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Bill Ash

@wsash1.bsky.social

The Quiet Genius of Alan Oppenheimer: A Voice Acting Pioneer wsash.com/the-quiet-ge...

The Quiet Genius of Alan Oppenheimer: A Voice Acting Pioneer - WSAsh

Alan Oppenheimer wasn't a household name, but his voice has echoed through the childhood of millions.

wsash.com

February 3, 2026 at 10:31 AM

Bill Ash

@wsash1.bsky.social

How Fandom Got Loud — The Good, the Bad, and the Exhausting wsash.com/how-fandom-g...

How Fandom Got Loud — The Good, the Bad, and the Exhausting - WSAsh

Fandom used to be about passion and connection. Now it’s a 24-hour shouting match. Here’s why quiet fandom might be worth rediscovering.

wsash.com

January 20, 2026 at 9:23 AM

Bill Ash

@wsash1.bsky.social

A Short History of Joni Mitchell’s song – Woodstock wsash.com/joni-mitchel...

A Short History of Joni Mitchell's song - Woodstock - WSAsh

Joni Mitchell's song about an event she didn't attend finds its way to Crosby, Stills & Nash to Jimi Hendrix and Matthews Southern Comfort.

wsash.com

January 6, 2026 at 11:44 AM

Bill Ash

@wsash1.bsky.social

The Posts I Didn’t Write in 2025 wsash.com/the-post-i-d...

The Posts I Didn’t Write in 2025 - WSAsh

Among the subjects I didn't write about in 2025 were the Atlanta Braves baseball team, K-Pop Demon Hunters and the incompetence of RFK Jr.

wsash.com

December 16, 2025 at 11:25 AM

Bill Ash

@wsash1.bsky.social

We’re 20 Years Old This Month wsash.com/were-20-year...

We’re 20 Years Old This Month - WSAsh

This website turned 20 years old this month. It's been a wild and sometimes frustrating ride, but there's not much I'd change...

wsash.com

November 25, 2025 at 10:44 AM

Bill Ash

@wsash1.bsky.social

Veterans Day – 2025 wsash.com/veterans-day...

Veterans Day – 2025 - WSAsh

Veterans Day honors all veterans of all wars, whether living or dead (unlike Memorial Day which honors only our war dead)…

wsash.com

November 11, 2025 at 11:42 AM

Bill Ash

@wsash1.bsky.social

Happy Birthday U.S. Marine Corps 2025 wsash.com/u-s-marine-c...

Happy Birthday U.S. Marine Corps 2025 - WSAsh

For 250 years, the U.S. Marine Corps has answered the call when this nation had a wrong it needed made right.

wsash.com

November 7, 2025 at 11:39 AM

Bill Ash

@wsash1.bsky.social

The Three Best Episodes of Doctor Who Since 2013 wsash.com/the-three-be...

October 28, 2025 at 10:23 AM

Bill Ash

@wsash1.bsky.social

Happy Birthday to the U.S. Navy 2025 wsash.com/u-s-navy-bir...

Happy Birthday to the U.S. Navy 2025 - WSAsh

From humble beginnings, arose the most powerful sea force the world has ever seen, a sea force that will celebrate its 250th birthday...

wsash.com

October 13, 2025 at 1:56 PM

Bill Ash

@wsash1.bsky.social

JJ Cale & Eric Clapton: How a Quiet Legend Shaped a Rock Icon wsash.com/jj-cale-eric...

JJ Cale & Eric Clapton: How a Quiet Legend Shaped a Rock Icon - WSAsh

How JJ Cale’s laid-back style shaped Eric Clapton’s biggest hits and their Grammy-winning collaboration on The Road to Escondido.

wsash.com

September 23, 2025 at 12:47 PM

Bill Ash

@wsash1.bsky.social

And Then There Was Adiemus by Sir Karl Jenkins wsash.com/and-then-the...

And Then There Was Adiemus by Sir Karl Jenkins - WSAsh

If you've ever asked yourself what is the name of the song in that Delta Airlines commercial, well, here's the answer.

wsash.com

September 9, 2025 at 1:34 PM

Bill Ash

@wsash1.bsky.social

My First ChatGPT Post And I Won’t Do It Again wsash.com/my-first-cha...

My First ChatGPT Post And I Won't Do It Again - WSAsh

ChatGPT wrote a post for my website about Perry Mason and showed me why I won't use it again...

wsash.com

August 26, 2025 at 10:26 AM

Bill Ash

@wsash1.bsky.social

And Then There Was Michael Maltese wsash.com/and-then-the...

And Then There Was Michael Maltese - WSAsh

Whatever you think you know about the Warner Bros. cartoon characters, Michael Maltese probably put that knowledge in your head.

wsash.com

August 12, 2025 at 1:16 PM

Reposted by Bill Ash

Steenz!

@oheysteenz.bsky.social

Happy Birthday Jackie! Jackie Ormes is my #1 inspiration. I had her portrait tattooed on my arm BEFORE I even joined the ranks as a syndicated cartoonist! Check out this comic I wrote and drew for @blackjoseipress.bsky.social's Gladiolus Magazine!

Panel 1: Toon Steenz gestures towards a portrait of Jackie of Ormes
Jackie Ormes is known as the first black woman nationally syndicated cartoonist. And she is also known for her fashion sense! And I'm Steenz! I'm here to tell you all about it!

Panel 2: Jackie works at her desk
From Patty Jo and Ginger to Candy, Jackie made fashion an important aspect of all her comics.

Panel 3: Torchy Togs Paper Dolls Example
Her most stylish star was Torchy Brown

Panel 4: Toon Steenz holds up a newspaper
Torchy Brown had an original comic strip run in the Pittsburgh Courier. In her strip, Torchy was determined to leave her small town Dixie for the big city Harlem

Panel 5: a closeup of one of the Torchy Brown comics
Jackie even took Torchy shopping in a dream before he trip to the big city by drawing her in dressing rooms trying on the latest styles.

Panel 6: Toon Steenz pulled back a curtain to reveal a private party attended by Jackie and guests.
Jackie took another step into the world of fashion in the early 1940s when she started writing and reporting for the Chicago Defender. She had a column called "social whirl" where she recounted the lives of fashionable people and promoted community programming like dinner parties and fashion shows.

Panel 1: Candy and Patty Jo are dressed to the nines
In the mid 1940s, Jackie went on to draw comics "Candy" about a curvy and outspoken maid. She also drew the well-known "Patty-Jo and Ginger" which has the same flavor as Torchy Brown in that Patty Jo was usually dressed to the nines

Panel 2: Ginger reclines on a chair while reading
Ginger was created in the age of the pinup. And at the time, drawing cheesecake* was largely for the white audience. So to have Ginger in poses that straddled the line between pinup and chastity was a welcome change in the landscape of cartooning.
*Cheesecake is slang for photographic display of shapely and scantily clad clothed female figures

Panel 3: Toon Steenz asks a Newspaper seller for a copy of the paper.
Torchy made her comeback in 1950 with "Torchy in Heartbeats". Torchy was older and wiser and was in the market for adventure and romance.
"Papers! Getcha papers!" - seller
"One Please!" - Steenz

Panel 4: paper dolls that Jackie Ormes designed
Jackie had really leaned into her love of fashion with this series by promoting it with paper dolls in a series called Torchy Togs. Every week Torchy would speak to the reader about the must haves of the time, like what color and fabrics one should wear to which events.

Panel 5: a family (mom and children) sit in a living room looking at the newspaper
Adults could order the clothing by mail, and children when cut out the paper clothes to dress Torchy up. It wa a great way to get people excited to read the full color romance pulp comic.

Panel 6: Toon Steenz hold a sheet of paper up for readers
Esteemed Readers, Torchy is making another comeback! In this issue of Gladiolus Magazine, you can dress up Torchy Brown in some of the fashions of today!

Jackie Ormes: Fashion Icon by Steenz

August 1, 2025 at 3:12 PM

Bill Ash

@wsash1.bsky.social

The Re-release of the 1973 Buckingham Nicks Album wsash.com/the-re-relea...

The Re-release of the 1973 Buckingham Nicks Album - WSAsh

The Re-release of the 1973 Buckingham Nicks Album is a welcomed, but not necessarily a "Must Have" addition to a Fleetwood Mac Collection.

wsash.com

July 29, 2025 at 10:11 AM

Bill Ash

@wsash1.bsky.social

In 2025 Superman Is About Hope and Doing What’s Right wsash.com/in-2025-supe...

In 2025 Superman Is About Hope and Doing What's Right - WSAsh

In 2025, Superman reminds us that he is about hope and doing what's right. Something, I failed to remember in 2011.

wsash.com

July 16, 2025 at 8:59 AM

Bill Ash

@wsash1.bsky.social

The College Mindset List moves to Marist College wsash.com/the-college-...

The College Mindset List moves to Marist College - WSAsh

The Benoit College Mindset List has moved to Marist College, but its importance has not changed...

wsash.com

July 1, 2025 at 9:47 AM

Bill Ash

@wsash1.bsky.social

The Legacy of Daws Butler wsash.com/the-legacy-o...

The Legacy of Daws Butler - WSAsh

Charles Dawson (Daws) Butler is the one who laid the foundation for modern voice acting as we know it today.

wsash.com

June 17, 2025 at 9:26 AM

Reposted by Bill Ash

JoJoFromJerz

@jojofromjerz.bsky.social

They said they wanted cheaper eggs, but now they’re losing their weather service, disaster relief, food assistance and health insurance in exchange for a birthday parade, a bro-fight and a ballroom.

June 7, 2025 at 1:55 AM