You see that thing the Penguin is holding? That's called an umbrella, also sometimes known as a parasol or bumbershoot. In addition to the usual things the Penguin does with his — shooting bullets, spraying lethal gas, slowing his descent when he leaps off a tall building, etc. — it is possible to use one […]
Again, it's a list with which we could all argue…but you might enjoy reading what someone thinks are the 100 Funniest Jokes of All Time. [CAUTION: Occasional naughty language. And thanks to Bruce Reznick for the pointer.] […]
My pal Gerard Jones writes in the Los Angeles Times about the Stan Lee lawsuit and the way the comic book industry has treated some of its greatest creative talents. And no, I still haven't gotten a copy of Gerry's new book…but I will. […]
Pat O'Neill reminds me that on the Jonny Quest TV show, "sim sala bim" were the magic words employed by Jonny's pal, Hadji, whenever he exercised his mystic powers. […]
I have a new way to tell when I've been working too late. My computer's virus software is set to scan the system each morn at 4:00. I was sitting here, working on a script when it kicked in and I went, "Jeez! It's four o'clock in the morning. Last I looked, it was quarter […]
George W. Bush says he wants to get rid of government programs that don't work. How about if we start with the National Ballistic Missile Defense Project? […]
A lot of Californians were happy to get rid of Governor Gray Davis because he was taking so much money from special interest groups that seemed to be buying his support of beneficial legislation. If this article in Salon is correct, his replacement is doing twice as much of that. [Paid membership or the viewing […]
I am always way behind on e-mail but at the moment, I'm farther behind than usual. This will only get worse until after I return from WonderCon in San Francisco. So please bear with me. And here's another plug for the best events up there… […]
Okay, I don't think he reads this weblog but maybe somebody does who could call this to his attention… Bill…I'm watching you on Larry King Live, and you just said some very nice things about Johnny Carson. But then you said to Larry, "Sim holla bim," and explained that you use that phrase often because […]
Over on Slate, Timothy Noah explains why William Rehnquist could not have been Deep Throat. But more interesting is the assertion that the "Deep Throat is dying" rumor may be bunk. This would not surprise me. Like me, Noah thinks D.T. was Mark Felt or Fred Fielding. Like me, he thinks there was a Deep […]
We're about to get the first CD release of the score for the 1966 revue based on guess-what-magazine. Longtime MAD scribes Larry Siegel and Stan Hart did the book, with music by Mary Rodgers and lyrics by a couple of folks, one of whom turned out to be Stephen Sondheim. You can read more about […]
My pal Kim "Howard" Johnson is the world's foremost authority on Monty Python and the author of several books on the subject. I hope he knows about something else because he's a contestant this week on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? His run, however long it lasts, starts on Tuesday and concludes on Wednesday. […]
This is a solid recommendation of a new DVD that's due out in late March. There are many people in this world who imitate Groucho Marx and usually, it doesn't go much beyond walking like their tie's caught in their fly, plus they mime a cigar and wiggle eyebrows that look like they have friction […]
There are now a number of different formats but years ago, most Sunday comic strips could be printed two ways — two-tier or full. Charles Schulz, for example, would draw Peanuts as a three-tier strip, meaning three rows of panels…but he'd write it so that the top row could be discarded, and the strip would […]
I agree with Tom Spurgeon's comments on the case of Gordon Lee, a comic book retailer who's in legal trouble over distributing a semi-naughty comic to a minor. Lee made a mistake, but these prosecutions always strike me as an example of our legal system going after people who cannot fight back. I'm glad to […]