April 12th, 2009
Greetings, pilgrim, and welcome to my Blog of Toons, a home for toons. My toons, my friends’ toons, toons I love and perhaps even toons I hate. Toons can go anywhere. You want quantum mechanics? daily life? coming of age? political fury? cute little furry animals pursuing their sexual delight? history? civilization? Toons can do it all. Toons reach deep into our psyches and our culture. You’ve heard of John Q. Public? A toon. Maybe you’ve heard of an infamous stain on American history, McCarthyism? The term was coined in a cartoon by the great Herbert Block. “We have met the enemy and he is us.” A toon again, by the great Walt Kelly. Maybe your district was gerrymandered? The word itself comes from a cartoon. Or consider, for example, Paul Revere, he of the famous midnight ride. One if by land, two if by sea. “The British are coming! The British are coming!” If you know a little more about him, you know he was a silversmith. But did you know he was also a political cartoonist? And speaking of political cartoonists, did you know that Dr. Seuss was a political cartoonist?
We will meet some of this rogues’ gallery, for rogues we are. We are cartoonists!
And so, I open this blog with my homage to Second Fig by Edna St Vincent Millay.
Tags: great cartoonists, history, musings, Poetry
Posted in Poetry, Self-portrait | No Comments »
February 6th, 2010
Tags: cats
Posted in Cartoon, Poetry, Whimsy | 1 Comment »
February 5th, 2010
I don’t always care for her piety, but to my ear, she is probably the best poet this country has produced. What’s weird is that some of her best stuff is inches away from doggerel. How does she do it? It’s a mystery to me.
Tags: Emily Dickinson, spider
Posted in Poetry | 4 Comments »
February 4th, 2010
I was newly arrived in Columbus for my first “real job” as a mathematician. I immediately made up an Ohio State University riddle: Point to the nearest nuclear reactor. It was in the building across the street from the Math Department.
I went to the Ohio State Fair.
The Ohio State Fair’s claim to shame was that they had blacklisted The Weavers back in the McCarthy days. They had booked The Weavers as a headline act, but when they arrived the Fair wouldn’t let them go on.
Nonetheless, I went to the Fair. I saw this and saw that. I ate popcorn. I had an ear of corn. There was a Black dame walking around with the a bullwhip. I smiled at her and held the ear of corn up. “Can you hit this?”
“Hey, you’re alright.” She eyed the corn, took aim. And lowered her arm. “I don’t trust myself.” We smiled and parted.
There was a stand taking computer photos and printing them on things. It was a bit new-fangled. Buttons, mugs, I don’t know what all. They’d print your face in the oval of a giant cloth million dollar bill, and it could say something under your face. I committed art.
Tags: Columbus, Ohio State Fair
Posted in Living Cartoon., Memory, Self-portrait | 8 Comments »
February 2nd, 2010
Jim’s comment reminds me…
Free Market is the name of the North American Fertility Goddess. She beguiles many with her promises of new and unimaginable pleasures. She is very vain, and regularly demands to be worshiped with human sacrifice.
Tags: Alan Greenspan, Ayn Rand, economics, free market
Posted in Politics | 2 Comments »
January 30th, 2010
I suppose everyone has their own Emily. This beautiful drawing is Colleen’s response to Why do they shut me out of heaven? Where I see spiritual despair, spiritual starvation, she sees Emily Rising, Emily Fulfilled, Emily the Beautiful. Go figure!
Tags: Colleen Nelson, special guest artist
Posted in Poetry | 4 Comments »
January 28th, 2010
We’re having a special Buy any two Senators and get a free Congressman.
Tags: business as usual
Posted in Politics | No Comments »
January 28th, 2010
Know your government!
Tags: rule of law, Supreme Court
Posted in Cartoon, Politics | 5 Comments »
January 24th, 2010
Horace writes:
I dreamt, after reading an interesting book about dinosaurs, that a t-rex asked me (in perfect English) for help after it had gotten stuck while trying to climb the stairs in my apartment.
Posted in Dreams | 4 Comments »
January 23rd, 2010
Let’s see if I understand this. With all the honk and jive about passing health care reform, with the disaster in Massachusetts, with the evil supreme court decision kissing the corporate ass, with the official unemployment rate at 10% and no slowdown in home foreclosures, what does Obama pull out the stops to lobby for? Making sure Bernanke is re-appointed to the Fed.
Oh, did I mention? They actually came out and said, “We’ve got 50 people we can’t try, so we’re just going to keep them locked up without trial.”
Posted in Politics | 1 Comment »
January 19th, 2010
And so, we come to Emily Dickinson, Queen of the Neurotic Chicks. When life has been empty so many times it’s a so what, when every detail of daily life prosecutes and convicts, when your suffering is utterly uncaused, and therefore irredeemable, why then it’s time for Emily Dickinson. With Emily, no moment may be unremarkable. It is either a moment of ecstasy, a moment of rapturous communion with the immanent, transcendent and ineffable Presence, or it is a soul-searing indictment of one’s complete and utter failure. Anything else is unthinkable.
We will sojourn with her again. But for now, the poem illustrated above. Or listen to Aaron Copland’s setting.
Why—do they shut Me out of Heaven?
Did I sing—too loud?
But—I can say a little “Minor”
Timid as a Bird!
Wouldn’t the Angels try me—
Just—once—more—
Just—see—if I troubled them—
But don’t—shut the door!
Oh, if I—were the Gentleman
In the “White Robe”—
And they—were the little Hand—that knocked—
Could—I—forbid?
Tags: Emily Dickinson, Why do they shut me out of heaven?
Posted in Poetry | 3 Comments »
