Category: Trivia

The Magic of the Holidays

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No, I’m not trying to be politically correct with the title of this post. It’s just that I do love the magic of holidays… all holidays. Okay, maybe not Arbor Day, but all of the rest of the biggies. Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year’s, Halloween… you get the idea.

Holidays are magical. Think about it — name ANY major holiday and right away you get a sense of time and place and a feeling of what the holiday means. Holidays have the power to bring families together, to end feuds, stop wars [if only for a short period of time], and even get you the day off from work.

When I think about holidays, I think about family. Of course we get together for the major ones… Christmas, Thanksgiving… New Years Eve. There’s always laughter and shared memories [and usually a few new memories created]. When my sons were younger we’d have their cousins over for fireworks on the fourth of July and New Years Eve. They’ve all outgrown that now. Funny, but I haven’t.

When my sons were much younger you didn’t have to look very hard to see the magic in their eyes when they’d see Santa around town leading up to the big night. Sometimes they’d say it was the real Santa and other times they’d know it was just one of his helpers. They knew because of the “magic” they felt in the presence of the true St. Nick.

I still feel that magic when I’m with my family. I hope that you feel it too as you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Festivus or Tuesday.

Organization Ideas, Anyone?

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Seems America is on the de-clutter bandwagon. Everyone is trying to clean and organize. Who wants a cluttered work space or a messy house? Not me. So I’ve been watching Clean House. I read how Jeff Parker took care of his CD clutter. I saw how Big John Beatty took a cue from Hydro74 to clean and organize his office. And now I’ve got the bug and I’ve got it bad. Ain’t no easy cure. I know I’m going to have to get down and dirty… and purge, re-think and re-organize.

I’m pretty sure I’m going to follow Parker’s lead and get rid of the CD jewel cases and go with binders. I’m even considering doing something like this for storage of my dvd collection. But then I thought, I’ll bet some of the ZONErs have unique dvd storage ideas. If you do, please send them my way. [And don’t worry about cluttering up my in-box.]

Heart of the Movie Quotes

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I was in the mood for a list today and decided that the American Film Institutes’s Top 100 Movie Quotes might be interesting to play with. So I looked at the list and decided to see if I could narrow it down to 25 quotes that contained the essence of their movie.This list may not have the most famous [“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn!” – Gone with the Wind], the funniest [“I’ll have what she’s having.” – When Harry Met Sally] or the dumbest [“Nobody puts baby in a corner.” – Dirty Dancing], but it does have 25 quotes which get to the heart of their movies. So here there are in no particular order…

  • “Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore,” “The Wizard of Oz,” 1939.
  • “The stuff that dreams are made of,” “The Maltese Falcon,” 1941.
  • “Bond. James Bond,” “Dr. No,” 1962.
  • “There’s no place like home,” “The Wizard of Oz,” 1939.
  • “You can’t handle the truth!”, “A Few Good Men,” 1992.
  • “Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get,” “Forrest Gump,” 1994.
  • “I see dead people,” “The Sixth Sense,” 1999.
  • “It’s alive! It’s alive!”, “Frankenstein,” 1931.
  • “Houston, we have a problem,” “Apollo 13,” 1995.
  • “You’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do ya, punk?”, “Dirty Harry,” 1971.
  • “A boy’s best friend is his mother,” “Psycho,” 1960.
  • “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer,” “The Godfather Part II,” 1974.
  • “Well, here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten me into!”, “Sons of the Desert,” 1933.
  • “Mrs. Robinson, you’re trying to seduce me. Aren’t you?”, “The Graduate,” 1967.
  • “Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room!”, “Dr. Strangelove,” 1964
  • “Get your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape,” “Planet of the Apes,” 1968.
  • “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine,” “Casablanca,” 1942.
  • “They’re here!”, “Poltergeist,” 1982.
  • “Forget it, Jake, it’s Chinatown,” “Chinatown,” 1974.
  • “Soylent Green is people!”, “Soylent Green,” 1973.
  • “Yo, Adrian!”, “Rocky,” 1976.
  • “Oh, no, it wasn’t the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the Beast,” “King Kong,” 1933.
  • “My precious,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,” 2002.
  • “I feel the need — the need for speed!”, “Top Gun,” 1986.
  • “I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!”, “The Wizard of Oz,” 1939.

 

I Don’t Feel 49

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Today I turned 49. Whew! It’s hard to believe that I’m in my last year before the half century mark. Seems like it came so fast… and each year goes by a bit faster.

The photo above was brought to me out of the blue early this morning. A student at the high school where I’m an assistant principal brought it in to show me. I attended a party for his mother when we were both in high school and this picture was taken there. I’d never seen it before today. [That’s me, 2nd person in the front row.] It was strange seeing a picture of me for the first time over 30 years after it was taken. And this is the second time in less than a month that it’s happened.

Maybe on my 79th birthday someone will bring in a photo of me taken this decade that I’ve never before seen. My guess is that it would be a similarly strange experience and that I would end my blog post by saying, I don’t feel 79.

I don’t feel 49.

Take You Back…

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The picture above was taken about 30 years ago when I was in high school. I’d never seen it until just a few minutes ago.

Last weekend when I was at OrlandoCon a guy who was getting a sketch from John Beatty said that his wife had gone to high school with Big John. I told him that I went to the same high school. Come to find out I knew his wife as well.

When she came by the con, we had a chance to talk a bit. We hadn’t seen each other since high school. She said that she had a picture of us taken at a pep rally and that she’d send it my way. Strange seeing it for the first time 30 years after the fact. Where do the years go?

Man, but it does take me back…

The Black Vault

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John Greenewald Jr. has been obsessed with UFOs since he was a child. While still in his teens he started requesting, through the Freedom of Information Act, government documents related to UFOs. Greenwald, with one half million documents, may have the most comprehensive UFO collection in the world and it’s all online for the world to see at The Black Vault!

Back in the ZONE

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Ah, it’s good to be back home again from a well-needed family vacation. Part of the trip was spent at Heroes Con where I was able to hang with friends I see way too rarely, pick up some new Stallone sketches and relax. Heroes Con is always a great show and I’ll post up my con report later this week… but now on to other blogworthy topics!

Rate Yourself

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I know that all ZONErs are intelligent, perceptive and alert. Want to see just how intelligent, perceptive and alert you are? Watch the amazing color changing card trick and rate yourself!

Autos from Alex

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One of the cool things about the internet is that it allows people who would otherwise never meet to become “friends.” Let me give you an example.

Alex is from Belgium and regularly visits the StalloneZone and my blog here. Alex sent me a surprise “snail mail” package. In it were three autographed photos:

  1. Laura Harring is an actress who played in seven episodes of “The Shield” as well as a ton of other stuff
  2. DJ Caruso directed four episodes of “The Shield” as well as one of my favorite movies, “The Salton Sea” as well as many other tv shows and feature films
  3. Actor, singer and songwriter Kris Kristofferson co-starred with Sly in “Eye See You,” Mel Gibson in “Payback”
Alex sent these items to me out of pure kindness… all the way from Belgium. I’ve never met Alex, but only a friend would be so nice… thanks to the internet. And a bigger thanks to Alex!

Happy, Happy to JBI

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Yesterday I received an e-mail from my buddy, Wild Bill Black that several of Jim Ivey’s friends were getting together to belatedly celebrate Jim’s 82nd birthday. Although it was short notice, I worked it out so that I could get over and share in the festivities.

I first met Jim back in the mid-70’s [the decade, not his age]. Jim was the owner of The Cartoon Museum in Orlando, Florida and the main man behind OrlandoCon. My buddy, John Beatty and I were still in high school, but would make the trek over to buy our comics and original art from Jim. Jim’s shop was an amazing place. At the time there weren’t many places that you could buy original art, but Jim’s Cartoon Museum was wall to wall art. Kirby, Steranko, Barry Windsor-Smith, Paul Gulacy, John Buscema… and so much more. You never knew what you’d see or who you’d meet while at The Cartoon Museum. I can’t begin to tell you how much time I spent there and I wouldn’t trade one hour there for a day anywhere else. Beatty and I made the trek to Jim’s at least once a week. Usually we’d end up playing cards but always having a great time no matter what we were doing. When I moved to Orlando to attend UCF, I’d go to the shop several times a week [my wife always knew where to find me]. We’ve stayed in touch over the years, but never as often as I’d like.

So today about 15 of us met to celebrate Jim’s 82 birthday. Jim, true to form, had prepared cards for each of us [and true to form — had enclosed a scratch off lottery ticket. Mine was good for a free ticket!]. Each of us had brought cards and gifts and a story or two for Jim. In fact, Jim looks shocked in the photo above… I hope it wasn’t from something I said!


It was great seeing Jim again. It was also a lot of fun hanging with Wild Bill Black. Special props to “The AAB” for putting the plan in place. And once last shout out to Jim Ivey — “Happy, happy, SIR!”

Entertainment Weekly

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I love Entertainment Weekly. Truely. I look forward to it’s arrival each week and it never disappoints. Last week it featured a great cover and story on “300”. This week EW gives the same treatment to “Grindhouse”.

I’ve been an Entertainment Weekly subscriber since issue one and don’t plan to let my subscription lapse anytime soon. That may not sound like much of an endorsement, but it is. I used to subscribe to a ton of magazines, but its the only one I’ve kept. Entertainment Weekly has outlived People, US, Interview, Premiere, Prevue, Rolling Stone, The National Enquirer, Star, Sports Illustrated, Writer’s Digest, The Comic Buyers Guide, Movie Collectors’ World, TV Guide, The Comics Journal, Muscle and Fitness, Sly, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Cinescape and who knows what else.

Entertainment Weekly covers [in each issue] movies, dvds, television, music, books, comics, and features a monthly column by Stephen King [who is always entertaining]. While I don’t always agree with their reviewers’ opionions and sometimes couldn’t care less about their cover feature, I always find something in the magazine of interest. Especially when they cover features like “300” and “Grindhouse”.

Harry Houdini Lives!

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Like most kids, I went through a period where I was really into magic. I had a magic set [a real cool one that came in a pretty good-sized suitcase] and put on shows for family and friends [and even strangers]. I read books on magic and magicians. And like most kids into magic, I became fascinated by Harry Houdini.

Houdini was like a rock star in his time. He traveled the world and was known where ever he went. Houdini’s shows were the talk of the town no matter what continent he was on. In fact if you ask anyone today [over 80 years after his death] to name five famous magicians, Houdini will probably make the list.

Houdini was not only famous for his magic. He also gained noteriety for debunking spiritualists. Houdini despised those who claimed that they were in contact with the dead and in turn would bilk grieving families who had lost loved ones. In fact, Houdini would often use his stage act to show just how these con artists would perform their “miracles”. Needless to say, this created a lot of hostility towards Houdini from the Spiritualists and their followers. Death threats were issued and even Sherlock Holmes author Arthur Conan Doyle, said Houdini would “get his just desserts very exactly meted out … I think there is a general payday coming soon.”

Most folks know that Houdini died on Halloween, 1926, from peritonitis. Or did he? Rumors have long circulated [from just days after he died] that Houdini was murdered. Now, 81 years after his death, Houdini’s great-nephew wants to exhume the magician’s body and see if the cause of death can be determined. He’s gathered a team of experts and hopes to definitvely lay to rest the cause of Houdini’s death.

I think that regardless of what they find, Houdini [the showman that he was] would be amused to learn that in the 21st century he was still making headlines.

We Want to Pump You Up!

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According to a Sports Illustrated report, Evander Hollyfield is just one of many professional athletes linked to a nationwide steroids investigation. Several professional wrestlers including Randy Orton, Adam Copeland, a.k.a. “Edge,” and Shane Helms, a.k.a. “The Hurricane,” Kurt Angle, Oscar Gutierrez aka Rey Mysterio join other pro athletes such as Jose Canseco, John Rocker, Jerry Hairston Jr., David Bell, and bodybuilder Victor Martinez on the list. You can read the full story HERE.

Honestly, the only name on the list which really surprises me is Hollyfield’s.

It Wasn’t All Bad

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This past Saturday my wife and I decided to ride down to the inlet. There was an art show going on and we figured that we could walk around, check out the art and then have some lunch at one of the seafood joints nestled in the inlet.

It was a beautiful afternoon with clear skies and a light breeze. I was surprised that we were able to walk through the entire show in less than an hour. We did see a couple of nice pieces by Florida artists and photographers, but nothing that really knocked us out.

We decided to grab a bite and headed over to one of the better seafood establishments in the area. We’d never had a bad meal there… until that afternoon. The baked potato was cold, the cocktail sauce was near frozen, there was a piece of shell in the fried oysters and the waitress disappeared at about the same time my soda ran dry. Still, the shrimp were delicious and the company was great. And I did like the way this photo turned out.