Brief and to the Pointless

Least I forget, Alex responds to the Froynlaven Challenge.

via MrWarners14

So long, Dennis Hopper

Wigging out while Marlon reads T.S. Elliot.

w6257 via Ace of Spades

Veteran Poppies

Growing up in Chicago, veterans from the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars would be out on street corners (and in taverns) every Memorial Day selling red paper poppies to aid our injured servicemen. Los Angeles is so diffused, I can't recall the last time I saw anyone selling them. Here's a brief history of how the poppy was selected (and how to make your own.) All the best to our nation's best this Memorial Day. (Photo: LA Times)

Yet Another Paul Rugg Challenger

Steph answers the Froynlaven call.

via SassiTheKitty

Video: Serious Toast Making

Toast of the Town, Maz displays awesome toast fu.

MazAMaTaz h/t: takineko

Running Plus #2 at Every Day Fiction

Ran 3 miles on Thursday after realizing it had been one year since my last run. 1x2 run/walk ratio with icing after. A bit sore. Ran today; same distance and speed; felt fine. How strange to be in motion again!

Plus I linger at the Number Two spot on Every Day Fiction.

The Warners Who Might've Been

SquirrleyWrath ponders in pencil possible and current Warner Bros.

Another Paul Rugg Challenger

They pour in. Another Froynlaven challenge from Luke.

via cognitofalcon

Paul Rugg Challenge

Keeper takes his turn.

The Paul Rugg Challenge

Takineko responds to the Paul Rugg challenge.

via takineko

Take the Paul Rugg Challenge

And here it is.

Still Atop Mount Every Day Story

"Fresh Ideas" continues holding the lead after three days, thanks to family, friends and discerning readers who happened by.

Recent Sam Art

Sam's found time to render various subjects.

Number 1 on Every Day Story

As you can see, I'm atop the Every Day Story heap (at least for a time) thanks to everyone who read and voted on "Fresh Ideas." Sterling work, I say. Keep it up!

Link to Cartoon Series Blog

Kaleb and Luke are developing a cartoon series, posting on the process as they go. Follow along behind the curtain, as it were.

If You Please...

...kindly drop by Every Day Fiction and read my short story, "Fresh Ideas." It's short, I tell you. If so moved, leave a nice comment and a swell rating. Thank you for your support. I will imagine presents and gold appearing on the front seat of your car.

My Java with Madeleine

Met Madeleine from Vasteras, Sweden for the second time. We had coffee in Sherman Oaks and discussed animation, travel and the Kroner. At first, our talk was pleasant, but I made a serious social blunder by mentioning the 1709 Battle of Poltava and the rout of Swedish forces by the Russians under Peter the I. Madeleine took offense at my comments on Swedish sovereign Charles XII. With growing passion, she argued that Charles' heavily outnumbered army pressed the action for most of the fight, finally drowning in a sea of Russian infantry. Delicately, I mentioned that Peter had trained up his army and they were no longer an ill-organized rabble, though some problems persisted. (Peter had difficulty getting the Russians to fire their muskets at the Swedes and not at the clouds which his peasant troops mistook for billowy fiends sent by the Devil to eat them. This was a problem common to northern European armies of the day.) In any case, Madeline slammed down her latte and stormed off after I mentioned the five-year exile of Charles XII in Moldavia following his defeat. So matters between us ended sharply. I hope Madeleine has a safe trip home. If anyone else is meeting her in Southern California, please let sleeping dogs - or exiled Swedish kings - lie. That would be best, I should think, for all concerned.

New Looney Toons?

Coming soon, another attempt to revive the Looney Toons. I recall the last animated TV series, Loonatics Unleashed, as being especially feckless. Still, one hopes for the best. Even a blind hen occasionally pecks some corn.

'Star Wars' If Made in the 50s

via: whoiseyevan

Numbers Game

The producer yesterday liked several of my ideas, but now the ideas must be approved by the execs. A very subjective process. What the producers favor the execs may reject for various whimsical criteria. ("Too many notes.") Fortunately, I brought many ideas, improving my chances of going to script. Hopefully, I'll find out by week's end.

via prestoagitato2

Cracked Link to Lobe Sighting

An old friend appears in this article on brain fails.
Via Tom Ruegger.

Score!

Congrats to Steve and Julie Bernstein and Rob Paulsen for a great performance in Cincinnati.
via Steve Bernstein on Facebook.

Sore Knee and Novel Progress

Walking too fast on too hard a surface. Plenty 'o ice the last few days. Plus I've been cutting down on my Internet time. Excessive on-line use makes it difficult for me to concentrate on things like reading and writing. Fast instant gratification erodes discipline, especially since they've added video to my favorite hot coed sites. My novel has not progressed beyond more 3x5 cards. (I now remember setting Halloween as a first draft completion deadline. My, how time passes when you procrastinate.) Sent the first 70 pages out as a novelette to an English publication. The editor's reaction was similar to his American counterparts: "Where's the rest of it?" In my head, alas. However, I do have enough material to try and get a literary agent. Plus, there's already interest from a small publisher who'd like to see the finished product. (The publisher's business model is small. He may be small personally, but I have no information on that. Nor would his stature effect any of my monetary decisions unless he did creepy things with his height, like hide in baskets then jump out and hit people with a TV tray.) Rare paying work has inserted itself into my schedule. I need to attend to that at once before the novelty evaporates.

Walking Fast

Stopped by a local high school track last night and walked 3 miles as fast as I could. That turned out to be 41:35, a 13:51 pace. Too much, too soon I think, since I'm tired today. But my final mile was 11:28, which is minutes faster than the running pace for my first marathon. The goal is to let the running happen naturally, but I'm close now. Tonight, I'm going to watch a documentary by Werner Herzog on the late Rev. Gene Scott. He was big here in Southern California during the 1980s and 90s. Quite a character; no other TV preacher quite like him. Herzog never has trouble locating fascinating subjects.

So Long, Frank Frazetta

Artist Frank Frazetta died following a stroke. He was 82. I loved his work, particularly the evocative covers he drew for Warren Publications Creepy and Eerie back in the mid-60s. When paperback Conan the Barbarian tales appeared around the same time, Frazetta's work graced the front. The old National Lampoon hired him once to draw a cover. Inside that issue, Frazetta also drew the cover for a satiric comic on a gay Dracula. Ah, well, adieu, Frank. Best wishes and prayers for the family.

British Politics For Dummies

Whaz'sup in the UK election? This guy knows and can say it lucidly and quick.

h/t: nerimon

Nashville No Big Deal

For some reason the national media seems unmoved by the monsoon-like rains and flooding that clobbered Nashville and the surrounding states. The damage costs are mounting like the national debt, reaching epic proportions. No national media means no celebrities will adopt this tragedy. Perhaps if the locals dipped a pelican in oil?

h/t: 500bennu

How Many Could You Do?

So asks chronicler Obsolete Skills. (Alas, I'm overqualified in many areas.)
h/t: Ace of Spades

Ralking

Another ralk today. Other than sounding like Scooby Doo, the word refers to a hybrid movement of fast walking approaching a run. Maybe in another week or so, I'll break out into a brief run and see how my knee accepts that. I've been loafing, avoiding the rest of my novel. Once I'm going, it'll be fine. So go, me.

Nose Stitches Out

At the doc's again to have the last stitches removed from my nose. I take it for granted that it looks somewhat okay, minus a bit of discoloration. But the nurse told me, in addition to how well its healing, that odd, unpleasant things often happen with skin grafts and that past grafts she's seen look like something that fell off a tray and landed on the patient's snout. Fortunately, mine still looks like a nose.

My wife reminded me yesterday that we started dating 20 years ago this week. I have trouble reconciling being in physical proximity to the same person for that long. I didn't last 20 years with my family, departing for the USMC at 19. In any case, there have been many ups and downs, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer just like our eventual wedding vows. Glad I took them as the adventure continues to unfold.

I consider an almost-run a walk so fast that running is the next step. Using the dirt trails around Griffith Park, I've been practicing walking gradually faster. Today bordered on a run for a few minutes. Now I'll see how my knee feels tomorrow. But it was fun to actually pass someone for the first time in a stinking long while.

So Brave, So Edgy

The breezy, hip courage of Viacom/Comedy Central executives on display.

Animaniacs Farewell Video

Editor extraordinaire Al Britenbach cut this farewell sequence, scored by the master, Richard Stone.

h/t: Daily Motion (Stephanie O'Keeffe) via Tom Ruegger

Lost in Studio City

Rugg recalls Jonathan Harris.

Marathon Bomb Scare

Bomb found near the finish line of the Pittsburgh Marathon. Thankfully, no one hurt. I never had to deal with high explosives on a course, just running out of energy goo. On the walking scene, I haven't been out since last Tuesday - slight soreness in the knee. I may have overdone it, covering 4 miles at a 14:33 pace. Not wise. Longer distances should never be attempted quickly on the first try. I didn't give myself time to grow accustomed to the additional mileage. I keep forgetting that, which is part of the reason I'm walking. Reduced walking, very little gym and no swimming have led my weight to creep up again. I keep sliding back and forth over the same 10 - 15 pounds. My scale is getting sick of me. And I of my scale.

Onion Video: White House Janitorial Staff Dinner

Live Feed: Obama Attends The White House Maintenance Staff Annual Dinner
h/t/: Hot Air

Ashes to Ash...

and the Fuhrer to dust.