Unfortunately no Animal Rights organizations back in 1937. I’m sure the cats didn’t enjoy this very much.
World Pussyweight Championship Bout
Month: April 2023
Superman vs. Muhammad Ali
Superman vs. Muhammad Ali is an oversize comic book published by DC Comics in 1978. The 72-page book features Superman teaming up with the heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali to defeat an alien invasion of Earth. It was based on an original story by Dennis O’Neil which was adapted by Neal Adams, with pencils by Adams, and figure inks by Dick Giordano with background inks by Terry Austin.
Superman vs. Muhammad Ali was part of DC’s oversized series All-New Collectors’ Edition, officially numbered #C-56.
By the late 1970s, Superman had already been paired in the comics pages with real-life American icons like John F. Kennedy, Steve Allen, Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, Allen Funt, Don Rickles, and Pat Boone. He had even previously gone up against a real-life athlete, professional wrestler Antonino Rocca.
The book suffered numerous delays, going from an original publication date of fall 1977 to spring 1978. By the time the book was published, Ali was no longer World Heavyweight Champion, having been dethroned by Leon Spinks in February 1978. (Ali won back the title later that year in September.)
Plot summary
Rat’Lar, the maniacal leader of a species of aliens called the Scrubb, demands that Earth’s greatest champion fight the greatest Scrubb fighter. If Earth refuses, the Scrubb and their huge armada of spaceships will destroy it. Superman and Muhammad Ali each come forward to volunteer. However, Ali argues that Superman is not really of Earth, and has an unfair advantage in his many superpowers. In typical Ali-style verbiage, he puts himself forward as the obvious choice.
Intrigued, Rat’Lar decides that Superman and Ali should fight one another to see who really is Earth’s champion. To make the fight fair, he decrees that the match should take place on his home planet, Bodace, which orbits a red star (which temporarily robs Superman of his powers). The winner would simply be the best boxer. The two would-be champions decide that Ali will train Superman in the finer points of boxing. They journey to Superman’s Fortress of Solitude to have his powers temporarily deactivated.
The Superman vs. Muhammad Ali match is broadcast on intergalactic television to thousands of other worlds (with Superman’s pal Jimmy Olsen acting as broadcaster). With the match underway, it soon becomes apparent that in battling with more or less equal strength, Ali is the superior fighter. Superman takes a serious pummeling, but somehow refuses to fall down; he stays on his feet all through the beating. Finally, Ali stops the fight, urging the referee to call for a technical knockout. Superman then falls face-first on the canvas (making the knockout more than technical).
Now crowned Earth’s champion, Ali is set to face the Scrubb’s champion, the behemoth Hun’Ya. The alien leader then asks Ali to predict at what round the fight will end. (Ali was known for predicting the round in which he would knock out his opponent.) After some chiding, Ali predicts that he will knock the alien out in the fourth round (“He’ll hit the floor in four!”). Once the match begins, however, Ali quickly starts to suffer from fighting the super-powered Hun’Ya.
Meanwhile, Superman’s great recuperative powers have enabled him to make a speedy recovery. Disguising himself as Ali cornerman Bundini Brown, he steals into the Scrubb command ship and sabotages their space armada. In his showdown with the armada, however, Superman is again badly hurt, and is left drifting in space.
Miraculously, Ali gets a second wind. In the predicted fourth round, he not only knocks the alien champion out, but out of the ring as well. Yet after witnessing Superman’s decimation of his forces, the Scrubb leader cries foul and decides to invade the now helpless Earth anyway. Just as Rat’Lar is about to give the go-ahead to his backup forces, his own champion Hun’Ya becomes enraged at Rat’Lar’s dishonorable tactics and deposes him. There will be no invasion. Earth is saved.
Superman is rescued and once again revived. Hun-ya, the new Scrubb leader, makes peace with Ali, Superman, and all of Earth. The very end of the book shows Ali and Superman in a private moment. Ali reveals that he figured out Superman’s secret identity as Clark Kent, but implicitly vows to keep it secret. The book ends with the two champions embracing and Ali proclaiming, “Superman, WE are the greatest!”
World heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, right, is shown at a press conference in New York, January 31, 1978, with promoter Don King, left, and Herbert Muhammad, center, to plug a comic book in which he beats Superman. Ali holds a copy of the comic book. (AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler)
Superman vs. Muhammad Ali’s wraparound cover shows a host of late 1970s celebrities, including Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball, Tony Orlando, Johnny Carson, the cast of Welcome Back, Kotter, and The Jackson 5; sharing close-up seating with Wonder Woman, Batman, Green Lantern, and other DC superheroes; as well as Warner and DC employees.
Joe Kubert was originally asked to draw the cover, and his version (a black-and-white sketch of which still survives) did not feature any celebrities, but just a “normal” raucous crowd of boxing fans. DC did not approve of Kubert’s likeness of Ali, however, nor the overall grim feeling of the piece, and asked Adams to draw the book instead. Adams’ original cover illustration (modeled very closely on Kubert’s layout), included Mick Jagger in the front cover’s lower left corner; he was replaced in the final version by fight promoter Don King.
In 2000, Adams did a riff on this cover — featuring Ali fighting basketball star Michael Jordan — for a special issue of ESPN The Magazine.
On July 16, 2016, NECA announced the release of a 2-pack set of 7-inch action figures based on Muhammad Ali and Superman as they appeared in the comic. NECA also noted that Superman would include removable boxing gloves and another set of interchangeable hands.
People in the crowd (selected)
| “Show-biz personalities”The Beatles (with Yoko Ono and Linda McCartney)Kirk AlynLucille BallSonny BonoJohnny CarsonCherDick ClarkWilliam ConradPhyllis DillerThe Jackson 5Jerry GarciaJames GarnerRobert HegyesRon HowardJack LarsonNoel NeillTony OrlandoDonny OsmondMarie OsmondChristopher Reeve (in glasses)Wayne RogersFrank SinatraRaquel WelchWolfman JackPeter Falk (as Columbo)Andy WarholWoody AllenJohn Wayne (with a mustache)Orson WellesWally WoodPolitical figuresPresident Gerald FordPresident Jimmy CarterBetty FordRosalynn CarterSports figuresPeléDon KingJoe NamathLiterature and the artsKurt Vonnegut |
Those so very wacky 1970’s!
Jerry Springer R.I.P.
Gerald Norman Springer (February 13, 1944 – April 27, 2023) was an American broadcaster, journalist, actor, producer, lawyer, and politician. Born in London, England, during World War II to refugees escaping the Holocaust, Springer was raised in Queens, New York City.
Jerry Springer (talk show) debuted on September 30, 1991. It started as a politically oriented talk show, a longer version of Springer’s commentaries. Guests included Oliver North and Jesse Jackson, and topics included homelessness and gun politics.
In early 1994, Springer and his new producer, Richard Dominick, revamped the show’s format in order to garner higher ratings. The show became more successful as it became targeted toward tabloidish sensationalism. Guests were everyday people confronted on a television stage by a spouse or family member’s adultery, homosexuality, transsexuality, prostitution, transvestism, hate group membership, or other controversial situations. These confrontations were often promoted by scripted shouting or violence on stage. The show received substantial ratings and much attention. By 1998, it was beating The Oprah Winfrey Show in many cities, and was reaching more than 6.7 million viewers.
Balancing Stone Artist
This guy is talented. And he must have the patience of a tree sloth.
Colorado artist Mike Grab creates astonishing towers of balanced stones using nothing but gravity, and his uncanny ability to find the natural balance of the stones. Grab says the art of stone balancing has been practiced by various cultures around the world for centuries evolving from simple curiosity “into therapeutic ritual, ultimately nurturing meditative presence, mental well-being, and artistry of design”.
The most fundamental element of balancing in a physical sense is finding some kind of “tripod” for the rock to stand on. Every rock is covered in a variety of tiny to large indentations that can act as a tripod for the rock to stand upright, or in most orientations you can think of with other rocks. By paying close attention to the feeling of the rocks, you will start to feel even the smallest…
View original post 188 more words
Strange stone spheres of Costa Rica
Human beings never cease to amaze. What possessed these people to start carving stones into spheres. It must have taken months or years to complete one of these. Some people just have too much time on their hands. But then maybe it wasn’t humans who did this, does the term Space Aliens come to mind?
The stone spheres (or stone balls) of Costa Rica are an assortment of over three hundred petrospheres in Costa Rica, located on the Diquis Delta and on Isla del Caño. Known locally as Las Bolas, they are also called The Diquis Spheres.
The spheres range in size from a few centimetres to over 2 metres (6.6 ft) in diameter, and weigh up to 16 short tons (15 t). Most are sculpted from gabbro, the coarse-grained equivalent of basalt. There are a dozen or so made from shell-rich limestone, and another dozen made from a sandstone.
The stones are believed to have been carved between 200 BC and 1500 AD. However the only method available for dating the carved stones is stratigraphy, and most stones are no longer in their original locations. The culture of the people who made them disappeared after the Spanish conquest.
Spheres have been found with pottery from the Aguas Buenas culture (dating 200 BC – AD 600) and also they have been discovered with Buenos Aires Polychrome type sculpture (dating 1000 – AD 1500). They have been uncovered in a number of locations, including the Isla del Caño, and over 300 kilometres (190 mi) north of the Diquis Delta in Papagayo on the Nicoya Peninsula.
The spheres were discovered in the 1930s as the United Fruit Company was clearing the jungle for banana plantations. Workmen pushed them aside with bulldozers and heavy equipment, damaging some spheres. Additionally, inspired by stories of hidden gold workmen began to drill holes into the spheres and blow them open with sticks of dynamite. Several of the spheres were destroyed before authorities intervened. Some of the dynamited spheres have been reassembled and are currently on display at the National Museum of Costa Rica in San José.
The first scientific investigation of the spheres was undertaken shortly after their discovery by Doris Stone, a daughter of a United Fruit Co. executive. These were published in 1943 in American Antiquity, attracting the attention of Samuel Kirkland Lothrop of the Peabody Museum at Harvard University. In 1948, he and his wife attempted to excavate an unrelated archaeological site in the northern region of Costa Rica. The government of the time had disbanded its professional army, and the resulting civil unrest threatened the security of Lothrop’s team. In San José he met Doris Stone, who directed the group toward the Diquís Delta region in the southwest (“Valle de Diquís” refers to the valley of the lower Río Grande de Térraba, including the Osa Canton towns of Puerto Cortés, Palmar Norte, and Sierpe) and provided them with valuable dig sites and personal contacts. Lothrop’s findings were published in Archaeology of the Diquís Delta, Costa Rica 1963.
Recent Editorial Cartoons
Fox News personality Tucker Carlson and CNN personality Don Lemon were fired from their jobs at the networks earlier this week.
Meanwhile at a Quickie Mart in Winnipeg’s North End.
Take a Look Inside a Luxury Balloon That Serves Martinis at the Edge of Space
Space Perspective’s planned $125,000-a-seat ride is heavy on the ambiance, if gazing down on Earth isn’t thrilling enough.
Space Perspective has revealed the cabin design for its upcoming Spaceship Neptune—a balloon-held capsule that, for thelofty price of $125,000, will take passengers to the edge of space.
Liftoffs aren’t slated to begin until late 2024, but newly released conceptual images of the Spaceship Neptune passenger cabin offer an early glimpse of what the experience couldlook like. But at $125,000 per seat, this is probably as close as any of us will ever get to actually stepping inside this thing.
The climate-controlled, pressurized interior cabin will be held aloft by a balloon as it rises to the stratosphere. Reaching a height of 20 miles (30 kilometers), passengers will have a 360-degree view of their surroundings, from which they’ll be able to see the curvature of Earth. The passengers will be able to…
View original post 372 more words
North American Celtic Punk Bands
The Tossers are an American six-piece Celtic punk band from Chicago, Illinois, United States, formed in July 1993. They have toured with Murphy’s Law, Streetlight Manifesto, Catch 22, Dropkick Murphys, The Reverend Horton Heat, Flogging Molly, Street Dogs, Clutch, Sick of it All and Mastodon. They opened for The Pogues in New York City on St. Patrick’s Day in 2007. The Tossers were honored to play the Kennedy Center in May 2016.
The band pre-dates more well-known Celtic punk bands such as the Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly, which formed in 1996 and 1997, respectively. Their latest album, entitled Smash the Windows, was released on March 3, 2017.
Dropkick Murphys are an American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. Singer and bassist Ken Casey has been the band’s only constant member.
The band was initially signed to independent punk record label Hellcat Records, releasing five albums for the label, and building a reputation locally through constant touring and yearly St. Patrick’s Day week shows, held in and around Boston. The 2004 single, “Tessie” became the band’s first mainstream hit and one of their biggest charting singles to date.
The Real McKenzies is a Canadian Celtic punk band founded in 1992 and based in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are one of the founders of the Celtic punk movement, albeit 10 years after The Pogues.
In addition to writing and performing original music, Real McKenzies perform traditional Scottish songs, giving them a new punk-influenced sound. They have shared stages with many other bands including Rancid, Shane MacGowan, NOFX, Flogging Molly, The Misfits, Metallica, and Voodoo Glow Skulls.
SpaceX Starship Blasts Off, For a Few Minutes
Starship is a super heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by SpaceX. Standing at 119 m (390 ft) tall, it is the tallest and most powerful launch vehicle ever flown, and the first intended to be fully reusable.
The Starship launch vehicle is made up of the first-stage Super Heavy booster and the Starship second stage. The second stage functions as a self-contained spacecraft for carrying crew or cargo once in orbit. Both rocket stages are powered by Raptor engines, which burn liquid oxygen and liquid methane propellants in a highly efficient full-flow staged combustion power cycle. After completing their flight, both rocket stages will be recovered, including the Super Heavy booster which would be caught by the launch tower’s mechanical arms.
Starship is planned to have a payload capacity of 150 t (330,000 lb) to low Earth orbit in its fully reusable configuration and 250 t (550,000 lb) to low Earth orbit if fully expended. It is designed to be flown multiple times to spread out the cost of the spacecraft. The spacecraft is planned to be refuelable in orbit before traveling to destinations that require more change in velocity to reach them, such as the Moon and Mars. Proposed near-term applications for Starship include delivering astronauts and large satellites to Earth orbit, building the Starlink internet constellation, and facilitating the exploration of the Moon (Starship HLS) and Mars.
Plans to create a heavy-lift launch vehicle at SpaceX date back to 2005. The methane–oxygen engines (later named Raptor) were in development since 2012 and the plan for building the launch vehicle was announced publicly for the first time in 2016. The development program for Starship follows an iterative and incremental approach, involving frequent prototype construction, testing, and refinement, including low and high-altitude flight tests. The first orbital flight test attempt took place on April 20, 2023 and resulted in the loss of the vehicle before stage separation—destroyed by the on-board flight termination system after instability caused by the failure of several Raptor motors.
The MarkoZen Blog 