If I were a hero, I'd be Martin Luther (Part 4645)....

 Superhero Anydays

Mike Grell was one of the Legion of Super-Heroes greatest artist, and this is a portion of a cover he drew for a book.  It shows some members of the Legion from the mid-70s. 

Chemical King, Colossal Boy, Superboy, Chameleon Boy, Saturn Girl

************************

And today we also have an ad from the mid-70s for the MEGO line of superhero action figures!  Man I had a whole box of these I kept under my bed and I'll pull them out several times a week to play with them!  Making all my own comic book adventures using them!

Superman*, Captain Marvel, Supergirl*, Thor, Isis*, Mr, Mxyzptlk*, Conan, Green Arrow*, Falcon

Aquaman*, Batman*, Catwoman*, Hulk, Riddler*, Robin*, Batgirl, Joker*, Penguin*

Captain America*, Mr. Fantastic, Green Goblin, The Thing, Human Torch, IronMan*, Invisible Girl, The Lizard, Spider-Man*

Ones with asterisks are ones the I owned.  I also had some Star Trek ones who aren't listed here.

POLT

Check this out, real quick, don't know if everybody know (Part 5525)....

 Check This Out!

I've been to two of them: Vatican City and Monaco.

POLT

It's so cool, to be uncool (Part 798)....

 What's Cool? 

You think you're cool?  Well you'll never be as cool as these teen heartthrobs over the years!

Ahhh, Leif Garret.  Leif Garret (in the boxing gloves if you don't already know), man he set my 12 year old heart aflutter.  I'm pretty sure my fixation with longish hair on men started with him. 

POLT

 So, Saturday is Independence Day.  As it's on a Saturday, work is giving us Friday off.  In years past when this occurred, I'd work Friday and take the holiday ON the holiday.  That way, I could watch the parade through town, then visit the small 'festival' they have in town afterwards.  And then go to mom's for a cookout lunch. 

This year, however, I will be taking the holiday on Friday and working Saturday, since I am the only one there on Saturdays.   

And why have I decided to do that this year when I haven't in years past?  Well, that's because there is absolutely nothing about this country I wish to celebrate this year.   The things that have happened in just the last 18 months have surely got the founding father rolling in their graves. 

This is just one of many things that anger me about the orange shitgibbon: he takes the fun and the joy and the merriment out of EVERYTHING!  Everything has got to be about him.  And about making him money. 

In his first term, there was the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote.  Anyone remember any sort of commemoration in August of 2020?  Nope, me neither. 

There was the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI, and yes he DID go to France.  But when it came time for the official memorial, he didn't go.  He stayed in his hotel room.  It was raining after all and we can't have the orange pancake makeup running down his cheeks.

There was is the World Cup we're partially hosting.  This was something even I was looking forward too when I heard it years ago.  But now, we've got talented refs denied entry to the country (and the fact they're African is just totally coincidental right?)  We've got another busload of black athletes being stopped and all their luggage and persons being searched along the road.  We've got the Iranian team being unable to stay in the USA (which wouldn't BE an issue if we didn't have his war of choice going on).  And of course we've got several country's fans openly mocking the president with their chants.  Not that THAT'S really a bad thing, cause all the good people in our country openly mock the president.  But I digress. 

There's the coming Olympics, which Los Angeles hosts.  If we even have them in 2028.  But hopefully there will  be one less orange shitgibbon in the world by then and maybe it won't quite as bad...but I don't hold my breath for either of those things to happen. 

I remember the Bicentenntial in 1976, I was 8 years old.  I remember the parades, the historical stuff on TV, New York Harbor full of all kinds of ships and boats, the things we did in school (I was in the second grade leading up to it), all the lil tidbits ofhistory that were in the newspapers and on the news shows.   There was so MUCH, all about American history, and the revolution, and the presidents and how government worked and all about us as a country. 

And this year, this 'celebration , we got...nothing.  We got a fenced off green Reflecting Pool, a "national state fair' with temps higher than the number of people showing up, a desecrated White House and surrounding grounds, a taxpayer dollars going into the pockets of millionaire cronies with no-bid contracts. 

There's not fun, or joy, or even real celebration of AMERICA in all of this.   It's all about how much moeny can I stuff in my pockets while kissing the orange ass. 

It's pathetic and sad.   And complete shame. 

POLT

Check this out, real quick, don't know if everybody know (Part 5593)...

 Check This Out!

This pic and text was sent to my mother and me by my cousin.  This high chair is the one mom and dad for me when I was baby.    Then mom just stored it up in the attic.  When my cousin had her son 10 years ago, mom gave her the high chair to use, and when he outgrew it my cousin kept it in her attic.  Then my cousin gave it to a friend of hers, who's daughter apparently loved it. 

The same high chair (which was able to be modified as the child grew to be able to allow the kids to sit in it and play...which I apparently did, and my cousin's son did as well) was used for 50 years, and STILL in use a few years ago when this pic was taken. 

Things were built to last back then!

POLT

Back to the beginning without you...

 Today, 21 years ago, in 2005, I made the first post to the Palace.   It's right here,  

It's just crazy to think that if my blog were a person, The Palace would now be able to legally drink alcohol. 

In June 2005: 

#1 movie: Batman Begins

#1 song: We Belong Together, by Mariah Carey

#1 tv show: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

George W. Bush was president

Tony Blair was UK Prime Minister

Paul Martin was Canadian Prime Minister

Benedict XVI was Pope

Barack Obama was a US Senator from Illinois

Joe Biden was a US Senator from Delaware

the orange shitgibbon was a theiving, rude, obnoxious, failed buinessman and 'star' of a mediocre TV reality show

The (ugh) New England Patriots was reigning NFL champion

The Chicago White Sox were on their way to winning their first World Series since 1917

The was no Stanley Cup winner due to a strike & lockout in the NHL

The San Antonio Spurs won the NBA finals.

In June 2005, the Ninth Doctor Who (Christopher Eccleston) regenerated into the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant). 

Michael Jackson was aquitted by a California jury of molesting a 13 year old

Princess Alexia of the Netherlands, second daughter to the king Willem-Alexander, was born. 

I was in the my ninth year in my current job.  

I was 8 years living in my apartment and 4 years from buying my house.

My father, my mother's mother, and one of my mother's brothers were all alive.  They've all since passed.

As, as mentioned above, Polt's Palace was created. 

Twenty one freakin' years.......wow.......

POLT

Check this out, real quic, don't know if everybody know (Part 5581)....

 Check This Out!

When I was younger, this was me! 

I would hold it even if it hurt, even if it made me feel bad, until I got home.   But, as I've aged, well....when the poops gotta get loose, the poops just gotta get loose.  I still try to wait until I get home, but I'm not averse to using public facilities in a pinch.   Still don't like doing it in other people's homes tho. 

POLT

Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet.....

 And so, 40 years ago, sometime around now, this happened. 

Yep, that's your own Uncle Polt, walking across the stage to receive his high school diploma. 

All I remember from that night is, it was SO HOT (we had to move it into the gym instead of in the football stadium due to rain).  Also, when I walked up on the stage it seemed to be a helluva lot of people were cheering, from various places around the gym....more than just where my family were sitting.  But then, I may have imagined that, who knows? 

I don't really remember anything else, no who the feller is shaking my hand, someone from the school board I'd assume. I know he's not the principal.  And I think I'm wearing the only tie I owned at the time.

Aw well, 40 years.....my God, where have they gone? 

POLT

It's so cool, to be uncool (Part 790)......

 What's Cool?

Our local K-Mart had a little cafe when they opened back in the 70s.  I never ate there, that I recall, we didn't eat out much back then cause mom was such a good cook.   But now we can see how much prices have changed in 50 years. 

POLT

Night arrives with her purple legion (Part 12)......

 Legion Lore

Ultra Boy

Jo Nah was born on the planet of Rimbor and got involved in the gangs who were all over the planet.  He stole a space shuttle and ran from the Science Police.  When in space fleeing from the authorities, he encountered a giant space whale, who swallowed the entire ship. 

(yes...Jo Nah was swallows by a space whale.....well it WAS 1962....)

The ship got out of the whale, i dont recall if it blasted it way out or flew back out the mouth, but while inside, the energies therein gave Jo most of the powers of Superboy (flight, super strength, super speed, invulnerability, as well as Penetra-vision, which Superboy did not have, and which allowed him to, unlike Superboy, see through lead), except that he could only use one power at a time!

I can't tell you why but Ultra Boy was always my favorite Legionnaire.   He was elected Legion leader and Deputy Leader more than once.  He was thought to have been killed at one point, only to return alive.  And unlike most of the team his costume remained basically the same from his joining until the beginning of the Magic Wars when Keith Giffen fucked around with ALL the uniforms and made his look stupid (along with most of the others). 

POLT

I would not sell my collection, if I did, I would cry (Part 126)......

 Today In The History Of Polt's Comic Book Collection

Today we travel back to May of 1978 and The Avengers #171.

When I was a little pre-teen Polt, sometimes I'd walk a couple blocks to downtown, cross the busy Main Street (all by myself) and go to the Waynesboro News Agency.   They had not only a soda counter and grill where they made food, but they had several shelves of magazines (held back by tiny coiled metal strings) and among these were a bunch of comic books.  And I vividly remember seeing this particular cover and having to buy it!  At 35 cents and issue, that meant that, with my $1.00 a week allowance, I could buy two comics, and save the leftover cents to bring with me next week to buy three comics!

Anyway, back to this issue.  It's drawn by the Maestro George Perez (might even be my first exposure to his art).  The storyline goes that Avengers enemy Ultron built a 'wife' for him and named her Jocasta.  He captured the Wasp and used her brainwaves to put into the robot.  The Avengers tracked them down to his hideout (inside a nunnery of all places, with a robotic Mother Superior!) and they fought.  

Ultron activated Jocasta expecting her to join him in the battle against the hero.  But, since the Wasp brainwaves were in her head and influencing her attitudes, thoughts and opinions, she joined the team in fighting Ultron!  

Ultimately, he was blown up by the Scarlet Witch's hex spheres, and Jocasta went with the team.  She hung out with the Avengers for a couple years, never actually officially joining the team, which irritated me, as I like the character.  What pissed me off even more is when the team when through a reorganization, cutting members and adding two members, they never thought to even ask Jocasta, and she just left the mansion, upset and frankly, unmissed.  No one even went looking for her. 

I know this so well because I read and re-read and re-re-read the issue so many times ! I love this whole stretch of the Avengers and I think it's the best run on their line. 

POLT

Check this out, real quick, don't know if everybody know (Part 5385).....

 Check This Out!

Oh MAN!  I remember this SO VIVIDLY!  

The miniseries aired over a series of days, and the day after, this was THE topic of conversation in Middle School between my peer group.  We LOVED this show so much.  And the theme song....those drums....I can still right now, after all these years, hear the beat like I'm listening to it.

Helluva miniseries!  The followup mini-series as well.  The series that followed that...not so much.  But the mini-serieses...hell yeah!

POLT

My birthday song, my happy world (Part 265)...

 Badass Birthday

On this date, in 1933, in San Antonio, Texas, Carol Burnett was born. 

We'll get to her self titles show in a minute.  Carol Burnett has been on Broadway, television and film.  Over the years she's earned 7 Emmys, a Tony, a Grammy, and 7 Golden Globes.  Her career has lasted 7 decades.

But really, she's a badass, if for nothing else, than The Carol Burnett Show.   I remember in my youth, sitting on the sofa with mom at 10 pm on Saturday Nights and settling in to watch the show.   Week after week after week.

Without her show, would we have ever heard of Vicki Lawrence, Harvey Korman or Tim Conway?  Maybe, but it's doubtful they would have reached the level of fame they did. 

From her show we got: 

As The Stomach Turns sketches

The Family sketches (Eunice and Mama)

Nora Desmond sketches

The Oldest Man sketches

The Queen sketches

Stella Toddler sketches

Mrs. Wiggins sketches (and Mr. Tudball)

and tons of commercials and movies parodies

I mean, if you've not seen their parody of "Gone With The Wind" called "Went With The Wind", please, do yourself a favor and go watch it on youtube.    Seeing her dress and the line about it is worth the price of admission alone. 

And now, at the age of 93, she's still acting, currently appearing in Palm Royale.

Total badass!

POLT

That night in Toronto, with it's checkerboard floors (Part 127)....

 Toronto Time!

Casa Loma!  A beautiful huge castle north of downtown in Toronto!  Also, it served as Xavier's mansion in he first X-Men movie.   Been there twice, I love the place, so much to see, so many places to go!

POLT

The object of my desire, I'm walking on a wire (Part 263).....

 Walks 2026

Yesterday immediately after work, I took a walk.  I walked 1.09 miles in 21 minutes.

I have no pics from this walk because instead of looking for things to take pics of, I instead saw places I had been.  I've lived all 58 years of my life in the same town.  I've lived in 3 different places in this town all actually, within  3 minute or less walk between one another.  But I have many rememberances of various places I passed. 

There was the house where I delivered a pizza, when they guy was asleep on the sofa.  I woke him up with knocking and he rushed to the door to pay for the pizza in just his tighty whiteys.  Not eye candy, but not unattractive. 

The house where my great aunt and uncle lived.  I was in their house one, maybe twice as a kid.  They've been dead over 20 years now. 

The house where the last girl I dated lived. 

The house owned by my best friend at the time, and the times I spent there. 

The house where I spent New Years in roughly 1991. 

The house where my manager at Dominos apartment was, and all the nights spent there partying after we closed the store down. 

The local store Candy Cutright that as a kid in elementary school, my neighborhood friend would take our quarters and dimes and run to to buy penny candy. 

The Vet where we took all three of our dogs, until they closed that site and moved to another bigger location.  We only had the last one to take there. 

So many memories in such a small area, in such a short walk. 

POLT

Check this out, real quick, don't know if everybody know (Part 5587)....

 Check This Out!

I remember this ad!  I have all three things pictures here (well not all the figurines there, but the big stuff).  And man I loved all this stuff in Middle School.  That's when I first got into D&D with friends from school.   And look how CHEAP everything else is!   Well it IS 40 years ago, but still.....

POLT

My birthday song, my happy world (Part 214)......

 Badass Birthday

On this date in 1967, in Washington state was born Kurt Cobain.

Oh man...this fella was born just a couple months before me, and damn if he wasn't the "Voice Of My Generation"... for me anyway.  First heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in the Fall of 1991, and my life was changed, music wise.  Not only Nirvana, but all the bands that they allowed to come into the mainstream: Grunge. 

Anyway, he was the lead singer and songwriter for that revolutionary band Nivana.  Sadly, Kurt had issues with his fame, and life in general I think, and in 1994, a victim of the 27 year curse (see Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Amy Winehouse), he killed himself with a shotgun. 

One of the hardest famous deaths to ever hit me...surpassed only perhaps by David Bowie in 2016.

POLT

Take it supersonic, eh, I'm bionic....

 So anyone who's followed the Palace for a while should know how much I love the 70s TV show The Bionic Woman!  I was fanatical about watching it as a kid, and then, when the reruns played in the afternoons in the early 80s, I rewatched as many as I could.  Again and again and again. 

There were 58 episodes made.  Some totally sucked (most of the third season falls into this category).  Most were entertaining in their own way.  And there were several who were just incredible.  Loved em. 

So today I'm gonna give you my Top Ten Favorite Episodes of  The Bionic Woman 

(listed in order of airing)

Season 1, Episode 7 Bionic Beauty

Jaime enters a beauty pageant to find a high tech device someone in the pageant is trying to give to a foreign enemy power.  Despite hearing her 'sing' during the talent portion (and while Lindsay Wagner doesn't have a terrible voice, it's not really all that great either). 

Season 1, Episode 11  Fly Jaime

Jaime becomes a stewardess on a small airplane transporting her bionic doctor Rudy Wells who's transporting a top secret formula somewhere, and the plane crashes.  Most of the passengers (there's not a huge amount of them) survive and make their way to a nearby island.  And there are conspirators among the survivors who want that formula!

Season 2, Episode 2 In The Corner, Jaime Summers

An OSI agent disappears while working undercover as a professional wrestler, and Jaime has to join the female league to find him, and discovers there's a ring behind the scenes dealing with foreign agents.  Yeah, the female wrestling is pretty cheesy, but still, it's fun despite being silly. 

Season 2, Episodes 5 & 6 (and episode of the Six Million Dollar Man inbetween) Kill Oscar

This is the only three parter in the series and introduces the Fembots!  This is without a doubt the pinnacle of the Bionic TV stories!  OSI personnel (Rudy's assistant Linda, Oscar's secretary Callahan, and later Oscar himself!) are kidnapped and replaced by android Fembots.  They're strong and fast like the Bionic Woman, but they don't have her bionic ear, and they can't jump like her bionic legs allow her to do.  But in the trilogy, both she and Steve Austin have to fight various fembots and rescue Oscar and the others. 

These episode also start a string of great episodes. 

Season 2, Episode 7 Black Magic

Jamie plays the grown up Carstairs niece to try to find a top secret documents someone in the family wants to give to foreign enemy nations.   A brother has died with the documents hidden somewhere and the family comes to island to find the documents and to try not to be killed by their other family members in the process.  It stars Vincent Price, Julie Newmar, Hermoine Baddeley, William Windom, and Abe Vigoda.  It's played for a lot of comedy and that's what makes it fun!

Season 2, Episode 8 Sister Jaime

Jaime has to play a nun to enter a convent where diamonds are smuggled in and exchanged for heroin, and find out who's doing it and stop them. 

Season 2, Episode 9 The Vega Influence

Jaime ends up in military base up North in Alaska or Greenland somewhere and finds the place deserted and the men who arrived with her disappearing.  Jaime hears a high pinched whine in her bionic ear and it's painful.  And only she and a deaf girl are left to figure out what's going on. 

Season 2 Episodes 13 & 14 Doomsday Is Tomorrow

A dying scientist threatens the world with a doomsday device unless all nations stop their war making, but of course, rogue nations dont believe him and so, the doomsday device is activated.  And Jaime must take on the supercomputer Alex7000 (think HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey) and fight through all he various defensive systems it has to try to reach and shut down the doomsday device.

Season 2 Episodes 15 & 16 Deadly Ringer

Lisa Garrett is some chick who, in an earlier episode, had plastic surgery to look like Jaime and take her place in the OSI.  She was ultimately defeated cause she couldn't do the feats of strength and jumping that Jaime's bionics allowed her to do.  Well in this two parter, Lisa's back, and she has some sort of pink gum she can chew and swallow to give her temporary strength and speed.   And Jaime is kidnapped and wakes up in jail with everyone there thinking she's Lisa Garrett.  Jaime must escape, try to convince her friends she's who she says she is and get her identity back from Lisa.

Season 3, Episodes 3 & 4: Fembots In Vegas

Yes the Fembots are back and they're in Vegas.  I mean, these episodes are not as great as the original ones, but it's still Fembots, and you can't go wrong with them. 

POLT

Get up and move it, to the music (Part 591).....

 MOTIVATION

I always loved playing clerics in D&D.  Armored like a fighter, greater hit points than rogues, same damage as fighters just with a mace and not a sword, cast spells like a magic-user AND can heal!  Best of all worlds. 

POLT

Check this out, real quick, don't know if everybody know (Part 5504).....

 Check This Out!

Fifty years ago tonight, The Bionic Woman premiered in her own series!

Man I LOVED this show.  So much more than the Six-Million Dollar Man it spun off of.  The first two seasons of this series were just mind blowing the 8 year old me.  The third season...well the less said about most of that, the better.  

But on the whole, this was one of my favorite series as a kid.  And it all started 50 years ago.

POLT