Greeting Loyal Airmen.  Well, here it is, Memorial Day weekend and thousands of Americans have packed up the family car and are headed out of town; destination the lake, the beach, the resort, anywhere that is free of work and every day obligations.  Purpose of trips…FUN!  And that's my sincerest wish for all you Loyal Airmen this weekend, as we kick off the Summer season.  Have tons of good, clean fun!!

            
                                   Wayne Reinagel

One of our most creative Pulp Factory members is Wayne Reinagel.  If you'll recall, the Pulp Factory is the Yahoos Group I moderate and many of its members are Airship 27 writers and artists, all Loyal Airmen, every one.  Just about a month ago, Wayne posted on the board that he had just finished his latest pulp project, a detailed pulp hero time-line.  Initially upon reading those words we had no clue exactly what that could be.  Wayne went on to explain he had put together a chart starting in the 1771 and running all the way to 1954.  Then he listed every single major cultural event that could be considered relevant to pulps.  There are well over a thousand entries that cover everything from Edgar Allen Poe's birthday to the arrival of King Kong in New York City!  On this chart you'll find the birthdays of Wild Bill Hickock, Arthur Conan Doyle and….holy smokes…Ye Old Air Chief!!!  Yup, Wayne honored us by including that entry, dated 5 Nov. 1946.  Once all of us at the Pulp Factory realized what it was Wayne had done, we were naturally excited.  This single document is perhaps the greated single pulp reference work ever produced.

            
                         Wayne Reinagel's Definitive Pulp Heroes Time-Line Chart

Above is a photo Ye Old Air Chief standing proudly beside his own copy of this amazing work.  Wayne surprised all his Pulp Factory brothers two weeks ago when he showed up at the Windy City Pulp Con with a poster for each and every one of us.  Now if any of you Loyal Airmen are into pulps, whether as a creator, collector or simply a fan, you have to have this chart.  Wayne sells it at a ridiculously low price on E-Bay and eventually hopes to have copies available at future conventions.  The E-Bay URL is (http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Knightraven-Studios.)  Thanks, Wayne, and job supremely well done!

Another sure sign of the season is Hollywood's unleashing their big, splashy block-buster movies.  Again, a few weeks ago they started the ball rolling with Wolverine.  Which, according to some truly bogus TV ads, they claim is the current box-office champ.  Wrong. That auspicious title goes to Paramount studios and the amazingly entertaining STAR TREK reboot.  I'm sure by now most Loyal Airmen are aware of this film, if they haven't seen it already.  After almost thirty years of Star Trek TV shows and movies, the franchise was given a complete overhaul by writer/director J.J.Abrams.  Abrams is the creative mind behind such successes as TV's ALIAS, LOST and this year's FRINGE.   And we are here to tell you that STAR TREK may be his greatest achievement yet.  It is a roller-coaster ride from the opening sequence to the last.  The young actors chosen to portray figures we've all come to know and love over the decades are simply perfect in every nuance and detail.  Led by Chris Pine as Jim Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock, this is an energetic young cast of actors who bring their A game to the movie.  Of course Valerie and the Air Chief have yet to see ANGELS & DEMONS, or TERMINATOR SALVATION, but as we write these words, the movie sitting at the top of the mountain is STAR TREK and we're laying odds it will be the one to beat.  We personally can't wait to see it again.  It's that good.

And there you have it, Loyal Airmen, this week's log.  One final thought before we sign off and one we are sure all of you have already taken to heart.  It's called Memorial Day because Monday is the day we, as a nation of free people, stop and remember those who sacrificed all for our country and our way of life.  It is right for us to celebrate and have a party, America is worth celebrating.  But never ever let us forget the men and women in uniform, past and present, stationed around the globe, guarding our beloved shores day and night from those who would harm us.  God bless every single one of them a hundred fold!

Ron- Over & Out!