this is for our new poster, brianprubin.
brian, i need to apologize if it seemed like i jumped on you in our comments section the other day. i want desperately for EVERYONE who visits this website, visits this blog, to feel welcome and free to comment and reply in any way they like. this is a "no judge" zone and i urge ANY and ALL of you--those who post and those who don't--to leave your comments and questions and never feel pressured or uncomfortable in any way.
brian, you had no idea that the way we play our trivia is to try and do it without the help of google or imdb or any of the various search engines that abound all over this crazy world wide web! and i had no idea--'til my pal, rich case, pointed it out to me--that if i just learned to work this blog better, i could postpone people's comments (when we're playing trivia) until they can be approved--thereby making it hard for people to get spoilers before they've even had a chance to log their answers!
i will do this from now on.
brianprubin--i can't apologize enough and hope that you'll continue to come by and read and be a part of this wonky little club we have going here.
as for the answers, well, i've copied them right from brian's answers 'cause they were, of course, all right.
a lot of people were intrigued by the announcement of the perhapanauts' "The Lost Covers" portfolio and i gotta tell ya, craig is doing some SWEEEEEEEET work on this job!! i was afraid that, after several months away from the 'haps that he might be a little rusty with the gang. (it happens...) but as i look at these amazing covers that he continues to send over to me, i realize that, if anything, he's kept that momentum going and blown everything else we were doing out of the park!! i'm so in love with ALL of them that i can't decide which one i should use for my desktop.
here, as we continue to show you the evolution of just ONE of these great plates, is craig's inked version of this ominous cover featuring the 'haps historic confrontation with the flatwoods creature!
i'll be posting further progress over the next week or so, so make sure to check back here tomorrow for more!
in other news, my uncle sends me all kindsa crazy e-mails, many of which are jokes that only senior citizens get, but in a series of breathtaking shots taken by the crew of the space shuttle, this one just got me.
and some more trivia questions.
i would like to--and will--continue to post memories and nice things about mike here from time to time--he was and continues to be such a huge part of mine and craig's life, that i know i will hear his voice, and especially his laugh, for the rest of mine. and our friendship lives on in our friendship with his brother, matt, and sister-in-law, suzanne, and i will keep you all posted right here on further developments and the future of tellos.
my hero, stephen king, recently wrote a piece on "finding joy" in his column in entertainment weekly. he was talking about the things that light us up, that get us going, that bring a smile to our faces. it's different for everybody and it's definitely time to find it, to recognize them, and revel in them. king points out a video on youtube of a guy breaking into dance at best buy. looks staged to me, but i'm not gonna begrudge anybody who gets a kick out of it. certainly not stephen king. and certainly not the dancing guy. if it makes you happy...DO IT!
so we're looking for joy. what is it that lights you up, makes you happy, makes you smile?
for me it's all those things listed above. i LOVE the smell of an old comics. i bury my nose in the newsprint and inhale it like a blowhound with a bag of fine columbian. i LOVE the intrigue and curiosity of strange and bizarre--and unexplainable--happenings. they thrill me! i love movies and stories and people!
from what we can tell, the portfolio will be five plates (covers) and include the letters columns from which they're derived. the print run will be limited to 50 portfolios and will debut atthe baltimore show in two weeks. craig has done some awesome work on these and we're hoping they'll be a big, big hit!
i'll post more from the portfolio as time draws closer.
another thing that makes me happy, as regular readers already know, is trivia. and so here, to get back in the swing of things, are an early "five on monday".
1. in pee wee's big adventure who plays pee wee in the movie version of "pee wee's big adventure"?
2. what was the name of the 70's tv medical drama he starred in?
3. who played the title character?
4. what was the name of the tv family sitcom that he starred in in the 50's?
5. what was it called when it was on the radio?
i'm at mike's right now, sitting and sorting and laughing and crying with his family. we are sad and doing our best to go through mike's things and distract each other from that sadness.
first i should tell you all that charlie (mike's cat, for those who follow his blog...) is fine and will be going to live with mike's brother and sister-in-law, matt and suzanne and their cat, toonces (who can, apparently drive a car). he will be incredibly well cared for and incredibly loved.
onto matt and suzanne themselves,; in light of losing my mom a year or so ago, i know what it's like to have to step up and soldier on in the face of a loss like this, to have to do it in the face of such a sudden...tragedy is simply heroic. they have been so strong, so supportive, and so conscious of mike's friends and fans that i'm sitting here watching them and just don't know how they're doing it.
as for ALL the fans and friends who have 'e'd me, matt, and suzanne, made comments on mike's blog or this one, who have responded to the stories on newsarama (thanks, matt brady--you're the best) we would like, as a family, to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. your comforting words of love for mike and your prayers are so uplifting to all of us.
and to everyone who have so warmly and generously asked/offered/begun putting together the many tribute books and portfolios, we are moved beyond words.
truthfully, the number of people wanting to do tribute books has become a bit overwhelming and, at the moment, we're all still pretty numb about what has happened. we would love to be involved in any tribute that is being done for mike, but right now matt, suzanne, and i just can't think in those directions.
once some of this crazy sadness is over we'll be glad to talk more about this.
just too sad right now.