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Rob Cottingham

@robcottingham.ca
1.2K followers 712 following 1.4K posts

Leadership communications for great causes and big ideas. 🌹BCFED Communications Director 🗣️Speechwriter and speaking coach 🎤Standup comic ✒️Noise to Signal cartoonist 🖖Star Trek nerd

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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 02/10/2026
"Marked as being written in Chinese by its author." I *thought* the replies from this account looked both formulaic and weirdly out of keeping with the original posts. And the moment you give them more than a passing glance, they're gibberish. Whatcha think? Bot running on an underpowered LLM?
Screen capture of a reply from "Liberty Girl" reading

"Stop spreading defeatism and anxiety! This is exactly the kind of despicable behavior you engage in accusing us of being incompetent all day long without mentioning that we've been restructuring our team! Giving up now will only make us a laughingstock to our real opponents."

and labeled "The post you're replying to was marked as being written in Chinese by its author. Would you like to reply in Chinese?"

revealing it's supposedly written in Chinese
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 25/09/2026
Now searching "patrick stewart" "pixie cut"
News story: "All your favorite celebrities have tried a pixie cut at least once over the years"
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 25/09/2026
Panel from The Watchmen: Ozymandias's finger pressing a fateful button. Text reads "drop awful orange man on Calgary"
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 23/09/2026
Han Solo to Luke: "I don't know. I can imagine quite a bit."
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 23/09/2026
Oh hey CNN has an update on the ballroom construction
Photo of an ancient stone fortress captioned "A dark fortress that time forgot is rising from the ruins of empires"
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 20/09/2026
"Findlay, pictured here describing how far her party's fallen in during her brief tenure,..." #BCPoli www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
CBC story on Findlay's resignation, with a photo showing her with her arms stretched wide apart
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 20/09/2026
An open-mouthed smiling husky puppy
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 17/09/2026
If nothing else, today's given me the chance to revisit this cartoon from 13 years ago.
Nervous man in alley tells woman "I know it's just a glitch, and I'm sure they'll clear it up... but until the algorithm reinstates your account, I can't be seen with you."
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 11/09/2026
Three years ago this week, scraggly white beard and all, I got back on stage doing stand-up again (with a set about where the Internet went so horribly wrong). Thanks to everyone who's come to a show, offered a kind word or shared a clip. Lots more to come!
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 08/09/2026
Searching "are werther's toxic to dogs" and glaring at this mop-headed bozo.
Closeup of the face of a brown-and-white Lagotto Romagnolo
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 04/09/2026
New PowerPoint template just dropped.
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 01/09/2026
Going down the third ti–... er, fourth time. Oh, fifth. Nope, sixth and seventh. Wait, eighth...
BC Conservative Party logo with the sun replaced by a hand waving desperately as it sinks beneath the waves
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 30/08/2026
Didn't even realize I could still be disappointed by Google.
The word "Cowards" styled like the Google logo
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 28/08/2026
No lie, I had no idea about tonight's eclipse. I walked out the front door on my way to get groceries, looked up, saw the moon 95% gone, and blurted "For fuck's sake, what NOW?"
Partial lunar eclipse in a cloudy sky
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 25/08/2026
Let it never be said that Canadians aren’t nice.
Headline “Canada offers major concession with new lake-naming proposal” on a map where the Great Lakes have been renamed after Barack Obama, Rachael Maddow, AOC, Rosie O’Donnell, and Michelle Obama 
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 18/08/2026
My package has made several unsuccessful escape attempts.
Shipment history screen shows a package arriving at a Richmond, BC sort facility four times in 90 minutes
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 12/08/2026
Science, Stand-Up & Song is Thursday, Aug. 20 at Vancouver’s Fox Cabaret! Tickets: bit.ly/scienceticket
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 26/07/2026
This is one of only two results in a search on CBC.ca/news for headlines containing the word "smithereens." Is the other about... a) what a supernova teaches us about dark matter b) firefighter car-rescue training c) the band by that name?
CBC headline: "Science: Orcas filmed smashing dead sunfish to smithereens - July 24"
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 22/07/2026
I'm THRILLED to be part of this event on August 20! The lineup of comics is stunning — a bunch of people I've been dying to share a stage with, in some cases for years now. (Tickets: bit.ly/scienceticket ) But there's more. #vancouvercomedy #yvrcomedy #sciencecomms
SCIENCE, STAND-UP, & SONG: EXCITING SCIENCE, HILARIOUS COMEDY, GREAT TUNES: AUG 20TH, Fox Cabaret - DOORS 7PM SHOW 7:30PM ONE NIGHT ONLY THIS YEAR!!
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 20/07/2026
I mean, c'mon. The drama. The suspense. Will they miss a bounce? Will their nose get too sore? Will anyone see the point where I looped the GIF?
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 20/07/2026
Many thanks to Vancouver Parks Board Vice-Chair Brennan Bastyovanszky for making this riff possible. And I’m just as proud of this bit as he is of his. #vancouvercomedyscene #yvrcomedy #vancouvercomedy #vanpoli
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 20/07/2026
I didn't watch a single World Cup game. But I was glued to the @firefox.com widget.
Browser widget displaying the Spanish flag, the words "Spain: 2026 Champions" and Kit, the Firefox mascot, bounding a football on their nose
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 18/07/2026
Thanks for sharing this! Unfortunately, someone cropped off my name and credit (why people do this is beyond me). Here’s the original: www.robcottingham.ca/cartoon/arch...
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 18/07/2026
Thanks for sharing this! Unfortunately, someone cropped off my name and credit (why people do this is beyond me). Here’s the original: (www.robcottingham.ca/cartoon/arch...)
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 16/07/2026
Two beavers discussing whether to turn off the Canadian wildfires. One says "No! Not until we've ruined the Americans' entire summer!" Caption: How MAGA thinks wildfires work
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 16/07/2026
First posted this 11 months ago. And this probably won't be the last time.
A cartoon showing smoke from Canadian wildfires drifting into the US, and smoke from an American dumpster fire drifting into Canada
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 16/07/2026
More than 30 years ago I worked on this project with NOW Communications for the BC Ministry of Health, and built the first youth-oriented anti-tobacco website — while, it turns out, cancer was quietly preparing to take both of my parents.
Tobacco Industry's Poster Child: A teenage girl whose photo is overlaid with disturbing images showing the damage smoking is doing to her body
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 08/07/2026
I'm leaning into it. #ADHD
Computer sticker reading "Powered by ADHD"
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 21/06/2026
Algae?
"Craig Ferguson learns what makes America instantly recognizable from orbit"
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 17/06/2026
Remember back when Fox News was going berserk over kids supposedly identifying as cats and schools giving them litter boxes? Simpler times, friends. Simpler times.
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 17/06/2026
Ahem.
CNN headline: "US releases official agreement with Iran. Read the 14-point text"Browser inspector shows the CSS font-size property is 18px
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 16/06/2026
OH HELL NO @duolingoverde.bsky.social
Duolingo screen saying "You have earned the Saudi Arabia suit for doing a lesson today!"
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 15/06/2026
Next time we talk, let's keep our distance.
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 14/06/2026
Maybe the crisis in masculinity is a marketing problem. I have suggestions.
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 09/06/2026
What GenAI needs is an amusing catchphrase to use when it faceplants, instead of the incessant "You're absolutely right. I got that wrong." May I suggest...
Steve Urkel saying "Did I do that?"
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 08/06/2026
You see this neighbourhood cat that normally gives me head butts and nuzzles whenever I walk by, meowing loudly for tummy skritches? The MOMENT I try to get a photo with it to promote Friday's Catnip Comedy at Slice of Life, it wants nothing to do with me. SO TRANSACTIONAL. But you can show it.
Rob trying to get a selfie with a cat that's darting under a parked carCATNIP

JUNE 12™ AT SLICE OF LIPE

Carolynne Collyer Kara Isabel Shiller Jakey Bibbs Rob Cottingham Abdul Cheema Alex Mo

A Night of Cat Themed Stand Up Comedy!
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 01/06/2026
I give you the happiest mallard duck in the world. (From yesterday's birthday photo walk.)
Closeup of a male mallard duck with its bill open, apparently smiling
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 30/05/2026
"The show has evolved into something much different from the nobody-gets-their-arm-cut-off event that was pitched to us, and we will not be participating."
Star Wars cantina band
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 26/05/2026
Nearly 20 years since I drew this one. Still reliably coming up with terrible ideas.
Workshop facilitator: "We're brainstorming here, and there are no bad ideas. But if we weren't brainstorming, that would have been a TERRIBLE idea."
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 26/05/2026
Get a few drinks in me, and...
Star Trek title card: "Star Trek title card: "So Here's Why Next Generation Could Never Have Happened In the Kelvin Timeline. Bear In Mind the Impact Successive Traumas of Attacks Like Nero's, Khan's and Krall's Would Have Had, Right? The Federation Would Have Become a Pete-Hegseth-style Militarized Nightmare More Like It Was In 'Yesterday's Enterprise.' And With Vulcan Destroyed, We Lose So Much Of The Federation's Ethos. Without That Philosophical And Ethical Compass, Starfleet Would Have Succumbed To Paranoia And Infighting—Yes, I'm Getting To My Point—Like We See In The Mirror Universe. In Fact, Exactly Like We See In The Mirror Universe. So I'm Saying This Timeline Creates An Opportunity For Further Timeline Fractures To Iterate Until They Create The Terran Empire Itself, The Same Way Worf Iterated Through
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 25/05/2026
So what stage do we figure Bluesky is at?
EVERY CONVERSATION ON A NEW SOCIAL PLATFORM (IF IT WAS A PARTY):

Person 1: WE'RE AT THE PARTY!
Person 2: IT TOOK FOREVER TO GET INVITED, BUT HERE WE ARE!

1. IT'S LIKE OTHER PARTIES, BUT ALSO UNLIKE THEM!
2. LET'S TALK ABOUT THEIR DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES! 

1. SOME NEW PEOPLE HERE AREN'T PARTYING THE RIGHT WAY!
2. THEY'RE  RUINING IT! I LIKE THE WAY THE PARTY WAS WHEN I FIRST GOT HERE!

1. BUT ENOUGH ABOUT THE PARTY. CAN I SELL YOU SOMETHING?
2. WELP, IT'S GETTING LATE...
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 23/05/2026
Star Trek TOS title card: "Prime directive, schmime directive"
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 23/05/2026
Star Trek: TNG episode title: "Please Tell Me This One's Season 3 or Later"
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 23/05/2026
Voyager episode title: "That nebular probably doesn't have any coffee either"
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 23/05/2026
That pollen basket
Honeybee gathering nectar from lavendar
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 18/05/2026
The one thing that might unite us yet. (Final punchline is an electoral system joke, because you can never have too many of those.)
Comedian delivers a joke: "You can have bad sex across the political spectrum. Although say this for New Democrats: You’ll be surprised how much attention they pay to your private sector."The Greens just spend the whole encounter complaining about the size of their caucus.
Conservatives get so angry. “Honey, there’s no need to be embarrassed — it’s just something that happens to men now and then.”
“No! This is Mark Carney’s fault somehow,
I know it!”And Liberals — soooo arrogant.
“So... pretty good, right?”
“Eh, you weren’t my first choice.”
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 17/05/2026
Catch an evening of cat-themed standup comedy at Slice of Life (1636 Venables Street) on Fri. June 12! I'll be joined by a passel of highly talented comics. I have NO CAT JOKES — so expect a lot of new material! Doors open 6:30 pm; show starts at 7 pm. Tickets: www.showpass.com/catnip-comedy/
CATNIP COMEDY
JUNE 12th AT Slice of Life
A Night of Cat Themed Stand
Up Comedy!
Carolynne Collyer
Kara Isabel Shiller
Jakey Bibbs
Rob Cottingham
Abdul Cheema
Alex Mo
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 15/05/2026
Here's to the end of another week of productively moving bits around in the cloud!
One worker on a laptop to a coworker: "I don't know that I'd call our work meaningful. But there are days when it's definitely meaning-adjacent."
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 14/05/2026
Everyone remain calm.
Man asking his Amazon Echo “ALEXA, HOW MUCH TIME IS LEFT?”
Echo replies “3 DAYS, 7 HOURS, 41 MINUTES AND 22 SECONDS.”
Man says “I MEANT ON MY PASTA TIMER.”
Echo replies “2 MINUTES, 39 SECONDS.”
The man ponders the implications.
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Rob Cottingham @robcottingham.ca · 13/05/2026
A li'l hint of what I'll be up to Friday, June 12 at 7 pm at Slice on Venables.
A photo of Rob seating near a tree. Three cartoon cats are drawn cuddling with him.
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