Georgia O’Keeffe was an American artist who first came to the attention of the New York art community in 1916. She made large-format paintings of enlarged blossoms, presenting them close up as if seen through a magnifying lens, and New York buildings, most of which date from the same decade. O’Keeffe has been recognized as the mother of American modernism. In the 1920s, she turned to working more representationally in an effort to move her critics away from Freudian interpretations. While her earlier work had been mostly abstract, O’Keeffe became best known for sensual, floral works that evoke veiled representations of female genitalia. She rejected feminists who celebrated her as the originator of “female iconography.” O’Keeffe was born on this day in 1887.
P.S. This 8-bit version of Georgia O’Keeffe was inspired by her flower paintings and the many nude portraits her husband, famous photographer Alfred Stieglitz, took of her. I think the three colorful flowers I drew ended up kind of looking like Wonder Woman-themed underwear or maybe a boxing championship title belt.
Neil Young is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. In 1966, he moved from Canada to California and co-founded the band Buffalo Springfield, later joining Crosby, Stills & Nash as a fourth member in 1969. He forged a successful and acclaimed solo career, releasing his first album in 1968; his career has since spanned over 45 years and 35 studio albums. Young has directed a number of films using the pseudonym Bernard Shakey and has also contributed to the soundtracks of films including Philadelphia (1993) and Dead Man (1995). He is an environmentalist and outspoken advocate for the welfare of small farmers, having co-founded in 1985 the benefit concert Farm Aid. In 1986, Young helped found the Bridge School, an educational organization for children with severe verbal and physical disabilities. He was born on this day in 1945.
Business Cat is the CEO of a multibillion-dollar corporation and an enthusiast of belly scratches, catnip mice and batting objects onto the floor. He is the title character of The Adventures of Business Cat, a webcomic written and drawn by Tom Fonder detailing the life and times of the world’s wealthiest playboy business pet. The strip was conceived by Tom Fonder and Rachael Robins and began as an occasional interlude in the gag-a-day webcomic Happy Jar. The first Business Cat comic was posted on January 7, 2014 and so far there have been 20 comics in the series.
Business Cat as a concept reminds me of the cat who took a “business trip” and “had an especially good head for figures” in Amy Winfrey’s Big Bunny (2001) cartoons. You can’t really go wrong with a housecat in a suit and tie. Business Cat is one of my favorite characters of the many webcomics/web cartoons I’ve followed over the years (some of my previous 8-bit tributes include General Twobabies, Zach Weinersmith, The Oatmeal, SpaceBear and Strong Bad). Speaking of business, today is my 10-year anniversary as lead web developer/designer at Oregon State University. (I code and design the OSU Ecampus, OSU Summer Session and Open Oregon State websites, among other things.) Also, it’s nearly my 13-year anniversary as an Oregon resident. And my four-year anniversary (two years married) with my wife Heidi. These major life events all happened within three days of each other (November 8-11) in different years. I like this time of year.
Sean John Combs, also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, Diddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, actor and entrepreneur. Born in Harlem, Combs founded Bad Boy Records in 1993 and rapidly profited from the successes of The Notorious B.I.G. and other artists on his label. Combs played a prominent role in the feud with Suge Knight’s Los Angeles-based Death Row Records. Following the shooting deaths of Tupac and Biggie, Combs released his debut album No Way Out in 1997. Combs has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards. His non-music business ventures include the clothing lines Sean John and “Sean by Sean Combs,” a movie production company, and two restaurants. In 2014, Forbes estimated Combs’ net worth at $700 million, making him the richest figure in hip-hop at the time (Dr. Dre was second and Jay-Z was third). Combs was born on this day in 1969.
If you live in ‘Merica, I hope you vote before the polls close today. If you’re not planning to vote, watch this important message from @iamdiddy. Why? Because “democracy is founded on one simple rule.” In related news, Oregon’s vote-by-mail system is the best. I completed my ballot for today’s election over two weeks ago. (Washington and Colorado just started holding elections by mail too.)
Urashima Tarō is the title character of a Japanese legend about a fisherman who rescues a sea turtle and is rewarded for his kindness with a visit to Ryūgū-jō, the undersea palace of Ryūjin, the dragon god of the sea. In one version of the story, Tarō stays under the sea for three days and, upon his return to his fishing village, finds himself 300 years in the future.
P.S. This 8-bit pixel art Urashima Tarō is based on ukiyo-e art by Japanese artist Yoshitoshi Tsukioka. Though I almost designed 8-bit Tarō after George Suyeoka’s gorgeous illustrations in Urashima Taro (1973), a beloved book on my bookshelf.
Niall Ó Glacáin, or Nellanus Glacanus (c. 1563-1653) was an Irish physician during the time of the Bubonic plague. Of all documented plague doctors, Ó Glacáin was the most notable. He treated victims throughout France, Spain and Italy. Bubonic plague is commonly believed to be the cause of the Black Death that swept through Europe. Sometime before 1600, Ó Glacáin made his way to Spain, possibly to treat victims of an outbreak of the plague, which was rampant from 1595 to 1602. The beak doctor costume was invented around 1619 (during the second plague pandemic); the beak-like mask was filled with aromatic items for air purification. In 1627, Ó Glacáin moved to France to assist during another plague outbreak. In 1629, as a respected authority on plague treatment, Ó Glacáin published his most famous work, Tractatus de Peste, which contained his concise descriptions of the plague, its various effects on patients, and treatment and prevention recommendations.
I’ve been saving this 8-bit plague doctor character for a long time. I wanted Ó Glacáin to be No. 800, which meant waiting until this year’s All Hallows’ Eve. On that note, I have now drawn 800 of these primitive pixel art characters over the past four years. Here are seven other individuals that I chose to honor numerically: No. 100 (Benjamin Franklin), No. 200 (Johnny Cash), No. 300 (Leonidas I), No. 400 (Charles Darwin), No. 500 (William Gibson), No. 600 (Jeff Mangum), No. 700 (J. D. Salinger). Happy Halloween! Also, Ebola. As previously tweeted, the following is the plot of Absolute Zero, a book published in 1999: “A man with Ebola flew to Dallas and began the Ebola pandemic in America.” Creepy.
Mike Wazowski is a green, one-eyed monster and employee at Monsters, Inc. in the 2001 computer-animated Pixar film of the same title. The parallel city of Monstropolis is inhabited by monsters and powered by the screams of children in the human world. At the Monsters, Inc. factory, employees called “scarers” venture into children’s bedrooms to scare them and collect their screams, using closet doors as portals. But the monsters are themselves afraid that the children may contaminate them. The plot of the film involves Mike Wazowski (voiced by Billy Crystal) and his best friend Sully (John Goodman) discovering and trying to return a young human girl who has entered Monstropolis.
Snufkin is a character in the Moomin series of books authored by Swedish-speaking Finn Tove Jansson, appearing in six of the nine novels. He is the best friend of the series’ protagonist, Moomintroll, and lives a nomadic lifestyle, only staying in Moominvalley in the spring and summer, but leaving for warmer climates down south every winter. Snufkin wears old green clothes and a wide-brimmed hat he has had since birth. He lives in a tent, smokes a pipe and plays the harmonica. Snufkin has a great dislike for all symbols of private property and for authority figures such as the Park Keeper, and the many regulation signs and fences he erects. At one point he sabotages the Park Keeper by planting Hattifatteners in his garden, causing them to grow and drive him out. Snufkin prefers freely-growing foliage to fenced-in lawns. He keeps as few worldly possessions as possible, seeing them as a burden, and being happier keeping the memory of a thing than the thing itself. Tove Jansson based the character of Snufkin on her friend and one-time fiancé, Atos Wirtanen.
P.S. This 8-bit Snufkin is based on his character design in the 1990 Japanese-European anime television series Moomin.
Q*bert is the title character of an arcade video game developed and published by Gottlieb in 1982. It is a 2D action game with puzzle elements that uses “isometric” graphics to create a pseudo-3D effect. The object is to change the color of every cube in a pyramid by making the on-screen character hop on top of the cube while avoiding obstacles and enemies. The game was conceived by video game programmer Warren Davis and artist Jeff Lee. Lee designed the orange, armless title character and the original concept by drawing a pyramid of cubes inspired by M. C. Escher. The character jumped along the cubes and shot projectiles, called “mucus bombs,” from a tubular nose at enemies. Q*bert was developed under the project name Cubes, but was briefly named Snots and Boogers and @!#?@! during development. The game was Gottlieb’s most successful video game and among the most recognized brands from the golden age of arcade video games.
I obviously didn’t have to modify the 8-bit arcade sprite of Q*bert very much to fit the format of my Mascot Mashup: Gorillas artillery game. I’m surprised it took me almost 800 characters to make him. When I think of Q*bert, I think of playing the Atari 5200 cartridge at my cousin Brian’s house at Christmastime in West Virginia. I never owned a copy of the game, but I was fascinated by its pyramid structure.
Calvin Broadus, Jr., known by his stage names Snoop Doggy Dogg, Snoop Dogg, and later Snoop Lion, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and actor. Snoop’s music career began in 1992 when he was discovered by Dr. Dre. He collaborated on Dre’s solo debut The Chronic (1992). Snoop’s debut album, Doggystyle (1993), and second album Tha Doggfather (1996) were released under Death Row Records. Snoop Dogg has starred in motion pictures and hosted several television shows. He also coaches a youth football league and high school football team. In 2012, after a trip to Jamaica, Snoop announced a conversion to the Rastafari movement and a new alias, Snoop Lion. Under the new moniker, he released a reggae album, Reincarnated, and a documentary film of the same name, of his Jamaican experience, in early 2013. Snoop was born on this day in 1971.
Marshall Mathers, better known by his stage name Eminem and by his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. In addition to his solo career, Eminem is a member of the group D12, as well as one half of the hip-hop duo Bad Meets Evil, alongside Royce da 5’9″. Eminem is the best-selling artist of the 2000s in the United States. Eminem has sold more than 155 million albums and singles, making him one of the world’s best-selling artists of all time. Eminem rose to mainstream popularity in 1999 with his second album The Slim Shady LP. His next two releases, The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) and The Eminem Show (2002), were worldwide successes. He won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album for three consecutive (and five total) LPs, and has won a total of 13 Grammys in his career. Eminem was born on this day in 1972.
Andre Young, known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper and entrepreneur. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics. Dre was previously the co-owner of, and an artist on, Death Row Records. He has produced albums for and overseen the careers of many rappers, including Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Xzibit, 50 Cent, The Game, and Kendrick Lamar. He is credited as a key figure in the popularization of West Coast G-funk, a style of rap music characterized as synthesizer-based with slow, heavy beats. Dre began his career as a member of the World Class Wreckin’ Cru and later found fame with the influential gangsta rap group N.W.A. In 2014, Dr. Dre was ranked as the second-richest figure in the American hip-hop scene by Forbes with a net worth of $550 million. (Sean “Diddy” Combs was ranked first and Jay-Z was third on the Forbes list.)
Vladimir Putin is the current President of Russia. He won a third term in 2012 amid an unprecedented wave of street protests stemming from allegations of widespread vote-rigging in the parliamentary election. Putin previously served as President (2000-2008) and Prime Minister (1999-2000, 2008-2012) of Russia. He served as an officer in the KGB for 16 years, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before retiring to enter politics. Putin joined the administration of President Boris Yeltsin in 1996, and was named Acting President in 1999 when Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned. Many of Putin’s actions are regarded by the domestic opposition and foreign observers as undemocratic. He has cultivated a strongman image (including black belts in Taekwondo and judo) and is a pop icon in Russia with many commercial products named after him. Putin was born on this day in 1952.
Note: In 2014, Russia was excluded from the G8 group as a result of its annexation of Crimea, Ukraine. Earlier in the year, the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, proved to be the most expensive Olympic Games ever, with a wildly overrun budget of $51 billion. The lead-up to the Olympics was marked by controversies over Russia’s problems, including organized crime, state corruption, embezzlement, kickbacks, Putin’s anti-gay campaign, and terrorist threats tied to the insurgency in the North Caucasus. Thank goodness for Putinka vodka, I guess.
Usagi Tsukino, better known as Sailor Moon, is the superheroine protagonist and title character in the Sailor Moon manga series and anime adaptations. Usagi is introduced as a carefree, underachieving schoolgirl in Tokyo. She is initially believed to be an Earthling, but is later revealed to be Princess Serenity of the moon kingdom Silver Millennium. Usagi meets Luna who discovers that she is destined to save Earth from the forces of evil. Luna gives Usagi a broach to transform into Sailor Moon, and asks her to form the Sailor Soldiers, find their princess and protect the “Legendary Silver Crystal.” As Usagi matures, she becomes one of the universe’s powerful warriors and protects her adopted home planet, Earth, from villains who wish to harm it.
This 8-bit Sailor Moon was created at the request of my wife Heidi and her sister. Speaking of sailing (or at least ferries), Heidi and I are heading to Orcas Island, the largest of the San Juan Islands, to stay in an apartment in Eastsound for the next few days. It’s her birthday present from me.
Calvin Johnson, nicknamed “Megatron,” is an American football wide receiver for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). Johnson’s nickname “Megatron” was given to him by former Lions wide receiver Roy Williams. In March 2012, Johnson signed an eight-year, $132 million contract extension with the Lions, one of the largest contracts ever. In December 2012, Johnson broke the single-season record for receiving yards with 1,964. (The previous record of 1,848 yards was set by Jerry Rice in 1995.) At 6′ 5″ with great hands and quickness, Johnson can catch almost anything. He was born on this day in 1985.
Note: Despite near-superhuman skills, Johnson is not to be confused with the sentient robotic lifeform from the planet Cybertron (nor is he the archangel Metatron). NBA forwards LeBron James and Kevin Durant recently tweeted their appreciation of what Johnson is able to do on the field, with LeBron calling Megatron his favorite athlete.
Bill Simmons is an American sports columnist, analyst, author and Boston sports fan. Now living in Los Angeles, he is the editor-in-chief for Grantland.com, which is affiliated with ESPN.com. Simmons also contributes columns and podcasts to the website. He is a former writer for ESPN The Magazine and Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Nicknamed The Sports Guy, formerly The Boston Sports Guy, Simmons gained the attention of ESPN with his website, BostonSportsGuy.com, which earned him a job offer in 2001. Since joining ESPN, he has also hosted his own podcast on ESPN.com titled The B.S. Report, appeared as a special contributor on the TV series E:60, and serves as an executive producer of ESPN’s documentary project, 30 for 30. He also has written two books, Now I Can Die in Peace (2005) and The Book of Basketball (2009). Simmons was born on this day in 1969.
Coincidentally, yesterday ESPN suspended Bill Simmons for three weeks for repeatedly calling NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell a liar on his Grantland.com podcast. Simmons condemned Goodell’s handling of the Ray Rice domestic violence case, particularly his claim that he had not seen the elevator video of Rice punching his fiancée. And so, for those who think the NFL (and ESPN) is a joke, here’s a Twitter hashtag: #FreeSimmons. On another topic, I generally agree with the Bill Simmons Hall of Fame Pyramid, a five-level Egyptian-style pyramid of the 96 greatest NBA players ever, last published in the revised 2010 edition of The Book of Basketball. Though, at this point, the rankings are four years out of date. According to a 2014 interview with Simmons, Lebron James has now ascended to sixth greatest in his Hall of Fame Pyramid, while Dirk Nowitzki has jumped into the top 20 and Kevin Durant has cracked the top 50. To date, I have created 8-bit pixel art of 20 of the top 25 NBA players of all time, including the top 14.
Strong Bad is one of the major characters of the Homestar Runner series of animated Flash web cartoons. He is portrayed by Matt Chapman, the principal voice actor and co-founder of the series. Strong Bad sports red boxing gloves and a red lucha libre mask with four laces in the back and a blue diamond in the center. He enjoys pranking the other characters of the series, along with his pet The Cheat and his older brother Strong Mad. Strong Bad’s main segment is Strong Bad Email (2001-2009), in which he answers emails sent to him by fans. Segments have been spun off of his emails, including Trogdor the Burninator and Teen Girl Squad, a comic drawn by Strong Bad about four teenage friends.
P.S.IT’S OVER! Summer is over! Happy autumn equinox. By the way, the Strong Bad character was based on the Strong Bads, a lucha libre-style fighter team from the 1983 arcade video game Tag Team Wrestling. Oh, nostalgia for 1980s entertainment via Flash cartoons of the early 2000s. ARROWED!!!
Business Cat – No. 803
Business Cat is the CEO of a multibillion-dollar corporation and an enthusiast of belly scratches, catnip mice and batting objects onto the floor. He is the title character of The Adventures of Business Cat, a webcomic written and drawn by Tom Fonder detailing the life and times of the world’s wealthiest playboy business pet. The strip was conceived by Tom Fonder and Rachael Robins and began as an occasional interlude in the gag-a-day webcomic Happy Jar. The first Business Cat comic was posted on January 7, 2014 and so far there have been 20 comics in the series.
Business Cat as a concept reminds me of the cat who took a “business trip” and “had an especially good head for figures” in Amy Winfrey’s Big Bunny (2001) cartoons. You can’t really go wrong with a housecat in a suit and tie. Business Cat is one of my favorite characters of the many webcomics/web cartoons I’ve followed over the years (some of my previous 8-bit tributes include General Twobabies, Zach Weinersmith, The Oatmeal, SpaceBear and Strong Bad). Speaking of business, today is my 10-year anniversary as lead web developer/designer at Oregon State University. (I code and design the OSU Ecampus, OSU Summer Session and Open Oregon State websites, among other things.) Also, it’s nearly my 13-year anniversary as an Oregon resident. And my four-year anniversary (two years married) with my wife Heidi. These major life events all happened within three days of each other (November 8-11) in different years. I like this time of year.