John Hancock Tower, Shedd aquarium

This rounds out the photos from the Chicago trip. Below is a photo from the outside of the John Hancock Tower, considered the "best view of Chicago".


Below is a view of the city from the 94th floor observation deck. Unforntunately, it was a bit foggy that day. On a clear day it is said that you can see four different states: Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and my home state, Michigan.


This is a closer shot of the Sears tower, the tallest building in the USA.


These are a few photos from the Shedd Aquarium, located on the waterfront close to the Adler Planetarium and the Field Museum.

This fellow is from the Iguana display near the front entrance. He's a blue iguana from the Carribean.


Man, that looks like one tasty crabbie patty! Fry me one up, SpongeBob!


Moray Eel, the only flash photo I took.

Navy Pier

The top photo of Navy pier was taken from the 94th floor of the John Hancock tower. If you look closely, you can see the 15 story high ferris wheel that the rest of the photos were taken from. There is a shopping mall, Children's Museum, bars, restaurants and a small amusement park on Navy Pier. A great place for both kids and adults to have some fun. There was also a free fireworks display at 9:30 PM on Wed. night.


Spinning wheel swing ride from 15 stories.

Looking out at Lake Michigan.

The city skyline

More Chicago

These photos, from top to bottom: Enigma code encrypter and code book captured from U-505. Nazi war flag captured from U-505. Piston replica from U-505, as tall as I am! USCG Huey, the type used when I was in the Guard in the early 1980's. STUKA dive bomber, the only one that I have ever seen on display

Chicago!

Last week the family went on vacation in Chicago. We stayed right across from Grant Park and had easy access to the Field Museum, the Shedd Aquarium, John Hancock Tower, the Adler Planetarium, and the Museum of Science and Industry, all of which we visited while there. We each bought a City-Pass, which includes everything I just mentioned for $50 ($39 for under 12).
We also went to Navy Pier, and the Magnificent Mile to browse all of the stores. I finally broke down and got a decent camera for this trip, so here are some pics:


This is the Field Museum. They are currently showing artifacts from King Tut's tomb and photos were not allowed. They had tons of stuff, most of which has been seen on the History Channel, etc. that were amazing. There were also huge permanent displays animals, historical objects, gems and minerals, religious artifacts, world cultures past and present, and so many things I could go on and on. This one alone took an entire day to see.

This is a photo of U-505, the only German Uboat to be captured by the U S Navy. She has been completely restored and is on display at the Science and Industry Museum, which has a lot of historical displays as well as a look into the technologies of the future.

Three Stages of a Man's Life.....

With all this terrorism, dirty politics, high energy prices, etc., I thought I'd pass this along to lighten things up a bit. This is courtesy of my lovely wife Chris (I think I'm in stage two).



Three Stages of a Man's life:

Thor

Here is a quick rendering of the mighty Thor, the thunder god of Norse mythology and also of Marvel Comics. I have always loved stories of the ancient gods and could not get enough of the great Marvel stories featuring the art of Jack Kirby with inks by Vinnie Colleta. I kind of like what the Ultimates comic has done with him by making him a anti-corporate guerilla environmentalist.

Sorry to have slacked off posting, but work is really picking up and I have been hard at it and probably will be for awhile. I'll try to bring the pencil and paper with me and do more drawings. This will probably be the last superhero for a while as I am burning out on them. I'm actually thinking of doing a "music video comic (?) of an old Marty Robbins song called "My masters call" it is from an album called "Gunfighter ballads and trail songs". I remember it from childhood and is a great story, as are most of the other songs on the record. We are going way back, but I can remember all the words like it was yesterday.

Situational Awareness Scenario

I'm on the road, so instead of a sketch, here is a fun email from my friend and co-worker,
Wayne Dennon . Check out his website. He is one cool dude! He has some great rock concert pics over there.




You are driving in a car at a constant speed.

On your left side is a valley and on your right side is a fire engine travelling at the same speed as you.
In front of you is a galloping pig which is the same size as your car and you cannot overtake it. Behind you is a helicopter flying at ground level.
Both the giant pig and the helicopter are also travelling at the same speed as you.
What must you do to safely get out of this highly dangerous situation?





Answer: Get off the children's "Merry-Go-Round", you're drunk..

SPIDEY REWORK

My old friend, pro comics artist Michael Netzer has reworked my spidey drawing and I thought I'd give you all a look. Mike is living in Jerusalem now, but when we were very young we were friends and fellow comic book fans in Detroit, where he was born. Mike is a very interesting fellow. He is Lebanese and lived in Lebanon as a child and young man, escaping to Israel during the Lebanon civil war. He has drawn Batman for DC comics, and also worked for Marvel. He's got some radical ideas on a lot of things, but is so talented and creative that he just doesn't think the same as the average guy. It's people like him that push the envelope and push society forward. Anyway, thanks for the tips Mike, and keep them coming.

Sticky!

This was the topic for this week's Illustration Friday . Since Superman is so popular, I thought Spidey may feel left out of the fun. This one's for you Joe, I hope you like it.

Superman Returns!

I did this doodle to try out a new ink brush that I just bought and in honor of the new Superman film that is premiering today. Just a quick 20 minute drawing to relax a little before grinding out some paperwork for the day job.

As I did the drawing, I started to think about what meaning Superman has in my life. Why is he relevant to me.

Superman is just so powerful of an icon that his importance to western culture cannot be understated. First and foremost, he was the first superhero. The one that all others are but an imitation. Certainly he is first among his fellow supermen. He is the fastest, strongest, and greatest of them all.

Not only that, but all other superheroes "become" their alter ego. Superman "becomes" Clark Kent. Clark is the fiction, Superman is the fact. Very cool indeed.

There are also the parallels with Jesus Christ.
Jor-el, realizing that his world is ending in every sense of the word, sends his only begotten son to the planet Earth, where he will have Godlike powers compared to the humans. He will be the salvation of Earth.

He will use his power to fight for Truth, Justice, and the American way...

In this post 9/11 reality that we live in, who among us would not marvel in awe! Who among us would not shout "Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's SUPERMAN!

If only, on that day, he would have been there to stop those planes... I can see him now, at the last moment lifting those planes, one by one, away from the towers, tearing off the aluminum skin of the cockpit and bending it around the hi-jackers after setting the planes down safely in front of the nearest police station... Later, Mayor Giulliani on behalf of a greatful city presents the Man of Steel with the key to the city.

Superman Returns...

Welcome back Superman. We need you now more than ever.

Dance

I found this drawing, from about 1977 (I think), in my garage. It is too large to submit the whole thing. I am too busy for a new drawing so I submit this as my Illustration Friday drawing of the week.

PORTRAIT

It's been a little while since the last post. I've been on the road again and things have settled down a little. This entry in Illusration Friday is a portrait of Ira Hayes.


Ira Hayes met a very unfortunate end at the age of 32. He died after a night of drinking and gambling on the Indian reservation. It seems that he accumulated over fifty arrests for public drunkeness. One may wonder why such a person could be of interest to you and I.
Well, it might be the fact that before this sad turn of events, Ira had become a national icon of all that is heroic and good about America, our military, and the Marine Corps. It is also an indictment of how our government failed to take care of a national treasure.
I could try to tell this story in my own words, but I think Johnny Cash did a much better job than I ever could.

"Ira Hayes, Ira Hayes
[CHORUS:]Call him drunken Ira Hayes. He won't answer anymore. Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian Nor the Marine that went to war.
Gather round me people there's a story I would tell. About a brave young Indian you should remember well.From the land of the Pima Indian A proud and noble band. Who farmed the Phoenix valley in Arizona land.
Down the ditches for a thousand years The water grew Ira's peoples' crops'. Till the white man stole the water rights And the sparklin' water stopped.
Now Ira's folks were hungry And their land grew crops of weeds. When war came, Ira volunteered And forgot the white man's greed .
[CHORUS:]Call him drunken Ira Hayes. He won't answer anymore. Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian Nor the Marine that went to war .
There they battled up Iwo Jima's hill, Two hundred and fifty men. But only twenty-seven lived to walk back down again .
And when the fight was over And when Old Glory raised. Among the men who held it high Was the Indian, Ira Hayes!

( Ira Hayes is the man on the far left side of this photo)

[CHORUS:]Call him drunken Ira Hayes. He won't answer anymoreNot the whiskey drinkin' Indian Nor the Marine that went to war .
Ira returned a hero. Celebrated through the land. He was wined and speeched and honored; Everybody shook his hand .
But he was just a Pima Indian, No water, no crops, no chance. At home nobody cared what Ira'd done And when did the Indians dance .
[CHORUS:]Call him drunken Ira Hayes. He won't answer anymore. Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian Nor the Marine that went to war
Then Ira started drinkin' hard; Jail was often his home. They'd let him raise the flag and lower itl ike you'd throw a dog a bone!
He died drunk one mornin' Alone in the land he fought to save. Two inches of water in a lonely ditch Was a grave for Ira Hayes .
[CHORUS:]Call him drunken Ira HayesHe won't answer anymore. Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian Nor the Marine that went to war .
Yeah, call him drunken Ira Hayes But his land is just as dry. And his ghost is lyin' thirsty In the ditch where Ira died ".

GALLERY

Cap STUKA Pilot



















Bettie Page "Jungle Bettie"




Speed
US Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw (WAGB-83)

Rick Jason, Lt. Gill Hanley "COMBAT!"

Lloyd bridges from SEA HUNT

























Athena
Greek Boxer
Poseidon
Chuck Connors "The Rifleman"

Too Funny!

Captain America

Because Chuang asked for it, here it is. Did not do a full body because drawing Cap's shield is very hard. Even though he is my all time favorite, that shield is very intimidating with all those circles. No drawing this week for Illustration Friday. The subject "fat" is uninspiring to me.

Under the sea

My drawing for Illustration Friday is another childhood memory that sparked my interest in the water and my joining of the Coast Guard. Sea Hunt was a TV show that, along with COMBAT! was standard fare at my house after school.
Retired Navy (although they showed him wearing a Coast Guard officer's uniform at least once that I remember) Diver Mike Nelson, now an undersea private investigator, patrolled the seas aboard his specially equipped vessel, the Argonaut in search of sunken treasure and other stuff that a young boy thought was way cool. Underwater fights between Mike and the bad guys abounded, usually resulting in somebody getting their airhose cut (I could never understand why they just didn't stab each other, must have been worried about sharks I guess) , or many stories revolved around being trapped underwater with his limited air supply running out. Although fans were treated to a host of Mike's undersea dangers, no body ever died. At the end of each show, Lloyd Bridges would do a voiceover plea for mankind to save the Oceans as the Argonaut sailed into the sunset.
Lloyd Bridges was a great leading man, and character actor whose career was sidetracked in the 50's because he was blacklisted by the House on Un-American activities because as a very young man he had briefly been a member of the Communist party. He really was more interested in films than doing a TV show at the time, but with a wife and two boys (Beau and Jeff), he had to put food on the table so he took the job. I for one am glad he did. He went on to do some great comedies in the 80's and 90's ala Leslie Nielsen.

Not only this show, but The undersea world of Jacque Cousteau stoked my interest in the water. If there is such a thing as re-incarnation, I wonder if Lloyd is now a dolphin swimming the seven seas. I know that's what I want to be when I come back. Getting back to using only the #4 brush when applying ink. It's harder to do and much more technical than using a uniball pen (like I did on Bettie), but I think it gives each piece an "old school" comics look.

Farewell, old girl

It was with great sadness that I went down to Hart Plaza on the banks of the Detroit River to say goodbye to an old friend, the US Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw (WAGB 83).
I served aboard this fine lady in 1981, and consider it to be the happiest time that I spent in the service. She was already 38 years old when I reported to her for duty.

She is heading back up to Cheboygan, Michigan, where she is to be decommisioned in June after over 61 years of service.

She is now painted red, but this drawing reflects how she looked when I served on board.

What a great ship she was. She could break through ice up to 20 feet thick.

Some vitals:

Builder:American Shipbuilding & Drydock Company, Toledo, Ohio.

Displacement:5,252 tons
Length:290 feet
Beam:74.3 feet
Draft:19.5 feet
Speed:15 knots
Propulsion:6 Fairbanks-Morse 10cyl. Diesels 10,000 shaft horsepower
Anchors:2-6,000 pound Bower stockless with 2 inch diameter links
Crew:8 Officers, 67 enlisted
Fuel capacity:276,000 gallons

I understand she is to be turned into a museum. Rest well, old girl. You have earned it !

Robot

Guys, I just can't get excited about this week's subject over at illustration Friday. I'll put up a drawing in a day or so, but it's not going to be a robot. I'm hearing some interest from posters about WWII aircraft, so that could be the next one. I also have heard a request for a Captain America drawing. Let me know what you would like to see. I'm looking for a little inspiration.

SPOTTED

This is this week's entry for Illustration Friday . The topic "spotted" made me think of Jungle Bettie, an incarnation of The "Notorious" Bettie Page. In case you have never heard of her, she was a pin-up girl from 1949-1957.

Although she is famous for her Bondage photos, my favorite photo shoot was the Jungle session that was photographed by the famous Playboy Playmate photographer, Bunny (coinsidence?) Yeager.

I am really looking forward to seeing the new film starring Gretchen Mol.

I have been a huge Bettie Page fan since I was about 8 years old and found my Dad's porn stash (which was very tame by today's standards.)

How many other Bettie fans read this blog? Leave a comment in support of the sexiest woman there ever was!

Speed

This is a drawing I did for Illustration Friday, a site designed to inspire artist creativity. Last Friday, the topic announcement was "SPEED". So here is my drawing. Done with Pen, Brush, and ink. What influenced the topic was an art exhibit in Pontiac that was all about Biker Art.
I was most inspired by the Artwork of Spain Rodriguez, an underground comics artist. I also remember from my Coast Guard days the art of Dave Mann . The guys in the Engine Room were mostly bikers. Click on the drawing for enlarged view.

Vincent Wai's military art.

Hans-Ulrich Rudel's Ju87 G tank buster .

I don't know positively if I was the sole inspiration for this painting, but I know that I suggested the subject a few weeks ago at Vincent Wai's Military Art Blog . Vincent, as usual, you have mastered the subject matter with unequaled precision and flair. I'd like to place an order if it's a limited edition print!
For a refresher on Hans-Ulrich Rudel, look at this previous post .

St. Paddy Day Humor

My old boss just forwarded this to me and I felt like sharing. I like the first one the best. I'm on the road so I can't do a sketch to go with it, but hope you all enjoy it:

Into a Belfast pub comes Paddy Murphy, looking like he'd just been runover by a train. His arm is in a sling, his nose is broken, his face is cut and bruised and he's walking with a limp."What happened to you?" asks Sean, the bartender."Jamie O'Conner and me had a fight," says Paddy."That little shit, O'Conner," says Sean, "He couldn't do that to you, he must have had something in his hand.""That he did," says Paddy, "a shovel is what he had, and a terrible lickin' he gave me with it.""Well," says Sean, "you should have defended yourself, didn't you have something in your hand?"That I did," said Paddy. "Mrs. O'Conner's breast, and a thing of beautyit was, but useless in a fight."
*********************************************************************
Brenda O'Malley is home making dinner, as usual, when Tim Finnegan arrives at her door."Brenda, may I come in?" he asks. "I've somethin' to tell ya"."Of course you can come in, you're always welcome, Tim. But where's myhusband?""That's what I'm here to be telling ya, Brenda. There was an accident down at the Guinness brewery...""Oh, God no!" cries Brenda. "Please don't tell me.""I must, Brenda. Your husband Shamus is dead and gone. I'm sorry." Finally, she looked up at Tim. "How did it happen, Tim?""It was terrible, Brenda. He fell into a vat of Guinness Stout and drowned.""Oh my dear Jesus! But you must tell me true, Tim. Did he at least go quickly?""Well, Brenda... no. In fact, he got out three times to pee."
*********************************************************************
Mary Clancy goes up to Father O'Grady after his Sunday morning service,and she's in tears.He says, "So what's bothering you, Mary my dear?"She says, "Oh, Father, I've got terrible news. My husband passed away last night."The priest says, "Oh, Mary, that's terrible. Tell me, Mary, did he have any last requests?"She says, "That he did, Father."The priest says, "What did he ask, Mary?"She says, "He said, 'Please Mary, put down that damn gun...'"
************************************
AND THE BEST FOR LAST-
A drunk staggers into a Catholic Church, enters a confessional booth,sits down but says nothing.The Priest coughs a few times to get his attention but the drunk continues to sit there.Finally, the Priest pounds three times on the wall.The drunk mumbles, "Ain't no use knockin, there's no paper on this side either."

STUKA PILOT

Hans Ulrich Rudel’s book, “Stuka Pilot” is probably my all time favorite book about WWII. If half of what he writes is true, he was the most exceptional soldier of the war. Although he fought for the Third Reich, he was not a member of the Nazi party, and has never been accused of war crimes. That being said, let’s do a brief overview of his military career:
Flew 2530 combat missions (more than any airman in any air force ever).
Destroyed 518 Russian Tanks, 700 trucks, over 150 flak and artillery guns, 9 enemy aircraft, countless bridges, rail lines, and bunkers, and most impressive of all, the battleship October Revolution, and the cruiser Marat, in addition to scores of other smaller naval vessels.

Rudel did not emerge unscathed from these engagements. He was shot down 32 times (one of which, he had to swim a river in freezing temperatures and then sneak through occupied territory for several miles, getting winged in the shoulder outrunning some Russian soldiers), and lost part of his right leg, but still flew until the end of the war.

Rudel was also the most decorated German soldier, being awarded the Knight’s Cross with Golden Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds (an award created especially for him, as he had won every other decoration available). The funniest thing is that he nearly washed out of flight school because he was taking too long to master the aircraft.

Postwar, Rudel carved out a new life in Argentina working for the Focke-Wulf aircraft company, and made a name for himself as a mountain climber, scaling the highest peak in the Americas, Aconcagua.

The book is a great read. Even though I am an American, I can admire the accomplishments of this man and be against him at the same time. If he had been on our side, just think of how much quicker we would have won the war. He can never be a hero to me, as he never renounced the Nazi's after the war. In fact, in 1982 when he died, a West German Luftwaffe general was sacked for authorizing a flight of aircraft in the “missing man” formation over his funeral. I do respect him for what he accomplished. How can one find heroes in the ranks of our soldiers if they can’t face a truly exceptional adversary . Rudel was such an adversary. His motto was "Verloren ist nur, wer sich selbst aufgibt" ("Lost are only those, who give up themselves"). Actually, I thought Arnold Schwarzenegger would have been perfect to play him in a film back in the '80's but in this politically correct age this is one film that will never be made. Ironically, Graz, Austria figured prominently in the lives of both men.

“We fly in low from the south; it is dark and murky; I cannot distinguish anything more than 2000 to 2500 feet ahead. Now I see straight in the line of my flight a black moving mass: the road, tanks, vehicles, Russians. I at once yell: “Attack!” Already at almost point blank range the defense looses off a concentrated fire from in front of me, twin and qaudruple flak, machine guns, revealing everything with a livid brightness in this foggy light. I am flying at 90 feet and have bumped right into the middle of this hornet’s nest. Shall I get out of it? I twist and turn in the crazyest defensive maneuvers to avoid being hit: I shoot without taking aim… my head is as hot as the metal screaming past me. A few seconds later a tell-tale hammering. “Engine on fire!” Flames lick the cockpit. Our Kite will be our crematorium. Can we bail out in time?”

This drawing was done with ink and a number 4 brush. Click on it to see it full size, like all other drawings on this blog.I hope you like it- Tim

COMBAT! Starring RICK JASON! And Vic Morrow

I have been told that I need to update my blog so I have tapped a childhood memory for my subject. Back in the mid-sixties, COMBAT! was the longest running TV series about WWII, and I was a HUGE fan. Although I thought Saunders (Vic Morrow) was very cool, Lt. Hanley (Rick Jason), was always my personal fave. Rounding out the cast of characters were Caje (Pierre Jalbert), Doc (Conlan Carter), Littlejohn (Dick Peabody), and Kirby (Jack Hogan). Rick's life ended tragically with a self inflicted gunshot wound in 2000, just after attending a show reunion where he was said to be in high spirits. He was 78. It is ironic that Vic Morrow also died (in 1982) under equally tragic circumstances (he was killed while filming a scene for "Twilight zone, the movie", and was decapitated when a helicopter crashed after an explosion caused it to lose control. John Landis the director, barely escaped jail for manslaughter, but that's another story).
In the opening of his autobiography, "scrapbooks of my mind", Rick talks about his suburban life on a quiet cul-de-sac, and how the niehborhood kids come around whenever they are bored or need help with something, like he was sort of the Grandpa of the street, none of the kids knowing that he was once a big TV star. To them, he was RJ, the old guy down the street. They knew nothing of his boyhood struggles with anti-semitism (Rick was Jewish,as was Vic Morrow,but really secular, not practicing. His real last name was Jacobson), joining the Air Corps at the outbreak of WWII, struggling to find acting work in New York, his B-movie career in the 50's, acting in COMBAT! in the 60's, more film work (mostly overseas, there is a hilarious story about a film he did in Israel called "Eagles attack at dawn") Guest star and TV commercial voice-over work (he was Toyota spokesman on TV in the 80's, and was very popular in Japan, where COMBAT! was huge in re-runs), 5 marriages, world-wide travels, hunting and fishing trips in South America and Africa, just so many experiences of such a full life. Sometimes I wonder if people like this (Hemingway, another person I admire, comes to mind) just can't adjust to a normal life. No longer the center of attention, maybe not as rich as they once were, no longer in the Jet-set, they become bored with life and want to see what is next. He never had kids, so he didn't have that tie to hold him here. I wish I'd have gotten the chance to meet him, as he was one of the people who unknowingly taught me what a man was supposed to act like. I did the sketch below a few months back. My scanner does not do it justice and I am thinking of inking it, but if I do it'll be on tracing paper over the original. So Rick, if you can see this from wherever you are, I hope you like it.

Athena

Here is a drawing of Athena, the godess of ancient Athens. She is one of my favorite Greek gods, right up there with Posiedon. This drawing is what I imagine the statue of her looked like 2400 years ago in the Parthenon. I have seen the new Parthenon in Nashville, which although very nice and interesting to see, pales in comparision to the real thing, with the exception that you can get an idea of what the whole thing looked like when new. It is said that she sprang fully grown and armored from the head of Zeus, her father.

Greek Boxer

As some of you may know, I am fascinated with the ancient Greco/Roman world. Sometimes when my imagination gets the better of me, I'll do a drawing. This particular sketch is "not ready for primetime", but I liked it anyway so I'm putting it up. Sometimes when I draw, I'm out to create a masterpiece. Other times, it's more of a doodle like this one. I picked this subject because I was reading about the original Olympics. The concept of channeling warlike aggression into peaceful competition was something that the Greeks first thought of, and lives on not only in the Olympics, but in Football, Hockey, etc. Too bad we can't decide wars this way. You get your toughest boxer, I get mine, and whoever is still standing wins the war. Greek boxing was much tougher than the boxing of today. Bouts could go on for hours, and only ended when one's adversary was knocked unconscious. Not only that, but Karate chops, Rabbit punches, striking with the palm, and elbows were all allowed. The only rule was against thumb gouging in the eyes! Often, a boxer was killed. This was frowned upon and the "victor" was usually banished from the city. Their faces were so deformed by the end of their career, that the Greek word for ugly and boxer were interchangeable.

Time to open a can of WHUPASS!

W: "Cap and I were just having a discussion about the direction the country has been moving in since I took office 5 years ago, and he gave me a solid pat on the back(side)."

W was probably sporting wood...

HOCKEYTOWN!!! Wings smash Blues 5-1

Yes, the hockey Gods have been awakened from their slumber, and I for one am thankful for the distraction from the LOSER LIONS!

Yes, once again they have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory

I'm trying to remain calm here, but another bumble by Marcus Pollard puts us at 1 win, 2 loses. If only he would here landed in bounds. Final score: Lions 13, Bucs 17. This is the problem with the Lions. They come so close to winning and screw it up in the final moments. It's like they are just out there to collect a paycheck and go home. When will hockey save us from this demoralizing farce? I won't force you to endure a photo, you have seen them lose before.