Mister Scribbles

She sees you, little one.  She sees all she surveys. There is a passage in the first chapter of A Coffin For Dimitrios where Charles Latimer, the mystery writer, has been feeling sorry for Colonel Haki, who has been making a fool of himself over a proposed book idea to Mr. Latimer.  After dinner, they go to the colonel's office to get the plot summary when the colonel excuses himself for a moment while he deals with a small matter, the body of a wanted criminal that has been found floating in the Bosporus.  As he is reading the file Latimer notices that Colonel Haki's face has taken on the appearance of an old and very experienced cat watching a young and very inexperienced mouse.  He remembers an acquaintance telling him that there was 'something about torturing prisoners'.  He realizes that he does not need to feel sorry for the colonel at all.  Then Haki looks up at him and asks, "I wonder, Mr. Latimer, if you are interested in real crimi...

In April, 1958, a kid's book was published that caused some trouble in the State of Alabama.  The book was 'The Rabbit's Wedding', by the noted illustrator and one of the best artists ever Garth Williams.  (Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web, The Rescuers). The alert reader will notice the black rabbit is black and the white one white.  Well, the state of Alabama noticed this also. The White Citizen's Council, led by State Senator E. O. Eddins, declared that the book encouraged miscegenation and wanted it removed from the shelves and burned. Picking on a kid's book sure was reaching. "This book and many others should be taken off the shelves and burned". Senator Eddins of Demopolis, Alabama.  Demopolis translates as village-citystate.  Eddins was a racist who had fought in France with the Marines in the Great War, so he was no coward.  I'm sure he was beloved by his constituency.  If anyone thinks that I am singli...

      The Rabbit's Schoolroom.  Walter Potter. 1880's.  This stunning collection sold not too long ago at auction for about half a million pounds.  There was a lawsuit filed by the owner when he found out that Damien Hirst had offered a million and it was turned down.  It turns out that the offer may not have been for real.       Detail. The Kitten's Tea Party.  Would that those kitties had a few years of life than immortality behind glass. What fun!  Farmers would bring Potter their drowned kittens. The Lower Five.  Check out the window! https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gallery/2013/sep/13/curious-world-walter-potter-pictures-taxidermist-victorian  

   Legionnaire body armor.  This is a Lorica Segmentata, a self explanatory name.  Mass produced, light, and very effective, it is the opposite of gladiatorial armor.  Gladiatorial armor, the other need in Roman culture, was heavy, showy, and designed to be worn for just a few minutes.  Legionaire armor was designed to protect vital areas, to be light and inconspicuous, and might be worn for weeks on end.  Armor for the games was made to keep arms and head safe, yet leave the torso open for a death blow.  It was also gilded, heavy and beautiful.      A perfect example of the opposition of gladiatorial defense vs. military.  No chest protection, damn near no vision, eyecatching decoration, weight and bulk no problem at all!   The helmet shown here is that of a Thracian, or possibly a secutor (chaser), they are the same thing.  Of course there were no hard and fast rules on the sand as nov...

Today the back porch was all over lizards.  I was trying to get a photo of one who was crunching a June bug in the most leisurely manner, when I espied movement and saw this fellow peeping over a silver plated pitcher I obtained for two dollars 30 years ago.  That's polish all over it, I've been meaning to shine it.  The pitcher, the lizard is supposed to be dull.  That I even saw him demonstrates his lack of focus on the imperative.  As expensive as this camera is, like all digital cameras there is a lag between pressing the button and getting the picture.  All the others were blurred, a real shame as he is a handsome lizard and this does not show him in all his leathery glory. This is a phone camera, but a camera nonetheless.  Oh for my Speed Graphic again! Lizards R Us. A life of serenity and contemplation.

Friends don't let friends exact vengeance.  This goddamn camera is fucking useless.

  Scamp # 5  May 1958 Adorable anthro puppy action from Dell, from the month and year when I was born.  Note the price.  I have always thought this apropos for me.  I found this in a warehouse I was cleaning out c. 1996. Bob Grant did the pencils until 1961.  There were many artists and I am not getting straight answers so this is as much credit as I can give. Just yanked this off the net.  Lively, great linework, typical Disney. A Sunday strip. Bill Berg, Scamp Sunday page layout, 1960. # 9. March 1, 1959 Scamp # 8, 1958 Scamp # 8, Dec1 1958 https://youtu.be/P_y6tCxnerQ Scamp # 1, 1955 http://www.toonopedia.com/scamp.htm

The only piece of glass I have left.  This was from a pattern, my originals were things like the Major Arcana, Rider-Waite deck.  I made this for my parent's house c. 1990, workmanlike with poor solder joints, I got in a hurry.   I thought I had a trade, glass does not pay well unless you work for a really good studio.  Too many people are capable of basic cutting and glazing, and anything else has to be sold as custom pieces or fine art.  Screw it, I'll glaze these for myself and stack them in the corner before I ever let myself be cheated again, people want artistic skill but they don't want to pay for it.  Doubt me?  Ask anyone who has ever spent years training for the stage how well they get paid.  Ask anyone on an art site how often people beg for free art.  People will pay big bucks for the venue but skimp on the artists, not realizing or caring that they are getting exactly what they pay for in the way of talent.  If...

  This is my sister's house in Austin.  The house on the right of the one in the pic, out of camera shot, is where Charles Whitman stabbed his wife to death.  It has been extensively rebuilt but for years it looked just like it did on the front page of the Austin paper the day of that horrible event.  This is now an upscale neighborhood but I worked with a guy who said it was not paved until after WWII.  In the above I have captured a raccoon who had been living under the house.   Me and my brother took him to an Episcopalian church that sits in some woods a few miles away and let the beautiful, stinky animal go.  He went off like a brown and white flash.  He almost exactly matched the saddle shoes visible behind the cage, a good thing because I wouldn't want us to clash.  I am very fond of raccoons but they can do enormous damage to a house.      Bon chance little one!      (An aside....

This phone thing is driving me nuts.  Fuck!  This drawing is not good anyway, but to have it turn out blue just sucks.