The Late, Great Denny O'Neil

Legendary comic book writer Denny O'Neil, who also worked under his given name of Dennis O'Neil, died on June 11 2020 at the age of 81. The cause was cardiopulmonary arrest. Mr. O'Neil was best known for returning Batman to his roots as the Dark Knight and bringing social relevance to comic books through Green Lantern/Green Arrow.

Dennis O'Neil was born on May 3 1939 in St. Louis, Missouri. His father ran a grocery store, while his other was a housewife. Like most children of the era, young Denny O'Neil read comic books. He listened to such radio shows as Adventures of Superman and Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy. He attended St. Louis University and received a Bachelor of Science in 1961. After graduating from college he enlisted in the United States Navy and took pat in the blockade of Cuba that took place during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Following his service, Mr. O'Neil returned to St. Louis where he worked as a substitute teacher for a year. He then took a job with a newspaper in Cape Girardeau, Missouri as a reporter. There he worked on a bi-weekly column on youth. Noticing the increasing popularity of comic books, he wrote some articles on the medium for the column. These articles came to the attention of comic book superfan and an editor at Marvel Comics Roy Thomas, whose parents subscribed to the newspaper. Roy Thomas asked Mr. O'Neil to take the Marvel writing test, which consisted of adding dialogue to four pages from the Fantastic Four Annual (illustrated by Jack Kirby). Stan Lee then offered him a job at Marvel Comics.

At Marvel Comics, Mr. O'Neil worked on such titles as Daredevil, Strange Tales (featuring Doctor Strange), Millie the Model, Rawhide Kid, and The Two-Gun Kid, Chamber of Darkness, and X-Men. It was on The Uncanny X-Men that he first worked with artist Neal Adams, with whom he would work on Green Lantern/ Green Arrow and Batman. It was Messrs. O'Neil and Adams who returned Professor Xavier to the pages of The Uncanny X-Men no. 65 (February 1970) , after the character had been killed off in The Uncanny X-Men no. 42 (March 1968).

Dennis O'Neil then took a job with Charlton Comics, using the pen name Sergius O'Shaugnessy. He worked under editor Dick Giordano. At Charlton, he worked on the titles Thunderbolt, Abbott and Costello, and Space Adventures. Mr. O'Neil worked at Charlton Comics for about a year when Dick Giordano was hired by National Periodical Publications (now known as DC Comics). Mr. Giordano took several of Charlton's writers with him, including Denny O'Neil. Among his earliest work at DC was on the title Beware the Creeper, featuring the character The Creeper created by artist Steve Ditko. Denny O'Neil then worked on Wonder Woman, on which he made the controversial decision to strip Wonder Woman of her powers, cut her off from Paradise Island (home of the Amazons), and turn her into an international adventurer. Stripping Wonder Woman of her powers would prove very unpopular with the character's fans.

Fortunately, Mr O'Neil found more success at Justice League of America. He began introducing stories with social and political themes. Following  introduction of the character's new costume, designed by Neal Adams, Brave and the Bold no. 85 (September 1969), he also revamped The Green Arrow as a liberal, socially aware crusader on behalf of the underprivileged. He also worked on such titles as Bat Lash, Green Lantern, and Showcase.

It was in 1970 that Denny O'Neil and artist Neal Adams returned Batman to his roots as the Dark Knight following the camp approach that had come about with the classic 1966 TV show. Robin was sent off to college, so that Batman once more operated solo. He introduced archvillain Ra's al Ghul and his daughter Talia. He revived the villain Two-Face, who had been absent from comic books since 1954. After the character had become a practical joking clown, it was also Dennis O'Neil who returned The Joker to being a homicidal psychopath. It was during this period that Bruce Wayne also moved out of Wayne Manor and into the penthouse of the Wayne Foundation Building. Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams's retooling of Batman as something closer to the original Dark Knight would have a lasting impact on the character. Without Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams, there might not have been Frank Miller's graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns (which Mr. O'Neil edited), Tim Burton's two Batman movies, or "The Dark Knight Trilogy."

While Denny O'Neil's work on Batman would prove to be influential, so too would his work on Green Lantern. It was with Green Lantern vol. 2, no. 76 (April 1970) that Mr. O'Neil teamed Green Lantern up with Green Arrow, with the later character providing a liberal point of view and a voice for the underprivileged.  It would be the first American comic book to significantly deal with the social issues of the day. Through the next several issues, Green Lantern tackled such issues as racism, pollution, income inequality, and overpopulation. Perhaps the most memorable storyline occurred in Green Lantern vol. 2 no 85 (August 1971) and vol. 2 no. 86 (October 1971), in which Green Arrow discovers his former sidekick, Speedy, has become addicted to heroin. Unfortunately, sales for Green Lantern were poor and the title was cancelled with vol. 2 no. 89 (April 1972). Green Lantern would continue as a back-up feature with The Flash no. 217 (September 1972).

Although not as well remembered as his retooling of Batman, Denny O'Neil was also involved in a revamp of Superman. Kryptonite was entirely eliminated from Earth and Superman's powers were decreased. Much of Superman's mythos was also eliminated, including  the villains Mr. Mxyzptlk, Bizarro, and Titano, as well as Superman's dog Krypto. This reboot of Superman lasted only briefly. It began with Superman no. 233 (January 1971). Superman no. 243 (October) saw the return of a more traditional Superman.

Denny O'Neil continued to work on both Batman and Green Lantern for several years. From 1972 to 1975 he had a notable run on The Shadow, featuring the pulp character of the same name. He also wrote the four issues of the short-lived Justice Inc., based on the pulp character The Avenger. In the Seventies at DC, Mr. O'Neil worked on such titles as Adventure Comics, All-Star Western, The Joker, Shazam!, Superman, Sword of Sorcery, Richard Dragon Kung Fu Fighter, Tarzan, Time Warp, and Weird Worlds.

In 1980 Dennis O'Neil returned to Marvel Comics. He worked on The Amazing Spider-Man for a year. Afterwards he worked on Iron Man for four years. Among the most significant storylines he wrote for Iron Man was one in which Tony Stark must come to grips with his alcoholism. He also wrote Daredevil for two years. At Marvel he also worked on such titles as Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, the Dominic Fortune back-up feature in The Hulk, Moon Knight, and Power Man and Iron Fist.

In 1986 Dennis O'Neil returned to DC Comics as the editor of the Batman titles. He continued as their editor until 2000. He wrote The Question as well as Green Arrow. As might be expected, he continued to write Batman stories from time to time. He worked on such titles as Azrael, JLA, and Nightwing.

In addition to his work in comic books, Dennis O'Neil also wrote several novels, including The Bite of Monsters (1971) and Dragon's Fists – Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Master (with Jim Berry, 1974), as well as novels based featuring Batman and Green Lantern. Over the years he also wrote several stories and novellas published in such magazines as Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Fantastic Stories, and Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction. Dennis O'Neil also did some work in television, writing episodes of Logan's Run, Superboy, and Batman: The Animated Series.

Few writers have ever had the impact that Denny O'Neil had comic books. With Neal Adams, he returned Batman to the Dark Knight he originally was. There have very few incarnations of Batman in various media that have not been influenced by Mr. O'Neil's interpretation of Batman. The character of Ra's al Ghul, created by Mr. O'Neil, would become a permanent part of the Batman mythos. He also reintroduced Two-Face, who had been absent from comic books for over a decade. Through Green Lantern/Green Arrow he introduced social relevance into comic books, taking what had been considered a medium for children for much of the Sixties into more adult territory.  It would be Denny O'Neil who would set the stage for everything from The Dark Knight Returns to the various Batman movies.

Here I also have to say that Denny O'Neil may have had more of an influence on me than an other comic book writer save Bill Finger and Gardner Fox. The first comic book I ever read was Batman no. 234 (August 1971). Although I didn't realise it at the time, it was a historic issue. The main story, "Half an Evil," marked the first appearance of Two-Face in 17 years. A fan of the classic TV series Batman, I found the darker character written by Denny O'Neil much more appealing. I have been a fan of the Dark Knight ever since. My second favourite superhero is Green Lantern (although these days I prefer Alan Scott to Hal Jordan), and I have no doubt that much of this is because of Denny O'Neil's work with the character. If I became an avid reader of comic books (which led me to become a writer), I owe much of it to Dennis O'Neil.

The Apartment Premiered 60 Years Ago Today

It was sixty years ago today that The Apartment (1960) premiered at the Astor and Plaza theatres in New York City. The movie proved to be a hit at the box office. It also won the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director (for Billy Wilder), Best Original Screenplay (for Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond), Best Art Direction – Black-and-White (for Alexandre Trauner and Edward G. Boyle), and Best Film Editing (for Daniel Mandell). It was also nominated for the Oscars for Best Actor (for Jack Lemmon), Best Actress (for Shirley MacLaine), Best Supporting Actor (for Jack Kruschen), Best Cinematography – Black-and-White (for Jack LaShelle), and Best Sound (for Gordon E. Sawyer).

I am not sure when I first saw The Apartment, but I know I was still young at the time. It has since become not only my favourite Billy Wilder movie, but my second favourite movie of all time (after Seven Samurai). As to why it is my second favourite movie of all time, much of it is because I consider it nearly perfect. Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond's screenplay is very sophisticated, equally comedy and drama, and is filled with complex characters. Indeed, even characters that only appear briefly on screen are fully realized human beings rather than cardboard cut-outs. Of course, even the best screenplay won't save a movie if the cast's performances are bad, but fortunately everyone in The Apartment turns in bravura performances. I honestly believe Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, and Jack Kruschen all deserved to win the Oscars for which they were nominated. Everything about the movie, from Billy Wilder's direction to Jack LaShelle's cinematography to Adolph Deutsch's score, is extraordinary.

I also have to admit that the story appeals to me. It is essentially the story of C. C. Baxter in his journey from a bit of a pushover (particularly when it comes to his superiors at Consolidated Life) to a mensch. When I was younger I think I was a bit like C. C. Baxter, but with a few more limits to my behaviour (I don't think I would let anyone borrow my house) so I can identify with the character. I also have to admit that the developing relationship between Baxter and Fran Kubelik has always held great appeal to me. People can describe movies such as An Affair to Remember and Titanic as romantic all they want. To me the most romantic movie of them all is The Apartment.

Of course, as much as I love The Apartment, it hasn't always been the easiest movie for me to watch. After I went through a bad break-up in the early Nineties, I couldn't watch it for six months. Ever since Vanessa's death in August 2018, I find that I cannot watch the movie without breaking down sobbing. We both loved the movie and, I have to confess, I thought of Vanessa as my Miss Kubelik.

Over the years I have written a lot about The Apartment, perhaps more than any other film. I won't post every single blog entry I have made dealing with The Apartment as there have been many, but here are three of them for you to read on its 60th anniversary.

"Billy Wilder's The Apartment (1960)"
"Jack Lemmon in The Apartment (1960)"
"Why The Apartment (1960) is a Christmas Movie"

HBO Max and the Curation of Movies

It was earlier this week that the streaming service HBO Max pulled Gone with the Wind (1939) from their catalogue. This move proved to be controversial, with some individuals decrying it as censorship, some individuals applauding the decision, and yet others striking a stance somewhere in between. It was earlier today that HBO Max announced that it will be returning Gone with the Wind to its catalogue with an introduction from an African American scholar to place the movie in historical context.

While Gone with the Wind remains the highest grossing film of all time when adjusted for inflation, the movie has proven problematic from when it was first released. The depiction of African Americans in the film, as well as its romanticization of the antebellum South, have proven controversial for years. Many of my fellow Turner Classic Movies fans and I then support HBO Max's decision to provide an introduction to the film to place it in historical context.  In fact, like many of my fellow TCM fans, I believe that it was a mistake for HBO Max to raid TCM's content, but to provide none of the films with introductions of the sort that we see on Turner Classic Movies.

If you are a long-time reader of this blog, you know that I love the Golden Age of Hollywood. Despite this, I know how problematic films from the Golden Age can be with regards to depictions of ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation. Many films from the era portray stereotypes that would be considered offensive in the extreme today. Blackface can be seen in movies from The Jazz Singer (1927) to Holiday Inn (1942). While I love Westerns, there are some from the era I actively avoid as their depictions of Native Americans offend me as someone of Cherokee descent. And here I want to point out that offensive content with regards to ethnicity is not limited to films released during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) featured Mickey Rooney in yellowface playing a very offensive Japanese stereotype. Twenty three years later Sixteen Candles (1983) featured an Asian actor, Gedde Watanabe, playing another offensive Asian stereotype.

Given the history of Hollywood, then it should come as no surprise that Gone with the Wind is hardly the only movie with offensive content on HBO Max. When I had my free trial of HBO Max, I noticed that the service features The Searchers (1956), considered by some to be John Ford's greatest film (I am not among them). While the film does not condone the racism of the settlers in the film (particularly that of its lead character, Ethan Edwards), its portrayal of the Comanches as "savage Indians" makes the movie extremely problematic. From my standpoint, The Searchers should be provided with an introduction by a Native American scholar to place it in historical context.

Indeed, to me providing problematic movies with introductions to place them in historical context should be de rigueur for both streaming services and cable channels. It is a much better solution than the way Disney has handled Song of the South (1946), which was to simply pull it form circulation entirely. Song of the South is simply available nowhere. It never received a VHS release or a DVD release in the United States, and it has never been released on any streaming service. While I am aware that the film contains some offensive content, I think this is a mistake. Entirely removing a film from circulation is effectively erasing history. What is more, making a film with offensive stereotypes unavailable is no guarantee that similar offensive stereotypes won't continue to appear in the media. What will reduce the continuation of offensive stereotypes is education, which means providing films featuring such stereotypes (The Searchers, Song of the South) with introductions to put them in context.

While I love the Golden Age of Hollywood, I will not pretend that everything in films released during the era is pretty. At the same time, I do not want to see these films removed from circulation as they are part of our collective history. Providing films with introductions or making audio commentary available on DVDs to add historical context insures that these films can continue being seen, while at the same time educating the viewer. To quote George Santayana, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Twitter Should Allow Users to Disable Autorefresh

It was on June 1 2020 that Twitter finally shut down its old layout. For those of you who may have never used Twitter or have forgotten, on the old Twitter layout whenver one had new tweets in their feed, there was a message at the top of the feed letting you know there were "(fill in the blank) New Tweets. When one was ready, then, they could click on the message and the new tweets would load. Unfortunately, this is not the case with the new layout that was rolled in July 2019. The new layout introduced autorefresh, so that one might be reading a tweet only to have their feed suddenly refresh. Then one has to scroll down and find the tweet that they were reading.

Twitter's new layout has hardly been a roaring success (many, like myself, actively dislike it), and among the biggest complaints about the new layout has been autorefresh. To wit, a few days ago I was about to reply to a tweet when the feed suddenly refreshed. I was forced to scroll down my feed in order to find the tweet again. Sadly, looking at people's tweets, I am not the only one who objects to autorefresh. In fact, people have been complaining about it since July 2019.

Here I have to point out there are complaints from people who use the web version of Twitter (like myself), the Android version, and the iPhone version. I have read that one can access "Accessibility" under Settings, and click on "Reduce Motion" to minimise autorefresh on Twitter. Unfortunately, while it might work on the mobile apps, it appears to have no effect on the web version of Twitter.

The past few years Twitter has been all about engagement, even though in my ten plus years of using Twitter I have never noticed a lack of engagement on the social media service. What Twitter might be missing is that autorefresh (like the algorithm they seem to want to force on everyone) actually makes engagement more difficult. After all, I have to suspect that here have been plenty of times when people were about to reply to a tweet when the feed refreshed. In many cases they may have scrolled down to find the tweet again, and failing to do so, simply gave up. It then behooves Twitter to fix the autorefresh problem.

My suggestion to Twitter is simply to allow people to disable autorefresh. There could be a place in settings (perhaps under Display or Accessibility) where one could simply check a box labelled "Disable Autorefresh." Once disabled, Twitter would no longer autorefresh and would instead display the old message at the top of one's feed when there are new tweets. I know I would be very happy about that. And I know that it would make many other people happy too.

Godspeed Sweet Bassist Steve Priest

Steve Priest, the long time bassist for glam rock/power pop band Sweet, died yesterday, June 4 2020, at the age of 72. No cause of death has been given.

Steve Priest was born on February 23 1948 in Hayes, Middlesex. He was a fan of such groups as The Shadows, The Rolling Stones, and The Who. He was still a teenager when he built his own bass guitar. He played for time with The Countdowns. In the mid-Sixties he joined the band The Army. Mr. Priest was still with The Army when he formed The Sweetshop with vocalist Brian Connolly, guitarist Frank Torpey, and drummer Mick Taylor. In 1969 Frank Torpey was replaced by Mick Stewart. It after Mick Taylor left that Andy Scott took over on guitar in 1970. With the addition of Andy Scott, the classic line-up of Sweet was formed.

The Sweetshop's name would be shortened to The Sweet and it was under that name that their first album, Funny How Sweet Co-Co Can Be was released in 1971. It was that same year that The Sweet had their first hit with "Funny Funny", which went to no. 13 on the UK singles chart. Their following single "Co-Co" would perform even better, reaching no. 2 on the chart. The Sweet would have several more hits on the UK singles chart from 1972 to 1973, including "Little Willy," "Wig Wam Bam," "Blockbuster!," and "Hell Raiser." "Little Willy" would be their first in the United States, going to no. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Perhaps their best known song and their biggest hit in the United States, "The Ballroom Blitz," was released in September 1973 in Europe and in July 1975 in the United States. It went to no. 2 on the UK singles chart and no. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.

It was with their second album, Sweet Fanny Adams, that the band's name was shortened to "Sweet." Originally performing near bubblegum in their early days before shifting to a glam rock/power pop song, with Sweet Fanny Adams Sweet moved to a harder power pop sound. They would continue to have hits in the United Kingdom and the United States, including "Teenage Rampage," "Fox on the Run," and "Action." Both "Fox on the Run" and "Action" would reach the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States as well.

Unfortunately, Sweet's popularity would decline in 1976. Their single "Lies in Your Eyes" only went to no. 35 in the United Kingdom. Following singles did not chart at all. A tour of the United States in 1976 to increase their popularity there was not financially successful. Their 1977 album Off the Record failed to chart in the UK and only reached no. 151 in the United States. Their following album, Level Headed would give Sweet one last hit. "Love Is Like Oxygen" reached no. 9 on the UK singles chart and no. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In 1978 lead vocalist Brian Connolly left Sweet. The band continued as a trio, with Steve Priest assuming most of the vocals. While Steve Priest would prove to be a good vocalist, Sweet would continued to struggle. Two more albums (Cut Above the Rest, Waters Edge) failed to chart in the United Kingdom and did poorly elsewhere as well. Sweet broke up in 1981 and their final album, Identity Crisis, was released only in Mexico and Germany in 1982.

In the wake of Sweet's break up, Steve Priest formed the band Allies, but the group proved to be short-lived. In 1985 he was invited by Andy Scott to join a reformed Sweet, but Mr. Priest declined. In 1988 the classic line-up of Sweet, including Steve Priest, held a demo session in Los Angeles to possibly reform and release a new album. The project fell through when the band members could not come to an agreement.

In 1994 Steve Priest published his autobiography, Are You Ready Steve?. His album, Priest's Precious Poems, was released in 2006. Owning the rights to the name "Sweet" in the United States, in 2008 Steve Priest formed his own version of Sweet. Steve Priest's Sweet recorded a cover of The Beatles' "Ticket to Ride" for Cleopatra Records' tribute record Abbey Road, released in 2009. A live album, Live in America, was released that same year.

In his tribute to him, guitarist Andy Scott referred to Steve Priest as "...the best bass player I ever played with." Certainly, Mr. Priest was among the best bassists in rock music. Few bassists ever played with the power that Steve Priest did. He would inspire future generations of bassists. Steve Priest was also a fairly good vocalist, sharing vocals on "The Ballroom Blitz" and some other songs. He was certainly responsible for much of Sweet's success and their continued popularity.

The 16th Anniversary of A Shroud of Thoughts

If A Shroud of Thoughts was a human being, it would now be old enough to drive. It was sixteen years ago that I launched this blog. At the time I did not realize I would be writing this blog so long. In fact, I have been writing A Shroud of Thoughts longer than any job I have held outside of writing. In some ways this blog has become my life's work.

For those of you who may have forgotten or are simply too young to remember, between 2002 and 2005 blogging was something of a fad at the time. Blogs had actually been around for a while. Jorn Barger coined the term weblog in December 1997 and Peter Merholz shortened weblog to blog in the spring of 1999. It was in the years between 2002 and 2005 that the media really began to take notice of blogging. Eventually it seemed as if everyone and their brother had a blog.


Among the people who had a blog at the time was a lady friend of mine. It looked like fun so I decided to start my own blog. At the time the fashion in blog titles was to have some variation of the word thought in them. I took the phrase A Shroud of Thoughts from a line in Lord Byron's Childe Harold's Pilgrimage canto iii stanza 113 (I won't quote here, as over the years I think I have quoted it enough). If I had it all over to do again I would have settled on a name more fitting for a blog dedicated to pop culture and nostalgia. Had I known of the word retrophilia at the time (which Collins Dictionary defines as "a strong liking for things from the past"), I probably would have named it that. While I would eventually consider changing the blog's name, by that time A Shroud of Thoughts had something of a readership and I worried it would confuse people if I changed the name.

Of course, here I must point out that A Shroud of Thoughts is not the only blog that has been around for years.  Immortal Ephemera is older than this blog, going back to 2002. Inner Toob is about a month and a half older, starting in April 2004. Both The Stop Button and Laura's Miscellaneous Musings date to 2005. The Rap Sheet dates to 2006. My friend Raquel started Out of the Past in 2007.  Blogs older than a decade are hardly common, but they are not as uncommon as some people might think!  By the way, I strongly recommend that you visit all of these fine blogs (they've lasted so long for a reason).

A good deal has happened in my life the past year. It was in July that I travelled to Los Angeles to scatter the ashes of my dearest Vanessa Marquez with her mother Delia and a few friends. While there I also attended a screening of Stand and Deliver (1988).  In September, Turner Classic Movies held their TCM in Your Hometown event in St. Louis, with a special showing of Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) at the Tivoli Theatre there. I got to attend a Meet and Greet at the Moonrise Hotel where I met Margaret O'Brien herself and Ben Mankiewicz in person. I also got to meet Diana Bosch of TCM and Yacov Freedman of TCM Backlot. Of course, I also finally got to meet some of my fellow TCM fans in person, including Annette of Hometowns to Hollywood and Jeff, who is another TCMParty member. In December I was featured in TCM Backlot's Member Spotlight. Sadly, not all of my memories of the past year are happy. In March (curiously, the day before the Los Angeles District Attorney election) the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office released their report on Vanessa's death. To say that I was angered and upset by the report would be an understatement. There are many things about the report that do not make sense to me and for me it creates more questions than it offers answers. It certainly contradicts some of what I know to be true. As a freelance writer and an introvert, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has had little impact on me other than being unable to get Dr Pepper for a month. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's TCM Classic Film Festival was cancelled, but Turner Classic Movies scheduled a TCM Classic Film Festival: Special Home Edition from April 16 to April 19 2020. I enjoyed that immensely, particularly as I got to host the TCMParty for A Hard Day's Night (1964). I figure it will be as close as I will get to hosting the screening of a film at the TCM Classic Film Festival!

Anyway, each year I pick my favourite posts from the past year. Here are my favourites for this year.

"The 75th Anniversary of D-Day," June 6 2019
"The 50th Anniversary of Judy Garland's Death," June 22 2019
"The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)," July 1 2019
"The Radio Show Revival of the Seventies," July 19 2019
"Genevieve (1953)," August 3 2019
"The 50th Anniversary of Sharon Tate's Death," August 9 2019
"The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)," August 15 2019
"The Phantom of the Opera (1925)," August 24 2019
"One Year Later," August 30 2019
"The Count of Monte Cristo," September 7 2019
"The 60th Anniversary of Bonanza," September 12 2019
"ER Turns 25," September 19 2019
"Border Incident (1949)," September 22 2019
"The 60th Anniversary of Dobie Gillis,"  September 29 2019
"The 60th Anniversary of The Untouchables," October 15 2019
"Horror Hosts," October 26 2019
"The Crow (1994), Putting the Wrong Things Right," October 28 2019
"Aniki Bóbó (1942)," November 12 2019
"The 60th Anniversary of Rocky and Bullwinkle," November 19 2019
"The 70th Anniversary of Holiday Affair (1949)," December 17 2019
"The 51st Birthday of My Beloved Vanessa Marquez," December 21 2019
"A Charlie Brown Christmas," December 23 2019
"Marvel Comics Westerns Part One: The Beginning," January 8 2020
"Marvel Comics Westerns Part Two: The Fifties," January 9 2020
"Marvel Comics Westerns Part Three: Riding Off into the Sunset," January 10 2020
"The 70th Anniversary of What's My Line?," February 2 2020
"Maverick: 'Shady Deal at Sunny Acres," February 3 2010
"A Brief History of the Fantastic Comedies of the Sixties Part One," February 21 2020
"A Brief History of the Fantastic Comedies of the Sixties Part Two," February 22 2020
"A Brief History of Fantastic Comedies of the Sixties Part Three," February 23 2020
"In Defence of Vanessa Marquez," March 6 2020
"The 30th Anniversary of Twin Peaks," April 8 2020
"The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)," April 16 2020
"The Ziegfeld Follies (1946)," May 15 2020
"The 40th Anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back," May 21 2020

For the Victims of Police Violence

A photo by Gordon Parks of a protest in Harlem in 1963

 "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot un-educate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid any more." Cesar Chavez

The killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, who knelt on Mr. Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes, has brought attention to the often unjustified killings of minorities by police officers. Unfortunately, the unjustified killing of minorities by police officers is nothing new and has been going on for literally decades. What is more, it is not simply a matter of concern for the African American community. Latinos and Native Americans are also killed in disproportionate numbers when compared to white people. It is a subject with which I am all too familiar, having lost the person dearest to me to police violence.  As someone who is part Cherokee and has paid an all too high price because of police violence, I then stand with the African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans who are affected by such brutality.

What follows is a list of African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans who were the victims of police violence. There are around 100 names, but it is important to remember that the actual number of minorities killed unjustifiably by police officers is much, much greater.

Matthew Ajibade - Edgar Alvarado - Tanisha Anderson
Anthony Ashford - Julio Bald Eagle -Sandra Bland - Freddie Blue
Jamie Lee Brave Heart - Rumman Brison - Michael Brown
Robert Carillo- Paul Castaway - Philando Castille
William Chapman III - Miguel Chavez-Angles - Alexia Christian
Jamar Clark - Stephon Clark - Terence Crutcher
Anthony Jose Vega Cruz - Michelle Cusseaux - Albert Joseph Davis
Renee Davis - Rolando Delgado - Manuel De La Cruz - Manuel Diaz
Jordan Edwards - Salvado Ellswood - Andrew Esquivel
Joseph Finley Jr. - George Floyd - Ezell Ford - Peter Gaines
Eric Garner - Brendon Glenn - Vincente Gonzalez - Akai Gurley
Mya Hall - Eric Harris - Richard Herrera Jr. - Osmon Hernandez
Anthony Hill - Sherrisa Homer - Corey L. Jones - India Kager
Corey Kanosh- Victor Manuel Larosa - Chassady LeClair
Allen Locke - Andy Lopez - Guzman Lopez - Marcelo Luna
George Mann -  Joseph Mann - Vanessa Marquez
Laguan McDonald - Natasha McKenna - Lance McIntire - Carolos Mehia
Gustavo Nujera - Anthony Nunez - Paul O'Neal -
Abraham Ortiz  - Dante Parker - Jaso Pero - Nathaniel Harris Pickett
Baltazar Ramos - Michael Ramos -  Eric Reason
Jerame Reid - Danny Rendon - Tamir Rice
Tatanka Iyotanka (Sitting Bull) - Tony Robinson - Jesse Romero
Michael Sabbie - Phillip Salazar - Jacquline Salyers - Magdiel Sanchez
Nicolas Sanchez - Jonathan Sanders - Frank Smart - Walter Scott
Alvin Silversmythe - Alozno Smith -  Syville Smith - Alton Sterling
Breonna Taylor - Terrill Thomas - Willie Tillman - Mario Torres
Mary Truxillo - Loreal Tsingine - Carlos Valencia - Phillip White
Alteria Woods - Antonio Zambrano-Montes - George Zapata
Ricardo Diaz Zeferino