Londons Times Cartoons

Google's #1 Ranked Londons Times Cartoons Adds 2000 New Gifts/Collectibles

2009-07-26T12:50:00.000-07:00

Rick London, founder of the #1 offbeat cartoon on the Internet, Londons Times, the addition to over 2000 new Londons Times Cartoons funny gifts and collectibles to his Rick London Gifts & Collectibles online shop.

When asked why he would increase the merchandise inventory in the summer (off-season) months he replied "Just felt like the right thing to do", but added "Only kidding. A lot of our clients/friends enjoy buying off-season since the prices are lower; and since a majority of our merchandise are 'year round" items, like t-shirts, mouse pads, greeting cards, and such, the time of year to add products is not usually an issue.

London started his cartoon in a vacated warehouse in rural Ms. with no knowledge of the Internet, $300, a phone line with dial up internet, a book called "Internet For Dummies" and a rescue mutt, his favorite dog (he'd owned dogs and cats all his life) name "Thor" who he says he named "Administrative Assistant", but adds, "In retrospect, I now I know I worked for Thor. He was a much smarter boss.

London is also a freelance writer and enjoys the status of "Expert Author" at Ezinearticles.com and is a regular contributor to the Herald de Paris. His fiance, Lee Hiller, of Oregon, is the Love Advice columnist for the Herald.

A percentage of all Londons Times merchandise sales benefits animal, children and environmental causes.

A New Philosophy Of Cartooning by Rick London

2009-06-18T09:43:00.000-07:00

I entered the business of cartooning in March of 1997 having no idea what was to come. Before I embarked upon this "mysterious venture", I decided it would be to my advantage to consult with top cartoonists around the country. I was surprised how many of them were "open and available" to speak with me were. Fortunately, I was both too young and naive to know NOT to bother "the masters". So when Charles Schulz picked up his phone, I started asking the five journalistic W's (Who, what, when, why, and where). His (and others) advice turned out to be just what the doctor ordered. I was starting to "develop a philosophy" of cartooning even though I had not even yet begun my amazing adventure into online cartoon merchandising.

Why did Schulz become a cartoonist? Like me, he'd tried just about everything else and didn't do it very well. I asked him if there was any money to be made in such a venture. I could almost "see" his smile on the other side of the line. He assured me there was plenty, but not to expect it in newspapers. He told me that even if you do get syndicated, the money is still just pennies per newspaper and that the smart way to approach it, that is, to look at it as a career, is licensed merchandise, such as tees, caps, mugs, etc. He told me he made millions more in licensing than in publishing.

I told him I did not draw very well (which is true) and, that I wanted to try something very new and different. It was to be a color cartoon in which the artwork, for the most part was more "fine art" than cartoon art, and that I wanted a "different look and feel to each cartoon, but a theme, focused on wordplay and picture-play in which, at times, the viewer might have to take a second or two to "get it".

Schulz assured me that nearly 20% of all cartoons we see in the newspapers are "team efforts" that is, an artist and writer, and that if I did not feel my own artwork was "up to snuff", to recruit an artist to draw my concepts. He also encouraged me to read as much as I could about Walt Disney because what I was about to attempt was actually a "Disney model without animation"; he actually called it "Disney meets Gary Larson", which was a bit flattering to say the least.

I also spoke with several other cartoonists, most of whom created in the same genre as Gary Larson's Far Side, such as Leigh Rubin (Rubes), Dave Coverly (Speed Bump), and Jon McPherson (Close To Home). I was amazed, again, at how open and available they made themselves. In fact Leigh and I became good friends and talked regularly on the phone. He was already one of the world's leading cartoonists, and I was just starting. That didn't matter to him. I will never forget that kind of generosity and his willingness to lead me in a direction that made it work for me. And of course the same is true for Charles "Sparky" Schulz (Sparky by the way was what he liked to be called. That was the name of his favorite dog, a Schnauzer; and I knew I liked him right away. I have a tendency to "hang with" fellow animal lovers, and Schulz also had an uncanny biting wit, often held back in "Peanuts", even though it was always funny, was meant for family audiences, his target. In real life, he displayed a sense humor that reminded me a great deal of some of my British favorites such as John Cleese of Monty Python.

There seemed to be a common thread regarding "the philosophy of cartooning, amongst all of the masters. That is, "Sure, you must make a living in this world, but keep the day job. Cartooning is a labor of love, and, only 1% or so actually end up doing it for a living. One must approach it with a very open mind and a love for making people laugh, and to be flexible, as the Internet at the time, was changing the whole nature of the "cartoon business".

All of this advice turned out to be pragmatic. The Internet changed everything. Licensed merchandise became even more of "the key" to making it work than Sparky Schulz had felt; and he had seen it coming. Today, though my cartoons appear in publications worldwide; mostly trade magazines, college textbooks and on websites, the majority of my take is from the sales of funny gifts and collectibles. When I look back over the past twelve years it has all becomes a blur. I have had the opportunity to work with some of the finest illustrators in the world, who could comprehend and render my concepts and writings, Thinking back to the words of the cartoon masters it is still a labor of love.

Although I am one of the few lucky ones who has been able to eek out a living via cartoons, even if I didn't I would probably still be doing it, or something creative, merely because I don't care for water fountain gossip and power-ties that choke my neck while doing work I despise (or simply can't do very well). In the end, if someone is entertained, or feels better because of something I have created, or a job or jobs are created because I thought of a cartoon and it was created, I go to bed thinking, "No, I didn't save the world (as I felt surely I would in the '60's), but I hopefully, when I leave it, it will be a little bit nicer place to live.

Rick London is a writer, cartoonist and designer. He is the founder of Google's #1 ranked offbeat cartoon Londons Times, founder of the Shoes That Amuse the world's only woman's shoes featuring famous philosophers and their love quotes, and is designer of Mariel Hemingway Licensed & Co-Founder of SEO firm PenAndInkInc.

Why Not To Term The Term Addict Lightly (Even "I'm A Twitter Addict".

2009-03-24T22:26:00.001-07:00

I AM NOT A “TWITTER ADDICT” (AND NEITHER ARE YOU)

c2009 By Rick London

I grew up what one might call fortunate. I had all “the opportunities” in that I came from a successful and well-known family. Two of my family members were two of the most well-known worldwide in their trade, one a poetess, and one a U.S. Supreme Court Judge. Being “successful” is such a misnomer in our culture. As Leo Tolstoy pointed out in his opening of Anna Karenina, “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”. . Success is not “just more money”; in fact money often has very little to do with it. It is about happiness combined with a healthy lifestyle, loving family and friends.

The western world is still learning that depression, addiction, and other emotional disorders exist and pays no mind to social status. My own family had its share of alcoholism, addiction, suicides
and much trauma. I am not sure why, I survived, but I did, after many years of “acting out”. I returned to college at age forty-four. I learned new skills and a trade. I learned to love stability, nature, know how precious family, friends and other loved ones are, the necessity of communing with nature and animals, and taking care of my body/mind/and soul.

There is still way too much stigma attached to addiction, depression, and other real medical ailments, in which the one afflicted cannot help it any more than one suffering with cancer, diabetes, heart disease, or multiple (you name the disease).

These other diseases do not have stigmas. In fact the only two disease of which I am aware in which the person suffering from the disease is “identified with the disease”. For example, if a person walking down the street with congestive heart failure is seen, nobody says “There goes a heart diseased person”, if someone with cancer is observed, nobody says “There goes a cancerous person.

But if someone has an addiction, you can almost be sure, they will be described as “their disease”. “He/she is an addict” or “He she is an alcoholic”. Same is true with depression. “There goes Bill, he's
depressed you know” (as if that is the only asset Bill has...depression).

How do we stop this stigma. I believe the first step, has more to do with society (NOT afflicted with these diseases), than those with it. For instance, as innocent as it might seem (and cute/funny) to say “He/she is addicted to Twitter” or “He she is an Internet addict”; it lessens the severity of the scope of the disease. It may seem harmless, but it is not. Do I sit in judgment? Of course not. I used to say the same thing, until it came to my attention, I was furthering the stigma, therefore making it harder for struggling people to find real medical treatment.

I have worked in writing, media, and the entertainment business for almost three decades. The media has covered it so thoroughly, and how epidemic these disease are in it, that it would be redundant to
go into here with a sermon.

So who can facilitate change? I believe the media can. Major network media. They need to understand that “it's just not funny” to compare constructive, productive social networking such as Twitter or Facebook (or whatever) with a fatal disease such as an addiction. The “leader sets the tone” and in our country, the leaders, are often in the media.

I hope that one day, a brave, insightful “major media player” will read this article and help facilitate that it is “as uncool to correlate lethal diseases, and pin tags of modern day society at work, when, all it does is further the stigma, hence the depression, and finally death of the person suffering.

Please think about it. I am not for censorship, and anyone has the right to “make light of addiction, etc with the gratuitous “I'm a Twitter Addict”, but if you can see the harm it does, perhaps you'll think twice. There are millions of sufferers in our country, who need and want help, but won't get it, simply
because of “the jokes”, though done in fun. I know nobody means harm. But it is time to be conscious of this very serious stigma that we are prolonging, and deterring sufferers from receiving help.

Thank you for allowing me to share my views.

Londons Times Cartoons Offering $500 Gift Certificate To Lucky Twitter

2009-03-10T19:48:00.001-07:00

TOP GOOGLE OFFBEAT CARTOONIST/& OFFBEAT GIFT SHOP OWNER GIVING $500 GIFT CERTIFICATES TO LUCKY TWITTER

Dateline: Hot Springs, Ar. March 11, 2009: Cartoonist E-entreneur Rick London

announced today his firm, Rick London Group, LLC., is offering a $500 gift

certificate to his award-wining top-ranked offbeat cartoon funny gift stores, if Twitters

will put him at the top of Twitter. Making it “to the top” simply

means having the most followers. (His user name is “ricklondon”) on Twitter.

London's six award-winning Internet stores feature over 165,000 gift items

such as coffee mugs, T-shirts, gourmet coffee gift baskets (his own line of

farm-fresh coffee beans with cartoon mugs and coasters, teddy bears, maternity

wear, magnets, buttons, jogging suits, caps, aprons, hoodies, shoes, wall and

desk clocks, and much more more.

London is also the designer of (Shoes That Amuse) women's casual sneakers with

famous love quotations and graphics of the famous person who penned them,

featured recently in USA Today and AP Wire which will also be included in the

contest.

London adds, “But not to worry, even if I don't make it to the top, (Obama is

there now), I am giving a $100 certificate for the most 'retweets'. So I really

don't have to be at the top for other Twitters to win. Simply following me and

retweeting, and one can still win a $100 gift certificate,

easily, without even a drawing. We simply count the retweets of each Twitter

member at the end of the contest.

A re-tweet is when another blogger at Twitter copies and pastes your tweet with an

“RT” in front of it which stands for “retweet”, giving the original blogger credit

for the post, and, sharing it with , often a whole separate network of followers.

London will allow 120 days for the contest to end, and a name to be drawn at

random on his birthday which is July 16th. . London plans to print his page of

followers, cut the names into squares, place them in a box, and draw one.

London adds, “In addition, we plan to issue a press release, if the winner wishes,

including his/her name and web address to the wire services for yet more value to

the prizes. Londons adds, “There also will be a second prize winner, of a $100 gift

certificate.

In addition, a $50 second prize for the second most “retweets”.

The gift certificates will be good at all of London's stores. He founded Londons

Times on March 22, 1997, and it has grown to be one of the most visible sites on the

Internet, and Google's #1 ranked offbeat cartoon and gifts since 2005.

He will also add an extra $25 bonus gift certificate if the winner has visited his

main cartoon site and signs up for his monthly newsletter.

His stores include

Rick London Special Editions Top-selling funny gifts

Rick LondonWear Rare line of funny rock star memorabilia and other novelty gifts

Rick London Collection Huge variety of best-selling funny gift ideas

Londons Times Superstore Londons largest funny gift store and exclusively sells world's only gourmet coffee cartoon gift basket (Londons Own Line).

Rick London Organics (organic cotton tees) bearing his top-selling cartoon images.

Shoes That Amuse (World's Only Famous Love Quotation Shoes) These are not cartoon products but women's casual shoes he designs.

For more information: contact: info@londonstimes.us

For Spreadsheet (Temp Blog)

2009-03-06T09:02:00.001-08:00

Londons Times Cartoons Gets Ok From Keds For Offbeat Cartoons

2009-02-18T22:38:00.001-08:00

Londons Times Cartoons Becomes First Single-Panel Offbeat Cartoon On Shoes

Cartoonist/writer Rick London announced today that Keds has given the green light to at least 15 of his offbeat cartoons that now appear on a line of U.S. Keds for women on both slip-ons and lace-ups.

This development comes on the 11th year anniversary of Londons Times Cartoons. Rick London founded the cartoon in an abandoned Mississippi metal warehouse on a used pc in very bad shape, a few dollars, and a phone line.

That was in 1997. Today it is the most visible cartoon on the Internet with over 8000 images, luring over 3 million annual visitors and has ranked the #1 offbeat cartoon on Google since 2005.

These funky shoes can be seen at Rick London Funny Gifts.

Londons Times Cartoons Now On Woman's U.S. Keds

2009-02-18T22:18:00.000-08:00

Londons Times Cartoons Becomes First Single-Panel Offbeat Cartoon On Shoes

Cartoonist/writer Rick London announced today that Keds has given the green light to at least 15 of his offbeat cartoons that now appear on a line of U.S. Keds for women on both slip-on and lace-ups.

This development comes on the 11th year anniversary of Londons Times Cartoons. Rick London founded the cartoon in an abandoned Mississippi metal warehouse on a used pc in very bad shape, a few dollars, and a phone line.

That was in 1997. Today it is the most visible cartoon on the Internet with over 8000 images, luring over 3 million annual visitors and has ranked the #1 offbeat cartoon on Google since
2005.

The offbeat cartoon Keds can be seen at Funny Shoes

Google's #1 Ranked Offbeat Cartoon, Londons Times Celebrates 11 Years In March

2009-02-17T16:53:00.001-08:00

Cartoonist and founder of Londons Times Cartoons, Rick London, says "Beware of my idle cartoons of March, but I hope not very idle".

London's story is legendary within the cartoon world. He began his venture with no art background, no money, no home (he lived in an abandoned warehouse in rural Ms. for a year, had a phone line, a stray mutt, $200 and a beat up clone pc computer. Oh, and a book titled "Internet For Dummies" as he'd not learned the net yet.

Eleven years later Londons Times Cartoons or LT Cartoons is one of the most visible cartoons on the Internet with over 3 million visitors per year and has been the #1 ranked offbeat cartoon on the Internet since 2005 (Google Rankings).

London owns a number of E-stores featuring his cartoon merchandise, funny tees,
funny mouse pads, funny greeting cards, funny clothing, and other cartoon collectibles.

Cartoonist and founder of Londons Times Cartoons, Rick London, says "Beware of my idle cartoons of March, but hopefully not very idle".

London's story is legendary within the cartoon world. He began his venture in March of 1997, with no art background, no money, no home (he lived in an abandoned warehouse in rural Ms. for a year, had a phone line, a stray mutt, $200 and a beat up clone pc computer. Oh, and a book titled "Internet For Dummies" as he'd not learned the net yet.

Eleven years later Londons Times Cartoons or LT Cartoons is one of the most visible cartoons on the Internet with over 3 million visitors per year and has been the #1 ranked offbeat cartoon on the Internet since 2005 (Google Rankings).

London is known to love “all things Irish” so he is glad Londons Times Cartoons falls
within a week of St. Patrick's Day (anniversary is March 22)

Since it's beginnings London has created a number of “world's firsts” such as:

First offbeat cartoon to reach the Alexa top 100,000 most popular websites

First offbeat cartoon to be approved by U.S. Keds as one of their products

First (and only) cartoon of any type to “go green with merchandising”; producing
100% organic cotton tees for men and women at Rick London Organics (Bono
of U2 provides the textiles for all women's tees; American Apparel for men's,)

First offbeat cartoon to stay at Google's #1 ranking for 3 years in a row (Going on Fourth)

First cartoon to create a gourmet coffee gift basket (the mug and coasters feature LT Cartoons)

First and only cartoonist to create custom cartoons for Dr. Vinton Cerf (Father Of The Internet), Barbara Orbison (Widow of Roy Orbison), and Xaviera Hollander (The Happy Hooker) First (and only) offbeat cartoon to receive approval from the U.S. Post Office for real postage; more than 30 images

London owns a number of E-stores featuring his cartoon merchandise, funny tees,
funny mouse pads, funny greeting cards, funny clothing, and other cartoon collectibles.

London adds, “When he started, it was merely a hobby between he (the writer and concept man) and a few artists. We had no idea it would grow like it did and take a life of its own. I still wake up every day thinking it might be a dream and will disappear any day now. But it keeps growing and our merchandise remains popular. I am very grateful, and I thank you, the public for making it what it is. We could not have done anything close to this without your continued support.”

He says when he started, it was merely a hobby between he (the writer and concept man) and a few artists. We had no idea it would grow like it did and take a life of its own. I still wake up every day thinking it might be a dream and will disappear any day now. But it keeps growing and our merchandise remains popular. I am very
grateful, and I thank you, the public for making it what it is. We could not have done anything close to this without your support.

Londons Times Cartoons Has More World's 1sts

2009-02-02T15:57:00.000-08:00

Londons Times Cartoons, founded by Rick London in 1997, has several more "world's firsts" and "world only" under it's belt.

A. Londons Times Became the first cartoon for the U.S. Post Office to approve
it on real U.S. funny postage stamps available at the Rick London Funny Gift Store. About 30 different images are in circulation now.

B. Londons Times Cartoons is the first offbeat cartoon to be the #1 ranked on Google 3 years in a row.

C. Londons Times Cartoons is the first cartoon to "go green" with it's merchandising. It has opened an online shop of funny tees of using 100% organic cotton (for men and women)

D. Londons Times is the first cartoon to feature offbeat single panel cartoons
on funky women's shoes>. (or any shoes for that matter) at our Rick London Funny Gift Store.

Rick London founded Londons Times Cartoons in 1997 in an abandoned Ms. warehouse where he lived and worked for a year. He started with only $300, a beat up IBM
clone computer, a phone line, a book called "Internet For Dummies" and his late
stray mutt dog "Thor". (and the clothes on his back). He had lost everything in the
1994 Northridge Earthquake in Ca. London now lives in the Ouachita Mountains of
Arkansas and owns 6 online stores and is a return-to-school nontraditional adult
student at age 54.

Emotions Play A Part In Holiday Gift-Giving

2008-09-15T15:39:00.000-07:00

What motivates you to buy. Whether it is a vacation to Fiji, or even Peoria, a brand new Mercedes, or perhaps a used VW Beetle, or a Gucci bag or a nice slightly used but gently worn sweater from the local Goodwill, would you believe emotions play a big part?

Whether it is a consumable for self, or a gift for someone else, I find that a lot of motivations come into play. At age 54, I tend not to buy as much for myself as I did in my younger more “self-absorbed” days, that is, when it was important for people not only to know me, but know what I possessed (as if they cared….they were too busy buying things for self to make sure others knew them and what all they possessed). Ahh yes, the good old days of the upwardly mobile yuppies.

Today, I get a real kick out of buying gifts or cards or both, often for no apparent reason, and give them to those close to me. I won’t just buy any gift, or send any flower to my significant other. Today the gift has to really mean something of significance, though it need not be of a major expense, and sometimes it is. For instance, a very significant (female) other and I like to joke often about Victoria’s Secret merchandise.

It is not that we have any kind of fetish or unnatural desire of their products; we just both find it funny how, at one time, it was such an “underground store”, not too unlike Frederick’s Of Hollywood, which, for whatever reason has decided to keep it’s “underground image”, whereas V.S. (as she and i like to call it), has become as mainstream as mom, apple pie, and sex toy parties.

Since I am a cartoonist and design a great many images onto a variety of products such as funny t-shirts, key chains, aprons, mouse pads, etc. I recently decided to send her a variety of funny gift items with one of my Victoria’s Secret cartoons on them. The total order was less than $100 and it was a boxful. Had I sent this same gift to, say, a close male friend, my brother, my sister, or my Uncle Jack, I do not believe any of them would have appreciated the gift as much, though they may have found it humorous.

So there are a variety of emotions that come into play when buying a gift. Uncle Jack for instance loves fishing, so I find myself picking out some of my cartoon items such as t-shirts or hoodies or mouse pads or whatever with various fish cartoons on them. I can assure you he appreciates them as much as my sweetie appreciates the Victoria’s Secret cartoon gifts, and appreciates it even more that I take the time to remember, he prefers fishing over v.s panties….at least for himself.

Londons Times Becomes Eco-Friendly

2008-05-07T10:16:00.000-07:00

Rick London announced today that his popular Londons Times
Cartoons www.londonstimes.us has launched a new totally
organic cotton t-shirt shop at www.zazzle.com/ricklondonorganics.
They offer worldwide shipping within 24 hours of order and
a 100% no-questions-asked 30 day guarantee.

London says "Only a small inventory is up now, but we will be
adding hundreds over the next weeks and thousands over the
course of the year. We will cater to both men and women".

The graphics on the tees are printed with totally nontoxic dyes.

Cartoonist/Former Race Car Driver Names Best Mechanic In Los Angeles

2008-02-27T19:45:00.000-08:00

I can remember the first "muscle car" I ever had. It was a Ford Torino with a 390 cubic inch engine. It had headers, was an 8 cylinder, and gas was around seventy eight cents per gallon.

Every Sunday afternoon I would head outside my hometown of Hattiesburg, Ms and race that Torino down the quarter-mile track at Hub City Raceway. I'll never forget their radio ads with the announcer yelling "Sunday, Sunday, Sundayyyyyyyyyyyy!", with each Sunday getting louder and louder.

One of the major topics of conversation was "Who was the best mechanic in town". Since that time, I sold or wrecked and/or rebuilt about seven other race cars, probably my fastest being white Pontiac Tras-Am with a 454 cubic inch engine in it. It was the second year they came out and Pontiac only made them in that color. A Sunday didn't go by that I did not take home a trophy.

Many years have passed since my days of youth, yet I still seek out the best mechanic. I now live in Los Angeles, and I stumbled across him, merely by accident. Not only was he the best but the most honest.

My clutch went out in my newly bought used Saturn that was perfect in every other way (sans the clutch). I had even driven it across the country with no problems.

Then came the breakdown.

It was towed to a man of whom I'd never heard, named Vladimir Morsach, a Russian Immigrant who had learned American, Japanese, and European cars long before he arrived to our shores, and learned them well. He knew exactly what the problem was and quoted me $200 cheaper than the mechanic on the other side of town, in Woodland Hills where the car stood for several hours.

Vlad called the next day and the car was ready.

I went to pick it up. I still had my out of state checks as I'd just moved from Arkansas, and since there had been some unauthorized charges on my Mastercard, I had canceled it and could not use it. He had to take my word that the check was good. He did.

The minute I drove it out of Vlad's lot, I could tell that the clutch was fixed and tight, and in fact, had never been that good, even when I bought it and drove it off the car lot.

So ironically, the best mechanic, at least my choice, in America, is not even a native-born American nor did he see a lot of American cars in his early-learning stage. But don't let that fool you. He fixed it as professionally and courteously as anyone with which you could hope to deal.

In addition, he said, if there was anything else wrong with the car, he would let me know before fixing it. I thought "Uh oh...what is coming next", based on my experience with so many mechanics with which I'd worked in the past. He called me again to let me know it was only the clutch. Now that is honesty, and certainly worth driving a few miles (or in my case having it towed, to get it fixed better, cheaper, and from a very nice person, Vladimir Morsach). Welcome to America, Vlad! We are very glad you are here!

I would later find out through a mutual friend more about Vlad. Now I'm not surprised at all of his unique talents. He is a mechanical engineer, went to the one of the best University's in Russia and had many years of experience working with cars, both European and American. Vlad feels in good terms with languages, he believes he can't learn English and states that he'd better do what he knows best and it is repairing cars, remodeling, etc. (however, we had no problems at all with communications and I speak no Russian) For him, it is NOT just about cars, it is about his passion, but mostly: his honesty and integrity. He guarantees his work for one year and if your car is NOT working properly and has same problem he will repair it for free.

Note: Vlad's shop is at 18440 Vanowen Ave, Reseda, Ca in the Valley. His phone is 818-719-8610. He's great to talk to also. Sounds like I'm gushing, I know, but have never had such a positive experience with an auto mechanic.

Aside from living in his car like every other Los Angeles citizen, Rick London is the founder of the Internet's top offbeat cartoon, Londons Times Cartoons http://www.londonstimes.us. He also owns several gift stores that feature his thousands of cartoons on tshirts, mouse pads, clocks aprons, and all sorts of items at http://www.LTSuperstore.com and http://www.ricklondonwear.com

Lawyers Have To Laugh Too

2008-02-25T17:41:00.001-08:00

As a cartoonist, I find myself in the precarious position of writing about law. Though I do take the law seriously, I find humor in it as well. And I believe I have carte blanche to do so.

I come from a family of attorneys. One of my direct maternal ancestors was Supreme Court Judge Benjamin Cardozo. That name might not mean much to many, but it does within the legal community. His word, still, a century or so later, remains the final word on Constitutional Law.

I have dated attorneys. Some are very astute, and some not so good. I have watched them in the courtroom. Sometimes it is dramatic, sometimes a bit drab. But I continue to have an affinity for the law, given that it is in my blood, I guess. Of course my mother insisted upon either law or medical school for me, so like the good rebellious baby-boomer of the 60's, I became a cartoonist. At least I could make people laugh purposely. People laugh at lawyers, and often the attorney in question does not appreciate it. But how can we help it? I know, I know. They are just doing their job, and we laugh at them, until we need them. Then they are our confidants.

To be fair, most lawyers of whom I have met and/or associated, truly take their jobs and cases seriously. Sure, like everyone else in business, money is a motivator, but not always the primary motivator. Many, yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus, (or clause in this case), many have a very altruistic side, and take the law and their clients very seriously and want to help.

As the old joke goes, "It is the 98% of dishonest lawyers who give the other 2% a bad name". It's a great joke, but really far from reality. Many lawyers are just doing their job, just like you and me.

Sometimes hiring a lawyer can be expensive, and several Internet-savvy lawyers have launched websites in which the common layman can read, study, and learn about law and legal forms, and actually pay and download template forms from the sites at a fraction of the cost of hiring a law firm.
Some of these sites include Findlaw.com, Legalzoom.com, and the up-and-coming Lawkipedia.org, which has not yet been launched but is in the plans for this year. It will probably be the most exciting and different of all the other legal websites, just from what I understand regarding the planning.

Still, the saying goes, "The person who represents himself legally has hired a fool for a lawyer. And that is true. Especially regarding courtrooms and criminal law.

But many business conflicts do not have to turn into courtroom law. Mediation has become very popular and there are ways to work out such conflicts, often, and bring the parties even closer, once they realize they have similar goals, simply different ideas as to how to reach those goals. That is okay. It is often done by more professional persons, who is not out to "trash" a partner or remove him/her from the scene. I have seen it work many times.

Because law is of interest to me, I make sure to do a great many law related cartoons, and produce funny lawyer gifts. Even though many of them poke fun at lawyers, I find the majority have a great sense of humor, and more often than not, when the orders come in for our gifts and collectibles featuring lawyer cartoons, the names have a "comma and Esquire" at the end, in other words, our biggest customers who love to make fun of themselves, are, indeed attorneys.

Londons Times Cartoon Pet Related Gifts Benefit Animal Causes

2008-02-23T02:34:00.001-08:00

Funny Dog & Cat Cartoon Products Benefit Animal Causes
by Rick London

People are the dichotomy of dichotomies. Admittedly, I am no exception to the rule. We are very different and very alike in so many ways. I can't think of anthing can bring us closer together than a cute puppy or kitty. They seem to have a special spirit in which we all share the same care.

I have been an animal owner since I was a kid. I am now half a century old. My feelings about pets have not changed. Like young children, they teach me about unconditional love, something that is often lost in the hustle and bustle world in which we live. They know instinctively how to ground me.

I am a cartoonist, I have dedicated a great deal of my work to the animal kingdom; particularly dogs and cats. Though there are many topics with which I deal, from science to relationships, my dog, cat, and other animal ones are the ones of which I love the most. It seems our followers feel the same way, at least the majority of them.

I manufacture products such as cartoon t shirts, mouse pads, aprons, hoodies, tote bags, and other casual wear featuring cartoons. Again, my favorite are dog and cat cartoon products.

I put aside a percentage of all sales from those products to benefit various animal causes. At first, I thought it would be a good incentive for other animal lovers to purchase my products so I could help animals at shelters and others in trouble. Though that is happening, I am also receiving orders for pet-related cartoon products from people who have never even owned an animal.

A lot of our clients just find our items to be unique gifts with funny cartoons on them. But I've received emails from a number of clients who simply express that they want to help a good cause. If this does not renew one's faith in the human race, I am not sure what will. Animals have nothing to give back (materially) but unconditional love, one of the most valuable, if not the most valuable experience one can ever feel.

If you've never, I hope one day you will experience the uncondional love of a pet, I suggest to visit your regional animal shelter today. We all have done things in our lives of which we are not proud, possibly regret. I assure you this will not be one of them. It will change your life in such a positive way, words cannot come close to expressing the feeling of adopting a dog or cat that is on its way to be put down.

About the Author:
Cartoonist and animal lover has found a way to embed passion into his cartoon work using his love of animals with a new line of funny dog and cat cartoon clothing at his many of his webstores including:

www.LTsuperstore.com
www.ricklondonwear.com
www.ricklondoncollection.com
www.athonginmyheart.com
www.mirthgirthbirth.com
www.justfunnyhoodies.com
www.justfunnyaprons.com
www.justfunnymugs.com
www.justfunnygreetingcards.com
www.justfunnymousepads.com

London also founded the Internet's top offbeat cartoon, Londons Times Cartoons which has lured nearly 9 million visitors since Jan. 2005. www.londonstimes.us

Dogs Proven To Help Relieve Depression

2008-02-19T19:17:00.001-08:00

Though it is not something of which I am particularly proud, I struggled with major depression since age thirteen. It may be even further back than that, that is my first memory of "feeling different". I am now fifty three.

Of course I did not even know it was depression, and even if I had discovered it was, it would have been hidden, as, in the polite society of rural Mississippi, at the time, one did not see a therapist or psychiatrist and remain in society. He or she was hidden in the closet. Today things have changed and there are many modern- day state-of-the-art recovery programs and mental health clinics in the region. Alas, mum is still the word. I now live in southern California, where, at social functions, therapy and recovery are often a common them at social functions and events.

It was not until late in life, when I discovered a stray dog named "Thor" that I learned about alternative therapy. I had often heard that owning an animal can relieve depression and even lower blood pressure, but the dramatic changes were yet to be seen for the first few months of owning Thor. I noticed I wanted to get out more and walk him, as he loved that activity. This in itself lifted my depression. A long walk can, in fact, increase endorphins in the system.

Thor introduced me to people. People will open up to a cute dog faster than they will a human, hence they open up to the human as well. Thor loved people. I had owned dogs in the past, but Thor was my first rescue dog. The jury is out whether he rescued me or I rescued him. I did not adopt him from a shelter, but surely would have had I found him at one. He showed up in the rural Mississippi woods with a pack of two other dogs. He was the sickest of them, obviously abused and/or hit by a vehicle as he limped, and was a matted ball of fur. A vet friend took him home and put him on drips, shaved him, and gave him to me.

I researched and put him on the b.a.r.f diet. (bones and raw food). I put him on the same herbal tinctures I was taking. He never had another vet bill for a decade and lived to be nearly twenty two. He had ten very happy years as did I; mostly depression-free. Both of us were quite depressed when we found each other. He passed away nearly a month ago today. I continue to grieve over Thor but feel soon I will be ready for another rescue dog. I will visit the shelter. It is not completely selfless; I understand fully now the meaning of "they do much more for us than we do for them). A rescued dog remembers. He/she gives unconditional love and we get that gift to pass on to other people. I can't begin to tell you the difference in the way I am treated now by other people, and, the way I treat them. I do my best to do what Thor taught me; that is, love them unconditionally. He saw me as one of God's creatures; to him I was a god, and now I see all living creatures as part of God's creation. I never was that religious and am not now. But how can I not be spiritual. Thor helped cure my incurable depression.

Rick London is an e-entrepreneur and cartoonist. Many of his cartoon products are dog-related and a percentage of each sale goes to benefit various animal causes. He is also the founder of the Internet's top cartoon site, Londons Times Comics.

Rick London is a cartoonist and lover of animals, particularly dogs and cats. He founded the Internet's top cartoon Londons Times Cartoons and a number of E-stores featuring his dog cartoons. A percentage of sales benefit animal causes. Some direct pages of dog-related products can be found at http://www.cafepress.com/9500/4383555 at his Rick London Collection store. Another at RickLondonwear http://www.printfection.com/londonstimestees/DOGS-CARTOON-GIFTS-and-TEES/_s_81517 and his main cartoon site, Londons Times Cartoons http://www.londonstimes.us lures over 4000 vistors per day.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rick_London

Londons Times Cartoons Updates

2008-02-06T17:33:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

Just wanted to say, once again, thanks, for making London Times Cartoons what it is today. We could never have imagined when we started it ten years ago that we would be receiving millions of visitors per year. We greatly appreciate your feedback, let us know what is on your mind, what kind of topics you'd like to see etc.

Many of you may also know, I have left Hot Springs, Ar and moved to Los Angeles, my old home of 14 years ago. The weather is sunny and beautiful, as usual, and I am enjoying getting outside and taking advantage of that.

Please be sure to visit our cartoon gift shops and see all the cartoon gifts such as t-shirts, mouse pads, aprons, hoodies, key chains, coffee mugs, and so much more. I've listed some of our store addresses at the bottom of this note.

Thanks again for all your support and hope you continue to enjoy our free cartoon website, Londons Times Cartoons.

Sincerely,

Rick London
Londons Times Cartoons
www.londonstimes.us

Stores:

www.ricklondoncollection.com
www.ricklondonwear.com
www.athonginmyheart.com
www.justfunnyhoodies.com
www.justfunnyaprons.com
www.ltsuperstore.com

Londons Times Cartoons Gaing Ground Again In Alexa Ratings

2008-01-26T12:03:00.000-08:00

Rick London announced today that the reach of Londons Times Cartoons, this quarter, according to Amazon.com's Alexa rankings is up 70% worldwide.

London said, "We are thrilled that after a decade, folks are starting to notice us."

Londons Times Cartoons www.londonstimes.us has had a large North American following since 2005 when it suddenly shot up on the Alexa rankings to 67,000th.

But then it dropped for several years and is suddenly making a big comeback.

London says he attributes the higher rankings to all the new niche cartoon gift stores his group has opened.

They now own 8 different shops that sell merchandise such as funny t-shirts, funny hoodies, funny aprons, and similar novelty gifts.

A few of the stores are www.ricklondonwear.com, www.ricklondoncollection.com and www.LTSuperstore.com.

A Short True Story About Far Side's Gary Larson

2008-01-20T19:23:00.001-08:00

I like to pontificate about The Far Side because I can only name a few humorists who had a great impact on my life before I launched Londons Times Cartoons. Only one was a cartoonist. The others were comedians and actors such as Steve Martin, Mike Myers, Steven Wright, Red Skelton, Jack Benny, Jackie Gleason, Lucy, Rowan & Martin, Peter Sellers, and and several dozen others. One other cartoonist was the late great Charles Schulz, and they all influenced me in a different way.

The reason Gary Larson had such an impact is that, like a lot of confused young people in our society at that time, his even greater confusion made sense of it all, and did so with very few words, sometimes no words, but only an illustration. He was a step above so many other cartoonists in that he most often “stuck to what he knew”. He had a major in biology and aside from the frequent use of cows and insects, biology and mad funny looking scientists were often his theme-de-jour.
Before Larson launched The Far Side, he was working on a cartoon called “Nature's Way”. The Seattle Times was the first paper to publish it in 1979. A year later, Chronicle Features picked The Far Side up for syndication and it ran fifteen years. Larson put down his pin on New Years Day, 1995. For awhile we heard nothing. Then he wrote a very biologically-accurate children's story about worms titled “There's A Hair In My Dirt” which quickly became a New York Times Best Seller.
When asked why he was retiring, he said, he simply didn't want to become mediocre. He stopped while he was ahead.
He could be labeled more than a cartoonist, perhaps a “cartoon surrealist” of sorts. A lot of his cartoons featured bovine behavior and conversations that cows had when no people were around. The behavior was often erudite to make the reader understand he or she perhaps might not be so much smarter than these cows (and other animals, from squid to deer to bears. A great many dogs and cats appeared in The Far Side as well, usually as “mortal enemies”. One of the most popular is a dog who has led a trail with chalk that said “Cat Fud” that led to an open dryer in a laundry mat and the dog thinking while holding the door open ready to close it, “Oh Pleeeeeze” as the cat sniffed around.

One popular Far Side panel features two chimpanzees grooming each other. One discovers a blonde human hair on the other and asks "Conducting a little more 'research' with that Jane Goodall tramp?" Her institute board members felt it was in bad taste, and had their lawyers draft a letter to Larson and his distribution syndicate, in which they described the cartoon as an "atrocity". They were stopped in their tracks, though, from no other than Goodall herself, who loved the cartoon. Since then, all profits from sales of a shirt featuring this cartoon benefit the Goodall Institute.
Most recently, Larson has published a 2007 calendar and 100% of the royalties benefit Conservation International.
So Gary Larson not only turned out to be a very talented man, but a man who cares about the world in which he lives, and does something about it in a very unique way. He will always be remembered by his friends, fans, and other cartoonists such as myself.

It Was All Gary Larson's Fault

2008-01-17T21:48:00.000-08:00

Published in Ezines Today

The Far Side Of My Cartoon Life
by Rick London

I was a power-type-of-guy in Washington, D.C. in the mid-1980's. I had a cushy job, and wore nice clothes. I resided near the Smithsonian on Capital Hill, a place I rarely frequented unless company was in from out of town.

One day, my friends Julie and Beverly called me and told me to get dressed, that we were going to a Gary Larson Far Side exhibit at the Smithsonian. I didn't want to go.

Don't get me wrong, I loved and still love The Far Side, but at the end of the day I was usually exhausted and the though that went through my head was, "Why wait in a long line for an exhibit, when I can simply open the Washington Post the following day and see the cartoon?"

The girls insisted I go with them. So I did. They picked me up and we were on our way. The lines, though long, moved quickly and the exhibit was beyond my wildest imagination. The panel cartoons had been blown up onto 5 or 6 foot poster boards and were hanging from the ceiling. Many of them were my Far Sides of all time.

I was like a little kid in a candy store running from one cartoon to the next. I had seen almost all of them in the Washington Post. Suddenly I was a kid again and a happy camper.

Then, in the middle of all this fun, my mood started to change. I started getting chills and feeling isolated and terrible. I could not pinpoint what was happening. I continued, I think, to be amused and act happy but all I wanted to do was go home and cry.

It was a long exhibit with hundreds of images but well worth it. Now, back home, I was too sad to eat or watch television. Then I remembered. I had created a similar panel cartoon in the early '70's and stuffed it away in both my psyche and closet. I had done so with so many dreams, I wondered if any of them would ever die. Obviously this one was with me a long time.

Rule number one: Never show your parents any lofty dreams no matter what your age, especially if they are full-blown business professionals. MY mom hated them and insisted my dong my homework first and then deciding. I did my homework but had already decided. I just didn't know how or when, only that it would somebody happen

I remembered sharing them with mom and her negative response, but, I remember thinking, "Even if Mom is not around, I would still be scared to launch such a project for fear that people had thought I lost it". It was then that I realized Gary Larson was not just a cartoonist but a brave pioneer in the world of print journalism.

A decade passed. I created Londons Times Cartoons with one other artist. several top illustrator and I continue writing and assigning the cartoons. to my team illustrators. The site has become the biggest of its kind on the Internet and certainly the most visited (nearly 5 million a year since 2005 when we began counting). Londons Times Carotons was founded in 1997, seven years after that Far Side exhibit.

The motto of this story is "build it and they will come"; though that was not my favorite Kevin Kostner quote of his movie career. But the concept is true. If one focuses hard enough on a project or profession, sooner or later, something will break. The secret is being patient enough to hang in there until it does.

Rick London once considered himself a failure in every apect of his life. Now he owns 8 e-stores and a main cartoon site of offbeat incredibly funny cartoons It's All Gary Larson's Fault

www.mirthgirtbirth.com
www.justfunnymousepads.com
www.justfunnyaprons.com
www.justfunnyhoodies.com
www.ricklondonwear.com
www.ricklondoncollection.com
www.LTSuperstore.com
www.londonstimes.us

Pink Flamigo Gifts And Collectibles Are Hot

2008-01-15T11:33:00.001-08:00

The incredible collectible pink flamingo is one of those type things that are either totally loved or completely ignored. Depends on human taste and objectivity. As many consider it art as others consider it junk.

The evolution of this as a decorative object dates back to the 1940's a company called Union Products in a small Ma. Town called Leminster. They produced bit plastic animals for the front yard, but had not yet thought of the pink flamingo. Even those animals were, indeed, so tacky, they were huge sellers. A good analogy was like having the ugliest dog, so ugly it's cute. People had to have them. They were all two dimensional like a cut-out board reindeer Christmas decoration is.

About a decade later, a serious art student who worked at Union named Don Featherstone was Although Don was a serious sculptor and classical art student, his first project was to redesign their popular duck and this time make it 3-dimensional The company figured it would be a bigger seller. The company was wrong and the 3d duck ended up in the local park. He had used a live duck as a model but still no real success.

He then figured people wanted color and something exotic. They came to mind but he could not find a live one for a model so he turned to National Geographic. Smart move. They had plenty of photos. Using clay, he built his prototype. then used to make a plaster cast. The plaster cast, in turn, was used to form the molds for the plastic. The original design called for detailed wooden legs, but they proved to be too costly and were replaced by the metal ones still seen today. While the exact date was never recorded, the first pink flamingo was created several years before 1960.

The late 1950's just happened to be perfect timing for the flamingo. The American population was moving out of the city and behind white picket fence lawns, a perfect resting place for the big pink bird.

The late 1950's fashion trends were bright, bold colors. Grays and blacks had been here forever and people were ready for a change. The plastic industry was thriving and now allowed for hot colors like bright green, vivid ruby, and, of course, hot flamingo pink. Pink refrigerators, washing machines, and of course who didn't want a pink Caddie?

The love of the pink flamingo was short-lived due to timing. The 1960's was a time of rebellion, especially against anything man-made, and the plastic flamingo was certainly not heaven-sent (though many serious collectors still consider it so). All the major department stores, (Sears being the biggest back then as this was way pre-Walmart) removed the items from lack of sales. Collectors went underground to flea markets and niche gift shops as they still do.

Many collectors are still very serious about them and go so far as to travel with them. We all know that what is art to one person is garbage to the next. Bans have been placed on pink flamingos all over the country. As a result, Union Plastics was forced to introduce a blue flamingo to work inside the laws of city ordinances. But for every action to a reaction there is another action, eh? These towns then changed the laws to ban all plastic flamingos. Many refused to obey the ordinances and the laws have rarely been enforced in most of the communities.

Until this day, pink flamingo items are still some of the most sought after in the country, and the Internet is where the majority of the shopping is done, saving collectors large amounts of money from having to travel to find their beloved bird. Now they are available on everything from coffee mugs to boxer shorts to beer steins to clocks, all valuable and desirable collectibles (for those who love them that is).
Rick London is a cartoonist and E-Store owner who founded the largest offbeat panel cartoon on the Internet, Londons Times Cartoons. He has a number of estores, many of which specialize in animal cartoon products including the pink flamingo. Two of them are http://www.ricklondonwear.com and http://www.ricklondoncollection.com - (Simply click on "Birds" to find the Pink Flamingo collectibles. He only sells factory-sealed new in the box merchandise (though he says it originated from thinking "outside the box".

www.ricklondoncollection.com
www.ricklondonwear.com
www.LTSuperstore.com
www.londonstimes.us

The Perfect Tee

2008-01-15T07:45:00.001-08:00

Even though nearly every adult in the U.S. is reported to have a favorite t shirt, and at least fifteen in their drawer, how do you know what tshirt to buy as a gift. Sometimes it’s even harder to choose the right one for you.

But what is the perfect tshirt? That can be quite objective, but its not a “hit or miss” proposition.

When choosing a t shirt for someone else, I usually try to get inside their head and heart. What do they feel most comfortable in? Do they love humor or would feel embarrassed wearing a funny item of clothing? Do they prefer a historic place photo? All these things have to be taken into consideration. Like me, most of my friend’s tee philosophy is “the funnier the better”.

Knowing the recipient’s personality is pertinent when choosing the perfect tshirt. Is tha person a visual type or enjoys words more. Perhaps both. I am one of those proud tee owners and so most of my favorite t-shirts have a graphic cartoon image with some text. These never fail to be mentioned in passing conversations when wear them in public. , I am stopped every time by people wanting to know where I got it, or just a simple compliment on it.

Is the recipient a doctor, a lawyer, a horse rancher or cowboy? A scientist or marriage and couples counselor? That kind of information can go a long way in deciding what type of tee to purchase.

The best part of giving a tee as a gift, aside from the price usually being between $14 and $25 depending on the quality and graphic, is the fact that it is something people don’t talk about a lot, but get great use out of them. It is, in many ways, an ideal and unexpected gift, especially when humor or cartooning is involved.

Order your favorite tee or tees online today. Try some for yourself and wear them around, go shopping in them, or walk the dog in the park. Watch the difference in attitude people have when approaching you, especially if you are wearing one that is humorous. It happens nearly every time to me. Someone will stop me and want to know where I got it, and sometimes are even crass enough to ask what I paid for it. But that’s okay. It’s usually a nice person simply giving a compliment and seeking information on how to order a similar one.

Tshirts, historically have been an excellent way to express oneself. If you’ve not tried one on for size,and seen the positive reaction of your circle of friends (and those outside the circle) you will. Order one today and see the difference.

Add a matching cap or dog sweater for your dog and get the attention of a supermodel.

www.LTSuperstore.com
www.ricklondonwear.com
www.ricklondoncollection.com
www.londonstimes.us

How We Market Our Stuff

2008-01-14T16:55:00.001-08:00

As a cartoonist, I don't get asked too many questions regarding the world of website SEO. As an Internet consultant who studied business at Western Governor's University, I get asked questions daily. And it really is not much of a surprise. A great many web owners do not know SEO. There are others who think they know SEO, and “learned from experts”, only to find out within a few weeks or months that their site has been removed from Google for using backdoor or blackhat methods of marketing. The sad thing is that most of them didn't have a clue they were doing it unethically. They simply downloaded an Ebook that they paid way to much money for and followed the instructions.

What they fail to realize is that most of the time, the author of that ebook has downloaded another ebook before writing his/or hers and simply plagiarized most of it, thinking, “If I bought it on the Internet, and from a guru, chances are it's good information. Usually it is not.

I do not write or sell Ebooks at this time. Why? Because I don't consider myself a guru or an expert. A lot of people shouldn't who do. I am very good at it, and I am one of the few who has SEO'd my own cartoon website into the Alexa Top 100,000 websites (as low as 65,000), but that still does not make me an expert. I am pursuing more education before I use that word to describe me. Let's just say, for the most part, I believe I know what I'm doing, and people pay me to do it, generally before they pay “an expert”. And there is a reason. I research, I read, I double read, and I triple read, not just sites on the Internet, but scholarly books in our university library.

I guess the most asked questions are, “What should I do, PPC Advertising, article marketing, blogging, link exchange, keyword optimization, or what?

The question is not the same for everyone, though a few of the basics apply to all sites.

The first thing I usually tell them is that once their website is complete, look at it as a desert Island and a large hotel chain has an option to build a hotel there which will attract millions of happy visitors.
Your job is to make sure that hotel gets built, the word gets out about it, and people not only visit but purchase from you while staying at the hotel. After all, you have built a shop or shops very nearby the upcoming four star hotel.

Can it be done overnight? Sure, if you want to get kicked off most of the major web engines. You simply start spamming and spamming is a numbers game. The problem is spamming is bad netiquette and even illegal in some states. And you will be spinning your wheels. That is not just email spamming but blog spamming, article spamming and any other kind.

The first key is patience and to take things one thing at a time. Keywords are a basic. Overture and others offer keyword services. Find out what the most appropriate keywords are for your tags and metatag and use them. Don't overdo it. Simply use the most targeted ones.

Get a blog, preferably a blog within your own domain. Remember you are also branding your product or service and you want it to be your blog, not Myspace, or Facebook. When you blog with them, which is okay for meeting people, socializing etc., you are helping brand them. If you feel so charitable then do so. I have blogs at many different sites, but I use my main blog with my company's name on it the most often. That is my “focus blog”. I go to pinging services like Pingoat and make

certain they update the blog at least twice a week. This sends it out to other blogs that might be interested in the story.

If you are a good writer, article marketing is king. But it is a slow process. You will not get a following from it overnight. There are hundreds of thousands of article directories on the Internet. You want to make certain you are at least on the top one, Ezinearticles and if you don't mind paying, also Usnare.

There are others that are very popular and lists of them. You don't want to submit to every single one out there; as many of them do not have topics that pertain to your product or service.

There is good article submission software and services that prevent spamming, and can write and rewrite your article and allow you to use targeted keywords that prevent it from pinging unwanted blogs.

Be careful though, when using these softwares and services and make certain they do what they say they do. A good place to start is Tucows or Download and read some of the reviews. Cnet offers a good many reviews as well.

Again, be patient. You will have written at least fifty articles, probably, before you notice a change in your ranking and dramatic increase in visitors. Also, in article marketing, as in any other kind of SEO, “Its a jungle out there” or even a war, and everyone is vying for the top position. So for heaven's sake don't just write an article and put your link. Google is on to that and can see through it pretty fast. Write something of value and substance that people can and will use.

PPC Advertising often comes up in conversations. I use it, and so should you. But before using it, read the tutorial or knowledge page that the service offers. I have used most of them and find
Google Adwords to be the easiest interface and most flexible. MSN Adsense, though not as
big, offers some fun surprises too. Both offer quality hits.

There are many second-tier ppc services and I tend to stay away from them. They bring in a lot of traffic but it tends to be low quality curiosity-seeking untargeted surfers. It is more economical but one gets what one pays for.

There are many other things to know, and a lot of them I am currently learning. I will share them as I research and find them to be true. I know proper SEO works in my own Londons Times Cartoon stores, and I have seven of them. If I didn't use it, I would simply have seven desert islands with seven unbuilt hotels.

www.londonstimes.us
www.ricklondonwear.com
www.ricklondoncollection.com
www.justfunnyaprons.com
www.justfunnyhoodies.com
www.LTSuperstore.com

My Brother's Real Estate Company

2008-01-13T14:43:00.000-08:00

I want to take this time and opportunity to congratulate my younger brother who runs the family real estate business back home. His company, started by my maternal grandfather, Marcus London, is 75 years old today. Here is the story and my baby brother. Way to go Andy. Keep up the great work! This is reprinted from today's Hattiesburg American:

London and Stetelman has been buying and selling since 1933
By EMMA JAMES

Third-generation family-owned business London and Stetelman Commercial Realtors celebrated its 75th anniversary this week - a milestone that hasn't quite sunk in for President Andy Stetelman.

"I don't think it's really hit me yet," Stetelman said. "We've been here for 75 years and we want to see the business continue to grow."

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London and Stetelman sells commercial real estate in the Pine Belt area, including office and retail spaces as well as independent properties. The real estate agency also manages residential real estate.

"The whole year after Katrina was a blur," Stetelman said. "There was growth before Katrina, and the availability of GOZone money made the growth here pretty monumental. Business owners didn't want to miss out on that opportunity."

While not moving at as frantic a pace as right after Katrina, Stetelman said that the city of Hattiesburg is continuing to grow in the commercial market.

"I think that we're going to continue to have that steady growth," he said. "It would be nice to have a crystal ball so we'll know for sure, but I think that Hattiesburg will continue growing. Nationwide, you have a soft market, but Hattiesburg has traditionally remained somewhat immune to that."

Hattiesburg's seeming immunity to the softening real estate market nationwide should be credited to primarily a strong infrastructure supported by the University of Southern Mississippi and other colleges as well as the medical community.

While a large amount of retail growth may result in the saturation of the market, Stetelman said, the market has a way of taking care of itself.

"It's a free enterprise market," he said. "If it becomes saturated, some businesses will succeed and some will fail, but what those might be, I can't really speculate."

The influences of Hattiesburg's administration and the recruiting efforts of the Area Development Partnership also play a role in the city's growth, Stetelman said.

"Their presence makes Hattiesburg as successful as it is," Stetelman said. "We rely on them to keep us in business."

London and Stetelman was founded in 1933 by Marcus London and was originally located on Front Street. Originally a full-service real estate agency that focused on residential and commercial real estate, London started the business because he was tired of the grocery business. Stetelman said.

"My grandfather owned London Grocery on Mobile Street and was tired because he never saw the family," Stetelman said. "He needed more time to take care of his personal life and real estate seemed like a good option."

Stetelman's father, Mike Stetelman, joined the agency in 1955.

"It was a one-stop shop," Stetelman said. "You could get a loan from the bank next door, take care of the real estate and get insurance at the same time. Most of the time you could get all of your business taken care of in a day - two at the most."

The decision to shift to the company's focus to commercial real estate, Stetelman said, came after the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which changed the regulations surrounding commercial real estate.

"We had to decide in what direction to take the company and we chose to specialize in commercial real estate," Stetelman said. "We've grown and haven't looked back."

Specializing in commercial real estate before most real estate companies began specializing their services also benefited London and Stetelman over the years, said Adam Watkins, president of the Hattiesburg Board of Realtors.

"They found that niche in the Hattiesburg community and by focusing on commercial real estate and property management, they're still here," he said. "It's a strategy that's worked well for them and we're very proud for them."

Stetelman joined the company as a gofer in 1975 while he was still in high school. He succeeded his father as company president in 1988.

The lack of sibling rivalry inherent in family businesses, Stetelman said, is one of the reasons he believes the company has survived.

"I was the only one of my siblings really interested in the family business," he said. "There wasn't any of that sibling rivalry that can really hurt family businesses."

London and Stetelman is extraordinary because of their longevity, Watkins said.

"Historically real estate companies that are started locally don't last long," he said. "It's amazing that they've not only been able to survive, but grow and thrive."

London and Stetelman also relocated out of downtown Hattiesburg for the first time, moving to the newly-renovated Roseberry Piano House in the University Mall off Hardy Street. The move's purpose, Stetelman said, was to give employees more space and give Oak Grove clients easier access to the company.

The biggest goals London and Stetelman has for the year, Stetelman said, include sustaining the growth of the company and the Hattiesburg area.

"Our goal is to keep focused on our mission," he said. "We've had 75 years of continuing success and we want to keep moving in that direction so we can enjoy 75 more years."

The True (Gory) History Of St. Valentine's Day

2008-01-12T10:26:00.000-08:00

Real History Of St. Valentines Day & Why We Give Gifts & Cards

As early as the fourth century B.C., the Romans engaged in an annual young man’s rite to passage to the God Lupercus. The names of the teenage women were placed in a box and drawn at random by adolescent men; thus, a man was assigned a woman companion for the duration of the year, after which another lottery was staged. After eight hundred years of this cruel practice, the early church fathers sought to end this practice… They found an answer in Valentine, a bishop who had been martyred some two hundred years earlier.

Ancient Rome is riddled with strange ceremonies and traditions, especially toward the end of its reign as a mighty empire. In fact, the way young men and women learned love was from a lottery. Once a year, in a ceremony, a teenage boy picked a girl’s name out of a box (all the teenage girls in the village names were in the box). She was his for a year. She was at his command. And sometimes it was not a pretty thing to witness. It would be another 800 years before the church put an end to this practice.

The event turned out to be a celebration of a good man, a priest and bishop named Valentine who lived near Rome in the mid to late second century. During this time Emporer Claudius 11 had outlawed marriage as he felt it made his soldiers weak, and he needed the strongest men available. After all, Rome was crumbling.

After witnessing the horrors of young lovers being torn apart for wanting to be married, Valentine held secret ceremonies and married them anyway. He was soon caught by Claudius’ army. Claudius tried to convert him to the Roman way of thinking but Valentine held firm to his Christian beliefs and was executed.

Valentine’s execution date was February 24th, 270.

During Valentine’s prison sentence, he came in contact with his jailer, Asterius who had a blind daughter. Asterius requested him to heal his daughter. Through his faith he miraculously restored the sight of Asterius’ daughter. Just before his execution, he asked for a pen and paper from his jailer, and signed a farewell message to her “From Your Valentine,” a phrase that has endured eternity.

Valentine was later named a Patron Saint, and spiritual overseer of an annual festival. The festival involved young Romans offering women they admired, and wished to court, handwritten greetings of affection on February 14. The greeting cards acquired St. Valentine’s namesake and still has it.

Valentine’s day grew in popularity along with Christianity, and is now celebrated all over the world, celebrated by almost all faiths. One of the earliest Valentine’s cards was sent in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was a prisoner in the Tower of London. It is now showcased at the British Museum.

I only found out the origins of Valentine’s Day today, and found it quite interesting. So what I decided to do was add a “Sex, Love, & Relationship” section to my main gift shop, and mark everything down up to 80% just through Valentine’s day, just to make the Patron Saint proud. It can include a gift card and the customer does not have to sign it “From Your Valentine” but can if he/she wishes.

By the way, we are offering up to 80% off all gifts and collectibles in our "Sex, Love, And Relationships" section at www.ricklondoncollection.com . It is well worth the visit. From pillows to keepsake boxes to day planners to tshirts. They are all a lot of fun and make for the greatest gift, laughter....the gift of healing.

Its hard to believe

2008-01-07T08:05:00.000-08:00

This ten years has passed by so quickly it is really
hard to believe. I can hardly even think of what life was
like prior to starting Londons Times Cartoons www.londonstimes.us
and even after starting it I was certain it was always going to be
more or less a hobby and I would always be in a sales job that I
didn't like at all. The biggest irony of it all though is now,
I rarely have time to create, which is what I love to do the most.
The majority of the day is done article marketing and blogging.

I still enjoy visiting the main cartoon site and seeing the counter
at nearly 9 million visitors and can hardly believe it; like it must
be some kind of mistake. But I guess with around 8000 or so cartoons
up, maybe there is something there to please everyone. I hope so, anyway.

Rick London Goes Xanga

2007-12-08T01:47:00.000-08:00

Offbeat cartoonist E-tailer Rick London www.ricklondonwear.com, www.LTSuperstore.com, www.londonstimes.us, said today he is trying the social network blog Xanga because
he has read it receives a phenomenal amount of hits, easy to navigate, and will help him network over the coming year for next holiday season.

"London say, "I was a late bloomer in life, so needless to say, a late bloomer on the Internet, but better late than never.

London has already started posting pictures and text in categories at Xanga.com that are of interest to him such as pets, entertainment, news, current events, health, and more. His Xanga blog address is http://www.xanga.com/beardiethor

He invites all to join in and blog to your heart's desire.

2007-09-26T15:03:00.001-07:00

Press Release

September 27, 2007 Contact: Alexa Ferotina
For Immediate Release 501-588-1966 info@londonstimes.us

Rick London Expanding Londons Times Cartoon Empire After Decade On The
Internet With Thousands Of New Gifts And Collectibles

By now, most who have spent any time at all typing “rick london” or “londons times cartoons”

into Google, are aware that Londons Times Cartoons (www.londonstimes.us) is the most sizzling wild

offbeat cartoon on the market. But cartoonist/writer/entrepreneur Rick London looks at it from both a

humorous and serious angle.

“Of course there is no better feeling in the world to receive emails and letters saying how better

we made someone feel just because of our humor. But I wanted to take that a step further and

bring it into the retail market so that people could do more with the images than just view them, but

actually use them, wear them, or play with them.”

And bring it to the retail market London did.

He has opened stores featuring about 70,000 items of his 8500 or so (mostly color) single

panel cartoons, with shades of The Far Side (critics often compare).

London has opened a megastore that sells everything from porcelain plates to t-shirts to

tote bags to his own cartoon gourmet coffee gift basket at Londons Times Superstore

(www.londonstimessuperstore.com) which he opened in September of 2006”.

Londons says, “I truly had no idea people would go for the merchandise the way they have. It's

been a bit of a frenzy but I like that and I know people are enjoying the merchandise.”

More recently, London has opened more niche-oriented stores, with all the items also featuring

his cartoon images such as Rick Londonwear (www.ricklondonwear.com) which might be the

first line of cartoon designer clothes (and gifts and collectibles), Prozacwear (www.prozacwear.com),

clothing that will make you laugh at your own depression, Just Funny Aprons

(www.justfunnyaprons.com) which showcases his cartoons on bar b q aprons, and Just Funny

Hoodies which showcase cartoons on fine quality hooded sweatshirts.

London a full-time return-to-school business student has also launched his own communications

firm which specializes in medical devices. He invented the first fully-automatic one which can be

seen at North American Satellite Systems, Inc. (www.nsatinc.com).

The websites have remained highly rated by such analytical companies as Alexa.com and

Netcraft.com, among others.

London's main cartoon site has received over 7.8 million visitors since 2005 making it one

of the only one of its kind to ever break such a record.

Londons success story is legendary in that he began his business in a vacant rural Mississippi

warehouse where he lived and worked for a year, with no heat or air, sleeping in a sleeping

bag on a concrete floor at age 44 because nobody believed he could do what he said he was going

to do in his hometown of Hattiesburg, Ms.

He started with #300, a beat up used IBM clone 386 pc, a phone line with dial up Internet,

free domain, a book titled “Internet For Dummies” (he knew nothing of the net), and his

stray mutt Thor (who still lives with him a decade later in Hot Springs, Ar. Where he works

at his computer in a high rise studio overlooking the beautiful Ouachata Mountains.

London said, “If I had known it could be like this, I would have started the project at a much

earlier age.”

Digg

2007-08-21T20:54:00.000-07:00

Londons Times In Blog Directories

2007-08-20T21:29:00.000-07:00

LS Blogs

Want A Special Deal On Some Of Our Products? Just Ask

2007-08-19T21:02:00.001-07:00

Looking for a special deal at one of our stores?

Simply ask and we may just be able to work with you.

www.londonstimessuperstore.com

www.ricklondonwear.com

www.prozacwear.com

www.justfunnyaprons.com

Londons Times Cartoons Expands Its Stores

2007-08-10T18:07:00.000-07:00

A lot of people have asked me how I "started Londons Times"; many more ask me how I could ever even start a cartoon when I don't draw that well. I will try to answer both questions. www.londonstimes.us was founded (by little ol' me) in an abandoned warehouse in rural Ms. Most bloggers know that whole story by now. I learned that many cartoons are team efforts, writers and artists, so I recruited artists. I had written thousands of cartoons.

I looked up ten years later, I was in a Hot Springs, Ar high rise (no more sleeping on the floor of a metal warehouse) and owned a multitude of stores which featured my licensed images. www.ricklondonwear.com , www.londonstimessuperstore.com , www.justfunnyaprons.com and www.prozacwear.com (I kid you not). Thanks to the efforts of the illustration team, and a very talented cartoonist who happens to understand the web better than most Rich Diesslin, I was able to expand and grow in a much bigger way than I ever imagined. Rich is also the creator of his own fabulous cartoons at www.the-cartoonist.com. Most fall under the auspices of scouting and religion and are witty and in good taste. Way to go Rich.

We've been published in countless journals and on websites. I went from nearly homeless to people asking for autographs almost weekly (no that doesn't make me better than anyone homeless; I know my roots, and know them well).

3drose sells most of our items, way to go Meyer. He is one of Ebay's oldest and largest Powersellers and sells a lot of our products on Shop.com, Amazon.com and other shopping channels. I am proud of the work 3drose.com has done.

I work out of my home now, and take care of my 19 year old dog. I have a girlfriend on the west coast, Rosy, and we visit monthly. She is a wonderful soul and certainly my "better half".

So that is the story of Londons Times Cartoons. It's one of those "life gives you lemons" stories and you dam well get the lemon squeezer. But people have had it a lot tougher than me and made it.

And I am far from where I want to be ten years from now. The good news is that I stay persistent and that is all one needs to do. Talent is just a tiny part of it.

So no matter what one's endeavor, don't give in to the naysayers. They may even have
your best interest at heart but simply don't share your vision.

Be polite. Thank them for their advice, and continue on. You will succeed.

Never Discuss Religion Or Politics? Sure but.......

2007-07-18T14:10:00.000-07:00

The highly-rated critically-acclaimed Londons Times Cartoons
by Rick London and the creative staff have done it again. This time,
Londons Times Tees. http://www.londonstimestees.com

And what does that have to do with religion or politics? Well not
a lot, but the team has discovered a way to make you laugh, whatever your
religion (or lack thereof) with some very offbeat image products regarding
these topics.

Take a look at the newly added "Tern The Other Chick" in which birds are
conducting a religious service. Critics love this one.

All tees are 100% cotton and digitally produced (no cheap silk-screening).

Londons Times Tees also features tote bags, mousepads, coasters, and
aprons.

Funny Dogue de Bordeaux Merchandise Launched

2007-07-15T18:19:00.000-07:00

For those who love Dogue de Bordeaux (French Mastiff) like I do,
we now have hilarious dogue tees, aprons, totes, coasters, etc.
Make great gift or collectibles. This is high quality stuff.
All major credit cards accepted on our secure server platform.
Drop by!
http://www.printfection.com/londonstimestees/Dog-Humor/_s_81517

New Offbeat Cartoon T Shirts Have Arrived

2007-07-15T12:03:00.000-07:00

And thanks for asking. Yes we finally have
digitally reproduced 100% cotton tees, mousepads,
tote bags, coasters and more. Great quality
products. Please drop by. Would appreciate feedback.

Sincerely,

Rick
http://www.londonstimestees.com

I Finally Started Listening To Advice

2007-05-20T11:56:00.000-07:00

Early on, I can remember being open to advice. A lot of people do not believe my story but it is true. I was (about 44) when starting this venture. I had lost my job at the tv station (was never really very good at 9-5 coat/tie ventures), so it was no big loss, but....it left me with just a pocketful of change. I had just enough to buy a used IBM clone 386 beat up computer that I WAY overpaid for by some shyshter who "saw me coming"; I book called "Internet 4 Dummies" (I had never used the net), and my stray dog Thor (of whom I still have and love).

I was used to obstacles and issues by then. I had my share. This time, I was to be without a home as I could not pay my rent, even for an old beat up house. It appeared my hometown did not want a 44 year old cartoonist who didn't draw very well and had displayed very little other talent in many arenas.

A friend of mine, a caring social worker and her husband allowed me to live and work in a beat up abandoned warehouse that happened to have a phone line and electricity, but that was it. No hot water, no furniture, nothing but junk in it. I took it.

I bought a dial up Internet service and began recruiting artists. I read the Internet 4 Dummies book several times. I talked to established cartoonists over the Internet. I plodded along, sleeping in a sleeping bag on the concrete floor for almost two years working with junk all around me. I froze in the winter and
could barely breathe in the summer; that was the climate of south Mississippi.
I was determined to create something funny and important. I had no idea what the
outcome would be.

As time went by, illustrators came and left. We were a non-commerce site; in fact I couldn't even afford a domain and got a free one with more popup ads than cartoons.
But as time went by, I found I could write 50 or more concepts on some days, and
the concepts seemed strong enough to lure some very accomplished illustrators
willing to take a chance. I had read enough about Internet businesses to know
to "hang on tight" and "be patient". I had no idea it would be a decade before
the world would ever notice. What they notice is at http://www.londonstimes.us
and has had over 7.5 million visitors since January of 2005. I still can't believe it when I think about it.

Now, I imagine I have worked with at least a hundred illustrators and finished
over 6000 cartoons; probably one of the largest private individual collections of
single panel cartoons on the Internet.

I write about it for two reasons. One is, I am proud and admit it. My ego deserves
stroking. I worked very hard and at times in unbearable environments. But I
preservered as did many of my illustrators, several of them still with me; one
has been able to capitalize on all the attenion by publishing several books of his
own (he is very into Christianity and Scouting and does a terrific job at
using those themes as his cartoons and does so in good taste). His name is
Rich Diesslin and he has also managed the website for a long time now.

In 2006, I met Rosy. We fell in love. She is an attorney on the west coast and she loves the arts and creative projects. She encouraged me to work harder and
manufacturer products. I already was making tee shirts and mugs at Cafe Press but the royalties were somewhat of a joke.

I found another manufacturer willing to take a chance and he promoted us heavily.
Londons Times Superstore was born with about 60,000 cartoon image products on 24
different items in several dozen categories from science to romance to sports to
Star Wars and Star Trek. It is at http://www.londonstimessuperstore.com

Londons Times Cartoons By Rick London Gains Worldwide Popularity

2007-05-19T14:35:00.000-07:00

My voyage into cartooning is a funny story (no pun intended). The seed was planted long ago. I believe the year was 1986. I was with some friends in Washington, D.C. who informed me I had been invited to a Gary Larson Far Side exhibit. I remember laughing at his cartoon; and eventually every morning when opening the newspaper going directly to it. I was hooked. I remember saying to myself "I could do that....if I could only draw." Sure, and the next thought was I could re-build the Taj Mahal if I could only build.

Years went by and my life took many twists and turns. I owned my own business in Washington, D.C. at age 39. It was successful. I worked in major media. I did a lot of things. I was very adventuresome. I moved to L.A. to learn screenwriting (didn't do very well, I must admit but at least I tried). The Northridge quake hit about the same time Mom called from Ms. to tell me she was very ill. I returned home at age 44.

It was humbling and educational. I learned to care for someone whom I loved very much, my mother. I learned to take a job that i felt was "beneath me"; I sold ads for a local tv station. I did a lot of things I didn't want to do.

Mom died in 1996. I moved to Hot Springs, Ar a town in which I knew nobody, but had had ancestors here who loved it. They were right.

By that time, I had learned that many cartoons are team efforts, that is, a writer and artist, or writers and artists, and I developed a team. I wrote, created concepts, they drew. We had a fun hobby that had started in 1997.

Artists came and went, but by 2005 Londons Times Cartoons www.londonstimes.us was
rated by Alexa as one of the top 100,000 sites on the Internet with over 6000 cartoons. We were receiving about 4000 hits per hour; we've had 7.5 million visitors
since January of 2005.

There is much more to the story. I will be blogging it soon. I hope to hear
from others, feel free to join and write in the blog and let's keep it going.

Thanks to everyone who made our work popular!

Sincerely,

Rick London
Londons Times Cartoons
www.londonstimes.us

The London Group Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary WIth Unique Products And Services

2007-01-28T16:33:00.000-08:00

It started in 1997 in a small metal warehouse in rural Mississippi. Nobody would rent to Rick London because he
"owned a dog". Indeed he did have a dog, but he also had
what Winston Churchill called "His Black Dog" or severe
depression. A friend of London's owned an old abandoned
warehouse with a phone line and electricity, but no heat
or air, and he lived in it, slept on the concrete floor on
a sleeping bag for a year and launched Londons Times Cartoons.

His only assets were app. $100 cash, a very old IBM 386 computer, a phone line with dial up Internet, and a book
titled "Internet For Dummies".

Ten years later Londons Times Cartoons boasts over 6000
originals that London wrote and his team of artists rendered.
It ranks in the Alexa top 200k and Netcraft top 100k most popular sites. www.londonstimes.us (A subsidiary of Rick London's The London Group)

Last year London launched Londons Times Superstore which features his licensed image items; everything from tee
shirts to mouse pads, to wall clocks to gourmet coffee gift baskets...over 65,000 items in all. www.londonstimessuperstore.com (The London Group)

As if that were not enough, he launched his own private label brand of gourmet coffee gift baskets "Ruth London's Exquisite Coffees" named after his grandmother which include cartoon coasters and mug.

Last week, he launched his own line of cartoon clothing
called Rick Londonwear www.ricklondonwear.com (The London Group)

He also signed with one of the Internet's top digital
content providers www.blish.com. If one does a Londons Times Cartoons on their search engine they can find cartoons for any profession from lawyers to psychiatrists.

London says they work great for journals, websites, ads,
newsletters etc. "Remember, newspaper editors have known for years that cartoons build loyalty. Why else would they devote an entire ad-free non revenue producing page every day? They know why and so should other publishers.

London has also launched his own subscription-based
ecard site "for the high IQ right-brainers" who he says
"simply aren't fascinated with the flash and fast one
liners. Yes, it is a bit erudite but well worth it and
has a 30 day free trial and after that only 8.50 a year,
half of our competitors. http://www.londonstimes.us/ecards/ecards.html

London is a return-to-college adult at 52 living in
the Ouchata mountains of Arkansas and is learning
business. He says most of his focus is on e-business
which fascinates him the most.

He also just created a website with a ticker tape rss
feed which feeds news from major media outlets and
blog feeds from his own site, all worldwide to anyone
who has the ticker tape. It's all free, the membership,
the blog, etc; it even has a chat room and ezine.
In addition Adsense pays bloggers to blog. It can
be found at www.theaffiliatetoolbar.com or
www.seostreetsmarts.com. (The London Group) It also works as a network
solution for affiliate managers and candidates and
to learn SEO from experts often invited in to chat.

"It has been an amazing ride this ten years," says
London. "Everyone told me not to try this because
I would fail. If this is failing, I prefer it to
succeeding...but to be humble, I would be lying to
not admit I had many more failures along the way than
successes. I guess that is how we learn this, and I'm
certain I'll have many more.

Rick London
CEO The London Group
www.londonstimes.us
www.londonstimessuperstore.com
www.ricklondonwear.com
www.seostreetsmarts.com

Londons Times Cartoons In Netcraft 100,000

2006-12-02T11:19:00.000-08:00

Well it was exciting to hear from my webmaster that our cartoon site is in
the www.netcraft.com top 100k at number 98,000 give or take a few hundred.

I had never heard of Netcraft but that doesn't mean anything, apparently they
are a well-known site and I'm happy to know the site is retaining its popularity
this long, and frankly surprised.

I hope the same type thing happens with our superstore which is linked to
our cartoon site. That address is http://www.londonstimessuperstore.com and
it is a great place to gift shop. I like the store myself but of course I'm prejudiced.

Single Panel Offbeat Cartoon Londons Times Suddenly Top-Ranked At Netcraft And Alexa

2006-12-01T13:37:00.000-08:00

Rick London started Londons Times Cartoons in a metal run down warehouse donated to him by a friend in 1997 for his "studio". He was 43 years old and decided to become a cartoonist (though he didn't draw very well).

London says "People thought me of dubious character at best, first for wanting to become a cartoonist, and secondly because I was not all that artistic. Nobody wanted me as 'the odd neighbor with a vision'.

But that didn't stop him. With $300 (all he had) he bought a used IBM clone computer, a phone line, a lot of rice and beans, a book called "Internet For Dummies" and a sleeping bag. He slept on the concrete floor. He learned the Internet, started recruiting illustrators who would render his ideas on speculation (he had written about a thousand), and got to work.

By 1998, he had a website on a free web server, could not yet afford a domain, one illustrator partner, and about
70 cartoons up (more popup ads than cartoons).

Fast forward to 2005. London, by now was living in a high rise in Hot Springs, Ar, had his own domain, an inventory of about 5000 cartoons; an illustration team of seven
nearly-full time illustrators and was in the Alexa top
100,000 websites on the Internet.

Fast forward again to 2006. London has a worldwide following, about 6500 cartoons, and his site remains one of the highest ranked on the Internet. It receives about 4000 visitors per hour, or 5.6 million hits since January of 2005 (today is December 1, 2006), a superstore
with over 65,000 cartoon image products in 23 categories, his own private label of gourmet coffee gift baskets (complete with gourmet mug and coasters), and much more.
The Superstore address is http://www.londonstimesssuperstore.com and it boasts one of the largest if not the largest collection of cartoon gifts and collectibles on the Internet.

Many have compared the cartoon favorably to Gary Larson's Far
Side, but London says "To me that is a compliment. If anyone was
my inspiration he was...along with Leigh Rubin, Jon Mcpherson, and
Dave Coverly. In fact Dave, Jon, and Leigh spent countless hours
with me on the phone and email showing me the ropes when I started. I'll never forget their generosity."

London also just launched Londons Times Ecard site which
features his cartoons in ecard form complete with music
and a place for a private message for senders. It can
be accessed at http://www.londonstimes.us/ecards/ecards.html . He offers a free 30 day trial and then just charges 8.50 a year, half of other quality ecard sites.

London is also a full-time business student at
Western Governors University, and plans to go on for
an MBA "if my health and sanity hold out," he jokes.

For more information contact sales@londonstimes.us
or call 501-442-0099