John & Belle Have A Blog

Why Can't Holbo Spell 'Pigeon'?

I started thinking about this (see below, for background on this phenomenon). Why have I been convinced that 'pigeon' is spelled 'pidgeon' when it turns out not to be? I have a possible error theory. I lecture on philosophy and film, with an SF focus. And I always teach Forbidden Planet - sort of a silly one, yeah. But a classic. And I really like Walter Pidgeon as Morbius. I think I tend to think about Walter Pidgeon, and read things about the film in which his name appears, more often than I think about pigeons, and see texts with the word 'pigeon' in it. Maybe, like the good doctor, I am not as smart as I think, and should get out of the house more often.

52 - Squid and Owl steal furtive looks; plus Monsters vs. Aliens

Next page. I like the guy's legs. The little girl turned out alright, don't get me wrong. Her fingers say 'this is my personal space'. But the guy is comfortable in his skin. And such rich, tomato-y skin it would appear to be.

I believe Squid and Owl could learn a lot from him about comic books.

I went with Mei Mei to see "Monsters vs. Aliens". She's been reciting the ad by heart for a couple weeks. 'Suuuuuusan!" "ooh, I scared myself!" She liked it but she got freaked out when ... [plotspoilers!]

32 - 'But now an old film on the screen'; plus flower island

Next page:

This one took me a while. I had to figure out what 30's style Owl and Squid looked like in profile. (As you can see - per comments on last night's post - I tried to make Owl's wings look like long hair, thereby accentuating the, y'know, androgynous mystery of this character.)

Tomorrow we are on to a different non-narrative saga. But I thought about actually turning this one into a story, I liked the design so well. The idea, y'see, would be that Squid and Owl have to fight The Old Man of the Flower. A floral version of Betty Boop's Old Man of the Mountain. Sort of like the Old Man of the Moutain wearing Jobriath's costume from this video. Anyway, the idea was that Squid would punch him out while Owl contended with all the other flowers pressing in, in sinister fashion.

Allegorically, sheer florality
Is an affront to mere morality.

Thus 'the Old Man of the Flower'
Is a figure of dark power.

Squid takes up a fistic stance
While Owl makes up a mystic dance.

The one will triumph pugilistically
The other centrifugalistically.

That's four more drawings, plus intertitles, that I didn't get around to, y'know, drawing. But tomorrow ... something more ballistic.

Speaking of flowers, I present Zoë's latest. Flower Island:

 

Six Feet Under

Hey, you can get Six Feet Under - the complete series DVD gift set - for just $99. That's quite a mark down. Guess that's only good for another hour, so you better hurry. I think I'll pass. (Should I be into that show? I've never watched it. They say it's good. I like Dexter.)

ALSC goes to Bollywood

So I just got back from the ALSC annual conference. It was good. Some had their doubts (and check out comments, hoo-boy. And that's nothing compared to comments here.) But, of course, it all turned out peachy.

I am strictly bound within the volume of a 'cone of silence', not to reveal anything, but I'm going to betray that trust because that's just the way we roll at the old J&BHAB. Especially since others have already purported to do the same. But I have the photographic evidence. I give you: Adam Kotsko, forcing himself to get up at 8 AM on a Saturday morning:

Parvarish

Thanks for all the kind words and well-wishes.

Mei Mei is still in the hospital with intermittent fever, getting her breathing treatments every 6 hours. But she's doing OK. She was doing great this afternoon. No fever. Running around like a mad thing. First, she demanded we put away the "Milo and Otis" video we were watching and watch TV instead. Which meant two episodes of "The Prince of Tennis". Then, an awesome 1977 Bollywood movie: Parvarish!

It looks more violent than it was. The imdb plot summary will have to do:

Dreaded bandit Mangal Singh is apprehended by Deputy Superintendent of Police, Shamsher Singh, leaving behind a pregnant wife, who gives birth to a son, and passes away. Shamsher and his wife adopt the child, name him Amit, and treat him the same their own son, Kishan. Years later, Mangal is discharged from prison, joins together with his bandit brother, Dilip, and approaches Shamsher to get his son back, but Shamsher refuses. Kishan thinks that he is Mangal's son and starts helping him incognito. Years later both Kishan and Amit have grown up, while Amit is a Police Inspector, Kishan is a teacher in a school for blind children, and Shamsher is now the Police Commissioner. Kishan secretly helps his dad and uncle without anyone's knowledge. Then one day, Amit finds out about Kishan criminal activity, and tells his father about it, but both are unable to prove anything. Then their lives are turned upside down when Amit loses his vision saving Kishan from a time-bomb. Watch what happens when Mangal finds out that Kishan is not his son, and that Amit is.

Or, as Mei Mei put it, even more briefly: "How is he going to get away?" The production is much more Austin Powers meets the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" video than this plot summary can possibly express. For example, the scene on the Supremo's submarine. Mei Mei loved the song & dance numbers. And danced around. (You must understand that when I say she 'watched' the film, this should be taken in much the same sense that you might say 'the kitten did its calculus homework.' It played in the background, and she, occasionally, batted at it. She didn't want me to turn it off.) Then the nurse came and gave her another breathing treatment. Which she hates. Sigh.

Keroro vs. Polar Bear

Well, that chalkware is weird. Fortunately, I did something normal. I bought a cheap VCD set of season 1 of Keroro Gunso - AKA Sgt. Frog. It's really quite entertaining. As wikipedia explains: "Both the manga and the anime focus on the steadily deteriorating ordeal of the Keroro Platoon, a group of two-foot-tall frog-like invaders, who try, but fail miserably to conquer the world and sell useless merchandise to the citizens of Japan." Here is Sgt. Frog, getting punched by a polar bear, due to the fact that he has been tricked into thinking the hosts of "A Touching Interview" have come to film an episode on earth.

Summat Nasty In The Woodshed

This brief history of the bra (and boobs in general) is interesting and has lots of fun pictures. Reminds me of the great scene at the beginning of the movie Cold Comfort Farm in which Flora Poste's auntie/patroness is lecturing her butler on an unusual specimen from her collection of brassieres. It has three panels rather than the usual two. That was an excellent movie and a very faithful adaptation of the book. The only serious change was in removing the (superfluous) science-fiction element of the book, which takes place in a near-future (near to the '30s) in which everyone has their own airplane.

My Neighbor Totorororo

Zoë and Mei Mei watched My Neighbor Totoro (Totororo, or Totorororo, Mei Mei calls him) after bathtime. Cute.

Snarked Out, Snaped Out

And this is a set of visual aids for a CT post.