If you’ve never heard the expression, “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride,” this cartoon is probably fairly inscrutable. Even if you’re familiar with that expression, it’s still a bit weird. I didn’t really have any specific destination when creating this gag, which is unusual, I was just riffing to amuse myself, ended up here, and thought I’d share it with you.

I’ve always been one to look for deeper meaning in life—something more satisfying than the prevailing capitalist message we Americans get a thousand times a day: money buys happiness. If that were true, the richest people in the world would also be the most happy and that is demonstrably not true.

I’ve not found deeper meaning in religion though I spent many years searching for it there. That is not to say, however, that there is nothing to be said for the power of mythology to give meaning to our lives. That process does not actively begin by believing mythology as truth; that an invisible power will come to our assistance when we need it most or that the next life will be so much fun it will more than make up for the trials and tribulations of this one.

I think that instead, you have to embrace some version of the “hero’s journey” —a concept that is present in most mythology—and that means giving up the comfort and predictability of our mediocre existences and actively searching for who we are and what our subconscious is telling us we need to do. It’s much scarier and more difficult than simply going to a house of worship every week and leaving the rest to whatever god the graphics and/or statues there attempt to depict. It can be a lifelong project of self discovery.

The whole topic and process is vague , illusive, and mysterious, but so is finding deeper meaning. My subconscious seems to be telling me to pay attention to my lifelong drive to make art from the images that swirl around in my mind. But they aren’t cartoons, they’re something else. And they seem to come from somewhere else, too, although I have no idea from where and don’t have a clue as to where that might be.

And that’s the real difference between my cartoon art and my fine art: Cartoons are fully-formed ideas that come from my impressions of the world and that I then turn into graphics that teach others about my thoughts, but fine art is an attempt to capture pieces of my subconscious, turn them into art, and then discover what those images are teaching me about myself.

If any of this is of interest to you, I encourage you to visit diegopiraro.com and see how my “other” art is shaping up. Thanks for putting up with my philosophizing thus far. This week I’m in Oaxaca, a town I find extremely inspiring, so I’m getting all deep.

Now let’s see what journeys Wayno’s cartoons were taking us on this week…

And science was designed to frighten conservatives but was later discovered to be a good way to understand reality.

Sure, whatever. If you’ll just drop your parent’s bribe into the tip jar, I’ll get you enrolled immediately.

We’d like to apologize ahead of time if toddlers begin to frequent bars as a result of having seen this cartoon. #MeTwo

With a dollop of chilled cream cheese and some pesto, please.

Don’t ask why, but this reminds me of my email list. If you’re not on it, please scroll down to the bottom of this post to the bright orange background and drop in your email addy. I’ll send you an email each time I post (almost never more than once a week) and I won’t give your addy to anyone ever. No way.

Permission to, like, approach the bench, daddio.

Over on Wayno’s weekly blog, his usual habit of ending it with an oddball video link comes in the form of beatnik poetry this week, Jazz Pickles. (Tap your bongo if you’re old enough to remember Dobie Gillis!)

FRANKENSTEIN’S monster, Bride of FRANKENSTEIN, FRANKENSTEIN’S castle—this guy is as bad as the Apricot Assfruit when it comes to naming stuff after himself. Probably not as mad, though.

That concludes this week’s tour of the junk drawers of our minds, Jazz Pickles. Thanks for tossing in your paperclips and rubber bands. If you enjoy what we do and appreciate that we do it for free, without ads, please consider glancing at the following links. All of us at Rancho Bizarro will roast a marshmallow over the campfire in your honor tonight.

Until next time, be happy, be smart, be nice, and resist ignorance, fascism, and nationalism.

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