SUNDAY FUNNIES!! Robert Crumb's Bulgaria, 1965

Robert Crumb visited Bulgaria and here is his take, published in HELP Magazine, in 1965.  I'm sure things have change there since then.

Shocking!

Robert Crumb always knows how to draw shocking comicbook covers.

SUNDAY FUNNIES!! Crumb's METRO

We all know Robert Crumb.  We know he is the one that came out with the cartoon of a guy taking  big steps, I mean giant steps, and above his head ae the words

KEEP ON TRUCKING!

Which is a widely known cartoon, it has been reprinted many times.  The last I heard he has not received the first dime of royalties on it.

He also was at one time the assistant at the magazine HELP!  He was to send me a check for two cartoons by me that the editor Harvey Kurtzman accepted.  But he didn't.  It wasn't his fault HELP folded before he could.  True.

The last I heard Robert Crumb and his wife are living in the country in France.  About a year or so ago the Tuba Skinny Band paid him a surprised visit and he pulled out his banjo and they jammed.  Another true story.

Robert Crumb is also a social and trends critic, which brings up today 's Sunday Funnies:  METRO. 

click on picture to enlarge it and understandable.  It is the same spot on earth that has been photographed through the years and of course the photos are arranged in sequence, which tells a story without words.

Comic Cover Original Art

(click to enlarge)

Most  original comic book covers are poster size art in demand.  They are designed to move or fascinate you enough to want to buy the comic book it represents.   A lot of people have original comic book cover art on their walls.  

Having said that, I'm not sure the above comic book cover of ZAP underground comic book art by Robert Crumb fascinated or repelled. 

It Is Time to Fall Back

Remember, before you go to bed tonight, when setting your clock clock, be sure and fall back.

How simple is that?

Gobs of Chicken-Fat Galore! WHOOPIE!!!

All you Chicken-Fat fans, both of you, will enjoy this: Today a truck overturned in Marietta on Church Street Extension between the Canton Road Connector and Loudermilk Drive spilling chicken fat* all over the place, causing people to slip and slide. It has already caused two accidents and inspired one song by a young person who was born after “SLIPPING AND A SLILDING” was a hit song.

The people who made it for lunch at Brandy’s World Famous Hotdogs deserve to be applauded.

*Technically, it was non-toxic animal fat, but I’m sure there is chicken fat involved and I could use the publicity. Whenever something is slippery, chicken-fat is near, or had a hand in it (that is almost what a teacher told me one time).

Robert Crumb Draws GENESIS

When you hear the name Robert Crumb you what do you think? Underground Comix artist; Keep On Trucking; Mr Nature, Friz the Cat; assistant of Harvey Kurtzman at HELP Magazine, or maybe his movie CRUMB.

You would not think of Robert Crumb as a biblical illustrator. Or, I wouldn’t, anyway.

Robert has illustrated The first Book of the Bible, GENESIS. I thought he might have a little fun while doing it, but he took the Holy book dead seriously and took chapter by chapter, word by word and put down exactly as it is written. Although he did point out how some words translated could have different meanings and pointed out a chapter or two that was almost identical to an old Greek mythology story that was many years older than the Bible.




As far as I know Crumb did not leave anything out, he told it word for word. He even illustrated the sexual encounters and on the cover there is a warning that “Adult Supervision Recommended for Minors”. And another little sign tacked on states: "Graphically Depicted! Nothing Left out!" It almost has the "come-ons" of the announcer trying to get young men to come in the fair's Hoochee Coochie show.

I thought Robert Crumb did a very good job on GENESIS and I hope he does the next book which I think is Exodus.



Robert Crumb Self portrait.

Growing Old Gracefully

Anna and I were sitting in a waiting room at the hospital very early yesterday morning. My sister was there for a procedure. A man and his wife walked in. The man looked in my direction, he saw me his expression lit up, he smiled and gave me a warm wave. I didn’t recognize him. As he and his wife talked to the receptionist I recognized him. His name is Joel. He lost hair since the last time I saw him.

He had been coming to our Good Old Boys & Girls (GOBAG) meeting but he hasn’t been there for a while. I felt bad that he recognized me but I didn’t recognize him.

After he and his wife sat down I walked over to say hi. He introduced me to his wife by saying “He (me) and I (him) went on those bowling tournaments in Las Vegas and Reno that time….” I interrupted him saying, “Wait! I have never been to Reno or Las Vegas.”

He confused me with someone else. He refocused and realized who I am.

While in the waiting room we decided to have breakfast. We had country steak and biscuit. On my biscuit I spread grape jelly. In my jumbled clumsy movements I dropped the little grape pack onto the floor in front of me. I picked it up and saw the floor had a little patch of grape jelly. I thought a cleaning lady will be by shortly and get it. Then I thought what about all the people who might walk on top of it and get jelly on the bottom of their shoes. They will have a sticky shoe each time they take a step. Being the humanist that I am, I cleaned up the jelly off the floor.

Anna wanted to move a few seats over to be able to watch the news on the big TV on the wall. When we moved I thought I got rid of our breakfast napkins, cups, and paper plates. I know I threw it all in a garbage can. As soon as we moved two Latino women moved into the seats we were occupying. There was a small table with a phone and a Styrofoam coffee cup. That was the same kind of coffee cup I was drinking my coffee from that I bought from the hospital cafeteria. Damn! I forgot to pick it up and throw it away. I didn’t want for my trash to be a nuisance to the two ladies – the best thing for me to do was to take a few steps over, smile and say, “excuse me” and pickup the coffee cup and throw it away in the nearby trashcan. I was about to stand up to make my move when one of the ladies picked up the cup and sipped out of it. It was her cup. In just another moment and I would have made a fool out of myself, again.

Back home, later in the day I called Paul and told him about seeing Joel in the hospital and that is where Paul was. He has been in the ER since the day before. His heart rate had drop to the low 30s. The doctors were trying to decide what to do and his daughter was trying to get him to change over to Saint Joseph’s in Atlanta. I checked with him about four hours later and his heart rate was back to normal and he was checking out of the hospital

Getting old is not for wimps.

Havey Pekar (1939 - July 12, 2010)

Harvey Pekar, age 70, died yesterday .

I don’t know the reason he died. But I would not be surprised if it was the cancer he was battling over the years finally won.

Peker was a non-pretentious non-compromising comic book cartoonist writer. He wrote the comicbook AMERICAN SPLENDOR. It was as if he followed himself around and used for stories his thoughts and what fine messes he found himself in. Wait! That's me!

To have a steady income, he was a file transfer clerk at a hospital in Cleveland, Ohio.

And when he wasn’t working and jiving with his co-workers or fussing with his boss he was either working on his next comic book issue or prowling around garage sales looking for cheap jazz LP records. While looking for used yard-sale LP he met cartoonist Robert Crumb who also likes to hunt around garage sales looking for old jazz LPs. They became friends and Crumb illustrated some of his comic book stories.

He married one of his fans, Karen Delaney. After a 12 years they went their separate ways. From Google, I learned he was married twice after that.

A movie, staring Paul Giamatti, was made of him a few years ago, named, of course , AMERICAN SPLENDOR.

Around About Town on Tuesday

Yesterday I went to Physical Therapy. While sitting in the waiting room waiting for the therapist to come and get me I noticed an elderly man and lady at the counter. I think it was their first visit, well, actually, a pre-visit. They had their daily planner out trying to find a day they had available that the physical therapy outfit could fit them in.

Suddenly from the back therapy rooms was a loud blood curdling scream. It was ignored and they continued to stand at the counter comparing available dates.

Then another blood curdling scream that even reached a higher pitch. The elderly lady put her planner back into her pocketbook and said something to the effect of, we better wait, I want to check on some things. They left before the receptionist could say anything.

A few minutes later the receptionist walked out into the center of the waiting room and announced to all 4 of us sitting that they had the TV on the World Cup Soccer Match . I said, “I’m glad to hear that.”

Then she invited all that wanted to could go back and watch the game too. She had no takers.

Shortly, my therapist came to get me. She is a small frame lady with a nice gentle nature about her. She was working with me doing my exercises and two other people nearby. We each had something different going on.

There were also two male therapists. One of the males and my therapists would scream out at the TV when they should have taken a shot at the goal but didn't. They were really into the game, but yet at the same time knew exactly what was going on with their patients.

Then U.S. Player Landon Donovan scored for the U.S. This was the only score in the game. The U.S. won.

As soon as the wining goal was struck all three therapists had a loud cheering session and high fiving. It energized my therapist so much she started jumping up and down very high, which made her look she was more like bouncing - then she jumped up on a bench-like bed and started doing jumping jacks.

I think I heard a door up front slam shut. Had another potential patient made a break for it?

It made everybody there happy. My therapist was in glee.

After that I went to Brandi’s World Famous Hotdogs. Brandy’s Mama waited on me. I sat at the counter and ordered a chili dog and a hamburger. Coincidentally, so did the two men on each side of me. Great minds think alike I guess.

Then I met Anna at Kroger’s to shop. It is 5% Discount Day for us elderly old souls.

In the deli section I overheard an old fart asked a clerk in the deli section where was the free samples. I couldn’t hear what the clerk replied back but the old fart said, “Well, how will we know if we like something or not?”

The young man left for a second and got permission to open a box of cookies. The kind of Kroger cookies that have M&M on them. The old fart reached in the box and got one, and walked away eating it.

The young man quickly disappeared behind the counter with the opened box.

I wondered what they were going to do with the remaining cookies. Maybe they will put a strip of tape over the lid, and nobody will miss a single cookie or maybe they will pass it around among the workers.

I wondered if I pitched an “Old Fart Fit” would I be awarded with a cookie too?

The Lone Conversationist

According to Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader 2009 page-a-day calendar 80% of the talking you do today will be to yourself.

Just a word of advice, just don’t tell yourself any jokes. Any jokes you know to tell, you have already heard them. Trust me, I know.

Still Not Working!!

I know, I know. If it is not working allowing me to do pictures how come this post and the previous post have pictures?

Good question.

Apparently, it allows me to do non-photographic pictures, as in drawn pictures.

Since the beginning of this mess it has not allowed me to download (or upload) photographs from the Olympian and this morning I tried putting in photographs of the Marietta Pilgrimage and it refused it.

I don't know how the system knows the difference. I do all my photographs and non-photograph pictures in JPEG format.

&%#%!@*+*&%$!!

Time Change! Remember Fall Backwards!

Remember, at 2am tomorrow morning it will be time to change your time pieces. Of course, it is permissible to set them before you go to bed. You do not, I repeat, do not, have to wait until 2am to change the time.

When I was a time keeper at the Atlanta Post Office, always we could count on at least some people coming in hour late or early because they did not set their clocks or setting their time pieces opposite and coming in 2 hours late. One person even came in 4 hours late. He ended up being a supervisor then the divisional operations manager.

Beep!! Beep!!! Eeekk!!!!

Uncle John’s Bathroom Readers and his page-a-day calendars always have interesting facts, statistics, or a clip about a bizarre incident.

Today’s calendar is no exception. It told of a truck driver in the United Kingdom that hit a small compact car and drove with it for two miles. The tiny car was wedged in of his semi and did not know it was there. No one was hurt or killed.

The story reminded me of an incident I was in back in 1967.

I worked at Sinclair Refining Company in Atlanta. Sometimes at lunch I would drive about two or three miles to a hamburger joint and sit in my car eat and listen to the radio – which is what I was doing in this event.

My car was a red Spits two-seater Triumph – I think it had Mark II on it. It was a nice day – I had the top down. I was sitting there eating my hamburger and listening to the music when I noticed a big dump truck was backing up – I haven’t noticed it before – and it got closer and closer… I started blowing my horn when suddenly WHUMP!!!
The truck’s big metal bed crashed over my car and was completely in my view with nothing else.

I was inches from big steel metal thing looking at me. The dump truck driver did not hear me beep the horn and begin to go forward and dragging my car and me with him. I blew and blew but the roar of the engine, I suppose, drowned out my little naked high pitched sounding “beep beep”.

A man, also sitting in his car in the parking lot saw the accident and ran out waving his arms at the driver. The driver stopped to see what he wanted. Saved.

My hood was warped and peeled upward. My windshield was broken. But the engine seemed fine. The driver just didn’t see me and admitted it. He called his boss and the boss told me he preferred to not make it official with the police and all…..(I wonder why).

It was many years ago and I am not sure if they furnished me some type of rented car or not. He had me take the car to a place he suggested and they had it back running looking new in about a week.

Although, I didn’t realize then, but not long after that the car had transmission problems which I think was probably caused by being pulled with the car in “park”.

To be continued.

CHICKEN SHIT DOT COM?

I am always pleasantly surprised when some says they like my blog or say they read it everyday. I do CHICKEN FAT for me as a mind exercise and when someone else complements me to my face, well it is a fuzzy warm feeling – which is ego inflating.

We went to three events this past weekend, a wedding rehearsal, my son’s wedding/reception, and the Varner’s Reunion. At the wedding reception and the Varner’s thing several people complemented me on my blog.

However, I was knocked a loop when one lady at the wedding reception said something like, “I like your blog CHICKEN SHIT! “ then “Ooooopps!”

Georgia Senate Race: A Mud Throwing Contest

Saxby Chambliss and Jim Martin are throwing mud at each other again.

I wish we the public would form a huge coalition saying we will vote for the one that does not throw any mud for the duration of the campaign. – they have both distorted the truth so much the truth has no place in politics any longer, if it ever did.

I noticed in this campaign a few lopsided similarities: Used to Saxby Chambliss loved to be photographed with George Bush. According to the photo ops you would think Bush and Chambliss consulted each other all the time and were buddies. You could see photos of both of them wearing hard-hats and one pointing to the other items on the blueprints with the other one nodding approvingly – or standing at a distance discussing something very important.

I don’t know if any photos actually exist like I just described but some pretty darn close do exits.

Now, in this campaign, with Bush such a low approval rating I haven’t seen or heard Chambliss brag about his relationship with Bush at all. Nah!!! That is hard to believe. Surely, Chambliss, with that sincere look of his makes friends for life doesn’t he?

Chambliss proved he is as slippery of a politician as they come - he made Bush disappear. Bush who?

Now, the shoe is on the other foot. Jim Martin is trying to ride on Obama’s popularity with plans for Obama to come to Georgia for a few photo ops and say a few kind words about Jimmy.

I think Obama will make a great president. He seems to be fair, swift, and sharp. He has an excellent memory and can recall all kinds of facts to help him.

I think the U.S. will benefit greatly under his leadership.

However, four and eight years ago a lot of people felt the same about Bush. He was their hero. Now, under 28% will even give him the time of day.

I think Jim Martin should take note of this. History it shows that the political hero today might not be the hero tomorrow – as a matter of fact, he or she might be the anti hero tomorrow.

When Obama comes to Georgia to show that he and Jim Martin are close buddies, if I was Jim, I would space myself at least four feet from Obama during the photo ops. You never know when you might want to have some photographs doctored up a little.

Just a reminder:

Remember - Fall Backwards in the Fall

And Spring Forward in the Spring.

Simple!

Prediction On the Winner of Tonight's Debate

I Predict The Winner of the Vice President Debate for tonight:

First of all there will not be a 100% winner. A percent will say Sarah Palin won the debate and another percent will say Senator Joe Biden won the debate.

It will be consistent or very close to the same percentage of the presidential nominee’s debate. In fact, I think you could ask the same group hours before the debate who won and the percentage will be the near the same.

Palin and Biden both could stand in front of the cameras and say “blab la blab la bla” and the percentage will remain the same. Wanna bet?

Sunday Evening Bike Ride

Yesterday evening I went on a bike ride.

I try to ride my bike at least two times a week, which seems to always hard to schedule in.

I first rode down Sandy Plains Road and in a shopping center we frequent. This shopping center has a high occupant turnover. It is always interesting to see what is gone and what is new.

This time the vacant store next to where Anna has her nails done is no longer vacant. HOT DOG PLACE is there. Well, HOTDOG! They were closed. It looked like they have been in operation for a few days – some of the smaller lights in the establishment were on – but hopefully closed because it was Sunday evening….. I mean, who goes out and buys hotdogs on Sunday evenings?

I did a skateboarder’s special and whipped my bike up on the curb and glided up to the window and looked in. There is a big menu sign on the wall, by the counter that says ORDER HERE.

There is another sign, under the ORDER HERE sign that says IF YOU ARE UNSURE STEP ASIDE TO LET SOMEONE ELSE ORDER WHILE YOU MAKE UP YOUR MIND. I like that. Many times I have had to stand idle by while a couple or a family study a wall menu in detail, and maybe even upside down.

The wall menu offered several kinds of hotdogs and things like cooked in beer, bratwurst, sausages, etc. Under the heading FREE TOPPINGS they had chili, raw onions, horse radish, and all the regular and rare condiments.

I’ll have to pay them a visit and check them out one day when they are opened. I doubt if they will out-do Brandi’s World Famous Hotdogs – you have other things to factor in, like the people and spicy chili.

I rode on to Sprayberry High School and rode around the perimeter of the student parking lot and headed back the way I came… I wanted to look at that hotdog menu again.

On my way back, entering the first street of our subdivision a paneled pickup truck was parked on the street by the first driveway.

A tall man with a thick crop of stark white hair walked around the truck carrying a bucket of either green plums or green apples. I recognized him. It was Mr. M. He lived a block away.

I quickly mentally reminded myself that his next door neighbors bought the house next to where his truck was parked and moved there. They probably told him of the tree full of apples or plums. Incidentally, they moved into the house they bought but they did not move from the other house. They occupy both houses. We are not quiet sure why – and it really isn’t none of our business.

Mr. M. did not notice me. He leaned against the truck with one hand and holding the bucket with the other hand and started puffing. He was puffing in and out.

It reminded me of the time I had my heart-attack. I huffed and puffed. My body automatically turned on the huffing instinct. I think my heart was not getting enough oxygen and my huffing and puffing machine defaulted itself on.

I pedaled slowly up the hill turning the bike sideways to see how Mr. Music was doing. I was thinking about going back down and asking him could I help him and he got into his truck. By the time I got to the top of the hill he had slowly pulled out into the other street and was headed to his house, which was just around the corner.

By the time I got to his house he was backing into his driveway. I bet he will not mention his huffing and puffing episode to his wife.

And I pedaled the 5 more blocks to home, huffing and puffing.

Kennesaw Opry - Jamming About the Jam Session

Friday Night we went to the Kennesaw Opry.

July is a hard month to book any bluegrass players. The once-a-month opry concerts we have been attending had 3 to 4 groups a night. This night there was only one group, the “Jot ‘Em Down Boys”, and one of their founding members owns the Kennesaw Opry operation.

During the concert a lady that brought her bass guitar and her friend or husband joined them for a few songs. She had a beautiful voice and I could tell put feelings into her music, but like I said, they only played a few songs and went back to sit with the audience.

The players are mostly people who pick as a hobby when they can find time away from their job and families. They are not professionals but have a love for playing bluegrass. They explained it was a bad month to book bands – non paying bands- school is out, vacation time, yada yada.

We have seen the Jot’em Down Boys play many times through the year and just about got to know their personality and their relation to each other (two brothers are the founders). Jot’em Down Boys is named after a road that leads off Highway 400, a few miles north of Dawsonville, Georgia.

I counted 21 paying guests … at $5 a head – they took in a whopping $105 which probably was paid to the Kennesaw Recreation Department for the use of the room at Adams Park.

A couple years ago when the opry was held as “The Acworth Opry” many people came when it was at a barn at a city park that used to be a farm. They didn’t charge admission but passed a bucket for donations. But then they moved to a theater in downtown Acworth and started charging admission. The size of the audience declined. I think they made a mistake when they started charging. I think most of the people did not mind donating but one had to pay for the same thing, well, then it becomes a reluctant thing to do… when it was a pleasure to help the cause by donating. I hope that makes sense.

The ticket seller and ticket taker was a very nice lady that we deducted was the two brothers’ mother. Every time one of the band members would say something witty she would turn to us, or maybe the people near us, and say in a laughing way, “they are crazy!”

They played good. Most of it was sort of an informal jamming session. It was enjoyable.

They are men with respected kind of professions who get together and share their expertise on music. One of the players said he was a visual art teacher, one, I think has an interest in golf, and something tells me one is an engineer – still there are a couple more I haven’t figured out yet.

But sitting there, listening to the man put their heart and soul into the music they were playing I thought only at the moment are the musicians. They use the music for a release or maybe an temporarily escape from the real world – and playing fine tunes while doing it.

It reminded me of three well known people who belong to not-so-well known bands, that play just for their own enjoyment, and they are Robert Crumb, Gary Larson, and Woody Allen.

Everybody needs some kind of fun-interest…. And I guess ours is listening to music. Artists must have art appreciators, or they would be performing for a blank nothingness…. I can tap my foot almost as well as anyone there…. But most importantly, clap.