Oh you’re makin’ me blush
Click on this! It looks so fabulous even bigger!
from a zine, Cartoon Fricassee Cookbook!!! Do you have your copy?
You can be a big wig, too!
Charles Tripp, the armless wonder, enjoying a cuppa tea
Speak, Bearded Lady!
I recently completed Geek Love by Katherine Dunn, the story of a carny family narrated by the dwarf hunchback Olympia. Whoa mama! I cannot tell you how many times I attempted to read this book in the past but never made it very far. It’s like my pal’s mother says about finding your proper Mate – three things have to align: the time, the person, and the place. Once I dipped in this time there was no questioning whether or not the stars were aligned… Katherine Dunn WENT THERE. If only I felt comfortable spoiling even a morsel of the murky antics that go on among brother Arty, who has flippers instead of arms and legs, siamese twins Iphy and Ely, and the rest of the freak cast… You’ll have to be content with the series of drawings the book inspired me to do on various freaks from the turn of the century – here’s the first one, our lovely Bearded Lady. Stay tooned for more…
Nude and rude
I had a brief affair with Harry Houdini this Winter. Alas, it was only in spirit. I devoured a biography about him by Ruth Brandon and delighted in finding out how obsessive he was! Did you know he scrupulously discounted every single competitor he ever had, revealing their magic secrets publicly in print? He also went on a quest in his life’s latter years to expose fake-psychics, showing up at their seances in disguise. Once he was able to observe their tricks, he’d rip off his costume and accuse the medium of fraud. Talk about a man tied to his work! He also did many of his tricks – including one in which he picked the locks on the cells of inmates on death row, freeing them – in the nude! I went to the Houdini exhibit just before it closed in March at the Jewish Museum. Here are some sketches of a jacket and three types of handcuffs from the early 1900s.
Know your reptile
Bing bang boom, some five dollar words From Wikipedia:
“Tortoises are usually diurnal animals with tendencies to be crepuscular depending on the ambient temperatures.”
and now,
some penny licks from Cartoon Fricassee:
