CONGRATS
A tip of the baseball cap to former Plant High alum Wade Boggs, who this week was elected to baseballs hall of fame in his first year of eligibility. Joining Boggs will be Chicago Cub second baseman Ryne Sandberg. Keep your fingers crossed that Ron Santo is elected when the veteran's committee announces their choice on March 2.
25 MORE
As 2004 ended, the National Film Registry added 25 more films to the Library of Congress, bringing the total number of films chosen for preservation to 400. Among the films chosen:
Ben Hur (1959), Duck and Cover (1951), Enter the Dragon (1973), Eraserhead (1978), Jailhouse Rock (1957), The Nutty Professor (1963), Schindler's List (1993) and Unforgiven (1992)
PASSING ON
This week we lost two great influences on pop culture:
Will Eisner, who revolutionized the comic genre with his strip "The Spirit" and ensured that generations of soldiers knew who to keep up their equipment with the "Joe Dope" series, died earlier in the week at the age of 87. Eisner began drawing comics in the 1930s and was the first to feature silent panels that would emphasize the characters emotions.
Kelly Freas, an artist whose work as an illustrator provided the images for science fiction and fantasy books also passed this week. He was 82. Mr. Freas most enduring work is "Mad" magazine mascot Alfred E. Neuman, which he helped create.
Well, that's all for now. Major ice storm here in the Midwest has kept me working overtime. Have a great week. See ya!
"Mike's Rant" is ©2004 by Michael A. Smith. Webpage design and all graphics herein are creations of Nolan B. Canova. All contents of Nolan's Pop Culture Review are ©2004 by Nolan B. Canova.