Friday, December 31, 2010

Saying Goodbye to 2010 - but Hello! to Snowmen

Hello to the snow in NYC

[photo ©
2010
Roy Kushner]

Thanks so much to Roy K. of NYC who sent us these great photos of the
snowman he made with his son in Ft. Tryon Park (up by the Cloisters) in NYC.



[photo ©
2010
Roy Kushner]

Roy's snowman is sitting by the New Leaf Cafe.
If you get a chance to visit the park, definitely check out the cafe where
the proceeds from the New Leaf support New York Restoration Project's
mission of turning forgotten spaces into growing places.


[photo © 2010 Roy Kushner]

Besides being a creative snowman builder, Roy is the Founder and Chief Designer
at KDG Furniture. You can read more about Roy and work at his website.


[photo © 2010 Roy Kushner]

A Snowman Grows in Texas!

[photo © 2010 Amanda Warr]

Amanda W. sent us this photo of her Texas snowman on 12/27
(wow - it really snowed in Texas!). She said in her e-mail:
"I’ve attached a snowman replete with almond shell newsboy hat,
coriander eyes and red rice mouth just for you…
"

This is the first red rice mouthed snowman we've ever seen -
Thanks so much Amanda!

Just A REMINDER - Send Us Your Snowmen!

If you have any snowman photos you would like to share -
please send them our way - we would love to post them for everyone to see!

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Snowmen in Europe - Part 2

UK Guardian Series: Weatherwatch
Weatherwatch: A History of Making Snowmen

(and of course the Snowman Expert has something to say
on this subject)


Photograph: Stephen Hird/REUTERS

Where did the idea of making snowmen come from, and who did it first?

Snow has blanketed the UK for much of December, and, for the more child-like of us,
building a snowman became an essential task. But where did the idea of making
snowmen come from, and who did it first?

You can find out this answer and more in the story in the UK Guardian on-line.


A Snowman Greeting from Holland.
Thank you Dorothe S. who sent us this wonderful photo of her snowman
from Holland.

Photograph: Dorothe Swinkels 2010

This snowman was made by Dorothe's grandchildren and their father
outside their home.
Thanks so much for sending this for the blog!

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Snowmen in Europe - Danish News & more!

Some European Snowmen...found in Science Illustrated.
We came across this Danish posting by Lars Thomas on
http://illvid.dk/julekalender-2010/hvordan-dannes-sne-0
asking the questions of:
Hvordan dannes sne? Er det rigtigt, at der ikke findes
to ens snefnug?



[photo © Wikimedia/ German Federal Archive]
To see what all the news is about in English, just go to the Translation page.

And while we are on the subject of European snowmen...we just wanted
to share this German snow rabbit made by our cousin Emily H.

A German Snow Rabbit....[photo © 2010 Emily Hofman via her cell phone]
Emily told us that this rabbit was made outside of her school. She also told
us more of the story, "Our teacher was really late for the first period
because the train was late. So we, the girls that had managed to get to
school in my course, decided to make a snowrabbit. The guys decided that it
would be fun to throw snowballs at us from the classroom window using the
windowsill snow. Since we were almost done when our teacher arrived he let us
finish the snowrabbit while he made himself coffee. I think he was quite surprised
to see us making a snowrabbit."


While in the Swiss Alps...

[photo © Ed Nactrieb 2010]
Thanks to Evan and Quinn for sending your fabulous and fun
"BOB" Snowman in the Alps - We wish we were on vacation with you guys!

Please keep checking back at the blog, once there is more snow on the ground, we will be
starting the Snowman Contest here at Today's Snowman.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

A year ago in the UK...Crunchmas Time



[illustration by Nick Newman © 2009]

Thank You to our friend Ray L. in the UK who sent us this great cover to the British
magazine Private Eye. He told us that this was done when everyone was feeling the
effects of the financial crash at that time.

It made me think - You know things are bad when a snowman is thinking of ending it all...
way before the spring melt.


Ray's great painting (based on an historical postcard) of Santa Clause running
over a snowman can be found in the color insert section of the
History of the Snowman book. More of Ray Lang's interesting work can be seen at
his website www.yessy.com/artgallery

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Snowman Royalty and some from the Collection

It was a Royal year in 1913 for Snowmen
The Dutch Queen Wilhelmina and Princess Juliana as snowmen.
The Netherlands, January 21, 1913.


[Spaarnestad Photo, SFA022813535] www.spaarnestadphoto.nl/

And some "not so royal" snowmen from our collection...just because we like them!
Snowman on duty at the front...


[photo © Picturetown Collection]

...on the other side of the law.

[photo © Picturetown Collection]

Taking a rest from a long day...

[photo © Picturetown Collection]

"Traditional or Deboniar"...thanks to the Fuller Brush Company

[photo © Picturetown Collection]

More help for your morning shave...

[photo © Picturetown Collection]

Monday, December 20, 2010

Editorial Snowmen

Editorial Cartoons & More!

Thank you to Chris Weyant, New Yorker Cartoonist, who sent us his
current snowman cartoon.

[Chris Weyant © 2010]
You can see more of Chris's work at the Cartoon Bank's website.


and Historically Speaking....
It just goes to show that even over a hundred years ago,
New Yorkers were putting their best creative foot forward
during the snow storms.
I only wish we could have read the rest of the story.

"The making of snow men threatens to become a fine art"

New-York tribune. (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, January 22, 1905


For more information regarding this image see the notes below:

Repository:
Library of Congress, Serial and Government Publications Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA.
Part Of:
Chronicling America (Library of Congress) (DLC) - lccn.loc.gov/2007618519
Persistent URL:
chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1905-01-22/ed-...

More information about the Chronicling America Web site is available at chroniclingamerica.loc.gov

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Lookin' Good in Portraiture & a Polish Snowgiant

It's a Snowman Portrait Gallery...of sorts

In pen and ink...


[Illustration © 2010 Kim Zoph]
While out "Googling ourselves" we came across this drawing of
our book by Kim Zoph, who is a fan of The History of the Snowman.
Kim is a professional artist specializing in portraiture and illustration,
and is a member of the Chicago Artist's Coalition.
She specializes in pen and graphite, but also works in watercolor,
colored pencil, or oil paint. You can see more of Kim's work (and even
commission her for a piece) at her website River Dog Portraits.

A Snowman in Texas...
[photo by Mark Burdett © 2010]
Another piece of snowman artwork was sent to us our friend Mark who
had seen this piece in an antique shop in Lubbock, Texas. After doing some
research Mark said he believed that this was a wooden paper mache mold
from the thirties - which sounds really interesting to those of us that
enjoy old "quirky" things.

Some may say he doesn't look like a "traditional snowman" but we felt he
still had that "snowman quality' that would get him posted to this site
(and I want to know - where is he strolling to? or is he just crossing his legs?)


"Snowgiant" in Poland!
December 12th - As reported in The Straits Times a very large
(31 feet to be exact!) snowman was built recently:


A snowman reaching the height of 9.5m in Trzebnica, Poland. -- PHOTO: AP

WARSAW (Poland) - A GROUP of Poles have decided to make the
most of winter, building a 9.5m snowman dubbed Milocinek, who wears a
barrel for a hat and a road safety cone for his nose.

A Polish newspaper says several people laboured for six days on their creation,
which stands eye-level with surrounding two-story homes.

The website of the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper says the snowman's creators
began their project out of boredom but became more ambitious as they went along.

The snowman was completed on Friday near the town of Trzebnica in
south-western Poland.

The newspaper's website reported on Saturday that the snowman's builders
believe Milocinek is the largest snowman built in Poland since winter weather
set in more than a week ago. -- AP


and back home, Smile and say "Cheese"
for the
Dairy Love of Snowmen...


[photo by DH Tews © 2010]

Once again our camera toting friend DH happened across another type of portraiture...this one using the medium of cheese...well it may not be art...but at it's tasty (or so we've heard).

(and as always - send us what you create - we would love to share & post it!)

Friday, December 10, 2010

Digital Snowman Book, Katy Perry & More!

Come and Get Your Digital Snowman!

That's right, for all you folks who have Kindle readers, Nook books,
iPads - the The History of the Snowman is available in the digital format.

It's nice to
know that there are mentions of our work here and there and most
recently we came across our name under Snowman - in Wikipedia.

Although this was posted a year ago (January 29th to be exact) it's still
interesting that David Schultz of Helsinki, Finland was kind enough to mention
our book in his
Monthly Weather Review Editors' Blog:
Discussions of Science, Scientific Publishing, a
nd Meteorology.
He wrote:
"I just finished reading The History of the Snowman. What a great and
humorous collection of the authors' track to hunt down the first recorded
snowman in history.
"

We also wanted to say THANKS to Francis Pittman on the Sabrina Geisler blog
for her nice review of our book.
"This is one of those can’t-go-wrong Christmas gift gems, a hoot for most
of the folks on your list
."

So what's all the news about Katie Perry dressing
up as a Sexy Snowman?


[photo by Splash News © 2010]

As reported on RadarOnline.com, Katy Perry brought her "snowman" sass
to the show at the Jingle Ball 2010 concert at Los Angeles' Nokia Theatre on
December 5. More of the Katy Snowman photos can be seen here.

It's always great to see some sexy snowman appeal during the holiday season.


In other news, we have been asking people to send in photos of
"Snowman Sightings" around the country, and Bethel B. sent us this photo
from at the Barnes & Noble in La Cantera, San Antonio Texas!

You don't hear about snowfall a lot in the state of Texas but it's nice to
know that there is still a place for our snowman.


[photo by Bethel Bird © 2010]

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

We've Got Signed Snowman Books Right Here!

Signed Snowman Books Available in NYC and On-line.

As seen at TekServe, NYC [photo by Tamar Stone © 2010]

People keep asking us where they can get a copy by signed by the Snowman Expert
of The History of the Snowman - and now we have a few places where you can be
the proud owner of a signed copy:

In NYC you can walk into TekServe on 23rd street or if you are shopping
online, just go to the The Cartoon Bank.


As seen at TekServe, NYC [photo by Tamar Stone © 2010]

If you do happen to be out doing some holiday shopping in NYC,
I found that there were some snowmen at my favorite coffee bar -
at the 7-Eleven on 14th street between 6 & 7th Avenues, in NYC.

7-Eleven snowman cup [photo by Tamar Stone © 2010]

Oh sure you can go to a fancier coffee bar in the area, but how much fun is it
to make your own specialty coffee complete with syrups, mini-marshmallows,
whip cream and more! My in-laws knew what they were doing when they asked
for gift cards from this place! Make mine an extra-large to go!

Monday, December 6, 2010

An Irish Snowstorm, Radio Interview & Instant Snowman in a Can

It seems that while the weather is sunny at the home of the Snowman Expert...
there was a storm blowing in (and creating chaos according to the news headlines) ...in Ireland!
And as we all know, where there is "snowy chaos" there are bound to be a few good snowmen being made...and they were!

The radio station at RTE News called us to do an interview on the
Mooney [Arts & Culture radio] Show about snowmen and their history.

As you can see the storm inspired many folks to go out and create some snowy folk art.
For even more photos see the photo gallery page at the RTE News website.




[Limbo Snowman © 2010 Francis Scriven, Ardee, RTE News]


And for those of us back home who don't have there real stuff to work with...
there is always the back-up plan
-
INSTANT SNOWMAN IN A CAN!
[photo by Tamar Stone © 2010]

That's right...snow-in-a-can! Recently while strolling the aisles at the local large
home store, we came across this "Just add water...INSTANT SNOW" cans.

Each can will make 3 cans of synthetic snow and comes with "snowman buttons" and
a piece of ribbon for a scarf!
What a perfect holiday gift for all the cubicle workers in
your life who may not have the time to go outside to shop for their own can of snow -

just think about it - who wouldn't enjoy an indoor office snowball fight, or
maybe just a friendly inter-office snowman competition!


Of course, for those folks who don't have the chance to play in the real snowy stuff
due to the warmer climates...this instant snow might be a great distraction...and
now there is no excuse not to go and roll those snowballs!

(and as always - send us what you create - we would love to share & post it!)

Friday, December 3, 2010

Stolen Snowman in England - Call 999!

Yikes! a stolen snowman story and it's only December 3rd!


REUTERS/Toby Melville - A Parks Police officer takes photographs of a snowman
in Richmond Park in south west London December 1, 2010
]


As reported on the Newslite - it barely qualifies as news website this story was posted about a woman calling the emergency number to report her stolen snowman.
The site reported:
"Police in Kent have warned people not to abuse the 999 system --
after a woman called the emergency number to report her snowman
had been nicked.


The caller said she had just looked outside her house and noticed that the snowman had gone.
When asked if it was an ornamental snowman she said:
"No a snowman made of snow, I made him myself," adding that she'd
used money for the eyes.


Then she uttered the classic line, "It ain't a nice road but you don’t expect anybody to nick your snowman."

You can listen to here Woman calls 999 over stolen snowman (Video) as well as
replaying the story again & again on You Tube.

Yahoo News knows a good story (on a slow news day) and they also picked up this story that
you can view here.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Large Snowmen Meetings...Canada's Prime Minister & a NJ Nursery

Prime Minister Stephen Harper meets with Bonhomme Carnaval in
his office on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday Nov. 25, 2010.


[Photo by Sean Kilpatrick / © THE CANADIAN PRESS]

The Canadian Press
Date:
Thursday Nov. 25, 2010 11:00 AM ET

OTTAWA — Quebec's Bonhomme Carnaval is attempting to burnish his tarnished image during a visit with Stephen Harper. The always jovial mascot of Quebec City's winter carnival met with Harper and Quebec Tory MPs for a photo-op at the Prime Minister's Office.

You can read more about this high kicking visit at:
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Politics/20101125/bonhomme-quebec-101125/

And speaking of Large Snowmen....Our friend DH sent in this photo of a very large inflatable waving snowman who is standing over John's Home & Garden Center, Rt 23 South in Newfoundland, NJ....some have said after seeing this that "Puff Daddy is overseeing the Garden State" for the holiday season....


[Photo by DH Tews © 2010 ]

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