Andrew Loomis was a successful graphic artist that authored several excellent “how to” books on illustration in a variety of media. The page above is from “Fun With A Pencil,” a book my grandfather had that I memorized when I was a young tad.
First published in 1939, this book has all the basics of graphic design covered, with an emphasis on cartooning and caricature of the human form. Proportion, balance, lighting, perspective are all covered with graphic examples.
I had forgotten about the book until Loomis’ name popped up at Neatorama and memory bells went off in my brain… couldn’t be the same Loomis, but it was.
Now his books, including his first one “Fun With A Pencil,” may be downloaded for free via link found at Process Junkie. The download is a .rar zip file with every page in .pdf format. I had to chase down another shareware program to open it. Believe me, the trouble is worth it.
… you better have a good reason and know what you’re doing.
If you stupidly decide to mess with a Veteran, understand that Veterans each have at least one can within arm’s reach at all times, and they all know how to use it. Comes with experience.
For everyone else, you can create your own can labels here. Give a can of Whoop-Ass to someone who’s earned it.
According to Arbroath, this was Guiness’ most expensive television advertisement to date, costing 10m pounds (about $2.1 million US bucks). Filmed in a village in Argentina, the whole town came out to watch. If our crack webminers can find a link to a “making of” video, we’ll update this post, but it’s more likely we’ll just tip a stout and be done with it.
Totally unrelated to the video above, our crack webminers turned up a video from 1970, from the Flip Wilson Show. This broadcast changed my life… or at least a good part of it.
The band appeared at Woodstock. Yes, that Woodstock, 1969. These guys played alongside Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Crosby Stills & Nash, Mountain, Arlo Guthrie, Country Joe & the Finch, Richie Havens, Carlos Santana, Joni Mitchell, Melanie, Joan B. Depressed, Bobby Bieber and the SlimJims, Brittney Spears, etc.
Bunk was too young to attend Woodstock, but Bunk was allowed to watch TV. This is what Bunky witnessed at his grandparents house and loved it. ShaNaNa was IT.
This was Bunk’s introduction to DooWop. ShaNaNa sent me on a mission to hear the original versions by the Marcels, the Paragons, Dion, Gene Chandler, the Isley Brothers, the Zodiacs, the Del-Vikings, the Chips, the Chords, the Channels, Harvey & the Moonglows, Shep and the Limelights, the Ronnettes, the Shirelles, Leon Redbone, Led Zeppelin, Dread Zeppelin, Bob Marley and the Wailers, the Police, the Ramones, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, the Stray Cats, Frank Zappa, the Aquabats, the Skatalites, Moms Mabley and the Beat Farmers (featuring the late Country Dick Montana)… and not necessarily in that order. Oh, and I forgot the Solid Voidz featuring Big Don P.
Fill in the band(s) I might have missed in the comments section.
Yes, folks, we’ve all seen it on TV, the one and only “Miraculously Pepper-Minty Faith-Enhancing Breathspray.”
Made from habanero chili oil, all it takes is one little squirt into your mouth, and you’ll be yelling, “OH GOD! O MY GOD!” and praying that there’s some milk left in the fridge.
—————-
Habanero chilis make you smarter.
I’d read about them. A friend had given me five little orange ones he’d grown himself. Something that small and pretty couldn’t be that bad, I told myself, and I dared myself to try one, or rather, a small part of one, and I ate a fingernail-sized slice late one night several years ago.
I have a deep and profound respect for the habanero.
It was sweet, pleasant at first, until it jumped up and filled my entire field of vision. Flaming sweat was spitting out of my forehead when I took a lick of salt (one remedy) and I jammed my fist into the refrigerator for the quart of milk without opening the door. “OH GOD!” I yanked the milk out by its udders ignoring the jagged metal that cut my forearm.
I drank the whole quart, and finally the pain subsided. Whew… at least I could say that I’d eaten the habanero. But I found out that it wasn’t done with me yet.
Relieved, and with natural endorphins jumping around in my brain, I headed for bed, got my night-chonis on, brushed my teeth. Then I took out my contacts. “OH, GOD!” A minute amount of the habanero oil had not washed off of my fingers, and now my eyes were shooting flames.
I took the contact lenses, washed them thoroughly, dumped them into the little canister with the magic cleaning tablets, and went to bed.
Next morning. Forgot about the habaneros. Fetched my contacts from the little canister. Put them in my eyes. “OH, GOD!” I decided to ride it out, and it subsided, leaving me red eyed.
And I learned that the habenero wasn’t done with me yet. Later that afternoon while sitting next to the bathtub… “OH, GOD.”
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True Story, and I learned from it. Hope you did too.
[Photo source: Chiquiworld.]
Zappa’s line up back then was amazing. Might be Jean Luc-Ponty on the invisible violin; Terry Bozzio on drums; Ruth Underwood on xylophone; maybe Roy Estrada on bass. Zoot Allures era.
Any FZ fans wanna leave comments to clear this up?
Zappa was only on SNL once, and was banned for mugging too much in the skits. You can find the two other SNL/Zappa vids on the Utubage if you hunt for ’em.
“…they’re pretty good musicians, and the musicians are pretty good…”— FZ, from “Green Rosetta.” Make a muffin really betta.
[UPDATE: Something yanked the link to the video originally posted. Here’s the same video from a different source. –Bunk]
[UPDATE 2: Seems that anything posted from SNL is now verboten. I’ve added a new version of my favorite Peaches. Slightly lesser quality video, but let’s see how long this one lasts. –Bunk]
I meant “Babe Magnet.” Or maybe I didn’t. Note that the dead cat, Boone’s Farm bottle and the week-old wad of used Pampers all add nuance to artistic expression of the moment. Note also that the windows are rolled up.
But here’s the genius inherent in this work of Art: It compels the viewer to imagine what it smells like inside and to run away without ever knowing. A piece of artistic genius.
[Photo found amid foodstuffs at Bockety. More Babe Magnetism here.]
[UPDATE: Feast of Palmer has a link to a “Rubber Biscuit” post-cursor, Sherriff & the Ravel’s “Shombolar” of 1959. Surprisingly similar… or not.]
In 1956, The Chips recorded “Rubber Biscuit” on the Josie label. An original copy of this 45rpm gem should fetch $100 plus today.
Then came The Blues Brothers. Dan Akroyd, aka “Elwood Blues,” did a fine rendition, very close to the original Chips version. He kicks it at 2 minutes into the video. If you are already familiar with this icon of American popular music, here are the lyrics as the Chips did it; otherwise, come back up here and practice after the song has burned another small greenish brown spot in the section of your brain labeled “Optional.”
RUBBER BISCUIT
The Chips: Nathaniel Epps, Charles “Kenrod” Johnson, Shedrick Lincoln, Samuel Strain Jr., Paul Fulton.
1956 Josie Records 803
Cow cow hoo-oo
Cow cow hoo-oo
Cow cow wanna dib-a-doo
Chick’n hon-a-chick-a-chick hole-a-hubba
Hell fried chuck-a-lucka wanna jubba
Hi-low ‘n-ay wanna dubba hubba
Day down sum wanna jigga-wah
Dell rown ay wanna lubba hubba
Mull an a mound chicka lubba hubba
Fay down ah wanna dip-a-zip-a-dip-a
Mm-mh, do that again!
Doo doo boooh
Cow cow lubba ‘n a-blubba lubba
Ow rown hibb’n ‘n a-hibba-lu
How low lubbin ‘n a-blubba-lubba
Hell ride ricky ticky hubba lubba
Dull ow de moun’ chicky hubba lubba
Wen down trucka lucka wanna do-uh
How low a zippin ‘n a-hubba-lu
Hell ride ricky ticky blubba-lu
Hell-o duh woody woody pecker pecker
Mm-mh, did you ever hear
of a wish sandwich?
Well that’s the kind of a sandwich
that is supposed to take
two pieces of bread
and wish you had some meat
Doo doo boooh
Cow cow lubba ‘n a-blubba lubba
Hell ride hibbin’ and zippin ‘n
How luva mail take a-lubba hubba
Hey ride wanna tak’ a-recca recca
Ho’ low take a-lubba hubba
Hey ride wanna ‘n suppa suppa
Ho’ low a mail take a-lubba hubba
Hey ride a hippin’ and a-hubbin’ no
Hi-low ‘n sum a-chicka whaa
The other day,
I ate a ricochet biscuit.
Well that’s the kind of biscuit that’s supposed to
bounce off the wall
back in your mouth.
If it don’t bounce back
– shh-mmhh-mmhh
You go hungry!
Doo doo boooh
Cow cow lubba ‘n a-blubba lubba
Hell low a sum did a-lubba goin’
Hey ride wan’ take a-lubba do
How long lon’ suppa dubba
How low a mail take a-lubba hubba
Hey ride wanna take a-lubba hubba
How low a mail take a-lubba hubba
Hey down nothin’ take a-luva do
Hey ride a sippin’ and a hubba dubba
mmmmmh, the other day
I ate a cool water sandwich
and a sunday-go-to-meeting bun.
Doo doo boooh
Cow cow lubba ‘n a-blubba lubba
Hell ride ricky ticky hubba lubba
How low a wann’ suppa do
Hey ride sippin’ and hubba lubba
Hell ride a-hubbin’ and wan’ do
Hey ride a wanna an’ recca recca
Ho’ low a mail take lubba hubba
Hey down a wann’ suppa dubba
Please ride a hubbin’ gonn’ do
What you want for nothin’
r-r-r-Rubber Biscuit!
Doo doo doo boooh
Cooow cooow oo-oooooouuuh
Review the lyrics and print ’em out so the whole family can sing along. Tough one-chord song to sing, and you won’t find the words anywhere else but here (unless you look hard elsewhere).
[Anyone who has an .mp3 file of the Chips’ original is invited to send a link, and we’ll post it and credit you here. –Bunk]
This illustration was created entirely by typewriter by a man with cerebral palsy. More of his amazing works can be found at the link below. The close up details of the illustrations are amazing.
“Paul Smith, the man with extraordinary talent was born in Philadelphia on September 21, 1921 with severe cerebral palsy.
“Not only had Paul beaten the odds of a life with spastic cerebral palsy, a disability that impeded his speech & mobility but also taught himself to become a master artist as well as a terrific chess player even after being devoid of a formal education as a child.
“When typing, Paul used his left hand to steady his right one. Since he couldn’t press two keys at the same time, he almost always locked the shift key down and made his pictures using the symbols at the top of the number keys. In other words, his pictures were based on these characters … @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) _ .“
Tacky Raccoons 
