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Saturday, March 15, 2025

Corned Beef & Baggage

Wayno

The most important things to do in the world are to get something to eat, something to drink and somebody to love you.

Brendan Behan

Top o' the mornin' to you, Jazz Pickles. Since it's the weekend before Saint Patrick's Day, we open with a simply stated but deeply truthful quote from Irish author Brendan Behan. I must admit that my knowledge of Irish literature is limited. I have read Behan's autobiographical novel Borstal Boy, based on his experiences in a borstal (a prison for youthful offenders). I also struggled through James Joyce's Ulysses while attending college, though it took several attempts, and my compression level was below five percent.

I enjoy Irish food, art, music, and films and have a special appreciation for perfectly poured Guinness.

We observe St. Patrick's Day quietly, with an Irish meal prepared at home. This is not for religious reasons but because we're happy for any excuse to have a special dinner, although my spouse does have some Irish ancestry. Also, I'm too old for drunken frat party-style celebrations.

If you observe the day, I wish you the best.

I want to become more familiar with Irish literature.

Today's nautical pipe pic comes from Bizarro reader Alaric M. of Lowell, MA.

We have no information other than the photo, but it's a winning image. I don't know how large or small it is. It would make a lovely lapel pin, and I've been referring to it as the Bronze Lobsterman.

Thanks to Alaric for sharing another fine pipe pic.

UPDATE: Faithful Jazz Pickle Danielle A. identified this as a brass ashtray designed by an artist named Mike Keeler, and issued by the Keeler Brass Company. The image is said to have been inspired by Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea. I looked into it and found that there are multiple versions of this item, which vary slightly in appearance. The one in our photo may or may not be an "authentic Keeler."

It's a terrific design, but I'd feel awful stubbing out a cigarette butt in this fellow's face.

Let's see if there's anything worth celebrating in this week's Bizarro cartoons.

I may have taken some prehistoric liberties when casting this cartoon, which was published on my youngest brother's birthday. Happy birthday from one fossil to another!

Speaking of ancient history, we went out on a limb with this reference to a 1960s sitcom. Gilligan seems to transcend generations.

This one necessitated a vertical strip layout.

The irony isn't lost on me; people viewing this panel online also see targeted ads.

The therapist should also address the patient's apparent vestiphobia.

I'd like to think that Bizarro is the first newspaper comic to reference Iggy Pop, but if you know of another one, go ahead and burst my bubble.

UPDATE: Thanks to sharp-eyed Greg S, who found that my good pal and Mark Parisi did an Iggy Pop gag in his award-winning Off the Mark comic back in 2017!

I'm relieved that at least mine wasn't the same gag as Mark's!

The collection plate accepts PayPal, Venmo, and Zelle.

This batch concludes with a leftover from January's Vampyre Week.

I recently saw another vampire cartoon with the caption NOSFERATUTU. Worse, it was done by a good friend, Teresa Roberts Logan, who has an excellent cartoon feature called Laughing Redhead. Worse still, she did her comic in 2021! At least the two aren't precisely the same...

Fortunately, she was very understanding about this type of occurrence, which happens to all of us from both directions. It's still embarrassing, though!

Check out Teresa's Nosferatutu gag here.

Oh, yes. My friend TRL is also a hilarious standup comic. If she's in your area, don't miss her.

That's the latest from my Little Shop of Humor. Drop by next week for more cartoons and commentary.

Bonus Track #1

The Undertones: "Teenage Kicks"

Originally 45 released in 1978 by Good Vibrations Records

Every year around this time, I like to share legendary BBC disk jockey John Peel's favorite song of all time.

Bonus Track #2

Iggy Pop: "Five Foot One"

From the LP New Values
Arista Records, 1979

"Five Foot One" is among my favorites of Iggy's post-Stooges recordings. As a fellow of below-average height, I appreciate the sentiment, and as a music lover, it's a great tune and performance.

He's a bit taller than 5'1", but in person, we'd see eye to eye.

A Bunch o' Bizarro Blarney

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Saturday, February 22, 2025

A Joyful Noise

Wayno

I'm not sure, but I'm almost positive that all music came from New Orleans.

Ernie K-Doe

Ernie "Emperor of New Orleans" K-Doe (1936 - 2001) was only slightly hyperbolic when he made that bold statement.

New Orleans can indeed lay claim as the birthplace of jazz, and its musical history is as international as its food culture and especially its people. Musicians in the city draw upon various genres, creating new and exciting hybrids. On any given day, you can hear blues, traditional cajun, zydeco, all manner of Caribbean styles, rock, funk, opera, rap, hip-hop, bounce, reggae, traditional jazz, country, and more.

NOLA is a city I dearly love, and it was on my mind Tuesday as we braved near-zero temperatures (on a weeknight!) for an evening of live music at our favorite locally-owned venue. The headliners were The Hot 8 Brass Band, Crescent City mainstays whose energy and love are contagious. They play plenty of original material and also bring a joyful twist to familiar songs like Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing," Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," and even Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart."

Hot 8 tearing it up at the Original Pittsburgh Winery

Their US tour continues through March 9, when they perform at their home base, The Howlin' Wolf, before heading off to the U.K., Ireland, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Italy. Knowing we have such excellent musical ambassadors representing the US is comforting.

My big surprise of the evening was Pittsburgh trio Big Blitz. They create chaotic yet precise, irresistibly danceable instrumentals using two saxophones, drums, and synth. They were the perfect opener for the Hot 8 and gave me hope for the up-and-coming generation.

Music can help us through whatever's going on personally or in the world at large.

I'm grateful for the Hot 8 Brass Band and Big Blitz this week.

Today's pipe pic was delivered to us by mi amigo Dan Piraro.

Dan explained how it came to his attention:

A sweet lady named Greta L. visited the Manchester Art Gallery and snapped these photos for us. I helped her take them from phone to email and send them to me. The whole exchange was kind of cute and funny. I told her I'd send them to you.

Here's the informational sign that accompanied the painting:

I tip my favorite porkpie hat to Greta L. for adding some culture to the blog. Thanks, Greta!

In contrast to van Ostade's high art, the latest Bizarro gags take us to the other end of the spectrum.

"Can I at least wear long pants?"

All would've been well if Arthur had said to make a table shaped like the Earth.

The treatment is effective if the patient can last through the setup.

I apologize for making anyone squeamish with this avian gag.

Here's a look inside the business of miracles.

The week wrapped up with this carbohydrate conflict, another appreciation of the high and the low.

Thanks for dropping by once again. See you next week with more of this sort of stuff.

Bonus Track

Big Blitz: "Black Magic"

Official Music Video
January 27, 2022

Pittsburgh's own Big Blitz.

More Bizarro Shenanigans

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Saturday, February 01, 2025

The Power of Uncertainty

Wayno

Uncertainty is the essential, inevitable, and all-pervasive companion to your desire to make art. And tolerance for uncertainty is the prerequisite to succeeding.
David Bayles, Art & Fear

I haven't read David Bayles's book Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking, so I can't comment on it as a whole, but the quote will make sense to artists of all stripes.

People who are supremely confident in everything they do are not to be trusted. Because they never question themselves, they are incapable of or unwilling to imagine that they're ever less than perfect. Examples abound in many areas, but I'll limit myself to the river in which I swim.

Anyone with an urge to create ought to know that all artists experience the feelings of uncertainty Bayles describes. It's helpful to remember this if you've ever said that you can't draw a straight line (or boil water, whistle a tune, etc.)

Not everything you make will be perfect, but if you practice any art repeatedly, you're likely to improve, whether or not you ever reach a professional level.

Creating something, even if no one ever sees or hears it, is an act of self-care and is good for one's overall well-being.

In other words, Have fun making something. You'll feel better when you're done!

I have no uncertainty regarding this week's pipe pic, brought to us by Bizarro reader Jeff W.

Jeff writes:

My wife has an online resale business. One item she acquired last year at an estate sale was this snowman statue. I waited until the weather was more fitting before I shared it with you. The snowman's mixed feelings expression was very fun, along with the mini snowman smoking a full-size pipe.

The character's face does indeed send mixed messages; it's half benevolent and half threatening. Jeff sent the photo in December, but I had so many pictures in the queue that it's only appearing now. But we're still in the winter season, and it's such a fun image it would be appropriate at any time of year.

A tip of the Bizarro headgear to Jeff for recognizing this knickknack as a worthy pipe pic candidate.

Following are the most recent examples of my uncertainty being conquered by the desire to create art—or at least the desire not to miss a deadline.

Any resemblance to an actual cartoonist is purely noncoincidental.

I reversed the layout to fit all of the text (and most of the art) into the strip configuration, although I had to tuck part of the word balloon behind the seatback.

Shortly after drawing this gag, my trusty old task light fell apart. Finding a replacement was time-consuming (and expensive), but I'm back in business and don't have to work by candlelight.

Tuesday's gag salutes frontline art warriors. These brave souls load up their cars and travel to conventions, fairs, shopping malls, and other places to display their work to the public week after week. It's exhausting and sometimes thankless, and I admire everyone who does it.

I've "tabled" many times but rarely do it now. Several years ago, I shared a space with three colleagues at a local comics expo. One attendee breathlessly made the rounds, asking every exhibitor if they were giving anything away for free. After scooping up whatever tchotchkes we had hoped might attract paying customers, he proclaimed, "I just love to support local artists," and scurried away to find his next victims.

I slipped a reference to my cartoonist hero Virgil Partch into the display of prints based on this 1964 "Big George" panel. Several Bizarro Secret Symbols also appear among our fictional artist's wares.

I hope I didn't accidentally draw an actual Transformers toy here. Does the franchise include an annoyance bot?

The strip version is unconventional, with the word balloons separating the characters, but it works well enough.

Not every 19th-century prospector hopped around cackling, "Gold! Gold!"

Subscribers to my newsletter saw a preview of this gag in November. I temporarily removed the text to see how it worked as a standalone composition. Perhaps this version will someday appear in a Bizarro coloring book.

Friday's panel shows an artist having an audience with the Poblano.

The drawing is based on a painting of Michelangelo and Pope Julius II by Anastasio Fontebuoni (1571-1626) for no reason other than my compulsion to research this sort of thing.

We closed out the week and began February with a silly visual pun. Hey, if an hourglass is a thing, why not an hourmug?

Bonus Viewing

Marianne Faithfull: "Broken English"

From the Broken English LP

Island Records, 1979

The other day, news broke of Marianne Faitfull's death at the age of 78. Broken English, her 1979 comeback album, departed from her earlier recordings. A hard life had changed her voice from light and breathy to deep, dark, and ragged. With its pulsing electronic backing punctuated by sparse guitar stings, the title song was shocking and powerful. The entire album stands up 46 years later, including a haunting cover of John Lennon's "Working Class Hero."

A Big Buncha Bizarro

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