The new challenge word this week on the Illustration Friday website is “subterranean”. Okay, I went with the obvious (as in “homesick blues”). And, although he appears on my blog, as of this writing, Bob Dylan is not dead. (But, these people are.)
The current challenge on the Monday Artday illustration website is “castaway”. Earlier this week, Corey Haim, another former child actor with a hard-luck story, passed away at a young age. Corey was just another in a long line of former child actors following an unfortunate path Dana Plato at 35, Brad Renfro at 25, …
In 1980, a little band from Akron, Ohio called The Waitresses released the catchy novelty song “I Know What Boys Like” to relatively no recognition. The song was re-released in 1982 as the first single from the Waitresses’ debut Wasn’t Tomorrow Wonderful. This time, the song reached number 62 on Billboard Magazine’s Top 100. In …
The current challenge on the Monday Artday illustration website is “circus”. The 1953 Best Picture Oscar went to Cecil B. DeMille’s The Greatest Show on Earth, an overblown, long-winded, documentary-style film depicting the many aspects and personal stories surrounding a travelling circus. The thin main plot involves a love triangle between Holly (as played by Betty …
This week’s Illustration Friday‘s challenge word is “brave”. John Sedgwick graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1837. He entered the artillery as a lieutenant and fought uneventfully in the Seminole Wars and the Mexican-American War. However, upon his return from Mexico and he entered the U.S. Cavalry as a major. Sedgwick …
It’s hard to believe that an entire generation missed out on the humor of Paul Lynde. Paul Lynde started his career as a stand-up comic, even recording a comedy album. He moved to Broadway, where he appeared in his most famous role as Harry McAfee, the concerned but overprotective father of Kim in Bye Bye …
In 1958, when nine-year old Connie Mierzwiak was belting out Brenda Lee songs, she actually had designs on kicking rock and roll’s ass. A little girl with a giant voice, she was signed to a recording contract and released her first album in 1971 under the name Ruby Jones. She performed regularly in her native Toledo, …
This week’s challenge word on the Illustration Friday website is “perspective”. Giorgio de Chirico was a pre-surrealistic painter and an early influence on Salvador Dalí. His works from the early twentieth century were jumbled assemblages of shapes and arches and empty buildings and mannequins in skewed perspective and random placement. As his career progressed, he adopted …
The current Monday Artday challenge is “winter games”. I am not a fan of the Olympics. I never have been. I have watched a total of fifteen minutes of the 2010 Winter Olympics. I watch the highlights in the morning on The Today Show before I go to work. According to NBC’s Today Show, there …
On this date, February 21, in 1958, Gerald Holtom was commissioned to design a logo for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament’ upcoming march in London against nuclear war. The march was scheduled for Easter 1958, a little over a month away. Holtom, a graduate of the Royal College of Art, combined the semaphore sign for “N” …
