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LOST HORIZONS, LANDSCAPE GONE WRONG.
Irony is dead and with it the 20th Century, The Index of Pure Art and a bunch of other stuff we're sure. Gone but not forgotten. Somebody, somewhere might remember, but don't count on it.
So with an eye looking backward we lurch forward with a review, The Review of Pure Art. It's like riding a go-cart with scissors... only backwards. Risky business you say?. Well sure it is but then what isn't these days? If it's not the impending threat of Boron, there's improper ventilation to contend with and excessive contact with skin. Some might say that any contact with skin is excessive in today's merry-go-round world. We take no position on that but rather we here present a varied image set designed to both entertain and educate a reluctant public. Remember you can't go forward without looking back.
THE MYSTERY AND ROMANCE OF THE PULL TOY
MONKEY ON BANJO
 Monkey on Banjo is a simian Pull Toy based on the old saying “Drunk as a monkey on banjo”, the term ‘banjo’ is here used not as an instrument of torture, but a slang name for sparkling paint remover. This Pull Toy was intended as a cautionary lesson, but is now generally seen as a comic piece. Some critics even go as far as to say that it promotes indiscretion. True, the monkey is shown bottle in hand, smoking and still dressed in his pajamas and party hat but he is a world weary monkey with the distractions of a wasted life behind him. The platform has a sturdy handle which is necessary to drag along this toy‘s stone wheels.
INDIAN PRINCE
 Indian Prince dates from the end of the Post Colonial or Late Ironic Period, the two being essentially the same thing and splitting that hair is of interest to other scholars, not us. The central character is neither Indian nor a prince. This is an example of a rare War Pull Toy, one that is seldom seen in battle and costing a fortune in resources better spent elsewhere. The fact of it’s existence is more important than its practical feasibility. The platform’s handle is made of sleek titanium and would appear to be unnecessary as this toy is radio controlled. But because the radio control is at best unreliable, the handle is in fact a necessity.
RABBIT IN CABBAGE
 Food is not a common subject in Pull Toys but pathos is. Here the rabbit has been canned alive in cabbage but of course it isn’t a real rabbit nor is it real cabbage. But it might be. This example is a rarity as the glass of the canning jar is not suited to the rough and tumble day to day use that a typical Pull Toy endures. And what Pull Toy enthusiast would want to have the little beady eyes of the rabbit staring out at them day and night. Even when you put a towel over the damned thing the eyes are still there staring, staring, staring.
"We have your daughter and she’s had sex with a carnival worker."

ALL CONTENTS ©2008 JOHN A ADAMS