There are countless tales of Mermaids Across all the Seven Seas; But the story I must tell will leave you Weak in both your knees... Brae Muldoon was a-fishing one night Way out in Seaton's Bay, The Moon was thin and the mist was thick And all around him was gray; Two hours had passed with nary a bite And his feet were cold as stones-- When a sweet voice from the dark green deep Sent a shudder through his bones: "Are you waiting here to see me?" Crooned the voice, so soft and clear Like a far-off death-knell sounding In the old fisherman's ear; Two pale hands like mother o' pearl Grasped the side of Muldoon's craft, And a head like that of Venus Smiled at him from the aft--- Long and shining was her kelp-green hair, And her large and glittering eyes Fixed Brae with a compelling stare As he tried from his seat to rise; Her teeth like a Moray eel's gleamed As she aimed at him a smile That reminded him of his father's tale Of a Nile crocodile! Brae grab...

Bal des Ardents.   En Anglais, Dance of the burning ones. January 28, 1393, Charles VI of France, along with five other nobles, are covered in tar and flax, to portray wildmen.  A spectator moves too close with a torch, and the men are ablaze.  The spectator was the king's brother, the Duc d'Orleans.  Torches and all fire had been forbidden, but the brother, drunk, pushed his way in.   The fifteen year old Joan, Duchess de Berry, throws her skirt over the king and saved his life.  The only other survivor was the Sieur de Nantouillet who jumped into an open barrel of wine.   The king was already crazy as hell and seems to have been a paranoid schizophrenic.  The French people saw this as a judgement and it further deteriorated the trust in the court.  Charles had already attacked and killed four of his officers while going to war, thought he was made of glass and wandered the court, naked, howling like a wolf. ...

  Hi Guys!   It's story time again!  And have I got a good one for you!  It's the classic nursery rhyme, The Robber Kitten !  What ? You say you've never heard of it?   Well, there's a reason for that!  This particular tale is nothing but random violence from beginning to end !      So this was published by McLoughlin Brothers back in 1891 .  You can tell from the inscription at the top that Hubert Shaw's mom thought this would be a great Christmas present !  Let's take a look and see if it's the kind of thing that we'd like Santa to bring! Our story opens with the main character, a naughty kitten , who declares that he's through being good!        First thing he does is run off to the woods , where he dishes out some mayhem to an unsuspecting rooster !     Don't forget, kids !  This is a McLoughlin Joyful Tales book!  Seems like Puss is having a good time at least! But a life...

  Rogue's Gallery At long last, I am pleased to say that I have completed my new piece, Rogue's Gallery: Here we see some of the world's legendary tricksters getting together for...what?  Perhaps we should be a little alarmed... Anyway...how many can you name?  Do you recognize all of our friends here?   From left to right we have Puss in Boots--he was made famous in French fairytales, but he actually started out as an Italian puss...Next we have Raven from Native American myth.  He is a powerful agent for change--not entirely friendly, but always interesting.  The giant in the back is larger than life and from Japan.  His name is Tanuki and he is Japanese..  In his current form, he is a raccoon-dog, however, he has eight guises he can take and he likes to do so to make others feel foolish.  He is also strategically placed because, traditionally, he has enormous....balls.  He also likes to bring sake to parties.    Hanging...

  When I was a kid, this cartoon could be seen once a week on the Dallas after school cartoon shows.  2 days ago I decided to look for it, I could not remember the name or the studio.  This is Merrie Melodies, Warner Brothers, The Fighting 69 1/2th.  In it two armies of ants clash over a picnic. https://www.b98.tv/video/fighting-69-%C2%BDth/    When two scouts discover the picnic a tussle ensues over an olive.    Of course you know, this means war. They just couldn't resist the Black Ant possibilities.* But the Black Ants are more than up to the task, and are shown as superb fighters. This cartoon is a 'funny' version of trench warfare.  The only fight the U. S. Army was in between 1918 and 1941 was the Bonus Army disgrace, so this is what the animators knew and showed as warfare.  Here is the Black Ant Army chemical corps. Douglas MacArthur and his Aide-de-Camp Dwight Eisenhower oversee the operation of clearing the desperatel...