The man synonymous with the DC characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman (Silver Age mostly) passed away yesterday. Although I wasn’t into the comic books Kubert usually drew, he had a very recognizable style. He also had moved into semi-retirement around 1976 so my exposure was second hand.
For over the last 30 years, many probably knew Kubert through the ads in comics promoting the school named after him. The list of graduates is pretty impressive.
I found the Lowrys’ two shy cats hanging out on Alaire’s digital piano. My guess is they think I can’t see them behind the music stand. The area covering the instrument’s guts must cooler and has a better view than their usual hiding place…under the couch. I used the flash on my iPhone because it’s hard to see Jack’s eyes.
Somara jokingly used her Pinballz tickets to buy this little gag gift to hilarious results. I couldn’t wear it because I already have a ton of facial hair, the addition of a Gene Shalit cookie broom on my lip would result in a dimensional rift for armies of hipsters covered in ironic mustaches to move to Austin.
It is rather cute and funny. As I told her, it makes Somara look more Italian. I’m part Italian, I can say such a thing so bite me.
Today I achieved a minor goal in the mileage department, the major one will be Albuquerque which according to my calculations should happen during our upcoming vacation. Now that I’ve regained my daily routine of three miles, I am going to be making some major traction.
With running being a minor addiction (the adrenaline boost helps keep my anxiety in check), I hate getting sick even more. I came down with a minor cold/sinus attack right before my big birthday weekend. Thus, exercise was suspended. When I felt well enough to re-engage I took it slow by just starting with two miles then added a tenth every day. Three was regained last Thursday. Speed is the next objective: I can complete the distance in less than 29 minutes, I plan to pull it under 28.5 minutes before September.
I know I keep hearing the naysayers preach about knee damage, blah blah blah. Their alternatives which often entail doing nothing or next to nothing fall on deaf ears with me. The key factor is getting your heart rate up for 30 minutes/day. Using a bike to get around Austin 15-plus years ago worked since the local drivers don’t signal, watch where they’re going and now they’re too busy blabbing on ‘smart’ phones. I used to have a near miss at least monthly in the Nineties.
Moving along…
I forgot to plug the BMI thing which I think happened consistently around July. My running conjoined with eating less, snacking on more fruit and cutting out enormous amounts of sugar (unsweetened tea!) have all conspired to my loss of 15 pounds. This lowers my average BMI from the low 30s to the 29 territory (I predict 28 before 2012 is over). I never thought I’d look forward to the day I was classified as overweight but the BMI gauge says 30 or higher is obese…blech!
See you eventually at Bugs Bunny’s infamous misdirection destination.
All the diehards probably already know but sometimes the news slips through and I know numerous casual fans with priorities. So without further ado…
During the next season of Archer, the slacking super spy will visit the world of Bob’s Burgers. This may be the coolest convergence of animated geekdom since Nickelodeon’s Fairly Oddparents and Jimmy Neutron teamups.
Reading the news regarding Bob’s involuntary retirement because he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease was a damned shame. I had been thinking about his body of work recently thanks to seeing The Wall for the Summer of 1982 fest.
Bob became a fixture of movies from the mid Eighties with Who Framed Roger Rabbit? being his greatest role. Keep in mind, he was the only actor who endured the majority of the pre-CG drudgery. The man deserves an Oscar for that alone! Then again, he may have cancelled it out by starring in Mario Brothers. Dramas is where Bob shone and I feel it made his detective more plausible for Roger.
I’m sad to see such a talented person fade away with a very painful, upsetting degenerative disease. However I think there’s some hope through Michael J. Fox. The other Eighties’ star remains alive and continues to promote awareness. Maybe Bob can run the UK branch.
Thanks Mr. Hoskins for all awesome performances. May you enjoy your unplanned retirement.
Marvin was often a boring, somewhat self-centered guest on most shows I had seen but he did compose some of the best, memorable tunes, namely my personal fave, “Nobody Does It Better (The Spy Who Loved Me).” Until Duran Duran’s “A View to a Kill,” Marvin and Carole Bayer Sager wrote the highest ranking Bond tune, number two; an honor they shared with Paul McCartney.
The Maggi household has done its part with the four we have, although Molly and Nemo’s ongoing piss war makes it tempting to trade them in for new models. But whenever I look in their eyes, I relent, remember they’re only animals…animals I may need to spend some money on with a behaviorist to find out why the urinating.
The Toronto Star has a cute little movie showing the arrangements GTA’s animal control made today. I must admit, these cats like being on TV.
A funny and factual T-shirt from the Gordons. It definitely appeals to my interest in Astronomy.
An amusing photo of my nephew Hunter showing off all the DC comics I gave him and his brothers to check out.
I’m not sure which is the bigger bummer, the loss of this funny actor or how I found out…through a magazine, not via the instantaneous Internet.
Either way, Sherman will be missed even if he was probably retired. As Mr. Jefferson, he made my brother and me laugh so hard in the Seventies on The Jeffersons. We were kids who were oblivious of the racial politics on the show. Name a kid under 12 that didn’t laugh during the pilot when Mr. Jefferson ran through his family’s new Manhattan apartment to flush all four of its toilets; it was a demonstration of affluence to his wife.
It was awesome to see Sherman get a second wind on the sitcom Amen despite its shorter run. Him playing the status-obsessed, money-conscious deacon was a good fit. I think the role differed enough yet played to his strengths.
I remember him being a rather talented dancer and singer. Sherman did some clever number with Dawn (the singers backing Tony Orlando) on TV. He could move. Wish I knew the song. The lyrics/chorus involved putting more coal in the boiler.
My other favorite and hilarious moment was Sherman’s cameo as the preacher in Love at First Bite. It played toward some Black American stereotypes but it showed he may have missed his calling.
May The Jeffersons never be rebooted. It will never be the same without Sherman and the historical context does matter. Besides, Sherman played a lead character American TV hadn’t seen before.
To celebrate my 44th birthday and to check on my progress since doubling down with running last Winter, I got my blood drawn.
The outcome was pretty great, not perfect and there’s plenty of room for improvement but I think the numbers show success.
The credit goes to several things this year. Firstly is running two or more miles a day. I hear so many others go, “Running isn’t good for you,” and “running is bad for your knees.” Bullshit. Running gets your heart racing which is what you need to get the fat burned. The other three elements I think boosted the effects of exercise were eating less (this remains pretty hard), more fruit and vegetables (I eat American cantaloupe four or more times a week as a snack) and drinking unsweetened tea instead of diet soda.
Should I keep this up, I think my health screening in early 2013 is going to be fantastic.
August is the 15th anniversary of my first trip to Las Vegas which began on the third and went for about four weeks. It’s not the type of introduction I’d recommend for the place. What made it more memorable were all the crazy things that went down:
If I could do it all over again, I think the only major facet I would change would be the hotel I stayed in. The Orleans was a dozen times better than the Howard Johnson’s on Tropicana and Industrial. The former remains, the latter is boarded up yet it changed hands at least once. Most of my regrettable actions were when I returned, score one for Panic and its big brother Anxiety.
Anyway, the header photo was taken in 1997. The city’s famous sign had fallen on hard times despite the construction boom. As you can see in the background, Mandalay Bay hadn’t been started and numerous other sites from the past remained. When I got my then boss Larry to go with to check out the sign for a picture, I was amazed by how “abandoned” the area was. I recall it wasn’t much better during my honeymoon in 2003. I don’t know the year it was cleaned up but now the sign is well-cared for, there’s parking and a small contingent of “volunteers” working there to assist with photos.
Maybe the picture is a metaphor for my life in 1997 versus today? Probably not. Last time I checked the finances of the Maggi Republic, we are better suited to weather the Great Bush Recession.
As Summer hits its final leg, the good people at Mental Floss have posted a theme-song quiz. I nailed nine out of 10! See if you can beat me.
The Irish chanteuse gets a nod this year because she finally released an album of original stuff in 2011. Fifty Words for Snow wasn’t exactly great but it certainly beat out the alternatives her peers have gone with…covers or “re-imaginging” their past works, Peter Gabriel I’m giving you the stink eye and don’t think you’re off the hook David Bowie, retired indeed.
