Public Flogging for 3/20/2025
I'm just out there doing my hokey pokey best
Status Updates:
I’ve been doing this for a little over a year now on Substack so maybe it’s time to explain some things.
I’m calling this “Frequently asked questions that you bastards never asked”.
Why Public Flogging?
As I recall it, the phrase Public Flogging was something a local radio show host tossed out into the universe one day as a derisive comment directed at people posting things on the internet. It seemed stupid that a morning show guy looked down his nose at anyone trying to make a living off being weird in public. In response I spun up the Public Flogging blog and it’s been the place where I brain dump ever since. So when I moved some of those things here I decided it was a good name for the newsletter.
Sunday hands
Are you a professional cartoonist?
I kind of hate this question. It’s the king of imposter syndrome questions. The answer is easy, yes, I am a professional cartoonist if not a very successful one. I have been paid on a number of occasions to draw cartoons for both myself, private individuals, and businesses. I have been published in newspapers, magazines, books, comics, and online. I still feel very much an amateur after all these years. Cartooning isn’t my primary income. I am a IT Guy by day (Please reboot your computer). I am also a woodcarver, a mechanic, a construction worker and maybe someday an author (Wait… I’ve had poems published). I’m pretty comfortable with the idea of being a creator of things.
From the archives
Why the name Madscott?
It’s more of a HAHA mad and not an angry mad. The honest answer is that I created a screen name for gaming years ago (Think 1996) and I started to hate it. I didn’t want friends of mine explaining to their spouse that “WarHammer91 is a close buddy and he has invited us to dinner”. So I changed my screen name to Madscott. I’ve used it now for 20ish years and have no desire to change it at this time.
In the box
Is there a plan?
No. Well… yes. Kind of… My plan is to continue to grow at a slow pace and see what happens. I plan to continue to create things and try not to go broke doing it. This year the personal project is to submit work to larger publications than I have in the past. I think I mentioned this a few Floggings back. I don’t mind being a small fish in a small pond but it’s fun creating comics with a larger audience in mind. I still just want to make people giggle while they drink coffee.
True Story
When did you start?
Another loaded question. I can’t recall a time I didn’t want to be a cartoonist. I wanted to be the guy drawing Hagar the Horrible or Heathcliff. Jump to about 1999 - 2000 and I started posting comics online for my Live Journal blog. I did that for a long time until I started posting on a site dedicated to just comics. Later I joined some friends and I used my IT skills to help host other young cartoonists post online to a website called Nightgig. We had a modest success and I’m proud of that work. In between here and there I met some local Twin Cities professionals who got me into the local city paper on a semi regular basis. From there I moved into small contract work for a couple tech blogs. Sadly none of those publications exist any longer.
Friday Preview
What's Next on your list?
In relation to cartooning, I think I need to pick a format and stick with it for a few months. I’m mostly working for myself and I should do something recognizable. At least for my blogs and social media. For everything else, who knows?
My veterans group is biting me in the butt. I have a memorial project that will be done and beginning again on memorial day. I also managed to volunteer for a county level position and I think I’m running unopposed this year.
I have a rocking horse (motorcycle) on the work bench that I need done by April and a pile of wood that needs to become snowmen before the end of summer.
Thanks for reading this far. I will be going back to listening to the classic ska radio station on Pandora.