PULP ARK 2012>DAY 3

And so we come to the conclusion of the second annual Pulp Ark convention in beautiful Batesville, Arkansas.

The day began with another complimentary breakfast at the hotel. I was already there eating when Felix Silla walked in. The man sat down at my table and we had a brief chat over our respective meals before each of us had to get ready for Day 3. I have no idea what I ever did to earn or deserve his friendship, but I hope I'm always worthy of the honor.

My first and only panel of the day was discussing Gumshoes and Flatfeet: Private Detectives, Flatfeet (police officers), and others in pulps with Ashley Morgan, Sean Taylor, Del Garret, and myself.
Then the bulk of my final convention hours involved manning the Pro Se Press table, meeting fans, selling (and autographing when appropriate) books, and saying goodbye to friends old and new as they packed up in the later hours to head home, rest, and prepare for whatever convention they are scheduled for next.

The very last thing that happened at the convention was a concert by a young singer named Ryan Hoyle. I do not know much about him beyond the fact that he's a local Arkansas talent, but he can sing, with a song list that includes Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and other crooners. If you ever get the chance to hear him perform, do so!

Afterwards it was back to the hotel for a little dinner and a brief nap before hopping on the Internet to post these words you're reading now.
Tomorrow is the flight home, layover and all.
Sometime later this week, I am hoping to be able to find some photos to post here to make up for my own digital camera not surviving the flight here.
So until then...

THE SUNDAY FUNNIES: HAPPY EARTH DAY 2012!

I dig planet Earth!

Give a hoot! Don't pollute!

Autumn the Puppy AND Ms. Waxy Dragon with you now and stepping a bit out of character for the moment because


TODAY IS EARTH DAY!

While hopefully the thought is with everyone the other 364 days of the year as well, today ALL Humans should take a moment to realize that this is the only planet we have to live on and it should be well taken care of!

After all, it’s not like we have anywhere else to go right now.

Besides, even if we did, would we take care of that planet the same way we did Earth?
If so, that doesn't speak very highly of us.

This is our home, not a pig sty!

Earth Day was first started in 1970 and despite the protests and "concerns" of some who have their own agenda$, the concept has caught on.
Recycling, which was big during World War 2, has finally come into acceptance again within the last couple of decades.
Despite having been proposed back during the administration of former United States President Jimmy Carter, hybrid vehicles are starting to be produced en mass.
So let’s do more to start going green.
Not only will it benefit us now, but your grandchildren's grandchildren in the future will appreciate the effort too.

We'll return next weekend with more Sunday Funnies. Now go save the planet!
~Autumn and Waxy.

PULP ARK 2012>DAY 2

Oh, where do I begin?
Other than the aforementioned frustration over being unable to get my digital camera to work that has created a lack of images to accompany this text, I had a WONDERFUL day!

First up was being part of a panel featuring Anthony Tollin, Johnny Lowe, Johnny Lucas, Will Mangin, and myself discussing Pulp's connection and influence on comic books.

Then a little later on I went to attend the celebrity spotlight hour on Pulp Ark 2012's guest of honor, actor Felix Silla.
There I am about to take my seat amongst the crowd and the next thing I know, Silla himself is inviting me to sit next to him on stage!
And if that wasn't enough of a shock, I ended up being the moderator of the hour on Felix's behalf! After introducing him, I asked a couple of starting questions before prompting the audience for theirs.
Doctor Art Sippo recorded the event for a future podcast on THE BOOK CAVE and I cannot wait to hear it myself.
In all honesty, I kept expecting to wake up and discover the whole thing was a dream.
My one regret is that it was only a hour long, for Felix Silla has seen and done so much in a decades spanning career during the better years of the movie and television industry and I'm sure there are many more stories waiting to be told.
A couple of those were touched upon later when Felix was part of a panel discussing Pulp's influence on Hollywood and vice versa. Silla was on stage with film producers Dan Baker and Al Bohl, fellow actor Stephen Jared, and screenplay writer Don Thomas.

Then Chuck Miller making it to the Pro Se table swelled our ranks. Books, autographs, and conversations went fast and furious that day. At our peak, the group consisted of Chuck, Ashley Mangin, Megan Smith, Nancy Hansen, Fuller Bumpers, Don Thomas, Tommy Hancock, and myself. I hope someone got a group shot of us that I can post later this coming week.

What a cover!

Day Two concluded with the presentation of the 2012 Pulp Ark awards, included Howard Hopkins winning the Lifetime Achievement award posthumously, and me accepting the Best Cover award on behalf of David Russell, who painted the cover for my professional writing debut novel: HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE.

Then Pulp Ark auctioned items to benefit the Ozark Hills Literacy Project before presenting Lord of the Louisiana Jungle, the documentary covering the creation of the very first Tarzan film ever produced, the 1918 silent adaptation of Tarzan of the Apes featuring Elmo Lincoln and Enid Markey.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: APRIL 15-21, 2012

April 22 is EARTH DAY!

Amongst the events happening around the world this past week…

*North Korea has rejected any offers of food aid that involve giving up its nuclear weapons program.

*Jim Yong Kim has been elected president of the World Bank.

*The member countries of the G-20 have united to pledge an additional $430 Billion US Dollars to the International Monetary Fund.

*Some members of the Secret Service are being investigated for associating with prostitutes in Columbia. While such services are legally available in that country, the agents involved had other duties they should have been attending to at the time, like protecting the President of the United States!

*Civil unrest continues in Syria, Bahraini, Yemen, and along the Sudan-South Sudan border.

IN AMERICAN POLITICS:

*Although he is no longer officially in the race, Rick Santorum is still making news within the Republican Presidential Nomination contest. Pre-planned letters criticizing Mitt Romney in the upcoming Pennsylvania primary were never cancelled and sent to potential voters, and the former candidate himself as yet to endorse one of his opponents. Some analysts feel Santorum might find some success as a “non” candidate, since his name is still on many of the remaining primaries’ ballots.

*Meanwhile, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times, reporters overheard hopeful Mitt Romney talking to Florida supporters in a private meeting. When asked about his budget balancing plans, the GOP front runner said he might eliminate the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and make the Department of Education “a heck of a lot smaller”. But whatever his final decisions on the matter, Romney also told the gathered supporters that he would not reveal his plans to voters until AFTER he won the election.

*THE 2012 PULITIZER PRIZE WINNERS INCLUDE:

*Journalism: Philadelphia Inquirer (Public Service), Tuscaloosa Alabama News’ staff (Breaking News), Craig F. Walker of the Denver Post (photography)

*Letters and Drama: Life on Mars by Tracy K. Smith (poetry), Water By the Spoonful by

Quiara Algeria Hudes (drama)

*Music: Silent Night, An Opera In Two Acts by Kevin Puts

IN ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:

*Sadly, “America’s Oldest Teenager” Dick Clark passed away this week at the age of 82.

*Levon Helm of The Band (The Weight, Up on Cripple Creek) unfortunately lost his battle with cancer on Thursday.

*His publicist waited until after the funeral service to announce that actor Jonathan Frid, best known or type casted (depending upon your opinion) as Barnabas Collins on Dark Shadows passed away on April 13 from complications after a fall. His last professional appearance will be a cameo in the upcoming Dark Shadows movie with Johnny Depp in Frid's role.

IN PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL:

*In a game especially scheduled to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of Fenway Park’s grand opening, the Boston Red Sox lost to the New York Yankees 6-2.

*Phillip Humber of the Chicago pitched a perfect game (no hits, no walks) against the Seattle Mariners Saturday. It is only the 21^st game in professional baseball history and the third in team history.

For more news at any time, either scroll down to our IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen or visit any other reputable news source.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: APRIL 21, 2012

Since our beloved Editor-In Chief is at the second annual Pulp Ark convention in Batesville, Arkansas (USA) this weekend; we thought it appropriate to present some pulp inspired puzzles. Ready?

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

A new feature for the Puzzle Corner!

Basically, one of the items below is somewhat different than the other two. Do you know who the proverbial odd man out is and why?

And I have it on good authority from Doctor Art Sippo that there are at least TWO possible answers!

{The Shadow, Doc Savage, Tarzan}

THE FIFITY/FIFTY CHANCE

This is just like a regular trivia question, except there are only two possible answers, hence even odds of getting it right. Ready?

True or false: The Shadow is really Lamont Cranston.

We’ll reveal all next weekend. But for now, let’s peek inside THE ANSWERS BOX and discover the results from April 14’s Puzzle Corner.

COMMON BONDS

01.  {quaint, luau} = both words have 3 vowels

02.  {evolve, antidote} = both words begin and end with vowels

TRIVIA TIME

In 1978 rocker Alice Cooper donated the money needed to acquire an ‘O’ during restoration of the fabled Hollywood sign in California (USA) in memory of comedian Groucho Marx.

PULP ARK 2012>DAY ONE

First and foremost, my sincerest apologies for not being able to post images with these reports. Unfortunately my digital camera did not survive the trip from home to Batesville, Arkansas and thus it will be sometime next week at the earliest when I can obtain the appropriate pictures from other sources if possible.

NOW THEN...
The day started off with a preview visit by all the local area fifth graders. The convention put on a two hour special event including music by the Order of Tyr (video game music meets heavy metal), Professor A. D. Venture discussing imagination, magic tricks by Big Daddy Cool (Johnny Dellarocca), Megan Smith as the Pulptress, actor Felix Silla (Buck Rogers, Addams Family, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi) and readings of selected highlights by various Pro Se Press authors in attendance, including yours truly.
The convention proper began at one local time, with events such as a panel on how pulp promotes literacy, and examining the classic pulp characters of yesteryear, before the night closed with a full concert by the Order of Tyr.

I got to talk to several people during the day, between answering questions from the fifth graders during their visit, renewing acquaintances with Doctor Art Sippo, Erwin R. Kennedy, and Fuller Bumpers; meeting new friends like writers Sean Taylor and Ashley Magnin, and even had a nice chat with Felix Silla.

So overall, quite an interesting day for only my second professional convention appearance.
And for those interested, Batesville is the second oldest city in the state of Arkansas (USA) and is celebrating its bicentennial this later this year.

PULP ARK 2012 PREVIEW!

April 20-22, our illustrious Editor-In-Chief will be attending the second annual Pulp Ark Convention in Batesville, Arkansas (USA), sponsored by Pro Se Press.
Amongst the highlights of the three day event will be a showing Saturday night of the documentary Tarzan: Lord of the Louisiana Jungle (pictured at right) about the making of the VERY FIRST Tarzan movie, followed by that silent film classic featuring Elmo Lincoln in the title role.
Honored guests will include:
*Actor Felix Silla, who has portrayed Twiki on Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (with Gil Gerard) and Cousin Itt on The Addams Family (dating back to the original with John Astin and Carolyn Jones), amongst countless other parts.
*Anthony Tollin, long time comic book colorist who now oversees reprints of The Shadow for Nostalgia Ventures
*A plethora of New Pulp authors, live music, and much more!

More information can be found here: http://www.pulpark.blogspot.com

The Free Choice E-zine's regular weekend features (The Puzzle Corner, The Week In Review, and The Sunday Funnies) will be presented around coverage of the event from our Editor-in-Chief's perspective, with a full post-convention report to follow after the event concludes.

Click any individual image to make it larger for easier viewing.