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The Don Martin ShrineDonald "Don" Martin (May 18, 1931 - January 6, 2000) was a popular American cartoon artist whose best-known work appeared in MAD magazine from 1956 to 1988.
Martin often was billed as "MAD's Maddest Artist." Whereas other features in MAD, recurring or otherwise, typically were headed with pun-filled "department" titles, Martin's work always was headed with only his name - "Don Martin Dept." - further fanfare presumably being unnecessary.
At his peak, each issue of MAD typically carried three Martin strips of one or two pages each.
Martin's immediately recognizable drawing style (which featured bulbous noses, and the famous "hinged foot") was loose, rounded, and filled with broad slapstick. His inspirations, plots and themes were often bizarre and at times bordered on the berserk.
I loved Don Martin's artwork, humor and sound effects - as a kid he had a great impact on my impressionable mind.
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Photo Credit: UnknownIn an effort to raise funds for the NamibRand Desert Research and Awareness Center and the Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust, Namibia's famous 'Fairy Circles" are being put up for adoption.
Here's an extract from a recent article in Namibia's New Era newspaper:
About 500 “fairy circles” on the Namib Rand Nature Reserve have been adopted since the Adopt-a-fairy-circle project started.
Fairly circles is a name given to mysterious bare circles in the sand that dot the landscape along the edge of the Namib Desert stretching from the north-western Cape into southern Angola.
Although the number of fairy circles on NamibRand is not yet known, the reserve is 172 200 ha in size, approximately 40 percent of which has fairy circles.
These circles, which support little flora, are an integral part of the distinctive landscape of the NamibRand Nature Reserve.
While numerous scientists have researched the circles, no one has yet been able to ultimately determine their cause or purpose.
Various theories of the origin of the circles have been suggested, including euphorbia poisoning, animal dust baths, meteor showers, termites and underground gas vents.
“In the modern world of advanced research, innovative technology and information networks, it is refreshing to know that nature can still keep some of its secrets,” says the Namib Rand Conservation Foundation brochure.
Photo Credit: Thorsten BeckerYou can find more info on these mysterious Fairy Circles here and here
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OneStonedCrow Pics
Hier Kom Kak!Haha ... I photographed this sign on the side of a 4 by 4 vehicle taking part in an extreme desert rally in southern Namibia.
The humor in it stems from an Afrikaans idiom which, roughly translated, means "the shit is about to hit the fan" and which, in turn, has been 'translated' into the San tongue - the 'X'es and exclamation marks (!) representing the 'click' sounds of that language.
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OneStonedCrow PicHeh! ... this is the name of a store in Grootfontein, Northern Namibia. I still can't figure it out - is it a misspelt plea to the Holy Virgin or a twisted commentary on marriage?
For some odd reason it makes the Beatles' "Let It Be" start running through my head:
"When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me ..."
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OneStonedCrow Pic... I must confess, I was tempted to trespass ...
A sign in the Namaqua National Park, South Africa.
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OneStonedCrow Pics
