Monday, August 31, 2015

RIP Wes Craven (1939 - 2015)

Legendary American Hollywood writer, director, and producer Wesley Earl "Wes" Craven died in his home in Los Angeles on Sunday, August 30, 2015 after a long struggle with brain cancer. Mr Craven was 76 years old. 

Wes Craven With His Two Greatest Horror Creations: Ghostface from the Scream franchise & Freddy Kreuger from the Nightmare On Elm Street franchise.

Born on August 2, 1939 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, Craven is best known for his work in horror and slasher films, and best remembered for being the creator of the Nightmare On Elm Street movie franchise featuring the legendary horror movie monster, Freddy Krueger.

Two Versions Of The Horror Film Monster Freddy Kreuger (Played By Actor Robert England) From Wes Craven's Nightmare On Elm Street Franchise.

His horror films - all of which are favorites of this blogger - include such amazing works of horror like: The Last House On The Left (1972), The Hills Have Eyes (1977), Swamp Thing (1982), A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984), A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), The Serpent And The Rainbow (1988), Shocker (1989), The People Under The Stairs (1991), Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994) and the Scream movie franchise - which were among his highest grossing films. 

Swamp Thing (1982)
A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
Shocker (1989)
The People Under The Stairs (1991)
Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)
Scream (1997)

Craven also played himself in the Kevin Smith film: Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)...another blogger favorite. 

Mr. Craven's work as a director has won him several film awards over the years, including the Saturn Award for the first Scream film. In 2012, the New York City Horror Film Festival honored Craven with the Lifetime Achievement Award. 

Mr. Craven is survived by his third wife Iya Labunka.


Wesley Earl "Wes" Craven. Born August 2, 1939 - Died August 30, 2015.
Thank you for all the memories - and for all the nightmares, Mr. Craven. RIP.

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Night Sky Photography -- 08-22-2015 -- Luna & Saturn

Photograph I took this evening of the planet Saturn and the moon in the southwestern night sky. 


RIP Yvonne Craig (1937 - 2015)

Actress Yvonne Joyce Craig died of metastatic breast cancer in her home in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, on August 17, 2015. She was 78 years old. 

Craig is best remembered for her roles as Batgirl/Barbara Gordon in the classic 1966 Batman TV Series and as the green-skinned Orion asylum inmate, Marta, in the Star Trek The Original Series 3rd season episode: Whom Gods Destroy
 
Craig Is Best Known As The Classic Batgirl, One Of The First Female Superheroes On Television.
Marta, The Orion Asylum Inmate From The Classic Star Trek Episode: Whom Gods Destroy.

Her role as Batgirl established Craig as the pioneer of female superheroes on television. She was also an advocate for women's health issues and equal pay for women - a cause this blogger also supports.

Craig is survived by her second husband, Kenneth Aldrich, and her sister, Meridel Carson.  

RIP Yvonne Craig. (May 16, 1937 - August 17, 2015)
Thank You For All The Memories.

Sunday, August 09, 2015

Funeral For Mr. Anthony Hervey

On Sunday, August 2, honored Confederate heritage activist, anti-poverty advocate, and Purple Heart recipient Mr. Anthony Hervey was laid to rest in his home of Oxford, Mississippi.

Mr. Hervey, a native of Water Valley, Mississippi, attended Oxford High School in Oxford. He served in the U.S. Army (where he was awarded a Purple Heart), and had a Master's degree from the University of London in England where he once worked for a member of the British Parliament. 

Known in Oxford for his outspoken support for the Dixie Cross flag, Hervey was often seen demonstrating with pro-Confederate signs on Jackson Avenue near the Confederate monument. Hervey is remember fondly by friends as one was very passionate about the Confederate banner and his Southern heritage as a whole. He reportedly had ancestors who fought for the Confederate military during the War Between The States. 

He is also known to have spoken out strongly against racist misuse of the Southern banner, including taking part in pro-flag and anti-KKK demonstrations during the debates over the display of battle flags at Old Miss. 
  
Mr. Anthony Hervey (Background) 2000
in Charleston, SC.


Hervey died as the result of a vicious road rage incident (officially ruled a car accident) on July 19 in Lafayette County, Mississippi. He was returning to his home in Oxford after attending a protest in Birmingham, Alabama with fellow Southern heritage defenders Arlene Barnum of Oklahoma, when a vehicle full of angry anti-Southern bigots yelled racist insults at them and possibly forced them off the road into a ditch. Miss Barnum survived the crash. The Mississippi Highway Patrol has closed its direct investigation ruling it an accident, but some MHP officials are still seeking leads into the possible identities of the men in the other car. 

Anthony Hervey was born on October 27, 1965 and died July 19, 2015. He was 49 years old. He is survived by his wife Paula Tingle Hervey of Oxford, Mississippi; his daughters Cheyenne Hervey and Jaydee Hervey both of London, England; his sons, Nehemiah Hervey and Austin Hervey both of Oxford; his father, Harry Hervey, Sr. of Oxford; his sisters, Paulie Ann Gillion of Water Valley, Mississippi and Yolinda Cobb of Tupelo, Mississippi; his brothers Samuel Hervey of Chicago, Illinois, Barry Hervey of Joliet, Illinois, Jack Hervey and Harry Hervey, Jr., both of Monroe, Louisiana. 

Anthony Hervey is survived by his wife Paula Tingle Hervey of Oxford, Mississippi; his daughters Cheyenne Hervey and Jaydee Hervey both of London, England; his sons, Nehemiah Hervey and Austin Hervey both of Oxford; his father, Harry Hervey, Sr. of Oxford; his sisters, Paulie Ann Gilliom (Brian) of Water Valley, Mississippi and Yolinda Cobb (Cedric) of Tupelo, Mississippi; his brothers Samuel Hervey (Trece) of Chicago, Illinois, Barry Hervey of Joliet, Illinois, Jack Hervey and Harry Hervey, Jr., both of Monroe, Louisiana; and a host of other relatives. Hervey was preceded in death by his mother, Katherine Campbell Hervey, his sister Linda Carol Campbell, and his brother Theron Campbell. - See more at: http://www.thelocalvoice.net/oxford/?p=26251#sthash.bbhZXQwQ.dpuf
Anthony Hervey is survived by his wife Paula Tingle Hervey of Oxford, Mississippi; his daughters Cheyenne Hervey and Jaydee Hervey both of London, England; his sons, Nehemiah Hervey and Austin Hervey both of Oxford; his father, Harry Hervey, Sr. of Oxford; his sisters, Paulie Ann Gilliom (Brian) of Water Valley, Mississippi and Yolinda Cobb (Cedric) of Tupelo, Mississippi; his brothers Samuel Hervey (Trece) of Chicago, Illinois, Barry Hervey of Joliet, Illinois, Jack Hervey and Harry Hervey, Jr., both of Monroe, Louisiana; and a host of other relatives. Hervey was preceded in death by his mother, Katherine Campbell Hervey, his sister Linda Carol Campbell, and his brother Theron Campbell. - See more at: http://www.thelocalvoice.net/oxford/?p=26251#sthash.bbhZXQwQ.dpuf
Mr. Hervey's funeral was held at the First Baptist Church in Oxford, Mississippi where close to 300 people filled the pews, many of them Mr. Hervey's family, close friends, and a mixed group of supporters for Southern heritage causes that wanted to show their gratitude to a fellow Southern compatriot. Some men wore suits and ties; some women wore Sunday dress clothes. Others wore 19th Century period mourning attire, Confederate uniforms, and some wore T-shirts and biker jackets with US and Dixie Cross banners on them. Outside the church, dozens of Confederate heritage activists with battle flags stood greeting passersby. 

Mr. Hervey's Coffin Was Donated By The Florida Division Sons Of
Confederate Veterans (SCV). Members of the Mechanized Cavalry
Helped Transport The Coffin To Oxford, Mississippi. 

Pro-Southern heritage organizations helped rally to offer support for Mr. Hervey's family. Mr. Hervey's coffin - generously donated by the Florida Division Sons of Confederate Veterans - was draped with the State Flag of Mississippi, which likewise bears the Southern flag. Members of several groups, such as the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the Mid-South Flaggers, served as pallbearers; a request made my Mr. Hervey himself before his death.

The First Baptist Church did not allow flags of any sort inside the sanctuary (aside from the one on Mr. Hervey's coffin) during the funeral; however the procession that followed was another story. Hervey's casket was loaded into a white hearse while bagpipe music played.  


Members of the SCV Memphis Brigade Color Guard from Memphis, Tennessee led the way just ahead of the hearse carrying Mr. Hervey's flag-draped coffin. Mr Hervey's widow and friends followed behind the hearse. Starting in the Mid-Town Shopping Center parking lot, just over a thousand people from across the American Southland in about two hundred hundred cars, and motorcycles lined up to join a procession of Confederate reenactors. 


Confederate reenactors and representatives of the Mississippi Division Sons of Confederate Veterans, including SCV Commander-In-Chief Charles K. Barrow, and the United Daughters of the Confederacy marched alongside Hervey's hearse, while friends and participants sang "Dixie" in his honor.

The procession made its way south on North Lamar Boulevard and around the Square, stopping long enough in front of the Confederate statue to honor Anthony Hervey and his favorite spot for demonstrating.   

Among the funeral procession were several United States flags, and hundred Confederate flags of all types - including a gigantic eye-catching Dixie Cross banner that took up two lanes of traffic and took nearly 30 people to carry and display it. 

Hundreds of people in Oxford, Mississippi watching the procession witnessed this incredible sight of Southerners of all walks of life and different colors united together in common respect for a noble Southern man, a U.S. Veteran, and Confederate heritage activist.


At the end of the procession, Mr. Charles Kelly Barrow, Commander In Chief, Sons of Confederate Veterans honored the widow of Mr. Hervey and the head of the Confederate color guard presented her the folded Mississippi State Flag from the coffin while reenactors wearing the same Southern gray uniform that Anthony Hervey himself wore offered a salute.


Anthony Hervey's Widow, Miss Paula Tingle Hervey.

As a final worthy tribute to the memory and legacy of Anthony Hervey, a memorial wreath and battle flag were placed at the base of the Oxford Confederate Soldiers Monument, where Mr. Hervey spent much of his time speaking out against the abuse of Confederate symbols and attacks on both Southern heritage and Southern people of all races and creeds. 

Mr. Hervey's memory and his legacy stand as a part of that heritage and its symbols now, just as much as any other Southern-born person today who truly honors that heritage and defends it from unworthy hands and attacks by dishonorable enemies of Dixie; and as much as any of the noble dead who wore the hallowed gray and butternut of the Southland. 

Anthony Hervey, my brother of the South and in Christ, you are in good company now sir, and you will never be forgotten by those who will carry on in the defense of our shared Southern and Confederate historical heritage. 


A Memorial Wreath And Folded Confederate Battle Flag
At The Oxford Confederate Soldiers Monument Where
Mr. Hervey Spent Much Of His Time Protesting
Or Just Standing As Honor Guard Of The Monument.
RIP Anthony Hervey - You Will Never Be Forgotten Sir!