The Terrible Catsafterme

My meeting with Johnny Whitaker had been a long time coming. One of my goals in life is to correct my own stupid action of not getting photos with most of the celebrities whom I met during my first two autograph shows in 1995 and 1997. As I’ve mentioned before, back in those days I concentrated mostly on the autographs, but that passion has become dwarfed by getting photos with the stars. As another fan recently said, “you can buy autographs.” So despite meeting Johnny Whittaker on Saturday, June 28, 1997, I had never had never gotten a photo with him. Read the rest of this entry »

As most people involved with the Adams National Historical Park will tell you, the popularity of and interest in our 2nd President John Adams rose exponentially after the popular book John Adams by David McCullough was published and the HBO mini-series that followed was aired. No longer is he regarded as simply an oddball northerner and one-termer who was wedged amongst the other four of the first five Presidents, all of whom hailed from Virginia. Adams served as our nation’s President from 1797-1801, and had previously served as the first Vice President to George Washington from 1789-1797. Read the rest of this entry »

I saw Paranormal Activity in the movie theatre back in November of 2009, and although the date I took to the flick just laughed at much of it, I found it delightfully frightening. It had a great eerie feel to it, and didn’t over-do the use of the closed-circuit TV style of filming. The film culminated in one of the scariest bone-chilling moments I have ever seen, as the female protagonist let out a blood-curdling cry for her husband in the middle of the night: Micaaaaaah!! That simple cry sticks with me to this day. Read the rest of this entry »

Dull care was left at home as I made my way to the final destination of our road trip. Bob and I had been on the road for two weeks, staying in different lodging each and every night, so I was ready to lay my head on the same pillow for the next four days. I was also really looking forward to the antics and camaraderie with my many old friends who had been part of the Sons of the Desert for many years. Bob and I rolled into the Radisson hotel in Manchester at 8:30 in the morning on Wednesday, July 18, 2012. This would be the first day of the 18th International Sons of the Desert Convention. So naturally the first thing I did was to plant myself in the lobby for the next three and a half hours. Read the rest of this entry »

Tarzan is one of those timeless heroes, who continues to show up in pop culture in comic books, TV shows, movies, and in the case of the band Baltimora, songs. Even though he didn’t have super powers like Superman or Batman, he did share one trait with them: the actor portraying him could and would be replaced time and time again. In fact, roughly 20 actors have portrayed Tarzan as an adult. Miles O’Keeffe was one of them, and probably appeared in the most notorious Tarzan film – the revival attempt of 1981 in the form of Tarzan, the Ape Man. Read the rest of this entry »