Frog Blog

WHITE DRESS

2012-01-27T15:10:00.000-06:00

BEAST

2012-01-27T15:09:00.000-06:00

©Unknown

ROBERT HEGYES (1951-2012)

2012-01-27T15:06:00.000-06:00

Juan Epstein of Welcome Back Kotter dead at 60 of a heart attack.

A LITTLE OF THIS

2012-01-27T14:54:00.002-06:00

LP COVER

2012-01-27T14:52:00.002-06:00

SELF-PROMOTION

2012-01-27T00:47:00.000-06:00

QUOTE

2012-01-26T22:33:00.000-06:00

"Non minor est virtus quam quoerere parta tueri."

To retain is sometimes as difficult as to acquire.

MONGOOSE EATING COBRA

2012-01-26T20:54:00.000-06:00

EXPLODING TV

2012-01-26T20:53:00.002-06:00

GIRAFFES

2012-01-26T20:51:00.000-06:00

LITANY - BILLY COLLINS

2012-01-26T20:42:00.002-06:00

I've posted the little boy's reading of "Litany" before, but it's nice to hear it recited by the poet himself. (I prefer the little boy.)

Litany
You are the bread and the knife,
The crystal goblet and the wine...
-Jacques Crickillon

You are the bread and the knife,
the crystal goblet and the wine.
You are the dew on the morning grass
and the burning wheel of the sun.
You are the white apron of the baker,
and the marsh birds suddenly in flight.

However, you are not the wind in the orchard,
the plums on the counter,
or the house of cards.
And you are certainly not the pine-scented air.
There is just no way that you are the pine-scented air.

It is possible that you are the fish under the bridge,
maybe even the pigeon on the general's head,
but you are not even close
to being the field of cornflowers at dusk.

And a quick look in the mirror will show
that you are neither the boots in the corner
nor the boat asleep in its boathouse.

It might interest you to know,
speaking of the plentiful imagery of the world,
that I am the sound of rain on the roof.

I also happen to be the shooting star,
the evening paper blowing down an alley
and the basket of chestnuts on the kitchen table.

I am also the moon in the trees
and the blind woman's tea cup.
But don't worry, I'm not the bread and the knife.
You are still the bread and the knife.
You will always be the bread and the knife,
not to mention the crystal goblet and--somehow--the wine.

DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!

2012-01-26T20:13:00.001-06:00

LOS ANGELES -- Dick Tufeld, a radio and TV announcer best known as the voice of the robot in the 1960s television show "Lost in Space," has died. He was 85.

Tufeld's career included announcing for the 1950s radio show "Space Patrol." He also worked on hundreds of commercials, sports and news programs and TV shows ranging from "Zorro" to "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea."

However, Tufeld is perhaps best known for voicing the "Lost in Space" robot, whose warnings of "Danger, Will Robinson!" became a catchphrase.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/25/4215109/dick-tufeld-voice-of-lost-in-space.html#storylink=cpy

BALL BOY MAKES OUTSTANDING CATCH AT AUSTRALIAN OPEN

2012-01-26T20:01:00.000-06:00

WIL BARNET (1911- )

2012-01-26T16:08:00.002-06:00

Woman Reading, 1970. Bio here.

Painting at 99, with no compromises. via nytimes.

OPEN CAR WINDOW

2012-01-26T14:02:00.002-06:00

WHITE LION CUBS (ARGENTINA)

2012-01-26T14:01:00.017-06:00

Triplets born to a pair of white lions imported from South Africa.

FROSTYO'S

2012-01-26T14:00:00.002-06:00

UMBRELLA

2012-01-26T13:58:00.003-06:00

VALERIE SOLANAS, ANDY WARHOL, AND THE SCUM MANIFESTO

2012-01-26T13:19:00.030-06:00

Valerie Jean Solanas (1936 – 1988) was an American radical feminist writer, best known for her attempted murder of Andy Warhol in 1968. She wrote the SCUM Manifesto, which urged women to "overthrow the government, eliminate the money system, institute complete automation and eliminate the male sex. (Some authors regard the manifesto as a parody of patriarchy and a satirical work.)

Click text to enlarge or visit site. Site here.

More about the SCUM (Society for Cutting Up Men) Manifesto here.

READING THE COMICS

2012-01-26T07:57:00.001-06:00

HE-SHE

2012-01-26T07:55:00.000-06:00

THE REAL AMERICAN CUT ELVIS TWIST JEANS

2012-01-26T07:52:00.000-06:00

TIME FOR BREAKFAST, DEAR

2012-01-26T07:49:00.000-06:00

BUT HOW?

2012-01-26T07:46:00.000-06:00

SACRIFICES

2012-01-26T07:43:00.002-06:00

BUST

2012-01-26T07:41:00.000-06:00

COMMON FACIAL MARKINGS FOR HORSES

2012-01-26T04:32:00.001-06:00

Keep in mind that the following patterns often have subtle variations:

Bald: White that starts above the forehead, goes to the muzzle, and extends beyond the bridge of the nose to the side of the face

Blaze: Wide white area that runs along the bridge of the nose

Snip: White spot located on the muzzle, between or just below the nostrils

Star: White spot on the forehead

Stripe: Narrow white stripe down the center of the face, on the bridge of the nose

HENRI DE TOULOUSE-LAUTREC

2012-01-26T01:32:00.023-06:00

Deux femmes faisant leur lit (Two Women Making the Bed), 1891.

FEDE RING (ITALY, 1400s)

2012-01-26T01:31:00.001-06:00

Silver, engraved. This ring combines the ancient fede (faith) motif of two hands clasped together, with another motif depicting two hands holding a heart. These symbols signified love and fidelity. It is likely that this ring was a love token, representing everlasting love, or perhaps a betrothal ring. Fede rings were made all over Europe in the Middle Ages.

BLUEBIRD ANIMATION BASED ON THE CHARLES BUKOWSKI POEM "BLUEBIRD"

2012-01-26T01:25:00.000-06:00

animated by Monika Umba, poem here.

LETTER

2012-01-26T01:14:00.000-06:00

Joseph Roth to Stefan Zweig, Berlin, June 20, 1930. From Joseph Roth: A Life in Letters.

SWINGS

2012-01-26T00:57:00.000-06:00

JAN SLUIJTERS

2012-01-26T00:56:00.010-06:00

Portrait of Karin Leyden, 1931.

ARTISTS

2012-01-26T00:55:00.004-06:00

ILYA BOLOTOWSKY

2012-01-26T00:54:00.008-06:00

In the Barber Shop, 1934.

ORSON WELLES

2012-01-26T00:45:00.000-06:00

QUILT

2012-01-26T00:44:00.005-06:00

DEAN MARTIN AND JERRY LEWIS

2012-01-26T00:29:00.002-06:00

CANDY APPLES

2012-01-26T00:23:00.000-06:00

DAY SLEEPER

2012-01-26T00:13:00.000-06:00

photo: Dorothea Lange

LEGO CAKE

2012-01-26T00:10:00.005-06:00

MICK & ICK: MISUNDERSTOOD

2012-01-26T00:09:00.012-06:00

It's no secret to most Frog Applause readers that I avoid explaining the art and words in individual strips. I consider it an intrusion on my part. Who am I to trespass into my readers' imaginations? What's written between the lines is for my readers to decide.

That said, occasional characters Mick & Ick have been grossly misunderstood. For readers (and syndicate editors) who insist that Mick & Ick are talking phalluses, continue to believe that. Their origins are actually something else. See the walls below:

My idea was to create characters growing on a wall instead of characters standing behind one. Moss and fungi grow on walls. Mick & Ick were meant to be close-ups of wall flora.

See the snowflakes? They're outside! Another clue.

To summarize: Mick & Ick are botanically lame, not pornographically lame.

POSTER CHILD AND POSTER CHIMPANZEE

2012-01-26T00:09:00.011-06:00

ALASKA (1950)

2012-01-26T00:07:00.002-06:00

EARRING

2012-01-26T00:05:00.007-06:00

WINDOW

2012-01-26T00:04:00.001-06:00

BARACK OBAMA (age 28)

2012-01-26T00:04:00.000-06:00

Vanity Fair spotlights a young editor of the Harvard Law Review in 1990.

STEPS

2012-01-25T23:39:00.000-06:00

QUOTE

2012-01-25T23:36:00.001-06:00

WALLPAPER

2012-01-25T23:23:00.002-06:00

Q&A

2012-01-25T22:45:00.000-06:00

Banned? Kidnapped and replaced by Brooke McEldowney? I'm not sure what's being suggested here.

I suspect it's a glitch of some sort. In the past, years of strips went missing for a while. If there's something going on behind the scenes (which I doubt), I'm not privy to it.

SOCKET CLOSET

2012-01-25T22:08:00.000-06:00

ROY HAMILTON (1929-1969)

2012-01-25T19:18:00.004-06:00

Roy Hamilton made significant contributions to the music industry, both through his own hits and his widespread influence on many of the artists of his era and artists who would emerge after him, including Brook Benton, The Righteous Brothers (who covered two of his biggest hits, Ebb Tide & Unchained Melody), Jackie Wilson, and most notably Elvis Presley, all of whom, with the exception of Benton, have already been inducted into the Hall of Fame. (Despite a petition to induct him, Roy Hamilton is still not included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.)

Roy Hamilton with Harry Belafonte

Roy Hamilton with his wife Myrna.

Bio here.

1936

2012-01-25T15:41:00.000-06:00

MTST POSTER

2012-01-25T15:40:00.034-06:00

The Homeless Workers Movement (Portuguese: Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Teto - MTST) is a shack-dwellers' movement in Brazil.

PIE

2012-01-25T13:17:00.000-06:00

HANGER

2012-01-25T13:14:00.000-06:00

TYPICAL GOCOMICS READERS

2012-01-25T13:12:00.001-06:00

Thanks David M!

BAG CARRIER

2012-01-25T13:10:00.000-06:00

FISH

2012-01-25T13:08:00.000-06:00

SARA RAHBAR

2012-01-25T02:41:00.000-06:00

ELEANOR PARKER

2012-01-25T01:44:00.000-06:00

THÉO VAN RYSSELBERGHE

2012-01-25T01:40:00.000-06:00

The Red Knot, 1906.

1958

2012-01-25T01:35:00.001-06:00

THE HUNT OF THE UNICORN

2012-01-25T01:31:00.000-06:00

The Hunt of the Unicorn, often referred to as the Unicorn Tapestries, is a series of seven tapestries dating from 1495–1505. The tapestries show a group of noblemen and hunters in pursuit of a unicorn. It is believed the tapestries were made in the Southern Netherlands.

Detail from The Hunt of the Unicorn.

via wikipedia.

STORE FRONTS (PARIS, 1962)

2012-01-25T01:19:00.001-06:00

©Hans-Ulrich Schlumpf

LEAP FROG

2012-01-25T01:14:00.000-06:00

DEFACED CURRENCY

2012-01-25T01:13:00.000-06:00

ROBOT TEDDY BEAR

2012-01-25T01:10:00.000-06:00

GORILLA

2012-01-25T00:58:00.002-06:00

©Unknown

SHEEP

2012-01-25T00:57:00.000-06:00

©Unknown

DENTIST ACCUSED OF PAPER CLIP USE IN ROOT CANALS

2012-01-25T00:42:00.001-06:00

NEW BEDFORD, Massachusetts (AP) — A former dentist in the U.S. has pleaded guilty to fraud for using paper clips instead of stainless steel posts in root canals.

Michael Clair pled guilty in a Massachusetts court to a variety of charges, including defrauding a government health program of $130,000, assault and battery, illegally prescribing prescription drugs and witness intimidation.

Authorities say instead of stainless steel posts for root canals, he used sections of paper clips — which can cause pain and even infection — in an effort to save money.

Clair also pleaded guilty to running a Medicaid scam and prescribing painkillers to his staff members.

Before the dentist entered his plea, he’d been accused of fraudulently billing Medicaid for $130,000 between August 2003 and June 2005, despite having been banned from work on Medicaid patients.

In order to get around the rules, cops believe Clair had other dentists in the practice submit the bills for him.

After investigators were tipped off that Clair was cooking the books and performing dental work on unsuspecting patients, it still took four years to get get an indictment against him.

In that time, they also discovered that he’d been illegally writing prescriptions for powerful painkillers to staffers, who would then fill them and hand some of the pills back to him.

He faces five years in prison on fraud charges and ten years on drug charges.

via ap.

ALBINO RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD

2012-01-25T00:27:00.000-06:00

photo: Marlin Shank, via Marg. Thanks!

HIERONYMUS BOSCH

2012-01-24T23:52:00.000-06:00

The Garden of Earthly Delights

Click image to enlarge

Detail from The Garden of Earthly Delights

1906

2012-01-24T23:33:00.000-06:00

Click image to enlarge

RON WHITE

2012-01-24T23:01:00.002-06:00

NATHAN ALTMAN

2012-01-24T22:33:00.000-06:00

Portrait Of Anna Akhmatova, 1914.

ACTUAL GOCOMICS READERS

2012-01-24T22:29:00.001-06:00

Laura (fear-ciuil) and Gordon (Gweedo Murray). via flickr. Nice!

COMMUNISM, HYPNOTISM, AND THE BEATLES

2012-01-24T19:25:00.001-06:00

An analysis of the communist use of music, the communist master music plan, 1965. A Christian Crusade Publication, Tulsa, OK.

IF NANCY... (JOE BRAINARD, 1972)

2012-01-24T19:18:00.000-06:00

1930

2012-01-24T19:16:00.000-06:00

Click image to enlarge

The hen with the mechanical internal organs surprised visitors at the World's Poultry Congress in London by giving a brief lecture on how she utilized her food to make eggs.

via shorpy.

DIVE (1977)

2012-01-24T19:05:00.000-06:00

photo: Alfred Eisenstaedt

WALLPAPER DESIGN

2012-01-24T18:59:00.000-06:00

... based on insulin atoms, 1951. More here.

1001 WAYS

2012-01-24T18:53:00.003-06:00

SIMULATED AGING SUIT

2012-01-24T18:46:00.000-06:00

MIT’s Agelab has created a special suit that, instead of enhancing the wearer’s natural capabilities, actually makes it harder to see, hear and move.

The suit, called AGNES (Age Gain Now Empathy System), includes straps that attach to the wearer’s arms and legs, making walking and lifting things more difficult, plus earplugs and goggles that create partial loss of hearing and eyesight.

The Agelab created AGNES to simulate the experience of being 75 years old, allowing designers to test their products to see if they’ll work for elderly users.

QUESTION

2012-01-24T15:52:00.000-06:00

ROBERT REDFORD AND PAUL NEWMAN

2012-01-24T15:46:00.000-06:00

PATCHWORK WOLF

2012-01-24T15:43:00.000-06:00

DISTIN'S MONSTER DRUM (1857)

2012-01-24T14:33:00.000-06:00

TEATS

2012-01-24T09:34:00.000-06:00

©Unknown

MULTIPLE PIERCINGS

2012-01-24T09:31:00.000-06:00

I have only one hole in each ear. I must be a freak.

TEABAG COOKIES

2012-01-24T09:26:00.000-06:00

TEA TIME

2012-01-24T09:11:00.002-06:00

BASEBALL

2012-01-24T07:03:00.000-06:00

THE CAKE (1967)

2012-01-24T06:56:00.000-06:00

60s girl group -- Jeanette Jacobs, Eleanor Barooshian and Barbara Morillo.

LIESELOTTA MUENCHUBER

2012-01-24T06:49:00.000-06:00

STRYCHNINE

2012-01-24T06:46:00.000-06:00

CATHERINE AND NICHOLAS

2012-01-24T06:41:00.000-06:00

SIGN

2012-01-24T06:34:00.002-06:00

STILTS

2012-01-24T06:32:00.000-06:00