paul mccartney painting

It's good to know that Paul McCartney is not good at everything.  This is his 'Yellow Linda with Piano' from 1988, and l reckon l could do something just as good.  On the other hand, he has done some half decent things in music that l might not be able to match.  Bloody show off.

toodle pip

bill clinton meeting john f kennedy

I saw the photograph at the top for the first time the other day, and was amazed l had not seen it before.  It has a young Bill Clinton meeting and shaking hands with John F Kennedy at The White House on July 24th. 1963.  The meeting helped inspire Clinton to become a politician, but less than 4 months later, Kennedy had been assassinated (by Lee Harvey Oswald?).  The other photographs l have taken from the video.

toodle pip

a happy horse

A happy horse.  What's not to like?

toodle pip

letter from prison and education for the poor

My English leaves a lot to be desired, but that is mainly because l hardly had to write anything until the last few years, as l worked in jobs that did not require much paperwork.  I passed my English exams (language and literature), but my spelling and grammer was a lot better back in the day (although my vocabulary has increased).  However, this is put into perspective with the people l come into contact with and communicate with, both at work and away from it.  I then find that most people are not as good at using and understanding the language, and some are shockingly bad at it.  To demonstrate this, l accidentally opened a letter that had been wrongly addressed to my house, and it turned out to be from a prisoner, writing to try and get a visit from somebody.  The letter was resealed and handed back to the postman the next day, and l was obviously not going to scan it or reveal it's full contents, but before l resealed it, l couldn't help but be amazed at some of the mistakes.  The grammer was terrible, but these are a small selection of the words spelt incorrectly (with the correct spelling afterwards)

wiv - with
were - where
dose - does
thay - they
intill - untill
wot - what
anuff - enough
afhter  - after

Now the prisoner may well be dyslexic, but l have a sneaking suspicion that they have been poorly educated, not encouraged, come from a broken home or violent background,  and had no opportunities, therefore leading to a life of crime.  A lot of it may be their own fault, and they have made their own choices in life, but what real chances do they have of gaining meaningful and rewarding employment with so few writing skills and lack of education.  Unless something miraculous happens, this person will probably be a habitual re-offender, and may go onto major crime.  Surely it's better to throw money at educating and providing for the poor while they are young and a difference may be achieved, as it will only cost a lot more money (and harm to society) in the future.  Capitalism needs a poorly educated and cheap to employ workforce, but there are limits.

toodle pip 

1967 barbeque and music

That is what you call a Barbeque!  And all for the costly sum of £1!  With 'Soft Ultra Violet' lighting!  With Hot Dogs!  You don't even have atmosphere, as its listed as 'atmospere' on the poster. Times certainly were different back in the day.

toodle pip

some behind the scenes photographs

 Dustin Hoffman and dear dear Laurence Olivier during 'Marathon Man'

Jennifer Connelly in Requiem for a Dream

The guys at Sesame Street

Superman

Some behind the scenes shots from films and TV ('A peek behind the magic').

toodle pip

hud posters and lobby cards

Posters and lobby cards for 'Hud' (see below).

toodle pip

hud (1963) - martin ritt

'Hud' has got everything going for it.  Paul Newman never won the Oscar for his portrayal of the eponymous anti hero, but is strikingly magnificent throughout.  His performance is matched by Patricia Neal (as the housekeeper) and  Melvyn Douglas, (as Homer Bannon, Hud's father).  The black and white cinematography (by James Wong Howe) is sharp yet moody (a bit like Hud himself), and Neal, Douglas and Howe did win at the 1963 Academy awards.
Hud is disillusioned and just wants to enjoy himself, with no thought as to the consequences of his actions. His father however, is honorable and believes in behaving and living in the correct way.  This causes a dilemma with the young Lonnie Bannon, who idolises Hud, but ultimately, has to choose the correct path to take.  There are modern day concerns that Hud rages against, such as 'foot and mouth' disease, crooked politicians, bankers and TV game shows, but it's also about the changing of the ways and facing up to the modern world that is encroaching, whether they like it or not.  Superb.

toodle pip

the hanging of tom ketchum and kid curry

Tom Ketchum, who was also known as 'Black Jack' Ketchum, was a member of the  'Hole in the Wall' gang and committed various robberies and crimes until he was apprehended and sentenced to be hanged.  So far, there's nothing unusual at all, as he is, after all, a wild west outlaw.  However (and this is where the tale gets juicy), when he was hanged on April 26th 1901 (at Clayton, New Mexico), the rope was too long, Ketchum had gained weight, and he fell (so it's said) about 9 feet, which resulted in him being decapitated.  That's not even the only gory bit (not by a long chalk), as it gets better (or worse).  Afterwards, his head was sewn back onto his body so that it could go on show before being interned in Clayton.  Now that, brothers and sisters, is what l call a hanging and aftermath.

As an aside, he also hung around a bit (see what l did there) with Kid Curry (Harvey Logan), although they apparently never got on.  Curry was later to become well known due to the TV series 'Alias Smith and Jones' (starring Pete Duel and Ben Murphy!), a favorite show of mine from when l was younger.  Kid Curry was portrayed in the show as likeable, but extremely fast on the draw.  I'm sure the real Kid Curry would have been a pretty nasty guy, and nothing at all like his TV portrayal.  The top picture is Ben Murphy as Kid Curry, whereas the bottom (scruffy and unattractive) one is the real deal.  I think l can spot a tiny bit of a difference between them.

toodle pip

the trapped squirrel in germany

This cute little squirrel got his head stuck in a manhole cover in Isernhagen, Germany last week.  Policeman were alerted and worked to free him, but after trying to pull the squirrel out, and even removing the cover to do so, they were unable to do so.  Eventually they managed to use olive oil and push the squirrel's ears down before successfully freeing the obviously traumatized creature.  Unfortunately, after letting the squirrel go in a local garden, it was later found to be dead, probably due to the stress of it's ordeal.  Poor little bugger.  More about the rescue is here.

toodle pip

the genius that was jim flora

Jim Flora illustrated albums and childrens books, as well as producing stand alone artworks.  I first saw his work when l came across the 'Mambo for Cats' LP, and have loved his stuff ever since then.  It's a witty, surreal and 'Mad Magazine like' skewed view of the world, and also encapsulates the crazier side of America, back when it was still be boppin' and swinging (daddy o).  He has sadly passed away, and the above pictures are only a small sample of his artwork, but there are lots, lots more.  The rather impressive collection at the bottom belongs to Takashi Okada from Tokyo, who is a graphic designer (amongst other things).  I wish all his Flora related goodies belonged to me, and l love the way he has them displayed.  If you are interested in purchasing any artworks, Jim Flora items are available to buy  here.  It's not cheap though.

toodle pip

lizzie borden's passport application

This is a copy of Lizzie Borden's passport application.  Don't know who she is?  Read this.

toodle pip

bruce springsteen at home

Bruce Springsteen at home (probably).

toodle pip

alan friedman sun photograhs

These photographs of the Sun and it's flares were taken by Alan Friedman, photographing only the warm hydrogen.  It looks pretty impressive and strange, and if you want to know more, check out Discover Magazine's blog.

toodle pip