Category: Culture

Culture

Frank Russo and the MARS 4Tet

Legendary drummer Frank Russo and the MARS 4Tet will perform a rare and unusual free concert this Thursday, July 10, 2014, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., at Whitmore Park at Calvert and Clay streets in Uptown Annapolis, MD. Also appearing will be special guest Amy Shook. Feel free to bring a chair, a blanket, and a cooler, and get more info at (410) 295-6691.

Spider-Man – “Peter Palmer”

Don’t ask me why I was reading The Amazing Spider-Man issue # 1 last week, but I discovered that in that first historic issue, published in 1963, there is a classic mistake in which Spider-Man’s alter ego Peter Parker is incorrectly referred to as “Peter Palmer“.   This isn’t just a typo, it’s the way he’s referred to multiple times in the second full story of that now-legendary first issue.

This first issue of Spider-Man is not the first-ever published comic book about Spider-Man, it’s the second.   The first comic book featuring Spider-Man was Amazing Fantasy # 15, the final issue of that series, and it introduced the character for the first time.  Marvel was the publisher, and they chose to move the next appearance of the new character to a book devoted to just Spider-Man, that’s issue # 1.

Furthermore, issue # 1 features two separate stories about Spider-Man.  The first story refers to “Peter Parker” several times, that’s the name of the teenager who became Spider-Man, and that’s the name that everyone who follows the series or has seen the movies recognizes.  It’s the second story in that issue where you find Spider-Man’s alter ego referred to as “Peter Palmer”.

As a kid, I grew up reading Spider-Man comic books.  My first issue I read was issue #50, given to me by a neighbor, and I got hooked, and just as the name suggested, it was amazing!  The “Peter Parker” character has become iconic to many of the millions of fans the line developed over the years.

So it was a surprise to me last week to read about “Peter Palmer” in the second story of The Amazing Spider-Man issue #1.

Am I the only one who missed this up until now?  After all these years I have never once seen any reference to this mistake, but it’s unquestionably there.

Mystery Guitar Man – aka Joe Penna – “Draw My Life”

Let’s get caught up with Joe Penna, aka Mystery Guitar Man – check out this video below:

That’s a pretty unusual video for the YouTube legend, who is best known for his unusual music videos, but it gives some great background into what is happening behind the scenes with his work.

Doug Hayden live online

For fans of the latest hottest Insanity Island, one of its co-creators, Doug Hayden, will be live on the air this weekend, doing traffic reports Sunday evening, June 22nd, 2014, from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., as follows:

* On the air in Atlanta on WSB 95.5 FM / 750 AM
* Online at http://www.wsbradio.com
* Via Sirius Satellite Radio 134 (reporting Atlanta traffic) and 136 (reporting Orlando traffic)

Some of you may have heard of the unexpected passing of legendary WSB traffic reporter Captain Herb Emory passed away of a "massive heart attack" after helping victims of a traffic accident near where he lived.  WSB is a legend in Atlanta, it is known for radio legend Neal Boortz among other huge personalities, who came out of his recent retirement to remember Captain Herb on the air with WSB. 

This same station – WSB – is the station that has asked Doug to step in this weekend, into the role once held by Captain Herb.

Some of my friends have told me that I should be on the radio, and I’ve worked on occassion as a mobile DJ.  But to my friends who have complimented me on the quality of my speaking voice over the years, I’ve often said thank you, but you should hear my cousin Doug, he is much better than I, and has actually worked on the radio before.  So to those who have heard me say that – this is my cousin Doug that I’m talking about, tune in this weekend to http://www.wsbradio.com.

“We sacrificed a lot for this country …. don’t take it for granted.”

Ten years ago I attended the grand opening of the National World War II Memorial in Washington, DC.  I attended a “canteen” in the morning hosted by John Cosgrove, and then attended the formal opening ceremonies, followed by the opening of the memorial itself. While there, I watched as two World War II veterans as they met each other for the first time: Bob Wallace, and Gordie Eaves, both double-amputees as a result of their landing at Normandy in 1944.

I took the first photo of them (below) at 5:36 p.m.

The Washington Post interviewed them for an article that was published the next day. I met them afterwards and took the second picture (below) at 5:46 p.m in the evening.

In the words of Gordie: “I was in the ETO theatre as a Medic in the Infantry, across northern France into Germany/ Landed at Omaha beach at the same spot that Bob did on ‘D’ Day but much later on.”

The following paragraphs are what I wrote at the time about what happened next.

Right after I took this picture was a moment I’ll never forget. Gordie reached out to me and took my right hand, and pulled me in a bit closer. He and Bob both looked at me, and Gordie spoke, and with the most disarming frankness I think I’ve ever experienced, he said “We sacrificed a lot for this country. We won’t live much longer. It’s yours now”.

I was floored. I looked at them both, and Bob was looking just as intently at me as Gordie was. It was as if these two were completely like-minded even though they had just met fifteen minutes earlier.

Gordie continued about our country, and said something like “Don’t take it for granted. Take good care of it.”

I was speechless. And I’m never speechless. (You can probably get a sense of that from all my droning on within this web page.)

I didn’t know what to say, but I eventually coughed up a “yes, sir, I will, sir.”

I’ll never forget that moment as long as I live.

Thank you, Gordie and Bob.

I took dozens of photos that day and posted them all, along with a narrative of the day’s events, online at this web page:

National World War II Memorial
Dedication Weekend
May 2004

At that page you’ll see photos of many events, including pics of Doc Scantlin and Chou Chou, who performed that weekend.

Bob was from Arkansas, and Gordie lived in Florida. I stayed in touch with them in the years that followed. Bob passed away a few years later, and Gordie and I exchanged sorrowful notes about it.  Gordie passed away in 2007.

But their legacies live on, and I’ll never forget that day, nor Gordie’s words, which clearly spoke for them both:

“We sacrificed a lot for this country. We won’t live much longer. It’s yours now. Don’t take it for granted. Take good care of it.”