funny times

Saturday afternoon I was invited to hang out at the Java Shack with a few cartoonists and the publisher of the Funny Times. I didn't even know that this periodical existed before my café au lait infused camaraderie.  Ray is the guy that makes it all happen.  He publishes this compilation of political cartoons.

One of the prominent artists featured regularly in Ray's periodical is Matt Wuerker, a 2009 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.  Matt is kind of a big deal in the world of political cartoons.  He is currently top dog at Politco, has worked at pretty much every A-list publication and is incredibly down to earth.  I managed to take a shot of him that captured a moment during a conversation about more serious political topics.  Matt even has a bit of a Hemingway aura in this photograph.

The Washington DC area is full of people that are full of themselves.  Many are intelligent and some sport their intellectual flat line with reckless bravado.  But for a couple of hours, I relished the time just talking to Matt, Ray and a few others.  They were down-to-earth funny and wicked smart.  This is the DC I really like. So if you can, check it out for yourself:  Funny Times.

Matt is the recipient of the Funny Times' first ever Irving Award.  Here is Matt showing off his award.