Saturday, July 12, 2003

When Strippers Attack

I haven't caught Stan Lee's new animated series Stripperella yet. But like you, I've heard this report that a former stripper in Florida is claiming she came up with the idea and pitched it to Stan while giving him a lap dance in a local club about a year ago.

I know Stan pretty well, I think. The idea that he would go to a strip joint in Florida and get a lap dance strikes me as more incredible than anything he ever put in a comic book. Besides, what man ever really listens to an attractive woman while she's taking off her clothes?

• Posted at 7:04 PM · LINK

Blame Game

This whole thing with Bush's State of the Union address and the bogus uranium story is amazing. I've tried to follow all the different scenarios and not a one of them makes a lick of sense. I think Democrats are being disingenuous to claim that the now-discredited info was a major reason for going to war in Iraq. But I also think the Republicans are being disingenuous to insist that because the head of the C.I.A. has taken the blame, the president is off the hook and the story is over. I don't know about you but I find the prospect that Bush knowingly lied less scary than the notion that he could actually believe such a serious report when so many people around him knew for months it was at least dubious, if not outright untrue.

I've never bought the notion that "I didn't know" was an acceptable excuse for the President of the United States, especially when it involves something as serious as Americans being sent off to fight and die. I didn't buy it when Lyndon Johnson told us the Pentagon had phonied up reports to him; didn't buy it when Richard Nixon said all the unethical deeds were committed by overzealous underlings without his knowledge; didn't buy it when Ronald Reagan and the previous President Bush claimed to be "out of the loop" on the whole Iran-Contra affair, etc. Maybe I'd have bought it if they'd fired and/or prosecuted the people who did all those criminal or foolish things behind the presidential back...but they never do, because those people really did not do anything they didn't want done, and might say so if they were cut loose. Is Bush about to sack George Tenet for allowing the Oval Office to believe and disseminate a discredited report? No, according to the New York Times, "President Bush said today that he retained confidence in Mr. Tenet and that he considered the matter closed."

I never thought the Clinton underlings who went out and repeated the "he did not have sex with that woman" denials really believed them. I doubt I'm going to believe the Bush backers who will now say "It was wholly Tenet's fault" really believe it, either. The name of the game here is not to get at anything resembling the truth. It's to give your supporters something to say so they don't look too stupid defending you.

• Posted at 12:31 PM · LINK

Comic Artist Website of the Day

Herb Trimpe is a lovely man who drew for Marvel for years, primarily on The Hulk. I would like to direct you to four pieces relating to him. This link goes to Herb's own website, which doesn't have all that much up yet but is worth a visit. This link goes to a recent interview, which is very interesting once it gets going, especially his comments on the Hulk movie. This link goes to an article that Herb wrote for The New York Times about how his career in comics ended due to apparent ageism...

And this link is the real find, though it has nothing to do with the Hulk. Proving himself a greater super-hero than any he drew, Herb pitched in after the 9/11 tragedies and worked at Ground Zero for the Red Cross. I heard him speak of this over dinner last year and was fascinated and moved, and you'll understand why when you read this piece. Even the non-comics folks who come here should check it out.

• Posted at 11:29 AM · LINK

July 13, 2003 • Current • July 11, 2003