For Pete’s Sake: Peter Tork, 1942-2019

Peter Tork, bassist, banjoist, and keyboardist extraordinaire for The Monkees, died today. He was 77. On the TV show, Peter was often portrayed as something as a simpleton — certainly silly, at any rate. In real life, though whimsical, Peter was a serious musician, whose chops earned him respect not only in folk, prog rock,……

The Man Who Made True Believers of Us All

Stan Lee died on November 12. He was 95, and had been active in comic books for more than 75 years. During his unmatched tenure in the industry, Lee helped turn Timely Comics, a small family-run business, into massively mighty Marvel Comics, arguably the biggest and most powerful publisher of comics and associated tie-in media……

In Memoriam: I Write Because of Harold Ramis

Harold Ramis died one year ago today. In remembrance, I present a piece I wrote celebrating his influence on me. It originally appeared at Atomic Wanderers on February 26, 2014. Harold Ramis died the other day. I never knew the man personally, never had the privilege of meeting him, and knew nothing about his private……