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PCR Archives 2002
PCR Archives 2001
PCR Archives 2000
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Nolan's Pop Culture Review, 2002!

CURRENT STUFF
La Floridiana
Movie Review
The Enlightenment
Mike's Rant

(Links listed above indicate "final edition" status.)
CONTRIBUTOR'S
Homepages

Michael A. Smith's
The Omnipresent M. Smith homepage and Email                    

Matt Drinnenberg's
The Masters of Horror

Terence Nuzum's
Viddywell Productions

William Moriaty's
T.R.E.E., Inc.

Established A.D. 2000, March 19.  Now in our third calendar year!
  Number 140  (Vol. 3, No. 48). This edition is for the week of November 25--December 1, 2002.
The holiday season and a few loose ends...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

PLUS: "Hey Nolan, whatever happened with...?"

•  The Public Access thing?

•  The Movie Thing?

•  The 7-Eleven Thing?

AND...
   Will Moriaty's TV Update

I know, I know. I haven't been as communicative as I should've been with a lot of of you, because frankly, the way things turned out, there wasn't a lot to report. After one of the most wonderful and eventful Springtimes I ever had, I suffered through one of the worst Summer/Falls I ever had (which I predicted would happen), and it became difficult to focus on what I was doing. Although I usually save my most personal diatribes and praises till the end-of-the-year issue, there are a few situations I should take the time right now to update.

Tampa's Public Access Television
After suffering a series of near-lethal setbacks caused by the legal maneuverings of sexually-repressed and hysterical County Commissioner Ronda Storms this year, we nearly lost public access in Tampa as we knew it (or what she calls "publicly-funded pornography"). Last August, the Commission voted away over $300,000 in operating costs. I was so discouraged, I basically left the station after the summer run of "What's It All About?", a series I was tech-director on following my own spring series, "The World of Nolan". I announced to a few folks I was likely not going to return. (A little add'l background on all this can be found on the still-as-yet-not-quite-adequately-updated World of Nolan TV homepage. Another one of a zillion projects time has eluded me for). Last I knew was PA was suing the county.

THE GOOD NEWS. Public Access is back in action and the victory is sweet. Earlier this month, US District Judge James S. Moody granted a preliminary injunction against the county, keeping funding for the facility in place. As part of his order, the judge ruled that Speak Up Tampa Bay (the managing operators), has a good chance of prevailing in its lawsuit. What this means is what the county saved in PA operating costs, it would likely have pissed away fighting a lawsuit it does not have a good chance of winning. Undaunted, Storms has vowed to appeal (natch), but her train has derailed badly after this. Public Access will live on. And I may return next year.

The Movie Thing
I know I promised everyone copies of "The Horror Writer" over 2 years ago. I'm sorry it didn't materialize. It will. I don't know when. I didn't know how complicated it was going to get. I didn't know the Pop Culture Review was going to consume every waking useful second of my existence when I started it (not that I regret it, mind you. It was necessary to hone my writing/editing/webmastering chops and establish a web presence--which it certainly did--and made connections I never would've had otherwise). And I certainly didn't plan on changing jobs in mid-course this year.

HOWEVER. There is hope on the horizon. The aforementioned job change tested me like no other phenomenon in recent history. I decided I must act or perish. The Crazed Fanboy website is going through some serious changes and I've begun consolidating all my resources into making it a success like never before. And the how of that, my friends, is an announcement I will make closer to year's end. And, speaking of the current job...

The 7-Eleven Thing...
7-11 name tagOH SWEET MERCIFUL GOD IN HEAVEN, DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU. Ha ha ha. No, just kidding (sort of). I'm OK with it now. The monumental cultural shock from earlier in the year when the current dismal economy delivered me into a living hell made of Slurpees and microwave burritos has eased somewhat. For someone as anti-corporate as myself, the fiercely independent typical "starving artist" type, I wouldn't really recommend it, but as a temporary remedy, it could've been worse, and I'm working with a supportive crew.
Pictured at left is a photo-scan of my actual name tag. Thought you'd get a kick out of it.


Floridiana Update Stuff          by Will Moriaty
Count Your Blessings and Give Thanks. This should be a daily ritual in your lives, but even if it is limited to one day of the year, take the time this Thanksgiving to count your many blessings and give thanks. There is truly so much for all of us to be grateful for-- our lives, our family and friends, our health, our homes, our jobs (though they may drive is to distraction), and this incredible nation that we live in. Here's wishing the entire PCR staff and our readers a most Blessed and Safe Holiday.

"Blondie" Web Site. Hopefully you've been enjoying the interview with "Blondie" artist Denis Lebrun in this and last week's edition of the Nolan Canova's Pop Culture Review. Be sure to visit the "Blondie" web site at www.blondie.com

Lisa Clardy's Web Site. Hopefully you saw the Orlando artist's science fiction character "Hominy Fa-Tang"s Web Site. For more on Lisa's versatile design, illustration and scenic art, log on to www.f-bod.com

Karen's Firehawk Web Site and the Bay Area Drag Racing and Performance Web Sites. For those of you who have an interest like my wife and I do for American made muscle-cars, log on to my wife's Pontiac Firehawk web site at www.florida-firehawk.com and onto the Bay Area Drag Racing and Performance ("BADRAP") site at http://www.badrap.net/

Television Updates:

Good Morning Miami
I was getting real concerned about the continued health of this show as it has not been on in the past two weeks, and is not slated for airing this week. As it turns out there has already been a major shift in the casting. On November 10, 2002 Brooke Dillman (Sister Brenda the weather nun) and Tessie Santiago (anchor Lucia Rojas-Klein) were fired from the cast in order to free up more time in the growing relationship between Jake and Dylan. I will miss both characters, particularly Ms. Santiago who was not only pleasant on the eyes, but brought the Hispanic prescence to the show that is so much in character with the Miami-Dade area. The good news is that the highly rated show was allotted a full season filming contract, and will resume airing on December 5th.

Birds of Prey In Trouble
The WB is weighing wheteher or not to cancel "Birds of Prey" after its initial 13 episode contract. Stiff competition from UPN's the "Twilight Zone" appears to be sinking this fine series. Hopefully the WB will give the show more time to prove itself, but today's networks are much more merciless than in years gone by in giving new series such a chance. Maybe a groundswell of letter writing to the WB can turn this show's fortunes around.

Spotlight on Actress Ashley Scott
Ashley Scott, the beautiful actress who so skillfully plays Helena Kyle/the Huntress was born in Metairie, Louisiana. She was raised in Charleston South Carolina. At a very young age she became a New York model walking the runways of Miami, Paris and London. One of the first television appearances for Ms. Scott was acting the role of Asha Copeland opposite Jessica Alba in the too-short lived FOX series "Dark Angel"

CSI Miami Caption
This week's Tampa Tribune TribTV said, "A dead man is found hanging from a tree"-- wow, does that sound exciting-- gotta hand it to Kim Delaney for boogying from this show, even though it was ranked number 4 this past week.

"La Floridiana" Heads to the Hills
Karen and I will visit kin in western Tennessee for Thanksgiving then head for the Great Smokeys in eastern Tennessee for a much needed one week vacation. We will be sharing a chalet with our dear friends John and Beth Blechscmidt who we have spent most of our Tennessee vacations with since 1994. I will bring back pics and a story for our valued PCR readers!



La Floridiana This week's issue
La Floridiana by William Moriaty
It's here! THE DENIS LEBRUN INTERVEW! Part 2 The second part of the interview conducted on September 12, 2002 with Florida Folk Hero and best friend Denis Lebrun, who is the primary artist for the world-famed King Features Syndicate comic strip "Blondie". Enjoy!... ....................................Click here for more.

Movie ReviewMovie Review
This Week's Movie Review:
"Die Another Day"

Review by Mike Smith. ..........................................Click here for more.

The Enlightenment This week's issue
The Enlightenment by Terence Nuzum
Just in time for the lame new Bond film "Die Another Day", I've decided to enlighten you all on the true 007, the literary Bond. I will review the books and compare them to their respective film versions. If you have never heard of or read the Bond novels, prepare to be enlightened..... ....................Click here for more.

Mike's Rant This week's issue
Mike's Rant by Michael A. Smith
A little something different for this time of year:
Thoughts on friendship...
......................................Click here for more.


Letters to the EditorWe welcome your feedback.


To send an email to Letters to the Editor write to: Crazedfanboy1@aol.com.  Any emails sent to this address will be assumed intended for publication unless you specifically instruct me not to. I can and do respond privately, if that is your preference. Frequently, it's both ways.---Nolan


"Mike's Rant" is ©2002 by Michael A. Smith    "La Floridiana" is ©2002 by William Moriaty    "The Enlightenment" is ©2002 by Terence Nuzum    This week's movie review of  "Die Another Day" is ©2002 by Michael A. Smith      All contents of Nolan's Pop Culture Review are ©2002 by Nolan B. Canova

Webpage design and all graphics herein are creations of  Nolan B. Canova ©2002; all rights reserved.