“Repent, Google!” Said the TikTok Man

Oh, the effort and difficulty it took getting Google to even list this site again, let alone accept a sitemap to index its contents:

Once again I lay blame on Bluehost for changes it made, causing all of the problems I have struggled to resolve. There are numerous quirks — especially with pre-fix posts — but most of the serious issues seem to have been cracked, and only because I switched from feeling annoyed to remembering why I started Prattling Before the Pratfall. It was originally intended purely as a learning curve challenge, with no expectation of continuing for more than 15 years. But now that I’m retired from a high tech career, a technical challenge is perhaps a good thing.

I’d better acknowledge the late Harlan Ellison for this post’s title, with the names of the world’s two busiest web sites. Harlan always — and I mean always — wanted to receive his due credit:

Alex “Thunderbolt” Ross

I’m looking forward to Alex Ross’ reimagining of the Fantastic Four in his photo-realistic style.

Like many artists did in the age of classic illustration, Ross uses reference photos. His original concept for Reed Richards for the Marvels limited series in 1994 was based upon Russell Johnson.

Joe and Stan Remembered

I took a break from blogging on October 15. The next day would have been Joe Sinnott’s 95th birthday. Having let the occasion get past me, I’ll make up for it now.

This photo was inscribed by Joe to Stan Lee in 2012. Stan kept it in his office until he passed away, three years ago yesterday. Joe first worked for Stan in 1951.

“Stan, you’ve been like a brother to me for 61 years — thanks, Joe Sinnott ’12”
Joe’s tools of his trade — A Winsor & Newton Series 7 #3 brush and a Hunt 102 pen nib. Acquired from the Joe Sinnott estate.

Not a MoMA Too Soon

Neil Gaiman has successfully nudged the Museum of Modern Art into attributing Roy Lichtenstein’s “inspiration” for one of his paintings.

Gaiman also corrected MoMA for giving the wrong comic book title. It’s Secret Hearts, not Secret Love. Presumably, from now on MoMA will properly cite the original comic book issues and artists behind Lichtenstein’s famous works.

Much of the credit for raising awareness goes to fellow Westfield State alum David Barsalou. Decades ago, David began his “Deconstructing Roy Lichtenstein” project, identifying the comic book panels Lichtenstein swiped for all of his Pop-Art paintings.