BASIL  POLEDOURIS   (1945-2006)

Greetings loyal airmen.   As most of you know, I am a big fan of movie music and thus was extremely saddened this past week when I learned of the passing of one our most gifted Hollywood composers.  On Nov.8th (just thtree days after I celebrated my own 60th birthday) Basil Poledouris died at the young age of 61 from complications due to cancer.  I was truly stunned upon learning this and now, days later, it still leaves me with a sense of tremendous loss.  Poledouris came on the music scene via his college association with director John Milius.  When Milius filmed his 60s cult favorite, BIG WEDNESDAY, he tapped his friend to write the music and thus was launched a fantastic twenty year career.   Poledouris went on to write the scores for CONAN,
THE BLUE LAGOON, ROBO-COP, STARTSHIP TROOPERS and FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME, amongst dozens of lesser known works.  He also composed LONESOME DOVE for the Emmy winning TV mini-series and a few years later did the music for Tom Selleck's rollicking Australian cowboy flick, QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER.

Poledouris claimed that his two biggest influences were the genius 30s Hollywood composer, Miklas Rosza and his own upbringing in the Greek Orthodox Church.  His music was filled with a tremendous range and he could provide sci-fi action thrills galore, or sweep you across westeran American plains ala Aaron Copeland.   As I write this, I'm listening to LONESOME DOVE on my stereo and saying a pray, Thanks Basil, for all the wonderful music…and a sweet, Good Night.

Having a little extra spending cash last week from my birthday haul, I picked up a few DVD movies that had long been on my wish-list.  One of the these was what I consider a very prophetic science-fiction melodrama called THE TRUMAN SHOW.  Released way-way back in 1998, it was the story of a fantastic television program that centered around the life of one man who did not know he was being filmed.   Truman Burbank is taken at the moment of this birth and put in gigantic artificial village that is in reality a giant set saturated with hidden cameras for the single purpose of capturing his every waking second of life.   Written by Andrew Niccol and brilliantly directed by Peter Weir, the movie starred Jim Carey in his first dramatic role and co-starred Ed Harris as the god-like director who watches over Truman.

The movie creeped me out when I first saw it theaters as I understood its warning.  Beware the Boob Tube.  If we allow it to, it will invade every single aspect of our lives.  Of course, movie audiences in 1998 couldn't have foreseen just how farseeing THE TRUMAN SHOW really was.   Today, ten years later, all one has to do is turn on TV any night of the week and see peoples lives displayed nakedly for the world to ogle.  They call it “reality TV”.   I call it a legal invasion of privacy and the human soul.   In his sci-fi classic thriller, 1984, writer George Orwell warned us to beware of Big Brother…that intrusive governement eye that would insinuate itself into our daily lives.  Sadly Orwell was off a wee bit, as it wasn't Government that became Big Brother…but us!

Finally, I received a wonderful fan letter yesterday from a gentlemen who had just finished reading my first Captain Hazzard novel, PYTHON MEN OF THE LOST CITY.  Here's part of it.   “…and enjoyed it tremendously.  I was a little reluctant to purchase it when I heard it was a re-doing of another pulp, but after reading the original tale about 2 weeks ago and being a little dissapointed with it, even though it did have some potential to be a really good adventure;  I thought I would check out what you did to the story.  Your contribution fleshed out the story in many ways and made it much more enjoyable.  I'm glad I decided to buy this along with the follow-up novel, and I will be buying your other pulp novels in the days to come.”  Tom Keenan.

Wow, thanks a million, Tom, I really appreciate your taking a chance on my books.   Airmen, both Captain Hazzard pulps…PYTHON MEN OF THE LOST CITY and the new THE CITADEL OF FEAR are still very much available.  Just go to my Air Fare page and check them out.   Like Tom, I think you'll be glad you did.

All done for another week.  Thanksgiving next week!!  Unbelievable how fast the year is flying by.  Have a great week, airmen.  Ron, over and out.  

Greetings loyal airmen.   I've been fighting a bad cold the last couple of days but happy to report am on the mend.When I'm sick, I find it hard to write, so I fall back on my second literary passion, reading and thought you might be interested to learn what's been coming off the Hangar 27 Library shelves.              

Lance Howard is the pseudonym of Howard Hopkins, a good friend from Old Orchard, Me.   Howard has never been west of the Mississippi, has never been on a horse in his life, and writes cowboy novels for a British paperback company!  I kid you not.  One of his latest was THE PHANTOM MARSHAL, which I just finished a few days ago reviewed properly at my PULP FICTION site, click on Banner above to read it.  It's a great, old fashion shoot'em up by a really gifted writer.

Hard Case Crime publisher/editor, Charles Ardai was very kind to put me on their list of reviewers when the company started up over a year ago.  Since that time I've received every one of their terrific, pulp noir thrillers and have been singing their praises loudly.   HCC publishes both reprints of by-gone classics like the above, THE LAST MATCH and then newer works by today's master's of the action and suspense.   I'm half-way through this one and loving it.

Finally what I consider to be the finest magazine published today, National Geographic.   Some twenty-years ago, when the game Trivial Pursuit was the rage in this country, my wife and I would host Trivial Pursuit parties.  One of the things I learned early on was how badly I would do with questions relating to geography.  Then a trip to the dentist office during the period brought me in contact with this magazine.  At this time it could only be purchased by subscription and wasn't available on newstands.  Still, it seemed everybody and his uncle knew what the National Geographic was, its reputation being truly unique in American publishing.   That day I ripped  out the subscription card from that office copy, brought it home and sent away for a subscription.  All because I wanted to bone up on geography.  It ended up being one of the smartest things I have ever done.

For the past twenty years, I have read every single issue cover to cover.  Each month's issue is a wealth of amazing facts and stories about the miraculous world we live, and beyond.  From history, science, medicine, sociology, wildlife, world politics and the state of the environment, there is no subject relating to life on the planet  Earth, NG will not cover…and cover brilliantly.  Has it made me a smarter person, I can't say for sure.  Ha. But it certainly has made me a wiser one.

Whatever it is you like to read, the important thing is to read.  The benefits of an active mind are immeasurable to a long and vibrant life.

Take care, Ron, over and out.

Greetings loyal airmen, as I write this it is a gorgeous Fall day in New Hampshire.  Most of the leaves are off the trees now and cover most of the lawns and roads in our neighborhood.   This past week Halloween came and went and it was a blast.  Several stories I wanted to share with all of you.  One is about our granddaughter, Taryn, who lives in Bethel, Conn.  She asked her mom and dad, Katie & Scott, if she could dress up like a birthday cake.  So Katie began a hunt at local chain stores for such an outfit.  As many of your regular readers will recall, last week in my log entry, I bemoaned that fact that most Halloween costumes these days are store-bought.  Well, Katie soon learned there was no such costume to be purchased and so, being the loving parents they are, she and Scott rolled up their sleeves and set about making Ms.Taryn a birthday cake suit.

Scott has always had an engineering mind and loves to make things.  All you have to do is look at his model railroad layouts to know that.   Whereas Katie is herself very creative and no doubt has baked enough “real” cakes to know what they look like.  Sure enough, in no time flat, they had produced a one of a kind costume.

And voila, Ms.Birthday Cake-girl, Taryn Fortier.  We are told she had so much fun going trick-or-treating in this costume.  Scott even put in a portable battery so the candles lit up!   Later, at her kindergarden Halloween party, Taryn took first place in the Best Costume Contest.   Way to go!  She and her little brother, Logan, are so lucky to have such loving and fun parents.   We're proud of all of them.

And my final Halloween story is also much delightful in its own way.  About a week ago, my artist pal, Craig Shepard, and his wife, Susan, attended a pumpkin festival.  The highlight was viewing hundreds of the orange gourds carved up in every conceivable image you can imagine.  Well, knowing of my love the original KING KONG movie, Craig was stunned when he spotted one particular pumpkin.  Enough so to take out his cell-phone camer and take this shot…

Ladies and gentlemen, I give….PUMPKING KONG!!!!   Sort of gives new meaning to the phrase, “Just when you think you've seen it all.”  Ha.

On other fronts.  In the past year I've been having fun writing my Pulp Fiction review column.  Sadly all the websites the colum appeared have folded in the past couple of months.  Gee, hope I'm not a jinx?  Anyway, this past week I started my own personal site for the reviews and it is now linked to the banner above this log entry. Please, click on it and check out PULP FICTION REVIEWS.  I'm off to a good start with 5 books reviewed.  You have to know, airmen, I do love reading almost as much as writing.

Finally, in two days time I will do something my father didn't, I will become 60 years old.  Amazing!  I still have to pinch myself to believe this.  I don't feel a day over 40, and Valerie tells me I certainly don't act a day over 13!!! Ha. The truth is, my dad passed away at the age of 59 over thirty years ago.   Thus it became a kind of dreaded benchmark for me.  All the while, Valerie, God bless her, kept doing what she does best, loving and nuturing me and convincing me I still have a lot of time left in this world.   Dad, sadly, was never a healthy man, and a bout with malaria in World War II was to have have negative effects on his immune system for years to come and ultimately caused his early demise.   Since then, all of us, as a generation have learned lots more about nutrition, health etc. and our life expectancies have climbed accordingly.  Wonderful news, but the most important is to cherish the wisdom you gain along the way.  I've loved my life, why?  Because of my family, my parents, my three brothers and my sister.  My fantastic children, my awesome grand kids and good friends and my partner in crime, my lover and confidente, Valerie.   Hey, God, thanks and  I'm ready for the next 60!

Ron..over and out.
PS – Maybe Taryn will let me borrow her birthday caske suit?

                                  
HAPPY HALLOWEEN LOYAL AIRMEN!!!  Late last night I was in the process of downloading images to these files and trying to think of what I was going to regale you with today.  I've several interesting pulp projects that need promoting and what not.  Then I realized exactly what weekend this was!  It's Halloween, the best kids holiday of them all.  And the second that thought flashed through my mind, so did tons of absolutely wonderful memories all tied around this spooky time of the year.  And so that's our theme for this week, hope you enjoy this.

When I was a kid growing up in the sleepy town of Somersworth, New Hampshire, late October was very much a haunting time.  Most of the leaves had fallen and the trees were bare, skeletal creatures lining all the streets and surrounding woods with their bony tendrils.  In those days there were no Walmarts or Targets and even had there been, my parents certainly wouldn't have had enough extra money to afford plastic costumes that are so the rage these days.  Nope.  My mother, and all the other mothers, saw this as a special time to get creatively macabre with their little ones and half the fun of the holiday was making your own outfits.  Of course since being a hobo, or vagabond if you will, was still in vogue and very easy to do, I believe half the kid population in Somersworth went out Trick or Treating as hobos.   Of course Beggar's Night, as we called it, took place on All's Hallows Eve…i.e. the night before Halloween.   Imagine being a kid and told that on one special night of the year you were allowed to go to every single house in town, knock on the door, say a few inane words and get FREE CANDY!!!  It was childhood Nirvana.   And, as I recall, no dinky cheap little bags for us, no sir.  Mom was in for the big haul and we were given pillow cases to carry our sweet loot in.  Time will always play tricks on one's memory of how things truly were, but that's okay because a person's memories should be colored with fondness and exaggeration every now and then.  Mine were canvasing seventy-percent of Somersworth in just a few short hours and then coming home with my pillow case half full and weighing a ton.  Spreading out a mountain of treats on the kitchen table to my Mom and Dad's delight and knowing we'd be eating candy for weeks and weeks to come.  God Bless Halloween.

As we grew older, into our teen years, Trick or Treating lost it's appeal.  It was in turn replaced by our obsessed fascination with all things HORROR.    By the late 50s and 60s most of the old Universal monster classic movies had made it to televisions and I can remember countless Sat nights watching a double-feature Chillerarama with my younger brother George and our cousin, David, who lived next door.  It was our cultural education into American gothic mythology.   Of the classic three, Frankenstein, Dracula and the Wolf Man, my personal favorite was Lon Chaney Jr. in his star-making role as the cursed, Larry Talbot.   Chaney was brilliant in evoking pathos and you always felt sorry for him even when he was scaring the living hell out of you. 

My father was a movie-addict himself and by the time I was five years (no lie), he was dragging me to the Saturday afternoon matinees as his sidekick.   Mom wasn't always keen on this, as Dad took me with him to see everything, from westerns, to war movies and yes, horror flicks.  Now granted there were no new Wolf Man movies by the 50s, but there were newer versions, ala The Werewolf, Curse of the Werewolf and a true B-movie gem, Michael Landon in I Was a Teenage Werewolf.   I mention all of these because every single time we were heading off to the theater to see one of these blood-curdling dramas, Mom would chastise Dad with the prediction I'd be having nightmares.   And she was always right.  I would wake up in the middle of the night convinced the Wolf Man was hiding in my bedroom closet just waiting for the perfect time to pounce on me (I must have been ten by then) and tear me limb from limb.  Thus would I bolt out of bed and race out of the room, completely abandoning brother George to his fate, I was a coward, and go charging into my parents room screaming for my life.  Mom would roll over, look at my father and say, “I told you so!”  Ah, the joys of an over active imagination.

It really was a wonderful childhood, despite the monster-movie scarrring. Ha.   Over the years I've continued to thrill to scary movies and books.  Not to be confused with the blood-and-gore junk that passes for horror movies these days.  Sorry, it can't hold a candle to the classics.  They relied on stories and suspense to provide the chills, not tons of body-parts flying every which way.  And I do have modern favorites in both formats. 

The one movie that truly frightened me, and still does to this day, is THE EXORCIST.   The suspense builts from the very first scene to the last in an orchestrated fashion that nearly had me jumping out of my seat every time we were sent back into the possessed girl's bedroom…and she just kept getting uglier and uglier.  It deserves to be a classic.

Book wise, I give Stephen King the nod with his SALEM'S LOT.  Aside from Bram Stoker's titular DRACULA, it is by far the best vampire novel every written.   I go back to it every now and then and marvel at King's genius in bringing that outerworldy menace to a very quaint, recognizable New England town.  It gave me the chills the first time I read it and continues to do so to this day.

Of course there lots more books and movies that I could spend page after page applauding.  But those two are just my personal favorites. I'm sure all you airmen have your own and that you love them dearly.  So here is wishing all of you a particularly gruesome/wonderful Halloween.  Go put on a costume, scare yourself and have a grand old time.  Halloween is a magic time that keeps us all young forever.

Ron, over and out.

Greeting loyal airmen.  For the longest time I denounced modern comics because they lack any real fun.  Most are filled with anguish, suffering and just plain dark, brooding tales.  Whatever happened to the fun of comics?  Well that fun is back, along with one of the grandest comic book heroes of all time, E-Man.  He is the brain child of writer Nick Cuit and my old pal, artist Joe Staton.  They whipped him up many, many years ago for the Charlton Comic company in Derby, Conn.  When Chalton faded away, E-Man began his long bouncing career from one independent company to another.   Now Digital Webbing has brought him back after an absence of nearly ten years and he is very much a breath of fresh air.  This is a terrific book, it is now available at comic shops around the country.  So, if you want to know what a truly GOOD COMIC BOOK is all about, go grab a copy of E-MAN RECHARGED.   And thanks Nick & Joe, it's so great to have you back again.

Of late, if you've been following these log entires from week to week, you airmen know I've been up to my ears in pulp book productions.  And sadly what has suffered is my own reading for pleasure.  Finally, last week I grabbed the latest Hard Case Crime title, THE GUNS OF HEAVEN by Pete Hamill and sat back to enjoy myself.  Like all HCC titles, this one is a gripping, suspenseful real.  Set in the late 60s, it deals with an American reporter, Sam Briscoe, who while writing a feature on the violence in Northern Ireland, gets himself embroiled with some very dangerous, psychotic people.  Soon people, including Sam's uncle, are murdered and Sam's own teenage daughter is kidnapped.  Things start getting bloody very, very fast and the climax is a taut, nail-biting ride. This is a terrific read and I'm hoping we'll see lots more from this talented writer.

Got some good medical news yesterday.  My regular six month CatScan on my lungs once again indicated the two mysterious spots are dormant and have not changed at all.  Apparently the radiologist told my doctor that comparing the two pictures side by side, they are identical in all aspects.  Meaning, whatever those things are, they are not growing or pose any threat to my continued well-being.  Thank you God, and the good doctor and kind hospital staff.  And so before the doc ended our conversation, he said, “See you in a year.”  Ha.  Just wanted to share that with all of you.

Two more days and I'll be at Verillo's Convention Center in Portland, ME.  Hope lots of you loyal airmen can make the show.  Besides yours truly, artist Mike Mitchell will be on hand and we are hoping our fellow Pulp Factory brother, writer Howard Hopkins will stop by.  Howard writes western novels for a British publisher, has never been out West and hates horses.  I kid you not.  But you'd never know it reading his books.  Amazing.

And that wraps up another week in the old Airship 27 Hangar.  Take care, be good and God Bless.  Ron, over and out.

Greetings airmen.  Well, the month of October had graced New Hampshire with her annual display of Fall colors.  I've always loved New Hampshire in October and when I was in the army, it was the time of the year I most missed being home.   A few days ago, Valerie brought her digital camera with her on our daily two mile hike along the Salmon Falls River.  She snapped these two magnificent shots.

The old saying is one picture is worth a thousand words and seeing these, I'm not about to debate that.  Sometimes in life you just have to slow down, take a deep breath and look around you.  Really look!  See the wonders of nature, the touch of God in everything.  Powerful, life-affirming stuff.

What with the Fall here, we New Englanders get it into our psyhes that pretty soon all those leaves will be down. That a cold northern wind from Canada will soon be slapping on our doors and it's time to get ready for frigid winter season.  Likewise, my Wild Cat Books team and I are gearing down, wrapping up our last couple of book projects for 2006 and making time to enjoy the coming holidays.  To that end we've decided to release two more pulp books and call a very good year.   The first of these came out this past week and we are very, very excited about it.

SECRET AGENT X was by far one of the most popular and successful pulp heroes of the 1930s.  Now, complete with his original magazine logo and all, the Man of a Thousand Faces is back in four brand new adventures by Steven Atkins, Mark Justice, Brian Meredith and Kevin Noel Olson.   It's a great collection and all art in the book, to include that gorgeous cover above, is by our own Ace of Illustrators, Rob Davis.  Please, go over to our Air Fare page and click on to any Wild Cat Books link.   Or simply go directly to (http://www.Lulu.com/wildcatbooks)    Anthony Schiavino designed the book and I honestly think it is his best for us so far.  Wait till you see what he has coming up next for our final 2006 offering;  THE MOON MAN.  Not to be missed, pulp-lovers.

One more week and it's off to Varillo's in Porltand, Me. for the Comic Con.  Counting the days.  Hope to see lots of you airmen there.

All for another week.  Again, look at those river pictures and go out there and enjoy what is yours for free.   It will do you all a world of good.   Ron, over and out.

Greetings loyal airman.  Looks like as yet another banner, all out week for the crew of Hangar 27.  Up first the best news of all.  Our second Captain Hazzard pulp novel, the first new adventure in over 68 years, is now available from Wild Cat Books.  The book went on sale earlier this week and is already showing sales signs of being our most successful pulp yet!   Kudos to the amazing Team Hazzard.  My co-writer and dear friend, Martin Powell, fantastic artists Tom Floyd (cover) & Rob Davis (interiors) and the unbelievably imaginative book designer, Anthony Schiavino.  Take my word for it, airmen, this is by far our best looking volume to date.  And of course a humungous tip of the hat to publisher Ron Hanna, who makes all this possible.  Now, flip on over to the Air Fare page where you'll find the link where to buy your copy.   Of course if you haven't bought Captain Hazzard #1 Python Men of the Lost City, sheesh..what are you waiting for?  Then again maybe your not one of those airmen who likes thrilling, action filled yarns?  These books are slam-bang in your face with action galore.  Not for the weak of heart.  
                                          
 

And if the publication of my latest novel wasn't enough big news, wait until you read what happened on the promotional front.  They say in this world of ours, everyone eventually gets their fifteen minutes of fame.  Well between the start of this week and today, it looks like mine was stretched to twenty.  Ha.  First up the national magazine, BACK ISSUE #18 appeared on the newstands this week and inside it is a very long, and well written story of my involvement with the Green Hornet comic book series that was published by Now Comics in the early 90s.  Perhaps the one comic book title I am most remembered for.  Writer Michael Browning dis a yeoman job of interviewing myself and all the principles who brought about that amazing series and tells the inside story on who did what and when to make it happen.   It was very much like a happy trip down memory lane reading through the piece.  Oh, and it is jammed packed with lots of Green Hornet artwork from artists Jeff Butler and Steve Erwin.  Above is the cover for the issue, don't delay.  I hear they are dissappearing off the racks fast!!

So there I was on the national stage.   Now comes today and our local newspaper, Foster's Daily Democrat comes out with their supplement magazine, Showcase, cover featuring my pulp book, Captain Hazzard – Python Men of the Lost City.  Inside is as another long article on my writing career, this one focusing specifically on my new entry into pulps, my connection with Wild Cat Books and displays the covers to all my books in full color.  There's also a side-bar on artist Rich Woodall and his work for our first anthology title,  LANCE STAR – SKY RANGER.  All in all it's a great report that I hope all you local airmen will be sure to pick up and read.  My hat goes off to Showcase Editor Kristan and writer Tim Robinson who somehow managed to get all the facts right.  He's a good writer and even made my life sound exciting.  Ha.

What with all this notoriety, many of you are probably right now wondering, Geez, when will we ever get a chance to meet Ron and maybe buy some of his cool books?   Well, ask no more.  This is your first heads-up airmen, so mark your calendars.  I am going to be a guest at a one day Comic Convention to held at Verillo's Convention Center in Portland, ME. on the 22nd Oct.   Only a few weeks away.  The con is being sponsored by the good people at Primate Productions and besides your trusty Air Chief, there will be another half dozen very cool guests and lots and lots of vendors.  So please, make plans to come down and say hi.  Besides the pulp books, I will also have on hand my movie-based comic, FRANK NG-HIRED GUN, along with tee-shirts and posters based on soon to be released film, GOD OF VAMPIRES.  These have to be seen, they are just gorgeous.  And very, very reasonably priced.  So bring them pennies and dime.  Ha.

Lastly, the Fortier Clan celebrated two very special birthdays this past week.  Taryn Fortier, down there in Bethel, Conn. turned 5 years old!!  She's getting to be such a young lady.   And half way across the country in Ft.Collins, CO, her cousin Alex Horne became 9!  He's shooting up like a rocket, that kid!  So Happy Birthday Taryn and Alex, from Pep.  I love you more than words can say.

And on that joyous note, take for another week, airmen.  And laugh, it really is the best medecine of all.
Ron – over and out! 

                                                           
Greeting loyan airmen, it is my sincerest hope that all of you are well and happy as we roll into what is the most beautiful season in New Hampshire, Fall.   Colors are about to erupt over the landscape draping the mountains and valleys in bright hues of red, orange and yellow.  During my short stint in the military, October was the month I missed most not being home.  Then again having been born in November, I guess I'm very much a Fall soul.

One of the interesting things of life I've been a student of most of my adult years is the connect-the-dot theory.
Basically no one act, be it benevolent or cruel, is ever unconnected to the other events in your life.  Case in point, what happened last week-end.   It deals with something I was involved with several years ago.  You see I wrote a three act play called WHERE LOVE TAKES YOU and it tells the story of how my mother and father met and fell in love in the months just prior to the start of World Wark II; and how they had to put their romance on hold for nearly five years while he was off serving his country in the South Pacific.  I'd heard the story from both of them hundreds of times growing up and was so enamored of it, I finally set it down on paper.  Well, as a play which, to my blind first-timer's luck, actually got produced.   A wonderful community theater group; the Sanford Maine Theater Company put it over a week-end, three sold-out performances that most of my family had the opportunity to see and enjoy.  Opening night with my mother in the front row was a high I will never-ever forget.  Afterwards I tried in vain to interest another company in doing it, but alas, had no success and began to wonder if I'd ever see it staged again.

I've been keeping most of you update with all the pulp books I am producing for Ron Hanna's Wild Cat Books and I'm having a great time in the process.  I'm currently working with 22 writers and 8 artists on so many titles that I can't remember all of them off-hand.  It's hectic but fun.  Well, a few weeks ago I was called by a local journalist asking if he could come over and interview me about this new career of mine as a pulp writer/editor.   His name is Tim Robinson and he came over last Sat. afternoon.  Well, lo and behold, before getting into the pulp stuff, Tim started asking me about my play!  It seems he had visited the hangar, seen it listed on my credits page and wanted to know all about it.  Turns out he is the member of a theater group in nearby Portsmouth whose mission it is to promote and produce plays by local writers.   And he very much wanted to read my play, after we  wrapped up the pulp-interview-article thing.  I sent it off to him a couple of nights ago and am now waiting to see what happens next.  Will they want to produce or not?  All fingers are crossed.  As you can see, the last thing I expected in getting ready for interview about my pulp work was to end up possibly seeing my play produced a second time.  See what I mean about connnect-the-dots?  You just never know.   Oh, and the lovely young lady in that poster above is my mother, Gabrielle Richer-Fortier at the age of 17.  Wasn't she a doll?

And that wasn't the end of weird resurfacings for your Hangar Chief.  Nope, I was going to get another very big surprise within the next 48 hours.

A little over two years ago I did a 16 page crime comic called..TEMPLE & NASH – The Cockroach Conspiracy.  It's still available for sale over on our Air Fare page if any of you are curious.  I did it with a gifted young artist from Tampa, Florida named Johnny Atomic.  It was Johnny's first comic work and it led to his opening up an entire new art studio down there.  He's been very successful at it.  So the Monday afternoon after the interview week-end, Johnny called and said he'd recently become involved with a Tampa based Film Production looking to start making small-budgeted-independent movies.  They are interested in my writing a 90 minute movie for them based on our comic characters!!  That's one of them in the illo above, Detective Vincent Nash.  Now as tantalizing as this may seem, let me assure you most such options rarely materialize.  Still I wasn't about to pass up on the opportunity.  I wrote a four page story treatment detailing the script I would write if given the green light and sent it off.  Johnny will pass it on to the Film people and they'll make their decision.  If yes, then I'll be flown down to Tampa and meet with them to see where we go from there.  If not, well, the last few days have been exciting and writing the treatment was fun. 

So as you can see, things have been rather exciting around the old hangar.  Will either of these wonderful projects actually get off the ground?  Who can say?  The odds are overwhelmingly against both for so many reasons, I won't elaborate.  Still, I've always been an optimist and have made lots of my dreams come true.  Let's see if two more are in the wings.  I'll keep you posted, in the meanwhile you all keep me in your prayers.

That's it (as if it wasn't enough..ha) for this week, airmen. Take care, Ron over and out.

Greetings loyal airmen.  Well another week has zipped past us and the older I get the more I sit back and reflect just how fast life does move.  Lots of good and fun things have happened in just seven days.  So let's dig into them.

First up, two weeks ago my good friend and working associate, Anthony Schiavino e-mailed me with an idea to launch as yet another internet site.  He wanted it to be a place where all the new pulp writers and artists we were  working with on various projects, could meet and promote their efforts.  It wasn't that I was totally negative to the idea.  But in the past I have belonged to all kinds of internet forums and ultimately stopped going to them  because I was simply too busy with my own writing.  So why bother, I thought, and told Anthony that.  Well give him credit, he was not undaunted by my less than enthusiastic response and replied he was going to give it a shot regardless.  He asked if  I ha any ideas for a possible title?  I was in the middle of writing my Phantom story and thought if you wanted to play up the true essence of the pulps, which were built more on sweat than inspiration, then you should have something to reflect that.  Ergo, the Pulp Factory.  

Anthony slapped up as a Blogger site where only members could actually create post, but anyone could stop by, read them and leave comments.   Before that first Saturday was over, half a dozen of our colleagues had signed on and during the course of the next week more and more joined up.  I was simply amazed, and delighted to have been soundly proven wrong.   And to celebrate the first week of the Pulp Factory's existence, Anthony even made up a great little cartoon strip.

At the bottom of the last panel is the actual web address for the Pulp Factory.  Please, if you are at all curious, stop on by and check it out.  The logo was illustrated by my good friend, Rob Davis and yes, we already have tee shirts and a coffee mug to go with it.  And…now that we are two weeks old (tomorrow) the list of writers and artists signed on is much larger than reported here.  Never was I so happy to be so wrong.  Tip of the pulp fedora to Anthony.  A true man of vision.

Somewhere in last week's Log Entry, I did mention that the kids were back to school and the old familiar yellow school buses were once again a daily sight in most American neighborhoods.  One of the most unusual things about this opening school year for the Fortier clan is that all five of our grand kids attending school all began the year in a “new” school.   Kristi, the oldest, started high school.  (I know…I'm still in shock over that one..ha.) Her isister Chelsea is in fifth grade at the new middle school.  Out in Colorado, both Cora and Alex, who had been  attending a very special private school, were now entering public grade school.   I am happy to report all four of them are doing just great, as Valerie and I knew they would.

And if you've been counting your fingers, I did say five of our six grand children.  Sure enough, in the town of Bethel, Conn, the above little yellow bus drove up to the home of Ms.Taryn Fortier to take her to the wonderful and always excting world of Kindergarden.

Of course her nine month old brother Logan had to come and see her off, allowing him to inspect this strange looking vehicle up close.  Like his father, Scott, Logan never takes anything at face value.  Taryn had a great first day and since has become really aclimated to the process of school, teachers, learning and fun.  She is a really bright girl (her grandfather said with obvious pride) and is going to do great things.

At the end, I'll leave all of you with this thought that Valerie and I discussed the other day while watching a local bus picking up neighborhood kids.  This being, of course adult wisdom and hindsight.  Isn't the entire concept of eduction truly amazing?  You are brought to a facility where, for eight hours, people teach you things!!  And of course being kids, we detest the entire process.  Ha.  Whereas, as adults, I would love to have 8 free hours a day where my job was to just sit there…and learn things.

That's all for another speedy seven, loyal airmen.  Take care and have a great week, Ron, over and out.