Woody Jean Davis February 3 1935 - Sept 26 2022 My Mother kept a garden, A garden of the heart. She planted all the good things That gave my life its start. She turned me to the sunshine And encouraged me to dream. Fostering and nurturing The seeds of self-esteem. And when the winds and rain came, She protected me enough. But not too much because she knew I'd need to stand up strong and tough. Her constant good example Always taught me right from wrong. Markers for my pathway That will last a lifetime long. I am my Mother's garden. I am her legacy. And I hope today she feels the love Reflected back from me. -Unknown

The passengers who had left Rome by the night express had to stop until dawn at the small station of Fabriano in order to continue their journey by the small old-fashioned local joining the main line with Sulmona. At dawn, in a stuffy and smoky second-class carriage in which five people had already spent the night, a bulky woman in deep mourning was hoisted in — almost like a shapeless bundle. Behind her, puffing and moaning, followed her husband — a tiny man, thin and weakly, his face death-white, his eyes small and bright and looking shy and uneasy. Having at last taken a seat he politely thanked the passengers who had helped his wife and who had made room for her; then he turned round to the woman trying to pull down the collar of her coat, and politely inquired: “Are you all right, dear?” The wife, instead of answering, pulled up her collar again to her eyes, so as to hide her face. “Nasty world,” muttered the husband with a sad smile. And he felt it his duty to expla

If I could summon the wherewithal to do a comic, this would be a great rabbit design.  But where is the personality, the almost human expression, the light touch? Nowhere, that's where. Still, one good looking bunny.    November 16, 2018

The man came out on the front porch and examined the day. Bright and cold -- with dew on the lawns. He buttoned his coat and put his hands in his pockets. As the man started down the steps the two caterpillars waiting by the mailbox twitched with interest. "There he goes," the first one said. "Send in your report." As the other began to rotate his vanes the man stopped, turning quickly. "I heard that," he said. He brought his foot down against the wall, scraping the caterpillars off, onto the concrete. He crushed them. Then he hurried down the path to the sidewalk. As he walked he looked around him. In the cherry tree a bird was hopping, pecking bright-eyed at the cherries. The man studied him. All right? Or-- The bird flew off. Birds all right. No harm from them. He went on. At the corner he brushed against a spider web, crossed from the bushes to the telephone pole. His heart pounded. He tore away, batting the air. As he went on he glanc

Tom Strong #19.  This is a reference to a Haunt of Fear #19 story, Foul Play, which got mentioned in Seduction of the Innocent and the senate hearings that doomed the horror comic genre.  The other stories are part of all that as well. Haunt of Fear 19, May-June 1953.  Jack Davis pencils. https://www.tcj.com/the-horror-the-horror-graham-ingels-and-the-art-of-real-yuch/

    I've been on blogspot for 10 years.  I have only had one problem in all that time over a post that got me taken down as deceptive malware.  The fault was blogger's, they did not read the post and when I complained they put me back up after I asked them to do so - twice.  This is that post-   https://misterscribbles.blogspot.com/2021/05/theyre-thaaaat-way.html   As can be seen I said nothing negative about the gay community, my complaint was with corporate wokeness.  Kellogg's is splitting off their cereal division because it's losing market share and everyone is realizing it's all the same baked grains paste made with different colors and saturated with sugar.  But now my posts are disappearing, not the words but the pictures.  I have written blogger many times over the last year and have not once have I had the courtesy of an answer to my questions, not only about this but other problems.  I have no idea why this is, for all I know they have answe

 Heinrich Kley, Boxing Rabbits. Popular in Germany, Kley died in obscurity in 1945, it is thought.  He is best known here for the dancing alligators and hippos Walt Disney used in the Dance of the Hours sequence in Fantasia.  Walt was the biggest collector of Kley's work in the States and probably the world.  To my knowledge Walt gave him no credit, let alone paid him anything, standard behavior for Walt then and Disney now.  He didn't even credit Gustaf Tenggren for those wonderful backgrounds in Pinocchio. https://misterscribbles.blogspot.com/2021/06/jerk.html Heinrich Kley, 1863 - 1945.  

When I was 16 I had a very wonderful dog, Duke.  Do to him barking at a neighbor, who I later discovered had hit him, I was made to get rid of Duke, who loved me and trusted me.  I'm upset about the entire thing to this day.  This is the only dog of my own I had growing up.  We had plenty of room and of course feeding him was no problem.  I allowed someone I loved to be taken from me because I lacked the fortitude to fight harder.  My actions were wrong and unforgivable.  I miss him to this day.

 Such sport there had been that day, in the kitchen and the pantry, for the cat was away and the mice were playing all manner of games: mousy-wants-a-corner, hide-and-squeak, one-old-cat, mouse-in-boots, and so on. Then the cat came home. "Cat's back!" whispered Father Mouse. "Into the wainscoting, all of you!" said Mother Mouse, and all of the mice except one hastily hid in the woodwork. The exception was an eccentric mouse named Mervyn, who had once boldly nipped a bulldog in the ear and got away with it. Mervyn did not know at the time, and never found out, that the bulldog was a stuffed bulldog, and so he lived in a fool's paradise. The day the cat, whose name was Pouncetta, came back from wherever she had been, she was astonished to encounter Mervyn in the butler's pantry, nonchalantly nibbling crumbs. She crept toward him in her stocking feet and was astounded when he turned, spit a crumb in her eye, and began insulting her with a se

17 September 1954.  The second Rocky Marciano-Ezzard Charles title match was a real slugfest.  Charles had gone the distance in their first fight, something only a few had done.  In the 6th round Charles opens a serious cut to Rocky's nose, and some thought the fight should have been stopped. Both these guys could hit and Charles, the Cincinnati Cobra, could hit very hard indeed, plus he could move like a ballet dancer.  At two minutes 36 seconds of the 8th round Rocky hits Charles on the chin with his Suzy Q, an overhand right that had won him the title. That, as we say, is all she wrote. Charles hit so hard he killed Sam Baroudi in a Light Heavyweight match and was so remorseful he almost quit.  He won the vacant WBA title against Jersey Joe Walcott on June 22, 1949, outboxing the champion over 15 rounds.  He secured the undisputed lineal championship by outpointing Joe Louis, no mean feat.  In 1968, age 47, he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease.  At a fundraiser for him

Frederick Burr Opper.

  Bob Wills is not a guide post for life. https://youtu.be/sAk_rq4VnuY

My pet rabbit Billy, who has disappeared again, feels genuine pity for anyone that isn't him.  I told him to be here for chores today, and he promised me he would.  But it is a very nice day, and with the beaches being crowded Billy no doubt started feeling sorry for people who have nothing wonderful to stare at.  I suspect he is wearing his favorite clothing and jewelry, forbidden in public, and my wallet is gone.  There is also an empty box marked 'tail extensions' laying on the floor in front of the full length mirror.  I would lock him out tonight but the last time I did so I found him unconscious draped over the garage windowsill all bloody from broken glass and snoring like a freight train.  There was a car with a crumpled front end I didn't recognize in my flower bed and I could see my neighbors talking to the police while pointing at my house.  

 After Daumier, probably drawn in theater class, unless I miss my guess. This guy was good.  Real good.

Allegory of Autumn by Giovanni Paolo Castelli.   Fall is for dreaming.  Pete Hawley. Fall is for outdoor fun.  Louis Wain. Time to break out those extra garments that add flair.  Olga Angelloz.   Fall means Halloween.  Superior artist unknown for now. Halloween is just the best.  Tablecloth by Pete Hawley. I am like so there. May all your autumns be springtime. When the frost is on the punkin.

 I suspect this is by Brian Bolland.

 Arco de Fileni, Libya. The Marble Arch was designed by Italian architect Florestano Di Fausto (16 July 1890 – 11 January 1965) in response to a request from Governor-General Italo Balbo. It was unveiled on 16 March 1937 in a lavish night ceremony attended by Benito Mussolini. On the arch’s frontispiece was carved a Latin inscription taken from Horace’s Carmen Saeculare. It reads: ALME SOL POSSIS NIHIL VRBE ROMA VISERE MAIVS It roughly translates to: “Oh kind sun, may you never look upon a city greater than Rome.”     The Carthaginians were mainly in the western part of Libya and the Greeks were in the eastern part of the country (Cyrenaica) and after a short period of time a border dispute erupted between the two. The Philaeni were two Carthaginian brothers who gave their lives to settle the border issue between the two powers. The border wars lasted for many years without either side becoming the victor. The two colonies finally decided to settle t

Hey Guys!   It’s your pal, Andrew the Bee , back with another book review !   This one’s called Mother McGrew and Kate Kangaroo , by Alice Crew Gall .   The pictures are by Lee Wright Stanley , who was a newspaper comic artist for more than 60 years !   This book came out way back in 1918 and is the sixth in the “ Mother McGrew ” series of children’s books.   Each one features a different anthro animal who misbehaves and then gets chewed out by Mother McGrew.   But that’s not all – after that, they get cursed by the old lady, who is some kind of nasty fairy godmother !   I’m tellin’ ya , this is some scary stuff for little kids to read! It’s not like these zoo rejects don’t deserve it, though.   Our story opens with two pictures that are worth way more than a thousand words !   Kate Kangaroo looks like she’s tweaking to the max after chewing through three bags of Blo-Pops !   Now she’s careening around the countryside out of control !    She can’t j

AUCKLAND, MAY 19 1965.  A TURTLE WHICH EXPLORER CAPTAIN COOK GAVE TO THE  KING OF TONGA IN 1777 DIED YESTERDAY. IT WAS NEARLY 200 YEARS OLD. THE ANIMAL, CALLED TU’IMALILA, DIED AT THE ROYAL PALACE GROUND IN THE TONGAN CAPITAL OF NUKU, ALOFA. THE PEOPLE OF TONGA REGARDED THE ANIMAL AS A CHIEF AND SPECIAL KEEPERS WERE APPOINTED TO LOOK AFTER IT. IT WAS BLINDED IN A BUSH FIRE A FEW YEARS AGO. TONGA RADIO SAID TU’IMALILA’S CARCASS WOULD BE SENT TO THE AUCKLAND MUSEUM IN NEW ZEALAND. Epigraph, Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? Photo shows Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip viewing this amazing and beautiful creature.  It was later determined that Tu'i Malila was a female, a radiated tortoise, so here one queen meets another.  Tonga, 1953.  Both of these ladies lived an extremely long time.  It's a great story about Captain Cook but he doesn't mention anything about her in his log.  She may have been given to the Tongans by one of Cook's crew, or obtained fro

  Red Seal Comics, 1945 series, artist George Tuska. Next week -  https://imgur.com/8JfRBMS   Masterkey!

I bought that Murano clown decanter back around 1993 for 25 dollars.  I had it on a shelf with some other stuff I delight in, way in the back.  About 2 in the morning I heard the crash.  One of my little darlings had gotten in the shelf and pushed the decanter unto the floor.  Cats are a delight and a reward no one should go without.