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Saturday, 10. May 2008

Dhanaywad to India .. Konnichiwa to Japan

Today is the last day of my expatriation to India. At 23.15 Indian standard time I will be boarding a plane at Bangalore International Airport (BLR) to Tokyo in Japan where I will be staying for the next week for work. My stay in India has been very memorable and it was sad to say goodbye to all my new Indian friends yesterday at the office. I am however looking forward to going back to Denmark and to a more down-to-earth life.

I must say that the time in India passed faster than Indian food through my intestines and I will return to Denmark with a lot of good memories, lots of new experiences and most of all a bullet-proof patience. What I am not going to miss about Bangalore is the traffic, the noise, the garbage in the streets, the smell, electricity that goes on and off and mobile networks where you are lucky if you can have a 5 minute conversation without being disconnected every 30 seconds. What I am going to miss is the kind and helpful Indians, the nice climate, being and expat (as an expat in India you are treated like the king of the world) and especially my Indian colleagues and all the friends I have made here. India is truly a land of contrasts and spirit and I will cherish the memories I have made here.

What is more important is that I am actually going to start drawing again as soon as I get back to Denmark. I have one more “blind mole” strip I would like to finish before embarking on a 7 strip storyline that I have had lying around for 6 months and after that … who knows? Well, I know but who else?

Let me share with you the future of So Zoo Me! I have been working on a new comic strip for a long time now and this will mean the end of So Zoo Me! I simply do not have the time to create strips for two comics at the same time even if I wanted to. The new one will also be a webcomic and it will be a bit more edgy than So Zoo Me! and I can not wait to start sharing it with you. Having learned a lot from So Zoo Me! I have experienced that I need to be ahead with strips in order to meet the weekly updates. Therefore I have decided to create at least 24 weeks of strips (half a year worth) before publishing the first one. I have not yet started the first one since I have been working on the concept primarily for the past 4 months. I have done the sketches for 9 strips and I have authored in total 19 strips worth of comics. There is still a lot more work to be done and therefore I have no clue when I will be able to start publishing. But I hope to have it all ready when the last So Zoo Me! will be published just after Summer. Keep watching this space for more info in the coming months.

Tuesday, 25. March 2008

It’s been a little quiet lately

Anyone still here? Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I have so many things going on right now that I find it hard to sit down and pick up a pen and paper. I have been travelling a lot for business and the past two weeks I have been on a team building event with my Indian colleagues and this past weekend I was doing the backwaters in Cochin and Alleppy in the South Indian state of Kerala (I will post some pictures soon on Flicker for anyone who cares). But this morning my girlfriend left for Denmark not to return before end of April so maybe I can fill the lonely nights with my imaginary friends in So Zoo Me! At least I will be doing some drawing this week and I might even have a new comic ready for you by Monday. I will not make any promises though.

On Thursday I will travel to Denmark which is the non-work related part of a tour-of-the-world for business starting 1. April. I will travel from Copenhagen to a 3-day conference I Milan and from there directly to Beijing where I will spend three days at a meeting. When that is over I will go to Singapore and then back to Bangalore. In total it will be 10 flights in 10 days. Thank God that the food on airplanes is that good ;) So, do I am pretty sure I will not manage to do any new comics for the next few Mondays. Sorry for that. Work before pleasure I always say .. but never do.

Btw. Easter passed pretty fast here in India. In fact, since they do not celebrate Easter here, I did not even notice it. We did however celebrate the Festival of Colours on Good Friday so it was not a total loss. To all the Danish readers back home: How did the Easter Brew taste this year? Bet it tasted like liquorice (to quote Brinkerhoff in the popular webcomic by Gabe Strine).

Monday, 25. February 2008

X-ray vision makes everything better

Finally .. the comic for this week is up. I think I have come a long way with the strip since it was first launched back in February 2006. The drawings have become much better and I am starting to get a hang on drawing arms and hands. Still having issues with legs and feet but I hope to get that down sometime in the near future. Being able to draw the full character is something I always wanted since it will allow for much better image compositions. But hey! Babysteps.

Another thing that has been changed these past few weeks is that I now put a layer on top of the entire strip with opacity set to 15% and white. This gives that ligther glow. I don't know if I like it yet but. What do you guys and girls think?

Next week there will be no new comic. I will be travelling to Rome on business for the next week or so and will have very limited access to the Internet. But rest assured that So Zoo Me! will return the Monday after the next with new contents. Until then have lots'n'lots of fun.

Monday, 18. February 2008

Happy happy birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SO ZOO ME! The comic is now two years old and in that time I have managed to publish 47 comics. Considering I initially said I would publish one new comic every week it is a little ironic too see that I have not even managed one year worth of strips in two years. I like to interpret this as I now have a life compared to two years ago.

Anyone noticed that this website looks extra gay in IE7? For some reason all the text has turned pink. Think it happened when I implemented the flickr stream. Since I am currently working on a new website for So Zoo Me! I will not mind fixing it. Instead I will just call it "a feature".

Another great feature on this website is that in IE6 and earlier the comic might not always show up. One way to fix this is to clear your browser cache. Another way is to upgrade to IE7 and get not only proper PNG support but also nice pink text on this website.

Because I have used most of my vacation days here in India already I was unable to go with my girlfriend and her family to the Maldives these past 5 days. So, I spent the weekend by going out with some colleagues and also all of Sunday drawing two new So Zoo Me! comics (one of which you have probably already read). I know I promised you a story line but I have decided to postpone it because I have had three ideas for new comics to add to the story. Therefore you will have to wait. Talking of storylines I think I have had an epiphany. These are much easier to come up with than single jokes. Added bonus is that I often get multiple strips from one idea and not only one strip at a time. This is how the Pros work I am often told. It does not mean that I will not have single strip jokes any more. It will just mean that I will have more storylines.

Btw, it seems like you readers are ignoring So Zoo Me! on Facebook. Is this really true? It is your chance to get your opinions heard. Come on!

Monday, 11. February 2008

No comic .. no cry!

This is my favorite part of the week. The day I apologize for not uploading a comic. Just returned from Goa with my entourage and they will be staying for a week. So, no time to comic-strip :) I will return with an all new So Zoo Me! next Monday. Promise!

So, in the meantime why not join the fastest growing group on Facebook: So Zoo Me! on Facebook.

Tuesday, 05. February 2008

So Zoo Me! has been facebooked

Not worried about the CIA spying on you? Well, then join the So Zoo Me! group on Facebook now! Yes, So Zoo Me! is now on Facebook so why not show your appreciation of the comic by joining the So Zoo Me! Group?

Did I mention the So Zoo Me! Group? on facebook yet? Anyone?

Monday, 04. February 2008

Early Valentine’s Day

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OK! I know that this week’s comic is a little ahead of time but because of a long upcoming story line I had to publish it now. But is it ever too early to celebrate love by giving your significant other flowers to irritate her allergies and candy to kick-start her diabetes? I think not.

So, what is Valentine’s? I am not sure. Apparently it is a holiday celebrated on the 14th of February on which lover’s express their love for one another day by ruining each other’s health by giving candy and flowers. It is also the title of an episode of The Office and SpongeBob SquarePants according to Wikipedia. For some reason this “holiday” is now also celebrated in Denmark thanks to the Chocolate and Botanist lobby and I am not really sure how they got that idea put into people’s heads. It is not like we don’t celebrate enough stupid things. For instance we celebrate Saint Martin’s Day in Denmark by eating duck. This actually makes no sense at all since the reason for eating the duck is based on the legend that Saint Martin hid in a goose farm so that he would not be appointed as bishop. His hideout was then revealed when the geese started making the sound they do and he was then made bishop. So now we eat duck to punish the geese. It follows the same logic as Valentine’s Day where we express the love for someone by making them sick. Anyway Happy Valentine’s Day to all you crazy lovers out there. Please show your love for this comic by sending the artist a large piece of cake :)

Monday, 28. January 2008

The Paradise of the Maldives

Ahoy m8s. I am back from vacation in the Maldives where me and my girlfriend spent a glorious week at the Taj Coral Reef Resort. I have not been to a more beautiful place than this in my life and it comes as close to Paradise as I could imagine. As the name suggests the Taj hotel we stayed at is located just on the top of a coral reef which meant plenty of snorkelling and lazy days on the white sand beach just outside the door of our room. The hotel is located on its own small island which also meant plenty of blissful silence (anyone who has been to Bangalore will know what I mean ;) You can see some pictures from my vacation to the Maldives in my Flickr stream to the left.

Regarding the lack of updates lately I can only apologize and reassure you that new comics will be uploaded shortly. I have just started to draw the next 24 comic strips for the next issue of Striber! So I have been busy with other things. Also, I have been stranded on an Island with no Internet connection for the past week. I can come up with more excuses if you want. Just drop me an e-mail and I will send you at least 20 other excuses.

To end this post of the week I leave you with a few words of wisdom: Digital cameras can not swim in salt water.

Monday, 14. January 2008

First of 2008

Contradictory to my belief So Zoo Me! has been published in issue 3 of Striber! this month. I submitted the 24 new comic strips for this issue on CD ROM to the publisher but the CD was mishandled by the post office and therefore 5 of the strips were corrupt and could not be read from the CD. As my computer was shipped to India on the same day as I posted the CD to the publisher I was unable to resubmit the 5 strips before deadline and I therefore assumed that So Zoo Me! would be taken out of the latest issue and replaced by some other comic strip. For some reason the publisher chose to run with So Zoo Me! anyway resulting in 5 strips missing .. all of which were part of the story line you are about to experience. So now the story does not make any sense in the magazine. So, I hope you will come here for the next 10 weeks and read the story line as it was intended.

Also, this weekend my Girlfriend and I went to Nandi Hills. Nandi Hills is located about 60 kms outside of Bangalore. 60 kms might not sound of much but getting there will take about 2 hours and 20 minutes because of traffic. But the destination was well worth the long journey. It is breathtaking out there as you can see for yourself in my Flickr stream to the right of this text. Only downside is that trekking is more or less impossible because of the traffic on the mountain since the only way to climb the steep hills are on the road. But getting out of the city and away from all the noise was great. And the view was spectacular.

Monday, 07. January 2008

Happy 2008

Namaste and a happy New Year to all of you. As you have probably noticed I have not uploaded new comics since Christmas. The reason for this is that I had no Internet connection until now. I was back in Denmark visiting family and friends for the holidays and just returned to sweet sweet Bengaluru (also know to others as Bangalore). How I missed having cows running in the middle of the streets, cars constantly honking, and bargaining for everything. Funny how you adjust to your new surroundings in such a short time. For instance I have learned that when bargaining in India you almost always get half the price of what the Indians ask you to pay at first. The same does not go for Denmark. When shopping for Christmas presents I constantly halfed the price but for some reason none of the stores went for it. Here is sort of how it went:

Me: “How much for this piece of crappy electronic?”
Sales clerk with funny hairdo: “1000 kr.”

.. I then seem uninterested and walk away thinking the sales clerk will immediately stop me an go down in price which never happens. I then turn back..

Me: “Ok, I will give you 200 kr. for that piece of crap. But only because I feel bad for you. And I can see that you need a haircut.”
Sales clerk now looking at me with a not so smart look on his face but still with a funny hardo: “It costs 1000 kr.”
Me: “Ok ok .. You can have 400 kr. for it .. But no more than that. I know that that is a small fortune for you.”
Sales clerk now looking confused with a hand going through his funny looking greasy hair: “I do not know what you are doing but this item costs 1000 kr. Do you want it or not?”
Me: “Ok ok .. You drive a hard bargin. 500 kr. But then I also want a goat with that piece of electronic.”
Sales clerk with even funnier looking hair: “Goat? This is an electronics warehouse. We do not sell livestock here. Only electronics. And this piece of goods costs 1000 kr.”

.. I then turn my back on the sales clerk and tells him that I can get that piece of electronics elsewhere for half of what I offered him. As I leave the sales clerk goes to the restroom to fix his hair and put up a poster saying that I am no longer allowed to enter the store.

In the end I finally purchased all the presents at about double the rate as it will all go on sale at the end of January. So much for my bargaining skills.

I will start uploading new comics again soon. Until then please feel free to browse the archives. Oh wait .. That functionality does not yet work. Have to get that fixed at some point. So just browse the site .. or the Internet .. or your sock drawers until then. Or why not start reading the new web comic WE THE ROBOTS by Chris Harding? It is God damn good fun updated three times a week. You will also find the link to this new favorite comic of mine in the link box to the right.

Monday, 17. December 2007

Family Friendly

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Christmas is all about family. You know that and I know that. The presents are only there to make things more interesting. Just like Christmas pudding and fruit cake. One of the most challenging Christmas tasks for me is to do my wish list. I usually do not know what to wish for and I know that if I do not wish for something I will get something I would definitely not like.. Like last year when I got some bed sheets with the most ugly decorations on them. Or a knitted sweater with kittens on it (I actually got one of these once). So, I desperately try to come up with things I want each year by going through one Christmas catalogue after the other. This year I came up with:

• Books
• A new electric razor that runs on batteries
• DVDs
• Bjorn Borg underwear
• Canon CanoScan LiDE 600F
• Poker game
• iPod Touch 8 GB

Usually I only put just enough on there so that there is no more than what I will actually get. This makes getting presents a lot less interesting but also saves you from having to return presents that you in desperation said you liked because you do not want to upset the person who gave you in the first place.

But Christmas for me is not about the presents. It is about spending time with my family and eat until I burst. What a lovely tradition :)

Next Monday is Christmas Eve which of cause means that I will publish a new comic strip with a Christmas theme.

Thursday, 13. December 2007

It’s a very special Christmas

Sorry about the one day delay of this week’s comic. Work has been busy the past few weeks and when I get home I try to spend my free time with my girlfriend and not so much with my computer. We are starting to get used to our new home here in India and even though there is a big difference between living in Denmark and India we are starting to fit in and seem less like tourists .. Especially since we both have gotten a very nice tan and no longer look like two pale snowmen.

Speaking of the weather, I am finding it hard to get into the Christmas spirit when the sun is shining bright and the temperature is about 20-25 degrees. It is my favourite time of year and usually I would have put up Christmas decorations and planted 6 foot tree in the middle of the living room by now. But two Christmas elves (one of them decapitated by my Girlfriend) and an Advent candle is all we have in our apartment to remind us that Christmas is upon us. But thankfully we will be going back to Denmark for Christmas. I look forward to going to the Christmas market in Tivoli in Copenhagen upon our return and even more to see my family and friends.

Other than a mild Christmas depression all is well here in Bangalore, India. This week we had a Cultural awareness course in India and some of my colleagues from Denmark came down to attend the course. Other than introducing them to spicy food my girlfriend and I took my colleagues to Bannerghatta National Park just at the outskirts of Bangalore. It is a big nature park and the home of two white tigers. It was my first time there and as a nature lover it was a thrill to watch animals in something that resembles their normal habitat. I really want to go on a safari in South Africa some day but until then this was a nice experience. If you are visiting Bangalore I would advise you to go.

Tuesday, 11. December 2007

New comic tonight

Work is taking over my life at the moment. Therefore I have not yet had the time to translate the new comic from Danish to English. I will finalize it tonight and upload it here. Ho ho ho!

Monday, 03 December 2007

5 second memory

Namaste! Merry Christmas to all. Yes, it is that time of year again where we wish upon a star and think we will get every thing we want neatly wrapped in paper. For some that is true but for others it is not .. like last year when I wished for a new iPod but instead got some butt ugly bed sheets. This year I will wish for peace on Earth but probably some guy will hit me in the face at a Christmas Party instead. “You can not have it all” I will probably think as I am picking up teeth from the floor.

Anywooo, this week’s strip features a new character in So Zoo Me! “The 5 second memory fish” as I like to call him will show up from time to time in the future. Imagine being able to forget everything in 5 seconds. Eternal bliss. Why is it that you always remember all the crap you are told but forget the important things?

Btw, did you notice my new Flickr stream? That is you visual guide to my six months in India. So far not much have been put there but be sure that you will find a lot of pictures of holy cows in traffic during the next six months.

Monday, 26 November 2007

God's own country

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Namaeste! Another glorious week has passed in wonderful Bangalore. After a week of long hours at the office my girlfriend and I decided to take a weekend-trip to God's own country as they name the state of Kerala in the adds. We had booked two nights at Kovalam Beach and prepared for a few days at the beach when we left Bangalore on Friday. We had arranged with our driver Ashok that he would take us there by car: A small Suzuki Swift. The drive of 800 kms, according to colleagues and Ashok, would take about 6-8 hours. Knowing the Indian concept of time we should have known better, but 21 hours later we arrived at Kovalam Beach. We missed our first night there and arrived tired, back broken, and with an upset stomach .. Ok.. Let's call it what it is: "Diarrhoea" or "God's way to punish you for being to cheap to by planetickets". But after arriving we had the most perfect stay at the Taj Green Cove Resort in Kovalam. We learned our lesson and booked plane tickets home and sent the driver on the long journey back home to Bangalore on Saturday and enjoyed two days in the Kerala sun.

Next week I will introduce you to a new character in So Zoo Me! Have a nice week.

Monday, 19. November 2007

Glorious India

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Due to travels last week I decided to skip a comic. My girlfriend and I just arrived in India where we are going to stay for the next six months while I help start up the new office down here. We arrived last Wednesday in Bangalore airport to what seems like the most chaotic airport ever. After what seems like a wrestling match with 2 million Indians and tourists alike we finally managed to get out of the airport with all of our luggage. There we were greeted by our driver Ashok and taken to our new home for the next six months. At first entry we were greeted by a horrific smell of what was later discovered to be pellets of cockroach repellent. Finding all the pellets were like hunting for Easter eggs.. they were everywhere. In the sinks, in the closets, in the drawers .. Simply everywhere. Even after we threw them out and after five days of constant venting we can still smell them. Honestly, I do not know what is worse: The cockroaches or the pellets. At least the roaches are not making you dizzy and giving you a trip like you are on acid.

But other than that the apartment is pretty great. It is a lot bigger that what we have at home and we have access to a gigantic pool, tennis courts, badminton courts, squash courts, a basketball court, daily house cleaning and last but not least our own personal driver 6 days a week. How will we ever get back to the old routine of doing household things ourselves?

I will write more about our experiences in the land of the holy cow in the coming months. Come back next week for an all new So Zoo Me!

Wednesday, 07. November 2007

Moving to India

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Wow! Talk about a few hectic weeks. Try balancing work, planning a move to India, and doing half a years worth of comics for a comic submission deadline. It has been murder on my social life and it is starting to show. Thankfully all the planning is over for the trip, 24 comics have been submitted last Sunday, and I had my last day at the office on Tuesday. So, now I am finally availble to see all my friends.. just the one thing that I am leaving for Barcelona tomorrow and from there I am going directly to Bangalore, India, for six months.

Since my life will be travelling for the next week or so I will probably not publish a new comic next week. But expect to see comics on a regular basis in two weeks when my girlfriend and I are comfortably seated in our new apartment in Bangalore on Tuesday. Namaste..

Wednesday, 24. October 2007

Back with more updated old stuff

Just returned from a few days in Bangalore with my girlfriend. We were down there to look at an apartment since we will be moving there very soon. A few months ago I got the option to relocate to India for 6 months to help my new collegues down there as they start up our new office. I will be sort of an on-site support for them. In other words: The guy who knows everything. Not something I am not already used to ;) So I accepted the assignment and will move there with my girlfriend in mid-November. But enough about that. I will probably bore you with tales from the land of the holy cow in the future.

This week's comic is yet again an updated old So Zoo Me! comic strip. I like recycling ;) But next Monday you will get an entirely new strip. See you next week.

Friday, 19. October 2007

HOLY COW!

Since I will be enjoying beutiful India together with my girlfriend for the next five days do not expect a new comic to be uploaded next Monday. I will upload a new comic strip when I get back on Wednesday. So, enjoy the weekend. WOO! DID ANYONE GET THE NUMBER ON THAT HOLY COW??

Monday, 15. October 2007

Second life

Another week has past and I am still working hard to complete the next 24 comics for issue #3 of Striber. At the same time I am balancing a lot of business travel with planning of a new assignment at work. More about that at a later time (like you really care). Until next Monday please enjoy this all-new So Zoo Me! strip. Anyone else who do not get the Second life hype that we are seeing these days?

Monday, 08. October 2007

Old stuff Reloaded redux

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Yet another updated "old" comic. Next week you will have an entirely new comic that has not been published here before. I have also re-written the above strip so that it is hopefully better.

Still busy re-drawing all the strips for Striber #3 which will be available in stores on the 04. January 2008. No time to talk .. need to draw!

Friday, 28. September 2007

Old stuff reloaded

New stuff is coming. I am redrawing a few old strips for the next issue of Danish comic magazine Striber! This is the first one. I changed the look of Fat Tony a bit to resemble the other characters more and made the strip the same size as all the new ones. I will probably start updating once a week again very soon. When Striber! 3 is released in January I will have 6 months worth of strips already drawn if i publish one each week. Don't worry. You will not have to wait until January for updates. I am drawing new stuff as I write this (no, it is not only girls who can multitask .. I also master the art of walking and chewing gum at the same time). WOO! Have a nice weekend! WOO!

Friday, 14. September 2007

Ok! Ok! You hate it!

OK! I GET IT! You hate the new way I draw the strip. I have experienced something similar to a spam mail attack since I posted the new comic. No one (except my girlfriend apparently) likes the way I was drawing the comic by hand. I feel your pain and have decided to go back to the good old way of drawing So Zoo Me! That being said the next comic will be a few days delayed since I will have to redraw the new comic. At the same time a have a business trip to New York coming up on Tuesday so my free time is limited at the moment. But stay tooned.

Enjoy the weekend! WOO!

Monday, 10. September 2007

So Zoo Me! Returns!

So Zoo Me! is back from several months of hibernation. I have been working hard to finish 24 new strips for next issue of Striber! (no. 3) and this is one of the 24 new strips to be pulished.

Hope you enjoy the new look and feel of the strip. The next ones will look even better :)