Wednesday, October 24, 2007

In Other Non-News...

A lady on MSNBC is talking about the allegations of sexual misconduct against magician David Copperfield. Yeah, that's sure the biggest story in the nation today. Not that the fires are all that's happening but this strikes me as one of those cases where the pundits don't know enough to have opinions but, hey, it's network television. Can't let a little thing like that get in the way of a juicy topic. As Jack Germond used to say, "We aren't paid to say 'I don't know.'"

I like Copperfield as a performer and from our ever-so-brief encounters, he strikes me as a good, hard-working guy. Someone wrote to ask me if I think the charges against him are true. I don't even think they're charges yet, merely allegations, and the leaked details seem thinly-sourced and ever-changing. It sounds like it'll come down to a he said/she said dispute or maybe several...but so far, we haven't heard from he, nor do we know who she is, or they are, let alone what's being said.

I know the guy is rich and successful and handsome and that as a magician, he often projects an air of "I can do things you can't," and I can understand why some wouldn't want to miss the opportunity for a little schadenfreude at his expense. But isn't it at least a little premature? Especially since all we seem to know at this point is that someone has accused him of something? And at least going by the lady on MSNBC right now, we're not sure who or what.

• Posted at 2:07 PM · LINK

In Other News...

I'm going to try to get this blog off the subject of the fires. This week's issue of The New Yorker includes an excerpt from Steve Martin's upcoming autobiography. That article does not seem to be available online but you can listen to about five minutes of the audiobook.

• Posted at 1:07 PM · LINK

From the E-Mailbag...

From Steve Crooks...

There's a guy at work here who says he has little sympathy for all the people losing their homes and businesses from the fires because they knew they were building/buying in areas that were known to have a higher chance of being burned someday. He compared it to people who knowingly build in a flood zone. Just to put on the icing, he also claims that since these people are losing their "2nd or 3rd multimillion dollar homes" he really doesn't shed any tears.

He even sent me this link from which he pulled out quotes showing that people had narrowly escaped previous fires (and not learned their lesson in his view), and figures showing how homes are being built on "wildfire land."

For the record, I'm not standing with him on his position. But I'm curious how you'd respond to him. I don't really have time to dig around and find sources to show him why he might be wrong, but I thought since you are much closer to the situation you might have a more accessible response at hand.

I don't think you have to know those areas or people who live there, as I do, nor do you need detailed stats to prove he's got this wrong. You just have to look at the staggering number of people who've been evacuated and whose homes are gone or threatened. If the totals were 5% of what they are, he might be right. There are folks who buy and build in areas where this kind of thing is a little more possible than it is in other areas. I don't agree that they are undeserving of sympathy and assistance but even if they are, they're a tiny fraction of all those who are impacted. Over half a million people have been evacuated just in San Diego County. These people were not all living in places where they shouldn't, and I'd be surprised if more than a few hundred were losing their second, let alone their third homes.

There are also other dangers in life. Often, to live in an area where there's a low probability of fire means to live where there's a higher chance of flash flooding or quakes or other disasters. After the big Northridge earthquake, one writer I knew who lived out in Valley decided to move to Virginia...where he got hit by a hurricane. There probably is a place in this country where where there's little chance of disaster but we can't all live on that block, wherever it is.

I was amazed to read the article he sent you. He really had to scour to find some scant indicators in it that the people losing their homes are living in fire-prone areas or that they have multiple residences. It made me wonder why anyone would try so hard to feel some reason not to have any compassion or caring about so many people whose lives have been devastated...and then I remembered something that a friend of mine once said. "Some people," he remarked, "are just assholes."

• Posted at 12:48 PM · LINK

Wednesday Morning

The fires raging through Southern California continue to horrify. Those of us who are nowhere near the flames can only watch and mutter inadequate words. I have a number of friends who I think have lost their homes...or are probably waiting somewhere in a motel to find out if they have.

I keep getting e-mails asking me if people in the comic book community are okay. I know of one person involved with the Comic-Con International whose home is gone, and a couple of creators who are nervously watching the news or perhaps being evacuated. Whether those people would want their names mentioned here, I don't know so I won't. They don't need any more problems right now.

The news coverage is uneven, as I guess it always is in situations like this. Years ago, I heard a TV News Exec say that in covering catastrophes, there were four categories of stories — and I hope I remember them correctly. They were Service, Strategy, Superheroes and Suffering. Service refers to the plain, important facts that the public needs to know...in this case, where the fire is, what is likely to happen, where to go for help, how to help, etc. Strategy is the nuts 'n' bolts of how the responders are responding...in a situation like this, explaining about water drops and backfires and such. Superheroes would be the human (or superhuman) side of the responders, focusing on their challenge and how they're meeting it, and Suffering would be all the shots of homes burning.

I understand how the Suffering part is the most dramatic footage and also the easiest to present, so we get an excess of that. At times though, it feels like someone thinks we're tuning in to enjoy watching lives being destroyed. In the new era of split-screen news coverage, when they like to put little boxes on the screen, some channels seem to think one must always contain flames, even if it means endlessly repeating the same tape. Couldn't that space on my screen be used for a little more Service and Strategy?

And couldn't we have less of one other "S" word, Stroking? Right now on KNBC, we have a lot of politicians commending the fire fighters and each other on the fine job they're doing. That job seems to consist of getting in front of news cameras and commending the fire fighters and each other for the fine job they're doing. My city councilman is standing next to Governor Schwarzenegger, waiting (I guess) for his chance to get to the press microphone and add his commendations for the fire fighters and each other for the fine job they're doing. He probably thinks this will cause his constitutents to note that he's on the job and contributing. I think I'll drop him a letter and tell him it makes me think he's not.

• Posted at 11:33 AM · LINK

Listen In!

You all know Alan Young as the Horse Whisperer, Wilbur Post, on the classic TV series, Mr. Ed. It was such a great role that people forget that Young was a successful comic actor before that, and that he's done plenty of great non-equine work since. Years ago in Las Vegas, I saw him do a superb job in the lead role in a very slipshod production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Everything about it was a mess except that Young was so good, he made it all work. I've also been honored to have him perform in a number of cartoon shows I've written (where I hope he didn't have to pull off the same kind of miracle) and to chat with him from time to time. He's a very nice man who's very serious about acting.

He'll be talking about his incredible career when he appears on today's live broadcast of Stu's Show, the cornerstone program of Shokus Internet Radio. He'll be on with Stuart Shostak from 4 PM to 6 PM, Pacific time, which is 7 PM to 9 PM on the right-hand coast. I'm sure they'll talk a lot about Mr. Ed but I hope they also discuss Alan's radio stardom, his earlier TV roles, his movies, his theater work, his cartoon voiceovers (he's the voice of Scrooge McDuck for Disney) and everything else. I may try to call in and ask a question or three, myself.

You can probably listen to the show on the computer you're using to browse this very web page. Just go to this web page at the proper hour and select an audio browser. It's a rare opportunity to hear a great performer discourse on his life and career...kinda like Inside the Actors Studio except that the host isn't as pompous and interested in talking about himself.

• Posted at 2:16 AM · LINK