Here is one origin story for Crockett Johnson’s classic Barnaby. At some point in early 1942, PM‘s Art Editor Charles Martin visited Crockett Johnson at his home in Darien Connecticut.  There, he saw a half-page color Sunday Barnaby strip.  Johnson had been unable to sell it.  Martin liked the strip, took it back to New York,
As comics scholars know, Crockett Johnson’s Barnaby made its debut in New York’s Popular Front newspaper PM on April 20, 1942. Â But Barnaby and his fairy godfather Mr. O’Malley actually appeared in PM the week before. Â All during the week of April 13th, the newspaper ran ads for Crockett Johnson‘s then upcoming comic strip, Barnaby.
Oh, I could do this all day. Except that, well, I couldn’t – too many other things to do. So, here are ten more. And then I’ll stop. For now. “Welcome!” he said. “Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here
The responses to yesterday’s “Commonplace Book” post prompts me to list here ten favorite lines from children’s literature. (And please see yesterday’s post for quotations from Crockett Johnson and Dr. Seuss, and yesterday’s comments for great lines from E. B. White and Louis Sachar.) To get very far he was going to need a lot
People once kept commonplace books – personal, portable anthologies of favorite quotations. Today, the “Favorite Quotations” section on Facebook offers a brief, public version of the commonplace book. This practice has, I think, mostly faded. At any rate, here are ten quotations that would be in my commonplace book. But, luckily, he kept his wits
As promised, it’s the seventh and final Halloween mix! Â Ella Fitzgerald, the Doors, Talking Heads, Snob Scrilla, Flogging Molly, the National, and many others. Â Hope you’ve enjoyed these mixes. Â Happy Halloween! 1. Bewitched theme (1964) Â Â Â 1:02 The theme to the television sitcom (1964-1972) about a witch named Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery), her husband Darrin
Welcome to the sixth Halloween mix. Â Lambert, Hendricks & Ross; Curtis Mayfield; Charlie Daniels; Billy Bragg; Van Halen; Donovan; and, of course, many more…! 1. Halloween Spooks Lambert, Hendricks & Ross (1959) Â Â Â 2:17 The vocalese trio from their Hottest New Group in Jazz LP. Â If you like vocalese, then – well, then you
And… here’s the fifth of seven Halloween mixes. Â They Might Be Giants, Tom Jones, Undertones, Flaming Lips, the Archies, and more! Â It’s a very busy week, but I’m going to do my utmost to get these all up prior to the 31st. 1. Dr. Evil They Might Be Giants (1999) Â Â Â 1:50 From Austin
If you’ve not already seen Matt Rogers‘ brilliant kinetic typography video of Stephen Fry‘s critique of linguistic pedantry, then you’ll want to watch it. Â And if you have already seen it, then you’ll want to watch it again. Before my fellow teachers raise an objection to Stephen Fry’s injunction that writers be less constrained by
And now, it’s part IV of my Halloween mix series – to be followed in short order by V through VII! Â Judas Priest, Belle & Sebastian, Old 97’s, the Puppini Sisters, Sammy Davis Jr., Echo & the Bunnymen, and more! Â Enjoy! 1. Living After Midnight Judas Priest (1980) Â Â Â 3:27 From the band‘s album
