That is Priceless by Steve Melcher for January 24, 2025

“Sigh, fish broth again.”

/// Titled ”Destiny,” this work’s allure

comes from Tyche, sedate and demure.

“Luck” is what her name means;

with fate, luck intervenes.

There are symbols here— mostly obscure.

There is a nice discussion of this painting here:

www. artguide. org/john-william-waterhouse/destiny/

The all female production of ‘Oliver Twist’.

There was a young lady of power,

Who realised her milk had gone sour.

“Off with their heads!”

She invariably said.

“And put all the beef in the tower!”

It’s all there in the rutter, plain as day.

“Mary, I don’t think that’s how a Chastity Belt works.”

Out of crackers, the husband just left to conquer a new land and you forgot to tell him to some up on the way home,

In an effort to emulate the American inner-city fad of walking about with one’s pants half way down Eloise, having decided that this would be impractical for women who did not wear pantaloons, compromised by wearing her waist sash half way down.

Sir Mix-a-Lot’s first wife, the muse for his far less well known ballad “Baby’s got front”

She’s “The Face That Could Sink A Thousand Ships” No wonder she wasn’t invited to Helen’s Launch Party!

The famous, “DONT TALK TO ME UNTIL AFTER COFFEE!” look.

He sighed as he sipped his wine. One last look in the mirror before packing his favorite frock away.

She thought that her ship had come in-/

That she’d scored a spectacular win:/

But she shouldn’t have drank/

From the depths of the tank-/

She choked to death on a fin..

There is the baby bump. Where are the boobs?

On the far side of the mirror

May Jack sees sail one whom to her is dear

She just saw him off tearfully

Onto his quest and now fearfully

Quaffs a bowl of some of his last beer

.

Fate had once brought them both together

She worries that perhaps stormy weather

As he rounds the South Cape

Will bend his masts out of shape

And take down the ship altogether

.

If her husband does not ever come back

And as widow she then will wear black

The child she has growing inside

That he had felt move with deep pride

Would be named as Destiny Jack

“Why are you watching?”

“I’m not.”

“Why do you want me to drink it?”

“I don’t”

“Why do you want me to drink it and why do you want to watch me do it?”

“Just drink it!”

That is the pits! …and btw, one of the pages I colored last year was THIS PICTURE!

An AI quickie delivers this:

“The painting is titled “Destiny” by John William Waterhouse, created in 1900. It is a Pre-Raphaelite style painting depicting a young woman in a red dress holding a blue goblet, gazing out a round window at sailing ships.Helpful information about the painting:Artist: John William Waterhouse (1849–1917), known for embracing the Pre-Raphaelite style.Style: Pre-Raphaelite, characterized by its romantic and detailed approach.Subject: A woman in a red dress holding a blue goblet, looking out at ships.Symbolism: The painting’s title and imagery suggest themes of fate and the future. The goblet may represent a potion or a symbolic drink related to destiny, while the ships could symbolize journeys or events to come.Technique: Oil on canvas, with attention to detail and rich colors.Location: The painting is currently housed at the National Gallery of Art.Size: 68.6 × 54.6 cm.Possible Interpretations: The painting invites viewers to consider the woman’s thoughts and the meaning of her gaze, prompting reflection on the nature of destiny and the unknown."

I’d still like to know why the artist depicts her as pregnant—unless that tummy is just the result of too many Cinnabons.

Also, I’m thinking that vessel is more of a bowl than a goblet. PIcky, picky, picky.

And it may actually be in the Towneley Hall Art Gallery and Museum, Burnley, UK.

“Something smells fishy around here… sniff No, it’s not the soup. I wonder what it could be…?”

“And that is the last time I invite Barnacle Bill the Sailor over for Netflix and chill!”

B.I.F. And those breasts look like shoulder blades

“I saw three ships come sailing in, on Christmas day in the morning.”…well ok, just two.

Hernando, reading from a list, while considering a girl in a tower…

Friar Cluck’s quick and easy test for a vampire…

Has the subject a reflection in a mirror? ☑︎

Can the subject eat the soup with garlic in it? ☑︎

Can the subject kiss a crucifix? ◻︎

“Pablo! Where the devil is my crucifix?”

“Sire, it is held between her lovely white thighs! Can I kiss the crucifix?”

The door at which we have been listening and watching is slammed shut…

she was pretty

Hello chief? Agent 69 reporting. I’m on the goblet phone. The fleet has just left the harbor. They don’t suspect a thing. I’ve hidden the microfilm of their new designs for ships in the crate with the dates – not the box with the rocks.

Okay. Who gets to give me my next Ozempic shot???? :)

LMAO!!

Destiny: 

Paste (including the quote marks) 

"Category:Destiny by John William Waterhouse" Wikimedia 

(syntax supported by the Google, Bing, Yahoo, Ecosia, and Brave search engines) in the browser address bar (or search for it using one of those search engines) and choose the first Wikimedia Category: found and once there find the text string 810, and click its link for info and links that point to more info about this roughly jumbo envelope size painting. 

Again, a larger strip image is shown by (Ctrl- or right-) clicking the image in Mr. Melcher’s MASTERPIECE #3449 (January 24, 2025) blog entry, accessible by the Check out the blog! box after the last comment, and using the dropdown menu (even larger, if you trim what’s after .png from the URL). I have added a comment there pointing to info about this artist I used to point to here. So far, 14 works by him have been used here (15 times, including 1 repeat), the February 11, 2021, strip being the prior.