Oodles Of Doodles CCCXXXIX

When I first spotted the doodle above, I thought perhaps it had sprung from the pen of Dr. Seuss. Just look at those fish! But I sorta doubt that Dr. Seuss would have been doing doodles for RCA in 1958. The back of the album is no help in the matter, I'm afraid. Sometimes a doodle is bound to remain a mystery forever. This art springs from the back of The Trembling Of A Leaf And The Sounds Of The Sea by Ray Hartley, Piano, with David Terry And His Orchestra (RCA Victor LSP-1659, 1958). Whoever the artist is, he came up with a doodle that matches the title of the album. Not very many doodles have anything to do with the LP they decorate. Now, just step back and imagine those fish in red and blue, and one and two...

Not Flying In Circles

Several weeks ago, I went to Airfest 2008 at Macdill Air Force Base. I've been reticent in posting any pictures from that event, but I stumbled across one today that I thought was worth sharing. The photo above shows a WWII B-25 bomber flying by, in what must have been a common sight on the back in the day, but it's not something you see much of anymore. What makes this photo a little unique and worth sharing is the fact that the prop on the right side of the plane (to your left) is not blurry. It's in as good a focus as the rest of the picture. Look close and you'll see that the left prop is blurred by it's motion (the blade tips are moving at close to the speed of sound). What's going on here? Well, as the pilot made this particular pass, the RH engine was shut off. If you look really, really close, you can also see that the blades on the prop have been feathered so that they point into the oncoming air. This lowers the wind resistance and keeps the engine from being forced to turn over. I always figured the plane would be impossible to control with an engine on only one side, but I guess I was wrong. Learn something new every day. Check the photo below for the same plane on a different pass, and you can see that the prop is again in motion after he restarted that engine.

The Results Are In

Big congratulations go out to Christine Desiree and her sculpture Pulse for taking second place in the public voting during Sarasota Season Of Sculpture 4! The voting took place online in Arts And Culture magazine, and the results were announced at a swanky outdoor soiree last Tuesday evening. Christine was given a copy of the above picture, printed out on fancy canvas so that it looked like a million bucks. Unbeknownst to me until the presentation, they used one of my pictures on the award! So not only did I help to fabricate the piece for Christine, I got one of my pictures on the award (and in the official program!)! The organizers of SSoS4 were nice enough to give me a copy of the award as well, which I intend to have framed and hung on the wall at work to show off to visitors. It's pretty cool to be involved in something like this, a guy could get used to it. Many thanks to Toby Thompson for sending me the electronic version of the picture you see above. He's the fellow that did the awesome layout work on the award, as well as the program. (He sent me at least one more little something that I hope to share with you sometime soon.) Double big thanks to Christine (and Brian) for letting me be a part of your art. Oh, and Jill, for keeping me in the loop and plenty of nagging about sending over the pictures.

Oodles Of Doodles CCCXXXVIII

What doodle have I got for you tonight? How about another great picture by the great Mozelle Thompson? The style is almost unmistakable at this point, I've seen so many of them. As soon as I picked this LP up and turned it over, I knew who it was. The LP in question is The Voices Of Walter Schumann-When We Were Young (RCA Victor LPM-1477, 1959). This doodle takes up over 2/3 of the back cover, so the graphic designers at RCA knew what they had on their hands. Art like this can't be confined to some out-of-the-way corner of a back cover. I recently got a comment from a grand-nephew of Mr. Thompson's, but I'm afraid he didn't know much more about him than I do. Someday we'll get the right visitor around here, and they'll spill the beans on the story behind this great illustrator. I think Mozelle is now the most frequently blogged doodle artist around these parts. Follow these links for all the other times he's been displayed around these parts. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and one maybe.

Oodles Of Doodles CCCXXXVII

I figured since my last doodle featured a microphone, I may as well follow it up with another doodle featuring a microphone. This one is a little more elaborate, offering a glimpse inside a recording studio, perhaps the very studio in which this record was recorded. And what record would that be? Why, it's George Siravo And His Orchestra-Swingin' Stereo In Studio A (RCA Victor LSP-1970, 1959). If you're curious as to what the vinyl inside the sleeve sounds like, you can download a copy of the mono version of this LP, entitled Swingin' Hi-Fi In Studio A, over at The Vinyl Lounge Hut. Enjoy!

Oodles Of Doodles CCCXXXVI

Short and simple. Well, actually quite long, but you get the idea. This microphone comes from the back of The Mills Brothers-Singin' And Swingin' (Decca DL 8209). I really should listen to this one, it looks like it could be quite good. But it's pretty beat, so I don't know if listening to it would be a very rewarding experience.

Oodles Of Doodles CCCXXXV

I'm doing my best to get on a roll here and throw up a bunch of doodles while I'm in the mood. I think finding this one is the reason why I got in the mood to post some of these again. Isn't this just a great little piece of art? These happy drummers hail from the flipside of Steel Drums (HiFi R817, 1959), credited on the label as 'Live Recording of Native Steel Drum Group'. I can't say much for their record keeping or cultural sensitivity, but at least they gave us a great doodle. And if you look close, you'll see the name of a great doodle artist at the base of the palm tree at far right. F. (Frank) Page is a name that has popped up here many times (1, 2, 3), and it always brings a great doodle with it. I think this is the first time it's shown up on this label, previously showing up on Capitol and Dot. Oh, the sun below is actually from up above the scene below, but I wanted you to see the funky drummers first. Sorry if I confused anybody.

Curious little side note for anyone who cares. This LP is marked with a red rubber stamp on the back that states: "Specially recorded in Trinidad for AREYTO Record Shops", and the right side of the stamp is some sort of Aztec or Mayan-looking mask. Does that mean anything to anybody?

Oodles Of Doodles CCCXXXIV

As the boys from Led Zeppelin said, It's been a long time. But I'm back with a new doodle or three, my first since February. Just because I haven't been posting them doesn't mean I haven't been collecting them though. There are dozens and dozens of records around here that have great doodles, and I want to share them all with you eventually. Good things take time. The three doodles here for you today are all from the back of Les Baxter-Baxter's Best (Capitol T1388), a collection of tracks from the Godfather of exotica. Looks like I previously featured a doodle from a Les Baxter LP here. I've posted so many of these things now that I have a hard time remembering what I have and haven't posted. I've got to use the search feature to see what I've already done.