There’s a darkness spreading over the United States of America. Because of our leading (albeit greatly diminished since January) position in the world, what happens here affects all mankind. This is a terrifying time for all the people of Earth.
On a daily basis, I deal with this darkness by reminding myself of the good things in my life. I post these nuggets of niceness on my Facebook page and on Twitter. Then, at the start of each new month, I gather the previous month’s nuggets for the bloggy thing.
Here are the things that made me happy in November...
November 1: I had a nice Halloween dinner with Barb, Eddie, Kelly and neighbors Giselle and Greg.
November 2: Hartley Sawyer as Ralph Dibny on The Flash. A cool new take on a classic character.
November 3: The return of Tricia Helfer to Lucifer. So wonderfully written and performed.
November 4: Trevor von Eeden and Jack C. Harris! What an emotional and wondrous reunion at the Akron Comicon!
November 5: Receiving Akron Comicon Lifetime Achievement Awards with Trevor von Eeden and Jack C. Harris.
November 6: Seeing my old friend Leroy Crayton for the first time in way too long.
November 7: Hanging out with Tom DeFalco, Ron Frenz, Craig Russell and so many other friends at the Akron Comicon.
November 8: Thor: Ragnarok. A rather dark movie that, nevertheless, was also thrillingly heroic and surprisingly humorous.
November 9: Thor: Ragnarok. Seeing my pal Larry Lieber’s name with Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Well-deserved.
November 10: The Extra chewing gum commercials showing the romance of a couple from their first meeting to the marriage proposal. In each commercial, the guy draws a cartoon on the back of a wrapper. See the whole thing here.
November 11: Cleveland Radio Tales by Mike and Janice Olszewski. My friends have written another fascinating and fun book about my home town media.
November 12: The box of Japanese goodies I received from a friend who lives there. I’ve been listening to the Tribute to Godzilla and Ultraman Jazz CDs as I work.
November 13: Overwhelmingly favorable reviews for Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands #1. Especially gratified when a reviewer clearly “gets” what I’m doing.
November 14: GQ names Colin Kaepernick a “Citizen of the Year,” one of four. When the courageous blackballed quarterback took a knee to protect police violence, he raised us all.
November 15: This week’s episode of Lucifer. “Off the Record” was a clever, satisfying done-in-one episode written by Chris Rafferty and Mike Costa from a story by Jen Graham Imada. Great performances by all the cast members and guest stars.
November 16: Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands editor and associate editor Jim Chadwick and Harvey Richards. They give me great notes, catch mistakes and help me write the best stories I can. I’d work with them again anytime and anywhere.
November 17: Celebrating Black Lightning getting its premiere date in downtown Cleveland. I stayed at the Hyatt Regency at The Arcade, one of the most beautiful buildings in the city.
November 18: Lola. Chef Michael Symon’s restaurant on Cleveland’s East 4th is amazing. I loved my Bacon Wrapped Sturgeon and my “Lola S’more” (dark chocolate ganache, bourbon marshmallow, smoked honey, graham cracker ice cream).
November 19: In the Young Sheldon episode “A Therapist, a Comic Book, and a Breakfast Sausage,” in a comic-shop scene, the original logo of Black Lightning was prominently displayed. I’ll try to get a screen grab to share with you.
November 20: TV commercials that tell a heartwarming little story. Like the Macy’s ad in which a young boy communicates via Morse code with the daughter of a lighthouse keeper. I like good storytelling no matter what form it takes.
November 21: Marvel’s The Punisher on Netflix got off to a pretty good start. I’ve watched the first episode and am looking forward to the remainder.
November 22: The hilarious and sometimes inspiring “odd couple” pairing of Tricia Helfer and Aimee Garcia on Lucifer. The writers and actors on this show are on fire...and not in a being tormented in Hell kind of way.
November 23: Coming across an old ad for Jack Kirby’s Superworld of Everything. Had DC gone for the project, it would have had my first professional sale in the comics industry.
November 24: The UK’s Commando. The weekly digest comics magazine features well-written, done-in-one war stories from many different conflicts. I plan to keep renewing my subscription.
November 25: Reading Back Issue and other TwoMorrows magazines that have been stacking up unread for too long. Love all of the titles from that great publisher.
November 26: My Elizabeth Warren action figure. She joins Bernie, Hilary and two different figures of President Barack Obama, who is, of course, the best president of my lifetime.
November 27: Tina Fe. That’s my name for our new-to-us 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe SUV. She’s dependable, gorgeous and sassy. I can’t wait to take her to conventions next year.
November 28: Those unexpected health benefits of having a nice car. I park further away from store entrances, so I’m logging more steps on my Fitbit.
November 29: Managing my schedule. I’m still not as together as I’d like, but I’m getting there. Very excited to be working with some new conventions and people.
November 30: Doctor Anthony Finizia and the staff at MetroHealth’s Brunswick Health Center. They know there stuff, they care about the patients and they give the patients the time they need.
I hope you found things that made you happy last month...and that you’ll find more things that make you happy this month. I will be back tomorrow with more stuff.
© 2017 Tony Isabella
On a daily basis, I deal with this darkness by reminding myself of the good things in my life. I post these nuggets of niceness on my Facebook page and on Twitter. Then, at the start of each new month, I gather the previous month’s nuggets for the bloggy thing.
Here are the things that made me happy in November...
November 1: I had a nice Halloween dinner with Barb, Eddie, Kelly and neighbors Giselle and Greg.
November 2: Hartley Sawyer as Ralph Dibny on The Flash. A cool new take on a classic character.
November 3: The return of Tricia Helfer to Lucifer. So wonderfully written and performed.
November 4: Trevor von Eeden and Jack C. Harris! What an emotional and wondrous reunion at the Akron Comicon!
November 5: Receiving Akron Comicon Lifetime Achievement Awards with Trevor von Eeden and Jack C. Harris.
November 6: Seeing my old friend Leroy Crayton for the first time in way too long.
November 7: Hanging out with Tom DeFalco, Ron Frenz, Craig Russell and so many other friends at the Akron Comicon.
November 8: Thor: Ragnarok. A rather dark movie that, nevertheless, was also thrillingly heroic and surprisingly humorous.
November 9: Thor: Ragnarok. Seeing my pal Larry Lieber’s name with Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Well-deserved.
November 10: The Extra chewing gum commercials showing the romance of a couple from their first meeting to the marriage proposal. In each commercial, the guy draws a cartoon on the back of a wrapper. See the whole thing here.
November 11: Cleveland Radio Tales by Mike and Janice Olszewski. My friends have written another fascinating and fun book about my home town media.
November 12: The box of Japanese goodies I received from a friend who lives there. I’ve been listening to the Tribute to Godzilla and Ultraman Jazz CDs as I work.
November 13: Overwhelmingly favorable reviews for Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands #1. Especially gratified when a reviewer clearly “gets” what I’m doing.
November 14: GQ names Colin Kaepernick a “Citizen of the Year,” one of four. When the courageous blackballed quarterback took a knee to protect police violence, he raised us all.
November 15: This week’s episode of Lucifer. “Off the Record” was a clever, satisfying done-in-one episode written by Chris Rafferty and Mike Costa from a story by Jen Graham Imada. Great performances by all the cast members and guest stars.
November 16: Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands editor and associate editor Jim Chadwick and Harvey Richards. They give me great notes, catch mistakes and help me write the best stories I can. I’d work with them again anytime and anywhere.
November 17: Celebrating Black Lightning getting its premiere date in downtown Cleveland. I stayed at the Hyatt Regency at The Arcade, one of the most beautiful buildings in the city.
November 18: Lola. Chef Michael Symon’s restaurant on Cleveland’s East 4th is amazing. I loved my Bacon Wrapped Sturgeon and my “Lola S’more” (dark chocolate ganache, bourbon marshmallow, smoked honey, graham cracker ice cream).
November 19: In the Young Sheldon episode “A Therapist, a Comic Book, and a Breakfast Sausage,” in a comic-shop scene, the original logo of Black Lightning was prominently displayed. I’ll try to get a screen grab to share with you.
November 20: TV commercials that tell a heartwarming little story. Like the Macy’s ad in which a young boy communicates via Morse code with the daughter of a lighthouse keeper. I like good storytelling no matter what form it takes.
November 21: Marvel’s The Punisher on Netflix got off to a pretty good start. I’ve watched the first episode and am looking forward to the remainder.
November 22: The hilarious and sometimes inspiring “odd couple” pairing of Tricia Helfer and Aimee Garcia on Lucifer. The writers and actors on this show are on fire...and not in a being tormented in Hell kind of way.
November 23: Coming across an old ad for Jack Kirby’s Superworld of Everything. Had DC gone for the project, it would have had my first professional sale in the comics industry.
November 24: The UK’s Commando. The weekly digest comics magazine features well-written, done-in-one war stories from many different conflicts. I plan to keep renewing my subscription.
November 25: Reading Back Issue and other TwoMorrows magazines that have been stacking up unread for too long. Love all of the titles from that great publisher.
November 26: My Elizabeth Warren action figure. She joins Bernie, Hilary and two different figures of President Barack Obama, who is, of course, the best president of my lifetime.
November 27: Tina Fe. That’s my name for our new-to-us 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe SUV. She’s dependable, gorgeous and sassy. I can’t wait to take her to conventions next year.
November 28: Those unexpected health benefits of having a nice car. I park further away from store entrances, so I’m logging more steps on my Fitbit.
November 29: Managing my schedule. I’m still not as together as I’d like, but I’m getting there. Very excited to be working with some new conventions and people.
November 30: Doctor Anthony Finizia and the staff at MetroHealth’s Brunswick Health Center. They know there stuff, they care about the patients and they give the patients the time they need.
I hope you found things that made you happy last month...and that you’ll find more things that make you happy this month. I will be back tomorrow with more stuff.
© 2017 Tony Isabella
This is a warm-hearted blog entry. I agree that President Obama was best president in my lifetime, followed closeby John F. Kennedy.
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