Dec 10th 2012 08:14 am Gnow How to Draw
This comic strip is pretty much a true story. When it first appeared in newspapers six years ago, I received a message from Jon Gnagy’s daughter, thanking me for remembering her father that way, which pleased me of course. I was shocked and disappointed on my first trip to Paris to find no Gnagys hanging in the Louvre. I can imagine this grates on the late Mr. Gnagy’s family as well. I hope my little memoir helped compensate in some way. Seriously, if you follow the above link, you’ll see the man really could paint and draw. (Actually, his name is pronounced closer to “Nagey” than “Naggy.”)
Posted by jimmyjohnson / Vintage A&J
123 Responses to “Gnow How to Draw”
Mark from Maine on 10 Dec 2012 at 8:38 am #
Gnagy’s ‘Learn to Draw’ books, kits and series were just great! Thanks for reminding us again about them.
Steve From Royal Oak, MI on 10 Dec 2012 at 8:43 am #
Jimmy, one of the great rewards of being a “public” personality is the abiltiy to touch other lives. I know that hasa happened to me with my music, even at the very local level that I am at. I am REALLY happy for you to have received feedbacl from someone that you have admired.
I got home from the hospital yesterday. I am VERY tired and trying to keep hydrated. I was shocked that I can put full weight on the surgurically repaired leg. I was having trouble getting out of bed at the hospital, but when the “urge” hits you (because I am forcing liquids) it is a amazing how motivated you can get. I am looking forward to the swelling to go down and I get some flexibility back. For that matter, I may have more flexiblilty than I have ever have!
hc on 10 Dec 2012 at 8:54 am #
Steve – good luck with the re-hab – my husband had foot surgery on August 1 and still can’t put any weight on it …
yea ludwig!
David in Houston on 10 Dec 2012 at 8:54 am #
I do notice that young JJ looks just like young Arlo with darker hair!
Steve From Royal Oak, MI on 10 Dec 2012 at 8:54 am #
Sorry for all of the typos. Have to use IE. so no auto correct on the spelling. Combine that with the meds and the lack of sleep and sometimes I have been typing gibberish….Ok maybe I type gibberish all the time, but now I have an excuse,
Galliglo in Ohio on 10 Dec 2012 at 9:16 am #
JJ, thanks for the reminder! I remember those kits… but since I have NO drawing ability, those geometric shapes usually just looked like shapes!
But I do share the secret dream of Janis – ah, to be a torch singer!
Nobby on 10 Dec 2012 at 9:18 am #
I didn’t think about it until I read today’s Arlo and Janis strip… but does anyone know where I can buy a Mayan calendar replica? Will they go on half price after the 21st?
Mindy on 10 Dec 2012 at 9:19 am #
Jimmy, I have six of seven Nagy how-to books squirreled away in primo condition plus another five, I believe, that I wore out. The result was that I’m a decent mechanical drawing entity but I still can’t draw real faces worth a hoot. Or half a hoot. John can do that, although he keeps wanting to do nudes. Typical fiend.
I had to laugh and hard at today’s real-time A&J! Lord, I do wish I’d had the foresight to actually create and market “new” Mayan calendars! Ah, well, I’ll still take a dozen! We know some very sweet, nice people who are thoroughly convinced that the world will end as per the “Mayan Prediction.” I’ve sent them a copy of today’s cartoon with the message, “Here’s hoping the new ones will kick in on time.” The problem I see is that if they’re right, how will I be able to apologize the next day for doubting them? Could we perhaps stick Ghost out front as a possible sacrifice to placate the Mayan gods and change the end of the world to a thousand or so years down the line?
Bryan on 10 Dec 2012 at 9:29 am #
JJ – I love your/Arlo’s look of amazement.
Jim in TN on 10 Dec 2012 at 9:32 am #
Today’s cartoon is GREAT! Love it. (Had to post it to the facebook fan group too) Thanks for a creative and new take on the Mayan silliness!
llee on 10 Dec 2012 at 9:38 am #
The riverboat landing scene! The little kid that was just an “x” with a little bit of a hat…or something…. Mine never looked as good as his examples but I kept trying! Now I just avoid drawing people.
Bob, near Mark on 10 Dec 2012 at 10:16 am #
I had the Jon Gnagy Learn To Draw set back in the ’50s. I also have three of Bill Alexander’s “The Magic World of Oil Painting” books. It was fun to try, even if you weren’t very good at it.
Ghost Rider 6 on 10 Dec 2012 at 10:34 am #
Mindy, I believe you should do whatever necessary to keep John’s artistic and creative juices flowing. And thanks, but I don’t meet the two primary requirements for being a high-quality sacrifice. However, just for you, I’d be happy to begin screening some candidates who might. Perhaps starting with Virgin America female flight attendants.
Blinky the Wonder Wombat on 10 Dec 2012 at 10:46 am #
Is this retro the only A&J comic that does not include any of the fictional cast?
buzz on 10 Dec 2012 at 11:04 am #
I had one of those sets, too.
@Blinky — Ludwig’s in it
Anonymous on 10 Dec 2012 at 11:10 am #
Mark in TTown
Thanks for the post about the Three Stooges DVD set. I grabbed the last local copy (I think) for by BIL who is a HUGE fan. Trouble is, he likely won’t live to see them. Why? He has severe seizures (and PTSD) and insists on getting a chain saw for Christmas. And he’s getting one. He goes to the ER about once a month from injuries from non-powered tools so I’m not optimistic.
Dave in MA on 10 Dec 2012 at 11:35 am #
I presumed that was Arlo as a boy in the retro strip today. However, why would he be drawing Ludwig? So I guess it’s JJ. But still, Ludwig is a member “of the fictional cast”.
Debbie in Alabama on 10 Dec 2012 at 11:42 am #
Probably the most circulated set of books in the school library….drawing books by Lee Ames
http://www.draw50.com/draw50.htm
CIDU Bill on 10 Dec 2012 at 11:54 am #
When I was a wee child, my mother was a fan of Jon Gnagy, and the first present I ever bought her (with my father’s financial assistance, but I chose it myself) was one of his Learn to Draw sets.
Neal in Bahstawn on 10 Dec 2012 at 12:50 pm #
My genetics knowledge may be a bit sparse, but isn’t it the case that children who are blonde as tykes come to have darker-hued hair as they reach their tween years? The younger/older Arlos seem to have reversed that sequence.
I realize that for Americans of the female persuasion, the blonde genetics tend to endure for as long as 70 years before turning to silver.
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sandcastler on 10 Dec 2012 at 1:23 pm #
Sun bleached from all the sailing, my story and I sticking to it.
sandcastler on 10 Dec 2012 at 1:24 pm #
I am sticking to it. That darn Siri!
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 10 Dec 2012 at 1:38 pm #
Neal:
Some aspects of head hair color, texture, and distribution pattern [e.g, a forward peak in the middle of the forehead] are understood and fairly simple, but [colorists aside] I’m not sure change with age, except maybe for graying, is well understood. Both wife and I were redheads into our 20s, but both darkened with age. [I am only 5 months older.] Mine went gray then white much faster. She went gray at the temples in her 50s, and was “salt and pepper” when she died at 80. My hair was white by 70, and I was also bald on top by then. Actually, some men do a combover with hair as thin as mine on top. I simply shave it.
I’ve know people whose hair was white before age 40, and many men who were as bald as I am now by 35 or less. Maybe they didn’t eat their spinach.
Galliglo in Ohio on 10 Dec 2012 at 2:02 pm #
Jim in TN: So THAT is who you are! Enjoy your postings on the FB fan page.
Galliglo in Ohio on 10 Dec 2012 at 2:02 pm #
auto deal websites: Huh?
Robin in FL on 10 Dec 2012 at 2:07 pm #
More fame for JJ!
http://community.compuserve.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?webtag=ws-womensforum&nav=messages&tid=21972&tsn=
John in Richmond Texas on 10 Dec 2012 at 2:55 pm #
I was bright yellow blond for my first few years, still weirds me out to see a picture of my young self, but was regular brown haired by 6 or 7, graying now around the ears. I’m getting thinner on top so get it cut short on the sides, I want to avoid that silly looking thing, where you have a thick ring of hair around your head. . I remember a young gray haired Steve Martin, whose hair turned gray in his 20′s talking to Merv Griffin about growing old; he knew that someday his hair would turn gray and when that happened, he would be able to handle it, because he is honest with himself.
Mindy from Indy on 10 Dec 2012 at 3:47 pm #
Love both of today’s strips; was Arlo about to what I think in Sunday’s strip?
I haven’t started my Christmas shopping yet. I’m waiting to see if the world ends first (which would be a GREAT end of the world gift from the Mayans to me).
Not that I do much shopping to begin with. I do not have the time, energy, nor inclination go full on Christmas insanity.
Boise Ed on 10 Dec 2012 at 3:58 pm #
Galliglo: I second the “Huh?”.
hc: My wife broke her ankle Thanksgiving morning, and is now hobbling around a bit in a “walking boot.” It does get better, little by little. Tell your husband to hang in there.
Mindy: I heard that some folks are stocking up in preparation for Mayan Day, aka Winter Solstice, but that makes no sense. If the world ends, what good are the goods? I say if they really, truly, believe that, then it’d be better to go out and party like there’s no next month!
BTW, after mistyping your name, I now have as an earworm the Mamas and Papas song “Minday, Minday,”
Mindy on 10 Dec 2012 at 5:29 pm #
Boise Ed, we stockpiled an extra package of Fig Newtons and a case of Yahoo…which, sandcastler, is no reference to your Google opposition. Ghost, I have to admit, I totally misread that Virgin American comment, but I did catch myself. And John needs absolutely no help at all with his creative juices. A loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and a partially unbuttoned blouse and he forgets all about the bread and wine. Can I say that here?
Mark in TTown on 10 Dec 2012 at 5:42 pm #
Anonymous, you are most welcome. Your story about your brother-in-law sounds like a combination of two of Ray Stevens’ songs: “Hey Bubba Watch This” and “Power Tools”. Maybe you could take the chain off the saw so he gets the racket but not the danger!
Congratulations on your surgery Steve. Hope you will be up and around soon.
On the hair topic, I was blond as child too. Didn’t start turning brown till around 9 or so. Now about equal brown and gray, like my mother and balding like her father.
Thanks for the reminder of Jon Gnagy, Jimmy. I remember his shows from when i was a little boy watching on a black and white set too. I still can’t draw a straight line, though. Maybe I should have bought one of his sets.
Mark in TTown on 10 Dec 2012 at 5:46 pm #
Nobby, try this link: http://www.novica.com/art/mayan-prophecies/index.cfm?c=61&l=2
Ghost Rider 6 on 10 Dec 2012 at 6:17 pm #
Mindy, I’m happy to hear that John is sufficiently juicy. (How many buttons are in play?) And perhaps I miswrote the Virgin America comment. However, I think perhaps you meant a case of “Yoo-Hoo,” unless you actually purchased a package of philistines.
I’ve always wondered why the founders of a company would chose a name, acronym or not, that means “lout.” But with their money, I doubt anyone calls them that now.
Anonymous, perhaps you could remind your BIL that two phrases one never wants to hear in the same sentence are “chain saw” and “emergency urological surgery.”
Charlotte in NH on 10 Dec 2012 at 8:23 pm #
Ghost, I’ve wondered also about the name Yahoo. Is it some kind of acronym? And how is it pronounced? Either way, the name is an unfortunate reminder of those “louts” in Gulliver’s Travels. I don’t even like to use it or see it.
emeritus Minnesota biologist on 10 Dec 2012 at 8:30 pm #
I don’t know that the term was original with Jonathan Swift, but in his “Gulliver’s Travels”, the Yahoos were rambunctious [sp?] humanoids that were inferior to the genteel horses [H-------s; I cannot spell their name but it's meant to sound like a horse's whinny] in the same land. Swift was not subtle.
Lost in A**2 on 10 Dec 2012 at 8:35 pm #
“Yet Another Hypertext Online Organizer.” A web search turned up three other possibilities; I chose the one that best matched my recollection of the times.
Jerry in Fl on 10 Dec 2012 at 8:42 pm #
Because so many people have been stocking up on all kinds of weapons and ammunition and they will have itchy trigger fingers around 12/21, I plan on keeping a low profile around that time. Re the aforementioned castle, I was able to take a tour, but my chances of being able to take up residence there is zero.
Mindy from Indy on 10 Dec 2012 at 9:23 pm #
Boise Ed- Thanks, now I’M singing it too. At least I have a reason unlike the other week when I woke up singing “Bad Time” by Grand Funk Railroad. I hadn’t heard or thought about that song in years; where it came from, I still don’t know.
Lost- That is the meaning I remember for Yahoo as well.
As for the main topic of television artists, I remember the guy who always said “Draw, draw, draw” and drew massive cities. Bill Cosby also did some sort of lesson/art/doodle thing called “Picture Page” back during his apex of popularity. And of course, Bob Ross, with his hypnotic voice and his poor paint-thinner covered cameraman. Ross once said, “Don’t call it a mistake, call it practice and then nothing is wasted.” I have found this applies to more than painting trees.
Mark in TTown on 10 Dec 2012 at 10:50 pm #
Jerry in FL, have you seen Castle Gwynn in Triune, TN? They have a Renaissance Festival there yearly and lead tours through it then. If you travel TN highway 840′s south loop you can see the tower from the road.
Jean in Dahlonega Ga aka Trapper Jean on 10 Dec 2012 at 10:57 pm #
My sister and I laugh at the strange genetic roulette that runs rampant in our family. A few months before I was born Mom read an article in which some researcher was quoted as saying that a man with black or brown hair and a woman with red hair COULD NOT have red haired children. I’ve always wanted to meet that person, as we proved him wrong. Daddy had black hair, and Mom was a redhead, and they produced two redheaded daughters! Also, my three kids were born with blonde hair that has darkened with age: my oldest daughter has chestnut brown hair, and the other daughter and my son have blondish-brown hair. Their father had dark brown hair.
I don’t remember Jon Gnagy, but I’m not sure his books could have helped me a lot. Some days I have trouble drawing a straight line with a ruler. Oddly enough though, my son is quite a good artist. Not a clue where that talent came from.
Steve, hang in there and do the rehab, and you’ll be running circles around the rest of us in no time!
Ghost Rider 6 on 10 Dec 2012 at 11:07 pm #
Charlotte, eMb, et al, “Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle” is what the founders of the company officially say is the meaning of the acronym, and yes, it was knowingly selected for the word it spelled. (I think we discussed that recently.) And also yes, J. Swift is credited with having originated the word in “GT.”
I haven’t followed it closely, for obvious reasons, but out of curiosity, how exactly are things supposed to end on 12/21/12? I’d hate for the world to start to end and not be aware it was ending because I didn’t know what form the end of the world was supposed to be taking. (Anyone want to try to diagram that sentence?)
Ghost Rider 6 on 10 Dec 2012 at 11:14 pm #
Also, if anyone knows what time of day the end is supposed to come, I’d appreciate knowing, as my calendar is already pretty full that day.
And that is my Google calendar, sandcastler.
Ghost Rider 6 on 10 Dec 2012 at 11:29 pm #
“That’s my story and I’m shticking to it.”
–Billy Bob Lieberwitz
TruckerRon on 10 Dec 2012 at 11:46 pm #
I first heard “yahoo!” as a shout given by a cowboy on a bull, along with “yeehaw!” and some interesting words I hadn’t learned as a 6-year old.
Meryl A on 11 Dec 2012 at 12:39 am #
Husband and I have the same memory of Mr. Gnagy’s books. He never told you how to get from the shapes to the pictures and neither of us could figure it out. Which is why we are not famous comic strip artists
Taigan on 11 Dec 2012 at 12:39 am #
For me, it was Ed Emberley.
Ghost Rider 6 on 11 Dec 2012 at 1:09 am #
Debbe, I don’t usually link to other cartoons, but I couldn’t resist sending you this one for 12/11/12.
http://www.gocomics.com/break-of-day
Mindy on 11 Dec 2012 at 1:19 am #
I thought the end was on 12-21-12….
Ghost Rider 6 on 11 Dec 2012 at 1:46 am #
Uh huh, I knew the date. I need the time for my calendar.
Say good night, Mindy.
Debbe59 on 11 Dec 2012 at 4:37 am #
Thanks for thinking of me GR…..still grinning, love the one comment posted below the cartoon.
Does anyone read the comments posted under the daily strip of A&J? The discussion is heating up as to whether the Mayan calendar or the Aztec calendar was round. Too funny, the world is going to end and they’re in arguments over the shape…hahahahaha
Thanks Jimmy for a comical view of this momentous day that is to occur…..the sky is falling, said chicken little!!!!
A blessed day to you all, especially to Steve….remember the little red train? I think I can, I think I can, I know I can.
=^..^=
Mindy on 11 Dec 2012 at 6:07 am #
Why would I say “Good night, Mindy” when I’ve been awake all night and have no desire to go back to bed, to sleep, perchance to dread, or otherwise? Silly male person.
Ghost Rider 6 on 11 Dec 2012 at 6:58 am #
I think of you all the time, Debbi. Especially when I need a blonde for a dream sequence.
Glad you liked the other cartoon. I thought it was pretty clucking funny. I seldom read the “other” A&J comments, and I have never posted there. Maybe I’m biased, but I prefer the discourse over here at A&Jville.
Mindy, my love, how fortunate that you are already so beautiful that you do not require your beauty rest.
Ghost Rider 6 on 11 Dec 2012 at 6:59 am #
Sorry, Debbe; I typo’d your name. Too early, I guess.
Mindy on 11 Dec 2012 at 8:17 am #
That’s sarcasm, Ghost. I recognize that.
Mindy on 11 Dec 2012 at 8:17 am #
Drat! How do I draw the angry emotocondominium?
Ghost Rider 6 on 11 Dec 2012 at 8:18 am #
No, hon, it’s not. Like Dr. Sheldon Cooper, I don’t do sarcasm.
Ghost Rider 6 on 11 Dec 2012 at 8:19 am #
See, no need for the angry emotocondominium.
Mindy on 11 Dec 2012 at 8:29 am #
Actually, it’s not emotocondominium, but I’m too shy and prim and polite and all that to be graphic.
sandcastler on 11 Dec 2012 at 8:33 am #
In Russia the belief of the pending world demise is as follows, it will spread across the planet from the north and east with skies going black. Sounds like Sandy was a test practice. Once NYC goes we will know we are doomed.
Ghost Rider 6 on 11 Dec 2012 at 8:36 am #
Woe is me! How has it come to the point where a simple compliment is taken as sarcasm requiring the use of a graphic emotocondominium in response?
Ghost Rider 6 on 11 Dec 2012 at 8:40 am #
So, sandcastler, as in “The Nine Billion Names of God,” it will be one of those “overhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out” deals?
Ghost Rider 6 on 11 Dec 2012 at 8:42 am #
I still need the time of onset. For my calendar.
sandcastler on 11 Dec 2012 at 8:48 am #
GR6, error on the cautious side, set it as an all day event. That should provide the perfect excuse to stay in, drink vodka, and have dreams in blonde, brunette, and redheaded hues.
Ghost Rider 6 on 11 Dec 2012 at 8:48 am #
Never mind. I’ll just make it an “Add Day Event.”
Ghost Rider 6 on 11 Dec 2012 at 8:49 am #
“All Day Event.” What sandcastler says about Siri is true.
sandcastler on 11 Dec 2012 at 8:49 am #
LOL, like minds!
Ghost Rider 6 on 11 Dec 2012 at 8:55 am #
Thanks. I think.
Galliglo in Ohio on 11 Dec 2012 at 9:23 am #
Jean in Dahlonega Ga aka Trapper Jean: I know exactly what you mean. My dad had brown hair (when he was young) – Mom had dark blonde. They produced a blonde and two redheads! Evidently, somewhere back in Dad’s relatives there was red hair. Oh, and yes – I had a first cousin (on Dad’s side) with red hair. The blonde sister married a man with lots and lots of redheads – they produced three blondes. Go figure…
Shelly on 11 Dec 2012 at 9:29 am #
The world ends at 12 minutes and 12 seconds after midnight tonight or at 12 noon plus 12 minutes and 12 seconds tomorrow, which is more likely since the Mayans probably used the 24-hour military clock to be accurate. The question is, does it end at 12:12:12 in each time zone or all at one time when the clock ticks down in a single time zone, and, of course, the question then is WHICH time zone? I bought a box of Mars bars, regular chocolate milk, a pack of Sobrannie Black Russian cigarettes [if the world is going to end, I might as forget being healthy and not smoking, right?] and a flashlight with extra fresh batteries in case I have to walk in the dark a lot. I also have a pocketfull of coins for The Boatman….Oh, and a fifth of Wild Turkey and a fifth of Southern Comfort.
If the world doesn’t end I’m going to have one heck of a hangover…and I hope I can plead a Mindy on that!
Ghost Rider 6 on 11 Dec 2012 at 9:43 am #
“I don’t look like anyone in my family, except for my grandmother. I have blue eyes and brown hair, and she has brown eyes and blue hair.” — Rita Rudner
Really, Shelly? Good to see you’ve thought this through, but I thought it was scheduled for 12-21-12. Headed to the package store. And I don’t mean UPS.
Mindy on 11 Dec 2012 at 9:44 am #
Be careful, Shelly, be very careful. You are now entering the Twilight Zone of Mind — or lack of same — and you’re beginning to think like Ghost and sandcastler! I’ve followed your list and added Popeye’s dirty rice, gizzards, 12-piece Cajun spice chicken wings, the whole wing not just the Buffalo part, and 15 pounds of shrimp and 15 pounds of crayfish. John can get his own.
Mindy from Indy on 11 Dec 2012 at 9:48 am #
I’m checking with New Zealand first, it will already be the 22nd there. If the Hobbits are good, so are we.
Ghost Rider 6 on 11 Dec 2012 at 9:50 am #
I had shrimp jambalaya for breakfast today. No Wild Turkey or Southern Comfort, though. You can have my gizzards, Mindy, but not my crayfish.
Ghost Rider 6 on 11 Dec 2012 at 9:53 am #
West Coast breakfast (circa 1975): An Oly and a Ding Dong.
Mindy on 11 Dec 2012 at 9:57 am #
Wait a minute! Is it 12-12-12 or 12-21-12???????
Mindy on 11 Dec 2012 at 9:58 am #
I forgot to set my Mayan clock back when Daylight Savings Time ended…
Ghost Rider 6 on 11 Dec 2012 at 10:02 am #
Don’t you hate it when that happens, Mindy?
We’re a fine bunch…freakin’ world is supposed to end, and we’re not sure when. Maybe we’ll be like the man who was to be hanged at sunrise but overslept and missed it.
John in Virginia on 11 Dec 2012 at 10:28 am #
I used to really rattle my mother’s cage, and Mindy’s, by saying that I wanted to know exactly where I was going to die. The idea was that I wouldn’t ever go there until I was ready to die! I’ve duplicated Mindy’s list except that I’ve included band-aids and first aid kit because someone always manages to get hurt whenever the world ends, but if we can’t get it right when it’s going to happen it looks like a lot of good food will spoil! I personally think the Mayans were very irresponsible for not being more specific! Plus I have to wonder if they factored in Leap Years? If they didn’t, does that jump Finis up a day or two, or back? That could make a lot of difference. For instance, it’s just possible that the world has already ended and no one bothered to tell us!
Wow! Shelly may be sounding like Ghost and sandcastler, but I’m starting to sound like Mindy! The sky is falling! The sky is falling!
John in Virginia on 11 Dec 2012 at 10:29 am #
And, if the world ends in an isolated forest far from any population centers, will anyone hear it?
Ghost Rider 6 on 11 Dec 2012 at 10:38 am #
OK, finally…the definitive explanation of how the Mayan calendar SNAFU occurred. I think we can all identify with this. I mean, who among us has not done a face-plant just as we were approaching a deadline?
http://www.thedogsayshello.com/mayan-calendar-maker-apologizes-for-the-apocalypse-snafu/
Ghost Rider 6 on 11 Dec 2012 at 10:45 am #
And good choice of Mayan calendars, Arlo! I’ve heard that the girls of Chichen Itza are stone foxes.
Come on, admit it…how many of you thought “Chichen Itza” was an establishment that specializes in Southern Italian-style fried chicken?
Galliglo in Ohio on 11 Dec 2012 at 10:52 am #
GR6: Good one!
Steve From Royal Oak, MI on 11 Dec 2012 at 11:06 am #
As a kid I seemed to have bad luck on my birthday, December 22nd. I often got sick, but one year a kid threw bubble gum down my shirt, then next year my dog got run over by the school bus and then the next year my Uncle died. I am not into jinxes, but the running joke was that the world would probably end on my birthday. That was before we learned of the Mayans.
I am appreciating all of those on this blog who are fighting illness, disabilities or are caretakers. I was moving like a champ on Monday following my hip replacement last Friday, but then my leg got very swollen and I realized that I need to spend more time in bed. Besides the swelling, there are certain side effects from the strong pain medicines that are making routine matters not so routine….To top it off, the visiting nurse that I had last night was not helpful at all. Fortunately she will only be there once. If she gets called out again, I will request another one. I loved my nurses and therapists in the hospital and they seemed to enjoy me, even with all of my cornball jokes.
Ghost Rider 6 on 11 Dec 2012 at 11:15 am #
Hang in there, Steve. Although I’ve luckily had little personal experience with pain meds, I believe I know whereof you speak.
Lady Mindy, I liked your idea of checking ahead with New Zealand on the status of the end of the world. But then I remembered seeing a report that they are training dogs to drive cars there, so the world may have in fact already ended in New Zealand.
I’m not working today. Can you tell?
Robin in FL on 11 Dec 2012 at 12:30 pm #
Here’s the real truth about the world ending:
http://www.inquisitr.com/432423/mayan-apocalypse-started-with-a-bad-70s-mushroom-trip-not-ancient-civilization/
So until we hear from the trippers in WA, where they are all communing with the Universe now (wait, are mushrooms legal there too?), we won’t know for sure.
Jean in Dahlonega Ga aka Trapper Jean on 11 Dec 2012 at 12:31 pm #
Ghost, I’m so glad to know you have read “The Nine Billion Names of God”! I was beginning to think I’d imagined reading it.
We have plenty of rice and beans stored, but I need to get some ketchup to go with the beans. I also need a couple of cases of Spam and Vienna sausages. I’ll also take the dirty rice and the shrimp!
The world could have ended and we on the Mountain just haven’t gotten the notice yet, but I have the feeling that somewhere a bunch of Mayans are having a good laugh watching people running around fretting about when the world will end.
sandcastler on 11 Dec 2012 at 12:55 pm #
Lots of fried rice for the ending, along with smoked or pickled eel.
Mindy on 11 Dec 2012 at 1:14 pm #
Jean, “The Nine Billion Names of God” was [and remains] one of the great Science Fiction short stories of all time! There was another one, and this is where I begin to feel that I’ve imagined reading it since no one else ever has, where all the jokes in the world were collected, written down, referenced and cross referenced. Once that was done, all the start begin blinking out there as well. Y’think the Mayans codified jokes? The had so many gods that the story would be named “The Nine Billion Names of Each of the Gods in Alphabetical Order.” Personally, I think Willie Nelson had it done right when he said, “They were just chewin’ Magic Mushrooms and smokin’ a little weed and peyote!”
I’ve added apple and cherry turnovers from a local deli-bakery [there's are better than mine, darn it!] and some home-made apple fried pies. John ran out and got some really good peach flavored moonshine at a bargain price since he told the Shiner [not to be confused with a Shriner] that he’d best sell it cheap cause once the world ended his market was totally shot like the Edsel and the Studebaker Lark. I think that was a bad choice of words since the Shiner drivers an Edsel…and a Studebaker Lark…and John could have made a better deal. So I called the guy and invited him over for an End of the World Party, and he’s bringing another two gallons of Peach and Strawberry gratis, which means free, I think. The local Chief of Police and two detectives plus a few Sheriff’s deputies are showing up along with a local Preacher — not the once who liked to peek and stalk! The site of the celebration is being kept close-hold secret. We even have a couple of EMTs with portable oxygen tanks to help with the next morning’s hangovers. Assuming there is a next morning. I have little doubt that, even if the world ends, there will be hangovers. I wonder if Daniel Day-Lewis would like to star in that movie? ["There Will Be Hangovers," Ghost; just think "There Will Be Blood" at 180-proof!]
TruckerRon on 11 Dec 2012 at 1:14 pm #
In my youth, I was fascinated by Clarke’s The Nine Billion Names of God , Sturgeon’s Microcosmic God, Asimov’s Nightfall , and everything Heinlein wrote with John Campbell as his editor… even the best writers need strong editors!
Mindy on 11 Dec 2012 at 1:14 pm #
Come to think of it, today is Tuesday. Where’s Jimmy?
John in Virginia on 11 Dec 2012 at 1:16 pm #
Now I’m angry!
http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/navy-cancels-nativity-over-atheist-complaint.html
Ghost Rider 6 on 11 Dec 2012 at 1:20 pm #
I drink your booze! I drink it up!
Mindy, do you know why Playboy would have been a failure in the Stone Age?
sandcastler on 11 Dec 2012 at 1:23 pm #
I have a weak spot for the Studebaker Avanti, anyone with one may will it to me after the ending. Promise to care for it well and drive it only on Sunday’s.
TruckerRon on 11 Dec 2012 at 1:27 pm #
Mindy, this isn’t the story you mentioned, but it has a similar question — where do dirty jokes come from?:
http://kanyak.com/matheson_the_splendid_source.html
I also remember reading one where when the mystery of humor was solved for the aliens who were running our world as an experiment, they went away and nothing was funny anymore.
Lost in A**2 on 11 Dec 2012 at 1:30 pm #
I’ve been out of the loop. When did “The Mayan’s calender ends” change to “The Mayans predict the world’s end”?
sandcastler on 11 Dec 2012 at 2:20 pm #
Lost in A**2, apparently the Mayan’s called this one several centuries ago. After someone noticed their latest calendar ended on 12_21_2012 the rest was a forgone conclusion. Siri wanted that last would to be convulsion, is she on to something?
Live long, prosper, and party like the universe is ending.
Ghost Rider 6 on 11 Dec 2012 at 2:22 pm #
I’ve heard that even the descendants of the Mayans don’t think there’s anything to the “Mayan Prediction.” I guess they didn’t eat their mushrooms.
Lost in A**2 on 11 Dec 2012 at 2:25 pm #
When I first heard about it, the date was the end of a calendar cycle. Has more evidence been uncovered, are people just being silly?
Bob, near Mark on 11 Dec 2012 at 2:31 pm #
The malaise of the world has turned to Mayan-aise. Anything will go bad if it’s old enough.
Ghost Rider 6 on 11 Dec 2012 at 2:44 pm #
Mindy, you may have a science fiction story “where all the jokes in the world were collected, written down, referenced and cross referenced” confused with this blog. We seem to be well our way to doing that here.
Speaking of which, do you know why Playboy would have been a failure in the Stone Age?
Jean in Dahlonega Ga aka Trapper Jean on 11 Dec 2012 at 3:18 pm #
Mindy might know, but I don’t. Why would Playboy have been a failure in the Stone Age?
Mark in Boston on 11 Dec 2012 at 3:40 pm #
Re Drawing on Television in the 1950′s.
Is there anyone else around here who lived in the Schenectady, New York area in the 1950′s?
“Who wants to squiggle?”
sandcastler on 11 Dec 2012 at 3:48 pm #
GR6, is it because all the women had hourglass figures and wore tight fitting skins?
sandcastler on 11 Dec 2012 at 3:50 pm #
Mark, last squiggle wife and I had, never mind Mindy the Virginal might be peering.
Charlotte in NH on 11 Dec 2012 at 4:38 pm #
Ghost, Thank you for the information on Yahoo. As I’m always the skeptic, I can’t help thinking, “They may say that, but it sounds too good to be true.” It seems awfully far-fetched. But perhaps it’s perfectly correct. Thanks again for checking for us; I don’t want to seem ungrateful.
Mark in TTown on 11 Dec 2012 at 4:42 pm #
Mindy, GR6, is it because it’s too hard to put staples through rocks?
Why is anyone interested in end-of-the world predictions from a society that didn’t see their own end coming? I think they just ran out of civilization before they could create the next set of calendars.
TruckerRon on 11 Dec 2012 at 7:27 pm #
Here’s a lovely paean to Dave Brubeck:
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/greenberg121112.php3
Mindy on 11 Dec 2012 at 7:47 pm #
I go away for a few hours and guess what happens? Never mind.
Playboy would have failed because the center fold would have been too heavy to fold out.
Ghost Rider 6 on 11 Dec 2012 at 7:56 pm #
Thanks for asking, Jean. Playboy would have been a failure in the Stone Age because homo erectus guys would have had to use both hands to hold the magazine.
Mark in TTown on 11 Dec 2012 at 8:10 pm #
No, some smart guy would have painted it on leaves, at least after he dropped the first one on his foot!
Jerry in Fl on 11 Dec 2012 at 8:24 pm #
Can’t stay away, this is getting too good! My notes say-Mark- No although I don’t remember what I’m saying no to. Maybe you guys are right. The world has ended and I don’t remember it. I do remember my joke from last year so I will update it: So the second stonecarver says “2012? 2013? Who cares?” At random-why do they call it a condom-inium? Maybe the milkman had red hair. Seriously I had blond hair as a kid but it turned dark before turning gray. The same is true of my youngest son. His hair is black now. And why is it the blond men go bald very early? My stepson is 35 and getting bald. I knew guys that were balding when we graduated from high school. (Yes. I did.) I am 63 and never have shown any signs of baldness and the same for my brother who is 53.
Jerry in Fl on 11 Dec 2012 at 8:26 pm #
Oh yeah, injecting rocks would have not been possible.
Lost in A**2 on 11 Dec 2012 at 8:31 pm #
Not all blonds go bald early. I part my hair on the side, and it often looks fake, but it’s all mine. My reddish beard helps with the fake look, I think.
Jerry in Fl on 11 Dec 2012 at 8:39 pm #
I’ve been asked several times if I wear a hairpiece. I like to say No. That part of me is real, and I walk away beore they can think of their next question.
Lost in A**2 on 11 Dec 2012 at 8:44 pm #
BTW, Jerry, I suspect you missed my question about New Hampshire archeology: which site caught your interest?
Boise Ed on 11 Dec 2012 at 9:47 pm #
Jerry in Fl: Guns, really? How is that supposed to help anything?
Mark in TTown on 11 Dec 2012 at 11:10 pm #
Jerry in FL, you mentioned visiting a castle recently, and had also mentioned visiting Tennessee. So I threw the two together and asked if you had seen this castle in TN. I used to belong to the SCA and had friends who helped with the Tennessee RenFair at this location. I went to it a couple of times and had a great time.
Will you tell us now what castle you were talking about?
Jerry in Fl on 12 Dec 2012 at 12:24 am #
Not in Tenn. and no I better not. Like I said, it’s not intended to be a tourist attraction. Also, I don’t believe that I suggested everyone should stock up on guns, just that a lot of people are doing exactly that. You may have not heard, but there was another mall mass shooting today. Unfortunately a lot of people have not dealt well with the stress of today’s society. Frankly, I expect all manner of strange things to happen in the next few days and I very much hope that I am wrong.
Jerry in Fl on 12 Dec 2012 at 12:29 am #
Lost, what I found was three human footprints in stone. As far as I know no one else has ever reported them. Now you know why I didn’t want to sound like even more of a nut. What I’m trying to figure out is who to report this to.
Lost in A**2 on 12 Dec 2012 at 3:58 am #
Cool. Good luck.
Mindy on 12 Dec 2012 at 6:57 am #
One strange thing that is not going to happen will be that the politicians in Washington start telling the truth.
John in Richmond Texas on 12 Dec 2012 at 8:34 am #
John in Virginia 12/11 1:16PM these offended people are babies not getting enough attention, it’s childish jealousy – someone is participating or enjoying something that they don’t, so they want them to stop. It would be like people who don’t like sports or the Olympics getting angry listening to others talk about it. Well, I don’t like seeing the political statement of burkas in my face walking around the mall, so what should I do? AND regardless of what country our military is in, Christmas IS a federal holiday. . maybe the world has already ended reminds me of the Steve Martin routine about the public having a short memory – – remember a few years ago when the Earth blew up and we escaped to this planet on the giant space ark? and the government decided not to tell the stupider people because they thought it might ……ooooohh ok