The previous entry made me think of this: The Complete Get Smart (5 seasons + extras on 25 DVDs) has been marked down by Time-Life from over $200 to $150. But I saw it yesterday at my local Costco for $114.95 and Amazon has it for even less. If you already bought it for full price...sorry about that.
Fred Kaplan on Obama's reported selection of Leon Panetta to head up the C.I.A. My feeling is that whoever they pick, he should be referred to only as "The Chief" and he should have to conduct all confidential briefings under the Cone of Silence.
I may wind up feeling a little guilty about Book Soup, a very fine independent book store up on Sunset Boulevard. It was, and I guess still is, a model of the "old school" place to buy books...a shop where browsing is encouraged and which stocks a much wider range of publishers and subjects than you could ever find at a Barnes & Noble or other chain store. It has always employed folks who genuinely love books and know plenty about them — and if you ask them for some title they don't stock, they'll take down its name and look into acquiring copies. It is also "the" place for signings. I doubt any store in this country has ever had a more stellar list of authors who've graced its doors to autograph their output.
So what's the problem? Well, last Friday the store's owner-founder, a man named Glenn Goldman, announced the venerable establishment was up for sale. And then on Saturday, Mr. Goldman died from from pancreatic cancer. No one knows what will now become of the business he founded in 1975 but obviously, things are going to change. That's ominous because these days when you're an independent bookseller and things change, it usually means you go out of business and they put a Pinkberry yogurt shop where you were.
One hopes/trusts that will not be the case with Book Soup. If it does, I'll probably feel a twinge of guilt because I long ago stopped shopping there. I don't think I've set foot in the place for at least ten years.
I can give you reasons why. The parking up there was always impossible. Once, I completely missed the signing of a favorite author because I got there 45 minutes before he was to depart and in all that time, I couldn't find a legal place to leave my car at any price. The store was always cramped due to its narrow aisles and books crammed into every conceivable space and people standing around reading them. And of course, you have online entities like Amazon which will ship the exact same books to your door for around half the price.
I like the idea of Book Soup. I like it being there and I feel good when I'm in places like that. But I rarely go to them.
I admire the spirit of Mr. Goldman and his staff and I'm glad that that kind of business hasn't been beaten completely into submission by the likes of Amazon and Barnes & Noble. But I rarely go to them.
I even like driving past it occasionally and seeing it there...but I have to admit: I drive past on my way home to order from Amazon. Therein lies the possible guilt. I've contributed to the sad fact that places like that are on the endangered species list...or at least, I haven't done anything to help.
Logic suggests this should be the paragraph where I vow to visit Book Soup soon and buy lots of books I want, even though it would be easier and cheaper to buy them online. The answer is that I could vow that but I doubt I'll do it. I'm not proud of that but I have to be honest...and hope there are enough people not like me in this regard that stores like that don't all go away.
Bob Bergen is, as we say, the nice Jewish boy who grew up to be Porky Pig. He's also sometimes the voice of Tweety, Sylvester's Son and other characters introduced by his hero, Mel Blanc, and he does other non-Blanc work, as well. Bob's a fine voiceover talent and when I do convention panels on the nuts and bolts of that biz, he's one of the first people I try to get because he really knows the business well.
You can hear his story and his sage advice tomorrow (Wednesday) on Stu's Show, the must-hear gabfest hosted by Stuart Shostak which "airs" on Shokus Internet Radio. January is Animation Month so each week, Stu will welcome one or more guests to talk about the wonderful world of cartoons. This week is Bob. Next week is Paul Dini. The week after is a special program on how to be a voice actor with Gary Owens, Janet Waldo, Earl Kress and me. And then the week after that is Jerry Beck. I'll be nagging reminding you to tune in.
Okay, now let me explain one more time about Internet Radio. This is not a podcast. You can't download it and listen to it whenever you want. You have to "tune in" when it's on...which in this case is from 4 PM to 6 PM Pacific Time, 7 PM to 9 PM Eastern. Stu's Show is done live on Wednesday and that's the best time to listen because, among other reasons, you can call in and ask questions. You can hear the show on your own computer by going to the website of Shokus Internet Radio at the appointed hour and clicking where you're told to click. (The show reruns on other days, usually in the same time slot. Check out the site for a full schedule...and while you're there, take note of some of the other fine, free programming.)
Hey, it's two commercials for Stag Beer featuring Jim Backus as the visually-challenged Mr. Magoo. Backus does the voice of the boat captain in the first one, also.
January 5, 2009
