I draw Joan and her cat a lot
The fashionable Greenlander knows that what is hot right now includes sitting on whales, and putting babies down your pants.
Is there any other topic to look up that gets better headlines in old newspapers than Annexation? I ask you.
I have a soft spot for the little guys in history. Don’t we all? The ones who aren’t always remembered by name, the ones without power, the common people. I mean let’s face it, that’s most of us- when I try to imagine myself living 200 years ago I can’t sum up the airs to assume I’d be born wealthy or important. If my family tree is correct, I ain’t nobody, historically speaking. So I gravitate towards these sorts of people, even if making comics about nutty kings is fun and loud and crazy.
You don’t get much more common than the soldier on the field. They are usually a statistic, or maybe a face of nobody in particular in a painting of some important battle. You see number plopped down like 156 000 Allied troops landed during the Normandy invasion, as though that were nothing. That’s a lot of regular people! I’ve always been interested in these guys and their experiences, and I’ve had this book for a while - Soldiers: An Illustrated History of Men in Battle by John Keegan and Richard Holmes. It’s actually a companion piece to a 1985 BBC documentary series of the same name. I didn’t look up the documentary until recently.
Because it’s almost as old as I am, it can be dry viewing at some points. We’re so spoiled by fancy new documentaries! But it’s pretty good all the same, and being co-written by the Famous John Keegan, who can resist? At least you know it’s got the real historical chops behind it.
I made a youtube list of the episodes I could find: Infantry, Tanks, Air Power, Fighting Spirit and Engineers. If you’re interested. Added bonus: because it’s from 1985, he has interviews with WWI veterans, which you’ll never see in anything these days.
My eventual, inevitable ugly child’s Facebook fate
Only available to view online for a short while, another animated gem from the NFB, nominated for an Oscar.
“This animated short tells the story of a dapper young remittance man is sent from England to Alberta to attempt ranching in 1909. However, his affection for badminton, bird watching and liquor leaves him little time for wrangling cattle. It soon becomes clear that nothing in his refined upbringing has prepared him for the harsh conditions of the New World. A film about the beauty of the prairie, the pangs of homesickness and the folly of living dangerously out of context.”
I deadlifted and squatted 200 pounds today because of my massive butt muscles and Elizabeth was very impressed as you can see
David Blackwood’s art hits me right in the heart- the mood, the sense of place, the memory, the loss, the beauty. It’s almost too much for this ol’ Maritimer to stand. Surprising? Hah, us Maritimers are such predictable softies, sheesh, I’m tearing up thinking about me grandfadders.
I don’t think you can go too far in his native Newfoundland without getting a peek of his 1980 work Fire Down on the Labrador hanging somewhere, but if you’re unfamiliar, take a look at some more work here, or maybe visit his website.
You don’t even need to understand the words to enjoy this (but it’s Czech).
Well now! I think you could take some notes on drawing men’s suits from this dessert-like array of clothing, no?
