#Elmer the butler

[liquidtwilight]

Little guy loves being held

[liquidtwilight]

I love my sweet Elmer so much 😭😭😭 thank you again!! I have a frame, I’m waiting on the matte ☺️

A recent commission for the amazingly talented @twilightpalms !!!!!

[newsies-furry-au]

some doodles :)

theyre so cuuuteeee

-🦇

[incorrectuksies]

elmer: if i punch myself and it hurts, am i weak or strong?

henry: strong.

albert: weak.

race: a dumbass is what you are.

[xxgoblin-dumplingxx]

Oooh is secret reader gunna get a pet??

"That's not a very prepossessing specimen," Alfred said dryly, "You couldn't have found her a lovely Siamese or-"

"She picked that one," Jason said, pausing the video of Elmer and his metal file purr in a sunbeam with a shrug. "Kindred spirits, I think."

"So she also looks like she'd fight god for a shrimp?" Alfred snorted.

"No," Jason said, shaking his head, "but. People do look at them and get... uncomfortable. Pretty girls aren't supposed to have scars like that and cats... well."

Alfred nodded, understanding and handed Jason a mug of tea, "So has it helped?"

"He," Jason corrected absently. "His name is Elmer." And then he smiled a little, "he's 20 pounds of spite and attitude problem but he lets her carry him around like a baby and cries when she shuts the door with him on the other side of it. And she loves him."

"A tidy way to sidestep the question-"

"He helps a little," Jason allowed. "If nothing else, at least she's not as lonely."

"That's something," Alfred agreed, "Poor thing. Has her family-"

"Still regularly sending hush money. And refusing to answer her calls," he scoffed. "Her sister got married and she had to find out in the society pages. They didn't even tell her."

"Abysmal," Alfred said, disgusted. "All because-"

"Well, not JUST that but... It's a big part of it."

The butler shook his head. He had no idea how bad it was- he had only Jason's description of the injuries. And that they'd left your face alone just so they'd have something to ruin after you were dead. Something to shock the police and your family with. But even with that- he couldn't imagine not just being thrilled to have his child home alive. To be able to hug them again. Regardless of how 'unsettling' they looked. "Well. I for one would be delighted if-"

"Baby steps," Jason said exhaling slowly.

[baura-bear]

THIS LITERALLY CANNOT HIDE IN THE TAGS YOU HAVE THE BIGGEST BRAIN GOD ITS SO FUCKING PERFECT IM GOING TO EXPLODE!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHH ITS ALL THREE OF THEM I CAN SEE THEM ALL FOOLING AROUND UP THERE

Which newsies would be on the stilts walking around outside the circus tent?

[kid-blinks-eyepatch]

Newsies Hc list:

Ace

Albert DaSilva

Barney Peanuts

Bart

Blink Balletti

Buttons Davenport

Bumlets

Crow (OC!!!)

Crutchie Morris

David (Davey) Jacobs

Dice

Dutchy

Elmer Kazprak

Finch Cortez

Graves

Henry Butler

Hotshot

Ike

Jack Kelly

Jojo de la Guerra 

Katherine Plumber-Pulitzer

Knobs

Les Jacobs

Lucky

Mike

Morris Delancey

Mush Meyers

Myron

Oscar Delancey

Pie eater

Racetrack Higgins

Sarah Jacobs

Skittery

Smalls

Smokes

Snoddy

Sniper

Spot

Swifty

Tommy boy

Tumbler

York

Other:

Brooklyn boys & baseball

Names will become links if my lazy butt ever gets around to making them!

I know a lot of them are background newsies/names i gave brooklyn newsies b/c i wanted to give Brooklyn more ✨fLeSh✨ i feel cheated that we hardly got to see any of them >:(

Let me know about any background newsies I should look into!

[brooklynbadboys]

Every canon Newsie post UKsies

I know there’s already lists, but they don’t include uksies and i wanted to make an up to date list for reference

Albert [DaSilva]

Barney Peanuts

Boots

Bumlets

Buttons (Benjamin Davenport)

Crutchie/Crutchy [Morris]

Davey [Jacobs]

Dutchy

Elmer

Finch (Patrick Cortes)

Henry [Butler]

Hotshot

Ike

Itey

Jack [Kelly] (Francis Sullivan)

Jake

Jojo (Josephino Jorgelino de la Guerra)

Kenny

Kid blink

Knobs/ Coffee Bean

Les [Jacobs]

Lucky

Mac

Mike

Mud

Mush

Pie Eater

Pips

Racetrack Higgins

Ritz

Romeo

Scope

Skittery

Smalls

Sniper

Snipeshooter

Snitch

Snoddy

Specs

Spike

Splasher

Splint

Spot Conlon

Stray

Swifty

Tenpin

Tommy Boy

Tumbler

Vince/ Myron

Willie /Bart

York

I believe that’s everyone from Hard Promises (original 1991 script), Newsies 1992, Broadway and Newsies live, and Newsies UK

[wamtorical]

Ethel and Henry's marriage was arranged by their parents in order to set up a financially stable lifestyle for future generations. Framed: 1888.

Ethel Emmeline Pence

Occupation : Housewife Traits : Family Orientated, Emotional, Romantic

Born in 1848, Ethel grew up a well-mannered young lady, ready to face what fate had in store for her - even if her 'fate' was obviously predetermined. Nevertheless, after marrying Henry, Ethel was overjoyed to be pregnant and took care of fragile Elmer as if someone was out to get him at every second. Ethel's desire for additional children left Henry feeling apprehensive; he claimed it was an unnecessary act of filthiness, 'the deed had been done' and 'much more fooling around would not do anyone any good'. Elmer's eventual escape left Ethel in a deep sorrow, feeling her son had left the nest too early. However, she knew that was only because had it gone Henry's way, Elmer would have never left the nest. She exchanges letters with Elmer and loves to hear about how him and Claudia are doing. Come late 1890, Ethel finds herself bearing the child of another after feeding into her curiosity of other men and attempting to seek the affection she'd never once recieved. In an ironically fortunate event, the child failed to make it. Though Ethel was in silent mourning for a while, she found closure in her grandson - Leroy Pence - who was named after her own unborn son.

Henry Stewart Pence

Occupation : Business man Traits : Hot Headed, High Maintenance, Unappeasable

Born 2 years after Ethel in the midst of 1850, Henry was a cold, stone-hearted man straight out the womb who'd refused to show much emotion unless he was outright enraged. Others despised him and Henry knew it, but in his society that wasn't a problem - Money was what defined you as an individual, and the Pence's had plenty to spare. Love on another note was foolish to Henry, and Ethel - who's father worked alongside his own - was who he'd, out of any woman, would consider last of all. Fussy, talkative and emotional. There was one person, however, Henry cared about in a more pure, genuine manner. John Calvert met Henry when they were 13. Henry's parents were seeking a brand new kitchen boy and the two clicked instantly (To which Henry's parents didn't take too well). Once Henry wedded Ethel, John was pronounced their Butler, just so Henry could have someone's company he actually enjoyed. Sometimes he'd caught himself thinking absurd nonsense such as the desire to live with John rather than Ethel, though he'd be lying if he said it hadn't sounded nice. Point still stood; John wasn't even upper class! Like brothers they were, or rather, he convinced himself they were. John loved Elmer like his own son, to which Henry didn't mind one bit. He didn't have time for Elmer, what he did mind however was John's decision to retire once he'd found out what Elmer had done. Suddenly, for the first time in his life, Henry started to care very much. The fortune, Elmer, the humiliation; None of it was enough to invoke such strong emotions within him like John's depart had. Unbeknownst to Henry was the true reason he'd felt so strongly.

[crimsonfacets]

☎️📞 Hello! You've reached the main Interest Check page of @crimsonfacets. If you would like to plop down who you would be interested in interacting with, look beneath the read more for the telephone book leading to my muses and their interest check posts to let me know accordingly. Thank you!

KUROSHITSUJI / BLACK BUTLER.

Mey-Rin.

Madam Red.

Rachel Phantomhive.

The Undertaker.

FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST.

Trisha Elric.

Lust.

HELLSING ULTIMATE.

Seras Victoria.

LOONEY TUNES.

Emma Webster, aka Granny.

Witch Hazel.

Elmer Fudd.

COURAGE THE COWARDLY DOG.

Courage ( Bagg ).

VILLAINOS.

Demencia.

THE GRIM ADVENTURES OF BILLY AND MANDY.

Malaria.

STEVEN UNIVERSE.

Blue Diamond.

HAZBIN HOTEL.

Niffty.

HELLUVA BOSS.

Stella.

AMERICAN MCGEE'S ALICE / ALICE THE MADNESS RETURNS.

Alice Liddell.

UNDERTALE.

Chara.

THE ADDAMS FAMILY.

Wednesday Addams.

THUMBELINA.

Thumbelina.

THE LAST UNICORN.

The Unicorn / Lady Amalthea.

HALLOWEENTOWN 1 & 2.

Agatha Cromwell.

HERCULES.

Hades.

ENCANTO.

Pepa Madrigal.

Luisa Madrigal.

THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS.

Sally the Ragdoll.

ORIGINAL CHARACTERS.

Nucille ( Thumbelina ).

[liquidtwilight]

He forgot potatoes on the instacart order

[gazellefamily]

THE BIKERIDERS (2023)

"When you start listening to FUNHOUSE at the party as opposed to the Shangri-La's, you know trouble is coming. This that Marty Karaoke - kinda not bad but also kinda why this exist? Main couple don't even kiss but we're supposed to believe they're madly in love. Butler makes me happy like Vanilla Ice makes me happy - they sort of make the same squinty face and I want to pinch their cheeks. Hardy actively seeking a new weird voice to talk in - he's like 'Maybe I do a high voice kind of in an Elmer Fudd register?' Yeah ok. Eh." -Tommy Gazelle

[brookston]

Holidays 5.25

Holidays

Africa Day

African Freedom Day (Zambia)

African Languages Day

African Liberation Day (Rastafari)

Amateur Radio Military Appreciation Day

Bojangles Day

Chuquisaca (Bolivia)

Common Arens

Cookie Monster Day

Day of Youth (Yugoslavia)

EMS Save-A-Life Day

Flitting Day (Scotland)

Geek Pride Day

George Floyd Remembrance Day

Global Change Leadership Day

GDPR Day (a.k.a. General Data Protection Regulation Day; EU)

Global Planking Day

Global Surgery Day

The Glorious 25 Day (a.k.a. Glorious Revolution, Glorious 25th of May; Discworld)

Grand Prix de Monaco begins (Monaco)

Gypsy Day

Heroes’ Day (Lesotho)

Integrity Day (Scientology)

International Heritage Breeds Day

International Missing Children’s Day (UN)

International Planking Day

International Plastic Free Day

International Skin Pigmentation Day

Julia Pierpont Day (West Virginia)

Kids Ocean Day (California)

Languedoc Day

Last Bell (Russia, post-Soviet countries) [5/25 or Friday before, if falls on a weekend]

Lemon Balm Day (French Republic)

Liberation Day (Lebanon)

Local Radio Day (UK)

Maddie May Day

May Revolution Day (Argentina)

National Adoption Day (Brazil)

National Ahmad “Captain Poodaman” Butler Day

National Bath Bomb Day

National Cody Day

National Don't Utter a Word Day

National Enzo Day

National George Day

National Hometown Area Local Day

National Missing Children's Day (US)

National Sing Out Day

National Stop the Bleed Day

National Tap Dance Day

National VTuber Day

Peruvian Clown Day (Peru)

Poetry Day (Florida)

Ramsey Lewis Day

Saint Cool Day

Self-Reliance Day

Senior Health & Fitness Day

South Liberation Day (Lebanon)

Star Wars Day

Stinky Pee Day

Tap Dance Day

Towel Day (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy)

World Fish Migration Day

World Tarot Day

World Thyroid Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

National Brown Bag It Day [also Last Wednesday]

National Italian Beer Day

National Wine Day (US)

Independence & Related Days

Empire of New Prussia (Declared; 2018) [unrecognized]

First Government Day (Argentina; Sudan)

Jordan (from UK, 1946)

Kingdom of Africa (Declared; 2020) [unrecognized]

Kingdom of Sycamore (Declared; 2018) [unrecognized]

Lunataria (Declared; 2022) [unrecognized]

Neo-Dumnonii Kingdom (Declared; 2016) [unrecognized]

Pilatia (Declared; 2022) [unrecognized]

4th & Last Saturday in May

Amateur Radio Military Appreciation Day [9 Days before 1st Monday in June]

Defeat Depression Day (Canada) [Last Saturday]

Dillo Day [Last Saturday; Northwestern University]

Drone Day [Last Saturday]

Elmer Day (UK) [Last Saturday]

International Blacksmith’s Day [4th Saturday]

International Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Day [Last Saturday]

International Jazz Day [Saturday before Memorial Day/9 Days before 1st Monday in June]

Julia Pierpont Day (West Virginia) [Saturday before Memorial Day]

National Learn to Swim Day [Saturday before Memorial Day]

Pride in Armed Forces Day (UK) [4th Saturday]

World Enneagram Day [Last Saturday]

Weekly Holidays beginning May 25 (3rd Full Week)

Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Governing Territories (thru 5.31)

Festivals Beginning May 25, 2024

Alabama Jubilee Hot Air Balloon Classic (Decatur, Alabama) [thru 5.26]

Atlanta Caribbean Carnival (Atlanta, Georgia)

Bavarianfest (Helen, Georgia)

BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay (North Bend, Oregon) [thru 5.26]

Brew at the Zoo (Baltimore, Maryland) [thru 5.26]

Caribbean Festival (Mt. Airy, Maryland) [thru 5.26]

Carnaval San Francisco (San Francisco, California)

Chuck Wagon Festival (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) [thru 5.26]

The Creekside Beer Festival (Boulder, Colorado) [thru 5.26]

FlavorFest at Mount Hope (Mount Hope, Pennsylvania (thru 5.26]

Great Alaska Craft Beer & Homebrew Festival (Haines, Alaska)

Happy Valley Strawberry Festival (Anderson, California) [thru 5.26]

Hood Canal Fjord Fest (Brinnon, Washington) [thru 5.26]

Horseshoe Crab & Shorebird Festival (Milton, Delaware)

Jersey Shore Food Truck Festival (Monmouth Park, Oceanport, New Jersey) [thru 5.27]

Koroneburg Old World Renaissance Festival (Corona, California) [6.23]

New Mexico Wine Fest: Las Cruces (Las Cruces, New Mexico) [thru 5.27]

Rib King NYC (Brooklyn, New York)

Roaring Camp Cook-Off (Felton, California) [thru 5.26]

Rockport Wine Festival (Rockport, Texas)

Rotary Art, Wine & Wheels (Mariposa, California)

Star Valley Strawberry Festival (Borden, Indiana)

Strawberry Festival (Beaver Dam, Kentucky) [thru 5.27]

Taste of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, Ohio) [thru 5.27]

Wine, Beer & Spirits Fest (Sierra Vista, Arizona) [5.26

Feast Days

Aldhelm (Christian; Saint)

St. Ambrose (Positivist; Saint)

Apollo Day (Everyday Wicca)

Barry Windsor-Smith (Artology)

Bede the Venerable (Christian; Saint)

Boniface IV, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Canius (Christian; Saint)

The Cat (Muppetism)

Celebration of the Tao (The Mother of the World; Taoism)

Cookie Monster (Muppetism)

Dionysius of Milan (Christian; Saint)

Dumhade, Abbot of Iona (Christian; Saint)

Dúnchad mac Cinn Fáelad (Christian; Saint)

Edward Bulwer-Lytton (Writerism)

Gennadius (Christian; Saint)

Gerard of Lunel (Christian; Saint)

Gregory VII, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Leo (a.k.a. Lye; Christian; Saint)

Madeleine Sophie Barat (Christian; Saint)

Mary Magdalene of Pazzi (Christian; Saint)

Maximus (Mauxe) of Évreux (Christian; Saint)

Mercurius (Ancient Roman Festival of Trade & Gain)

Ralph Waldo Emerson (Writerism)

Raymond Carver (Writerism)

Robert Ludlum (Writerism)

Sara-Kali’s Day (Pagan)

Stalin Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Stan Sakai (Artology)

Towel Day (Pastafarian)

Urban I, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Urbanas Diena (Ancient Latvia)

Venerand (Christian; Saint)

William Boyer (Artology)

W.P. Kinsella (Writerism)

Zenobius of Florence (Christian; Saint)

Hebrew Calendar Holidays [Begins at Sundown Day Before]

Lag B'Omer (Hebrew harvest time)  [17-18 Iyar]

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Dismal Day (Unlucky or Evil Day; Medieval Europe; 10 of 24)

Egyptian Day (Unlucky Day; Middle Ages Europe) [10 of 24]

Premieres

Alien (Film; 1979)

Back to the Future (Film; 1985)

Back to the Future Part III (Film; 1990)

Barefoot in the Park (Film; 1967)

Barnyard Babies (Happy Harmonies Cartoon; 1935)

Beyond the Great Snow Mountains, by Louis L’Amour (Novel; 1999)

The Cookie Carnival (Disney Silly Symphonies Cartoon; 1935)

Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (Film; 1955)

The Day Lincoln Was Shot, by Jim Bishop (Historical Book; 1955)

Farming Fools (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1936)

Feud with a Dude (WB MM Cartoon; 1968)

A Gander at Mother Goose (WB MM Cartoon; 1940)

The Gastronomical Me, by M.F.K. Fisher (Food Essays; 1943)

Hair-Raising Hare (WB MM Cartoon; 1946)

Harry of Monmouth, by A.M. Maugham (Novel; 1956)

He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother, recorded by The Hollies (Song; 1969)

H.M.S. Pinafore, by Gilbert & Sullivan (Comic Opera; 1878)

Jesus of Montreal (Film; 1990)

Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, by The Cure (Album; 1987)

The Little Sister, by Raymond Chandler (Novel; 1949)

Men in Black 3 (Film; 2012)

Mickey’s Revue (Disney Cartoon; 1932)

Midnight Cowboy (Film; 1969)

Moonrise Kingdom (Film; 2012)

Nadja, by André Breton (Novel; 1928)

Paprika (Anime Film; 2007)

Pearl Harbor (Film; 2001)

Piker’s Peak (WB LT Cartoon; 1957)

The Pink Blueprint (Pink Panther Cartoon; 1966)

Pink, Plunk, Plink (Pink Panther Cartoon; 1966)

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (Film; 2007)

Safety, by Coldplay (EP: 1998)

Samstag aus Licht, by Karl Stockhausen (Opera; 1984)

The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins (Science Book; 1976)

Smoky Joe (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1945)

Solo: A Star Wars Story (Film; 2018)

Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope (Film; 1977)

Star Wars, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (Film; 1983)

Three Little Pigs (Silly Symphonies Cartoon; 1933)

Tubular Bells, by Mike Oldfield (Album; 1973)

Under My Kin, by Avril Lavigne (Album; 2004)

War Machine (Film; 2017)

Today’s Name Days

Beda, Gregor, Magdalene (Austria)

Spas, Spaska (Bulgaria)

Beda, Grgur, Urban (Croatia)

Viola (Czech Republic)

Urbanus (Denmark)

Urban, Urbo, Urve, Urves (Estonia)

Urpo (Finland)

Sophie (France)

Beda, Magdalene, Miriam, Urban (Germany)

Nefeli (Greece)

Orbán (Hungary)

Basileo, Beda, Erminio, Gregorio (Italy)

Anitra, Anšlavs, Ciemvaldis, Gunita (Latvia)

Almantas, Danutė, Urbonas (Lithuania)

Ragna, Ragnar (Norway)

Epifan, Grzegorz, Imisława, Maria Magdalena, Urban (Poland)

Ioan (România)

Urban (Slovakia)

Beda, Gregorio, Magdalena, María (Spain)

Urban (Sweden)

Celeste, Celestine (Ukraine)

Madalyn, Madeleine, Madeline, Madelyn, Madilyn, Marlee, Marleen, Marlena, Marlene, Marley (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 146 of 2024; 220 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 6 of week 21 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Huath (Hawthorn) [Day 14 of 28]

Chinese: Month 4 (Ji-Si), Day 18 (Ji-Chou)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 17 Iyar 5784

Islamic: 17 Dhu al-Qada 1445

J Cal: 26 Magenta; Fryday [26 of 30]

Julian: 12 May 2024

Moon: 94%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 5 St. Paul (6th Month) [St. Ambrose]

Runic Half Month: Odal (Home, Possession) [Day 1 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 68 of 92)

Week: 3rd Full Week of May

Zodiac: Gemini (Day 5 of 31)

Calendar Changes

Odal (Home, Possession) [Half-Month 11 of 24; Runic Half-Months] (thru 6.8)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 5.25

Holidays

Africa Day

African Freedom Day (Zambia)

African Languages Day

African Liberation Day (Rastafari)

Amateur Radio Military Appreciation Day

Bojangles Day

Chuquisaca (Bolivia)

Common Arens

Cookie Monster Day

Day of Youth (Yugoslavia)

EMS Save-A-Life Day

Flitting Day (Scotland)

Geek Pride Day

George Floyd Remembrance Day

Global Change Leadership Day

GDPR Day (a.k.a. General Data Protection Regulation Day; EU)

Global Planking Day

Global Surgery Day

The Glorious 25 Day (a.k.a. Glorious Revolution, Glorious 25th of May; Discworld)

Grand Prix de Monaco begins (Monaco)

Gypsy Day

Heroes’ Day (Lesotho)

Integrity Day (Scientology)

International Heritage Breeds Day

International Missing Children’s Day (UN)

International Planking Day

International Plastic Free Day

International Skin Pigmentation Day

Julia Pierpont Day (West Virginia)

Kids Ocean Day (California)

Languedoc Day

Last Bell (Russia, post-Soviet countries) [5/25 or Friday before, if falls on a weekend]

Lemon Balm Day (French Republic)

Liberation Day (Lebanon)

Local Radio Day (UK)

Maddie May Day

May Revolution Day (Argentina)

National Adoption Day (Brazil)

National Ahmad “Captain Poodaman” Butler Day

National Bath Bomb Day

National Cody Day

National Don't Utter a Word Day

National Enzo Day

National George Day

National Hometown Area Local Day

National Missing Children's Day (US)

National Sing Out Day

National Stop the Bleed Day

National Tap Dance Day

National VTuber Day

Peruvian Clown Day (Peru)

Poetry Day (Florida)

Ramsey Lewis Day

Saint Cool Day

Self-Reliance Day

Senior Health & Fitness Day

South Liberation Day (Lebanon)

Star Wars Day

Stinky Pee Day

Tap Dance Day

Towel Day (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy)

World Fish Migration Day

World Tarot Day

World Thyroid Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

National Brown Bag It Day [also Last Wednesday]

National Italian Beer Day

National Wine Day (US)

Independence & Related Days

Empire of New Prussia (Declared; 2018) [unrecognized]

First Government Day (Argentina; Sudan)

Jordan (from UK, 1946)

Kingdom of Africa (Declared; 2020) [unrecognized]

Kingdom of Sycamore (Declared; 2018) [unrecognized]

Lunataria (Declared; 2022) [unrecognized]

Neo-Dumnonii Kingdom (Declared; 2016) [unrecognized]

Pilatia (Declared; 2022) [unrecognized]

4th & Last Saturday in May

Amateur Radio Military Appreciation Day [9 Days before 1st Monday in June]

Defeat Depression Day (Canada) [Last Saturday]

Dillo Day [Last Saturday; Northwestern University]

Drone Day [Last Saturday]

Elmer Day (UK) [Last Saturday]

International Blacksmith’s Day [4th Saturday]

International Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Day [Last Saturday]

International Jazz Day [Saturday before Memorial Day/9 Days before 1st Monday in June]

Julia Pierpont Day (West Virginia) [Saturday before Memorial Day]

National Learn to Swim Day [Saturday before Memorial Day]

Pride in Armed Forces Day (UK) [4th Saturday]

World Enneagram Day [Last Saturday]

Weekly Holidays beginning May 25 (3rd Full Week)

Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Governing Territories (thru 5.31)

Festivals Beginning May 25, 2024

Alabama Jubilee Hot Air Balloon Classic (Decatur, Alabama) [thru 5.26]

Atlanta Caribbean Carnival (Atlanta, Georgia)

Bavarianfest (Helen, Georgia)

BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay (North Bend, Oregon) [thru 5.26]

Brew at the Zoo (Baltimore, Maryland) [thru 5.26]

Caribbean Festival (Mt. Airy, Maryland) [thru 5.26]

Carnaval San Francisco (San Francisco, California)

Chuck Wagon Festival (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) [thru 5.26]

The Creekside Beer Festival (Boulder, Colorado) [thru 5.26]

FlavorFest at Mount Hope (Mount Hope, Pennsylvania (thru 5.26]

Great Alaska Craft Beer & Homebrew Festival (Haines, Alaska)

Happy Valley Strawberry Festival (Anderson, California) [thru 5.26]

Hood Canal Fjord Fest (Brinnon, Washington) [thru 5.26]

Horseshoe Crab & Shorebird Festival (Milton, Delaware)

Jersey Shore Food Truck Festival (Monmouth Park, Oceanport, New Jersey) [thru 5.27]

Koroneburg Old World Renaissance Festival (Corona, California) [6.23]

New Mexico Wine Fest: Las Cruces (Las Cruces, New Mexico) [thru 5.27]

Rib King NYC (Brooklyn, New York)

Roaring Camp Cook-Off (Felton, California) [thru 5.26]

Rockport Wine Festival (Rockport, Texas)

Rotary Art, Wine & Wheels (Mariposa, California)

Star Valley Strawberry Festival (Borden, Indiana)

Strawberry Festival (Beaver Dam, Kentucky) [thru 5.27]

Taste of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, Ohio) [thru 5.27]

Wine, Beer & Spirits Fest (Sierra Vista, Arizona) [5.26

Feast Days

Aldhelm (Christian; Saint)

St. Ambrose (Positivist; Saint)

Apollo Day (Everyday Wicca)

Barry Windsor-Smith (Artology)

Bede the Venerable (Christian; Saint)

Boniface IV, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Canius (Christian; Saint)

The Cat (Muppetism)

Celebration of the Tao (The Mother of the World; Taoism)

Cookie Monster (Muppetism)

Dionysius of Milan (Christian; Saint)

Dumhade, Abbot of Iona (Christian; Saint)

Dúnchad mac Cinn Fáelad (Christian; Saint)

Edward Bulwer-Lytton (Writerism)

Gennadius (Christian; Saint)

Gerard of Lunel (Christian; Saint)

Gregory VII, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Leo (a.k.a. Lye; Christian; Saint)

Madeleine Sophie Barat (Christian; Saint)

Mary Magdalene of Pazzi (Christian; Saint)

Maximus (Mauxe) of Évreux (Christian; Saint)

Mercurius (Ancient Roman Festival of Trade & Gain)

Ralph Waldo Emerson (Writerism)

Raymond Carver (Writerism)

Robert Ludlum (Writerism)

Sara-Kali’s Day (Pagan)

Stalin Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Stan Sakai (Artology)

Towel Day (Pastafarian)

Urban I, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Urbanas Diena (Ancient Latvia)

Venerand (Christian; Saint)

William Boyer (Artology)

W.P. Kinsella (Writerism)

Zenobius of Florence (Christian; Saint)

Hebrew Calendar Holidays [Begins at Sundown Day Before]

Lag B'Omer (Hebrew harvest time)  [17-18 Iyar]

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Dismal Day (Unlucky or Evil Day; Medieval Europe; 10 of 24)

Egyptian Day (Unlucky Day; Middle Ages Europe) [10 of 24]

Premieres

Alien (Film; 1979)

Back to the Future (Film; 1985)

Back to the Future Part III (Film; 1990)

Barefoot in the Park (Film; 1967)

Barnyard Babies (Happy Harmonies Cartoon; 1935)

Beyond the Great Snow Mountains, by Louis L’Amour (Novel; 1999)

The Cookie Carnival (Disney Silly Symphonies Cartoon; 1935)

Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (Film; 1955)

The Day Lincoln Was Shot, by Jim Bishop (Historical Book; 1955)

Farming Fools (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1936)

Feud with a Dude (WB MM Cartoon; 1968)

A Gander at Mother Goose (WB MM Cartoon; 1940)

The Gastronomical Me, by M.F.K. Fisher (Food Essays; 1943)

Hair-Raising Hare (WB MM Cartoon; 1946)

Harry of Monmouth, by A.M. Maugham (Novel; 1956)

He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother, recorded by The Hollies (Song; 1969)

H.M.S. Pinafore, by Gilbert & Sullivan (Comic Opera; 1878)

Jesus of Montreal (Film; 1990)

Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, by The Cure (Album; 1987)

The Little Sister, by Raymond Chandler (Novel; 1949)

Men in Black 3 (Film; 2012)

Mickey’s Revue (Disney Cartoon; 1932)

Midnight Cowboy (Film; 1969)

Moonrise Kingdom (Film; 2012)

Nadja, by André Breton (Novel; 1928)

Paprika (Anime Film; 2007)

Pearl Harbor (Film; 2001)

Piker’s Peak (WB LT Cartoon; 1957)

The Pink Blueprint (Pink Panther Cartoon; 1966)

Pink, Plunk, Plink (Pink Panther Cartoon; 1966)

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (Film; 2007)

Safety, by Coldplay (EP: 1998)

Samstag aus Licht, by Karl Stockhausen (Opera; 1984)

The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins (Science Book; 1976)

Smoky Joe (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1945)

Solo: A Star Wars Story (Film; 2018)

Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope (Film; 1977)

Star Wars, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (Film; 1983)

Three Little Pigs (Silly Symphonies Cartoon; 1933)

Tubular Bells, by Mike Oldfield (Album; 1973)

Under My Kin, by Avril Lavigne (Album; 2004)

War Machine (Film; 2017)

Today’s Name Days

Beda, Gregor, Magdalene (Austria)

Spas, Spaska (Bulgaria)

Beda, Grgur, Urban (Croatia)

Viola (Czech Republic)

Urbanus (Denmark)

Urban, Urbo, Urve, Urves (Estonia)

Urpo (Finland)

Sophie (France)

Beda, Magdalene, Miriam, Urban (Germany)

Nefeli (Greece)

Orbán (Hungary)

Basileo, Beda, Erminio, Gregorio (Italy)

Anitra, Anšlavs, Ciemvaldis, Gunita (Latvia)

Almantas, Danutė, Urbonas (Lithuania)

Ragna, Ragnar (Norway)

Epifan, Grzegorz, Imisława, Maria Magdalena, Urban (Poland)

Ioan (România)

Urban (Slovakia)

Beda, Gregorio, Magdalena, María (Spain)

Urban (Sweden)

Celeste, Celestine (Ukraine)

Madalyn, Madeleine, Madeline, Madelyn, Madilyn, Marlee, Marleen, Marlena, Marlene, Marley (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 146 of 2024; 220 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 6 of week 21 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Huath (Hawthorn) [Day 14 of 28]

Chinese: Month 4 (Ji-Si), Day 18 (Ji-Chou)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 17 Iyar 5784

Islamic: 17 Dhu al-Qada 1445

J Cal: 26 Magenta; Fryday [26 of 30]

Julian: 12 May 2024

Moon: 94%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 5 St. Paul (6th Month) [St. Ambrose]

Runic Half Month: Odal (Home, Possession) [Day 1 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 68 of 92)

Week: 3rd Full Week of May

Zodiac: Gemini (Day 5 of 31)

Calendar Changes

Odal (Home, Possession) [Half-Month 11 of 24; Runic Half-Months] (thru 6.8)

[incorrectlooneytunesquotes]

Elmer: Offer to take my coat. Butler: You're not wearing a coat. Elmer: Well then, offer to take my tie.

[pandoramsbox]

Sci-Fi Saturday: Just Imagine

Week 6:

Film(s): Just Imagine (Dir. David Butler, 1930, USA)

Viewing Format: YouTube

Date Watched: June 19, 2021

Rationale for Inclusion:

In looking into science fiction films of the 1930s, the first one I ran across that was new to me was also the first of its genre to receive an Academy Award nomination, Just Imagine (Dir. David Butler, 1930, USA). Not surprisingly if you're up on your Oscar history, this nomination came in an aesthetic category: Art Direction. Subsequently, designers Stephen Goosson and Ralph Hammeras lost to Max Rée for the Western Cimarron (Dir. Wesley Ruggles, 1931, USA). 

Other than being a piece of Academy Award trivia, including Just Imagine in our survey made sense because it was intermixed with genres we had not seen combined with sci-fi yet: comedy and the musical. The former was rarely seen combined with science fiction in the silent era, and the latter required the innovation of synchronized sound motion pictures.

Just Imagine is the first talking picture we watched, but it was not the first sound science fiction film produced. That distinction seems to belong to the 1929 adaptation of Jules Verne's The Mysterious Island (Dir. Lucien Hubbard, USA), which was produced as a silent film with a sound sequence and synchronized music track later added. I do not recall why we opted to skip this film in our survey: whether it was an issue of outright missing its existence and availability on DVD or through Archive.org, or intentionally skipping it because we had recently watched 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Dir. Stuart Patton, 1916, USA), which included narrative elements adapted from that novel.

At any rate, for its cross-genre whimsy and Oscar nomination, I decided Just Imagine needed to be included on our survey despite viewing access being inconvenient. Despite its historic status, no mainstream media or art house distribution service has made the film available on physical media or streaming. Various DVD-R versions circulate, and it can be found in unofficial versions on YouTube (as we watched it) or Archive.org.

Reactions:

The lack of mainstream release for Just Imagine makes sense for two reasons: due to copyright issues and only being of relative niche interest, late 1920s and early 1930s films aren't as widely available on contemporary home formats in general, and the film overall is not very good.

The main weaknesses of Just Imagine come down to its plot being a weak, rote triangulated romance, mediocre songs, and emphasis on Elmer "El" Brendel's comedy. Unlike his vaudevillian and cinematic contemporaries the Marx Brothers, Brendel's Swedish immigrant archetype has not retained his appeal or cultural relevance with later generations. However, his character's fish out of water immigrant schtick works well within the character's Rip Van Winkle inspired subplot.

The Academy wasn't wrong in nominating Just Imagine for its art direction though. The futuristic art deco city of 1980 is beautiful looking, and clearly indebted to the aesthetics of Metropolis (Dir. Fritz Lang, 1927, Germany), including video phones and personal airplanes instead of automobiles traveling between skyscrapers. The laboratory equipment that brings the fifty years dead Single O (Brendel) back to life was apparently too expensive a build for just one use because it was reused to more iconic effect the following year in Frankenstein (Dir. James Whale, 1931, USA). 

Single O's man from present day in the future storyline would be repeated in later sci-fi works, like the serial Buck Rogers (Dir. Ford Beebe and Saul A. Goodkind, 1939, USA), movie Judge Dredd (Dir. Danny Cannon, 1995, USA), and television series Futurama (1999-2003, USA). Other genre tropes that come into play throughout the film include food in pill form, people receiving number designations, marriages being bureaucratically arranged, reproduction without the sex or body horror, and a trip to a Mars populated by Martians. None of these aspects originate with Just Imagine, just cement its genre status.

For sci-fi fans, the set pieces and tropes in play make Just Imagine worth watching at least once, if only to appreciate later, better iterations of its elements. For classic film and pre-code cinema fans, it's an interesting cultural artifact for no other reason but its cast featuring Brendel, Maureen O'Sullivan, and Joyzelle, she of the infamous "naked moon dance" in The Sign of the Cross (Dir. Cecil B. DeMille, 1932, USA).