How the Columbo Dog Head Greeting Cards Came to Be

 

(This is cross-posted from Columbo Clothes and Laughs) 

 

 

How the Columbo Parody Dog Head Greeting Cards Came to Be: 

 

It was around New Years 2024 when Kevin said I needed a hobby besides the pandemic.

I said, "no I do not." 

 

He said, "yes you do." 

I said "okay, I will paint."

He kindly got an art kit and set up a small easel in a room downstairs. 

 

Mostly as a way to flip off AI art I started painting with acrylics.

 

I painted my "pandemic friends." 

 

I painted some psychedelic stars that have been in my head since 1988.

 

 

 

For a big challenge, I moved onto trying to paint some favorite Columbo scenes. 

The first one turned out okay. 

 

 

I thought I could share these paintings in greeting card form with other Columbo fans. 

I ordered 10 cards as a test from the most eco-friendly card maker I could find in the USA, and as they were being made, I painted 11 more of my favorite scenes. 

 

For example, John Cassavetes playing the Maestro as he's about to be hauled off to jail, shaking Peter Falk playing Columbo's hand:

I looked up whether painting scenes from TV or movies is copyright infringement. 

Sad trombone, yes it is. Fuckers!

I drafted a letter to the heirs of Columbo creators Link and Levinson seeking a license to sell these paintings as cards.

 

I realized NBC Universal Comcast is the evil overlord who owns the copyrights and having dealt with their overzealous IP lawyers for years who deactivate entirely legitimate (due to the First Sale Doctrine) vintage Etsy listings, I felt that a license would be unattainable/overly onerous, so I pivoted to DOG HEADS.

 

Putting dog heads on the bodies takes the paintings to the parody/satire level, which resolves any copyright issues. 

 

So I just photoshopped photos of some dogs I know and love onto the bodies.

 

 

My artist friend Jess Pfohl from Jess! Messin' who is Into This Stuff in a big way told me to paint the dog heads for consistency. 

 

So I painted 22 dog heads to match the characters/vibe of the actors in the paintings.

 

 

And that is how we ended up with 12 scenes from 70s Columbo with parody painted dog heads!

Cards available today from skippyhaha Etsy!

 

Four cards out today, four more next Wednesday March 6th, and the final four cards will be out the following Wednesday March 13th. 

Dogs. 

PS - IF YOU WOULD LIKE A CARD WITH PAINTINGS WITH THE HUMAN HEADS, sent via USPS with a forever letter stamp with NO TRACKING, I had a tiny run of those printed - please message or email me

Tea and Toast Video with Dogs

New video from Tea Leaf Green!🌿

Full of fan submission photos, check out some studly dogs at the 1:50 mark.

Their new album is wonderful, start to finish, definitely worth checking it out!

WTF Wednesday: Pouncey in a Sweater

Hallo Wednesday! Hallo WTF!

Hallo giant doll!

Hallo Clown on a swing!

Last but not least, hallo Pouncey in a sweater!

Pouncey was not blessed with the chunk or thick fur that Sugarhoney was blessed with, and does not seem to enjoy the snow as much as she does, but hopefully this will change with his ChillyDog squirrel cowichan sweater!

As with all wtf wednesdays, there are no answers, only questions leading to more questions. 

For more vintage wtf wonders (for sale), click here: vintage wtf

New WTF this week:

• Vintage 80s Most Improved Student T-shirt
• Vintage 70s Great Frame Up All Thumbs T-shirt
• Vintage 70s Old Fords Never Die T-shirt
• Vintage 1982 World's Largest Kazoo Band

Dog Bites Man

due to internet woes, WTF Wednesday is postponed until next week. 

in its stead please enjoy this video of sugarchunks biting kevin in the arm yesterday.

WTF Wednesday: Cowboy Bulldog, Sucking Pillows

Hello Wednesday! Hello WTF!

I haven't had much time for thrifting in the past week, so here are a few WTF videos I've collected from cyberspace: The Renewed Mind Is the Key:  

A bulldog in a cowboy costume rides a wooden horse: 

This is from 2 weeks ago 2 miles away from here - black bear enters kitchen, eats hershey kisses, walks down to bathroom, home owner calmly films - 

Last but not least, here is Pouncey, who at 4 years old, still sucks on pillows if he goes 2 days without a hike. Here he's made a bosom from his dog bed and sucked on it for a half hour. 

 
As with all wtf wednesdays, there are no answers, only questions leading to more questions.

For more vintage wtf wonders (for sale), click here: vintage wtf

New WTF this week:

• 90s Mt Olive Pickles Whose Dill T-shirt

sugarspay

our favorite little dumptruck went under the knife yesterday.

she went through one heat in august, and that was plenty. there are no sugarpuppies in our future.

she did great in her surgery, and was doing okay once we came home, though she was pacing around whimpering until she settled in this spot to watch the game with her dad.



she is expected to make a full recovery, and will have stitches for the next two weeks, during which time she is to be kept dry and calm. all we can do is try on that one!

way to go sugarsnickers!

the difference

between pouncey and sug - summarized in one frame.

>


pouncey: BALL BALL BALL BALL BALLLLLLL!!

sug: la, la laaaa...doo, doo, doooo...i'm hopping around! pouncey, you get it... wheee!
 

happy birthday, sugarhoney!

today is the day our little sugarsnickers turns 1. it's also the day nachodoggy would have turned 12.

we were kind of hoping for a mini-nacho, and she has kind of delivered.

she does a couple things that nacho did, that the other dogs do not do.

she runs right down to the river and swims in circles in the exact same spot nacho used to do it. 

(see nacho swim in circles)

the other dogs wait on the bank until we throw something. nacho and sugar really seem to enjoy swimming, and get in for the joy of swimming.

if she is too hot on a hike, she lies down.

(nacho did the same thing)

of course, she is her own dog. she is so round, it's like she's made out of beach balls. i don't know if it's a female dog thing, but to me she is the shape of the olympic rings.

she is in love with pouncey. she follows him everywhere. she is constantly thinking of new and creative ways to vie for his attention. 

she gets herself uphill from him and lets loose.

she is not afraid to jump on the couch for a snuggle.

she is calm and gentle, she wags her tail when she meets new dogs and people, and she will come, sit, and lie down when she feels like it.

mainly she is just a little skunk who fits in riiiiight there.

happy birthday, sugarchunks! today you will celebrate with a meatball! 

deja vu daily puppy!

this is a momentous day for 2 reasons: 1) i survived; and 2) the daily puppy re-ran pouncey as their puppy of the day!

sitting in 9th grade biology class, we were talking about diabetes and the teacher mentioned sufferers may have a shortened lifespan. at this moment i was struck with the feeling i, myself, diabetes-free, would die at 38. i have not obsessed over this, but i have remembered it vaguely from time to time for the past 23 years. i am glad to say my premonition was horseshit! i made it! 

now go over to the daily puppy and give pouncey 11 biscuits...again.

eli is eleven!

happy 11th birthday to eli! aka scoobs, brownie brown brown, and fats brownino.

a more dignified animal you'd be hard-pressed to find.



he will be having sauceless meatballs to celebrate. 



happy birthday you lovable knucklehead!

happy 3rd birthday, pouncey!

yesterday pouncey turned the ripe old age of 3!



21 in dog years. he is slowly but surely turning into a right decent pet - he has calmed down ever so slightly, and is a very patient brother for sugarhoney.

eli had a blast at the party.



the party consisted mainly of pouncey eating salmon. 





happy birthday, pounce-swah, joyeux anniversaire! (upon learning he is the color of a french baguette a few months ago, he instantly developed a french accent and insists on being called pounsoir.)

WTF Wednesday: Sugarstitches, Fake Frat, Dental Assisting

It's Wednesday, let's WTF!

I have survived almost 4 decades without needing stitches. This changed on Monday as I was hit by a sugarfreight train.

While walking down a muddy hill, a 60 lb furry dumptruck sprinted by, knocking both of my feet out from under me, sending me flying, and I landed flat on my back and wrist.

Oooops, did I do that?

The blood spouted plentifully from that smiley face gash. 

We went to urgent care where the physician's assistant's assistant (it had to be his first day, ever) tried to numb it, but did not in fact numb it. He told me they had practiced on hot dogs.

Some women brag about natural childbirth, i am bragging about natural stitches. There was no anesthesia, I felt every stitch! 

Here it is now with 4 stitches, healing up - it's my mousing hand, so I have to be careful. I also keep seeing it in my periphery which is causing me flashes of panic because it looks like a spider on my hand. Other than that, it's fine. 

 
Moving along to a couple of vintage t-shirts I picked up last week.  First, this 60's football jersey with fake fraternity letters. Iy Phelta Thi. (Say it out loud).

Oh John, what a kidder.



Last but not least this wearable tribute to the oft-underappreciated career that is Dental Assisting. 



Scraping gums - just like dancing on rainbows! 

As with all wtf wednesdays, there are no answers, only questions leading to more questions.

For more vintage wtf wonders (for sale), click here: vintage wtf

New WTF this week:

• 80s Lonely at the Top Farm Animal T-shirt
• 80s Hendersonville Apple Clouds T-shirt
• 70s Democrat for Commissioner T-shirt

SNOWDAY!

They called for 5 inches, and we got 5 inches.  The dogs love it!



This is a different kinda snowball.

 
Sunrise on the snowy Swannanoa river.

 
I always dreamed of becoming a white lab.

 
Pouncey will get the ball, no matter what. 

 
Sugarhoney will stalk him on the bank, no matter what. 

 
Something on your nose, E.

 
Snow pounce!

Sugar heart tongue. 

Stay warm, amigos!

addicted to power

once again this year, we gleefully celebrated valentine's day with arby's. 



power went out during a wild windstorm saturday at 830 pm, and it was restored at 5pm on sunday. generally i spent the outage railing against humanity, researching generators, calling duke power for updates every 15 minutes, scampering through neighbors' yards looking for signs of progress, rage-cleaning the stovetop, and going to creekside taphouse for many dranks.

sugarhoney spent the outage sitting like a human.



i hope everybody stays safe, snuggly, and warm during the forecasted ice storm!