MEMORIAL DAY 2012

The following is an editorial.

Today is Memorial Day here in the United States of America.
But let's pause to point out a couple of fallacies that have developed over the years.
First, this weekend is NOT the start of Summer! Granted, we are now well within the better (warmer) part of Spring, but the Summer season itself does not begin until June 20 this year.

Second, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, WHY we have this day, for it is a lot more than just a three day weekend away from work and/or school.

Today is set aside to remember those who have served within America's various military branches, especially those who gave their lives defending this country to protect the freedoms and civil liberties that you have.

Not all those wars and battles have been "popular" amongst my fellow American citizens, but there is absolutely no denying the bravery of the men (and women within the last couple of decades) who have served within the various branches of the Armed Forces.                            

One should always hope for a peaceful resolution to any conflict.
Yet we must also be realistic that that option is not always available to us.
When there is absolutely no other alternative, we should be glad that there are those willing to fight and, if necessary, lay down their lives so that others might continue to live and be free.

Other countries around the world have similar practices and policies. This weekend is just America's turn.
So please don't forget the Veterans of years past and the service personnel of the present who made today possible as you enjoy your cookout, ballgame, or whatever.

The above was an editorial.

SUNDAY FUNNIES: HUH?

WHAT great responsibility???

Hello Everybody. It's the Memorial Day weekend here in the United States of America, so Ms. Waxy Dragon and Autumn the Puppy are not here today. Thus writing this weekend's Sunday Funnies falls upon me, your humble Editor-In-Chief.
Now Memorial Day itself is no laughing matter, so let me try to entertain you with some jokes.
Since the ladies were asking questions over the last couple of installments of this column, let me pose a few of my own.

When you leave the optometrist after an appointment, should you say "See you later?"

Is Stu really a good name for a cook?

If Shakespeare's right and "All the world's a stage", then where is the audience sitting?

If you follow the Boy Scouts' motto of "Be prepared", then doesn't that make anything unexpected expected?

What's the point in singing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" when you're already there?

If a word was ever misspelled in a dictionary, how would we know?

Remember those who defended you!

If a psychic truly sees something disastrous happening in the future, shouldn't they warn someone for free instead of charging them for the information?      

What if there were no rhetorical questions?

If love is blind, then why is lingerie so popular?

On that note, please remember that there is a LOT more to this holiday than just a three day weekend from work and school, and we hope to see you back here next weekend for more Sunday Funnies!-lthjr

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: MAY 20-26, 2012

*This is the Memorial Day weekend in the United States of America.
*Sunday marks the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, USA.
*The Indy 500 Race is scheduled to start tomorrow afternoon.
*Yesterday marked the 35th anniversary of the Star Wars franchise, based upon the original release of the very first film, Episode IV: A New Hope.

Amongst events that have happened around the world this past week:

*It has been revealed that an unidentified infant in Rome, Italy received the world's smallest artificial heart, as a temporary measure to sustain the child's life until a replacement heart could be found. Knowledge of this feat was not made public until May 24, long after the new organ was transplanted at Bambino Gesu' Hospital. Doctor Antonio Amodeo led the surgical team for both procedures.
*The news doesn't look good in North Korea, according to an Amnesty International report. Thirty state officials allegedly met with "accidents" in the change of power between Kim Jong Un and his late father, Kim Jong Il. Meanwhile, the North continues to pursue a nuclear program, despite claims that up to SIX MILLION citizens of that country are going hungry!
*While debate continues whether or not the retaining walls to the cooling pool of the nuclear control rods at Fukishima Daiichi's Reactor #4 could withstand a potential earthquake, Japanese officials conducting a media tour reported the situation cleanable, but with a projected timeline of up to FOUR DECADES to complete the extremely difficult work. The power plant was ravaged by natural disaster in 2011.
*To celebrate Facebook's Initial Public Stock Offering, founder Mark Zukerberg married long time girl friend Priscilla Chan last weekend. The small, select group of attendees thought they were going to celebrate Chan's recent college graduation until the ceremony actually began.
*The Dragon spacecraft successfully docked with the International Space Station, thus signaling the beginning of the commercialization of outer space.
*Civil unrest continues in Syria and Bahraini.
*Sadly, Bee Gee Robin Gibb lost his battle with cancer at age 62.

IN SPORTS...
*"I'll Have Another" won the Preakness Stakes, now giving him two-thirds of the 2012 Triple Crown in horse racing. The Belmont race will be held in June.

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: MAY 26, 2012

This is the Memorial Day weekend in the United States, but the date is a LOT more than just the start of summer!

REMEMBER!

How much do you really know about this important weekend?
Let's find out.

01. What was Memorial Day originally known as?
02. When did the Memorial Day tradition start?
03. Why was the last Monday in May originally chosen for the observance?
04. When did Memorial Day become an official holiday in the United States?
05. Who was President of the United States at the time?

We'll reveal all next weekend. But for now, let's open THE ANSWERS BOX and reveal the results from May 19's Puzzle Corner.

BEFORE AND AFTER
The clue was: Let's Make A Deal host forms a musical duet.
We received a LOT of e-mails from confused people trying to figure out the answer, based upon current game show host Wayne Brady.
But the ORIGINAL Let's Make A Deal host was Monty Hall, which makes the answer Monty Hall and Oates!

REBUS

LOT
mind   equals "A lot on one's mind."

KEN JANSSENS: FROM SHERLOCK HOLMES TO TODAY

Issue 3 of 4 from Blue Water Comics

There are as many different genres as there are writers and the format in which one can present their work.

Amongst those is comic books, and within that group is a dear friend of mine by the name of Ken Janssens.

I had the honor of first meeting Ken in person at the 2011 Pulp Ark Convention, and while he was unable to make the journey again this year, we have maintained our friendship over the medium in which we first met: the Internet.

Recently Ken was nice enough to answer a few questions about what he's been up to lately.

Ken Janssens: I have two projects at the moment I'm very excited about. The first is an eight page preview story running in the Free Comic Book Day anthology by Prometheus Comics (http://www.prometheuscomics.com) named “Technophobe”. The other is my Sherlock Holmes mini-series from Bluewater Productions entitled “Sherlock Holmes: Victorian Knights”.

"Technophobe" appears within

Lee Houston, Junior: There has been much produced about the original consulting detective since the days of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. How did this work come about?

Ken: It's a start of a new mystery that takes place in the English countryside. The Sherlock Holmes mini-series came out of my running collaborations with Bernie Lee. The two of us have worked on multiple projects together and the Sherlock Holmes story was originally supposed to be a one-shot at his TwilightPop company. After several conversations with Darren Davis, the project moved to Bluewater Comics and was made into two mysteries and a four-part mini-series penciled by Matt Martin. I'd like to thank Darren. He has been quite good to me.

Lee: You've also worked in the New Pulp field, creating and writing The Cerebus Clan, Aloha McCoy and, my personal favorite: Sherringford Bell, amongst your straight prose work.

What is New Pulp to you?

The writer, either mugging for the camera or lost in thought

Ken: New Pulp is a great balance of the adventure of the first half of the twentieth century and the aspects and format of the new millennium. The best thing about it is that New Pulp has no limits, yet somehow the writers in the New Pulp community all know what the boundaries are. It's a very odd animal unto itself.

Lee: Why do you write what you do?

Ken: It's because of my father. Whether it be the old movies and other media he exposed me to or just what he passed down in his genes, I have loved the written word and stories (especially of the “noir” variety) my entire life. I would be lost without this outlet.

Lee:  What inspires you to write?

Ken: You name it. Everything I take in can trigger something in me.

Lee: What has influenced your style and technique?

Ken: Many things. A lot of my style comes from reading or watching what I deemed as the great detectives growing up. Sherlock Holmes, Charlie Chan, Jupiter Jones, Batman, and even Scooby Doo shaped me to what I am today. Of course, I`ve had other influences in the last quarter century, but the above are my building blocks.

Lee: Scooby Doo, huh? Okay then. Velma or Daphne?

Ken: Daphne.

Lee: I've always been a Velma fan. Anyway, what would be your dream project?

Ken: Writing some of the down-to-Earth characters from DC comics like Green Arrow, the Question, etc. But most of all, I would love to work on the characters from Batman and the Outsiders. The first issue of Batman and the Outsider by Mike W. Barr and Jim Aparo was the first comic book I ever picked out.

Lee: Where do you foresee yourself within the next few years?

Ken: Hopefully working in television, writing on a series. Also, I hope to have my hand in a few comic book series too.

Lee: Has there ever been an interview question you have not been asked but would love to answer, and if so, what is it and your response?

Ken: Hmm, that`s one of those “Ì`ll know it when I see it” scenarios and except for this, I haven’t seen one yet.

Lee: Before we go, any other projects you would like to promote?

Ken: I`ve got many irons in the fire, so to speak. I`ll let you know when I can talk about them. :-D

Lee: Well, it's been great talking to you again Ken.

Ken: My pleasure.

The work of Ken Janssens can be found either through your local comic book store or via Amazon.com

SUNDAY FUNNIES: WHY ASK WHY?

"Where's the chocolate?"

Hello Everybody. Ms. Waxy Dragon back with you once more, as we take another look at some of those mysteries of life that make one stop and wonder: "WHY?"

If we have Burger King and Dairy Queen, what happened to the Prince and Princess? Did they get dethroned? Have the King and Queen not gotten around to creating heirs yet, or have the royal siblings just been dealt out of the deck at some point with no one being the wiser?

Here's an oldie but a goodie that STILL hasn't been answered. Why do you humans drive on a parkway and park on a driveway? One would think that by now, the issue of why it's called "Rush Hour" when nothing moves very quickly would have been addressed.

Why is it a TV set when there's only one in the room? Did you somehow get charged for two TVs but only received one? Or does the store still owe you a second TV? Then again, why would you want a second TV in the same room? Just how much can one watch at any given moment?

Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle? After all, if the stuff is supposed to bond anything together, then how do they manage to bottle it to begin with? I keep picturing glue factories with huge vats of glue, but no one's able to pour it into those bottles because the glue is stuck to the vat and won't come out.

In any event, I think that's enough for this week, because now my brain is starting to hurt.
Have a great week everyone and please be back here next weekend for more Sunday Funnies!-wd.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: MAY 13-19, 2012

May 24th marks the 40th anniversary of the Video Game Age with the original release of the Maganvox Odyssey home gaming system in 1972.

Amongst events that have happened around the world this past week...
*At $38 US Dollars a share, Facebook, Incorporated raised $16 Billion USD in their Initial Public Offering on Wall Street yesterday.
*Civil unrest continues in Syria and Yemen.
*Sadly, the Mexican War against Drugs not only remains unresolved, but is currently heating up again in that country.
*Singer Donna Summer (Love to Love You Baby, Last Dance) lost her battle with lung cancer this week.
*The finals of the 2012 Miss Universe Pageant will be held tonight in Toronto, Canada.
*For their high school year book, eight ladies with the same last name got together and posed wearing the exact same dress and hairstyles. A quote, when read in alphabetical order based upon their first names, says "We know what you're thinking but no, we're not related." The octet all share the same last name (Nguyen) but come from eight different families, with no siblings amongst them.

IN SPORTS:
*The first round of Interleague play for the 2012 Major League Baseball season begins this weekend.
*The Olympic Flame has arrived in England to start the last leg of its relay journey before the 2012 Summer Games begin in London this July.

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.