Because aparrently they've both been at it...

Monday, June 02, 2008 9:20:52 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

As I used to say to the features editor at the Sun; "Got a verbal one for you here, chief..."

Monday, May 12, 2008 5:58:40 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Still not too late to buy a copy of THE LITTLE BOOK OF STRESS! Contact nick@teamsputnik.co.uk for details!

Monday, April 14, 2008 4:27:56 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

And now for a special announcement...

Is your nose really fashionable? How can you tell if you're infested with chameleons?Should English dictionaries contain the word 'znooj'? If you've got a little too much calm in your life, here's eighty ways to ruin your day, all contained in a handy pocket-sized manual.

Contact nick@teamsputnik.co.uk for details of how to buy!!

Thursday, April 10, 2008 10:57:11 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Bet you wish you could get hold of a copy of THE LITTLE BOOK OF STRESS! Details coming soon!

Tuesday, April 08, 2008 10:03:35 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Yes I have started doing these again. Sorry...

COMING SOON! All your favourite worries collected in THE LITTLE BOOK OF STRESS! Watch this space for details!

Monday, April 07, 2008 9:45:23 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

I apologise for the general loss of humour quality ~ it's Friday!

Friday, February 22, 2008 11:16:55 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

ONE FOR THE CONSPIRACY FANS. The Fret For The Day cartoons aren't supposed to be topical, but this time I couldn't resist...

Tuesday, February 19, 2008 10:01:50 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

The Worry Man is back! Yay!

Sorry about the extended break over Christmas, but we were having a lovely holiday sunning ourselves on a beach in the Bahamas. But seriously, we've been looking for a place to live. Funny time of the year to be doing this, I know, but if anyone knows of a nice place in Lancaster (UK) we can let, please let us know.

Monday, January 14, 2008 2:39:19 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Not sure if this one actually makes sense...

...perhaps I'm getting a bit funny about cats in my old age.

Monday, December 10, 2007 11:06:04 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

I got the computer working again. Yay!

Monday, December 03, 2007 2:08:34 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Still using Photoshop 5.0 limited edition on someone else's computer...

Monday, November 26, 2007 9:34:32 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Apologies for the lateness of today's Fret. I had endless computer troubles today (again with the computer troubles!) and ended up creating the above Fret on someone else's computer, using a more basic version of Photoshop. Would I be showing my age if I say I can't help but miss the days when we did this stuff in ink, via a goose quill, onto parchment?

Friday, November 23, 2007 7:08:41 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

WE'RE BACK! Sorry about the long silence, but we've been having technical difficulties. We tried transferring to a new ISP, which shall remain nameless, but they kept us hanging about for ages with technical problems, then inexplicably cancelled the contract (after they'd taken the money). So in the end, we said "Nay, sir, you may keep your free laptop, we shall stuck with our old ISP. They may be slower than an arthritic snail going uphill, they may, in fact, be totally crap, but at least they're reliably crap".

Wish we had the free laptop, though. Perhaps someone will give us one for Christmas*

In the meantime, we've been filling in time which would otherwise have been spend blogging by creating cat macros with the icanhascheezburger lolcat builder. We've submitted them for voting. We'll let you know if any of them get through.

But enough of this waffle. Here's today's FRET FOR THE DAY...

*hint hint.

Monday, November 12, 2007 11:04:56 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Antonella and I would like to apologise, but we're still having technical problems, this time to do with changing our ISP. In the meantime, we can't post any new FRETS FOR THE DAY.

Sorry, we'll be back up to speed next week probably. In the meantime, if there's simply not enough stress in your life, you can check out 14 FRET FOR THE DAY episodes on the ROK comics website and even download them onto your phone. The first four episodes are free, dude!*

~ Nick

*mind you, so are all the FRETS FOR THE DAY on this blog, unless you'd like to send us some money...

Wednesday, October 31, 2007 8:50:33 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Sorry, but technical difficulties over the weekend means that there will be no FRET FOR THE DAY, for today. Feel free to look at some previous posts if you like. Normal service will be resumed tomorrow.

However, if you really can't wait that long, why not go to the ROK comics website and download a whole bunch of Frets onto your mobile free (and a whole bunch more you'll have to pay for, but not very much, honest). Just type FRET FOR THE DAY in the search box and you'll find us. Go on - they've been sitting on the site for weeks! Make TEAM SPUTNIK rich!

Monday, October 22, 2007 11:12:45 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

I'm far too butch to own up to this one.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007 11:09:15 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

It's Monday morning. Sorry. Also, I apologise for making the woory man look like one of Carl Giles' moon men.

Monday, October 15, 2007 9:40:27 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Okay, I know it's a little late, but with the 50th anniversary and all, we couldn't pass up a chance at a tribute to the famous sattelite that was named after this studio...

Sorry this post is a little late today, but we had a power cut.

Thursday, October 04, 2007 4:52:46 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Fret For The Day is back! (Yay!) Sorry for the delay, but I've been busy. Meanwhile, there are now 13 episodes of Fret For The Day available to download to your mobile! And the first four episodes are FREE!!! Just go to the ROK comics website and follow the links.

Wednesday, October 03, 2007 9:56:50 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Sorry, no Frets For The Day for the moment, it's been an exceptionally heavy week. I seem to have lost my sense of humour somewhere, probably under a pile of paper in the studio. Can't find it anywhere.

I'll keep looking. In the meantime, if anyone out there has a spare sense of humour they don't mind lending to me, please get in touch. Normal service will be resumed on Monday.

Friday, September 28, 2007 9:06:36 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Sorry about the break in transmission, but we've been pretty busy here at Sputnik House. Normal service has now been resumed.

On the bright side, the latest batch of Frets, Fret For The Day pt 5 ~ Fret Happens, is now available to download onto your mobile via the ROK media website. Go on, try it out - considering how much effort I put into these, you're really getting them very cheap!

Another thing we've been up to is rushing to submit a late entry to the Observer/Jonathan Cape/Comica Graphic Short Story Prize (you try writing that in a single line on an envelope), about which more later, especially if we win...

Wednesday, September 05, 2007 11:35:50 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Dont forget you can dowload large quantities of Fret For The Day cartoons onto your mobile by going to http://www.rokcomics.com!

Monday, August 13, 2007 9:02:47 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

GREAT NEWS!! Four episodes of FRET FOR THE DAY are now available to download to your mobile!!! Just go to the ROK Comics website and ask, nay, demand to see "Team Sputnik".

With nine Frets in every episode, you can thrill to the pathos of Episode 1 ~ A Fret For All Seasons! Wonder at the panoramic sweep of Episode 2 ~ Gone With The Wind-Up!! Involuntarily emit chuckles of wry laughter at the concerns outlined in Episode 3 ~ Up Fret Creek!!! Shudder from the impact of the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune portrayed in Episode 4 ~ Seven Barrels of Fret!!!!

Better yet, every time you download an episode, we get paid, which is nice. Thanks!

Wednesday, August 08, 2007 11:31:38 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Sorry about the several-days posting famine, but I've been busy transforming a bunch of these Frets for the ROK COMICS website.

ROK comics is an easy way for comics creators to get their comic strips onto people's mobiles (it says here - I haven't tried uploading anything yet). The website explains everything, but basically you can upload your artwork onto the site and then subscribers can download it onto their mobile phones. For subscribers, it's a great way to while away those hours on the commuter train when you just couldn't decide whether you wanted to read the Telegraph or the Guardian; if you're a cartoonist, it's a useful source of extra income to add to the vast fortune you're already making from drawing lines with ink on paper via a pen. You can even contribute if you've never drawn a line in your life - they have a ready-made section where you can create your own comic strip!

I've been meaning to find time to get these done for ages, so I apologise for not drawing any new Frets for a few days while I got on with it. I'll post the news when they're up and ready.

Thursday, August 02, 2007 10:23:23 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

We apologise for the delay since the last post, due to technical problems, now resolved. From now on, we're going to keep posting these Frets until somebody forces us to stop.

Saturday, July 14, 2007 10:51:37 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

And now, by popular request (at least in the Team Sputnik household), the return of the worry man...

Monday, July 02, 2007 11:33:34 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Sorry folks, but due to work pressure I'm not going to be able to do the FRET FOR THE DAY daily spot right now. I'll get back to it in a week or so, after I've met a deadline or two. Hopefully nothing of note will happen in the big wide world until then...

See you in a week! 

Monday, May 14, 2007 7:49:48 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: a ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces comes into force in England on July 1. Similar bans already exist in Scotland and Wales.

Saturday, May 12, 2007 9:35:52 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: Tony Blair has announced his resignation, effective 27th June.

Friday, May 11, 2007 11:22:50 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: the Conservatives, plus a pressure group calling themselves the Metric Martyrs, are celebrating the news that the EU has put back its deadline for conversion from the imperial to the metric system of measurement from 2009 to 'indefinite'.

Thursday, May 10, 2007 11:19:38 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: Glastonbury festival-goers are to be issued one free (recycled) toilet roll each in an effort to reduce the festival's environmental impact.

Wednesday, May 09, 2007 11:11:54 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: TV astronomer Sir Patrick Moore has stated that the reason TV today is so banal is because the industry is "run by women".

Tuesday, May 08, 2007 11:06:13 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: American neo-cons are said to be very pleased at the election of Nicholas Sarkozy, and President Bush has already sent his congratulations.

Monday, May 07, 2007 11:10:09 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: criminal gangs are defrauding universities of millions by enrolling "ghost students" with false identities and collecting their student loans.

Saturday, May 05, 2007 10:17:31 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: complaints that a large proportion of votes were spoiled (10% in the Scottish Parliamentary elections, less in the English local government elections) in yesterday's elections, due to confusing ballot papers.

Friday, May 04, 2007 12:26:13 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: extreme right-wing party BNP have fielded 750 candidates in today's local elections, and hope to double their number of local government seats, provided they can find enough idiots to vote for them.

Thursday, May 03, 2007 12:59:53 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: after accusations of fraud, phone watchdog ICSTIS has issued new rules governing the running of TV phone-in competitions.

Wednesday, May 02, 2007 11:28:40 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: after much fanfare, thousands of shoppers mobbed Topshop's Oxford Street store for the launch of their new range of clothes designed by supermodel Kate Moss.

Tuesday, May 01, 2007 11:29:23 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: 1000 pupils staying home from school and more than 50 buildings declared unfit to return to after an earthquake in Kent on Saturday.

Monday, April 30, 2007 12:19:07 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: Local government and European Parliament election take place in the UK on May 3rd.

Saturday, April 28, 2007 10:30:41 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: British Gas have reduced their gas and electricity charges for the second time in six weeks, from 'outrageous' down to 'merely extortionate'.

Friday, April 27, 2007 10:33:31 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: A photgrapher has complained to the Daily Star that Hugh Grant attacked him and threw food over him.

Thursday, April 26, 2007 1:52:35 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: the state funeral of former Russian premier Boris Yeltsin takes place today.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007 10:24:29 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: Thames Water has warned people to stay away from the water in the Firth of Forth after millions of gallons of raw sewage were accidentally released from the Seafield Waste Water Treatment plant.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007 9:15:40 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell (Romford) has called for St. George's Day to be made an English national holiday (replacing May 1), to "assert our Englishness".

Monday, April 23, 2007 9:01:07 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: round 1 of the French presidential elections take place tomorrow, with 33% of voters still undecided between Nicolas Sarkozy, Francois Bayrou, Jean-Marie Le Pen and woman candidate Segolene Royal.

Saturday, April 21, 2007 10:13:22 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: Pollution on Britain's beaches has increased by 90%, according to the Marine Conservation Society. Main causes cited are "individual action" and "fishing debris".

Friday, April 20, 2007 11:33:26 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: Despite criticisms over poor hygeine and lax bio-security, turkey meals manufacturer Bernard Matthews is to get £589.326 compensation for birds destroyed during a recent outbreak of bird 'flu on his farm.

Thursday, April 19, 2007 10:52:36 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: Barclays Bank are to issue hand-held 'pinsentry' security devices to all their on-line customers.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007 10:44:10 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: Governor of the Bank of England forced to explain himself to Government after UK inflation rises to 3.1%

Tuesday, April 17, 2007 10:08:25 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: British TV channel Five has warned that children's cartoon characters the Mister Men will be shown on their channel next year.

Monday, April 16, 2007 9:28:04 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

TWO HEADLINES IN ONE! One lot of scientists have found a definite link between genetics and obesity. MEANWHILE, another lot of scientists have developed immature sperm from human bone marrow. SCORE!

Friday, April 13, 2007 9:47:33 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: a poll by life assurance firm CPP found that modern life causes major stress, with worries about identity theft, terrorism, health risks, climate change and house prices being cited as reasons to keep people awake at night. At the same time, a poll by hotel firm Travelodge showed that only 3% of adults are getting the required amount of sleep.

Thursday, April 12, 2007 11:09:38 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: DNA tests establish that the father of Anna Nicole Smith's very rich baby daughter Dannielynn is former boyfriend Larry Birkhead.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007 8:44:43 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: last-minute wrangling delayed the release of a major UN report on climate change as the US delegation, amongst others, sought to change the wording in order to emphasise some short-term, positive effects.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007 9:40:32 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: The Wellcome Trust, Celesio, KKR and Terra Firma are all considering rival bids to take over chemist chain Boots.

Monday, April 09, 2007 12:42:06 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: it is now illegal to 'mind' a weapon for someone else in order to hide it from the police.

Friday, April 06, 2007 10:05:52 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: Patientline, the private company that provides phones services for patients at NHS hospitals, has upped its outgoing call charges 160% to 26p per minute (they already charge 42p per minute for incoming calls).

Thursday, April 05, 2007 9:47:30 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: British Airways found to be the worst airline in Europe for losing luggage, losing an average 23 items per 1000 passengers, compared to 15 items for other European airlines.

Wednesday, April 04, 2007 10:49:14 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: Argentinian Vice-President Daniel Scioli has renewed Argentina's claim on the Falklands and urged Britain to resume negotiations.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007 9:33:31 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: Glastonbury Festival introduced new anti-ticket-tout security measures this year. All tickets will bear the photo and signature of the person who bought it, plus an individual security code. Tickets went on sale Sunday and were sold out in less than an hour...

Monday, April 02, 2007 9:44:09 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: amongst new security measures announced by the government yesterday is the splitting off of part of the Home Office into a new Department of Justice. Judge Dredd fans take note.

Saturday, March 31, 2007 10:07:50 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: Kate Middleton has complained to the Press Complaints Commission, again, this time that pictures of her published in the Daily Mirror were "obtained due to harrassment".

Friday, March 30, 2007 9:45:23 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: the Government's plan to site the supercasino in Manchester has been rejected by the House of Lords. This has revived hopes in Blackpool that they might still get it.

Thursday, March 29, 2007 11:28:28 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: Ofcom orders mobile companies to lower the rates they charge for phoning across networks. This makes it cheaper to phone a mobile from a land line.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007 10:05:17 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: Barclays Bank board director Bob Diamond revealed to have earned £27.000.000 last year.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007 10:06:13 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: Police Federation chairman calls for an end to electronic tagging of criminals after a BBC report shows monitoring equipment 'does not work'.

Saturday, March 24, 2007 12:17:37 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: UK bank Barclays and Dutch Bank ABN in merger talks.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007 10:21:17 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: NHS trusts revealed to be making up to £2m a year from hospital car park charges and fines.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007 11:13:27 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Today's Headline: The Independent newspaper publishes a front-page apology for promoting the legalisation of cannabis for the last ten years. It now says that new findings about the long-term effects of toking has caused it to reverse its stance.

Monday, March 19, 2007 10:57:12 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [1] 

No headline associated with this, it's just a bit of silliness.

Saturday, March 17, 2007 1:17:12 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Here's the latest FRET cartoon. I redesigned it to be more in keeping with the usual style of a daily newspaper spot...

Today's headline - Russian spy activity in the UK is "as high as the Cold War".

Friday, March 16, 2007 11:59:29 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: Chiquita Banana company own up to paying Columbian guerillas for "protection".

Thursday, March 15, 2007 2:01:51 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: Government's proposal to renew Trident missile system leads to protest on roof of Scottish parliament.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007 10:37:14 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: BBC finally allowed to reveal contents of email connnected to 'cash for honours' affair.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007 11:09:30 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: Tories propose new air travel taxes. This is described by newspapers as "Taxing the air".

Monday, March 12, 2007 4:03:43 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: New EU proposals to reduce carbon emissions include banning old-fashioned filament light bulbs.

I wasn't planning to do these over weekends, but Antonella thought of this one yesterday evening and it was just too good to pass up...

Saturday, March 10, 2007 12:05:45 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: many TV phone-in competitions shut down after accusations of fraud.

Friday, March 09, 2007 11:29:24 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Headline: Somebody pays £24,600 for a Tom Baker Doctor Who costume at an auction.

Wednesday, March 07, 2007 2:50:49 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

This is the worry man.

All day long, he sits in his chair and worries. He responds to each new item of news or information by sitting in his chair and worrying about it. That's all he does.

This is an idea for a daily cartoon I had a while ago but never got around to developing fully. The idea is that each new cartoon will be the same as before, but slightly adapted, and each will show the worry man's response to something in that day's news. Here's today's version:

I'm going to do one of these every day from now on. Just try and stop me.

Tuesday, March 06, 2007 7:39:11 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0]