Thought I'd drop a line on the blog. We finished the latest issue off and it should be in homes by mid week but what's strange is that we spent much of Friday taking phone calls from people complimenting the magazine. It must be people looking forward to the next issue, since the new one isn't out yet. It just seemed odd.
The mood in the city is pretty low these days. The mill strike is still ongoing and a number of places seem to be feeling the pinch. Another odd thing is that New Brunswick has been advertising snowmobiling in Miramichi all over the television, yet when you arrive here, the nearest place to rent snowmobiles is about an hour and a half upriver. Normally, this is a major revenue generator in the off-season months but now all the local suppliers seem to be getting out of it, on account of the high cost of insurance. Overall, insurance prices are basically killing most businesses here. I spoke with a friend the other night who had been talking to a hotel owner. They had to close their walking trails, bike rentals, and even get rid of their deep fat frier in order to find an insurance company willing to take them. It's absolutely ludicrous.
Between strikes, seasonal employment, and insurance stifling business, it's no wonder that I am the only person in my social circle that is working. The whole situation makes me temper any personal successes with a huge degree of WTF?!
Sunday, February 27, 2005
Friday, February 04, 2005
February's issue
It's taken most of the week to get around to posting this month's cover. The issue hit homes on Tuesday and has reached more Miramichiers than ever. Circulation is up to over 7000.
In other news, I've decided to take a break, indefinitely, from cartooning from the Leader. This is for a number of reasons, the latest being that they made changes to today's cartoon without notifying me. You can see the original, final cartoon, on my cartooning website.
