Jim Nolan's Blog

Vase Cartoon by Isabella Bannerman

A classic Bannerman Sunday Six Chix 'toon. Click to enlarge and see how beautifully drawn it is. 

Tali Paul, Painter

My grandfather Bengt's twin sisters, Tali and Hedda, were both artists (as was his brother, Holger). They were raised in Berlin, and were the daughters of Adolf Paul, a Swedish playwright, and Natalie Brehmer Paul.

This week I received a note from someone who actually met Tali, Pia Clark. Pia's aunt and uncle were neighbors of Tali's in Lidingö, a suburb of Stockholm. They lived on Frimurarevägen. 

Pia sent me a portrait of her grandmother, Carolina Elizabeth Liljedahl, that Tali drew. Usually, her paintings are thick with oil, but this one had a lighter feeling and was similar to a portrait Tali did of my mother, Christa Paul. I think they are both excellent. Here they are:

Carolina Elizabeth Liljedahl

Christa Paul Nolan

I never met Tali, but I did meet Hedda, who painted my portrait in 1975 in Rappestad, a little village outside Linköping. 

I ask Pia if she knew anything about Tali, and she reported back:

"The place they lived is called Bosön. They lived on the hill right by the water. The house had been converted into three apartments. My Uncle and Aunt lived in one, my Aunt’s brother lived in one and Tali lived in the third one.

 

"I was born in Sweden and I remember going there for parties. The grounds were so nice and then there was the water. This is where my Grandmother met her and Tali wanted to draw her. 

 

"I talked to my cousin (in Sweden) who also remembered Tali. She had a moped that she always rode around on and wore a leather cap with ear flaps. When I said she was bohemian, it was to say she was a little strange (eccentric)."

 

My cousin Veronica has written that Tali did not want to part with her best paintings, and was thus often at a loss for money. Hedda learned to teach art, and made a good living. I believe she lived in Säffle, after leaving Berlin in the 1930s. Natalie, her mother, joined her there after the war. Adolf died in 1943. 

 

I will try and find a photo of Tali. And I'll post some more of her incredible artwork. Also Hedda's. 

 

Isabella Bannerman Eyelash Cartoon

Today's Six Chix cartoon by my wife, Isabella Bannerman. I love how it's drawn.

Sunday Isabella Bannerman Cartoon (plus bonus daily)

You can see more of Isabella's work here. 

Buffalo Forge Grill for Sale

Sometimes I get messages from folks wondering where they can buy a Buffalo Forge Grill, and other times asking how they can sell one and how much they're worth. Well, here is one that is for sale. Sure, it has some rust, but that is a given for these grills (including mine). Looks like it has its hubcaps, which isn't always the case. If you are handy at restoring, like my super-talented friends Adam Gibson or Howie Mook, it could end up looking  pretty great.

If you are interested, reach out to me and I will connect you to the seller (who lives in Orchard Park). 

Buffalo Bills AFL Stationary

Sent to me by my friend Harley Spiller. I didn't notice it right away, but the oval is a football. The Bills won AFL championships in 1964 and 1965, beating the San Diego Chargers both times. Lou Saban was the Bills' coach.

Sympathy for Gríma Wormtongue

It starts with his first name

In the J.R.R. Tolkien novels and Peter Jackson films of The Lord of the Rings, Gríma Wormtongue is portrayed as a devious, sniveling bad guy, with greasy dark hair and an all-around bad attitude.

By far, he’s my favorite character.

I find it easy to sympathize with him. Let’s start with his last name. It couldn’t have been easy growing up a Wormtongue. On the mailbox at the foot of the driveway, there’s a big “Wormtongue” written on the side. People ride their horses by it every day. I’m not sure it sets up a notion in visitors’ minds that this is a family to be trusted. “Let’s get Wormtongue’s thoughts on it,” is probably a question that never got asked. No wonder he went into the spy and betrayal business.

I can imagine the poor guy trying to mumble his name to folks he just met. “Wait, what did you say your last name was again?

You know he never went James Bond with it. “Wormtongue. Gríma Wormtongue.”

Also, the poor guy was in love with the beautiful Éowyn, the king’s niece. Unlike him, she had really nice hair, like she just stepped out of a L’Oréal shampoo commercial. In the unlikely case they did end up getting hitched, I’m guessing she would not have taken his last name. Éowyn Wormtongue. Nah.

In the movies, actor Brad Dourif plays poor Gríma. While he does an excellent job, you should know he’s the same actor who voices the serial-murderer doll Chucky in the “Child’s Play” movies. I mean, c’mon. Give the character a break.

I would have cast Tom Hanks in the role.

Gríma comes to a bad end in the books and movies. In the books, it’s hinted that he not only killed Lotho Sackville-Baggins, but may have eaten him for good measure. Well, we all make mistakes. Lotho’s nickname, by the way, was “Lotho Pimple.” So he had challenges of his own. In the luxury of hindsight, Gríma should have bonded with Lotho, rather than eaten him.

Gríma comes to a grisly end himself, getting killed by hobbit arrows after finally killing the evil wizard Saruman. In the movie version, he stabs Saruman with a knife in the tower Orthanc, only be be shot by the somewhat dim-witted elf Legolas. They’re all a little trigger-happy where Gríma is concerned.

I can only hope that he was eventually recognized as the hero he was for finally offing his tormentor and doing the denizens of Middle Earth a big favor. I hope they buried him in some leafy Shire spot with a handsome tombstone.

It would be nice if they left his last name off it.

Squirrels Gone Wild

Forgoing acorns, they bite the Big Apple. 

Photo by Caleb Martin on Unsplash

Squirrels have quickly gone from our country’s most unusual airline service animal to the biggest menace to society since murder hornets.

In the Queens, NY neighborhood of Rego Park, they have been attacking residents and, rudely, biting them. Even if these people had coated themselves in a mixture of suet and sunflower seeds, it’s unusual behavior for squirrels. Naturalists are baffled—even David Attenborough has wisely stayed above the fray. I thought I’d clear things up , based on a lifetime of backyard squirrel observation. Bird feeders have been my Gombe.

I have two theories. The first is a simple one, you’ve probably already come up with it yourself. These are New York City squirrels. They have an attitude. But these squirrels live in Queens, so they they have a big acorn on their shoulders.

Manhattan is the most glamorous borough, Brooklyn, the hippest, the Bronx, the toughest, and Staten Island is where the Wu-Tang Clan is from.

Queens, maybe because its many charms are frequently overlooked, has become the most pugnacious borough, in any of the 138 languages spoken there. Archie Bunker lived in Queens. As did our former president and current governor. Why should the squirrels behave differently from any of the other locals?

Also, Queens has the best food, and the squirrels are getting what, seeds? Seeds they have to scrounge from feeders meant for birds? What makes birds so special? Do they plant acorns that grow into mighty oaks? No. They sit in the oak trees and flit about. Hardly a constructive use of time. You think they thank the squirrels for their leafy habitat? Pffft.

I won’t even get into birds’ relaxed sanitary behavior, but it’s the reason many of us wear hats in the city.

Is there an Audubon Society for squirrels? I’m not aware of any popular rodent clubs. Or, for that matter, rodent watchers, except involuntarily in the subways. At least Pizza Rat got something good to eat.

It may be a better question to ask why the squirrels haven’t been acting like this previously. They have a lot of beefs.

In due time, they’ll probably chill out and constrain themselves to just insulting dogs from the safety of a high branch. This is what squirrels enjoy doing all over the country, and it’s not difficult to imagine that Queens squirrels have a special knack for it.

At least they’ll be using their words this time.

 

 

 

Wine Cartoon by Isabella Bannerman

Another great one by Isabella Bannerman (my wife) for Six Chix. I really love the handwriting and grapes and cheese illustrations. 

Today's Sunday Bannerman Six Chix cartoon

There's nothing charming about this prince.