Have a Happy Merry!

To all my friends...this year's Christmas card in a strip format! Cheers!

 

Salty Crunchy Sugary Sweet

HAPPPPYYY THANKSGIVING!!!!

  
It is time for the bestest of holidays. A celebration of friends and family and togetherness and ... pies!!! The Pie Mistress, Nico, has been hard at work preparing for tomorrow.

She has made so many pies each person will probably have their very own!

We also get up early to watch the parade. It's a tradition! Mostly because we LOVE Broadway!

And, of course, the main event. The turkey. And with that in mind, don't forget to gather around the computer, tablet, or what have you and enjoy the Thanksgiving Holiday classic: The Turkey Prince! Here is a link:

 And in further celebration...here are a few Thanksgiving cartoons from past Thanksgivings:

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

"Skull Beneath My Skin" Video by Mike Marlin

I don't remember how I first came across Mike Marlin on Youtube...but he has a very haunting and compelling voice. This song also makes me think of Erik and Christine from Phantom. Anyway, I love his voice and the video is quite dark and creepy. See for yourself:

Check out his website for more videos and music.

"Whistle Down the Wind" The Book, the Movie and the Musical!

When I was a kid I was a fan of Hayley Mills. She was brilliant especially in her two early British movies Tiger Bay and Whistle Down the Wind. I especially loved and still love Whistle Down the Wind filmed in the early 1960s in which three farm children in the English countryside discover a man hiding in their barn whom they think is Jesus returned. Alan Bates played the man, an escaped convict, and he was also quite remarkable in this, his first lead role (and pretty gorgeous, too!) as he tries to comprehend the actions of the three children and their friends as they try to help him.

The book this exceptional film is based on is charming in its own right. It was written by Hayley's mother, Mary Hayley Bell, and the edition I have, which I came across years ago in a used book shop, has lovely pen and ink drawings by Oven Edwards (line over the O in Oven which I couldn't figure out how to do!).











When I read that Andrew Lloyd Webber, who is one of my most favorite composers (thank you, thank you Sir Andrew for Phantom! Also Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita (NOT Cats, though, except for "Memories", sorry!) I was excited but then I saw he was setting the musical in the USA in the 1950's south. So, I was disappointed he didn't adapt it to the original setting of Lancashire, England. I never heard the soundtrack until only recently, when I was thinking about the book and movie and was curious to finally hear it. It was actually wonderful with lyrics by Jim Steinman. Now, I'll have to break down and buy the CD!

So it made me want to post scenes from the original film, and from the musical all through the miracle of Youtube and thanks to those who posted everything there!

(Trailer for the original film)
(scene from the musical)
Lots of info on Wikipedia
And this, on the Mills family
And, if the musical still hasn't made it to Broadway (or NH!) why not release it to DVD? How about it Sir Andrew?

Happy Halloween!!!

It's been quite a while since I posted here, partly because we were away and then, partly because I lost my beloved cat, Big Eric, whom I will be writing about soon. This cartoon is dedicated to him.

Renaissance Girl

 Some people game to relax, some play cards... I look at art! A year or so ago I was looking on Deviantart at Phantom of the Opera art. There are a lot of very good artists on that site. I noticed that I was attracted by these certain drawings that I'd click on and after a while I realized they were all being done by the same person. They were beautiful, and funny and completely original and also dark and romantic and I completely fell in love with this portrayal of Erik and Christine.

 

So, I had to know all about the artist who created them. That artist is known on Deviantart as Muirin007 and in real life she is Casey Eade, a college student. Not only is she a brilliant artist whose work is a cross between cartooning and fine art...

  but she is also a funny and engaging writer and blogger, speaks French and really knows her stuff when it comes to the Victorian era and the writers and artists who defined that time period and hopes to eventually become a Professor in this field.
Plus... her phantom stories are wonderful takes on the characters.

She was taking a few commissions last year and I was incredibly lucky that she accepted mine, because, not only is she flat out taking courses, but she worked at a college radio station and took classes throughout the summer. When she asked what I would like... I had to think, because I LOVE her cynical Erik:

 But then I thought I would love a romantic image and told her to go with anything she was inspired to do...and she created this, which is so stunning in real life I feel like my wall should be part of a museum exhibit!

She is working on a book collection of her Phantom art (which I must own immediately!!!) and I, personally, would love to see her illustrate Leroux's classic, and would love, love, love her to illustrate Susan Kay's "Phantom". Meanwhile, I'm saving up for if/when that small window of commissions opens up... I'll be ready!

(she doesn't just do Phantom art...check out her site to see more of her work!)