Do I Speak In a Foreign Language?

People today are basically idiots. Noone listens to anyone else. Nearly everyone assumes they know what I am going to say. Hardly anyone possesses any common courtesy anymore. (Don't even get me started on the piss-poor driving in this town. That's a whole 'nother blog entry!)
For instance, a man comes into the auto parts store the other day and asks for a clutch kit (consisting of pressure plate, disc, and release bearing) for a 1982 truck. These are the parts in a manual transmission that help engage the flywheel and shift gears. Since this is a pretty old vehicle, and for the sake of accuracy, I was obliged to ask if this was the original engine and transmission. The man stated "Yes." I sold him his parts and went on about my business, helping other customers and such.
A few hours later the man returns in a huff, slams the now-grimy new parts on the counter, and begins to rant about how I 'gave him the wrong parts'. I apologized, calmly looked the parts up again, acheving the same results. I asked him again "Are you sure this is the original engine and transmission?"
After a brief pause, he replies "Well, yeah, it's one that I put in there....!"

How was your day.....?
I will have to call Uncle Henry about this one.......

LSU Week and Cop Weed

Well, it's here. LSU week. Hope we beat those bastards.
In the meantime, I thought you would enjoy this little gem:



I don't necessarily condone or endorse; but I DO understand.

Drawing Caricatures Today

I will be appearing at a function at The University of Mobile today, rendering caricatures from 11:00 a.m. til 2:00 p.m. I'll post thoughts on that later.

Meanwhile.......Click on the pic to see a neat dramatization!


Peace. Aloha.

Two Weeks to Get Ready for LSU

Okay, we got by Tennessee. One down, two to go. (Two BIG ones, anyway)

POW!! RIGHT in the KISSER...!! SEC Football Tops 'Em ALL!

41-17. BAMA beats Tennessee. Things are starting to get back to normal. The Tide whipped the Vols in the second half like we're supposed to. Coach Saban, shuffling players after suspensions of key personnel under scrutiny of some unfortunate textbook/benefits/possible violations, earned his paycheck again this week.
JP Wilson looked sharp. DJ Hall was again impressive. The newly-shuffled offensive line provided time and protection and opened holes for the shifty and explosive Terry Grant. The defense stepped it up a notch, played tough together and The fat orange got an old-fashioned spankin'.
Unfortunately, I had to work and could only semi-listen to the game live. But I stayed up until 2:00 late Saturday night (After the LSU/Auburn game) watching EVERY minute. Beautiful.
GREAT weekend for SEC football. Florida squeaks by Kentucky. Vanderbilt up-ends Spurrier's South Carolina Gamecocks. And the LSU/Auburn 'tiger tangle' was as exciting a nail-biter as you'll see.

Talented Artist Really DOES Need "PAYING" Gig!

WELL, after months of delays and hesitancy, I took a regular job. At a retail auto parts chain store. I had vowed to "never work retail" again, but had to take the job because I can't make any decent regular money as an artist. Everyone either wants a 'donation' or doesn't want to pay what the work is worth. Since I am pretty fast, most folks presume it should be pretty cheap.
Well, they can kiss my ass. People who say "Well, it shouldn't cost that much, since it didn't take you that long to do it...." have NO idea just how difficult getting a likeness can actually be! (Just for shits and giggles, YOU try it sometime, Michelangelo!)
Listen up, morons. You're not paying for the short time it takes me to draw your picture, portrait, or caricature. You're paying for the 30+ years of experience to be able to get a likeness in such a short time!
And I can't make as much money at any kind of print shop or in any low-rung graphics position to make it worth my while, so in lieu of chasing people down for pennies, I have taken a position in a field I despise in order to make a living. I don't necessarily enjoy dealing with slack-jawed droolers, trying to avoid arguing with them over what type of car they have, or what part they mistakenly requested. (I meant the part that attachesTO this one.....!) I had forgotten what a joy it is to install a battery in someone's car who is perfectly physically able, but just lazy or ignorant. But it's a regular paycheck. It enables me to help meet my financial obligations and takes stress off of my lovely and patient wife. And it will allow me the small allotment of time to chip away at the details of a project proposal I am attempting to complete.

Please pray for me that I don't blow my brains out before I can finish my cartoon designs.
Thank you and ROLL TIDE.

I HATE Orange.(or Will the REAL Fil Phulmer Please Stand Up?)

Well, it's 'Tennessee week' in Tuscaloosa. The hated 'big orange' and his volunteers visit The Capstone in a matchup that (for the first time in decades) isn't on national television. The traditional "Third Saturday in October" is now relegated to the Lincoln Financial (formerly Jefferson-Pilot) Network.
It's a sad fate for what was once THE matchup in October. And even moreso this year, with both teams experiencing less-than-stellar seasons. We all know the story of Fulmer and the 'secret witness to the NCAA' crap. I really find that whole ordeal disgusting, since Tee Martin's mom received a car and he got cash, and they didn't even get a slap on the wrist!
Don't be surprised to see Fatty Fulmer munching on a ham during a tv timeout...


....Or dealing with some yardbird.......


...Maybe with burgers and doughnuts for all......


Or, I just think of him this way:

This is actually a more pleasing and less disgusting image.

Here's a funny Notre Dame football ad for NBC. It's supposed to be a parody spot from Saturday Night Live.

I have to say, it's pretty funny.... And dangerously accurate!

Now, a word about last week before my prediction. Alabama won. Ole Miss lost. Get over it. It happens. All of these people who are saying it's just favoritism for Alabama are full of shit. (Please refer to last year's unpenalized end-zone mugging of DJ Hall during the Tennessee game. Or the one-hop off the grass td awarded to Arkansas a few years back) Bad calls and no-calls are numerous throughout the league. It happens to everybody.
Take your Pamprin and quit crying.

This week: Bama and Tennessee are both mediocre, at best. As I've said before, there's not much difference between ANYbody in the SEC. Hopefully, we will look better than we did against the Rebels.
PREDICTION: ALABAMA 24 tennessee 20

The TRUTH About the OLE MISS Mascot

Well, it's "Ole Miss" week again. The University of Alabama plays the Rebels in the annual SEC matchup in what promises to be a boring, low-scoring matchup between two evenly inept and mediocre programs. But the Tide should prevail. Again. And again. Heck, there won't be any Mannings for a couple of decades, so we should be safe for years to come. Why do I say this? Because we beat them regularly. Even in our worst campaigns ever, we beat Ole Miss. Always. Mike Shula beat them. Even Mike DuBose beat them.
Which brings me to my topic:

Colonel Rebel. The symbol of the University of Mississippi, the last vestiges of a dying culture, was actually inspired by this man:

"BLIND JIM" IVY was a concessions pioneer who sold peanuts at early Ole Miss football contests. (Editor's Note: Not to be confused with Blind Jim Brewer, the bluesman who fled to Chicago) So, to be historically accurate, shouldn't their mascot look more like this....?

I know it's not 'politically correct' but it is more accurate. And, after the Rebels lose a couple of more ugly games, the fans will be jumping ship. Sipping Mint Juleps and talking about the 'War of Nawthun Aggression'.
If they're gonna switch loyalties, my suggestion would be The Vanderbilt Commodores, with minimal mascot/merchandise changes other than color:

Actually, we're pretty evenly-matched. Not much difference between SEC teams. Bama-Arkansas-Georgia-Kentucky-tennessee. Mississippi State shut LSU down for three quarters, but were killed by their own quarterback. The cow college beat Florida. Heck, the Rebels even took the Gators to the wire...! It's that whole 'any given Saturday' thing....

PREDICTION: ALABAMA 24, Ole Miss 13

Dan's Gonna Be A Daddy.....Again!

SEE IT HERE FIRST:

Clarissa and Dan Povenmire are expecting another member to join the cast! As the newest addition to the clan gestates and matures, I will be holding polls and/or contests for guessing gender, weight, names, and various preferences!
Stay tuned!

Nifty Version of Flintstones Theme

My friend Steve Bauer, who plays with "The Wayfarers", a gospel/bluegrass group from Daphne, AL sent me this video:

Being a lover of both Flintstones AND mad guitar, I thoroughly got a charge.

When You Wish Upon Suing Family Guy

Well, seven years after the fact, "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein", a Family Guy episode directed by Dan Povenmire, is generating more controversy. Initially pulled from airing on network television due to material deemed offensive (on FOX, ironically enough!), the installment has since been included in the dvd collections and shown (several times) on Cartoon Network's ADULT SWIM.
Now, the music company who holds the rights to the song "When You Wish Upon a Star", the well-known tune featured in Walt Disney's Pinocchio, is suing Time-Warner, the parent company of Cartoon Network.



E-Online tells a little about it here:
http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=36351312-cb93-4ca2-af08-c6eddf2b9a4c&sid=fd-hot3-txt
And here's this this gem from Variety:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117973320.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

NOW, on a totally unrelated note, here is a nifty video featuring an "Etch-a-Sketch" artist:

Pretty neat, eh? I don't think I have the patience or manual dexterity for THAT...!

Good Local High School Football on ESPN2 (And LOU..!)

Wow! Two local (well, regional, since they're in Baldwin County) teams squared off with a national ESPN2 audience last night. I watched most of it, and at first I thought it was going to be 'The JULIO JONES Show'. Which would have been fine with me. This kid makes it look easy. And he played both ways! I sure hope he comes to THE University of ALABAMA.
And we got to see and hear Kenny 'Snake' Stabler at the game. But the announcers talked more about Mobile than either Foley OR Daphne. Weird.
Now, usually, I hate to watch Lou Holtz's halftime rants. This washed-up 'Granny Clampett' look-a-like who sounds like Sylvester (excuse me-- 'thoundth like Thylvethter) is such a homer and Notre Dame apologist that I just can't sit through his insane 'pep talks'. I mean, he literally rambles incoherently and makes such vague references that even I sometimes can't make them remotely relevant.
Last night, however, during the South Carolina-Kentucky game, he did this:

I LOVE the old 'tearing paper' trick.

ANYhow, The Tide should take care of the Houston Cougars handily. It's Homecoming, so maybe they can put on a show for everyone. And win big. Hopefully, the mistakes can be corrected. If so, this game should be just what Bama needs.
PREDICTION: ALABAMA 38, Houston 14

Florida visits LSU in a good night-game matchup that could get ugly if the Gators play like they did against auburn. LSU has typically started their games slowly, but I think they'll come out clawing Saturday night. And what's with Les Miles and that 'trucker hat'...? That thing sits a mile on top of his head! The Bayou Bengals fans will have been drinking all day, so look for some ugly behavior if Florida comes out on top. It'll be a close one.
PREDICTION: LSU 38, Florida 28

Okay, honestly, I don't care about any of the other games, and as evidenced by last week's picks I obviously don't know much about college football, either. ROLL TIDE.

In Case You Missed It.....

Last night, I happened across a cable-tv showing of a Warner Brothers animated feature from 1999, "The IRON GIANT". This was a well-written and superbly-animated film by Brad Bird (The Incredibles) before he joined Pixar. The animation was gorgeous, and Bird's eye-catching designs captured the 50's sci-fi feel perfectly. If you get a chance, I highly recommend watching it, and/or adding it to your collection.


The use of both traditional animation and computer graphics made for a beautifully-rendered production, and the plot was strong and entertaining. Think "Classic Disney"..... It was a very well-made film that I don't believe was marketed properly by Warner Brothers, otherwise it would have been a much bigger box-office success.

The WHO's Pete Townshend, who is listed as a producer, had previously adapted a version into a rock opera/musical in the late 80's or early 90's, and had attempted to get his made into a feature.

This was the cover to the original novel by Ted Hughes, before the story was watered-down and sugar-coated for mass appeal in America.

AND, on a totally unrelated note, I thought you would also appreciate an old character model sheet from the old 'TerryToons' series "TOM TERRIFIC":

I used to watch this when it was shown on "CAPTAIN KANGAROO".

R-O-N-G (Wrong!)

Well, I proved that I know absolutely NOTHING about college football, specifically Alabama Crimson Tide football. (Apparently, neither do all of the oddsmakers, bettors, prognosticators, commentators, pollsters or talking heads....!)
The Crimson Tide proved me wrong about Saturday, as did most everyone else in the SEC and NCAA Division 1 football competition. I will admit I am a bit of a 'homer', and believe that Alabama will win every game. I even expect it. And I should know better. After years of sub-par performances and disappointment, I should be used to losing. But I'm not. I don't accept it. I know that Coach Saban doesn't expect it, and I know the players certainly don't enjoy the feeling. The boys will improve as I stated in my previous post, and I will support them regardless.
Like I always say, ROLL TIDE ANYWAY!
The lovely stepdaughter and BAMA grad Michelle was in town, and posed with a shy Fifi before the game:


Here's a shot of Fifi by herself sporting her colors: