Tuesday, October 31, 2006

It's Halloween, which sadly no longer means it's time to grab a Ben Cooper box and throw on a printed plastic bag and a sharp plastic mask. They might not have been big budget, but they were, as Batman so succinctly puts it on the box below, funtastic.

Monday, October 30, 2006

Are you tired of having sand kicked in your face? Do you want to be more than just half a man? Then join us in celebrating the birthday of legendary bodybuilder comic book ad superstar Charles Atlas.

Sunday, October 29, 2006

As our Very eBay Apocalypse continues to bring Holy Sunday to a close, the second horse of the apocalypse, the red one, has arrived. On its back rides War. Where there's war, there's soldiers.

Saturday, October 28, 2006

This Cartoon Saturday we remember the Perils Of Penelope Pitstop. A spin-off of Wacky Races, this cartoon was heavily influenced by the classic movie serials of years gone by. Penelope's nefarious uncle was scheming to get ahold of his niece's fortune, plotting to do away with her through constant peril. With the help of the diminutive Ant Hill Mob, Penelope Pitstop always managed to stay one step ahead of harm's way.

Friday, October 27, 2006

Today is the birthday of Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States of America.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

125 years ago today, Wyatt Earp, his brothers Morgan and Virgil, and Doc Holliday faced off against the Ike Clanton gang in the gunfight at O.K. Corral.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

The Battle of Balaklava was fought on this day in 1854. During this key moment in the Crimean War, the British Light Brigade, apparently due to a misunderstood or poorly delivered order, charged up a valley and were decimated by Russian gunfire. Once through the gunfire, they found their only option was to turn around and ride back through the gunfire a second time, sustaining even greater losses. Though hundreds of soldiers died in the battle, it wasn't a total loss, as Tennyson's famous poem, Charge Of The Light Brigade was written in response to the unbelievable events. While the actual charge was a horiffic, tragic blunder, the courage of the soldiers to follow the order despite the obvious risk to themselves has been remembered throughout the years.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Batman creator Bob Kane celebrates his birthday today.

Monday, October 23, 2006

The United Nations General Assembly met in New York for the first time 60 years ago today.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Continuing our winding up of Holy Sunday with a Very eBay Apocalypse we present: a white horse. That can only mean a conqueror is upon us.

The rider of the first horse, according to the Book of Revelation, will be the first of the horsemen to ride in to town, and he'll start conquering. It is assumed he'll conquer in the name of peace, and thus his darker motivation will go unrecognized.

There's nobody riding the horse in this picture, so you can either interpret that to mean either that the conqueror has already arrived and gotten off his horse to start conquering or that the conqueror is so dreadfully terrifying you're blocking him out when you look at the picture.

The third, and more reasonable interpretation, is that in order to avoid costly slander/libel lawsuits, we weren't going to take a chance by finding a picture of some guy riding a white horse and suggest that guy is the antichrist.

No matter which interpretation you choose to subscribe to, remember none of this is the fault of the horse.

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Today's Cartoon Saturday is all about that winsome witch, Winsome Witch. Known fondly as Winnie, Winsome Witch (and her trusty Broom) would get involved in all sorts of hijinks, usually because of Winnie's business, "Have Broom Will Travel." Now Winnie would be first to admit she could just conjur up some money (and since she never seemed to actually get paid, she probably did), but that's not why she took on the odd jobs ranging from school teacher to baseball player to borderline hitwoman (hey, it's what the fairy tale called for). She did it to get out of her cottage and mix with normal folk.

Her heart of gold (and devilish sense of humor) always won out, and then it was "ippity-bippity-pow!" and away on her broom.

The cartoon was part of the Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show, which may be why you don't remember there being a show called "Winsome Witch" on television. If you manage to catch an episode, you might swear you've heard Winnie's voice before. You'd be right, animation voice legend Jean Vander Pyl (of Wilma Flintstone and Rosie the Robot fame) provided Winnie's pipes.

After the demise of the Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show, Winnie reappeared years later as part of the Wacky Races-esque "Fender Bender 500" segment on the 90's HB series "Wake, Rattle & Roll."

As with a lot of other Hanna-Barbera characters from the late 60's, Winnie earned a record album all her own, which is pictured here.

Friday, October 20, 2006

Today is Bela Lugosi's birthday, which is nice, since people think of him a lot this time of year.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Boxer Mike Tyson was given back his boxing license on this date in 1998. He'd lost it for biting Evander Holyfield's ear during a bout.

Today is also Evander Holyfield's birthday.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Canada officially discovered that it turns out women are people too on this date in 1929.

Fanny Colwill Calvert was a Canadian artist who died in 1936. Luckily, she was recognized as a person by then.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel was born on this day in 1938. To say he's the most famous motorcycle daredevil would imply there were others like him, so we'll say Evel Knievel is the motorcycle daredevil. He even had his own action figure.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Today is the birthday of the man who brought us the dictionary of record, Noah Webster.

Cleverly realizing that "Webster" comes towards the end of the alphabet, Noah Webster recognized that if his name were on the cover of the dictionary, he'd get listed much sooner.

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Holy Sunday will be conluding soon so that we can bring you something else on Sundays. Over the next few week's, we'll bring Holy Sunday to an end with something we'll call: A Very eBay Apocalypse.

We'll start with a pin from the Italian secret order known as The Knights Of The Apocalypse. These folks were organized to protect the Catholic Church againt the Antichrist, but people began to question their motives and eventually they were sold out to the Inquisition, rounded up and arrested.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

This week, we at cartoon Saturdays remember the Snorks. We just don't remember much about it.

The Snorks was an NBC cartoon set underwater with creatures blessed by evolution to have snorkels on their heads. They were popular, though not overly so, and this gave rise to a lot of merchandise. Generally it was typical 80's cartoon merchandise like lunchboxes (as pictured), puffy stickers and plush toys. Like the Smurfs, another NBC cartoon of the same vintage, they also had a variety of small pvc plastic figurines of the different characters. We remember the main difference being that the snorkels on the Snorks' heads were poseable (even though the rest of them was not).

Friday, October 13, 2006

The U.S. Continental Congress decided to put together a navy fleet on this day in 1775.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Christopher Columbus found the "new world" on this day in 1492. While Columbus claimed the lands for Spain, to mark the 400th anniversary of this (and also to help promote unity following the Civil War), the Pledge Of Allegiance was first recited in schools.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Today is the birthday of Parson Mason Weems. He made stuff up and people believed it.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

The Red Baron swooped into the life of the famed World War I Flying Ace on this day in 1965. Though never seen, his bullets would be visible on the doghou... plane of the Flying Ace.

Monday, October 9, 2006

Today is John Lennon's birthday. He suggested giving peace a chance and was shot dead outside his home.

Sunday, October 8, 2006

Jesus appears everywhere these days. On French toast, on frying pans, on moldy walls. Back in 1983 he was still being more ethereal and appeared in the clouds, apparently to calm a frightened airline passenger who happened to have a camera handy.

Saturday, October 7, 2006

On this cartoon Saturday, we shut off the tv and stuck a baseball card in our spokes.

Friday, October 6, 2006

President John F. Kennedy suggested all U.S. citizens should either buy a bomb shelter or build there own 45 years ago today. The warning came as the Cold War between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. was experiencing regular hot spots.

The Department of Defense kindly published literature to assist people with this effort.

Thursday, October 5, 2006

McDonald's founder Ray Kroc celebrates his brithday today. We baked a cake but this guy came and stole it.

Wednesday, October 4, 2006

Today marks the 75th Anniversary of Chester Gould's Dick Tracy newspaper strip. Dick Tracy, the square-jawed, yellow-coated police detective faced off against a rougues gallery of colorful gangsters in print, on screen (big and small) and on radio over the past seven and a half decades since his debut in the Detroit Daily Mirror.

Tuesday, October 3, 2006

Germany was once again a single nation on this date in 1990. Split into East and West Germany in the wake of the second World War, they country remained split for over four decades. In 1961, the Berlin Wall war erected, splitting the country not just politically, but physically, as well.

In 1989 the wall began to come down and reunification began. Even between the time of the beginning of the wall's destruction and the final reunification of Germany, chunks of the wall became prized collectibles.

Monday, October 2, 2006

Today is the birthday of Groucho Marx. Actor, comedian, game show host, Groucho Marx led a lengthy and lively life and career, making his mark on vaudeville, on the silver screen, on radio and on television. His one-liners were oft imitated, and his likeness has been imortalized as a fairly simple disguise kit staple.

Sunday, October 1, 2006

On this Holy Sunday, we turn our attention to the patron saint of travellers, Saint Christopher.

Having made a living out of carrying people across a stream (he was a powerfully built man), he who would be known as St. Christopher one day carried a young child across the stream. The child was unbelievably heavy, and despite St. Christopher's mighty strength, it was almost too much for him. Still, he made it, and when they reached the bank of the stream, the child was revealved to be Christ, and the reason for his heavy weight was that he was bearing the weight of the world upon himself.

Saint Christopher medals are fairly common, as travellers keep them on hand to guard them on their journeys. This one has a nice image of Saint Christopher carrying the Christ child across the stream.