LeBron James is an NBA player with the Miami Heat who plays the small forward position. He played for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2003-2010. King James is an NBA champion, NBA Finals MVP, three-time NBA MVP and NBA Rookie of the Year. He is an eight-time NBA All-Star and has earned eight All-NBA honors and four All-Defensive honors.
Wenlock and Mandeville are the official mascots for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics being held in London. The mascots, unveiled in 2010, are animations depicting two drops of steel from a steelworks in Bolton. They are named after the town of Much Wenlock, which held a forerunner of the current Olympics, and Stoke Mandeville Hospital, which organized a precursor of the Paralympics.
As for the designs of Wenlock and Mandeville, you say “drop of steel,” I say “penis monster in a crotchless jumpsuit.” But at least these mascots don’t look like Lisa Simpson performing fellatio on London, which is what was selected for the official London 2012 logo, at great expense.
Wenlock and Mandeville are the official mascots for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics being held in London. The mascots, unveiled in 2010, are animations depicting two drops of steel from a steelworks in Bolton. They are named after the town of Much Wenlock, which held a forerunner of the current Olympics, and Stoke Mandeville Hospital, which organized a precursor of the Paralympics.
Apparently Grant Hunter of Orwellian Britain is to blame for these London Olympics mascot designs. Illuminati, what?
Fiona Apple is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She has released four albums, all critically acclaimed: Tidal (1996), When the Pawn… (1999), Extraordinary Machine (2005) and The Idler Wheel… (2012). Apple’s vocal range is contralto and her musical style contains elements of jazz and alternative rock.
Fiona Apple is one of my favorites. Tonight Heidi and I will see her in concert at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, Oregon. Blake Mills opens. By the way, in case you’ve forgotten, Fiona’s stunning live cover of Elvis Costello’s “I Want You” still exists.
Bigfoot, also known as sasquatch, is the name given to an ape-like creature that cryptozoologists believe inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid. Most scientists discount the existence of Bigfoot and consider this cryptid a combination of folklore, misidentification and hoax.
Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and influential political leader. He played a key role in Hispanic-Spanish America’s successful struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire. In Latin America, Bolívar is regarded as a hero, visionary, revolutionary and liberator. He led Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia to independence, and helped lay the foundations for democratic ideology in much of Latin America. He was born on this day in 1783.
Barbarella is a 41st-century astronaut in the 1968 French-Italian science fiction film based on Jean-Claude Forest’s French Barbarella comics. The tongue-in-cheek movie was directed by Roger Vadim and stars Jane Fonda, who was Vadim’s wife at the time. Barbarella is noted for the coy nudity of its title sequence, which features Fonda undressing in zero-gravity.
Note: The source of her torn 8-bit outfit is this Barbarella scene with a guy named Dildano.
Ernest Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His minimalist style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s. In 1954, he won the Nobel Prize in Literature following the publication of The Old Man and the Sea. He was born on July 21, 1899 and committed suicide in 1961.
Tony Gwynn is a retired American Major League Baseball player who played 20 seasons (1982-2001) for the San Diego Padres. He won eight batting titles, seven Silver Slugger Awards and is considered one of the best hitters in baseball history. He was also a 15-time All-Star and won five Gold Glove Awards. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.
Nolan Ryan is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is currently principal owner, president and CEO of the Texas Rangers. During a major league record 27-year baseball career (1966-1993), he pitched for four different teams: the New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros and Texas Rangers. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.
Note: The 1980s Houston Astros wore “tequila sunrise” uniforms (AKA “rainbow guts” uniforms), which are famously ugly. Naturally, I chose this uniform style for 8-bit Nolan Ryan.
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed “Lady Day,” she pioneered a new vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists. Holiday is perhaps most celebrated for singing “Strange Fruit,” a protest song that became one of her standards and was made famous with her 1939 recording. She died on this day in 1959.
Björk Guðmundsdóttir is an Icelandic singer-songwriter with an eclectic musical style and seven acclaimed studio albums. Three of her 1990s singles from Post charted in the UK Top 10. Björk wore her celebrated “swan dress” to the 2001 Oscars for her Selmasongs duet with Thom Yorke of Radiohead, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song.
The Pink Panther is the title character in the opening and closing credit sequences of almost every film in The Pink Panther series of comedies. First appearing in 1963, his popularity spawned 124 shorts, 10 television shows and three primetime TV specials. The Pink Panther Show aired on Saturday mornings from 1969 to 1979. The Pink Panther became the corporate mascot of Owens Corning in 1980 to promote its pink insulation.
Bill Cosby is an American comedian, actor and television producer. During the 1980s, Cosby produced and starred in The Cosby Show (1984-1992), which is considered one of the decade’s defining sitcoms. He is also known for The Electric Company, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids and A Different World. Cosby is a notable spokesman for Jell-O and other products. He was born on this day in 1937.
Snagglepuss is a Hanna-Barbera cartoon character created in 1959. This pink anthropomorphic mountain lion is best known for his famous catchphrase, “Heavens to Murgatroyd!” He first appeared in several episodes of The Quick Draw McGraw Show and became a regular segment on The Yogi Bear Show.
Ranger Smith is a fictional character in the Yogi Bear cartoon series by Hanna-Barbera. A former U.S. Army soldier, Ranger Smith is the serious and stern authority figure in Jellystone Park, in contrast to the antics of the troublesome Yogi, and he greatly disapproves of Yogi’s picnic basket thievery.
Boo-Boo Bear is a cartoon bear cub in a bow tie. He first appeared in 1958 as a supporting character in the Hanna-Barbera series The Huckleberry Hound Show with his companion Yogi Bear. Boo-Boo often acts as Yogi Bear’s conscience and tries to prevent him from doing things he shouldn’t in Jellystone Park.
Yogi Bear is a cartoon bear whose name is a nod to baseball star Yogi Berra. He first appeared in 1958 as a supporting character in the Hanna-Barbera series The Huckleberry Hound Show. The plot of most of Yogi’s cartoons centers on his antics in the fictional Jellystone Park. Yogi, accompanied by his constant companion Boo-Boo Bear, often tries to steal picnic baskets from campers in the park.
Huckleberry Hound is a blue cartoon dog that speaks with a relaxed Southern drawl. Huck is typically portrayed trying to perform a job, in fields ranging from policeman to dogcatcher. His efforts typically backfire, yet he succeeds through slow persistence or sheer luck. He first appeared in the Hanna-Barbera series The Huckleberry Hound Show in 1958. He has appeared in other Hanna-Barbera productions, including Yogi’s Gang in 1973.
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian tennis player who has won five Grand Slam singles titles, between 2008 and 2012. In 2011, Djokovic became the sixth male player in the Open Era to win three Grand Slams in a calendar year. During 2011, he compiled in 43-match winning streak and finished the season with a 70-6 record and No. 1 in the world. He’s one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
This is 8-bit tennis character #8 of 8 in celebration of Wimbledon. Also, Djokovic’s long-time girlfriend Jelena Ristić is possibly the most supportive and adorably emotive tennis fan ever. Happy Fourth of July!
LeBron James – No. 473
LeBron James is an NBA player with the Miami Heat who plays the small forward position. He played for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2003-2010. King James is an NBA champion, NBA Finals MVP, three-time NBA MVP and NBA Rookie of the Year. He is an eight-time NBA All-Star and has earned eight All-NBA honors and four All-Defensive honors.
I submit that LeBron’s performance during the 2012 NBA Finals elevated his status to one of the 14 greatest NBA players of all time. He is currently playing on the U.S. men’s national basketball team in the 2012 Summer Olympics.