Year: 2008

Background on Background

Mr. D.F. Rogers of Massachusetts writes,

Okay, what’s with the new header? I can’t place it. Hmm, an old Popeye background?

Glad you asked. You are correct! Good catch. It is indeed the background to an old Popeye cartoon.

Popeye and Olive

This is another photo taken of the projection screen with the ol’ 1.3 megapixel digital camera sitting on top of the Panasonic PT-AX200U. Why did I use this image for the blog header? No particular reason. I just thought it looked neat and weird. As you can see, I added some tint to it.

A Sweet and Sim Canterbury Tale

As I’ve said numerous times, the English team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (who was born in Hungary) made some unique and fascinating movies. Each one is a treat to see for the first time, and they invite repeat viewings.

Last weekend Carol and I watched A Canterbury Tale. It was made in 1944, and features an amateur actor named John Sweet, who was a real-life American Army sergeant at the time. The actress is Sheila Sim, who married Richard Attenborough a year later. The actor with Sim in the second scene is Eric Portman.

I’ve spliced together two scenes from A Canterbury Tale, widely separated in the movie, each with its own mood and charm. Powell was very good at not rushing things, and letting the story unfold at its own pace, while Pressburger’s character portrayals and dialog offer humor, warmth, and subtlety.
[flv:/Video/2008/JAN/Canterbury.flv 440 330]

The Full Morty

At last! I own an original Morty Gunty autograph. Not a pre-print. It appears to be inscribed “To Max.” I first wrote about it at this link, but I hesitated to buy it until humor writer Arnie Kogen confirmed the authenticity of the autograph. So I bought it, and here’s my scan, which is an improvement over the auction picture.

Morty Gunty Autograph

Comments for my Morty Gunty posts now include one of his daughters, and his daughters’ babysitter! This is wonderful. I’ll be contacting both soon, and hopefully be putting them in touch with one other.

Happiness Is… Security Is…

Charles M. Schulz is still on our minds here at DogRat.com, and Monte Schulz is still soldiering on over at Cartoon Brew, responding to readers who are just now reading Schulz and Peanuts by David Michaelis. He says today is his deadline for an essay, some 70 pages long, about the biography to be published in The Comics Journal.

Charles M. Schulz self-portraitHappiness Is A Sad Song

My buddy D. F. Rogers recently made an impulse purchase of a Peanuts Classic Edition reprint of the 1967 book, Happiness Is A Sad Song. A copy of this was a fixture in my sister’s room for many years. One of the “Happiness Is” items that Dennis pointed out is this one, which is also a favorite of mine.

Happiness Is...

Ignoring the fact that Charlie Brown isn’t in a child safety seat, it’s a very nice sentiment. In 1972, Charles Schulz expanded on the idea in this Sunday comic strip. Click the panels to see the full page.

Click to enlarge

For Dennis and myself, the best expression of happiness is this one…

Happiness Is...