I should have linked to this a few days ago...but the TV Academy's oral history project has put up a page of interviews relating to the animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. They've done multi-hour interviews with hundreds of important folks in teevee history and on this page, you can view excerpts relating to that wonderful holiday special.
The New York Times editorializes against the revamping of the estate tax. I agree. This is really turning into a case where Republicans are trying to slash taxes for the super-rich at the direct expense of those making a lot less.
So, I've now had an iPhone for a day shy of four weeks. Click here for the first message I posted about it and click here to read the second. This is the third and I remain happy with my purchase, especially since I went to my nearby Apple store and bought a good solid case to put it in and a good screen protector.
I first bought those things at a Best Buy and wound up tossing what I'd purchased. The case didn't work with the screen protector and the screen protector didn't protect the screen. I applied the protector sheet as per the instructions and wound up with more air bubbles than you'd find in ten episodes of Sea Hunt. But the ones I then got at an Apple store, though a bit more expensive, fit just fine. So that problem's solved. I still haven't gotten a new car mount...and won't 'til my car returns from spending the holidays at the body shop. (A little accident a few months ago, not my fault.)
What don't I like about the thing? I don't like how fast its battery depletes. I guess I was spoiled by my old Blackberry, which only had to be charged about as often as Halley's Comet went whizzing past. A full charge on the iPhone lasts about as long as it takes me to find the cord to recharge it. That wouldn't be so bad if you could open 'er up and switch out the battery but you can't. The thing's sealed tighter than Joan Rivers' face. I have a little extra plug-in battery thing but it ain't the same.
Still having a tad of trouble with the keyboard where my large hands make me feel like King Kong trying to play Clair de Lune on a toy piano...but I'm getting better.
Apps? I'm having fun with Shazam, which works as follows: When you hear a record playing on the radio or on a store's Muzak-like system or anywhere it's reasonably clear, you hold your iPhone up to it, take an audio sampling...and then Shazam scours its database, tells you what song it is and what CD it's on and gives you the option of ordering it. It's handy to carry Google around with you and I've used Open Table to make (and later, move) restaurant reservations. I like playing with Rimshot, which makes the sound effect of a rimshot and a few others. I've used Facebook to update my Facebook page and Twitterific to Twitter. They've all come in handy. I do miss (though not a lot) the dedicated TiVo programming application I had on my Blackberry.
So still glad I got the thing. And I probably will be until some new, better device comes out week after next.
This will only be of interest to folks obsessed with comic books and animation art. The rest of you can skip on to the next item.
In 1978, Hanna-Barbera had a short-lived cartoon show called The C.B. Bears. In connection with it, a coloring book was done. He didn't work on the cover but all of the interiors were done by one rather famous (in this field) artist. His name appeared nowhere on the book and as far as I know, I'm the only person alive who knows he drew this...and only because he told me and showed me some of the pages he was working on. You can see a few more interior pages over at this site which likes to scan pages out of old coloring books.
It's rather an unusual assignment for this gentleman...and no, it isn't Jack Kirby. Anyone want to guess who it is? I'll post the answer in twenty-four hours and credit the first three people who get it, assuming three people get it.
The entire staff of newsfromme.com (i.e., me) is a huge fan of bandleader Spike Jones. Comedy in music has been too often done by folks who weren't good enough musicians to play it straight. Mr. Jones was...and one of the many reasons his records worked so well was that they're musically-sound. A member of his troupe, Earl Bennett, once told me that Spike had such a good ear that he could listen to a shot from a starter's pistol and say, "That's an F Sharp. I need an F Flat for this number."
You'll see Earl in our video clip today. I knew him a little from the days when he worked as a film editor at Hanna-Barbera. And you'll also see Eddie Brandt in the video. Eddie was a writer for Spike and later for Hanna-Barbera before he opened up a book/memorabilia store I used to frequent out in North Hollywood. I'm glad someone had the sense to interview these guys about Spike and capture some of their great anecdotes.
You can hear more of them and see video of Spike's work on television in a new DVD set, The Best of Spike Jones. I can't get enough of this stuff and you probably can't either, even if you don't know it yet. But in addition to being a great musician, Spike Jones was genuinely funny and he was surrounded by funny people. Here's an Amazon link so you can order, but first watch this little preview...
December 28, 2009
