My -30- article at the Daily Texan. The -30- article is an unedited column that departing staff members write. Originally ran in the 5/10/05 paper. The original is located at [dailytexanonline.com]

‘Proverbs’ writer moves to greener pastures

By Al Sweigart

My genius was misidentified at a young age.In kindergarten, the class was supposed to enter an art contest for the local livestock and rodeo show. I didn’t realize how state-centric Texas was at the time and how that necessitated class time to draw pictures of cows and tumbleweeds.

I thought every state was like that; that if I traveled to the other side of the country, they too would have commercials screaming “New Hampshire truck month!” or “More Iowaians prefer Harper’s term life insurance.” There was no such concept as the tri-state area in Texas. If there was, it would include Mexico. (more…)

The image was engraved on Pioneer 10 and 11, which were probes launched into deep space. The idea was that intelligent alien life would find these plaques and interpret them to mean that intelligent life (us) existed elsewhere in the galaxy.

I offer an alternative interpretation.

Emily the Strange [en.wikipedia.org] is fictional character whose introverted and disdainful personality has made her something of a countercultural icon (and a great way to sell marketable products to the trendy). Her franchise has churned out a lot of merchandise (clothes, toys, books, etc.)

But the character itself is almost an exact copy of another (less desperately nonconformist) character, Rosamond, from the children’s book series “Nate the Great”. Emily the Strange, according to the wikipedia page, was “created” in 1991 to promote the Cosmic Debris clothing line. The Nate the Great series was first published in 1978 and continue on into the 80′s.

Emily the Strange is a young, slim girl with long, straight, black hair and wears a short black dress. She has four cats (named Mystery, Miles, Sabbath, and Nee-Chee).

Rosamond (who predates Emily by a decade) is a young, slim girl with long, straight, black hair and wears a short dress. She has four cats (named Super Hex, Big Hex, Plain Hex, and Little Hex). (more…)