Articulated Illustration

Send us Fan Mail You wouldn’t buy a new camera because the screen is black. You’d check whether the lens cap is still on. In this video episode of Articulated Illustration, Dwane Richardson Sr. asks a hard question: why do you keep preparing but never start? Starting with something as ordinary as activating a credit card, he walks through the hidden reasons capable people stay stuck: Preparation t...

Send us Fan Mail Why do you keep preparing but never start? What if the thing holding your potential back isn't a lack of ability, and you've just never activated it? You activate a new credit card the same day it arrives. You start a streaming subscription in under two minutes. Yet the gift, the skill, or the calling you know is inside you can sit unopened for years. Nobody stopped you....

Send us Fan Mail Why do we say someone quit "cold turkey"? The popular answer points to the goosebumps of withdrawal, but the phrase was around decades before it ever had anything to do with drugs. In this episode of Words We Never Question, an Articulated Illustration series, Dwane Richardson Sr. traces "cold turkey" through old newspapers: an easy job in 1878, a ballplayer co...

Send us Fan Mail Why "cold turkey"? Why not hot chicken, or leftover ham? In this video episode of Words We Never Question, an Articulated Illustration series, Dwane Richardson Sr. takes apart the most popular explanation for "cold turkey," the goosebumps of withdrawal, and follows the phrase back to where the record actually starts. That record runs from an 1878 newspaper and...

Send us Fan Mail Going Faster Won't Fix This What if the reason you're not making progress has nothing to do with how hard you're working? You're pushing harder, moving faster, and doing more. But something still doesn't feel right. What if the problem isn't your effort, but the disconnect between what you say you want and what your daily decisions actually support? I...

Send us Fan Mail GOING FASTER WON'T FIX THIS Have you ever noticed that something you used to enjoy doesn't feel the same anymore? Maybe nothing changed about the activity itself. Maybe you've changed, and some of your old habits haven't caught up with the person you're becoming. In this episode of Articulated Illustration , host Dwane Richardson Sr. examines why working h...

Send us Fan Mail SAVED BY THE BELL | Words We Never Question You've heard the expression "saved by the bell" countless times. But where did it actually come from? Was it inspired by a boxer escaping defeat? A mysterious bell attached to a coffin? Or something else entirely? In this episode of Words We Never Question , host Dwane Richardson Sr. follows the historical footprint of thi...

Send us Fan Mail You Have the Horsepower. So Why Won’t You Move? What if the thing holding you back isn't a lack of ability, resources, or preparation—but a warning you've been trusting without questioning? In this episode of Articulated Illustration , Dwane Richardson Sr. explores the surprising connection between automotive traction control and the mental warning systems that influence...

Send us Fan Mail Why would anyone wish someone a broken leg before a performance? In theater, “break a leg” means good luck. But how did an expression that sounds so unlucky become a tradition of encouragement? In this episode of Words We Never Question , we follow the footprint of this familiar phrase, examine the theories surrounding its origin, and separate documented history from popular expla...

Send us Fan Mail 🎭 BREAK A LEG — WHY DO WE SAY IT? Imagine walking backstage before the biggest performance of your life, and someone looks you in the eye and says, “Break a leg!” Wait a minute. What did I do to you? Believe it or not, this unusual expression is actually a traditional way of wishing performers good luck. But where did it come from? And is there a documented origin, or have we sim...

Send us Fan Mail THE WAR IS OVER. WHY ARE YOU STILL FIGHTING? Still stuck in survival mode long after the danger is gone? You survived the betrayal. You survived the heartbreak. You made it through the difficult season. But somehow, you're still living like the battle never ended. What if the armor that once protected you is now keeping you imprisoned? In 1945, World War II ended. But Japanes...

Send us Fan Mail THE WAR IS OVER. WHY ARE YOU STILL FIGHTING? Why can't you stop fighting battles that are already over? If you've been living in survival mode after betrayal, heartbreak, rejection, or years of emotional struggle, this episode may challenge everything you thought you knew about protecting yourself. Sometimes the danger disappears, but the defenses remain. You survived wh...

Send us Fan Mail Bite the Bullet: The Surprising History Behind the Phrase | Ep. 4 (Audio) We've all heard someone say, "Just bite the bullet." But where did that expression actually come from? The familiar story involves soldiers biting bullets during painful battlefield surgery. But how much of that explanation can history actually support? In this audio edition of Words We Never...

Send us Fan Mail Bite the Bullet: Was the Famous Origin Story Wrong? | Ep. 4 (Video) What if the story behind "bite the bullet" isn't the one you've always heard? For years, the expression has been associated with wounded soldiers enduring surgery. But when we examine the historical records, a different picture begins to emerge. In this video edition of Words We Never Question...

Send us Fan Mail Where did the phrase “blood, sweat, and tears” come from? Most people associate it with Winston Churchill, but the expression has a history that stretches back long before his famous wartime speech. In this episode of Words We Never Question , host Dwane Richardson Sr. explores the surprising history behind one of the most recognizable expressions of sacrifice, determination, and...

Send us Fan Mail Where did the phrase “blood, sweat, and tears” come from? Most people associate it with Winston Churchill, but the expression has a history that stretches back long before his famous wartime speech. In this episode of Words We Never Question , host Dwane Richardson Sr. explores the surprising history behind one of the most recognizable expressions of sacrifice, determination, and...

Send us Fan Mail Ever wonder where the phrase “beating around the bush” came from? We use it when someone avoids getting straight to the point, but its history may surprise you. In this episode of Words We Never Question , an Articulated Illustration production, we explore the fascinating origins of this familiar expression and its connection to an old hunting practice. Discover how a phrase assoc...

Send us Fan Mail Why is moving on from the past so hard when you’ve already left the situation? Dwane Richardson Sr. explores the memories, old habits, emotional attachments, and need for approval that can keep pulling you backward. You can start a new chapter while mentally rereading the old one every night. You can look fine on the surface while privately returning to the same conversations, peo...

Send us Fan Mail “I put my blood, sweat, and tears into this.” We know what it means: hard work, sacrifice, struggle, and giving something everything you've got. But did the phrase really begin with Winston Churchill? In this episode of Words We Never Question , Dwane Richardson Sr. follows the footprint behind “blood, sweat, and tears” and looks at how versions of the expression appeared lon...

Send us Fan Mail You can still show up, handle your responsibilities, laugh, work, and take care of everybody else — and still not be okay. In “You Look Fine. You’re Not.”, Dwane Richardson Sr. explores what happens when we get so good at functioning through pain that even we start believing everything is fine. Using the metaphor of a dashboard warning light, this episode looks at the difference b...

Send us Fan Mail   Why do we tell somebody to “stop beating around the bush” when we want them to get straight to the point? It’s one of those phrases we use without thinking twice about where it came from. In this episode of Words We Never Question , Dwane Richardson Sr. explores the history behind “beat around the bush,” what the expression originally referred to, and how it became the phrase we...

Send us Fan Mail You showed up. You made the sacrifices. You stayed disciplined. So where’s the result? In this episode of Articulated Illustration, Dwane Richardson Sr. talks directly to the person who has been doing the work but is starting to wonder whether any of it is actually working. Sometimes the problem isn’t failure. Sometimes you’re measuring the process too early. This episode explores...

Send us Fan Mail Why do we say “it’s raining cats and dogs”? It’s one of those phrases most of us have heard our entire lives, but very few people ever stop to question where it came from. In the first episode of Words We Never Question , an Articulated Illustration segment, we look at the history, theories, and possible origins behind this familiar expression. Some explanations sound believable....

Send us Fan Mail Why do we say “it’s raining cats and dogs”? It’s one of those phrases most of us have heard our entire lives, but very few people ever stop to question where it came from. In the first episode of Words We Never Question , an Articulated Illustration segment, we look at the history, theories, and possible origins behind this familiar expression. Some explanations sound believable....

Send us Fan Mail Absolutely. Here’s the Buzzsprout VIDEO description for Tired of Being Strong? in copy-and-paste form: Tired of Being Strong? Everybody knows the person who always seems to have it together. The dependable one. The strong one. The person everybody calls when something goes wrong. But what happens when the strong one gets tired too? In this episode of Articulated Illustration , we...