Is this going to start a trend of people posting their images? It
might as well
be Facebook.
And since WHEN did these tiny urls start rendering the image.
Have I missed something here, or has AMERICAN.EDU updated something?
I know we are not supposed to post attachments.
What's going on here?
Kirby
On Mar 16, 2009, at 3:27 PM, David Kusumoto wrote:
A MoPo pal privately (and jokingly) asked me last night, "so who's
the ugly guy having dinner with Liza in the 4th picture?" With a
straight face, I admitted it was me. Those pictures were taken
about 2 years ago.
However, in my defense, I noted that with the mastery of CGI, I can
be cleaned up -- as is sometimes necessary in the field of news and
public relations; thus, for those "just getting to know me," who've
never met me in person (despite being a MoPo member for years) -- I
submit a "reasonable facsimilie" of yours truly, an older pix taken
for professional reasons -- (but stripped of the "kidding on the
square" caption beneath it). Hey man, anything to reduce my
"ass***e score" among my detractors. I'm aware most will still
mutter, "now that stuck-up clown is torturing us with a picture of
himself." Trust me when I say I do not look like the imposter
below; vaguely similar, but with a lot less hair, a lot more gray
and a lot more pickled; after all, I was born in occupied Tokyo
during the Eisenhower years, so lay off. :-(
P.S. -- I will admit, though, that I did have a hilarious bit role
in film that people keep bugging me about. Remember that goofy
Japanese guy who tries to hit on Frances McDormand in the restaurant
scene in "Fargo?" Yeah, that was me. So there.
http://tinyurl.com/d6g7t3
-----Original Message-----
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:45:35 -0700
From: [email protected]
Subject: OT: Speaking of Stephen Fishler...
To: [email protected]
Freeman:
OK, I'm busted. Liza felt sorry for me going alone, so after 30-
minutes of begging and groveling, making a total Asian spectacle of
myself -- Liza agreed to stand-in as my "wife" -- at Bruce's poster
sale back in 1998. Below are more recent pictures of Liza taken
during our last visit to New York. The woman below is not only Liza
Minnelli -- she's also, when the need arises -- my "wife." I have a
receipt to prove it. Keeping up appearances is expensive, man. But
I don't mess around. -d.
http://tinyurl.com/c7olph
From: [email protected]
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 03:12:40 -0400
Subject: Re: [MOPO] Speaking of Stephen Fishler...
To: [email protected]; [email protected]
What was Liza Minnelli doing there?
In a message dated 3/15/2009 11:59:38 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected]
writes:
David I have always meant to apologize for hassling your wife back
then at that Comic-Con in the 1970s!
Bruce -- it couldn't have been you in the 1970s at Comic-Con who hit
on my girlfriend-who-later-became-my-wife. She remembers the creep
being definitely fair-haired and geeky. And though you're obviously
no George Clooney -- my wife doesn't consider you a geek, as is
evident in the two pics she prodded me to share (see below) that
were taken with you both at your L.A. sale.
Meanwhile, I have to say that while showroom auctions are
prohibitively expensive -- (which explains the high buyer and seller
premiums other auctions charge) -- there's a wistfulness I feel
about those sales of the past. That sale of yours in L.A. in that
massive building was something, with all the lots displayed in floor-
to-ceiling rows around the room -- and what was a "first" for an
"auction house" at the time -- you had lots of food stored in big
coolers in the back for everyone to help themselves. My
recollection of the news story I wrote -- was you had several
hundred lots and only about 4-5 passes. And the happiest guy in the
room (besides the winning bidders) -- was a fellow in his late 30s
named Marty Saltzman, who agreed to be interviewed and proudly
revealed he was the consignor of more than half of the lots. That
kind of openness among consignors and bidders -- with media present
-- will likely never happen again. I think the only reason why
normally hide-bound people would reveal themselves in this way --
was because they were not only happy, they were ecstatic -- and the
noisy party-type atmosphere in the showroom helped -- (a big
contrast to more stoic affairs held elsewhere). Whatta day that
was... -d. http://tinyurl.com/cjsft3
-----Original Message-----
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 22:26:22 -0500
Subject: Re: [MOPO] Speaking of Stephen Fishler...
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
CC: [email protected]
David
I have always meant to apologize for hassling your wife back then at
that Comic-Con in the 1970s!
Seriously though, I really have to admire Steve Fishler. Back at the
time of that auction, Steve and around a dozen other guys were
advertising hot and heavy that each one of them paid the "most" for
top quality posters.
Well, I knew when I got these two incredible posters (never before
auctioned, excellent unrestored condition, and straight from a man
who had owned them for 50 years) that THIS would be the ultimate
test of who was the real deal, and who was "all talk".
My auctions have always been cash only, with no trades, no 6 months
zero interest, no pretend sales, etc. I made it clear before the
auction that the high bidder on either of these two posters would
have to pay in full within 30 days of the auction date (and only in
the world of collectibles where almost all the top players for the
most expensive posters are "collectibles rich, but cash broke" could
these be considered onerous terms).
Well the auction came, and not only did Fishler buy BOTH of these,
but none of the other "we pay most" guys even bid!
And of course I would have gone to my grave without revealing who
bought these except that Steve himself revealed that he was the buyer.
The collectibles world is filled with lots of big talkers, and huge
sales that never really happened, but these were two sales that did.
Bruce
On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 5:29 PM, David Kusumoto <[email protected]
> wrote:
** I confess when my good-looking girlfriend (who's now my wife) and
I first walked into Comic-Con in the 1970s (which was then held in
the smallish El Cortez Hotel and later the Civic Center here in San
Diego) -- we were taken aback by the geek factor, people dressed up
in costumes and reciting every line in Star Trek, going over plot
lines and Trek-ideology, all that jazz. I have never been a Star
Trek fan or a collector of sports cards, but I did have an interest
in old comics and movies. Other than my aversion to Star Trek and
sports cards -- I confess I was still a little rattled that my
interests were otherwise very much aligned with others at Comic-Con
-- who seemed geeky in appearance and manner, very intellectual and
socially awkward if they had to talk about unrelated subjects like
their jobs or what was in the news. I seemed to need reassurance
because I asked my girlfriend (who went only because of my interest,
not hers) -- "do I seem that way to you?" And she said no. More
than 30 years later, she remains above my standing, not what people
expect; I obviously got lucky because I'm not an attractive match
for her and I'm not rich.
** But what was funny, I'll never forget this -- one year we went to
Comic-Con to buy more comics and folded one-sheets -- and this guy,
he looked like the square dude who plays the NBC page on "30 Rock"
-- kept following my then girlfriend around whenver I strayed into
another direction in the dealer's room, peppering her with questions
-- and I overheard this Boy Scout trying to pick her up, asking for
her phone number. I guess he was surprised to see a girl like her
at Comic-Con. (She worked at JC Penney at the time and eventually
became a department manager at Nordstrom.) My then girlfriend
politely declined to give out her personal information and then she
swiveled and gave me a glare that said, "get me outta of this place,
NOW."
** Today, Comic-Con is gigantic, with crowds of around 100,000 or
more held at the huge San Diego Convention Center on the harbor --
and though the event still retains its geek factor -- it's far more
inclusive, with tons of stuff for children and movie-related
material and events going constantly. When Comic-Con started, its
only attendees were young adults and grumpy old men. The trouble
today is few can afford to attend Comic-Con. And I understand that
this year's bash is already sold out. In terms of its impact on
traffic and people crowding our streets -- Comic-Con is bigger than
the Super Bowls our city has hosted. Every Comic-Con, locals avoid
downtown. But now that we have a major league baseball stadium
downtown, it's a nightmare.
-d.
-----Original Message-----
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 09:13:34 -0700
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Speaking of Stephen Fishler...
To: [email protected]
Guilty on all counts (btw ... I finally got the beautiful woman, but
she was born waaaay after ST left the airwaves).
ad
--- On Sun, 3/15/09, David Kusumoto <[email protected]>
wrote:
From: David Kusumoto <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [MOPO] Speaking of Stephen Fishler...
To: [email protected]
Date: Sunday, March 15, 2009, 2:46 AM
(truncated)
And we used to laugh because at lunch he would tell us off and on
that any woman he might marry in the future -- MUST first know all
about Star Trek and understand it. And oh, of course, that woman
would have to be gorgeous. He didn't collect movie posters, but he
DID collect comics and action figures. I bet if I drew a line
connecting all of MoPo's members -- that I would find (besides a
shared interest in posters) -- a past or present interest in comics,
sports cards and sci-fi/sorcery stuff.
-d.
-----Original Message-----
Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 23:46:19 -0700
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Speaking of Stephen Fishler...
To: [email protected]
** I saw Fishler in person that one and only time -- and he struck
me then as a very quiet but intense young man, almost trying to hide
from any attention. When I tried to interview him, he was visibly
uncomfortable and gave me only a few one-breath quotes. But
everyone in the huge room was curious about him. "Who's the kid
with all the money who looks like he just got out of high school?,"
was the general buzz. Instead of letting someone else bid on his
behalf, Stephen flew from NY to L.A. to bid in person. That was a
helluva sale -- and it was striking in that you got the feeling that
Stephen himself knew he was not going to lose those two Universal
horror posters; he had no limit. It happened at Bruce's first stand-
alone showroom sale (Dec. 1998) -- after directing Christie's
previous poster sales in New York. Fishler struck me as a very
mysterious figure. Since then, I've seen him quoted many times and
have learned that he has ALWAYS been a big name in the comic book
world.
** My wife and I have always found it intriguing that so many movie
poster collectors are hyper-intellectual guys who used to collect
sports cards or comic books, who love sci-fi and Star Trek -- who
have a high-geek factor that people (esp. women) can instantly spot
in a crowd. For example, the character "Dwight" in NBC's "The
Office" -- played by the hilarious Rainn Wilson -- is the sort of
guy you'd expect to collect comics and posters, a guy who treats the
Lord of the Rings or Star Trek-type universes like a religion. And
so he does.
** There used to be this quiet, portly guy in his 30s who was a
graphic designer in our office in San Diego. And we used to laugh
because at lunch he would tell us that any woman he might marry in
the future -- MUST first know all about Star Trek and understand
it.. And oh, of course, that woman would have to be gorgeous. He
didn't collect movie posters, but he DID collect comics and action
figures. I bet if I drew a line connecting all of MoPo's members --
that I would find (besides a shared interest in posters) -- a past
or present interest in comics, sports cards and sci-fi/sorcery
stuff. Speaking for myself, I was real INTO comic books during the
first 5-6 years of Comic-Con before moving on to books and movies
big-time.
-d.
-----Original Message-----
Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:36:24 -0700
To: [email protected]; [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [MOPO] Speaking of Stephen Fishler...
David
first time I met Steve he was 12 years old looking for Fantastic
Four #1 and had the cash with him and much more.
a year later he was a dealer too.
Always a good friend, I know he won't be bothered by mentioning that
his father was a liquor distributor and that should tell you
everything. His mother is a sweet lady and Steve is a very smart
businessman
Rich
At 04:28 PM 3/14/2009, David Kusumoto wrote:
On the AP wires today, see below.
[BTW, Fishler was/is a big buyer of movie posters and is loaded with
$$$. I saw him at Bruce's huge auction held in L.A.'s cavernous
Pacific Design Center that I covered 10 years ago for Movie
Collector's World. At the time he was only 31 -- and he walked away
with the biggest prizes of the day -- two unbacked one-sheets for
"Dracula" ($74,750) and "The Invisible Man" ($55,200).] -d.
----------------------
Rare Superman comic sells for $317,200
Mar 14, 5:44 PM (ET)
By DAVID B. CARUSO
NEW YORK (AP) - A rare copy of the first comic book featuring
Superman has sold for $317,200 in an Internet auction. The previous
owner had bought it for less than a buck.
It's one of the highest prices ever paid for a comic book, a
likely testament to the volume's rarity and its excellent condition,
said Stephen Fishler, co-owner of the auction site ComicConnect.com
and its sister dealership, Metropolis Collectibles.
The winning bid for the 1938 edition of Action Comics No. 1,
which features Superman lifting a car on its cover, was submitted
Friday evening by John Dolmayan, drummer for the rock band System of
a Down, according to managers at ComicConnect.com.
Dolmayan, who is also a dealer of rare comic books, said he
acquired the Superman comic on behalf of a client he declined to
identify.
"This is one of the premier books you could collect," he said in
a telephone interview. "It's considered the Holy Grail of comic
books. I talked to my client, and we made the move."
Dolmayan said the client has "a small collection, but everything
he has is incredible."
Only about 100 copies of Action Comics No. 1 are known to exist
and they seldom come up for sale.
"Maybe in a booming economy, it would have done a hundred grand
more, but in this economy, I think the price is great," Fishler said.
The man who had previously owned the book purchased it in a
secondhand store in the early 1950s when he was nine years old.
He paid 35 cents.
---
Associated Press writer Adam Goldman in New York contributed to this
report.
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