Creating, collecting, and sharing thoughts and ideas. And learning along the way.
Long before any of us had heard the words YouTube, there was Bob Ross, the soft-spoken, big-Afroed man who tried to teach a generation of Americans how to paint — or, as he might put it, “make love to the canvas.”
Ross didn’t exactly have a huge platform. He aired on local PBS affiliates for 11 years starting in 1983. But thanks to his unusual appearance, soothingly square manner and wet-on-wet technique of painting that turned a blank page into a landscape painting in less than 30 minutes, he was not only entrancing but something of a phenomenon.
You’d watch Ross quietly at home, half-admiringly and half-ironically, thinking you were one of the few. Meanwhile, millions of people around the country were doing the same. Long before there was viral video, Ross was going viral.
On Monday, Google decided to give the personality a fitting 21st century honor. On what would have been Ross’ 70th birthday (he died in 1996 at the age of 53), the company dedicated its so-called Google Doodle to Ross. The Google home page showed Ross in front of an easel in a painterly pose that he himself would have appreciated. The link went to an assortment of Ross-a-nalia.
It’s not the first time Ross has received a digital homage. PBS, which has been archiving Ross broadcasts on its digital channel Create, had given him a remix earlier this year. (You can watch it above.)
Turns out Ross has the power to go viral in this new age too: the video generated more than 3 million views, as many of us relished the chance to relive his talk of happy little trees and clouds.
We only wonder what he would have done with Hurricane Sandy.
With the recent hype over Mr. Amitabh Bachchan’s seventieth birthday and the passing of Mr. Yash Chopra, Bollywood’s beloved film director, my husband and I decided to take a trip down memory lane and pulled out the famed 1975 Deewaar– a film directed by Mr. Chopra that prominently features Mr. Bachchan.
Having only faint memories of having seen it many years ago, it was almost as if I were watching it for the very first time. Notwithstanding the obsolete style of cinematography of the day– which is an interesting study in contrasts in and of itself– it was quite fascinating to take note of the overall style of the movie that undoubtedly has laid the foundations for many a Bollywood saga for generations to come! Not only did it lay these foundations, but it firmly established certain stereotypes of Indian society that prevail to this day.
Themes such as devotion to one’s parents, a mother’s love to her children, a father’s sacrifice for his family, the upright career of the policeman, and the rebellious son whose redemption lies in realizing the worth of his love for his mother to be greater than that of the ill-gotten wealth at his feet. But beyond stereotypes, the film was also groundbreaking on other fronts: it must have been quite the sensation in its time to see an independent woman of the likes of Parveen Babi, who is no different than her lover in reaching for the strong spirits and the cigarettes to get through each day, even while declaring her love for a man she doesn’t need one way or the other.
And while the script has some holes here and there, in the grand scheme of things, I suppose one must simply overlook them all to focus instead on appreciating all the other nuances of memorable diaglogue and searing “angry young man” looks that were since almost patented by Mr. Bachchan. Also, a big nod must be made to the story-line that was reflective of the tumultuous politics of the day– when labor union activism was at its height due to the growing sense of desperation for the paucity of the very basic needs of life: roti, kapda, aur makaan– bread, clothes, and a roof over one’s head.
Updated October 28, 2012, 2:28 pm
On Oct. 29, 1929, stock prices collapsed on the New York Stock Exchange amid panic selling. Thousands of investors were wiped out.
On Oct. 29, 1891, Fanny Brice, the American comic singer, was born. Following her death on May 29, 1951, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1618 Sir Walter Raleigh, the English courtier, military adventurer and poet, was executed in London. 1682 The founder of Pennsylvania, William Penn, landed at what is now Chester, Pa. 1891 Broadway star Fanny Brice was born Fanny Borach in Newark, N.J. 1901 President William McKinley’s assassin, Leon Czolgosz, was electrocuted. 1923 The Republic of Turkey was proclaimed. 1929 Stock prices collapsed on the New York Stock Exchange amid panic selling. Thousands of investors were wiped out. 1940 The United States America began its first peacetime military draft. 1947 Frances Cleveland Preston, the widow of President Grover Cleveland, died at age 83. 1956 Israel invaded Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula during the Suez Canal crisis. 1956 “The Huntley-Brinkley Report” premiered as NBC’s nightly TV newscast. 1962 The Beach Boys’ debut album, “Surfin’ Safari,” was released. 1966 The National Organization for Women was founded. 1967 The musical “Hair” opened off-Broadway. 2004 Osama bin Laden, in a videotaped statement, directly admitted for the first time that he had ordered the Sept. 11 attacks. 2004 European Union leaders signed the EU’s first constitution. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
Actress Winona Ryder turns 41 years old today.
AP Photo/Dan Steinberg
Actress Gabrielle Union turns 39 years old today.
AP Photo/Peter Kramer
1940 Connie Mack III, Former U.S. senator, R-Fla., turns 72 1944 Denny Laine, Rock musician (Wings, Moody Blues), turns 68 1945 Melba Moore, Singer, turns 67 1946 Peter Green, Rock musician (Fleetwood Mac), turns 66 1947 Richard Dreyfuss, Actor, turns 65 1948 Kate Jackson, Actress (“Charlie’s Angels”), turns 64 1953 Denis Potvin, Hockey Hall of Famer, turns 59 1957 Dan Castellaneta, Actor (“The Simpsons”), turns 55 1961 Randy Jackson, Singer (The Jackson Five), turns 51 1967 Joely Fisher, Actress, turns 45 1977 Brendan Fehr, Actor (“CSI: MIami”), turns 35 1984 Chris Baio, Rock musician (Vampire Weekend), turns 28 Historic Birthdays
Fanny Brice 10/29/1891 – 5/29/1951 American singing comedian.Go to obituary »
75 William Hayley 10/29/1745 – 11/12/1820
English poet, biographer, patron of the arts88 Daniel Decatur Emmett 10/29/1815 – 6/28/1904
American minstrel entertainer69 Thomas Francis Bayard 10/29/1828 – 9/28/1898
American statesman, diplomat and lawyer89 Franz Von Papen 10/29/1879 – 5/2/1969
German chancellor (1932)88 Fred Lazarus Jr. 10/29/1884 – 5/27/1973
American merchandiser47 Joseph Goebbels 10/29/1897 – 5/1/1945
Minister of propaganda for Nazi Germany
