Since one of my jobs is doing movie reviews, I'm at the movie theatres 4 times a week. Well a few times, I've seen commercials (which seems crazy, having commercials in a movie theatre)...and it was for a high-end hotel that Marriott is doing. They're called "Autograph Collection." Now, as somebody that has thousands of amazing autographs...even if I opened a chain of hotels, or a restaurant, I wouldn't call it that.

So, here's a link to their website. Bizarre.…

I met Michael Jordan a few times. He was never very nice. At the time, I was a sports reporter for a radio station. On the first occasion, I just did a quick interview with him. There were other reporters waiting to get quotes or sound bites, and he was there with the “Dream Team.” It was the first time the United States allowed NBA players to join the Olympic team, and they had a great one: Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Patrick Ewing, John Stockton, to name a…

As a movie critic, and collector of movie and music memorabilia, I love the story about the late critic Gene Siskel buying the white suit John Travolta wore in “Saturday Night Fever.” Siskel had been on record as saying it was his all-time favorite movie and he had seen it 28 times. At a charity auction he bought the suit for…

I have two Olivia Newton-John autographs. The first one came about the usual way for us collectors -- I purchased it. It was a Grease soundtrack album, and it was signed by a few of the cast members, including John Travolta. I was able to get even more signatures on it (although very costly), at one of those autograph shows at the Marriott near LAX. I only went…

One of my favorite movies is “Casablanca.” So I was thrilled when a friend, upon hearing this, said, “I have a barstool from that movie. I bought it from a company selling Hollywood movie memorabilia for charity.”

She said she paid $50 for it, and it’s just sitting in storage. She said she’d give it to me, and...I’ve brought it up…

Not a bad spring on the musical front.  As usual, I had some hits and some misses while trying to add to the collection.  

First up was America.  This was by far the fastest and easiest autograph I have ever gotten.  I went right to the hotel after the show and as I was walking in, Dewey and Gerry were walking right behind me.  I asked if they could sign and both happily did.  Wish they could all be that easy.…

I was never the biggest Allman Brothers fan. I thought Duane Allman played a mean slide guitar. And their long, Fillmore style jams were okay, but I probably would’ve liked them better if I played a musical instrument. When I worked in radio, they were good songs to play when you were on the air because it gave you time to go to the bathroom.…

This morning I heard two stories that got me thinking, and now...blogging. First, singer Barry White’s son is suing his widow. She apparently spent all his money living a lavish lifestyle, and he had a trust that is no longer paying him.…

These are the types of blogs I hate to write. When somebody dies that I’m a fan of. No, no...not Roger Ailes. That guy was scum. Chris Cornell -- the incredible voice behind the grunge band Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, and Audioslave (that’s the one band I wasn’t a big fan of).

I was working at a classic rock radio station that…

Steve Harvey is an idiot. I know, that sounds harsh. But let me make my case. First, his screw up at the Miss Universe pageant where he said the wrong name. Now, it’s not like the Oscars with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. They were given the wrong envelope. And with Harvey, the reports were that he refused to go to the rehearsal, and that’s why he messed it…

In Poway, one of the surrounding counties of San Diego, a statue was unveiled of Padres Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. It was a wonderful event, and the papers here covered it heavily. One of the things his son, former player Tony Gwynn, Jr. said, was how great it was to have his dad watching and filming his basketball games. I remember a few years when I coached youth basketball, and our team played against his. Another Padres player -- Gary Templeton -- also had a son on the…

I met actor Jeffrey Tambor at an event and told him how much I loved him in “The Larry Sanders Show.” He grabbed my hand, thanked me, and talked about how much that show meant to him and what it did for his career. We had a nice chat about the show. I was tempted to bring up the episode he was in of “Taxi” which was terrific. I thought about telling him how…

After seeing the discussions on this site regarding autographs versus selfies, as well as observing fan groups based both on autographs and celebrity photo ops, I'm prompted to ask revisit the question of whether autographs represent the best celebrity-related souvenir. 

I myself am of an age right at the crossroads of Gen-Xers and Millennials. Fittingly, I tend to see both sides of this. People older than me tend to gravitate toward autographs while people in their teens and twenties…

Just check out this sellers scam.

He thinks he is so clever but he is just a thief.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/4242kenneth/m.html?item=252866602846&rmvSB=true&hash=item3ae006275e%3Ag%3ANjEAAOSwj25Y8QSE&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

My wife’s favorite singer is Bruce Springsteen. She’s from Jersey, what can ya do? She was going to drive up to meet him at the book signing in L.A. She’s glad she didn’t, as many in line didn’t get to meet him. You had to show up and camp out at midnight. I told her that one of the bookstore chains has been selling numbered books autographed (it was written…

Here in San Diego -- the sports fans are still bummed the Chargers moved to Los Angeles. I hate to admit that as bothered as I am by that, I’m more concerned with how my fantasy football team will do next year.

The stories about the Chargers that make me happiest always seem to involve the best Charger player of all-time: Lance…

Usually when you hear about bogus stuff involving sports memorabilia, it’s companies pawning off forgeries. This latest one I heard about is interesting, because it involves the athlete. And I’ve often wondered if athletes did this.

One of the reasons I’ve thought about it is hearing pro athletes talk about all the stuff fans want to buy from them. Another reason is when I worked as a morning DJ at a radio station, we had an attractive DJ working…

One of the most complex things to explain to newer autograph collectors is to explain what a certificate of authenticity (COA) is what what value it holds. The problem lies in explaining what a COA is and what it is not. At their best, for the most part, a COA is the hobby equivalent of the TSA in that is presents an illusion of security. The first thing that must be clarified is that a COA is not a legal document, regardless of its wording. Novice collectors tend to fall victim to the…

A few of my friends who are autograph collectors used to get lectures from me. One of them always brought a guitar for autographs. The musicians hated it, and it created a bad vibe for everyone. I always said if you can, wear a shirt that the artist will like seeing. They’ll know you’re a fan and not just an ebay dealer. Of course, when I wore a “Help” shirt, McCartney drove his Corvette right by me, waving and winking, but never stopping to sign for me.…

The “Eisenhower Cabin,” one of ten cabins on the Augusta National property, was built by the golf club’s membership for member Dwight D. Eisenhower after his election as President of the United States. He had joined the club in 1948 and had visited Augusta National five times before his election, 29 times while President, and 11 times after he left office. His stays there were at times lengthy. The cabin was built according to Secret Service security guidelines, and, during his presidency,…