Many websites this A.M. are featuring articles about "the controversy about Eliot Spitzer." What exactly is the controversy here? He got caught frequenting an expensive prostitute. He admitted it and apologized. He's dickering now for the best deal he can make to trade his resignation for a plea bargain on whatever crimes he might be charged with. When he gets it, which will probably be any day now, he'll quit and disappear from public life, probably forever but certainly for a long time.

The only "controversy" I see is over what percentage of his fall is due to personal immorality and what percentage is sheer stupidity. Otherwise, I think everyone's pretty much on the same page with this one.

Interview with me about my new book, Kirby: King of Comics over at ComicMix. I say a lot of stuff. I always do.

Okay, I've lost count. Who's had more shows cancelled now? Tucker Carlson or Dennis Miller?

Eliot Spitzer. I don't particularly care about the moral issue of whoring around like that…or at least, I think we have a great many public officials doing things that are vastly more despicable, some of which are even legal. What I do think though if that if your job is to do things like bust call girl rings and you think you can get away with being a client at the same time, you oughta lose your job just for reasons of pure stupidity.

A quick sweep of news sites shows a lot of reports that he'd be announcing his resignation at 7 PM tonight Eastern time. It's that time now, he doesn't seem to be resigning and it would appear those sites are going back and tempering those reports. How long do we think it'll be before they're announcing the resignation and getting it right?

And how happy do we think Larry Craig is about this? It oughta cut the jokes about him by at least two-thirds.

I used to have a close buddy who worked in aerospace and who was always pestering me to tell him little Show Biz News Items that weren't yet announced…things he could tell his co-workers and impress them. Every so often, I'd hear about some show being cancelled or some casting change before it became common knowledge. I'd tell him and then he'd tell all the folks at McDonnell-Douglas and he enjoyed this very much.

So now you remember when Shelley Long left Cheers? That was a big news story for a week or so there, and many were wondering who'd replace her. I was talking to one of the story editors on that series during this period (Cheri Steinkellner, who later became one of the producers there) and she told me that they'd just signed Kirstie Alley to more or less fill the slot Ms. Long had vacated. This had not been officially announced but it was not a secret and Cheri said it was okay to pass it on to l anyone I liked.

A few minutes later, with impeccable timing, my Aerospace Pal called to badger me for "inside info" he could spread at work. I told him about Kirstie Alley and he was ecstatic. It was a Sunday and I think he wanted to race to the office and camp outside so he could tell each and every employee as they arrived the next morning. I was thanked profusely.

Monday night, he called to thank me again. He'd told the news to everyone at the plant and had impressed the pants off of most of them. A few had questioned his info and without telling them how he knew it, he staked his reputation on it being true…and even staked some cash. Two co-workers had bet him a few dollars that it wasn't true and he'd taken the wager because he knew it was so. "Well," I said. "I'm glad you'll be making some bucks off Kirstie Alley's new contract." And I suddenly heard him cough and gasp.

"Kirstie Alley?" he moaned. "Did you tell me Kirstie Alley was joining the cast of Cheers?"

"Sure," I replied. "What did you tell everyone today?"

He coughed again and said, "I told them Ally Sheedy was joining the cast of Cheers."

Just finished a script and e-mailed it to the producer. You know, if I hadn't had to set all my clocks ahead over the weekend, I could have finished it at 4 AM.

Good night, Internet!

I've received a lot of contradictory e-mails from folks discussing the name of the Disney TV series on which the Texas John Slaughter episodes aired. All the folks who told me it was The Wonderful World of Disney or Disney's Wonderful World of Color or any other such permutation were wrong. I was also wrong when I said it was Disneyland, though I have a great excuse: The back of that Texas John Slaughter still I featured in this post said it was from the TV series, Disneyland.

The definitive answer comes from my old chum, Bill Cotter, who authored the (emphasis on "the") book on the subject, The Wonderful World of Disney Television. Bill's book is now out of print but that link will take you to an Amazon page via which you can usually snag a used copy for a reasonable price…and if you're interested in the subject, you should. Bill writes me to say…

10/31/058 was the debut of the show, and it was on Walt Disney Presents. This was the name of the anthology series between the two previously mentioned titles [Disneyland and The Wonderful World of Color], and it was used for three seasons (1958-1959, 1959-1960 and 1960-1961). After that it was on to color, and no more Texas John Slaughters, sad to say. That arc was one of my favorites of the time.

Bill also directs me (and therefore, you) to this page on his website which lists what was on those shows and when. This should settle matters.

Damn! Where did it go?

I was just reading a website with news of Las Vegas and there was an article about events that will be taking place in that town in honor of St. Patrick's Day. For some reason, these made me laugh…

McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant – Happy St. Cabby's Day. This is the fourth year for this "hail to the hack" celebration at M&S. Cab drivers who stop by between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. will receive a complimentary breakfast of green eggs, ham, and Lucky Charms cereal.

Rio (McFadden's) – The party starts at 7 a.m. with $10 beer, breakfast, and Bloody Marys until 9 a.m. Xtreme radio 107.5 broadcasts live 3 p.m.-7 p.m. Make your own green bikini contest with $500 cash prize. Festivities include leprechauns, bagpipers, stilt walkers, and green beer.

Fitzgeralds – Festivities include a leprechaun lookalike contest and a green Jello eating contest. Triple points all day long.

And the rest are pretty much all special discounts on beer and ale, which is good because otherwise, people might not be inclined to drink on St. Patrick's Day. If I were Irish, I'd rush to be there…because nothing could celebrate my heritage better than green Jello, homemade green bikinis, a leprechaun lookalike contest and a nice bowl of Lucky Charms.

A lot of us are still interested in the story that will never go away, the assassination of John F. Kennedy. If you're in this group, there is much to study over at this website where a Dallas TV station has set up an online archive of video from that day and relating to that day.

I must admit that I find my fascination with the story to be ebbing with each passing year. A decade or two ago, I came, almost reluctantly, to the conclusion that there was no conspiracy; that Lee Harvey Oswald was exactly what he appeared to be — a lone nut who single-handedly killed the President of the United States. I also came to the conclusion that some folks saw the facts otherwise and that there was little to be gained by debating with them since it meant going over and over well-trampled ground. But every now and then, I like to revisit an old semi-obsession so sites like that are nice to have around.