Send in the Clowns

Don't Bother. They're here.

My apologies to anyone suffering from Coulrophobia.

Ringling Bros & Barnum & Bailey poster — 1928

Cresting the High Wave

Well, well, well, I appear to be back in ship shape order . . . I hope. 

I'm skimming the surface of various applications, apprehensive of hearing the theme from Jaws. But at this point, I'm cresting the high wave, and seeking calm on the far side. I've a lot of work to catch up on, but I wanted to say 'hey' and hope to see more of you sailing through here again. 

And yes, after taking the longest possible time, the geniuses from Apple called me in on Black Friday to pick up my machine. Aarrrghhh.

Hal Foster — Prince Valiant panel — 1940s

Pointing the Way

We had a great Thanksgiving get-together with our extended family of long time friends. Amazingly, I didn't over-eat, and I didn't over-stress that Apple still hasn't returned my computer, and has probably ruined my credibility with clients.

I'm thankful for a great many things, including all of you for being such nice cyber-folk.

I'm still having to rely on my iPad to supply me with "pictorials" to post. This is a sweet little guy hanging in the hallway, pointing the way to the studio water closet. I got him from a thrift store for a hard-earned 99 pennies.

BEWILDERED

Still no computer tonight. I am bewildered.

This is a shot of my constant studio companion, Rango by name, with his pet gerbil. These two accompanied me when I used to put on art demonstrations at elementary schools. Notice the hairspray on the shelf---it makes excellent fixative for charcoal drawings. You'll have to click on the image to see the whole picture, my iPad doesn't let me have any control over the size.

I'm trying to stay calm, but I am bewildered with Apple.

The Apple of My Eye-yi-yi

I've been told that the part for my computer arrived today and that my repair is on the bench this evening. I inquired as to which part was so elusive that it took so long to obtain. The video card. I calmly informed the polite Apple person that I had a work order that showed that a video card was replaced by them on October 24 and I wondered why it took nearly a month more to determine by the geniuses that the video card was the culprit (again?) and to lay their hands on the part in time to install it on the very day that my deadline was due so that I would now have to work on Thanksgiving Day and the following week so that my client was late to their client and would lose a large portion of their fee, insuring that my @55 was gonna be grass.

Or words to that effect.

The polite employee politely stonewalled me. When I asked if I could expect my machine to be in my hands tomorrow in fine working order, he politely hemmed and hawed that barring other problems---"hopefully".

If I ultimately have to go in and pick it up on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday---the busiest shopping days of the year, I'm going to show up with my daughter's old red wagon to haul my VERY heavy machine the mile or more that I'll probably have to park from the mall that the Apple store is in the middle of.

And then I'll get busy on the letter that I'll be sending to Apple's CEO. I don't fault the various employees that I've dealt with over these past few weeks. I blame the company for the lack of professionalism, communication, and organization. They're busy bragging about their sales of gizmos, while my business is spiraling down the drain without my most essential production tool.

My posted image tonight is a photo I just snapped with the iPad that I'm writing this post with, hunting and pecking one letter at a time.

This is my favorite reading lamp, next to me now, in my 1940s style studio (especially now with the big empty space on the desk where my 21st century magic machine would otherwise be sitting if it wasn't for a very special video card that has taken nearly a month to hunt, capture and send by runner from somewhere in the far reaches of our planet.

Peace be with you through the Thanksgiving weekend.

Mandala of Goodness

I STILL don't have my big magic machine (they are replacing every gd part to give me a new machine in the old shell). I--I don't understand the 21st century way of doing business.

In the meantime, I have my LITTLE magic machine and I'm breaking out my personal photos so that I have SOMEthing of an image to share with you.

Like a mandala of goodness, this is a fruit pizza our daughter made before going to London to study. It tasted as wonderful as it looks, made of peaches and plums and kiwis and other fruits and cream cheese and pie crust and oh I miss our daughter.

And I miss my computer.

Hhrrrmmmmmmmmm

At the rate that my computer repair is taking, I might as well take in my shingle, go out of business and go bankrupt. I'll be the guy you see pushing a grocery cart around town while using an iPad.

Gleep beep buzz whirrrrr . . . Wtf Eeeeeeee

Glub Glug Glurgle

Hang on Sloopy. Sloopy hang on.

Demons

Well, here I am again, and barely. I am not finding closure with my computer woes. After handing over my beloved computer thrice to the Genius Bar, I have to go in for a fourth time, for the exact same problem as the three times before. I've only got a few days left on my extended warrantee and I fear that I'm being stalled until my time has expired, and then it's "whoops, too late sir, maybe it's time to buy a new computer". And perhaps it is time, as I am losing credibility with my clients and cannot afford the long terms of holding my machine and then not returning it in working order. 

I've been able to limp along between screen freezings by saving my work every 30 seconds or so and then, sure enough, sooner or later, wtf, it's done it again. And when I reboot, the screen jiggles and wiggles and gives me the razz.

Well, all this whining is to explain . . . once again . . . why my posts are rare-ish, and why there won't be many this coming week . . . no comPUter! I love my Mac, but the customer service has been lacking  and was even rude to me when I last picked up my machine.

I believe in the spirit of Apple and Steve Jobs. But sometimes I feel like demons are gnawing on my bones.

Sanjulian —Demons

Loco and Looney

Ding bing, dog bonnet and shukaloo! This computer is still acting loco and looney. It's been in to the fix-it people 3 times in the last couple weeks and I've gotta take it in again tomorrow. My work schedule is like a pile up on a foggy mountain highway. 

A person can be loyal to someone or something that they love and yet still be ticked off at 'em. I love my Mac, but if it isn't fixed this time, I'm gonna be thinking about a quick divorce from it.

Judge magazine — 1931

Hope to be back with you soon!?!

Gothic Manner/Manor

The character of Batman has been drawn by a plethora of artists and interpreted in a multitude of ways. Yet it all started with Bob Kane, though quickly he became more of a publicity hound as other artist and writer ghosts toiled in his shadow. 

Still, among a number of brilliant Batman artists, it is this somewhat crudely drawn image by Kane that set the tone and manner for the best interpretations to come. Early on, Batman was of a gothic manner, here looming over a gothic manor, and ventured into mystery before turning his full attention to thugs and gangsters and the occasional alien or two.

Bob Kane — Batman to the Manor Borne 

Andromeda

Here's another mythological scenario, though not so bucolic as previous posts, in fact rather chaotic what with the all the floral foo-fah-rah. At first glance, with this image, I thought it was by Rubens — but it's not. I had a mild crush on Rubens' work back when I was attending the Art Institute of Chicago, especially the mythological richness and complexity he could imbue, but I haven't looked at his work for years now. I'll have to seek out his oeuvre to see how I feel about it all now. In the meantime, this is Andromeda and Perseus by Filippo Falciatore, the Italian artist of the 1700s, who painted a fair amount of mythological allegories himself. 

I have quite a few images of Andromeda and Perseus that I thought I would post all together, but I have them all filed by artist and not by subject, so I will end up just having them posted here and there. Most all of them have Andromeda as having been stripped naked in her plight, and yet when they made movies about this adventure Andromeda is pretty modestly dressed. Go figure.

Filippo Falciatore — Perseus Rescuing Andromeda

I love the name Andromeda. If I was to have another daughter (which I won't) I'd be tempted to name her 'Andromeda', not for this daughter of an Aethiopian King, but for the beautiful galaxy which we will one day merge with.

The Voice of Pan

More pastoral tranquility and innocence . . .

Emile Aubry — La Voix de Pan

A Weakness

Mythological scenes are a weakness of mine, appreciating the magic and mystery of a pastoral life. But if I were truly there I might miss Coca Cola and Charmin . . . and my iPad. 

So maybe it's best that I gaze at these kinds of images from the armchair in my den . . . on my iPad.

Charles Natoire — Orpheus Charming the Nymphs & Animals

Oh, How the Twenties Did Roar

Das Plakat — 1921

Windy Nights

'Tis a windy night where I am, spooky and drear. I love it. Here be a fine illustration to accompany a bit of verse from Bobby Stevenson.

Eric Kincaid — Windy Nights

Spooky

Spooky stuff from Fabian.

 Stephen Fabian — scratchboard

Stephen Fabian — In Dracula's Crypt

Tales from the Crypt

This image is rather morbid, considering his passing, but Frazetta had to have known that his paintings would outlive him.

Frank Frazetta —Tales From the Crypt — 1964

 Frank Frazetta — original painting — 1964

Keep 'Em Flying!

WHEEEEeeee hee hee. I think we're up and flyin' again!

George Petty