HEROES TIMES THREE
- On 20 Jun | '2008
Greetings loyal airmen. Every now and then events both public and private seem to cross the flight path of my life and just naturally provide me with a theme. Thus was the case over this last week. Which ended up my being able to discuss heroes with all of you, especially three of them.
STAN WINSTON 1945 – 2008
Last weekend, while the country mourned the loss of cherished newsman, Tim Russert, the movie community suffered their own loss in the Father's Day passing of special effects genius Stan Winston at the young age of 62. For those of us who love the fantastic, Stan was an invaluble part of so many of our favorite movie moments from TERMINATOR to JURASSIC PARK. In fact Stan's last work was developing the marvelous IRON MAN suit now seen in that current blockbuster. He always appeared, when seen in interviews or documentary features to have that childish twinkle in his eyes and you just knew here was a man who truly loved what he did for a living. After the late Willis O'Brien and his protege (still with us to this day) Ray Harryhausen, Stan was easily the most successful FX guru ever. Thanks for all that magic, Stan, and God bless.
KG
People who love what they do. A nice way to segue into our second hero this week, basketball superstar Kevin Garnett. Unless you've been living a cave all year, you may have heard that at the end of last year's basketball seaons the Boston Celtics had the worst record ever. They were a team being sucked into a constantly losing spiral. Then management, under the guidance of former player Danny Ainge, went out and recruited two incredible players to assit their own team star, Paul Pearse. They signed on Ray Allen and the man with perhaps the biggest heart in the entire world, Kevin Garnett, known to one and all as KG. All of these three men were veteran players who had never won a championship. That was all about to change. Coach Doc Rivers, another genius of the courts, was able to preach his philosophy of team work and total defence to this ultra talented trio. If they could leave their egos at the door and all work towards a common goal, success would be theirs at the end of their journey. All of a sudden Celtics fans woke up one morning to see that their beloved team was in the win column and they would stay that way throughout the entire season compiling the best record in the entire NBA. This past week, the Boston Celtics won their 17th Championship, another NBA record. Every member of that team from management to the guys on the bench contributed to this astounding come-back year of victory. Still one man was the passion, the heart of the Celtics. That man was KG!!! Bravo!
20008 World Champion Celtics
Above (left to right) are the great Bill Russell with Ray Allen, Doc Rivers, Kevin Garnett & Paul Pearse.
THE CELTICS!!!
Finally, loyal airmen, we come to one more hero, one of the fictional variety, but still oh so important to your old airchief. CAPTAIN HAZZARD – THE CHAMPION OF JUSTICE.
As promised last week, the fourth book in this new series starring this classic pulp hero from the 1930s is now available for purchase at our on-line store. See the Airship logo to the left of this column. One click takes you to the store where you can buy this volume and seven other Airship 27 titles at a special discount price off retail. In this all new adventure, two evil madmen scientists devise a way to bring the city of New York to its knees under a mountain of freezing snow. Only Captain Hazzard and his Fighting Five can save the day, but to do so they will first have to conquer an army of mutated cavemen. CAVEMEN OF NEW YORK is an all new, original pulp novel by ye old airchief, with interior art and design by Rob David and an absolutely stunning cover by Mark Maddox. Guys, I put everything but the kitchen sink in this one. Please, check it out. I'm on pins and needles here until you do so and let me know if its a winner or a dud. So pick it up, read it and then drop me a line. I always appreciate your feedback.
And there you go, airmen. Another week, albeit a busy one, has flown by. Summer is officially here now, according to the calendar and I hope all of you are enjoying it to the max. Valerie and I did see THE INCREDIBLE HULK last week and both of us give it thumbs up. Great special effects coupled with a good story and really good acting. It stands toe to toe with IRON MAN. Wow, Marvel movies are really taking off aren't they? Talk about feeling like a kid again. I love it.
Ron – Over & Out!