Sunday, July 31, 2011

atomic disintegrator part II

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Atomic Disintegrator Part II

18" x 24"

oil on panel

The 30's and 40's were pretty optimistic about how super slick our lives would be around... now. Donald Fagen had a similar idea with the flying car that made organic food and was so fast it took "ninety minutes from New York to Paris". Nobody would really have to work, and our lives would be filled with super-saturated color. All of our problems would be solved through technology.

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We would have jet-packs and flying cars! We would wear super cool jumpsuits like Barbara Bain and Barry Morse in Space 1999.

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So... things didn't really work out that way. No jump suits, but we do have Spanx for men. No awesome Dick Tracy wrist-communicators, but we do have awkwardly large cellular phones that are too big to fit in your pocket ( unless you wear some sort of "cargo shorts" which, quite frankly, NEED TO GO!). C'mon! Can you really see Cary Grant or Steve McQueen in a pair of these things?

Wait! What was I saying? Oh yeah, the phones. They also annoy the shit out of you every 30 seconds, break if you drop them once, and don't really work well as a telephone.

I guess I'm being narrow-minded when I whine about the fact that the general public is NEVER going to be allowed to have access to a jet-pack or a flying car.

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These are WAY better, right?

Sorry, I know this one was a little ranty. I'm currently in a cargo-short "tolerance program", and I know with your support... I'll make it! Pin It Now!

atomic disintegrator part I

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Atomic Disintegrator Part I

18" x 24"

oil on panel

The Buck Roger's Atomic Disintegrator XZ-38 version was made by Daisy ( the B.B. gun people) in 1935, and is essentially a "pop" gun. It has a little flint in the top that sparks, and the piston drives an arm up to make a popping sound.

A really, really LOUD popping sound.

It is the KING of all toy space guns. The Wyandotte and the Hubley are really cool, but this is the quintessential icon of heroic inter-planetary defense weapons. It's super annoying and... super awesome!

I got pulled over by the local cop once. Actually, he flashed his lights at me and then I instinctively pulled over. He drove up behind me and said he was "just sayin' Hey!". I half-ass remembered that it was some sort of law to tell the cops that you had a gun in the car. I pulled out my XZ-38 and he looked at it, gave me a funny look, and he indicated that this didn't really "qualify" as a gun.

Whatever, dude! It's super annoying and... super awesome!

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This is one of the actual patents for the Atomic Disintegrator. It's kind of a work of art in itself. Pin It Now!