.
Tax preparer scores with Tarzan ads
North
Jersey Media Group ~ March 2, 2006
Thanks to Tarzan, Frankenstein and the Little Old Woman who lives in
a shoe, Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. is having a banner year. Sparked
by an aggressive marketing campaign, including TV commercials featuring
cultural icons, the Parsippany-based tax preparation company has seen its
business soar in the past quarter. The customer count increased by 19 percent,
revenues rose by 30 percent and earnings per share soared by 50 percent.
. . . Tarzan lets out his familiar screech after hearing that his returns
will be higher if a professional – not his pet ape – handles his return.
. . . consumers can expect to hear and see a lot more from Jackson Hewitt
-- as well as the Old Woman, Tarzan, Frankenstein's monster, and NASCAR
racer Greg Biffle-- in the weeks ahead. More
. . .
Connect
2 Canada Website
The US/Canada Connection:
On July 1, 2005, Ambassador Frank McKenna launched Connect2Canada.com,
a virtual network for Canadians and friends of Canada who live in the United
States. Interesting facts such as:
Canada, not Saudi Arabia, is America's largest supplier of crude oil.
Canada has put 15,000 troops through Afghanistan.
None of the 9/11 terrorists came through Canada.
Canada-US trade, at more than $1.5 billion US per day, supports over
five million jobs in the United States. More
. . .
The Ape Man Cometh ~ To Broadway
Journal
News ~ February 26, 2006
When Tarzan learned the ropes for the 1999 Disney movie, principal
animator Glen Keane had him glide across vine-covered limbs like Tony Hawk:
Tarzan the Skate Man. But when he takes to the stage at the Richard Rodgers
Theatre this spring, Tarzan will be more of a rock-climber, says Thomas
Schumacher "Everybody wears a visible harness," Schumacher says. "There
are visible ropes all over the stage, both for gorillas and for Tarzan
— and you see them literally clip in and harness up. It's part of the language
of the piece. There's no naturalism in this show, nothing is created to
look like the natural world."
Director Bob Crowley has come up with a set described as a green box
lined with vines and rope-climbing apparatus. "We've created a universe
on stage, a flexible environment in which the show is staged both on the
ground and above the ground. . . . and the characters all sing,""
. . . Phil Collins has added eight new songs — and has fleshed out a Broadway
score, his first.
There have been changes in the script, from screen to stage. The villain
Clayton, "a middle-aged big, British blowhard" in the film, gets a bit
of a makeover, Schumacher says. "In our version, he's an American and a
potential love interest of Jane's." More
. . .
Monkeying around
TarzanOnBroadway.com
Beginning March 24, New York audiences can participate in something
only people in Baltimore, Philadelphia and New Haven used to see: a genuine,
honest-to-goodness, reduced-price, work-in-progress Broadway tryout. The
fact that "Tarzan" will happen on stage at the Richard Rodgers Theatre
on West 46th Street is both risky and necessary, says Thomas Schumacher.
It's risky because it puts his cast and creative team within easy reach
of New York critics. But, says Schumacher, with the advent of Internet
message boards, there's no such thing as out-of-town anymore. The in-town
tryout is necessary because director Bob Crowley's staging involves actors
dangling from rope-climbing equipment.
"The scenic rig, which is being invented as we rehearse, was so overwhelming,"
he says. "Because you have to rehearse on it. So the idea of rehearsing,
then moving it, then moving it again back into a theater in New York. ...
I was afraid that moving would cut into the time for the actors and for
Bob's staging. So they'll monkey around with "Tarzan" in public.
"When you come in the early weeks," Schumacher says, "you'll see a show
that's in process, which is why the pricing reflects that. If you're really
curious about what we're doing, you'll come see it," he says.
Vine day in Costa Rica
Zipping through the trees with the greatest of ease
Charlotte
Observer
LA FORTUNA, Costa Rica - Here's what they don't tell you about those
Tarzan movies: Holding onto a vine while swinging from tree to tree is
really hard. A better alternative -- and booming vacation activity -- is
a zipline tour, in which people glide along cables stretched between platforms
perched high in forests. In Costa Rica, this adventure pursuit has become
especially popular over the past decade. . . . More
. . .
Lost Civilization Found
Associated Press ~ February 28, 2006
NARRAGANSETT, R.I. -- Scientists have found what they believe are traces
of the lost Indonesian civilization of Tambora, which was wiped out in
1815 by the biggest volcanic eruption in recorded history. Mount Tambora's
cataclysmic eruption on April 10, 1815, buried the inhabitants of Sumbawa
Island under searing ash, gas and rock and is blamed for an estimated 88,000
deaths. The eruption was at least four times more powerful than Mount Krakatoa's
in 1883.
Guided by ground-penetrating radar, U.S. and Indonesian researchers
recently dug in a gully where locals had found ceramics and bones. They
unearthed the remains of a thatch house, pottery, bronze and the carbonized
bones of two people, all in a layer of sediment dating to the eruption.
University of Rhode Island volcanologist Haraldur Sigurdsson, the leader
of the expedition, estimated that 10,000 people lived in the town when
the volcano erupted in a blast that dwarfed the one that buried the Roman
town of Pompeii. . . .
Submitted by R.E. Prindle
John Guidry Photos That Survived Katrina
http://guidryphotos.blogspot.com/
U.S. Stamps to Commemorate DC Superheroes:
. . . but where is Tarzan . . .!!! : (
http://www.virtualstampclub.com/2006_gallery3.html
Jeff "Elmo" Long's Podcast No. 2
Released
Dateline Jasoom from the Barsoomian Blade bureau in Chicago
February 26 edition is now available via Podcast or through:
www.PanthanPress.com
Tarzan vs vampires and "Man in Black"
on Broadway
Reuters
~ Feb 24, 2006
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tarzan, the songs of Johnny Cash and a
stage version of the movie "The Wedding Singer" are the highlights of the
coming Broadway musical season, mostly made up of slick repackaging of
books, music and movies.
 The
gorilla of the bunch is Disney's "Tarzan," adapted from the 1999
film with music by Phil Collins. Disney hopes to ape the success of "The
Lion King," the 1998 Tony award winner. The show, which opens May 10, has
been kept under wraps and much will depend its star, Josh Strickland, a
graduate of Fox's "American Idol." Producers promise a technical spectacular,
with lots of swinging from vines. "As long as Tarzan gets to sing as well
as swing, it sounds like fun," Saltzman said. "Tarzan" seems certain
to beat the other giant of the season -- "Lestat," based on Anne Rice's
best-selling "The Vampire Chronicles" with music by Elton John ~ More
. . .
Broadway Set for Record Year in 2006
BestSyndication.com
~ February 20, 2006
Just like in 2005 when it sold $825 million in tickets, experts project
that the Broadway theatre is going to set attendance and ticket sales records
in 2006. The thrill of attending any Broadway show can not be overstated.
. . .
Tarzan, another popular movie, is set to open on Broadway during
the month of March. It is the story of a boy raised in the wild by
animals; it was first a novel written by Englishman (sic) Edgar
Rice Burroughs. The popularity of Tarzan in literary or
film form. More
. . .
Launching Legos
Mars Project with Tarzana school encourages science, math learning
News
Sentinel - Fort Wayne ~ February 24, 2006
Franke Park Elementary School students are building robotic rovers
out of Legos that will land this spring on a Mars-like surface built
by students in Tarzana, Calif. With the help of their parents and
staff, 18 second- through fifth-graders started meeting after school this
month to build smaller replicas of the rovers NASA uses to explore planets
such as Mars. More
. . .
Frankenstein of the Skies
New Tarzana Aircraft Blends Elements of Helicopter, Airplane
and Blimp,
and Looks Like Cruise Ship
ABC News
~ February 21, 2006
 Look! Up in
the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's ... an Aeroscraft?
A Tarzana, Calif., company has been working on a new kind of
aircraft that looks more like a flying cruise liner than anything inhabiting
the skies today. "It's not a blimp, it's not an airship, it's a totally
new vehicle," said Edward Pevzner, business development manager for Worldwide
Aeros Corp.
"Today we have three types of vehicles -- air vehicles, which are airplanes,
helicopters and airships [blimps]. So this Aeroscraft, as we're going to
call it, is going to be the fourth type. And it is going to combine technologies
of all three other vehicles." Roughly the size of two football fields,
the Aeroscraft can be used as a military transport for troops, artillery
and equipment; as a cargo transport service in the spirit of Federal Express
or UPS; as a commuter transport service; and as a luxury travel option.
More
. . .
Spitting Image back in spotlight
BBC
News ~ February 20, 2006
A documentary celebrating Spitting Image, the satirical puppet programme
which ended in 1996, is to be shown on ITV1 later this year. Best Ever
Spitting Image will look back at the show's most memorable puppets and
sketches, which lampooned the famous using latex puppets. . . . Lord Heseltine
said in 2000 he owed a debt of honour to the show that portrayed him as
a crazed puppet of Tarzan swinging on vines. "In a sense Spitting
Image made me," the former Conservative cabinet minister said. More.
. .
New This Weekend
Another Podcast from Jeff Long's new Panthan
Press site:
www.panthanpress.com
Jungle Boogie
Winnipeg skater flies high as Jane in Disney show
Winnipeg
Sun ~ February 2006
The talented and flamboyant performers of Disney on Ice wowed
thousands of Winnipeggers last night at the MTS Centre. Parents and children
alike thrilled to the Winnipeg debut of 3 Jungle Adventure, a tribute
to The Jungle Book, The Lion King and Tarzan. Along with elaborate
costumes and classic Disney storytelling, fans enjoyed the tremendous athleticism
of the performers, which included former Winnipegger Robin Johnstone. ...
It's incorporated into the 25-minute Tarzan and Jane segment, based on
the animated version of Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic story of a
boy raised by apes. ... More
. . .
CAPTIVE GORILLAS MAY HAVE OWN CULTURES
CNN
Technology Space News ~ February 23, 2006
Behavioral surveys of the roughly 370 gorillas in U.S. zoos showed
48 variations in how individual groups of the apes make signals, use tools
and seek comfort, said Tara Stoinski of Zoo Atlanta and the Dian Fossey
Gorilla Fund International. More.
. .
Fla. Museum presents 'Tarzan' at Science
Movie Night Feb. 16
University of
Floraida News ~ February 16, 2006
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Explore the mysteries of the jungle with University
of Florida forest ecologist Jack Putz as he discuses jungle representations
in “Tarzan of the Apes,” starting at 7 p.m. Feb. 16. Following the discussion,
Florida Museum visitors are invited to view the 1918 silent film featuring
Elmo Lincoln and Enid Markey. . . . More.
. .
The Rapture of The Deep
Peter Benchley Tribute
The
Royal Gazette - Bermuda ~ February 19, 2006
He believed he owed the island a debt he could never fully repay. For
once Tucker helped him to transform his idle fancies into realities, helped
him go from a frustrated man of letters to a man of action, Benchley did
live his life according to Thoreau's maxim – deliberately, passionately,
learning everything that he could from what its essential facts had to
teach. When he died last Sunday, no one could say this man had not lived.
. . .
. . . Incorporating great thematic dollops of Lord of the Flies and
Deliverance as well as appropriating the lost race motif that was a staple
of Edgar Rice Burroughs' pulp fiction, The Island is an exercise in surf,
sand and sado-masochism. . . . More
. . .
Golf pro keeps on smiling
Palm
Beach Post ~ February 22, 2006
TEQUESTA — It's 9 a.m. on a Monday, but the practice tee at Riverbend
Country Club already is full to overflowing, with two dozen senior golfers
striking yellow range balls into the morning mist. Golf pro Jerry DeRosa
is walking up and down the line, offering a tip here, a word of encouragement
there."Nothing wrong with that one," he says to one of the women after
a good shot. "Right down the middle. I want you to repeat that 100 times."
Similar scenes probably are being repeated all over the country, but something
sets this one apart. Jerry DeRosa is 92 years old. . . .. . . DeRosa says.
"In those days, 50 cents was a lot. When I got home I would give the 50
cents to my mother. My mother would give me a nickel. I'd go to the candy
store and get jelly beans, go to the library and get a Tarzan book, come
back to the attic and read my Tarzan book.
"What a life I had." More
. . .
iTunes has approved Jeff Long's “Dateline
Jasoom” for listing in its Music Store.
iTunes users can subscribe through this link:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=120853348&s=143441
Listen to the Debut Podcast of Elmo's Dateline Barsoom
via the vast Gridley Wave Network.
Visit www.PanthanPress.com
for directions on tuning in your Gridley Wave antennae.
The show is podcast every two weeks and features a full
15 minutes of news, zaniness, music,
and interviews with ERB-world personalities -- all beamed
directly from Elmo's state-of-the-art GWN studios on Barsoom.
Dr. Phil Currie
is a longtime Burroughs fan and publisher of classic Burroughs fanzines
such as ERBivore. He is the subject of a Burroughs Biblio-Pro-Phile currently
in the works at ERBzine and is often featured in the media in news releases
such this recent story and radio profile:
T. Rex Ancestor Offers New Insight
Shows how predator eventually evolved into
king of the dinosaurs
Canadian Press by Judy Monchuk
~ February 9, 2006
 Calgary
- Foremost dinosaur expert, Phil Currie, says the discovery of a "hidden
dragon" ancestor to the mighty tyrannosaurus rex sheds new light on the
history of prehistoric creatures. The new species found in the badlands
of northwestern China lived around 160 million years ago in the Jurassic
period -- making it more than twice as old as T. rex.
Most Jurassic fossils have been
found in the Americas and this discovery helps solve the mystery of how
the tyrannosaurs came to dominate the predatory landscape, said Phil Currie,
one of the world's leading paleontologists and an expert on meat-eating
dinosaurs. "We wondered for a long time where are they coming from," said
Currie, who spent two years excavating fossils in the Gobi Desert in the
1980s near where the latest finds were discovered. "They sort of
come out of left field in a sense and just take over roughly 100 million
years ago," said Currie, Canada Research Chair in Dinosaur Paleobiology
at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. "Now we can see they were already
in Asia towards the end of the Jurassic period and that's obviously the
spawning ground for these animals."
The findings, gleaned from the skeletons
of two dinosaurs discovered in a 2002 expedition, are outlined in today's
edition of the journal Nature. The beast has been named Guanlong
wucaii, which means "crowned dragon from the five colours." The name refers
to a huge nasal crest in the centre of the creature's head and the many
colours of rocks found in the region of China where the skeletons were
found. That narrow, largely hollow head ornament was the biggest surprise
to researchers who found the dinosaur. While other dinosaurs have had similar
features, this one was unusually large and elaborate for a two-legged meat
eater. . . . Nobody knows its purpose but it was probably some kind of
display to other members of its own species. . . . The two-legged meat-eater
was far smaller than T. rex, measuring just three metres from its snout
to the tip of its tail. It had relatively long, three-fingered arms, rather
than the two-fingered stubby arms that most people associate wit the most
fearsome of predators. More
at:
Earth
& Sky Radio Series Profile
Return to the Lost World of the
Warlord
Comic
Book Bin ~ Philip Schweier ~ February 13, 2006
 We
caught up with original Warlord creator Mike Grell for his thoughts on
DC’s iminent relaunch [of The Warlord].
COMIC BOOK BIN: The Warlord draws heavily on the influence
of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard. What other ingredients went
into the creation of the Warlord mythos?
MIKE GRELL: . . . If anything, more Verne than Burroughs.
Aside from them, I also drew on other source material – “The Hollow Earth,”
“The Smokey God,” and others. . . .
. . .
CBB: I understand a portion of the original run of The Warlord
was ghost-written by your wife at the time. Certainly writing and drawing
a monthly title can be a challenge, but how did this particular arrangement
evolve?
MG: I was otherwise occupied with the Tarzan
comic strip, Starslayer and creating Jon Sable. More.
. .
The resurrection of Cathay
Movie exhibitor with proud history in region is making
its presence felt again, pens AMIR HAFIZI.
Malay
Mail ~ February 9, 2006
My father used to love movies. In the 60s, he would go
to the cinema in Kuantan and pay 40 sen for a ‘number two’ class ticket.
The most expensive ticket was RM1.40 for a ‘reserved’ seat, situated in
balcony above the ‘number one’ class. There were Westerns, private detective
noir movies and a healthy dose of Tarzan flicks.
“Every time Tarzan was in trouble, he would call for
his elephant,” he said. “As the animal ran to his rescue, people in the
cinema would all stand, clap and shout, ‘Steady, Tarzan! Steady Tarzan!
Steady Gajah! Steady Gajah!”
He also watched Ben-Hur, The Ten Commandments, Cleopatra
et cetera. More often than not, he would be sitting in one of Cathay’s
cinemas – one of the most recognisable names in Malaysia. Cathay was a
brand phenomenon once as big as Maggi, Milo or Nescafé in both Malaysia
and Singapore. More
. . .
Paramount News: Rough transition to
film for TV veteran Berman
Hollywood
Reporter ~ February 10, 2006
. . . Ever since Paramount Pictures president Gail Berman,
the former Fox Broadcasting entertainment president, arrived on the Melrose
Avenue studio lot, gossips have been predicting an end to her tenure even
though it has barely begun. . . . Berman and her team had been methodically
building a slate of pictures, which takes a long time. When Paramount producers
James Jacks and Sean Daniel made a presentation to Berman on Edgar Rice
Burroughs' "Princess of Mars," which "Elf" director Jon Favreau is developing,
Berman told the producers that she also was interested in one of their
other projects, "Ripley's Believe It or Not." She then was able to persuade
Tim Burton that the project was right for him, and hopes to make the movie
with Jim Carrey. . . . More
. . .
Six-gun gorilla: Pulp at its
best
Herald
Democrat ~ February 5, 2006
Forget the glory that was Greece and the grandeur that
was Rome. (Or is it the other way around?) The golden age of heroes (and
heroines) was the 1930s, and the place was the newsstands of America. The
Golden Age of Heroes was also the Golden Age of Pulps. . . .
Through the medium of the pulps, some of the most legendary
names in fiction first came to the public’s attention — Tarzan of the Apes,
John Carter of Mars, both by Edgar Rice Burroughs; Sam Spade and the Continental
Op by Dashiell Hammett; Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe; and The Shadow,
Zorro, Conan and Doc Savage. But there were more, so many more. More
. . .
Infertility link in Eternal Lover's
DNA ~
BBC
News ~ February 3, 2006
Oetzi, the prehistoric man frozen in a glacier for 5,300
years, could have been infertile, a new study suggests. Genetic research,
published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, also confirms
that his roots probably lie in Central Europe.
Oetzi's body was found in the melting ice of the Schnalstal
glacier in the Italian Alps in 1991. Examination of his remains has already
revealed the Copper Age man almost certainly died as a result of a fight.
The assessment is based on the presence of an arrowhead that is lodged
in his back and extensive cuts to his hands. The scientists behind the
latest genetic research now speculate that Oetzi's possible sterility could
have been a factor that led to this violent end. More.
.
Star Trek fan files for bankruptcy
Sydney Morning Herald ~ February 9, 2006
A Star Trek fan has filed for bankruptcy after spending
almost $71,000 converting his home into the Starship Voyager. Tony Alleyne,
52, wanted to convert his studio flat in Hinckley, Leicestershire, into
an exact replica of the TV spacecraft, The Sun newspaper in London reports.
The home has moulded walls, touch-panel blue lighting, a life-size model
of the shows transporter room and a command console. The former DJ also
reshaped his windows to look like portholes and set up vertical lights
so he can pretend to be beamed up, just like the shows characters Captain
James T Kirk and Spock. The Sun reports he has now filed for bankruptcy,
citing debts of $392,000, and may have to sell his Starship.
Science team finds 'lost world'
BBC News
~ February 7, 2006
An international team of scientists says it has found a "lost world"
in the Indonesian jungle that is home to dozens of new animal and plant
species. "It's as close to the Garden of Eden as you're going to find on
Earth," said Bruce Beehler, co-leader of the group. The team recorded new
butterflies, frogs, and a series of remarkable plants that included five
new palms and a giant rhododendron flower. The survey also found a honeyeater
bird that was previously unknown to science. More
. . .
TheSeen Art & Museum Events
Washington
Post ~ Wednesday February 8, 2006
The Library of Congress presents a noon lecture on Tarzan comics
in its "American Treasures" exhibition (202-707-4604).
New 'planet' bigger than Pluto
Findings bolster support for 10th planet
 CNN
~ February 1, 2006
(CNN) -- German astrophysicists have concluded a space
body located in the outer reaches of the solar system has a diameter 435
miles (700 kilometers) larger than Pluto, the smallest planet. Their research
puts more pressure on the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to classify
the object as the 10th planet in our solar system. "UB313 is decidedly
larger than Pluto," said University of Bonn Professor Frank Bertoldi, whose
team's findings will be published in Thursday's journal Nature. The object,
tentatively named 2003 UB313, is an icy body that lies beyond the planet
Neptune. More
. . .
The Smell of Moondust
NASA:
Apollo Chronicles
January 30, 2006: Moondust. "I wish I could send you
some," says Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan. Just a thimbleful scooped
fresh off the lunar surface. "It's amazing stuff." Feel it—it's soft like
snow, yet strangely abrasive. Taste it—"not half bad," according to Apollo
16 astronaut John Young. Sniff it—"it smells like spent gunpowder," says
Cernan. How do you sniff moondust? Every Apollo astronaut did it. They
couldn't touch their noses to the lunar surface. But, after every moonwalk
(or "EVA"), they would tramp the stuff back inside the lander. More
. . .
Art of Darkness
Chronogram
~ February 2006
Mary Gaitskill has lived a lot of lives. . . . Gaitskill
doesn't volunteer much about her childhood, but notes that the effusive
dedication to her parents in Two Girls, Fat and Thin was "my crude attempt
to let people know this was not about my parents." It wasn't entirely effective.
"Some idiot reporter called my dad in Kentucky and asked how he felt about
his daughter publishing a novel about father-daughter rape and incest."
She imitates her father's bellowed response, "Do you think Edgar Rice Burroughs
was raised by apes?" with affection. More
. . .
The most exciting sci-Fi novel of 1945
Emmett author looks back to the future with retro story
Boise
Weekly ~ February 1, 2006
The Star Sailors, a heartily retro novel from Gary Bennett,
retired physicist and Emmett resident. Written in a style that all but
screams John W. Campbell, Bennett's updated novel, originally published
in 1980, is a paean to science fiction's Golden Age, when paperback shelves
and magazine racks were ruled by giants like Asimov, Heinlein and Clarke.
. . . The back cover blurb alone refers to Homer, Greek mythology and Zoroastrianism;
when combined with the chapter-heading quotes (ranging from Edgar Rice
Burroughs to Ezra Pound), even the most agile reader may be overwhelmed.
More.
. .
DISNEY ON ICE PRESENTS 3 JUNGLE ADVENTURES
WITH DISNEY'S THE JUNGLE BOOK, TARZAN(TM) AND THE LION KING
CNW
Group
HAMILTON, ON, Feb. 1 /CNW/ - This March Break in Hamilton,
Disney On Iceis bringing together memorable jungle characters from three
of Disney's mostpopular animated hits - Disney's The Jungle Book, Tarzan(TM)
and The LionKing. . . . This high-energy, gravity-defying ice spectacular
captivates adventurersof all ages. The show features Academy Award(R)-winning
music and a JungleBook score set to a hip new swing beat. Experience the
amusing adventures ofMowgli, Baloo and Colonel Hathi's hilarious marching
pachyderms in The JungleBook; the comical antics of Tarzan, Terk and Jane
as they explore and learnabout their two worlds; and the hair-raising,
heart-lifting escapades ofSimba, Timon and Pumbaa from The Lion King. .
. . High-resolution digital art is available online at www.feldentertainment.com/hrp.
To access the site, the User Name is feldmedia.The Password is photos.
The production name is 3 Jungle Adventures: 2005-2006.
How was your day, Bolgani?
Don Martin's National Gorilla Suit Day on January 31
National Gorilla Suit Day, which mysteriously falls on January 31 of
each year, is perhaps the important holiday of the year. Every National
Gorilla Suit Day, people of all shapes and colors around the world get
their gorilla suits out of the closet, put them on and go door-to-door.
That's really all there is to it. You don't have to buy gifts.
You don't have to fast, although some Orthodox Gorilla Suiters do.
If you want to have a parade, fine. Just make sure all the marchers
are wearing gorilla suits and that all the balloons are giant, inflatable
gorillas. National Gorilla Suit Day was invented by "Mad's Maddest Artist"
(i.e., the weirdest of all the cartoonists in Mad Magazine), Don Martin...and
maybe also by E. Solomon Rosenblum, a writer who collaborated with him
on the 1964 paperback book, Don Martin Bounces Back! The book was
reissued several times and was among the best-selling of the Mad paperback
series.
Paint the Town Blues
Sydney
Morning Herald, Australia ~ February 1, 2006
Within the confines of a city that gave us Ernest Hemingway, Tarzan
creator Edgar Rice Burroughs and his screen portrayer Johnny Weissmuller,
Walt Disney, Playboy, Benny Goodman, Herbie Hancock, Bad, Bad Leroy Brown
and the Smashing Pumpkins, you can learn to sing a cappella, read scripts,
master baroque, appraise art, cultivate palms and gaze upon the solar system.
More.
. .
'I've always had a sense of the unworthiness
of myself'
The
Observer-Guardian UK ~ January 29, 2006
Born into Hollywood royalty, Mia Farrow was struck by polio as a child.
She shone in several classic film roles but suffered a string of personal
tragedies and failed marriages off screen. Now back at work at 61, as the
last of her 14 children grows up, she considers herself 'very fortunate'.
. . . Her mother, the Irish actress Maureen O'Sullivan, became famous as
Jane in the first six Tarzan films (she is also the heroine of one of my
favourite horror movies, Tod Browning's The Devil-Doll). Farrow's father
was the writer and film director John Farrow. The night her parents met,
O'Sullivan was on a date with Oscar Levant, and Farrow was escorting Dolores
del Rio. . . . She pulls out a DVD of Fanny and Alexander, goes misty-eyed
over Gone With The Wind and Rashomon, and briefly interrupts Ronan's enthusiasm
for Bunuel's Exterminating Angel by pointing to an improbably beautiful
woman in a skimpy green loincloth on the cover of a boxed set of Tarzan
movies. 'That's Grandma!' she says, as she casually flings the films across
the table towards him. More
. . .
Famed Decatur author celebrated in event
here
Decatur
Daily Democrat, Indiana ~ January 31, 2006
Frederick Shroyer, deceased more than 22 years, came back Monday evening
in spirit, via video, and in personal recollections. . . .Christophiades
said her father was a friend to many writers in California, such as famed
science fiction stylist Ray Bradbury, “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry,
Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, and Edgar Rice Burroughs (who created
Tarzan and other characters). More.
. .
The Palestinian Culture of Death
Israpundit
by Bill Levinson
. . . .The Palestine Solidarity Movement, however, has nothing to say
about a culture that one would think exists only in science fiction and
fantasy worlds. We have Sheckley's dystopia in which people seek violent
death as a path to the god Thangookari, and then there was Logan's Run
in which everyone was killed on their thirtieth birthdays. Edgar Rice
Burroughs created a society whose members advanced in station by committing
murder; successful killers earned yellow robes, then red ones, and finally
blue ones. And now we have Palestinians. More
. . .
DATELINE JASOOM PODCAST
 From
the Chicago bureau of The Barsoomian Blade, "Dateline Jasoom"
is a podcast for fans of Edgar Rice Burroughs, pulp adventure, and science
fiction.
Each 15-minute show is a production of Panthan Press, delivered to you
every two weeks packed with news and commentary about ERB's books and the
projects they spawn. There's also a good dose of basic lunacy. Elmo is
your host, with guests and a few surprises.
If you love Tarzan, John Carter, David Innes and their haunts across
Opar, Barsoom, Pellucidar, and all the other worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs,
get out your MP3 player of choice (including your computer) and see what
this podcasting business is all about.
We prefer that you subscribe (it's free) to the podcast feed, using
a program such as iTunes to get the show delivered to you. Having said
that, we're still working out some technical kinks that will allow us to
get listed in the iTunes Music Store and on other podcast sites. But once
we do, it'll be easier that way for us to track how many people are listening
and whether the show is worth continuing.
Listen to the promo for the DATELINE
JASOOM podcast at:
http://www.panthanpress.com/jasoom_promo_2006_01_26.mp3
Follow the original Barsoomian Blade archives as they are released
weekly in ERBzine.
The first two releases are:
The Labors of Lakor
The Brain of Lakor
Edgar Rice Burroughs' Influence on the
Wilderness Series
Excerpts from PulpRack.com
~ By Duane Spurlock ~ January 28, 2006
 "In
'The Wilderness Series Launch,' a brief review of the first six novels
in the Wilderness series by David Thompson (aka David Robbins) elsewhere
on The Pulp Rack, I mentioned that I think Robbins learned a few tricks
from Edgar Rice Burroughs on how to end a chapter with a cliffhanger. This
time around, let's take a look at some other points Robbins picked up from
Burroughs. . . . Burroughs' books sometimes offered scathing social comment
disguised as adventure fiction. . . . Burroughs pokes at political systems,
religious hierarchies, and similar cultural and social infrastructures.
. . . Burroughs had his character(s) continually encounter new societies
(usually in the form of a lost race or city for each volume) whose unfamiliarity
to his hero creates new dilemmas. . . . Burroughs' heroes sometimes must
battle monsters. . . . In the first dozen Wilderness novels, Robbins does
a good job of keeping things new and interesting for his characters and
his readers. Clearly he's learned his writer's lessons well. More
. . .
Read the entire article at PulpRack.com
Updated version at:
http://pulprack.com/arch/2006/01/edgar_rice_burr_1.html
Owners still 'numb' from Galesburg fire
Family lost items worth $500,000 to $750,000
Peoria
Journal Star ~ January 26, 2006
GALESBURG - The owners of the former O.T. Johnson and Gross Galesburg
buildings are still in shock over the fire that destroyed the buildings
Monday. . . . Her husband lost his extensive collection of science fiction
and fantasy books and other first editions, including the Hardy Boys and
Tarzan series. All of his family's genealogy information and his coin collection
also were stored in the building. Her son had a collection of Star Wars
memorabilia that filled an entire room on the second floor. Their children
had items stored they did not have room for in their homes. She also had
started a personal collection of O.T. Johnson items.
The Africans — true or false?
NationMedia.com
Kenya ~ January 27, 2006
An award-winning movie set in Kenya kicks off a storm amidst accusations
of stereotypical presentation of Africans and their continent in a permanent
state of poverty, conflict and corruption. Film critic JOHN KARIUKI takes
a shot at a subject that should have run to seed ages ago. . . .
The Constant Gardener, shot in the Kibera slum in Nairobi in 2004, making
it one of the major award contenders this year. What Kenya has to show
for it is another story altogether. . . . As a genre, Tarzan movies
were probably there to portray African characters the way whites saw them:
living in the jungle and happy in the company of primates. What is shocking
is that the movie industry has refused to move away from this typecast,
even when that it has become increasingly unidentifiable in every day life.
. . .
Tarzan show ends at Animal Kingdom
Tarzan rocks no more at Disney's Animal Kingdom.
Orlando
Sentinel ~ Scott Powers ~ January 24, 2006
 On Saturday
Walt Disney World brought down the curtain on the live Tarzan Rocks! show
that has run since 1999, the park's second year. Disney officials said
they closed the show to renovate and enclose the 1,450-seat Theater in
the Wild to better shield against Central Florida weather. However, the
show is not returning. Disney plans to reopen the theater with a new, yet
to be announced, show after the renovations are done late this year.
Most of the 87 cast and crew members who put on the four-act Tarzan
show have been reassigned to other shows at Disney, though just more than
30 have not, said Disney spokeswoman Lissette Campos. She said many of
those who were not reassigned probably left after seeking theater work
elsewhere, since they have known since last summer that the show was closing.
Word of its closure has fueled debate among Disney fans. Widely varying
views have appeared on fan Internet discussion sites such as Intercot.com,
ranging from one fan who called it "one of the worst Disney shows I have
ever seen" to one who praised the acrobatic work, in-line skaters and live
band and called the show "wonderful."
Copyright © 2006
PETA says Coliseum must end circuses
The
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette ~ By Dan Stockman ~ January 24, 2006
 People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals is asking Memorial Coliseum to make this
year’s Shrine Circus its last at the arena. The animal-rights group cited
the accident after last year’s circus when an elephant handler was trampled
by two Asian elephants he was loading into a trailer. The death was ruled
accidental and the coroner said the elephants did not mean to hurt Pierre
A. Spenle, who worked for the Tarzan Zerbini International Three Ring Circus.
PETA has cited the Fort Wayne trampling in its protests of circuses
across the country; the group contends circus animals “are trained through
pain and fear.” “Wherever there’s a circus with animals, you’ll find bullhooks,
whips, electric prods, and other implements of torture,” PETA’s Lisa Wathne
said in a written statement. “It’s usually just a matter of time before
these frustrated and deprived animals lash out. The Shrine needs to get
out of the circus business.”
Steve Johnson, executive director of the Shrine circus in Fort Wayne,
said Mizpah Shrine officials are certain that Tarzan Zerbini has all the
appropriate safety measures in place and treats its animals humanely. This
year’s Shrine Circus begins Thursday.
|
The book is
peopled by a mix of real and fictional characters — notably, the one-time
publisher of this newspaper, Lorrin Thurston, who is murdered in a particularly
gruesome manner in Chapter One, and the late Hawai'i governor John A. Burns,
cast as a collaborationist captain in the Kempeitai (but has he really
sold Hawai'i out?).
. . . Circus
producer Tarzan Zerbini has been involved with the local Shrine Circus
event for 40 years, first as a performer and now as producer of the circus
that carries his name, Johnson said. As is tradition, the Tarzan Zerbini
Circus is a family affair. Tarzan Zerbini plans and presents the performances,
Johnson said. “Each year, he has a theme, and this year it is acrobatics,
agility and strength moves,” he said. Zerbini’s daughter Patricia stars
in the elephant act, assisted by her son, Tony. Zerbini’s son, Chris, coordinates
lighting for the shows. Another daughter, Erika, leads the herd in one
of the horse acts. . . .
Debuting in
"Action Comics #1" in June of 1938, Superman was the brainchild of Toronto-born
newspaper boy Joe Shuster and pulp fiction enthusiast Jerry Siegel. The
two met in high school and together they periodically published "Science
Fiction," a fanzine that featured the first incarnation of the Man of Steel
in a story known as "The Reign of the Superman."
