Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Well!

See that picture of Jack Benny above? Well, it's not Jack Benny. It's my pal, Eddie Carroll, a man of many talents. Eddie is a writer. He used to write for Hanna-Barbera, often working with a partner named Jamie Farr. Yes, that Jamie Farr.

Eddie also does voices for cartoons. Most notably, he took over the role of Jiminy Cricket for Disney after the original Jiminy, "Ukulele" Ike Edwards, croaked.

And Eddie plays Jack Benny. He tours now and then in a wonderful one-man show that really is like spending an hour or two with The Man. It's not just that he manages to look like Benny and sound like Benny and even play the violin like Benny. That would all be impressive enough but Eddie manages to replicate the superb Benny timing. That's the hard part and he's got it down, as you'll see if you go see him perform. Where can you do this? Check out this page on Eddie's website to see if he's going to be in your neck of the woods soon.

Since he probably isn't, you'll have to settle for this. Tomorrow (Wednesday), Eddie will be the guest on Stu's Show, which is heard on Shokus Internet Radio, a station you can hear on your computer for free if you'll only log in via this page. This is not a podcast which you can download or listen to whenever you like. This is a radio broadcast over the Internet and Stu's Show airs live from 4 PM to 6 PM West Coast Time. The broadcasts then repeat for a week in the same time slot.

We recommend the channel any hour of the day. Tune in right now if you like and see what they have on. But we especially recommend it tomorrow when Eddie Carroll is on. I'm going to try to call in and ask a pithy, incisive question. Let's see if I can come up with one.

• Posted at 11:49 PM · LINK

Today's Video Link

Here are some clips of Tom Snyder's stint on the Tomorrow program. I'm sorry it doesn't include the night that Snyder was interviewing the singer Meat Loaf and for some reason, kept calling him "Meatball."

• Posted at 10:43 PM · LINK

Recommended Reading

George W. Bush's nominee to head the Joint Chiefs of Staff thinks, regarding Iraq, that "no amount of troops in no amount of time will make much of a difference." Here's a report on his testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee where he said that and other things that would be called "defeatist" if uttered by a Democrat.

• Posted at 10:40 PM · LINK

Recommended Reading

Jeffrey Toobin on an unsolved murder case that has a little something to do with the case of the fired U.S. Attorneys.

• Posted at 12:31 AM · LINK

Post-Con Report

Con fatigue finally caught up with me. Though we got home late Sunday night, it was late Monday afternoon before I suddenly got that Bataan Death March sensation. In fact, I began to feel a lot like the above fellow, whose photo I snapped in an aisle at the con. It may be a few days before normal blogging resumes on this site.

As I said, I had a great time. I sometimes think that anyone can have a great time at that convention if they'll only do a little advance planning and make the effort to find the convention they want to attend. There are a lot of conventions occurring simultaneously in that hall, ranging in intensity from the high-tech, high-pressure trade show located where the toy and videogame companies are situated, all the way down to the friendly and creative low-tech con in and around Artists' Alley. What interests you is probably in there somewhere but you have to go looking for it. It won't find you.

I've received a lot of e-mails from folks who agree with my wish that the con would bar light sabers...and all kinds of swords and staffs, for that matter. There were a lot of people in the hall who had them but few seemed aware that one end of them might be gouging passers-by. Those giant tote bags that Warners handed out to people did a lot to make the aisles more crowded than they had to be. I'd also like to see the convention start charging triple to any exhibitor who insists on having a microphone at their booth.

Before I forget: We've been telling you here for some time that, despite rumors to the contrary, the convention was not (repeat: NOT) about to move to another city. The convention management has now confirmed this, announcing that they've secured firm dates in San Diego through 2012, which is about as far ahead as any city or convention will ever commit. The 2008 convention will be July 24 through 27.

Also: If you shot video of any of my panels — especially Sunday's Cartoon Voice Panel with Maurice LaMarche, Jess Harnell, April Stewart, Gregg Berger, Tom Kenny and Michael Bell — please drop me a line and I'll tell you how to e-mail me a copy.

There will be more postings about the con. I just need a little more sleep before I can get to them.

• Posted at 12:26 AM · LINK