A number of blogs are quoting this but I can't resist. The Seattle Times did an article on the collapse of Washington Mutual and it includes the following…
"Someone in Florida had made a second-mortgage loan to O.J. Simpson, and I just about blew my top, because there was this huge judgment against him from his wife's parents," she recalled. Simpson had been acquitted of killing his wife Nicole and her friend but was later found liable for their deaths in a civil lawsuit; that judgment took precedence over other debts, such as if Simpson defaulted on his WaMu loan.
"When I asked how we could possibly foreclose on it, they said there was a letter in the file from O.J. Simpson saying "the judgment is no good, because I didn't do it.'"
I kinda feel guilty covering this. Earlier this year, my friends Paul Dini, Misty Lee and I attended a live production of A Christmas Carol at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. For those who enjoy theatrical disasters — and I don't — it was the Super Bowl times ten. Advertised stars did not appear and the ones who did didn't know their lines. The stage crew didn't know which order to bring the sets in. There was much laughter where there should not have been laughter. We ended up cheering the performers at the end of it for just getting to the end of it. Later, there were reports that the endeavor had lost tons of money and that folks who worked on it had yet to receive pay.
The same producer-director is now attempting to mount a new tour of the Dickens classic with a different set of stars, some of whom have already disappeared from the advertising. The show was to have opened in Philadelphia, then moved to Boston, Baltimore, Minneapolis and Chicago but it's being reported that no theater has yet been booked for the first two cities…and Minneapolis has now been cancelled. These are not good signs.
And another not-good sign: Reporters around the country are writing about the problems and digging up ominous things about the producer's past…including the fact that he apparently wrote the script for this version while serving time in prison. Here's a report in the Chicago Reader that even quotes this blog. Like I said, I feel a bit guilty to be following this. It's like watching a train wreck from afar…painful to experience but difficult to ignore.
A new CNN poll says that seven in 10 Americans believe Sarah Palin is not qualified to be President. I'm not entirely sure what that means. I think Dick Cheney is probably "qualified" to be President but I'd never vote for the guy. I can also imagine a scenario where I vote for someone I think isn't "qualified" to be President just because the alternative seems more dangerous. 47% of Republicans in this poll say she's not qualified but I'll bet some of them would vote for her. In the last election, an awful lot of this country went for the guy with less experience.
Or did most of the respondents in this poll just answer the question as if it was, "Might you vote for her?" That would be my guess. I'd also guess that in hindsight, a pretty high percentage of Americans would say that George W. Bush wasn't qualified to be President…even in his second term.
No matter which interpretation you buy, it reinforces my belief that Ms. Palin will never get much closer to the presidency than I will. What's more, I think she knows it. But I also think she knows that at least for the next few years, she has a small, loyal band of rabid followers who empower her. They'll donate money to an alleged presidential campaign. They'll pay to buy her books or hear her speak. They'll demand for her to receive a certain amount of respect and attention from the media and especially from the Republican Party. Unless she lands a lucrative alternate gig — like, say, a three-year contract from Fox News — she's not going to say "I won't be a candidate" because she won't want to diminish that group's loyalty, hopes, etc. So she ain't going away but she also ain't gonna be the Republican nominee.
Just finished a script that would have been done two hours ago if we hadn't had winds in Los Angeles knocking out the electricity today. Sweet dreams, Internet. See you in the morning.
In my line o' work, I get to hang around (and pretend to direct) some of the most talented people in Hollywood. Two such folks are the men in the pic above…two gents whose voices you've heard constantly in cartoons and commercials.
The one at left is Gregg Berger, who's been barking for Odie for years in the Garfield cartoons. He's also been heard on G.I. Joe, The Transformers, Duckman, Men in Black and dozens of others. The one at right is Michael Bell, who's been heard on G.I. Joe, The Transformers, Rugrats, Plastic Man, Speed Buggy and dozens of others. Both gents also have impressive credits in front of the camera but it's (mainly) their V.O. work which Stu Shokus will be spotlighting later today (Wednesday) on his glorious radio program, Stu's Show. If you're interested in how cartoons are voiced, you couldn't do better than to tune in and listen to these fellows. You'll also be stunned by how often you've heard them in commercials. (Bell was the guy who used to say "butter" in the Parkay Margarine commercials.)
The show airs at 4 PM West Coast Time, which is 7 PM East Coast Time. It'll be a fast two hours as Stu asks these gents about their careers and how they do what they do. Tune in at the appointed hour at Shokus Internet Radio and click where they tell you to click. I may be even be calling in to get in on the fun.
You hear that newspapers are plunging in circulation. To better illustrate this plunge, here's a chart of several leading papers and what's happened with their numbers the last two decades.
Harrah's Entertainment reported yesterday that it lost more than $1 billion in the third quarter. Companywide revenues were down 13.7% compared to the same period last year.
This is an amazing drop. And imagine what it would be like if I hadn't given up buffets.
Joe Brancatelli, who knows more about the travel biz than anyone else I know, tells us the best way to get low rates at hotels. And I was also interested in this old article by Joe that says hotels are moving away from those clumsy tub-shower combos which I've never liked and are moving to just having stall showers. Good.
My buddy Bill Morrison is the head honcho over at Bongo Comics, makers of fine Simpsons funnybooks — but that's not important now. What is important is that he's bowling tomorrow night…and for a good cause.
The event is called Bowling for Boobies and it's a fund-raising event to help provide monetary assistance to local women who are facing financial challenges as the result of fighting and living with breast cancer. His team, the Speed Demons, includes Thomas Lennon from Reno 911 and the fabulous Ms. Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go's. They compete tomorrow night at Jillian's up at the Universal City Walk, and all the info on that is at the link at the beginning of this paragraph.
You can support this fine effort in two ways. One is to be there tomorrow night and pay admission to watch the celebs bowl. Another, which I have done, is to donate bucks to cheer on your fave player. You can donate to sponsor Bill Morrison or you can support Jane Wiedlin or you can back Thomas Lennon…and it really doesn't matter which one gets your money. It all goes to a good cause.
Let's try this again, shall we? Cartoon Network is now saying that The Garfield Show will debut on its Monday-Friday schedule on Monday, November 2. In most markets, each episode will run at 10:30 AM with a repeat at 3 PM. Your cable company or satellite dish may give it to you at another hour. I'm told that promos are supposed to start airing some time today but haven't seen one.
A number of folks wrote to tell me The Garfield Show aired on CN in the last two weeks. No, it didn't. What you folks saw was one of the "direct-to-DVD" CGI Garfield movies, which the channel sometimes runs. They're very good but they're not the series we're talking about here.
Anyway, I hope you like the show and I hope it really airs when I'm being told it will air.
Last Saturday evening, the Comic Art Professional Society had its annual banquet at a swanky country club out in Northridge. The honoree was the great comic book illustrator, Gene Colan.
The room was lovely. The food was excellent. There was an exhibit of Gene Colan artwork. There were guest speakers (including myself, Gerry Conway and Marv Wolfman). There were videos recounting Gene's life and featuring tributes from dozens of his colleagues, including Stan Lee, Joe Quesada, Jim Lee and Mike Carlin. There was a turnout of CAPS members eager to applaud Gene, and there were past CAPS honorees present, including June Foray and Stan Freberg. Nothing was missing.
Well, almost nothing. Gene and his lovely wife Adrienne weren't there. They were — I just Mapquested this — 2,812.67 miles away in Brooklyn, New York. CAPS wanted to fly them out but Gene's doctor felt it would not be a peachy idea for him to travel at the moment.
But Gene and Adrienne were there…via Skype. CAPS President Pat McGreal and a batch of other folks figured out how to pipe the Guest of Honor in via a video hookup. There were occasional audio problems but for most of the event, we had the Colans on a video screen, participating from his studio in Brooklyn.
A particularly lovely moment occurred when it came time to bestow the actual trophy. Co-presenter Sergio Aragonés held one up here in California and Gene thought he'd have to wait for a FedEx delivery to actually hold it in his mitts. But unbeknownst to him, Adrienne had the inscribed statuette and she handed it to him at just the right moment. Gene was overwhelmed by that and by the entire evening.
As I said, Gerry, Marv and I spoke. Gerry talked of how much he'd learned from having Gene draw his stories. Marv discussed the wonderful working relationship they enjoyed on Tomb of Dracula. I mumbled something about how Gene, who we were all watching on that screen, now had twice the viewership of Jay Leno.
Bill Morrison was an ideal Master of Ceremonies. Everyone had a great time. The only way it could have been better is if we'd actually had Gene and Adrienne there…but I have to tell you. I've been to some events of this kind that would have been a lot better if the Guest of Honor hadn't been present.
So far, no one has come up with any convincing explanation of the phrase, "It's genius! Genius, I tells ya!" But half the Internet has written to tell me the same theories I found when I Googled the phrase before asking here.
Yes, yes. There are people out there who theorize it was uttered by Jackie (Ralph Kramden) Gleason on The Honeymooners. Has anyone ever pointed to an actual episode where he said it? It sounds more like Ed Norton, anyway…
The report on Saturday night's CAPS Banquet honoring Gene Colan will have to wait until later today. But it will be along. Good night, Internet! Sleep tight.
I was going to embed this but L.A. Times video embeds are a little screwy and the last one made this page difficult for some to load. So instead I'm going to send you to this page to watch a little 12-minute interview with Dick Jones. Dick had a nice career in movies but everything is kinda anti-climactic after you've furnished the voice for the title role in Walt Disney's Pinocchio. I've enjoyed talking with Dick at various parties and animation fests, and this little chat will show you why.
