I have a small but real fascination with how "targeted advertising" works on the Internet. As we surf, certain websites are tracking us and our browsing/buying habits, the better to display advertising that will be of interest to us. For a while, every time I went to Google, an ad in the margins would try to sell me Bobby Darin ring-tones…and I couldn't figure out why, of all the eighty zillion recording artists who have ever cut an album, Bobby Darin was being presented to me, not occasionally but often. I finally figured out it had something to do with the fact that my cousin David, who shares my surname, authored a book on Mr. Darin. Somehow, in the cryptic algorithms that are Google, "Evanier" and "Bobby Darin" are linked…so Google thinks I'm a likely customer for things relating to Bobby.

Today, I'm getting this one when I go to Google. This is a screen capture image…

I haven't Googled Jack's name in quite a while but I have in the past. I also have a Google News Alert set to e-mail me whenever his name turns up on Google News. It often brings me headlines about John T. "Jack" Kirby, a sewer worker who's running to be mayor of Warwick, Rhode Island. I also get plenty of news about Superior Court Judge Jack Kirby down in Georgia. (My Jack Kirby would have made an excellent judge or mayor, by the way.)

So is that why I got the above ad? Or is it because my name is linked to Jack in a lot of places on the 'net, especially since my book on him came out?

In tribute to George Carlin, NBC is rerunning the very first episode of Saturday Night Live (then called NBC Saturday Night) tonight. The show originally ran on October 11, 1975.

It's an honor that I suspect would not have particularly pleased Mr. Carlin, who did not speak well of that night — or the series he helped launch — in later years. Still, as we noted here, that debut episode is an interesting bit of TV history. Producer Lorne Michaels pretty much had all the ingredients of his show in mind but he hadn't figured out the proportions, so there's way too little of the Not Ready for Primetime Players, way too much of the host (and other folks) doing monologues, plus Andy Kaufman and two musical guests.

I gather part of George's unhappiness with the show had to do with Michaels never asking him to host again. He hosted his only other time in November of '84 when Lorne M. was away from the series.

However — again, with enormous presumptuousness — Carlin would be even less pleased to see the editorial cartoons which turned up to note his death. Almost all seemed to depict him arriving at the Pearly Gates only to learn he would not be allowed to say his famed "seven words" there. Daryl Cagle polled some of them as to why they had so depicted such a famous, outspoken Atheist. Frankly, the part that I think would have offended George was so many of them all going for the same, obvious joke.

Last November, we predicted here that tickets for this year's Comic-Con International would be scalped on eBay. Over at his Variety weblog, Tom McLean reports that this is happening. Buyers be wary.

I will be a guest not this weekend but next (July 3-6) at the tenth annual CONvergence, a science-fiction/media convention held, at least this time, in Bloomington, Minnesota, not far from Minneapolis. I didn't attend any of the previous nine but everyone I know who did tells me I'm in for one of the great con-going experiences of my life. I usually respond by reminding them how many cons I've attended and they say, "This will still be one of your all-time favorites." So we're officially jazzed.

Later this year, my friend Carolyn and I will be showing our lovely faces (hers, more lovely than mine) at the Comic-Con International in San Diego (July 23-27), the Mo-Kan Comics Conspiracy in Kansas City (September 20-21) and the Mid-Ohio Con in Columbus (October 4-5). Come to one, come to all, say hello.

Getting back to the Minneapolis one for a moment: This may interest someone. Because of a personal matter, I wanted to see if I could change my return flight. A call to Northwest Airlines revealed that the price to do this would be — wait for it — $1,041. Well, needless to say, the flight was not changed. Not over the phone, anyway. I went to the Northwest Airlines website, logged in…and made the change for $107. That's great for me, of course, but it's indicative of how hard the airlines are trying to cut back on staff and make us book our own flights on the Internet. And that, of course, has plenty of downsides for the passengers.

Despite what it says in some articles, Kermit the Frog was not named after Kermit Love, the puppet craftsman who worked with Jim Henson for so many years. But Mr. Love, who passed away Saturday at age 91, did give us many beloved Muppets. He was a marionette maker and costume designer for Broadway beginning in the thirties and became a valuable member of Team Henson in the sixties. Many of his creations — Big Bird, especially — are such a part of Americana that they will never go to meet their maker.

This was probably George Carlin's final interview. Thanks to Dawna Kaufmann for sending me the link.

One more day of busy stuff…directing a cartoon voice session. Make sure you tune in and catch Chuck McCann on the radio show this afternoon. I told Stu and Earl to ask him about how Turn-On was cancelled. Anyone remember Turn-On? A comedy show on ABC that was cancelled after one episode? Chuck was in the cast and he has a great story about it. Actually, Chuck has a great story about everything but you've got to hear that one. Also, they're supposed to ask him about the day Soupy Sales got fired from his kid's show for telling kids to go into their parents' wallets and mail him those nasty little pictures of presidents. Chuck was the guy who had to do Soupy's show in lieu of him and you won't want to miss that tale, either.

Normal posting will resume here shortly. Or at least, as normal as this blog ever gets.

The Orange County Register, which is about as Conservative a newspaper as you'll find in mainstream America, comes out in favor of not (repeat: not) outlawing same-sex marriage. This is kind of like…well, I can't think of a good analogy just this minute. Think of someone who has been utterly militant on an issue and declared that God and everything that's sacred is on his side…and then imagine that person reversing his position. That's how amazing this is.

That, my friends, is a photo of Chuck McCann…probably taken some time in the sixties when he was a superstar of kids' TV in New York. Being an L.A. kid, I didn't get to see nearly enough of that legendary program but from all reports, it sounds like something I would have watched every day and refused to miss.

No, I didn't become a Chuck McCann fan until the phase of his career as a comic actor on TV, in movies and in more commercials than you could ever imagine. Chuck was and is also a cartoon voice specialist, a puppeteer, a filmmaker, a writer, a producer and if my Gastric Bypass Surgery ever needs redoing, I have a feeling he could do that if I asked him. He is also the best teller of anecdotes and funny stories I know…as you will find out if you tune in tomorrow (Wednesday) and hear him on Stu's Show, the flagship program on Shokus Internet Radio.

'Tis true. Chuck is the guest for two whole hours…and they're live so you can phone in and ask him questions and gush all over the guy. Last week, host Stuart Shostak did a great interview with Gary Owens and this week figures to be just as wonderful. If you're missing these, you're missing one of the great treats your computer can bring you. Chuck will be discussing not only his kids' show but also his devotion to Laurel and Hardy (and friendship with Stan), his movies, his work on other TV shows, his…well, they won't even get through a tenth of what this man has done.

A quick explanation. This is not a podcast. You cannot listen any danged time you want. It's Internet Radio. It's broadcast/streamed at a specific time…in this case, 4 PM Pacific Time, which is 7 PM back east and so on. To listen, go to the Shokus website at the right hour and click where they tell you to click. The sound will come racing through your computer speakers and then you can do what I do when I listen, which is to minimize that window and enjoy the program while I use my computer for other, questionable endeavors.

The show repeats throughout the week, usually at the same hour. But listen live. It's more fun that way, plus you can call in and be a part of things.

I was supposed to be a part of things…co-hosting with Stu and my pal Earl Kress. Alas, I have been drafted by a foreign power to direct a cartoon voice recording session tomorrow and may (emphasis on that "may") not be able to make it. I'll certainly listen and will try to call in if I can't be there in person…but I sure will not be missed. Chuck is one of the most entertaining gents on this planet…as you'll discover for yourself. Like some of you don't already know that.

In this message the other day, I linked to a BBC Radio broadcast…Part One of a three-parter on Groucho Marx and his relationship with his daughter. I believe those links will now take you to Part Two — and after next Sunday, they'll take you to Part Three.

I didn't see Larry King Live last night but I hear he did a good show about the departed Geo. Carlin. Standard Operating Procedure suggests it'll be rerun this weekend so let's keep an eye out for it.