Thursday, August 14, 2008

Your Mother Won't Know You: Goodbye Mr. Bubble

Bad corporate decision making sends another childhood icon down the drain. From the New York Times Dealbook (http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/pop-goes-mr-bubble/?hp):
Ascendia Brands filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday evening, with hopes of finding a buyer for the company, whose brands include Mr. Bubble and the breath freshener Binaca.

The last time I used Mr. Bubble was sometime in the 60s, I would have been about 8 years old. I remember pleading with my mother for months to buy a box of Mr. Bubble. When she finally agreed I couldn't wait to get home and jump in the tub. And jump I did. And frolic. And play. And get a nose bleed and a skin rash. Whatever they were putting in this stuff in the late 60s was apparently too harsh for my still hairless and tender skin. I, of course, didn't want to believe it was Mr. Bubble--it was probably that stupid washcloth; maybe the tooth powder (yes, tooth powder). Yes, I was quite sure it was the tooth powder. I cried like a baby when my mother dumped the rest of the box of Mr. Bubble down the sink (I don't know why she didn't just toss it in the trash, but my mother was all about dumping things down the sink or the toliet--like my deceased pet turtle).

Anyway, here's to Mr. Bubble, we hardly knew ye....

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Illustration Friday: Sail

I was on the phone with tech support while doodling. The sail boat came first--then the mountains. The clouds were the most fun.

This is an old school pencil sketch. I used a 0.5 mm Techniclick II mechanical pencil and a Pentel Clicks Eraser (for the clouds). It was draw on a page of my soft cover Moleskine notebook.

Your comments are appreciated. Click the image to see it larger.

Pencil sketch of a sailboat entering a storm by Illustrator Tony Sarrecchia