Epaminondas the night before the battle of Leuctra.  He will mass his best troops on his left, unheard of in Hoplite warfare, as he knows the Spartan elite will be opposite these.  If he can stomp the Spartans, their "allies" will run.  His one elite force on his right will be commanded by his friend Pelopidas.  This is the Sacred Band, 300 lovers picked for their looks and physique.  No kidding.  The Spartans are crushed, losing 700 irreplaceable soldiers and their king.  Sparta always had two kings so this would have been the one on the field.  I am sure that the olive oil flowed around the campfires that night!

     Epaminondas and his friend Pelopidas, of Thebes.  These two would change the balance of power in Greece forever, and pave the way for the subjection by Alexander.      By massing his forces on the left wing, unheard of in hoplite warfare, Epaminondas slammed into the Spartan line, broke it and the battle was over.  700 Spartan warriors were killed, a loss that seriously crippled the slave state.  Sparta never had more than 10,000 soldiers and could never mass all of them due to having to control their slaves.      Later he led the largest army ever raised in Greece and invaded Sparta.  He freed all slaves and broke Sparta to a local power.  In the winter.  Returning to Thebes, he was put on trial for his life for illegally keeping his army in the field past his mandate.  Acquitted.  When he was not being a general, he served in the ranks.      No fun at parties at all.  He would stay home naked while his cloak was being cleaned.  Vegetarian.      Killed at the battle o

Witch's Sabbat, Francisco Goya.  La Quinta de Sordo.  Oil on plaster, transferred to canvas.  El Prado, Madrid. The Thing From Another World.  1951, d. Howard Hawks. Elsa Lanchester, Bride of Frankenstein. d. James Whale In the weeks and hours leading up to Halloween back in my boyhood the television stations would run hours of great old horror movies.  Even the bad ones I loved and still do.  We would have lots of this: Vincent Price, The Last Man on Earth.  This is a nightmare scene where he brings his wife's body to the always burning pit.   Mediocre but stylish, Italian-wise. Then: The Haunting, 1963.  This is the most terrifying scene ever filmed.  I saw this in Richardson, Tx, c. 1966.  Whoa! Vampyre, 1932.  Growing up around Dallas I was fortunate as the local PBS station, Channel 13, was one of the more forward and innovative stations in the US.  They were the first to regularly air Mo

I love dancing. 

      A blustery day here on the coast.  Very nice for a change, I wore my leather Turkish jacket to the coffee shop and finished this.   And yes, I am in a rut, thanks ever so much.       At the age of three, I refused all toys except a rifle, a drum, and a model helicopter.  At eighteen, I designed a hand grenade that killed 38 Eurasian  prisoners at a single burst.  I had no interests outside the principles of Ingsoc, and the complete and final elimination of Thought Criminals.  I denounced my parents during grade school for Thought Crime.  At the age of twenty three, while flying dispatches across the Indian ocean I was attacked by Eastasian fighter jets.  Weighting myself down with a machine gun, I jumped from my helicopter.  An end, one should realize, to be envied! Order of Conspicuous Merit, 2cnd Class.

The infamous grain silo.    This is Pearl, the most successful living dog on the fight circuit, often preferred over dead lions! Where the slaughter took place.  The buildings are from the 1970's and have replaced the originals. The little guy with the big sound!

I lust for real power!      Leaving social media, Google +, has been a real shocker for me.  I was getting over one hundred thousand views a month and this was very gratifying.  Not all of it was my artwork, I was on a couple of Dark Art sites where I would post other artist's pictures. Also I was on a Rockabilly site or two, but mostly I was putting up my own artwork, such as it is.      And catching hell for it.  Lots of folk put up their art and I did not see any of them spark the abuse that I was getting. My guess is that my style irritates those raised on computer aided art.  I grew up on hand drawn comics and learned to appreciate ability at a very early age.  I can remember talking about Jack Kirby in 1965, although I did not know his name.      Many of my pics illustrate historical events, small those may be.  Others were just drawings done for my own amusement, mainly of the vanity of my character Billy, a feckless rabbit with delusions of superiority.  Yet this

...But midst the Tide, two angel forms were seen to glide. Rockport, 2013

      Vindex is taking the part of a senator who has accepted a duel, and his best friend Titus has taken the part of the elderly knight who offered challenge.  The proxy system is justified by the enormous amount of money the loser pays, with a tenth going to the winner.  Of course, the fighters do not make the contract but the owners!   These men are the best of friends, but only one will walk away.  And our bunny is not here to lose...

Rabbit Hill, 1945.  Robert Lawson.  Newbery Award winner.  This is Little Georgie. Superior art. Can this guy draw or what? This is Bigwig vs. Woundwort, Watership Down.  LadyFiszi,  DeviantArt.  This is my take on the same.  Early Mister Scribbles.   

Ned Kelly's armor.

     As usual, I woke up in the early hours and spent time being sad.  I have been thinking of a lot of things, just as you do, and the time I spent researching Tiger's murder yesterday reinforced this sorrow that comes on me sometimes.  I went and got Mingo, aka Grash, to lay down with me while I thought this over while trying to slip off.      I love animals, but I have cats because they come to me.  All of my cats have showed up hungry and asking for help.  I think I have some sort of hobo sign scratched on the front of my house that says, love here!  And it is love, unreserved and total.  I do not have to care for cats the way I would a dog.  I am sitting my sister's dog, Pearl, right now and she needs a lot of attention.  Grash could give a fuck so long as I make with the food.      When I was younger I did not have this sort of empathy for animals.  I have not been a great human my entire life, and I have made many mistakes.  I cannot very well sit in judgement on som

     What an otherwise dull day at the beach!  Very fortunately, there is excellent long eared eye candy to make everyone's Sunday complete.  Yes, Billy always thinks of others first.  He does not dress like he does because he is selfish.  Eleemosynary, that's him!  Hope y'all have a great week. 

    So all my clothes are worn out, ripped (and not in a good way) or lost.  At a Goodwill, a thrift I despise, I got a pair of like new jeans that fit me like a second skin, and are more like tights.  And tights work if you got the legs for 'em.  As Lucille Ball observed, the legs are the last to go.    The demon prospect Greg is now facing having to wait for me to die on my own which means he has to wait to select another victim which means he has fucked up and Hell punishes failure.  Severely.  Anything that makes me just a little happier makes me a better bunny, er, person and that makes things a lot worse for Greg.  Greg faces death by bakery oven and, as we all know, Hell hath no furry like a Bunny Sconed!  Oh my. (wipes tears of laughter out of merry green eyes).    The Domesday-like tome I have a foot on symbolizes my rejection of a lifetime of obsessive historical reading, I won't call it research, in favor of enjoying looking good in the time I have left.     The

Cluny the Scourge and Basil Stag Hare.  Redwall, the Graphic Novel.  Art by the amazing Bret Blair. Mr. Bunny marches Peter and Benjamin out of the Garden.  Readers of this site know that I am great admirer of Beatrix Potter, superior writer and unexcelled artist.   Above, the White Rabbit.  Below, the March Hare helps put the Dormouse in a teapot.  Both by the incredible Sir John Tenniel. Kuni, Zombie Bunny Boy. On the left, Rabbit, Winnie the Pooh, as illustrated by E.H. Shepard.  The Disney version on the right.  I like a lot of Disney art but dislike most of the movies because they just have to be musicals.  And Winnie the Pooh is as fucked up a book as they come.  No, that honor belongs to Peter Pan. Billy Scribbles, RWA. Rabbitz with attitude.  You saw the rest, now here's the best!  And yes, I have a nerve.

       Drove to Woodsboro with my sister to photograph a house she had listed.  This is a town 12 miles off the road to Refugio, out in the middle of farmland.  I had no idea at all such a pretty little town was out there.  I thought this would make a good album cover photo if I was a rock musician and if I was a lot better looking.  Well, on does what one can.  We must work with what we have.  Every cloud has a silver lining, and vice versa, of course.       Still, I have never let reality intrude on my delusions.  Gimme the fucking close up!

  Frederick Courtney Selous. Big game hunter, explorer extraordinaire, conservationist.      Killed 71 elephants in his career, and God alone knows how many other animals.  Realized that he and the other big game hunters were fast wiping out African fauna.  Became the first major conservationist.  Friend of Kings and presidents.  Him and his wife lived in a house in Matabeleland with permission of the King.  Joined the army to fight against Von-Lettow Vorbeck in the most fascinating campaign in history.  Won the D.S.O. for bravery and leadership.  Died in a skirmish on the banks of the Rufiji January 4, 1917, at the age of 66.  His grave is now in the Selous Game Preserve.       A man of extraordinary physique and intelligence, Selous was killing big game at a time when it was not regarded as wrong.  When he realized what hunters could do to the big game population, he became instrumental in protecting said game.  The place where he died is now the Selous game p

Rabbits are very friendly.

7:58 Copano Bay.