Lenny Robinson...A Real Superhero

You may have never heard of Lenny Robinson before. I didn't know his name, but I had heard of what he used to do (you can learn more about him from his website: HERE).

Simply put, he was a hero, a real hero.

And, unfortunately, his story doesn't end with him beating the bad guy and getting the girl. I guess that's one difference between fiction and real life.

Lenny lived in Baltimore and since 2001 he dressed up as Batman and visited sick kids. He was a successful businessman and spent, according to a story from 2012, about $25,000 a year of his own money for others.

On Sunday, August 16 of this year Lenny was driving his Batmobile (a black Lamborghini) when it broke down. As he stood next to his car he was stuck and killed by another driver. He was 51-years old.

Next week tens of thousands of people will gather in Salt Lake City for the 3rd Annual Salt Lake Comic Con, and thousands of others will attend similar cons all over the world. Many of those people will dress up. They dress up for different reasons, for attention, to express themselves, and mostly--hopefully--to have fun. 

But there are some out there who dress up for a better reason, some who take what they've been given and make life a little better for those around them. I'll be at the Salt Lake's Comic Con and I'm sure I'll see many Batmen.

I wish Lenny was one of them.

Salt Lake Comic Con '15...Panel #2: Cutting The Cord

The Con happens next week, and for those interested, I'm going through and highlighting about four panels. There's going to be some great panelists on these panels. Oh, and I'm going to be there, too.

This is the second panel with which I am involved. The official title of the panel is:

Cord Cutting: Is It Right For You?

At first I had no idea what "Cord Cutting" meant, so I read the panel description:

With options like Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO Now, Sling and Playstation Vue, it's becoming increasingly easy to cancel your cable or satellite, but is cord cutting right for you?

I like it for several reasons. First, it's timely, it's a new panel topic (at least, I haven't heard of this topic being covered before at SLCC...) and it's something in which I have a little experience.

Back in the mid-nineties I worked for the country's largest cable company, TCI Cablevision. Remember them? And I worked in customer service. Doing customer service work is tough to begin with. Throw in helping out frustrated cable subscribers and you have a new kind of torture. Actually, many/most people were very nice, but there were always a few...

I am looking forward to this panel, for the topic and for the amazing panelist, many of whom I've known for years. I don't believe I've met Bill Frost yet. I look forward to getting to know him.

Here's the panel list:

Robert J. Defendi: Moderator

Bill Frost

Daniel Swenson

Dan Willis

James Wymore

If you're at Comic Con on Friday, September 25, 2015, at 3pm, head over to Room 150G. I think this is going to be a good one!

Mr. Diggs...You Surprised Me

The other day I got an e-mail, a notice that alerts me to when someone has followed my on Twitter. If you're on Twitter you've gotten them as well. Unless, you've turned off the notifications. 

I am not a big social media guy, at least, I don't think I am. It's all a matter of perspective. Compared to some of my extended family, I'm a BIG social media guy. I do post a daily picture on my blog, on Facebook and on Google +. I also link my daily blog post to both Facebook and Twitter. I admit that I use Facebook the most, but not as much as I once did.

So, when I get e-mails about new Twitter followers, I'm a little surprised. I'm not one to solicit a lot of followers, and I doubt I'll ever pay for followers as some services promise to do.

The e-mail alerted me that I had a new follower, one Mr. Taye Diggs. There's about a half a million of us Taye Diggs followees out there, and when you put that up against seven billion, I'm part of a semi-rare group. There are some celebrities I follow (not many...) and they usually follow almost no one in return. Mr. Diggs, however, follows about half a million people. This tells me he's a little different than most celebrities. 

I don't know much about him, but what I do know I like. He was not ashamed or afraid to show real emotion after the passing of his friend and co-star Paul Walker, another celebrity about which I've heard good things. Mr. Diggs hasn't gotten into the kind of trouble about which a casual fan like myself would have heard. He seems like a stand-up guy. He's also wickedly talented, if you're familiar with his work.

I don't know how he found me, or if he has someone to manage his various accounts that found me. It would be interesting to one day find out. Needless to say, I was surprised. I got into my Twitter account and quickly followed him back. 

I wonder if he was surprised.

Robison Wells's "Dead Zone"...A Book Review

*

Last week I read Robison Wells's Dead Zone. I don't think I've ever finished a book series so quickly. Of course, it helps that the series consists of two books, and that I listened to them as audiobooks at 2X speed. 

And that they are well-written and excellent--that always helps me get through a book.

Dead Zone is the sequel to Blackout. The books center around teenagers with special powers. It's a common theme, so i order to make a story interesting and engaging, they have to be good. 

And they are.

Thanks to Wells's effective cliffhanger in Blackout, I couldn't wait to read Dead Zone. The first book introduces us to the main characters and what powers they possess. We meet Aubry and Jack, two teenagers who find themselves caught up in domestic terrorism. The army steps in to test the teenagers to see if they possess these powers. If they do, they're called "Lambdas" and they're given new assignments.

In Dead Zone the teenagers are now soldiers and sent on missions to help fight a war. In this book, it's no longer disgruntled millennials the government has to deal with, but world powers that are invading the Pacific Northwest.

There's one aspect to a story like this that I enjoy very much--it's the vast possibilities available to the writer. The virus the kids contracted gives them these powers and, just like each of us, the powers are unique. Because Wells created such a complete world, there's no end to what could be done. As I read/listened, I wondered where it would go because it really could go anywhere.

In my critique of Blackout, I wrote that if you like dystopian YA stories, you will enjoy Blackout. The same holds true for Dead Zone. It's quick, safe (if you've got a child who enjoys reading this genre...) and just plain good.

This time, my recommendation is to get both books. You'll be glad you did.

* Photo used without permission from: https://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/20452184-dead-zone

Three Cheers For Davis Are...D-H-S!

A simple text message began it all. 

You want to go to Davis's Homecoming game Friday night?

Sounds like fun.

And so, at 6pm last night I met Bob at the baseball facility to get ready for a party. This week is Homecoming and it's also the week of the Davis High Class of 1985's thirty-year reunion. The party at the game was in connection with their reunion, but basically all Davis High alumni were invited.

We had snacks and drinks, people came and went and came back again. I took a few pictures. The Davis Darts played the Vikings of Viewmont. Thirty years ago I lived in the boundaries of Davis High. Today that same house is now in Viewmont's boundaries so my neighbors were rooting for the other team.

I met some new people and connected with friends long past. And the gave came down to the final play with the Darts prevailing in a thriller. Sitting in that box, it brought back a lot of memories, back when the Friday night football gave was SO important, and not necessarily because of what happened on the field. Last night was kind of like that, too.

Heading Home...

I watch as my son reaches the level road and is freed from the hill where gravity releases its jealous grip on person, place, and/or thing, beckoning them all to the valley floor. He's no longer climbing; he can safely continue on a horizontal plane toward home.

The street we're now on is officially called 325 East. If you're familiar with Utah's boring, but painfully effective street-naming system, you know how (and why...) a street can be called after a plot on a grid. But, that's what it's called so that's what we call it. On many maps, the dead end road is called Warnock Avenue, named after a long-time resident, who--and I have no evidence other than hearsay to back this up--might have absconded our kitten around 1972 and raised it as her own. Again, not verified.

If my family had its way, the road would be called Lois Lane, but we never pursued it and that's another story, altogether.

But the road exists and at the end of the road lies our home. When I was half my youngest son's age, the road existed in unpaved form only, and where our house is, a field existed. I spent hours and hours in that field, at least, I think I did. When I think of my childhood, scenes of me playing and exploring the mountain come to mind when the reality was more like me spending hours and hours in front of the TV watching The Brady Bunch, and Gilligan's Island reruns.

The street is now paved and has been for almost forty-five years. The field, like so many, is gone and replaced by structures that offer security, privacy and the internet which allows the occupants to watch both episodes of The Brady Bunch and Gilligan's Island twenty-four/seven.

My son runs (as I once did...) and I walk a little quicker than normal. He lives in a world where the houses have always been on 325 East and the road's always been black. And yet, I wonder where he'll be in his fiftieth year. Will be be at the intersection of State Street and 325 East remembering how things once were decades in the past? Will he be watching a child of his own as it learns and grows? And will they be heading home?

Salt Lake Comic Con '15...Panel #1: Orphan Black

This week those in charge of putting together one of the nation's best comic conventions released the panel schedules. It's a moment many of us invited to participate have been anxious to see. And so, because I'm excited to share (and I need daily blog post topics...), here's information about the first panel I'm on, what it's about and who's going to be there!

The panel is called:

Why Orphan Black Is The Best Show On TV

Fans of the show are most likely saying to themselves: "Duh!" Orphan Black is an intense show! It's the kind of show that grabs you--sucks you in and doesn't let go.

Others on the panel are:

Mishell Livio

Lisa Mangum

Brian Wiser

I met Lisa at a convention earlier this year so I know at least one other person in the group. Part of the fun about being a panelist at these events is getting to know the other panelists and making new friendships.

So, if you're at Salt Lake Comic Con on Thursday, September 24, 2015, at 8pm, head on over to Room 150G and get your fix of the best show on TV, Orphan Black!

You can see the schedule of each and every panel for the three days: HERE. If you're attending, stop by! I'd love to see you and catch up!