"Legal Eagle" Time! Devin Stone delves into the laws listed as allegedly broken in Trump's third indictment. One thing that interests me here is that Trump's side seems to have abandoned the claim that Trump actually won the 2020 election. Their defense now is more like "Trump honestly believed he'd won the 2020 election," which is not at all the same thing.
I have an acquaintance who has been telling me for some time that Trump won and that Trump has been sitting on all that solid evidence — the kind that Mike Lindell has spent zillions trying to locate. I repeatedly asked this acquaintance the following obvious-to-me question: If Trump has such evidence — and if as he also claims, Joe Biden is destroying the United States with his sham presidency — why oh why is Trump keeping this evidence a secret? Why did he lose court case after court case for an utter lack of evidence? Why is he letting the Biden presidency continue?
The answer from this acquaintance has always been along the lines of "Trump is a master strategist. He has his reasons." I think that rationale is now way past its expiration date, don't you?
Here's one of my favorite magicians, Shawn Farquhar, performing a routine that is uniquely his. I once saw him do this in person and I was about three feet from him. The impact in the room — which was mostly filled with other professional magicians — was stunning…
Before we resume: Here's a link to Part 1 and here's a link to Part 2.
Now then: We left off with me telling you I couldn't tell you how to be sure you obtained a badge for the convention. Now, I'm about to tell you that there's no surefire way I can tell you how to ensure you have transportation or lodging…and the only thing I know about parking is that if you don't have a hotel room, you ought to think about ways you can get there without having a car to park.
The one thing I can tell you with some certainty is to Plan Early. You'd be amazed how many calls and e-mails I get in the last few weeks before the convention asking how they can get a hotel room. They're asking this long after all the hotels around the convention center have been sold-out for months and they're also asking a person who hasn't had to book his own room there for a few decades. One thing I can tell you: A lot of folks find it wise to try and book a room before they know if they'll score admission badges and before hotel rooms go on sale through the convention. Of course, you only do that if you can find an affordable reservation which can be canceled without penalty.
I also know folks who've found it easier and even cost-effective to get a room miles from the convention center and then take the trolley or an Uber to and from the con each day. My friend Phil Geiger sent me these thoughts to pass along here…
For travel, I've done the trip both driving and flying and here's my two cents worth. If someone is out of state, I recommend flying to San Diego rather than driving. Driving requires a place to park your vehicle, which can be difficult and definitely will be expensive. You can find hotels further out that have free parking (I've done that), but those are usually out of the range of public transport so you have to drive in and pay for Comic-Con parking every day of the Con (done that, too).
Parking is done by lottery (what a surprise) through ACE Parking and is independent of the Con. It's $25-$35 dollars a day (PLUS a $7.95 "convenience fee" per day) depending on the lot. Be aware there are no in-and-out privileges. Walking to breakfast or lunch this year I saw a couple hotel lots charging $50 for daily Comic-Con parking, but I do not recommend anyone drive to Comic-Con without parking reservations. They just might end up driving in circles for hours trying to park. It's better to bite the bullet and get reservations for parking when driving in.
Flying in? I tell people don't buy airfare until you know you have badges. I usually get plane tickets about 6-8 weeks before Comic-Con unless I have badges and I see a really good airfare sale earlier than that. I don't remember a sale ever happening, btw. If you can, fly in the day before your first badge and fly out the Monday after the Con. You don't want flight delays to keep you from getting to the Con when you want to and chilling out Sunday night (and sometime Monday) is pretty nice after that busy, busy con. I fly in Tuesday and out the following Monday or Tuesday (If I want an extra day in San Diego). Of course, I don't have to get back to a job so it's easy for me to add a day or two.
If I lived anywhere on or near the coast of CA, I'd probably be taking the Coaster train down to San Diego and back.
So there are some other views to consider. I'll have more tips — some from me, some from friends — in Part 4.
It must gall a lot of super-right-wingers to see Donald Trump indicted, arraigned and generally treated like a criminal on the way to the slammer. Most of them fantasized about this scene, of course. They just wanted it to be Hillary Clinton. They wouldn't have called it "Weaponizing the Department of Justice" if it had put her away and outta sight. They'd have called it "The Rule of Law."
It's kind of amazing how many people who brag about being with "The Party of Law and Order" are willing to support a presidential candidate even if it means he could be on his way to the slammer.
I didn't see much of the arraignment today. Actually, no one reading this blog did. We just heard Rachel Maddow and other newsfolks repeating what reporters in the courtroom relayed was happening. I don't know how I feel about the suggestion — in some cases, the demand — that any Trial of Trump be televised. If the Writers Strike and SAG-AFTRA Strike were on then, the producers could have held out for eight months or more because that's how long America wouldn't have been watching anything else.
Transparency is one thing but giving the lawyers and witnesses a stage to perform…well, that didn't seem to have prevented the first trial of O.J. Simpson from turning into something that Barnum & Bailey should have built a tent around.
And I frankly don't understand the argument that Trump can't be found guilty of trying to overturn the election if he really and truly thought he'd won it. Does that mean that you couldn't convict that North Carolina man who fired an AR-15 rifle inside a pizza restaurant in Washington, D.C. because he really and truly believed it was the home of a Satanic child sex abuse ring involving top Democrats?
How about John Hinckley who really and truly thought that he'd wind up sleeping with Jodie Foster if he shot President Reagan?
And through all this, I wonder about Rudy Giuliani who made that long, hard struggle from being the most honored man in America to being Co-Conspirator #1 in what some are calling the greatest crime of this century. That's along with being a known sexist pig and harasser. He's gotta be thinking that in The Tunnel of Life, he should've turned left at Albuquerque.
The indictment. I read excerpts the last two days but I decided I oughta read the whole thing. I'm no expert on the drafting of legal papers but this seems clean, direct and filled with evidence — most of it from Trump's Republican colleagues — to convince almost anyone that it's a solid case. This is not to say someone couldn't construct a rebuttal case but they sure have a lot of damning points to address and counter.
But I'm not exactly open-minded on the subject of Donald Trump. I think he's a dishonest and dangerous man who cares about money and power but not about the people who give him the money and the power…and I felt that way about him when it was a far-fetched joke that he could ever win an election for anything.
So read it yourself and decide. It's only 45 pages and they're double-spaced. You've read longer blocks of text on this site about changes in the look and feel of Batman. Download the PDF here.
What kind of tree is this? Is there an expert on trees out there who can tell me what kind of tree this is? I would like to know what kind of tree this is. Thank you in advance if you know what kind of tree this is and you write and tell me what kind of tree this is.
One thing that fascinates me about the current Donald Trump indictments — and I'm not saying it fascinates me in a good or bad manner — is how many different ways this scenario can play out. Most of the possible ones look like Trump taking a very hard landing and he'll certainly be tied-up in court proceedings for an awful long time. (Everyone talking about how long seems to forget that when you lose, you appeal…so each trial can turn into several.) It kinda amazes me that at this stage of his life when he seems to have had to actually begun paying his lawyers — albeit with donors' money — he still can't seem to find any good ones.
People keep asking me for my predictions as to where this thing is going because, after all, who is more expert at this kind of thing than a guy who used to write Yogi Bear comic books? But if you insist, here's why I reply with such a resounding "I dunno." Think of all the things that could happen between now and when we get some sort of resolution in the courts and ballot boxes. There would be new scandals, new evidence, new indictments. None of us saw the stolen documents raid matter coming. Why couldn't other crimes outta nowhere be alleged?
Someone could die. I'm not wishing this for anyone but you have a lot of people involved as alleged conspirators, lawyers, witnesses, etc., some of them rather elderly and under massive stress. This whole story could take unexpected turns if someone dies, especially since almost no one will believe it wasn't murder. (A fellow I knew who was heavy into Kennedy Assassination Conspiracy theories refused to believe that the wife of Texas Governor John Connally wasn't killed as part of the cover-up even though she died 43 years after the assassination at the age of 87.)
Trump could do the unexpected…and don't ask me what that might be. But people do strange things when they're desperate and if the alternative is prison, something we'd think he'd never do might seem like it's worth a try.
Most of my friends insist his die-hard supporters will never desert him. That's probably true of some but the smarter ones — i.e., the ones wise enough to not be interviewed by Jordan Klepper — might leave him if they had a real alternative…
…which they don't right now. Trump is way out ahead of Ron DeSantis and all the other contenders are polling at numbers <5. Chris Christie and Vivek Ramaswamy are at 2% in surveys where the margin is plus or minus 3% — so one or both of them could be at a minus-one. But I think the reason a lot of Trump fans are still with him, indictments and all, is because they've become convinced that America as we know it is doomed if "one of them" (a Republican, preferably a rabid right-winger who is white and male and willing to toss Liberals in concentration camps) isn't elected.
Right now, Trump is the only candidate who seems to stand a chance of making that happen. They may love him but they love winning more and he's starting to look like kind of a loser. It's still not too late for a Donald surrogate — same positions, no indictments — to emerge. Okay, it's not likely. But not so long ago if I told you that a politician who was in Trump's position now — all those charges plus a jury found that he'd committed rape, even though it isn't called in the state where he was found liable — you'd never believe that guy could be in the presidential race at all, let alone with a wide lead in his party.
I'm not predicting any of this will happen; just noting that these twists and a lot of others that now seem unimaginable could. This is a volatile election in a volatile environment in a volatile country. With all that volatility, you can't rule out anything except that if Trump fails to reclaim the White House, he will never admit that he lost that election or any before it. My prediction, which is worth about two dollars with a margin of error of three dollars, is that Trump will never be President again but that a lot of crazy, unprecedented shit will happen before and even after the 2024 election.
I want to thank Special Counsel Jack Smith for delaying the big indictment of Donald Trump until I was home and rested from Comic-Con. And I look forward to at least one more, maybe several more.
Okay: The first thing you need to do is to decide what you want out of Comic-Con. It can be as simple as "I just want to see what it's like" or as (possibly) life-changing as "I want to get into comics." Both these things happen at Comic-Con, though the latter doesn't seem to occur anywhere near as often as the career-seekers wish. I've heard from a number of folks who have a very negative view of Comic-Con because they didn't find the job of their dreams there.
Once upon a time, that was a bit more likely than it is today. Major publishers like DC and Marvel once had active portfolio evaluations, making reps available to look at samples — mainly artwork — from potential talent. That doesn't happen much now. That's not the way they find new writers and artists these days…and DC and Marvel now use most of their convention presence to promote movies and TV shows. Presently, I think you can have a perfectly rotten experience at Comic-Con if you focus on getting work.
Then again, if you self-publish and hawk your own wares, I think you can have a perfectly wonderful experience doing that at Comic-Con. Just how wonderful will, of course, depend on how good and commercial your wares are. There's a lot of competition in that room.
Get in touch with what you want. And I think that line which I just went back and italicized for emphasis, is great advice not just for Comic-Con but for life. You don't have to set one goal forever but you need to have some direction for your personal compass. Over the years, I think I've benefited from asking myself the musical question, "What do I want?" And once I have some semblance of an answer, I follow it up with the question, "Do I really want that for myself? Or do I think I want it because I see others wanting it?" If you can answer those questions honestly, it helps. It truly helps.
Photo by Bruce Guthrie
Are their certain celebrities or creators who'll be there who you want to meet? That's not a bad reason to want to go to Comic-Con. Neither is to seek certain items you want for your collection. Excellent reason. Would you find it exciting to see previews of forthcoming movies or TV shows and to hear their stars and makers talk about the work? That's a fine reason, though maybe not so much for this past convention. How about the sheer entertainment of certain programs? Or to get a drawing from a favorite artist?
Or to learn from experts about some area that interests you? Study the schedule of panels and presentations. You can have a great time going from room to room, listening to panelists and authorities.
Or maybe you just want to see the cosplayers and maybe photograph them. Or maybe you're really into gaming and want to see what's new and grab up whatever freebees the companies are offering in their booths.
I have friends in or around my age bracket who go mainly for social reasons — to see friends they only see at conventions and to drink with them. I've heard them evaluate different conventions mainly for the bar scenes — which hotels had the best places to gather and imbibe. As a non-drinker, this is of zero interest to me but it might be the best reason for you to attend Comic-Con or any convention.
I could go on and on about this but the point is that you need to have some sense of why you want to be there, above and beyond the fact that lots of other people want to be there. And once you know, you can begin planning your convention around that goal. Remember how in Part 1, I told about how a friend of mine and I went to Disneyland with no real concept of what we wanted to experience there or where to find it? Don't make that boneheaded mistake with Comic-Con.
This, of course, comes after you arrange to be there.
If you've read this far thinking I'm going to reveal the secret of how to always get as many badges as you want, I'm sorry. I may have dragged you this far under false pretenses…but you should know that the San Diego Convention Center can only accommodate X number of people and the number who want to get in is more like 10X or 20X or maybe even higher. There are methods that involve being in tight with exhibitors or being program participants but I'm not the one to explain them. It may just be one of those Facts of Life you just have to accept the way you finally figured out there was no guaranteed way to win the California Mega Millions State Lottery.
There's also no way I was ever going to fit this topic into two installments on this blog so it's no longer a two-part series. Check back here in the next few days for Part 3 and the way I'm going, that may not ever be the end of it. We'll start by discussing things like travel and lodging.
That's roughly how Paul Reubens looked when I met him at The Groundlings some time in the early eighties. The Groundlings is a local (Los Angeles) improv troupe and school that at times has seemed like the farm team for Saturday Night Live. Paul is on a long list of folks whose names you'd know who got "discovered" (or at least honed their skills) with The Groundlings.
I picked a photo of Paul as Paul because Pee-wee Herman, as whom he became famous, was just one of the many characters I saw Paul do at The Groundlings. In a way, it's a shame Pee-wee caught on as big as he did because Paul had many other "people" inside him. He being himself may have been the most interesting.
I can't say I knew him that well and I suspect most people who knew him didn't know him that well even if they thought they did. He got in trouble from time to time. He got a reputation for being hard to work with from time to time…though to that last charge, I must say the two times I worked with him, he was only a small, acceptable pain-in-the-butt. I'm not denying the experiences of others; just reporting on mine.
In the last few years when I ran into him, always at the Magic Castle, he was pretty friendly. Hearing now that he'd been battling cancer for some time, I can only wonder if there was a connection. He was very excited one time when I introduced him to Sergio Aragonés.
Others who knew him better than I did will tell better stories than I can. I just wanted to say that the Paul Reubens I knew was a sweet and very creative man. He and some constituents were responsible for one of the most memorable evenings I have ever experienced in a theater. I tell that story here and it's one of the reasons I'm thinking good thoughts about the guy today.
Labor Law (relating to the current Hollywood strikes) meets Tree Law (about how and when you can trim trees). It's an irresistible intersection of legal issues for Devin Stone, the "Legal Eagle" of YouTube…
I'd forgotten, as I do every year, that the 4.5 days of Comic-Con come with several days of prep and several more of recovery…and time expands and compresses. Right this minute, I feel like Saturday of this past Comic-Con was months ago…but seven days ago as of this moment, I was scurrying to meet an editor for Breakfast at 8:30 to discuss a project I may or may not write.
That was followed by being on the Dungeons & Dragons panel at 10 AM, hosting Quick Draw! at 11:45 which led to the Cartoon Voices 1 panel at 1 PM, followed by being on Maggie Thompson's panel at 3:00, hosting the History of Cartoon Voices panel at 4:30, doing an interview at 6:30 and meeting friends for dinner at 8. Today, I just exhausted myself typing that last sentence.
Before I forget: Yes, I heard that several folks, including a few I was around at the con, came down with COVID. I tested. I'm fine. I wish them only the easiest of full recoveries.
And yes, I know that I can print out the convention souvenir book PDF myself but that does not result in a book that in any way resembles the book that would have resulted if they'd printed it out like the others on my shelf. That would just give me a lot of 8½ by 11 sheets that were not bound in book format. I'm not faulting the convention for saving money on this. I just would like the option of ordering a printed/bound version of the souvenir book.
Getting back to the hectic pace of the con: It's one of the things I like about it. I wouldn't/couldn't live that way all year but it's fun as an occasional change of scenery and schedule. It's fun to be around so many people having such a good time and some of those people are friends I don't get to see except at conventions. I especially enjoy living for a few days in an environment where it's utterly impossible to be bored; where everywhere you turn, there's someone interesting to talk to or something interesting to look at.
Photo by Bruce Guthrie
If you went and you didn't have the time of your life, I'd like to give you the following advice: You need to learn how to "do" Comic-Con.
In the summer of 1969 when I was 17 years old, I went to Disneyland for the first time. I'm not sure I can explain why a kid born and raised in Southern California hadn't made it there before then but I hadn't. That year, my pal Dwight Decker and I went for a day and we made just about every possible mistake starting with the erroneous assumption that you could experience Disneyland in one day. We took a bus there and back. I think we were on that bus (and some connecting buses we had to take to get to and from that bus) for more hours than all the collective time we spent on Disneyland rides.
We didn't know where to eat. We didn't know where to go. There were things we knew were somewhere in Disneyland that sounded like fun but we didn't know where they were and we certainly hadn't plotted out any sort of route that would take us from one to the other. I remember experiencing Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, "It's a Small World," The Carousel of Progress, the monorail and not much else before we had to catch the bus home. We both slept most of the ride back.
Years later, I learned how to "do" Disneyland and had some much better times there.
In the Summer of 1970, one year after Dwight and I didn't "do" Disneyland the right way, my friend Steve Sherman and I didn't "do" New York the right way. We had some great experiences visiting the offices of DC Comics, Marvel and MAD magazine. We spent a day with Steve Ditko. We attended our first comic book convention. So much of it was wonderful and exciting…
…but we didn't know where to stay or where to eat or how to get around. We let the cab driver from the airport into Manhattan swindle us out of some cash. There were great shows playing on Broadway — shows I wish I'd seen — but we somehow didn't allow for that in our schedule. (The original production of Company was in its third month. Was I smart enough to go see it? No, I was not smart enough to go see it. I was also not smart enough to go see the original production of 1776 or several others then playing. James Coco in Last of the Red Hot Lovers or Maureen Stapleton in Plaza Suite might have been nice.)
Again: Years later, I learned how to "do" New York and had some much better times there.
And I had to learn to "do" Comic-Con. This is Part One of a two-part article. In a day or two, I'll tell you what I learned and how I learned it and why, though it might not apply at all to you, what I learned might help you figure out how you should "do" Comic-Con.
