June 23, 2008

George Carlin left us on Sunday, June 22nd. I don’t have to tell you his importance to what we used to call the “counter culture”. Look, I’m not going to review the same issues that will be used in just about every eulogy. I saw Carlin in (I believe) 1974 at the Front Row Theater, and he was rude, funny, brilliant, animated and extremely insightful. You may also recall that he was the very first host of “Saturday Night” as it was called when it first went on the air in 1975. He appeared on the “Mike Douglas Show” with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and it takes a lot to get those two to laugh but he succeeded. Carlin is also a footnote in legal history with his “Seven DirtyWords”…several of which have since become common radio and TV fare.

FILM FANS UNITE!

FILM FANS UNITE!

It seems we don’t appreciate the treasures we have in our own back yard…or even a little south. My bride, Janice, and I have arranged for a house sitter (a burly fella who drinks a lot) and we’re heading to Columbus for the annual Cinevent, the classic film convention. Steve Haynes has been putting this show on for many years and it is one of the premiere events of its type nationwide. You should make plans, too. And check out the website.
One of the reasons Cinevent is so popular is the Vintage Poster Art Auction. Morrie Everett and Marty Davis have been staging this auction for years. Morrie owns the Last Moving Picture Company right here in Northeast Ohio, and he and Davis are among the most respected people in the world when it comes to movie posters. Plus, they’re nice guys.
At any rate, I’ll se you at Cinevent. Stop by and say “hi” to Steve Haynes, Morrie Everett and Marty Davis. And if you need a house sitter, I’ve got one…but he’ll pry the lock off your liquor cabinet.

Cleveland's Favorite Sons

Okay, let me get on a soap box here. Cleveland wants to embrace winners, but too many times it fails to see the obvious. Why don’t we have a statue to Superman in this city! Sure, there are plenty of other ways to spend that money, and I don’t endorse the use of public funds. But keep this in mind: Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created one of the five most recognized literary characters in history, alongside Robin Hood, Tarzan, Mickey Mouse and Sherlock Holmes. Pretty heady company, eh? The character was born from two Glenville High teenagers who never saw the true rewards from their creation. Michael Sangiacomo made that point several times in his columns in the Plain Dealer. Fortunately, someone has taken the challenge and we could see the problem rectified as early as this summer.
Positively Cleveland has assembled a group of civic boosters planning a yearly celebration of Krypton’s…make that Northeast Ohio’s…favorite son. More importantly, the campaign is planning a yearly celebration of Siegel and Shuster, who loved their home town dearly until their final days. The plans are still in the discussion stages, so I’m not going to tip any hands right now but trust me…..this campaign is in the right hands and will be something that will bring a lot of well deserved attention to Northeast Ohio, the Glenville neighborhood, and most importantly, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. And if you want to be a part of the effort, keep an eye out for the call for volunteers. We owe it to a couple of Glenville alumni.

The Greatest Generation. For Real!

My uncle, Vic Pruchinski, lives in Garfield Heights. He was like my other uncles, entertaining all the nieces and nephews at family gatherings, telling jokes, and generally showing everybody a good time. He also served in World War II, like my other uncles and a lot of other very special people, but never really spoke about it.
A few weeks back I met up with a good friend, Tom Swope, who told me about the Veterans History Project. Tom and a group of volunteers have been recording oral histories for the Library of Congress, asking vets about their experiences. I put him in touch with my Uncle Vic who, surprisingly, said he would sit down with Tom for an interview.
We all met on a Saturday, and I have to admit that I sat there in awe as Uncle Vic told Tom about the Battle of Bulge, liberating Germany, and his time overseas. He didn’t hold back, and I couldn’t help but think how brave he was, not only to fight in that war, but to recall it as vividly as he did. At the end of the interview, Tom asked about the end of the war. Uncle Vic shrugged and said, “We had a job, we did it. I came home and got another job.” It turns out a lot of returning vets felt the same way.
Now keep in mind that these interviews are being archived and will be studied for hundreds of years. It’s important work, and it‘s people like Tom who are keeping that history alive. You should, too. Here’s how:
If you know a WWII vet, contact Tom at: swopetunes@ juno.com

It’s absolutely vital to get these first hand experiences recorded for future generations. In fact, the men and women who fought in World War II are called “the greatest generation”, and they proved it. These were people who lined up to serve, even if they were a day short of high school graduation or married just a few weeks. They had a job to do, and they did it. I’m really proud of Uncle Vic. Oh, and one more thing….
At the end of the interview, Vic let loose with a few jokes. Hey…it’s in the blood line!

Zep is Back!

Okay, we all hoped it would happen and it finally did at London's O2 Arena. Led Zeppelin put aside personal differences and honored the late Ahmet Ertegun with a blistering two hour set that left one big question: When can the rest of us see the band live? Tour? Got a feeling t going to happen. The band is doing some work for ESPN, and at least one music industry insider is saying "It's a done deal". Hey, Van Halen did it with David Lee Roth, who's to say Zep couldn't. Page sounds as good as ever, Plant and Jones were as tight as ever and Jason Bonham held up his dad's legacy in great fashion. I was one of the people who never wanted the Beatles to reunite. How would you live up to the hype? Could you change with the times? After hearing the clips of Zeppelin, I'm convinced this is the band that can do it. Of course, Zeppelin wasn't responsible for the social change the Beatles lay claim to, so that could make it a bit easier. The bottom line is that Zeppelin still has to live up to its own legend. We're all a little bit older and hopefully a bit wiser, so I have a feeling that if there is a tour we'll all share in their victory. This is the band to do it!

Random Thoughts

The Christmas season starts earlier every year. This year I saw holiday stuff in September, and the decorations usually stay up on houses into April. Some stores are talking about opening at midnight from Thursday to Friday morning, and some parts of the country will see shopping start at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving night! Look for traffic jams at a shopping center near you. I get a lot of my shopping done that same weekend at the Mid-Ohio Con in Columbus (and my bride Janice can pick up lot of stuff on my list there, too.) It’s a baby boom convention that has grown over the year to host huge crowds. Roger and Jane Price bring in folks like David Carradine, TV and movie stars, and all kinds of pop culture icons. There’s a huge dealers room, too….which is where Jan usually asks why I would need a fake piece of kryptonite, issues of Playboy from the 1950s, or DVDs of Astro Boy and Clutch Cargo. She thinks its just a guy thing, and on many ways it is. It’s the perfect place to relive your childhood! I have someone to house sit for us that weekend, so I’ll see you at the convention center

Recently we marked the 30th anniversary of Marc Bolan’s death in a car crash. Bolan’s T. Rex was never really appreciated in the US the way it was across the globe. He hit with “Bang a Gong”, and had minor success with “Jeepster”, but that was about it for his US success. Bolan played small venues in Parma and Cleveland, including the old Agora, but the movie “Born to Boogie” shows him playing to stadiums in that same era.
Bolan’s greatest success may have come with the same trend that has revived a lot of classic rockers, and that’s TV commercials. If you saw the Browns victory over the Bengals on Sunday you saw a load of classic rock themed spots, including Bob Seger, and even a Beatles tune. When Bolan’s “20th Century Boy” was used in a car commercial, a lot of people didn’t realize it was him because he’d been dead for such a long time and the song hadn’t been released as a single. All of a sudden, “Bang a Gong” and “Jeepster” were being used in spots, and Bolan’s post-mortem career was making money again.
The point is that a new generation is being introduced to classic rock via television, proving the longevity of that genre. Hopefully, that trend will continue.

Jerry “The King” Lawler stopped by the morning show not too long ago. Great guy and a far cry from his personae in the wrestling ring. Lawler used to live in the Cleveland area, in Lorain and Vermilion, and remained a Cleveland sports fan even after he returned to Memphis. While he was at the station, Lawler made a point to sign an autograph for a young wrestling fan whose grandfather works here at the Halle Building. The kid’s name is JaJuan, and we try to get him an autograph or a mention whenever we can. His grandfather told us he gave the stuff to JaJuan, who seemed puzzled that Lawler would sign the photo “to his good friend”…but added, “Oh yeah. Rey Mysterio was on a few weeks ago. He probably mentioned me to Jerry.”

Downtown Cleveland, like a lot of big cities, is a whole different world at night. I come in at about 3:45 – 4 am, and you see a lot of the same faces, some friendly and some you never want to see again. It makes you wonder what kind of lifestyles these folks pursue. What do they do for money, where do they live and how? And why would they choose to live that way, if they had a choice? Then again, they look at me and wonder “what kind of idiot gets up at this hour to go to work?”

Another One To Pass Along

Almost forgot! My good friend Kelly Parker forwarded this to me, and it's important we all pass it along.

Know what money you are carrying. You will see why as you read.
Be sure every woman is aware of this M.O. Share it with your wife and
daughters. Know what money you are carrying...

This was the first I have heard of a scheme like this.....I wanted to pass it along. Be safe! Something very serious to pay attention to.
Criminals are coming up with craftier, less threatening methods of attack,
so we have to be extra cautious.
Read on...
I live in Alexandria , VA , but I often work in Lafayette , LA , staying
with friends when I'm there. As you know from America 's Most Wanted TV
program, as well as the news media, there is a serial killer in the
Lafayette area. I just want to let you know about an "incident" that
happened to me a few weeks ago, and could have been deadly.

At first I didn't go to the police or anyone with it because I didn't
realize how serious this encounter was. But since I work in a jail and I
told a few people about it, it wasn't long before I was paraded into
Internal Affairs to tell them my story. It was approximately 5:15 a.m. in
Opelousas , La. I had stayed with a friend there and was on my way to work.

I stopped at the Exxon/Blimpie Pie station to get gas. I got $10 gas and a
Diet Coke. I took into the store two $5 bills and one $1 bill (just enough to get my stuff). As I pulled away from the store, a man
approached my truck from the back side of the store (an unlit area). He was
an "approachable-looking" man (clean cut, clean shaven, dressed well, etc.).

He walked up to my window and knocked. Since I'm very paranoid and "always
looking for the rapist or killer," I didn't open the window.

I just asked what he wanted. He raised a $5 bill to my window and said, "You
dropped this." Since I knew I had gone into the store with a certain amount
of money, I knew I didn't drop it.

When I told him it wasn't mine, he began hitting the window and door,
screaming at me to open my door, and insisting that I had dropped the money!

At that point, I just drove away as fast as I could.
After talking to the Internal Affairs Department and describing the man I
saw, and the way he escalated from calm and polite to angry and
volatile...it was determined that I could have possibly encountered the serial killer myself.

Up to this point, it had been unclear as to how he had gained access to his
victims, since there has been no evidence of forced entry into victim's
homes, cars, etc. And the fact that he has been attacking in the daytime,
when women are less likely to have their guard up, means he is pretty BOLD.

So think about it...what gesture is nicer than returning money to someone
that dropped it?????

How many times would you have opened your window (or door) to get your moneyand say thank you.... because if the person is kind enough to return
something to you, then he can't really be a threat....can he????
Please be cautious! This might not have been the serial killer... but anyone that gets that angry over someone not accepting money from them can't have
honorable intentions. The most important thing to note is that his reaction
was NOT WHAT I EXPECTED! A total surprise! But what might have happened if I had opened my door? I shudder to think!

Men, send it to all the women in your life. What you do today is important
because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. Make it a good one!