- Take a Few Minutes to Start Each Day
Smell the coffee…welcome the day… I am not a morning person. There was a time when I would get up at five and get some writing done while the kids were little but those days look pretty far back in the rear view mirror.
That said, I have a very strict morning routine; I crawl out of bed around 8am and hurl myself into the shower– in the Summer it’s an ice cold shower, winter nice warm cozy one. I get dressed and I head downstairs to the amazing aroma of fresh ground coffee brewing in my machine. I never fail to take a second and really appreciate that.
Then I pour the coffee– I like to pour it myself for more aroma, add some cream and then take that first amazing sip. I take a minute to look out at the valley view we have out our kitchen window and appreciate the day. The other day I got caught up watching the rain.
I choose a pasty– lately croissants, and take it and my favorite coffee cup over to the kitchen table. The two together are a taste experience. The proper way to eat a croissant is with your hands, sometimes I’ll have a jar of fancy jam to spoon a bit on, but I enjoy every sip and bite of this morning routine.
On the rare occasion I have to skip this I’m truly saddened. I have a couple of Lab appointments that for some reason I scheduled for 7am.
But don’t loose the day. Try this routine, it’s truly a game changer.
- My Case for BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES being the best in the series
I had to go to France to find a decent poster for it.
There’s no arguing that Planet of the Apes (1968 – Franklin J. Schaffner) is a science fiction classic. It deserves every bit of its reputation.
That said, I’ve always found it a little stuffy. It’s deliberately paced, occasionally preachy, and spends a surprising amount of its running time with Charlton Heston before we really get to what we came to see—the apes. The film is built around ideas more than action, and that’s part of what makes it a classic.
My biggest issue has always been the antagonists. Dr. Zaius and the Orangutan science council aren’t physically intimidating. They’re meant to represent institutional authority, but they often come across like a panel of university professors or math teachers protecting their jobs rather than a regime capable of real brutality. They’re frustrating more than frightening.
The film also has one of the greatest twist endings in cinema history. Ironically, when I first saw it as a kid, I assumed they had landed on Earth in the future almost immediately. The sky was blue, the sun was yellow, the trees looked familiar—it all seemed a little too much like home. Maybe I was just a smarty-pants.
As for Charlton Heston, I know he was one of the biggest stars of the era, and I’ve seen him in everything from Soylent Green to the disaster movies. My problem has always been that he seems to play the same character: angry, cynical, and always ready to explain why whatever optimism you have is misplaced. He’s certainly compelling, but rarely the most likable person in the room.
Which brings me to Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970 – Ted Post), my favorite film in the series.
The biggest advantage is that it doesn’t have to spend half an hour explaining its premise. We already know we’re on a planet ruled by apes. After a brief recap, the movie gets right to business, introducing astronaut Brent (James Franciscus) as he searches for Taylor and retraces much of his journey alongside Nova.
More importantly, we get apes almost immediately.
Brent’s introduction to Ape City comes during General Ursus’ fiery speech, and James Gregory gives the series the intimidating villain it needed. Unlike the intellectual Dr. Zaius, Ursus is a military dictator whose solution to every problem is violence. His determination to exterminate humanity gives the story urgency the original intentionally avoids. Time is running out, and everyone knows it.
The sequel also expands the world instead of simply repeating it. In the first film, the Forbidden Zone is little more than a mysterious wasteland. Here it becomes something far more fascinating, hiding the ruins of New York and an underground civilization of telepathic humans horribly deformed by radiation from the first atomic war. It’s a wonderfully imaginative piece of science fiction that broadens the mythology instead of recycling it.
Despite having only about half the budget of the original, Beneath makes excellent use of what it has. The matte paintings, ruined subway tunnels, underground cathedral, and mutant city give the film a visual variety missing from the first movie’s largely desert landscapes and Ape City.
The film even finds room for lighter moments. Seeing Zira and Cornelius at home gives ape society some welcome personality, while Zaius and Ursus discussing military strategy in a sauna remains one of the series’ strangest—and most entertaining—scenes.
Perhaps what I enjoy most is the film’s pacing. The original is a thoughtful science fiction classic that asks big philosophical questions. Beneath is more of an adventure. It keeps the story moving, continually introduces new ideas, and never feels content to simply repeat what came before.
And then there’s the ending. Instead of restoring the status quo, the film ends by destroying the entire world. It’s one of the bleakest finales ever attached to a major Hollywood franchise, and even today it still has the power to shock.
I completely understand why most people consider Planet of the Apes the superior film. It’s unquestionably the more influential and important movie.
But if I’m sitting down to watch an Ape film for pure entertainment, I’m reaching for Beneath the Planet of the Apes. It’s faster, stranger, more imaginative, has a genuinely formidable villain, expands the mythology in fascinating ways, and never forgets that science fiction should also be fun.
- Boy I hate to Do this- GOFUNDME
I have contributed to many GOFUNDME fundraisers but I’d never wanted to have to have one. Things are getting tight and I have a long road ahead. Even if you can’t contribute please send thoughts and prayers and please forward to anyone in your networks who can help get the word out.
Huge thanks to my beautiful cousin Gina who put this together.
Thank You
- Heroes Con 2026
Did HEROES CON ’26 with the Boys in June, I usually help out every year. This year, being the last person to know I was actually sick with a potentially terminal disease I noticed I was tiring easily, that and 65 of my closest friends pulled me aside and said “You have to go get checked”. I appreciate all of them.
Charlotte North Carolina is one of the friendliest cities I’ve ever been too, but it’s also one of the hottest and most humid. We pulled into the loading dock very easily and got the truck unloaded and in no time we had the booth setup. In the photo above that is them in the center of the pic, they had a massive booth just as you walk in the door. They do a beautiful job with setup– compare it to the next door neighbor who would probably get kicked out of flea market for having such a bad display.
In terms of Comic Book Conventions, true pure NATIONAL Comic Book conventions, so I’m talking dealers coming in from all over the country, there are only TWO of the well over 200 comic shows that run in the United States and I would say HEROES CON in North Carolina and LITTLE GIANT in New Hampshire are it. No celebrities, no soda vendors, no crafts people, no insurance companies or cell phone carriers.
San Diego Comic Con, which in my opinion is the most fun Convention of the year, although its overwhelming, still has old comics but nowhere near what Charlotte or Little Giant do.
The Number One reason I’d say collectors come to HEROES is to meet comic book professionals and get their work signed. The best way to be successful in that is to use the program guide to map out who is signing and where they are set up. Some signatures are relatively easy to get, waiting in line for 10-20 mins if the pro is tied up talking to a fan, but some can take upwards of 90 mins if the creator is especially popular or (worse) if a fan has a wagon full of boxes of comics they’d like signed.
Shopping for old comics you’ll have a LOT to look at– things you have been looking years for and things you’ve never seen before but now must have. I’d say with that the best thing is to have a list and bring it with you. More expensive, rare or unique comics are usually on the wall display behind the boxes, so scan that first. Some dealers allow you to come behind the table while other’s do not. Even if you see someone back there who is shopping don’t assume you are allowed back there too-that may be a longtime customer or the dealer may only allow 1 or 2 people closeup access at a time, just ask.
If you are wearing a backpack take it off and carry it in front of you so you aren’t hitting people with it– and then place it down either between or in front of your feet while you browse. NEVER access your bag while you’re in the booth you don’t ever want to be accused of stealing.
Most dealers are willing to work with you on a price, but be realistic, 10-15% off is a reasonable offer a complete lowball one is not. Especially if they don’t know you. Be respectful and handle their books carefully, remember they aren’t yours until you buy it.
Plan and you’ll have fun at a show, and Heroes this year was as good as ever!
- Cancer Comes a Callin’
A little over a month ago I was diagnosed with Cancer, one in my lymph nodes which seems so far not to be aggressive and the other in my Bone Marrow which will mean I will need a transplant.
It started when I tried to lose some weight, and then it started coming off faster and faster to the point I became skeletal.
I spent a week in the hospital, 34 hours in what was the best they could do in the ER– at least I had a room with doors, and a monitor that only beeped every 10 seconds instead of constantly. The staff was exceptional.
After that they moved me to a really luxury suite on the eight floor in Oncology- I had my own much larger room with no beeping monitors and best of all my own bathroom and shower. The most frustrating thing was they kept telling me I should be out tomorrow when I ended up being there a full week. They gave me a transfusion which was a real boost, and the staff was incredible. They even have a system where you order your food like room service and they bring it up on a plate with a cover and actual silverware. So much better than the styrofoam downstairs (doesn’t eating or drinking from styrofoam cause Cancer?
I had a view and a nice recliner so I could get out of that bed, and all and all 84 samples of blood drawn which left my arm blue.
The worst part was the bone marrow biopsy– that was as painless as it could be but it was painful, and then the waiting for the diagnosis. I have a good solid care team now, and second opinions coming from Dana Farber so I feel I’m in good hands.
I’m glad Veronica was with me through everything, not just for the support but because I don’t think I have it in me to tell her bad news.
Where does it go? Depends on how I react to all this medicine and if I get approved for a transplant. Only time will tell, but I’ve cut my hair into my old boxing days style and as long as it stays with me that’s how it will be, and I’m more than ready to fight.
Welcome to the new Blog– this whole thing is a work in progress, but you’ll get the latest updates here (just click the links above). It was a longtime coming but a short-time putting it together.
More soon and regularly like the old blog.
Thanks for stopping by.
Andy
It's Andy Fish! 