Greetings Loyal Airmen. A few weeks ago we reported that we had been recruited to write an new Avenger story for a forthcoming anthology from Moonstone books.

                
                       Cover of First Avenger mag 1939

Created by Street & Smith, this pulp hero was a late comer, first appearing on the magazine racks in 1939.  Richard Henry Benson is a world traveling adventurer.  When his wife Alicia and their daughter Alice are brutally murdered by gangsters, he suffers a physical shock that leaves his hair white and all the nerve muscles in his face dead. He can thus mold them into any shape and become the greatest disguise expert of them all.  Using this bizarre ability, plus many others he learned over the years, Benson creates an organization called Justice Incorporated for the sole purpose of going after criminals the law cannot touch.  He recruits a small, but loyal band of similarly motivated people and thus the series kicked off.

Being asked to write an Avenger story was both a thrill and a tremendous challenge. Our story is called VENGEANCE IS MINE and divulges the background on a particular aspect of the Avenger's life that was never completely explained in the novels.  We turned it in yesterday and are anxiously awaiting the editor's response and verdict with all fingers crossed.  In the fiction game there are never any guarantees.  We will of course keep you posted.

Two years ago actor Ben Stiller starred in a funny movie called NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM, wherein he played a night guard in the New York Museum of Natural History and witnessed all the exhibitions coming to life.  All the mannequins, through an old Egyptian magic, were alive only at night.  Characters from Genghis Khan to Teddy Roosevelt, wonderfully played by Robin Williams.  Much to everyone's surprise, including the producers, the movie was a hit and this past summer they released as sequel, NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM – Battle for the Smithsonian.  Having seen it at the theaters, we were very anxious to have it come out on DVD and it did so this past week.

               
                         Amy Adams & Ben Stiller

Of course as one would expect, most of the regular cast from the first movie were back in this new one, but the real fun here was the additional historical figures that were added.  Amy Adams as aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart totally steals the movie with her effervescence portrayal of the plucky flier who was so ahead of her time in so many ways.  She totally shines in this role.

               
                            Christopher Guest & Hank Azaria

The second delight of this sequel is comic actor Hank Azaria portraying the evil Pharaoh who wishes the Egyptian tablet to take over the world.  Azaria plays him broadly using his voice mimicking skills to speak like the late Boris Karloff.  From the moment he appears on screen, the entire film is elevated into a new comedic level and he never lets up once.  There are several times when he and Ben Stiller completetly improvise their dialogue into pure screen silliness that is hilarious.  This is a funny-funny movie, and Ye Old Air Chief and Val give it two big thumbs up.

On another terrific note, our oldest granddaughter, Kristi, received her first college acceptance notice yesterday.  She is a high school senior graduating next year and had applied to half a dozen schools in the New England area. Yesterday's letter was only the first.  She is such a talented, bright student, we know she'll receive more as the weeks go by.  And we couldn't be prouder of her than we are right now.  It will be fascinating to see which school she finally chooses.

Lastly, the temperature rose to 69 degrees here today.  On Dec. 3rd in southern New Hampshire.  The TV weather guy said that was a full eleven degrees over the previously recorded high for this date.  Wow. And of course we loved every single minute of it.  Winter will come all too soon, so we take advantage of these rare, beautifully warm days.

And that's it for another week, Loyal Airmen.  Hope you are getting your Christmas shopping done early to avoid those last minute stampedes.  Till next week, take care and be happy.
Ron – Over & Out