Saturday, March 11, 2006

Stern Warning

As you may have heard, CBS is suing Howard Stern, who is retaliating with some pretty scathing comments about CBS head honcho Les Moonves. A lot of folks were wondering what Howard, who was scheduled to be a guest with David Letterman on Monday night, would say there...and how Dave, who is said to be a close friend of Moonves, would respond.

If they're ever to find out, it won't be on Monday. The name of Howard Stern has suddenly disappeared from Letterman's guest list and that of Vin Diesel has mysteriously appeared in its stead.

We will hear more about this. Whether we want to or not.

• Posted at 4:02 PM · LINK

Simpsons Live!

Sometimes, I don't link to something because everyone else on the 'net seems to be doing so, and I figure that by the time you get to this site, you've seen it. But then, dozens and dozens of people send me the link as if I'm unaware of it. That's happening with this video that re-creates the opening of The Simpsons in live-action...though with a lot of CGI in there. So I'm posting it just to save you all the time of writing me to tell me about it. In case you're wondering who made it and why, here's that explanation. And here's the video link...

• Posted at 11:55 AM · LINK

Today's Political Musing

There's a quote making the rounds from Graydon Carter of Vanity Fair. It seeks to answer the question of why George W. Bush always sounds like he's talking to an audience of very small children...

He speaks to the audience as if they're idiots. I think the reason he does that is because that's the way these issues were explained to him.

There may be some truth to that but I'd like to throw out another thought. I think powerful, successful people cling to certain management styles and techniques that have worked for them in the past. When Michael Dukakis was defeated in his presidential bid, someone asked him why, when it was obvious the last week or so that he was not going to win, he didn't try something different. His answer, and I think this is more typical than not, is that when you're in a crunch is not the time to abandon all the things that got you as far as they did. Especially in crisis situations, most folks' tendency is to retreat to the methods of past successes, even though what worked then and there might not apply here and now.

I saw some old footage on C-Span a week or two ago of Bush in his Texas governor days. I can see why this guy got elected. He had a skill for simplifying issues down to the point where they sounded like his position was the only moral or intelligent option. It may not have been an intellectually honest approach, painting the opposing path as something it was not, but there was always an edge of humility to it. He laid out his case as if the choice was more important than he was, and it didn't sound condescending, didn't make him sound like a Kindergarten teacher. Maybe it's just that as he's gotten more powerful (and in his mind, I'm sure, more successful), the humble part of that has gotten harder and harder to retain.

There are still some people out there who admire the man's tenacity and cocksuredness. Having occasionally suffered at the hands of people who were absolutely sure of their direction, long after open minds would have realized they were going the wrong way, I don't find that as admirable as some do. A lot of people say Bush doesn't care about the polls and that he's sure history will vindicate him as having done the right thing in Iraq. I don't think there's ever been a politician who didn't care about the polls, if only because bad polling numbers make it more difficult to accomplish one's objectives. I'm more inclined to view Bush as a gambler who got lucky for a time with a system...and now that he's losing, all he knows how to do is bet more on that system.

• Posted at 11:54 AM · LINK

Price Buster

In our never-ending quest to spend all your money, we're going to recommend two new DVDs of less famous Buster Keaton material. Both have been assembled with uncommon care and consideration, and both give you a chance to see Buster when he wasn't at the top of his form (or budgets) but still with flashes of the grand Keaton style.

Buster Keaton - 65th Anniversary Collection gives you the ten short comedies he made from Columbia between 1939 and 1941. Buster's career had fallen to the point where the man who'd once made The General now had the same job (and directors) as the Three Stooges. Compared to Keaton at his peak, the shorts are disappointing. Then again, compared to Keaton at his peak, almost every comedy film is disappointing. In these shorts, you can see Buster often rise above his material and production values, and the DVD is a first-rate package with good transfers and plenty of historical extras.

Industrial Strength Keaton is a collection of Buster's oddments and leftovers — a few of his shorts, some promotional films, a number of his appearances on early television and a load of the commercials he made in the late fifties and early sixties. Some devoted Keaton fans dug all this stuff up and wrapped it in informative commentaries, and while it's no substitute for Buster's best work (this stuff), it's a nice add-on for the devotee of the man's talents.

The above titles link to Amazon pages where you can buy the two DVDs for (at the moment) $19.86 and $18.99 respectively. Note that each page currently has one of those great Amazon package deals. This one lets you buy them both at the same time for $38.85, a savings of...well, let me call up my little on-screen calculator and do the complicated math on this for you. Aha! Yes, as I expected, it's a terrific savings of absolutely nothing. Well, I guess it saves you a couple of mouse clicks. In any case, Buster is worth it.

• Posted at 11:02 AM · LINK

Web Page

The L.A. Times has a nice article on pin-up queen Bettie Page...though for some reason, the name of the artist most responsible for her "rediscovery" — Dave Stevens — is unmentioned.

• Posted at 1:04 AM · LINK

Pod People

Mitchell Anthony produces and hosts Creating Success, a widely heard podcast that interviews successful creative people about how they do what they do. The guest on his latest installment belies the premise...which is a coy way of saying it's me. If you're an iTunes person, you can hear this show (it runs about ten minutes) at this link. If you're not, here's a link to a plain ol' MP3 download. We mainly discuss what it's like these days to try to break into writing or drawing comic books.

• Posted at 12:53 AM · LINK