Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Today's Political Thought

Here's the question I think should be asked of all the Republican candidates in their next debate...

The questions in this round will be premised on a fictional, but we think plausible scenario involving terrorism and the response to it. Here is the premise: Three shopping centers near major U.S. cities have been hit by suicide bombers. Hundreds are dead, thousands injured. A fourth attack has been averted when the attackers were captured off the Florida coast and taken to Guantanamo Bay, where they are being questioned. U.S. intelligence believes that another larger attack is planned and could come at any time but that they can prevent it if you will only vote for wealthy Americans to shoulder at least the same tax burden as lower and middle-class citizens. What would you do?

My guess is that we could say bye-bye to that fourth shopping center.

• Posted at 9:16 PM · LINK

Past-Tense Pasta Palace

Let us review...

In February of 2006, in this posting, we noted that the Old Spaghetti Factory — a classy/campy restaurant up on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood — was soon to close.

Then in July, we received the happy news that the business had received a reprieve of indeterminate length. And last November, an executive in the Old Spaghetti Factory company e-mailed me that the Sunset Boulevard location would be open for at least two more years.

It turns out to have been a pretty short two years...a little less than seven months, actually. There are signs up now at that location (and a notice on the chain's website) saying that its last day of operations will be June 19. And just to show that they mean it this time, an auction of the fixtures, furnishings and restaurant equipment will take place on June 23. Shortly after, the rear section of the building will be demolished and the front section will be incorporated into a new 23-story residential tower with 301 for-sale condominiums, 40,000-sq.ft. of "creative office space," 13,500-sq.ft. of ground floor retail space, 508 parking spaces and a new half-acre public park.

So it looks like that's it for that outlet of the Old Spaghetti Factory. The posted signs urge its patrons to visit other Old Spaghetti Factory locations in Southern California. The nearest would be the one in Duarte, which is twenty miles away and also requires that you visit Duarte.

Guess I'd better get up there to Sunset in the next couple of weeks for a farewell lunch. I'll take my camera and snap some pics to post here.

• Posted at 7:28 PM · LINK

Pseudo Sergio

While we're at it: I've written before here about how an awful lot of original sketches that turn up on eBay are phony. Someone has just posted one that purports to be by Sergio Aragonés. Oddly enough, the seller has been in business for some time, has a 100% positive rating and is selling other sketches that are not only suspect but look as if they were forged/drawn by the same person.

I've just sent the seller the following message...

Hello. I'm Mark Evanier and you're selling what you claim is an original sketch by Sergio Aragonés, who happens to be my best friend and business partner. Sergio did not do the sketch you're selling. It's a tracing of one of his old drawings and not a particularly good one. What do you think we should do about this?

I'll keep you posted on what happens.

• Posted at 12:25 AM · LINK

Stuff To Look At

Speaking of Mad Magazine: One of the more interesting new artists drawing for that publication is Hermann Mejia. I like his artwork a lot but have been especially impressed by his statuary. He's done some amazing sculptures of famous people.

Hermann has just set up his own website and it has examples of his painting and drawing on it. But I call your special attention to his gallery of sculptures. Take a look at his renderings of George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, Saddam Hussein and DC publisher Paul Levitz. I don't think Paul will feel insulted by the likeness of himself but he might by the grouping.

• Posted at 12:13 AM · LINK

Today's Video Link

Here's Part Three of Dick DeBartolo's tour of the offices of Mad Magazine. Have I mentioned that Dick is a very funny guy and that he's written some of my favorite pieces in Mad? Have I mentioned that he also was a writer for various Goodson-Todman game shows like To Tell the Truth and The Match Game? Surely I've at least mentioned that he's also a world class expert on gadgets and new technology and that you can hear him on Daily Giz Wiz, a podcast of some note and that you can listen to him there or go over to his website. Here he is showing us a display case in the Mad offices, carefully avoiding the one that holds the remains of Wally Wood...

• Posted at 12:12 AM · LINK

May 17, 2007 • Current • May 15, 2007