Uncle Forry, R.I.P.

It makes me so sad that Forrest J. Ackerman has passed on to... I should have a pun there that has something to do with monsters in the afterlife, but I am just not that clever. But, like I said, I am sad. He had such an amazing life that every nerd dreams of having. He coined the term "Sci-Fi" and he knew Ed Wood, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and even Fritz Lang. For years he lived in the Ackermansion, near Hollywood, Karloffornia. His home housed the largest Sci-Fi and Horror film memorabilia collection on earth. I first heard of him in an American Lit class in high school. The teacher I had took two weeks out of the year to devote it entirely to the history of science fiction. (As a side note, I have to mention that over the summer I found out that teacher had passed away. Maybe someday I will write and entry for him.) After telling us that the first science fiction book was Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and talking in great detail about Ursula Leguin and the Big Four (Asimov, Bradbury, Heinlein and Clark) he wrote a phone number on the blackboard. It said 213-Moon Fan. That was Forry's home phone number. You could call after 6 to make reservations to take a tour of his place. I really regret that I never called that number. I met Forry in 1995. I got to chat with him for a bit. I asked him about Ed Wood and what he thought of the Tim Burton film. He made it very clear that Bela Lugosi NEVER said the F word. But other than that, that Depp guy was a pretty good actor. He then gave me his card and I put it in my wallet and still never called to make arrangements go see his collection. damn. Lucky for you, and me, there is a ton of stuff on youtube about him and his Ackermansion. Let's enjoy that now, shall we?

Forrest J Ackerman is truly one of the greatest people I have ever known.

Gary Busey

I've been watching Celebrity Rehab on VH1 and i am continually fascinated by the craziness of Gary Busey. While it is completely insane that Rod Stewart's son has no idea who Buddy Holly was, when his dad was in The Faces, I just can't stop watching this damn show. 

I want to post some great Gary Busey videos, but first here is The Faces performing "Maybe I'm Amazed."

And now here's some Gary Busey...

Absolutely fascinating! it's like watching an episode of Wild Kingdom or Nova.

And now, here is the greatest thing that Gary Busey has ever done.

If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out...

I figured, since I am obsessed with movies, a great starting point for this blog would be a trailer for my favorite film of all time. Luckily, it's a movie that a lot of people I have talked to have never even heard of before. That film is Harold and Maude. It just so happens that I am also obsessed with music, and this film has one of the best soundtracks ever! It's all Cat Stevens songs. 

So, in case you are wondering why this blog is called The Best Thing I Have Ever Seen, it's pretty much because there are lots of pop culture references floating around inside my brain and they needed an outlet. I am one of those people who is super passionate about the things I love, and what I want to do here is show you all of the things I love. I would also imagine that along the way I will discover some new things as well, whether it be a website I hadn't seen before or a link to an art exhibit that you should see. I'll post it all here for you. 

I guess that's all the introduction this thing needs, so let's get to that trailer...

Harold And Maude (1971)

directed by Hal Ashby and starring Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon

Here's Cat Stevens performing "Where Do The Children Play?" in 1976.