fourth of July. Some are cultural like Halloween, or Thanksgiving. And some, for instance, the Superbowl, are unrecognized as holidays yet, but celebrated with all the pomp and excess of the classics.

Into this last category falls The First Day of Snow in Anchorage. We celebrate this day with a number of special traditions. Most adults rise from bed, face their windows and curse silently, or aloud, according to their family practice or temperament. (the exception to this rule is anyone who owns an auto body-shop, as we shall presently see.) Shortly after begins the main event, the Morning Commute Demolition Parade!

Groggy and tense, the citizens of our fair city take to the roads and try to recall how to drive on surfaces slick and treacherous. Or not.

With an uncanny regularity the number of fender-benders rockets into the high double digits as the populace skids, caroms, slides and ricochets through red lights, across lanes and into the ditches. It's as if a certain number of automobiles must be sacrificed to the Gods of Winter, and it happens every year, as sure as people get drunk and expose themselves at Mardi Gras.

Today it happened, at least in our neighborhood. I got up this morning, looked out the window, and cursed (silently.) Then I remembered a tune I composed last year for this event. It is, to my knowledge, the only Anchorage-First-Snow-Day carol. I dug it up and present it here for your listening pleasure.

I know I am, but what am I?

My ex-boss and world renowned Palin Pundit Mike Carey, wrote a handsome obituary for my Daily News career that was published yesterday. I can't resist sharing the first two on-line comments, which illustrate what a cartoonist should expect if they are doing the job remotely right:

Example 1, Validation by appreciation, from a reader who signs herself Sweet Polly:

"This is a truly sad day. Peter is a talented, insightful, hilarious, and 'spot on' cartoonist."

Example 2, Validation through vituperation, from Blue and Gold:

"Good riddance you leftist tool. When is Carey's last day?"

I can only say, sincere thanks to both of you.

(Oh, and "Blue and Gold" why don't you grow a pair, or heck, just grow ONE, and sign your real name?)

Pete

Welcome

Hello from Alaska cartoonist Peter Dunlap-Shohl. Here you'll find animations, political cartoons, songs, short comic pieces, and other products of my fevered imagination just as fast as I can create them and put them up.

As cartoonist for the Anchorage Daily News, I've been amusing, annoying, and having fun at the expense of my fellow Alaskans for over a quarter of a century. I plan to continue that here, and to work to amuse and annoy the wider world as well. There is a big ol' archive of my daily News cartoonshere and animations about Alaska politicians, like Sarah Palin and Ted Stevens here.


To get things started, here is a recently completed animated video that tells a shocking story that will blow the lid off an old Hollywood scandal. Drugs, sex, booze and lost innocence combine with a ruthless quest for stardom to form a potent cocktail that will shatter your most precious illusions. Note: This is a work of the imagination, mine, to be exact. So remember to suspend disbelief... until it's over.