Timothy Power's Blog, page 23

Thanks, Jack Davis!

Legendary Mad Magazine artist Jack Davis departed this mortal realm today. He drew many classic Mad covers and contributed countless hilarious images to my favorite magazine of all.

He was also a well-known artist in the world of horror comics. Look how well he captured the greatest monsters of all time!

Here’s his take on Tarzan.

And his anti-smoking look at cigarette advertising. Don’t smoke, people!

Thank you for bringing so much fun to life, Jack Davis!

And by the way…Mad Magazine is alive and well in the 21st Century. Take a look!

Perspective!

Nests to crow about

Photo by Bronwyn Berman

There aren’t a whole lot of trees in Tokyo, Japan. And so the local crows are hard-pressed to find enough twigs to build their spacious nests. Fortunately, crows are notoriously clever. They are known to craft tools to snatch hard-to-obtain food, for example, and memorize the schedules of trash collectors to scavenge from.
In Tokyo, they’ve found a sturdy twig replacement. Cast-off clothes hangers!

Photo by Brian G. Kennedy

Photo by Goetz Kluge

Who knew Tokyo residents discarded so many hangers? Let’s hope they keep it up, for the sake of their local crow families!

Happy Fourth of July!

Most fireworks on the Fourth happen at night. And they’re EXTREMELY NOISY. It’s fun to stay out late, and it can be fun to be blasted by bangs. But it’s also fun to take matters into your own hands and create your own fireworks schedule, and here’s one easy way to do it in broad daylight.
All you need is a sidewalk or driveway and plenty of sidewalk chalk. Yes, the big stuff!

There’s one more thing you need. A little imagination. And voilà! Explosions of colorful fireworks. Add your own sound effects, and have a Happy Fourth of July!

Let’s get together!

Happy Father’s Day!

What are dads up to in 2016? Well, first of all, they’re stacking Cheerios on their babies!

Patrick Quinn is the founder of Life of Dad, a social network just for dads. One day he put a Cheerio on his three-week-old son Maxton’s nose, and a hot new fad was born. So far, the record for Cheerio stacking by a dad on his baby is 16, and only two dads have met that goal so far.
“That seems to be the Everest of Cheerio stacking,” says Patrick, who hasn’t gotten that far yet. “I don’t even know how it’s possible.”
C’mon, Patrick. It’s dads we’re talking about. Happy Father’s Day to all dads everywhere!

Ageless art

Australian Aboriginal artist Loongkoonan was born in a time and place where births of native people were not recorded, but estimates she was born somewhere around the year 1910, which makes her 105 years old or so. She took up painting in her 90s as a way to keep busy!
Her art is inspired by her Aboriginal upbringing and the many years she spent exploring her country on foot. Traditional Aboriginal art uses dots of paint to record memories and knowledge.

Loongkoonan has created around 380 works, using acrylic paints on canvas and linen, during her career and shows no signs of slowing down. Bringing beauty and joy into the world is an ageless pursuit!

To learn more about Loongkoonan and her Aboriginal heritage, visit mashable.com, where these pics are from!

 

Forever green

In a field in Danvers, Massachusetts grows the oldest cultivated tree in North America. The Endicott Pear Tree was brought over from England around 1630. “I hope the tree will love the soil of the old world and no doubt when we have gone the tree will still be alive,” proclaimed John Endicott to his children when he planted it on his Danvers farm. The pear tree took to its new home like nobody’s business. Here’s a pic of the Endicott Pear Tree in 1879.

American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow praised the tree, saying, “To those who ask how I can write so many things that sound as if I were as happy as a boy, please say that there is in the neighboring town a pear tree, planted 200 years ago, and it still bears fruit not to be distinguished from that of a young tree in flavor. I suppose the tree makes new wood every year, so that some parts of it are always young. Perhaps this is the way with some men when they grow old. I hope it is so with me.”
Here’s the Endicott Pear Tree today.

It is still producing sweet, sweet fruit!

To learn more about the Endicott Pear Tree, visit wimp.com That’s where all these pics came from!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Moms do it all. They put up with everything. Today’s the day to say, “Thanks, Mom! You’re the best.” A big hug is mandatory. And breakfast in bed wouldn’t hurt!

Image found at fanpop

Sandwiches ahoy!

The weather is getting warmer,  grassy green parks are starting to call, and stomachs are beginning to rumble…
This can only mean one thing. It will soon be picnic time!
Artist Michael Beitz invites you to imagine inviting everyone you know to lunch with you al fresco at his tree-length picnic table.

Tree Picnic, 2014, ©Michael Beitz

Of course, you’ll need to pack a picnic basket big enough to hold all the goodies you’ll need at such a jumbo table. For inspiration, take a look at the seven-story corporate headquarters of the Longaberger Basket Company in Newark, Ohio.
It’s never too early to start preparing for summer!