More pew pew

( Wired News: 48th anniversary of the creation of the laser )

[Obit] 1,001 gags per panel and climbing

( Wolf William Eisenberg, 1921-2008 )

I don't really recall where we first started referring to, what Harvey called, my "Chatchkies", extra gags, as Chicken Fat. But I think the term just came out of what we both knew were the parts of the strip that gave it more flavor but did very little to advance the storyline. That's what Chicken Fat does...it advances the flavor of the soup and, as we all know now, too much chicken fat will kill you!

What can I say about Will Elder? Funnily enough, I was just describing his adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" to agaricus the other day, and just the memory of the beaten and bandaged raven, croaking "Nevermore!" juxtaposed with an absolutely straight reproduction of Poe's poem still threatens to send me into a fit of giggles. To list my favourite Will Elder stories would be, to be honest, to list them all.

I was too young to be there when he first burst onto the comic scene with his incredible art style, but thanks to MAD Magazine's facsimile reprints of the early MADs in the 1970s, I stumbled on his work and was mesmerized. Elder's style of packing side sight-gags (the "Chicken Fat" he refers to in his quote) into a panel was virtually unique, and was sometimes funnier than the main action on panel. It meant that not only did one manage to squeeze ten times the amount of fun out of a Will Elder-drawn story, but it rewarded re-reading and re-reading it again. A Will Elder story never gets old. To say that the style of those early MAD Magazines and "The Usual Gang of Idiots" had a profound impact on the way my sense of humour works would be an understatement, and Elder was always at the front of that pack of influences.

And now he belongs to the ages. Rest well, Mr Elder.

You've never seen a sight so fine as the love that's gonna shine

( NPR: California Supreme Court overturns gay marriage ban )

10 Lines #14

The return of 10 Lines!

Ten first lines from my iTunes playlist right now. Guess the songs. Bonus points for guessing the artist and album, or guessing the version that I have (if it's been covered), where applicable. Play fair now, no Googling.

All these songs I have are the originals. The quite interesting question is what all these songs have in common (at least two things they have in common, really).

1. Coo, coo, I just want you.

2. When are you gonna come down?

3. Hey baby, what you gonna do when the lights go up on you?

4. Take off your hat, kick off your shoes.

5. A small jean genie snuck off to the city.

6. I am your main man if you're looking for trouble.

7. When you were young and your heart was an open book.

8. Look out, look out, your Mama will shout.

9. I won't laugh at you when you boo-hoo-hoo.

10. Look out! Mama let me out on a Saturday night...

Meet Molly

I'm not usually one for "Chicken Soup for the Soul" type stories, but I make an exception with animals. And after the horrific and heartbreaking tragedy of Eight Belles, this story seems all the more poignant. After all, y'know: ponies!

Meet Molly, the pony with the prosthetic leg.

More on Molly here and here.

MUTO - A Wall-Painted Animation by BLU

This is just amazing.

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo