| Archives of Nolan's Pop Culture Review | ||
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 THIS WEEK'S MOVIE REVIEW "Sin City" by Mike Smith | ||
DEADGUY'S DEMENTIA The Minnesota School Shooting by Mike "Deadguy" Scott | ||
ODDSERVATIONS Blade Band Reunion Must Be Stopped! by Andy Lalino | ||
MATT'S RAIL The Return of Kolchak....Culture Club Threats by Matt Drinnenberg | ||
MIKE'S RANT Movie Notes....Terri Shiavo....Money For Matt....Why Yes, I Do Hate You....Passing On....Jaws: The Story, Part 12 by Mike Smith | ||
LETTERS | ||
Established A.D. 2000, March 19. Now in our sixth calendar year!
Number 262 (Vol. 6, No. 13). This edition is for the week of March 28--April 3, 2005.
NolanCon has consumed HUGE amounts of time, and justifiably so, as I'm learning how to do this for the first time. The good news is the first official flyer will be ready for download and printout by Friday of this week for everyone who wants to help us spread the word! The new website is coming along very nicely as well but is a wee bit more complicated to coordinate.
That and my odious night job suddenly finding enormous value in me lately (mass walk-outs by new hirees have a way of doing that), made me stressed, forgetful and tired. Not the two weeks' worth of missing columns on Wednesday, however---that's not my fault. But, hey, welcome back, Deadguy! We do have him. And we do have some Letters.
To director Jerry Myers To filmmaker Joe DiCanio To Joe Davison Brain Robbers From Outer Space On the death of Johhny Cochran Pity that the very case that made him so famous is still thought of by many as a miscarriage of justice.
On the death of Paul Henning Foghat guitarist dead Terri Shiavo
This week's apologies
Thanks to everyone who wrote or called over the last 10 days or so with Get Well wishes, it was greatly appreciated. Although I have improved enormously, I'm still dogged by low energy and a nagging cough. Unlike any "flu" I've ever had, I've heard this might be more about allergies to pollen than anything---and we are having a frightfully bad time with that in Florida right now.
And I have the next two days off (hooray!), so I will be catching up quickly, thank god. That said, I do owe a few people apologies, so let's get started....
Apparently, even though I lost my notes, I thought I remembered all the movies playing at this month's Romeo Coffeehouse meeting when I wrote my reviews. I did not. I got a letter from the director of '68 inquiring if there was a reason the David Biggerstaff/Jerry Myers production was ignored. It was an editorial oversight, and I do apologize. I did remember the film (Larry included a synopsis in his email), which starred Robert Elfstrom (featured in more and more movies I've noticed) in a film depicting the emotional roller-coaster of a soldier's bittersweet adventure finding love in a foreign land in wartime and its ramifications for his future. Well-shot, well-acted, good script and highly recommended. What makes the omission even more remarkable is I remember conversing with the director after the movie on the current whereabouts of David Biggerstaff (who long-time readers may remember from my very first World of Nolan video).
'68 has been re-incorporated into the original Coffeehouse issue, post-facto.
Re: the DVD you gave me, look for the review here by Friday. Sorry again for the delay, a lot going on right now.
Yes, your original fiction is definitely part of the near future additons to this website, it's all good stuff, please don't think I've forgotten about it.
I've watched this all the way through now and I may have to split the review into two parts, because a lot happens. I don't want to short-shrift it, however, so I'm taking another day to fine-tune it. I apologize it's taken this long, I do appreciate your patience while I juggle all this stuff.
The 67-year-old world famous lawyer most remembered for defending O.J. Simpson during his murder trial has died of an inoperable brain tumor. I have to say I admired him for his theatrical way in court and that despite his high-profile clients, seemed to never lose touch with the common man.
The TV genius that spawned The Beverly Hillbillies and co-created Green Acres is dead at 93. To me, Paul Henning, Sherwood Schwartz (Gilligan's Island, The Brady Bunch), and Andy Griffith (The Andy Griffith Show, Gomer Pyle, USMC) virtually defined '60s-era comedy television. Their like will never be seen again. For more on the late Paul Henning, see this issue's Mike's Rant.
Also noted in Mike's Rant, Foghat guitarist Rod Price is dead at 57. Few were bigger Foghat fans than me during the '70s. I learned every lick of "Slow Ride" and "Fool For The City", which I wish I could remember now! The vocalist for Foghat, "Lonesome Dave" Peverett died a few years back. Foghat formed from the remnants of blues-rock act Savoy Brown, which continued for a time afterwards with new members.
I know there must be many of you who are mystified as to why I continue to make no comment at all on this local case that has drawn national attention, especially with so many hot-button issues involved. I will comment on those issues eventually, likely after the poor thing passes away, but I'm surrounded by people who take this case extremely personally. For now I will remain silent on the life-and-death issues of this brain-damaged woman currently dying in a local hospice after her feeding tube was removed 13 days ago. However, I would like to say this has been an amazing display of how media saturation mobilized the whole country on both sides of something like this. Judicial powers, the separation of powers, the Supreme Court, the Constitution, our Governor and our President have all been involved and tested. At the heart of it is a woman who can't possibly even know or appreciate what's going on. I work next to a nursing home, where I'm told things like this (feeding tube removal, pulling plugs, etc.) happen on a daily basis. The lesson they've learned is to keep family matters private and hope to god the media does not become involved. I also have something to say about how sudden celebrity status changes people, and perhaps redirects their motivation, but I'll save that for another time.
UPDATE: 3-31-2005. Terri Schiavo died Thursday morning, March 31, 2005. I find I still do not want to make much comment on this right-to-die issue, except to say I sympathize with both sides. I'll also say this: if it's decided some person is too far gone mentally to keep alive physically, a better way must be found to help speed their exit than starving/dehydrating them to death! The alternatives, unfortunately, can be easily labeled "assisted suicide" or "execution" by critics, which is not good either, but compared to legal starvation, what else we got?
Ken Echezabal and Susan Janvrin request your presence on Sunday, April
3rd 2005 for Ques es Echezabal?, Ken's 20-year retrospective art show
to be held at Viva La Frida. 5901 N. Florida Ave. Tampa Fl. 813.231.9199.
Show starts at 6pm, until...? Everything
from Dog Eat Dog relics, paintings (new and old), to sculptural tikis
in the garden will be on display. Works by Susan Janvrin will also be
shown. Audio program by Black Widow studios' Troublemaker and RK3^...
www.kenechezabal.com
