Thursday, August 26, 2010

Tarzan Of The Apes








Tarzan was one of my childhood fantasy-heroes - Zorro was another.

Ah, the hours spent playing in the massive mulberry tree, rescuing my latest crush from villains, for which she'd be eternally grateful ...

Did you have heroes, or was it only me with an overactive imagination?


Apologies for this lame post, I'm down with flu and my energy levels are low - first time it's hit me in many years ...

More Tarzan and other comic book covers here.


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37 comments:

  1. So sorry to hear you are not well, hope you soon recover, it is not much fun feeling like your head belongs to some one else!

    Tarzan was one of my long time favourites, I thought Johnny Weissmuller was the best thing to ever happen to a woman:) Mind you Cheeta was a close favourite in the heroes section. Diane

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  2. TarZan and Zorro, both. My Brother and I would re-enact Tarzan.. I was Cheetah?(the chimp) ofcourse

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  3. Thanks Diane, I'm sure I'll be in top form again in a few days ...

    Talking about Johnny Weissmuller takes me back to Saturday afternoons at the movies where they'd show short 'serials' before the main movie ... it was always best to sit on the balcony if possible because of all the popcorn boxes and other rubbish that would go flying around when the main lights dimmed ...

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  4. Hehe Monica ... I'm trying to picture you doing a Cheeta impersonation ... is this where your liking for primates comes from?

    ... it's good to know that these type of fantasies and play-acting were not only a 'boy' thing ... mind you, I should know that from watching my daughters when they were young ...

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  5. First off, let me just say that I'm sorry you are not well at the moment (and here's a 'virtual' pot of homemade chicken soup being sent through internet 'magic' to pep you up !)

    'Wonder Woman' was my hero(ine) when I was growing up ... oh, how I longed to be her & for one birthday I got a 'Wonder Woman' t-shirt from my parents & it was my pride & joy, I think I wore it every day ! I often used to pretend to be her :) Browsing on Ebay the other day for dressing up costumes for my daughter, I came across 'Wonder Woman' outfits for grown ups ! Mmmmmm .... that got me thinking ;)

    GET WELL SOON !

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  6. Ahhhh ... thanks for the virtual chicken soup and good wishes Lynda, I feel better already ...

    I remember Wonder Woman but I think at that time I was graduating to MAD Magazine.

    ... go get that Wonder Woman suit ... and I dare you to post some pics of you wearing it ... :)

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  7. I was heavily in Biggles I'm afraid to say, didn't become an aviator but did 18 years with the Royal Air Force instead!

    Hope the malady passeth quickly;

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug9oc-mg4e0

    gg

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  8. Haha gg ... yup, Man Flu indeed ... loved the vid ...

    Yeah, I had a few English friends as a kid and saw one or two Biggles, ... and Beano ... and I remember sitting on my roof, machine guns blazing, pretending I was Dogfight Dixon ...

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  9. Strangely, my early childhood hero was David Livingstone the explorer. As for comic heroes, my favorite character was the Swamp Thing but I never really wanted to be the Swamp Thing.

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  10. I sometimes wonder what it was like to be an early explorer - what it must have felt like to travel into unknown territory without support systems ...

    I don't know much about The Swamp Thing but, having googled him, I see that despite his scary name, he was actually a 'good guy' ...

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  11. I too am sorry you are not feeling well. It's funny, but I somehow don't associate getting the flu with living in Africa. That's what's great about blogging so much to learn. Zorro was my hero too and it made my parents pretty mad when I carved a huge Z in my bicycle seat! Get well soon. -- Inger

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  12. Oh cool. Am so glad you can admit to being a fan of Tarzan and Zorro :-) I simply loved both of these characters. I was also into a lot of the other super heroes. Like Lynda from Tanzania, I was really a fan of Wonder Woman who was so beautiful and so brave but I didn't have a costume ;-) I also like Superman, Batman, Robin Hood and Spider Man. Those are, many of which were also on television,he ones I remember from the comics and some from TV. Other TV only characters were the Lone Ranger (with his sidekick Tonto). I'm thrilled to bits that most of these characters now are made into major films and many have sequels.

    I hope you get better soon. Take some rest as you are able and have some more chicken broth.

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  13. Thanks Inger ... yeah, flu s common in Africa in winter ... it really sucks when you get it in summer ...

    Hehe, yeah well at least you didn't carve a big 'Z' on someone else ... :)

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  14. Thanks Penny - yeah, all those comic books, I spent most of my pocket money on them ... and don't forget Casper the ghost, Wendy and Hot Stuff the Lil Devil ...

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  15. nah, I feel worse today but I'm sure it'll pass soon ... thanks for asking gg

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  16. Pour one (large) part whisky (or gin or bourbon, whatever) into mug, add one small sugar, fill mug with warm water, take with two aspirins (or paracetamol) every 4-6 hours. If it don't work you won't give a damn by midnight!

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  17. heh1 ... thanks gg ... the water's on the boil ...

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  18. Flash Gordon was a favorite and then later James Bond.

    Hope you are feeling better.

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  19. Thanks lisleman - yeah, 007 had some beautiful co-stars too ... who can forget Ursula Andress in Dr No?

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  20. Gosh, Tarzan, my Dad had all of ERB's books. As a kid I cut my literary teeth on them. I really like the moon and martian series the best. I guess they were the beginning of my love for SF and Sword and Sorcery fantasy books.

    Love your blog too! Hope your feeling better.

    Leslie

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  21. hey you should be getting a few visitors to the elephant charging post. I submitted in Mrs. 4444's saturday samples.

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  22. Thanks for your visit and kind comment Montanasmama ...

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  23. So, did the foolproof mixture work?

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  24. Hehe gg ... it must have, I'm feeling a little better ... but I think I'll continue with it today - just in case ... :)

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  25. As a total misuse of your current post; any thoughts from your background on how the trapped Chilean miners will fare? Today it is said that 5 out of 33 are "depressed, which is only about the average % for any adult population. I sort of imagine that miners are much better conditoned to staying underground than some soft surface dwellers suddenly plonked into that position... or is that psychobabble bollocks?

    gg

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  26. Howzit gg and thanks for your question regarding the trapped miners - I've been following this story with great interest because I've also been stuck underground for awhile when when things went wrong - though not trapped as these guys are ...

    I think that they're in for a very hard time, it's impossible to describe the feeling of isolation and frustrated helplessness and, even though most of them are elated now that they know help is at hand, (after not knowing if they were going to be found at all), ... the wait to be rescued is going to be unbearable ... I know my thoughts would be 'why me? wtf am I doing here?' etc

    The environmental conditions won't be helpful either, it's frigging hot down there and what I can't understand is why more smaller holes are not being drilled to provide ventilation and additional supplies, what if something goes wrong and their lifeline hole gets blocked?

    Hopefully there are a few strong characters among them who will help see the others through this ...

    I feel for these guys and all I can offer them is the old German miner's greeting: Glück Auf

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  27. Many thanks for that insight boss. I hadn't thought about the heat, grim! I thought I read there were three parts to the tube; but presumably still one long hole?

    Hope I haven't stirred up any PTSD recall.

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  28. You're welcome gg ... no, I've got no head problems related to my experiences ...

    ... as far as these guys are concerned, it's not only the heat or the feeling of helplessness, frustration and boredom, ... they must be pretty uncomfortable, no soft beds to sleep on, unable to wash and with no ventilation I imagine that the smell of feces is already unbearable ...

    ... their rescuers have a lot of things to consider and problems to overcome and I don't know how the shrinks on hand are going to look after their mental health ...

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  29. Pills are going to be the only option, maybe some emergency injections if someone goes totally off their head... fancy psychotherapy by public video link won't have much chance!

    And your manflu today?

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  30. thanks gg - I'm getting over it now ...

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  31. (Crow, you should start your own forum as we all enjoy 'chatting' in your comments section so much lol) ...

    Interesting, your thoughts on the miners. I would think too, better to tell them how long it will take (surely the more experienced among them might have a clue ?)so that they can mentally prepare for it, than string them along.

    I would be worried about all that rock above me suddenly coming down :( it has been reported that the mine was not very safe & that parts of it should have been closed. Not a very reassuring thought ...

    It would make an interesting post I think, if you wrote about your experience being stuck down there, & your thoughts on the Chilean miners ... it has really grabbed the world's attention. Were you stuck for long ?

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  32. Thanks Lynda - believe it or not, in 'real life' I'm pretty shy and reserved in company, not chatty at all ... I guess it's probably because here I can think about what I want to say.

    The longest I've been stuck u/g was about 48 hours when there were problems with the hoisting gear, but I was in no physical danger - the worst part about it was not being in control of my own destiny, if you know what I mean.

    It's difficult to write a post about mining experiences without using 'unfamiliar' term or using drawings or sketches but, I have thought about dedicating a post to some of the people I knew who didn't make it or who were seriously injured - all that remains of them today are forgotten dusty statistics in the Govt. Mining ministry offices ...

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  33. Yes, I think many of us show a side of ourselves on our blogs which we do not show in 'real life' - somehow, blogging gives us 'permission' to do/say/think things we perhaps don't/can't in 'real life' ?
    Anyway .... back to the mining. 48hours must seem like an eternity in those circumstances - wow. I know you have posted about this (your mining background) on your blog before, but think it would be a wonderful idea for you to write a dedication post about those miners you knew.

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