A word of caution

 Dancers are very territorial. If you come upon a dance-off for dominance, make no sudden moves, but back away slowly and in as non-graceful a fashion as possible. Also, be sure to walk without rhythm.

Come stand in the Culture Corner!

 Shades of Gray now proudly presents another installment of Culture Corner, with insight from Coucher K. Conk, our Queen Old Coot in recidence. We hope this will bridge the ever-widening gap between the Boomers and Millennials, and Zoomers. (Generation X, as usual, doesn't give a shit.)

Click on the cartoon for a larger, more readable version.

Musical Monday with Tove Styrke

Swedish singer/songwriter Tove Styrke has been performing her peppy, poppy (although sometimes a little dark and creepy), 1980s-flavored, synth-infused pop music since she was in her teens. Her rise to fame began with a third-place finish on "Swedish Idol" and she's been climbing upwards ever since.

Since the video for her 2011 single "High and Low" is in black-and-white, we are able to bring you a sample of her music that is set to some very interesting visuals.

It's a Fanny Friday...

 ... and it's the last day of summer!

Checking out a Moon Girl

We've once again trained our powerful, specially constructed telescope upon the Moon... and as we watched a lounging Moon Girl, we noticed that she was watching us right back! Who can say what this development will bring?!

It's Talk Like a Pirate Day!

 This is our annual post in observance of Talk Like a Pirate Day. This year is a special one, because it's the tenth anniversary of NUELOW Games NOT getting its long-planned follow up to ROLF: Pirates vs. Fairies. To mark the occasion, here's the character who may some day star in something. Maybe. We hope...

Meet Captain Kidd (Kandy Kidd), as given form by artist North Stuart.

Musical Monday with Zeinapur

Zeinapur is a musical duo that delivers pop music with an alternative edge and an almost operatic quality at times. And then there's the excellent guitar work. In this video for their 2021 single "Miracle", they also demonstrate this blog's unifying theme.

It's the Sunday Comics Section!

Sal Trapani had a career in illustration and comic book art that stretched across four decades--beginning in the late 1940s and concluding with his retirement in the late 1980s. He is best remembered for his prolific contributions as a finisher and an inker for Charlton and Marvel, but during the 1950s, he penciled numerous short comics, and even wrote a few.

Today, we offer up a near-wordless thriller with story and pencils by Sal Trapini that is very appropriately named. (Click on any page for a larger, more easily viewed version.)

It's a Fanny Friday!

 

Claudette Colbert was born 120 years ago today

We're celebrating 120 years since the birth of the versatile star of screen and stage, Claudette Colbert with a small gallery of photos!

 

Claudette Colbert was born in France on September 13, 1903. She immigrated with her parents to the United States in 1906, and young Claudette grew up in New York City with dreams of becoming a star on Broadway. When the Great Depression hit, and all but shut down stage productions, young Claudette decided to take a shot at the evolving and increasingly popular field of movies. Her first known film appearance took place in 1927.

 

After a rocky start in the film biz--that involved unhappy experiences and a commercial failure or two--she rocketed to movie fame and immortality in the mid-1930s with "In Happened One Night" and "Cleopatra" (both released in 1934. Her popularity with the movie going audiences never waned, and they followed her to television after she traded the big screen for the small one beginning in the early 1950s.

 
 
 

Claudette Colbert appeared in some 80 films and television shows of almost every genre between her screen debut in 1927 and her retirement from acting in 1987. Over those six decades, she also attempted to fulfill her childhood dreams of Broadway stardom, but she never managed to capture the hearts of theatre-goers to the degree she did those of filmlovers. She remained a radiant and charming presence right up until she passed away following a series of strokes in 1996.