Monday, June 28, 2004

WonderCon Memory

Here's an article about last April's WonderCon in San Francisco. As one might expect, it gushes about my pal Sergio. But at least I get mentioned.

• Posted at 9:36 PM · LINK

Hello, Dollie!

I mentioned this a few weeks ago but, hell, it's my weblog. I'll mention it again if I want to. I've been enjoying my regular stops at the website of The Cocktail Doll, a genuine lady who serves beverages to gamblers at a Vegas hotel. (And I even know which hotel, but you won't get that info outta me.) She has a section called Daily Rounds which is her journal of adventures in serving drinks and getting tipped, usually poorly. I love weblogs that give you a look at a slice of life that you might not otherwise glimpse, and "Dollie" does a fine job of describing what it's like in her world. Drop by and see for yourself.

• Posted at 3:57 PM · LINK

Today's Political Rant

There are some criticisms you can make of public officials that don't click with me. That is, I shrug and think that someone is trying to spin something minor into a solid attack. One of these is the notion that someone is crazed and out of control and "losing it." If a politician goes up in a tower with a rifle and starts picking off innocent bystanders...or if he ran naked into the streets screaming, okay. I'd accept that the guy was maybe a few fries short of a Happy Meal.

But I don't buy that Al Gore raising his voice or Howard Dean giving out with a big "whoop" or even George W. Bush stammering is indicative of mental fission. The other day, Bill Clinton gave an interview on British television which his detractors spun as an "emotional outburst" and a sign that the stress was getting to him...or something of the sort. I watched it (as you can do here) and I thought it was a perfectly acceptable tone and that Clinton was firmly in control. His foes were just trying to make something out of nothing.

And I guess I also feel that way about all these speculations that Dick Cheney's recent use of the dreaded "f-word" suggests that he's having some sort of breakdown. I think the Vice-President made a tactical error that will come back to haunt him. Hostile crowds will chant his quote back at him, plus it'll be that much harder for him to argue that he's restored "dignity and honor" to the White House. But I don't think you can really infer that the man is falling apart. He just got mad and that's how it came out. Do we think our elected officials never get mad? Or don't say such things that go unreported?

I think Dick Cheney has a lot to answer for. I'm waiting for the Vice-Presidential Debate when the Democratic nominee — who looks more and more like Edwards — starts itemizing how much government money has found its way over the years to the Cheney bank account. But the suggestion that Cheney is becoming unstable is lost on me. This election is getting nasty enough without that kind of nonsense.

• Posted at 12:54 PM · LINK

Recommended Reading

Here's an article from the Conservative National Review that lists some outrageous things on which your government is spending your money.

• Posted at 11:33 AM · LINK

Casting News

Will Ferrell has signed on to play Franz Liebkind in the movie version of the musical version of the movie of The Producers. That seems wrong to me but maybe it'll work. (Hey, you know who I think would have been great in the role? Kevin Kline! Think about it.)

• Posted at 11:16 AM · LINK

Captain Headshrinker

My pal Danny Fingeroth has written a clever new book about the psychology of superhero-dom called Superman on the Couch and I sure enjoyed my copy. You can get yours by clicking here and you can hear a good interview (it's about eight minutes) with Danny over here on this National Public Radio page. Danny says some interesting things about the nature of heroism (super or otherwise) and about what it means to those of us who live vicariously through the super-guys, and provides a new way to look at some old conventions of the genre. Oh, yeah — and there's a foreword by Stan Lee, too. That makes it all official.

• Posted at 11:10 AM · LINK

The Place to Go

Comicbookmarks.com is a handy new website that will link you to all the important Internet places that have to do with comic books. Including this one.

• Posted at 10:28 AM · LINK

Recommended Reading

Here are two interesting articles in the L.A. Times by one of my favorite political analysts — which is not to say I agree with everything he writes — Ronald Brownstein. In this one, he discusses the political risks for George W. Bush in the handover of just whatever it is we just handed over to Iraq. And in this one, he discusses Bill Clinton's legacy and suggests that its finer points are the kinds of things that Conservatives either don't notice or don't care about.

You'll need to register to read articles over at the Times. If you don't want to give them your real e-mail address, get an extra one at some site like Hotmail or Yahoo and use that for such sign-ups. Or even easier, let a lasagna-loving cat deliver your mail by signing up for a free account at e-Garfield.

Also: A couple of folks sent me links to news reports wherein Bush's 9/11 conduct is defended by the principal of the school where he was appearing when the planes hit. Here's one and here's another...and I don't think she makes a very good case for the man. Is the argument here really that it was more important for the President of the United States to not panic 40 children than it was for him to find out more about an attack on this country that was currently taking place and to determine if he maybe, like, could or should do something? Or that there was no way he could have gotten out of the room swiftly without panicking them? Or that maybe the children might wind up being panicked anyway over what was going on? Or that he didn't wonder if maybe he was about to be the target of an attack and shouldn't be near those kids? Or that...well, you get the idea.

I still find it mind-boggling. When the rest of us heard that airplanes were being flown into skyscrapers in New York, we rushed to turn on the news and learn all we could. The man most responsible for national defense sat in a classroom (where he probably shouldn't have been in the first place) and took his own sweet time finding out what was going on. I keep thinking I must be missing something; that there was some logical explanation for his lack of prompt action. Someone, please, point me to it.

• Posted at 9:53 AM · LINK

Coming Soon...

The funniest man on the planet is about to open his website. And he's made a special video to announce this.

• Posted at 12:59 AM · LINK