Hmm. Donald Rumsfeld says he expects that American troops can be withdrawn from Iraq within four years. Wasn't it just a few months ago that George W. Bush was saying that John Kerry was wrong for trying to set any sort of "artificial timelines" for something like that? […]
The Grammy nominations have been announced and here's what's up for Best Comedy Album… Come Poop With Me, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents…America: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction, Jon Stewart and the Cast of The Daily Show The Funny Thing Is…, Ellen DeGeneres Live at Carnegie Hall, […]
I thought I'd post some thoughts about Bob Haney that might have seemed out of place in an obit, and these tie in with Irwin Donenfeld, who passed away last week. One of the problems that has always plagued the comic book industry is how to evolve in order to remain relevant to an ever-changing […]
Barry Scheck discusses the vast inequalities in sentencing in criminal cases. [Washington Post, you gotta register] Basically, he points out that the punishment doesn't always fit the crime; that some lesser offenses receive the harshest jail terms. He might also have mentioned that sometimes, a man hacks two people to death — like his most […]
In the category of Books Every Fan of Comic Art Must Own comes It's Only a Game, a collection of the "other" comic strip by Charles M. Schulz, the one he rarely mentioned in interviews because it was not successful. Between '57 and '59, with Peanuts not yet the hit it would soon become, Schulz […]
Last thing I'll recommend tonight, I promise: Governor Howard Dean writes out his pitch to the Democratic Party to begin acting like…well, like the Democratic Party. […]
I seem to be recommending a lot of reading today…so here's one more. Paul Krugman takes time out from his sabbatical to explain why privatizing Social Security is a bad idea. […]
When the FCC receives complaints about indecency on television and decides to take action, is it because the public at large has objected? Or have most of those complaints been arranged by the Parents Television Council, a Conservative activist group? This article suggests the latter. […]
Woody Allen (that's right, Woody Allen) reports on the Disney Stockholders' suit against Michael Eisner. […]
My pal Gerard Jones has an article in today's Los Angeles Times [registration probably a necessity] all about super-heroes in real life. I have not yet read Gerry's new book, Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters and the Birth of the Comic Book, though I hear good things about it. When I get a copy and […]
A great fixture of the "Silver Age" of comics, veteran comic book writer Bob Haney died Thanksgiving Day at a nursing facility in El Cajon, California. He was 78 years old and had been hospitalized for some time, recovering from a stroke that had left him unable to speak or recognize people. He was reportedly […]
I don't for a minute think that Ken Jennings' stunning run on Jeopardy! was bogus, but I was amazed that more of the press coverage didn't mention the only other comparable quiz show champ, Charles Van Doren. Van Doren was the guy who racked up a then-staggering $138,000 on Twenty-One in 1957, becoming a national […]
Steve Martin sets the record straight on King Tut. […]
The court case over Michael Ovitz's Disney severance continues to provide interesting insights, not only to the Disney company but to much of Corporate America. Walter Shapiro has some comments. […]
About once every three weeks, someone comes to my door, trying to get me to adopt their religious views. This annoys me on several levels, not the least of which is that I don't even like friends, let alone total strangers, coming to my door sans invitation. They all seem to have an uncanny knack […]