off the leash

Whatever Happened To? Tommy John

Posted on May 4, 2025 by Ken Dowell

Tommy John is the popular name for Ulmar Collateral Ligament reconstructive surgery, an operation most commonly performed on the elbows of major league pitchers. Tommy John is also the name of a brand of men’s underwear that may or may not be popular but is heavily advertised.

But the real Tommy John was a major league pitcher. And a good one at that. He pitched for six different teams including the Dodgers and the Yankees and was a four-time all-star. John’s career spanned 26 seasons, from 1963 to 1989, a feat made all the more remarkable when you consider what he is most famous for: being the first person to have a surgery in 1974 that according to estimates has now been performed on more than one-third of major league pitchers.

He was, in the words of Todd Civin of Bleacher Report (May 31, 2018) “a fair-haired guy from Terre Haute, Indiana. A guy who nearly had his dream snatched from his very grip after 13 years playing the game he loved. A guy who opted to be the Guinea Pig for a revolutionary surgery that would save the careers of hundreds of his baseball brothers over the next thirty years.”

Following his lengthy career, John did what many former ballplayers do. He tried his hand at broadcasting and at coaching. He was manager of the now defunct Bridgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League of Professional baseball for 2-½ years from 2007 to 2009. Under his tenure the team had a record of 159-176.

He also has done some motivational speaking. He is still listed on the web site of the All American Entertainment speakers bureau. He can be booked as a keynote speaker for a fee ranging from $50,000 to $100,000.

John had four children with his first wife Sally Simmons. The youngest of his children, Taylor, committed suicide in 2010 at the age of 28.

“John uses his celebrity and his ‘Let’s Do It’ Foundation to raise funds for and create awareness of a topic close to his heart, suicide prevention.

“As a child, Taylor acted in the Broadway play, ‘Les Miserables.’ He was an illusionist and singer who loved the arts.

“But he also had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and took several medications.

“Through the ‘Let’s Do It’ Foundation, John raises money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention at its Chicago location, the city in which Taylor resided when he died.” (Sue Loughlin, AP, March 15, 2014)

One thing John has done throughout his adult life is play golf. A story in the Desert Sun (July 20, 2019) by Andrew I. John offered a glimpse of Tommy John’s lifestyle in the Palm Springs area where he makes his home.

“Three or four times a week, when the temperatures are manageable, he and girlfriend Cheryl Zeldin (now his wife) hit the links and together swing their way through nine holes. They’re usually done in about an hour and a half, and often return home as bighorn sheep from the surrounding mountains feed on the grassy 11th hole fairway in their backyard at the PGA West’s Arnold Palmer Private Course. At 76, his balance isn’t what it once was, and he’s had a couple of painful falls. Over the years, he’s endured procedures to his knees, hips and, of course, the left elbow that put his name in the dictionary and revolutionized the game of baseball.”

For a man whose fame is tied to a surgical procedure, John has in recent years experienced a number of health issues. He contracted a case of COVID that was life threatening.

“COVID had stricken John and his wife, Cheryl, said he could barely walk when they returned from Nashville to their La Quinta, Calif., home on December 12, 2020.

“They took him to Eisenhower Health Center in La Quinta.

“‘They sent him home the next day,’ Cheryl said.’He couldn’t stand up, he couldn’t go to the bathroom. Five times they sent him home.’

“John would be in and out of Eisenhower for five weeks. He is thankful it wasn’t five weeks and one day.

“‘I had two huge blood clots in my upper and lower lobes of my lung,’ he said.

“Finally, Cheryl texted Dr. Dan Oakes, an orthopedic surgeon friend who would send all the necessary information to Dr. Antreas Hindoyan at Keck Medical Center of USC.

“‘And at 3:30 in the morning,’ Cheryl said, ‘Dr. Hindoyan said, ‘Get him out of that hospital! I have an ambulance downstairs, he’s going to die.’ So they transported him to Keck Medical. They had him in surgery at 6 and broke up two massive blood clots in his lung.

“‘They saved his life.’” (Steve Serby, New York Post, May 29, 2022)

Curiously John’s oldest son, Tommy John III, is a chiropractor who has made statements claiming that the coronavirus pandemic didn’t exist.

Just last month a story on the MLB app by Bill Ladson (March 22, 2024) reported on John’s latest health challenge, a bladder cancer diagnosis.

One thing John does not do in his spare time is watch baseball, which he now claims is “unrecognizable.”

“Though he rarely watches any part of a game, he has strong opinIons of today’s ML.B. He doesn’t care much for the robot umpire introduced this summer in the minor leagues ‘An umpire is a part of baseball,’ he says, and he scoffs at instant replay.

“Don’t get him started on bat flips. ‘They would‘ve (been) hit the next time up with the ball in their ear,’ he says.” (Palm Springs Desert Sun, July 20, 2019)

One question that has always followed John is why he wasn’t elected to the Hall of Fame. He recorded more wins than any non-drug using pitcher (see Whatever Happened To? Roger Clemens) who is not already in the hall.

He told Damon Amendola of CBS Radio (May 17, 2024) “I should’ve been [in Cooperstown] years ago. For whatever reason — well, I know the reason… There was one player who was voting against me all the time and [helping get] in other players.”

More recently he came up with the curious explanation that he was not voted into the hall because he voted for Donald Trump. Curious because John was on the ballot for Cooperstown between 1995 and 2009. Trump was first elected in 2016. Only Trump himself could follow that logic.

Oh, and one more thing. About the underwear.

“John and his rep would like readers to know that he has no relationship to Tommy John Underwear. John said he considered a lawsuit but abandoned it after attorneys he approached for representation wanted $250,000. People ask him about the underwear, he says, ‘all the time.’

“‘My girlfriend called the company and said she was representing me and that they should think about using me as a spokesperson,’ John said. ‘Their reply was they don’t have it in their budget.’” Graham Womack, Sporting News, Feb. 23, 2016)

(Note on sources: Newspaper articles that do not include links were accessed on newspapers.com)

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Whatever Happened To?

Posted in Baseball, Sports, Whatever Happened To? | Tagged baseball, Hall of Fame, MLB, surgery, Tommy John | 6 Comments

Whatever Happened To? Chubby Checker

Posted on April 27, 2025 by Ken Dowell

In 1941 Ernest Evans was born in Spring Gully, S.C. In 1960, he performed at the Rainbow Club in Wildwood, N.J., where he sang a cover of a Hank Ballard song. By then he was Chubby Checker and that song was ”The Twist.” While it is “The Twist” that he is best remembered for, Checker had a string of other hit songs, usually associated with some type of dance, including “Pony Time,” “The Fly,” “Limbo Rock,” and “Let’s Twist Again.”

Whatever happened to Chubby Checker? He’s 83, alive and well, still making music and still performing. In fact, you can go to chubbychecker.com and book a show that the site promises will bring “an energetic, articulate entertainer. His concerts are filled with people of all generations. He is current…he is amazing and he explodes on stage getting everyone involved.”

His stage name came from his high school employer, with some help from Dick Clark’s wife Barbara.

While attending high school in South Philadelphia where he was raised, “Ernest took on after-school jobs at the Produce Market and at Fresh Farm Poultry on 9th Street. His boss at the Produce Market gave him the nickname ‘Chubby’ and his boss at Fresh Farm Poultry gave him much more – an introduction to Dick Clark.” (Ann McGill, WCSC Live 5 News, Dec. 16, 2022)

Barbara Clark made the connection between the young singer and Fats Domino and that led to his stage name. As Checker tells it “Mrs. Clark said, ‘His name is Chubby, like Fats? Well, then, his last name should be Checker, like Domino.’” (Gabrielle Moss, Remind Magazine, Oct. 3, 2024)

One thing that has been as long-lasting as Checker’s music career is his marriage. In 1963 he married Dutch model Catharine Lodders. They’re still together and have had three children.

“The couple, who live in Paoli, have been together for nearly six decades and are the proud grandparents of seven.

“The singer, made famous by his reimagining of Hank Ballard’s ‘The Twist,’ met his wife while performing in the Philippines in January 1962. The lady in her polka dot bathing suit that took his breath away was a literal beauty queen: the Netherlands native held the crown of Miss World in 1962.

“They fell in love and Checker proposed the following year. They were married in 1964, three years before the ban on interracial marriages was finally lifted in the United States.

“They often experienced racial discrimination and criticism for being in a relationship. They had trouble buying a home in Philadelphia, but persevered and finally purchased a home in Paoli in 1965, where they still live.” (Leah Mikulich, VISTA Today, Sept. 29, 2023)

In 2016, Checker and his wife drove to Sarasota to help celebrate the 100th birthday of Rev. George Garver, the man who married them.

“In 1964, Garver officiated at the Evanses’ wedding at the church where Garver served in New Jersey. Interracial marriage was legal in the state and within the Lutheran Church, but Garver became the target of racist protests and threats and eventually resigned from the pastorate of that church. Garver retired to Florida in 1981 after a career as a pastor who also developed coaching programs for clergy.” (Sarasota Herald Tribune, Jan. 16, 2016)

Checker has never been one to underestimate his influence. He had frequently expressed his frustration over not being elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He once (2004) protested outside the Waldorf Astoria in New York where the Hall of Fame induction ceremony was taking place. Another time he made his view known with a full-page ad in Billboard magazine.

“In a curious full-page ad in Billboard Magazine addressed to the music industry, the media, the general public and nominators for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Nobel Prize, Checker is making an elaborate case for himself as a cultural innovator of the highest order.

“‘Before Alexander Graham Bell, no telephone’ begins one part of the ad, which ran in the music industry weekly’s July 28 issue. ‘Before Thomas Edison, no electric light. Before Walt Disney, no animated cartoons. Before Chubby Checker, no ‘Dancing Apart to the Beat.’

“The seven-paragraph open letter ends with this proclamation: ‘Chubby Checker is King of the way we dance worldwide since 1959.’” (Tom Moon, Knight Ridder Newspapers, Oct. 2, 2001)

It took awhile, but tonight (April 27, 2025) it was announced that Checker has been selected for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. No word yet from the Nobel Prize committee.

Checker’s contributions have hardly gone unnoticed. He was inducted into the National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame in 2014. The following year, a mural was unveiled in Wildwood as part of the beach town’s Icon Wall Mural series.

“Checker’s 40’ x 12’ mural — which features six images of him doing ‘The Twist,’ plus the words, ‘Let’s Twist Again Like We Did Last Summer’ — is on the south-facing side of Romeo’s Famous Pizzeria, at 3707 Pacific Ave., a block from the site where the Rainbow Club, at which he sang ‘The Twist,’ in 1960, once existed. The artist was Susan Daly, who also created the (Bill) Haley mural.” (Jay Lustig, NJArts, Sept. 9, 2015)

Back in his birth home of Spring Gulley, S.C., an honorary marker was placed in 2022 on Highway 521. And he was the subject of another mural painted in 2022 in Leicester, N.Y., on the wall of the Leicester Casino, where Checker performed in 1973.

What was not a tribute to Chubby Checker was an app by that name developed by Hewlett-Packard.

“The Chubby Checker app allowed users to input the shoe size of a man (UK, US and European shoe sizes were accepted) to return a measurement of his penis.

“The app was withdrawn from the WebOS App Catalog in 2012 after a cease and desist order from Checker’s lawyers.” (Hannah Jane Parkinson, The Guardian, July 25, 2014)

That same story in the Guardian announced settlement of Checker’s suit.

“Rock’n’roll star Chubby Checker… has settled the 2013 lawsuit he brought against Hewlett-Packard over a “penis-measuring” app.

“Checker, real name Ernest Evans, had been seeking half a billion dollars from Hewlett-Packard for ‘irreparable damage and harm’ caused by the Chubby Checker, an app for Hewlett-Packard’s Palm OS platform.

“The settlement agreement has not been disclosed, and neither side has accepted liability, but Hewlett-Packard has apparently agreed not to use the singer’s stage name, related trademarks, or likeness on their products.

“This lawsuit is about preserving the integrity and legacy of a man who has spent years working hard at his musical craft and has earned the position of one of the greatest musical entertainers of all time,’ explained Checker’s coincidentally named lawyer, Willie Gary, at the time.”

One thing that Checker has always taken pride in is his ability to perform, even at an advanced age. This review, written by Geoff Herbert, appeared on Syracuse.com after a 2013 show at the New York State Fair.

“For an hour Tuesday afternoon at the 2013 New York State Fair, Chubby Checker proved he can still twist at 71 years young. Just in case there was any doubt.

“Checker jumped on the Chevy Court stage at 2 p.m. and immediately started the party with ‘Good, Good Lovin.’ He swiveled his legs, shimmied his hips and sang with a voice only partly diminished by time.”

Two years later he was interviewed by The Record (Hackensack, N.J.) before a show in Morristown.

“‘I’m a rock performer,’ he says. ‘If you’re coming to see an old man beaten up, stay home — you’re not going to see that. I am an old man, but I sure kick some good butt, boy. You’re looking at a 1960 Corvette with a 1967 engine, a 427, and 450 horsepower. We kick butt all day long. I’m coming to Morristown, I’m bringing the fire, we’re going to burn the theater down and go home…Anybody who misses my performance, I feel sorry for them.’”

And just two years ago he sent a similar message to Bruce Chadwick of New Jersey Stage (Oct. 6, 2023):

“I asked him, silly me, if there was anything he could not do at 82 that he could do earlier in his career.

“‘I sing, I dance, I bop out into the audience, I twist with a whole lot of people in the theater I am at. That answer to your question is a big ‘no,’ he said.

“One thing Checker definitely does NOT do is talk about retiring. NEVER.

“‘Hey, I started working out when I was 29, anticipating the day would come – and it is here – when I’d be in my 80s and still want to perform. I kept in shape all these years with that in mind,’ he said.”

(Note on sources: Newspaper articles that do not include links were accessed on newspapers.com)

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Whatever Happened To?

Posted in Whatever Happened To? | Tagged Chubby Checker, music, rock and roll, The Twist | 2 Comments

Whatever Happened To? Chuck Wepner

Posted on April 20, 2025 by Ken Dowell

Chuck Wepner was a career liquor salesman and a boxer of some note, at least in his home state of New Jersey. Then two things happened.

In 1975, he somehow ended up in the ring for a championship fight with Muhammad Ali. While everyone expected Ali to make short work of the lightly regarded Wepner, the man who would become known as the “Bayonne Bleeder” went almost the full 15 rounds and became something of a folk hero by doing so.

Then one other thing happened that would change Werner’s profile. “Among the observers on the closed-circuit television broadcast was Sylvester Stallone, a struggling 30-year-old actor who identified with the gutsy Wepner so much, he raced home and wrote the first ‘Rocky’ screenplay in just a few days.” (Robert Mladnich, March 8, 2025 nyfights.com)

Wepner would henceforth be known as ‘the real Rocky.’ As for the other nickname “What Chuck Wepner did best in the ring was bleed. Indeed, his nickname was a twin tribute to his New Jersey home town and his infinite capacity to leak crimson. He was known far and wide as ‘The Bayonne Bleeder.’” (Bill Lyon, Philadelphia Inquirer, Feb 11, 1990)

Wepner would resume his otherwise undistinguished boxing career until he retired in 1978. Undistinguished, that is, except for a couple of rather unusual spectacles. One of those was the 1976 ‘Showdown at Shea,’ a wrestling match between Wepner and Andre the Giant.

Before the match, Wepner told Bob Waters of Newsday Services (May 20, 1976):

“Say listen, I met the guy. He’s got a head this big. (Wepner holds his hands about two feet apart). How am I going to miss him. And he’s got a 56-inch waist. I’m going to look quick as lightning by comparison.”

Here’s one account of what happened to Wepner at Shea:

“Five years after the bout, in a profile on Andre for Sports Illustrated, Terry Todd wrote, ‘In the third round…Wepner really clocked the Giant as they broke from the ropes. Whereupon Andre, in a more than usually fell swoop, angrily snatched his smaller opponent into the air and pitched him forthwith over the topmost rope, ending the bout.’” (F4Wonline.com, Nov. 11, 2018)

One of his next opponents was even bigger. A bear. Twice.

“The first Victor that Wepner fought was defanged, declawed, muzzled and intoxicated. The bear weighed between 400 and 800 pounds, depending on how unreliable your source was.

“A nightclub czar called Artie Stock, who owned the Royal Manor club in New Jersey, offered Wepner the fight against Victor. It was a challenge; it was cash and Wepner accepted.

“‘I was told not to hit the bear,’ Wepner recalled. ‘What was I supposed to do? Tell the bear a story? The bear wanted to kill me.’

“The first fight with Victor was ugly.

“‘I was hitting the bear with jabs, hooks and the bear was starting to get crazy,’ added Wepner. ‘Then it got me and threw me 15-feet up in the air. People said I put on a great show and I said: ‘Are you out of your mind, this bear tried to kill me.’” (BoxingNewsOnline, Feb. 23, 2022)

Apparently both of those encounaters were pronounced draws.

Some fame and some money, however, brought about a change in Wepner’s lifestyle.

“I was a big shot everywhere I went,” he said. “There was so much booze and broads. I was out of control, a crazy man. I had some heavy friends and was running with some crazy people. And everywhere I went, there was cocaine.” (Robert Mladrich, nyfights.com, March 8, 2025)

That eventually led to an arrest and conviction. This AP dispatch is from March 16, 1988:

“Former boxer Chuck Wepner, the ‘Bayonne Bleeder’ who once fought for the heavyweight title, was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison after admitting to cocaine charges. Wepner, a liquor salesman who lost a bid for the title in 1975 against champion Muhammad Ali, was arrested in Sayreville in November 1985 as part of an undercover police investigation, said Assistant Middlesex Prosecutor Ron Kercado. The former boxer admitted in December to conspiracy and possession of cocaine. He claimed in court he had become addicted to the drug but did not sell it for profit. Under a plea bargain agreement, Wepner faced up to 10 years in prison, and that was the sentence handed down Tuesday by Superior Court Judge Joseph F. Deegan Jr.”

How did Wepner make out in prison? He tells this story:

“Wepner said no one in the New Jersey penal system gave him trouble – with one exception. ‘One inmate tried the first day I got there,’ Wepner said. ‘He said that if I bought him cigarettes every week, I wouldn’t get hurt. So, by way of introduction, I slapped him across the face, jammed his head against the cell bars, and threw him around for a while. We became good friends after that.’” (Mark Czerwinski, The Record, June 4, 1991)

Wepner was released after serving a little less than three years.

In 2002, Elise Young, a reporter from The Record (Dec. 19, 2002) visited Wepner in his Bayonne home.

“The day starts at 10 in the bayside condo Wepner shares with his Linda, a glamorous former bartender he married 12 years ago. The place is floor-to-ceiling mirrors and teal wall-to-wall carpeting and bronze sculptures and green Astroturf on the balconies.

“The phone is ringing. The fax machine is on the fritz. Already he’s running late – he has errands and a bunch of liquor stores to visit, and he needs to drop by the sales office in Carlstadt. So it’s a quick kiss for Linda and he’s off.

“The DeVille, parked in the spot nearest the condo building’s rear door has a special white finish. It’s one of those options the dealer offers, and it makes the thing sparkle at night. The car really wasn’t complete, though, until Wepner added the red ragtop and the ‘CHAMP’ vanity plates. His wife just rolled her eyes.”

In 2003, Wepner filed a lawsuit against Stallone seeking $15 million. “The boxer had maintained that he never got paid as promised, while Stallone countered that Wepner made money out of his public appearances as the ‘real Rocky.’ Stallone never denied Wepner’s role in the creation of the lucrative character…” (The Guardian, Aug. 3 2006) The suit was eventually settled. No terms were disclosed.

Throughout it all, Wepner remained a hero in his hometown. In 2017 he was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame with a ceremony at Convention Hall in Asbury Park.

More recently a statue of Wepner was dedicated in Bayonne.

“Chuck Wepner, the heavyweight slugger who inspired Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa character when he shockingly knocked down Muhammad Ali in the ninth round of their 1975 championship bout, was honored Saturday with a larger-than-life bronze statue in his hometown of Bayonne, N.J.

“It’s a fitting tribute for the popular brawler known as the Bayonne Bleeder for usually ending up battered and bloody, win or lose.

“‘Unfortunately the face looks exactly like me,’ Wepner, 83, joked about the monument unveiled at Dennis P. Collins Park just across the water from Staten Island. (Brian Niemietz, NY Daily News, Nov. 13, 2022)

Wepner had also been the subject of a mural in Bayonne.

“A mural of Chuck Wepner, the original inspiration for the ‘Rocky’ films, was unveiled this afternoon at the Bayonne Community Museum to a crowd of nearly 200 people.

“The mural depicts Wepner in his signature pose – a mean mug splayed across his face, Spartan boxing gloves at the ready, and championship belt wrapped around his waist.

“Wepner, 75, described the mural as ‘breathtaking.’

“’I know nobody who embodies a person from Bayonne like Wepner with everything in his life; his career, (and) his service to our country,’ said Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis. ‘This man has represented for Bayonne for 70 years. As a friend, as an ambassador for the town, thank you very much.’” (Steven Rodas, nj.com, March 21, 2015)

But there was one problem.

“The owner of a three-story building on Broadway who was shocked to find a towering mural of ‘real Rocky’ Chuck Wepner on the side of his property last month is saying he’ll put up with it for three years.

“Mr. Shi, 35, of Bayonne, who co-owns 737 Broadway with his family, told The Jersey Journal he wouldn’t have said ‘yes’ to having the mural on the side of his building, but now that it’s already up there, it can stay there for three years.
“’Personally, I don’t like it,’” he said.” (Jonathan Lin, The Jersey Journal, July 18, 2015)

The building owner had the mural painted over in 2019.

Posted in Sports, Whatever Happened To? | Tagged Andre the Giant, Bayonne, Boxing, Chuck Wepner, Muhammed Ali, Rocky, sports | 5 Comments

The Expressionists of the Thyssen

Posted on April 13, 2025 by Ken Dowell

Expressionism was a popular art movement in the early 20th century. It is characterized by a personal, and sometimes, distorted perception of reality. It originated in Germany. Some of the artists whose works are shown below were members of influential German Expressionist groups Die Brucke and Der Blaue Reiter. These artists include Emil Nolde, Otto Mueller, August Macke, and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Many of the Expressionists would later have their works seized or banned by the Nazis who pronounced them “degenerate.”

All of these pieces are from the collection of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid.

Two Female Nudes in a Landscape, Otto Mueler

Kneeling Nude in Front of Red Screen, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Portrait of Max Schmidt, Oskar Kakoschka

Houses on the River (The Old Town), Egon Schiele

Posted in Art | Tagged art, Expressionists, museums, painting, Thyssen-Bornemisza | 3 Comments

Warhol Deep Cuts

Posted on April 6, 2025 by Ken Dowell

Some Warhol paintings, prints and portraits that you may not have seen before. From the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.

At left is a self portrait. At right, a portrait of his mother, Julia Warhola.

Ryuichi Sakamoto (Japanese musician, composer and actor)

Wilhelmina Ross (from Ladies and Gentleman)

Details of Renaissance paintings, Sandro Botticelli, Birth of Venus, 1482

Crab, collaboration with Jean-Michel Basquiat

Posted in Art | Tagged Andy Warhol, Andy Warhol Museum, art, museums, Pittsburgh | 3 Comments

Pittsburgh is…

Posted on March 30, 2025 by Ken Dowell

Mister Roger’s Neighborhood

ketchup

a legacy of American industry

From Duquesne Works, a steel mill that dates back to 1886.

the proud former home to Negro League baseball

Crawford Recreation Center baseball team, 1926

Greelee Field, home of the Pittsburgh Crawdads, opened in 1932. It was the first African-American owned stadium in the Negro Leagues.

Uniform of the Homestead Grays from the 1940’s.

a little quirky

Kennywood Racer roller coaster car from 1927.

Created by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette political cartoonist Tim Menees.

Lost Pittsburgh, Shirley Yee. Created in 2003 for DinoMite Days, an outdoor exhibit.

All images are from the collection of the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh.

Posted in History | Tagged baseball, Heinz, Heinz History Center, history, Mister Rogers Neighborhood, museums, Negro Leagues, Pittsburgh, travel | 8 Comments

All you can eat…

Posted on March 23, 2025 by Ken Dowell

…at the backyard bird feeder

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged animals, Birds, bluejay, cardinal, grackle, sparrow | 16 Comments

The World According to Banksy, Pt. 2

Posted on March 16, 2025 by Ken Dowell

This is the second of two posts featuring images of the reproductions of Banksy’s are that are housed in the Banksy Museum in Madrid. You can see the first part here. This post includes Banksy creations from the U.K., France and Italy.

U.K.

Smiling Grim Reaper, Banksy — Smiling Grim Reaper, Bristol

No Future, Banksy — On the wall of a private residence in Southampton

Kissing Coppers, Banksy — Kissing Coppers, near Prince Albert Pub, Trafalgar Street, Brighton

Designated Graffiti Area, Banksy — Outside Cargo Club, Rivington Street, London

Hula-Hoop girl, Banksy — Hula-Hoop Girl, Rothesay Avenue, London

Hooded Youth, from Banksy’s Cans Festival in the Leake Street Tunnel, Waterloo

Queen Ziggy Stardust Banksy — Queen Ziggy Stardust, Upper Maudlin Street, Bristol

Peeping Boys, Banksy — Peeping Boys, part of Banksy’s ‘Dismaland’ exhibition

Well hung lover, Banksy — Well hung lover, Frogmore Street, Bristol. Painted on the wall of a sexual health clinic.

Punk Mum, Banksy — Punk Mum. Created for the artist’s “Banksy versus Bristol Museum” exhibition

Choose Your Weapon, Banksy — Choose Your Weapon (Keith Haring’s Dog), South East London

Very Little Helps, Banksy — Very Little Helps (Tesco Flag), Essex Road, north London

Mobile Phone Lovers, Banksy — Mobile Phone Lovers, Broad Plains Boys Club, Bristol

We're all in the same boat, Banksy — Locestoft

France

Little girl covering a swastika, Banksy — Port de la Chapelle, Paris

Bataclan – in memory of the victims of the 2015 terrorists attacks, 50 Boulevard Voltaire, Paris

Raft of the Medusa, Banksy — Raft of the Medusa, Calais

Italy

Migrant Child, Banksy — Migrant Child, Venice

Posted in Art | Tagged art, Banksy, Madrid, museums, street art | 4 Comments

The World According to Banksy, Pt. 1

Posted on March 9, 2025 by Ken Dowell

The Banksy Museum in Madrid includes some 170 actual-size reproductions of the mysterious British street artist’s works as they appear in locations around the world. The museum has not only copied the art, but also the setting, in some cases including street signs, utility pipes, wear and tear and even a little debris.

The museum is not without some controversy. Purists will point out that it is a Banksy museum without any works by Banksy, all of the art having been produced by unnamed artists. It is, of course, not really possible to have a collective exhibition of Banksy’s art since his pieces appear on buildings, walls and fences all over the world.

Personally I found the Madrid Museum to be a terrific showcase of Banksy’s street art. His notoriety is not, after all, a result of his technical ability, but rather his brashness and ideas. His messages come across pretty clearly in the Madrid museum: his disdain for consumption culture and the moneyed art business world, and his empathy for marginalized people like immigrants and Native Americans as well as the victimized in places like Gaza and the Ukraine.

The day I visited appeared to be a school holiday in Madrid. I enjoyed watching the Spanish families bring their children to see Banksy on their day off and seeing how so many of the children were engaged, pulling out their phones to take pictures and asking their parents about the images.

I took so many pictures of these reproductions that I’m dividing the blog post in two. Part 2 will include works that were created in the UK and EU.

Ukraine

Judo Fight, Borodyanka, just outside Kyiv

Young Gymnast with Ribbon, Banksy — Young Gymnast with Ribbon, Irpin

Gymnas Balancing on Rubble, Banksy — Young Gymnast with Ribbon, Irpin

Bearded man taking a bath. — On the wall of a destroyed building in Gorenka

Palestine

One of nine murals Banksy created on the Bethleham Wall, a barrier built by Israel is 2002 separating it from Gaza.

Weeping Goddess, Banksy — Weeping Goddess, Gaza

Banksquiat — Inside the Walled Off Hotel in Palestine

U.S.

New York

Robot and Barcode, Banksy — Stillwell and Neptune Avenues, Coney Island

You Loot, We Shoot, Banksy — 110th Street and 2nd Avenue

Waiting in Vain, Banksy — 636 W. 51st St.

Boston

Follow Your Dreams, Banksy — Essex Street

New Orleans

I must not copy what I see on the Simpsons, Banksy — 1606 N. Robertson St.

Girl and Mouse, Banksy — 800 N. Villere St.

Utah

Cameraman and flower, Banksy — Main Street, Park City

Los Angeles

San Francisco

Posted in Art | Tagged art, Banksy, graffiti, Madrid, museums, street art | 6 Comments

Whatever Happened To? John McAfee

Posted on March 2, 2025 by Ken Dowell

If you had a desktop computer in the last 10 or 20 or 30 years, you, at some point, were probably running Windows. And if you were running Windows, you needed virus protection. McAfee was the first, and possibly still, the most prominent name in virus protection.

But you might not have been familiar with the creator of that software, John David McAfee. At least not until the story broke in 2012 that he was a murder suspect in Belize. Or, when in 2021, he hung himself in a Spanish prison.

It was 1987 when John McAfee wrote the first commercial anti-virus software. In 1994 he sold the company. The product still carries his name though it lost favor in the eyes of its creator.

“In a profane, drug-filled satirical video he published to YouTube in 2013, McAfee mocked both his own reputation for hedonism and the software’s for being slow, omnipresent and inconvenient.

“’Every time I turn on the f—— computer it’s there looking at me. Something went wrong,’ he says in the video, surrounded by guns and scantily clad women, his face covered in white powder. ‘Fifteen years ago I had some beautiful software and they took it over. I don’t know what they did.’” (Kevin Collier, NBC News, June 24, 2021)

McAfee’s finances were apparently something of a roller coaster.

“He sold his shares in the software company in the mid-90s, and reportedly made $100 million, though McAfee told ABC News his fortune was worth ‘much more.’ But, he added, ‘I wasted it, like everybody who has money.’

“McAfee built nine homes, filling them with expensive art, furniture and oddities, such as a dinosaur skull, and he bought a fleet of planes and antique cars. He created a yoga retreat in Colorado that hosted 200 guests at a time and set up a center in New Mexico for a new sport called aero-trekking.

“But then the recession hit McAfee hard and in 2009, he said he liquidated his assets, and several of his properties and possessions were auctioned off. But he later said he didn’t lose all of his fortune, and had set up the auctions to try to fool the media.” (ABC News, May 12, 2017)

He then set out on something of nomadic course, characterized by lawless, erratic and paranoid behavior. He headed off to Belize in 2009.

A media photographer caught up with him during a visit in 2012.

“In 2012, photographer Brian Finke went to Belize to shoot the erratic tech entrepreneur at his remote compound. He had no idea what he was in for.

“‘He brought his whole crew over that day. Girlfriends, guns, hanging out poolside. Everyone came and went. My impression was that he was a smart guy with an enormous ego, who loved the attention.’” (Eric Sullivan, Esquire, June 26, 2021)

Maria Fontoura of Rolling Stone (June 24, 2021) described it a bit more bluntly: “In reality, he was living like a creep surrounded by vulnerable young women with problems.”

This BBC (James Clayton, June 24, 2021) story describes the problems that eventually led to McAfee leaving Belize.

“In 2008, he had moved to Belize, where he ended up living next to man called Gregory Faull.

“In November, 2012, Faull was murdered in his home.

“In fact, as ABC News later revealed, Faull had filed a complaint about McAfee’s dogs – saying one had attacked a tourist.

“Whatever the truth, when the police came looking for McAfee, he was not around.

“He was living with a 17-year-old girl at the time and the police discovered a large number of weapons in his home.

“When they eventually caught up with him, in Guatemala, many believed McAfee would be tried for Faull’s murder.

“But within a week, he was released and allowed to fly to Miami – a free man.”

McAfee would later be forced to pay damages to Faull’s family.

“John McAfee has been ordered to pay $25 million in damages over the killing of his ex-neighbour Gregory Faull in 2012.

“The judgement was handed down by a US Federal District judge in Florida, based on a wrongful death lawsuit by Faull’s daughter which claims that McAfee paid $5,000 to have Faull killed.

“’John McAfee’s depraved acts of plotting, financing, and directing Greg’s murder reflect that he has absolutely no respect for life or law,’ Faull’s family said in a statement. ‘Although Greg cannot be replaced, today we are comforted that John McAfee’s evil acts have been officially condemned through the power of civil justice.’” (Adam Shepherd, ITPro, March 21, 2019)

Back in the states, McAfee set up shop in Tennessee and reinvented himself as a crypto currency guru, creating a company called MGC Capital that invested in crypto. In 2019, he authored this tweet:

“I have not paid taxes for eight years… I have not filed returns. Every year I tell the IRS ‘I am not filing a return, I have no intention of doing so, come and find me.’” (Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes, Oct 5 2020)

They did. Not surprisingly, McAfee was soon facing tax evasion charges. Reportedly, he owed more than $4 million.

“…he left the United States to avoid trial, largely living on a megayacht with his wife, four large dogs, two security guards and seven staff.

“The colourful tech founder was detained on Oct. 3 at the Barcelona airport as he was about to board a flight to Istanbul with a British passport, a Spanish police source said at the time.” (Reuters, June 24, 2021)

More charges would be forthcoming. CNN Business reported that McAfee “…has been indicted on fraud and money laundering charges by the Department of Justice, which alleges he and a business partner participated in a scheme that earned more than $13 million by falsely promoting cryptocurrency to unwitting investors.

“FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said the allegations boil down to ‘an age-old pump-and-dump scheme.’ The DOJ alleges McAfee, Watson and others would buy cryptocurrencies, hype them to McAfee’s Twitter followers, which numbered about 784,000 at the time, to boost prices and then sell for a profit — in addition to promoting cryptocurrency offerings without disclosing they were allegedly receiving payment to do so. (Clare Duffy, CNN Business, March 5, 2021)

McAfee was in a Spanish prison awaiting a court ruling on whether he would be extradited. When the Spanish court ruled that he would be, he allegedly committed suicide.

This post only scratches the surface of John McAfee’s erratic and often irrational behavior. Here a few more examples:

– During his time in Tennessee he “threw his weight behind an ‘unhackable’ crypto wallet – which was then hacked.” (James Clayton BBC, June 24, 2021)

– “he started a company (in Belize) that he said would manufacture plants from the Belize jungle into antibiotics. His lab was raided in May 2012 by the police department’s Gang Suppression Unit on suspicion he was manufacturing methamphetamine.” (ABC News, May 12, 2017)

– “In the documentary ‘Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee,’ a former business partner accused McAfee of drugging and raping her in Belize. McAfee denied the accusation, as well as others presented in the documentary, in a four-part blog series, stating that she had ‘concocted’ her story and writing that he found her ‘unattractive.’” Kevin Collier, NBC News, June 24, 2021)

– “In August 2015, he was pulled over in Henderson County, Tennessee, on suspicion of driving under the influence. He says he wasn’t drunk, but high on Xanax, which he said a doctor had prescribed. He pleaded guilty to a DUI, and has yet to get his suspended license back.” (ABC News, May 12, 2017)

– He briefly moved to New Mexico after selling his company. There “he developed a light aircraft that could fly in and out of canyons. That venture ended tragically when his nephew and another passenger were killed in a crash. McAfee was found negligent to the tune of $5.2 million, but when we talked, he insisted it was a cartel hit.” (Maria Fontoura, Rolling Stone, June 24, 2021)

The latter is an example of something that was consistent throughout his career, his paranoia.

“He has gone from being known as a multimillionaire tech legend, to making headlines as a ‘person of interest’ in a mysterious killing in Belize, to launching new tech companies, to running to become a presidential candidate, to living in rural Tennessee. The one constant these days is his state of mind — his belief that people are after him.” (ABC News, May 12, 2017)

This excerpt is from a 2019 interview he did with CryptoPotato:

“They’re going against me, but they can’t find me. Nobody can find me in a cage in some unknown place in the world specifically so that I can do what I’m doing: building a distributed exchange that can’t be shut down. Do you understand? This is the world we live in. If you’re going to do things like I’m doing, you’d better be prepared to go underground. You’d better be prepared for the SEC to come.”

In her Rolling Stone story, Fontoura summoned it up like this: “John McAfee was a genius, a scoundrel-criminal, a gun fanatic, a possible murderer, and a man who liked to mix morning tequila sunrises with hands dirtied by throwing mattresses against his windows to ward off imaginary hit men.”

But wait, have we not heard the last from John McAfee? Mashable reported last month that McAfee has re-emerged on X. “In the @officialmcafee’s first post since November of last year, McAfee’s account claimed that he was actually back. In AI form. And he came back as AI in order to drop a memecoin.” (Matt Binder, Mashable, Jan. 23, 2025)

Turns out the McAfee account was being used by his widow Janice McAfee to whom he had been married since 2013. I found her story on AARP: “Janice Dyson was 34, older than most of McAfee’s women, when he spotted her outside a cafe in Miami and paid her for a day and night of sex work. Dyson had worked as a prostitute for more than 10 years; before McAfee, her most steady relationship was with her violent pimp, and she rarely saw her son. She was refreshingly honest when asked if it was love at first sight with McAfee. ‘F— no. … I just saw an opportunity,’ she says.” (Dana Kennedy, AARP, Aug. 26, 2022)

Posted in Technology, Whatever Happened To? | Tagged crypto, John McAfee, software, technology | 9 Comments