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Do this, can you get that done, done and dusted, but wait a minute did you do that!! Not verbatim but this is what it sounds like before and after I do most little jobs around the house or in the garden - my wife loves me, of course! But when I came across this little sign sometime ago I just had to purchase it - my life in a few words!!
Our Daily Challenge ~ Comical ....
Thanks to everyone who views this photo, adds a note, leaves a comment and of course BIG thanks to anyone who chooses to favourite my photo .... thanks to you all.
CARL BARKS
Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American Disney Studio illustrator and comic book creator, who invented Duckburg and many of its inhabitants, such as Scrooge McDuck (1947), Gladstone Gander (1948), the Beagle Boys (1951), The Junior Woodchucks (1951), Gyro Gearloose (1952), Cornelius Coot (1952), Flintheart Glomgold (1956), John D. Rockerduck (1961) and Magica De Spell (1961). The quality of his scripts and drawings earned him the nicknames The Duck Man and The Good Duck Artist. Writer-artist Will Eisner called him "the Hans Christian Andersen of comic books."
In 1987, Barks was one of the three inaugural inductees of the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.
Professional artist
At the same time Barks had started thinking about turning a hobby that he always enjoyed into a profession: that of drawing. Since his early childhood he spent his free time by drawing on any material he could find. He had attempted to improve his style by copying the drawings of his favorite comic strip artists from the newspapers where he could find them. As he later said, he wanted to create his own facial expressions, figures and comical situations in his drawings but wanted to study the master comic artists' use of the pen and their use of color and shading.
Among his early favorites were Winsor McCay (mostly known for Little Nemo) and Frederick Burr Opper (mostly known for Happy Hooligan) but he would later study any style that managed to draw his attention.
At 16 he was mostly self-taught but at this point he decided to take some lessons through correspondence. He only followed the first four lessons and then had to stop because his working left him with little free time. But as he later said, the lessons proved very useful in improving his style.
By December 1918, he left his father's home to attempt to find a job in San Francisco, California. He worked for a while in a small publishing house while attempting to sell his drawings to newspapers and other printed material with little success.
Disney
In November 1935, when he learned that Walt Disney was seeking more artists for his Studio, Barks decided to apply. He was approved for a try-out which entailed a move to Los Angeles, California. He was one of two in his class of trainees who was hired. His starting salary was 20 dollars a week. He started at Disney Studios in 1935, more than a year after the debut of Donald Duck on June 9, 1934 in the short animated film The Wise Little Hen.
Barks initially worked as an inbetweener. This involved being teamed and supervised by one of the head animators who did the key poses of character action (often known as extremes) for which the inbetweeners did the drawings between the extremes to create the illusion of movement. While an inbetweener, Barks submitted gag ideas for cartoon story lines being developed and showed such a knack for creating comical situations that by 1937 he was transferred to the story department. His first story sale was the climax of Modern Inventions, for a sequence where a robot barber chair gives Donald Duck a haircut on his butt.
In 1937 when Donald Duck became the star of his own series of cartoons instead of co-starring with Mickey Mouse and Goofy as previously, a new unit of storymen and animators was created devoted solely to this series. Though he originally just contributed gag ideas to some duck cartoons by 1937 Barks was (principally with partner Jack Hannah) originating story ideas that were storyboarded and (if approved by Walt) put into production. He collaborated on such cartoons as Donald's Nephews (1938), Donald's Cousin Gus (1939), Mr. Duck Steps Out (1940),Timber (1941), The Vanishing Private (1942) and The Plastics Inventor (1944).
Unhappy at the emerging wartime working conditions at Disney plus bothered by ongoing sinus problems caused by the studio's air conditioning, Barks quit in 1942. Shortly before quitting, he moonlighted as a comic book artist, contributing half the artwork for a one-shot comic book (the other half of the art being done by story partner Jack Hannah) titled Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold. This 64-page story was adapted by Donald Duck comic strip writer Bob Karp from an unproduced feature, and published in October 1942 in [Dell] Four Color Comics #9. It was the first Donald Duck story originally produced for an American comic book and also the first involving Donald and his nephews in a treasure hunting expedition, in this case for the treasure of Henry Morgan. Barks would later use the treasure hunting theme in many of his stories. This actually was not his first work in comics, as earlier the same year Barks along with Hannah and fellow storyman Nick George scripted Pluto Saves the Ship, which was among the first original Disney comic book stories published in the United States.
After quitting the Studio, Barks relocated to the Hemet/San Jacinto area in the semi-desert inland empire region east of Los Angeles where he hoped to start a chicken farm.
When asked which of his stories was a favorite in several interviews Barks cited the ten-pager in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories 146 (Nov. 1952) in which Donald tells the story of the chain of unfortunate events that took place when he owned a chicken farm in a town which subsequently was re-named Omelet. Likely one reason it was a favorite is that it was inspired by Barks' own experiences in the poultry business.
But to earn a living in the meantime he inquired whether Western Publishing, which had published Pirate Gold, had any need for artists for Donald Duck comic book stories. He was immediately assigned to illustrate the script for a ten-page Donald Duck story for the monthly Walt Disney's Comics and Stories. At the publisher's invitation he revised the storyline and the improvements impressed the editor sufficiently to invite Barks try his hand at contributing both the script and the artwork of his follow-up story. This set the pattern for Barks' career in that (with rare exceptions) he provided art (pencil, inking, solid blacks and lettering) and scripting for his stories.
The Victory Garden, that initial ten-page story published in April, 1943 was the first of about 500 stories featuring the Disney ducks Barks would produce for Western Publishing over the next three decades, well into his purported retirement. These can be mostly divided into two categories:
Ten-pagers, comedic Donald Duck stories that were the lead for the monthly flagship title Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, whose circulation peaked in the mid-1950s at 3 million copies sold a month.
Humorous adventure stories, usually 24-32 pages in length. In the 1940s these were one-shots in the Four Color series (issued 4-6 times a year) that starred Donald and his nephews. From the early 1950s Barks undertook the quarterly adventures of Uncle Scrooge and the duck clan in Scrooge's own title.
He surrounded Donald Duck and nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie with a cast of eccentric and colorful characters, such as the aforementioned Scrooge McDuck, the wealthiest duck in the world; Gladstone Gander, Donald's obscenely lucky cousin; inventor Gyro Gearloose; the persistent Beagle Boys; the sorceress Magica De Spell; Scrooge's rivals Flintheart Glomgold and John D. Rockerduck; Daisy's nieces April, May and June; Donald's neighbor Jones, and The Junior Woodchucks organization.
People who work for Disney generally do so in relative anonymity; the stories only carry Walt Disney's name and (sometimes) a short identification number. Prior to 1960, the creator of these stories remained a mystery to his readers. However, many readers recognized Barks' work and drawing style, and began to call him the Good Duck Artist, a label which stuck even after his true identity was discovered by John and Bill Spicer in 1959. After Barks received a 1960 visit from Bill and John Spicer and Ron Leonard, he was no longer anonymous, as his name soon became known to his readers.
Barks stories (whether humorous adventures or domestic comedies) often exhibited a wry, dark irony born of hard experience. The 10 pagers showcased Donald as everyman, struggling against the cruel bumps and bruises of everyday life with the nephews often acting as a Greek chorus commenting on the unfolding disasters Donald wrought upon himself. Yet while seemingly defeatist in tone, the humanity of the characters shines through in their persistence despite the obstacles. These stories found popularity not only among young children but adults as well. Despite the fact that Barks had done little traveling his adventure stories often had the duck clan globe trotting to the most remote or spectacular of places. This allowed Barks to indulge his penchant for elaborate backgrounds that hinted at his thwarted ambitions of doing realistic stories in the vein of Hal Foster's Prince Valiant.
Carl Barks retired in 1966 but was persuaded by editor Chase Craig to script stories for Western. The last new comic book story drawn by Carl Barks was a Daisy Duck tale ("The Dainty Daredevil") published in Walt Disney Comics Digest issue 5 (Nov. 1968). When bibliographer Michael Barrier asked Barks about why he drew it, Barks' vague recollection was no one was available and he was asked to do it as a favor by editor Chase Craig.
He wrote one Uncle Scrooge story, three Donald Duck stories and from 1970-1974 was the main writer for the Junior Woodchucks comic book (issues 6 through 25). The latter included environmental themes that Barks first explored in 1957 ["Land of the Pygmy Indians", Uncle Scrooge 18]. Barks also sold a few sketches to Western that were redrawn as covers. For a time the Barkses lived in Goleta, California before returning to the Inland Empire by moving to Temecula.
To make a little extra money beyond what his pension and scripting earnings brought in, Barks started doing oil paintings to sell at the local art shows he and Garé exhibited at. Subjects included humorous depictions of life on the farm and portraits of Native American princesses. These skillfully rendering paintings encouraged fan Glenn Bray to ask Barks if he could commission a painting of the ducks ("A Tall Ship and a Star to Steer Her By", taken from the cover of Walt Disney's Comics and Stories 108 by Barks). This prompted Barks to contact George Sherman at Disney's Publications Department to request permission to produce and sell oil paintings of scenes from his stories. In July 1971 Barks was granted a royalty-free license by Disney. When word spread that Barks was taking commissions from those interested in purchasing an oil of the ducks, much to his astonishment the response quickly outstripped what he reasonably could produce in the next few years.
When Barks expressed dismay at coping with the backlog of orders he faced, fan/dealers Bruce Hamilton and Russ Cochran suggested Barks instead auction his paintings at conventions and via Cochran's catalog Graphic Gallery. By September 1974 Barks had discontinued taking commissions.
At Boston's NewCon convention, in October 1975, the first Carl Barks oil painting auctioned at a comic book convention ("She Was Spangled and Flashy") sold for $2,500. Subsequent offerings saw an escalation in the prices realized. The buyer of this painting, Jerry Osborne, quickly became one of Barks' close friends. Barks even painted Osborne into the scene of his 1976 "July Fourth in Duckburg." Jerry Osborne delivered the eulogy at Barks' funeral at Grants Pass, Oregon.[citation needed]
In 1976, Barks and Garé went to Boston for the NewCon show, their first comic convention appearance. Among the other attendees was famed Little Lulu comic book scripter John Stanley; despite both having worked for Western Publishing this was the first time they met. The highlight of the convention was the auctioning of what was to that time the largest duck oil painting Barks had done, "July Fourth in Duckburg", which included depictions of several prominent Barks fans and collectors. It sold for a then record high amount: $6,400.
Soon thereafter a fan sold unauthorized prints of some of the Scrooge McDuck paintings, leading Disney to withdraw permission for further paintings. To meet demand for new work Barks embarked on a series of paintings of non-Disney ducks and fantasy subjects such as Beowulf and Xerxes. These were eventually collected in the limited-edition book Animal Quackers.
As the result of heroic efforts by Star Wars producer Gary Kurtz and screenwriter Edward Summer, Disney relented and in 1981, allowed Barks to do a now seminal oil painting called "Wanderers of Wonderlands" for a breakthrough limited edition book entitled Uncle Scrooge McDuck: His Life and Times. The book collected 11 classic Barks stories of Uncle Scrooge colored by artist Peter Ledger along with a new Scrooge story by Barks done storybook style with watercolor illustrations, "Go Slowly, Sands of Time". After being turned down by every major publisher in New York City, Kurtz and Summer published the book through Celestial Arts, which Kurtz acquired partly for this purpose. The book went on to become the model for virtually every important collection of comic book stories. It was the first book of its kind ever reviewed in Time Magazine and subsequently in Newsweek, and the first book review in Time Magazine with large color illustrations.
In 1977 and 1982, Barks attended the San Diego Comic Con. As with his appearance in Boston, the response to his presence was overwhelming, with long lines of fans waiting to meet Barks and get his autograph.
In 1981, Bruce Hamilton and Russ Cochran, two long-time Disney comics fans, decided to combine forces to bring greater recognition to the works of Carl Barks. Their first efforts went into establishing Another Rainbow Publishing, the banner under which they produced and issued the award-winning book, "The Fine Art of Walt Disney´s Donald Duck by Carl Barks", a comprehensive collection of the Disney duck paintings of this artist and storyteller. Not long after, the company began producing fine art lithographs of many of these paintings, in strictly limited editions, all signed by Barks, who eventually produced many original works for the series.
In 1983 Another Rainbow took up the daunting task of collecting the entire Disney comic book ouvré of Barks—over 500 stories in all—in the ten-set, thirty-volume Carl Barks Library. These oversized hardbound volumes reproduced Barks´ pages in pristine black and white line art, as close as possible to the way he would originally drawn them, and included mountains of special features, articles, reminiscences, interviews, storyboards, critiques, and more than a few surprises. This monumental project was finally completed in mid-1990.
In 1985 a new division was founded, Gladstone Publishing, which took up the then-dormant Disney comic book license. Gladstone introduced a whole new generation of Disney comic book readers to the wondrous storytelling of such luminaries as Barks, Paul Murry, and Floyd Gottfredson, as well as presenting the first works of modern Disney comics masters Don Rosa and William Van Horn. Seven years after Gladstone's founding, the Carl Barks Library was revived as full-color, high-quality squarebound comic albums (including the first-ever Carl Barks trading cards) - the Carl Barks Library in Color.
Barks relocated one last time to Grants Pass, Oregon near where he grew up, partly at the urging of friend and Broom Hilda artist Russell Myers, who lived in the area. The move also was motivated, Barks stated in another famous quip, by Temecula being too close to Disneyland and thus facilitating a growing torrent of drop-in visits by vacationing fans. In this period Barks made only one public appearance, at a comic book shop near Grants Pass.
From 1993 to 1998, Barks' career was managed by the "Carl Barks Studio" (Bill Grandey and Kathy Morby—They had sold Barks original art since 1979). This involved numerous art projects and activities, including a tour of 11 European countries in 1994, Iceland being the first foreign country he ever visited. Barks appeared at the first of many Disneyana conventions in 1993. Silk screen prints of paintings along with high-end art objects (such as original water colors, bronze figurines and ceramic tiles) were produced based on designs by Barks.
During the summer of 1994 and until his death, Carl Barks & his studio personally assigned Peter Reichelt, a museum exhibition producer from Mannheim, Germany, as his agent for Europe. Publisher "Edition 313" put out numerous lithographs. In 1997, tensions between Barks and the Studio eventually resulted in a lawsuit that was settled with an agreement that included the disbanding of the Studio. Barks never traveled to make another Disney appearance. He was represented by Rev. Ed Bergen, as he completed a final project. Gerry Tank and Jim Mitchell were to assist Barks in his final years.
During his Carl Barks Studio years, Barks created two more stories: the script for the final Uncle Scrooge story "Horsing Around with History", which was first published in Denmark in 1994 with Bill Van Horn art. The Barks outlines for Barks final Donald Duck story "Somewhere in Nowhere", were first published in 1997, in Italy, with art by Pat Block.
Austrian artist Gottfried Helnwein curated and organized the first solo museum-exhibition of Carl Barks. Between 1994 and 1998 the retrospective was shown in ten European museums and seen by more than 400,000 visitors.
At the same time in spring 1994, Reichelt and Ina Brockmann designed a special museum exhibition tour about Barks' life and work. Also represented for the first time at this exhibition were Disney artists Al Taliaferro and Floyd Gottfredson. Since 1995, more than 500,000 visitors have attended the shows in Europe, Reichelt also translated the Michael Barrier Barks biography into German and published it in 1994.
Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have acknowledged that the rolling-boulder booby trap in the opening scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark was inspired by the 1954 Carl Barks Uncle Scrooge adventure "The Seven Cities of Cibola" (Uncle Scrooge 7). Lucas and Spielberg have also said that some of Barks's stories about space travel and the depiction of aliens had an influence on them. Lucas wrote the foreword to the 1982 Uncle Scrooge McDuck: His Life and Times. In it he calls Barks’s stories "cinematic" and "a priceless part of our literary heritage".
Carl Barks has spent most of his life drawing, illustrating, painting and telling stories about ducks. He was editor and artist for the Calgary Eyeopener until he joined the Disney Studio in 1935. Barks wrote and drew thirty six early Donald Duck cartoons. Walt Disney was supervisor to his "duck unit". In 1942 he dedicated himself to the art form that made him famous: writing comics books and drawing them. Carl became the preeminent Disney comic book artist and remains so to this day. In 1996 his timeless work has been reprinted worldwide. He is known as the father of Donald Duck as well as the creator of the miserly Uncle Scrooge. Duckburg and most of the duck clan owe their existence to his pen and paintbrush. In 1968 Carl began a new career capturing the duck family in oil paintings. Many Disney Bark's products have been created from his work including silk-screens, lithographs, bronze and porcelain figurines. At 93 Barks went on an eleven country museum tour with his oil paintings. From Iceland to Poland forty of his paintings were received to rave reviews and huge crowds. In Denmark the 3rd grade was let out to meet Barks at the boat. When asked what he would most like to be remembered for he answers "storytelling."
CARL BARKS
Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American Disney Studio illustrator and comic book creator, who invented Duckburg and many of its inhabitants, such as Scrooge McDuck (1947), Gladstone Gander (1948), the Beagle Boys (1951), The Junior Woodchucks (1951), Gyro Gearloose (1952), Cornelius Coot (1952), Flintheart Glomgold (1956), John D. Rockerduck (1961) and Magica De Spell (1961). The quality of his scripts and drawings earned him the nicknames The Duck Man and The Good Duck Artist. Writer-artist Will Eisner called him "the Hans Christian Andersen of comic books."
In 1987, Barks was one of the three inaugural inductees of the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.
Professional artist
At the same time Barks had started thinking about turning a hobby that he always enjoyed into a profession: that of drawing. Since his early childhood he spent his free time by drawing on any material he could find. He had attempted to improve his style by copying the drawings of his favorite comic strip artists from the newspapers where he could find them. As he later said, he wanted to create his own facial expressions, figures and comical situations in his drawings but wanted to study the master comic artists' use of the pen and their use of color and shading.
Among his early favorites were Winsor McCay (mostly known for Little Nemo) and Frederick Burr Opper (mostly known for Happy Hooligan) but he would later study any style that managed to draw his attention.
At 16 he was mostly self-taught but at this point he decided to take some lessons through correspondence. He only followed the first four lessons and then had to stop because his working left him with little free time. But as he later said, the lessons proved very useful in improving his style.
By December 1918, he left his father's home to attempt to find a job in San Francisco, California. He worked for a while in a small publishing house while attempting to sell his drawings to newspapers and other printed material with little success.
Disney
In November 1935, when he learned that Walt Disney was seeking more artists for his Studio, Barks decided to apply. He was approved for a try-out which entailed a move to Los Angeles, California. He was one of two in his class of trainees who was hired. His starting salary was 20 dollars a week. He started at Disney Studios in 1935, more than a year after the debut of Donald Duck on June 9, 1934 in the short animated film The Wise Little Hen.
Barks initially worked as an inbetweener. This involved being teamed and supervised by one of the head animators who did the key poses of character action (often known as extremes) for which the inbetweeners did the drawings between the extremes to create the illusion of movement. While an inbetweener, Barks submitted gag ideas for cartoon story lines being developed and showed such a knack for creating comical situations that by 1937 he was transferred to the story department. His first story sale was the climax of Modern Inventions, for a sequence where a robot barber chair gives Donald Duck a haircut on his butt.
In 1937 when Donald Duck became the star of his own series of cartoons instead of co-starring with Mickey Mouse and Goofy as previously, a new unit of storymen and animators was created devoted solely to this series. Though he originally just contributed gag ideas to some duck cartoons by 1937 Barks was (principally with partner Jack Hannah) originating story ideas that were storyboarded and (if approved by Walt) put into production. He collaborated on such cartoons as Donald's Nephews (1938), Donald's Cousin Gus (1939), Mr. Duck Steps Out (1940),Timber (1941), The Vanishing Private (1942) and The Plastics Inventor (1944).
Unhappy at the emerging wartime working conditions at Disney plus bothered by ongoing sinus problems caused by the studio's air conditioning, Barks quit in 1942. Shortly before quitting, he moonlighted as a comic book artist, contributing half the artwork for a one-shot comic book (the other half of the art being done by story partner Jack Hannah) titled Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold. This 64-page story was adapted by Donald Duck comic strip writer Bob Karp from an unproduced feature, and published in October 1942 in [Dell] Four Color Comics #9. It was the first Donald Duck story originally produced for an American comic book and also the first involving Donald and his nephews in a treasure hunting expedition, in this case for the treasure of Henry Morgan. Barks would later use the treasure hunting theme in many of his stories. This actually was not his first work in comics, as earlier the same year Barks along with Hannah and fellow storyman Nick George scripted Pluto Saves the Ship, which was among the first original Disney comic book stories published in the United States.
After quitting the Studio, Barks relocated to the Hemet/San Jacinto area in the semi-desert inland empire region east of Los Angeles where he hoped to start a chicken farm.
When asked which of his stories was a favorite in several interviews Barks cited the ten-pager in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories 146 (Nov. 1952) in which Donald tells the story of the chain of unfortunate events that took place when he owned a chicken farm in a town which subsequently was re-named Omelet. Likely one reason it was a favorite is that it was inspired by Barks' own experiences in the poultry business.
But to earn a living in the meantime he inquired whether Western Publishing, which had published Pirate Gold, had any need for artists for Donald Duck comic book stories. He was immediately assigned to illustrate the script for a ten-page Donald Duck story for the monthly Walt Disney's Comics and Stories. At the publisher's invitation he revised the storyline and the improvements impressed the editor sufficiently to invite Barks try his hand at contributing both the script and the artwork of his follow-up story. This set the pattern for Barks' career in that (with rare exceptions) he provided art (pencil, inking, solid blacks and lettering) and scripting for his stories.
The Victory Garden, that initial ten-page story published in April, 1943 was the first of about 500 stories featuring the Disney ducks Barks would produce for Western Publishing over the next three decades, well into his purported retirement. These can be mostly divided into two categories:
Ten-pagers, comedic Donald Duck stories that were the lead for the monthly flagship title Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, whose circulation peaked in the mid-1950s at 3 million copies sold a month.
Humorous adventure stories, usually 24-32 pages in length. In the 1940s these were one-shots in the Four Color series (issued 4-6 times a year) that starred Donald and his nephews. From the early 1950s Barks undertook the quarterly adventures of Uncle Scrooge and the duck clan in Scrooge's own title.
He surrounded Donald Duck and nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie with a cast of eccentric and colorful characters, such as the aforementioned Scrooge McDuck, the wealthiest duck in the world; Gladstone Gander, Donald's obscenely lucky cousin; inventor Gyro Gearloose; the persistent Beagle Boys; the sorceress Magica De Spell; Scrooge's rivals Flintheart Glomgold and John D. Rockerduck; Daisy's nieces April, May and June; Donald's neighbor Jones, and The Junior Woodchucks organization.
People who work for Disney generally do so in relative anonymity; the stories only carry Walt Disney's name and (sometimes) a short identification number. Prior to 1960, the creator of these stories remained a mystery to his readers. However, many readers recognized Barks' work and drawing style, and began to call him the Good Duck Artist, a label which stuck even after his true identity was discovered by John and Bill Spicer in 1959. After Barks received a 1960 visit from Bill and John Spicer and Ron Leonard, he was no longer anonymous, as his name soon became known to his readers.
Barks stories (whether humorous adventures or domestic comedies) often exhibited a wry, dark irony born of hard experience. The 10 pagers showcased Donald as everyman, struggling against the cruel bumps and bruises of everyday life with the nephews often acting as a Greek chorus commenting on the unfolding disasters Donald wrought upon himself. Yet while seemingly defeatist in tone, the humanity of the characters shines through in their persistence despite the obstacles. These stories found popularity not only among young children but adults as well. Despite the fact that Barks had done little traveling his adventure stories often had the duck clan globe trotting to the most remote or spectacular of places. This allowed Barks to indulge his penchant for elaborate backgrounds that hinted at his thwarted ambitions of doing realistic stories in the vein of Hal Foster's Prince Valiant.
Carl Barks retired in 1966 but was persuaded by editor Chase Craig to script stories for Western. The last new comic book story drawn by Carl Barks was a Daisy Duck tale ("The Dainty Daredevil") published in Walt Disney Comics Digest issue 5 (Nov. 1968). When bibliographer Michael Barrier asked Barks about why he drew it, Barks' vague recollection was no one was available and he was asked to do it as a favor by editor Chase Craig.
He wrote one Uncle Scrooge story, three Donald Duck stories and from 1970-1974 was the main writer for the Junior Woodchucks comic book (issues 6 through 25). The latter included environmental themes that Barks first explored in 1957 ["Land of the Pygmy Indians", Uncle Scrooge 18]. Barks also sold a few sketches to Western that were redrawn as covers. For a time the Barkses lived in Goleta, California before returning to the Inland Empire by moving to Temecula.
To make a little extra money beyond what his pension and scripting earnings brought in, Barks started doing oil paintings to sell at the local art shows he and Garé exhibited at. Subjects included humorous depictions of life on the farm and portraits of Native American princesses. These skillfully rendering paintings encouraged fan Glenn Bray to ask Barks if he could commission a painting of the ducks ("A Tall Ship and a Star to Steer Her By", taken from the cover of Walt Disney's Comics and Stories 108 by Barks). This prompted Barks to contact George Sherman at Disney's Publications Department to request permission to produce and sell oil paintings of scenes from his stories. In July 1971 Barks was granted a royalty-free license by Disney. When word spread that Barks was taking commissions from those interested in purchasing an oil of the ducks, much to his astonishment the response quickly outstripped what he reasonably could produce in the next few years.
When Barks expressed dismay at coping with the backlog of orders he faced, fan/dealers Bruce Hamilton and Russ Cochran suggested Barks instead auction his paintings at conventions and via Cochran's catalog Graphic Gallery. By September 1974 Barks had discontinued taking commissions.
At Boston's NewCon convention, in October 1975, the first Carl Barks oil painting auctioned at a comic book convention ("She Was Spangled and Flashy") sold for $2,500. Subsequent offerings saw an escalation in the prices realized. The buyer of this painting, Jerry Osborne, quickly became one of Barks' close friends. Barks even painted Osborne into the scene of his 1976 "July Fourth in Duckburg." Jerry Osborne delivered the eulogy at Barks' funeral at Grants Pass, Oregon.[citation needed]
In 1976, Barks and Garé went to Boston for the NewCon show, their first comic convention appearance. Among the other attendees was famed Little Lulu comic book scripter John Stanley; despite both having worked for Western Publishing this was the first time they met. The highlight of the convention was the auctioning of what was to that time the largest duck oil painting Barks had done, "July Fourth in Duckburg", which included depictions of several prominent Barks fans and collectors. It sold for a then record high amount: $6,400.
Soon thereafter a fan sold unauthorized prints of some of the Scrooge McDuck paintings, leading Disney to withdraw permission for further paintings. To meet demand for new work Barks embarked on a series of paintings of non-Disney ducks and fantasy subjects such as Beowulf and Xerxes. These were eventually collected in the limited-edition book Animal Quackers.
As the result of heroic efforts by Star Wars producer Gary Kurtz and screenwriter Edward Summer, Disney relented and in 1981, allowed Barks to do a now seminal oil painting called "Wanderers of Wonderlands" for a breakthrough limited edition book entitled Uncle Scrooge McDuck: His Life and Times. The book collected 11 classic Barks stories of Uncle Scrooge colored by artist Peter Ledger along with a new Scrooge story by Barks done storybook style with watercolor illustrations, "Go Slowly, Sands of Time". After being turned down by every major publisher in New York City, Kurtz and Summer published the book through Celestial Arts, which Kurtz acquired partly for this purpose. The book went on to become the model for virtually every important collection of comic book stories. It was the first book of its kind ever reviewed in Time Magazine and subsequently in Newsweek, and the first book review in Time Magazine with large color illustrations.
In 1977 and 1982, Barks attended the San Diego Comic Con. As with his appearance in Boston, the response to his presence was overwhelming, with long lines of fans waiting to meet Barks and get his autograph.
In 1981, Bruce Hamilton and Russ Cochran, two long-time Disney comics fans, decided to combine forces to bring greater recognition to the works of Carl Barks. Their first efforts went into establishing Another Rainbow Publishing, the banner under which they produced and issued the award-winning book, "The Fine Art of Walt Disney´s Donald Duck by Carl Barks", a comprehensive collection of the Disney duck paintings of this artist and storyteller. Not long after, the company began producing fine art lithographs of many of these paintings, in strictly limited editions, all signed by Barks, who eventually produced many original works for the series.
In 1983 Another Rainbow took up the daunting task of collecting the entire Disney comic book ouvré of Barks—over 500 stories in all—in the ten-set, thirty-volume Carl Barks Library. These oversized hardbound volumes reproduced Barks´ pages in pristine black and white line art, as close as possible to the way he would originally drawn them, and included mountains of special features, articles, reminiscences, interviews, storyboards, critiques, and more than a few surprises. This monumental project was finally completed in mid-1990.
In 1985 a new division was founded, Gladstone Publishing, which took up the then-dormant Disney comic book license. Gladstone introduced a whole new generation of Disney comic book readers to the wondrous storytelling of such luminaries as Barks, Paul Murry, and Floyd Gottfredson, as well as presenting the first works of modern Disney comics masters Don Rosa and William Van Horn. Seven years after Gladstone's founding, the Carl Barks Library was revived as full-color, high-quality squarebound comic albums (including the first-ever Carl Barks trading cards) - the Carl Barks Library in Color.
Barks relocated one last time to Grants Pass, Oregon near where he grew up, partly at the urging of friend and Broom Hilda artist Russell Myers, who lived in the area. The move also was motivated, Barks stated in another famous quip, by Temecula being too close to Disneyland and thus facilitating a growing torrent of drop-in visits by vacationing fans. In this period Barks made only one public appearance, at a comic book shop near Grants Pass.
From 1993 to 1998, Barks' career was managed by the "Carl Barks Studio" (Bill Grandey and Kathy Morby—They had sold Barks original art since 1979). This involved numerous art projects and activities, including a tour of 11 European countries in 1994, Iceland being the first foreign country he ever visited. Barks appeared at the first of many Disneyana conventions in 1993. Silk screen prints of paintings along with high-end art objects (such as original water colors, bronze figurines and ceramic tiles) were produced based on designs by Barks.
During the summer of 1994 and until his death, Carl Barks & his studio personally assigned Peter Reichelt, a museum exhibition producer from Mannheim, Germany, as his agent for Europe. Publisher "Edition 313" put out numerous lithographs. In 1997, tensions between Barks and the Studio eventually resulted in a lawsuit that was settled with an agreement that included the disbanding of the Studio. Barks never traveled to make another Disney appearance. He was represented by Rev. Ed Bergen, as he completed a final project. Gerry Tank and Jim Mitchell were to assist Barks in his final years.
During his Carl Barks Studio years, Barks created two more stories: the script for the final Uncle Scrooge story "Horsing Around with History", which was first published in Denmark in 1994 with Bill Van Horn art. The Barks outlines for Barks final Donald Duck story "Somewhere in Nowhere", were first published in 1997, in Italy, with art by Pat Block.
Austrian artist Gottfried Helnwein curated and organized the first solo museum-exhibition of Carl Barks. Between 1994 and 1998 the retrospective was shown in ten European museums and seen by more than 400,000 visitors.
At the same time in spring 1994, Reichelt and Ina Brockmann designed a special museum exhibition tour about Barks' life and work. Also represented for the first time at this exhibition were Disney artists Al Taliaferro and Floyd Gottfredson. Since 1995, more than 500,000 visitors have attended the shows in Europe, Reichelt also translated the Michael Barrier Barks biography into German and published it in 1994.
Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have acknowledged that the rolling-boulder booby trap in the opening scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark was inspired by the 1954 Carl Barks Uncle Scrooge adventure "The Seven Cities of Cibola" (Uncle Scrooge 7). Lucas and Spielberg have also said that some of Barks's stories about space travel and the depiction of aliens had an influence on them. Lucas wrote the foreword to the 1982 Uncle Scrooge McDuck: His Life and Times. In it he calls Barks’s stories "cinematic" and "a priceless part of our literary heritage".
Carl Barks has spent most of his life drawing, illustrating, painting and telling stories about ducks. He was editor and artist for the Calgary Eyeopener until he joined the Disney Studio in 1935. Barks wrote and drew thirty six early Donald Duck cartoons. Walt Disney was supervisor to his "duck unit". In 1942 he dedicated himself to the art form that made him famous: writing comics books and drawing them. Carl became the preeminent Disney comic book artist and remains so to this day. In 1996 his timeless work has been reprinted worldwide. He is known as the father of Donald Duck as well as the creator of the miserly Uncle Scrooge. Duckburg and most of the duck clan owe their existence to his pen and paintbrush. In 1968 Carl began a new career capturing the duck family in oil paintings. Many Disney Bark's products have been created from his work including silk-screens, lithographs, bronze and porcelain figurines. At 93 Barks went on an eleven country museum tour with his oil paintings. From Iceland to Poland forty of his paintings were received to rave reviews and huge crowds. In Denmark the 3rd grade was let out to meet Barks at the boat. When asked what he would most like to be remembered for he answers "storytelling."
One of the best things about this weekend’s hilarious comedy sequel HORRIBLE BOSSES 2 is the return of Jennifer Aniston’s sex-obsessed dentist, who steals every foul-mouthed scene she’s in. Her next film however, CAKE, sees her in an altogether different role, albeit very much...
Burton Overy is an attractive village with a church to match, St Andrew's being a mostly 14th/15th century structure in yellow/brown ironstone with limestone dressings giving that two-toned look that is such a pleasing feature of so many of Leicestershire's churches. It sits within a generously sized churchyard which adds so much to its picturesque charm.
The building consists of two main vessels, the nave and chancel that greet the visitor on approach and the north aisle and larger north chapel (whose east ends are similarly designed with large Perpendicular traceried windows side by side).
Within the church is darker and more atmospheric, the light level kept lower owing to a reasonable amount of Victorian glass. The medieval chancel screen remains in place and the nave roof is supported by some amusinglly quirky corbels.
This is an attractive and rewarding building to visit and happily is (or certainly was pre Covid) normally open for visitors during the day.
All of the upstairs windows got shrunken or removed by ridiculous brick infills. And the first floor got a '60s-'70s-style brick arrangement with phony shutters.
I like it because it is funny-looking. Personally I never felt like I needed for it to keep on looking the same way it did when it was new.
Do you think we should try to make off with that Lexus RX?
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In downtown Wellsburg, West Virginia, on July 8th, 2020, the T.H. Marks Building (built 1901) at the northeast corner of Main Street and 8th Street, in the Wellsburg Historic District (82004312 on the National Register of Historic Places).
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Vintage Spanish minicard. Polidor (Pasquali & Cie).
Ferdinand Guillaume (1887- 1977) was an Italian comical actor, famous in the 1910s as Tontolini and Polidor.
Ferdinand(o) Guillaume, the son of a well-bred European circus family once fled from France during the Revolution, was enrolled by the Cines company in 1910 together with his brother Natale and their wives. Guillaume was launched as the character Tontolini, in 1912 also known in Britain and the US as Jenkins. Guillaume provided Cines and Italy an international reputation in the field of comical films. His circus background was a clear consistency in his films. Actress Lea Giunchi was married to Natale (Natalino) Guillaume and often played as 'Lea' in the Tontolini comedies, before becoming the regular film partner of Kri-Kri (Raymond Frau), who more or less substituted Guillaume when the latter moved over to Pasquali.
After some 100 shorts as Tontolini, and after the success of his first feature-length film, Pinocchio (Giulio Antamoro, 1911), Ferdinand Guillaume went over to the Pasquali company. Here he created the character of Polidor (named after a horse in his previous circus shows), continuing his double profession of leading actor and director, being often the scriptwriter of his films too. Shooting some 100 films, up to four films a month, in the years 1912-1914, the Polidor films were distributed all over Europe and the US. Guillaume's output shrunk considerately from the outbreak of the First World War, although he still had a large output in 1916-1917. Guillaume managed to pursue a constant career in cinema until 1920, when his brother died in a plane crash during the shooting of a film. Guillaume had occasional come-backs in sound cinema, as in Fellini’s films Le notti di Cabiria (1957) and La dolce vita (1960), and in Pasolini's Accatone (1961). His last film part was that of an old actor in Fellini's Toby Dammitt (1968).
Sources: Italian Wikipedia, IMDB, Ivo Blom in Encyclopedia of Early Cinema (Routledge).
The Sleepwalker, by Tony Matelli, was part of the New Gravity art exhibit in 2014 at Wellesley College's Davis Museum. The statue was prominently displayed beside the main road through campus. It generated a great deal of controversial attention as well as countless "selfies" of Wellesley students posing with The Sleepwalker.
After my daughter Katie's senior recital we stopped to take a few memorable shots of her in her gown with the Sleepwalker. I put a few of those pictures in a slideshow with one of her recital songs, Villanelle, from Hector Berlioz's "Les nuits d'été".
Wellesley's Music and Art departments both featured the slideshow on their websites. There is a 10 second intro before the Sleepwalker appears in the photo montage.
January 22, 2014: A group of Adélie Penguins on the shores of Detaille Island on northern end of the Arrowsmith Peninsula in Graham Land, Antarctica. [DSC_2322]
Some religion salesmen were handing these out at Lexington Market here in Baltimore a few months after the attacks.
The weird thing for me is that this was pretty much the view I had from my boss' office in NYC that day.
Seeing the Second Plane Hit:
I’d tried to vote in the primary election that morning. I can’t remember if it was mayoral or something else. They couldn’t find my name at the polling place even though I’d received the little yellow card in the mail with that address on it. I was steamed; I went straight to work and up to my cubicle and called the election board to complain, ending my cranky voice-mail message with, “What is this, Florida!?!”
It was probably around 7:30 now, and I went back downstairs and outside for my morning glazed donut, diet soda (never really been a hot caffeine person), and cigarette breakfast (ahh, how I miss them still) near the water at the South Street Seaport. In the three months since I’d started at Prudential, it was always calming for me to start the mornings this way, getting to see the sun's gleam on the water, the sightseeing boaters preparing for their day, and the seafood houses already in the middle of theirs.
At 8:00 I went up to officially start my work day, checking emails and voicemails, taking care of a few things that had come over the department fax late from the night before. It was a while later that a manager, John, another early starter, came out of his office and said, “Come see this. The World Trade Center is on fire.”
It’s hard to say how many city blocks we were from the Towers. The streets at the south end of Manhattan wind so much; my best guess is that our building, 1 NY Plaza was about a mile away. In that building, our department was on the 35th floor. So, when I walked into John’s office, facing the towers, what I saw was surreal; there were flames for sure (no sign of the plane), but what I remember most was the endless stream of paper raining down outside from the upper floors, not yet touching the streets which meant whatever had happened must have just.
Though John was the first to see the flames, he hadn't seen the cause, and, as other coworkers started arriving, we all started speculating, with one of those weather/traffic copters getting the most votes. Nobody mentioned terrorism.
I called my roommate who at this time was working as a receptionist at my old company (a job I’d had a few years back) and told him the news. "The World Trade Center is on fire," I said.
“What,” he said.
“The World Trade Center is on fire.”
“What?”
“The. World. Trade. Center. Is. On. Fire.”
“Stop saying that!”
“Well, stop saying ‘what,’ then,” I said.
When he was finally convinced that I was not joking we speculated more.
“Well, how many times have we seen those little planes coming down over the skyline, coming so close,” he said, “it was bound to happen eventually.”
“Oh, geez the subway’s gonna be a mess. Ya think they’ll let us out early?” Yes, friends, I actually said that, and, no, I am not in the least proud of it. My only defenses are that I certainly was not thinking about death and suffering at the time and that I’d lived through the other attack on the WTC, the one in 1993, which, in my world lacked catastrophic devastation. We had a cousin who broke a foot in that one, but that was it.
“Yeah, I think they’ll probably let you out early,” he said, and I hung up, promising to fill him in on any other news.
By the time I made a quick call to family in Baltimore to let them know that they might hear something about the Trade Center on the news but that I was safe, my boss had come in and she said that, sure, I could watch things from her office while she went to get coffee. She had a great office with a great view, window covering an entire wall, and I just watched. Watched a building burn in an otherwise picture perfect blue sky. Watched the endless confetti cascading down like what I’d pictured from the old ticker-tape parades. Watched a few white fluffy clouds, seemingly oblivious in the distance.
Watched as yet another plane came zooming across the skyline.
This is where it gets hard to keep writing. Seeing the second plane hit…Remembering seeing the second plane hit still gives me a jolt to the spine. Seeing the second plane hit admits there might just be “evil” in the world, because seeing the second plane hit meant the first could not have been an accident. Seeing the second plane hit meant, temporarily at least, knowing there was a before and an after to that moment. Example: "the last time I laughed so hard I cried before 9/11 was during an old SCTV rerun two nights earlier where Andrea Martin was sending up a vintage Connie Francis album commercial. She sang, ‘I’ve lost my hearing and sight in one eye’ and 'I'm so unhappy are you unhappy too' as an announcer boasted, 'She depressed an entire generation.' That there was some funny shit, and I could use that laughter now, after."
For days after, seeing the second plane hit replayed constantly in my mind, not even making it to my subconscious until months later, really, when I was miles away, back in Baltimore. It was then that I finally had a nightmare about it, stolen, ironically from the opening to that old “Airplane” movie comedy. Instead of the tail of the plane moving through the clouds, however, in my dream, it was an entire big shiny plane heading toward the second tower in the big blue sky, but still to the "Jaws" theme, of course. In the dream, and in my memories since, I’ve wanted to be able to just reach through my boss’ office window and pluck the plane from the air, as if it were a toy one. But, well….
So the second plane hits with an explosion that I see but don’t hear through the thick layers of skyscraper window glass; I’m hearing coworkers in other offices scream instead.
“Gotta go,” I say, as my boss comes back with her coffee, and I do, right past my cube, saying nothing to anyone else, not bothering to log off and turn off my computer, bee-lining straight to the elevator before someone has the chance to tell me I can’t use it. Not too proud of that instinct to flee, either, but there it is. I’m guessing that the two other elevator passengers must have also seen the plane hit. She was shaking and crying and every time the elevator stopped on a floor, he ran out quickly to see if someone was really waiting and hurriedly returned, pressing the “door close” button as fast as he could. Down and out we scurried where we would mill about while the rest of the people in the building filtered down, indeed by the stairs. Madeleine, who was no fan of aerobic excercise at the time, was not thrilled with the walk, and Pam, upon coming outside asked if it was o.k. to smoke.
I said, “They just blew up the World Trade Center, Pam. Of course you can smoke!” And she and I probably smoked five or six cigarettes in a row waiting for word that we could go home. What was concerning me, in my paranoid state, was that, with the second plane coming roughly twenty minutes after the first, we could be due for another soon, and I just wanted out of there. Finally, we were given the o.k. to leave, and by this time we knew we were walking.
On the way, I found out about the Pentagon being attacked too and freaked again, (in a slightly jaded way this time), because I had family working in that area. Phones, however, were not an option as cells couldn’t get a signal, and the few pay phones one could find had lines at least twenty people deep. So, I just walked, and again I have to say, “surreal.” Surreal to see so many pedestrians, even as crowded as New York usually was. Surreal to see so many cars just abandoned. Surreal to see armed military personnel on the streets of Manhattan. Surreal to see a basketball game and rope-skipping at a schoolyard as if nothing had just happened blocks away.
And jarring to hear but not see, what one hoped, were our fighter planes overhead.
Taking a meandering journey through Chinatown I finally made my way to my roommate’s workplace where all hell was breaking loose. One of his company’s clients was American Express which had its offices very close to the WTC. Once the towers had collapsed (luckily I didn’t have to see that), the structure of the AmEx office building was also in question, and my roommate was frantically trying to find out if any of his coworkers were there for meetings. Still in a daze I stayed and helped him a little; but then I just went home, or rather, to my little neighborhood dive bar where others were already sobbing. Just didn’t want to be alone at that point.
The next days and nights are blurs what with all of the self-medicating and constant news-watching - how truly awful it was to see those that chose to jump.
Our offices and so many others downtown had to remain closed while soot and debris were removed. The burnt rubber smell, however, traveled uptown and lingered for a week. Flowers were everywhere and the posters of the missing went up and multiplied. With Manhattan in virtual lockdown, and because we had a police precinct (potential terrorist target it seems) on our block, we had to show i.d. and proof that we lived on our street before being let on. The Friday after, my roommate and I went to 1984, a retro club, to try and dance some of the depression away, but, rightly so, out of respect, it did not open.
This story ends slightly comically with the HR-sponsored grief session our company held the next Tuesday, when we were first allowed back to work. The first thing the counselors asked was, “how many of you saw either plane hit or either building collapse?” Everyone raised his hand and the counselors looked at each other as if they were in trouble.
Later, they warned against self-medication, “You want to stay away from alcohol, caffeine, nicotine and any illicit substances.” This got the biggest laugh because with a week off, paid no less, and with what we had seen stuck in our minds, all quite a few of us had done was self-medicate, one way or another.
Finally, just as the counselors were about to offer helpful suggestions on how to deal with the stress of the events, someone knocked on the door. Unfortunately, the entire building had to be evacuated due to a fire in the cafeteria. And poor Madeleine had to walk down those flights of stairs again.
And the cold I had became the flu.
Though her office wasn’t near the site - I checked later - I still think about that election worker and the nasty voice-mail message I left for her comparing New York to Florida. How wrong I was about that and how not-so great to know that it was either one of the last things she heard before, or one of the first things she heard after, her 9/11.
Dressed up snowmen at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
These wonderful and comical snowmen are along Winding Lane. Goes to show that our Canadian agricultural scientists do indeed have a great sense of humor!
The original had comically large wheels and a disproportionate wheel base. I shortened the wheel base by three studs and the overall length by two and a bit, reworked the front end, tweaked the color scheme, made it a 7-wide and lost all the playabiity of the original.
Italian postcard by Magazine Film - corriere dei cinematografici, Napoli/Roma. Photo: Roseo & Co, Naples / Caesar Film.
Camillo De Riso (1854-1924) was an Italian actor and director of the Italian stage and screen, most famous for his comic acting and directing at the companies Ambrosio, Gloria, and Caesar.
Camillo De Riso was born in Naples on 20 November 1854, as the son of Alfonso De Riso, a stage actor who was most popular in the 19th century. Camillo started in the theatre company of his father in the early years of the 20th century, after which he created his own company together with Giuseppe Sichel and Giuseppe Brignone.In 1912 he was hired by Ambrosio Film in Turin, where he formed a successful trio with Gigetta Morano and Eleuterio Rodolfi, contributing with his rotund face, small size and generous look of bourgeois bonhomme. Examples are Un successo diplomatico and L’oca alla Colbert, both 1913 and both directed by Rodolfi. The films of the trio were often based on Italian and French fin de siecle pochades and grew in length over the years. In late 1913 De Riso started at the Gloria company. Here he created the gay epicure and shameless libertine character of ‘Camillo’, and directed himself in this series of comical shorts between 1913 and 1914. He also performed in feature films, a.o. as the theatre impresario Schaudard in Lyda Borelli’s debut film Ma l’amor mio non muore (Love Everlasting, Mario Caserini 1913), and as the unfortunate Giuliano Barbet in Florette e Patapon (Caserini 1913), an adaptation of the famous pochade by Hennequin and Véber. While De Riso also acted in epics and thrillers such as Caserini’s films Nerone e Agrippina and Il treno degli spettri (both 1913), he more and more specialized as the comedian, either in the lead in comedies or as the sidekick in dramas. At Gloria he was also a director, starting with the comedies Somnambulismo (1913) and Romanticismo (1913), and stayed there until 1915. In 1914 De Riso shortly worked for the small Rome based company Latium Film, where he a.o. directed and acted in an adaptation of Zola’s Nana (1914).
From 1915 on Camillo De Riso’s career took a new turn, when he started working at the Roman Caesar Film company. Here he not only continued his Camillo comedies, well into the early 1920s. He also acted in a long series of films with diva Francesca Bertini. At Caesar, Bertini then had quite a fixed cast around her including De Riso, Gustavo Serena, Olga and Carlo Benetti, Alfredo De Antoni, and Giuseppe De Liguoro. The men of this group often also functioned as directors as well, including De Riso. Titles include: La signora delle camelie (Gustavo Serena, 1915), La perla del cinema (Giuseppe De Liguoro, 1916), My little baby (De Liguoro, 1916), Odette (De Liguoro, 1916), Andreina (Serena, 1917), the series of I sette peccati capitali (The Seven Moral Sins, 1918-1919, several directors) – of which De Riso directed himself the episode La gola (1918) – Mariute (Edoardo Bencivenga, 1918), and Spiritismo (De Riso, 1919). De Riso also directed other popular actresses of the late 1910s such as Leda Gys (La principessa, 1917, which he also scripted), Tilde Kassay (Niniche, 1918; I nostri buoni villici, 1918; La figlia unica, 1919; Una donna funesta/Nanà, 1919), and Elena Lunda (Una donna, una mummia, un diplomatico, 1920), but in the early 1920s De Riso mostly directed his own Camillo comical shorts, and he even did a parody of Shakespeare’s Otello in 1920 (which the press didn’t like). Memorable parts De Riso played in A San Francisco (Serena, 1915), Don Giovanni (Bencivenga, 1916), the Sardou adaptation Ferréol (Bencivenga, 1916), and lastly, in Occupati d’Amelia (Telemaco Ruggeri, 1923), the adaptation of a famous Feydeau boulevard comedy, and starring Pina Menichelli and Marcel Levesque. De Riso contributed to over a 100 films, mostly comedies, and directed some 65 films, until his premature death in Rome on 2 April 1924.
Sources: Italian Wikipedia, Encyclopedia of Early Cinema, IMDB.
Young and old alike will be fascinated by the incredible LEGO models throughout the park. From comical camels to fearsome fire-breathing dragons, world landmarks to musical pirates, it's amazing what can be built with LEGO bricks - nearly 55 million of them!
LEGO Star Wars Miniland Experience - Take a trip to a galaxy far, far away at the UK’s only indoor LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland Experience at the LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort. Enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action Star Wars movies, as well as a scene from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars™ all made out of 1.5 million LEGO® bricks built in 1:20 scale. Follow the chronological path through the Star Wars timeline and retrace the major events of the beloved Saga featuring 2,000 LEGO® models, authentic sounds and lighting effects in the ultimate LEGO® Star Wars experience. Open March 2012.
Staying in a fully LEGO themed hotel is a truly unforgettable experience you really can't get anywhere else...open your curtains and you're right in the heart of LEGOLAND!
Whether you stay and explore the park or stay on a room only basis, the Resort Hotel promises to be a short break paradise for any LEGO fan!
Be prepared to laugh as excitedly as your children when you enter one of the new LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel’s themed rooms.
A sign on the ceiling of a shop in Glastonbury warning those entering that a zombie lies in wait within. Whoever looks at the sign further away may feel less worried!
Young and old alike will be fascinated by the incredible LEGO models throughout the park. From comical camels to fearsome fire-breathing dragons, world landmarks to musical pirates, it's amazing what can be built with LEGO bricks - nearly 55 million of them!
LEGO Star Wars Miniland Experience - Take a trip to a galaxy far, far away at the UK’s only indoor LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland Experience at the LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort. Enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action Star Wars movies, as well as a scene from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars™ all made out of 1.5 million LEGO® bricks built in 1:20 scale. Follow the chronological path through the Star Wars timeline and retrace the major events of the beloved Saga featuring 2,000 LEGO® models, authentic sounds and lighting effects in the ultimate LEGO® Star Wars experience. Open March 2012.
Staying in a fully LEGO themed hotel is a truly unforgettable experience you really can't get anywhere else...open your curtains and you're right in the heart of LEGOLAND!
Whether you stay and explore the park or stay on a room only basis, the Resort Hotel promises to be a short break paradise for any LEGO fan!
Be prepared to laugh as excitedly as your children when you enter one of the new LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel’s themed rooms.
A young wanderer, named Sapna, arrives in Goa to become a dancer and soon sets her way making and breaking to become the Star of the City. Read the story at comicales.com.
Connect with U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz
U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz web site
Soldiers at Vogelweh remember fallen CID special agent
By Rick Scavetta, U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – Sunshine and somber music filled Vogelweh’s chapel as Army law enforcement Soldiers honored the memory of Sgt. Joseph Peters – the first special agent from the Army's Criminal Investigation Command, known as CID – to die in combat since the command was established in 1971.
Peters, 24, of Springfield, Mo., was killed Oct. 6 by enemy explosives in Zhari District, near Kandahar, Afghanistan.
“The thin blue line is truly thinner today,” said Sgt. Justin Link, using a colloquial term for police forces known well to the gathering of mostly military police Soldiers.
Peters enlisted in 2007, working in Army intelligence. He deployed to Iraq in 2008 and 2009. Promoted to sergeant in 2010, Peters became a CID special agent and was posted to the 286th Military Police Detachment in Vicenza, Italy – a close-knit team of 12 Soldiers and Italian employees. At Caserma Ederle, Peters invested 60 felony-level investigations. He was a diligent and determined agent who liked to break the seriousness of police work with good humor, said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Chris Kellenberger.
“He worked hard,” Kellenberger said. “He was fun to be around. He liked to have a good time and loved what he was doing. He’d be serious when he needed to, to get his job done.”
In April 2013, he deployed to Afghanistan in support U.S. Special Operations Command. Part of an elite team, Peters took part in classified missions in remotes areas.
At the service, Peters’ wife Ashley and their son Gabriel sat in the first pews with Peters’ parents, Dennis and Debbie. The family traveled from Missouri to take part in the memorial. Soldiers quietly reflected as Pfc. Anthony Oliveira, from the Wiesbaden CID unit, played a spiritual on his guitar. Outside, Soldiers from the 18th Military Police Brigade fired volleys followed by a bugler sounding Taps.
Although casualties among CID Soldiers are rare, the dangers they face each day – either in garrison or deployed to combat zones – are not, said Lt. Col. Sarah K. Albrycht, commander of the 5th MP Battalion.
“The loss of agent Peters was a shock,” Albrycht said. “It hurts so much to lose one of your own.”
Peters was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star with valor, the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the NATO Medal and the Combat Action Badge.
The U.S. Army Europe command team, Lt. Gen. Donald M. Campbell Jr. and Command Sgt. Maj. David S. Davenport Sr., attended the service, as did several senior Army and Air Force leaders from the Kaiserslautern Military Community. After a chaplain’s prayer, Peters’ coworkers and friends spoke about their fallen comrade.
For a few days, the office was in disbelief, Kellenberger said.
“Since then we’ve accepted it. It’s the nature of what we volunteered to do,” Kellenberger said. “With that acceptance, we’ve become a little more lighthearted. We tell stories about Joe.”
Peters was both mentor and friend to Link, 26, of North Brunswick, N.J., who arrived in Vicenza a year after Peters.
As CID agents, they investigated felony crimes from assaults to drugs and larcenies.
“We started working cases together. He was my partner,” Link said. “He was a ‘bro’ at heart. He was the guy, when we’re getting ready to go home, would ask, ‘Who wants to go get a beer?’”
Close in age and younger than their colleagues, the agents found solace at the Arena, Caserma Ederle’s on-post watering hole, talking over Hefeweizen beers – a way to leave the days stressors behind.
A heavy metal music fan and budding guitarist, Peters was known for his energy. In Italy, they visited castles and nearby Soave. Another memorable trip was to Edelweiss Resort in Garmisch. Germany.
“He loved to get out. He didn’t like sitting at home. He always wanted to do something,” Link said. “He had a lot of energy. That rubbed off on everybody in the office.”
When Peters deployed, Link missed hanging out with his buddy. The office was much quieter.
That Sunday, Oct. 6, Link was catching up on “Breaking Bad” episodes when Peters’ wife, Ashley, sent him a message from the States saying his friend was dead. He sat for couple minutes just shaking his head.
“I was expecting it to just be a mistake, to find out a couple hours later that it was the wrong Joe Peters or (they) mixed his social security number up or something,” Link said. “I just couldn’t believe it.”
Link called Staff Sgt. Brian Mason, who was at home, looking for his keys and getting ready for supper with his girlfriend.
“I got some news for you,” Mason recalled Link saying. “Joe got blown up.”
“Is he all right?” Mason asked.
“No,” Link said. “He’s gone.”
Mason, 31, of Carlsbad, N.M., tried to keep his composure, but the tears came quickly.
“It was devastating. I was in disbelief,” Mason said. “It was a very somber moment for me.”
Peters was just two weeks shy of coming home, Link said. While on assignment in Germany, Link found a case of Samuel Adams Octoberfest beer, to celebrate once Peters returned. The case never was opened. Peters’ friends plan to drink it and celebrate his memory, Link said.
Shortly before his death, Peters mailed a flag he’d carried on a mission to Mason. But Mason, who also served in Afghanistan, wanted to wait until Peters returned to Vicenza to open it – a decision he said he now regrets.
“I was looking forward to him coming back,” Mason said.
A week after Peters’ death, Mason looked inside. Along with the flag was a hand-scrawled note filled with Peters’ comical sense of humor, Mason said, both smiling and tearful as he recalled his friend’s gesture.
“I waited to open it,” Mason said. “I never got a chance to say, ‘Thank You.’”
TO DOWNLOAD: Want to download your high resolution image?
At the Flickr site, find the photo you want to download/share.
1. Click on the image.
2. In the lower right corner you will see three dots . . . Click that
3. Click “View all sizes”
4. The photo reopens in a new window, under Sizes, choose the size of the image you want to save
5. Click “Download” and save the file to your hard drive.
Or just grab the link and send it to family and friends...
Street Gang - "Street Gang is the compelling, comical, and inspiring story of a media masterpiece and pop-culture landmark. Television reporter and columnist Michael Davis-with the complete participation of Joan Ganz Cooney, one of the show's founders-unveils the idealistic personalities, decades of social and cultural change, stories of compassion and personal sacrifice, and miraculous efforts of writers, producers, directors, and puppeteers that together transformed an empty soundstage into the most recognizable block of real estate in television history." -- from www.barnesandnoble.com
Despite feeling like I needed a scorecard sometimes to keep track of the names of all the performers/producers/investors behind the show, I really enjoyed this book. I never before realized all the thought, planning and research that went into creating Sesame Street.
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Fever Dream - "...in their 10th thriller featuring brilliant and eccentric FBI agent Aloysius
Pendergast...For 12 years, Pendergast has believed that the death of his wife, Helen, in the jaws of a ferocious red-maned lion in Zambia was just a tragedy, but his chance examination of the gun she carried on the fateful day reveals that someone loaded it with blanks. Pendergast drags his longtime NYPD ally, Lt. Vincent D'Agosta, into a leave of absence that includes travel to Africa as well as the American South. The motive for Helen's murder appears to be linked to her fascination with John James Audubon and her quest for a mysterious lost Audubon painting." -- from www.amazon.com
Another great book from Preston & Child...this time with a lovely little cliffhanger leaving me waiting impatiently for spring 2011 when the next Pendergast novel comes out :)
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Red Pyramid - "Since their mother's death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane. One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a "research experiment" at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives. Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them —Set— has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe - a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the
pharaohs." -- from www.barnesandnoble.com
This book was very similar to the "Percy Jackson" series in many ways but different enough that I enjoyed it without feeling like I was reading the same thing over again...definitely recommend it, especially if you liked "Harry Potter", "Charlie Bone", "Percy Jackson", etc.
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Nine Parts of Desire - "...is the story of Brooks' intrepid journey toward an understanding of the women behind the veils, and of the often contradictory political, religious, and cultural forces that shape their lives." -- from www.barnesandnoble.com
This was an amazing book and I'm so glad I grabbed it off the library shelf. I think this was the most in depth look I've had into the world of Muslim women and it truly opened my eyes to some of the joys and horrors of modern life as an Islamic female.
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Mornings in Jenin - "Forcibly removed from the ancient village of Ein Hod by the newly formed state of Israel in 1948, the Abulhejas are moved into the Jenin refugee camp. There, exiled from his beloved olive groves, the family patriarch languishes of a broken heart, his eldest son fathers a family and falls victim to an Israeli bullet, and his grandchildren struggle against tragedy toward freedom, peace, and home. This is the Palestinian story, told as never before, through four generations of a single family." -- from www.barnesandnoble.com
This was a very good book and I liked it very much. It was a very moving book and, even
though I've read other stories about the tragedies of war, this story hit me very hard. It may be the first book I've read and liked that I wasn't all that keen about reading again.
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Poet Prince - "...researcher Maureen Paschal, who's been feverishly investigating the
Confraternity of Saint Mary Magdalen, uncovers juicy information about the gospel known as the Libro Rosso and the Order of the Holy Sepulcher. She heads for Florence, where her preternaturally ancient mentor, Destino, reveals the arcane past of Lorenzo de' Medici, the great Poet Prince and father of the Renaissance. Apparently, Lorenzo secretly married Lucrezia Donati, the Colombina or little dove featured in a number of Botticelli paintings. Maureen must also confront problems with her soul mate, Scottish oil mogul Bérenger Sinclair, after a glamorous ex claims he's fathered her son." -- from www.amazon.com
I've just started this book but I what I've read so far, I've liked. I really hope she's managed to keep things fresh in this third book of the series and that the plot won't get stale and tired when she's run out of religious contraversies to write about.
Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame -- Started: May 6, 2010 Finished: May 9, 2010
Fever Dream -- Started: May 13, 2010 Finished: May 14, 2010
The Red Pyramid -- Started: May 14, 2010 Finished: May 17, 2010
Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women -- Started: May 26, 2010 Finished: May 27, 2010
Mornings in Jenin -- Started: May 27, 2010 Finished: May 28, 2010
The Poet Prince -- Started: May 28, 2010 Finished: May 30, 2010
25 Book Challenge 2010 Books #35, #36, #37, #38, #39 & #40
No known copyright restrictions. Please credit UBC Library as the image source. For more information, see digitalcollections.library.ubc.ca/cdm/about.
Creator: Unknown
Date Created: 1923
Source: Original Format: University of British Columbia. Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. Arkley Croquet Collection.
Permanent URL: digitalcollections.library.ubc.ca/cdm/ref/collection/arkl...
German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, no. 505/2. Photo: Oliver-Film. Paul Heidemann in Die Liebesfalle (N.N., 1917).
Paul Heidemann (1884-1968) was a German stage and screen actor, film director and film producer. He was famous for his comical parts.
David Oliver (1880-1947), died November 11, 1947 in London) was an Austrian-born film producer of German silent films.
David Oliver was born David Olivenbaum, on February 6, 1880, in Unizh, Western Galicia (then Austria-Hungary, now Ukraine). He was of Jewish faith. To avoid the pogroms that flared up again and again in his homeland, he turned west and opened a cinema in Bremen in 1905, after he had recognized the business opportunities that this new form of entertainment offered him. Successful as a film salesman, he then built large cinema palaces in Hanover, Dresden, Halle and above all in Leipzig. Ten years later he owned his own film company. When the First World War broke out in 1914, his company, the Berlin Oliver-Film GmbH, controlled around 25 percent of the German film market. Oliver also headed the Nordische Films Co., so he was head of the German distribution organization of Nordisk Film, which had been operating in Copenhagen since 1906, and for which top people such as Urban Gad, Valdemar Psilander and Asta Nielsen worked or had worked.
The Berlin Oliver-Film GmbH produced feature films and documentaries. One of the stars was the Berlin actress Dorrit Weixler, with whom several films were made from 1915 onward, often comedies with her first name in the title. Another prominent star of Oliver-Film was Hilde Wörner, while less frequent were the comedians Paul Heidemann (known as Paulchen and Teddy), Erika Glässner, Herbert Paulmuller, Melitta Petri and Leo Peukert. Oliver also produced some detective films with Max Landa, such as Der Mann ohne Kopf and Der Hund mit dem Monokel, both from 1916. The documentaries of Oliver-Film included images of nature and landscapes from the near as well as the more distant surroundings, city portraits as well as general or popular educational character and war reports. In the Spring of 1915, Oliver acquired Paul Davidson's entire chain of Union theaters. Together with Emil Georg von Stauß and Alexander Grau, he was one of the founding fathers of UFA in November 1917, after Nordisk had teamed up with other German film companies and the Supreme Army Command under General Erich Ludendorff had given their blessing.
In the 1920s, Oliver shifted the focus of his ventures from film production to the rental and theater business. In Berlin-Charlottenburg he had Hans Poelzig build the Capitol Theater with over 1,300 seats. It opened on December 20, 1925 with the film The Thief of Baghdad. In 1929 Oliver was involved in the construction of what was then the largest movie theater in Europe with 2,667 seats, the magnificent UFA-Palast in Hamburg. On April 1, 1933, UFA dismissed all employees of Jewish descent, including Oliver. On March 21, 1934, somebody threw a hand grenade to a taxi in which Oliver was sitting. Oliver remained unharmed but decided to emigrate to Spain. There he was able to found his own company again, the Iberica Films, and produce some films with it. But had to flee again after the outbreak of the Civil War in 1936 and the rise of fascism in Spain too, so this time he moved to England. In London he helped Alexander Korda, who was himself an emigrant, to set up Denham Studios, which were the most modern studio facilities in the United Kingdom at the time. Until his death in November 1947 he was head of Denham Studios Laboratories there. David Oliver died on 11. November 1947 in London-Pancras - he was 67 years old.
His grandson Mark Oliver, born 1966, is an actor and film producer in Canada. In 2013 he shot the documentary UFA MAN… The Story of Movie Pioneer David Oliver for HBO about the life and work of his grandfather.
Source: German Wikipedia, IMDB, www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/movie-guide/german+fil...
Near comical mismatch in proportion of the man to horse. My wife and Lando both quickly identified the horse head as the source of the issue.
A young wanderer, named Sapna, arrives in Goa to become a dancer and soon sets her way making and breaking to become the Star of the City. Read the story at comicales.com.
A young wanderer, named Sapna, arrives in Goa to become a dancer and soon sets her way making and breaking to become the Star of the City. Read the story at comicales.com.
Dressed up snowmen at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
These wonderful and comical snowmen are along Winding Lane. Goes to show that our Canadian agricultural scientists do indeed have a great sense of humor!
Young and old alike will be fascinated by the incredible LEGO models throughout the park. From comical camels to fearsome fire-breathing dragons, world landmarks to musical pirates, it's amazing what can be built with LEGO bricks - nearly 55 million of them!
LEGO Star Wars Miniland Experience - Take a trip to a galaxy far, far away at the UK’s only indoor LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland Experience at the LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort. Enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action Star Wars movies, as well as a scene from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars™ all made out of 1.5 million LEGO® bricks built in 1:20 scale. Follow the chronological path through the Star Wars timeline and retrace the major events of the beloved Saga featuring 2,000 LEGO® models, authentic sounds and lighting effects in the ultimate LEGO® Star Wars experience. Open March 2012.
Staying in a fully LEGO themed hotel is a truly unforgettable experience you really can't get anywhere else...open your curtains and you're right in the heart of LEGOLAND!
Whether you stay and explore the park or stay on a room only basis, the Resort Hotel promises to be a short break paradise for any LEGO fan!
Be prepared to laugh as excitedly as your children when you enter one of the new LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel’s themed rooms.
What in the world is the comical pic about? Inspiration from lolcats: lolcat.com/pics/takethis.jpg After seeing that picture, I was randomly inspired to do this. Honestly, this should be on a billboard. LoL! Now contraceptives, safe sex, and being smart about what you do are very important things. That all should be take seriously. This picture is more of a parody, a joke, for humor and the love of it... showing the funnier side to human nature. It's ok to laugh, we're all thinking the same thing.
Young and old alike will be fascinated by the incredible LEGO models throughout the park. From comical camels to fearsome fire-breathing dragons, world landmarks to musical pirates, it's amazing what can be built with LEGO bricks - nearly 55 million of them!
LEGO Star Wars Miniland Experience - Take a trip to a galaxy far, far away at the UK’s only indoor LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland Experience at the LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort. Enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action Star Wars movies, as well as a scene from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars™ all made out of 1.5 million LEGO® bricks built in 1:20 scale. Follow the chronological path through the Star Wars timeline and retrace the major events of the beloved Saga featuring 2,000 LEGO® models, authentic sounds and lighting effects in the ultimate LEGO® Star Wars experience. Open March 2012.
Staying in a fully LEGO themed hotel is a truly unforgettable experience you really can't get anywhere else...open your curtains and you're right in the heart of LEGOLAND!
Whether you stay and explore the park or stay on a room only basis, the Resort Hotel promises to be a short break paradise for any LEGO fan!
Be prepared to laugh as excitedly as your children when you enter one of the new LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel’s themed rooms.
365 Project - Day 348
“Oberfinanzdirektion” - a quintessential German word. Comically long, denoting a hyper bureaucratic institution that roughly translates to regional finance office. Today’s architectural shot housed said office from the mid 1950’s to 2009. It is such a perfect example for Germany’s 1950’s functional, getting-things-done architecture, that it has been designated as a protected site of historic interest. It is, however, also contaminated and beyond renovation efforts, which means it’ll be torn down in the near future. I shot it during the Golden Hour which brought out the graffiti and the facade’s colours nicely, but the dynamics where still to intense for a normal photograph so I once again had to resort to a tone mapped HDR.
Behold, all the mobile devices I've ever owned, from the ever so comical pink 3310 to the brick monster like e61i. Digging them all out sure did bring back some memroeis. None of them were broken or stolen, I do take care of my stuff :)
It was around the 3310 and 3100 phase where I paid very little attention to phones, I simply bought what was required and used it merely for texting and phoning folks. There were phones with cameras and mp3 players but back then I had a digital compact and an iriver so I really didn't need one that was below that quality. The pink phone was a right joke back in my days and 6th form, back then was the time I thought it was cool to go for the most rediculous thing that noone would get and claim your coolness there (not sure how that panned out tbh). The next phone (3100) was a quick choice since it was the cheapest one that had a colour screen (colour screens were cool back then) and yeah, I loved the design and the tackyness of it all. You could throw it a few times and not worry much about it breaking, the keys were rubbery and the case glew in the dark. Got to love gimmick values
Around the time I started my placement year I began demanding more, mainly because I felt like I'm doing quite a lot of things outdoors which would be utilised better if I was say, online or something. This was where the n70 popped out and I bought it second hand. I abused all the features including tethering which was pretty neat back in those days. My crazy 7 hour journeys to and from Leeds on the megabus was thus solved with constant interweb surfing and whatnot.
It was only when I started my proper job did I demand for something that not only allows me to kill time when I'm out, but find things to productively do. I purchased an e61i which sported a nice lovely QWERTY keyboard since I reckon num pads were no longer cool. I didn't look back, really enjoyed typing on the keyboard and work has thus increased even when I'm out and about.
The spot on the right is obviously my next one, and since it was only announced yesterday, no prizes for what I'll be getting for my next phone. Yup, after 7 years of Nokia loyalty I'm finally jumping the boat with an iPhone. Nothing sorted just yet mind, but the idea is that I'd buy the latest iPhone 3GS when it comes out on the 19th. I haven't signed up on a waiting list or anything yet so I'm slightly skeptical on whether I'll get one in the first place. The old phone worked really well but now I would like to make use of all those iPhone comaptible web apps that go well with what I do, stuff like flickr/gmail/muse board are all so much better in iPhone format. God bless Safari, not only that the Maps feature and other apps you can get just adds the cherry on top.
So yeah, that's a brief history of my phones I've ever owned.
But yeah, enough of me, share me your mobile phone stories :D
Ravens are very intelligent birds, and sometimes totally comical......here, this Raven clearly wanted a PHOTOSHOOT.
Young and old alike will be fascinated by the incredible LEGO models throughout the park. From comical camels to fearsome fire-breathing dragons, world landmarks to musical pirates, it's amazing what can be built with LEGO bricks - nearly 55 million of them!
LEGO Star Wars Miniland Experience - Take a trip to a galaxy far, far away at the UK’s only indoor LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland Experience at the LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort. Enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action Star Wars movies, as well as a scene from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars™ all made out of 1.5 million LEGO® bricks built in 1:20 scale. Follow the chronological path through the Star Wars timeline and retrace the major events of the beloved Saga featuring 2,000 LEGO® models, authentic sounds and lighting effects in the ultimate LEGO® Star Wars experience. Open March 2012.
Staying in a fully LEGO themed hotel is a truly unforgettable experience you really can't get anywhere else...open your curtains and you're right in the heart of LEGOLAND!
Whether you stay and explore the park or stay on a room only basis, the Resort Hotel promises to be a short break paradise for any LEGO fan!
Be prepared to laugh as excitedly as your children when you enter one of the new LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel’s themed rooms.
So I decided to do something comical today and took Blastoise out for a stroll, we came across this lawn ornament and we went hysterical! I think it might have been his father :P
Young and old alike will be fascinated by the incredible LEGO models throughout the park. From comical camels to fearsome fire-breathing dragons, world landmarks to musical pirates, it's amazing what can be built with LEGO bricks - nearly 55 million of them!
LEGO Star Wars Miniland Experience - Take a trip to a galaxy far, far away at the UK’s only indoor LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland Experience at the LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort. Enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action Star Wars movies, as well as a scene from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars™ all made out of 1.5 million LEGO® bricks built in 1:20 scale. Follow the chronological path through the Star Wars timeline and retrace the major events of the beloved Saga featuring 2,000 LEGO® models, authentic sounds and lighting effects in the ultimate LEGO® Star Wars experience. Open March 2012.
Staying in a fully LEGO themed hotel is a truly unforgettable experience you really can't get anywhere else...open your curtains and you're right in the heart of LEGOLAND!
Whether you stay and explore the park or stay on a room only basis, the Resort Hotel promises to be a short break paradise for any LEGO fan!
Be prepared to laugh as excitedly as your children when you enter one of the new LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel’s themed rooms.
Young and old alike will be fascinated by the incredible LEGO models throughout the park. From comical camels to fearsome fire-breathing dragons, world landmarks to musical pirates, it's amazing what can be built with LEGO bricks - nearly 55 million of them!
LEGO Star Wars Miniland Experience - Take a trip to a galaxy far, far away at the UK’s only indoor LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland Experience at the LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort. Enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action Star Wars movies, as well as a scene from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars™ all made out of 1.5 million LEGO® bricks built in 1:20 scale. Follow the chronological path through the Star Wars timeline and retrace the major events of the beloved Saga featuring 2,000 LEGO® models, authentic sounds and lighting effects in the ultimate LEGO® Star Wars experience. Open March 2012.
Staying in a fully LEGO themed hotel is a truly unforgettable experience you really can't get anywhere else...open your curtains and you're right in the heart of LEGOLAND!
Whether you stay and explore the park or stay on a room only basis, the Resort Hotel promises to be a short break paradise for any LEGO fan!
Be prepared to laugh as excitedly as your children when you enter one of the new LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel’s themed rooms.
1992 was very much a continuation of the trends of 1991. More older Joes got new figures, even ones from as late as 1988, like Shockwave. There were other nice new versions of Gung Ho, Wild Bill, Roadblock, Cutter (pictured here, albeit on a Funskool card with comically bad artwork and an unusual specialty as an "anti-tank cannon expert"!) and Mutt. The Duke form this year is okay and has a bit of a "Desert Storm" feel to him which makes sense considering the year, an even more blatantly Desert Storm-ish version would come out the next year. The Eco Warriors line added two new versions of veteran Joes, Barbecue (you could actually see his face this time! I find myself actually liking this version of Barbecue a bit) and yet another Deep Six, who would not be so bad except for some unforgivably bad bright green and magenta highlights. He came with a dolphin, which isn't quite as goofy as it sounds (the US Navy sometimes uses trained dolphins in their operations) which had a super rare "killer whale" variant. This was the last year we would see any Joes or Cobras come with any animal buddies in the vintage line. There was also a new version of Spirit, which was ok except for his neon green shirt. Wetsuit (pictured here) also got the neon treatment, but the black and yellow contrast actually sort of works on him. This version is neat because he can actually remove his (sadly unrealistic looking) diving helmet, something no previous version could do, so we can actually see his face and his VERY 90's mullet! Ace also got an update, the 90's Ace was actually more realistic than the 80's version, which looked more like an astronaut than an airman.
Returning old Joes definitely outnumbered the newbies this year. New characters of note was another fantastic Oktober Guardsman, Big Bear (pictured here) and in another rare comic book tie-in, a character that was supposed to be the son of the Joe teams original XO, General Flagg (which is also a great figure I wish I had). Most of the new characters were limited to the new special teams for this year, the Ninja Force (led by a nice, put poorly articulated new version of Storm Shadow) and the D.E.F. (Drug Elimination Force).
The Ninja Force figures were an attempt by Hasbro to cash in on the perceived "ninja craze". I say perceived because I don't think there really was much of one. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were dominating the toy aisles at this point, and they were ninjas, but I don't think this was the main thing that made them popular and Hasbro failed to understand that. Ninja Force was an attempt to steal some of that TMNT magic. Maybe it did sort of work, as the Ninja Force stuck around longer than any other special teams, for 3 years right up until the end of the vintage line. Thye even sort of took over the comic book for awhile which was called "GI Joe featuring Snake Eyes and the Ninja Force" for awhile. Ninja Force characters are usually not too popular with us collectors as many of them feature unusually bright colors (like this T'bang figure that is pictured here and was given to me - I've actually had TWO of them given to me, he is that unpopular!) for ninjas, and "action features" that limit their articulation and make them difficult to pose. Despite this, there are actually a handful of Ninja Force figures that aren't too bad, like the aforementioned Storm Shadow. Nunchuck is a pretty cool Ninja Force figure and a character that was revived in the early 2000's as a passable stand in for the deceased Quick Kick.
The D.E.F. is another controversial sub team that clumsily attempted to bring real world issues to the fantasy world of GI Joe. at the time, I was not disturbed by this. I was a bit of a "straight edge" punk at this point in my life, so I was definitely anti drugs. I knew that US special forces sometimes intervened in the "War on Drugs" by aiding South American governments, so the D.E.F. didn't seem too far fetched to me. However as an adult, I can appreciate what a useless waste of money and resources the whole "War on Drugs" is in ways I could not as a teenager. There is no denying that most of the D.E.F. figures are pretty cool though, I am especially fond of their leader, a new character named Bullet-Proof, which is a nice, solid military looking figure which I plan to add to my collection soon.The '92 version was even free of neon, as were all the '92 D.E.F. figures, even the bad guys.
All in all, I think '92 was a pretty good year, at least on the Joe side. There were still a lot of good figures and nice versions of old characters, even Ninja Force was sort of subdued compared to how crazy it would become in the next few years.
The comical little clock, Pendule, from Beauty & The Beast-
Sand Sculpture Festival in Noordwijk, held in September 2009.
Nothing on reverse except the photographer's details: Fr. Breidenbach, München.
A diminutive Bavarian infantryman (Landwehr?) looks almost comical in his over sized transitional tunic and corduroy trousers. Let's hope he had time to call into a tailor before he departed for the front.
He is armed with a Gew 98 rifle fitted with an all-steel ersatz bayonet.
Alb. II