Tuesday, January 13, 2004

Possum on the Web

Bang the horn! Blow the drum! A nagging void on the Internet has at long last been filled with the arrival of The Official Pogo Website, located freeway close at www.pogopossum.com. As everyone with an I.Q. higher than their neck measurement is well aware, Walt Kelly's Pogo was one of the two or so greatest newspaper comic strips of all time. It was witty, it was insightful, it was mesmerizing and though set in the backwater environs of the Okefenokee Swamp, it was urbane as all get out. Best and most of all, it was funny and way ahead not just of its time but ours, as well. So it's about time Mr. Kelly's possum had an official web presence, and now he does. The site is operated by the folks to whom W.K. bequeathed his creations, and Full Disclosure requires that I admit I am a consultant to said folks. Matter of fact, I not only consult but I designed this great web page I'm plugging here. But don't let my obvious self-interest dissuade you from visiting early and often. There will be a weekly Pogo strip for your edification, plus facts and faqs and in the weeks to come, we'll be adding all sorts of stuff about the creation and its creator. End of plug. Go there.

• Posted at 10:10 PM · LINK

Cautionary Note

I just received a very official-looking e-mail from the Citibank company saying there has been fraud on my credit card and possibly my checking account, as well. It asks that I log in immediately to verify my information.

Only problem: I don't bank with Citibank. I never have in any way.

Closer examination of the e-mail shows that while some of its links go to the Citibank site (mostly to grab logos and imagery), the main portions of the e-mail link to some other, apparently-unrelated company. In other words, masquerading as Citibank, this other firm is attempting to get me to enter and/or confirm details of my financial life...probably credit card numbers, checking account numbers, ATM passwords, etc. I don't know for sure what they want because I didn't log in. That stupid, I'm not.

But it is frightening to remember that some people are. Some people do fall for these scams. There are even sentient human beings who, upon receipt of an e-mail from someone claiming to be the heir to the throne of Nigeria will send off their banking info, thinking they're going to get a cut of the heir's sixteen million paloozas.

I forwarded the bogus Citibank e-mail to the appropriate folks at my I.S.P. who, if they handle it the way they handle technical questions, will get around to it before the decade is out. But I thought I might remind you all, just in case you get hit on the head and momentarily lose all common sense. Do not give personal data out to anyone who e-mails you. Send it to me so I can plunder your IRA.

• Posted at 6:56 PM · LINK

Valiant Efforts

Here's an interview with Cullen Murphy, who is the editor of the Atlantic Monthly...but we don't care about that. What we care about is that in his spare time, he writes the Prince Valiant newspaper strip, drawn by his father. (Thanks to Craig Robin for the link.)

• Posted at 6:40 PM · LINK

I Really Do Get It For The Articles...

Last year at the Comic-Con International in San Diego, I hosted a panel with Ray Bradbury, Forrest Ackerman and Julius Schwartz. If you were in the room, you heard Mr. Bradbury talk about an article he had just completed for Playboy on why we must renew our commitment to manned space travel. It's in the current issue, oddly coinciding with G.W. Bush stating similar intentions. Bradbury is more eloquent on the topic but neither seems to have much of a reason. (I think space exploration, if and when we can afford it, makes a lot of sense. I think manned space travel is just showing off.)

Also in the current Playboy is an article on how detectives built the case against Robert Blake. If one assumes the facts are as stated in the piece, Blake is undeniably guilty. But I wonder if it's that cut-and-dried, especially given that we're hearing the trial could run six months or longer. I also wonder about the propriety of giving a reporter so much access, and allowing him to lay out the evidence as he does, at a stage when Blake is still entitled to some presumption of innocence.

• Posted at 2:37 AM · LINK

Dave on a Roll

Here's what Mr. Letterman was talking about last night on his show. The graphic below appeared on the CBS website for the last week or so, plugging Sunday night's People's Choice Awards.

As you can see, it shows the smiling face of Jay Leno who, along with Dave, was nominated in the Best Talk Show category. So was Oprah Winfrey, who won. Dave did a funny rant last evening about Jay's face appearing on the CBS website, demanding that some high-ranked CBS exec call him to apologize. The exec was supposed to also tell him that the person responsible had been fired, but was not supposed to actually fire that individual. Shortly afterwards, Les Moonves (the highest-rank exec at CBS, at least in Programming) called to apologize and tell Dave that the person responsible had been fired. Then, shortly after Letterman taped, the graphic on the CBS site changed as follows...

I will put aside a slight suspicion that the version with Dave's face was prepared in advance. They apparently got it changed in time to edit a shot of it into the show before it aired on the East Coast...but okay, maybe someone at the CBS website was working late and very facile. Legit or not, it was funny. I'm a little tired of Letterman's attitude towards Leno and network execs but this was funny.

• Posted at 12:53 AM · LINK

All About Willie Ito

Scott Shaw! offers us a nice profile/autobio of Willie Ito, a great cartoonist and a heckuva nice guy. The occasion is an Oddball Comics salute to the Beany & Cecil comic book, which wasn't particularly oddball. But hey, it's a great excuse to talk about Willie.

• Posted at 12:03 AM · LINK