Rob at 2 Free events TODAY June 7th in the Washington, D.C. Area

Come out and meet Rob as he talks about his book "Pets and the Afterlife" at TWO events today Saturday, June 7th in the Washington, D.C. Area!
BOTH EVENTS ARE FREE 
1) The Bowie Book Expo in Bowie, Maryland 9 a.m. to 12 p.m  (speaking briefly and book signing) Bowie Senior Center, 14900 Health Center Drive, Bowie, Md.  Info: 301- 809-2300
 ***Come hear my friend Beth Kaufman talk about her book "Make Mine a Double... Mastectomy That Is" - her true story about her ordeal with breast cancer told with humor. Beth is a stand-up comedienne, too! 
2) The Greenbelt Pet Expo, in Greenbelt, Maryland  12 p.m. to 2 p.m. (signing books at the Dachshund Rescue of North America booth and donating a portion of the proceeds to the rescue)
Greenbelt Dog Park, 7201 Hanover Drive,Greenbelt, Md.
http://md-greenbelt.civicplus.com/index.aspx?NID=586

Summary: PETS AND THE AFTERLIFE by Rob Gutro: The loss of a pet is like the loss of a child to pet owners. The love we share with our pets never dies, and in a new book called "Pets and the Afterlife" by Rob Gutro, the author provides proof that our pets do communicate with us from the other side.    Available in paperback and E-book, on Amazon.com and other outlets at: To order paperback of Kindle- http://tinyurl.com/mqgamq2%20
Summary: Make Mine a Double... A Mastectomy That Is by Beth Kaufman (Aug 27, 2013) 
Beth Kaufman's Stand-up Guide to Surviving Breast Cancer
This book can help people keep a sense of humor through cancer treatment even on the worst days. This is a great book for newly diagnosed patients, caregivers and survivors alike.
This is Beth's personal story of her bout with breast cancer. It is told with humor, yet is poignant. It takes you on a year-long ride from start to finish. You will laugh, you will cry, and you will certainly get your yearly mammograms after reading her story.
It is unique in the way it is told from a comedienne's point of view, a stand up guide to getting through 525,600 minutes of a cancer patient's life. Use this book as your "stand up" guide to surviving breast cancer.  CLICK Here for Paperback or Kindle

Wow! Cool Justice League Kia Cars!

The FLASH car - front an center,

I stumbled upon a web page about an auto show in 2012 that featured Kia Rios that had detailing reflective of members of the Justice League (featuring Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Cyborg). 

Batman car and Green Lantern car behind it

   Had I known this, I would've considered trading in my pick-up truck!  Just look at these cool cars. 

The justice league was swooping into the 2012 SEMA auto show with these DC Comics superhero-inspired kia models.  

I found the press release about them, too:

The Aquaman car!

LAS VEGAS, October 30, 2012 – Kia Motors America (KMA) and DC Entertainment kicked off the 2012 SEMA Show today in superhero style with five radical machines inspired by the members of the Justice League: The Flash Forte Koup, Aquaman Rio 5-door, Cyborg Forte 5-door, Green Lantern Soul and the previously unveiled Batman Optima.  Built by West Coast Customs, RIDES and Super Street, each of the vehicles feature custom artwork by legendary comic book artist and DC Entertainment Co-Publisher Jim Lee and are intended to raise awareness for DC Entertainment’s “We Can Be Heroes” giving campaign to help fight the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa.  Each Justice League character was assigned to a specific Kia vehicle based on personality and key attributes to create these five iconic works of art on wheels.   

L to R: Aquaman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, Flash, Cyborg

“Working together with DC Entertainment, West Coast Customs, RIDES and Super Street to create a fleet of superhero-inspired machines has been an incredible collaboration and the end result is five one-of-a-kind Justice League cars that bring each of these legendary comic book superheroes to life,” said Michael Sprague, executive vice president, marketing & communications, KMA.  “We are proud to be raising awareness for the ’We Can Be Heroes’ giving campaign and look forward to unveiling three more crime-fighting Kias at future auto shows and comic conventions as our 10-month partnership with DC Entertainment continues.”

”It was a thrill to see custom cars based upon my Justice League artwork and sketches revealed at SEMA,” stated Jim Lee, co-publisher of DC Entertainment. “I have to tip my hat to the teams at West Coast Customs, RIDES and Super Street on their innovative work creating cars that represent iconic characters like Green Lantern, Cyborg, Aquaman and The Flash – all to benefit a great cause, ‘We Can Be Heroes’, and I’d like to thank Kia Motors America for supporting ‘We Can Be Heroes’.”

DETAILS ABOUT EACH CAR: Click for details on each Superhero Kia!

 

Who is the: World Society for the Protection of Animals?

I learned of this great organization thanks to a friend's Facebook posting. Right now there's a drive to send messages to the United Nations to prevent animal cruelty around the world.
TAKE ACTION and Leave a short Msg for the United Nations: http://wspamove.org/theun/

WHO IS THE WSPA? The World Society for the Protection of Animals

www.wspa-international.org

WHAT THEY DID IN 2012:  Thanks to your generosity, rabies-driven culls no longer pose the huge threat that they once did to dogs in Bali and we’re making good progress towards repeating this success in Bangladesh. Our vaccination campaign has protected hundreds of thousands of dogs against this terrible disease and saved them from indiscriminate culls. This work is now a compelling showcase through which we are convincing more governments – including China – that ending culling and turning to dog vaccination is the only humane and effective way to combat rabies  Learn about MORE of the things they've done here: 2012 annual report

THEIR MISSION: 

Who we are: Our vision: a world where animal welfare matters and animal cruelty has ended.

 The World Society for the Protection of Animals exists to tackle animal cruelty across the globe. We work directly with animals and with the people and organisations that can ensure animals are treated with respect and compassion. With your support, we campaign effectively to combat the world’s most intense and large-scale animal welfare issues. We bring about lasting change by:

-      helping people understand the critical importance of good animal welfare
 -    encouraging nations to commit to animal-friendly practices
  -   building the scientific case for the better treatment of animals.
   
We are local: We improve animals’ lives and prevent animal cruelty by working directly with communities and owners. Working on the ground with local partners for greatest effect, we are active in more than 50 countries.
 

We are global:   We have consultative status at the Council of Europe and collaborate with national governments, the United Nations, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health – influencers with the power to improve the lives of millions of animals. We are uniquely placed to bring animals into the heart of the most pressing global debates and prove the links between good animal welfare and successful sustainable development. 

We are there in emergencies:  When disaster strikes, we make sure that animals are not forgotten. Working with partner organizations, governments, humanitarian groups and international agencies, WSPA is the world leader in animal-focused disaster response and risk reduction. With 30 years of experience, sometimes we are the only animal organization able to access disaster-struck regions and make a very real, immediate difference to suffering animals.

VIDEO LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uIrE8cWzko#t=31

Rob Meets Neil Degrasse Tyson and Asks about his Superman Connection!

L to R: Neil, Eric Smith, Chris Scolese, John Mather, Paul Geithner

Neil answers my question about his Superman appearance!

One of the cool things about working at NASA is that we get to work with and meet interesting people.
  On June 3rd, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson visited  NASA Goddard's Space Flight Center and the James Webb Space Telescope team in Greenbelt, Md, and I (Rob) am one of the

Laura Betz put the entire event together!

science writers on the Webb telescope project and got to hear  meet him.

HIS SUPERMAN CONNECTION - Because I KNOW that he appeared in Action Comics #14 two years ago, I asked him about it and he was thrilled to tell everyone in the group about it!
  I went on line and learned that he also told NPR's Morning Edition. (LISTEN TO THE STORY- CLICK HERE)
    Here's the story: Hayden Planetarium director and pop-culture go-to science guy Neil deGrasse Tyson tells NPR's David Greene the story of how he came to lend a hand to Superman.

From Action Comics #14. Cr: DC Comics

DC Comics, Tyson explains, approached him for permission to use the Planetarium — as well as his likeness — in a story where Superman witnesses the destruction of Krypton, since the light from the distant planet is just now arriving on Earth. Tyson told DC Comics that he was happy to help, and that instead of just making up the story of Superman seeing Krypton, he could help them ground it in at least some actual science.  FULL NPR STORY: http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2012/12/03/166246743/neil-degrasse-tyson-helps-his-new-bud-superman-get-a-glimpse-of-home

Neil Credit: NASA/Rebecca Roth

Neil talking about Cosmos as Rob poses for a picture

Sunday Stuff: Doggy Visitor, Gardening, Dog Games

Mopar Visits!

Sundays are the days we enjoy sitting on the sunporch or outside in the backyard with our coffee and tea, reading the paper. This past Sunday it was a little cool first thing in the morning to do that. We had a nice day with a canine visitor and filled it up with activities.
  MOPAR VISITS - Our canine friend Mopar visited with our kids all day as his mom and dad went to enjoy NASCAR for the day one state away. Our kids enjoying hanging out with Mopar, who is extremely well-behaved and a pretty amazing dog. They all got to enjoy the sunshine in the backyard until it got too warm!

Tom carefully rounded the front shrubs

  GARDENING - Tom is the master gardener and noticed that all the rain we've had lately have caused the Azaleas and other shrubs in front of the house to grow a lot, so we spent a couple of hours trimming them and making them nice and round. 

Tom trimming the azaleas

   





A MONK-LIKE TRIM - Anyone that watched the TV series about the OCD Mr. Monk would understand how Tom loves perfection. After trimming the azaleas, he walked back to the street to look at them. It was from there that he saw one tiny branch on one of the azaleas sticking out about 1 inch so he immediately walked over and trimmed it. I was standing right in front of it and didn't notice!!

Tyler and Franklin supervising from the front door

   DOG GAMES - We enjoyed taking all four dogs (including our canine visitor) on walks and played with them using their dog puzzles, plastic games that hide treats and they have to figure out how to open them. It really stimulates them and makes them think! 
 
MARKETING - Rob spent more time emailing rescues and veterinary hospitals all over the U.S. promoting his book "Pets and the Afterlife" as he does almost every night. There are thousands!!

Celebrating Kelli and Derek's Marriage

Derek and Kelli

My (Rob) niece  and god-daughter Kelli and husband Derek  married last week in Arizona and returned to Maryland this week for a local reception/cookout this weekend. It was a perfect weather day!
  Kelli's parents went way overboard with food and everything was

L to R: Allen, Sterling (seated), Sean, Kenny, Rob, Tom

 perfect.  Kelli and Derek make such a beautiful couple. Here are a couple of pictures from the cookout.

Derek and Kelli with uncles Rob and Tom

 It's always great to hang out with family and friends, and we enjoyed lots of laughs with friends Sterling, Sean, Allen and Kenny amidst the food and fun.

cooking out

Dad Ken (in white) and mom Jill (blue)

Kelli's former ROTC leader addressing the couple

the adorable couple

A great wedding photo of Kelli and Derek

 

Meet Eli Wallach: Mr. Freeze in 1966's Batman and Much More

L to R: Frosty, Mr. Freeze, Chillblane, the Professor  from Batman 1966

Last week I was watching one of the Batman TV shows from the 1966-1968 series and Mr. Freeze was the featured villain. Freeze was played by actor Eli Wallach. So, I decided to look him up and found out the following: 

    Eli Herschel Wallach (born December 7, 1915, he's 98 years old today!) is an American film, television and stage actor character / "Method" actor,. He has been in demand for over 60 years (first film/TV role was 1949) on stage and screen and has worked alongside the biggest stars, including Clark Gable, Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Marilyn Monroe, Yul Brynner, Peter O'Toole, and Al Pacino, to name but a few.
   Wallach was born on 7 December 1915 in Brooklyn, NY, to Jewish parents who emigrated from Poland, and was one of the few Jewish kids in his mostly Italian neighborhood.
MOVIES HE APPEARED IN - Baby Doll,   The Magnificent Seven (1960),  The Misfits (1961), and  The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), The Godfather Part III,  The Two Jakes (both 1990), and  The Holiday (2006). In 2010 he appeared in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and The Ghost Writer.

Batman and Robin from the 1966 series

    WHAT I FOUND MOST INTERESTING -  One of three actors to play the character of Mr. Freeze on Batman (1966). (The other two were George Sanders and Otto Preminger). He once said that he has received more fan mail for that role than for any other role he has ever done.
    RECENT AWARD - On November 13, 2010, at the age of 94, Wallach received an Honorary Academy Award for his contribution to the film industry at the 2010 Governor's Awards ceremony of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.