So I have this friend named Jewel Shepard. Known her a long time...longer than you'd imagine, given how young she looks. (I took that photo, by the way. I'm not that great a photographer but even I can't take a photo of Jewel that doesn't make her look stunning.)
Sad to say, she is suffering from a particularly nasty kind of breast cancer, not that there are any good kinds. She has, in fact, already had both breasts removed and she still has all sorts of medical problems. You can't help her with those but you can help with the closely-related problems she has of the financial variety. Simply put, she cannot afford to pay for the treatments she's receiving or the ones she still needs to get. Even with limited insurance, the bills are astronomical — as fine an example as any of why the current Health Care System in this country is intolerable. People die every day in this country because they cannot afford treatment and a lot of us are determined that Jewel will not be one of them.
So is she. She's fighting harder than you can imagine, working every possible job and doing what she can to not let the devastating side effects of chemotherapy prevent her from earning bucks she needs. Still, the costs are too great for anyone to handle so friends are helping out and a benefit is being held. The horror/gothic bookstore out in Burbank, Dark Delicacies, is selling books and prints and signed photos of Jewel (Caution: She is naked in the photos) and this Saturday, October 22 at 7 PM, there's an art show and a signing at the store.
If you ever wanted an autographed nekkid photo of Jewel, now's the time. Or if you just want to help out a lovely lady, that's okay, too. Her book, Invasion of the B-Girls, is an entertaining volume that will tell you all about women who make the kind of movies she's made. I recommend ordering a copy for yourself if just ordering for a good cause isn't reason enough...though it really oughta be. She will also be a guest at the Frank 'n Con, a horror-oriented convention in El Paso, Texas on October 29 and 30 if you're in that area and want to buy stuff from her in person.
As I said, I've known Jewel a long time. I would like to know her a lot longer time. Please lend a hand to someone who needs and deserves many.
I am currently engaged in a battle with a software company regarding a program that is not performing as advertised...or guaranteed. Their website promises completely satisfaction but when you call up to tell how dissatisified you are, you get some kid who's pretty much powerless to make good on any assurances. I've actually talked to a couple of Customer Service people at this company — obviously earning minimum wage or less in whatever country they're in. They have, I gather, these scripts they're supposed to read. If the caller complains about X, they read Script #1. If the caller complains about Y, they read Script #2 and so on. None of those scripts involve honoring their guarantee and several try to get you to spend more money, upgrading to a more advanced version of the product that already ain't working for you.
I'll tell you the name of the software if I don't get satisfaction...and maybe if I do. But I got the last phone lackey to route me to his superior, which only took about fifteen minutes of being on hold. The superior didn't seem all that superior. He said he didn't have the power to live up to their guarantee either but he could send an e-mail to someone who can. Which means the Customer Service for this product is probably an outside company and even he isn't allowed to speak to someone with the actual power to do anything.
I am not even asking for a refund. This software has versions of varying deluxe stature. They have the plain version for $30. They have the deluxe version for $60. Then they have the super deluxe version for $90. I used to be quite happy with the $30 version but somehow I let one of their phone tech guys talk me into upgrading to the $60 version and it's been a disaster. I think what's wrong with it is that it's full of bells and whistles and unnecessary features and some of them are conflicting with vital parts of my computer's operating system and setup. What I'm asking for at the moment is for them to give me the simpler $30 version for my $60...but all I'm gettting are people telling me that no, they're not allowed to do that so I have to pay an additional $30 if I want the current version of the $30 product. Obviously, I don't think I should have to do that.
I am promised a response from the superior's superior within 48 hours. Let's see what, if anything, happens.
Mark Thorson reminds me that I did not provide a link via which you could purchase the fine book by my former collaborator, Dennis Palumbo. Here is such a link.
And Jef Frankel reminds me that I did not link you to a recently-posted interview of me over on Comic Book Resources. Every year at the Comic-Con in San Diego, the fine folks behind that website rent (and I think, sleep on) a boat that's docked in the marina out behind the convention center. Then they lure unsuspecting interviewees out to the ship and this past con, I was among the shanghaied. Here, you can see CBR Exec Producer Jonah Weiland quizzing me...and I somehow kinda like the fact that in the grand tradition of TV talk shows, the guest's chair is much lower than the host's.
June Foray, the First Lady of Cartoon Voices, is being honored this year with the Comic-Con Icon Award. This is the award that in years past has gone to folks like Frank Miller, Neil Gaiman, George Lucas, Stan Lee and Ray Bradbury. June is being saluted for a lifetime of iconic vocal work, most notably as Rocky the Flying Squirrel (and most of the females in Jay Ward cartoons) and thousands of other roles in cartoons, commercials, film dubbing, comedy records and plenty of other places. She is still working (at age 94!) on The Looney Tunes Show and The Garfield Show. No one is more deserving.
Matter of fact, June received the honor last night at the taping of the Scream Awards at the Universal Amphitheater. The show airs Tuesday at 9 PM on Spike TV and I think also on VH1 with many reruns the rest of the month. Tune in and see June get the trophy in front of an audience that was probably all zombies and monsters.
October 15, 2011
