Photo by Carl Lender, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5927735
John Warren Geils Jr., better known as J. Geils, died yesterday at the age of seventy-one, apparently of natural causes.
The J. Geils Band originated in nearby (to me, that is) Worcester, Massachusetts. Geils formed a band known as Snoopy and the Sopwith Camels in the 1960s. Lead singer Peter Wolf joined the band in 1968 (some sources say 1967), at which point the band became known as the J. Geils Blues Band, an R&B-influenced blues rock band. ("Blues" was dropped from the band's name sometime later.)
The band released several albums and singles during the 1970s, singles such as "First I Look at the Purse," "Looking for a Love," "Give It to Me," "Must of Got Lost" (sic), "Where Did Our Love Go," "(Ain't Nothin' But a) House Party," and "One Last Kiss." (Many a quarter was dropped into the Sturbridge Tavern jukebox by yours truly on behalf of that last single.)
By the early 1980s, the band's style had changed to one that was more pop-oriented, at which point they released hits like "Love Stinks," "Just Can't Wait," "Freeze Frame," "I Do," and their number one hit, "Centerfold," a song I personally never cared for all that much.
Two Reasons I Don't Sleep Well at Night (and don't piss me off, or I'll make this a freakin' series):
1. People keep writing "lightening" when they mean to write "lightning." You can lighten your hair. After sunrise, the sky gradually "lightens." Lightning is that flash you see in the sky before you hear the thunder. (Or "lightning" could also apply to at least two great blues musicians. But I digress.)
2. "Peak" and "peek" are not interchangeable. (And don't even get me started on "pique.") No, really. Your computer's spell-checker is not a blasted mind-reader, so please learn the difference before you use either.
By the way, the illustration above is of lightning striking a mountain peak. Maybe you don't care, but I impressed the hell out of myself finding that one. Just sayin'.
(Reprinted from 4/26/11, because I've been seeing a lot of people doing the "peek/peak" thing lately.)
Once again, yours truly has the kiss of death. Last night, I watched 1970's Kelly's Heroes, which prominently featured comedian and occasional actor Don Rickles, and I just found out that he died today at the age of ninety, from kidney failure.
I've been a fan of Don Rickles and his "offensive" insult comedy -- no ethnic or religious jibe or stereotype was beyond his reach, but people let him get away with it even in today's PC world -- ever since I saw his frequent appearances on talk shows and variety shows when I was a child in the 1960s. I was and am the proud owner of his 1968 comedy album, Hello, Dummy! In the late '60s and early '70s, I slavishly watched two of his very-short-lived TV shows, and I was finally vindicated by his two-year success on C.P.O. Sharkey in the late 1970s. He even supplied the voice of Mr. Potato Head in the Toy Story films.
Rickles was a friend of Frank Sinatra's. Rickles could get away with remarks toward Sinatra that would have been inconceivable if delivered by anyone else. An example? "Make yourself at home, Frank. Hit somebody!"
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2. Joe Harris, 1927(?)-2017, R.I.P.
I must admit, I never heard the name Joe Harris until I read his obituary. But I was very familiar with many of the characters he created!
Joe Harris, who died March 26th at the age of eighty-nine, was responsible for the Trix Rabbit (Joe's the one who wrote the line "Silly rabbit! Trix are for kids!"), Underdog, Tennessee Tuxedo, King Leonardo (an old favorite of mine from my youth, little remembered today), and several others during his career.
(An early blog post of mine, in which I wrote about Underdog, may be found here.)
I thought I'd never get around to finishing this one!
Boy, there are a lot of celebrity tributes this time around. But then again, I haven't posted any for over two months, so I guess we're not doing too badly in the death department, overall. Not like 2016, certainly! Of course, the year's still relatively young...
Anyway, in absolutely no real order, here are short tributes (Yes, short. For me, that is. I'm nothing if not merciful, fellow babies!) to eleven celebrities of note (to me, anyway) who've passed away since late January.
1. Chuck Berry, 1926-2017, R.I.P.
Seminal rock'n'roller Chuck Berry has died at the age of ninety. Berry died on March 18th, pronounced dead after police responded to a 911 call. What can you say about Chuck Berry? Well, a lot, actually, muchmore than I'm going to attempt here. Berry, often called the "granddaddy of rock'n'roll" and other similar titles, is known for a long, long string of hits, including "Johnny B. Goode," "Maybellene," "You Never Can Tell," "Rock and Roll Music," "Wee Wee Hours," "Carol," "No Particular Place to Go," "My Ding-a-Ling" (groan), "Sweet Little Sixteen," "Too Much Monkey Business," "Back in the U.S.A.," "Memphis, Tennessee," "Reelin' and Rockin'," "Nadine..." He was also known for several bouts with the law over the years, for various offenses including transporting a minor across state lines, misdemeanor marijuana possession, tax evasion, and for installing a camera in the women's restroom of a restaurant he owned! Berry toured extensively, and was well-known for travelling without a band. For each gig, he would hire a local band, assuming that any band should and would know his songs!
Here's my own favorite Chuck Berry song, a lesser-known tune called "Havana Moon!"
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2. Chuck Barris, 1929-2017, R.I.P.
Chuck Barris, creator of TV's The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game, The Gong Show, and many other game (and non-game) shows (Anybody remember the $1.98 Beauty Show?), has died at the age of eighty-seven from natural causes. He also wrote the hit song "Palisades Park" for Freddy Cannon in 1962. (That was the first 45 rpm record my older sister ever bought. I still have the copy she used to own, with a #1 sticker on its label.) He was also known for his infamous "unauthorized autobiography," ConfessionsofaDangerousMind, in which he claimed to have worked for the CIA as an assassin! (The CIA has gone on record denying Barris' involvement with them. But then again, this is the CIA we're talking about...) His autobiography was made into a movie in 2002, starring Sam Rockwell and Drew Barrymore, and directed by George Clooney. Barris died on March 21st.
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3. Bill Paxton, 1955-2017, R.I.P.
Actor and director Bill Paxton has died at the age of sixty-one. Paxton died on February 25th, after a stroke which occurred following heart surgery. Personally, my favorite Paxton roles include the obnoxious older brother Chet (one of his earliest roles) in 1985's Weird Science, his role as Wyatt Earp's younger brother Morgan in 1993's Tombstone, and his portrayal of the lead character, Bill Henrickson, in HBO's Big Love (from 2006 to 2011).
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4. Bernie Wrightson, 1948-2017, R.I.P.
Artist and illustrator Bernie -- also known as "Berni" -- Wrightson, died on March 18th after a long battle with brain cancer. Wrightson was probably best known for his co-creation of DC Comics' Swamp Thing and for illustrating an editon of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
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5. Dan Spiegle, 1920-2017, R.I.P.
Long-time comic artist Dan Spiegle passed away on January 28th. He was ninety-six. Spiegle was probably best known for his comics featuring various TV show and movie characters, everything from Hopalong Cassidy to Scooby-Doo. He worked as a cartoonist and comic artist from 1949 until 2011, and his artwork graced such companies as Dell, DC, Marvel, and Dark Horse, among many, many others.
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6. Robert Osborne, 1932-2017, R.I.P.
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Robert Osborne, who died on March 6th of natural causes at the age of eighty-four, was a film historian and the primary host on the Turner Classic Movies channel. He started his long career as an actor at Desilu Studios.
7. James Cotton, 1935-2017, R.I.P.
James Cotton was a blues harmonica player, singer, and songwriter who had played with the likes of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King, Gregg Allman, Santana and the Grateful Dead, among many others. He died on March 16th. Cotton was eighty-one.
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8. Sib Hashian, 1949-2017, R.I.P.
John Thomas "Sib" Hashian, the drummer with the killer afro pictured on the back of the band Boston's first album (and elsewhere, of course), died at the age of sixty-seven on March 22nd, while performing on a rock legends cruise. Sib's granddaughter Jasmine is the daughter of Sib 's daughter Lauren and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
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9. Jay Lynch, 1945-2017, R.I.P.
Underground comix icon Jay Lynch (also known as Jayzey Lynch, and no relation to yours truly) died at the age of seventy-two on March 5th. Lynch was involved in the earliest days of the undergrounds, and is probably best known for Bijou Funnies, and his characters Nard n' Pat. He was a major contributor to Topps' Wacky Packages series of trading cards.
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10. Skip Williamson, 1944-2017, R.I.P.
March was not a good month for underground cartoonists. Mervyn "Skip" Williamson, a contemporary of Jay Lynch, died on March 16th. Williamson, probably best known for the underground comix character Snappy Sammy Smoot, was seventy-two.
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11. Judge Joseph Wapner, 1919-2017
Joseph Wapner, presiding judge on the first incarnation of television's The People's Court, died on February 26th. And just a bit of trivia, here: When he was in high school, Wapner briefly dated a then-unknown Lana Turner! Wapner was ninety-seven.
Well, fellow babies, I've found even more photos pertaining to the Li'l General convenience stores I discovered in Florida during a 1973 visit! (Previous posts on this subject can be found here and here.)
The above illustration of a Li'l General store was one I didn't have before. The matchbook pictured below is one that has yet to show up on eBay, so I haven't had the opportunity to add one to my collection.
But here's the prize, something that eclipses even the Li'l General yo-yo I managed to score recently!
The wristwatch shown in the above photo was pointed out to me in the comment section of one of my previous Li'l General posts. It was presented on eBay as a "mystery character" and needless to say, I was highly intrigued. Unfortunately, the minimum bid for the watch was a little bit above what my current budget would allow, so it slipped through my fingers!
I can only hope I see one offered again someday, on eBay or anywhere else.
(Warning: Today's post is self-indulgent, stream-of-consciousness rambling. Even more than usual!)
No, please do not get excited by the above illustration. I will not be participating in this year's A-Z Challenge.
Why? (Or should that be, "Why not?")
Well, as it so often occurs where I'm concerned, it's complicated. But as long as I have you here anyway, here I go, rambling (as promised above). Take a deep breath. Or, as I used to say back when I often posted wordy entries, pack a lunch.
First of all, I joined the A-Z Challenge (in both 2014 and 2016) to promote my blog and encounter a few others. Both times, I ended up signing on to follow several blogs. Both times, several people decided to follow me as well. So, that worked. Or so it seemed...
In 2014, I got to know a lot of people who write what I call "writers' blogs." In other words, their blog's primary raison d'être is to aid, instruct, ask questions of, or otherwise deal with other bloggers interested in writing for publication, whether they're doing it mostly for fun, or desiring to make an actual living from it. (That I found so many "writers' blogs" is not a complaint, by the way. Just a long-winded statement.)
The blogs I found during the 2016 challenge seemed to have a little more variety, for no apparent reason. Just happenstance, I guess.
So, what's my problem, with several people signing up to follow me in both 2014 and 2016? Well, I learned that more than a few of the bloggers whose blogs I try to visit don't necessarily reciprocate, especially over time. A lot of the "followers" I gained during my forays into the A-Z Challenge didn't keep following.
Admittedly, almost no one has the time or inclination to read every single post on someone else's blog. I certainly don't. But there are some bloggers I follow (or, in most cases, I should say I used to follow) who either never visit my blog, or if they do, never let me know it by commenting. And, to amend my earlier statement, I realize that almost no one has the time or inclination to comment on every single post they read. (And again, that applies to me as well.) But never?
I've been accused in the distant past of being a comment whore, but let's be honest, here, fellow babies. What do we blog for if not a little bit of feedback? It's not like there's any real money in blogging. (I should know. I used to have little sidebar co-op ads from Google and Amazon, and after nine years, they netted me about a hundred dollars. Not quite enough to live by, fer shure fer shure.)
Also, while I'm on that subject, I should add that there are some readers whom I'm pretty sure read my blog regularly who rarely comment... but comment they do, at least once in a while.
But I oh-so-characteristically digress...
Now, in a similar vein, a lot of the bloggers I've been following for the last year or so don't post regularly. (Who the hell are you to talk, you may well ask. Hang on there, that's not my complaint.) And the authors of these blogs only seem to visit mine when I've commented on theirs. See the problem? This can be a bit frustrating, especially when I'm in the process of posting one of my multi-part fictional stories. I'll admit it. I am fervently hoping that people will read all of a multi-parter (and hopefully comment). Otherwise, what's the point?
I should point out here that I don't expect or demand that my "regulars" read all of my damned posts. As I said above, no one can (or want to) read them all. Even when there are so few, like the posts on my silly blog. Heh.
Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is that I feel I've done a lot, and wound up with a little. It's made me wonder if it's all been worth the effort.
Finally, this year, the people who run the A-Z Challenge have done away with the "linky list." They've posted several ways for you to find out who's participating -- and I provided that link for those of you who are interested in joining the fun -- but frankly, it seems like a lot of extra work to me. I joined the challenge (both times) to have some fun, as well as prove to myself that I could be disciplined enough to post on a regular basis if I really put my mind to it. Both years, I succeeded. But, as I said, this time (along with the other reasons mentioned above), it just seems like a lot of extra work.
Well, that about sums up my reasoning, fellow babies.
On the other hand, if I follow your blog regularly, I certainly won't miss the chance to read your A-Z entries! So, there's that.
Wow, this was a long post. (And rathersomewhat incredibly self-serving, I'll admit.) I haven't done one of those for a while. I've probably written more here than I would have if I'd done this year's challenge instead!
Thanks for reading this far. Seriously. (Unless, of course, you just skipped to the end, you cheater!)
