Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Go Watch It!

Did you watch the Lou Dobbs interview tonight on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart? Well, whether you did or not, watch the extended version on the show's website. It's a very interesting discussion...on a level one rarely sees on television. Mr. Dobbs comes off much saner, I think, than he ever has in any TV or radio segment I've seen...which is not to say I think he's right. I don't think the anger at Obama is a logical consequence of past actions. I think Mr. Stewart is correct that it's a ginned-up outrage (fanned by folks who think it'll drive votes their way) and a confusion of losing an election with tyranny.

But don't go by anything I'm saying here. Watch all three parts of the video, which you can do by going to the Daily Show website. I'd post a direct link to that particular video but these Comedy Central sites are all configured in a bizarre, user-unfriendly fashion. The URL for this one has errors in it so I can't link you but you should be able to find it on your own.

• Posted at 11:20 PM · LINK

Wedlock Deadlock

I've never seen the slightest logic behind the claim that legalizing Gay Marriage will destroy traditional, heterosexual marriage.

However, banning Gay Marriage can and has destroyed hetero marriage in the state of Texas.

• Posted at 10:02 PM · LINK

Rogue Warrior

A couple of folks have written me to say, approximately, "I think Sarah Palin is awful but let's be honest. There is an accepted definition of 'going rogue' that doesn't quite fit the definitions you posted." They're right.

Just for fun, I tried to find an online definition of the phrase, "going rogue." The ones I found were all about not wearing underpants or engaging in anal sex. That's so much better.

Actually, even defining "going rogue" the way Ms. Palin and her handlers presumably define it, it's not a very flattering term. Going rogue from what? The first time I heard the term in connection with her, it was to say that she might not toe the lines the McCain campaign wanted her to follow during the campaign. The context was that when she signed on to be his running mate, she agreed implicitly or explicitly to join a team and follow their battle plan. And when it was said she might "go rogue," what they meant was that since the McCain-Palin ticket was down in the polls, she might put her own agenda and self-promotion ahead of that plan and begin undermining it.

Or maybe she thinks she's been "going rogue" from the way people expect a female politician or a governor to act. That might not be a bad thing if it meant being uncommonly honest or candid. I don't think too many people think that of her. For one thing, we generally expect elected officials to serve out their terms.

I didn't see the Oprah interview or the entirety of any others she's done. Has anyone asked her what she thinks she's "going rogue" from?

• Posted at 3:51 PM · LINK

Today's Video Link

Twin baby pandas. Nothing cuter...

• Posted at 10:40 AM · LINK

A Word A Day

I probably won't get around to reading Sarah Palin's book, Going Rogue, for...oh, I don't know. Maybe the rest of my life. I don't think much of the lady and from what I can see, not many people do. All but two of my Conservative friends think she's doing their cause a lot more harm than good...and the two who profess to like her are doing an unconvincing (to me) job of it. The same two folks don't convince me they really wish George W. Bush was still president, either. There are exceptions to this but it seems to me that Liberals are a lot better than Conservatives at admitting when their "leaders" disappoint them. We may, in fact, be too good at it.

Anyway, a reader of this site who asked not to be credited sent me a message that suggested I look up "rogue" in the online Merriam-Webster dictionary. I did...and I've copied that listing for your edification. Makes you wonder if Ms. Palin even knows what the word means, doesn't it?

• Posted at 10:38 AM · LINK

Mark's Day

And the day in this case is yesterday. Woke up around 8 AM. Did a little work on an issue of Groo and some last minute prep on the day's recording session for The Garfield Show.

Left the house at 9:30 and arrived at the recording studio about 9:45. We recorded two half-hour episodes of the show with a sterling voice cast — regulars Frank Welker, Gregg Berger, Wally Wingert and Jason Marsden, along with guest stars Jack Riley and Grey Delisle. I had to let Wally go at 2:30 so he could scurry out to Burbank and do his announcing work for that night's episode of The Jay Leno Show. The rest of us finished at 3:00.

On the way home, I stopped at a local Petco to buy supplies for the menagerie of strays in my backyard, then scurried home to work more on Groo and climb into fancier clothes. Then at 5 PM, I drove to FedEx to send off Groo pages. Shipping them turned out to be the hard part of the day. 5:30 is the cut-off time for Eastern and International send-offs, and people kept showing up with parcels in those two categories and the counterfolks there (there were two of them, working as fast as they could) would wave them ahead of us.

About 5:27, a burly gent with a huge crate on a dolly marched in and went past all the folks waiting with things to ship. Someone told him to go to the end of the line. Motioning to his package, he yelled out, "My job depends on getting this shipped out today so I don't give a damn about your line. I'm mailing this next." If he'd asked to go ahead of us, I suspect we'd all have said it was okay...but a rather nasty argument broke out, lasting until the clerk was ready to take his box, which she did. The next person in line, when he got to her, complained that since she saw darn well what had happened, she should insist he go to the end. She said, "We're told to take some customers ahead of others if there's danger of missing a cut-off time." Then she added, "If I'd made him go to the end, he's have caused trouble. Who needs trouble?" The debate was still going on when the other clerk was ready to take another customer. I rushed up, had my package processed and got the heck outta there.

Then it was off to the Magic Castle for the evening. Our dinner party consisted of Leonard and Alice Maltin, Gregg and Dora Berger, Earl and Denise Kress, and my friend Carolyn Kelly. Oh, yeah...and I was a part of it. Then we adjourned to the Inner Circle of the Castle, an especially magical place where comedians, cabaret performers and other non-magicians have been known to perform.

For the last two nights, it's been two of my favorite folks...Hunter and Stan Freberg. Stan, as you know, is the great satirist, actor, maker of funny records and commercials and cartoon voice performer. Hunter is his spouse and partner. For 90-some-odd minutes, following an impromptu introduction by me, they told stories of their lives together and tales from Stan's multi-layered career. There were anecdotes about him voicing Warner Brothers cartoons. Some of his commercials were played. He re-created a bit of his first record, "John and Marsha" and sang "Take an Indian to Lunch" from the greatest comedy record ever made (I think), Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America, Volume One.

The crowd loved every minute of it...and by the way, it was nice to see so many readers of this blog there, as well as friends like Paul Dini and Misty Lee, Mark Nelson, Milt Larsen and many others.

Got back here just before Midnight...and that's why I didn't post more yesterday. And why I'm going to bed now. Good night, Internet! See you in the morning.

• Posted at 1:25 AM · LINK