Mike Douglas Passes Away

I was sorry to read over on Mark Evanier's site, as well as at CNN.com (you can see the CNN obit by clicking on the above headline), that talk-show host Mike Douglas as died. Along with Merv Griffin, Douglas commanded a very loyal following for years. Doing during the day what Johnny Carson was dominating on latenight, Griffin & Douglas were both entertaining and yet were hardly similar. Douglas was more like Carson, in that he brought a gentle mid-West style to his show, while Griffin was totally Vegas/Atlantic City in the way he did things.

I was always more a Jack Paar/Steve Allen kind of guy, but my mother loved Douglas.

Respect and condolences to his family and many friends.

Going, going, gone!

Seems that those boxes of comics (photo posted last week) are going to go to a good home. Or at least not taking up space at the soon to be vacated Chez Chaput. Apparently, Christina Stoffo's boyfriend Dan will take them off our hands sometime next weekend. Fortunately, just a few days prior to the movers coming in to remove everything else.

For those who care about such things dozens of fanzines, comics related magazines and other such things from the past are heading to recycling tonight. Trust me, it hurts to see much of it go like this but we have to be realistic.

You don't even want to know about the boxes of photographs, videos and other personal stuff that both Donna and I are parting with.

Quick Review: The Flash #2 (DC)

THE FLASH #2 (Sept. '06)

Writer Danny Bilson and artists Paul Demeo & Ken Lashley do another nice job bringing the latest Scarlet Speedster into the DCU. I’ve always been fond of Bart from his introduction as Barry’s grandson from the future. The IMPULSE series was a lot of fun, as was Peter David’s YOUNG JUSTICE stories. This Bart is older and much more serious, but I think I could grow to like him as much as I grew to like Wally before him.

This story continues to fill in new readers and folks returning to the character, by retelling much of the history of not only Bart but the other speedsters in the DC Universe who he has encountered. It also shows us a new speed oriented character, but it’s not yet known if this one will be a hero or villain. By issues end Bart has put on the costume we all know, this one a “clone” of Barry Allen’s which S.T.A.R. Labs created from remains of the original. I thought that was a nice touch and, of course, the Flash ring once again makes its appearance.

As I mentioned in my review of the first issue, I’m not regularly reading and buying comics at this point. If this series continues to be this good it might be something to bring me back.

FLASH back!

My co-worker, Carlos, has let me read the first issue of the new FLASH series from DC. Bart, once Impulse & then Kid Flash, has aged several years and has lost his powers. At least until something apparently happens at the end of the first issue. It's always great seeing Jay Garrack (the original Flash) around and I'm curious about the problems with the good old 'speed force'. Since we see The Flash on the covers of both #1 & 2 we assume that Bart will take on the name and red costume before too long.

The first issue also introduces a few characters, new to me, and brings in our friends from S.T.A.R. Labs.

I haven't been reading new comics for over a year, so I'm only aware of changes in the DCU thanks to folks like Tony Isabella reviewing stuff online & in CBG. I'll let you know what I think about issue #2 in a day or so.

Boxes of Comics: Pickup and Take 'em, Best Offer

We haven't had much of a response to my comics list, so I'm going to have to take the next step. I have ten long boxes and the smaller box you see above. Make me a reasonable offer and they are yours. These include over two hundred issues of CEREBUS and lots of DC/Marvel/ books from the mid-80s to 2004. There are a number of complete mini-series, graphic novels & some TPB collections.

The only thing is that you have to be able to pick them up and take them away. I WILL NOT SHIP!! We're stripping the office and moved this stuff to the living room, to make things easier.

E-mail me at: sachaput50@yahoo.com or via this blog.

The Beat: Heidi MacDonald

I have finally gotten around to adding Heidi MacDonald's PW blog to my list of links. I want to thank Mark Evanier for reminding me that Heidi is one of the more entertaining bloggers around. If you missed the San Diego Comicon as I did, you'll love Heidi's take on the event and what went on.

Back in another life (at least it seems that way at times), I frequently had the opportunity to chat and hang out with Heidi. These were generally at Friends of Lulu functions, but also at comic conventions or events which brought fans together. Heidi was always a joy to talk with and almost always the life of any party. Trust me, you haven't been entertained until you've seen Heidi and Johanna Draper Carlson (her "Comics Worth Reading" linked over on the side) out on the dance floor of some convention hotel.

Nothing to report!

We're still waiting to hear the final outcome of my interview in Los Angeles, last Tuesday. I don't feel as upbeat today as I did at the time, but have to remain hopeful that I will still get the position. Folks at the Braille Institute couldn't have been nicer and I'd love the chance.

Almost exactly thirty years ago I was attending the 1976 San Diego Comicon, so it was weird being out there and not having a chance to check it out. Our flight was on Saturday, so it would have been impossible to even head down for the annual Capa-Alpha Breakfast. Fingers crossed I'll be able to attend next year. It would be great to see Jeff, Rich, Dwight, Bill and Bob, as well as any other former & current K-a members.

I can't wait to read the blogs and see the photos of folks who did have the oppotunity. Anybody with links to that let me know and I'll post the links here. If you click on the headline above you'll get the "official" site page and see what you may have missed.

Are we there, yet?

Donna and I are flying out to Los Angeles tomorrow for a week. We've got a few things to do while we are there, but I'd rather not go into all that right now. Fingers crossed I'll have some news to report when I return.

Since I might not be able to post for the next week I wanted you to have something to look at. Not as cute as towel animals, of course.

Red Buttons:Did he ever get a dinner?

I was saddened to read of the passing of long-time actor & comedian Red Buttons earlier today. Growing up it seemed that Red Buttons was every where in both films or on television. Back when Dean Martin was doing his series of 'roasts', Buttons could be counted on to deliver one of the funniest bits each show. He would begin talking about famous or infamous individuals of various types and always end with "He never got a dinner!"

Films like the POSIEDON ADVENTURE, THE LONGEST DAY and others demonstrated that Buttons could also turn in a solid dramatic performance given the right material. He was the classic, average man often thrust into situations he could not control.

Much sympathy to his wife & children. His many fans will miss him, but his film roles will be around to entertain us for years to come.

Nothing better to do

I’ve been enjoying NBC's THE LAST COMIC STANDING this time around. Possibly as there really is nothing else that appeals to me at the same time on Tuesday night. I was sorry to see Gabrielle be sent off, but he did break the rules set down in the contract. First sneaking a Blackberry into the cabin and then after being caught making another phone call from the ship.

The fact that Donna and I will be watching the AMERICA’S GOT TALENT semi-finals tonight probably says more about us than I’d like. Of course, to be honest I’m the one more into both these shows, since when I get home the more brain-numbing things are the better.

Perhaps when the Fall season begins I’ll start watching stuff which takes a bit more of my attention and intellectual functions. We’ve seen promotions for one show which looks good, namely "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" from “West Wing” creator Aaron Sorkin a drama that includes Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford (both who appeared in "The West Wing", Whitford as Josh and Perry in a semi-regular role for a couple of seasons even before FRIENDS left the air). While Donna could not care less, I’m willing to give HEROES a chance.

Procrastination Funnies!

You can ask anyone who knows me and they’ll tell you that I am a notorious procrastinator. It really takes a major deadline or being pushed to finally get me to actually do something. In this case it was the looming possibility of a move to California.

I have had fourteen long comic boxes sitting in the computer room since the day we moved back to Brooklyn. In most cases the boxes were still taped shut from the move. Since I’ve only purchased a handful of comics since getting here there was no real reason to go through them. Finally, this weekend I spent most of Saturday & Sunday going through each box, plus two other cardboard boxes of various fanzines & other stuff. The past two days I’ve been trying to put together a ‘sale list’ of material.

Do I keep CEREBUS or my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Is it better to hold on to X-FILES or TRANSMETROPOLITAN? There was never a question about the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, but do I keep all my westerns or just the BEST OF THE WEST?

As I mentioned yesterday I have two lists that are available for those interested. After sending out the lists I came to realize that I had still more material to add, so I’m slowly inserting the new stuff into the lists. I’m going to be adding some TPBs and graphic novels to the comics list, but you’re welcome to request what I have already.

Believe it or not, not counting what remains on the bookshelves I have only four long boxes of comics that I’m keeping. These boxes aren’t even full, so you can imagine how ruthless I’ve been. Of course, the threat of a campfire with the entire collection helped!

In case you're wondering Spider Jerusalem beat out Sculley & Mulder, while the the sewer dwellers won out over the Earth Pig.

Cleaning out my collection!

I know my might catch flack for this, but I'd like to give the folks reading my two blogs first dibs on comics & fanzines I'm clearing from my collection. I may be moving in the next few months, but even if we remain in Brooklyn I think it's time to weed out stuff I no longer want/need. There's about ten long-boxes of stuff I'm getting rid of one way or the other.

The fanzines/magazines include stuff from the 1970s, i.e. a couple of issues of RBCC, GUTS, OMNIVERSE and others. I also have some copies of Comic Book Profiles, Amazing Heroes,etc. There are also some zines (pro & fan) on "B" movies & serials. Some of these are yellowing with a bit of water damage on a few.

The comics are mostly in Very Good or better, but that's according to my standards. Most are DC & Marvels from the 1980s-'90s, when I was collecting heavily. Many individual mini-series, and cross-over tie-ins. There are also a few 'adult comics','anthropomorpics' and 'independents', including some 'ash cans'.

If you are interested in either or both lists I'll send them along as an attachment via e-mail.

write me at: sachaput50@yahoo.com

Lennie Weinrib

Over at Mark Evanier's site (a link to which you'll find over on the side) he has posted several items, including video links, about his friend Lennie Weinrib. If you click on the above headline you'll get over to the Internet Movie Database page which has a partial listing of Mr. Weinrib's career. Looking at it was like getting a flashback to a lot of my childhood. As a writer/performer on many of the Sid & Marty Krofft's shows his voice (and he seemed to have dozens of them) was heard by all of us kids.

Mark also mentions, with another link, that Mr. Weinrib was the voice of "Timer" a character used in a number of nutrition cartoons which ran on ABC for seemingly decades. The spot Mark uses is about cheese. There are still times when I find myself singing part of the tune ("I hanker for a hunk of cheese!").

My sympathy and condolences go out to Mr. Weinrib's family and many friends.

Summer viewing

Sorry, but I haven't had much chance to post this past week. Things have been pretty busy at work between catching up on things for the end of the fiscal year and my assistant manager being on vacation. Add to that some major air conditioner problems at the library.

With most of our faves in rerun or off for the summer, Donna and I have been watching a few new shows plus checking out things on the higher cable stations we have had to miss.

THE 4400 is back on USA and is just as good as ever. The Returnees are gaining increasing strength and even some new powers. We were sorry to see the passing of Lilly (actress Laura Allen) and are intrigued by Isabelle's rapid aging. Jeffrey Combs, as scientist Kevin Burkhoff, is for me the most fascinating character, and possibly the best actor on the show. I can't wait to see what changes is going to undergo via his research and self-experimentation. I had the opportunity to actually see Combs in person at a FANGORIA Convention and found him very funny and friendly in public. I also don't think we have seen the last of the presumed dead (and missing) Collier, former leader of the 4400 Institute.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I have been watching LAST COMIC STANDING and the first episode of AMERICA'S GOT TALENT. Both of these are of the 'car wreck' variety of shows, being so bad at times that you can't turn them off. Of course, the idea of David Hasselhoff judging these folks is amusing in itself. I'm one of those folks who don't have strong feelings one way or the other about Hasselhoff, sometimes actually finding him funny. He reminds of me Lee Majors, basically an actor who lucked into a couple of roles which clicked for a brief time. Naturally, I'm willing to watch Regis any time. :-)

Havana Passage by Jay Lillie: A review

This is going to be passed along to the Joe Bob Briggs folks for eventual posting.

I took this book on the cruise, but didn't have as much chance to read it as I had hoped. Ended up finishing it during my daily commutes. While, as I state in the review it reminded me of the similar PATRIOT TRAP I reviewed a few weeks ago, it was a decent read if you don't go all political about this type of thing.
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HAVANA PASSAGE by Jay Lillie
Published by Ivy House Publishing Group
ISBN: 1571974520

With the end of the Cold War writers of thriller/suspense novels have had to search for a new foe for their heroes to confront. International drug cartels just don’t cut it anymore, so since 9/11 various Islamic nations or ‘terrorist’ groups have become the main focus.
While the last few Communist nations (China & North Korea, for example) can still cast their evil shadows over the U.S. and their allies, it really amazes me that some authors seem to let their gaze wander only ninety miles from our shores.

In the past few months this is the second book I’ve reviewed in which the main character and his/her companions are threatened by elements in Cuba. In both, the chief protagonist ends up in Havana, caught between parties attempting to overthrow the Castro government or attempting to gain power when the current regime ends with Fidel’s passing. Also, oddly enough, in both novels the characters at some point are escaping from Cuba by boat only to be caught off the Florida Keys in approaching storms or hurricanes. I guess this happens more frequently than you’d think.

When a fishing vessel is stopped by the U.S. Coast Guard off the coast of Cuba, it is discovered that one of the men aboard is without documentation. When the boat’s owner is arrested and his boat confiscated this triggers a series of events which brings together law student Kate Stevens, Washington D.C. lawyer Gordon Cox and the first female President of the United States. The President, looking to end the decades old trade embargo, sends Kate and Gordon (who at one time dated Kate’s mother) to Havana in order to discover what the reaction might be to such a decision. The lawyers find that things are much more complicated than they appear with angry Cuban exiles on one side and a possible coup by Army officers on the other. Add to this mix the mysterious Santiago deCristo, a one time member of Castro’s elite guard who has his own reasons to return to his native land.

Writer Lillie brings an old fashion feel to his book, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s a fast read, ideal for vacation reading. The author throws in the occasional sexual detail and “F” bomb, but it feels as if he is doing it more to appeal to a section of readership who want that sort of thing, rather than something which comes naturally. While the character of the President never rises above reminding me of Geena Davis in COMMANDER IN CHIEF, Lillie brings enough life to the rest of his cast to pull the book up a notch from similar fare.

Three stars

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Just to give you an idea of one of the shopping areas in Tortola. There was a less 'scenic' one right outside the pier area, but this one was located near the main shopping district where most of the tour buses loaded up.

I wouldn't mind going again, to have a chance to check out the beaches. You can sit by the fountain with chickens running around you, drinking cokes and local beers. Pretty pleasant way to spend an hour or so.

Shots of San Juan

A few shots at Casa Bardardi, including your's truly in front and the open bar. Also a couple showing the fort at the entrance to the harbor of San Juan, as well as the view from our balcony. That's not Donna, but the lady in the next cabin checking out the sites. I feel bad that I can't recall her name at this point, since we had several nice conversations in the early mornings peaking around the balcony seperation.

So what's the 2nd worst?

As near as I can figure there are around twenty folks who read this and my other blog on a fairly regular basis. Of those, there can't be more than a handful that will know what I'm talking about in the next paragraph. Are you one of the chosen few?

It will be hard for those of you who know me and have read Ted Rall's "The Worst Thing I've Ever Done!" to believe that I am actually being considered for a certain position in California. I'd probably be better off not jinxing it, but it does make me stop and consider the things I've done in the past. If there is such a thing as Karma (as the title character in MY NAME IS EARL would say) it's about to bite my a**.

Just some catch up!

Was sorry to hear belatedly of the passing of comics great Alex Toth. His work on ZORRO, his own BRAVO FOR ADVENTURE, Archie's BLACK HOOD and dozens of other titles made him an inspiration to a number of working artists. I had the opportunity to meet and speak briefly with him at a convention about a decade ago. He was polite and couldn't have been nicer as I gushed in typical fanboy fashion. Rest in peace and my condolences to his family.

Surprised this morning to find that both the Rachel Maddow Show and Jerry Springer morning shows on Air America Radio spent a few minutes on DC Comics announcement of the new BATWOMAN. I'm sure that this won't be the only things we hear, not all of them positive. (Anybody want to bet that Pat Robertson will have a few words about this?) I don't know anything about the new DC continuity post-Infinety Crisis, but isn't this a real ret-con of an old character? Unless this isn't the same BW who used to run with Batman in the Silver Age. Apparently she's having a lesbian relationship with another character who has only recently come out.

Also heard that Warner Bros. is moving up the premiere of the latest SUPERMAN film to a week before July 4th. I had also not known that they were going to edit in some Marlon Brando footage, with the late actor appearing as Jor-El. Anybody know if they are using the dialogue from the first film or are they using a voice actor?

Carnival Legend: An incident at sea

Some of you will recall that Donna and I sailed on a Caribbean cruise last week on the Carnival Legend. You may also have seen that ship in the headlines the last day or so.
The next few days I’m going to be telling you about the cruise and posting photos. We generally had a good time and so I wanted to mention tragedy right off the bat.

It was around 1:15am on Saturday morning when I was awoken by the Captain’s voice over the public address system. As any of you who have cruised before know, they seldom make announcements after 10:00pm and NEVER in the middle of the night. The Captain said, as closely as I recall, “Operation Bravo. Operation Bravo, all staff. Operation Bravo on the starboard side.”

Having served in the U.S. Navy my initial reaction was that there was a fire. When I noticed no alarms sounding, I immediately realized that it had to be the second worst incident, namely a ‘man overboard.’ Going out on the patio I noticed, being all the way aft, the ship was slowing quickly and then turning sharply. Peter, who was sharing our cabin, also awoke and we saw the ship’s searchlights playing over the surface. A call to the Purser/Reception Desk got me an ‘everything is under control’ response. It was only about twenty minutes later when the Cruise Director came over the P.A. to verify the ‘man overboard’ situation.

For the next twelve hours the Legend, along with the U.S. Coast Guard (via aircraft) and at least one other vessel (a private sailing boat) continued to cover the area in which the man had disappeared.

According to word making the rounds (including several of our tablemates, who had a stateroom several doors down from the man and his family), the husband had been drinking quite a bit, and had lost a ‘large amount’ in the casino. He and his wife had been heard arguing several times around the ship and security was called around 12:45. Upon several members of the security team gaining entrance to the room, the husband made a dash for the patio and leaped over the railing. This was witnessed by the security team, the wife and at least one of their two children (reported to be around seven years old, and I have been told there was a young child as well). Obviously, in this type of situation rumors abound, but I’ve tried to keep this to what we heard from first and second hand sources.

Over the next two nights, Donna and I saw the wife accompanied at all times in both the dining room and in the lobby leading to the buffet by a female security officer. Our table mates, who shared the deck with the family, told us that a security guard was posted permanently outside the cabin.

Sadly, no report I’ve yet heard or read states that the man or his remains have been located. From my knowledge of the vessel and my experience in the Navy, I have to assume that he was more than likely immediately pulled into the wake of the ship, probably under & into the propellers.

We may never know the entire situation, but my thoughts must go out to his wife and children, as well as any other surviving family. This is an incident that will remain with them for the rest of the lives and I hope that the media will leave them in peace.