ThunderCats… HO!!!

Know Your Medal of Honor Recipients:

First Sergeant Francis M. Cunningham (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on April 6, 1865 at Sailors Creek, Virginia. His citation reads:

Capture of battle flag of 12th Virginia Infantry (C.S.A.) in hand-to-hand battle while wounded.

Private James S. Cunningham (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on May 22, 1863 at Vicksburg, Mississippi. His citation reads:

Gallantry in the charge of the "volunteer storming party."

Assistant Surgeon Richard Curran (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on September 17, 1862 at Antietam, Maryland. His citation reads:

Voluntarily exposed himself to great danger by going to the fighting line there succoring the wounded and helpless and conducting them to the field hospital.


So, Winthrop has had what we in the business (and by the business, I mean the industry) call a disappointing season so far. With four seniors in the starting line-up, this should have been a great season. It has not been so far. I say so far because if they win every game they play from here until the end of the NCAA Tournament then they will be Big South Champs and, perhaps more importantly, National Champs. So that would make the season great. And while this scenario isn’t likely, it is possible… since… you know… they don’t have to be voted into the championship game. They just have to win their way in. But enough about the rest of the season… the important thing today is that Winthrop is playing the evil empire known as Coastal Carolina (motto: “Can’t get into college? Come to Coastal!”). I’m not going to say that this is the most important game on the schedule or like that. All I’m going to say is that beating Coastal can be a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy season.


The I’m just sayin… Kid Show of the Week

ThunderCats: ThunderCats is a cartoon that started in 1984. The original series (i.e. the good one) ran about 5 years, I believe. The show follows the adventures of a team of heroes… cat-like humans (or human-like cats) from a planet called Thundera. The series pilot begins with the dying planet Thundera meeting its end, forcing the ThunderCats (a sort of Thunderean nobility) to flee their home world. The fleet is attacked by the Thundereans' enemies, the Mutants of Plun-Darr, who destroy most of the starships in the "ThunderFleet," but spare the flagship hoping to capture the legendary mystic Sword of Omens they believe is on board. The sword holds the Eye of Thundera, the source of the ThunderCats' power, which is embedded in the hilt. Though the Mutants damage the flagship, the power of the Eye drives them back. The damage to the ship means the journey to their original destination is not possible, instead having to journey to "Third Earth"; which will take much longer than they had anticipated. The eldest of the ThunderCats, Jaga, volunteers to pilot the ship while the others sleep in capsules; however, he dies of old age in the process, but not before ensuring they will reach their destination safely. The flagship contains the young Lord of the ThunderCats, Lion-O, as well as the ThunderCats Cheetara (Mary Ruth’s favorite), Panthro, Tygra (my favorite), WilyKit and WilyKat, and Snarf. When the ThunderCats awake from their suspended animation on Third Earth, Lion-O discovers that his suspension capsule has slowed, rather than stopped, his aging, and he is now a child in the body of an adult. Together, the ThunderCats and the friendly natives of Third Earth construct the "Cat's Lair," their new home and headquarters, but before long, the Mutants have tracked them down to Third Earth. The intrusion of these two alien races upon the world does not go unnoticed, however - a demonic, mummified sorcerer calling himself Mumm-Ra recruits the Mutants to aid him in his campaign to acquire the Eye of Thundera and destroy the ThunderCats so that his evil may continue to hold sway over Third Earth.

Despite its large cast of characters, ThunderCats featured a rather small circle of voice actors, with only six actors providing voices for the entire first season. Every actor provided multiple voices, although the distinctive baritone of Earle Hyman (Panthro) left the actor providing only very occasional guest voices in comparison with his fellow performers. You might also know him as Russell Huxtable (Bill Cosby’s dad) from The Cosby Show. As the first season's only female actor, Lynne Lipton (Cheetara and WilyKit) provided voices for every single female character that appeared in the season. Above all others, however, actor Bob McFadden would most regularly provide the voices of guest characters, with his two diametrically-opposed main roles - the timid, high-pitched Snarf and the rumbling, sibilant Slithe. Despite introducing a large number of new regular characters, the show's second season brought in only two new actors. Gerrianne Raphael provided the voice of Pumyra, and was able to provide Lynne Lipton with some relief by adding new female voices.

You can find this great cartoon on DVD at places like Best Buy or on Amazon.com. I don’t remember how much the complete series costs, but I can tell you it is worth the price. It’s not a “perfect” cartoon, but it is fun to watch and it’s something that boys and girls would like.