Art of
New research indicates that William Shakespeare wrote a "lost" play, "Double Falsehood," that had been attributed to Lewis Theobald. Here's a look at the poet and playwright's vast influence, which lives on almost 400 years after his death.…
…So Charlie Hebdo's nationally beloved cartoonists were massacred and yet, [Doonesbury creator Garry] Trudeau thinks its helpful to contextualize their deaths by characterizing them as hate-spewing fanatics. …
"…says she didn’t do the show because Andrew Dice Clay — the character — was an abuser of women and a homophobe.…" [Just like she's always said.]
I just put the last stitch into this "congratulations on your graduation quilt for my daughter. …
[Lovely work]
The word "genius" gets tossed around a lot in the entertainment world, applied at times to anyone who has been anywhere near a success. One of the few people I've met who truly earned it was Stan Freberg. …
Rolling Stone Magazine beclowned themselves royally, didn’t they?
I’m not sure if we can blame it entirely on the fact that a music industry magazine attempted to pass itself off as a hard-hitting news source. Truth is, all of investigative journalism has been corrupted. So, really? Is Rolling Stone to blame or the entire state of Tabloid Journalism in the Age of Obama? …
[Must-see Rolling Stone parody cover by Dianny]
…I would have to be some sort of multilimbed Hindu goddess to perform a facepalm of magnitude appropriate to this utter stupidity. …
[Just had to blog that classic line. Context is at link, but the line transcends the context.]
The Most Famous 6-Second Drum Loop & How It Spawned a Sampling Revolution
Gary Dahl who in 1975 invented the Pet Rock died last week at age 78. From the New York Times:
…The bar talk turned to pets, and to the onus of feeding, walking and cleaning up after them.
His pet, Mr. Dahl announced in a flash of bibulous inspiration, caused him no such trouble. The reason?
“I have a pet rock….”
A Nashville entrepreneur is trying to launch a weekly 6-page comic page delivered via mail.
Irwin Hasen, the cartoonist and comic-book artist who drew, and helped create, “Dondi,” the widely syndicated comic strip about a lovable, wide-eyed World War II orphan, died on Friday in Manhattan. He was 96. [Quoting New York Times]
Something magical is afoot! Cinderella (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Belle (Whitney Avalon) throw down in the fourth Princess Rap Battle. [Video 2:58]
"Interesting phone call this morning by the IRS saying they had a warrant for me unless I paid 2000 dollars, total scam of course. Did a little research, next time I'll give give this technique a try . . . S.L."
A typical show opens with a six-canary choir accompanying Mrs. Hansen (on the vibra-harp) in "The Star-Spangled Banner," while an oriole pulls a string that hoists a flag on a tiny pole and a parakeet shinnies to the pole top to pose as an American eagle…Amazingly, Hansen was able to continue putting on his Bible Birds show for 60 years…
"DuckTales," the beloved Disney animated series that originally ran on TV from 1987 to 1990, is getting a reboot. Disney announced on Wednesday it has ordered a new series of globe-spanning adventures starring Uncle Scrooge, his grandnephews Huey, Dewey and Louie and the rest. The new series is expected to premiere on the Disney XD channel in 2017.
"In the wake of Supanova’s announcement that Adam Baldwin would be attending Supanova — and organiser Daniel Zachariou’s statement explaining the decision — a number of high-profile artists and cosplayers have officially announced they will not be attending the show in protest. The Ledger Awards, a non-profit organisation designed to reward the best work done by Australian comic book artists, has announced it is dissolving its sponsorship relationship with Supanova following the decision."
The large brick wall outside 108 Contemporary’s Gallery in downtown Tulsa will soon get a whole new cover made entirely out of yarn.
Groups of knitters across the state are teaming up for a massive art project called “The Unbearable Absence of Landscapes.”
A grainy but tolerable clip of Frank Zappa, performing on the Bicycle, on the Steve Allen Show, 1963.
Had a chance to acquire the complete set of Blondie movies. These ran from Blondie (1938) through Beware of Blondie (1950).
Dagwood was played by Arthur Lake. Blondie was played in the films by Penny Singleton. Lake and Singleton also appeared in a half-hour "Blondie" radio series which ran from 1939 to 1950, airing on CBS, ABC and finally on NBC.
There was a TV series, Blondie, which ran for one season of 26 episodes. Arthur Lake reprised his role as Dagwood. Blondie in the TV series was played by Pamela Britton.
Although Lake had been in film since 1917, the Blondie TV series was his last role.
Pamela Britton went on to play Mrs. Lorelei Brown on the original My Favorite Martian TV series.
Penny Singleton became the voice of Jane Jetson, in the Jetsons animated TV series and specials.
Still pondering whether to acquire the Blondie movies. Would I ever watch them?
21-minute independent Star Trek film. Very nicely done.
"Archie is getting a reboot. The last issue (#666) will be released in June…" —Alan Gardner, Daily Cartoonist
The accompanying illustration has a redhead and a young woman of ethnicity where Betty and Veronica are supposed to be. You don't suppose… No, it's too vile to contemplate…
In any case, what kind of evil corporation ends a run on #666? This can't bode well.
"…on Valentine's Day and These 19 People's Hearts are Broken—Read Their Reactions!" (or not)
Posted as a public service announcement.
Chicago-born actress and comedian Nora Dunn, who is one of the few alums of TV’s “Saturday Night Live” based in the Chicago area, has sold her two-bedroom vintage condominium unit in Ukrainian Village for $258,500 and paid $185,000 for a condo unit in Evanston.
Spend a few hours in San Francisco or Austin and you will meet a host of caricatures who appear to have had all everyday words surgically removed from their brains, a greasy marketing dictionary being installed in their place. These are the annoyingly earnest types who have taken the language of the operating system and applied it to their daily lives — the people who work not in industries but in “spaces.” You don’t chat with them, you “interface.” You don’t go out for lunch, you “aggregate,” and, if the lunch plans go “viral,” you hope that the restaurant is “scalable.”
“Are these really the questions I was called here to answer?” demanded Callahan. “I called you out for putting ‘blah blah blah blah blah’ on your notepad and now you’re asking me questions like this? Really? Are we talking about this now?
“OK, how about you ask a very serious and respectful question instead of asking a little childish question?”
The committee leader told Callahan he had just asked him about climate change, and he now wanted to give someone else a chance to respond.
“If you’re not going to let me I’m going ask you to leave. That’s two strikes.”
Callahan laughed and said, “Who do you think you are?”
Callahan was then told to leave the meeting.
...Washington Examiner columnist Conn Carroll read Dionne’s screed and did something increasingly unusual for journalists these days: he looked for facts before turning on his word-processing program. Imagine that.
So, first looked at how things are going in Mordor Kansas:
Peter Jackson's eagerly awaited new film is the first to be shot using high-speed 3D cameras that capture twice the normal number of frames per second. But some viewers said the filming techniques made them feel nauseous and even caused migraines.
Two local news anchors in Bangor, Maine resigned on air without warning over claims they were not allowed by upper management to pursue their ethical duties as reporters. Cindy Michaels and Tony Consiglio of ABC affiliate, WVII announced the move at the end of their 6 p.m. broadcast. [video]
...for the first time since its introduction in 1953, Bazooka bubblegum... Not only will... lose its popular red, white and blue colour scheme but its iconic comic strip featuring Bazooka Joe will also be replaced.
“He was an archetypal character, somewhere between crazy artist crossed with left-wing radical crossed with working-class Latino hood... He had a big influence on me through his artwork. He was top-of-the-line in that generation of underground, breakaway cartoonists.” —R. Crumb
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Mindful Webworks for art's own sake (and some for fun). The art and wonder of it all await your scrutiny.
Just random links galore, along with snarky comments 
probably to be regretted later.
A series of balanced and centered abstract images
TWELVE NEW, 2013 APR
Collections of drawings and cartoons, from simple & trivial to beautiful & bizarre
UPDATED 2013-MARCH