Dead Celebrites Live

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Have you seen the new ad that John Lennon did for charity? Yeah, you read that right. The new ad. Yes, I know that John Lennon was killed over 28 years ago. But through the wonders of modern technology here is John urging us to give a child a laptop.

I have mixed feelings about this type of thing. On one hand I love the possibilities the technology gives us. Think about how cool it would be to see Sly Stallone, young Marlon Brando, Humphrey Bogart and Lee Marvin acting alongside each other. The possibilities are endless.

On the other hand, we’ll probably end up with more of this and this.

UFC 92 Preview

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Tomorrow night’s card for UFC 92 is stacked. Three fights headline the card and they should all prove to be interesting, competitive fights.

Quentin “Rampage” Jackson (28-7) takes on Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva (32-8). Jackson is the former light heavyweight champ, with the emphasis is on former. It’s still fresh in most folks’ minds about Jackson’s erratic behavior following the loss of his title. Many are saying that the shake-ups that followed Jackson’s run-ins with the law led to good things. He started training seriously, he got rid of those around him who were not the best influences and will come into this fight a changed man. He will need to be. Rampage has met Silva twice before and lost both times. I like Rampage, but plan to give the nod to Silva.

Antonio “Big Nog” Nogueira (31-4-1) matches up against Frank Mir (11-3). Again, I like both fighters. Mir has less experience. Plus, if you’ve heard him speaking about Big Nog in interviews, you know that Mir is concerned with the fact that Big Nog gets stronger as the fight goes on… and Mir isn’t known for his conditioning. I think that Big Nog has the advantage going in and unless Mir makes something happen fast, it could be a long night in the octogon with Nogueira coming out a winner.

Forrest Griffin (16-4) puts his title on the line when he squares off against “Sugar” Rashad Evans (16-0-1). Both of these guys are former winners of The Ultimate Fighter show tourneys. Although Griffin is a slight favorite, mainly due to his popularity, Evans is the more technical fighter due to his extensive college wrestling career. I’m leaning towards Griffin finding a way to win, but am concerned that Evans has ALWAYS been able to do just that.

Free Look @ The Goon

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I‘ve been following Eric Powell’s “The Goon” since his self-publishing days. Although it’s been eight years and Eric has moved into the big leagues with Dark Horse publishing “The Goon,” it’s as good as ever. And I’m not the only one who feels that way. This year Eric picked up two Eisner Awards [Best Painter and Best Humor Writer/Artist].

f you’re already a Goon fan, then you know what I’m talking about. If you’re not a fan, then you should check out CBR.com’s preview of “The Goon #31.” Who knows, maybe you’ll become one.

Remembering Eartha Kitt

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Eartha Kitt, the multi-talented, singer, actress and author has died at the age of 81 from colon cancer. Her career spanned sixty years and made her an international star.

Born to poor parents [a mother of African-American/Cherokee heritage and a white father] in 1927, Eartha was sent to live with relatives when her mother’s new husband refused to have a mixed child in the house. Eartha’s big break came in 1946 when she auditioned and won a spot as a dancer with the Dunham dance group. This in turn led to work on Broadway and later a Paris nightclub where she was spotted by Orson Welles who called her the “most exciting woman in the world” and cast her in his Paris stage production of “Faust.”

From there her career really took off with a recording contract [Eartha could sing in several languages] and songs such as “I Want to be Evil” and the classic “Santa, Baby.” At a time when women of color were often seen on television as maids and secretaries, Ms. Kitt had a reoccurring role as the sexy Catwoman on the popular tv series Batman.

In 1968, her career in the US came to a screeching halt. Ms. Kitt, along with several other important ladies of the time had been invited to a luncheon at the White House hosted by President Johnson’s wife. They were there to discuss youth crime. Ms. Kitt brought up the Viet Nam war and the unrest it was causing among young people, and Mrs. Johnson took offense. The incident made the papers and suddenly Ms. Kitt found herself blacklisted. So she went overseas where she continued to perform until her return to Broadway in 1974. Jimmy Carter invited her back to the White House in 1978. In 2006, President Bush had her back once again, this time to light the National Christmas tree. Ms. Kitt never retired. She is one of the few entertainers to earn nominations for Emmy, [she won two and was nominated for three], Grammy [nominated twice] and Tony [nominatied twice] awards.

Ms. Kitt leaves behind a daughter and two grandchildren. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family, friends and fans.

Talented Christmas Greetings

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Believe it or not, no one is up in our house yet, but me. The kids, the wife, the dogs — everyone is still fast asleep. That’s okay though. I’m enjoying the quiet before the storm of Christmas morning.

There are so many things I love about Christmas. One of them is when folks make their own Christmas cards. The one at the top of this piece is by the uber-talented Dave Johnson. It’s just one of the many posted over at Newsarama.com. Oh, and be sure and check out this really cool one by Rick Burchett and Chris Mills.

Oh-oh. Sounds like everyone is starting to wake up. Have a great day!

Happy Celebration!

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It’s Christmas Eve. That means tonight we’ll have the traditional gathering of the Zablo clan. Despite what you may have heard, when we all get together for Christmas Eve it’s pretty traditional. There will be plenty of presents for the kids, tons of laughs, good food and hopefully the creation of one or two great memories. And while nephew Bartle-Doo Corbett and Uncle Brent may have to be reined in a few times, it should be a fun night with no one going to jail or the hospital.

Here’s hoping that whatever you celebrate is the best ever… and no matter what you believe, Santa still swings by.

[And a tip o’ the Santa cap to Eric Powell who created the art used in today’s header – Craig]

Jim Ivey Packs 2 Kinds of Heat

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Yesterday John Beatty, his bride, Bella, and I drove over to Orlando to spend a little quality time with our ole buddy, Jim Ivey. The three hour marathon breakfast session included so many discussion tangents and laughs that it would be impossible to recount them all.

I will share one story though. Jim is 83 years old and he still gets up and goes on a daily early morning walk. On one of these trips as he was enjoying a hot cup of coffee and smoking one of his famous cigars a man jumped out at him from behind some bushes. Jim loudly announced: “Stay back! I’m armed!” and the man jumped back and went the other way. Knowing that Jim owns a handgun, I asked it he was carrying it. His reply, “No, but I was armed. I had a hot cup of coffee in one hand and a lit cigar in the other!”

And knowing Jim he’d have used them!

Fast & Furious Again

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MTV Movies scored a first look at the new “Fast & Furious” poster. This is not to be confused with a new poster for the original “Fast & Furious” movie, but instead a new poster for a new movie of the same name. It’s actually the fourth in the series… but has the same name as the original.

Confused?

Let’s hope that movie-goers aren’t because the new “Fast & Furious” looks like it will be as much fun as the original. You can check out a larger photo of the poster here.

Remembering Robert Mulligan

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Robert Mulligan, 83, the Oscar nominated director of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” died at his Connecticut home Friday from heart disease. Although the classic “To Kill a Mockingbird” is his best known effort, Mr. Mulligan’s credits include films such as “Love with a Proper Stranger,” “Up the Down Staircase,” “Summer of 42,” “Same Time Next Year,” and “Bloodbrothers.” Known as an actor’s director, Mr. Mulligan repeatedly worked with some of the biggest stars in Hollywood including Gregory Peck, Steve McQueen, Tony Curtis, and others. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and fans.

Oh, Oh, Oh! Ho, Ho, Ho!

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You all remember my buddy, Jim Ivey, right? Yeah, he’s the 83 year old political cartoonist – former owner of The Cartoon Museum in Florida – co-founder of OrlandoCon – author – teacher – card player – and all around good guy.

I received my Christmas card from Jim today and it’s a tri-fold job that he created. The first two folds are show above. Click here to see the reveal. Not only do I hope I have as much wit and energy as Jim when I’m 83, I wish that I did now.

Francesco’s Sweet Deal!

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I recently discovered that Francesco Francavilla was offering a free quick sketch with every sketchbook purchased from his blog. Since I’d been a fan of his work for a while, I decided that the time was right to take advantage of the deal. I checked to make sure that he was down for a Stallone piece [he was] and then Paypalled him some of my hard earned smack-a-toons for a copy of Chiaroscuro Volume I and a Stallone quick sketch.Francesco quickly contacted me to say that he’d received the order and that he’d be sending it out by the end of the week. About midway into the next week a securely wrapped package arrived. [Francesco must have heard about my mail carrier!] I opened it to find the sketchbook and Francesco’s take on Sly as Freddy in Cop Land. I sat down and checked out the book which is chock full of sketches — everything from Batman to Zorro to Sin City to Judge Dredd, the Fantastic Four, Hellboy and so much more!

Talk about a great deal — the sketchbook and original piece of art for twenty-three bucks including postage! I plan to go back for the second sketchbook, Schermoscuro Volume 1 after the first of the year. Check out Francesco’s web site and you may want in on the deal yourself.

PS — I plan to post Francesco’s Cop Land piece this weekend.