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Saturday, July 04, 2009

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Evidently Karl Malden had died today. He was 97 years old and died of natural causes at his home. I remember him more for the television show from the seventies The Streets of San Francisco, which also started a young Michael Douglas. There also was his tv commercial for American Express...."Don't leave home without it." The commercial grew out of his role from the police show. More recently he guest starred in an episode of The West Wing as President Bartlet's priest.

Besides tv he was an accomplished movie actor, playing roles in movies such as A Streetcar Named Desire and Patton.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Stand By Me

For the making of this video go here.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Some Good Words About Charter

Image via Wikipedia

I've complained on this blog enough times about Charter Communications that I figured when they did something good I should mention it. I decided to drop my cable services and go with Direct TV. At the time I was getting the basic cable package, which pretty much meant local stations and a bunch of shopping channels. For about ten dollars more than what I was paying for this package I could get a package from Direct TV with about a hundred channels. Yes, I know, of those 100 channels a lot will be junk, but I'll get USA, Sci-fi, FX and some others that have some of the shows I want to watch. Plus for the first three months I get Showtime free...which means Weeds and Dexter.

I decided to keep my internet connection through Charter. After talking to some people, including some people at Best Buy, I was told that they offered the best service and best deal with the internet.

I went to the Charter's office with my cable box and explained to the lady behind the desk that I wanted to cancel my cable subscription but still wanted to continue my internet connection. She clicked on a few things and told me that they were offering a special on internet connection for $29.99 for 24 months. I was currently paying $44.99 a month for the same internet speed. And 24 months was 2 years! So she switched me to this new plan.

So for the extra ten dollars or so I was going to spend on Direct TV I'm now saving on my internet connection, which should make the total of all this to be about what I was paying before.

Like I said at the start of this post, I've made more than my share of complaints about Charter Communications, so just had to share with everyone when they do something really good.

The GIrl With The Dragon Tattoo

This book just came out in paperback and I picked it up after reading a few good reviews of it. The book is written by Swedish writer and journalist Stieg Larsson. It's the first in a trilogy, written and turned in to his publisher just before he died. In Swedish the title of the book is translated as "Men Who Hate Women," but it was changed to the current title when it as translated into English.

This was one of those books that when I started to read it I found it ok, but not really caught up in it. But as I continued to read I found myself being drawn in. It's one of those books that quietly reachs out and grabs you. I found that I didn't want to put the book down.

It's a mystery that spans decades and is a locked room whodunnit that instead of taking place in a locked room takes place on an island that no one could get in or off of when the crime takes place. The two main characters are the journalist Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander, a very unique character and the girl in the title with the dragon tattoo.

If you have a chance to read this book do so. The second volume is out now in hardback, The Girl Who Played With Fire.

A Few Words About Michael Jackson

It's been more than a few days now since Michael Jackson died. I was going to write something as soon as I heard, but I kept putting it off. Michael Jackson was one of the most influential musicians on the planet, in fact his influence went beyond just that of musician. He was one of those few of such supreme talent that we rarely see the like of it.

I wanted to write about that Michael Jackson, but it's hard to ignore the past decade or so of his actions. Somewhere along the way he lost his way and to put it bluntly became more of a joke than anything else.

And while I know he was cleared in the jury trial years ago and everyone should be presumed innocent until proven guilty...it's hard not to wonder. Why was he paying families of some of those children? I really don't want to believe something like that, but it's hard not to.

I know the world will be filled with stories of Michael Jackson's accomplishments and what a loss he will be to the world, but my thoughts went to those children and what it might mean to them.

So I really can't find myself writing too much about the whole thing, I'll let others write about Michael Jackson and what he meant to the world.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

June Carter Cash

Eighty years ago June Carter Cash was born.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Father's Day

I've written so much about my Dad that I figure that there's nothing left to write. But as long as I can remember I guess there'll be something to write about.

I remember the first time I saw him cry. I had to be around ten or so, because my sister was probably around 3 or 4. My sister was born with spina bifda and especially as a child was in and out of the hospitals. When she was born she was flown to Walter Reed in Maryland. I remember being in the kitchen when my Dad came home from the hospital, my sister was back in, she had a seizure and they were keeping her over night. He was telling my brother and me about my sister's seizure. He said her tongue swelled up and she was turning blue and than he couldn't go on...he was crying.

I remember he'd get so mad at my brother or me when we'd call my Mother "her or she", like if we said something like "she did..." He'd get mad and tell us that wasn't a her or she that was our Mother.

I remember when we were visiting his parents and sister up in Newark New Jersey. I was probably in my mid teens than. We were all talking and joking about something. I made a comment about his height, my Dad was a fairly short man, and he said "Just remember dynamite comes in small packages." Without missing a beat I replied "So does silly putty." And he laughed so hard.

I remember later, when my Mom and he were both retired and living down here. If my Mom went shopping he'd go with her, and while my Mom and sister were traveling through the stores in the Mall he would sit on a bench in the Mall reading a book, waiting for her.

I remember him never saying a bad word about his Father, even though years later, when my brother and I were old enough to understand we learned that his Father was an alcholic and would abuse him. But as kids we just knew he was our Grand Pa.

I remember him getting up early, like around six in the morning, all the time. Even after he was retired from work. He'd get up and make himself a cup of tea and go sit out on the porch and just watch the world wake up.

I remember as a kid sitting in the car with him as we went somewhere and asking him questions and thinking he knew the answer to everything.

Happy Father's Day Dad.

I NEED ARTISTS!

Ok, I have to be crazy. I've started another blog. I know, I know, I can't even keep up with this one it seems and I'm starting another one.

I've mentioned on this site before that I used to write comic books and it's something I wouldn't mind doing again. But the problem with being a writer in the comic book industry, especially trying to break in, is that you need artists. You need someone to turn your words into pictures. And it's hard to find someone to do that.

So I've started a blog trying to do just that. To find artists that may want to try and work with me in breaking into the comic book industry. This blog is going to be more of a resume of my past work so prospective artists can see what I've done. It won't be as time consuming as keeping up with daily posts, since that's not the point of it. So hopefully I'll be able to handle it.

Go check it out and I NEED ARTISTS!

If you know of any artists please feel free to pass this site on. The only way this is going to work is that if I get this site out there for enough people to see it and hopefully some artists will be interested. Spread the word if you will.

Voices to hear

I've been so bad lastely about updating and visiting anyone's sites, but hopefully that will get better now. Between being sick and getting so far behind at work and so much more going on there it's been pretty hectic, but I've got my fingers crossed that things will slow down enough to enable me to start posting again. And visiting everyone.

And with saying that I have updated Voices to hear with some new interviews and songs. I have a Simply Six interview up with a woman from Tennessee named Jennings and the song of the week is from Maggie Brown, one of my favorites. Go check it out.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Old School Fridays: Keep It In The Family

This week's theme is musical families. I went with the Cash/Carter Family. June Carter comes from the first family of country music and here she sings with her family Johnny Cash and her daughters, one who goes on to some fame as a country singer herself, Carlene Carter.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

A Good Book

I'm not sure why I even picked up this book. Maybe because Stephen King mentioned in a recent column in Entertainment Weekly that Jodi Picoult was more than just a chick writer. Maybe because it was only $5.95, cheap fora paperback nowdays. It was probably because when I picked it up at Walmart and read the back of the book it intrigued me.

Whatever the reasons I picked up the book, I'm glad I did. I went home and threw some hotdogs on the grill. While waiting for the food to cook I picked up the book and figured I'd read the first few pages to see how it read. Later that night I was still reading the book. I couldn't put it down. By the next day I had read it.

My Sister's Keeper is about Anna, a 13 year old girl that was concieved to be a donor for her older sister that is sick with lekumia. Suddenly at the age of 13 Anna decides that she wants to have the last say about what is done to her body and goes to a lawyer to try to settle the matter. But there's so much more to this story than just that plot. Picolut makes these characters live and breath. She makes you think Anna is right and than within a few pages you're wondering why she doesn't want to help save her sister's life. There are no simple answers in this story.

And if you don't have tears in your eyes after the ending you have to be heartless.

This was a truly great book. One that I'm glad I read. There's a movie coming out this month that's a adaptation of the book. I read that the ending to the movie has changed from the ending of the book. If you've read the book you can guess what they changed. There's just no way that they would film the ending of this book.

I've alread bought another one of Picoult's books, 19 Minutes. It's the story of a high school boy who goes to school one day and shoots and kills ten classmates.

If you've been hestiant about reading Jodi Picoult because she's branded a "chick writer" don't be. She's not a chick writer, she's a writer of the human heart.

Five Years Ago...

Ray Charles died five years ago today. To say he was a genius is an understatement.

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Happy Birthday Donald

75 years ago Donald Duck made his screen debut in "The Wise Little Hen." Until 1985 he was voiced by Clarence Nash. Legend has it that Walt Disney created Donald after hearing Nash do his duck voice.

Marva Wright Has Stroke

Marva Wright is a local blues singer. Yesterday after performing she suffered a stroke and was admitted to the hospital. Marva didn't start singing professionally until she was in her 40s and than it was a way to bring more money in for her family. Since than she's gained quite a reputation as a blues singer.

The above picture is one I took at Jazz Fest and is one of my favorite pictures.

Here's hoping she gets better and back singing before long.

Koko Taylor

I'm trying to catch up from not posting for the last few weeks. This last week at work has been so busy but things should calm down for a little while now. One of the things I missed was the death of Koko Taylor. She died on June 3 of this year. She was born in Tennessee in 1928 and was known as the Queen of the Blues.

I saw her a few years ago at Jazz Fest. For her age she put on a show that could put singers half her age to shame. The woman could sing. I feel very honored that I had the chance to see her perform before she died.

Saturday, June 06, 2009

Old School Fridays: My Current Mood Is...

I can't believe how many Old School Fridays I've missed recently. I love doing these, but somehow I have missed more than my share lately and technically I've missed Friday, as I'm posting about thirty minutes into Saturday. The theme for this week is our current mood. Well after being sick for the last few weeks and in the hospital and even afterwards tired and rundown I have to say now...I Feel Good.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Late Memorial Day

I missed posting Memorial Day. I was up at my Moms and she doesn't have Internet access, but I still find I need to post something. My Dad was in the Navy for twenty five years. He spent part of his time overseas when he was younger in Europe. Every year he would spend at least two weeks in the summer of sea duty, where he had to go aboard an aircraft Carrier. He was an Aviation Ordiance and the a Chief.

Where my Mom lives now she is pretty much out in the country. The town she lives in has less than a thousand people in it. The town next to her is Middelton. They have they Veteran's Wall, where everyone from the area that served in the military is up on their wall. Each veteran has a brick. The one above is for my Dad.

Mom Has Company

My Mom mentioned that she had seen an animal in her back yard about a week before I went up there. She wasn't sure what it was. Well when I was up there she called to me while she was in the kitchen. Looking out the kitchen window was this fellow up above. These pictures are right in her back yard, next to my Dad's shop. The first time I tried to take a picture I opened the back door and he ran back under my Dad's shop. I went around the front and came in from the side and managed to get this picture of him a few minutes later.

I say groundhog, but I'm not an expert on such things. Anyone out there can second my guess or have another idea what this guy is. Evidently he has a home under my Dad's shop.

Back From The Missing

I'm back. If anyone is still out there reading after my disappearance of the last two weeks. After getting out of the hospital I ended up going up to visit my Mom in Tennessee. I was scheduled to go this week anyway, but wasn't sure if I would be able to after my hospital stay. But after a few days sitting home I figured I would give it a try. The drive wasn't bad and once I got up there I pretty much took it easy. We went a few places, but took it easy each day, I was still tired and not up to full speed. In fact I still feel not quite up to full speed. Since getting back I've been taking it easy. I haven't had the energy to get on here and post. But tomorrow I go back to work, so I figure I better get moving on things. Hopefully next time I head up that way we can get together Vinnie, but this time I don't think I was up to much.

Still I've been gone and have a bunch of posts I need to make in the next few days. And a lot of blogs to visit.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

LOST

I know this is late, but hey, I've been sick. Still not up to a lot of sitting in front of the computer but had to post. While they'll never top the season finale of Jack and Kate at the airport this one was pretty good. I never imagined who was in the crate. Puts a whole new spin on things now, doesn't it? I wasn't as surprised by Juilet's death (if she is dead) or her actions. I kind of thought the show was going to end with the bomb going off. And the actress that plays Juliet has a leading role on a new series next season so I guess she had to go. Though I did like her and Sawyer together. I'm hoping that he doesn't try to go back to Kate now, I am so tired of that Jack/Kate/Sawyer triangle.

Any ideas on who Jacob is? Or the mysterious "Loop-Hole" guy? How about Cain and Abel? I know it's a wild guess, but there's a lot more going on here than it looks. Everything that's been happening on that island has been a product of their feud I think.

Any theories?

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

I'm Home

I'm back from the hospital. Not to make a long story about it, still not strong enough to sit behind here for too long, I ended up with a bug, they called it actue enteritis, which means I had a bad case of diarrhea and I got an even worse case of dehydration. I spent two solid days hooked up to IV bags pumping me full of liquids. I'm actually feeling better today. I even ate a little bit, which is more than I've done for the past week. I'll tell more later, but I wanted to let everyone know I was ok and thanks for the good thoughts.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Sitting in the hospital. I'm dehraydated,they've been exchanging those bags out all nite. I could use a little cheering up so leave me a message

Monday, May 11, 2009

Killing Time

I'm just on here trying to kill some time. I just spent ten hours at work and plan to go back in a hour or so and spend another eight or so. I figure if I lay down and try to sleep for just a couple hours I'll be worse off, so I'm just on here spinning my wheels.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Happy Mother's Day

I realize I talk a lot more about my Dad on here than my Mom. That's more due to circumstances than anything else. Since today is Mother's Day I wanted to talk about my Mom.

My Mom was born 74 years ago in a small town outside Memphis Tennessee. It's actually the same small town she lives in today. Inbetween she moved to Memphis, met my Dad and got married and than moved around the country as the wife of a Navy Sailor.

My Mom was born into poverty. Her Dad was a farmer. She had two brother and two sisters, she was the middle child. The girls had one room, the boys another. They didn't have an indoor bathroom until she was in high school. I remember the outhouse when we used to visit when I was a kid.

During high school my Mom played basketball. From what I gather she was pretty good. Back than there wasn't much for a woman basketball player to do, so after school she got a job in a bank in downtown Memphis. Going into the city today is an experience, she gives a history lesson of what the city was like back when she was an emerging adult. What store was at that corner, where she used to live down that street, what it was like taking the bus from her apartment she shared with five other girls to work and back.

When my Dad came to Memphis he was in the Navy. They got married and he didn't reup. He tried driving a city bus for awhile. He tried a few other things. He decided to re enlist in the Navy. Actually I found out years later, after he died, when my Mom pointed out this older man at his wake. It was an old friend of his from the Navy, she said. He had ran into my parents when they were at the zoo with me and he had convinced my Dad to go back in. Shortly afterwards they were transfered to New Jersey, where my Dad was from. It was always they...when you're in the military it's not my Dad that was transfered, it's the both of them. My Dad might have been the one in uniform, but when your spouse is in the military it's both of you in there.

Growing up both my parents instilled a deep appreciation of learning in me and my brother. They wanted my brother and me to go farther than they did. My Mom isn't much of a reader, she never has been, but she never let that stop her from making sure that I read and read as much and as well as possible. I've joked that I've been in some sort of book club since I was like five.

My Mom has a strong sense of right and wrong. She's never taken to lying and cheating. And she made sure we knew that in the strongest sense of the word.

My Mom worked just like my Dad. All my life I remember my Mom working. But she still made sure she had time for us.

It's easy to take for granted those that are always around us and care for us. We just assume that's the way it is and will always be. Well, it's not always true. Sooner or later it changes. We need to make sure we appreciate these people while they're here. Make sure you call you Mom today and wish her a Happy Mother's Day.

Thursday, May 07, 2009

LOST

Next week is the season finale and we're building up to a good one. It's kind of nice to see Ben confused and not acting like he knows what's going on. The final scene where Locke tells him what his plans for Jacob are was priceless. Ever Richard appears somewhat confused over Locke's actions right now. I have to admit I was surprised when Sayid appeared out of the jungle. I had kind of forgotten about him.

All in all a very good episode.

Re-Watching Studio 60

It was supposed to be the show to beat that year. Three years ago I think. This was the new show from Aaron Sorkin, his first tv show since he left The West Wing. It was a behind the scenes look at a thinly veiled Saturday Night Live. Also that year was the debut of 30 Rock, another show with a similar theme. Most of the critics were giving Studio 60 the edge.

Well, we all know how that ended up. Studio 60 is gone, after one season and 30 Rock is finishing up its third season. I have to admit that I've still failed to watch an entire episode of 30 Rock. It may be a great show, but what little I've seen has just never moved me to watch more. Maybe one day I'll sit down and watch an entire episode or two and see what the fuss is about.

I had high hopes for Studio 60. I loved The West Wing, I consider it one of the best shows ever on tv. I think Aaron Sorkin is a genius of a writer. But I remember somehow missing episodes of the show and not really worrying about catching the next one. I'd catch a show when I remembered it was on, but I wasn't that concerned about making sure that I did. And when the show was canceled I wasn't that upset. When it came out on DVD I passed.

Well, Best Buy just had it on sale for $15.00 so I couldn't pass it up. And since I've been off today and with nothing better to do I've been watching it. It's actually a very good show. Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford are great as the two leads. I think one of the problems with the show was that after coming off The West Wing where a character's decisions could literally change the world they wanted to have that same weight to the characters in Studio 60. Well, one was the White House, the other was Hollywood.

I've watched about five episodes so far and am really enjoying it. This is one of those shows that I think will be remembered as being better than people thought it was. If you get a chance check it out.

Another Rock Singer Arrested For Drugs

If it wasn't so sad it would be a cliche. Henry Lee Summer, best known for his 80's pop hits such as "I Wish I Had A Girl Like That" was arrested for drugs. Read more here.

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Jazz Fest

I've posted a bunch of pictures from my one day at Jazz Fest over at Voices to hear. Go check them out and let me know what you think. There's only so many ways you can take a picture of an artist performing on stage, I tried to make it at least interesting.

Monday, May 04, 2009

A Tale of Todd

I work in retail. I'm a manger. Today, like most Mondays, we had our weekly Managers Meeting. We get together and talk about what's happening for the coming week, what happened last week, I'm sure most of you can figure out the particulars. In today's meeting I made a request of my fellow managers. I asked them to stop the joke playing and teasing of a particular associate. I asked them to please make the request of the associates that work in their department also.

The associate I was talking about, let's call him Todd (of course that's not his real name and the chance that he'll read this is pretty close to nil, but I still feel better not using his real name) is, I guess the current PC would be, mentally handicapped. I personally don't feel that saying someone is retarded is wrong, it's their condition, but the use of that word has been so distorted and overused that it's come to be stigmatized nowdays. I'm not sure of the level of Todd's illness, most people always say that such a person has the intelligence level of an eight year old, a twelve year old, etc. But that's probably too much of a generalization. Ask Todd a question about the Saints and he can tell you more than I know, ask him to do simple math and there's a problem. Of course with such situations like this there are usually emotional problems too. Todd is a good worker, but when another manager will ask him to do something different he usually doesn't want to do it. I'm one of the few there that he listens to without too much trouble. Once he picked up some keys that the Front End uses and even though other associates saw him do this he refused to admit what he had done. I was off that day and only learned this when I came in the following day. Eventually the other managers had to call his Dad in to get the keys from him.

Generally Todd is a good worker. He cleans the store for us. He empties the wastebaskets. He sweeps. He mops. He stays busy. And he is a friendly guy. He's not a kid, I guess he's in his late twenties/early thirties. I guess I should know, since I hired him, but I honestly don't remember.

You can probably figure out where I'm going with this, of course there are people at the store that like to tease Todd or make fun of him. The other day a few people where telling him that some of the managers at the store were being transferred and he would be working for someone else. He was becoming upset. The other night someone spilled something on the floor and when he went to clean it up some of the other associates were teasing him.

And the worse part, it's some of the managers that work at the store that are probably the worst offenders when it comes to this type of behavior. I brought it up in the meeting. I asked if we could refrain from teasing Todd, if we could stop trying to make him look like a fool. I got a little worked up. Basically I told them that I didn't think too much of someone trying to play games with Todd. If they wanted to trade insults do it with someone that was equipped to sling them back and they could take me on anytime they wanted. I can hold my own. See, that's the thing, I don't mind insult humor, when it's against someone with the same advantages. I can give my share, but I can take it also. And that's cool.

I've never seen the humor in these type of situations. To me it's just plain cruel. I've tried to let others know when they do these type of things with a “I don't think that's funny” but sometimes I think they're not the real bright ones, they don't seem to catch on.

Friday, May 01, 2009

Jazz Fest

Went to Jazz Fest today. It was great, but I'm too tired to do much posting right now. Just to give everyone a hint at what's to come thought I thought I'd post one picture.

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Brotherhood

Does anyone else watch this show on Showtime? I didn't see it when it first came out, but after the first season I bought the series on DVD. I just found the second season recently and picked it up. The first season was excellent and so far the second is just as good. It's a crime and politics drama set in Providence Rhode Island and featuring two brothers, one in politics and one in crime. It just ended its third season and there's rumors that it may not be back for a fourth. I hope that's not true, this show deserves a long future.

TOMS Shoes

I first saw this as an AT&T commercial and wanted to learn more. I thought it sounded like a really good idea. I don't know if there is some hidden agenda here, and you know it's terrible that when you see something good being done the first thing you wonder is what's behind it, but hopefully this is just what it looks like. A company trying to do good while it makes money. Check out more about Tom's Shoes here.

Mary Gauthier

I found this video while I was preparing my "Song of the Week" for my other site Voices to hear. Mary is from New Orleans and an acclaimed singer/songwriter. Her song "Mercy Now" is one of my favorites, but this song and video are pretty powerful.

LOST

Haven't done an update on Lost lately, so here's one. Don't read if you haven't seen Wednesday's show yet.

I was glad to see Farraday back. I like his character. Is he really dead? The Island brought Locke back, but will it bring him back. Actually we don't really see him pronounced dead, so we may see him in a hospital next episode. I actually hope so, like I said, I like him. But we are on the slide to the end, so I'm sure that more characters will die in the next year and 3 episodes.

Only three more episodes left of this season. And than next year is the Final Season! Wow, it doesn't seem that long ago since the show first came on.

Who would have thought Sawyer could put down roots? I think he would have been happy to stay where he was with Juliet for the remainder of their days.

I've missed a few recent episodes so I don't know if they've already covered it, but either way I wasn't too surprised when Widmore revealed himself to be Farraday's Father.

If this was the last season I'd be thinking that they were going to blow up the H bomb, cause the plane not to crash and end with everyone landing in L.A. like nothing ever happened. How would that be for an ending?

I still think Charlie will be back in some form, Hurley keeps lugging that guitar around for some reason.

Three more episodes. What type of cliffhanger can they end on this year? And from what I've read we get to see Jacob in the last episode of this season.

Monday, April 27, 2009

NOLA Comic Con

I was going to post yesterday but not much of anything was accomplished yesterday. The first NOLA CON was held Saturday and I think it was pretty much a success. I only have a few pictures to post as I forgot to check the batteries in my camera and they died on me. Normally I have my camera bag and I always have back up batteries in there, but I just brought my small digital camera and stuck it in my pocket. So only a few pictures. The pictures don't show the crowd, most of them were made earlier, just as the con was getting started. Evidence of pictures aside, there was quite a turn out for the show. Good enough that I think Ronnie will have another one next year.

I enjoyed myself. I made some money selling some books. I signed some autographs. (Something I will never get used to...someone wanting me to sign my name for them.) One kid even wanted his picture taken with me. Very big ego boost I have to admit, even if it only lasts while I'm at the show. Sitting at the table I got to meet some fellow writers and artists from the area, which is always nice. Was able to talk shop with some fans who are interested in writing and hopefully able to give them a little advice. I mean it's not like I'm some big shot pro, but I know a few things I hoped I was able to pass on.

The picture below is of my spot. The empty chair should have me in it. The comics in front are some of the ones I've written. The big bald guy on the right is RJ, another writer, who writes a cool strip called "Vampire Brat" and the guy in green is Tim, an artist that is really good and has illustrated such comics as "Picket Fences" for APE Entertainment.

Hey, you can tell it's a real comic book convention. There's stormtroopers. It can't be a real comic book convention unless there's someone dressed up as a stormtrooper. I know it's kind of hard to see, but look towards the back, the lighting in this picture sucks.

Someone dressed up as a comic book character.

The guy standing in front holding the plaque is Ronnie, the mastermind behind the convention. The guy standing behind him, in front of the guy in the wheelchair is his Dad. And the guy in the wheelchair is Carl. Now I'll explain more about them. Ronnie and his Dad, who is named Ron, used to own and operate the comic book shop I dealt with back in the 90's called Paper Gold. Ronnie was just a young whippersnapper back than. I think when they first opened up he was maybe 16 or 17. I became pretty good friends with Ron, Ronnie and Ron's wife and Ronnie's mother Pat who is not pictured. After they closed Paper Gold they all moved back to Houston, where I thought they still were until recently when I discovered Ronnie was back with his own shop. While in Houston I found out Ron had a heart attack and nearly died. He actually has had a heart transplant. I was really glad to see all of them again.

Now the guy in the wheelchair is Carl and around here he's kind of the King of the Comic Book Stores. I won't say he had the first comic book store in the area, but he's probably had one the longest and one of the biggest and best. Most everyone that sat behind that table that is any type of professional or semi professional spent time hanging out at Carl's shop and talking with Carl. And I include myself in that number. Carl is one of those guys that always talks tough and acts like he's putting you down, but he actually would give you the shirt off his back. Ronnie had a plaque made up for him thanking him for all his work and dedication. After Katrina Carl sold his shop and I haven't seen him since. It was a really nice thing Ronnie did.

Ok, that's my trip down memory lane.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

I'm at the comic con now and it's going great. Sold some comics, signed some copies and talked to some people.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

New Orleans Comic Con

This Saturday New Orleans gets its very own Comic Book Convention. Actually not New Orleans proper, it's taking place out in Metairie, which a suburb of the city. And no, it won't be like any of the pics or things you've heard about the San Diego Comic Con. This is a small one day affair. It's being put on by an old friend of mine that used to run the comic shop I frequented on the West Bank over a decade ago. He moved to Houston and I didn't realize he moved back. This will probably be fairly small, it's the same weekend as Jazz Fest and it's just starting, but hopefully it'll be enough for him to continue it on a yearly basis. I've always thought New Orleans would be a great city for a comic convention. They tried one about ten years back that didn't seem to take, hopefully this one will.

And the coolest part of it all....I get to be a Guest. He's got a nice list of local artists and writers, some that have worked for Marvel, DC and Image, besides some of the smaller publishers like me. It's been awhile since I've sat behind a table at a convention and signed comics. I'm kind of excited.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Speaking of Earth...

Coming out on Earth Day....

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