"Best wishes to Ken -- Stan Lee, Jack Kirby" The website for the Jack Kirby Museum, which honors the legendary comic book artist, somehow came across a scan I made of a page with two autographs. It's a sheet of mid-1960s Marvel Comics stationary that says, "Best wishes to Ken" followed by the signatures of … Continue reading Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and the Mythical Marvel Bullpen
Category: Personal Stories
Indirection and Coded Language
Sometimes We Communicate A Great Deal When We Don't Say What We Mean Indirection is an essential tool of the stage magician. The right hand flourishes a wand to draw your attention as the left hand lifts a card from a hidden pocket inside the magician's coat. Outside the magic hall, indirection can serve as … Continue reading Indirection and Coded Language
Lyrical Resonance, Reinterpretation, and Renewal
Bruce Springsteen, March 29, 2012 In the introduction to his song Jack of All Trades last Thursday at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center, Bruce Springsteen noted---as he had on previous nights---that the song was penned before the explosion of the current debate about the 99% versus the 1%. "I wrote this when there was no Occupy Movement, … Continue reading Lyrical Resonance, Reinterpretation, and Renewal
Life Lessons from Bret Maverick — and My Father
Real life never seems as clever as the world of motion pictures and television. Fictional characters always look better and speak with more eloquence than the people in our daily lives. As a child of the television generation, I often lamented that my life wasn't as colorful as that of the characters I saw on … Continue reading Life Lessons from Bret Maverick — and My Father