Musical Monday with Minor Movement

Minor Movement is an American band that makes GREAT modern instrumental music. I doubt anyone will replace Mike Oldfield in my heart, nor as the god of modern instrumentals, but these guy come darn close! (The video didn't empress me.. but the music! Wow!)

I hope you enjoy today's selection as much as I did, and I hope you have a safe and enjoyable week.

On this Easter Sunday...

... the Easter Bunny is still trying to decide if it's safe to leave her hutch, what with the Coronavirus and Joe Biden abroad in the land!

Firearms Friday with Gin Wigmore

Ginnie's got a gun! Everybody run!

Gin Wigmore is a singer/songwriter from New Zealand who currently lives in the United States with her husband and daughter. For the past decade, she's been one of more interesting performers on the alternative rock scene, although nowhere in the world is she as popular as she is in her home country. She has a unique, raspy voice, and a musical sound that is at the intersection of blues, pop, and rock. 

Wigmore has been featured on Musical Mondays here at Shades of Gray, and she will be undoubtedly be back in the future.

Mort Drucker passes away at 91

The great cartoonist and caricaturist Mort Drucker died on April 9, 2020, at the age of 91. Although best known for his strips and cartoons in MAD Magazine, he also illustrated children's books, drew a couple coloring books, did cartoons for a host of publishers and purposes ranging from advertising to T-shits... and he even did some "serious" comic book artwork and covers along the way.

In honor of Drucker's great talent, and in memory of all the joy and amusement he brought to readers over the years, here's a small selection of cartoons that are especially relevant to the topics touched on here at Shades of Gray. (Click on the drawings to see larger versions.)

A man gets his due 'In the Witch's Home'

In the Witch's Home (aka "The Bachelor's Paradise") (1901)
Starring: Uncredited Actors
Director: Georges Méliès
Rating:  Seven of Ten Stars

A wealthy man pays a witch to create the perfect woman for him.

"In the Witch's Home" is another of pioneering filmmaker Georges Méliès trick-photography showcases. Unlike some of this other films, which are just about showing off special effects illusions, this one provides a plot along with the movie magic.

Story-wise, Méliès covered this same ground in 1900's "The Wizard, the Prince, and the Good Fairy", but, while the cinematic trickery in that one was focused on clothing transforming and characters appearing and disappearing in-frame, this one is built around a centerpiece of one woman turning into several, with a couple of very effective physical transformations thrown in at the end. This film is less chaotic in its execution than Méliès's previous similar effort, and the effects are also more convincing. Additionally, the ending to this one is more satisfying to 21st Century viewers.

You can watch "The Bachelor's Paradise" right here, embedded below via YouTube.

Easter is coming...

Elke Sommers and the Easter Bunny have been discussing how to ensure an equitable distribution of eggs this year. We look forward to seeing their plan put into action.

Meanwhile, we want to remind everyone that this is also the time of year when the Mitzi Gaynors hatch. Be on the lookout for this natural wonder that's rarely witnessed by human eyes!

Honor Blackman passes away

British actress and author Honor Blackman, best known for her roles as Cathy Gale on the first two seasons of "The Avengers" and Pussy Galore in "Goldfinger", passed away on April 6, 2020, at the age of 94.

Born on August 22, 1925, Blackman began her screen career in 1947, first appearing in historical dramas, but quickly transitioning into mysteries, spy thrillers, and action/adventure pictures. Recognized as one of TV's original ass-kicking women, and an icon of feminism during the 1960s, Blackman purposefully avoided roles that would turn her into a "sex symbol". She stated in interviews that she'd rather play the secretary than the vamp, and that she never viewed herself as particularly sexy.

Blackman's career spanned eight decades and almost every film genre in addition to the action/adventure roles she is best know for--with "Jason and the Argonauts" (1963) and "Cockneys vs. Zombies (2012) being perhaps the most extreme detours for her.

Here's a small gallery of pictures in her memory.

Musical Monday Bonus with Chris Mann

Comedian Chris Mann has done a parody version of "Vogue" to remind us all to be Social Distancing during this global pandemic AND offer some suggestions as to what we can spend our time on! Enjoy... and stay home!

Musical Monday with Fever Ray

Everything from the name of the performer, to the subject of the song, to the scenery in the video seems a reflection of the events currently unfolding around the world. We hope all visitors to Shades of Gray are keeping themselves healthy and safe!



Fever Ray is the stage name of Swedish singer/songwriter Karin Dreijer. She adopted the name Fever Ray when she launched her solo career in 2009, and has performed under it (and released four albums) in the decade since. Or maybe she just did one album solo ("Fever Ray" in 2009, and every thing else has been with her brother as The Knife. I can't tell because this Wikipedia page is such a mess because of the stupid notion that there's no difference between plural and singular pronouns.)

Tom & Jerry destroy the fourth wall

Pencil Mania (1932)

Starring: Margie Hines (various voices)

Directors: John Foster and Geo. Stallings

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

To Tom's amazement (and annoyance), Jerry uses a pencil to alter the reality of their cartoon universe in extreme ways.

"Pencil Mania" starts with Tom painting a portrait of a dancing cow, which is really not that strange an activity for a character who's flirted with mermaids at the bottom of the ocean. It's when Jerry pulls out a pencil and starts creating animations within the animated world, dispelling the 3D illusion of the animated world and revealing it's just flat lines moving at 32 frames a second.

This is one of those films that really needs to be experienced cold, and I can only spoil it by saying too much. In fact, the moment I chose to illustrate this post is a bit of a spoiler in itself--but it's milder than some of the things that precede it.

While an animated character breaking the fourth wall by taking advantage of the fact he exists in a two dimensional world where lines are put down to create an illusion of depth--Felix the Cat did it on a regular basis during the second half of the 1920s-- the extremes to which this idea is taken in "Pencil Mania" keep compounding until the film's finale where the fourth wall isn't just broken, it's completely demolished and the fragments are ground to dust and scattered on the four winds.

"Pencil Mania" is a wild and unpredictable ride from beginning to end. If you enjoy cartoons from the early sound era, surreal humor, or are just in the mood for something a strange and funny, you won't regret watching it from this very post, right here and now.