Month: July 2007

Jim Ivey Honored

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That’s my buddy, Jim Ivey, between me and my oldest son, Mike. The photo was taken at Jim’s 81st birthday celebration. I just learned today that Jim has gone up to Washington, DC where he [along with Hy Rosen and Jim Lange] were honored at the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists 50th-anniversary convention. Jim was quoted as saying, “I’m delighted the AAEC is still going.” Jim also noted that the organization could also be called the AAPC [American Association of Political Cartoonists] and that he hopes those initials never mean the “American Association of the Politically Correct.” Yeah, that’s definitely something that Jim would say!
You can  learn even a bit more HERE. Congrats to Jim! – Craig

UFC 73 is Stacked

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Saturday’s pay-per-view, UFC 73, is called Stacked for a good reason. It features four fights that all [well, at least three for sure] that could headline any MMA card. Of the four main fights, three are tough to call, but I’ve given it my best shot. “X” marks my predicted winner.

Heath Herring Vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is the easiest prediction of the night. Herring has lost to Noguerira twice before and I don’t think Saturday will be any different. Nogueira will get the win and maybe by knockout.

Hermes Franca Vs. Sean Sherk should be a very good fight… maybe the best of the night. Franca is on an eight fight winning streak and has wicked jiu-jitsu skills. Sherk’s conditioning is unmatched… maybe his strength too [pound-for-pound]. Will Sherk’s wrestling skills, conditioning and strength be enough to defeat Franca? I think so. I see Sherk retaining his lightweight title by decision win.

Rashad Evans Vs. Tito Ortiz is perhaps the most anticipated fight of the night. It means the world to both fighters. Evans needs a win to keep his undefeated streak alive and to earn him a title shot. Ortiz has to have a victory to show everyone his best days aren’t behind him. This is a tough one to call. Evans is undefeated, has excellent wrestling skills and has knocked out his last two opponents. Ortiz is bigger. He’s been in the spotlight before. He knows what he needs to do to win. If he can take Evans down, Ortiz could win by stoppage. If he can’t Ortiz is in for a long night. I’m going to give the nod [a slight nod] to Ortiz.

Nate Marquardt Vs. Anderson Silva. Another tough one to call. This one’s for the middleweight title. Silva destroyed Rich Franklin to win the title when Franklin elected to stand and trade shots. I don’t think that Marquardt will follow that example. I’m going to pick an upset here and say Marquardt by decision.

I know that many of you follow UFC and MMA... so have I called it right?

Happy 4th!

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Happy 4th of July!

When I was a little kid, the 4th of July was for family and friends to get together for trips to the park [or each others houses] and cookouts. Fireworks were always the capper.

Then when my boys were small we always had family over. My boys would play with their cousins [water fights in the yard, basketball and video games]. We’d grill or BBQ something. And then at night I’d bring out the fireworks. I’d get one of the huge sets from Sam’s Club and the kids from the neighborhood would come down to watch the festivities. Once we’d exploded or launched or sparkled everything we’d head in and catch some episodes of The Twilight Zone marathon running on the SciFi channel.

A few years ago, I could tell my fireworks were no longer the highlight of the evening. My niece, nephew and sons were getting older and while they enjoyed getting together Roman candles and sparklers just weren’t cutting it. Ah, how time moves on.

At least I still have the Twilight Zone Marathon to look forward to! In fact starting at 7:30pm tonight you can catch six excellent episodes in a row [“The Shelter”, “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street”, “The Fear”, “To Serve Man”, “The Invaders” and “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up”.]

Have a relaxing day, don’t eat to much BBQ and be careful with those fireworks!

Collector’s ComicCon Are You "N"?

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On Sunday, July 22nd from 10am – 5pm, the Collector’s ComicCon is going to be the place to be in Fort Pierce, Florida. Not only will my best bud, John Beatty be a guest, but he’ll be joined by Bill Black [artist, writer, publisher of AC comics, writer, director and producer of “GARGANTARAMA” ] and Brenna Berry star of “GARGANTARAMA”.


It’s a fun little one day show. Click HERE for all the details. Hope to see you there!

Top Cult TV Picks

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TVGuide.com posted a list of the All Time Top Cult Shows. And while I’ve got to admit that there were many on the list that I’ve never watched, there were more than a few that brought back fond memories. So, using just their choices, here’s my list of my top ten favorite “cult” shows:
  1. Star Trek (1966-1969) Although I’m definitely not a Trekker [or a Trekkie], I was a huge fan of the series when it originally aired. So from the time I was 8 – 11, Spock was THE MAN. Kirk was cool, but given the choice, I’d be Spock.
  2. Twilight Zone (1959-1964) It’s amazing how well many of these episodes hold up nearly 50 years later. I have so many great memories of watching the Twilight Zone when I was a kid. Thankfully, due to reruns, I was able to re-experience the classic episodes with my sons when they were young. And twice a year, I still tune in for an episode or two when the SciFi Channel does their Twilight Zone Marathons! [The next one starts tomorrow!]
  3. Dark Shadows (1966-1971) It wasn’t until Barnabus Collins was introduced on Dark Shadows [a daytime soap opera] that I tuned in. But like everyone else I was hooked. Soon enough the show was dealing with not only vampires, but werewolves [Quentin was the Man!], ghosts and time-travel. Unfortunately the movies weren’t very good and like many fads just seemed to fade away.
  4. Jericho (2006-present) I’ve been with Jericho since the first episode and have enjoyed how it has focused on the relationships of trying to survive after a nuclear attack. I’m glad that the show is returning and hope that it doesn’t loose it’s momentum. New Episodes start Friday, July 6th at 9pm on CBS.
  5. Lost (2004-present) Lost is another show that I’ve been with from the start. Although it did seem to lose it’s footing, the last few episodes of last season were definitely back on track. Now that a firm end date has been announced I plan to relax and enjoy the rest of the journey.
  6. Beauty and the Beast (1987-1990) My wife and oldest son never missed an episode. He’d have only been 4 when it went off the air… and I have so many good memories of them snuggling together to watch each show. I enjoyed Beauty and the Beast, but it wasn’t ever “Must See TV” for me [unlike my choices for shows 1-5].
  7. Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1989-1999) I enjoyed this when I watched it. But for the real MST3000 experience invite Big Beatty and Chad Hunt over to watch a movie and let them start commenting!
  8. Pee-Wee’s Playhouse (1986-1991) This was another show that I didn’t watch much, but I did enjoy the movie spin-offs.
  9. H.R. Pufnstuf (1969-1971) This one makes the list not because it was a favorite show, but because it brings a smile to my face thinking of how it drove my youngest sister crazy when we called her “Witcheepoo.” I know, I know, but I was an 11 year old. It was my duty to mess with her.
  10. The X-Files (1993-2002) This usedto be my oldest son’s favorite show. He loved it and I loved watching it with him.I don’t know why the “Wild, Wild West” didn’t make the cut. It would have been in my top three for sure.