Thumbs Up!

A Disney Trading Pin with thumbs up from you-know-who!

Disney Trading Pin

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Book Review: R. Crumb's Heroes of Blues, Jazz, & Country

R. Crumb's Heroes of Blues, Jazz, & Country

A love of music should be a blessing to cartoonists. The hours spent at the drawing board pass very pleasantly with music, and one can be endlessly inspired by artists working in an altogether different medium.

R. Crumb's musical tastes are legendary. He has an abiding love of blues, jazz, and country music. He possesses a large record collection with many obscure 78's. Back around 1980 he illustrated three sets of trading cards featuring his favorite musical performers. The illustrations are based on old photographs, many of them as obscure as the music.

Crumb uses his celebrity to popularize some of his musical heroes. His appreciation of them is absolutely authentic. Crumb is evidently more popular than ever since Terry Zwigoff's documentary was released, and in 2006 these three sets of trading cards were published in book form by no less than Harry N. Abrams. I doubt that there would be much interest in this sort of project if not for Crumb's participation.

The blues and country artists are totally unknown to me outside of this book. I don't have the companion CD, so for now they will remain unknown. The descriptions provided give tantalizing hints of their fine musicianship.

The early jazz greats, here depicted in watercolor and not Pantone, are less obscure. Almost a third of them are known to me and I can vouch, along with R. Crumb, for their greatness.

R. Crumb, Heroes of the Blues, Serigraph, Edition of 150
 The signed serigraph edition of 150 was published at $380 in 2010 and is now sold out.

http://plasticandplush.com/2010/09/r-crumbs-heroes-of-the-blues.html#.UWBEMYI1Yj8

R. Crumb, Heroes of the Blues, Giclee Print, Unsigned Edition of 300, $90 from RCrumb.com

Image added April 8, 2013

http://rcrumb.com/prints.html

 

Image added April 8, 2013
http://rcrumb.com/prints.html

 

Image added April 8, 2013
http://rcrumb.com/prints.html

Image added April 8, 2013
http://rcrumb.com/prints.html

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The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory

The Other Queen  (2008)
Philippa Gregory

After reading The Other Boleyn Girl, I supposed I had read Philippa Gregory's best work and that her other novels would seem weak by comparison. I am therefore delighted to find The Other Queen to be such a superbly entertaining book.

The engrossing story is set during the captivity of Mary, Queen of Scots during the reign of Elizabeth I. Mary is the "other queen" of the title, with a legitimate claim to the thrones of Scotland and England.

Three characters take turns narrating the story, so the perspective is always changing as the plot moves forward. As a literary device, it sounds a bit awkward perhaps, but I thought Gregory managed the three voices exceedingly well. The narrators are Bess of Hardwick, her newlywed fourth husband George the Earl of Shrewsbury, and their captive guest Mary the Scots Queen.

Philippa Gregory is very good at characterization. She writes reasonable dialogue, but it's not really convincing as period dialogue. The court's machinations and intrigue are palpable; other more mundane historical details are sparse.

The Other Queen (2008)
Philippa Gregory

Image added April 10, 2013



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Moebius Futurescape

Artist Moebius (Jean Giraud) created a panoramic landscape that manages to combine elements of ancient art, futuristic invention, and even a prehistoric creature. Well, why not? The preliminary ink artwork was sold last month on eBay.

Hey, I did a little googling myself. Here's the bigger published version I found, far more impressive I think than the preliminary sketch.

http://artduh.com/2012/03/18/r-i-p-moebius/

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The Norman Rockwell Museum

On March 19, I paid my first visit ever to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, a place I'd been meaning to see for years. It was snowing when we first arrived.

The downstairs level had a short film on Rockwell and a display including each and every one of his 323 Saturday Evening Post covers. Rockwell's large and detailed paintings were on view up on the main level. It was wonderful to see his artwork up close. I had a great time.

There was also a show entitled "Istvan Banyai: Stranger in a Strange Land." This was a fine opportunity to survey this Hungarian-born graphic artist's work. There were a great many aspects of his art that I was unfamiliar with. In the past, I'd only come across a few of his works, mostly in The New Yorker.

The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts after the snow stopped falling

Horn on the grounds of the Norman Rockwell Museum

Museum banner for "Istvan Banyai: Stranger in a Strange Land"

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Ed Koren: Hot Tub Versus TV

This original artwork by Edward Koren shows four people--likely two couples--serenely relaxing in a hot tub together while a fifth person, a fully-dressed man, attentively watches television indoors instead. Everyone seems fairly contented here. As it turns out, today we have far more screens than this to choose from, some of which can come pretty much into the hot tub with us. This colorful piece was offered for sale by Taraba Illustration Art at $1,200 in 2010 and was subsequently sold.

Edward Koren, Original Artwork for TV Guide

http://www.tarabaillustrationart.com/art119.shtml

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Proustian Olfactory Recollection and Its Influence on a Legendary American Filmmaker

In the past, college film courses have had to get by without referring students to this blog. This resulted in film school graduates who were book-smart yet vaguely aware that their expensive education was still lacking in some essential, unifying component. Now that should be a thing of the past.

Today, blog titles utilizing impressive academic jargon will make it preposterously obvious to even the most entrenched professors that they can save themselves hours of course preparation time by referring motivated students here. For example, the above title is designed to foster meaningful academic discussion regarding Marcel Proust and his narrative use of olfactory sensations which apparently had a profound influence on American filmmaker Mel Brooks.

Madeleine, anyone?

From "Blazing Saddles" (1974)
Mel Brooks, Director

For those tenure track film professors who may not yet be sufficiently familiar with Proust's literary masterpiece to incorporate it into the coursework, here's a quick reference, cleverly disguised as a competition to summarize all seven novels. Any questions?

Monty Python's Flying Circus

"The All-England Summarize

Proust Competition"

(1972, Episode 31)

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A Post-Freudian Subtextual Analysis of "Afternoon Delight"

Once again, the rigorous academic jargon presented in the post title above is being used to demonstrate to college professors the utility of this blog in promoting shared higher educational goals. This is designed to assist overworked instructors in dealing with some of the vexing cultural questions that come up every day in the classroom such as, for example, "What is the true meaning of the lyrics 'Skyrockets in flight / Afternoon delight?'" Such thorny interpretive problems are best approached with the scrupulous use of an academic lexicon, allowing for a nuanced, scholarly explication of even the most obtuse and difficult song lyrics to emerge from an increasingly complex cultural landscape.

Starland Vocal Band
"Afternoon Delight" (1976)

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From Hegel to Harvey: A Dialectical Materialist Critique of Richie Rich

It is painfully obvious that this blog isn't being used as a resource in the ivy-covered halls of academia. In fact, there isn't a single college course anywhere that regularly assigns readings from here despite Attempted Bloggery's veritable trove of vital information. The result, if no corrective action is taken, will be a nation of college graduates woefully ill-informed on just about all the critical subjects covered herein.

The problem is largely one of language. College professors require a certain degree of academic jargon to reassure themselves that the material at hand has sufficient scholarly merit. Anything written with a folksy lilt or jocular tone is automatically suspect, whatever the content. So please note that today's remaining posts have been carefully provided with serious academic titles so that our dedicated college and university instructors will finally feel comfortable assigning lengthy portions of this blog to the eager young minds they're charged with educating. For example, this post's title should appeal to those many academics with Marxist leanings, prompting them to assign extensive readings from this blog to their students. These students, in turn, will receive a more informative education here than they ever would in the classroom having the workers' paradise continually rammed down their throats. Better they should stay in their dorms reading this blog and Richie Rich.

http://webheadcomics.com/images/rr_millions_78.jpg

http://www.newkadia.com/?Richie_Rich_Comic-Book-Covers=3041|11

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Augmented Boobery

Silicone breast augmentation was first introduced in 1962 and within a short time many women chose to have their figures surgically enhanced. Not coincidentally, it also allowed filmmaker Russ Meyer to make a name for himself, directing top-heavy exploitation movies such as "SuperVixens" (1975). Meyer signed this eye-popping film poster with the inscription "Deep Cleavage, Russ Meyer," which pretty much sums up his thinking on the subject.

Movie Poster from Russ Meyer's "SuperVixens" (1975)

I haven't seen this movie, although I did once have to sit through the milder "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" (1965) for my college Mythology class, and this more or less ended any lingering desire I might have had to see Meyer's other movies regardless of the assets featured on the promotional posters. (Here's the Mythology college course angle: the three hostile go-go dancers in "Pussycat" were supposedly the Furies.) The "SuperVixens" trailer looks disturbingly violent and far less welcoming than the film poster itself. In fact, the movie might be all but unwatchable. If you manage to sit through it, you can let me know.

So there you have it. The only Russ Meyer movie I've seen was for a college course. This blog is going to continue to discuss erudite subjects like this one suitable for both undergraduate and even graduate study. Tell all your friends on campus. Let the higher education begin!

http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/posters-signage-advertising/supervixens-5555169-details.aspx?from=searchresults&pos=10&intObjectID=5555169&sid=40330074-bb05-4112-a432-c26616c5c001&pag

"SuperVixens" (1975) Trailer

Directed by Russ Meyer

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