I can't begin to recount for you the measure of grief I've suffered over the years for talking about shows like Knight Rider and Airwolf as Science Fiction.  Admittedly, they're nothing even remotely close to shows like Star Trek and Star Wars (both of which I've also had to defend as SciFi for differing reasons), but when a program relies fairly heavily on futuristic technology I do tend to get sucked in a bit easier than most of blog on entertainment.  Also, at the end of the day, "it's my party, and I'll cry if I want to" also applies, so what I say goes ... and Airwolf was a mainstay in my TV diet back in the day.

Today, I read the news on Jan-Michael Vincent's passing.  Much like others in his generation, Jan-Michael was probably best known to have a particular 'era' in movies and television: he hadn't done anything professional in quite some time -- some of which can be chalked up to health and/or choosing to live a life a certain way -- and I'll admit I've often missed the toughness he brought hand-in-hand to his craft.  While others might consider his genre credentials a bit lightweight, I'd caution them to check out his contributions to the Apocalyptic-themed Damnation Alley and think again.

I'm missing him already.

As always, thanks for reading ...

We spend the better part of our lives just living it: we get up each day, fresh with the promise of new beginnings, and we spend the next eight to ten to twelve or more hours just getting by.  Working.  Eating.  Talking.  Like I said: living.  But never do we know what Life or Fate has in store for us.  Oft times, it takes an event -- sadly, it's often the passing of someone we may know or have followed in the news -- to serve up a real epiphany, the kind that reminds us all that life is so very short and so very precious it deserves to be celebrated each day.

I woke up today never expecting to write this sentence: "Luke Perry has passed away."

Honestly, I was never that much a fan of his work.  I was a bit old to buy into the teen-set antics of Beverly Hills, 90210, perhaps his most notable claim to fame.  As I've made it my business of following talent closely associated with the genres of Fantasy and Science Fiction, I am aware of his greater contributions to Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1992), The Fifth Element (1995), and J. Michael Strazzynski's Jeremiah.  As time permits, I'll have to do a few more scans of his IMDB.com profile and maybe even pop in a DVD or two to remember him by and to celebrate a talent taken from us far too soon in the greater scheme of things.

As always, thanks for reading ...