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Virgil Riley Runnels will be forever remembered as one of the most influential people in professional wrestling history. His 40-year career will be remembered long after even all of us reading this are gone.

But you probably knew all that. After all, you probably know of Dusty's career or at least are getting some familiarity with it with the many tributes. So this guide is mainly for newer fans or fans that like the obscure wrestling fact or three. So with that, here are ten things you may not know about the "son of a plumber".

1. Dusty was an executive producer for Jim Crockett Promotions... and was actually credited as such. But not as Dusty Rhodes--as his real name, Virgil Runnels, as to not let fans know he actually had a hand in backstage matters. Speaking of which... (photo via annoyedcritic.com)

2. It was Dusty that came up with most of WCW's PPV names and gimmicks. Most notably, he's the brainchild of the War Games, BattleBowl, and Lethal Lottery names. He also was notorious for "the Dusty finish", a finish where a challenger to a heel champion claims victory for the title, only for said title to be ripped from him on a post-match reverse decision. There was such a Dusty finish not too long ago when Dean Ambrose was thought to have won the WWE Championship from Seth Rollins, only to be declared the winner by disqualification by another referee. (photo via wwe.com)

3. Dusty Rhodes, like his son Dustin, was fired from WCW for bleeding. In late 1988, Turner instituted a no-blood policy for their wrestling programming. It didn't take long for that policy to be tested. At Starrcade, Rhodes was busted open by a spike by Road Warrior Animal. Though Dusty was the one to bleed, the angle was his idea, and he was the one reprimanded. Seven years later, his son Dustin was fired for blading in a "King of the Road" match against Blacktop Bully. (photo via wwe.com)

4. Dusty's full-time wrestling career ended in the WWF. Dusty's final wrestling days were for the WWF, where he wore polka dots. Designed to be a humiliating gimmick, Dusty of course made the most of it, having a pair of high profile feuds: Randy Savage and Ted DiBiase; the latter feud introduced Dusty's sun Dustin into the national spotlight. The two left the company in 1991 and Rhodes retired from full-time competition. (photo via ign.com)

5. It was Dusty's PWF Heavyweight Championship belt that was used in an emergency for the 1991 Great American Bash. One of the biggest myths in pro wrestling was that it was an old Western States Heritage Championship used for the temporary world title belt at the event when Ric Flair quit the company... and took the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt and the Big Gold Belt with him. It was basically thrown together at the last minute and... well, it looks it, doesn't it? (photo via prowrestling.wikia.com)

6. Dusty Rhodes was a member of the nWo. Hell, who wasn't around this time? Rhodes' second run in WCW ended with the "American Dream" turning on the very tradition he spoke of often on their programming and siding with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. Dusty in an nWo shirt? That's... that's just wrong. (photo via wwe.com)

7. Dusty Rhodes was in ECW too. And if you think nWo Dusty was wrong, how about ECW Dusty? Yeah. That happened. He briefly managed-- then feuded with then-ECW world champion and "King of Old School" Steve Corino. Here's a bonus DYK: It was Dusty's brief run in ECW that got him in a wrestling video game for the very first time: ECW Hardcore Revolution in 2000. (gif via ecwontnn.tumblr.com)

8. Dusty ran his own promotion for three years. It was Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling, based out of Marietta, Georgia, but also running the Atlanta area and parts of the South, including Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia, and Florida. Many WCW washouts landed here, including Disco Inferno, Glacier, Lodi, and Scotty Riggs. They also employed Public Enemy, ECW's Tajiri, Super Crazy, Steve Corini, and CW Anderson, and of course, Dusty's son Dustin.

9. Dusty had four WWE Hall of Fame inductions. In 2008, he inducted his late mentor Eddie Graham. The next year, he inducted the Funk brothers (Terry and Dory, Jr.). In 2011, he inducted another of his old rivals the Road Warriors. Finally, in 2012, he inducted the Four Horsemen. And speaking of the Hall of Fame.... (photo via wwe.com)

10. He's one of six men to be inducted in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE, WCW, and Professional Wrestling Halls of Fame. The others: Verne Gagne, Harley Race, Antonio Inoki, Gordon Solie, and Terry Funk. (photo via wwe.com)

Hopefully you know see the awesomeness that was "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes. Feel free to drop your own bit of awesomeness/knowledge about him down below. Rest in peace, Dream. You truly are dining with kings and queens.

Charmander S'more GIF

I was lucky and privileged enough to be in Dusty's presence twice in a professional capacity. The second produced the single greatest night of my career in the industry, and the man's brilliance and generosity is what I remember most. On this day, rather than mourn, I sit in awe and think of what he gave to all of us.

It’s funny sometimes what you remember about your life and often, the timeliness of those snapshots into the past. On Monday night, just three days ago, I was asked what the coolest moment was of my wrestling career. Without hesitation, I started talking about Dusty Rhodes. While this brief story won’t match up to many you’ll read this week from names you recognize and stars that entertain you every week, it was the first thing I thought of after reading the news that one of my childhood heroes had passed away.

Don’t ask me the date, don’t ask me everybody that was in the match, don’t ask me the order of entry, and don’t ask me what color necktie I was wearing on that Saturday night. But, until the day I die, I can say the following statement: I sat next to Dusty Rhodes and announced a Wargames match. Everything else I’ve done, big or small, doesn’t leave me with the same kind of vivid pictures in my head or the immediate smile that always comes from that singular memory.

Wargames was Dusty’s baby as a wrestling mind. Simply to do it in the state of Georgia at one of the most important national Independent promotions was something special. The first time I met Dusty was in passing at Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling. I was introduced to this giant and tried to do my best to stay professional and respectful while looking at the guy who was largely responsible for the NWA and WCW wrestling I grew up on in North Carolina and Virginia. I loved this man. I was blown away just being in his presence. He was cordial, even though the meeting was so brief, it might as well have been a handshake.

Years later, but still in the early portion of the previous decade, NWA Wildside, now known as Anarchy, was preparing for its annual Freedom Fight big show. I hadn’t burned my bridge by running my mouth long before I had any right to have a voice at this point, so I was doing interstitial ring announce work for the evening. It was in the first six months of my stint in Cornelia and I had heard Dusty would be attending. Knowing that we were doing a Wargames, not the first in that building, but just doing that classic, one of a kind gimmick match that had disappeared along with WCW’s demise, was a quiet mark-out moment for everybody. But, for the architect to show up to see it and be a part of the festivities was something altogether different.

For me, a green announcer, still learning the intricacies of television and cameras and production work, it was an emotional and overwhelming night. The interstitial gig entailed announced the winners, the time limits, and kept fans abreast of whatever might be happening once the opening bell rang. For Wargames, it involved countdowns and coin flips and multiple names and all sorts of added responsibilities. In addition, I wore an earpiece and was the liaison between the gorilla position and the referee. I signaled when it was time to take a match home, to switch an angle to meet the hard cam, for changes in the story, and anything else that might arise that I took note of that would benefit the product. On this night, though, I’m lucky I could speak at all.

Dusty came out and cut a quick promo talking about the history of Wargames and then left the ring to thunderous applause and came down and sat next to me. Holy cow, did the American Dream just take a seat directly to my left? Wait a second, is he talking to me? The answer to both questions was yes, and more than just talk to me, he gave me a free education for the rest of the night.

Our position was close to the fans, probably five to eight feet away from the marks. Dusty started talking in a much thicker accent than he had been in the back, when his voice was lower and a bit more gruff. Was this man kayfabing me? If so, it might be the coolest thing ever, was the dumbass thought I had in my head. Rhodes wasn’t kayfabing me, but he knew what I had overlooked: People can hear us. They’re listening to us. I sat in that chair and talked to other production personnel for months and didn’t realize that I might have been giving away finishes or key moments in big matches. Dusty Rhodes, in character, leaned over and told me, "We gotta work em. They got ears."

So for the remainder of the Wargames, which featured a gentleman many of you might now know as Abyss, but at the time he was known as Justice, Dusty and I talked like fans. Justice came off the top of the cage with a leg drop and Dusty sold it from the floor, delivering a bit of a shoulder to me as his eyes popped out to sell the impact. During the match, Rhodes talked about who might win and who was impressing him, but did it as a character who believed in the reality of what he was seeing. I played along. Late in the match, my roommate at the time escaped the cage and got in Dusty’s face. He ate the bionic elbow right there on the rampway and would later tell me many times it was the greatest moment of his wrestling career, which included major work in Puerto Rico and time with TNA.

Dusty gave me a wink after the elbow, then the show ended. In the back, Dusty became Virgil and laid out why Wargames works so well and how it should always be booked and how important my countdowns were to get the fans off their chairs and what it took to make that concept a knockout. Again, this wasn’t an hour of learning, maybe five or six minutes at most, but I was nobody. Dusty Rhodes treated me like I belonged and he let me into his club. I hadn’t found my footing in any way and had gone through a little tough love and "welcome to the business kid" stuff from some of the veterans. Dusty Rhodes reaffirmed my decision to get into professional wrestling and reminded me, unknowingly, that I had something to offer as long as I wasn’t afraid to learn and challenge myself.

I would never meet Dusty Rhodes again in person. When I visited the WWE Performance Center in February, he wasn’t in the building, but Bill DeMott showed me his office. As we walked in, he turned around with a huge grin and said, "I still can’t believe we’re actually in Dusty’s office. This is where all his ideas come from." When I stepped into the room, take a guess as to what pictures flooded into my mind as if I had lived them the week before, not the decade before that trip.

You see, there’s something about a man like Dusty Rhodes. He did it all, and he did it well. His shortcomings couldn’t hold him back. He was one of the great talkers of all-time. He turned into a passionate announcer. As a wrestler, he could blow up guys half his size and drew incredible money in Florida and certainly for Jim Crockett. His sons are both highly respectful of the business and believe in its sanctity. Whatever mistakes he made in his life, it’s undeniable that his contributions to professional wrestling are among the most important and lasting of all-time. He has touched so many people throughout his career and almost all of them ended up better for it.

And, for this lowly, nervous announcer, what he did for me that night would end up leading to me commentating, booking, heading up creative, managing, becoming a heel character, and talking all the time. Had he not been so pleasant, accommodating, and eager to teach on that Saturday, I might have left Georgia and tried my hand somewhere smaller. I would have missed out on some special stuff, but in the end, the best day of my career, which would last seven more years, was a warm night in a barn in Cornelia where the American Dream…took me to school.

Love you Dream, and thank you for everything. You’re now at peace, but I know somehow you’re booking the Saints in an elimination cage match.

Thanks for letting me tell my story, adding to the astonishing volumes you’ll read over the next few days about just how this mountain of a man changed lives and fortunes for decades. From the son of a plumber to one of the fathers to this generation of wrestling.

Rather than wallow in sorrow, let’s remember Dusty for the wide eyes and the sheer passion of the promos and the elbow and the never-ending admiration and adoration for the business he changed forever.

Today, it’s not "Goodbye Dream."

We were so blessed to have you in our lives, from the most casual of fans to the hardest core mark to the ring announcer to the commentator to the curtain jerker to the midcarder to the main eventer to the promoter to the angel to the writer to the owner. You taught us all so much. You gave us all so much. You leave us with more than we can repay, but in many respects, you’re the reason we’re wrestling fans. We will never forget you. How could we?

Close your eyes big man. It's time to rest, and finally put the pencil down.

My thoughts and prayers are firmly with his family and loved ones. Today, all the spite and the negativity of wrestling opinions melts away. Today we're one. We just lost Dusty Rhodes.

Today, and forever more, it's "Thank you Dream."

If you were to drive into Hawkins, Texas, you’ll be greeted by this 18-foot-wide sign saying “JESUS welcomes you to Hawkins”:

For some reason, this sign has been around since 2011, when Mayor Will Rogers requested that it be put up. But now that the Freedom From Religion Foundation is pointing out its illegality, we’re starting to hear the ridiculous arguments for why it should remain up:

Hawkins mayor Will Rogers said the city doesn’t have the money to battle FFRF in court, but he thinks it is a fight the city would win.

“That’s not a church, we’re not welcoming you to a particular church, that sign says ‘Jesus welcomes you,’” explained Rogers. “[Jesus is] the most googled and most popular man in the world.”

So…?

Given the popularity of the name Muhammad, why not just say “Muhammad welcomes you to Hawkins”?

Rogers said in response that it’s not about religion.

“To me and many others, Jesus is not a religion, Jesus is in every religion across the globe,” Rogers said. “He’s in Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism. He represents love and kindness.”

Mr. Rogers is all about love and kindness.

Jesus is all about religion. To say he’s not makes as much sense as Christians trying to argue a cross has nothing to do with their faith. It’s silly because it’s so damn obvious to any casual observer.

The Hawkins City Council says it’ll decide how to handle the sign at its next meeting.

Here’s a tip: Just hand it over it to a local church and move on to actual business.

(Thanks to Randy for the link)

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling was one of many celebrating Ireland’s historic vote to legalize same sex weddings last month. One of her tweets in particular, proposing a wedding between Dumbledore and Gandalf in Ireland, caught the eye of the Westboro Baptist Church. Keen to demonstrate their brilliant sense of humor, Westboro tweeted back an image replete with their typically vitriolic language, and a threat to protest such a wedding if ever it occurred.

So how do you respond to such a hate-filled attempt at humor?

You out-troll them, obviously.

At least, that was the solution that Planting Peace (a progressive non-profit group) came up with this past weekend, when they staged a wedding of the two wizards at the Equality House — the rainbow-colored house right across from Westboro Baptist.

According to Huffington Post,

As promised, the two fictional characters, played by hired actors, wed one another on Sunday, June 7 at the Equality House, which is painted the colors of the rainbow flag and regularly holds fundraisers to support the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

The event was organized by Planting Peace in “order to raise money to counter the hateful messages of the Westboro Baptist Church.” And organizers seem to have had a lot of fun with the project — as well as making some solid, sensible choices like with their selection of ring bearer (Frodo, obviously).

There’s no word whether the ring exchange involved Rings of Power, or rings of the more ordinary type. Still, by all accounts, everyone had a magical time watching the wizards’ wedding — except for the Westboro Baptist folks, who mostly sat the event out.

Despite threats of picketing the nuptial and even revving a van engine during vows, no Westboro Baptist Church member made herself or himself visible throughout the day. Apart from adding a few more picket signs than typical to their repertoire, the group stuck to Twitter and kept their voices from being audible by those partaking in the wizard matrimony.

Equality House seems to have found the perfect response to WBC’s trolling — better trolling. And it had the happy effect of quieting Westboro for a bit.

I guess miracles do happen!

Atena Farghadani is a 28-year-old Iranian artist. She was recently sentenced to 12 years and 9 months in prison for drawing a cartoon.

This cartoon, that she posted on her Facebook page last year, depicts members of the Iranian parliament as animals. It was drawn in protest of new legislature in Iran that will restrict access to contraception and criminalise voluntary sterilisation. Atena’s charges include ‘spreading propaganda against the system’ and ‘insulting members of parliament through paintings’.

Last August, 12 members of the elite Revolutionary Guard came to Atena’s house, blindfolded her and took her to the infamous Evin Prison in Tehran. According to Amnesty International:

“While in prison last year, Atena flattened paper cups to use them as a surface to paint on. When the prison guards realised what she had been doing, they confiscated her paintings and stopped giving her paper cups. When Atena found some cups in the bathroom, she smuggled them into her cell. Soon after, she was beaten by prison guards, when she refused to strip naked for a full body search. Atena says that they knew about her taking the cups because they had installed cameras in the toilet and bathroom facilities – cameras detainees had been told were not operating.”

She was released in November and gave media interviews and posted a video on YouTube detailing her beatings, constant interrogations and humiliating body searches. She was then rearrested possibly in retaliation for speaking out and has been imprisoned ever since. In January, Atena went on a hunger strike to protest the horrible prison conditions. Her health suffered dramatically, and after losing consciousness and suffering a heart attack in February, she was forced to eat again.

The quote used in the comic is taken from the speech Atena gave at her trial. It has been translated into English by the Free Atena Facebook page. You can read the whole thing here.

Time is now against her, she has just two weeks to lodge an appeal. Michael Cavna, comic journalist for The Washington Post, has launched a campaign appealing to artists to help bring awareness to Atena’s case by creating their own artwork in support of Atena and using the hashtag #Draw4Atena. Can a bunch of artists and a hashtag really make a difference and put pressure on the Iranian Government to release Atena? Probably not. But just remember that Atena is currently in prison enduring horrible conditions, and if her appeal isn’t successful, she will be there for another twelve years. FOR DRAWING A CARTOON AND POSTING IT ON FACEBOOK. Don’t we owe it to her to at least try?

RELATED COMICS: Malala Yousafzai. Sophie Scholl. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Cody and Dustin Runnels lost their father today. Hundred of pro wrestling folk lost a beloved friend, colleague and mentor.

Compared to that, it seems strange to be heartbroken by the death of a man most of us never met. But as Dusty Rhodes, Virgil Runnels touched our lives. Even if you weren't alive, or a fan when he cut the above promo - one of the greatest in the history of the art form we call pro wrestling - The American Dream has entertained and moved you because someone he taught or influenced did.

His 1985 interview on Jim Crockett Promotion's Mid-Atlantic Wrestling will get a lot of play in the days to come, and deservedly so. But drop down the YouTube wormhole, use that search feature on WWE Network, see what your fellow fans...

This picture just hit our inbox not too long ago! Posted by a Facebook page for a group called JPosters which deals with graphics for TV and cinema it's possible this might be the first of many MLP movie posters to come.

As pointed out by Cole this was shown at LicensingExpo2015 so pretty legit I'd say.

Thanks to Cole for sending it in as well!

Source

submitted by JamesNotaBot [link] [6 comments]

Franklin Graham, the man who took his father’s legacy and used it to hurt people he deemed unworthy of his God’s love, went on Facebook to urge Christians to boycott LGBT-friendly companies.

Have you ever asked yourself–how can we fight the tide of moral decay that is being crammed down our throats by big business, the media, and the gay & lesbian community? Every day it is something else! Tiffany’s started advertising wedding rings for gay couples. Wells Fargo bank is using a same-sex couple in their advertising. And there are more. But it has dawned on me that we don’t have to do business with them. At the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, we are moving our accounts from Wells Fargo to another bank. And guess what — we don’t have to shop at Tiffany & Co., there are plenty of other jewelry stores. This is one way we as Christians can speak out — we have the power of choice. Let’s just stop doing business with those who promote sin and stand against Almighty God’s laws and His standards. Maybe if enough of us do this, it will get their attention. Share this if you agree.

(I would just like to note how I’m completely sidestepping the whole “crammed down our throats” line. Because I’m better than that.)

If you’re a Christian and you don’t want to shop at places that honor LGBT equality, what are you left with? A couple of mom-and-pop bakeries?

Even Chick-fil-A says on its website that they’re:

an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in employment decisions based on any factor protected by federal, state or local law.

So if the law says you can’t discriminate against people on the basis of sexual orientation, this Christian company may very well hire you. It’s not great — it’s like paying employees minimum wage because you can’t pay them any less — but they’re hardly telling their openly gay customers they’re not interested in serving them.

But that’s not what Graham means. He seems to be opposed to companies that try to reach out specifically to LGBT customers… or admit that they exist, in the case of Wells Fargo.

Got it.

At some point, though, these companies have to make a profit to stay in existence. If they directly oppose LGBT rights, people won’t go there. Not just gay people, either. There’s a huge pool of customers that will buy from those companies that support LGBT rights. This is eventually an economic issue for them as much as they think it’s a moral one. It’s just smart business to reach out to the widest audience out there. To pretend like gay couples don’t exist or don’t need your services — which is what Graham wants them to do — is just plain dumb.

Eliel Cruz points out another irony at Religion News Service:

The irony of Graham posting this on Facebook is apparently lost on him. Facebook is vehemently pro-LGBT and Graham’s post, which has been shared almost 40,000 times, creates revenue for the social media platform.

For Graham to honor his own request, he’d have to abstain from iPhones and remove the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association app from Apple’s iTunes store, avoid using computers with Windows on them, and pull his books from Amazon. All of those companies are openly supportive of LGBT equality.

No word yet on where he plans to keep his money, since most larger banks also support civil rights.

Oh. Hey, Franklin. You know that FitBit you love so much?

The company’s headquarters are in San Francisco. How much you want to bet they support LGBT rights, too?

Can’t wait to see a picture of you throwing out your health tracker.

“Ball” is a lot easier to say than its French counterpart “ballon”… this translation is the best I could do!

telesilla:

awesome-picz:

Cats That Need Your Attention The Exact Moment You Start Reading  

Cats Against Literacy

Mark Twain boasted both that “I was the first person in the world that ever had a telephone in his house” and that “I was the first person in the world to apply the type-machine to literature.” The latter may be true — Twain began experimenting with a Remington No. 2 typewriter in 1874. He reckoned that the book must have been Tom Sawyer; in fact it was probably Life on the Mississippi.

Other writers have been slower to adopt new technology. “This is a nervous letter,” wrote Flannery O’Connor to Cecil Dawkins in 1959. “I am congratulating you on the electric typewriter. It is very nice but I am not used to it yet. I keep thinking about all the electricity that is being wasted while I think what I am going to say next.”

Please support Futility Closet on Patreon!

The video below, part of The Atheist Voice series, explains why Heaven wouldn’t be that great.

A rough transcript of the video can be found on the YouTube page in the “About” section.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on the project — more videos will be posted soon — and we’d also appreciate your suggestions as to which questions we ought to tackle next!

And if you like what you’re seeing, please consider supporting this site on Patreon.

Standalone sculpts are amazing by themselves, but when you put extra work into the environment that sculpt is in it can make for an amazing overall piece! Not only is the quality of Fausticorn superb, but the little production sketches to the posters on the wall really add a lot of charm to the piece.

Excellent work Daisymane!

As always for new episodes, we have more fourteen dollar shirts appearing. And once again, teepublic is the place for them. Imagine that! Have some links:

Filly Dash and Gilda
You're The most Basic of Jokes 
Got Bits?

Thanks to Micheal, Andrew, and everyone else for the heads up. 

It's not officially summer quite yet, but the recent temperatures here in New York say otherwise. I decided to take advantage of the early days of strawberry season and cool off with an icy strawberry lassi.

A lassi is a traditional Punjabi drink made with yogurt. The most traditional forms are salty, rather than sweet, and are believed to aid digestion. Sweet lassis often feature mango, sometimes with rosewater. Instead, I whipped up this light and refreshing strawberry lassi to provide some relief on these hot pre-summer days.

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Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) was a Mexican painter. Unlike the figure from my previous comic, the stoic Marcus Aurelius, Frida was the exact opposite. Her life was ruled by emotion, passion, love and suffering. She was a remarkable woman, whom I was completely ignorant about until a friend of mine suggested I adapt one of her quotes (shout out to Morganna).

Frida painted mostly self-portraits. As she said “I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best.” Her portraits were deeply personal and haunting. Although her style is described as surrealist, Frida stated “They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn’t. I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.” Her portraits were raw emotion on canvas, depicting the unfiltered thoughts and feelings of its creator which were more often than not, pain and anguish.

Frida’s life was filled with physical suffering. She contracted polio at a young age, which caused her right leg to be much skinnier than her left, and led to severe spinal problems. Frida suffered “two grave accidents” in her life. The first as an 18-year-old, when the bus she was riding in with her boyfriend was struck by a trolley car. Frida was impaled by a handrail, the pole entering her left torso and exiting her vagina. Her spinal column, pelvis, collarbone and ribs were broken, her right leg was shattered and foot crushed. It was only during her recovery, while bedridden, did she start painting.

Frida’s second “grave accident” was meeting her husband Diego Rivera, who was a famous painter and nicknamed the ‘Michaelango of Mexico’. Frida first saw him when she was 15 and he was 36. Rivera was hired by Frida’s school to paint a mural. Frida proclaimed her love for him to a friend then and there. Their marriage was intense and tumultuous. Both had numerous affairs, Frida with both men and women (including one with communist revolutionary Leon Trotsky). Frida was obsessed with Diego, and the state of their relationship influenced many of her paintings, for instance in her piece Diego And I.

Frida’s later years were hindered by more physical problems. She had numerous surgeries to repair her damaged spine and went on to have two spinal fusions (her painting The Broken Column from this time). Complications from the surgery left her right leg gangrene, which had to be amputated in 1953.

Despite a lifetime of pain and turmoil, Frida still led an exciting life, mingling with famous revolutionaries and artists. And she had a force of personality and soaring spirit that seemed to make her irresistible to nearly everyone she met. Frida famously wrote in her diary after finding out that her leg had to be amputated: “Feet, what do I need them for? If I have wings to fly.”

The paintings I used in the comic are Self Portrait with Monkeys, Self Portrait (1941) and her most famous work The Two Fridas. The physical characteristics Frida was most proud of were her unibrow and moustache, which she carefully groomed with a comb.

Related comics featuring the words of Vincent Van Gogh, Sylvia Plath, Maya Angelou and Timothy Leary.

– Most of the info in this post was sourced from this Vanity Fair article, worth reading if you want to learn more about Frida.
– I haven’t seen the movie Frida, starring Salma Hayek. Is it worth watching?

Is what I thought this was until I realized it was a beach ball. Everything has been ruined.

Is what I said until I realized how cute she was. Everything is better now.

Get your art below!

Note: Sources and more art incoming...

ART COMPLETE YAY

[1] Source
Ball

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submitted by derpyandmuffins [link] [6 comments]

Eddie Redmayne, who won an oscar for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, has officially been cast as Newt Scamander in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. His appointment comes after months of speculation, and finally means that filming can get underway for the movie’s targeted 2016 release.

The film is based on a book of the same name, written by J.K. Rowling, which chronicles the adventures of Scamander, a magizoologist, who documents his encounters with magical creatures. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them actually shows up as a book at the Hogwarts School, so fans of the franchise are already somewhat familiar with its existence, although it’s a lesser known tale compared to the adventures of Harry Potter.

Because it’ll follow Scamander and his encounters with magical creatures, Fantastic Beasts promises to be even more fantastical than previous Harry Potter films; I can’t wait to see these creatures imagined on the big screen.

As for Redmayne, Warner Bros. couldn’t have picked a more in-demand actor. He’s more known for his dramatic roles, but his charisma and range should be a perfect fit as the titular magizoologist.

David Yates, who has already directed four Harry Potter movies, will direct Fantastic Beasts, which is scheduled to hits theaters on Nov. 18, 2016.

Source: Businesswire

Bacon Muddy Buddies

Muddy buddies. Puppy chow. Heaven in the form of chocolate, sugar and cereal. Whatever you call it, no party is complete without a bowl of this sweet deliciousness. We took this classic snack and gave it an adult twist by adding candied, vodka-infused bacon (we used Heritage Distilling Company’s bacon flavored vodka). Then we wrapped it in even more bacon! Containing chocolate, bacon and vodka, this treat is welcome anywhere.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. vodka-infused candied bacon (3/4 cup chopped into small pieces)
1cup marshmallows
¾ cup Nutella
¾ cup chocolate chips
4 cups Chex cereal

1. In a double boiler, melt the marshmallows, chocolate chips and Nutella. Stir to combine.

2. Stir in the chopped bacon and Chex mix.

3. Pour the mixture into a greased 9in x 9in pan and allow to cool until firm.

4. Cut into about sixteen bars.

5. Wrap each bar in a slice of candied bacon.

6. Share with friends or indulge alone.

The post Bacon Muddy Buddies appeared first on Bacon Today.

submitted by accidentallybrill [link] [8 comments]

This one is a bit more specific and it’ll especially resonate to Montrealers and our goddamn metro.

This one goes out to a special lady who likes pickles, sandwiches, Coheed and Cambria, coffee, and puppies. I'll take that bribe now, T. Smith. :D