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.
I’m having a little trouble verifying that this comic cover is actually real. But I believe it is, and I believe it was published in the early 1950’s. I have no information about the artist.
[Update: Blog Correspondent Pete Harrison informed me immediately after I posted this that the “cover” indeed appears to be a fake. The GCD (Grand Comics Database) contains no record of this title, and it looks like a gag constructed by the “Atomic Romance” website. (I was confused because I had actually seen it at several other websites too.)]
NBC’s “Knight Rider” might be the granddaddy of all 1980’s high-tech super-vehicle shows — if I had to guess which one was the most popular or most fondly remembered, this would be it. (I suppose the other leading contender would be “Airwolf,” which we talked about a couple of months ago — but that was aimed at an older audience.)
“Knight Rider” was cheesy. But most 80’s action shows were cheesy, and I still remember it as being decent enough. Lord knows I and Mikey Wagner, the kid on the next block, were fascinated by it.
As anyone who remembers this show can attest, there is a key character that isn’t even hinted at in the intro below. The car was sentient. His name was K.I.T.T. (Knight Industries Two Thousand), and he was an artificial intelligence who actually who had a hell of a lot of personality. K.I.T.T. was a super-intelligent, talking, futuristic, sleek, black sportscar, and he was an incongruous damned hero to us kids.
The other star was Davis Hasselhoff as Michael Knight. We looked up to him too. Hasselhoff, of course, is now better known for his subsequent starring role as a moronic lifeguard on the categorically awful “Baywatch” (1989 – 2001). I remember seeing snippets of “Baywatch” in the 1990’s — it was constantly playing in the newsroom at my first job as a cub reporter. (The guys there loved it.) I remember being disappointed that one of my childhood heroes had somehow morphed into a male bimbo on the most saccharine and brainless TV show I had ever seen. Hey, “Knight Rider” was a show for kids … but it was goddam “Masterpiece Theater” when compared with “Baywatch.”
Weird trivia — the voice actor for K.I.T.T. was none other than William Daniels, who also gave a stellar performance as John Adams in 1972’s film adaptation of Broadway’s “1776.” It’s so weird seeing that movie and hearing the voice of K.I.T.T. come out of Adams’ mouth.
Guys, if you have a moment, I really recommend that you stop by the Jenny S. Poetry channel on Youtube and listen to her reading of her short poem, “Happy Smiley People.” As you may know from reading this blog, the channel is where Jenny reads the work submitted to her by indie poets — in addition to some of her own work.
“Happy Smiley People” is a stark, superb piece. As I told Jenny, it’s brutally honest and bluntly perfect. And it’s got a great closing line.
The chief beauty about time
is that you cannot waste it in advance.
The next year, the next day, the next hour are lying ready for you,
as perfect, as unspoiled,
as if you had never wasted or misapplied
a single moment in all your life.
You can turn over a new leaf every hour
if you choose.”
These are the last photos of 2017, I suppose. It’s nice that they are of such a beautiful place — despite those cold, foreboding gravestone-colored skies this past weekend.
Virginians are a hardy and gracious lot. And the people of Botetourt define hospitable. My friends there showed me terrific time when we celebrated the holidays.
And check out the second-to-last shot below. Those are the world famous Llamas of Botetourt County.
Happy New Year, everyone! I hope that 2018 brings health and happiness to you and all who you love.
Regarding the song — the various interpretations of its lyrics make for some pretty interesting reading. They range from an allegory to the Book of Revelations to the story of a man contemplating suicide after the death of his lover. My own favorite is that it is a description of Russia’s Eastern Front during World War II, told from the point of view of a soldier in the Red Army. (As strange as that sounds, it appears remarkably well supported in the song’s lyrics. Google it.) I’ve read that the boy on its cover is actually a Russian guerrilla in a Soviet propaganda film.
A buddy of mine made the cake on the right for a Christmas party. (At left was his Pinterest inspiration; it was supposed to be a tie-dyed yule log cake.) He is actually a truly superb cook and baker, but here he finally created something that I can embarrass him with.
I opined that it looked like a rainbow submarine melted by nuclear radiation; others drew more … lewd comparisons. Today I think it most resembles John Carpenter’s “The Thing” after devouring and assimilating the Smurf Village. (And how’s that for a double 80’s reference?)
Look … I’m the first one to admit that I myself can’t find my way around a kitchen. Just now, as I am writing this, I almost put “Sweet Onion (Sea Salt Blend)” on my sausage and eggs, because at first I thought it was regular salt.
Eric Robert Nolan, Author 