View allAll Photos Tagged ScrewBall
This is a shot of clouds reflected in a stream that I notice contain some screwball pareidolia heads with goggle eyes.
London Bridge Underground Station, London, England
It doesn't matter how many times I visit London Bridge Underground station but I always managed to get lost within its labyrinth of tunnels and escalators, anyone else get this problem?
Like many other Underground stations, London Bridge is a mishmash of different architectures and styles from different eras. What I really like about this tunnel is the clinical feel and clean lines, mixed with the emptiness in this photo it can feel quite unnerving to many people who witness a tunnel on the London Underground like this.
I can't wait for my next trip down to London, really looking forward to exploring the new part of Tottenham Court Road station that has been recently opened not to mention I have a few spiral staircases I want to photograph too.
I don't know why but everytime I look at this tunnel it always reminds me of the game Screwball Scramble that I use to play as a kid, not sure why but it just triggers that memory of mine, anyone else remember that game?
Location Information
London Bridge is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Southwark, occupying a large area on two levels immediately south-east of London Bridge and 1.6 miles (2.6 km) east of Charing Cross. The main line station, which is the oldest railway station in London fare zone 1 and one of the oldest in the world having opened in 1836, contains nine terminal platforms and six through-platforms for services from the south and south-east of London. Through services continue to Charing Cross or Cannon Street. In terms of passenger arrivals and departures it is the fourth-busiest station in London as well as the United Kingdom as a whole, handling over 54 million customers a year. (These statistics do not include the many commuters who transfer between lines at the station.)
London Bridge is served by Thameslink trains running between Bedford and Brighton as well as Southeastern services from Cannon Street to destinations in southeast London, Kent and East Sussex. It is also the terminus for Southern commuter and regional services to south London and numerous destinations in South East England.
The main line station is one of 19 UK stations managed by Network Rail. The Underground station is served by the Jubilee line and the Bank branch of the Northern line. It consists of a ticket hall and entrance area with its main frontage on Tooley Street, along with entrances on Borough High Street, as well as within the main line station concourse and a corridor under the through-platforms (currently 1–3).
London Bridge is one of two main line termini in London to the south of the River Thames, the other being Waterloo. For this reason, neither has a direct connection to the Circle line.
ScrewBall Comedy's.
Замерзшая кровь разгневанных священников, несчастные путешествия, затяжные воспоминания смеющегося мастера очков, мчащиеся кашляющие вороны, исчезающие видения,
تمتد الأيدي المظلمة المحصنة تحديا للعالم كاذبة ذكريات تتجاهل الطبيعة حزن يعمل النبيذ الحاد النجوم الملونة حانة الخطاة,
ugariak diren grinak burdinazko brotxak gustora dauden zaletasunak erantzunak tradizio irristakorrekin lotu begiak hitz argalekin,
poète banni masure se moquant de putes exquises douleurs exagérées héritage célèbre étapes pathétiques prétention écriture approche pourparlers,
hen Folks benedictions ostyngedig haggards stooping ffwdan crwydro calon toddi dagrau clattering ofnau cnoi diolch diolch ysgyfaint buddugoliaethus,
不快な顔をしかめることを宣言する命令に反対する免疫の回復は、開発中のパーティーが巧みなキャストの好意的な終わりの覆い焼きアカウントの復元を示していますアカウントの復元はあなたに振りかけられたレッスンに直面しています.
Steve.D.Hammond.
Occasionally teams up with Screwball for some crazy schemes. A recurring cast member for her livestream so to speak.
A pair of Re 4/4s bring covered hoppers along Lake Geneva's shores, with it's picturesque terraced vineyards behind.
The second lok in one of those screwball advertising liveries that the rail companies here are oddly fond of - I think this is for a circus.
15 Jan 2020, St Saphorin, CH
Rory, up to his usual brilliant nonsense at Noir Neverland
Wanda Jackson Fujiyama Mama (1957) youtu.be/ztFHvNwRb6Q
Character Creation
The most well-known Cobra is Klaus Voorhees, now known as the King Cobra. He first appeared in Journey into Mystery #98 (Nov. 1963) created by writer Stan Lee and artist Don Heck.
Klaus Voorhees was a laboratory assistant, working with a professor trying to find a cure for various venomous snake bites. A combination of a bite from a radioactive cobra and the experimental anti-venom granted him superpowers, which led to him becoming the supervillain briefly known as the Human Cobra and then as the Cobra. The Cobra and Mister Hyde formed a criminal team for years, fighting various heroes such as Thor and Daredevil.
He later became a member of the Serpent Squad and a member of Sidewinder's Serpent Society. During a takeover attempt by the Viper, the Cobra actually opposed her rule and sided with Captain America to depose the Viper and foil her plans. The Cobra later took the name "the King Cobra" as he assumed leadership of the Serpent Society. When the Serpent Society became Serpent Solutions under the leadership of the Viper (Jordan Stryke, a different Viper) the King Cobra became a member of the group.
His nephew, Piet Voorhees, became the second Cobra and first appeared in White Tiger #1 (Jan. 2007) in a story written by Tamora Pierce and drawn by Timothy Liebe. Piet Voorhees was injected with the same chemicals that gave his uncle his powers and he became the second Cobra, working as a mercenary. On one mission he encountered the White Tiger, who defeated him. The Cobra later joined the Serpent Squad, organized by Sin and would also work for HYDRA as a mercenary.
Marvel has also used the moniker "Cobra" for two World War II Nazi villains and also a mercenary enemy of Moon Knight.
The original Cobra has appeared outside of Marvel Comics, most notably in "The Mighty Thor" portion of The Marvel Super Heroes as well as in episodes of The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes and Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers.
Klaus Voorhees was briefly known as the Human Cobra, then was known as the Cobra for many years and is currently known as the King Cobra. The Klaus Voorhees version of the Cobra was most commonly associated with Thor, Daredevil and, to a lesser extent, Captain America and Spider-Man. The character was created by Stan Lee and Don Heck in Journey into Mystery #98 (Nov. 1963) in which he first battled Thor. His next appearance (Journey into Mystery #105–106 (June–July 1964)) saw him team up with Mister Hyde for the first time (with Hyde being the brains of the team) and the duo had a few more encounters with Thor before their first battle with Daredevil in Daredevil #30–32 (July–Sept. 1967).
Fictional character biography
Career Criminal
Soon after deciding to start a criminal career, he was stopped by Thor. He then forged an alliance with Mr. Hyde, that continued for a very long time. They faced enemies like Daredevil and Spider-Man. Cobra also joined the Serpent Squad, they helped an Atlantean warlord known as Krang, but Cobra felt out of his element. Soon he again teamed with Mr. Hyde, but this time the partnership didn't last long. Cobra left Hyde behind when escaping Rikers Island. Later, Hyde was hunting him and he feared for his life, with the help of Spider-Man he was able to escape Hyde's wrath.
Serpent Society
King Cobra again teamed with others like him, this time it was called the Serpent Society. After several betrayals, Cobra was left the leader of this group. Now feeling like a new man, he decided to face his greatest fear, Mr. Hyde. He fought him face-to-face. After defeating him, he renamed himself King Cobra. He tried to get some order into this group, but it backfired and the group fell apart. King Cobra soon was arrested, and sent to the Vault. When the breakout happened he was among the escapees. A new hero Toxin tracked him down with the help of Mr. Hyde.
Civil War and Thunderbolts
When the Superhuman Registration Act went through, King Cobra joined the Thunderbolts.
The Savage Six
Cobra was captured by Taskmaster and Black Ant for a big trophy hunt set up by Kraven the Hunter. Kraven chose villains that were animal themed to punish them for disgracing the animal kingdom. King Cobra was one of six main animal villains that Kraven used to sell rich patrons on the hunt. Arcade, Kraven's partner, referred to them as The Savage Six.
Once freed after Spider-Man's interfering with Kraven's plan, Vulture liked the sound of the Savage Six and pitched to his other advertised big game baddies (Rhino, Scorpion, Tarantula, and Stegron) that they should stick together. Once together, they made their way to Hollywood to shut down a production of a biographical movie produced by Mysterio that painted them in a less than ideal life. Mary Jane was on set and confronted them to no avail. Luckily, Screwball, Master Matrix, and other supervillains getting a second chance as crew members were there to rescue her.
Sinister War
The team gets a second chance to ruin Mysterio's movie by attacking the premiere. Unfortunately, because Mary Jane is starring in it, she was in attendance, with Spider-Man as her plus one. He leapt into action, but his attempt was short lived. The new Sinister Six showed up to recruit Mysterio and did battle with the Savage Six.
They regroup with other supervillain teams at a graveyard where Spider-Man was hiding. Kindred let them know they were all hellbound and gave them all the same offer, the villain that kills Spider-Man will get a free pass in Hell. Eventually, Doc Ock uses a piece of Black Ant's helmet to knock everyone, including the Savage Six, out through the ear centipedes Kindred was using to control them.
Roxxon
King Cobra was hired by a resurrected Dario Agger to join a team of Thor's old foes to stand ready in case the god return to Midgard. Thor had been framed for Agger's own murder and been manipulated with "skald magic" (storytelling incantations). When Thor arrived to clear his name, he was attacked by these foes. They were able to get the jump on him, and Grey Gargoyle managed to turn him into stone, which Mister Hyde proceeded to destroy.
Thor recently upgraded his power with a new belt, materialized from the power of Zeus, which fought back against Grey Gargoyle's stone touch. Cobra and the others were scared by Thor's feat and retreated to Agger's side. He used them as bait once more, however, this time Thor brought reinforcements. Cobra filled the battlefield with his cobra gas, but Sif managed to knock him out.
When the dust settled, the foes were arrested and moved to a private prison owned by Roxxon.
Powers and Abilities
The Cobra possesses certain unusual physical powers derived from his mutagenically altered physiology which among other things help him simulate the movement of a snake. All of the bones in his body, including his skull, are malleable and his muscle tissue is exceedingly resilient, making his body very flexible and pliant. It is nearly impossible for him to break a bone or tear a muscle. Hence, the Cobra can survive impacts that would kill or inflict major injury upon a normal human being with little or no injury to himself.
The Cobra's flexibility enables him to slither into and out of very tight and small places. Through compressing his body, the Cobra can fit into any hole or slot down to four inches in diameter. By using his flexibility to wrap himself about a victim's body and then exerting his full strength, the Cobra traps that victim within his "Cobra Grip." No normal human being can break free of his grip unless he is extraordinarily well trained in fighting, and even many superhumanly strong beings would have difficulty freeing themselves.
Strength: able to lift own body weight, speed peak range - 700 MPH, Enhanced Durability. Short range energy projection, short duration, single energy type.
⚡ Happy 🎯 Heroclix 💫 Friday! 👽
_____________________________
A year of the shows and performers of the Bijou Planks Theater.
Secret Identity: Klaus Voorhees
Publisher: Marvel
First Appearance: Journey into Mystery #98 (Nov. 1963)
Created by: Stan Lee (Writer)
Don Heck (Artist)
"Baseball is a game where a curve is an optical illusion, a screwball can be a pitch or a person, stealing is legal and you can spit anywhere you like except in the umpire's eye or on the ball."
~ Jim Murray
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think this is my favorite amazing circle yet :)
🌈 Actually I see about five other people in this capture.
- Before A Rehearsal
- Alone In The Theatre
- Architectural Panorama
- iPhone Panorama Mode
- Screwball perspective
This is my first interior panorama. It was handheld. Next time I must use a leveling tripod.
It looks like I was in the fifth row.
The perspective is off! In real life, the stage is the dominant feature.
Tags:
Ballet Dance Tap Modern "Arizona Ballet Theatre" "I'm Early" Alone Rehearsal "Me, Myself, And I" "Stevie Eller Dance Theatre" UofA "University of Arizona" Tucson Arizona USA "Me, Myself, and I" "Interior Architecture" Design
IMG_8756
"DSCN1932RaintingUnion76StLightsTail&HeadlightsBordInitAAcrpFlickr052320"
The most prominent thing in my photo is the Union 76 Gas Station and three green traffic lights.
For Dave C., the *soul* of this one is an intersection with traffic lights and businesses that many of us see lots of times in our lives, and making it colorful and fun.
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"My thin white border is not so much a frame as a defense against Flickr's all dark background"
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Flickr's maps are screwball sometimes. There is no City nor Town of Thurston, Oregon. Thurston is a neighborhood in Springfield, Lane County, Oregon USA
Want to know about Raintings, just ask me.
Best viewed at least a little bit large to enjoy the watercolor effect that I *slid* onto my regular photo.
I put the general idea of location on Flickr's map, but their maps are oftentimes screwball; so it is not precise.
(IMGP2704Autumnleavescamouflagingriverwacolflickr110518)
(Prismacolor marker on white sketch paper, mounted on black cardstock)
Much like Marilyn Monroe, the most famous blonde bombshell, Jean Harlow had an amazing acting ability and perfect comic timing. (Off subject, but I recently watched All About Eve and realized that one of the best acting performances in the movie was actually given by Marilyn Monroe!) Also like Marilyn, Jean wasn't usually recognized for her talent because most people were only looking at the surface. And unfortunatley, she also met a very untimely death. She passed away when she was only 26 years old.
Luckily, Jean Harlow's star was shining bright at a time when the Hollywood studios churned out movies like a Ford Assembly Line-- in her short span on screen, she made 25 films! She could play sappy or slapstick; hard boiled or sweet. She was a pro at comedy, and it's a shame that she died just as screwball comedies were beginning to flourish- seeing examples of how great she would have been in these kooky comedies in Libeled Lady and Personal Property, it only makes you wish even more that she had lived to make more films.
A few of her films are on DVD, and I highly recommend seeing every one of them, in particular: Red Headed Woman, Dinner at Eight, Libeled Lady and The Public Enemy.
From L-R
Tombstone
Black Cat
Miles Morales
Screwball
May Parker
Hammerhead
Lego Marvel's Spider-Man Part 1
www.flickr.com/photos/80676489@N04/42867212750/in/datepos...
He perked right up when his owner came into view. Map locations are not precise because Flickr is kind of screwball and so am I, but they give a general idea. I was out shopping.
(20190119_144416ProfileaccentuatesforlornlookRhinoflickr012119)
My first screenprint. Accomplished at Chicago's own world-famous Screwball Press under the tutelage of rock and roll silkscreen legend Steve Walters.
"My thin white border is not so much a frame as a defense against Flickr's all dark background"
This image is SOOC except for thin white border and copyright initials and date.
IMGP2760Charred&ScarredcabinSOOCbordinitflickr102218
I didn't try to put it on Flickr's map very precisely as the maps are sort of screwball sometimes, but I gave the general idea.
When I first started to load it tonight on Flickr, I thought I had it upside down, but it isn't. I liked the look of the little hanging down feathery things.
Let it load for a couple of extra seconds that you normally would to let it come into focus.
This is weird (October 17, 2019) I got an invitation to join Favorites: 5 group, but when I got to this page, it was already in a whole bunch of Explore, Unexplored; Favorites: 10 etc. groups and an album and tags. Either I made a mistake over 2 years ago, and put it in groups it didn't yet qualify for, or it had 10 and somehow 2 people quit or got banned from Flickr or something. Strange! Anyway, I removed it from all the 10 fave type things I could determine, and I'm starting over at 5.
Within a few hours after typing the above paragraph, everything was not only at 10 but up to 13. Something was screwball, but I don't know what. I'm putting back in the appropriate *10* groups.
(9DSCN0254RealtreehighcontrastB&Wflickr022117)
PHOTO BOMB!!!
Minor mistake here, I found a gold visor after I took this picture, so my bad. Anyway, I don’t have a bio as I want to keep her a secret due to her involvement in my Series.
I had quite a busy day on Saturday, beginning with a disorganized, screwball morning of makeup woes and lost bras. But once I got my act together, I went out with several girls to high tea at a lovely establishment, a bit of conversation at the hotel bar with my friend Cristy Garcia, the VC dinner as a guest, and a grand time of conversation and laughs until the wee hours.
This photo was taken outside the hotel during cocktail hour prior to the VC dinner, which was lovely. It was hot outside, but not bad in the shade and if you're not moving around too much :D
I picked up this dress and another like it (in pink) at JC Penney. I love them. I wasn't sure what color shoes to get with this dress - what goes with lilac, anyway? But, one can always depend on one of two staples, black and nude. I went with the latter. I'm also wearing an interesting pair of nylons from Aristoc with a color called "cosmetic" - not white, I'm just pale. The brand has a nice sheen to it - not too matte and not too glossy. Just right.
Many thanks to my friend Cindy Tease for taking this photo - she did a wonderful job and I am very happy with the results. I hope the photos I took of her turned out just as well! I named the photos after purple flowers.
Bear with me, as I really like the photos of me in this dress. It may be a bit repetitive, but I use Flickr as a kind of photo storage repository...
Dress: Danny & Nicole
Shoes: Bandolino
Hosiery: Aristoc
Zuchon (aka hybrid, Shichon or Shih-Tzu/Bichon , he is a year old . and very adorable
we fostered him for a couple of weeks recently . and miss him now
named after the dog in one of my fave films .; The Awful Truth . starring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne . one of the first screwball comedies made .
Okay, first of all, I bought this autographed photo. As is the case with many, if not most of the best photos you'll find here, this one is not one that I took. But there is a story here, and if you read it, you will agree I'm sure, that the story is all mine.
The story goes, Julie Newmar baby sat me when I was two or three. That's what my aunt and my mom used to tell me.
In case you don't know who Julie Newmar is, some people know her as "Catwoman."
She is more than her character on the old Batman TV show. Julie is a comic genius, and a fantastic dancer. I understand she is a gifted author as well. She is pure genius on so many levels. I have always loved Julie Newmar.
Anyway, I decided to check it out. Did she really baby sit me? Did she even go to the dance studio my mom and aunt ran? I guess if I'm going to tell the story, I'd better check the facts.
I went to her website's contact link and composed an e-mail to check it out.
I got an e-mail from her in response to the question I posted.
The entire e-mail exchange will follow. I'd just like to share with you what I learned from this.
What a sweet woman she is. I just love her, and I always have.
Notice how Julie did not acknowledge knowing me or my mom. Julie also pointed out that the dance studio was one that was not owned by my mom and aunt. In fact the dance studio in question was in L.A. and not in Santa Barbara. This makes sense because my folks lived in L.A. when I was a baby. It does not make sense that my mom schlepped me all the way up to Santa Barbara. I know mom and Aunt Isabel had a dance studio in Santa Barbara but I'm sure now that it was in the 1940's just before I was born.
Now it is a testimony to how sweet this woman is to understand how she handled the matter of whether she was my baby sitter. Obviously she did not remember me so she certainly did not consider herself my baby sitter.
Consider what she wrote: Baby sitting may be a kind description of the participation Isabel's students made in your life.
She did not disallow that I could consider her my baby sitter. After all she was one of Isabel's students. And did she consider it sort of a compliment that I thought of Isabel's students as my baby sitters? I say yes.
I will continue to tell people Julie Newmar was my baby sitter, but you my kind readers, know the real story.
By the way, a word about my name: You will notice that Julie addresses the autograph to "Kenneth." That is because my name is Kenneth. I am a junior, so to avoid confusion, my family always called me by my initials, K.C. (pronounced "Casey"). Also, for some reason I have used Arellano, my great grandmother's maiden name, instead of my true surname.
From: Casey@example.org
Subject: Re: Did you baby sit me when I was 2?
Date: July 14, 2005 10:19:11 PM PDT
To: fanmail@julienewmar.com
Dear Julie,
Thank you for your kind words and for taking the time to set the story straight.
My memories may only have a tenuous hold on the actual facts. However, your gracious response leaves me convinced more than ever that my love for those memories has been well placed.
I am forever, your fan,
Casey Arellano
--
Kindness in words creates confidence, kindness in thinking creates profoundness, kindness in feeling creates love. - Lao Tzu
On Jul 14, 2005, at 5:32 PM, fanmail@julienewmar.com wrote:
Dear Casey,
I remember your aunt, Isabel, as a wonderful Spanish dance teacher for which I later developed a lust for Flamenco Dance.
Also, Isabel did some recitals in which I participated and later danced with the Los Angeles Opera Company -- "Il Travitore" and "La Traviata" at the Wilshire Ebell Theater. All of this took place at Ernest Belcher Dance Studios on Western Avenue at Sixth Street. Baby sitting may be a kind description of the participation Isabel's students made in your life.
Julie Newmar
----- Original Message -----
From: "Casey Arellano"
To: fanmail@julienewmar.com
Subject: Did you baby sit me when I was 2?
Date: Mon, 27 Jun 2005 22:07:10 -0700
Hi Julie,
In the early 1950s my mom, Adelaide Arellano and my "Aunt" Isabel
Thielman had a ballet and Spanish dance studio in Santa Barbara.
My mom played the piano, and Aunt Isabel handled the instruction and drilling.
I was just a toddler at the time and my mom used to bring me along
to the studio. I dimly remember the place and being surrounded by
young women who made a big fuss over me.
Later, when I was older and in grade school I used to love to watch
you on television. I think my parents encouraged me to be a fan.
Any time you appeared on TV my folks would make a point of tuning
in.
I watched Batman, but I found the show disappointing because you
didn't get to dance or express your crazy sense of humor. I really
liked Stupefyin' Jones, and I think I remember seeing you on some
game show like "To Tell the Truth" or "What's my Line?" and you
were so funny.
My mom used to say, "you know Julie Newmar used to baby sit you
when she studied at our the dance studio." She used to tell me
that because she knew how much it pleased me to think you baby sat
me.
Now, if I ever asked, "Mom, did Julie REALLY baby sit me?" Mom
would say "well, when I brought you to the studio with me, all the
girls would help look after you. Julie was one of the girls and
she was very nice to you."
So, I always knew you didn't really baby sit me, but it has always
pleased me to think you did. And to tell people you did.
My mom and aunt said you are a genius with a wild pixellated
screwball sense of humor, and that you are very nearsighted. My
mom said you told her you became nearsighted when you were in New
York City. She said you told her you became nearsighted by making
your eyes go out of focus so you wouldn't have to see all the
ugliness there.
Now, I know how stories, over the passage of time, after being
passed from one person to another can end up being unrecognizable
to the people who lived them.
Does anything I am writing here ring a bell, or is it all just my
childhood fantasy?
Julie, I would love to hear what you think.
Sincerely,
Casey Arellano
Lower Manhattan, 9:28 PM. The air is muggy, ensured by a constant drizzle that pelts the brick and mortar labyrinth. On a particular branch of this urban stretch sits a defunct sauna which, in outward appearance, is of no more import than its neighbors.
Through the natural drum of the downpour, a series of unorganized whirs and clanks can be identified, and then, a disproportionate shape lurches out of the grey veil and stalks along the parking lot on tall, winding stabilizers. It is a man riding atop them, his torpid state in opposition with the arms’ erratic lunging. They allow him to descend gradually as he reaches the awning outside the dead establishment, and the ensemble of flesh and machinery bobs to a standstill.
With an efficiency gained through repetition, Doctor Otto Octavius commands a tentacle to pluck the damp trilby from his head, resulting in a few droplets tagging his neck. He huffs, and sways a little like he wishes a bed would catch him. Then his lower-left pincer punches the lock out of the door and he lumbers inside.
Rain patters against the panes and roof. The sauna’s interior is even heavier than it is out in the streets; clearly, the back rooms are not out of service, nor locked. The light implements, on the other hand, are characteristically dark.
“Sauron!” barks the arrival. “It’s a dungeon in here! … Even Warren’s lairs aren’t this repellent…”
Over the din of the weather, a response slithers to Octavius’ ears:
“I hear now that thou wouldst barter with me. What is thy price?”
“Quoting the Silmarillion, hmph. So you do take your name from Tolkien,” a blasé Octavius verifies. “I happen to be aware of the swift betrayal met by the character offered the same. Come to think of it, it was the undoing of his companions as well. Showing our hand a tad early, are we?”
“As if.”
Sounding like a heavy tarp being splayed, something unfolds from the rafters above the waiting room, to Octavius’ left. It swoops down, and across to the reception area. Octavius sizes up the wide figure; its only prominent features in the gloom are three points, devilishly crowning its shoulders and head.
“Plead your case, Doctor, and I, Sauron, will be the godsend to your campaign.”
One of Octavius’ claws snips at the air. “It’s you who needs to impress me, Doctor.”
“Bah!” Sauron screeches. “You were not already satisfied by my resume?!”
“As for my ‘price’,” Octavius reprimands, “I submit to you a part to play in removing the thorn in our sides: Spider-Man. My end of the bargain was final; your contribution is what we will be reviewing.”
This ruffles Sauron. “I just wanted to say the quote, damn you!”
Octavius, frowning, flips open the dossier provided by a tentacle rooting through his trench coat. “Firstly, you claim a kill on one of the X-Men operatives. ‘Cannonball’.”
“Yes. Full disclosure: He came around.”
“From dying.”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t it just the way?” Octavius muses, continuing. “Flight capabilities. Energy-draining touch. Expertise in genetic modification. Professional hypnotherapist, and by extension, able to turn desired targets against one an-“
“FFFFIRE-breathing!” reminds Sauron, as he belches out a cone of flame over the duo’s heads. His form—that of an anthropomorphic pteranodon—is brilliantly exposed for an instant.
Octavius rubs the indentations on his nose, made by his shades. “I have a man that flies. I expect to be bringing in more that specialize in illusions and biological weapons. Should I become truly desperate, I do, regrettably, know a particularly intolerable vampire. With ALL of these candidates, in fact, I have greater familiarity, than I do you. Bearing this in mind… tell me why I might have need of you.”
“Did I not breathe fire before your mammalian eyes?!”
“I’m enthralled,” Octavius snarls. “You have thoroughly wasted my time. Good night!”
“I have the Spider-Man’s true name!” Sauron squawks after his departure.
“YOU-“ Octavius’ arms rattle, and he slams the door shut, jerking back around. “LEAD WITH THAT! BLAZES, MAN!”
Sauron hops over to a specific drawer in the front desk, crestfallen. “Just once I would like fire-breath to seal the deal.”
“How on Earth could you know the man behind the wall-crawler’s mask?”
“As it were: By saving his life. My other half did, that is.”
Octavius looks at his claws. They look back. “Your marital partner..?”
“What?” Sauron blinks softly, then shakes his beak. “… No, my former identity, Karl Lykos; that veritable pheasant! He banished himself to the Savage Land, allowing himself no interaction with superpowered persons, that which must be consumed to bring forth my glorious form!”
He produces a videotape from the drawer, and motions for Octavius to follow him to the flatscreen intended for patrons. There, Sauron had seemingly brought his own cassette player. Octavius’ lower-right tentacle sighs.
Sauron pops in the tape. “But much to Lykos’ dismay, the Savage Land beckoned adventurers. Spider-Man arrived and, unprepared for the trials that awaited him, was transformed, by the mutant Brainchild, into a feral arachnoid beast-“
“Why couldn’t he have contacted me?..” laments Octavius.
“-and was set loose upon the nobler natives of the Savage Land. Lykos prevented a massacre by sapping the false mutation from the Spider-Man, but at the cost of unleashing me! Lykos witnessed the vigilante’s face as he reverted… and I was freed.”
“And you managed to put the face to a name, how? Lykos knew his alter-ego?”
Sauron tuts. “Now now, if I told you everything, it would take no time at all for a man of your acuity to piece things together… and—my usefulness expired—you would cast me off.”
“Like a broken. Crayon,” says Octavius darkly.
“In that event, I shall keep my leverage! Ah, it wasn’t rewound.” Sauron pecks at his remote, and the VCR begins complaining.
“Armed with this secret,” Sauron resumes, “I made my way to New York. The brief ’taste’ I got of the Spider-Man’s power told me that he was… an individual kind of delicacy; the likes of which, I have found in only the most astonishing of X-Men. A full meal of one such person… I imagine it could facilitate my control over Lykos for years. A decade, even.”
“The X-Men, again,” Octavius notes the recurring topic, unsure. “Are you yourself, categorically, a ‘mutant’?”
“A titan among mortals, created by a metamorphic virus carried by apex organisms that were thought to be long-extinct!” boasts Sauron. “Oh yes, but ‘mutant’ will do. Blasphemy! Lumping me in with the same barbarians that…”
Sauron irascibly tosses around more cables.
“‘That’, what?” Octavius presses.
“Never mind, you! See here, my near-triumph over our common enemy!”
On cue, the display’s fuzzy picture and static subsides into the rustling of foliage. The camera was being pushed in short bursts through dense grass. Narrating the footage was an extraordinarily phony English accent; it was Sauron’s.
“It is here, in the undergrowth, where we will have a chance-“
Sauron grunted from behind the camera, likely performing a leopard crawl.
“-to spot Ka-Zar’s courtship ritual with the She-Devil.”
Sauron—not in the video—starts mashing buttons feverishly. Octavius grimaces.
“Never before has this unique mating behavior been documented to be released to the general… oh. Oh balls.”
The choppy audio picks up the far-off bellows of a woman, then those of a man. The camera view is shown shuffling for a moment, when a wooden spear embeds itself in the muck, inches from the lens. The visuals blur, and flapping can be heard. Then a very deep, feline snarl. Then a girlish yawp from Sauron. The last image is of two rows of pure-white incisors, when present-day Sauron finally locates the fast-forward feature.
The rain still beats down while the tape zips along.
“I was feeling silly.”
“You are detestable.”
“Yes, well… never let it be said that Sauron, Master of Malice, was too much the Boy Scout!” the villain recovers. “NOW, see here…”
The video plays at regular speed, and one of Sauron’s hands is seen clutching a mason jar, turning it over to agitate the sizable arachnid it houses. The creature has an atypically vibrant exoskeleton, and repeatedly attacks the glass at the slightest upset of its prison. The chuckling of both Saurons harmonizes.
“Before stowing aboard a ship braving the Drake Passage, I stowed with me a deadly specimen: One of many ready-made weapons housed by the Savage Land,” Sauron explains proudly. “Aggressive on her best days, and positively bloodthirsty when she’s carrying her young.”
A zoom-in showcases scores of fibrous pouches speckle the animal’s abdomen.
“My plan was direct. Elegant. No extraneous moving parts… so to speak.”
The perspective cuts to Sauron’s feet lighting on the uppermost ledge of an apartment building.
Octavius shoves past Sauron to absorb every pixel on the monitor. “This is where he lives? Where is this??”
Sauron ignores him. “The first snag came up before I even began. Spider-Man somehow saw me coming.”
Doctor Octopus’ concentration on identifying any landmarks on the skyline is broken. He squints at Sauron, almost disgusted. “That’s half of his act: Sensing things. I’m sorry, how many times did you say you actually fought-“
“Watcha doin’ up here, bud? Migration been rough this year?”
Sauron rack-focused to Spider-Man, on the adjacent ledge.
“Orchestrating your demise, morsel. You and I have a dinner engagement.”
Sauron smiles approvingly at his own delivery in the video. “I had that one written beforehand.”
Spider-Man tilted his head. “Oh hey, you’re recording this? Hi future-me, who’s going to be looking at this and finding all of bird-man’s embarrassing shower karaoke.”
“Lord above, he doesn’t shut up for anyone,” Octavius mutters.
The screen rocks from Sauron hobbling to a ventilation duct. “Mock your doom. Mock Sauron the Unspeakable! But YOU will be the one caught in a web this time.”
Sauron brandished the jar containing his spider.
“Awww…” Spider-Man cooed at it, wiggling a finger playfully. “Here’s the thing: I don’t have your Ring of Power or whatever you’re here for, but I’m going to have to insist you round up any and all Shelobs you have on your person and hit the road. I’m telling you, they’ve got a serious policy about pets, the guy two doors down from me had to have a friend look after his chinchilla for-“
“Quit your drivel! I am antagonizing you!”
“-of course Ms. Rasmussen has an emotional-support dog, that’s really the only exception! Hey! If your spiders help you detect low blood-sugar, you may be able to convince the landlord-“
“Enough!” Sauron crowed. His wicked smile could practically be heard through the recording. “They’re waking up.”
“That’s ominous,” Spider-Man decided. “‘kay I’ll take that now.”
The vigilante’s web-shooters both fired; the left, snaring the spider’s glass, and the right tangling around Sauron’s wing, and part of the camera’s lens. Before Spider-Man could reel in his catch, Sauron coughed up a fiery jet that snapped the sticky band leading to the jar, then dashed the vessel straight through the grating of the duct beside him.
The eyes on Spider-Man’s mask enlarged. “Oh god!”
He sprang after the lost jar, but the camera swirls and Sauron’s great wingspan blindsided the hero back onto the gravel at the far end of the roof. Sauron jabbed through the remaining webbing as his adversary rolled upright. Spider-Man didn’t try for the vent again; he flipped over the ledge, calling,
“Storks are really supposed to deliver babies wrapped in blankets! Just sayin’!”
Sauron pursued, capturing the image of Spider-Man swinging himself through a window two stories below.
“This,” Octavius commentates, “is not… entirely uninspired. Having him chase thousands of tiny tasks with minds of their own…”
“… so that he’s too distracted and tired to stop my killing stroke,” Sauron finishes.
The escapade carried on with Sauron peaking into the apartment. Spider-Man had interrupted a family of four’s board game.
“I’m real sorry but I need you to call the hospital,” he appealed to the parents, “tell them there might be a whole bunch of people with venomous spider bites at this location! You need to help me get everyone… where’s all the vents in-“
A clump of infant spiders dropped out of the hallway air conditioning system and spread like water across the wood flooring. The family screamed, and Spider-Man yanked a bookcase off the wall to spin one-hundred-and-eighty degrees on its corner and flatten the horde. He then webbed over the vent.
“REALLY sorry,” he apologized again. “Please go, bang on doors, and don’t let these things get on you!”
Spider-Man perked up as if he heard something, and immediately launched through the front door. Sauron clambered inside, trailing the family as they too exited. From the apartment entryway, the mic picked up Spider-Man’s cries for the building to be evacuated. Bouncing from one room to the next, he would pound on and occasionally break open the door in order to block off the endless invasion of hatchlings. Soon after multiple tenants had become wise to the situation, the fire alarm was activated.
Sauron kept his distance all the while, observing Spider-Man’s fatigue from his unabating alertness. The hero traversed the walls; back and forth he sped, several minutes into fighting the disaster and only just now moving on to clear the next floor of danger. Back and forth, for all the good he could do. His shouts had grown hoarse. Back and forth.
“EVERYONE NEEDS TO GET OUT! … -J’s going to burn me at the stake when this story makes the ne… ‘-ider-Man unleashes minions on unsuspecting families!’… -lding that dumb coffee mug, and using that voice, too!”
Doctor Octopus appears bored with the uncut footage. “Let’s cut to the chase, yes?”
“This… is the chase… Oh, very well,” Sauron begrudgingly conforms, realizing Octavius’ limbs are poising threateningly.
The tape skips, and Spider-Man—defending a male resident—is facing a kitchen teeming with the newborn killers. Sauron had been gradually encroaching on his prey as the exertion took its toll on the web-slinger’s faculties, and had now barged through the home’s entrance, meters away.
To make an example, the monstrous hybrid roasted some of the furnishing to his left, then pointed the camera back to Spider-Man.
“Are you quite through?”
“Running late, dear,” Spider-Man shot back unenthusiastically.
He bumped the civilian out the window to their backs, hastily calculating and fastening to the poor man a web that would rappel him to the street. The hero salvaged his own fall with three fingertips on the sill, shifting his momentum with a kick that would send him into the next apartment over. Sauron, anticipating the maneuver, crossed his room with a combative glide and ripped down the dividing wall, right onto the arriving Spider-Man, who was pummeled by insulation, a metal stud and a full china cabinet.
Sauron put the heat on his opponent by slicing his shin. Spider-Man retaliated with more webbing, but his larger rival shielding himself with the backs of his wings, then subsequently pulled the young man—and his left-hand web-shooter—into his waiting beak, which wedged into the gadget, rendering it inoperative. This was followed up by a stab to the do-gooder’s abdomen, pinning him to the carpet for agonizing seconds. The villain then gripped Spider-Man by the throat, a portion of which was no longer even negligibly protected by red and blue spandex, due to a tear. The captive choked and flailed. As his very life-force was being stripped, Sauron relished his prize off-camera.
“Ah. As good as I remembered.”
Spider-Man built up some vitality, and cracked him over the jaw. Sauron’s taloned foot put the second web-shooter out of the fight.
“Rest now,” Sauron chided. “Rest. It’s possible you saved them all; isn’t that a lovely thought? And you can always hope the first-responders are prepared. The spider’s toxicity is of a most exotic variety, however…”
Spider-Man’s words were strangled. “You endangered all these people… AAUGH… to get to me. Big…”
One hand tore free from Sauron’s trap,
“BIG”
and then the other.
“Mistake,” he said ferociously, as though possessed by an unrevealed, primal side of himself.
He took Sauron’s webbed wings in each fist, shredding palm-sized sheets out of them. Now it was Sauron who screamed. The image quakes violently from a wild blast of fire. The screen then goes blue.
The sauna is again silent; even the rain has moved on. Sauron hangs his head.
Octavius starts at the blank display, feeling cheated. “Well?”
“I fled! Time had run out, and there was no leeway in my plan for trading blows. It was only for his incomplete commitment to rescuing the building that the Spider-Man gave me up.”
Sauron hits “Eject”.
“I failed to factor in that his concern for bystanders might be as emboldening, as much as detrimental, to him.”
“There is much to repurpose with this course of action. Your efforts are commendable,” Octavius praises, but seems perturbed. “… In all my years, trying to best him, I’ve never seen him use his adhesion so… ruthlessly.
“It wasn’t that alone,” Sauron corrects. “It burned. Enough to undermine my own hold. These mutants, they’re full of such surprises. Tricky little devils.”
Octavius’ demeanor is made irritable in an instant. “No… now this has been avoided far too long: Your obsession with the mutants. You mean to tell me you’ve thought Spider-Man is one of their kind??”
“Naturally. They worked side-by-side in the Savage Land-“
Octavius’ upper-right tentacle squeaks as a pained rodent would. The doctor’s face nearly glows red. “Know-nothing! … inept layman! You almost killed the Spider-Man, robbing the rest of us... when you have no quarrel with him?!”
“Do not try to disillusion me, Octopus!” Sauron rebukes. “You wish to get rid of me, but recycle my genius! Spider-Man is one of the Brotherhood, and I-“
“He is neither an X-Man nor part of that supremacist cabal… THOSE are separate entities too, you might be interested to learn!” growls Octavius, pacing as he does so. “They wear uniforms and start wars! Spider-Man helps old ladies with their grocery bags and throws the same three puns at you when you happen to be given the name ‘Octopus’ by the news!”
The gears turn in Sauron’s brain. “… I would… still very much like to feast on his energies…”
Octavius roars, hurling a magazine rack. “You’ve been cutting in on our vendetta… the TRUE foes of Spider-Man! How could you be so blinded to the obvious? What did the Brotherhood do to you warrant this utter lapse in reasoning??”
Sauron squirms, like a child caught fibbing. “Nothing. Nothing of-“
“WHAT, you boob?!” Octavius demands.
“They killed my wife!”
…
“They wanted my power, and they used me to kill my… my Tanya. Oh…”
Sauron burrows into the waiting room’s sofa, weeping.
Knee-deep in the exceedingly awkward interlude, Otto Octavius finds himself whisked into the past: An unprecedented, reflective condition for him, since having chosen this sinister path. A fateful day pierces the villain’s psyche. A particular laugh embraces a small, brackish heart, confronting him with a name he had hoped yet hated to drown.
“Mary.”
Sauron slurps up some snot. “Who?”
Octavius’ resentment of Sauron transitions to momentary pity. Pity, to envy. Envy, right back to resentment.
Octavius stares down at him. “Maybe there’s less distinction between you and Lykos than you’d care to admit, or maybe there never was a distinction. Whatever the case, whichever of you is in there, I’m speaking to a lovesick idiot! And your wife lies dead, waiting for you, still!”
“I-I don’t…”
“YOU SHOULD FEEL BLESSED! Having faces to put to the injustice! That she wasn’t taken from you by an accident, and all you have left is an abyss to yell into! You have the opportunity to exact your pound of flesh! Find the ones that wronged you… Get it RIGHT this time, and end them! Let your wife rest!”
“You…” Sauron sits up. “You should really see someone about these types of things.”
Octavius gnashes his teeth, and stomps toward the VCR player.
“What are you doing?”
“Collecting my compensation!” Octavius jiggles the device, unsure of how to dislodge the halfway-expelled cassette. “If you insist on being a useless dolt, I will use this tape to extract any and all clues to Spider-Man’s identity!”
Sauron dives for the tape, snatching it away and defensively backing into a potted fern. “No! My home movies are on there too!”
“Out of my way!”
Sauron’s mouth glows like a forge. “Never!”
Octavius curses in frustration. Weighing the odds, he gives it up and storms off once more through the parking lot.
Sauron peeks out from the business’ entrance. “W-where are you going?”
“To rethink EVERYTHING to do with how I will find competent applicants! Never, I repeat, NEVER contact me. And I do mean ‘ever’!”
The doctor’s lower-right tentacle waves a goodbye to Sauron. Octavius keeps grumbling, well out of earshot of his bane.
“Four hours walking through sewers… for this. Never again. They’ll come to me. I’m in charge. A nice office to work from… yes…”
***
“Aaaaalllright, so you’ve got your account’s password, bio, all of that how you want it?”
“I believe so,” Sauron acknowledges, nibbling on a claw.
“Great! You can click the ‘Complete’ button; it’ll be green,” Screwball instructs over the video chat.
Sauron complies. “… There are little hearts raining down.”
“That should mean you’re all set, let me refresh. Ooh, sweet PFP my guy!”
The icon shows Sauron lounging in a wingback chair, with a derby hat precariously positioned on his crest.
“Oh, yes, well-“ Sauron blushes.
“On. Fleek.”
“I really should repay you in some way,” maintains Sauron.
“Listen, you hold onto Spider-Boy’s real name for me if I’m ever hurting for views, and that’s payment enough.”
Sauron glances over his desk to at a folded Daily Bugle newspaper, preserved from years past: The last piece he had needed, to the puzzle of the person behind Spider-Man’s mask. In an undeservedly small article, abruptly detailed is an expedition, taken by the socialite Warren Washington III, into the mystifying, Antarctic region dubbed “the Savage Land”. As photographed, accompanying Washington had been the column’s own author: An unassuming journalist named Peter Parker. His was the face Lykos had seen appear on the monster that he stopped all that time ago, just before Lykos himself had become another monster needing to be cured.
“Certainly, but,” Sauron taps his mousepad, evaluating. “you’re sure you wouldn’t like me to put in a word for you with this alliance Octopus is convening?”
Screwball sticks her tongue out. “They’re way too mainstream, my audience would think I’m getting desperate. But hey, if you ever get back into a crime kick, I could always use a camera with wings!”
“My leave from supervillainy will be… quite extended. Recent events have caused me to, well, reconsider where I may find fulfillment.”
“C’est la vie. Caaatch you later, dino-dude!”
Screwball’s feed closes out.
“They’re not dinosaurs…” Sauron protests, but returns to his new media platform.
“A match, already? … ’madamedracheXO : 33, mutant : Self-made entrepreneur : Flexible with long-distance relationships, fire-breathing is big plus.’ Hmm.”
***
~ DOCTOR OCTOPUS’ nefarious exploits will return in INTERVIEW WITH AN OCTOPUS: BLACK CAT! ~
Poster made for the upcoming Gapers Block Third Anniversary Party! At the BEST place in Chicago, the Hideout! This poster is to be silkscreened by hyper talented Steve at Screwball Press and will be sold (i think) by the good folks at Gaper's Block (www.gapersblock.com), and everyone in the chicago-area should mark their calenders and hoof it on out on the 26th!
OKAY! They are selling them now! www.gapersblock.com/shop/#posters
I had quite a busy day on Saturday, beginning with a disorganized, screwball morning of makeup woes and lost bras. But once I got my act together, I went out with several girls to high tea at a lovely establishment, a bit of conversation at the hotel bar with my friend Cristy Garcia, the VC dinner as a guest, and a grand time of conversation and laughs until the wee hours.
This photo was taken outside the hotel during cocktail hour prior to the VC dinner, which was lovely. It was hot outside, but not bad in the shade and if you're not moving around too much :D
Many thanks to my friend Cindy Tease for taking this photo - she did a wonderful job. I hope the photos I took of her turned out just as well!
Dress: Danny & Nicole
Shoes: Bandolino
Hosiery: Aristoc
These balls have the particular quality that they each have a single spiral ribbon that either trails off or combines with the spiral from another ball, thus the name.
Paul was sitting on Chicago Avenue in between State and Wabash near McDonald's. He's been homeless for four years. Even before he told me his name, he asked me, "what would you do if a wealthy realtor stopped by and didn't give you any money? I just gave two bucks to her (a homeless woman)." Then he talked about Acts 2 in the Bible about people sharing with each other. "But it's not communism--everybody gave because they wanted to." He was very talkative, so I just let him talk. We talked about his name, "my name is Paul Lewis Stephen--it means 'Small Warrior King'". (And after talking with him, I believe it's true.) "I used to work in a supermarket and if people didn't have enough money, I'd take out my wallet and help them out. One time I had this feeling in my gut that I needed to go get my coat". He knew there wasn't any money in it, but he got it anyway. "When I reached in my coat, I found some money! (to help people out). "That was a God thing", he said. "You know, Jesus chose the 'screwballs'", he smiled. So I said goodbye and as I left he said, "pray for Adam" (the realtor he mentioned earlier).
"Woo-hoo!" It's that screwball star of so many Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies now as a 3D LEGO sculpture. Quack up with the duck that is a classic icon from America's golden age of animation. While the piece is glued, the mouth can open and close. Comes with a hand (wing?) holding a wooden mallet.
Currently part of "Off the Wall" art exhibition at the Blue Door Art Center in Yonkers, NY
PA_1189 [100 points]
The adventures of Daffy Duck in Paris start on this wall in the 5ème arrondissement. Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character produced by Warner Bros. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, the character has appeared in cartoon series such as Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, where he usually has been depicted as the best friend and occasional arch-rival of Bugs Bunny. Daffy was one of the first of the new "screwball" characters that emerged in the late 1930s to replace traditional everyman characters who were more popular earlier in the decade, such as Mickey Mouse and Popeye. Daffy starred in 133 shorts in the golden age, making him the third-most frequent character in the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies cartoons, behind Bugs Bunny's 166 appearances and Porky Pig's 159 appearances. [ Wikipedia - Daffy Duck ]
Other views:
PA_1189 (Zoom in, July 2016)
PA_1189 (Street view, 60 meters distance, July 2016)
PA_1189 (52-Weeks Selfportrait, July 2016)
Date of invasion: 18/02/2016 (Source: Website Invader, First seen on Flickr on 18/02/2016 by Tofz4u)
[ Visited Daffy Duck PA_1189 one day after invasion, but it was already dark, came back on the morning of 03/04/2016 but I was too late, Daffy was already half in the shade (not nice at all for a proper photo) and came back on this sunny Sunday morning to get the best shot in full sunlight. ]
Bloody… fucking… mess.
That is what I almost became in the making of this worthless photograph.
Swear to God! (am I allowed to say that? I capitalized God for all you religious folk that have read this far. God rocks).
No really. I set up my tripod in my popularized apartment complex for yet another photo on another inconsequential day for my year long photo project. And I set my timer to 12 seconds. And I ran down and hung over the railing as seen.
But dude. Swear to God (there I go again) … I almost fell over!!!!!!
Like, I slung myself over that a foreseen ledge in risk of missing my 12 second timer. And… I came VERY close to just flying the hell straight over to my demise. I mean I slipped and barely caught myself in a quick 1.5 second meaningless nothing. But in the grand scheme of things, I ALMOST DIED!?
Which in itself is rather humorous. Can you imagine the police showing up with a guy splattered on the ground holding a heart paddle sporting a fedora hat and wearing no shirt but yet sporting premium denim dead on the pavement?
A murder? A suicide? Were drugs involved? Murder She Wrote? Judge Wapner? Miami Vice? (okay – getting off course).
Seriously.
I have a little girl sleeping in the other room. Murder scene on the pavement isn’t what we want. But I seriously came very close to catching myself flying over the edge here. And it was very screwball at the time. But in retrospect, the last thing my daughter needs is dead daddy in the pavement for his stupid worthless day 301 photo.
The photo at hand? Ryan hanging over a railing in his apartment complex holding a heart paddle wearing a fedora hat. That’s pretty much it. Thanks for looking.
The album at hand? Dude. Do you like “indie rock”. Or hell, do you even like anything involving guitars and drums that come out now? Like, even “alternative” garbage on the radio?
Well.
THIS ALBUM INFLUENCED IT ALL! A fucking “college rock” 1980’s masterpiece. And the song highlighted is one of my favorite songs EVER. EVER. EVER. EVER. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!
Listen to it now you fuck. If you don’t listen to it: you suck. If you listen to it and don’t like it, you suck even more and I never want to speak to you ever again.
Location: my apartment complex; Alameda, California
Taken: October 3rd, 2009
Posted: November 15th, 2009
Album of the Day: Doolittle by The Pixies
Video: Hey by The Pixes
*=lapse
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg, no. 354. Photo: Herbert Fried / Ufa. Publicity still for Notre Dame de Paris (1956).
Italian actress and photojournalist Gina Lollobrigida (1927), was one of Europe’s most prominent film stars of the 1950’s. ‘La Lollo’ was the first European sex symbol of the post war years and she paved the way into Hollywood for her younger colleagues Sophia Loren and Claudia Cardinale.
At the age of 3 Luigina was already selected as the most beautiful toddler of Italy and in her youth she started to model. She became an art student and made her film debut in an uncredited bit role in Lucia di Lammermoor (1946, Piero Ballerini). In 1947, she entered the Miss Italia pageant and came in third. The contest was won by Lucia Bosé and second was Gianna Maria Canale - both became also film actresses, though not nearly as successful as Lollobrigida. That same year Gina was discovered by director Mario Costa who gave her a small part in L’elisir d’amore (1946, Mario Costa) A bigger part followed in the opera film Pagliacci (1948, Mario Costa), in which her singing was dubbed. She also started to model as Gina Loris for the foto romanzi, the popular Italian photo novels. Her first major success as a star was in Miss Italia (1950, Duilio Coletti), a backstage drama set at a beauty contest. It was followed by the delightful comedy Vita da cani (1950, Mario Monicelli, Steno) and the award winning crime drama La città si difende (1951, Pietro Germi), based on a script by Federico Fellini. In France she co-starred with Gérard Philipe in the swashbuckling comedy Fanfan la Tulipe (1952, Christian Jacque) and the charming fantasy Les Belles de Nuit (1952, René Clair). Her first American film was Beat the Devil (1953, John Huston). She was at her best as Humphrey Bogart's wife in this odd but endearing noiresque comedy. She returned to Italy and had her definitive breakthrough with the huge global hit Pane, amore e fantasia (1953, Luigi Comencini), in which she starred with Vittorio de Sica. This romantic comedy was nominated for an Oscar and led to three sequels, including Pane, amore e gelosia (1954, Luigi Comencini). Next she earned her nickname ‘The World's Most Beautiful Woman’ for her signature film La donna più bella del mondo (1956, Robert Z. Leonard).
Gina Lollobrigida made another Hollywood appearance in the circus melodrama Trapeze (1956, Carol Reed) with Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis. Next she starred as Esmeralda with Anthony Quinn as Quasimodo in Notre Dame de Paris (1956, Jean Delannoy). In 1959 she lured Yul Brynner in the Biblical epic Solomon and Sheba (1959, King Vidor). One of her most popular Hollywood films was Come September (1961, Robert Mulligan), in which she played the never-contented mistress of Rock Hudson. For this lightweight comedy she won the Golden Globe as World Film Favorite. She co-starred again with Hudson in Strange Bedfellows (1965, Melvin Frank) and in 1968 she starred in the enjoyable screwball comedy Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell (1968, Melvin Frank), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe. On tv she was seen in the mini series Le Avventure di Pinocchio (1972, Luigi Comencini). She retired from acting in the mid-1970’s, but has occasionally returned for the camera, as in the soap opera Falcon Crest (1984). She has used her celebrity to sell cosmetics, published two books of her photography, Italia Mia (1973) and Wonder of Innocence (1994), and created sculptures. In the mid-1970’s she wrote, directed and produced Ritratto di Fidel, a documentary about Fidel Castro that included a rare interview with the Cuban dictator, fueling persistent rumors that a romance was sparked. In 1986, she was the head of jury at the Berlin International Film Festival, and in 1999 she ran for a seat in the European Union Parliament, stressing humanitarian issues, but lost the election. Now virtually retired, Lollobrigida has not made a film appearance since XXL (1997, Ariel Zeitoun).
Sources: Filmglorie.nl, Wikipedia, NNDB, Andrea Le Vasseur/All Movie Guide and IMDb.
Adamo era semplicemente un essere umano, e questo spiega tutto. Non voleva la mela per amore della mela. La voleva soltanto perché era proibita. Lo sbaglio fu di non proibirgli il serpente; perché allora avrebbe mangiato il serpente.
Mark Twain, Wilson lo Svitato
Adam was simply a human being, and this explains everything. He did not want the apple for love apple. He wanted only because it was forbidden. The mistake was in not forbidding the serpent; because then he would eat the snake.
Mark Twain, Wilson Screwball
Isn't too different from 616, just added some more colour instead of it being lots of white. Really wish there was a decent coloured visor to go along with it too, but alas. She live streams every robbery she does. You know how it is, the bigger the score, the bigger the viewership right?! Pretty much is the only reason she turned to crime.
Quantum (Quantum and Woody): Quantum is Eric Henderson, a superhero and a member of the duo Quantum and Woody. His partner and foster brother is Woody Henderson. Eric, the more serious of the two, is constantly frustrated by his brother's screwball antics.
Fig Formula: Helmet (76189: Captain America), Head (60229: Scientist), Hood (70435: Jack Davids), Cape (71031: The Vision), Torso (71708: Digi Jay), Arms (71026: Superman), Cuffs (4641048), Hands (71708: Digi Jay), Mini Shooter, W/ 3.2 Shaft, No. 1 (76120: Shazam), Hip (60229: Astronaut), Legs (70848: Stardust Benny)
Broken Angel (Imperium): Real name Angela Peace Baingana, is a human scientist possessed by an extra-dimensional alien. The being that took over her body is also a scientist, and will ally herself with any faction that allows her to continue pursuing her experiments on humans.
Fig Formula: Hood (76120: Shazam), Head (71031: Monica Rambeau), Torso & Arms (60229: Scientist), Hands & Hip (70921: Gentleman Ghost), Legs (70921: Gentleman Ghost)
Design Inspirations Below:
Quantum - (static.wikia.nocookie.net/valiantcomics/images/c/c2/Q2_00...)
Broken Angel - (static.wikia.nocookie.net/valiantcomics/images/b/bf/Imper...)
COMMENT & FAVE bellow to me know your thoughts
yo yo whats good never thought I would be posting today but after
-ThatLegoGuy- told me he was gonna make a juggernaut I felt inspired again to improve my old juggernaut design. And he's kinda tucked in the side in this pic and I will definetly show a closer look of him but I just made some spidey villians in this post and just threw him in.
L-R: kingpin( not much), looter( my own design), batroc( didn't try the civil war hawkeye torso after I got those purple parts), kraven( my own design a splash of colors), juggernaut
top: screwball( had ideas for her but never rlly went abt doing them lol), tinkerer, mysterio( wanted to try smth w vision torso)
Spanish postcard by CyA, no. 22. Photo: Warner Bros. James Garner in the TV series Maverick (1957-1960).
James Garner (1928-2014) was an American film and television actor. He was the star of such popular TV series as the Western show Maverick (1957-1960) and the private detective show The Rockford Files (1974-1980). Garner also appeared in over 50 feature films during his long career, including The Great Escape (1963) with Steve McQueen, Victor/Victoria (1982) with Julie Andrews, and Clint Eastwood's Space Cowboys (2000).
James Garner was born James Scott Bumgarner in Norman, Oklahoma, in 1928. He was the youngest of the three sons of Weldon Warren Bumgarner and Mildred Meek. He was orphaned at the age of four by the death of his mother. Thereafter he and his brothers lived initially with their grandmother. After his father married his second wife Wilma, the children returned to him. James hated his stepmother who beat all three boys, especially him. He said that his stepmother also punished him by forcing him to wear a dress in public. At the age of 14, an argument with her led to a fight. He knocked her down and choked her to keep her from killing him in retaliation. She left the family and never returned. His father moved to Los Angeles, leaving Garner and his brothers in Norman. Garner's last stepmother was Grace, whom he said he loved and called "Mama Grace", and he felt that she was more of a mother to him than anyone else had been. He began working in the merchant marine when he was 16 years old near the end of World War II. After the war, Garner joined his father in Los Angeles and enrolled at Hollywood High School, where he was voted the most popular student. Garner enlisted in the California Army National Guard, serving his first 7 months in California. Then, during the Korean War, he went to Korea for 14 months as a rifleman in the 5th Regimental Combat Teamparticipated. In the Korean War, he was wounded twice and Garner was awarded the Purple Heart for his wounds. When he returned, he began studying business administration, but then transferred to the Berghof School in New York for acting training. He scraped by with odd jobs until he got a gig in a Broadway production in 1954. That year he also appeared for the first time as an extra in The Caine Mutiny (Edward Dmytryk, 1954), the film version of Herman Wouk's stage play starring Humphrey Bogart. After that he took on smaller roles in film and television. He became known to a wider audience with the role of professional gambler Bret Maverick in the Western TV series Maverick (1957-1960). In the cinema he appeared in such films as Sayonara (Joshua Logan, 1957) with Marlon Brando, and the war film Darby's Rangers (William Wellman, 1958). After his acrimonious departure from Warner Bros. in 1960, Garner briefly found himself graylisted by Warner until director William Wyler hired him for a starring role in The Children's Hour (1961) with Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine, a drama about two teachers surviving scandal started by a student.
In the early 1960s, James Garner abruptly became one of the busiest leading men in cinema. In Boys' Night Out (Michael Gordon. 1962) with Kim Novak and Tony Randall, and The Thrill of It All (Norman Jewison, 1963) with Doris Day, he returned to comedy. Garner also starred opposite Day in Move Over, Darling (Michael Gordon, 1963), a remake of the screwball comedy My Favorite Wife (Leo McCarey, 1940) in which Garner portrayed the role originally played by Cary Grant. The remake had begun as Something's Got to Give but was recast and retitled after Marilyn Monroe died and Dean Martin chose to withdraw as a result. Next came the war dramas The Great Escape (John Sturges, 1963) with Steve McQueen, Paddy Chayefsky's The Americanization of Emily (Arthur Hiller, 1964) with Julie Andrews, and Roald Dahl's 36 Hours (George Seaton, 1965) with Eva Marie Saint. In the smash hit The Great Escape, Garner played the second lead for the only time during the decade, supporting fellow McQueen among a cast of British and American screen veterans in a story depicting a mass escape from a German prisoner of war camp based on a true story. The film was released in the same month as The Thrill Of It All, giving Garner two films at the box office at the same time. James Garner also starred in Westerns such as Duel at Diablo (Ralph Nelson, 1966) with Sidney Poitier, Hour of the Gun (John Sturges, 1967) with Garner as Wyatt Earp and Jason Robards Jr. as Doc Holliday, and Support Your Local Sheriff! (Burt Kennedy, 1969) with Walter Brennan. He owned his own production company, which financed some of his film projects. Garner was fascinated by car racing. His own racing experience made him ideally qualified to portray a racing driver in Grand Prix (John Frankenheimer, 1966). After this film, he co-owned the racing team "American International Racers" (AIR) for two years and took part in the documentary film The Racing Scene (Andy Sidaris, 1969). His greatest popularity, however, came from playing the title role in the television series The Rockford Files (1974- 1980), for which he received an Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1977. In the 1990s, Rockford episodes were made in feature film format, quoting the style of the 1970s episodes. Garner and Jack Kelly reappeared as Bret and Bart Maverick in a made-for-television film titled The New Maverick (Hy Averback, 1978) written by Juanita Bartlett, and in the series Bret Maverick (1981-1982).
James Garner gave one of his greatest comedic performances as the lover of a (fe)male female impersonator in the highly enjoyable musical comedy Victor/Victoria (Blake Edwards, 1982) starring Julie Andrews. The film, an entertaining remake of the German film Victor und Victoria/Victor and Victoria (Reinhold Schünzel, 1933), was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won the Academy Award for Best Original Score. In 1995, it was adapted as a Broadway musical. Garner received an Academy Award nomination for Murphy's Romance (Martin Ritt, 1985) with Sally Field. Garner played Wyatt Earp again in Blake Edwards' Western Sunset (1988), starring Bruce Willis. In the film Maverick (Richard Donner, 1994), Garner took on the role of the marshal who turns out to be Bret's father in the course of the film. Bret Maverick was portrayed in the film by Mel Gibson. Garner's career and popularity continued through another decade in films such as Space Cowboys (Clint Eastwood, 2000) with Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland, the animated film Atlantis: The Lost Empire (Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise, 2001) (voice work) with Michael J. Fox and The Notebook (Nick Cassavetes, 2004) with Ryan Gosling and Gena Rowlands. On television, he could be seen as Cate's father Jim Egan in the Sitcom 8 Simple Rules (2003–2005) starring Katey Sagal. He suffered a mild stroke in 2008, after which he appeared only as a voice actor in various film projects. In 2011, Simon & Schuster published Garner's autobiography 'The Garner Files: A Memoir'. In addition to recounting his career, the memoir, co-written with nonfiction writer Jon Winokur, detailed the childhood abuses Garner suffered at the hands of his stepmother. It also offered frank, unflattering assessments of some of Garner's co-stars such as Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson. In addition to recalling the genesis of most of Garner's hit films and television shows, the book also featured a section where the star provided individual critiques for every one of his acting projects accompanied by a star rating for each. James Garner succumbed to a heart attack in Los Angeles in 2014 at the age of 86. Since 1956 he was married to Lois Clarke, who brought their daughter Kimberley into the marriage. The couple last lived most of their time away from Hollywood on Garner's ranch near Santa Barbara. His biological daughter Greta 'Gigi' was a successful singer in Britain in the 1980s. For his contribution to the film and television industry, Garner received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (at 6927 Hollywood Boulevard).
Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch, German and English) and IMDb.
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