GLENMULLALY.COM...The BLOG!!!

Good News!

2011-09-03T18:42:00.001-07:00

This Blog's Going On Permanent Hiatus!

Well... it already has been for 9 months. Last year I started up my new GlenMullalyIllustration blog and made that my main news / info / update locale. But I just realized I never officially hung up the "Feel free to browse - but there ain't gonna be no more updates here folks" sign.

So please head on over the "G.M.I.B.", as it's known in better circles and ellipses, for all yer Mullaly needs. And just to tempt you last few stubborn holdouts - those acting before Sept. 15th 2011 can be eligible for... wait... wait... FREE STUFF! For real. I'm serious.

Just go there already!

Animation Thursday!

2010-12-02T09:00:00.001-08:00

Today we depart from our usual format of Glencentric self promotion to showcase some exclusive, rare, and unusual animation finds recently unearthed by yours truly.

We start off (above) with a still from the almost legendary short-lived GBS Saturday morning giant-transforming-robot show "Battle of the Truckbots™"(1984), an obvious rip-off of the highly successful "Convertors" series.
Only 12 episodes were broadcast before the 2" master tapes started breaking down (GBS was famous for cutting corners on their shows. This program had a budget of only $946.29 per episode, scandalous even in 1980s dollars!) Only 5th generation copies taken from old Beta tapes exist in the hands of the few collectors out there who still remember the show as horrible.

A rare frame from Chypco Pictures 1932 ground-breaking "Philo's Tele-Phunnies", the first animated short to be filmed in Flock-Tone. Unfortunately since there were few theaters equipped with Touch-O-Phonic sound it was a complete flop. This is the only print that survives.

"Abra-Cat-Abra" (1956) was the third in a series of light-hearted cold war shorts produced by Happy-Time Fun Films (a division of the US arms manufacturer Amalgamated Ordnance™), for viewing in bomb-shelters after a nuclear attack. The insipid cat and mouse type antics that filled this (thankfully) now-forgotten series were scientifically designed to keep your mind off your hair falling out.

But....

then again these might just be illustrations from a new magazine spread I recently finished. More information on the full piece (more details below) when it hits the newsstands in January!

Inventions!

2010-11-15T09:14:00.001-08:00

It's been a busy fall and things are ramping up for the holiday season here at GlenMullaly.com. As a sneak peak of some upcoming work here's an alternate version of the cover art for the new Kayak Magazine on the stands soon!

Summer Art Smoothie!

2010-09-08T08:30:00.001-07:00

Things have been very busy around the assembly floor of Mullaly Industrial Heavy Illustration Arts Manufacturing Concern Ltd, LLC, Pty, BMOC, ICUP lately! First a month and a half of late nights working on magazine spreads, book covers, educational posters, character disigns and more! Then lots of August and early September fun activity outside the studio. The result?...

A lack of posting! So I thought I'd throw everything into the Waring Art-O-Matic Pulverizor 3000 and blend up a tasty smoothie of Glen art previews of a bit of that recent work. More info on these as they as they are released!

Kids Book July!

2010-08-03T15:59:00.000-07:00

July was a very, very good month for kids book finds!

These (and 9 more not pictured) kids books and magazines were picked up in the last three weeks at a garage sale, a couple trips to our local swap meet, a thrift store or two, and from a local collector downsizing. Alice and Martin Provensen, Mel Crawford, Hawley Pratt and Al White, Art Seiden, Bernice Myers, JP Miller and Lowell Hess are just a few of the wonderful illustrators represented here.

Price paid?... 50¢ to $2 each!

I won't even mention the vintage department store catalogs, Elvgren playing cards, pulp paperbacks, vintage boardgames, Jack Davis Monster cards (1959), big stack of Jack Kirby 1970s comics and more that we found at the same time!

Arcade!

2010-07-11T04:54:00.001-07:00

Here's a sneak peek at an illustration based on a magazine spread I've just finished. This is actually an alternate version of a detail from the illustration, but I liked the image and wanted to see what it would look like on it's own.

I'll post more about it when it hits the stands in a month or so.

GREAT NEWS!

2010-06-09T20:39:00.000-07:00

I've just launched version 2.1 of the GlenMullaly.com website! As well I'm splitting off a new blog... Glen Mullaly Illustration to focus on the illustration and work-related side of things.

This blog will still be active and updated (don't change that dial!), but I'm discontinuing links from my new site to here and to my Flickr photostream and making these mostly for friends and family. But these sites will still be here and updated, just not advertised as such on the main website.

These changes coincide with the announcement that I've signed with artist representative Deborah Wolfe Ltd and IllustrationOnline.com. We're very excited about this big step and look forward to seeing where things go from here.

See you in the funny papers!

I'm a Wolfeman!

2010-06-05T19:17:00.000-07:00

That's right... I'm very pleased to announce that I've recently signed with artist representative Deborah Wolfe Ltd and IllustrationOnLine! They rep a stable of amazingly talented folks such as Scott Burroughs and Amy Cartwright, some really top people in the industry. I'm proud to be the new kid on this all-star team.

And to coincide with this fresh direction expect in the near future to see some much needed improvements and changes at both this blog and my website GlenMullaly.com... hang onto your hats folks, the fun's about to begin!

Open House a Go Go!

2010-05-07T08:21:00.001-07:00

Since Joanne and I were married in Florida with a VERY small wedding party we wanted to have a couple get-togethers with family and friends.

In February we traveled to Tennessee to celebrate with Joanne's extended family from Tenn., Indiana and Mississippi. Then a couple weekends ago we held an open house at our new home in Canada to share our happiness (and food!) with the north-of-the-border contingent.

This was the front of the invitation we mailed out, featuring us, our new house (that's Joanne attempting to evade the 1950s paparazzi on the front walk), our wedding rings (aircraft-grade titanium don'tchaknow!), and our cat.

We had a great triple-chocolate cake on the evening of our February wedding in Florida, but my mom pulled out all the stops and bowled us over with this cake the morning of the open house!

Marzipan robots based on Joanne's robot Christmas ornaments...

www.flickr.com/photos/glenmullaly/4204525788/in/set-72157...

www.flickr.com/photos/glenmullaly/4204525792/in/set-72157...

... fondant gears and cogs, cream icing and super-moist carrot cake. Needless to say it was a smash hit with us and the guests.

She also made a more traditional almond paste and icing covered dark fruit cake (which we love) that you can see in the upper left. It went quickly too!

Check out more photos of the open house and more of my mom's amazing handiwork at her Flickr photostream...

www.flickr.com/photos/marilynmc/

We went with a late 50's - early 60s theme for all the food (just a portion which is pictured above) my mom made for the open house.

With the exception of the veggie plate she was kept busy restocking all afternoon.

Butter tarts, lemon shortbread and sugar cookies all went over very well with the 40 or so people who attended.

Fruit Kabobs!

Joanne loved these Monkey Cookies! The guests must have as well since they didn't last long.

It was tough to cut this up, but delicious!

So a big thank you to everyone who was able to join us in our celebration. And best wishes to those who couldn't attend. Hopefully we'll be seeing you soon.

Glen & Joanne

Back to Flickr!

2010-05-05T08:01:00.001-07:00

After a LONG absence I've started posting vintage illustration to Flickr again. This batch is from a wonderful 1950 Little Golden book illustrated by JP Miller. For more images and info why not visit my photostream over... here!

New Mags for May!

2010-05-01T17:36:00.000-07:00

With all the hubbub around these parts lately it plum slipped my mind to let you all know about the latest issue of Kayak Magazine that hit the streets a month ago! I'm finally starting to get the hang of drawing that dang moose!

As well, it's time to once again to plug my regular puzzles and fun feature in Know Mag, the science magazine for curious kids. This issue is all about backyard birds, so fly down to your local newsstand tout de tweet!

The Big Day!

2010-04-25T09:38:00.000-07:00

Eden Garden State Park, Florida, February 15th 2010.

I figured it was time to finally post some finished photos from our wedding in February!
This shot was taken in low light, so I enhanced the graininess and aged it for a vintage backstage look.

Photo taken by Karen Mullaly.

Eden Garden State Park, Florida, February 15th 2010.

The new Mr. and Mrs. Mullaly!

Photo taken by Karen Mullaly.

Eden Garden State Park, Florida, February 15th 2010.

Joanne's dress was a vintage 1954 Vogue pattern, custom made for her. My suit was custom made and styled after the suit worn by Dean Martin in 1960's (filmed in 1959) Ocean's 11.

Photo taken by Karen Mullaly.

Eden Garden State Park, Florida, February 15th 2010.

I married a movie star! The duo-tone red and green look of this effect perfectly suits Joanne's vintage dress, makeup and hair.

Photo taken by Karen Mullaly.

Eden Garden State Park, Florida, February 15th 2010.

Photo taken by Karen Mullaly.

Eden Garden State Park, Florida, February 15th 2010.

I'm not sure what I said to Joanne to get this look, but it worked!

Photo taken by Glen Mullaly.

Eden Garden State Park, Florida, February 15th 2010.

Off on our big adventure!

Photo taken by Karen Mullaly.

The Happiest Day of my Life!

2010-02-24T05:50:00.001-08:00

The geek-out honeymoon at DisneyWorld and Kennedy Space Center wasn't too shabby either!

On Hiatus?!

2010-01-28T20:43:00.000-08:00

Well... if it wasn't obvious from the scarcity of new posts here at GMDC...TB wonderful things have been occupying my time recently. Let's make a list, shall we?...

-Packed up all my worldly belongings (including my surprisingly heavy toy, book, vintage magazine, and vintage record collections) for the first time in twelve years.

-Moved to Joanne and my new (old) house. YAY! (I'm living out of boxes until Joanne gets here. See below for details).

- Crazily rushing around getting last minute travel plans made.

- Crazily rushing around getting last minute work deadlines done.

- Crazily rushing around getting last minute wedding preparations done.

Because... I'm off to Florida once again. This time though, I'm coming back with a wife. (I hope!)

So, the above reasons... plus the wedding, honeymoon, packing up the remainder of Joanne's house, a short road trip to meet the extended family, and a two-week road trip across the US and up to Canada I think are sufficient reasons to put the blog on hold for a bit.

I hope to still send off the occasional missive. But I expect they'll be few and far between for the next two or three months.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great late winter and spring, and see you soon!

New Know for January!

2010-01-09T07:54:00.000-08:00

It's that time again boys and girls... the new issue of Know Magazine has hit the stands and mailboxes of eager science-minded youngsters across Canada (and soon all of North America - details to follow in the future!)

This issue is focused on, not coincidentally due to the small sporting meet occurring in neighbouring Vancouver and Whistler next month, winter sports.

In November I posted a detail of some of the pencil roughs from one of the four puzzles I created for my regular Know Fun feature. So here's the finished images from the same game. (For the instructions and the whole Know Fun spread you'll just have to pick up the mag. I've got to make a living y'know!)

Post-Christmas Post

2010-01-03T07:25:00.000-08:00

Christmas and New Years were fantastic with my sweetie down Florida way, but things are wrapping up for this, my last trip down that I won't be coming back with a new wife. So for the next few months the activity level here at ye olde blog will be even lighter than the light level it's been recently... with two moves (one of 3000 kms!), a wedding, honeymoon, immigration paperwork and all those minor details to deal with.

So thanks for your patience. I'll be checking in occasionally with updates on life, but it might be well into March before things pick up around these here parts.

In the meantime, and to cap off the holiday season, Joanne has posted the front of the Christmas card I made for her this year (we'll spare youse all the romantic mush from the inside!) over at her swellerific Flickr stream. Have a wonderful 2010!

Glen

Retro Southern Robot Christmas!

2009-12-21T13:22:00.001-08:00

Hey, y'all!

It's Christmas and I'm celebrating it with the one I love Florida Panhandle style this year. Quite the change from Victoria in December and not a flake of snow in sight. The temperature hasn't been THAT different though, I wish I had brought down gloves, a scarf and warm slippers!

To all those readers celebrating a holiday this time of the year (and everyone else too!) Joanne and I want to wish you all the happiness, peace and joy we can.

And funky retro robots.

Don't forget the funky retro robots.

Christmas Craziness!

2009-12-08T21:28:00.000-08:00

Whew! Has it really been almost two weeks since my last post?

So sorry dear readers... the confluence of house (and cat) sitting for friends, Christmas shopping, house (rental only, unfortunately) shopping and viewing, work deadlines, preparing for my trip to the States for the holidays, packing (or lack thereof) for the move (not the trip) and other junk like dat dere has left the old blog muscles to tuckered to post!

Luckily at least a couple or three of the above aren't going concerns anymore so I can fit an entry or two in before I jet off to sunnier shores. In the meantime, I just posted a few images from a swell 1954 Simpson's-Sears Christmas catalog over at my Flickr photostream.

Enjoy!

Diggin' Through the Vault: Vintage Winter Sports Style

2009-11-25T16:00:00.000-08:00

The hype surrounding the upcoming Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler (see last post) prompted me to dig up this pre-computer era (for me, at least!) moldy oldie from my art tomb to share avec vous all this week.

From approximately 1991 to 1999 I designed, illustrated, hand-lettered (completely at first, then just mostly), and hand colour-separated the colour covers and black and white interior illustrations for a local municipality's parks and recreation quarterly catalogue.

I used pen and ink on paper, Letratone adhesive film for the grays, four sheets of Amberlith film (I cut them with an X-Acto knife and laid them over the art to designate where each colour and colour screen (lighter colour) was to go), hand lettered text and logos, and personally delivered the art, in a big cardboard folder I would make for each project, to the local printer.

The example above (front cover) and below (back cover, natch!) are from one of my last - illustrated in mid-1998. These guides were printed in two colour (plus black) on messy newsprint, but I spent a CRAZY amount of time on most of them trying to get all I could out of the process.

I had been using a Mac for years, first for the small educational company I did animation for, and then later (starting a year before this cover came out) using an earlier version of Photoshop while assisting/collaborating with a fellow illustrator. But I was still more than a year away from buying my own computer and still did things by hand, BY CHOICE!

This cover's a bit of an anomaly as I did use a photocopier to duplicate some of the figures, and the folks at Saanich Recreation had just begun to provide me some computer laid-out text on the back cover which was printed out and cut and pasted (with scissors and REAL paste for those youngsters out there!) by me onto the back.

It was all incredibly labour-intensive for the measly fee I charged, and I shudder when I recall it all now. But it was pretty cool to think at the time that tens of thousands of copies of each of these labours of love would then be showing up in the mailboxes of folks in the area.

By the time this issue came out photographs were beginning to replace the more expensive spot illustrations I provided, and a glossy cover was in the offing. I left as my career began to expand to broader areas and the guide took the opportunity to change format. Luckily I was able to get back most of my original art from this client, so I may post some scans of the hand separation process in the future.

I still hand draw on paper 95% of my work, and hand colour and letter when possible. But it's comforting to know that other options are now available if the deadline or budget doesn't allow.

Work in Progress

2009-11-15T10:18:00.001-08:00

With the Winter Olympics rapidly approaching in nearby Vancouver and Whistler B.C. it's not surprising that one of the jobs I have on the go right now is a winter sports-themed children's magazine spread due for a coincidental release in January/February 2010.

Above are a couple of pencil sketches from that project in their original form. Sometimes when I have a lot of little spot illos on a larger spread I rough them out on a number of different pieces of paper at different sizes (fer instance... the roughs above won't be next to each other in the final) and then composite them together later. That way I'm not as constrained and can concentrate on the individual elements. Of course I then have to make them work together, but I have more choices about how I do it.

I'll post this section of the final printed piece when the magazine hits the stands.

Bum Art!

2009-11-11T18:14:00.000-08:00

On Halloween Saturday two weeks ago you would have found, amongst the assembled throng of Klingons, zombies, and fans of the superly-abled at the first annual Victoria Comic Book Convention, a respectably-sized dealer's room filled with comic book ephemera... and little ole' me... drooling.

Thanks to a free ticket from a friend (mucho apprecianado, Bri!) that came with an invitation to act as a tour guide (I've done the comic convention thing a number of times in the past and speak fluent geek) I checked out my home town's most recent venture at starting a lasting Con. Hopefully it'll make it to "Second Annual", and from the looks on the ghostly white faces, not to mention the hordes of costumed undead, folks seemed to be having a good time. But the highlight for me was getting to see, in glorious two-dimensions and beautiful black and white, the piece of original art pictured at the top of this post.

On display courtesy of Gareth Gaudin, of the best darned comic book store in all of Canada (offically!) Legends Comics, this pen & ink illustration is from the cover to one of my favourite 7" records of the 1990s. A split four song EP by two of Victoria's music legends...the cheekily-monikered Bum, and multiskilled producer/musician Scott Henderson.

Bum's awesomely-awesome brand of rockin'-pop-with-a-punk-twist was partially responsible for inspiring my own 1990s punk/rock/pop band (so much so that I recruited their first drummer), and we recorded with Scott a number of times for our 7"s and compilation releases, so you would think that would be enough to make me interested in this piece of local music history. But this is one of a number of Bum releases with artwork provided by the amazingly talented Pat McEown, one of the most skilled illustrators I've ever been lucky enough to know. Former Victoria resident Pat, who has worked in the big leagues of the comic, advertising, and animation industry should be a household name. He's very highly underrated.

Despite seeing Richard Hatch, Margot Kidder, and a gaggle of Star Trek actors at the Con... getting a good gander at this gem was the highlight of my nerdy day.

Thanks to Gareth for permission to share this wonderful work, and of course, all artwork © 1992 Pat McEown. And my apologies to all those confused souls visiting this blog under the assumption that this post's title refers to anything other than it does.

Flickr Fun - Finally!

2009-11-08T08:18:00.000-08:00

Forgive me friends, it's been over a month since my last Flickr post.

This was due partially to the busy-ness of things lately creeping into my free time. BUT... mainly because I've just not picked up a lot of vintage books and magazines over the past year due to...

- Having a REAL LIFE at last!

- Finally running through the gigantic stack of vintage kids books and mags I bought at an estate sale two years ago.

- Almost depleting my Charlie Harper-filled stash of Ford Times publications from the 1950s purchased at the Paper Show also a couple years ago. But on that account, at least, there's enough for two last sets of images starting with the batch I uploaded yesterday!

- Recently finishing off a stash of old books and ephemera from my last US road trip a year ago.

Things should pick up again soon though, with the big bi-annual Paper Show at the end of the month (I was out of the country when the last one occurred), and a cross-continent road trip/move happening in the Spring that could afford the opportunity to hopefully run across some some vintage paper on the way back from Florida to B.C.

And even if I don't find much in the way of things to post to Flickr at least I'll get a wife and a lifetime of love out of the deal.

Not a bad consolation prize.

Prehistoric Periodical Pandemonium!

2009-11-04T22:07:00.000-08:00

Once again it's time to shout from the street corners the overwhelmingly copacetic news that the new Know magazine has hit the newsstands and mailboxes of your favourite 6 to 9 year old science fan!
This issue's all about the fury, feathered, funtastic fauna from that former phase of the far-flung past we all call prehistory. Above is a small portion of my regular two-page Know Fun puzzles and activities spread from said magazine that this month features all manner of Cenozoic beasties and birdies.

Post-Halloween Obligatory Photo Roundup!

2009-11-01T21:25:00.000-08:00

That Krazy Kayak!

2009-10-29T15:15:00.001-07:00

As November approaches it's time to welcome the cooler weather (for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, of course), the slightly less busy downtown streets (until the inevitable Christmas crowds take over) and the new issue of Kayak, Canada's History Magazine for Kids .

Since those of you living in Canada can see the final cover on your newsstands, or in your mailbox, and the rest of you (albeit very small) on their website - I though I'd share this alternate colour version.

I have a predilection for limited colour palettes so I sometimes prepare two mock-ups of an illustration - one in full colour and one a la Glen. Usually, as in this case and with good reason, the more colourful will win out. But it's still fun to share the "might have beens" as well.

Enjoy!

Monster Head Races Finale!

2009-10-28T10:02:00.000-07:00

If, like little ol' me, you're a big fan of the spooky person behind the soon-to-be-related (legally!) Yay, It's Another Blog then you should take a ghoulish gander over at my pal Neato Coolville's wonderful Weird Hollow blog.

Besides the unending stream of vintage, haunted Halloween-themed nuttiness that pervades the fog-filled atmosphere in that neck of the electronic woods - last night was the grand finale championship of the Monster Head Races, a yearly video showdown of movie monsters racing for their fans. With online voting, a swanky prize package and fun galore!

Most importantly though, don't miss the always entertaining Vlad the Impaler's deadly draw for the wacky winner of the pulchritudinous prize package. You'll be on the edge of your electric chair!

Look, blog, look - see Dick & Jane!

2009-10-24T11:23:00.000-07:00

If I had been presented with the opportunity as a ten year old to see two of the stars of 1978's Battlestar Galactica in person, in my town, I would have been beside myself with geeky glee!

Now, thirty one years later, not quite so much.

Still, Jane Seymour and Richard Hatch will be in Victoria for unrelated public appearances on Halloween weekend. So I guess that's something.

Now if Ed Begley Jr were to also make a stop here on his book tour that weekend? That'd be a whole 'nother kettle of fish...

Random Mushy Picture of the Week!

2009-10-20T08:18:00.000-07:00

Good Morning, Glen!

2009-10-17T09:29:00.001-07:00

After twelve hours of heavy rain, look who ventured up three floors of the outside of my apartment building to greet me as I pulled back my living room curtains this morning!?

Diggin' Through the Vault: Pt. 5 "Curse of the Unwanted Facial Hair!"

2009-10-13T11:02:00.001-07:00

I've noticed a startling element of similarity amongst (and throughout. Also, between and betwixt) many of my illustrations that get revised by art directors on magazine or advertising jobs. I don't know whether it's a subconscious decision, or a sinister AD plot cooked up at their secretive annual A.D.M.A.N (Art Directors for Malevolence And Nogoodnikness) meetings, held in an underground lair buried hundreds of feet beneath the statue of David Ogilvy at the corner of 11th & W47th in downtown Manhattan, just to drive me crazy.

But here it is...

Facial hair.

They don't like facial hair.

Case study #1: The illustration at the top of this post? Turned down in favour of altering this nutty professor-type character to a female nutty professor-type character.

No facial hair.

Case study #2: This early astronomer guy for an online ad campaign? Changed to a British sea captain guy with, yes, a powdered wig, but... NO facial hair. See where I'm going? Huh? HUH?!

Case study #3: This be-goateed bebop professor for a kid's book cover? Replaced by a MOUSE! Okay... arguably the mouse has some hair on it's face, but since it's the same hair that covers the rest of it's scrawny little body I say it's categorically NOT facial hair!

So... what have we we learned today? That I only came up with this theory whilst searching for a thread to tie together these three examples of unused illustrations I randomly pulled out of my files, and which has no basis in reality?

I think not!

"Youse draws yer beards, youse takes yer chances."
Take it to heart my friends... take it to heart.

All Skyped Up

2009-10-09T21:58:00.000-07:00

I LOVE Skype. I really do.

It allows people (me) to talk (ramble on) and see (in a pixelated way) across long distances (from British Columbia to Florida) for free (free!) to friends and relatives (my fiancee) in a futuristic videophone sort-of-way that was still sci-fi for most of us 20 years ago.

But sometimes it goes bad.

Very bad...

Yikes! I think that's the worst picture of me on the intertubes since this one!

At least the digitallizerated version of me below is more colourful...

Completely Random Image Post of the Month!

2009-10-06T11:18:00.001-07:00

Steve Austin, The Six Million Dollar Man as scanned from my copy of a late 1977 issue of "Super Mag".

MetaGlen

2009-10-05T20:58:00.000-07:00

Image courtesy Keystone Blog

Uggh!

I guess one of the side-effects of having a blog getting SLIGHTLY more popular (in relative terms anyway) is unwanted attention. I'm currently down in the bunker in the middle of my first big Spam attack!

Oh, sure... I've had a handful of people post thinly veiled ads as comments here and there over the life of this here electronical-newsletter-type-dealy. But some fine folks are letting me know how much they like my blog by repeatedly commenting "Credit Society" over and over ad nauseam in Simplified Han Chinese on many of my current and past posts. So I'm spending my time right now taking out all the garbage.

I have word verification, but I guess it's not good enough. I've added comment moderation for older posts, but I hope not to have to add it to new ones. We'll just have to wait and see.

Thanks for all those non "Credit Society" comments though! Keep 'em coming!

Flickr Fill Up!

2009-10-05T17:51:00.001-07:00

Once again unto the breach!

Of course, the "breach" in this case is Flickr, where you can find another exquisite exhibition of excitingly excellent illos from the 1950s and '60s culled from the pages of Humpty Dumpty and Children's Magazines.

And don't forget to check the oil!

The Cool & Crazy Canadian Collection Cull Continues!

2009-10-03T12:04:00.000-07:00

I'm still weeding out large parts of my collection in anticipation of an upcoming move. On the slate right now?... part of my vintage tiki / Hawaiiana collection including mugs, glasses, shirts, records, figures, and more. Photo above only of a portion.

And the record riddance rolls on relentlessly as my Cool & Strange collection from the 1950s-1970s gets pared down by 1000 albums or more!

For all the details, more photos, and pricing check out these ads. And thanks for shopping at Glen-Mart!

1300!

2009-10-01T15:42:00.000-07:00

NGC 1300, a barred spiral galaxy. Courtesy of the always rockin' Hubble Space telescope!

1971 Morris 1300 Estate. Courtesy of DoneDeal.ie

Founding of Bilbao, Spain in 1300 A.D.

WXRL 1300 AM Super Country! Buffalo, NY. "We've Doubled Our Power to Double Your Listening Pleasure!"

A big THANK YOU to everyone who stopped by GLENMULLALY.COM... The BLOG! in the month of September for pushing the number of visits to a new record high of 1310. The previous high was 1,272 in August, but things had been slower over the late spring and summer due to a dearth of posts while in Florida (a choice I'd make any day!)

So mucho appreciandos to all you... hmmm... I just got an idea for a contest! Come up with a name for the people who enjoy and visit regularly GLENMULLALY.COM... The BLOG!

No... "misdirected", "losers", "Glen Mullaly" and other such entries will not be accepted!

I'm looking for a name for fans of this site. Along the lines of "Wreck Fans / Wreckies" for devotees of Cake Wrecks. Or "Boingers" (I may have just made that up) for followers of Boing Boing. Enter via the comments section at the bottom of this post.

The prize?! The undying thanks of the 1300 visitors (or 130 visitors who check back 10 times each if you want to sound less dramatic) to this site each month for having a name they can call themselves in public now.

Contest ends October 6th! Now... have at it!

*Note new contest end date! Get those entries in now!

Ferry Fun!

2009-09-28T09:21:00.000-07:00

Photo of The Spirit of British Columbia courtesy BC Ferries Corporation

In mid-September my fiancee and I took a day trip over to Vancouver from Victoria, necessitating (unless we wanted to fly, or grease up like the appropriately named Fin Donnelly and swim the 45 kms across the Georgia Strait - he did it in under 9 hours!) the normally 1 hour and 35 minute voyage via BC Ferries.

See her fantasteriffic blog for details of the trip itself, and then come on back for the pulse-pounding (well... softly pounding in a very sleepy sort of way) tale of our FOUR hour return trip on the final 9pm sailing that evening/night/morning!

Now this (below) is how you are supposed to park on the 500 vehicle car decks of the Spirit of British Columbia (largest vessel in the largest ferry fleet in the world dontchaknow?). Which is how we did before heading on up to the cafeteria for some soup and hot chocolate. It had been a good but long day (up since 5am), rainy, tons of driving and walking, and we were plain tuckered out. Not to mention that we arrived early at the ferry terminal that evening and had been waiting for an hour and a quarter already before loading.

So as the ship sat still docked at 9:10pm, and as I supped on poulet avec nouille fantastique we were somewhat surprised to hear the chief purser come over the inter-ship communications announcing in a muffled voice ... "Due to a motor vehicle accident on the main car deck our departure will be delayed. We will keep you updated."

"Hmm" we, and many others, said to ourselves. "That's unusual..." If it's a minor fender bender it shouldn't have caused much, if any, delay. It must have been something more serious, maybe involving an injury. Oh, well... minor setback.

Life continued as normal on a tired rainy night. Finished up the soup, talk about our day, look at cool stuff picked up at Daiso, droopy eyelids abound.

15 minutes later the call of nature sent a text message to my bladder and I thought I'd kill two birds with one plate glass window by checking out the incident that was adding a half hour to our anticipated WACB (Warm and Cozy Bed) e.t.a.

Leaving Joanne to the comfort of the "Coastal Cafe" and a magazine or two I jauntily left on my appointed tasks. A few minutes later found me making my way down to the bottom level of the ferry and, after walking to the business end of the ship, this was the unusual sight that greeted me...

"What, pray tell, have we here?"

"I do believe that semi-trailer truck is jammed into the loading doors of the ship!" Let me take a closer look..."

"Yup!"

It appeared that this misbegotten carrier of freight had inextricably wedged itself (well... I assume that the driver helped a bit!) into the loading doors of the ship, preventing them from closing. Can't move trailer? - can't close doors. Can't close doors? - can't move ship. Can't move ship? - can't get our heroes back into bed at a reasonable hour!

Now, I know that loading a 1992 Toyota Corolla is much easier than loading a 48ft trailer. And since I don't have a Class 1 air brakes license I wouldn't want to pass judgment (although it appears I'm about to!). But how in the heckeroony do you A: drive into the loading doors of BC Ferries largest vessel, and B: in an attempt to get free only wedge yourself in deeper?

After rubbernecking for a bit I trudged back up the four flights of stairs to rejoin my wonderful fiancee and fill her in on the not-so-nifty news while awaiting further developments. Within what was I'm sure a short time, but seemed much longer due the curved time-space complexities and quantum field theories that come into play when you're trapped on board a ship with little to do on a rainy night and a far-off down duvet is warmly calling you...

... we were once again graced by the dulcet tones of BC Ferries personnel over the ship's loudspeakers.

This time the head honcho himself spoke to us in a disembodied, and somewhat apologetic, tone with the promised update. The captain stated that it seemed the semi was indeed stuck fast to the doors and, in fact, the ship could not sail until that situation had been rectified. To wit, a tow truck had been dispatched from points unknown to attempt to free the beached behemoth. Unfortunately the anticipated arrival time of said rescue vehicle was not until at least 10pm!

Sleepy disgruntlement ensued. Even the proffering of free and gratis coffee, tea, and fountain drinks (that's sody-pop to you and me!) could not quell the air of somnambulous discontentment that was growing. Now, if they had offered us free video games in the ship's two arcades... that might have been a different kettle of fish! But alas...

Around 10pm I headed back down to take gander at the hoped-for progress, leaving my much smarter partner to take up residence in a padded chair in one of the main passenger areas. "You go have fun" was how I remember her dismissing me (I recall some shooing, but that may be embellishment on my part) to once again take up my photographic pursuit of (and I can't decide which works better)... " The Case of the Shmooshed Semi", or "The Mystery of the Stuck Truck".

Sometime after 10:15, to an ever increasing crowd of onlookers with nothing else to do, the tardy tow truck finally arrived, and proceeded to hook up his winch to the back corner of the trailer. A BC Ferries employee positioned himself with a charged fire hose in what I imaginatively, and very wrongly, assumed was in case of a massive Michael Bay-worthy explosion from the highly volatile cargo (I'm guessing here for dramatic effect) the truck might have been hauling...

In fact he just wet down the deck to make it easier to slide the vehicle over. And that's exactly what happened...

The tow truck slid over to the unmoved semi.

With thoughts of dancing sugarplums fading fast in my head I once again walked (although little slower with each successive trip) back to the upper decks to wait out our fate.

Fast forward through a couple more trips down to the main car deck, a groggy visit to the gift shop to make fun of the goofy souvenirs, and one or two more restroom breaks (there was free pop after all!) to 11pm... two hours past our scheduled departure time. With nothing else to do Joanne finally decided to go see what all the hubbub was about. This time, wisely taking the elevator down, we arrived just in time to watch as either a larger, or better anchored, tow truck finally succeeded in pulling the wayward trailer away from the car deck doors!

As the echos of squealing tires reverberated throughout the cavernous innards of our mobile metal marine motel a halfhearted "YAY!" rose up from the three dozen or so pooped passengers present. "We is free!" they exclaimed! (or at least that's how I choose to remember it. But I was really tired). I suspect, however, the twelve foot gash down the side of the smashed-up semi will not be free when the repair bill comes back from the shop.

Now only 15 more minutes to check out the doors, a 95 minute sea voyage, 10 minutes to dock, and a 30 minute drive from the terminal to home.

"Yay!"

So... although I'm tempted to say that this is where the story only starts getting interesting (I was going to regale yous all with tantalizing tales of high seas hijackings, run-ins with the law, and lost house keys) the truth is that we slept in the car for the rest of the ferry trip, and eventually, and uneventfully, arrived home safe and somewhat sound about 1:15 in the a.m.

Elapsed time from arrival at the terminal to Victoria that night?... 5 1/2 hours.

Elapsed time from the front door to the warm duvet and sweet slumber?... 5 1/2 seconds.

Yay!

Toy Show Day!

2009-09-20T23:37:00.001-07:00

Yep... the magical day that comes 'round but four times a year has occurred once again - no... not the changing of the seasons. Not the new fiscal quarter. Not even TV's sweeps week! - it's Toy Show Day! The four largest toy shows and sales in Western Canada (and possible the Pacific Northwest of North America) take place in our collector-rich hometown of Victoria, B.C.

Dealers large and small from Vancouver, Victoria, Seattle and environs gather with over 125 tables of goodies to tempt, tease and maybe even please collectors and looky-loo's in this day-long celebration of vintage and collectible toys, games, models, comics, books, records, club demonstrations, costumed character appearances, door prizes, charity fund-raisers, food and more.

This time I went in planning not to buy much, if anything at all, if I could help it. But once again the temptation was just too great. The five large boxes of $1 items at one dealer accounted for most of my cave-ins, but a few other siren songs called me and my wallet irresistibly towards a rendezvous avec treasured vintage paper and plastic items.

Although I didn't require it today I'm sure others would have appreciated the sentiment behind this vintage advertising sign at one table...

So here we find the end result - two-thirds of today's haul (some Mad magazines, a vintage Star Wars Probot, and a couple more kids books are missing in action from this spread). Although a few of these pieces will be headed for hopefully immediate resale, the rest are happy additions to my menagerie. Grand total... $22!

Left to right... 1977 Star Wars birthday card, birthday invitation and stationary, 1978 Star Wars die-cast landspeeder, vintage Star Wars bubble bath container, 1977 Close Encounters of the Third Kind & Star Wars movie programs, two 1969 Whizzer tops, 1976 Micronauts Crater Cruncher, vintage water rocket, beautiful 1965 children's book, vintage children's record, Star Wars book & record set.

Fall Fair!

2009-09-16T21:16:00.000-07:00

My fiancee and I had a wonderful afternoon enjoying the 70 acres of animals, agriculture, arts, crafts, music, markets and food at the 142 year old Saanich Fall Fair 25 minutes outside of Victoria in early September.
It's an annual tradition for many on lower Vancouver Island, but it was extra fun this year to see it through the eyes of Floridian first timer Joanne. Egg laying, milk & meat giving, fur bearing and just plain cute animals of all types (see Joanne's Flickr photostream for more cuddly examples from this category), food eating contests, live music, dance performances and competitions, giant vegetables...

A midway with amusement rides, beautiful flowers...

Kids arts, crafts and hobbies in dozens of odd categories such as "19-718: Animal, Critter or Person made from Fruit &/or Vegetables. Ages 3 to 9. Please attach firmly to a strong base! "...

Picture-perfect fruit in natural, canned, jammed, pied and other variations...

Baked and confectioned goods of every stripe and shade, exhibitions of old time farm equipment and antiques of all kinds, more flowers...

Food and goodies from around the world at the concession booths, an extensive farmers market (we had to splurge on the somewhat balanced yin and yang of fudge (cookies & cream and mint chocolate), and succulent sunflower sprouts), and commercial booths extolling the virtues of everything from the latest kitchen gadget to the full range of local political parties.

We had a perfect, although foot exhausting, time, and look forward to making it back for more agricultural fun next year.

Pillow Talk!

2009-09-13T20:33:00.000-07:00

Well... "Pillow CASE Talk" if you want to be accurate, but I've got to attract those darn internets eyeballs somehow!

As is the custom on or abouts the annual celebration of one's birth the giving of gifts often takes place. Since mein Geburtstag vas last week I receive a plethora of wonderfully thoughtful presents: books, music, meals, cards (handmade and otherwise), a tennis racquet, vintage tikis, handerpants, and more!

My favourite gift of all though was getting to spend the day with my finacee, but she sweetened the deal with these oh-so-cute and amazingly "awe..."some hand embroidered pillow cases. Despite being a relative newcomer to the art she plunged in head first with the most excellent and smile-inducing "Mr. and Mrs. Monkey" above, and the piece de la the resistance of all resistances...

...her absopoelutely, knock-my-socks-offingly, super-tastic masterpiece inspired by my last year's robot Valentine's Day card! What more could I have asked for?!

I love you too Joanne-3000!

Wonderful Week!

2009-09-10T22:49:00.000-07:00

Joanne's in town for a week and a half! Vancouver (and Daiso and Ikea), up-Island road trip, thrifting, used book stores, way too much good food, my birthday, Ponyo, etc.

Life is great!

Welcome "Alice" Fan!

2009-09-04T07:21:00.001-07:00

It just so happens that an extra-special Alice in Wonderland fan arrives in town today for a week and a half visit with yours truly. So in celebration of this super-tastic event here's one of the two images from John Huehnergarths's 1952 illustrated version of Alice that I've recently shared over at my Flickr photostream.

New Know Sept/Oct!

2009-09-02T13:43:00.001-07:00

Hey boys and girls... do you know what time it is?

That's right, it's time for the latest issue of Canada's favourite kid's science magazine (tied in first place with sister publication Yes Mag, of course!) Know to hit the stands and mailboxes! This time around they focus on the science of structures, which works out just peachy since I co-inkadentally just happened to name my regular Know Fun two-page puzzle and fun feature "Structureland! (detail above). For the full spread be sure to pick up the new Know near you!

a.k.a.: Wheels of Death!

2009-08-30T18:33:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how, somewhere in the dark recesses of my late '70s television addled brain, I could have missed remembering the 1979 TV movie Death Car on the Freeway... but apparently I did! Featuring major plot points focusing on 8-tracks & vans, with A grade chase music and D grade acting, and directed by Smokey and the Bandit's Hal Needham! Starring Frank Gorshin, George Hamilton, Peter Graves, Shelly Hack, Abe Vigoda and Dina Shore (whew... my link button is getting tired!). I mean...COME ON!

It's like CHiPs meets Jaws. All wrapped up in an Airport '77 tortilla!

With an extra helping of Duel on the side.

Not available on DVD (well... legally at least), but you can, should you think it's wise, watch it here...

And read all about it here...

A big thanks to Kevin L. Wagner for turning me on to this and providing the screen shots and ad! Kev's also shared another tv movie classic, 1979's Disaster on the Coastliner (starring Lloyd Bridges, Bill Shatner and Raymond Burr) at YouTube!

Mom! Mom! Look what flew over the house three weeks ago and I'm only telling you about it now that the photos are back from the drug store!

2009-08-27T09:04:00.000-07:00

Since we're already in a Battlestar Galactica mood from that last post I thought I'd share one more image from the "70's sci-fi geek" portion of my blog picture folder with all of you, whether you like it or not!

Clearly 11 or 12 year old me felt this would be much more convincing than 40 year old me does, but in 1979 or 1980 this battle-scarred (thanks to a handy dandy magnifying glass and a sunny day) Battlestar Galactica Viper model I built a year or two earlier inspired the not so convincing "What's that in the sky?!" shot above.

I'm sure that when I showed the above instamatic photo to friends and family I held it near the top with my thumb strategically placed over the nigh-invisible thread. Of course nowadays an 11 year old could easily create what I had envisioned in my head back then with some photo editing software and 15 minutes to spare...

But despite the gains from dynamite special effects pizazz I think it loses much of its original charm and innocent fun.

At least I didn't display my Viper model at Hooters though...

Coming Soon to a theatre near you!

2009-08-23T08:38:00.000-07:00

Opens Sept 6th! Well... Sept 6th 1978 that is.

Once again the theatre in my home town was slow to cash in on the late 70s sc-fi bandwagon. After missing the boat on Star Wars (which wouldn't show in Nanaimo until the re-release in 1980) it shrewdly passed on the theatrical version of TV's Battlestar Galactica which was shown in Canadian and European cinemas before it's premier on North American television on September 17th, and subsequent release in US theatres in May of 1979. I don't know if it was a personal dislike of the genre or simply the tight licensing that the distribution chains had on films of that time, but they only succeeded in shooting themselves in the feet as movie goers headed out of town (in this case to Duncan B.C., 45 minutes to the south) to see the films they wanted.

I clearly remember lining up for this with my dad and sister during a pleasant late summer evening. Although it was no Star Was (despite their best effort to be!) I did enjoy it, probably more for the special effects and costumes than anything else. The Sensurround system was widely used during this films release, rumbling theatre goers in their seats with low frequency (but still mono!) vibrations, but I'm not sure whether we saw it in that form or not.

Either way it set the stage for the TV series to to become a short lived staple on Sundays nights.

Dan the Man!

2009-08-18T07:08:00.000-07:00

Dan Lawler, the prolific illustrator for Parents magazine's family of publications (Humpty Dumpty, Children's Digest, Parents Magazine, etc) is once again featured over at my Flickr photostream in a number of vintage print illustrations. His brand of two-colour fun graced the covers and interiors of these magazine from the late 1950s to the 1970s (at least), but his pre-1965 work is my favourite.

Tyler Hodgins @ Polychrome Fine Arts

2009-08-15T11:28:00.000-07:00

I guess I'm in a promotional mood this week as I want to let everyone in the Victoria BC area know that my pal, talented artist Tyler Hodgins has "Tape Press - 10 Seconds" on exhibit at the Polychrome Fine Arts Gallery at 1113 Fort St. This piece (pieces actually) is made from 5" x 5" x 1" plexi-glass and contains 10 seconds of audio tape in each unit.

Check it out!

All New Cherry Bomb - Yay!

2009-08-13T11:27:00.001-07:00

Cherry Bomb Toys has just re-opened at their new location! It's not often I shill for businesses on this blog, but I'm happy to make an exception for my favourite used / collectible toy store. Not only are B and Candice very cool people with tons of great stuff, but they run Victoria's upcoming, twice-yearly "Ultimate Hobby & Toy Fair" that's not to be missed.

I'm on my way down this afternoon to take a look for myself, but if these preview shots are any indication I shall not be disappointed.

So be sure to stop by if you're in the area or ever visiting Victoria, BC. And tell 'em I sent you.

***UPDATE: It's much larger than it looks! I definitely wasn't disappointed - what a great store!

Go (To) British Co-lumbia!

2009-08-08T14:00:00.000-07:00

Go, British Col-umbia: by Bobby Gimby, BC Centennial '71 Committee, 1971

On the off-chance that any of you devoted readers out there in internetland are mulling over, contemplating, thinking about, considering, or even ponderin' a move from your current locale to someplace like, say fer instance, the green and temperate climes of the province of British Columbia on the swellerific west coast of Canada, I thought I'd help learn youse about your new home-to-be with some groovy 7" souvenir records (culled from my soon-to-be-greatly-reduced-in-number record collection) from days gone by.

Produced by the talented Bobby Gimby, of 1967's centennial song "Canada" fame this follow up (above) follows up with the exact same winning template that made his previous single a hit, Hit, HIT! Childrens chorus, singalong lyrics, infectious (but not in a swine flu sort of way) trumpet-lead beat, and kettle drums! How could miss with that tried and true formula? (are you listening Green Day? I see a comeback from your current obscurity if you'd just follow the patented "Gimby Method").

Here's the words and music in PDF form if you're into that sort of thing.

Fortunately for the producers of this long-in-print-but-now-long-out-of-print-although-I-probably-didn't-need-to-point-that-last-part-out late 60s souvenir shop staple Victoria had only one "sound". Otherwise they would have had to have incurred the unneeded expense of producing an entire LP!

Once again hailing from 1966 this 7" wonder, (that's starting to show up in local museum exhibits which, being only a year or two older than your's truly, doesn't make me feel old at all), comes in a handy-dandy mailing envelope to send to friends and relatives far away to let Aunt Wilhelmina and Cousin Belvin know you couldn't think of anything better to buy for them.

An earlier 1960s "Follow the Birds" only recording of this 7" (with the same picture from right side of this one) had an instrumental version on the B-side. I guess the producers figured that by the mid-1970s those polyester-clad folks disco-ing into Victoria's souvenir shops were more likely to shell out $2.98 (suggested retail price not including tax) for two different songs than one.
The 25 cents I paid for my thrift store copy was my upper limit.

Jewel of the West by "The Accents", RCA Victor, 1966.

Not one, not two, not three, not four, not... oh wait, yes... FOUR different interpretations of this lovely tune to commemorate "the 100th Anniversary of the Union of Vancouver Island and the Mainland, 1966, and Canada's centennial, 1967". Apparently bossa nova, rock, folk and choral versions of the same song over and over again don't get tedious at all. Nope, not at all.

I think the back cover's awkward caption says it all... "Here is the surprise song which thrilled so many Canadians when performed on the occasion of the Royal Visit to the Capital of British Columbia in May 1971." Apparently BCers have a different opinion of what constitutes "thrilled".

Or "song".

Long before the announcement of the 2010 Winter Olympics Vancouver BC was the host to EXPO 86, or as it was known in the burgeoning hip-hop community's street slang of the time, "The 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication". As was the fashion in those days, brass-playing politicians meant BIG SALES for any musical venture.

Beautiful British Columbia: George E. Stotts, Angelus Records 1964.

And now the piece de' resistor! If the handwritten cover didn't talk you into buying this then the always enticing prospect of sticky residue on your record certainly would. In point of fact though, this 1964 (watch out British Invasion!) 7" by "Geo. E. Stotts - Star Rt. Cottonwood, Ariz", more closely resembles a vanity / song poem project. So you probably couldn't buy it at the time even if you, for some unknown reason, wanted to. It's hard to believe that 2:51 of vocals and pipe organ could last so long. I would have guessed closer to 12 to 14 minutes if I hadn't looked at the label.

So thanks for stopping by. I hope our little talk has helped ease the move for at least one person out there who is BC-bound, but needed to know that our rich musical heritage includes a fair share of shmaltzy, commercially driven local tunes NOT written by David Foster, Nelly Furtado, or the Dayglos.

More Flickr Fun

2009-08-06T11:15:00.000-07:00

Time once again for another of my increasingly infrequent vintage illustration postings over at Flickr. What do I have to do - make a deal with the devil to increase the hours in the day so I can find time to do everything I want to?

Okay, sign me up!

Laundry Helper!

2009-08-03T10:17:00.000-07:00

We usually don't get that many exotic looking insects in these parts (at least that I see located in the middle of a downtown urban area), so this fellow that I spotted in my apartment stairwell on my way to do laundry this morning cetainly caught my eye. At 2 ½ inches longs and with at least a 4" antennae span it's about the biggest wild insect I've ever seen here next to dragonflys.

Maybe I brought him home with me from Florida?

Ward-O-Riffic!

2009-07-30T11:48:00.000-07:00

Waaaay back in late September 2008, P.J. (pre -Joanne) I took a solo road trip down the west coast of the good ol' U. S. of Ayyy! to the always groovy burg of Portland, Oregon. Whilst there, and concurrently at the same time, I met up with my pal and animator/director/illustrator/breakdance enthusiast supreme Ward (Ward-O-Matic) Jenkins.

We had been corresponding for a couple years through Flickr due to our shared interests in vintage kids books and cool vintage illustration in general. So it was natural for us to meet mano a mano for the first time during my visit. We spent an afternoon purusing the well-stocked but pricey shelves of "The City of Roses"' best used booked stores, and picked up a few items. As well, I dropped off a box of vintage kids books (that I had doubles of) that Ward had expressed interest in. Ward said he'd send me something in return and, after making some suggestions a few months later, the above envelope (and it's stuffed innards) was what I VERY happily recieved from my friendly neighbourhood postal employee!

The prints from his Etsy shop are wonderful (Joanne LOVED the Calico Elly (above) I gave her as part of her recent birthday gifts) and the cards and note were very thoughtful.

BUT... the creme de la icing on the cake was the superfun sketches Mr. Matic added to the mailing envelope. I've done the same thing in the past on the occasional parcel, but it always makes my day to get something thoughtful AND cool in mail from such a talented individual.

Thanks Ward!

We All Scream for Ice Cream!

2009-07-26T15:26:00.000-07:00

With my recent month-long sojourn to the wilds of the Florida Panhandle (it was tough work slogging through those Targets and Winn Dixies!) it COMPLETELY slipped my mind that the new Know Mag hit the stands in early July.

This issue's focus is on that old summer staple ICE-CREAM, and I based the three puzzles in my regular "Know Fun" puzzles and fun feature on just that don't you know! Above is a cropped detail from one of those self-same fuzzles and pun, but you'll have to head on down to your local newsstand to see the rest of it for now.

For those of you outside of Canada you can get your fun-filled science-y goodness here!

Let's All Go to the Ballet!

2009-07-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

...or not. But at least we can enjoy the best bits of a few classic ballets as interpreted by the always amazing Alice & Martin Provensen from their 1968 Golden Press treasure "Tales from the Ballet" on my Flickr photostream right now.

I picked up this beautiful book in Tallahassee Florida last weekend for a song and had to share it with y'all (oops - my stay in the panhandle is nearing it's end just in time!)

Don't forget your tutu!

Behind the Blog!

2009-07-12T12:12:00.000-07:00

As one or two of you chicken hawk-eyed readers may have noticed things have once again been especially slow around GLENMULLALY.COM... The Blog in recent weeks. It's tough to pull myself away from spending a boffo-whammo-spectacularly-uh-HUH! month in balmy climes with my super-duper sweetie to write about vintage illustration, (and I LOVE vintage illustration) ... so you know I must be enjoying myself.

Even working on the house doing minor repairs, renovations and fix-ups is a great change from the daily grind of my regular old pre-sweetie life. But as my month in Florida enters the final stretch I realized how much in danger of losing my Blogger decoder ring and winking membership pin I am by neglecting my double-extra- ultra-sworn blogitudinal duties.

I do have a wonderful vintage kid's book find from this past weekend's road trip to Tallahassee that I hope to post in the next few days - but until then you'll plain have to put up with this particularly poor post pertaining to my paucity of periodic posting.

Or something like that.

I'm a Nut!

2009-07-06T08:39:00.000-07:00

No... I haven't finally come to my senses long enough to get professional help. I'm just stating, in as precise language as my noggin can muster, that I'm a nut for swell vintage illustration like that found in the above image and a heapin' helpin' more that I've just shared over at my Flickr photostream. Anthropomorphic legumes and fun-fun-fun food galore in glorious 2-colour printing from the fine folks at the Planters Edible Oil Company!

Grab a PB & H (no, not halibut... honey! The Canadian-style creamed type too) and stroll on over for the festivities!

Happy Canada Day!

2009-07-01T11:57:00.000-07:00

Although reluctant to post two consecutive topics with "Happy" in the title I felt that...

A: My national pride outweighs my fear of blog repetitiveness,

and...

B: I'm purty darned joyful these days, so what the heck!

So, despite my being outside the country on July 1st for the first time, I wish all my fellow Canadians, and those who love them, all the best on our country's birthday!

Happy, Happy Birthday!

2009-06-29T08:10:00.000-07:00

You will, I trust, excuse this post being a day late. I figure that having fun celebrating my fiancee's birthday (our first together!) in person (I'm down here in Florida again for a month) takes priority over celebrating it blogospherally.

We had a wonderful day, breakfast at the Waffle House with her parents, a visit to Sam's Club (my first) , back home for presents and a nice early afternoon. Then off to see "Up" in 3D, more shopping at Old Navy and Borders. Then a very tasty and intimate dinner at a surprisingly good local restaurant followed by picking up some excellent treats from the adjoining Italian bakery for later that night.

Topped of with a journey to the amazing world of Okami whilst couch cuddling... who could ask for anything more!

So here are a few of the more personal items Joanne received on her special day... at the top of this post is the front of her birthday card from me. Below are the three t-shirts I made up for her, clockwise from upper left: Happynard P Phlomegnome from this recent post, a Metropolis movie poster custom image, and the world's only official GlenMullaly.com wearable.

I believe the gift certificates she got will be shared on her brand spankin' new blog sometime soon - so keep your eyes peeled for that as well.

Now to start planning for next year!

You'd Think I Would Remember This!

2009-06-20T06:28:00.000-07:00

With my involvement in co-creating and administering the Growing Up Star Wars group (a nostalgic look back a childhood photos of the first Star Wars generation from 1977-1985) at the photo sharing site Flickr, I've watched as many contributors posted memories of the first time they saw Star Wars in the theatre. I, naturally, got perusing the cobweb-filled recesses of my noggin' in an attempt to recall my first viewing of the movie that was to fill my every waking thought for the next three years. Unfortunately, despite the exalted status with my elementary school classmates as a "Star Wars Freak", I can't remember my initial experience seeing it in the theater!

What I DO remember...

-First time I saw a TV commercial for it? Check! (I was so inspired I immediately drew a now-lost felt pen drawing of the event).

-Second time I saw it? You bet! (Parksville - see below)

-The Empire Strikes Back / Star Wars double feature in 1980? Uh huh! (see a future post)

But not the first time!

Could it be that the impact of such a momentous event overwhelmed my 9 year old brain like a traumatic car accident, erasing all memories of this earth-shatteringly important milestone?

Possibly.

Did the high sugar intake of those pre-adolescent years degrade my memory-making abilities?

Maybe.

Whatever the case it was a good excuse for me to track down the original newspaper advertisements for Star Wars that ran in my local papers (The Nanaimo Daily Free Press, and The Nanaimo Times), as well as those of the two closest cities / towns with movie theatres (Duncan - 45 minutes to the south, and the much smaller Parksville 25 minutes to the north).

Unsurprisingly then, last year at the Provincial Archives (conveniently located a 15 minute walk from my house), I spent a few hours (when I should have been working) doing just that.

So... without further ado: at the top of this post you'll find this first newspaper advertisement that ran in any of these papers... AND IT WAS FROM OCTOBER 1977!!!

Meaning the first and most important finding is...

STAR WARS DID NOT PLAY AT MY LOCAL FURSHLUGGINER MOVIE THEATRE UNTIL AFTER THE RELEASE OF "THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK" IN 1980!

Theatre chains and distributors had airtight deals back then, meaning you were locked in to choosing from the list of whatever films they provided. If Star Wars wasn't on the list you were out of luck buddy.

So I must have seen Star Wars for the first time either in Victoria (2 hours to the south, and my current home), or Vancouver (a 2 hour ferry/car ride to to the east) sometime in June, July or possibly August. I was already a big fan (with a t-shirt and constant theme song hum to prove it) by the time of my birthday in early September, so we know it was well before that. Plus, I was well into wearing out my brand-new copy of the oversized Marvel Comics Star Wars Treasury edition (released in July or August) by the time I went back to school on Sept. 5th, so the date fits.

So... a little bit of disappointment that I can't narrow things down more than that?

Yes.

But at least I was able to figure out the time line a little more.

And looking up these great ads was fun.

Which brings us the second time I saw Star Wars. ...

In a world where blockbusters are released to DVD within months of hitting the screens, it's good to recall a prehistoric time when films would increase the number of screens they played on throughout their run if they were a hit. Originally debuting May 25th, 1977 on 32 screens, Star Wars grew in popularity through out the Spring, Summer and Fall until it was playing on close to 1,100 screens by Christmas. So it wasn't until late November or early December, 6 months after it hit the theatres, that I saw it for the second time.

Obviously having to get a parent to drive you to another town, even to see your favourite movie, was a tough thing for a 9 year old to accomplish!

This time (see ad below) I DO remember it well. Sitting, sans seat belt, on the engine cowl of my dad's red Dodge A-100 as we drove up to Parksville. Being overwhelmed by it for a second time. Noticing the Y-Wings this time. Crying tears of joy on the trip home because I was so happy (and probably tired, as it was past my bedtime).

Over the next couple years Star Wars was rereleased a number of times. Still not at my local movie house, but I was able to get to see it a total of seven times by the early 1980s and the beginnings of my move away from "kids movies". Of course, my Kenner Star Wars Movie Viewer, Kenner Give-A-Show Projector, The Story of Star Wars record, and the John Williams soundtrack double-LP (not to mention the hundreds of comics, books, magazines, toys and assorted ephemera I constantly poured over) all kept it alive for me in the meantime.

But it was nice to use archive materials to finally narrow down, if not answer fully, that foggy memory I had about seeing my favourite movie for the first time.

Now if I could just use the same method to remember where I left my glasses...

Way To Go Ward!

2009-06-13T23:00:00.000-07:00

My amazingly talented pal Ward Jenkins has just had his first mass-market kids book hit the shelves this week! Check it out why dontcha?!

Arriba Aquino!

2009-06-09T16:51:00.000-07:00

I just posted a number of most excellent vintage magazine illustrations by the talented Albert Aquino over at my Flickr photostream!

'Nuff said.

Diggin' Through Vault: Pt. 4

2009-06-04T09:15:00.000-07:00

Let me know if I'm posting this feature (spotlighting un-, or under used illustrations from my past) too often, but since it's been exactly one year to the day since my last stab at DTTV I thought I'd try to squeeze another one in.

Occasionally, whilst working on a magazine or book job, an image that has made it to the pencil, or even once in a blue moon, the inking stage, gets cut through no fault of the illustrator. In the case of the unfinished pencil sketch above for a children's magazine a last minute story rewrite eliminated the character pictured - thus the need for the illustration.

In fact, this was the second version of this image I submitted. The first had wider dimensions, with a longer bench and more pigeons. But a change in the need for more text space put the kibosh on that one.

For images that DID make it into that job check out this, and this.

Since there was something I liked about this character that I didn't want to go to waste, I used him as inspiration for a related character in a later magazine spread...

Blog News from our Subterranean Fanclub!

2009-06-01T20:50:00.000-07:00

Saddypuss McGnomestein (via our Toadstooltown webcam link) asks: "Where oh where is all the new original content on GlenMullaly.com...the Blog? This used to be such a hip happen' place man, but now it's like, nowheresville! When are we going to see more earth-shatteringly good time-wasters as those classics listed in the "Best Of..." section to the lower right? Oh woe is little-old mythical me!"

Happynard P. Phlomgnome responds: "I'm so chuffed I'm shaking my pint-sized fist in make-believe joy at the news that coming soon there's a multi-part retrostalgic remembrance, (fully illustrated with vintage newspaper ads dontchaknow), chronicling the obscure history (or lack thereof) of certain space movies in the late 1970s, at local smallish town theaters".

"Plus... a little bird told me (before I made it into a delicious consommé) about more trips to the Illustration Vault (that sticky time lock finally got fixed), vintage illustration Flickr fooferall galore, and plenty o' other junk that you won't be looking forward to either! Woohoo!"

The Return of Flickr!

2009-05-30T14:16:00.000-07:00

After a couple weeks of South of the Border fun and fancy freeness (plus home renovations) I'm back to posting my slightly more sporadic vintage illustration goodies over at the image sharing site I call Flickr.

Sure... everyone else calls it Flickr too, but that won't stop me from fighting the good fight.

How I Spent My Spring Vacation

2009-05-29T12:42:00.000-07:00

Sort of American Gothic meets 2001: A Space Odyssey.

...but with semi-gloss latex.

Glen + Florida = Neglected Blog!

2009-05-22T06:59:00.000-07:00

I'm once again in the southern U.S. for a couple weeks doing important work like you see above - so this blog, my Flickr and, by extension, you my treasured reader have to suffer the heartbreak of going without your regular dose of Glenicillin.

Luckily I'll arrive back in a week with my internal batteries recharged, ready to take on the Blogosphere anew.

Or something like that.

Hail to Harper!

2009-05-13T16:24:00.000-07:00

Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird)?... yes, but that's not who I'm riffin' on today.

Valerie Harper,?... nope - not since she left the cast of "Valerie" high and dry.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper?... nosiree bob!

Who then, in my goofily estimable way, am I referring to?

Charley Harper, of course! It's time for another serving of his wonderfully stylized illustration over at my recently neglected Flickr photostream. If you like angular birds and well-composed leeks it's your lucky day!

Happy Mother's Day!... Again!

2009-05-10T08:06:00.000-07:00

Nothing says "Thank you for being such a great mom" more than a moth-eaten, 34 year old DoodleArt poster that you already gave to her once. When you were 6.

But I really do mean it.

Thanks Mom!

Shameless Self Promotion Dept: Part 2!

2009-05-05T07:45:00.000-07:00

Click image for large version.

The proud people of Peter Piper Publishing (say that five time fast!), publishers of Yes and Know magazines are having a Big Spring Cleaning Sale of books, magazine bundles, and t-shirts. So in the spirit of shameless shilling might I suggest that now's the time to stock up on those Glen Mullaly collectibles you've been wanting to invest in - including the award winning "Virus" cover t-shirt available in wondrous white...

The hysterically accurate "Leonardo" cover shirt in beautiful brown or passionate pink...

Plus... bundles of back issue Yes and Know magazines (as pictured above). Since you get to choose the issues you receive I'll just get you started by mentioning that my "Know Fun" puzzles and games feature appears in every issue of Know, along with the three covers I've done for that magnificent mag (two of which are posted at the top of this entry). As well, my work appears in a couple dozen issues of Yes from 2002 - 2005, including the covers above.

So any way you cut it's an offer that's too good to last. Be sure and tell 'em "Great Deal" Glen sent you!

New Know - Natch!

2009-05-02T07:27:00.000-07:00

It's time once again to hard-sell Canada's favourite science magazine for the younger set - Know! As always, I write and illustrate the "Know Fun" puzzles and games section in that inimitable style that you (I hope!) love so well. This month's topic...? A beach clean-up ( a portion of which is shown above), complete with my first photo puzzle inspired by the Eyeball Benders section of the classic Games Magazine (not the current pale imitation incarnation) that I grew up reading in the late 1970s and 1980s.

So pop down to your local newsstand or visit them online if you live outside the Great White North.

Please Try "Please Try Again"

2009-04-30T22:58:00.000-07:00

If you're going to be in, passing through, or have been looking for a reason to visit the city of Kelowna B.C. then here's your opportunity to see an installation by my pal: multi-talented sculptor and public artist Tyler Hodgins. Tyler jetted off to Kelowna last week to set up "Please Try Again", using hundreds (thousands?) of discarded scratch and win lottery tickets.

The piece will be running at the Kelowna Art Gallery until June 21st, 2009.

Random Vintage Local Newspaper Photo that References Space Movie Craze I Was Into As A Kid That I Ran Into Whilst Perusing Old Papers Last Year...

2009-04-25T07:40:00.000-07:00

Nanaimo Daily Free Press, Spring 1980

...That I'm Finally Posting Now Because I'm Clean Out Of Other Post Ideas For The Moment.

Also: Who knew there was a limit to how many words you could put in a Blog title!

Stickers and Stuff!

2009-04-22T11:25:00.000-07:00

Super-talented illustrator, vintage illustration aficionado, and so sweet sharer of all things fun Amy Cartwright decided for some strange reason to feature my Flickr collection and my llustration on her blog today. So before she comes to her senses be sure to stop by and say hi.

Thanks Amy!

Times for Kids!

2009-04-18T10:55:00.000-07:00

Time once again for a serving of vintage children's book and magazine illustrations over at my Flickr photostream. Check it out whydoncha?!

Growing Up in Italy

2009-04-14T18:44:00.001-07:00

Italy's premiere art/illustration/photography/toys/pop-culture mag is on the stands with issue #2 featuring the Growing Up Star Wars Flickr group created by Todd Franklin (Neato Coolville) and myself.

My Italian's a little rusty these days, but it also features a short piece by me on the history of the group.

Visit their website for more info and for a incomplete downloadable PDF version of the issue...

www.bangart.it/

And if you haven't checked out the group yet...

www.flickr.com/groups/growingupstarwars/

SUPER NITRO LABEL EXTREME: The STICKERING!

2009-04-10T08:33:00.000-07:00

Little did we know when purchasing an inexpensive light fixture for Joanne's garage a week ago that I'd be getting a blog post out of it! Inside the metal housing of this 5" high wonder was not six, not seven... but EIGHT warning, information or quality control stickers! I'm assuming that a large portion of the cost of this $4.99 item was taken up by these adhesive add-ons (not to mention some of it's structural integrity), so I just had to share it with all of you.

Aren't you glad I did?

Back in the Saddle Again - Norwegian Style!

2009-04-08T15:52:00.000-07:00

After the most relaxing, incredible, wonderful eleven days of my life I'm back in Victoria, back to work (with a vengeance!), and back to the ol' internets. So what better way to celebrate that relaxed, refreshed mood than with stylized vintage illustrations of Vikings hacking people to pieces with big axes!

At least it's in black and white so you're spared the scarlet embellishments.

This and a handful of other groovy 1963 woodcut / scratch board style illos by husband and wife team of Leo & Diane Dillon are posted over at my Flickr photo sharing group. Why not stop by and say hi!?

Just don't eat lunch first.

Greetings from the South!

2009-04-01T15:43:00.000-07:00

I'm enjoying a wonderful week and a half with my fiancee in the panhandle of Florida right now. So I thought I'd post some quick images from the last few days to tide y'all (hmm... I seem to be picking up some of the local customs!) over.

Below you'll find a scary assortment of disembodied doll bodies (at least I hope they're doll bodies!) at a local antiques mall. I think the stick heads on a few of them just scream "Buy me!"

If ghostly beheaded figures don't do it for you how about a celebration of Florida's space faring history as rendered in bits of door hardware and copper sheeting? "Houston, we have a problem. It seems the giant gate latch on our side just fell off!"

And finally...

So, back to the normal bloggy goodness next week. Until then, as they say in these here parts..."Shalom!"

East Meets West - Lazare Style

2009-03-25T13:55:00.000-07:00

The wonderfully talented and diversely careered Gerald Lazare is celebrating, along with his equally talented wife Setsuko Lazare, their new book: "East Meets West", on April 2nd in Toronto. If you've followed this blog at all you know that I grew up in the early 1970s loving Gerry's beautiful 1960s work in my elementary school readers (original art from which now hangs on my studio wall). And before that he was a pioneering Canadian comic-book artist (along with Golden Books legend Mel Crawford) in the 1940s!

Now you can enjoy their paintings in book form in this stuning new collection.

So if your going to be in the Toronto area that day and want to say hi be sure to RSVP. And tell them Glen sent you!

"M" day at the Toy Show!

2009-03-22T22:54:00.000-07:00

Okay... officially it's known as "Victoria's Ultimate Hobby & Toy Fair!" (to distinguish it from the more established and competing "Victoria Toy Show"). But to me both of them are "the Toy Show", and with each happening twice a year that means the four largest toy shows and sales in Western Canada happen on my doorstep!

And it makes me happy.

The mixture of vintage and collectible toys, games, kid's books, comics, records, (all for sale), plus door prizes, magicians, hobby club displays, personal appearances by costumed characters, and more at this fun-filled Sunday event never disappoints.

C'mon! It's an auditorium filled with toys! Usually I leave with a handfull of wonderful items from my childhood. Today it was three Star Wars action figure backing cards ($1 each) from 1980, a bag of vintage plastic spacemen (actually a reverse re-gift from a pal, since I had originally given them to him ten years ago for his birthday), and both Baron Karza and his trusty Micronaut steed Andromeda.

So... as not to overwhelm you with all the totally tubular and truly terrific toyishnous today I thought we'd just look at a small taste of this morning's show... via the letter "M".

In the first photo (top) we meet an army of vintage plastic Marx figures on the march. Micronauts and more are featured in the montage above... and mounds of moon-age Mattel militaria is on display with the men of Major Matt Mason (below).

I've found dozens of wonderful children's books at these toy shows over the years. Often quite reasonably priced too. This one featuring a magnificent cover illustration by Mary Blair was a little out of my price range though.

More merry Marx mirth making when the mixed-up maniacs known as the Nutty Mads make the scene!

And finally... this beautiful Man in Space cover. Watch the series this comic book was based on here.

So please stop by if your going to be in the Victoria area during the Spring or Fall. I doubt you'll walk away, empty handed or not, unhappy. I never do.

Quick Flick!

2009-03-19T11:27:00.001-07:00

Time once again to let my bloggy readers know that there's new old kid's books illustrations from my ever-growing collection of vintage children's goodness up on my Flickr photostream. This time around I'm featuring the work of Charles Nicolas (below), and poetically-named Wonder Books stalwart Dellwyn Cunningham (above).

Intending to enrich the minds of my faithful followers I did a quick search on the origins of the name "Dellwyn". I didn't get too far though before I stumbled across the coolest named dentist in the history of the world! Should you live in the Memphis area and you need your teeth re-filed, or that diamond insert on your front incisor polished I'd suggest you check out Dr. Dellwyn M. Turnipseed, DMD. With a name like that I think she's got to have a great chair-side sense of humour if nothing else.

Evel's Da Bomb!

2009-03-15T09:13:00.000-07:00

Last fall, whilst perusing my old home-town newspapers on microfilm at the nearby provincial archives, I ran across this AP photo and caption that ran in late 1977 in the Nanaimo Daily Free Press. I knew Mr. Knievel was a little loopy (earlier that year he had assaulted the author of an unauthorized book* on him with an aluminum baseball bat!), but this harebrained scheme would have taken the cake. Needless-to-say the stunt never occurred, Evil's spleen remained intact (or at least wasn't removed due to haystack-related planning), and within four years Robert Craig Knievel had retired from the motorcycle jumping business.

Yet... until his last days he continued to profess that this ill-considered act of daredevilry would eventually be accomplished. History awaits his learned prediction.

I don't.

Here's the video of E.K. reminiscing about this stunt / promotional put-on. You have to sit through a commercial to get to it unfortunately... but what else have you got to do right now? If you're wasting precious minutes of your life reading my blog you ain't likely in the middle of brain surgery or a marathon!

*$17,000 for a beat-up paperback!? Even if Evel's spleen was used as a bookmark I don't think I'd pay this much.

Kayak on the March!

2009-03-13T13:28:00.000-07:00

Or more accurately... the new March/April issue of Kayak! Canada's favourite history magazine for kids hit the stands early this week with a communications-themed cover by one Glen A (for "Awesome"!) Mullaly, a little-known late 20th - early 21st century artist and all-around bon vivant. Get yours today before the Guggenheim snatches up all the remaining copies!

It's Provensen Time!

2009-03-10T09:49:00.000-07:00

Once again I'm posting some images from the absolutely legendary (at least in the minds of me and my illustration admiring friends) husband and wife team of Alice and Martin Provensen. I've shared many images from them before but this go-round it's from my newly acquired copy of "The Golden Treasury of Myths Legends" from Golden Books in 1959. I stumbled across this treasure while looking for a birthday present for my sister last week. I was turning around to head from one section to the next when my eyes caught a split-second glimpse of the spine of this tome in the "Religion" section of my favourite local used book store. I paused, turned back, investigated further... and then had to stifle my unadulterated glee as I realized what I had found - in mint condition - for $9.99.

Happy day indeed.

For more samples from this wonderful book check out my Flickr photostream whydontcha!

Ummm...

2009-03-09T09:23:00.001-07:00

I think someone in charge needs to be reminded that this is downtown Victoria... We've already had much more than our normal share of snow this year. Okay?!

Know Fun Park Path

2009-03-07T09:06:00.000-08:00

The new Know Fun puzzles & fun feature I write and illustrate is out across Canada (and in mailboxes around the world) as the latest issue of Know Magazine, The Science Magazine for Curious Kids hits the stands. This issue is all about "finding your way", and above is a small detail from the very loose and cartoony maze I came up with for this months craziness!
Don't delay - pick your's up today!

Spring Is (not quite) Here!

2009-03-03T07:07:00.000-08:00

With birds chirping outside my window, temperatures on the rise, and thoughts of spring cleaning attempting to cha-cha in my head I figured I'd jump the seasonal gun and post this 1957 Better Homes & Gardens ad, along with an alluring assortment of other 1950s magazine illos, over at my Flickr photostream.

The Grooviest Girl in the World said "Yes!"

2009-02-23T22:13:00.000-08:00

Time once again to get all personal here on GlenMullaly.com... The Blog!!! But this go-round I've got a REALLY, REALLY, REALLY good reason for my trip to Heartfeltland. On February 15th I became engaged to (with all due respect to every other woman on Earth) the most awesomest, kickin'est, grooviest girl in the world! I've never been happier and more content in my life and I have one amazing woman named Joanne to thank (or blame!) for it.

Regular readers of this bulogue will have noticed an increasing amount of thinly veiled romantic posts over the last few months as I've had a difficult time holdin' back the overflowing amazingness I've been feeling lately. Disguised as references to the GUSW group's success, the recent Obama visit to Canada, or just a general hopefulness for 2009, this wonderful feeling I've been feeling finally gets shared with the world today under no hidden allusions or false topics!

You have been warned.

So... on the day after Valentine's Day my sweetie and I were partaking in one of our favourite pastimes, browsing (apparently randomly) in the top floor comics section of a well-loved, local used bookstore when I pointed out ('cause she didn't find it on her own!) a copy of a 1979 Ripley's Believe It or Not! comic book that she had posted a picture of herself holding on the photo-sharing site Flickr (through which we met. But that's ANOTHER story!) a few months ago. She had commented that she wished she still owned that particular funny-book - so one would expect her to flip out when she stumbled across it. You would think...

Using this ultra low-res image I tracked down a copy of the same vintage comic, purchased it online, and created a false first page in the style of the newspaper version of the Ripley's daily panel cartoon - that included both real Ripley's entries as well as a customized, illustrated piece on my love and the proposal that was about to occur. I planted the comic in the bookstore's stacks (shortly before), and, after having to encourage her a couple of times to check out the issue ("um... I don't think that's the one I had. Mine had a shrunken head on it." "Well... why don't you take a look at the date? It should be on the first page." HINT, HINT!!!) she finally looked at the customized page.

AND THEN PROCEEDED TO PUT IT AWAY!!!

Once again I suggested, with my back turned pretending to look at something else a few feet away, but in fact with my heart in my throat, that she examine the first page more closely. It took what seemed like 837 years, but finally you could see a glint of something in her gorgeous eyes. First amusement ("Hey, this girl has the same name as me...!") then confusion turning to disbelief, morphing to shock, and finally... full-on lightheadedness-slash-nausea.

THAT'S the reaction I had been looking for!!!

And so, with the girl of my dreams in that state of mind I proceeded to propose to her - the love of my life, the only woman I can imagine wanting to spend my every living minute with. I held out the 1938 engagement ring with which my Great Uncle proposed to my Great Aunt (before 50 plus years of loving marriage), and asked her, bended knee-style, to marry me.

At this point a Hitchcockian plot twist involving that WAY too curious onlooker (who kept poking his head around the corner of the bookshelves to the sound of Joanne's "OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!) calling the cops on my geeky butt, or both of us getting thrown out of the bookstore for reverse shoplifting would have added some well-needed entertainment value. But the absolutely amazing, wonderfully, breathtakingly fantabulous truth is that she said... YES!

After a frantic search for a stool to prevent her passing out on the floor, a brief rest, the quick concealment in my messenger bag once again of the aforementioned smuggled-in comic book, and a wobbly-legged (both of us!) trip down a long flight of stairs we barely managed to make it to the nearest coffee shop to get our bearings and begin planning our new life together.

And so now (with respect this time to the other 50% of Terra Firma's population) I'm the happiest man in the world.

Happy Two-Days after Valentines Day!

2009-02-16T11:51:00.000-08:00

I had the most wonderful Valentines Day EVER on Saturday!!!!!!! Here's just a couple of visual representations in the form of the Amazing Love Monkey that my sweetie hand-made for me, and the front of the painted card I made for her.

I can't wait for next Feb. 14th!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T07:38:00.000-08:00

I feeling especially excited on this day of love, so I thought I'd share a couple vintage illustrations from Humpty Dumpty's magazine over at my flickr! Well look at that - there's one of them above!

Crazy Cork Board Clean-Up Contest!

2009-02-05T14:52:00.000-08:00

Whilst cleaning up the ol' studio today of accumulated junk and eraser shavings I grabbed a handful of items attached to, or resting on top of, the cork board adjacent to my drafting table. So for my first official, honest-to-goodness-no-kidding-folks contest (valuable grand prize - your wasted time! That way everyone's a winner!... except your work or spouse, of course), see how many of these knick-knacks, do-dads, thingamajigs, and plain old pop-culture artifacts you can identify!

These not-so precious treasures date from the early 1970s to 2008, so educated guesses and made-up answers count!

I was going to stipulate that friends, employees, and family members of employees of Glen Mullaly.com...The Blog are ineligible to enter - but that would pretty much rule everyone out!

GOOD LUCK!

It's Him!

2009-02-03T17:18:00.001-08:00

GEORGE Him, to be precise! I'm sharing a few pages from the extra super swell "The Giant Alexander" 1964 children's book illustrated by Poland's George Him over at that there Flickr thingamabobbie right now, and thought you might like to know.

That is all.

You may now go about your daily business.

Scram, I tells ya!

Important Visitor!

2009-01-28T14:18:00.000-08:00

The recent announcement of the final travel plans, long rumored but finally set in stone, of a very important American visitor to Canada during the third week of February has things a' buzzing here at GlenMullaly.com World Headquarters.

This will be the first visit to the True North by this new face on the international scene who brings with them the promise of hope, change, and better cross-boarder relations. It has yet to be revealed what the topics to be covered during these high-level meetings will be, but I'm assured by someone in-the-know that they'll cover all the bases.

So here's wishing all the best to this historic Canada-U.S. summit, and to an only increasingly closer partnership between these two!

For the unromantic amongst you feel free to believe I was writing about this.

Batting 1,000!

2009-01-27T15:28:00.000-08:00

A quick note to thank all of my regular readers here at GlenMullaly.com...The Blog! I've just noticed that this month marks the first time my normal readership has surpassed 1,000 views in a single month. I've exceeded that mark once or twice in the past due to a big link like this or this, or even this. But January's numbers are in line with a slow but steady increase in readers to this humble blog that has pushed things over the 1 K mark.

So I wanted to take the time to say thanks.

Handy-Dandy Calendar!

2009-01-22T10:21:00.000-08:00

I know we're more than a week away from the start of next month (and only 23 days, not 31 as someone mistakenly mentioned, from the second Saturday!), but in an attempt to bring my rapacious readers money-saving and strictly practical items from time to time, I thought I'd be prepared and share with you this ever-so-useful 28 day calendar for the month of Solmonath (Anglo-Saxon for mud month), Kale-monath (A.S again, named for cabbage), Hornung (so-named by Charlemagne), or as we like to call it these days... February!

I can't quite figure out why this 1960 calendar from the pages of Humpty Dumpty's children's magazine seems to have been updated to be accurate for 2009, but I'm not one to argue! Click the image for the large size, print it out, and then be sure to use it for dentist appointments, scheduled car servicing, monthly smoke alarm testing, compost turnings or any other important events you can think of!

How I feel today!

2009-01-20T07:58:00.000-08:00

I'm not usually one to get all touchy-feely on this here visual venue, but I'm throwing convention to the wind and steaming full-speed ahead through this sea of mixed metaphors...

This is, as much as it's possible to portray the height of human emotion in two-dimensional form, a wonderfully illustrated representation that just hints at, nay only barely suggests, the overwhelming joy and unadulterated happiness I feel today. It's bursting out, I can't contain it, and so you my friends are just going to have to put up with it for a bit.

And it doesn't even have anything to do with that new guy in the White House this morning (although that's pretty cool too!).

Illustration detail by Elizabeth Browzowska from my most treasured childhood book:"The Boy Who Wouldn't Eat His Breakfast", Wonder Books 1963.

"Psst... Hey Mac!"

2009-01-18T15:43:00.000-08:00

"Wanna tip? I oyvaheard somewheres dat dat Mullaly rube has posted sum phedinkus photographs of hiz weirdo collection over at dat dere Flickr photy-graph sharing joint?"

"Why... no, my unusually-hued friend? Do you think it might interest an upstanding fellow such as myself to visit so unseemly a location as the internet?"

"Yeah, bud. Youse should really check it out poisinally, if youse gets my drift. Tell 'em "The Big H" sentcha..."

Growing Up Star Wars Grows Up!

2009-01-14T00:31:00.001-08:00

Well, after 7 months of plodding along at a steady rate, with an average of 50 new members a month and a nice number of wonderful contributions from said members - the Growing Up Star Wars 1977-1985 Flickr group started by Todd Franklin, myself, and originally, Mike Middleton, has decided to hit the big time!

From Time magazine's Tech and geek blog (written by longtime Simpsons writer Matt Selman!), to Flickr's official blog (viewed by umpteen zillion people a day), to feeder and aggregator destinations like MetalFilter, Digg and others - the bandwagon jumpin' on really has begun in the last few days. Longtime GUSW member Wil Wheaton wrote a nice entry on his wacky blog about our time-machine of a group that looks back at the first wave of Star Wars fans and their many different ways of enjoying and expressing their love for "That Space Movie", and many others seem to be following his Starfleet suit.

So if you're among the apparently very few who have yet to test the nostalgia-infused waters of this worthwhile time-waster please drop by for a how-do! We'd love to have you visit, and even more, we'd love to see YOU there!

New Know Again!

2009-01-13T06:59:00.000-08:00

Once again newsstands across Canada (and mailboxes of subscribers around the world) are unwittingly cluttered up with doodles à la Glen as the new issue of Canada's science mag for curious kids, Know magazine, hits the streets. This time it's a crazy cover and my regular tumultuous 2-page puzzle spread Know Fun, both featuring this issue's theme: small pets.

Below you'll find a cropped detail of one of the four puzzles from the current issue. As an extra special, behind-the-scenes, top secret added bonus this is an earlier, differently coloured look at this particular puzzle! For the real shebang you'll just have to plunk down a few hard earned shekels though. Whadda think this is - the library?!!!