Baltimore Comic-Con: Part 3: Superheroes, a Spirit visit and Scrooge McDuck



Rob and a female GL

There were a lot of cool costumed heroes and villains walking around the Baltimore Comic-con, and here are some pictures that I took with some of them. I was dressed as the superhero Green Lantern again this year. In this final blog, you'll also read about how a special spirit paid me a visit.





L to R: Hawkeye, Venom, Capt. America, Green Lantern (me), Thor

I got to pose for a picture with the "Avengers" from the Marvel Comics series (and movie). From left to right are the characters: Hawkeye, Venom, Captain America, (me as Green Lantern) and Thor, the God of Thunder. 

A SPECIAL SPIRIT VISITS AT COMIC-CON:  You never know when someone who passed is going to be standing beside you, and our friend Ed, who passed in 1996 was with me at the Comic-con today. He used to read Uncle Scrooge comics (even as an adult) and laugh out loud at them. When I was walking around with Stacey and Tom R. we came across Scrooge McDuck's illustrator!   I knew that Ed was standing right there with me and he was as excited as I was!

Saw Don Rosa - Scrooge McDuck's illustrator! 

GOT TO MEET SCROOGE MC DUCK'S ILLUSTRATOR! -  Keno Don Hugo Rosa, known simply as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck and other Disney characters. 



Scrooge McDuck

Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barksand licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Scrooge is an elderly Scottish anthropomorphic Pekin Duck with a yellow-thrift, and within the context of the fictional Disney universe, he is the world's richest person.
Named after Ebenezer Scrooge from the 1843 novel A Christmas Carol, Scrooge is a wealthy Scottish business magnate and tycoon.
 

Baltimore Comic-Con Part 2: Cool Costumes

An amazing costume!

 There were a lot of cool costumed heroes and villains walking around the Baltimore Comic-con, and here are some pictures that I took with some of them. I was dressed as the superhero Green Lantern again this year.

L to R: Wonder Woman, Blue Lantern, Rob as GL, Guy Gardner Lantern, a female Green Lantern, and Star Sapphire

woman in a Robin shirt and an angel's behind!

a female Capt. America

Baltimore Comic-Con Part 1: Meeting Artists!

Stacey and Rob 

On Sunday, September 7, I (Rob) went to the Baltimore Comic-con with our friends Stacey and Tom R. My Tom stayed home with the dogs and did work out in the garden.
  Once again, I went to the comic-con as the Green Lantern (Hal Jordan). This was Stacey's first ever comic-con and she was really excited to join me. We met Tom R. at the comic-con (he's a big comic book fan like me and he and I have been going to this for years together).
  Meeting some of the writers and artists is something a comics fan appreciates.

Dan Parent and Rob

Two of them were favorites of mine and I was excited to meet both of them.
One was Dan Parent.
 Dan Parent is an American comic book artist and writer best known for his work for Archie Comics. WHY I RESPECT HIM: In 2012 Parent introduced the first openly gay character in Archie Comics when he created Kevin Keller
in Veronica #202, which he wrote and drew. In May 2013 Parent was presented with the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book in San Francisco. Parent was nominated for a 2013 Harvey Award for Special Award for Humor in Comics.

Kevin Keller- a gay teen in Archie comics

  A graduate of The Kubert School, Parent began working for Archie immediately after graduation. His writing of the Love Showdown series from 1994 received widespread attention. Parent has also illustrated Felix the Cat, Barbie, Disney Adventures, and a wide variety of other titles.

Andy Smith and Rob

   ANDY SMITH- I "met" Andy for the first time via facebook- and through a connection with our mutual friend John Sazaklis. After that, I got to meet him in person at the Baltimore comic-con! I've been a fan of his artwork for a long time!
  In fact, he's pencilled my favorite heroes (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash and Aquaman) in the Justice League comics. 
  Andy Smith has been working as a professional artist since 1991. Mostly working in the field of comic books for major publishers such as Marvel, DC, Image, Acclaim and Cross Gen Ent. Not content with just comic book projects Andy has also done a variety of commercial jobs for clients such as Bally’s Total Fitness, Real Song Records, The Idaho Potato Commission and Fidelity Investments to name a few. Andy is also the best selling author of “Drawing Dynamic Comics” published by Watson-Guptill in 2000. The book is currently in it’s seventh printing. Andy’s second book “Drawing American Manga Super-heroes” was published by Watson-Gutptill in 2007.  WEBSITE: http://www.andysmithart.com/

NEXT: COOL COSTUMES AT THE COMIC-CON

In the news: GAMBIA: National Assembly Approves Life Sentence for Gay People

Here's some news that will likely NOT surprise you- about the heinous laws that most African countries have against gay people- including several that punish by death. 
If you don't know (according to http://www.globalrights.org/), In Africa, homosexuality is illegal in 38 of the continent’s 54 countries and punishable by death in four.   How is that any different from the ISIS Group of Terrorists? It's not.  Gambia is now threatening to cut off gay people's heads.
   In Cameroon, people are prosecuted for consensual same-sex conduct more than in any country in the world, and in many cases, people are charged with “homosexuality” based on extremely scant and specious evidence.  
   This time it's Gambia.  AND they JUST passed the law.   I'm disgusted that most of the countries on an entire continent can be so backward and barbaric in civil rights. -  

GAMBIA: National Assembly Approves Life Sentence Law For Homosexuality

On September 9, Via the Associated Press: 

Gambia's National Assembly has passed a bill imposing life imprisonment for some homosexual acts, officials said Monday, potentially worsening the climate for sexual minorities in a country with one of Africa's most vocal anti-gay leaders. The bill amending the criminal code was passed last month and brings life sentences for "aggravated homosexuality," minority leader Samba Jallow told The Associated Press. That is a charge leveled at repeat offenders and people living with HIV/AIDS. Jallow said that while his National Reconciliation Party did not condone homosexuality, he voted against the bill along with one other lawmaker. "In our view, (homosexuals) did not commit a crime worthy of life imprisonment or any treasonable offense," he said. Homosexual acts were already punishable by up to 14 years in prison under a Gambian law that was amended in 2005 to apply to women in addition to men. The bill now awaits approval by President Yahya Jammeh, an autocratic ruler who in 2008 instructed gays and lesbians to leave the country or risk having their heads cut off.

(source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/08/gambia-anti-gay-bill-_n_5787092.html)

Rare Superman Comic Book Fetches a Record $3.2M

NEW YORK (AP) — A rare, nearly flawless copy of Superman’s comic-book debut

has sold for a super-powered price: $3.2 million.

New York comics dealers Stephen Fishler and Vincent Zurzolo said Monday they submitted Sunday’s record-setting bid in the eBay auction for Action Comics No. 1, the 1938 book in which the superhero first appeared. It’s believed to be the highest price ever paid for a comic book, surpassing $2.1 million for a similarly high-quality copy of the same book in 2011.

‘‘It’s hard to believe that a kid’s 10-cent comic could be worth that much money, but it is Superman. That’s an iconic thing,’’ Fishler said. ‘‘It’s the first time anybody saw what a superhero was like.’’

EBay confirmed the price but said it couldn’t yet disclose the buyer’s name.

Created by Cleveland teenagers Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Action Comics No. 1 introduces the Man of Steel’s Kryptonian backstory, earthly role as reporter Clark Kent and identity as a champion of the oppressed. It’s seen as the dawn of the comic book superhero, paving the way for a roster of now-famous characters.

About 100 to 150 copies are believed to exist, only a handful of them in top condition. The book just sold got a seldom-seen 9.0 on a 10-point scale used to measure vintage comic books’ condition.

It was kept for decades in a cedar chest in the West Virginia mountains by a man who had bought it off a newsstand, seller Darren Adams recently told The Washington Post. Adams, a Federal Way, Washington-based collectibles dealer, didn’t immediately return a call Monday from The Associated Press.

After the original owner died, a collector bought it from his estate and built a similar cedar chest to store it, Adams told the Post.

Fishler and Zurzolo own ComicConnect.com, which auctioned the 2011 record-setter and a slightly less well-preserved Action Comics No. 1 for more than $1 million in 2010. The rising prices have been fueled by superhero movies and growing interest in comic books as investments — ‘‘an alternative place to put money that has a cool factor to it,’’ Fishler said.

Sunday’s sale also marks a high point for San Jose, California-based eBay, which Adams selected to sell an item often handled by specialty dealers and auction houses. Gene Cook, the online marketplace’s general manager of emerging verticals, said the sale demonstrates ‘‘how eBay plays a role in popular culture by connecting shoppers to must-have merchandise.’’

Some of the proceeds will go to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, in recognition of the late ‘‘Superman’’ movie star.

Fishler said he and Zurzolo have no specific plans yet for their new-bought copy but couldn’t resist it, despite the price. ‘‘It was just too good of an opportunity to pass up,’’ he said.  SOURCE: http://www.boston.com/news/2014/08/25/rare-superman-comic-book-fetches-record/nWhjz3Sc6hBwgIwAD3gUYN/story.html

Tyler's First Class Goes Well!

Tyler arrives

Since Tyler needs more obedience, we've enrolled him in school again. (He's our little black and tan, 17 pound, almost 5 year old lovable "terror"). Last week was the first class, and he did really well!
 Since Tyler doesn't like other dogs when he first meets them I had to put his muzzle on in the beginning, but was able to remove it when we got started.

A happy and proud Tyler after training! 

  He really caught on quickly. The first lessons were to put a treat in an open palm and tell him to stay. He was not supposed to lunge for it. He did at first and I had to close my hand when he did. After a short time, he would stay until I said "okay." Then he would get it. He learned!
  He's good at sitting, and coming when I call. I have found that calling "Tyler, come, come, come, come" in an excited tone gets him to run inside. In fact, the trainer said that's exactly how to get a dog to come to you.
  There were little agility jump poles set up, too, so I did a trial run with him and after the first pole he understood and he jumped all of them with me! He's going to agility class after this class is over. He's proven he's enthusiastic!

Here's when all the Great Superhero TV Shows Start this Fall

There are 4 Television shows about superheroes this fall that we're looking forward to watching. Because they all have different start dates, we thought we'd put them together to make it easier for you!

SEPTEMBER 22, MONDAY: "Gotham" begins on the Fox network
Everyone knows the name Commissioner Gordon. He is one of the crime world's greatest foes, a man whose reputation is synonymous with law and order. But what is known of Gordon's story and his rise from rookie detective to Police Commissioner? What did it take to navigate the multiple layers of corruption that secretly ruled Gotham City, the spawning ground of the world's most iconic villains? And what circumstances created them – the larger-than-life personas who would become Catwoman, The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face and The Joker? 
http://www.fox.com/gotham/

OCTOBER 7, TUESDAY: The Flash begins on the CW network
 Barry Allen, a police forensic scientist is struck by lightning. After nine months in a coma, Barry awakens to find his life has changed once again – the accident has given him the power of super speed, granting him the ability to move through Central City like an unseen guardian angel.
www.cwtv.com/shows/the-flash

L: Green Arrow, R: The Flash

OCTOBER 8, WEDNESDAY: Arrow returns on the CW network
After a violent shipwreck, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen was missing and presumed dead for five years before being discovered alive on a remote island in the Pacific  He returned home with incredible fighting and bow and arrow skills that he uses to fight evil in Starling City.  Great characters, lots of family complications, Guest heroes: Black Canary, Huntress
 http://www.cwtv.com/shows/arrow/

OCTOBER 24, FRIDAY: Constantine begins on NBC network
Seasoned demon hunter and master of the occult John Constantine (Matt Ryan, "Criminal Minds") is armed with a ferocious knowledge of the dark arts and a wickedly naughty wit. 

Constantine on NBC

www.nbc.com/Constantine

Doggy Pic Day: Dolly, Franklin and Tyler!

Dolly

Every now and then we like to take

Lined up at attention! 

Tyler peeking out from a blanket

pics of our kids, just like everyone else does,. So, here are a couple of pictures of Dolly, Franklin and Tyler from this week. 
Dolly the Weimaraner is 9 years old (10 in November), Franklin the red, smooth short-haired dachshund is 10 1/2 years old, and Tyler the terror, the black-and-tan, smooth dachshund is 4 (5 in November). 

Tyler

Franklin

Great Tudor Era Mystery! "Murder at Westminster Abbey"

A must-read! 

It's infrequent that Tom and I read the same books but one book in a new murder mystery series became a must-read for both of us because it combined the history of the Tudor period (Queen Elizabeth) and a murder mystery.
   "Murder at Westminster Abbey" by Amanda Carmack was a GREAT book!
   I don't want to give anything away, so I'll just share the book summary. But if you know anything about the Tudor period of England, or if you just enjoy a good mystery this is a must-read. There are a lot of characters, but the court was a busy place. Regardless, the author really makes the characters all come to life and we really get to know and root for Kate, the lead character.

Queen Elizabeth plays a big part! 

  BOOK SUMMARY: 1559. Elizabeth is about to be crowned queen of England and wants her personal musician Kate Haywood to prepare music for the festivities. New to London, Kate must learn the ways of city life…and once again school herself as a sleuth.
 
Life at the center of the new royal court is abuzz with ambition and gossip—very different from the quiet countryside, where Kate served Elizabeth during her exile. Making her way among the courtiers who vie for the new queen’s favor, Kate befriends Lady Mary Everley. Mary is very close to Elizabeth. With their red hair and pale skin, they even resemble each other—which makes Mary’s murder all the more chilling.
 
The celebrations go on despite the pall cast over them. But when another redhead is murdered, Kate uncovers a deadly web of motives lurking just beneath the polite court banter, and follows the trail of a killer whose grievance can only be answered with royal blood.
Get it on Amazon here:  Murder-Westminster-Abbey

Remember Actor Dick Kallman?

I was watching the 1960s Batman TV show and enjoyed one of the last episodes that included the Joker and Catwoman. In the episode there was a character called "Little Louis Groovy," a record producer whom they assaulted and stole from. He's a handsome guy and I looked him up on the Internet. What I learned really shocked me for a couple of reasons!
Here's what I found out:
    Dick Kallman (July 7, 1933 – February 22, 1980) was an American actor. Yes, he died at 47 years old!  Kallman was born in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. He starred in the title role of the 1965–1966prime time television sitcom Hank on NBC, and later moved on to stage work with touring companies. He was also a singer and released a 1963 album of pop standards, Hits & the Misses, on EMI.

He also acted in episodes 110 and 111 of Batman.

Kallman, who by the time of his death was an antiques and art dealer, was murdered in his apartment in New York in 1980 during a robbery and he was gay. 

The life and death (murder) of closeted gay actor Dick Kallman

   Dick Kallman was an actor in movies and television in the late 50s and 60s.He was also an accomplished singer who recorded an album of standards for EMI in London, when he was

Dick Kallman

accompanied by orchestras conducted by John Barry and Ennio Morricone. In 1975, he joined a partnership to manufacture women's play clothes and party clothes and also began working as a dealer in antiques, silver, and art.

    Richard Kallman was also a gay man. On February 22, 1980 Richard and his partner Stephen Szladek were murdered in Kallman's Manhattan apartment by three men who gained entrance and stole a lot of valuable art, antiques, and jewelry. It was a well planned and executed heist and it took over a year before the three were caught and even longer for them to be tried, convicted, and given lengthy prison sentences.  27-year-old Charles Lonnie Grosso of Queens was convicted of the killings and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. None of the paintings, jewelry, and antiques stolen from the apartment were ever recovered.

 YVONNE CRAIG, WHO PLAYED BATGIRL IN THE BATMAN SHOW SAID THIS IN 2010: I loved his performance as Little Louie Groovy in the last season of Batman with Cesar Romero as The Joker and Eartha Kitt as The Catwoman.

by: Yvonne Craig  (SOURCE: http://www.datalounge.com/)

Here's a video of a song he recorded. He really had a good voice! 

VIDEO: http://youtu.be/LH-TmVNO19s

What is Radioiodine Therapy For Pet Cancer?

Recently a friend of ours brought his cat to a vet, who has been diagnosed with cancer in the thyroid. He told me about Radioiodine treatment, and said it's mostly used for cats, but has also been beneficial to dogs. 

WEBSITE OF BACKGROUND: 

http://www.petcancercare.com/radioactiveiodine.html

What is Radioiodine (I-131) Therapy?

If your pet has an overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroid) OR if he/she has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, the doctors at Southeast Veterinary Oncology and Internal Medicine (SEVO-Med) may prescribe radioactive iodine (radioiodine) as part of your pets overall treatment.

Radioiodine (I-131) Therapy is a radioactive treatment that when injected into the body is taken up by the thyroid gland. The normal thyroid tissue is relatively "protected" from the effects of the radioiodine because the I-131 is preferentially taken up by abnormal, hyperfunctional tissue. Once the abnormal nodule or tissue is destroyed, the remainder of the thyroid tissue performs normally again.

BACKGROUND

• The thyroid gland produces hormones that regulate your pet's metabolism. In order to produce these hormones, the thyroid gland normally utilizes iodine in the diet, found mostly in seafood and salt. Our doctors take advantage of the thyroid tissue's ability to "trap" iodine and use radioiodine to treat overactive thyroid glands (and some types of thyroid cancer). Fortunately, with this treatment, very little radiation exposure occurs to the rest of your pet's body. For more than 50 years, radioiodine has been used in the treatment of human thyroid disease. We have been treating our veterinary patients here at SEVO-Med for five (5) years.


• Radioiodine (I-131) therapy typically has few side effects. Upon administration, however, side effects may occur when very large doses are given. Such side effects may include irritation of the salivary glands, gastrointestinal tract, or the urinary bladder. We see this irritation in less than 1% of our treatment population. Complications resulting after the treatment will be discussed in a later section of this handout.

- See more at: http://www.petcancercare.com/radioactiveiodine.html#sthash.VKSNWilb.dpuf 

Mom Beyer's 90th Birthday Bash!

Mom Beyer Walks in (white top)

On Sunday, August 24th we attended our friend Mom Jill Beyer's surprise 90th birthday party at a local restaurant. It was a surprise hosted by her (adult) children: Jim, Lisa, Ralph and Nancy. I (Rob) have known Jim and his family for over 20 years and my mom LOVED spending time with Jill whenever she visited.

Rob and Jill's daughterLisa

The beautiful cake 

  It was great to see everyone and Jill looked outstanding. I know that my mom was there in spirit, because she loved to laugh with Jill whenever they were together (they had several shopping experiences over the years).

Birthday girl in the center 

  The restaurant was wonderful and it was a catered event with cake, too!  What a wonderful tribute to an amazing woman who raised 4 amazing kids!

Jill's son Ralph gives a great talk

Jill's son Jim looks to see if there's more wine! :) 

Tom and Rob