THE BLOG AT THE END OF TIME

THE FORGOTTEN MAN

2011-11-10T18:14:00.000-06:00

DO YOU STAND OR SQUAT WITH THE PROTESTERS?

2011-10-14T05:47:00.001-05:00

"If I can take it there

I'll take it anywhere

I'll dump on you

NewYork, New York!"

The term 'squatter' used to refer to a person who occupied an area of land that they did not own. This would certainly be an applicable term for those involved in the Occupy Wall Street protests. Recent events have added a whole new level to the definition as it applies to the group.

In the photo above, a protester is caught on camera in the act of defecating

outside, in public, on a New York city police vehicle.

I can only speak for myself, but...I don't think this is the kind of behavior that will help most of America to be sympathetic to their cause or earn respect for their position.

Aside from the obviously crude and filthy behavior depicted above,

there are legitimate health and safety concerns developing as each day goes by.

Although many of the protesters are understood to be making strenuous efforts to clean up after themselves, after three weeks of occupation, the strain of hundreds of people living on the street has begun to take its toll.

Brookfield Office Properties, which owns Zuccotti Park, the site of the New York demonstration, have already railed against protesters, who they claim are creating sanitation problems.

"Sanitation is a growing concern," Brookfield said in a statement.

"Normally the park is cleaned and inspected every week night...because the protesters refuse to cooperate...the park has not been cleaned since Friday, September 16th and as a result, sanitary conditions have reached unacceptable levels," CBS News reported.

Unsanitary conditions prompted New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to order the park closed in stages on Friday for a cleanup. Bloomberg says the city is trying to protect the rights of protesters, as well as the rights of people who live and work in the area.

The protesters, who have camped out in a city park for more than three weeks, will be forced out Friday so that city crews can help clean the area.

“After it’s cleaned, they’ll be able to come back. But they won’t be able to bring back the gear, the sleeping bags, that sort of thing will not be able to be brought back into the park," Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told reporters.

Brookfield Properties, the owner of the park, gave the protesters notice on Thursday that it will begin enforcing park regulations, which prohibit everything from lying down on benches to leaving personal property on the ground.

Park regulations on the notice includes no tents, tarps or sleeping bags on the ground, no lying on benches and no personal property stored on the ground. All these practices have been common at the park, where protesters have lived, slept and eaten for nearly a month.

"They're going to use the cleanup to get us out of here!" said Justin Wedes, 25, a part-time public high school science teacher from Brooklyn. "It's a de facto eviction notice."

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg visited Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan on Wednesday evening and made the cleaning announcement, citing sanitation concerns from the park’s owner, MyFoxNY.com reports.

Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway said in a statement Wednesday that,“The Mayor is a strong believer in the First Amendment and believes that the protesters have a right to continue to protest. At the same time, the last three weeks have created unsanitary conditions and considerable wear and tear on the park. This situation is not in the best interests of the protesters, residents or the City."

Some protesters questioned the need to clean the park in the first place.

"This is the cleanest protest I've ever witnessed," said Emilio Montilla, 29, a laid-off teacher's assistant. "We take care of ourselves. We're self-sufficient."

But Brookfield told police that it had received “hundreds of phone calls and emails” from locals complaining about "lewdness, groping, drinking and drug use, the lack of safe access to and usage of the Park, ongoing noise at all hours, unsanitary conditions and offensive odors,” NBC New York reports.

Stacey Tzortzas, the owner of Panini Company Café, said the protest is driving away her regulars. That business dropped 30 percent, and there are more basic problems.

"Protesters come in demanding to use the facilities to bathe. They spend hours in there just bathing. They destroyed the bathrooms," said Tzortzas.

The Occupy Wall Street protest has not actually occupied the street that is synonymous with American finance, but rather Zuccotti Park several blocks away. The area's small business owners and residents feel under siege. Virtually constant drumming from mid-morning until late at night, for nearly a month now. Neighbors are not pleased. Steven Abramson is among them.

“There are families in this building with young children,' he said. "There are some older people who live here as well that would like some peace and quiet.”

The lobby of Steven Abramson’s apartment building is pungent with the smell of disinfectant to disguise the stench of urine outside. He says some protesters relieve themselves in the area at night. The problem - no portable toilets at the park.

In addition to sanitation concerns at the park, the NYPD has spent over $2 million in overtime to keep cops stationed at the protests, according to a public statement by Commissioner Ray Kelly made last week.

Han Shan, 39, of New York, a spokesman for Occupy Wall Street, said it was clear to everyone that the plan is to shut down the protest.

"There is a strong commitment to nonviolence, but I know people are going to vigorously resist eviction," he said. "I think we're going to see a huge number of supporters throughout New York and the surrounding area defend this thing ... I'm hoping that cooler heads will prevail, but I'm not holding my breath."

Some protesters said they would resist; others planned to cooperate but engage in nonviolent civil disobedience if they were not allowed back in the park.

Asked if it had or would file a lawsuit, Brookfield offered no comment, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg is riding the fence.

"If the protesters, however, leave Zuccotti Park, the question is will they disband or go someplace else. From a practical point of view, I think we want to let some of this, not play out is quite the right word, but let them express themselves," said Bloomberg.

Protesters said they're staying. Opponents, if they want them to leave, may have to wait until winter to freeze them out. That’s not about to happen, though, as pleasant weather is expected all weekend long.

THE "WHY ME" GENERATION

2011-10-11T20:55:00.003-05:00

Protests.

Free speech.

The 1st amendment.

These are a part of our American culture. The 1960's in particular are well-known for their many protests and gatherings where well meaning people, mostly young college age people, took stands and spoke out against various injustices. The thing is, back then, there actually were real reasons to protest. Issues like civil rights, womens rights, the Viet Nam war, violence against others, racial discrimination, and so on. Back then, our country was divided on many of these important issues, and a very real social change was necessary, and in most cases, acheived by these types of protests.

How many of these poor underpriveleged young people have iphones and Blackberries, do you think...life can be so hard.

Today we have a very different kind of protest going on. It's not protest that necessarily speaks of injustices to a particular cause, race, or creed, or an outcry against violence perpetrated upon innocent victims. No, it is moreso a whiney, rather self-indulgent cry akin to a spoiled child who wants more candy and can't have any.

eloquent and informed

They aren't wrong about things being screwed up. They aren't wrong to want a better way of life. I just happen to feel they are wrong about how they intend to bring about any positive change. Even though there is a core of truth inside the message being expressed, it is extremely difficult for the rest of America to identify with the images of youthful fringe types spouting widely varying extremist reasons for the protests, as well as any offered solutions, in mostly inarticulate and semi-rational ways. Many who speak to interviewers have expressed rather ignorant and simplistic views concerning the issues.

*video taken from Fox News - a biased selection but a representative cross-section nonetheless

The age of the protesters appears to average about 21 years old, the age of a person who is starting out in their adult life and may be discovering the harsh realities of working hard for low wages, or struggling to find work at all. Also the age of inexperience, naive idealism, and frivolous self indulgent excess.

Don't get me wrong, I know all too well the unemployment rate is high. Believe me, I know, I've struggled mightily every month to make bill payments and survive for the past 2 1/2 years since I lost my own job. I do not receive unemployment or any other benefits from the government. Sure, it isn't easy, but I do whatever I can to make money (legally) mostly by extreme effort. By working with my own two hands, and looking for work constantly, continuing to look, and keep knocking on doors, and keep applying for every available job out there, and if and when I'm offered a job, I take it and work hard at it, even if it is for lower wages than I've previously had to work for. Simply said, I do whatever I can to take care of myself. I am responsible for my own life, not anyone else.
Not the government, not any corporation, and certainly not Wall Street, just me, myself, and I.

Life is hard sometimes. Okay, most of the time, especially lately. But railing against Wall Street because you can't find a well paying job isn't going to fix your problems. That's why I agree completely with presidential candidate Herman Cain. When asked about the protests, Cain said, "If you don’t have a job and you are not rich, don't blame others, blame yourself.” Cain rightly suggested that those participating in protests nationwide against corporate greed and a lack of jobs are merely doing so out of "jealousy." Jealousy over seeing others that have something that they do not themselves, and they want some of it. One way or another.

[This "blame someone else for your failures"attitude has been promoted now by our great leader Obama, who has been blaming his opposition party for the fact he can't get anything done(when in fact he had two years in full party control), and blaming the rich and successful for not contributing enough (when in fact the wealthiest Americans already pay an inordinant amount of tax compared to people like the protesters and myself). Obama's whiney victimesque stance has falsely portrayed himself as the good guy who can't help you because the bad guys (Republicans) are so mean and evil, they won't let him do all the wonderful great things he wants to do. What an utter crock of sh*t. His 'blame others' policy and constant 'tax the wealthy more' rhetoric has fostered and produced this class divisive attitude that is at the heart of the occupy Wall Street protests. That is just one reason why we desperately need a president who doesn't use his office and his words to divide our country like this lazy, arrogant, double-talking trickster who cares about only one job, his own.]

Back to Herman Cain and what he said. This isn't some silver-spoon born Donald Trump type billionaire saying these things to the protesters, this is a man who grew up in poverty, faced racial discrimination, and by his own hard work and effort, over many years he built his own successes, and after several successful business endeavors, I think he has the right to say what he said. Because the "American Dream" isn't supposed to be an easy road. No, it is a road of opportunity that you have to forge for yourself. That road is always an uphill one.

Like him or not, Herman Cain spoke the truth. Calm down and listen to him.

Herman Cain knows hard times and what it takes to become successful. Says Cain, "No one has to tell me about the challenges involved with pursuing success when you are born without a lot of advantages, or to a family without a lot of money. That is the story of my life. I achieved success in business because I worked hard, studied hard, set goals, honed my strategy, weathered setbacks and kept at it no matter what. Sometimes those setbacks occurred because, at least it seemed to me, someone didn’t treat me fairly. But I quickly learned that this, too, is part of life. Complaining about it won’t help you. Devising strategies to overcome it will."

Sounds like the truth to me, and a reasonable bit of wisdom offered to the young and disenchanted protesters.

So why the anger over his comments, accurate and straight forward as they may be? Because hard work and sacrifice is something very unfamiliar to this "Why Me" generation. Having had life relatively easy thus far, and now facing tough times, they would rather hold their breath and stamp their feet until mommy or daddy gives in and lets them have their way. Just like spoiled brats.

Attrocious behavior caught on camera as an elderly Jewish man asks a protester why here is there

"For $7.00 an hour?"..."You got the MONEY!..."

Anarchy will not bring about order. By it's nature, anarchy destroys order. If you seek your own destruction, go to it, but leave the rest of us out of it.

Look, I am not unsympathetic to people who are genuinely suffering. I am one of them. I am unhappy about lots of things too. I need a good paying job, better healthcare, and all the trappings of the so-called american dream. We all want a better life. I don't deny that life is hard for most of us right now. But, people, listen to reason: Months long protests on the streets of New York isn't going to make any of that better! How can anyone expect that these protests will change any of these issues for the better? You want to fascilitate change for the better? Do it the way the rest of America does it, let your voice be heard in the realm of local and then national government elections, and vote for the people that you want to represent you. That's democracy, plain and true. If you don't like the candidates, then run for yourself. If you don't want to have your voice heard that way, then just go home and pack another bong hit and be quiet, won't you? Get out of the street so the rest of us can use the sidewalks to look for the jobs you won't take. And take a shower already.

For those involved who believe they are doing the right thing, who want a better way of life, who are looking to do good, I can dig it. I don't have a problem with speaking out for what you believe. I am fine with free speech and protests. Some causes are worthy. This one, not so much. I get it, and I understand the driving desire for something better. I just totally disagree with your methods.

Please think again.

Please.

Think.

Again.

NYPD is being forced into confrontations such as the march over the Brooklyn Bridge. The police are only trying to do their job.

Whatever these new protesters are hoping to achieve by occupying Wall Street, it is probably inevitable that the change they will actually affect is a widening social gap and a larger police state needed to crack down on such civil unrest and displays of anarchy. Thanks, protesters. Great. Your little stink party in the streets is going to f*ck up everything for the rest of us, if you aren't careful. And clearly, you aren't. The government already has scores of empty containment camps just waiting for any anti-American deemed type elements to be ushered into them. Do you want the top bunk or the bottom bunk? Soon, none of us will be able to speak out without immediate repercussions and silencing. So, keep beating those drums, rainbowhead. Beat them as we all get marched in line to the new American dream you're about to usher in.

Basically, these protesters are occupying the wrong street. They should be gathered at Pennsylvania Ave., to protest no jobs and a failed economic policy. The buck stops there, or so I've been told.

Why blame Wall Street? Go set your tents up on President Obama's doorstep

No, it is Obama's policies that have caused this mess

Who is behind the mask, people?

"I want to manipulate you with propaganda...dance, puppets!"

Dear protesters:

You don't want to be sheeple, you want to be people, right? Then why do you jump like a puppet on a string when some online ad tells you to go to Wall Street? So, ever think about who's pulling those strings?

Think for yourself much? Try it, it's liberating.

Great slogan...now put it to use

The Origins of the Occupy Wall Street protests

Before the protest began, as far back as July, it was vaguely planned and vague messages were posted, tweeted, and forwarded to every would-be anarchist, saying basically, it's time for us to have one of those awesome Tahrir Square (Egypt) type protests...so let's go protest something....we'll figure out what exactly what later, but when we do, it'll change our democracy for the better... this effort is a contrived type of 'spontaneously' organized event, with no clear aim or agenda, other than to protest something. Anything.

That's why there's no clear of cohesive message even after months of planning and over 3 weeks of protesting!

This Freudian poster graphic implies that even the protesters don't know what they are protesting about

Here is the actual call to arms, if you will, posted on July 13, 2011.

Take a close look at some of the language:

Adbusters Blog

#OCCUPYWALLSTREET

Are you ready for a Tahrir movement?

On September 17th, flood into lower Manhattan, set up tents,

kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street.

____

Alright you 90,000 redeemers, rebels and radicals out there,

A worldwide shift in revolutionary tactics is underway right now that bodes well for the future. The spirit of this fresh tactic, a fusion of Tahrir with the acampadas of Spain, is captured in this quote:

"The antiglobalization movement was the first step on the road. Back then our model was to attack the system like a pack of wolves. There was an alpha male, a wolf who led the pack, and those who followed behind. Now the model has evolved. Today we are one big swarm of people."

— Raimundo Viejo, Pompeu Fabra University

Barcelona, Spain

The beauty of this new formula, and what makes this novel tactic exciting, is its pragmatic simplicity: we talk to each other in various physical gatherings and virtual people's assemblies … we zero in on what our one demand will be, a demand that awakens the imagination and, if achieved, would propel us toward the radical democracy of the future … and then we go out and seize a square of singular symbolic significance and put our asses on the line to make it happen.

The time has come to deploy this emerging stratagem against the greatest corrupter of our democracy: Wall Street, the financial Gomorrah of America.

On September 17, we want to see 20,000 people flood into lower Manhattan, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street for a few months. Once there, we shall incessantly repeat one simple demand in a plurality of voices.

Tahrir succeeded in large part because the people of Egypt made a straightforward ultimatum – that Mubarak must go – over and over again until they won. Following this model, what is our equally uncomplicated demand?

The most exciting candidate that we've heard so far is one that gets at the core of why the American political establishment is currently unworthy of being called a democracy: we demand that Barack Obama ordain a Presidential Commission tasked with ending the influence money has over our representatives in Washington. It's time for DEMOCRACY NOT CORPORATOCRACY, we're doomed without it.

________

Who would think this was a good idea?
I mean, really?

By the way, did you read it correctly? Yes, they plan to stay for MONTHS...

Even though there was originally no clear agenda decided other than to protest SOMETHING, the best idea they could think up was a lame slogan like Democracy Not Corporatocracy. And even with this, after blowing the radical anarchist trumpet call to arms, when every protest loving person showed up, they showed up with their own ideas and perceptions of what they were protesting anyway. That is why the movement is an incoherent, incohesive conglomeration of every known radical thought ever protested before.

Here's a soundbite from one protester that tries to explain why the protesters are there:

"I've heard the word 'demands' a lot here and I don't care for the word 'demands'. Makes it sound like a hostage situation. I think what's going on here - I like it more that we're accumulating a 'things-to-do' list. There are hundreds of agendas here and that people are able to come and speak to those agendas is what's going on. There's a large sign over here that says, "The medium is our message". I made that sign, over that way. The medium is this gathering, the medium is painting a sign. That's what people are doing, people are speaking out and saying something is not right. I think that is the most important thing right now. Agendas can come later."

Finally, a protester holds up a clear list of demands

Later, another protester came up with 13 demands to try and attach to the protests.

Ready? Here they are:

Demand one: Restoration of the living wage. This demand can only be met by ending "Freetrade" by re-imposing trade tariffs on all imported goods entering the American market to level the playing field for domestic family farming and domestic manufacturing as most nations that are dumping cheap products onto the American market have radical wage and environmental regulation advantages. Another policy that must be instituted is raise the minimum wage to twenty dollars an hr.

Demand two: Institute a universal single payer healthcare system. To do this all private insurers must be banned from the healthcare market as their only effect on the health of patients is to take money away from doctors, nurses and hospitals preventing them from doing their jobs and hand that money to wall st. investors.

Demand three: Guaranteed living wage income regardless of employment.

Demand four: Free college education.

Demand five: Begin a fast track process to bring the fossil fuel economy to an end while at the same bringing the alternative energy economy up to energy demand.

Demand six: One trillion dollars in infrastructure (Water, Sewer, Rail, Roads and Bridges and Electrical Grid) spending now.

Demand seven: One trillion dollars in ecological restoration planting forests, reestablishing wetlands and the natural flow of river systems and decommissioning of all of America's nuclear power plants.

Demand eight: Racial and gender equal rights amendment.

Demand nine: Open borders migration. anyone can travel anywhere to work and live.

Demand ten: Bring American elections up to international standards of a paper ballot precinct counted and recounted in front of an independent and party observers system.

Demand eleven: Immediate across the board debt forgiveness for all. Debt forgiveness of sovereign debt, commercial loans, home mortgages, home equity loans, credit card debt, student loans and personal loans now! All debt must be stricken from the "Books." World Bank Loans to all Nations, Bank to Bank Debt and all Bonds and Margin Call Debt in the stock market including all Derivatives or Credit Default Swaps, all 65 trillion dollars of them must also be stricken from the "Books." And I don't mean debt that is in default, I mean all debt on the entire planet period.

Demand twelve: Outlaw all credit reporting agencies.

Demand thirteen: Allow all workers to sign a ballot at any time during a union organizing campaign or at any time that represents their yeah or nay to having a union represent them in collective bargaining or to form a union.

__________

I've taken the liberty of adding 2 more demands to round it up to 15.

Demand 14: Cookies and ice cream whenever we want.

and

Demand 15: We can stay out as late as we want, and watch TV all night if we want to, and not have to go to school the next day if we feel like it. And you can't make us go over to Grandma and Grandpa's when we have plans with our friends. And we want a new pony...and the new Twilight DVD.

We're so oppressed and poor we play dress up...what fun

_________

Protesters in Chicago join the protests around the country

Anger issues

So basically, if you are angry or upset about something, anything at all, go to Wall Street and join with hundreds more just like you who are not content with their life, and are looking for someone to blame for their problems, or if you are young and aimless and feel you deserve some of all that money that you've heard so much about, if you've been going to college and now after drinking hard and partying harder and now that you've joined the real world and discovered it isn't as easy as you thought it should be, and you can't afford to pay back your student loans, then by all means, pack up your pup tent and your patchouli, put in your best nose ring and slip on your hemp hoodie and head over to Wall Street and, if you shout loud enough, if your sign is clever enough, maybe, just maybe, those mean rich people with all that money will give you some, too.

After all, they have lots of it, and you don't have any. It's only fair, right?

This sums it all up

RESPONSIBILITY, ACTION, and CONSEQUENCE

2011-10-09T17:43:00.001-05:00

Have you ever played with dominoes as a child? Can you recall witnessing a row or rows of dominoes placed upright in a linear pattern, and the result after one domino falls against or into another?

This is what is referred to as "the Domino Effect", where there is a series of similar or related events occurring as a direct and inevitable result of one initial event. Another term for this is a "Chain Reaction". Sir Isaac Newton stated in his Third Law of Motion, "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction".

Simply stated, everything we do, every moment of every day, has an irreversible effect upon our own lives as well as the lives of everyone in the world around us. Every action, every word, no matter how small or great that word or action may be perceived, is setting in motion what is to become a series of spiraling events that continue to radiate outward through our time/space continuum, just as a pebble dropped into a pond causes endless ripples moving away from the original action.

This is also known as "Cause and Effect", where one action or event produces a certain response to the action in the form of another event. Another way I like to sum up these descriptions is this:

"Every EFFECT will AFFECT".

That is to say, every word or action you do is an "effect", and the result of that word or action is causing an "affect", that is, it affects someone or something in some way, including yourself, either positively or negatively.

The conclusion is inescapable.

Every action will have consequences.

Action obviously includes words, either spoken or written.

Now, after considering these things,

ask yourself this question:

"Do I have a responsibility to others, to control my actions so that I do not affect others in a negative way?"

After you ponder that question, the next question is this:

"Am I a responsible person, or an irresponsible person?"

For the purpose of this exercise, please choose one or the other.

While there are likely varying shades of gray when it comes to responsibility, draw an imaginary line and put your overall decision on either one side or the other, either fully "YES", or fully "NO".

Be completely honest.

Now then...

One of the greatest gifts that each of us possess is the gift of free will,

or the ability to choose.

No one can make us do anything we do not choose to do ourselves.

Even under threat of death or violence, the choice remains our own.

You chose to eat that particular food, or to get out of the chair and walk into the next room, to open that door, to speak those words, to work at that job, to lie or tell the truth, to create or to destroy, to seek order or to seek anarchy, to offer help or to turn away, to accept or to reject, to smile or to frown, to laugh or to cry, to believe in God or to not ...the list is endless, as are our choices.

All I ask of you is this:

CHOOSE WISELY.

ROYAL WEDDING - EXCLUSIVE FOOTAGE!

2011-04-29T06:18:00.001-05:00

I've been lucky enough to obtain this exclusive footage not seen anywhere else of today's historic Royal Wedding. For all who didn't get to witness the outrageous pomp and pageantry, enjoy this glimpse into history...

A DARK DEAD-END ALLEY

2011-04-17T07:31:00.003-05:00

Barack Obama emerged from my home state of Illinois, where we continually churn out corrupt and weaselly politicians the way Iowa produces corn or Idaho does potatoes. I watched with increasing consternation his ascendency from a lazy do-nothing Senator to a double-talking do-nothing candidate to a terrible do-nothing President.

I feel he is a one-trick pony of sorts, his 'trick' being an adept and capable speaker who can articulate with superiority in a field where currently as well as recently this has not necessarily been the case. Indeed, when as a fledgling Senatorial candidate (I repeat, a mere candidate) who had distinguished himself in no way whatsoever was for some reason given the opportunity to deliver the keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic convention, the Democratic party commenced to drool all over itself in fawning adulation at this light skinned African-American who was able to project himself as thoughtful, articulate, and authoritative in a manner that was lacking in the party previously, and in public politics in general. They then took this unknown and untested candidate and thrust him forward as America's savior, where much of America (and the world) embraced him as a stark contrast to the tongue-tripping oil-allied dynastic false-flag manipulator who was Bush II.

I sense that Obama's main negative attribute (he has several) is his apparent belief in his own advertising hype as some sort of savior-god who is now entitled to lead us all by the hand into the realms of his vision for an Obaman society. Clearly he has alluded to the notion that most Americans who disagree with his vision are obviously too stupid to understand how wonderful his intentions are, and therefore he will not budge one iota from his predetermined goals, no matter how often the voters or constantly disparaged groups such as the Tea Party rightfully voice their opinions to the absolute contrary.

In his extremely abbreviated term as Senator he mostly abstained from making any decisions on the issues by voting "present", and as President he has followed this pattern, weighing his words and actions with such a meticulous fine-toothed comb so as to not offend any potential voter or ally to the point where he doesn't make any decision at all, and when he absolutely has to he does it with a pandering ethereal vagueness so as to obfuscate any detrimental perceptions.

I would rather have a leader who leads, who takes actions swiftly when needed and expresses themselves honestly to the people, than this arrogant and self-absorbed swaggering megalomaniac. While it can be argued that some of his intentions may be noble, the fact is that the path he is leading America down is not the road to prosperity but rather a dark and dead-end alley where vultures hover overhead and wait to feast upon our blind and lost carcasses.

I disagree with his vision (or at least the path he chooses to inaugurate said vision) so vehemently, I would instantly cast my vote for a faith-based constitutionalist idealist such as Sarah Palin, despite her lack of political and global gravitas and in spite of her media defining "deer in the headlights" faux pas in her Couric interview; or perhaps I would even vote for a power-mongering capitalist elitist such as Donald Trump, whose thinly veiled intentions are clearly business motivated and whose experiences are clearly out of touch with 98% of the voting public, and whose gruff and condescending attitude make LBJ look like a Care-Bear. At least they speak plainly and are what they appear to be, and they are not the calculating and pompous two-faced fence-sitter we currently have in office.

_________________

(Today's post was taken from a previous opinion I had made in the comment section when I suddenly realized that I often give more thought and insight in my comments than in my actual posts. Considering then not everyone reads the comments, and not wanting to waste a good op/ed opportunity, this is my attempt to change that pattern.)

OBAMA'S MIDDLE EAST QUAGMIRE

2011-04-08T07:03:00.001-05:00

...You can only see Obama's face because he's actually standing on Qaddafi's head...

...nothing to see here, folks...just a quick war with no clear objectives...just in and then out...eventually...

PROPAGANDA AND YOU - Part 2 - THE POWER AND INFLUENCE OF IMAGERY AND WORDS

2011-03-17T01:44:00.005-05:00

Have you ever considered how much you are influenced by what a friend or a family member might have once said to you? Or by a television commercial you saw? The power of influence in our daily lives is inescapable, that is to say, the power of the information that you hear and see is inevitably going to shape your thinking and opinion.

This is the natural order for human learning, as there is no other way for us to absorb information, whether positive or negative, except by it being relayed to our consciousness by what we hear, see, or otherwise experience through our five senses. As babies we learn how to walk by seeing our parents and others walking, and as they coax us to emulate them we eventually begin to follow their example, until one day we are walking on our own. In the same manner, we learn to talk by hearing patterns of speech over and over again, until one day our gurgling efforts at forming our own words are eventually successful, to our parents ecstatic delight. Thus the formula for how we learn and grow has begun, beginning at birth and stopping only when our bodies and brains cease to function.

Simply stated, everything we know, everything we perceive to be true and real, is received by each of us through the senses, processed through learned (or perhaps instinctive) reasoning, whereby we either accept or reject the information. When we reject something as false or unworthy of assimilating into our daily discipline we do not discard it mentally whole hat, but we in a sense store it in a mental file somewhere in our brain. Picture, if you will, two file cabinets in your brain. One file cabinet has the label "Accepted Information", and the other, "Rejected Information". Now realize that every day of your life you are constantly bombarded with stimuli and information, both consciously and subconsciously, which is ending up in either one or the other file cabinets. Now understand that how you process this wealth of information could have a profound impact on every decision in your life.

Before we delve too deeply into the repercussions of conscious information and subconscious information, we may want to pause a moment to consider the enormous power that the media wields in modern times to in effect control our thoughts, actions, and asperations. Some of us may be painfully aware of such attempts at manipulation, while I suspect the majority of humanity may be shamefully ignorant of any such influences.

Have you ever wondered why you want to do some of the things you do? For example, a certain musician says he prefers Fender Stratocaster guitars because his idol Jimi Hendrix played one. Further, a young woman buying her first automobile decides to purchase a Toyota because her best friend drives one and told her how much she likes it. This illustrates the power of influence. Now, perhaps this man and woman may change their opinions with time, as their experience with these respective items may vary. Let's say the woman drives her new Toyota and after a year her car begins to develope constant mechanical problems. She eventually trades it in and purchases a Ford. She has effectively taken the information she once accepted (i.e. Toyota's are great cars) and by her own processes has determined the information to be false, therefore rejected. Imagine the file on Toyota automobiles being transferred from the "Accepted" cabinet to the "Rejected" cabinet. She then continues the "algorithm of influence" by telling everyone she knows that Toyota's are terrible cars, and the power of persuasion goes on ad infinitum. By extension of this hypothetical situation we can determine that any information we receive, whether true, false, or undecided, can easily influence our actions and thereby affect critical decisions in our daily lives.

When we start to think about the possibiliies of manipulation the conclusions can be overwhelmingly disturbing. Propaganda, at it's essential core, is such an animal. Truly, when done correctly, such manipulation is as subtle as it is indiscernable, and therefore diabolically malevolent in it's nature.

The best propaganda has at it's essence a kernel of truth which is then exploited. It is rumored that the Devil is the greatest of liars because in part he manages to weave enough truth into his lies as to make one believe even the false aspects of his statements, the conclusion of the listener being, "Well, he was right about that, therefore he must be right about this". Therein lies the danger.

For more than a century mankind has been using propaganda in various forms to manipulate the masses (that's you and me, folks). In times of war, propaganda exploits our feelings of patriotism to elicit a designed response from us, whether it's enlisting in the military, buying war bonds, or evoking a manufactured hatred against our 'enemy'.

In the next installment of PROPAGANDA AND YOU, I hope to illustrate how propaganda can be designed to 'de-humanize' a faction of the population in order to manipulate a generated bias against them. There are several known and recognizable elements to propaganda, and by the end of this series you will be better prepared to process any information that you hear and see. You'll soon be acutely aware of attempts to manipulate your perception, moreso than you were before.

For now, just begin to consider the amount of useless or even harmful nonsense that is being pumped into your conscious and subconscious mind daily by the continuing stream of media -- what you hear on the radio,the lyrics to the music, what you see on television and in the movies, and on commercials especially. Is it all propaganda? On some level, it all is. What do you think? Does it influence you? You may not even be aware of the power of it's influence. How about politics...is political speak propaganda? Most assuredly, friend! Every politician, for good or bad, is trying to influence you to their agenda. Even local and national news broadcasts are controlling what is being told to you in one fashion or another. This is especially evident as one analyzes the differing political bent portrayed from one 'news' channel broadcast to another -- one channel may pander to the left, while another may pander to the right. Depending on your own personal views, you may prefer one slant over the other, but please understand that each POV is still likely expressing a bias in one form or another. Someone writes the stories that the anchor reads on air...who decides what news story is 'worthy' of being told? And how is that story being told? What of the stories that aren't being told to you? Ultimately, someone other than you has a lot of power and control over what you are being told day in and day out.

Also, as you become more aware, you can then start to consider the many levels of perception, and how elements of the media are trying to tell you something as they are trying to sell you something. That is, the words you hear are the conscious message, while there is likely a more devious message being relayed to your subconscious mind, unaware. It is all real, and we will explore it all, little by little, until the truth becomes exposed for all to see.

I'm asking you to wake up, a little bit at a time.

Let's start using our brains again. That's what they are for.

Not for others to try to control.

Seek the truth, and you will find it.

Click here for PROPAGANDA AND YOU - part 1.

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”
-- Joseph Goebels

Propaganda: "Persuasive communications directed at a specific audience that are designed to influence the targeted audience's opinions, beliefs and emotions in such a way as to bring about specific, planned alterations in their behavior. The information communicated by the propagandist may be true or false, the values appealed to may be sincerely held by the propagandist or cynically manipulated, and the presentation may be either logically and dispassionately argued or rhetorically tailored to arouse the most irrational emotions and prejudices -- but the message content of propaganda is always deliberately selected and slanted to lead the audience toward a predetermined mindset that benefits the cause of the propagandist."

-- Paul Johnson, Auburn University

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT - "ABE AND THE ALIEN" PRINTS NOW ON SALE!

2011-03-12T00:41:00.002-06:00

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!

I've been busy working on a few projects,

one of which is preparing for the sale of my original artwork poster prints!

The 1st prints I'm offering is a two (2) print set containing my original artwork that was published on the cover of SLAM BANG #3, (Fan-Atic Press). These print sets are limited to only 250, and when they're gone, they're gone! So don't miss out! Offered for the initial low bargain price of $29.95 per set, you will receive 2 beautiful high-quality prints on heavy stock, suitable for framing and/or lining the birdcage!

You will receive one large 11" x 17" full color cover reproduction art and one smaller 8" x 10" sized faux photo-look B&W print. These are unique, rare, and hilarious, and you can only buy them from me (the artist) exclusively! Created originally for SLAM BANG's issue devoted to "Mostly True Stories", they depict the slightly skewed reality of our 16th president's final evening, as he is stalked by a most unlikely assassin!

To order your set, click here or on the image above, or contact me at

theapocolyte@hotmail.com

THANK YOU!

_________________________

...Coming soon...

PROPAGANDA AND YOU - Part 2

Please stay tuned!

TIME TO START DRILLING NOW!!

2011-03-08T23:54:00.001-06:00

Everyone complains about the rising gas prices, but nobody does anything about it.

It seems that our leaders do not know how to lead us anymore, except to lead us straight to Hell in a handbasket. The world as we know it, life as we have known it, is disappearing. It is being engulfed in flaming tide of unrest that is sweeping through the Middle East and shows no signs of ending. All the while our President sits indifferent in his ivory tower, content to make calculated soundbites contrived in a way so that he offends nobody and says, in effect, nothing, and does, in reality, nothing.

Meanwhile, as Obama and his cabinet determine the best way to do nothing and to not offend his Muslim constituency without doing anything that may make him look at all like his predecessor Bush, the rest of us, you and me, we're stuck out here trying to put gas in our cars without spending our entire paychecks at the gas-pump in one sitting.

The USA has waited too long to renew drilling for oil at home. We have to do everything in our power to end our dependency on foreign oil NOW!! We cannot waste any more time, we have to act decisively RIGHT NOW!!

It seems apparent that radical Muslim elements throughout the Middle East are not about to stop the unrest and increasingly violent protests that began in Tunisia and continued like so many falling dominoes throughout Egypt, Bahrain, Morocco, Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Yemen, and now Libya. Saudi Arabia is now scrambling in fear of growing Shiite protests expected this week, and when the oil supply in Saudi Arabia is threatened, you and I are the losers...gas prices will sky-rocket to unbelievable heights!

Speculators are now saying that the $5.00 or more a gallon gas prices we were expecting later this year are now being predicted to arrive much sooner because of the protests and the dangerous disruption of stability in the Middle East regions.

America, we need to wake up! Our leaders are doing nothing to prevent the inevitable inflation of our imported oil prices that threatens to destroy our way of life! We need oil to operate in our modern world, but we have to do something fast to alleviate the financial stranglehold that essentially leaves us at the mercy of foreign oil! As it exists today, the general population of the USA are slaves to these foreign oil billionares...we cannot continue our daily lives without oil, and if they continue to raise the price of a barrel of oil every time somebody in the Middle East sneezes, where does that leave us? It leaves us at their mercy. And they have yet to show us any mercy.

I am joining with those who say here in the United States of America, NOW IS THE TIME to end our slavish dependancy on imported foreign oil, and one of the first steps we can do is to end all moratoriums on drilling in the United States so we can start drilling NOW! Prices at the gas-pump are determined by oil futures speculators, and the moment we begin to drill, the prices here will drop, to put it simply. If we don't start drilling now, where will we get our oil tomorrow? How can we afford not to drill now?

To those who say it will be 'too little, too late', I say that doing something is better than doing nothing. To do nothing is ridiculous. We have to once again take control over our own future, over our own lives. If we don't do something immediately, we are risking our entire existance.

We need to raise our voices now! I am asking every one of you to write letters, send emails, call your congressmen, your senators, your governors! Do it today! Don't be like our President, hiding from responsibility, waiting for the looming doom to all to somehow magically go away...we have waited too long already! If they don't know what to do next, then we need to tell them,

LOUD AND CLEAR!!

USA,

Start Drilling Today!

CHARLIE SHEEN -- WINNING

2011-03-08T21:22:00.000-06:00

SUNDAY'S SUPERBOWL COMMERCIALS - DISAPPOINTING...

2011-02-08T03:19:00.001-06:00

You may not agree with me,

but I was really expecting a new Keystone Beer commercial featuring Keith Stone.

I found most of this years Superbowl commercials lackluster and forgettable.

I can't help smiling at these previous Keystone commercials...

will we ever see Keith Stone again?

You may not agree, but I hope so.

"Hold my stones!"

_____________________

"My name?...is Keith Stone!"

____________________

MISSING VIAL OF DEADLY NERVE GAS PROMPTS LOCKDOWN AT ARMY BASE

2011-02-05T03:48:00.001-06:00

In case you hadn't heard,

last week a US Army base known for testing biological and chemical weapons was put on lockdown after a vial of a deadly nerve agent was discovered to be missing after an inventory check. At 5:30 p.m. mountain time on Wednesday, January 26th, the Dugway Proving Grounds facility in Dugway, Utah was put on full lockdown alert when a vial of deadly VX nerve agent could not be located.

The vial contained about a 1/4 teaspoon of extremely deadly VX nerve agent, which according to the Centers for Disease Control is an odorless, tasteless, man-made chemical warfare nerve agent in an oily liquid that evaporates about as slowly as motor oil. The Dugway installation, about 85 miles from Salt Lake City, has small amounts of chemical and biological weapons for defense testing purposes, and is purported to test conventional military weaponry and ammunition. It also is used by the U.S. Army Reserves and the U.S. National Guard for maneuver training.

In 1968, Dugway became infamous for what came to be known as 'The Dugway Sheep Kill Incident'. In March 1968, 6,249 sheep died in Skull Valley, an area nearly thirty miles from Dugway's testing sites. When examined, the sheep were found to have been poisoned by an organophosphate chemical. The sickening of the sheep coincided with several open-air tests of the nerve agent VX at Dugway. Local attention focused on the Army, which initially denied that VX had caused the deaths, instead blaming the local use of organophosphate pesticides on crops. Necropsies conducted on the dead sheep later definitively identified the presence of VX. The Army never admitted liability, but did pay the ranchers for their losses. On the official record, the claim was for 4,372 "disabled" sheep, of which about 2,150 were either killed outright by the VX exposure or were so critically injured that they needed to be euthanized on-site by veterinarians. Another 1,877 sheep were "temporarily" injured, or showed no signs of injury but were not marketable due to their potential exposure. All of the exposed sheep which survived the initial exposure were eventually euthanized by the ranchers, since even the potential for exposure had rendered the sheep permanently unsalable for either meat or wool.

The 1968 incident, coinciding with the birth of the environmental movement and anti-Vietnam War protests, created an uproar in Utah and the international community. The incident also starkly underscored the inherent unpredictability of air-dispersal of chemical warfare agents, as well as the extreme lethality of next-generation persistent nerve agents at even extremely low concentrations.

After last weeks lockdown, nearly 1,500 employees, including military personnel, contractors and civilian workers reportedly were forced to stay overnight at the facility until the misplaced VX nerve agent was located. Normal traffic entering and exiting Dugway resumed at about 4:30 a.m., mountain time, Thursday, January 27th when apparently the missing vial was finally recovered.

Now, I have to ask, do you feel safer after hearing this, or are you as unnerved (no pun intended) as I am that:

1) our government and military still experiment with such highly toxic airborne agents?
2) the facilities are within our own borders, not far from populated areas?
3) they could so easily lose track of such a potentially lethal compound?

What a wonderful world.

Does any of this frighten you? It should.

The official explaination for such deadly biological and chemical weapons being continually tested and developed is for 'defense purposes'.

Right. Not for our military to ever use them on anyone, oh no. Just so we can learn how to effectively combat such weapons. Guess what? You cannot effectively defend against such biological or chemical weapons entirely, no matter what they may tell you. Their only purpose is to kill. So why do we continue to test and develope these weapons if we don't plan to use them someday? Good question.

Do you think all you need to worry about is foreign-born terrorists killing you? It seems apparent that our own government has that ability as well, so

sweet dreams, America.

UNREST IN EGYPT - Government Shuts Down Internet and Cellphones

2011-01-29T11:52:00.002-06:00

You heard right.

The Egyptian government wants to stifle and oppress any opposition to their apparently unpopular policies...

Everyday people, citizens, working class folks who may love their country but disagree with the government.

Think it can't happen here?

Think again, my friends!

One day soon, Big Brother in charge here will

flip the switch,

and all the things you take for granted will screech to a halt.

When that happens, you won't be able to call your friends, or family,

and you won't be able to email anyone either,

or check online for the truth.

All you'll know then is

WHAT THE GOVERNMENT and MEDIA tell you...

If you believe everything they tell you, then you'll be happy.

WAKE UP

and start looking for the truth while you still can.

I'll be here as long as I can,

until they stifle my free speech,

or hack me again,

or make it look like I died in a car wreck.

Now back to our regular series about

PROPAGANDA.

PROPAGANDA AND YOU - A New Series - Part 1

2011-01-29T01:40:00.000-06:00

What is propaganda?
How has it affected history?
How does it affect you today?

We'll be exploring this fascinating topic over the course of several posts, and hopefully by the end of the series we will all be more aware of the mass mind-control and manipulation that has controlled our perceptions since the time we were able to read or watch TV.

Does propaganda still exist today?
You had better believe it!

Like a fish born into a fishbowl,
and being fed by unseen hands,
someone other than you has been in control of everything that you take for granted.

And like that fish,
many people don't care who is feeding them,
or what they are being fed,
as long as they continue to receive a steady supply of
'food'
from the hands of the providers.

That poor fish may never realize what a wonderful wide world awaits
beyond the fishbowl...
endless oceans of possibilities exist
beyond the poor fishes perception.

And,
like a living frog placed in a pot of water,
we will likely sit placidly and meekly,
as the hand that provides
turns up the flames beneath us
and slowly
but surely
cooks the very life right out of us.

"But Mr. Apocolyte," you might say, "isn't some propaganda actually good?
It isn't all lies, is it?"

"Yeah, some of it is patriotic, and I love my country!", says another.

So do I, friend.
And I love my fellow man as well,
which is why we all need to
wake up, and smell the propaganda.

"Well, if I'm going to die, I'd rather die in my sleep, and not know what was coming!"

Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.

Now, as I begin to poke and prod you awake,
let's enjoy some cartoons, shall we?

No need to pull back the curtain too far, too soon, is there?

___________________

During World War II, the United States produced many films designed at educating the public as well as instilling a sense of patriotism. Several films of excellent quality were made by Walt Disney. These films are enjoyable to watch, highly entertaining, and creatively composed.

They are also persuasive propaganda at some of it's finest.

Here is the classic EDUCATION FOR DEATH!

____________________________
Here's an entertaining little stop-motion animation WWII propaganda film (not by Disney)
called BURY THE AXIS!
(you'll want to crank up the volume, the sound quality is low)

______________________________

Now what would WWII propaganda be without a talking nazi duck?
Donald Duck stars in
DER FUEHRER'S FACE!

______________________________

Finally, here is an enjoyable and visually stunning bit of an oddity from Disney called
VICTORY THROUGH AIR POWER!
PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

PART 4

PART 5

PART 6

PART 7

PART 8

PART 9

PART 10

____________________________

That wasn't so bad now, was it?
We had fun and we learned something!
Whetting your appetite a bit?
Starting to get interested? Maybe a little?
Waking up just a tiny bit, are we?

Well, we're just getting warmed up, friend!

I WANT YOU...

...to join me next time for
PROPAGANDA AND YOU - Part 2!

UNEMPLOYED BUT BLOGGING - For How Long?

2011-01-26T17:42:00.001-06:00

Friends and readers,

I have managed to survive the last two years after losing my job of the previous 7 years

due to health reasons, surgeries, and insurance battles. Besides myself, I'm doing everything I can for my

father who has been dying slowly for the last three years.

In the midst of all my troubles, I began blogging about one of my favorite subjects: Comic books.

I haven't always been puntual, but I have managed to post several times and I hope to continue.

I hope someone out there has enjoyed a post or two on my blogs.

I presently keep 4 blogs going online:

HEY! LOOK WHAT I FOUND! The Art Of Michaerl Wurl

where I hope to drum up work using my artistic gifts

BLACK 'N' WHITE AND RED ALL OVER

where I present black and white comic art classics and more

APOCOLYTE'S WORLD OF COMICS

where I present comic stories and history in color

and this blog, which was my first.

My original intent for this blog was to be a mixture of issues and personal social commentary.

Since I already have avenue for comic related topics, I am in the process of altering the purpose of this blog to fit more into the original intent.

While there are serious issues facing many people right now, both in the USA and around the world, I have always had a sense of humor about life, and I hope to keep some of that humor here if possible. I hope you'll stay with me as I transition this blog. Some issues may be close to your heart, and some may be deeply close to mine.

As long as I am able to, I hope to continue blogging, and as I talk about current events or social issues, I hope you will feel free to comment with your own opinion,

therefore adding to the discussion.

I know I am not alone in my troubles. There are many people suffering setbacks in one form or another these days. Here in the USA we have a tendency to take for granted many of the wonderful blessings we do enjoy here. It is easy to get caught up in ourselves, and forget how great we do have it here.

The old axiom is true.

You don't know what you have until it's gone.

Be thankful for what you have today.

Tomorrow is another day, and none of us can see clearly what is facing us just around the next corner.

So treat each other with respect.

Take time to assess your life, slow down and think a bit more.
Take a moment and call the people in your life that you've been too busy to find time for.

Because life isn't about making sure you have the latest smart phone, what you wear, or even how much sex you get.

It's about people, pure and simple.

Really, that's all we have.

Each other.

PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING - THANK YOU!

2011-01-23T00:37:00.001-06:00

Hello, comic lovers!

I am almost ready to begin re-posting here.

Usually I like to keep things light and avoid deep personal issues, but I need to take a moment and explain why there haven't been any posts for the past several months, and where I've been for so long.

For anyone who cares, I didn't forget about you or abandon you, but the truth is I was the victim of cyber terrorism which destroyed my computer and has played havoc with my personal life as well as my income for the past several months. That is why I haven't been able to post anything for nearly a year.

To anyone who fancies themselves a computer hacker, go get a real job and stop destroying peoples work. The fact is I have a family and an elderly father who depend on me to take care of them, and when you attack my computer and my personal work, you are attacking and hurting not only me, but several people who depend on me. Life is hard enough nowadays.

Not only did these cyber-schmucks ruin my life for the past year, but they prevented all of you wonderful folks from enjoying the posts I had prepared. For that alone, I am angry at these spoiled cyber-creeps. So, you break-a my computer, I break-a you face! Go find a real hobby instead of destroying what someone else created...

Well, I'm back, and starting from scratch once again. Please be patient as I begin to re-scan all my stories and then soon enough I'll be posting with regularity.

Though I had never intended to do so, I will be setting up a PayPal link here and on my other blogs so that anyone who wishes to may offer donations, and I again say that I must do so as a real neccesity at this point. If you enjoy this blog, or any of my other blogs, please consider a gift of any size if you are able. I thank you for considering this, and I and my family thank you for your viewership and support. The link is on the right near the top - Please click on the PayPal / Donate button (you don't need a PayPal account). I am grateful for any amount you can manage. Thank you again.

______________________

Please stay tuned for much more to come.

Thank you!

-click to enlarge-

To commission original artwork of any type, email me at theapocolyte@hotmail.com

WHAT CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT

2010-12-24T00:06:00.000-06:00

OUCH! THAT HAD TO HURT!

2010-06-16T01:31:00.000-05:00

Amazing Stories, May 1952 edition

(click to enlarge)

Greetings, earthlings!

I'm celebrating my return to the current time continuum by posting this awesome painted pulp cover, and I'm looking for a few good captions.

Got a good one?

I'll bet you do!

Think up your funniest caption to the image above, and post it in the comment section below.

I'll get the ball rolling with an example:

"George was beginning to think he might not get lucky tonight after all."

See? It's easy, and I'll bet your ideas are funnier than that.

Let's see what you got!

Former TV Star Gloop Missing; Feared Dead

2010-04-10T10:52:00.004-05:00

'Gloop' Hopfenglatzer, center, feared dead.

Sad news for fans of the wonderful Alex Toth designed Herculoids TV show.

Recently, I had occasion to post a comment about the Herculoids on a friends comics blog. A few short hours after I posted my comment, I became aware that the actor who played Gloop on the popular TV show THE HERCULOIDS has been missing for several weeks. Gloop, who was born Gloopus Portnoy Hopfenglatzer in 1939, was last seen in a Cracker Barrel Restaurant mensroom in Paducah, Kentucky on March 24th, 2010. Here is a direct quote from the police statement of the witness who may be the last person to see Gloop alive:

Former TV Star Gloopus 'Gloop' Hopfenglatzer, 71,

missing and feared dead, authorities report.

"I almost didn't recognize him, he had stubble all over his...face? I guess that's what you'd call it, his face...anyway, I was in the stall finishing up my constitutional, when this guy busts into the restroom and starts pushing on the stall door! I yelled 'Occupied!', but the next thing I knew he kind of oozes under the stall door and pinned me againts the back of the stall. He smelled like Doritos and cheap vodka. I had to wait until he had finished his business, and eventually he left. It was like he didn't even see me or something. Later I was watching TV at home when I couldn't believe my eyes! "That's the guy I told you about, Snookums!" I yelled to my wife, who had been a big Herculoids fan as a kid. She said I should've gotten his autograph, but I didn't know it was him. Plus, he was a real a-hole, if you know what I mean."

"Have You Seen Me?"

WHERE IS HE NOW?

Police artist sketch of how Gloop looked on the night
of March 24th, 2010, the last time he was seen alive.

In light of this shocking and perhaps tragic news, it is ironic how I had just been writing about him in that comment section.

~ Here is the gist of my original comment posted just yesterday:

Gleep Rocks, Gloop Sucks!

Herculoids is the top 5 superheroes of ALL TIME!! and number one is Gleep! He's ten times better than Gloop! Did you know that half of Gloops shots were done by Gleep? Did you know that almost ALL of Gloop's dangerous stunts were performed by Gleep? Remember the episode where Gloop surrounded the flame monster and snuffed out the fire? That was Gleep! Gleep recieved 3rd degree burns all over his plasm, yet he kept on working! Gloop spent half of his day in the trailer, drinking! Gloop sucks!

Gleep for president!

____________________________

Now I feel kind of guilty bad-mouthing him that way, in light of his 'missing' status, but most if not all of my information for that comment was obtained directly from a recent book written by one of the stars of the show, who had worked side by side with Gloop for several seasons. Here is an excerpt, printed here with permission from the author.

The following is an excerpt from "Herculoids Unmasked" by former Herculoids star and toothpaste spokesperson Tarra, who played herself on TV's beloved HERCULOIDS television series. (please be advised some strong language is used, and some content may not be suitable for young children)

Tarra Van Tinkler, nee Foomphs, former actress on the TV series The Herculoids,

lately can be found late nights on HSN selling Teefs-Blingz toothpaste.

She reveals some dark secrets about the beloved show

in her recent book,' Herculoids Unmasked'.

______________________________

"It's been 40 plus years since we wrapped that show. I'm tired of keeping secrets. I'm just going to come out and say it. Zandor Cowznofski, the man who played Zandor, my husband on the show, was gay! Everyone on the set knew it, but we all kept the secret from leaking to the public. Just like everyone knew Gleep and Gloop were really brothers, and Gleep, who often appeared as the smaller of the two, was actually older than Gloop, who was a fat drunken pig. Gleep was wonderful to work with. He was always looking out for his younger brother, Gloop, and nearly every time Gloop had a difficult stunt to do, Gleep would have to substitute for him. It was common knowledge that Gloop liked to party, on the set and off. Most days he would spend half the day in his trailer drinking, while Gleep risked his neck filming his brother's stunts."

Onscreen passion between her and TV husband Zandor all fake,

says former TV actress. "That was the result of great acting and careful editing,"

reveals Tarra Van Tinkler, who played herself on popular TV program in the 60's.

Unbenownst to all his fans, actor Zandor Cowznofski was reportedly gay, and extremely promiscuous,

according to several sources who worked on set for the series in the late 60's.

Cowznofski died in 1977 in a widely publicized and tragic

ice-fishing/auto-erotic asphyxiation related electrical mishap.

According to TV spokesperson Tarra Van Tinkler,

things were not all 'quiet on the set' of The Herculoids.

(Above, an early publicity photo featuring the soon to be replaced ill-fated 'first' Dorno.)

"I remember in particular one day we were filming a scene with myself, Igoo, Zok, and Gleep filling in for Gloop, as well as doing his own scenes. We had finished the main shot, and they were ready to double a shot of Gleep as himself, so Igoo and I went back to our trailers. On the way we heard something strange coming from Zandor's trailer. It was Gloop, drunk as a skunk and naked, wrapped around Zandor like a fur coat, who was also naked. It was disgusting! I should have confronted them about it, but Igoo convinced me to keep quiet and pretend we didn't see anything. I wish I had said something to the producers, but I kept my mouth shut. Igoo had 13 children and 3 wifes to support, so he didn't want anything to ruin the shows chances for renewal."

The infamous Dorno Buttocks incident

"Then there was the time we filmed a scene with the young boy who played my son, Dorno. Gloop was supposed to come over and put his 'arm' around Dorno, but instead he came up behind Dorno and grabbed his butt. Right in front of everyone, he was so smashed he didn't care. We had to get a new Dorno, the kid refused to come back on the set. That was when the director demanded that Gleep replace Gloop in all his shots that could be faked. There were even shots where our special effects artist Henry Smooch was able to create the effect where Gleep and Gloop were in the same shot, but they were both actually Gleep! Smooch and Gleep actually became quite close because of that, and the last time I saw Henry he told me he had just come back from a deep sea fishing trip with Gleep and Tundro, who was in the states promoting his line of edible mailboxes. Tundro lives in France, and in fact if you listen closely on the old episodes you can detect his French accent! He was actually raised there. Tundro knew somebody well-connected in the casting office. I can't say we were ever close, but all those scenes where I looked real concerned for Tundro? That was just great acting by me! I admit it!"

Tundro Marcelieau (center rear) currently resides in France,

while Igoo Martin-Smythe (far right) has a successful proctology practice in Scranton.

Is that Gleep and Gloop riding Tundro?

Nope, that's the special effects wizardry of Henry Smooch at work,

mixing two seperate shots of Gleep to look like Gloop and Gleep!

"I remember a scene where Gleep. standing in for Gloop, was supposed to smother some flame monster or something, and he actually got hurt pretty bad. The man who played the flame monster was actually suffocated when Gleep surrounded him, Gleep was so dedicated to getting the shot...sniff...excuse me... this brings back old memories...sniff...anyway, The director yells 'Action', Gleep leaps, spreads out like a parachute and surrounds this guy, who was just some extra they doused with gasoline and lit on fire, and Gleep wanted to make it look good, so he got so close that when he smothered the flames, he smothered the man, and received 3rd degree burns all over his protoplasm. I couldn't believe it! The director actually used that scene in the episode, you'd think they would have some respect, but no, they actually used it. Gleep acted like it was all part of the job, and he even came in the next day to dub lines! He was a real trooper! We all loved him! All the while Gleep was on set getting burned, Gloop was in his trailer shooting heroin. When he found out what happened to Gleep, all he said was, "Wuwuwuwuwuwuwooo!" Can you believe that? That's all he ever said, in fact... he was effectually illiterate and had therefore some deep rooted hatred for the written word. One episode he was supposed to deliver a simple soliloquy from Macbeth, a few lines, to end the episode. Instead he let's loose with a loud "Wuwuwuwuwuwuwuoooo!" I could smell gin on his breath from across the set! There was no love lost between us, let me tell you!"

~ Many more juicy behind the scenes details can be found in the recent book Herculoids Unmasked, published by Obvious Parody Books and Completely Fake Publishers Co. Inc.

Herculoids publicity still, circa 1967 - from left to right (front):

Tundro, Zandor, Tarra, Dorno,Gleep, Gloop, Igoo, and Zok (rear).

Rumors confirmed: was there infighting and debauchery behind the scenes?

Yes, according to the former actress Tarra Van Tinkler, who at the time went by

her maiden name,Tarra Foomphs. "Zandor was gay and in heat, Tundro barely spoke English,

Gloop was a dirty drunk, and Igoo was all touchy-feely with everyone,

which didn't go down well with most of the cast, except Zandor" says Van Tinkler.

"Zok was always leaving his droppings all over the soundstage,

and outside the trailers was filthy from it. The only cast member

I remember fondly was Verm (Gleep), who bought me special

chocolate eggnog malted milk-shakes at the local Rexall store."

This was an excerpt from the book, "Herculoids Unmasked", by former TV star, Tarra Foomphs, who played herself on the popular series. For a revealing and shocking read, pick up a copy at your local fictictious bookstore. (currently out of print)

Brothers Vermal 'Gleep' Gleepston Hopfenglatzer
and Gloopus 'Gloop' Portnoy Hopfenglatzer share a laugh
in happier times on the set of TV's The Herculoids in 1967.

We will continue to monitor the situation and update you here with any
new reports regarding the welfare of TV's Gloop.
Police have asked all concerned parties,
"Please do not harrass the Hopfenglatzer family or throw jelly beans in support."

____________________________

For readers unfamiliar with The Herculoids, here is an episode
presented in a foreign language to make things clearer.

BLACK CONDOR As Done By STERANKO

2010-04-09T05:23:00.000-05:00

Rummaging through my millions of scans and comic art files, looking for the next Bad Costume Battle, I stumbled across this forgotten (by me, anyway) image of The BLACK CONDOR, as depicted by the amazing Steranko. Mr. Steranko, one of my all-time favorite artists, managed to transform the lithe, effeminate looking drag-queen we saw on the Golden Age covers in earlier posts into a rugged, muscular and downright handsome heroic figure! If the original Black Condor had looked this good, I wouldn't have lambasted him so! Well, his costume was rather silly, wasn't it?

Stay tuned, folks!

HEY, LOOK WHAT I FOUND!

2010-03-29T07:32:00.000-05:00

Hi, everyone!

Just taking a moment to catch up,

and I'll start posting regularly real soon.

In the meantime, I am required by law (Apocolyte's Law)

to remind everyone to stop over at my new art blog,

HEY, LOOK WHAT I FOUND!

The Art Of Michael Wurl

and say hi to me.

It's real lonely over there,

almost lonelier than being stuck out here

at the End Of Time!

So stop on by, leave some nice comments,

click on that little 'Follow' button thingy,

and if you get there early, I'll have doughnuts waiting.

With sprinkles and without sprinkles.

Unless you get there late,

in that case, you'll only find

sprinkles

and no doughnuts.

I'll be waiting for you!

...and I'm wearing pants,

so there won't be any embarrassing encounters,

like the last time...

...sorry about poking your eye...

THE APOCOLYTE'S RESPONSE TO LYSDEXICUSS!

2010-03-12T04:47:00.002-06:00

Comic blogger and artist Lysdexicuss created a hilarious image combining two of the most hideaous super-hero costumes featured so far in the Battle Of The Bad Costumes, and, well, I just had to reply with my own dastardly, bastardly creation! Utilizing the two remaining hideous super-hero costumes, may I introduce to you,

The "Blech" Condor-Soldier!

While I'm here, I might as well inform you of my latest blog,

HEY, LOOK WHAT I FOUND!

The Art Of Michael Wurl

which features cartoons, comics, and other art projects done by my some-time alter-ego.

Drop by sometime for some sweet art, and more than an occasional chuckle! I'll be waiting for you in front of the blog, wearing a red rose (as well as a red nose) so you'll know me...

In the meantime, I am busy gearing up for Round # 3 of our Battle Of The Bad Costumes, coming very soon! Thanks for all your votes and comments, and if you haven't weighed in yet, please do vote by leaving a comment.

Thanks, bad costume watchers!

VOTING IS STILL IN PROGRESS - Please Vote Now! ~ NEWS FLASH!!!

2010-03-07T17:24:00.002-06:00

THIS JUST IN...Breaking Story...

Beepity beep beep beep beepity beep beep beepity beep beep bip bip blah...

Hey, gang!

Just taking a minute to remind everyone that hasn't voted in my Battle Of The Bad Costumes to take a minute and drop your vote in the comment sections below...polls are still open, and I've received many hilarious comments from readers. Looking forward to hearing from you, too! Vote now!

Now I have a real treat to share with you.

One of today's best comic bloggers is also a fantastic artist
(hey, kinda like me!).

I'm talking about the man, the myth, the legend, LYSDEXICUSS, who brings long-lost golden age comics to us daily on his incredible blog, TEN CENT DREAMS. Besides being an expert on comics related subjects, he is an accomplished artist and a master of many mediums. I was delighted more than words can say when he revealed to me one of his latest 'projects', as it was inspired by this blog and the Battle Of The Bad Costumes!

Here is his hilarious almagam conglomeration of the worst of the worst costumes so far!

Absolutely fantastic, wouldn't you agree?

(click to enlarge)

http://hungrycomix.blogspot.com/

More of Lysdexicuss' imaginative and fascinating artwork can be found daily at the link above, his brand new art blog, HUNGRY COMIX. Click on his links here and go show him some o' yer love, won't you?

Thanks, Lysdexicuss!

_________________________________

(Also, for fans of Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine, head over to APOCOLYTE'S WORLD OF COMICS to enjoy my revealing and exclusive interview with Pappy himself! There are also several fantastic and seldom seen early comic posts from Pappy's early blogging days on display for your edification and entertainment! You'll love it!)

There!

Now your whole day is planned. See you soon!

BATTLE OF THE BAD COSTUMES - ROUND 2

2010-03-03T09:46:00.001-06:00

After an inadvertant hiatus, we now continue with our ongoing Battle Of The Bad Costumes!

I can't wait to see what happens this time!

Remember, I need your help! Vote NOW!

In this corner, our first combatant comes from the suggestion of reader BEMaven! Look on in wonderment, while the Red Bee as depicted by the great Lou Fine on HIT Comics #1, 1940 strides out of the locker room! The Red Bee comes to the ring wearing his original red and yellow costume, complete with horizontal striped spandex tights, a red burglar mask, and foofy, poofy, sheer gossamer sleeves.

His challenger, the Black Condor, as depicted by another Golden Age great, Gil Fox, from CRACK Comics #22, 1942, sports an augmented swimming trunk type outfit, with purple booties, purple 'wings/cape' attached to both wrists, purple belted swim trunks, and lastly his bare chest is covered (barely) by a diagonal strap, and a purple dickie...ahem...not going there...

Please help me decide which super costume is the absolute worst, by voting via leaving a comment!

I can't do this without your help!

So far you've helped me decide which costume is more atrocious, B'wana Beast or the Golden Age Unknown Soldier (to be revealed soon)!

Now, gentlemen, I want a clean fight...when you hear the bell, I want you both to come out...swishing?

Let the battle BEGIN!

DING!

As an extra bonus, I am including each hero's respective origin story, from HIT #1 and CRACK #1.

Please vote for the worst costume only, not the story! Thank you!

____________________

From HIT COMICS #1, 1940

Story by Toni Blum(?), art by Charles Nicholas(?)

__________________________________

From CRACK COMICS #1, 1940

Story by Will Eisner, art by Lou Fine

_____________________________

It seems these two heros experienced wardrobe updates from issue to issue, so for no reason, I will also display some bonus imagery from various covers.

Here the Red Bee trades his striped tights for solid red.

Art by Lou Fine.

The very next issue, he is wearing solid yellow tights!

Art by Lou Fine.

Check out the girlish gams on the Black Condor!

Art by Gil Fox.

Keep those legs crossed...please!

Or buy some long pants!

_________________________

Did you vote yet?

Please vote by leaving a comment!

(PS - If you know of any other hideous costumed heros, won't you let me know, like BEMaven did?

Your suggestion may be the next bout! Together we can determine the worst superhero wardrobe ever!)

Thank you!

BATTLE OF THE BAD COSTUMES! - Round 1

2010-02-13T03:52:00.001-06:00

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Are ... You ... Ready ... to RRRRRrrrrrrrumble?!

In this corner, we have a scrappy B'WANA BEAST, straight off of the cover of SHOWCASE # 66, 1967, wearing a 'Magneto' helmet trimmed in leopard skin, red striped socks also trimmed in leopard skin, matching leopard skin brief covered by a red and white striped towel.

...and, his challenger,

in the other corner, the battler known as THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER from the cover of OUR FLAG COMICS # 4, 1942, wearing a flattering skin-tight 'gay nazi' ensemble.

The challenge? I am trying to locate the worst super-hero costume ever, and I'm starting right here!

You can see our stylish opponents, and I need YOUR HELP to judge which costume is worst!

If you were a crimefighter, and you had to wear only either one or the other, which costume would you NOT be caught dead in?

Please help me by letting me know your vote via leaving a comment below.

Good luck, come out swinging, and may the Worst Costume win!

DING!

PLEASE TELL ME WHICH COSTUME IS WORST!

PSSSSSTTT....HEY, YOU....C'MERE!

2010-02-10T08:48:00.000-06:00

Wanna see one of the earliest Walt Kelly POGO stories?

Of course ya do!

Click here and go to

APOCOLYTE'S WORLD OF COMICS!

I'll meet you there!

JACK DAVIS PAYS OFF "THE DEBT"

2010-02-10T04:12:00.000-06:00

Original artwork posted at
BLACK 'N' WHITE AND RED ALL OVER.
Story by Carl Wessler. Art by Jack Davis.
From IMPACT #3, EC Comics, 1955.

FULFILLMENT - The Mystery Revealed

2010-02-03T08:17:00.000-06:00

Last post I theorized a possible story from analyzing the cover of INCREDIBLE SCIENCE FICTION # 31, from EC Comics, 1955. Upon re-reading the story, I believe I may have jumped to my humorous conclusions a bit hastily. There is more going on here than meets the eye in that fascinating Jack Davis cover. Two readers also offered their own ingenius interpretations, leaving no other recourse but to post the original story and see how we compare. Fortunately, there are only winners here.

Written by Jack Oleck, and drawn by Bernie Krigstein, here is

FULFILLMENT!

"Ra, Ra, Ra!!"

WHAT'S REALLLY GOING ON IN THE COVER

2010-01-29T06:50:00.000-06:00

A classic from EC comics and artist Jack Davis. From 1955.

What's really going on in this cover --

Imagine life ten years from now. A man and wife take a vacation to Venus. The husband thinks that it would be the perfect time to finally get rid of his 'pain in the neck'. With one quick, clean shot. He climbs out of the spaceship and, as his wife is admiring the flora, he lifts his rifle and takes aim.

Suddenly, out of the brush comes an enraged Venusian bull space-elephant ! Just in the nick of time, the wife leaps out of the way of the Venusian bull space-elephant, and the crosshairs of hubby's hunting rifle.

Stupid space-elephants.

LOOKING FOR GREAT COMICS? - I'll tell you where you can go...

2010-01-26T20:30:00.000-06:00

...You can go straight to

...that's where!

APOCOLYTE'S WORLD OF COMICS

COSMO CAT DIGS UP THE MOLE - Plus, A BRAND NEW COMICS BLOG!!

2010-01-25T13:21:00.000-06:00

It seems that lately the neccessities of life have been stealing all my Blogging Time, and while I'd love to be able to post fascinating and entertaining comics each and every day, I have these things that keep coming to my house in the mail called bills. Now, if some of y'all can start helping me out with some of those, then I can spend more quality time posting those awesome comics you like so much! Do we have a deal?

Actually, some of my fellow bloggers and fans got together and wrote me a little note. It said something like, "your blogs are awesome, and your posts are nice and juicy, but theres not enough of 'em. You need to be more committed."

So I was thinking, and I...what? Sorry, what was that? Can you repeat that?...That's NOT what they said? Oh. really? I must have read it too fast...well, what DID they say?...they didn't say I should be more committed... they actually said I SHOULD BE COMMITTED!

Oh, well, now that makes sense! I always knew my blog readers were the most perceptive blog readers!

Thank you, all! I will endeavor to post more regularly, as soon as I get some help with those darn bills!

Until then, won't you enjoy this wonderful little post I have for you?

After you read this story, you can visit and bookmark the grandest,the brandest, most spanking new-est and awesome-est comics blog thats ever been released all day!

That's right! A new Apocolyte Comics blog! That means I'll have to start postin' regularly! Oboy!

Because I love comics as much as you do, and because here at THE BLOG AT THE END OF TIME, I just can't handle all the comics I have to post, and because here at THE BLOG AT THE END OF TIME I may also occasionally talk about things besides comics (gasp!) so I made a new blog JUST FOR COMICS!

So, to sum up my 3 blogs:

THE BLOG AT THE END OF TIME - Comics, plus whatever else strikes my fancy...

BLACK 'N' WHITE AND RED ALL OVER - Black and white comics and artwork...

(NEW) APOCOLYTE'S WORLD OF COMICS - Comics, comics, and more comics!

____________________________

Now, enjoy this tale from COSMO CAT #3, 1946 from Fox Comics.

To learn more about Cosmo Cat, see the post(s) here and here at APOCOLYTE'S WORLD OF COMICS, as well as at Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine here.

___________________________________

Now, won't you head over and check out my new comics blog? I think you'll like it.

If you hurry, there's free doughnuts and coffee...

DANIEL THE SPANIEL - Funny Animal Comics From Animator Bob Wickersham

2010-01-18T00:48:00.000-06:00

1946.

World War Two had finally ended, and it was okay to laugh again.

Soldiers were returning home, the 'baby boom' was about to go BOOM, baby!

America needed a good Giggle or Haha, which incidentally were the names of two comics produced by ACG at that time.

Today's story originally appeared in HA HA COMICS #31, 1946.

It's a cute little story about a happy little dog named Daniel (the Spaniel) and what he encounters when a family of Robins move into the tree in his yard.

DANIEL THE SPANIEL was written by Jack Cosgriff and drawn by Bob Wick (Wickersham), two names that are probably better known in the field of animation. Cosgriff had written for the very first Woody Woodpecker cartoon, as well as The Fox and The Crow short, 'Woodsman, Spare That Tree!' that was directed by his buddy, Bob Wickersham. You can find more about Cosgriff here, and some good information on Wickersham here, here, and especially here.

It makes sense in retrospect that animators would excel in the field of comic books. Here, both the story and the art work together to create the distinct personalities of each character. As of this posting, according to GCD this was the first comic book art for Wickersham (of course GCD's records are far from complete). I will be looking out for more stories by Bob Wick and company.

...psssst...

After the comic is another special treat just for you!

But you have to read the comic first!

___________________________________

Here is "WOODSMAN, SPARE THAT TREE"

Directed by Bob Wickersham

Written by Jack Cosgriff

PARENTS OF THE YEAR AWARD - Willie just likes to draw

2010-01-14T02:39:00.000-06:00

Greetings and salutations!

This is my first post of the new year.

I haven't been able to post anything in about 2 1/2 weeks because I was:

A) under deep cover on a top-secret mission

B) the center of a national media storm after falling down a well (naked)

C) sleeping...plus, my dog ate my computer

D) busy plotting to take over the world
E) trapped in a alternate universe
F) all of the above

...or none of the above. You fill in the blanks.

All I can tell you is, time travel is possible, but the 'jet lag' is murder!

Anyway, I guess all that matters is -- I'm back, and I brought something with me.

Just for you.

From MARVEL TALES # 130, January 1955 (Atlas) comes a light little story about little Willie, and his exhasperated parents. Willie has a habit of drawing, and...well, you'll see. I think they all might need a shrink!

While the writer's identity remains unknown, this one was clearly drawn for laughs in an enjoyable style by artist Paul Hodge. Enjoy, see ya soon!

"WILLIE! OR WON'T HE?"

____________________________________

STILL PLENTY OF CHRISTMAS SPIRIT TO GO AROUND

2009-12-26T00:28:00.000-06:00

NUTTIN' FOR CHRISTMAS!

2009-12-25T14:07:00.000-06:00

THE CHRISTMAS EVE CREEPY CROSS-OVER - Making the most out of your holiday!

2009-12-24T01:51:00.000-06:00

Christmas horror continues as I share from the darker side of Christmas comics this season. Here is one of two stories featured in my Christmas Eve CREEPY Cross-Over with my other home away from home over at BLACK 'N' WHITE AND RED ALL OVER! Two terrific terror tales from CREEPY #59, 1973. For the first story, click on the link in red above. For the second story, look down. There it is.

Both stories feature a mad killer on the loose, and the spirit of Christmas gets a little twisted when all that stands between life and death and evil winning is one good man at Christmas time.

Enjoy this diversion, kiddies, while I finish wrapping your real gift...From Richard Corben and Bill Dubay, this is "BLESS US, FATHER..."

_________________________________

Now, why don't you go check out the second story in my

Christmas Eve Creepy Cross-Over over at

BLACK 'N' WHITE AND RED ALL OVER!

______________________________

CREEPY # 59 cover art by Manuel Sanjulian.

THE HORROR OF CHRISTMAS - EC's '...And All Through The House..."

2009-12-23T04:38:00.000-06:00

From VAULT OF HORROR # 35, from the pre-code Christmas of 1953, a seasonal classic that is bound to pop up on a dozen blogs today or tomorrow...In fact I'd been planning it for at least a couple of weeks. Hey, great comic book minds think alike...oh well! In fact, the beautiful black and white version is posted over at the always incredible Golden Age Comic Book Stories, and here (among other places) is the color version. (These scans from Gemstone reprint.) This story was also made into a pretty good 'Tales From The Crypt' TV episode. Story and art by the great Johnny Craig.

THE GENIUS OF WALT KELLY - Uncle Pogo So-So Stories

2009-12-18T00:10:00.000-06:00

Walt Kelly's Pogo has been making me smile ever since I was a little sprat. Lucky for me, Dad had great taste in comics, and when we were old enough to read, good ol' Dad brought forth his treasures and shared with us chill'un the joys that are Pogo. In a manner not dissimilar from the Warner Brothers cartoons that held the interest of children on one level, and also contained humor meant for older 'children' on a different level, Kelly could entertain and mesmerize all ages. As a kid, I didn't understand the social commentary and many of the popular culture references Kelly infused his comics with, I just knew they were funny.

I read and re-read these books and comics over and over throughout my childhood (and beyond), and after only a few decades of this, the bindings wore out and the pages began to come loose. That became a blessing in disguise, because now they are in perfect condition for scanning. Lucky you!

I can only imagine how Walt Kelly wrote his stories...they seem to flow from panel to panel in a spontaneous whimsy, going nowhere in particular, but overflowing with such gentle and approachable humor -- good-natured, but waaaay out there. Silly? Yes. Fun? Of course. Entertaining? To say the least! As you read the next 30 plus pages, I challenge you to find one single panel that isn't brimming with either Kelly's boundless wit in the form of jokes, or his unmatched humorous art, or both. G'wan, I dare ya!

So here is the first part of UNCLE POGO'S So-So-Stories, first print, 1953, including 'Robin Hood To Pay Piper', and 'A Chile's Guardin' Adversus'. What a talented fellow this Walt Kelly was. Enjoy.

_____________________________________

_________________________________

...COMING SOON!!

A LITTLE CHRISTMAS MUSIC - Jackson Five, Alvin & the Chipmunks, and more...

2009-12-13T13:07:00.003-06:00

Wow! Christmas is less than two weeks away, and I haven't bought last year's gifts yet...I am a little bit behind schedule...can anyone else relate?

A few days ago I heard a song on the radio. It was The Jackson Five version of Santa Claus is Comin' To Town. Wow! It took me back in time a bit, and I realized that this is probaby my favorite Michael Jackson performance ever. I knew I had to share some of this Christmas Joy with you all, so please take a few minutes to check out the videos (PS - more comics will be posted soon! I am busy planning my special gift to you all - you'll see!). I know everyone has their own favorite Christmas songs...here are a few of mine. I hope you enjoy them.

Listen to little Michael Jackson belt out this classic! Can you imagine how much he really felt this song? The eternal child - MJ must have loved Santa Claus and Christmas a whole bunch, and it shows!

Alvin and the Chipmunks!

The Little Drummer Boy! From the TV special...

Have a little BING with your holidays!

Lots of wonderful versions of this tune out there - I prefer a male lead vocal on this tune, so when I found this version I knew it was the one! From 1958...what a pair of voices!

I had to put in one more classic from Michael and the Jackson Five! Dig it!

Merry Christmas to all!

Drop by later for some fun comics!

Peace!

CLEAR THE STREETS! There's gonna be a SHOOT-OUT AT NOON!

2009-12-08T00:46:00.001-06:00

Here's another Golden Age western from Atlas, FRONTIER WESTERN # 8, 1957. Western comics demi-god John Severin turns in another period-perfect cover, but the cover story art chores go to Gray Morrow, who delivers the goods with some unique cinematic characterizations. This is a fun little story that just looks good! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

_________________________________________

"MIX"-ING THINGS UP - Carl Pfeufer and John Jordan on TOM MIX

2009-12-05T12:12:00.000-06:00

Tom Mix was the world's first cowboy star. He made over 300 movies, and out of those only 8 were 'talkies'. In fact, by the time these excellent comics by Fawcett appeared, Mix had been dead for going on 8 years. The world's greatest cowboy, who left movies in 1935 due to injuries, had been contemplating a return to film. Unfortunately, this never happened. On October 12th, 1940, Mix was returning home from Tuscon on Arizona state route 79 when, upon suddenly finding the road blocked by construction barricades due to a flash flood, veered his 1937 Cord 812 Phaeton into a ditch. Upon impact, the large aluminum suitcase filled with silver dollars that was on the seat behind him flew into the back of his head, crushing his skull and breaking his neck, killing Mix instantly.

You wouldn't know he was dead in these great comics published by Fawcett. I guess kids didn't care if he was dead, they bought the comics anyway.

When I first saw one of these comics I didn't know what to expect, but I found myself wanting more of them as soon as I had started reading. Most of these TOM MIX WESTERN comics had sweet painted covers, by Saunders and others. But I fell in love with the art and stories inside! Unfortunately, artists didn't get to sign their names and/or get credit very often for some of the fantastic work they did and it took a while to find out who the artist was. It was, in fact, two artists.

Let me make you aware of one of the greatest pencil/inking teams in the history of American comics, Carl Pfeufer and John Jordan. I know you probably never heard of them, not many people have. Like a Kirby/Sinnott, or Colan/Palmer, this combination worked wonders for Fawcett comics and more back in the 40's and 50's. The amazing thing was, the combination of their talents resulted in a much better product than any of their work seperate from each other, I believe. Pfeufer was a classically trained artist, and his quickly drawn figures flow and move with anatomically perfect precision, though his own finished style is a bit loose and 'hurried' looking. Jordan's style is very stiff, his figures look 2 dimensional and unreal, yet his art is finished very tight and neat. Put them together and you get some of the most beautiful western comics ever produced. I have a lot more to say about these two, and more scans to share, but here is the start. Enjoy.

These scans come from my own comic collection. This is actually one of the roughest copies of TOM MIX in my collection. Apparently, this particular comic used to belong to Wilson Marshall. If you are out there, Wilson, -- it's mine now! But please feel free to enjoy the scans!

TOM MIX WESTERN # 15, 1949. Cover artist unknown.

_______________________________

________________________________

They sure did like to dress up and pretend to be other people alot back then. Don't believe me? Well, take a look at our next story!

____________________________

COMICS ARE EDUCATIONAL - The TRUE Story of The Wonderful BIG BILL

2009-12-03T04:26:00.002-06:00

Don't let anyone tell you that comics are bad for you! Why, you can learn a lot of interesting true and historical facts from comic books! Take for example the story of Big, Bow-Legged Bill, the "rootin'est, rip-snortin'est man-critter that ever kicked up dust in the old west..."

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Yup. That's right. The Panama Canal. Lurned it frum a comic book, jest like everything else!

'THE WONDERFUL BIG BILL' was taken from DEAD-EYE WESTERN COMICS # 4, 1949, and was drawn by Ed Moore. Perhaps he wrote the story as well, that information wasn't able to be located. I don't know much about Ed Moore, but I like his style. I know I have seen his signature on one or two other stories somewhere in my comic book igloo. Yeah, I built an igloo out of comics, you got a problem with that?! It protects me from the polar bears. So, anyway, I will prob'ly post another Moore story one of these days...

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Cover to DEAD-EYE WESTERN COMICS # 4. Art by Dan Zolnerowich

CARL SAGAN ROCKS! ................................ featuring DJ 'Big Wheels' Hawking

2009-11-30T04:31:00.005-06:00

More comics later today...had to take a break for a bit...

In the meantime check out my new favorite song, won't you?

I guarantee a smile will form on your face!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSgiXGELjbc

http://www.symphonyofscience.com/

Lyrics:

[Sagan]

If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch

You must first invent the universe

Space is filled with a network of wormholes

You might emerge somewhere else in space

Some when-else in time

The sky calls to us

If we do not destroy ourselves

We will one day

Venture to the stars

A still more glorious dawn awaits

Not a sunrise, but a galaxy rise

A morning filled with 400 billion suns

The rising of the milky way

The Cosmos is full beyond measure

Of elegant truths

Of exquisite interrelationships

Of the awesome machinery of nature

I believe our future depends powerfully

On how well we understand this cosmos

In which we float like a mote of dust

In the morning sky

But the brain does much more than just recollect

It inter-compares, it synthesizes, it analyzes

it generates abstractions

The simplest thought like the concept of the number one

Has an elaborate logical underpinning

The brain has its own language

For testing the structure and consistency of the world

A still more glorious dawn awaits

Not a sunrise, but a galaxy rise

A morning filled with 400 billion suns

The rising of the milky way

The sky calls to us

If we do not destroy ourselves

We will one day

Venture to the stars

[Hawking]

For thousands of years

People have wondered about the universe

Did it stretch out forever

Or was there a limit

From the big bang to black holes

From dark matter to a possible big crunch

Our image of the universe today

Is full of strange sounding ideas

[Sagan}

How lucky we are to live in this time

The first moment in human history

When we are in fact

Visiting other worlds

A still more glorious dawn awaits,

Not a sunrise, but a galaxy rise

A morning filled with a 400 billion suns

The rising of the milky way

A still more glorious dawn awaits,

Not a sunrise, but a galaxy rise

A morning filled with a 400 billion suns

The rising of the milky way

The surface of the earth is the shore of the cosmic ocean

Recently we've waded a little way out

And the water seems inviting ---

BOB POWELL and MAJOR INAPAK, THE SPACE ACE!

2009-11-28T09:56:00.005-06:00

Here's a little gem that many of you have seen before, but some of you have not, so...

In 1951, there was a 'chocolate flavored drink' called "INAPAK", and since comic books were all the rage with the kids back then, they decided to create a promotional 'giveaway' comic to sell their product. I'm not sure how but they managed to get comic book great Bob Powell to do it for them, and I can't say for sure whether or not Powell enjoyed drawing it or not, but it sure looks like he did! It's pretty damn cool for a free comic! - oh, yes, a word for the comic collector's out there...if you are looking to purchase a copy of this comic for your collection, don't be fooled into paying high prices! I actually saw this on Ebay going for $50 or more! Don't you do it! A few years back they found a whole warehouse FULL of these comics, so you can pick one up real cheap! But now you don't have to, just read it here and save the images! By the way, these scans are from my own personal comic, as usual. Nowadays it can also be found many places online as well.

As a special treat for you, I found some early panels that were not approved by INAPAK, and so they had to be changed (not the art, but the story). Here, take a look at some of these early panels before they were fixed.

Okay, just kidding! Those aren't real panels, just ones that I messed with...heh heh...

Here is the real comic, from cover to cover. Powell was skilled at drawing action, and, boy-o-boy, is there ever some action! So pour yourself a biiiiig ol' glass o' yummy INAPAK drink flavored goop, and enjoy the work of Mister Stanislav Robert Pawlowski, better known as Bob Powell. Oh, yeah, don't miss the inside cover where they compare INAPAK flavored drink to the atomic bomb...

(You may notice the front and back covers suffer from mild offsetting from sitting in stacks for so long, or perhaps just bad printing)

By the way, if anyone out there has ever drank this stuff, please let us know how you survived the experience...was it as dee-lish as Bob Powell says it is? Mmmm, I'm thirsty now!

CHARLIE CHAN DOUBLE FEATURE - Charley Chin and Charlie Chinless

2009-11-27T07:01:00.000-06:00

Here are two very different satirical takes on the Charlie Chan detective movies of the 30's and 40's. The first one is by Joe Maneely, from Atlas Comics 'WILD' # 1, 1954 (for another great story from this same issue, go to Pappy's blog here). The second one will feel more familiar, drawn by Will Elder, from the final issue of 'PANIC' #12, 1956. The reproduction quality of the first story is a bit rough due to age and printing issues, and even though I did manage to clean it up considerably, it still is quite rough, but lots of fun anyway. The second story came from a Gemstone EC reprint, and the reproduction on it is fantastic.

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DIGGING MY WAY OUT! - Buried In A Mountain Of Comic Books

2009-11-26T12:32:00.000-06:00

For the three or four people who happen to frequent this blog, you may have asked yourself, "Where is this guy? He hasn't posted anything in about a week!"

Even if you don't care, I'm going to tell you.

Last week I went to my basement to find the next comic I wanted to post, and several monstrously tall stacks of comic books came tumbling down at once, leaving me buried! I tried and tried, but I could not extricate myself from underneath the massive pile of Golden Age and Silver Age layers that pressed down upon me. I yelled at the top of my lungs, but my house guest, Dr. Wertham P. Fredricks, is a sound sleeper. I found that I had but one choice if I wanted to survive -- I would have to READ my way out. And read I did. Each comic book that deserved to be scanned and posted was made into a new stack....and here they are! Eventually I managed to get out of my predicament, and I brought with me the stacks of comics that threatened to do me in! I'm back, baby, now take a look at these comics! These stories come from every era, every genre...I can't choose just one! They are all so goooood!

So, for now, in no particular order, here are some fun, cool, interesting, or otherwise awesome comic book stories, starting with "THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN THE WORLD!", which could be a story about me (but it isn't), followed by "A FATE WORSE THAN DEATH!", which could be about my marriage (but it isn't...is it?). Both are from 1950's Atlas - The first story by Robert Q. Sale is from 'Strange Stories Of Suspense' #13, and the second is from 'Menace' #11, with art by Seymour Moskowitz.

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THANKSGIVING DAY

2009-11-26T11:47:00.001-06:00

It's Thanksgiving, my friends. Times are tougher now for many, including yours truly, and while it's hard to be thankful for a year of spending more and getting less, a year of losing your job, or a loved one, I can always find something to be thankful for, even in hard times. I hope you can too. For one thing, I have a computer - not everyone has one of these (even though here in the USA we tend to have a lot of everything) and so while I don't have much, I do have my computer, and my scanner. Oh, yes, and a mountain of comic books! Thank you, Lord!

If you have family, go and be with them, and be thankful for them. If you can't be with them, give them a call. Go on, let them know that your thankful for them.

Me, I'm stuck out here at the end of time. It does get lonely out here sometimes, but I know every now and then a kind stranger like yourself will happen along and visit with me for a while. That's why I spent all day in the kitchen preparing and cooking a giant endangered North American leopard-spotted emu! Yum yum! There's stuffing and gravy over there, and fresh pie and pudding over there, grab a plate and hunker down! I'll throw a few more logs on the fire, and let's take a look at some great comics for a while! Seriously, sit down...I took the liberty of spiking that hot chocolate, you're not going anywhere for a few hours...sit down...look at the pretty comics...there...

MORE MIRTH FROM MARIE SEVERIN! - F-F-FROGS!

2009-11-19T22:18:00.000-06:00

I know I promised you all bunches of hilarious Marie Severin comic work...and while intentions never seem to match the actual outcome, I think it's about time to post some more Marie! So here you go!

First just look at the cover to SPOOF # 3...with a January cover date, this cover must have gone to press right after the presidential elections of 1972. It makes me wonder if Marie Severin had another version standing by that featured George McGovern as Prez had he won...the funny thing about the cover is that within months, Spiro Agnew would leave office in disgrace from bribery charges, and of course the Watergate story would also break, and we all know what happened to Richard Nixon.

Also on the cover are the rock 'n' roll leaders of that particular time-frame...let's look at them, shall we? From left to right, there's the Jackson Five, the Osmond brothers, John Lennon is swearing in new president David Cassidy (who was just huuuge at that point) on a copy of Rolling Stone magazine, behind them watching are Yoko Ono and the rest of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones (w/Ron Wood), Elvis Presley, and I do believe that the gent in the fancy jacket is american rocker Tommy James. Another amazing caricature cover that no one else could even attempt to pull off with the apparent ease that Marie Severin had done.

Inside this issue is where we find our story, which is a satire of the horror movie 'FROGS'. Now for those of us who actually saw this fairly awful film, you will notice that the characters don't receive the usual Marie Severin caricature treatment...in fact, none of the stars of the film (Ray Milland, Sam Elliot, etc.) are featured. This is probably due to the fact that Stu Schwartzberg who wrote it also did lay-outs for Marie, and in fact she may not have even seen the film. In any case, it's a very funny look at a drearily boring film. Inked by Herb Trimpe, who had worked with Marie early on with 'The Incredible Hulk'.

Enjoy! ...and I promise more Marie Severin comics to come!

CRACKED # 1 - Bill Everett and the Atlas art connection

2009-11-16T22:30:00.006-06:00

-click on images to enlarge-

Here you go.

In December of 1957, a new magazine hit the news-stands. 'CRACKED' would become the most successful 'MAD' competitor ever published. With a cover date of March, 1958, here is the amazing first cover! By John Severin, right? Nnnah, not quite...here's the story...
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...1957...Atlas (Marvel) Comics...Publisher Martin Goodman confronts editor/writer Stan Lee regarding a 'closetful of completed yet unused stories', forcing Lee to end offering freelance work, and to essentially fire the entire steady bullpen staff one by one until finally, by the end of April, the infamous 'Atlas Implosion' is in full effect. At the same time, Goodman takes a gamble by deciding to switch to a new distributor, American News Company (ANC), and when ANC shut down operations within the first months, the 'Atlas Era' effectively came to a close. A few short years later, Stan Lee would usher in the renaissance of the 'Marvel Age of Comics', but that...is another story for another time.

Now it's the end of 1957. The core group of Atlas artist's are scrambling to find steady work. One of many new ventures they find is a new publication seeking to imitate the success of 'MAD' magazine. Publisher Robert C. Sproul hired Lee's right-hand man, artist and production manager Sol Brodsky as his new editor. Brodsky promptly hired the best of the old art staff, including: Carl Burgos, Paul Reinman, Joe Maneely, Bill Everett, Al Williamson, Ed Winniarski, Russ Heath, and, last but not least, John Severin. Severin, who had drawn for 'MAD', was offered the assignment of drawing the first cover. He drew his cover layout idea and brought it in for approval. The problem was, Sproul was not about to pay as much as 'MAD', not even close. So Severin decided to pass on completing the assignment, and close friend Bill Everett came on board to paint the first cover, using much of Severin's layout. The result is a beautiful combination of the now familiar 'cluttered, star-studded' Severin cover style and the excellent humorous artistic talents of Everett. Today we can take a look at both the original cover (above), as well as a more recent reprint of same issue (below), for comparison.
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To help you make sense of all the madness (cracked-ness?), here are a few of the people and events from 1957 that the artist(s) have captured in this 'time-capsule' of a cover:
*Between 1955 and 1958 there were at least 8 recorded Antarctic expiditions, beginning with America's 'Operation Deepfreeze' led by the legendary Admiral Richard E. Byrd, who's first expidition was in 1928. Wikipedia explains : The impetus behind Operation Deep Freeze I was the International Geophysical Year 1957–58. IGY, as it was known, was a collaboration effort between forty nations to carry out earth science studies from the North Pole to the South Pole and at points in between. The United States, along with Great Britain, France, Japan, Norway, Chile, Argentina, and the U.S.S.R. agreed to go to the South Pole—the least explored area on Earth. Their goal was to advance world knowledge of Antarctic hydrography and weather systems, glacial movements, and marine life. The U.S. Navy was charged with supporting the U.S. scientists for their portion of the IGY studies.
To represent these expeditions we see a parka-clad man in a canoe...what is it he's discovering? A giant smoking penguin hitting on a mermaid! In the back of his canoe we see...

* ...a television set, complete with antenna. By the end of 1957, TV was the new technology and growing fast as the soon-to-be dominant form of media, with over 47 million TV sets in 40 million homes.

* The cold war was in full bloom...in the west (USA) we see the mushroom clouds (literally), while in the east, at the 'Atom Bombski Site' there appears to be smaller fireworks exploding instead...on the USA side we see a eye spying on us from a submarine periscope...to the north we see Santa Claus being accosted by a Soviet soldier, who in turn is foiled by a good old American cowboy, who very much resembles the comic book version of Wyatt Earp that had been drawn by both Severin and Everett at one point.

* Speaking of the cold war, on October 4th, 1957, Russia launched the first satellite into space, Sputnik 1, and the space race was on. A month later, Sputnik 2 was launched, carrying a live dog. America, fearing Russian atomic bombs dropping from the skies, quickly responded by attempting to launch our own sattelite, and in December the United States answered the Soviet challenge by launching the Vanguard. The rocket burst into flames upon launching, and the USA's satellite managed to travel only a few hundred feet at best, being thrown clear in the explosion.

* Ike was president, and here he swings his golf club and drives a ricochet shot straight into the sputnik satellite.

* We can see Cleopatra fishing off of her ship on the river Nile, and she looks like she hooked a big Roman, Marcus Antonius...okay, so...these two were not actually around in 1957...

* Just above them we see the yawning, sulphurous mouth of Hell is now exposed (naturally in communist territory), and Satan himself looks out, accompanied by his three recent inductees - Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Benito Mussolini. There is a pair of legs also sticking out of hell, and I like to think they belong to that 'fanner of the cold wars flame's, red-baiting, commie chasing senator Joe McCarthy, who had died earlier that year.

* Appearing to fly out of the pits of Hell (which inevitably brings this image to mind) are a man and a woman on a motorcycle, trailing a 'Just Married' sign and a string of tin cans. The man is the 'Wild One' himself, Marlon Brando, and the woman is his new bride, Anna Kashfi, who were married on October 11th, 1957. Brando would later state that he married Kashfi only because he had gotten her pregnant. The result of that pregnancy was son Christian Brando, who shot and killed Dag Drollet, his half-sister Cheyenne's boyfriend, in 1990. Brando divorced Kashfi in 1959.

* The beautiful and busty Jayne Mansfield's star was on the rise. She had just released a couple of movies that helped to establish her as the next big 'sex symbol', 'The Girl Can't Help It', and 'Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?". In November of '57 she purchased the now famous 'Pink Palace', and in January of '58 she married bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay.

* I'm not 100% certain, but speaking of sex symbols, I do believe that the blonde woman in the Canadian Mountie uniform dragging behind a man with glasses to be Marilyn Monroe, and husband at the time playwright Arthur Miller...I do not understand the Canadian reference, if it even is supposed to be them. If you know who they are and I'm mistaken, please let me know.

* In the lower left we see a jet with USA markings flying, and the pilot is giving a thumbs up sign. This is Major John Glenn, who set an air speed record on July 15th, 1957. Project Bullet, the first supersonic transcontinental flight was achieved by Glenn who flew a Vought F81-U Crusader jet from California to New York in 3 hours, 23 minutes and 8.4 seconds. He later became the first American to orbit the earth, and is currently a US senator.

* Lastly, take a look at this last inside joke -- Underneath all of the craziness, the weight of the world has crushed...the mighty 'Atlas'! (Atlas is dead - long live Atlas!)

Here is the reprint version

-click on images to enlarge-

CRACKED magazine (or mazagine, as they called it) stopped publishing in 2007. In it's place is the modern version, the updated CRACKED.com website. Click here to visit.

Thanks for dropping in! Next time, could you phone ahead first? ...I was in the shower...
More on the early days of Cracked, as well as the Atlas contributor's, in days to come!
See you then!