Don't worry. I'm just trying to be the best Canadian I can be. Good unnecessary apologies take practise, you know.
Anyway.
Today's not entirely pointless photo is of a book that I recently purchased called 20 Ways to Draw a Tree. Briefly, it's supposed to provide a bit of inspiration for changing up your drawings and doodles. Fair enough. The book's also meant to be doodled on. Space is provided, as you can see. On some pages the reference pictures are scattered throughout the two-page spreads, but on most it looks more like this.
Is anyone sensing that there's a but coming on?
I'll give you a clue. This set-up doesn't work at all for Yours Lefthandedly.
Yep. Imagine drawing with your left hand and not being able to see any of the pictures because your arm is covering them. Can you imagine it? Apparently the creators of the book couldn't.
Sigh.
I'll still get use out of the book, but I'll be frustrated too. That didn't need to happen. And that's more or less how our world is designed, boys and girls.
Listen, I'm not exactly a left-hand crusader and I don't see right-handed evil everywhere I turn (only almost everywhere). I just get a little annoyed when it would only take a slight change to make things work for everyone. In the case of this book, scatter the pictures around like they are on some of the other pages, and suddenly the whole book is very usable. In the case of the kitchen, either put spouts on both sides of a ladle or don't bother with spouts at all (erm, long-term pet peeve of mine). In the case of pens, make your ink less smudgeable.
It's not that hard.
The fact is that most lefties with half a brain can adjust to most right-handed things. As I've said before, I made a conscious choice when computer mice first came out to learn to mouse with my right hand because I knew that every desk I'd work at would have it set up that way. I use a right-handed camera because there's no such thing as a left-handed camera. If there's not a pair of left-handed scissors around I'll use the right-handed ones. No biggie.
Incidentally, though, and I've said this more than once, for any parents of left-handed children out there, please PLEASE get your kids proper left-handed scissors when they're just learning to cut. Don't be fooled by good for right or left hand labels; all that means is that the grips won't dig into your child's hand. The scissors themselves are still right-handed construction, and your kid'll have a helluva time learning to use them.
Yeah, most right-handed things are no big deal. What bugs me is when the fix could be so easy, like the ones that I mentioned above. The fix could be easy, but the right-handers don't even notice that there's a problem because it seems fine to them. All it would take is to ask a lefty, and we'd all be good.
Do you suppose we could have a Hire a Lefty mandate for design firms? I'd volunteer my opinions for sure. Oh, wait. Maybe not volunteer. I'd certainly be happy to be a consultant, though.
Ah well. I'll live, and I'll still doodle on my new book. I might just have to do it upside down, that's all.
Wouldn't be the first time this lefty's done something like that. But that's another story...
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