Saturday, March 14, 2009

Go Read It!

20 Tools and Technologies That Have Changed the Way We Cook. It's not a bad list but they left out the telephone you use to have Chinese Food delivered.

• Posted at 3:18 PM · LINK

Voting Procedures

During a political campaign against any member of Congress, candidates and their supporters are fond of describing the opponent as either "The Most Liberal Member of Congress" or "The Most Conservative." Neither is usually true but, hey, when you run for office, you're allowed to make up just about any crap to describe the person you're running against. If you're interested in a non-partisan ranking (non-partisan in that the folks doing the scoring have no particular ax in need of grinding), here you go. Check out the voting records of the previous Congress and the previous make-up of the Senate. Needless to say, despite claims to the contrary, Barack Obama did not have the most Liberal voting record. He was thirteenth.

• Posted at 2:57 PM · LINK

Will and George

I've set my TiVo to record Will Ferrell's show tonight. It's a live telecast of the play he's been doing on Broadway, You're Welcome, America: A Final Night with George W. Bush. I've heard nothing but good things about it and since it was a limited run — closing tomorrow, I think — this is the one chance most of us will have to experience it.

I'll watch but I can't say I'm looking forward to it. Though I think Bush was a terrible and destructive prez, I haven't found lampoons of his personal style and bad speaking manner particularly funny. They more often evoke shock in me — our country (sort of) put this man in the White House, for Pete's sake — than laughter. There are times I even feel sorry for the guy being ridiculed like that. I know this is a contradiction and I'm not sure I can explain it...but I think the man is more deserving of criminal prosecution than of being depicted as Goober Pyle.

• Posted at 2:21 PM · LINK

Conventional Wisdom

We warned you four-day passes for this year's Comic-Con International would soon be gone. They're gone.

Those who wish to attend multiple days will now begin scarfing up all the one-day passes. Watch 'em disappear, especially for Saturday. This thing is going to sell out faster than a newly-elected member of Congress.

In the meantime: The convention's hotel reservation service opens up at 9 AM PDT on Thursday, March 19. If past years are any indication, there will be a rush and many will not get what they seek, at least immediately. More rooms may become available later. A lot of folks have been there 'n' done that in years past so they've already booked accommodations via other sources.

Yes, I know it's a pain. If only they'd make the convention less interesting and less exciting, it might be easier to attend. (Actually, the hotel situation should get better next year as there'll be a lot more rooms available...or so I'm told. As for the admission limits, the convention center is expanding over the next few years so more bodies will be able to fit inside...though I'll bet the con still sells out by April 1, no matter how big the place is.)

Please do not write me and ask if I can get you into the con and/or help you secure a hotel reservation. I'm a Guest of Honor, not the Wizard of Friggin' Oz.

Here's one tip. The Amtrak Pacific Surfliner goes down the coast of California. For some reason, all the maps at the Amtrak site make it look like it travels on the water but trust me, I've ridden it. It's a very nice train and it runs on dry land. Anyway, the end o' the line is in San Diego at the station located at 1050 Kettner Boulevard. This is (I just Mapquested) .68 miles from the Convention Center. You could easily hike it or, being wiser, take one of those teenager-powered pedal-cabs and save your feet for all the walking you'll do once you get inside the con.

If you live anywhere near the Surfliner's other stops, it's not insane to consider coming to the con for one day. Come early, go home on a late train. It's a very pleasant ride and you don't have the hassle and expense of a hotel in San Diego.

Or if you want to attend more than one day, see if you can't book a motel in one of the cities in which the Surfliner pauses as it surfs...say, San Clemente or Solano Beach. Last year, some friends got this idea from me and they said it didn't take that much longer to commute to the con from San Clemente via train than it would have to get there from the only hotels they could have booked in S.D. by the time they started trying. It's an idea to consider but remember: Amtrak trains sell out, too.

• Posted at 12:00 PM · LINK

Where I'll Be

Have I mentioned I'm going to Calgary? April 25 and 26, I'm a guest at the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo in that fine (I assume) city, and my partner Sergio Aragonés is also tagging along. If you don't like either of us, there will be plenty of other interesting guests in attendance. More details as they become available.

• Posted at 11:20 AM · LINK

Mouse Matters

The Disney folks have launched D23, a site that will be of interest to the serious Disney fan, so full is it of historical articles and goodies. You need to $ub$cribe to enjoy all that it has to offer but there are some freebees for those who don't. One is that each day, they feature one early installment of the Mickey Mouse newspaper strip, the Donald Duck newspaper strip and the Scamp newspaper strip, starting from Day One of each. They're on this page...and I think you have to go there each day to see them because there doesn't seem to be an archive feature, at least for non-subscribers.

• Posted at 10:52 AM · LINK

Today's Video Link

Ricky Gervais and friend...