Octopuses? Octopi? Octopodes? Which is it?

One issue that has come up again and again during my two years of running Veeptopus is the proper pluralization of octopus. 

Like a lot of you, I originally thought that the correct plural for our favorite eight-legged cephalopod was "octopi." Then my friend who has a PhD in Classics - the sort of guy who used to read Aramaic for fun - informed me that while the word "octopus" is a Greek word but that the "pi" pluralization is Latin. Therefore "octopi" is, for linguistic purists like him, silly. I found his argument to be compelling. So these days, I use the good old fashioned Anglo-Saxon form "octopuses." The word might not be as mellifluous as "octopi" but it feels more honest, more straightforward and more correct. Of course, if I wanted to be really hardcore about it, I would use the Greek pluralization "octopodes," but I'd probably get a lot of funny looks. 

Below, someone far more articulate and knowledgeable than me expounds on the subject. 

Kory Stamper, an Associate Editor at Merriam-Webster, talks about the plural version of octopus. See more videos at http://www.merriam-webster.com/video/asktheeditor.htm

Veeptopus T-Shirts Now Available

Hi there. So I'm in the process of rethinking and expanding this site. Bigger and better things, as they say. It's been a lot of work and promises to be a whole lot more work before I'm finished. BUT, I can say that after way more screaming and yelling than I expected, Veeptopus T-shirts are here. 

For now, there's just one design but in the next week, I will add more. Make sure to check back at my snazzy new shop at Shopify. 

Tim Kaine Wins Hillary Veepstakes and Gets The Veeptopus Treatment

Here's my picture of Tim Kaine. I would have finished it earlier but I fell asleep while drawing it. 

Trump and Pence On a Unicorn

The epic clusterfuck of the Republican National Convention is over, climaxing in Trump's harrowing speech which no doubt sounded better in its original German. I found the whole thing to be both frightening and dispiriting. Above is how I dealt with the stress. You might have a beer or three, devour a tub of ice cream. I draw naked pictures of politicians. 

Mike Pence is Donald Trump's unfortunate VP Pick

So the GOP convention is under way and it looks like a complete clusterf*ck. As I write this, the anti-Trump delegates are trying to find some way, any way, to chuck Trump from the ticket, but to no avail.

Last week, of course, was all about Trump’s choice for the number two spot. For a good 48 hours, it looked like the nod was going to go to Newt Gingrich. But then Mike Pence ended up getting tapped – even though the Donald reportedly changed his mind and tried to weasel out of the decision.

So Pence is one of two people who will be the next Vice President, I drew a portrait of the Indiana Governor. Like the last VP pick hailing from the Hoosier state, I think I managed to capture the vacant look in his eyes.

I also drew one up of Newt. I really nailed that I-dumped-my-cancer-stricken-wife-on-her-deathbed shit-eating smirk of his.

Veeptopus at Politicon 2016

So a couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to set up shop at Politicon, a Comic-Con of sorts for political junkies. Sarah Palin, James Carville, Ann Coulter, Rosario Dawson and bunch of other pundits and political figures were there hosting panels and participating in debates. Not that I saw any of that. I, along with my friend Ted Mills, spent both days parked in the Democracy Village – a marketplace, forum and art gallery for folks to peruse between presentations.

I had no idea what to expect what it would be like. I feared that I would be crammed in the corner, next to the anti-circumcision stall, getting snarled at by stark raving Trump supporters. But I was pleasantly surprised.

There was some surprisingly good political art there. From prints of that famous nude of Trump to the original Shepard Fairey Obama “Hope” poster. One genius made a Trump University vending machine where diplomas can be had for a mere 15k. Trump was a frequent punch line here. Along side my usual spread of art prints, I also sold Trump toilet paper, designed by my friend Dan Levin. Those sold like hotcakes.

I got a great location, right on a corner of two aisles almost spitting distance from the book-signing table. It helped that one of the coordinators was a big Veeptopus fan.

And the crowd was generally speaking open and good-humored, filled with socially-minded college kids, aging hippies, Bernie Bros, and one sweaty guy in a cowboy who tried to sell me the bumper stickers he had balled up in his fist. But hands down my favorite person I saw there was a budding politician – maybe fifteen, accompanied by his mother – who was dressed in a brown suit, a bowtie and a bouquet of Ted Cruz buttons on his lapel. With the same of studied polish of a pro, he shook my hand and called my art “positively joy sparking.” I wish I caught his name. I’ll probably be voting again him in a couple decades. In spite of sharp, intolerant divisions we can see on cable news and social media, Politicon left me with a sense that we aren’t quite so divided after all and that there is still general faith in the American idea.

I also left with a pile of cash in my pocket. That was nice too.

Veeptopus Will Be at Politicon Next Week

Next week on June 25-26, I will be hawking wares at Politicon at the Pasadena Convention Center.  Stop by and say hi.

What is Politicon? A fair question. I hadn't heard of it before they contacted me. This is how they describe themselves on their website:

“This June, Politicon will be toasting to a second term as the quintessential non-partisan event of the year. In honor of the impending presidential election, we’re upping the ante with some of the biggest names in politics and the wittiest voices in comedy and entertainment, representing all sides of the political spectrum.”

They do have an impressive line-up of politicians and pundits - like Sen. Barbara Boxer, Chuck Todd, James Carville, Nate Silver, Ann Coulter (gag) and even Sarah Palin (gag, cough, gag). Even former Mexican president Vicente Fox will be there, for some reason. Think of it like Comic-Con for people who obsessively watch cable news. I'm not sure whether or not anyone will dress up like, say, Donald Rumsfeld or John Maynard Keynes but I sincerely hope that someone does. 

Anyway, I'll be at the Democracy Village area and I'll be selling a few new prints (naked Trump anyone) and, if they get here in time, a handful of Veeptopus T-shirts. Hope to see you there. 

Naked Donald Trump or the Single Most Unclean Thing I've Ever Drawn

It was GOP Frontrunner/ gaseous Cheetos fart's birthday yesterday, so I decided to draw a portrait of him. This was the result. I'm so sorry. 

New Hamilton / Burr Duel Print on Veeptopus

Check out the latest print on Veeptopus. Our best sellers are all things connected to Hamilton, so I thought I'd add another one - an action shot of the actual, fateful duel. It was an encounter that if both parties had known the outcome would have no doubt avoided. 

Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr were friends who became political rivals and then bitter enemies. Their feud boiled over in Weehawken, New Jersey, on July 11, 1804, when they met for a duel. Hamilton shot first and missed. Burr shot and fatally wounded Hamilton. The bloody event changed American history and still has historians talking. 

Get this art print commemorating this fateful duel between Burr and Hamilton. Makes a great gift for the history nerd, musical aficionado and general weirdo in your life.

New Series on Veeptopus: Directors' Portraits

It's been an eventful couple of months here at Veeptopus. Not only did we move to our gleaming new international headquarters here in the heart of Silicon Valley but we're busily working on a new series of art prints. I'm really excited about them.

So I've got a confession to make. I'm a film nerd. A movie geek. One of those guys who wears horn-rimmed glasses and has opinions about things like aspect ratio. I went to film school. I spent much of my adult life writing about movies. And I've even taught film history on occasion. So I suppose, it is natural that I would end up basing some of my art around cinema. 

For my latest series, I'm doing portraits of film directors. I still haven't come up with a title as pithy as Veeptopus but I'm working on it. (Directopus? Auteur Art? Projectorhead? Email me if you think of something better.)

Each portrait is fun and light-hearted yet it stills says something about each director's work. The picture of Hitchcock above, for instance, is both a knowing riff on his 1954 film Rear Window and also a take on the creepy voyeurism that runs throughout his movies like Notorious, Psycho and Vertigo.

There's also Luis Bunuel, Jim Jarmusch, Lars Von Trier, Sergei Eisenstein, Ingmar Bergman, Jean-Luc Godard and more. Check them out.

So if you find yourself dropping phrases like "mies-en-scene" into your conversations, if you drool over the latest Criterion Collection release, or if you just want some cool stuff on your wall check out my Etsy site.

More Press For Veeptopus!

There's been a surprising amount of press for Veeptopus the past couple of weeks. First, BuzzFeed did a completely amazing write up on me and then, a week later, I was featured on the Funkzone Podcast, run by the estimable Ted Mills. Not only is Mills a skilled interviewer for one of the few podcasts dedicated solely to the Arts but he's also one of my closest friends. The interview, conducted over a couple lethally strong Gin and Tonics, focuses not only on my work but also on some of the sillier things we did two decades ago. Check it out here.

Almost a year ago, photographer Ian Spanier did a lovely write up/pictorial on me for the Huffington Post. He videotaped the interview and edited the footage in the piece below. 

Check it out below:

There's a World Record holder living three houses down your street. Next door, there's a carpenter from HBO's The Sopranos television show living in blissful suburban obscurity. Two blocks over lives the air traffic controller who guided Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger's airliner to a miraculous landing in the Hudson River.

Veeptopus on Buzzfeed!

So Veeptopus got a shoutout by the amazing Sally Kaplan over at Buzzfeed. Read the article here.

Make this Christmas a Veeptopus Christmas!

Only one more week left to guarantee delivery by Christmas!

So make that history nerd or that policy wonk in your life happy with a print of Aaron Burr, Harry S Truman and/or Theodore Roosevelt. Make your favorite obsessive completist leap with joy with the Full Veeptopus - all 47 vice presidents with octopuses on their heads.

Consider a Ruth Bader Ginsburg card set.  

Or consider Veeptopus's reigning best-seller, a print that commemorates the notorious Burr-Hamilton duel in 1804. It was so famous, I hear they even made a musical about it.

Remember, nothing says holiday cheer like tentacles. 

Ham Shot First! The Latest, and Nerdiest, Thing on Veeptopus

You love Hamilton The Musical? Are you a Star Wars fanatic? Celebrate both your loves with this amazing print.

Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr were friends who became political rivals and then bitter enemies. Their feud boiled over in Weehawken, New Jersey, on July 11, 1804, when they met for a duel. Hamilton shot first and missed. Burr shot and fatally wounded Hamilton. The bloody event changed American history and still has historians talking. 

Han Solo and Greedo faced off in a tavern on Mos Eisley. Like Hamilton, Han shot first. I don't care what George Lucas thinks. Han freakin' shot first. 

Get this art print mash up commemorating both events. Makes a great gift for the history nerd, musical nerd and/or general nerd in your life.

New on Veeptopus: Badgers for Bernie

Bernie Sanders might be 74 years old. He might have a haircut the is reminiscent of a mad scientist. And he might be a Democratic Socialist, but he is the by far the coolest person running for president. And he's has locked up the critical woodland creature vote.

Commemorate Bernie locking up the pivotal woodland creature vote with this totally sweet campaign poster. 

Proceeds of this print will go Bernie's campaign.

Behold! Alexander Hamilton Prints Are Now At Veeptopus!

How cool was Alexander Hamilton? He wrote much of the Federalist Papers, he has his face on the ten dollar bill and he died in a duel with Aaron Burr. More to the point, he's the only Founding Father I can think of who has a hip hop Broadway musical based his life.

So to celebrate the world's coolest Secretary of the Treasury, I've made two prints. One, which you can see above, is a single portrait of Hamilton. Great for anyone who wants to raise a glass to American monetary policy. The other commemorates Hamilton's fateful duel with Burr. 

Get one or both prints this holiday season for the history nerd, economics enthusiast or Broadway musical maven in your life.

Hot Off the Presses: Veeptopus Holiday Cards

It's the holiday season. This year, celebrate them with badgers. Badgers sporting Santa hats. Badgers clutching deadly weapons. 

That's right. The Veeptopus Holiday Cards are here! Send that loved one this Christmas / Hanukkah / Festivus a token of esteem and mild threat.  Perfect for that uncle who holds a political view that is violently different from yours or that aunt who keeps asking about your personal life.

Remember, nothing says "Happy Holidays" like murderous badgers. It's a Veeptopus tradition.    

By the way, follow Veeptopus on Instagram.

Veeptopus is the Featured Artist for Brooklyn Grooming for October/November

Get a load of this. Veeptopus is the featured artist for Brooklyn Grooming this month and next. Get razors, beard wax or other grooming product from them and get a Veeptopus post card free!

Happy Octopus Day!

It's October 8th so naturally, it's Octopus Day. Celebrate it by placing one on your head, drinking heavily or in whatever way you feel appropriate.

Veeptopus is One Year Old - Check out the Sales and Giveaways

The Veeptopus Store has been open for one whole year. It's been a pretty amazing time where I learned a lot about running an online business and a fair amount about octopuses. To thank everyone for all the positive vibes and the kind words, I'm having a giveaway. That's right, you will have a shot at winning any Veeptopus print of your very own. There will be three lucky winners.

Here's what you do: Follow me on Instagram, like this photo and write your favorite VP in the comments. 

But get this, if you tag someone else in the comments then you get two chances to win. Tag more people, you get more chances. You see how it works. The lucky winners will be drawn at random September 9. 

But wait, there's more!

I'm having a sale. That's right, 20% off everything in the shop.  never have sales, but I'm doing one this week.

So if you've been thinking about decorating your house or cubicle with a lovingly created portrait of a US vice president with an octopus on his head, now's the time to buy.

Just use the check out code ONEYEAR at checkout. But act soon. This sale ends next Tuesday.