The new challenge on Monday Artday is “cliffhanger”.
Action! Adventure! Intrigue! More Action! This is what you’ll encounter along side Cliff Hanger as he embarks on “The Mystery of the Foreign Stuff”. Join Cliff Hanger as he covertly transverses recondite continents searching for mysterious mystery. Marvel as Cliff Hanger battles savage and bloodthirsty inhabitants of uncivilized civilizations. Thrill as Cliff Hanger peculates ancient relics from lost and puerile cultures with ways different from our own. Laugh when Cliff Hanger humiliates those more substantial than himself. Cheer when Cliff Hanger kills someone — unprovoked and for no apparent reason. It’s all here! America’s last and only hope — Cliff Hanger! Don’t miss Cliff Hanger in his latest, greatest and most implausible adventure yet — “The Mystery of the Foreign Stuff”.
This week’s challenge word on illustrationfriday.com is “time”.
In “Time Enough At Last”, the eighth episode of the first season of “The Twilight Zone”, Burgess Meredith played bank teller Henry Bemis. Henry Bemis loved to read. He would read on his way into work. He would covertly pull out a book to read between serving bank customers. He was totally captivated by the printed word. He wanted to engage in discussions and excite others about what he had read but, alas, no one remotely shared his interest. As a matter of fact, he was often reprimanded for his constant reading. One day Henry sneaks off to the solitude of bank’s vault to read. Huge explosions can be heard erupting outside the shelter of the vault. However, the bank is rocked violently and Henry is knocked unconscious. When he awakens, he finds that a devastating war has wiped out everyone and he is the last person on Earth. He wanders through the rubble that was once civilization, passing the ruins of familiar buildings. He finds enough food to last him a lifetime, but the lack of companionship is maddening. He is about to commit suicide with a gun when he sees the remains of a public library. He discovers volume after wonderful volume — all intact and waiting to be read. Enough books to read and enjoy and be undisturbed forever. He neatly arranges the tomes in stacks, by subject and projected reading date. Then, as Henry is about to begin his dream of an endless reading adventure, he stumbles. His thick-lensed glasses fall to the ground and shatter. In tears, he picks up the remnants of his glasses and sobs, “That’s not fair. That’s not fair at all. There was time now. There was all the time I needed… !”
(My other favorite Twilight Zone episode also involves a book.)
The inspirational word this week on Inspire Me Thursday is “fold”.
“Friend? Some of your foldin’ money is come unstowed.”
— Delmar O’Donnell to George Nelson in O Brother, Where Are Thou?
The 1963 movie Bye Bye Birdie was jammed with actors and actresses whose careers were flourishing. It also was the springboard for some about to start careers destined to be long and prosperous. Dick Van Dyke made his film debut in “Birdie”, a full year before his Golden Globe-nominated performance in Mary Poppins. Janet Leigh was fresh off her jarring albeit abbreviated performance in Hitchcock’s Psycho. The musical’s small role of Kim McAfee was re-written as a showcase for an up-and-coming young actress named Ann-Margaret. Paul Lynde, who was already an established Broadway actor, went on to a successful run as Uncle Arthur on Bewitched and center square on Hollywood Squares. Longtime stage actress Maureen Stapleton gained larger and more prominent movie roles for four decades. Even Bobby Rydell had a steadily thriving singing career. Birdie was also the big-screen debut for True Grit’s Kim Darby and F-Troop’s Melody Patterson.
And then there was Jesse Pearson.
Jesse played the title role of Conrad Birdie. Birdie was a wildly popular rock and roll singer. He played guitar, wore gold lamé jumpsuits and attracted screaming teenage female fans in droves. Birdie was a thinly-veiled parody of Elvis Presley. After Bye Bye Birdie, Jesse found acting roles scarce. He narrated the 1966 recording of Rod McKuen’s “The Sea”. He made one-shot appearances several TV Westerns that were popular in the 1960s. He also reprised is Elvis-like turn in similar episodes of The Andy Griffith Show and The Beverly Hillbillies. Then, he disappeared into virtual obscurity, while his Birdie co-stars blossomed.
Jesse resurfaced in 1979, using the pseudonym “A. Fabritzi”, as the writer of two pornographic films.
Jesse passed away from cancer the same year his adult film career began.
So, there’s this website called Dabbled. Dabbled is maintained by an artist that calls herself “Dot”. Currently, Dot is running the “The second annual Dabbled Black Heart Anti-Valentines Day Contest “. You can read all about it here, but the basic deal is to create something (illustration, craft, etc) that conveys the opposite of Valentines Day. I was looking for some inspiration, when this guy told me about a holiday called “Black Love Day”.
“Black Love Day” has been celebrated on February 13 since it’s inception by Ms. Ayo Kendi in 1993. Black Love Day is meant to serve as an alternative to Valentine’s Day. BLD, as it is also called, is meant to be a celebration of all Black relationships — from self-love first to love for the family to love for the community & the race to finally love for The Creator. Instead of the trademark colors of red & pink for Valentine’s Day, people should wear or display the color purple for spirituality or black which is the blend of all of the colors.
I figured if Black Love Day had its own version of Cupid, it would have to be Barry White. Ooooooooooooooooooh, yeah.
Can you say Kwanzaa?
The Illustration Friday challenge word this week is “flawed”.
Dr. Frankenstein couldn’t lay the entire blame on the abnormal brain that his assistant delivered.
Obviously, the original plans were flawed.
