Bob Elisberg sent me to this article about how airlines are all inventing new fees (for things like checking our baggage or giving you an exit-row seat) in order to generate more revenue. Welcome to another reason to curse the airlines. Among the many annoying things about this is that when you go online to compare fares and books your tickets, you can't get an accurate fix on what a flight will really cost. If one airline is cheaper but is charging for checked luggage and for seat belts and air, it might not really be cheaper.

You know, I knock Southwest a lot, mostly because they have this quaint idea that my suitcase needn't arrive at the same airport and time as me. But they're doing better than most carriers these days because they don't make you feel gouged at every turn. The price you pay is the price you pay. They also do a better job than most of going where I want to go at the time I want to go. Maybe I oughta start seeing if I can do carry-ons.

The Writers Guild of America, East is doing something intriguing. On Monday, June 22, they're presenting an evening of readings. What are people reading? Excerpts from new, as-yet-unfilmed screenplays.

One of them is a script called Dick Cavett Ruined My Life, which was authored by Craig Shemin. Craig described it as "…a comedy about a regular guy and how he continuously has his life wrecked (albeit inadvertently) by talk show host Dick Cavett." These readings are all cast with professional actors and they had to find someone appropriate to play the role of Dick Cavett. They got — you guessed it — Dick Cavett.

Here are the details. If I were closer to New York, I'd probably go.

That's a pretty old photo of my best friend (male division), Sergio Aragonés. I took it at the third (I think) Comic-Con, which was in 1972 — the first of many at the El Cortez Hotel. They didn't call it Comic-Con International back then. It went through a couple of names to which no one ever paid any attention. We all just called it the San Diego Comic-Con. I think the '72 one was formally called San Diego's West Coast Comic Convention.

But this item isn't about the convention. It's about Sergio. Sergio now lives in Ojai, California where he seems to know everyone. In a long overdue move, the Ojai Valley Museum will host a big exhibit of his artwork August 7 through October 4. He will also be hosting a couple of seminars there during the weeks of the exhibition. Details can be obtained at this here website. I'd make some snide, derogatory remark but this is actually a great honor for a great talent and even I can't find anything negative to say about it. Congrats, amigo.

If you grew up in Southern California in the sixties, you're going to thank me for this. Because since then, you've had a song running through your head…over and over, haunting you, pounding on you from within. It got into your brain during that decade because you innocently turned on a radio one day and heard it. And heard it. And heard it. And heard it some more. You couldn't go four minutes without hearing it because it was on every channel, mocking you and refusing to be denied.

Even when you didn't have your radio on, you often heard it because someone else had a radio on and it was always on their radio. At some point, there probably didn't even have to be a radio within earshot for you to hear it. It was a part of you. If a doctor had put a stethoscope on your chest, he would have heard it.

I am speaking, of course, of the Sav-On Drug Store jingle.

They may have had it in other cities, too…but they sure had it in Southern California. There were times when even though I didn't need anything at a Sav-On Drug Store, I went to a Sav-On Drug Store. Just because I had to. Other people had dogs barking in their heads. I had the Sav-On Drug Store jingle.

As jingles go, it wasn't one of the better ones. Whoever wrote it thought "parade" rhymes with "save." It didn't then, it doesn't now, it never will. The pounding kettle drum sound was addictive, though. Another local jingle writer named Stan Worth admitted to being inspired by it when he wrote the theme for the George of the Jungle TV show.

I don't know when they stopped using it on the radio…some time in the seventies, I guess. I just know I continued to hear it somewhere in my soul for years after…until finally, one melancholy morning, it just went away. I was amazed to discover that I missed it.

Just the other day, after all these years, I heard it out of my computer speakers. Someone sent me an old air check of a KFWB broadcast from 1962 and there it was in all its primal glory. I think this was the only version Sav-On ever recorded of it. I just had to edit a clip and put it up here for all of you, just so you could experience that memorable melody one more time.

Sav-On drug stores are still around but slowly going away. The two I used to go to are both now CVS Pharmacies and I suppose they're just as good if you need a bottle of Maalox or a bag of Baked Ruffles (the good kind, the kind with cheddar cheese and sour cream flavoring) or a pack of 9 volt batteries. But they don't have a jingle this good — and they never will…

Not every time but with increasing (and frightening) occurrence, the Supreme Court of this great land of ours does something so mind-numbingly unfair that I can't believe it. On a 5-4 vote (of course), they recently ruled that if you're convicted of a crime and there's DNA evidence that could prove conclusively if you did it, you do not necessarily have a right to have that evidence. The cause of justice is somehow better served if you just remain behind bars, insisting you didn't do it. Apparently, our courts are already too crowded to bother with a little thing like imprisoning the right person.

I read about the decision on this webpage and I thought, "This can't be all there is to it. There must be a more logical case to be made for this decision." But I've looked at about a dozen other articles and I sure can't find one. If you've got one, pass it along.

Last night on The Daily Show, Jon Stewart had a long talk with Mike Huckabee about abortion. It was so long that they cut it to confetti for airing, and I don't suggest you waste your time watching it in that version. But they have the whole chat up on their website in three parts. This link will take you to the first part and I think the others will follow in sequence.

I kinda wish Mr. Stewart would do a separate show on the weekends where he'd just engage in these kinds of conversations for longer stretches. At a time when so much of what passes for debate/discussion out there is just W.W.E.-style wrestling matches dressed up with "issues," it's nice to see two human beings talk without trying to smack the other down. I tend to agree with Stewart in most areas, and his stance on abortion ain't far from mine, especially in its lack of certainty…but he always lets his guests talk and doesn't do those moronic O'Reilly tricks of cutting them off and trying to manuever them into sound bites that will be damning when later taken out of context.

There were a number of points in the conversation where I think Stewart dropped the ol' ball, as it were. One was letting Huckabee largely dodge the question of whether he would or could support abandoning the silly (to me) notion that abstinence education is effective, and whether he'd favor increased access to information and condoms and such. Another was when Huckabee claimed that he knows of no one in the so-called "Pro Life" movement who would favor allowing a mother to die to save a fetus. Every poll says that somewhere around 10-15% of Americans believe abortion should be forbidden in all cases. What else could that response mean?

But watch for yourself. I don't know where this issue is headed — "nowhere" would be my best guess — but if there is any progress, it'll come from more discussions like this one. And less of the O'Reilly kind.

Stan Freberg called yesterday and asked me to join him and his wife Hunter for a public interview that Penn & Teller did last night. I was too busy to go but when Freberg invites you, you say yes. So I said yes…and it was worth the time I couldn't spare just to be sitting next to Stan when Penn introduced him in the audience, telling all what a huge, wonderful influence the work of Freberg had been on the world and on Penn & Teller, in particular.

(In the preceding paragraph, I initially typed their names as "Penn and Teller," then remembered that last night's host-interviewer, Eddie Gorodetsky, reminded the audience that their names are only correctly spelled with an ampersand. I learned long ago to listen to Eddie.)

Nice crowd. Penn & Teller spoke about their work — and yes, Teller spoke, though not as much as Penn. Penn Jillette is a fascinating man, who speaks on a wide array of subjects, usually with great passion and individuality. About a third of the time, I think he's full of that stuff they named their Showtime series after but I always find it thought-provoking to hear the guy. I think the show is full of it about a third of the time…but that's not a bad average for television programming that seeks to "say something." And I usually come away having learned something, even if it's only because I figured out for myself why they were wrong.

Eddie asked them a lot about their partnership and about their approach to magic. Penn did a long ramble about how though they've done a lot of tricks that caused physical discomfort and potential injury, they've never put themselves or anyone who works for them at risk of death, and how few prominent magicians these days can make that claim.

He and Teller also talked about times they were injured, and Teller told — I hadn't heard this before — that the first time they did their water tank trick, it was on Saturday Night Live, and because they hadn't had sufficient time to prepare and test the trick, Teller came close to drowning on air. (That's the trick where he's locked underwater and not allowed to breathe again until Penn successfully finds a chosen card…and then Penn botches the trick up so Teller has to remain submerged long past the time he can hold his breath. Teller seemingly dies…and he came close that night because the hidden breathing apparatus malfunctioned and he really was locked in the tank.)

They spoke of their Showtime series, Bullshit, which in its new season (starts next week) will tackle topics including orgasms, organic foods and the end of the world. And they talked about other projects they have in the works and it was all very interesting. But the best part was when Penn introduced Freberg and everyone in the place applauded.

Kim Bené sends this nice tale about John Broome, who's being honored (posthumously, alas) this year with one of the Bill Finger Awards for Excellence in Comic Book Writing…

I was a kid in elementary school when the second Green Lantern made his appearance in Showcase. I bought it as quick as I saw the cover, as I have indeed bought most of the Green Lantern books since. The character "spoke" to me. I loved the science fiction aspects of the story lines, it made sense that a test pilot would make a great super hero, and the idea of an intergalactic police force was just…well, comforting. Most of all, I liked the way Hal Jordan could train himself to focus his concentration since my inventive mind was constantly wandering off the subject at hand. His power ring was only as strong as his power of concentration was to control it. He could use it to move planets and fly through space and create huge green dragons and boxing gloves! So Hal was always an inspiration to me to concentrate and focus my mental energies on college tests, writing jobs, conversations; indeed everything about every day life.

So there I was in San Diego on the first Wednesday night preview of Comic-Con in the fancy lobby of the big curving hotel next to the convention center. I wasn't actually staying there due to monetary considerations, but I knew it would be a good, convenient, quiet place to wait for a friend to join me before walking over to the confusing masses at the nearby center.

I was sitting on a small sofa in the lobby when a thin, distinguished looking older gent in a crisp white shirt covered by a beautiful cherry red sweater sat down next to me. His sweater caught my eye, then I noticed he had a Comic-Con badge hanging round his neck. The badge was the green one that said "Professional." I'm not in the habit of bothering people in the media since I know they usually don't like it (I'm in the TV business myself) but the Con being much smaller then, it seemed appropriate to speak to fellow attendees, especially the one guy in the lobby not dressed in a Spider-Man or Batman costume or an appropriately themed baggy T-shirt and cargo shorts. He was quite dapper.

I turned to him and smiled and said: "Here for the Comic-Con?" "Yes," he replied. "There seems to be a lot of people here. Are they all for the convention?"

"Yes, and every hotel near the convention center is just like this filled with Con folks. It's the biggest convention of the year here, with 50,000 people wandering around next door for three days."

"My, the comic book business has sure changed since I left it."

At this point, my eyes searched out the name on the badge I read off the name: "John Broome." Hey, I remember that name…but it couldn't be that John Broome, my favorite writer and inspiration of my youth. He had to be dead. I hadn't heard a word about him since the early 1970's. But how many guys in comics have that name and would be at Comic-C? There he was, sitting, quietly looking slightly perplexed.

So I said, "Is this your first Con?"

"Yes, though in fact I haven't seen an American comic book in years. I've been out of the country. Do these people all read comic books?" he replied.

"Oh yes, they do. Comic books are big business now. What did you do in comic books?" I asked.

His modest reply was: "Well I wrote a lot of them, along with some teaching and such. When I got out of the business, I thought comic books would be disappearing soon."

"So you are the John Broome, one of the major creative folks behind the Hal Jordan Green Lantern series? The Atomic Knights? The Justice Society of America? Cool science fiction stories from the 60's? You're one of my all time favorite writers, Mr. Broome. Thank you for inspiring me when I was a kid, and for all those great science facts I accidentally learned through reading your stories." I could hardly contain myself.

He looked at me like I was one of the strange looking aliens in one of the stories; "Yes, I suppose I am that John Broome. I'm surprised one of the first folks I talk to in the U.S. actually knows who I am." Apparently, he was waiting for his wife and didn't know what to expect.

Fortunately, in my carry case I had some comics I hoped to trade next door…and one was a Green Lantern! And a Paper Mate sharpie, my preferred writing implement was in the pocket of my Hawaiian shirt! Reaching for them, I quickly but politely asked "Mr. Broome, I'd be honored if you'd sign my Green Lantern book. It's issue 63…not one of yours, but it's all I have with me and without you there would probably be no issue 63!"

Again, he looked at me like I was from another planet. Here was one of the greatest comic book authors of all time and apparently, no one had ever asked him to autograph anything! But being polite and well spoken, he smiled and nodded and signed it, just as a well dressed elderly woman came by and said: "John, I've been looking all over for you!"

He signed and then said to her: "Oh, I was just signing an autograph for one of my 'fans' and I swore he winked at me, took her hand and they vanished into the crowd. Later, I learned they had lived in Japan for many years where he taught English to Japanese diplomats, and that the Comic-Con had tracked him down and flown him in that night to honor him throughout the Con. Back when he was writing comics, you weren't allowed to sign your works, and there were no fan convention so apparently Mr. Broome thought he was still unknown and he apparently had no idea how much his work was remembered and appreciated. I like to think my little "welcoming committee" of one was the first of many surprises in store for him that week.

Needless to say,that issue has many more famous signatures on the cover page, all folks connected with Green Lantern in some capacity, everyone astonished at the first name at the top of the page, and every one honored to sign it, too. It hangs on my wall in a plastic case, still inspiring me to concentrate my will power on the job at hand.

Thanks for the lovely story, Kim…though I have a couple of corrections. As wonderful as the folks at the Comic-Con are, it wasn't one of them who tracked Mr. Broome down and got him to that convention. It was the late Richard Morrissey who not only arranged for Broome to be there but even paid for much of the air fare and passed the hat for the rest. The tale of Rich and the good he did with that effort is told over on this page. And a partial transcript of the great convention panel I hosted with Mr. Broome (probably my favorite of all the panels I've done) can be read through several columns beginning with this one.

Mr. Broome did have credits on a few of the comics he authored, and there were comic book conventions during the few years of his writing career. But he was travelling at the time and if he was ever in a city where one was being held, he didn't know about it.

But none of that changes the fact that it was, as Mr. Broome called it, the best weekend of his life. He not only got to be reunited with several old friends, he got to see how many new ones he had…how much his work was loved and respected. Too many folks leave this planet without ever grasping how much of a difference they made. I'm glad that John Broome was not one of them.

Keep an eye on things again, please. I'm heading off to see these people…

Last night, the Comic-Con International issued a press release announcing that this year's Bill Finger Awards are going to John Broome and Frank Jacobs, and I also posted it here. The press release was written by Jackie Estrada and me, and I'm responsible for the part that says Mr. Broome died in 1998 after attending his only convention in 1997. Actually, he died in 1999 after attending his only convention in 1998. That was my typo and I wish I had someone else I could blame it on. My thanks to Kevin Eldridge, who wrote this morning to let me know. At least, he agrees with the committee that Broome and Jacobs are great choices.