All posts by Eric Robert Nolan

Eric Robert Nolan graduated from Mary Washington College in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. He spent several years a news reporter and editorial writer for the Culpeper Star Exponent in Culpeper, Virginia. His work has also appeared on the front pages of numerous newspapers in Virginia, including The Free Lance – Star and The Daily Progress. Eric entered the field of philanthropy in 1996, as a grant writer for nonprofit healthcare organizations. Eric’s poetry has been featured by Dead Beats Literary Blog, Dagda Publishing, The International War Veterans’ Poetry Archive, and elsewhere. His poetry will also be published by Illumen Magazine in its Spring 2014 issue.

Throwback Thursday: “Ca-Ca-Catch the Wave!”

Here they are — all the Max Headroom ads for Coca-Cola.  (I am linking here to the awesome Zona C Youtube channel.)  When I mentioned the iconic corporate spokesman here on Monday, I had no idea he’d appeared in so many Coke commercials.

Matt Frewer’s stuttering alter-ego really was everywhere in the 1980’s.  (There’s a terrific rundown of his digital reign right here over at Pop History Dig.)  And, for my money, the infamous pirate broadcast incident in Chicago is actually a little creepy when viewed in its entirety, in an accidental, V/H/S kind of way.  (I actually remember seeing coverage of it on the nightly news back in the day — someone hacking into a television broadcast was a big deal.)

Frewer himself remains a sublimely talented guy.  He’s now 65, and his filmography is truly gigantic.  He’s an always enjoyable “that-guy” actor who pops up in all sorts of horror and sci-fi properties.  (You can probably tell a lot about your personality and viewing habits by where you’ve seen him last.)  My favorite role of his might his turn as a doomed nice-guy in the 2004 remake of “Dawn of the Dead,” simply because I love that movie so much.



“Disillusion,” Edouard Hamman, 1851

Oil on canvas.

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“Sunrise with Sea Monsters,” J. M. W. Turner, 1845

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Graffiti in Roanoke, Virginia, April 2023

I love this town — even the graffiti is polite and upbeat.  I may never leave.

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Right Now

Reblog: “Right Now,” by Catherine O’Brien at Eunoia Review

perfectsublimemasters's avatarEunoia Review

Right now, an octopus is staring at an abandoned snorkel off the coast of Mozambique. Right now, precedented times are waiting in the wings to make a comeback. Right now, the stars can be forgiven for thinking they’re living in a van Gogh painting. Right now, a woman you used to know is crying in an apartment full of bandaged books. Right now, an astronaut is spinning above his own patch of planet blackness. Right now, calumny is on trend. Right now, grapes ripen on a vine that longs to be juicy and playful. Right now, there are conversations agreeing that hereafter they will be enrobed in silence. Right now, someone somewhere is trying to read another without due respect for the story within the story. Right now, the mass manufacture of excuses threatens to flood the market. Right now, ruddiness in a newborn’s cheeks is such sweet relief.

Catherine O’Brien

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Poster for “Max Headroom: 20 Minutes Into the Future” (1987)

Alright, 80’s pop culture historians, the chronology for the various “Max Headroom” movie and television shows can be a little confusing.  I think I’ve got it down …

The original “Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future” was a 1985 TV movie for Britain’s Channel 4; it was two years later that ABC made it the pilot for an American show that would last for two seasons.  (A sanitized version of the British movie served as the pilot for the series.)

There were also a couple of versions of a “Max Headroom Show” that ran in either Britain or the United States more or less concurrently.  But these simply had the eponymous digital personality hosting … a talk show?  With music videos?  And, at any rate, a  lot of people remember Matt Frewer’s iconic character only from his famous Coca-Cola commercial.

mh

It’s okay. Jesus forgives *ALL* my bad puns.

Easter — the holy day on which pun lovers everywhere tell the risen Jesus that it’s nice tomb meet him.


Update — someone on Facebook just told me to “Savior the moment!”



“A Happy Easter To You.” Circa 1910

Happy Easter, all!

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“The Southern Diner Short Poem,” by Eric Robert Nolan

How about some mozzarella
for this 50-year-old fella?

Gimme just enough eggs and cheese
to stop my frikkin’ arteries, please.

Share your cheer and take my money.
No, I don’t mind if you call me “Honey.”



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Photo credit: Sarah Stierch (CC BY 4.0)