Posts Tagged: illustrator

  • Wile E Coyote in court suing Acme for their product danger --- in the style of Warner Brothers cartoon

    The acme of cartoons

    The origin of acme The word acme means the best or most perfect thing that can exist or be achieved. It is quite an old word, being first used in English in the 1560s for the highest point. It comes from Greek akmē meaning highest point, edge, peak of anything (in English it was written […]

  • Jabberwocky is a piece of verse written by English poet Lewis Carroll in 1871. Although the poem is one of the most famous in English literature, it is labelled a piece of "nonsense" verse which rather conceals its brilliance. Indeed the word jabberwock has become a synonym for nonsense verse.

    Jabberwocky—brilliant nonsense

    What is Jabberwocky? Jabberwocky is a piece of verse written by English poet Lewis Carroll in 1871. The poem appears in his book, Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There. It was the sequel to the famous Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Although the poem is one of the most famous and well-loved in […]

  • IMAGE: Modified from The Winged Monkeys carrying Dorothy, The Tin Man, and The Cowardly Lion, as illustrated by W.W. Denslow in “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” (1900). Wikimedia Commons.

    Flying monkeys—pets for narcissists

    There is an area where academic analysis and the layman’s understanding of mental health issues converge. In this crossover place, there is a rich vocabulary that uses metaphors from popular culture. The words and phrases we use to describe them often have some underlining wit. This perhaps helps us to cope with what can be unpleasant […]

  • Quote from Albert Alligator, Pogo comic, 26 Sept 1951—I may not understand what you say, but I'll defend to your death my right to deny it.

    Defending your right to denial

    The origins of deny and denial The word denial has been around for 500 years. It has several related meanings: a refusal of something requested or desired; and a statement that something is not true (as in the refusal to accept that something is true). In the 19th century it was also used in the […]

  • The Mad Hatter and the March Hare modified from Sir John Tenniel illustration for Alice in Wonderland

    Far from madding

    Out of ones mind Mad came into English in the 13th Century from the Old English word, gemædde, meaning out of one’s mind often with violent excitement. It also meant foolish and extremely stupid or excited beyond self-control or the restraint of reason. Mad as a March hare is an expression that relates the behaviour […]

  • Ron Cobb Blessed are the meek cartoon

    Blessed are the meek?

    Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. But if we aspire to inherit the earth, how do we recognise the characteristics of meekness that we need. There are considerable differences in the definitions of meek …