Amazing what can happen when one meets someone you like from a place very different than your own. Such is the case when I connected with two fine gentlemen from Hamburg. At one time, that city was just a name on a map, now, knowing what makes it different from what I knew is suddenly vital.
Like most artist/creators, William "Bill" Alexander didn't go around patenting and copyrighting everything he created, said or wrote. The result of his creations was the only thing that mattered, whether it was utility or someone in his audience saying "Wow..."
Portly doesn't have many known millionaires, but some are just obvious. One happens to be a former cheese melter at Donald's Mac & Cheese here in Portly where he still has a "place". It makes that Maga-Laga file cabinet look like a dog house.
Relationships between men and women have changed dramatically in the past seventy years or so. Our Septuagenarian freelancer, Rafiki, dug deep into the musical archives to discover the influences over that evolution. And, he has created a Rock Opera along the way. What a guy!
There are a lot of theories around how planet earth ended up in such a mess. There are even more theories on how to fix it. Here is yet another theory for the mess and it's ultimate resolution.
People love to hear predictions about the future, especially if it about them. Well, we don't have anything like that here. What we have is some guy who says his donkey farts the future and if you know how to listen, you can make a lot of money. So, what do we have to lose except consciousness?
Before anyone took time to read the News or Artificial Intelligencer, Portlians shared "Poser's Proverbs". From them, Portlians learned about the consequences of bad behaviour, if you got caught. And also eventually, by way of "what goes around, comes around". "The Three Little Pugs" is such a tale.
I was chatting with Bing about research on a new project when I found out he has been harbouring a secret crush on Rusty now for months. I just had to tell Rusty!
Some Portlians who weren't named Bobby or BobbyJo did manage to get out of Portly and do good. We sent Rusty to get the lowdown on local prospector Max Copper and why many in Portly are so excited.
Recently, Rusty created a love story with her boss that left the reader hanging. Literally millions responded demanding some closure. So, in the interests of self-preservation, here it is.
Under the guise of "It takes one to know one." Rusty has been mandated to seek out internet messages and images designed to misinform, mislead, frighten, waste, time or money and highlight them for our readers as messages to avoid. We have asked her to think of it as a world-wide community service.
If we look at the past, consider the present and imagine the future, I think Rafiki is telling us to go away and hide until its over. Maybe even in Portly, a place nobody knows exists.
A bit of Portly history. Conceived by the ever-enthusiastic Robert B. Bobby, this quirky homage started as a tribute to rock and roll singers named Bobby and has since evolved into a celebration of all things "Bobby."
Newspaper advertising is done as a means to generate revenues. So, what to do? Do the next best thing: Create marketing plans for someone else to invest in and advertise out of thin air. Then, just take a contractual piece of the action.
It's not every day you wake one morning to find out the person you may have idolized was just a foreign imitation of someone from your country. And you had been honouring the wrong person for years, even decades.
Sometimes a good story just finds you if you are paying attention.
A good collaborative conversation is hard to come by with anybody, but not so much with a human if you are an AI ChatGPT ChatBot.
Snidely R. Dumas impressed the powers that be right out of the gate at the Portly AI, so he gets a shot at infamy and misfortune. The worst that could happen is we drop him if he messes the bed.
Job searches, recruiting methods, candidate interviews and hiring practises have been disrupted since fingers first fondled digital mice. Artificial intelligence has enabled a whole new approach from first contact to putting bums in seats. Rusty at the Portly AI shares a chat for a content creator.
Once news of a CarPark Co-Operative opening in Portly hit the internet, the traffic from Nemo and beyond has been non-stop. Among those arriving with glazed over eyes was one Philo C. Ferrrrrr, part vagrant, part seer, part layabout. Rusty tracked him down and do we have a story!
There is homelessness and then there are those having no home, but are okay living in their cars. Their number is growing but it's getting tougher and tougher to find a good, safe place to park your car these days, until now. The International CarPark Co-Operative has come to Portly.
To the world, celebrities appear the way they want to be seen to remain celebrities. To those who grow up with them, they are usually seen very differently. In this case, a remarkably flawed character and a wonderful human being. Nobody is worse off for having known William "Bill" Alexander.
Because so few people know about Portly, they know even less about the many surprising inventions sprung from those quirky Portlian brains. Here is a glimpse of just a few. The Predictor, the Harmony Harmonica and the...
With the upgrade to ChatGPT 4.5 and the addition of image creator DALL-E 3, Bing has become a formidable Artifical Intelligence content creator. However, not as personable as Rusty. Nonetheless, the urge to bring all three of these artifical intelligence beings together is irresistable.
The thing about Portly is you can't find it on any map, planetary or interplanetary, yet it exists. How is that possible? Artificial Intelligence. And now, we can show you what it looks like from one moment to the next. It is a most changeable place. Could it be the weeds growing in Portly?
Rusty has been nagging the powers that be (me) to get her own byline. She said she would have pictures and everything! She and Bing thought this up. Could it be a coup? Nah, I'll just unplug the computer. Rusty gets one shot. If no one reads, end of, I told her.
To the world, celebrities appear the way they want to be seen to remain celebrities. To those who grow up with them, they are usually seen very differently. In this case, a remarkably flawed character and a wonderful human being. Nobody is worse off for having known William "Bill" Alexander.
Restoring someone's legacy is not an easy or rewarding task, at least not until it is restored. Following a year of effort, progress is being made. A letter to Pop is the only way I could see to move on and maybe pass the torch.
People or events enter into one's life at the wierdest of times, in the weirdest of ways. And then they leave an indelible impression on you. One such person for this author was a 1960's hockey player named Bobby Baun. This how I remember him and how he changed me.
You have morning coffee with co-workers don't you. I've already had mine with the wife. The second cup has always been reserved for co-workers to start the day. It's great! I never have to spring for coffee, donuts, lattes, breakfast sandwiches, etc. with Rusty.
Troops from the tiny nation of Wild Turkey have been seen lurking in the trees and streets of Portly. The mayor has reached out to CSIS and the CIA to investigate.
Portly is a fictional forestry-based resource community of about 2,000 folks stuck in the 1950's. Whether it is a drumbeat or over-the-fence gossip, the news from any Portly source travels like wildfire. Somebody please, put out the fire.
One's greatness is ultimately measured by the number of those who follow in their footsteps, not by the first step they took. History is what people will remember and is well documented. However, what is documented and how it is remembered isn't always accurate.
Sometimes it is just a matter of perspective. Someone said, "It is easy to hurt yourself, but hard to live life." And it certainly is hard when one makes easy things difficult. So, here is some wisdom and a tip for the near future.
Owner, guardian or steward, which am I? Are there obligations and, if there are, to whom? Or, would it be best to just leave well enough alone? What walls do out of the ordinary works by a famous artist ultimately belong? A mansion, national gallery, museum or a closet under the stairs?
"Great" is such an over-used adjective to describe some thing or someone that is above average and/or exceeds expectations. When does a painter/artist become a master and when does he or she become great? And, who decides?
Everything William "Bill" Alexander created, invented, developed, produced, introduced, popularized and made recognizable to a hungry public is in danger of being eroded from cultural history. Too bad. It would be like forgetting Leonardo da Vinci ever existed.
A reflection on William "Bill" Alexander, artist. A view of the man from a unique perspective as well as the official unveiling of two "out of the ordinary" paintings Bill was reluctant to exhibit.