A cruel, hideous Martian from the Mars Attacks science fiction trading card set released by Topps in 1962. Artist Wallace Wood drew the original artwork. In 1996, the trading card series was adapted into the American science fiction comedy Mars Attacks! directed by Tim Burton. Remember what Slim Whitman’s song “Indian Love Call” did to the Martians?
I thought this would be an appropriate character for World Peace Day.
A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, created in 1902 by Scottish author J. M. Barrie. Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the island of Neverland as the leader of the Lost Boys, interacting with mermaids, Indians, fairies and pirates. The most famous Peter Pan adaptation is the 1953 animated Disney film.
The antagonist of J. M. Barrie’s play Peter Pan and its various adaptations. Hook is the villainous pirate captain of the Jolly Roger brig. It is said that he was Blackbeard’s boatswain, and that he was the only man Long John Silver ever feared. He most famously appears in the 1953 animated film adaptation produced by Walt Disney.
Note: This character is in honor of International Talk Like a Pirate Day, which was created in 1995 by two guys from Albany, Oregon. Avast, there!
A fictional superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. Iron Man is otherwise known as Tony Stark, a billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer. Stark suffers a severe chest injury during a kidnapping in which his captors attempt to force him to build a weapon of mass destruction. He instead creates a powered suit of armor to save his life and escape.
A fictional superhero who appears in Marvel Comics publications. The character, based on the Thor of Norse mythology, first appeared in 1962. He is a member of the superhero team The Avengers with Captain America, Iron Man and others.
A DC Comics superheroine who first appeared in 1941, during World War II. She is a Princess of the Amazons (based on the Amazons of Greek mythology) and is known in her homeland as Diana of Themyscira. She utilizes the Lasso of Truth, which forces those bound by it to tell the truth, and has an invisible airplane.
A Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers (1963-1981). Marley remains the most widely known and revered performer of reggae music, and is credited with helping spread both Jamaican music and the Rastafari movement to a worldwide audience.
The Bob Marley is my favorite American Dream Pizza combo. Toppings: Jamaican jerk chicken, mushrooms, black olives and red onions.
An American rapper popularly known as Biggie Smalls and Big Poppa. He was a focal point of the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry and became a central figure in the East Coast hip hop scene. In March 1997, at age 24, Wallace was killed by an unknown assailant in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. Sometimes your words just hypnotize me.
An American rapper and actor known by the stage name 2Pac. Themes of his songs include violence and hardship in inner cities, racism and other social problems. He was a focal point of the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry and died on this day in 1996, after being shot four times in a drive-by shooting following a Mike Tyson boxing match in Las Vegas. No changes.
An American singer-songwriter and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Although primarily remembered as a country music artist, his songs spanned many genres, including rockabilly, rock ‘n’ roll, blues, folk and gospel. The Man in Black died on this day in 2003 at age 71. By the way, I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.
A fictional superhero in the Marvel Comics universe who first appeared in 1941, during World War II. Captain America is the alter ego of Steve Rogers, a frail young man who was enhanced to the peak of human perfection by an experimental serum in order to aid the U.S. war effort. He wears a costume that bears an American flag motif.
Note: A moment of silence on Patriot Day. Hard to believe that 10 years have passed since the 9/11 attacks. I love this tribute poster from Extra Credit Projects.
The star of the Where is my Gnome? series of viral marketing ads used by Travelocity in early 2004. The ads consisted of a man looking for his garden gnome. The concept was inspired by the traveling gnome prank that began in the 1980s and was popularized by the 2001 film Amélie. The Roaming Gnome is now the de facto mascot of Travelocity.
The garden gnome from the 2001 French film Amélie. This character/prop helped popularize the traveling gnome prank that began in the 1980s. In the film, Amélie’s father finds that the gnome from his lawn shrine has gone missing. Later, he receives unmarked photographs of the gnome visiting exotic landmarks. Je ne comprends pas!
The main character of the Spanish animated television series, which is based on the children’s book The Secret Book of Gnomes by Dutch author Wil Huygen and illustrator Rien Poortvliet. David the Gnome first came to U.S. television in 1987 on the Nickelodeon cable channel.
A lonely gnome sets out to learn how to avoid being cold “from the inside out” and finds a friend in a sea otter. He is the main character of the 1974 children’s book The Gnome from Nome, written by Stephen Cosgrove and illustrated by Robin James. Watch an illustrated reading of the story.
A kindly old character of Scandinavian folklore featured in two 1960s children’s books by Astrid Lindgren. One story is called The Tomten and the other is The Tomten and the Fox, in which moonlit scenes of the farmyard under snow show Reynard the fox prowling near the henhouse. He’s hungry, but the tomten guards the henhouse at night.
A cultural icon of the United States, representing women who worked in factories during World War II. The character particularly symbolizes the many women employed by manufacturing plants that produced munitions and war supplies. Rosie is commonly used as a symbol of feminism and women’s economic power. We can do it!
I am spending this Labor Day weekend in Seattle (mainly at Bumbershoot) and Vancouver, BC.
The Brigham Young Cougars mascot is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #53 of 347. Since BYU has left the Mountain West Conference for the 2011-12 season, this is FBS independent schools mascot #4 of 4. (View reference images.)
The Air Force Falcons mascot is NCAA Division I pixel art mascot #52 of 347. Air Force Academy is one of the three NCAA Division I military academies (with Army and Navy). This is Mountain West mascot #3 of 8. (View reference images.)
Marvin the Martian – No. 210
Marvin the Martian (also known as Commander X-2) is a fictional character who appears in Looney Tunes cartoons, often being foiled by Bugs Bunny. He made his debut in 1948. Marvin wears a Roman soldier’s uniform and basketball sneakers. His likeness appears on NASA’s Spirit rover on Mars.
One the nicer art projects I made in school was a version of Marvin the Martian’s head and helmet. I created it with plaster gauze (over a balloon, I believe), cardstock and acrylic paint. It was for my ninth grade art class with Mr. Tom Whitehead, one of my favorite teachers. I’m still proud of it.