Although Free Comic Book Day is in a month, I figure I should write about it now, especially since I am not blogging as often as I used to. In any case, it occurs on May 5, 2007 this year at your local participating comic book store. If you are not sure where that might be, you might visit www.comicshoplocator.com
Regards,
MARK ARNOLD
Fun Ideas Productions - P. O. Box 2616 - Saratoga, CA 95070
_________________________________________________________
Please click on my web sites:
Fun Ideas - http://funideas.home.att.net
MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/fun_ideas_productions
The Harveyville Fun Times! - http://thft.home.att.net
Richie Rich's Vault - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/richierichsvault
Mark's Rare Comics - http://rarecomics.home.att.net
Beatles - http://groups.google.com/group/martb
So Rare! Collectibles - http://sorare.home.att.net
Food Shop - http://foodshop.home.att.net
Blog - http://fun-ideas.blogspot.com
Protecto, the Little Robot - http://protecto.blogspot.com
Comicspace - http://www.comicspace.com/Mark_Arnold
BUY MY FIRST BOOK! "The Best of The Harveyville Fun Times!" today!
Go to Amazon or you can order it directly from the publisher by
clicking here: http://www.lulu.com/thft
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Monday, March 19, 2007
Shirley Temple and "Thank You For Smoking"
I had nothing else to check out of the library, so I checked out a couple of Shirley Temple movies: "Bright Eyes" and "Heidi". Now, I didn't watch "Heidi" yet, but "Bright Eyes" I have to admit was kind of silly, sort of like an extended Little Rascals episode. The highlight of course is "On the Good Ship Lollipop" which really has nothing much to do with the rest of the movie. What is amusing is that Shirley sings this while the airplane is just taxiing down the runway. I didn't realize that the plane wasn't in flight. (Of course, it really is rear-screen projection, but that's another story.)
Anyway, I also watched "Thank You For Smoking". While there were some funny bits, the film went on a little bit too long to prove its point. It reminded me of those Barry Levinson films like "Wag the Dog" or "Man of the Year".
Regards,
MARK ARNOLD
Fun Ideas Productions - P. O. Box 2616 - Saratoga, CA 95070
_________________________________________________________
Please click on my web sites:
Fun Ideas - http://funideas.home.att.net
MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/fun_ideas_productions
The Harveyville Fun Times! - http://thft.home.att.net
Richie Rich's Vault - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/richierichsvault
Mark's Rare Comics - http://rarecomics.home.att.net
Beatles - http://groups.google.com/group/martb
So Rare! Collectibles - http://sorare.home.att.net
Food Shop - http://foodshop.home.att.net
Blog - http://fun-ideas.blogspot.com
Protecto, the Little Robot - http://protecto.blogspot.com
Comicspace - http://www.comicspace.com/Mark_Arnold
BUY MY FIRST BOOK! "The Best of The Harveyville Fun Times!" today!
Go to Amazon or you can order it directly from the publisher by
clicking here: http://www.lulu.com/thft
Anyway, I also watched "Thank You For Smoking". While there were some funny bits, the film went on a little bit too long to prove its point. It reminded me of those Barry Levinson films like "Wag the Dog" or "Man of the Year".
Regards,
MARK ARNOLD
Fun Ideas Productions - P. O. Box 2616 - Saratoga, CA 95070
_________________________________________________________
Please click on my web sites:
Fun Ideas - http://funideas.home.att.net
MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/fun_ideas_productions
The Harveyville Fun Times! - http://thft.home.att.net
Richie Rich's Vault - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/richierichsvault
Mark's Rare Comics - http://rarecomics.home.att.net
Beatles - http://groups.google.com/group/martb
So Rare! Collectibles - http://sorare.home.att.net
Food Shop - http://foodshop.home.att.net
Blog - http://fun-ideas.blogspot.com
Protecto, the Little Robot - http://protecto.blogspot.com
Comicspace - http://www.comicspace.com/Mark_Arnold
BUY MY FIRST BOOK! "The Best of The Harveyville Fun Times!" today!
Go to Amazon or you can order it directly from the publisher by
clicking here: http://www.lulu.com/thft
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Forgotten TV Shows I Would Like to See Again on DVD
In no particular order:
Don Adams' Screen Test
Animals Animals Animals
Make a Wish
Norm
The Alvin Show
Fernwood 2Night/America 2Night
The Great American Dream Machine
When Things Were Rotten
The Bob Newhart Show (1961 version)
Vision On
The Brady Brides
The Bradys
The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine
The Goodies
CPO Sharkey
Silver Spoons
A Few Minutes With Stan Hooper
Curiosity Shop
Delta House
The Paul Hogan Show
The Beagles
Fridays
Herman's Head
International Festival of Animation
It's About Time
Michael Nesmith in Television Parts
Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures
The New Show
Operation Petticoat
Quark
Square Pegs
It's Garry Shandling's Show
The Great American Dream Machine
The Mouse Factory
Make a Wish
Marshal Efron's Illustrated, Simplified and Painless Sunday School
Marlo and the Magic Movie Machine
And...
Mother's Little Network
Sgt. Swell
If anyone has any more information on these, please let me know. This list is not complete. I know you can view some of these at the Museum of Radio and Television in New York and Los Angeles, but I would like a DVD release...
Regards,
MARK ARNOLD
Fun Ideas Productions - P. O. Box 2616 - Saratoga, CA 95070
_________________________________________________________
Please click on my web sites:
Fun Ideas - http://funideas.home.att.net
MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/fun_ideas_productions
The Harveyville Fun Times! - http://thft.home.att.net
Richie Rich's Vault - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/richierichsvault
Mark's Rare Comics - http://rarecomics.home.att.net
Beatles - http://groups.google.com/group/martb
So Rare! Collectibles - http://sorare.home.att.net
Food Shop - http://foodshop.home.att.net
Blog - http://fun-ideas.blogspot.com
Protecto, the Little Robot - http://protecto.blogspot.com
Comicspace - http://www.comicspace.com/Mark_Arnold
BUY MY FIRST BOOK! "The Best of The Harveyville Fun Times!" today!
Go to Amazon or you can order it directly from the publisher by
clicking here: http://www.lulu.com/thft
Don Adams' Screen Test
Animals Animals Animals
Make a Wish
Norm
The Alvin Show
Fernwood 2Night/America 2Night
The Great American Dream Machine
When Things Were Rotten
The Bob Newhart Show (1961 version)
Vision On
The Brady Brides
The Bradys
The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine
The Goodies
CPO Sharkey
Silver Spoons
A Few Minutes With Stan Hooper
Curiosity Shop
Delta House
The Paul Hogan Show
The Beagles
Fridays
Herman's Head
International Festival of Animation
It's About Time
Michael Nesmith in Television Parts
Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures
The New Show
Operation Petticoat
Quark
Square Pegs
It's Garry Shandling's Show
The Great American Dream Machine
The Mouse Factory
Make a Wish
Marshal Efron's Illustrated, Simplified and Painless Sunday School
Marlo and the Magic Movie Machine
And...
Mother's Little Network
Sgt. Swell
If anyone has any more information on these, please let me know. This list is not complete. I know you can view some of these at the Museum of Radio and Television in New York and Los Angeles, but I would like a DVD release...
Regards,
MARK ARNOLD
Fun Ideas Productions - P. O. Box 2616 - Saratoga, CA 95070
_________________________________________________________
Please click on my web sites:
Fun Ideas - http://funideas.home.att.net
MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/fun_ideas_productions
The Harveyville Fun Times! - http://thft.home.att.net
Richie Rich's Vault - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/richierichsvault
Mark's Rare Comics - http://rarecomics.home.att.net
Beatles - http://groups.google.com/group/martb
So Rare! Collectibles - http://sorare.home.att.net
Food Shop - http://foodshop.home.att.net
Blog - http://fun-ideas.blogspot.com
Protecto, the Little Robot - http://protecto.blogspot.com
Comicspace - http://www.comicspace.com/Mark_Arnold
BUY MY FIRST BOOK! "The Best of The Harveyville Fun Times!" today!
Go to Amazon or you can order it directly from the publisher by
clicking here: http://www.lulu.com/thft
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Al Feldstein
Well, I met Al Feldstein for the first time ever at Wondercon on Saturday, March 3, 2006. I was telling my non-comic book friends this for weeks and they all said, "Who?" Then I mentioned that he wrote all of the "Tales From the Crypt" stories and edited "Mad" for 30 years, then they respected him. It's too bad that Al doesn't get the recognition that Stan Lee or Walt Disney has, because he did more!
I had Al sign my "Tales of Terror/EC Companion" book, for which Al did a new front cover. Al also signed a print that he was offering for sale. One of the prints was similar to the cover of "Tales of Terror" but featured William M. Gaines in the central position. Al revealed that this painting was done in response to the "Tales of Terror" cover painting.
Recently, my dad has been downloading old children's records and two of them "Rumplestilskin" and "Tom Thumb" feature early Al Feldstein artwork on the sleeve. I asked Al about these and he remembered them well. They were done in 1945, long before he worked for EC and were done as a favor to a relative of his. There was supposed to be a third one, but as Al was not getting paid to do these, he rejected the third one and it was never done. I asked about the original paintings and he said that they were probably stored up in his attic and when he divorced his wife, he believes that she got it and probably tossed them out.
I also mentioned that the first time I had seen Al was on "The Mike Douglas Show" in 1977. Al revealed that he rode in a limo clear from New York City to Philadelphia to make his appearance. My recollections of the interview was that he was discussing the recent "Rocky" movie parody and he discussed the history of "Mad" for "Mad's" 25th Anniversary.
Al also confirmed why he left "Mad" which was because he felt that the publication was getting a bit stale and would do better with color and advertising. Ironically, "Mad" is now in color and has advertising, but the way he said he would do it is to have advertisers that were suited for "Mad" instead of just random advertising like "Mad" does now. I asked Al what he thought of the current "Mad" and he politely said that he thought John Ficarra was a good editor, but the magazine is basically not as good as it used to be.
Also, Al and William M. Gaines were at odds from 1985 (when Al left) to 1992 (Gaines' death), but they still communicated. He left "Mad" while pulling down a huge salary. Apparently, he was one of the highest paid editors in the country at the time of his retirement.
I asked him about the Amicus "Tales From the Crypt" and "Vault of Horror" films. He said that there is nothing that he knows about that would keep them from releasing them to DVD. They just haven't. In regards to the "Tales From the Crypt" TV show, he didn't receive credit for writing the material, because apparently the TV show producers wanted Al to sign a release absolving them from all blame should they find that any of the stories used were not original and that Al would have to take the blame and any financial responsibility should anyone take them to court.
Al didn't want to sign this agreement and called Gaines about it. Gaines said to cross out the part he didn't like and sign anyway. Al did just that and never received any on screen credit for his contributions. Pity.
Anyway, he was a very nice man and I'm glad I met him.
Regards,
MARK ARNOLD
Fun Ideas Productions - P. O. Box 2616 - Saratoga, CA 95070
_________________________________________________________
Please click on my web sites:
Fun Ideas - http://funideas.home.att.net
MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/fun_ideas_productions
The Harveyville Fun Times! - http://thft.home.att.net
Richie Rich's Vault - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/richierichsvault
Mark's Rare Comics - http://rarecomics.home.att.net
Beatles - http://groups.google.com/group/martb
So Rare! Collectibles - http://sorare.home.att.net
Food Shop - http://foodshop.home.att.net
Blog - http://fun-ideas.blogspot.com
Protecto, the Little Robot - http://protecto.blogspot.com
Comicspace - http://www.comicspace.com/Mark_Arnold
BUY MY FIRST BOOK! "The Best of The Harveyville Fun Times!" today!
Go to Amazon or you can order it directly from the publisher by
clicking here: http://www.lulu.com/thft
I had Al sign my "Tales of Terror/EC Companion" book, for which Al did a new front cover. Al also signed a print that he was offering for sale. One of the prints was similar to the cover of "Tales of Terror" but featured William M. Gaines in the central position. Al revealed that this painting was done in response to the "Tales of Terror" cover painting.
Recently, my dad has been downloading old children's records and two of them "Rumplestilskin" and "Tom Thumb" feature early Al Feldstein artwork on the sleeve. I asked Al about these and he remembered them well. They were done in 1945, long before he worked for EC and were done as a favor to a relative of his. There was supposed to be a third one, but as Al was not getting paid to do these, he rejected the third one and it was never done. I asked about the original paintings and he said that they were probably stored up in his attic and when he divorced his wife, he believes that she got it and probably tossed them out.
I also mentioned that the first time I had seen Al was on "The Mike Douglas Show" in 1977. Al revealed that he rode in a limo clear from New York City to Philadelphia to make his appearance. My recollections of the interview was that he was discussing the recent "Rocky" movie parody and he discussed the history of "Mad" for "Mad's" 25th Anniversary.
Al also confirmed why he left "Mad" which was because he felt that the publication was getting a bit stale and would do better with color and advertising. Ironically, "Mad" is now in color and has advertising, but the way he said he would do it is to have advertisers that were suited for "Mad" instead of just random advertising like "Mad" does now. I asked Al what he thought of the current "Mad" and he politely said that he thought John Ficarra was a good editor, but the magazine is basically not as good as it used to be.
Also, Al and William M. Gaines were at odds from 1985 (when Al left) to 1992 (Gaines' death), but they still communicated. He left "Mad" while pulling down a huge salary. Apparently, he was one of the highest paid editors in the country at the time of his retirement.
I asked him about the Amicus "Tales From the Crypt" and "Vault of Horror" films. He said that there is nothing that he knows about that would keep them from releasing them to DVD. They just haven't. In regards to the "Tales From the Crypt" TV show, he didn't receive credit for writing the material, because apparently the TV show producers wanted Al to sign a release absolving them from all blame should they find that any of the stories used were not original and that Al would have to take the blame and any financial responsibility should anyone take them to court.
Al didn't want to sign this agreement and called Gaines about it. Gaines said to cross out the part he didn't like and sign anyway. Al did just that and never received any on screen credit for his contributions. Pity.
Anyway, he was a very nice man and I'm glad I met him.
Regards,
MARK ARNOLD
Fun Ideas Productions - P. O. Box 2616 - Saratoga, CA 95070
_________________________________________________________
Please click on my web sites:
Fun Ideas - http://funideas.home.att.net
MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/fun_ideas_productions
The Harveyville Fun Times! - http://thft.home.att.net
Richie Rich's Vault - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/richierichsvault
Mark's Rare Comics - http://rarecomics.home.att.net
Beatles - http://groups.google.com/group/martb
So Rare! Collectibles - http://sorare.home.att.net
Food Shop - http://foodshop.home.att.net
Blog - http://fun-ideas.blogspot.com
Protecto, the Little Robot - http://protecto.blogspot.com
Comicspace - http://www.comicspace.com/Mark_Arnold
BUY MY FIRST BOOK! "The Best of The Harveyville Fun Times!" today!
Go to Amazon or you can order it directly from the publisher by
clicking here: http://www.lulu.com/thft
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