Category Archives: To Be Filed

I find most of the political articles over at Salon to be worth reading and generally on the mark. Even when I disagree with them, I at least feel the person writing the piece understands how politics works in general. This is not so with most of the pieces there about television, especially late night television.

Here's an exception. It's Sarah Burris writing about Stephen Colbert's disappointing ratings. She makes a number of sound points including the fact that while people say his liberal politics are alienating some viewers, equally-liberal politics aren't crashing some other shows. Me, I think Colbert's problem is that he hasn't yet figured out a way to make his show different enough.

It's kind of the same problem Leno had when he first took over The Tonight Show and it was like he was still guest-hosting for Johnny instead of doing his own program. It doesn't feel like Colbert's doing David Letterman's show but it also doesn't feel quite like he's doing his own yet.

That said, I still like his show — even some interviews with folks who'd be of no interest to me if someone else was interviewing them. I'm quite willing to wait until he finds himself and from what I'm hearing, so is CBS.

In the last few days, I've received a couple of versions of this question. This version is from Matthew Wecksell…

In light of your blog's coverage of Bill Finger's lack of credit for Batman, what does newsfromme think about the advertisements and posters for the new Star Wars not crediting George Lucas? There is no "Based on characters created by…" Or "Based on Star Wars created by" to be seen.

Perhaps the film itself will have a credit. Perhaps a billion dollars means you no longer need to get an on-screen credit.

Well, I only met Bill Finger for about five minutes but I have a feeling he would gladly have accepted a billion dollars or a fraction of that in lieu of a proper credit. As it happened, he got neither. Mr. Lucas received both. If he's being overlooked on the posters and ads — and has he indicated that he cares? — that would be a function of him not negotiating that credit when he sold his property.

I don't see the two situations as remotely similar. Lucas got his credit on the films and became world famous. Does anyone not know George Lucas is the man who gave us Star Wars? His name was on the movies, whereas I don't believe Bill Finger ever saw his name on a Batman comic book he authored.

The difference? Lucas negotiated to sell his rights from a position of strength (with lawyers and advisors aplenty, no doubt) in a mature industry. Finger didn't have the chance to negotiate. He was swept into an industry — take it or leave it — that then didn't treat most of its creators that well. I'm real, real happy to see Finger now receiving credit and I assume/hope his granddaughter is receving a little of the money he should have earned in his lifetime.

As for George Lucas, I know I've quoted my Uncle Aaron before here on situations like this. He once said, "Never feel sorry for anyone who makes more than a million dollars a year."

On a related topic, people keep asking me if I've seen the new Star Wars film yet and if so, what did I think of it. I think I haven't seen it and that there's no rush to go and stand in line for eleven hours because when I do get around to seeing it, it will be the exact same film and I'll probably get a better seat then.

Since today is this blog's birthday, I thought I'd repost what may be my favorite of all the videos to which I've linked. This is the great man of the stage, George S. Irving, re-creating a number he performed in a 1976 Broadway show that, alas, closed rapidly. It was called So Long, 174th Street but in hindsight, people took to calling it Enter Laughing, which was the name of the novel by Carl Reiner upon which it was based.

All you need to know is the show (and novel and movie) concerned David Kolowitz, a young man in 1938 who dreams of becoming a huge star in Hollywood. Robert Morse played the role on the stage. Mr. Irving played his butler in a fantasy sequence, imagining what that stardom might be like…

Here's a story that should please any decent American — especially Jon Stewart, who devoted a lot of time to fighting for this…

WASHINGTON — Lifetime health benefits for sickened 9/11 first responders won overwhelming approval Friday from Congress after a long and contentious battle. The House and the Senate both voted to extend the Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, giving coverage to those afflicted with Ground Zero-related health woes for the next 75 years. "It's a very good day," said Joseph Zadroga, whose firefighter son James died in January 2006 from health issues caused by his time in toxic Lower Manhattan after the World Trade Center attack.

I think I understand why this wasn't passed unanimously the first time it was mentioned. We have a toxic, divided atmosphere in Congress and no one wants to give up anything without seeing if they can't get something in return. Still, you'd think there should be a few things that are beyond that consideration. You'd also think there are things a Congressperson could vote for or against that would cause even his or her supporters to decide the Congressperson was scum who should be turned out of office for sheer inhumanity. But I guess that doesn't happen.

Hey, I have a question and I read a number of online articles and couldn't find an answer to this. Everyone said this bill applied to "first responders" who took ill from being around the World Trade Center rubble. But didn't a lot of second responders and third responders and workers who began there a week or two after 9/11 suffer the same problems? That was a massive, nasty clean-up job. Has "first responders" become a term for all who worked there? Doesn't this bill cover people who weren't actually on duty on 9/11 but still did a lot of dirty, unsafe work to dig bodies out of the debris there and mop up after the tragedy?

This is the most popular thing I've ever posted on this weblog. In fact, it's so popular that proprietors of other sites have thought nothing of just copying the whole thing and posting it on their pages, often with no mention of me and with the implication that they are the "I" in this tale. Please don't do that — to me or anyone. By all means, post a link to it but don't just appropriate it and especially don't let people think it's your work. This is the season for giving, not taking.

Yes, it's true…and I was very happy to learn from two of Mel Tormé's kids that their father had happily told them of the incident. Hearing that was my present…

I want to tell you a story…

The scene is Farmers Market — the famed tourist mecca of Los Angeles. It's located but yards from the facility they call, "CBS Television City in Hollywood"…which, of course, is not in Hollywood but at least is very close.

Farmers Market is a quaint collection of bungalow stores, produce stalls and little stands where one can buy darn near anything edible one wishes to devour. You buy your pizza slice or sandwich or Chinese food or whatever at one of umpteen counters, then carry it on a tray to an open-air table for consumption.

During the Summer or on weekends, the place is full of families and tourists and Japanese tour groups. But this was a winter weekday, not long before Christmas, and the crowd was mostly older folks, dawdling over coffee and danish. For most of them, it's a good place to get a donut or a taco, to sit and read the paper.

For me, it's a good place to get out of the house and grab something to eat. I arrived, headed for my favorite barbecue stand and, en route, noticed that Mel Tormé was seated at one of the tables.

Mel Tormé. My favorite singer. Just sitting there, sipping a cup of coffee, munching on an English Muffin, reading The New York Times. Mel Tormé.

I had never met Mel Tormé. Alas, I still haven't and now I never will. He looked like he was engrossed in the paper that day so I didn't stop and say, "Excuse me, I just wanted to tell you how much I've enjoyed all your records." I wish I had.

Instead, I continued over to the BBQ place, got myself a chicken sandwich and settled down at a table to consume it. I was about halfway through when four Christmas carolers strolled by, singing "Let It Snow," a cappella.

They were young adults with strong, fine voices and they were all clad in splendid Victorian garb. The Market had hired them (I assume) to stroll about and sing for the diners — a little touch of the holidays.

"Let It Snow" concluded not far from me to polite applause from all within earshot. I waved the leader of the chorale over and directed his attention to Mr. Tormé, seated about twenty yards from me.

"That's Mel Tormé down there. Do you know who he is?"

The singer was about 25 so it didn't horrify me that he said, "No."

I asked, "Do you know 'The Christmas Song?'"

Again, a "No."

I said, "That's the one that starts, 'Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…'"

"Oh, yes," the caroler chirped. "Is that what it's called? 'The Christmas Song?'"

"That's the name," I explained. "And that man wrote it." The singer thanked me, returned to his group for a brief huddle…and then they strolled down towards Mel Tormé. I ditched the rest of my sandwich and followed, a few steps behind. As they reached their quarry, they began singing, "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…" directly to him.

A big smile formed on Mel Tormé's face — and it wasn't the only one around. Most of those sitting at nearby tables knew who he was and many seemed aware of the significance of singing that song to him. For those who didn't, there was a sudden flurry of whispers: "That's Mel Tormé…he wrote that…"

As the choir reached the last chorus or two of the song, Mel got to his feet and made a little gesture that meant, "Let me sing one chorus solo." The carolers — all still apparently unaware they were in the presence of one of the world's great singers — looked a bit uncomfortable. I'd bet at least a couple were thinking, "Oh, no…the little fat guy wants to sing."

But they stopped and the little fat guy started to sing…and, of course, out came this beautiful, melodic, perfectly-on-pitch voice. The look on the face of the singer I'd briefed was amazed at first…then properly impressed.

On Mr. Tormé's signal, they all joined in on the final lines: "Although it's been said, many times, many ways…Merry Christmas to you…" Big smiles all around.

And not just from them. I looked and at all the tables surrounding the impromptu performance, I saw huge grins of delight…which segued, as the song ended, into a huge burst of applause. The whole tune only lasted about two minutes but I doubt anyone who was there will ever forget it.

I have witnessed a number of thrilling "show business" moments — those incidents, far and few between, where all the little hairs on your epidermis snap to attention and tingle with joy. Usually, these occur on a screen or stage. I hadn't expected to experience one next to a falafel stand — but I did.

Tormé thanked the harmonizers for the serenade and one of the women said, "You really wrote that?"

He nodded. "A wonderful songwriter named Bob Wells and I wrote that…and, get this — we did it on the hottest day of the year in July. It was a way to cool down."

Then the gent I'd briefed said, "You know, you're not a bad singer." He actually said that to Mel Tormé.

Mel chuckled. He realized that these four young folks hadn't the velvet-foggiest notion who he was, above and beyond the fact that he'd worked on that classic carol. "Well," he said. "I've actually made a few records in my day…"

"Really?" the other man asked. "How many?"

Tormé smiled and said, "Ninety."

I probably own about half of them on vinyl and/or CD. For some reason, they sound better on vinyl. (My favorite was the album he made with Buddy Rich. Go ahead. Find me a better parlay of singer and drummer. I'll wait.)

Today, as I'm reading obits, I'm reminded of that moment. And I'm impressed to remember that Mel Tormé was also an accomplished author and actor. Mostly though, I'm recalling that pre-Christmas afternoon.

I love people who do something so well that you can't conceive of it being done better. Doesn't even have to be something important: Singing, dancing, plate-spinning, mooning your neighbor's cat, whatever. There is a certain beauty to doing almost anything to perfection.

No recording exists of that chorus that Mel Tormé sang for the other diners at Farmers Market but if you never believe another word I write, trust me on this. It was perfect. Absolutely perfect.

When I started posting items every day on my website, there wasn't much in the way of software to make that easy. I had to just do it all by hand in HTML, which now feels like trying to wash your laundry by beating it on a rock in a river. Now, I have been known to post from my iPhone while far from my home computer. That doesn't change things much from where you are but it sure feels different from my end.

The current software tells me that once I post this, there will be exactly 22,500 posts on this site. Less than 4,000 of them did not plug Frank Ferrante, infuriate my right-wing friend Roger or urge the abolition of cole slaw.

This would be a good time to thank all of you who've sent kind words and/or submitted interesting links or corrections and/or made donations. I do this mainly for my own sanity — what little I may still have — because it's fun to "sketch" and to do something that's all mine with no collaborator or employer to say, "How about if we change this?" But it's more fun when I'm reminded that there are people out there who actually read the thing and recommend it to others. So thanks for that. I do not accept advertising and I rarely plug what I have out that you can purchase…so your response is my main reward.

Later today, I'll re-post the most popular story I've ever put up here in fifteen years, plus I'll find some other goodies before the day is out. Just my way of showing my appreciation.

Ted Cruz is involved in a controversy as to whether he ever supported anything resembling a "path to citizenship" for illegal aliens. The record shows pretty clearly he did. He insists he did not. William Saletan explains the whole thing by just saying Cruz is lying and he links to other sources that agree. Even some folks you'd think would be on Cruz's side aren't buying his spin.

I don't think it'll affect Cruz's performance in this election one bit. You have Trump out there saying he saw thousands of people in New Jersey cheering 9/11. You have Carson telling tales of his past that no one believes. You have Fiorina tripling-down on that Planned Parenthood video that no one else has seen and on Obama firing that general who actually resigned during the Bush administration. I can buy that Christie's statement about being buddy-buddy with King Hussein of Jordan (who died years ago) was a brainfart or a misspeak but he's said plenty of things that just plain aren't true. They all have.

The effect of all this fibbing is that lots of folks are accepting that politicians lie so you have to vote for liars. They may even rationalize it as something that good men and women must do in order to get elected. We forgive our choices a lot. We don't fault them much for selling their souls to special interests for the money it takes to win. We don't fault them for dodging questions, the answers to which might cost them the votes to win.

My guess is that Cruz won't lose supporters because his supporters want results — in his case, because they want someone who'll treat illegal aliens and maybe all wanna-be immigrants like rabid dogs you don't want in your neighborhood. To them, Cruz looks like the candidate most likely to do that in the future, regardless of what he may have done in the past. So what if he felt he had to lie about that to win? Better a liar who'll "secure our borders" (a term which is increasingly becoming a euphemism for racial and religious purity) than an honest person who'll do all those awful, Commie/Sharia things described on the plaque on the Statue of Liberty.

They'll not only continue to back Cruz but they'll attack Hillary for being a liar. Only your guy gets a pass on that.

A whole lot of folks were truly delighted this morning to hear that Martin Shkreli was being arrested and hauled off to the pokey. (Did any reports say he'd been "frog-marched?" I've been dying to find out what that looks like.)

He was not arrested because of that deal he did where he acquired ownership of that AIDS drug that some people desperately need and jacked its price up to the stratosphere. That, sadly, is not illegal. Jordan Weissmann explains what the guy was arrested for doing. It surprised me because I didn't think there was anything one could do in the world of hedge funds that was considered unethical, let alone against the law.

Paul Waldman asks, "Can we stop pretending that Republicans care about the deficit now?" His thesis is that neither Democrats nor Republicans really care about it and that the only time either side objects to spending is when it's spending on stuff they don't like. I agree.

You want to know what it's like to be a law enforcement officer involved in a high-speed chase? Here's a POV video of a chase in Albany, Georgia that involved pursuing an armed robbery suspect at speeds that hit 130 in a commercial area. No one was injured and as you'll see, the guy gets caught. But, boy, chasing one of these criminals is not a job I'd like to have.  Take this one full-screen if you can…

The only website I think is worth watching for polling analysis is Nate Silver's fivethirtyeight.com. The folks there are just about the only ones more interested in being accurate than in spinning the polls in ways that aid their personal causes.

They've been trying to figure out a way to forecast the Academy Awards and they've failed…so now they're asking readers to come up with ways to approach this puzzle. My suggestion? They're wasting their time. Not enough data is available. And not enough data will ever be available.

The folks who administer these awards want it that way. So do the folks who stand to receive one. They all like the idea that people think the voting represents a genuine consensus of Hollywood. Knowing more about who votes and how can only diminish that impression. So that's why the awards will remain largely unpredictable except by hunches and hearing "the buzz."

This is the final entry to Mark Evanier's list of the twenty top voice actors in American animated cartoons between 1928 and 1968. For more on this list, read this. To see all the listings posted to date, click here.

Most Famous Role: Bugs Bunny.

Other Notable Roles: Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Tweety, Sylvester, Pepe LePew and hundreds of other characters in Warner Brothers cartoons; Woody Woodpecker (for a while), Barney Rubble, Mr. Spacely (on The Jetsons), Secret Squirrel, Captain Caveman and many, many more.

What He Did Besides Cartoon Voices: Mel was a superstar of comedy and variety radio shows.  In addition to regular appearances with Jack Benny and Abbott & Costello, he appeared on dozens of other shows and even had his own program for a time.  He followed Jack Benny into television and appeared on other comedies, plus there were hundreds of commercials and talk show appearances.

Why He's On This List: Does anyone need an explanation?  He was the first superstar of cartoon voicing and the guy everyone else who went into the business wanted to emulate, career-wise.  And it wasn't just a matter of him being able to do a lot of different voices.  It had more to do with him being a great comic actor — the kind who could hold his own in a sketch with great comedians like Benny.

Fun Fact: At one point in the fifties, Mel did one line voicing a cartoon pig in a TV commercial for Paper Mate pens. The commercial ran hundreds if not thousands of times and Mel, who was paid for each usage, collected more money for it than he'd been paid for all the Warner Brothers cartoons he'd done to date. For years, he held the record for the highest payment ever received by an actor for performing one line.

Bill Carter has an article about how Jimmy Fallon is way out ahead of everyone in late night. That's true but I have the feeling that's not going to last.

The other day, I posted a link to a video of TV cooking expert Alton Brown lecturing us, as he tends to do, about the right way to run one's kitchen. As I said, he always convinces me I have no business even trying to prepare a meal. I suspect if I watched him on a more regular basis, I'd even feel unqualified to phone to have a pizza delivered. A few readers challenged that or want to know why I feel as I do.

I enjoy watching Mr. Brown. He's clever, he's informed and I'm sure he's generally right about the "right" way to do things. I'm also sure that I will never in my life have a kitchen as well-stocked as his or that I will have nine hours to spend making a blintz. He can have that kind of kitchen and devote that kind of time because he makes his living as a chef and cooking teacher.

He can say things like, "Add a spritz of Worcestershire sauce" because he has cooked so much, he knows how much a "spritz" is. He also has a bottle of Worcestershire sauce. If I wanted to attempt a recipe that required it, I'd have to go out and buy one and over the next few years, I'd probably use up about three spritzes from it and wind up throwing 95% of it away.

He complains that people clutter their kitchens with "unitaskers" (devices that do only one thing) but he presumes we have every known spice and ingredient available and that it's practical to have them there because we use them often. In my kitchen, a bottle of Worcestershire sauce would be a unitasker.

I want to make clear: I admire Mr. Brown's skill. But I don't watch him to learn how to make what he makes because I'll never be able to replicate any of that. I watch him the way I watch champion athletes do other stuff I can't accomplish. Seeing him make spaghetti sauce is like watching that guy from Italy who did the Boston Marathon in 2:24:37. I ain't about to attempt that, either.

Consider: I used to make one of the simplest things to make in this world…a grilled cheese sandwich. I melted some butter in a pan. I buttered both sides of two slices of whatever bread I had on hand. I inserted whatever kind of cheese I had around. I put it in the pan, flipped it now and then and within about five minutes, I had what I thought was a pretty decent grilled cheese sandwich.

It tasted great and I was proud I made it myself. Then I watched the Alton Brown video that told me I did it all wrong. In fact, let's watch it together and see what I should have done…

Sounding very much like a college prof who thinks his students are lunkheads, he starts by telling me my grilled cheese sandwich is not a grilled cheese sandwich.

Apparently, my stove is of no use in this process. I have to go out in my backyard and light charcoal in my barbecue which I don't have. Years ago when I did have one, that took a little while to do and I never thought to go to all that trouble just to make two grilled cheese sandwiches. Then again, I didn't have my own cooking show.

So let's say I buy a barbecue and charcoal and all the things you need to get a proper fire going like a chimney starter and mitts and tongs. I mean, I sure don't want to disappoint Alton or attract his scorn.

He doesn't approve of my bread so I'm going to have to buy a whole loaf of "a good, hearty country-style bread" which I probably won't use in full before it goes stale on me. I do have butter and olive oil, even if I don't have a sprayer for the oil. He doesn't approve of my cheese or even that I use but one kind. I need to buy two kinds that I probably also won't use all of, and I don't dare buy it already-grated so I either need to find my grater or buy one of them, too.

I need a teaspoon of dry mustard. I don't have any so I'll need to buy a jar of it and use one teaspoon full. I need half a teaspoon of smoked paprika. Again, I don't have any so I'll need to buy a jar of it and use even less of it. I do have black pepper and a grinder so at least there, I'm equipped.

But I don't have two grill spatulas so I'll need to buy them. Then I'll need to take foil (I have that) and shape it around the spatulas to make little shallow trays with just a little bit of lip and…well, I've taken this far enough. I've made my point. What I haven't made since I watched that video is a grilled or even a griddled cheese sandwich. I can't do it his way and now I'm ashamed to do it my way. I take slight consolation in the fact that my method might be better than his when it's raining.

Let me say one last time that I like Alton Brown. He actually gets out there and demonstrates the art of food preparation, whereas most cooking shows now seem to be contests where they get a bunch of chefs together, give each one a hamhock, a bay leaf, a jar of Maraschino cherries and a live squirrel and tell them they have six minutes to whip it all up into a souflé that the judges will love. That doesn't relate to anything I might ever do in my kitchen either.

From now on, I may try nothing in my kitchen more complicated than Campbell's Soups. I sure hope he doesn't do a show about the proper way to do that. I'll probably have to buy a backhoe to open the can, import the water from Zurich and let the whole thing simmer over a smoldering volcano. And he'll tell me it isn't even Bean with Bacon like I thought.

David Letterman is interviewed by a reporter from a small town magazine — the kind of small town which probably has a newspaper from which Dave used to quote inane items for "Small Town News." Refreshingly, the interview has very little to do with show business and everything to do with retirement and coming to terms (or not) with one's advancing age.