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David Rees (cartoonist)

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For other persons named David Rees, see David Rees (disambiguation)
David Rees
Born (1972-06-22) June 22, 1972 (age 52)
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)Cartoonist, writer, artist, Television host, Remixer, sharpener of pencils
Notable works
Get Your War On
http://www.mnftiu.cc

David Thomas Rees (/riːs/ reece;[1] born June 22, 1972) is a humorist and cultural critic whose career has moved between various disipines. He became known as a cartoonist whose best-known work combines bland clip art with outrageous "trash talk" to incongruous effect. He moved on to his Artisanal Pencil Sharpening service and publishing a related book. More recently he has been a presenter for Going Deep with David Rees.

Early life

Rees grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and was an avid reader of Rex Morgan, M.D. comics. He is a graduate of Oberlin College, and drew comics for the school's newspaper, The Oberlin Review.[2]

Career

Cartoonist

Rees first became known for his office-cubicle humor that was partly inspired by his experience working in a basement for Citicorp; he was later a part-time fact-checker for Maxim and Martha Stewart Weddings magazines, until he was laid off.[citation needed]

There are 5 collected volumes of his work while the best-known and most controversial comic is Get Your War On which has been translated into French, Spanish and Italian.[3] and later Get Your War On II. Rees donated all of these books royalties (more than $100,000) to Adopt-a-Minefield[4] an organizer that works to remove landmines from post conflict areas. He is also the author of the comic strips My New Fighting Technique is Unstoppable, My New Filing Technique is Unstoppable, and Adventures of Confessions of Saint Augustine Bear.

Artisanal Pencil Sharpening

In July 2010, Rees announced his Artisanal Pencil Sharpening service, where, for prices starting at $40.00, people can mail in their own pencils to be sharpened by him, or receive a sharpened pencil provided by the craftsman. According to the site, "...craftsman David Rees still practices the age-old art of manual pencil sharpening. His artisanal service is perfect for artists, writers, and standardized test takers. Shipped with their shavings and a 'certificate of sharpening', these extra-sharp pencils make wonderful gifts."[5][6][7] His book, How to Sharpen Pencils, was released April 16, 2012.

Host/presenter

In July 2014 the show Going Deep with David Rees launched on the National Geographic Channel. The ten episodes of the show features Rees humorously investigating the science and process behind very basic tasks such as making ice, lighting matches and the tying of shoelaces.[8]

Mashup

In late 2014 via his SoundCloud page Rees released AphexSwift, a collection of eight songs that combined the vocals of Taylor Swift and the electronic music of Aphex Twin. The collection received positive reviews ranging from The Verge calling it "bizarrely good",[9] The Onion's AV Club as "great"[10] and even Time Magazine "Surprisingly Catchy".[11]

Writer/blogger

Over his career Rees has written for a variety of publications. Since May 2005, Rees has been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post. In 2013, Rees began writing for Wired's first scripted web series Codefellas.[12][13][14]

Personal life

Rees lives in Beacon, New York.[15] In 2010, Rees worked as a civil servant for the US Census Bureau, a position that engendered his interest in pencils.

Bibliography

  • Get Your War On. Brooklyn: Soft Skull, 2002. ISBN 1-887128-76-X.
  • My New Fighting Technique is Unstoppable. New York: Riverhead, 2003. ISBN 1-57322-373-5.
  • My New Filing Technique is Unstoppable. New York: Riverhead, 2004. ISBN 1-57322-382-4.
  • Get Your War On II. New York: Riverhead, 2004. ISBN 1-59448-048-6.
  • Get Your War On: The definitive account of the war on terror, 2001-2008. Brooklyn: Soft Skull, 2008. ISBN 1-59376-213-5.
  • How to Sharpen Pencils: A Practical and Theoretical Treatise on the Artisanal Craft of Pencil Sharpening. Melville House, 2012. ISBN 1-61219-040-5.

Notes

  1. ^ MotherboardTV: "The Finer Points of David Rees". Retrieved 2013-02-07.
  2. ^ Higgins, Chris (August 24, 2014). "Pooters, SkyMall, and Haterade - The David Rees Interview". Mental Floss. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  3. ^ http://softskull.com/get-your-war-on/. {{cite web}}: |first1= missing |last1= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ^ Jory, John. "THE RUMPUS INTERVIEW WITH DAVID REES". The Rumpus.
  5. ^ Artisanal Pencil Sharpening website
  6. ^ Three Questions for David Rees About His New Artisanal Pencil-Sharpening Project, Daily Details
  7. ^ For the person who has everything: artisanal pencil sharpening, The Los Angeles Times
  8. ^ http://www.avclub.com/review/get-your-war-s-david-rees-wants-teach-you-fun-usel-206799
  9. ^ Kastrenakes, Jacob. "Listen to the bizarrely good Aphex Twin / Taylor Swift mashup album". The Verge.
  10. ^ Hughes, William. "Here's a great Taylor Swift/Aphex Twin mash-up by David Rees". AV Club. The Onion.
  11. ^ Waxman, Olivia B. "Taylor Swift Mashed Up With Aphex Twin Is Surprisingly Catchy". Time.com. Time Magazine.
  12. ^ David Rees (21 June 2013). "www.mnftiu.cc  » Blog Archive  » CODEFELLAS". WordPress. Retrieved 2013-06-23.
  13. ^ Todd Spangler (21 June 2013). "Wired's 'Codefellas' Plays NSA Privacy Flap for Laughs - Variety". Variety. Retrieved 2013-06-23.
  14. ^ Camilleri, Ricky (20 June 2013). "John Hodgman LIVE - HuffPost Live". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2013-06-23.
  15. ^ Cauthon, Phil. "Q&A with David Rees: Get Your War On creator returns to Lawrence to spread the gospel of dissent," Lawrence.com (Sept. 26, 2005). Accessed Oct. 7, 2008.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to David Rees.

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