Monthly Archives: January 2015

“In Five Years I Plan To Have At Least A Dozen Books Under My Belt:” A TDQ Q&A With Writer Robert E. Blackmon

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Robert E. Blackmon

Robert E. Blackmon with his book The Gay Groom’s Guide.

This week’s TDQ Q&A is with author Robert E. Blackmon. Robert talks with us about his book, “The Gay Groom’s Guide,” how he became a writer and how he’s enjoying married life. Here is this week’s TDQ Q&A with writer Robert E. Blackmon:

The Daily Quarterly: Who was your favorite writer growing up?

Robert E. Blackmon: I was a big sci-fi fan as a kid. Ray Bradbury was the most popular sci-fi writer of them all. His “Fahrenheit 51,” “Something Wicked This Way Comes” and all of his short stories were thrilling. He was my favorite.

TDQ: What was your favorite book growing up?

REB: “The Catcher in the Rye” was my favorite book growing up. It tells the story of a teenage boy named Holden who is trying to find his way through life. His consciousness is tested as he encounters some phony people in his travels. I think this is a relatable situation with most teens.

TDQ: What made you want to be a writer?

REB: I always enjoyed my English classes in school. When I went to college I took a writing course I was immediately hooked.

TDQ: What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten?

REB: Be yourself. Period.

TDQ: What’s the worst advice you’ve ever gotten?

REB: I don’t take bad advice. It only inspires me to do better.

TDQ: Who are your influences?

REB: My family, friends and those who are selfless inspire me.

TDQ: Tell us about your first book, “The Gay Groom’s Guide”

Robert E. Blackmon

Robert E. Blackmon’s book is called The Gay Groom’s Guide but we suspect there is information that might apply to people of all orientation’s. Like don’t mash cake into your new spouse’s face just after vowing to honor and respect them.

REB: As the title suggests, The Gay Groom’s Guide To Planning Your Perfect Wedding is a wedding guide. It was written through my own experiences and difficulties in planning my own wedding. I provide to the point information and short cuts designed to take the stress out of the planning process. While it was written with gay men in mind, this guide is written in a way to help anyone planning their very special day.

TDQ: What sort of feedback have you gotten on the book?

REB: The feedback from the book has been overwhelming. I had no idea how many people were facing the same kinds of obstacles and I have been told that the book is easy to read and very helpful.

TDQ: What inspired you to write it?

REB: The book was never meant to be published. It started out as a writing exercise, a journal. I was having difficulty finding gay-specific materials for my wedding and starting journaling. My husband mentioned to me one day that I should put my findings in book form. He said, “If we are having these difficulties, others must be as well.” And thus the book was born. Continue reading →

Tony Verna, Inventor Of Instant Replay, Has Died Once At 81

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Tony Verna, left, with RECOiL writer/co-director Brian DiMaio. RECOiL was the only movie Verna would direct. He decided to have his name removed from the credits because he graciously wanted, as he put it, "nothing to do with it."

Tony Verna, left, with RECOiL writer/co-director Brian DiMaio. RECOiL was the only movie Verna would direct. He decided to have his name removed from the credits because he graciously wanted, as he put it, “nothing to do with it.”

Palm Desert, CA—Longtime television director Tony Verna, who devised a way to cue back live television and gave us instant replay, died last Sunday at his home from acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He was 81.

Struggling for something to show between plays during the football games he directed, Verna came up with a way to solve the act of blindingly looking for the part of the video tape, still only being used sparingly in TV, that he was looking for. He realized he could send audio beeps to an unused audio track on the tape as it recorded live action, and then be able to find the moment that a play on the tape was about to start.

He would go on to direct or produce five Super Bowls, an Olympics and LiveAid as well as co-direct what he said was actually his greatest achievement, “RECOiL.”

He earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from the all those snobs at the Directors Guild of America in 1995.

Verna is survived by Carol, his wife of 45 years; daughters Tracy and Jenny; a son, Eric and three grandchildren.

“Nothing New Ever Gets Discovered From Being Safe:” A TDQ Q&A With Actor Charles Rahi Chun

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Charles Rahi Chun

Charles Rahi Chun with James Franco and Seth Rogan promoting The Interview.

This week’s TDQ Q&A is with actor Charles Rahi Chun. Charles spoke with us about his role in and his thoughts on the controversy surrounding the movie “The Interview,” the differences in working on TV shows and movies and where he sees his career heading. Here is this week’s TDQ Q&A with actor Charles Rahi Chun: 

The Daily Quarterly: Who was your favorite actor growing up?

Charles Rahi Chun: John Travolta had a monopoly of cool TV and film roles when I was coming of age. “Saturday Night Fever” was one of the first films I saw in the theaters and he followed that up as Danny Zucko in “Grease,” who was the epitome of cool to a kid. All this after being “The Boy in the Plastic Bubble” and Vinnie Barbarino on TV. I also really dug Bill Bixby as “The Incredible Hulk” – the man had a deep well of emotion and a beautiful heart.

TDQ: What was your favorite movie growing up?

CRC: “Saturday Night Fever” was pretty cool, but my very first movie experience was “Bugsy Malone,” which was amazing to watch as a kid because the entire cast was children dressed up as adults. Later, as a teen-ager, I was really struck by the movie “Fame,” which also happened to be directed by Alan Parker.

TDQ: What made you want to be in show business?

CRC: I grew up watching a lot of television, so my heroes were TV characters. “The Six Million Dollar Man,” Starsky, Hutch, and Pa Ingalls from “Little House on the Prairie.” As I got older, I was fascinated with psychology and what drives us to do what we do as human beings, and the more I learned about acting, the more enthralled I became with the craft. When I got to Connecticut College and explored performing and choreography and using my body as a vessel for collaborative story-telling, all of these influences merged leading me to pursue acting professionally.

TDQ: What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten?

CRC: It wasn’t really advice that anyone gave me, but I’m told that athletes never think about winning or losing while in a game. They only focus on the next shot or hit, staying very present in the moment, and I like to live my life that way. Because ultimately, that’s all there is.

TDQ: What’s the worst advice you’ve ever gotten?

CRC: “Be safe.” Nothing new ever gets discovered from being safe. Continue reading →

Manti Te’o Backs Up Kurt Busch’s Claim That His Ex-girlfriend Was A Trained Assassin

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Kurt Busch with Patricia Driscoll

Te’o was unable to produce a photo of himself with his girlfriend Kurt Busch and Patricia Driscoll but we were able to find this photo of the two returning from a date.

San Diego—Count San Diego Charger player Manti Te’o as somebody who is on the side of NASCAR driver Kurt Busch shortly after Busch testified in court last Tuesday that his former girlfriend, Patricia Driscoll, was a trained killer for the US government.

Te’o told reporters yesterday that he has gone on “numerous double dates with Kurt and his girl in the past, and she has mentioned on several occasions that she was a hired killer taking out bad guys for the CIA.”

Te’o said that he and his former girlfriend Lennay Kekua met Busch and Driscoll through mutual friends of Kekua, and he found her tales of international intrigue and espionage “quite exciting,” and he had “no reason whatsoever not to believe” Driscoll as she regaled Busch, Te’o and Driscoll over dinners, movies and walks on the beach.

Te’o said he was sad to see that Busch and Driscoll had parted ways, and thought that they had made a cute couple during the times he and Kekua would go on vacations and couples cruises with them.

“I remember staying up late talking with Lennay and we both said how perfect Kurt and Patty were for each other,” Te’o said. “I can only shake my head.”

But in the end, Te’o said he found a way to be philosophical about the fragile nature of love. It’s a subject he knows a little about, after all.

“It’s sad,” Te’o said. “You hate to see any relationship end, especially when a couples’ careers get in the way. But I guess when you have one partner who risks their life driving around a circle at 260 miles an hour, and another partner who flies off all over the world at a moment’s notice snuffing out political targets, it just puts too much of a strain on the couple.” Continue reading →

Insurance Company To Policyholder: “Do As We Say, Not As We Do”

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Assurance America

Assurance America: Do as we say. Not as we do.

Karlsfield, VT—When Mickey Morse was rear ended by another driver at a stop sign last month, he never envisioned that his own insurance company would give him such grief for not wearing a seatbelt, when the people in their own advertising are driving the down the road sans the lifesaving emergency device.

“They tried to tell me that my chiropractor bills wouldn’t be covered at the full rate I was being charged because the police report indicated that I wasn’t wearing my seatbelt,” Morse said. “And I says to them, ‘Why should I have to wear a seatbelt when you people advertise the joys and carefree feeling of not wearing it?'”

Morse was referring to the photo on the website for Assurance America, the insurance company he’s had car insurance coverage with since 2013. It shows shows a white, upper middle-class couple driving down the road in a convertible with the top down, with the woman obviously basking in the freedom one can only get when riding without a seatbelt.

“I mean, clearly they’re telling me and every other one of their policyholders that they’re just fine with not wearing a seatbelt,” Morse said. “But then when you get into an accident and you’re not wearing one, they pull s*** like this.” Continue reading →