MORE PICTURES FOR A BOYS ROOM

I'm always thinking of what pictures to put on the walls of a boys room or on the walls of the kids section of a library. I've blogged about this before but I can't help returning to the subject with new pictures. What do you think of them?

Those are Maori above. Maori photos were just made for boys rooms.

 So are maps. Blank maps (above) are great because they let your mind fill in the details.

I don't think this company (detail above) makes historical maps anymore, but maybe I'm mistaken.

Old maps (above)...you can look at them endlessly. 

Every boy needs a picture of the jungle (above).

Ditto the Greeks (above). The ancient Greeks earned our respect by opposing barbarism with strength and intellect. That's a bit of a simplification since the Persians weren't exactly barbarians, but the image of the Greek hoplites still projects a primal power.

This picture (above) would have earned a place on my wall when I was a little kid. I was aching to fly. The airplane rides in amusement parks filled me with longing for the real thing. I feel like I betrayed my young self by not promoting kid flight as an adult but, really, how could I? That's a tough nut to crack.

A letter-size version of this picture (above) needs to be on every kid's wall. What's on the island? I don't know... King Kong? Doc Savage's lab? Dinosaurs? The Cyclops?  This mysterious island seems to demand that the viewer drop what he's doing and commit to a life of adventure.

I used to love the pictures in the National Geographic. If Tin Tin had been a real kid he'd have no doubt had pictures like this on his bulletin board. 

When I was a kid I was smitten by, of all things, The Hippocratic Oath. I would gladly  have put it on my wall if I'd found a copy. This version (above) isn't designed very well,  but the content is terrific. I love the way it starts, by invoking the gods and binding the student to care for the teacher and his sons. It's interesting that the doctor is forbidden to use a knife to remove stones, but must hand over the task to a surgeon, which is considered a seperate, and maybe lesser trade.

Also when I was a kid: drug stores were covered with Parke-Davis illustrations of medical innovators like Jenner and Lister. The one that moved me most was the one of Louis Pasteur, the great bacteriologist. Spurred on by the famous Paul Muni film, I'd have put his picture up in a heartbeat if I'd had one.

Actually, I have a post card picture of him up now, on a bulletin board in my bedroom. I figure I owe the guy.

"NGANGA"

Better think twice before reading this post, because the subject is downright creepy. It concerns an artifact found in parts of Central and South America called "nganga." If you haven't heard of it, and you're willing to risk being creeped out, then I recommend watching the above video, starting at the 2:50 mark.

Oh, and a caveat...I know next to nothing about the subject, so if I write something misleading I hope a reader will correct me.

If you've seen the video then you know that ngangas are carefully sealed iron cauldrons which contain evil spirits. Everything the owner had which contains a bad vibe or an evil spirit is put into a heavy iron pot and buried. Just to make sure the spirit doesn't get out, the container is packed with sharp nails, knives, bullets, hangman's nooses, etc. After that, the entire thing is sealed and wrapped tight with thick iron chains and heavy padlocks. 

Apparently there's such a thing as a communal nganga. A place is set aside where the whole community can get rid of their voodoo dolls, hex paraphernalia, items owned by deceased trouble makers, etc.  Maybe voodoo dolls retain their potency after use and have to be decommissioned this way. 

At the appropriate time the items are gathered up and placed into a large nganga, which is immediately buried. After that the villagers can finally rest easy. I'm guessing that the grave is unmarked lest some hippie or souvenir collector find it and release the spirit.

Interesting, huh?

BTW: Two commenters who seem to know about the subject say that Nganga has nothing to do with Voodoo, and that it can contain either bad or good influences depending on the intention of the person who put it together.

IN AN ITALIAN RESTAURANT

ANITA: "Eduardo! Playing Solitaire in restaurants again?"

EDUARDO: "Anita, my pretty, come sit with me one instant. It is necessary that I speak to you. Sit you."

 EDUARDO STANDS SO THAT ANITA CAN SLIDE IN.

ANITA (STUGGLING):  "Umph...my legs, they do not fit in."

EDUARDO: "Too much dress. Perhaps if you lifted..."

ANITA: "What roguish!"

EDUARDO: "Because you are a roguish! Here, here's a menu. I am going to feel you a good small dish of ravioli. Waiter! Bring us a ravioli!"

EDUOARDO (VO): "Anita.....er, there is one thing I must ask.....do you like me?"

ANITA: "Ha! Yours is a name scratched on bathroom walls."

EDUARDO: "Hush! We are in a church...the church of fine pasta.

(THEN)

Anita...is what you say mingled of your cuckold's dirty horns?"

ANITA: "If you mean my boyfriend, he's a gentleman, unlike some people."

EDUARDO: "Tell him he is a dunce! Anita...let me....let me.....TONIGHT....."

HE GRABS HER HAND AND BEGINS KISSING IT.

EDUARDO (VO): "You are all, Anita. Do you know that you are all?"

EDUARDO (VO): "You are the first woman of the first day of creation. You are the mother, the sister, the amante, the friend...the angel, the devil, the Earth, the home...."

EDUARDO: "So whaddaya say, eh?"

ANITA: "Ha! You are such a character! Look, I must be going."

EDUARDO (VO): "Come back Little Angel! Come back!"

WAITER (VO): "Your ravioli, Senor!"

EDUARDO (VO): "Huh? What ravioli? I didn't order ravioli."

WAITER (VO): "But...but, you did...."

EDUARDO (VO): "I definitely did not! Take it away!"

WAITER (VO): "Okay Senor, I take it away. You won't have to pay for it."

EDUARDO (VO): "Huh? I won't have to.....? Wait! Give it here....just to dispose of it, you understand."

**************************

Many thanks to Dylan Chavles who posed for the great girl pictures! Poses of myself are taken from other blog posts I did. I just wanted to see if I could make them fit.

MORE RECENT ASTRONOMICAL PHOTOS

Here's a picture (above) of Mars as seen from the ground by the recently arrived Curiosity rover.  Geez, it's pretty. This could be Arizona.

Actually the picture at the very top is "white balanced" to make the details read better. What the rover actually saw is this (above) dismal, mustard-colored landscape. Yuck! I prefer the fake!

False color is common in this kind of photography. Here's (above) a recent picture of The Crescent Nebula. Astronomers intensified the color to make it easier to identify the elements.

BTW, this nebula was created by the big, dying star near the center. In its death throws it ejected large chunks of itself into space. Any day the remainder of the star could suddenly shrink then burst into a supernova. 

Here's a flight through part of the universe on film, where every pin point represents a real galaxy, and the galaxies are in their true positions relative to each other. It's best when watched large, but that might make the movements jerky.

You can see parts of the filaments that connect the galaxy clusters.

Above, something I thought I'd never see: a picture of the universe. I wonder why there's a bright spot in the middle? Does our universe have a middle? I guess it must, but where is it?


This final video (above) has nothing to do with science, but I have to include it because it's ferociously clever.  I won't ruin the fun by explaining it. It's all spelled out on the YouTube site. Oh, and forgive the music. It's...well, you'll see.

PEOPLE I'D LIKE TO DRAW

People I'd like to draw in a sketch class, that is. Cartoonist require different types of models than easel painters. I'll try to touch on a couple of types here.

I'll start with the obvious: the all-time best male model for a cartoonists model drawing session would have been Don Knotts (above).

In his prime the man was incapable of taking a bad pose. He would have made a great John Q. Public.

Some sessions with an Arnold-type body builder would be fun.

Lately I've become interested in off-balance poses. I don't think it would hurt cartoonists to become aware of some of them.

Here's (above) a wonderful standing pose. The model's leaning against something but I prefer to think that it's her natural stand-up-straight pose, sans props.  That slight off-balance look...that's the way cartoony people should look even when they're not leaning.

Well, some cartoony people.

It works on guys (above), too. Lots of people look better with a slight list.

Fortunately the world abounds with good face models. Here's (above) a young Hitler lookalike, only it looks better on this guy than it did on Hitler. Geez, it's weird! I wonder what girls think of it?

Boy, take a look at that right leg! A smooth, curved line from the neck down to the tip of the shoe. I think cartoonists need to know about that, don't you?

Holy Mackerel!!!!!! Some women have nice legs! Um...somebody put this girl on the model list.

I got an idea while looking at this...that business offices should have some rooms higher than others and have glass sections to show off pretty legs to greatest advantage. Nothing too revealing, nothing that would make women feel uncomfortable...just something...funny and nice.

An added advantage of that setup would be the glimpse we'd get into the offices (above) slightly below. What we'd see would be bunch of disembodied heads scapering around the floor.

But I digress. We're talking about people we'd like to draw.

This (above) would be a terrific model for cartoonists. The planes and shapes and volumes are all so funny and interesting. For a model like this, most of the session should be draped.

 Of course cartoonists also need to draw undraped models like this one (above), who have clean, clear curves. Sorry for the airbrushing.

Such a model no doubt posed for this Barks drawing. Nice, huh?

FORREST GRIFFIN VS STEPHEN BONNAR

Okay. here's the greatest UFC fight I've ever seen...and I mean ever. If you haven't seen it then I envy you, because you have 20 minutes of pure bliss ahead. Expand the picture to full screen, get some popcorn, gather your friends around and experience one of the most memorable fights of the TV era.

These guys fought again, and that fight is also on YouTube. If you've seen it, don't tell me anything about it. I don't want to know. I can't bear the thought that another fight might erase my memory of this one. Yes, it's that good.

Enjoy.

BTW: I recommend seeing the entire video, including the biographical material at the start and the extended aftermath. The whole 37:17 is worth seeing.

COOL DANCES / WALKS

Oh, Boy! Let's watch some funny dance videos! Mike Fontanelli turned me on to this dance (above) from Eddie Cantor"s "Ali Baba Goes to Town."



Max Wall was one of the kings of the funny walk. This sample (above) starts slow, so I'd advise starting at the 1:30 mark.



I posted this walk video (above) about three years ago and I expected it to change the animation industry. Sigh! It didn't, but it should have.



Imagine what Vaudeville must have been like! You could see a whole live matinee like this (above) for just a quarter.



Don sent this link (above) in a comment. See what you think.