Before he hosted his unreal "reality" show, Jerry Springer dealt in the even tawdrier world of politics. He was elected to the Cincinnati city council in 1971, then forced to resign in 1974 when the police broke up a massage parlor ring and unearthed a check he had written to a young lady engaged in a very old profession. I'm not sure if Springer was more humiliated by the revelation that he'd been to a prostitute or by the fact that he was dumb enough to pay by check. Either way, he did an apology tour that impressed voters enough that he won back his seat in 1975. Later, there was an opening for Mayor and the City Council appointed him to serve in that post for a year.

In 1982, he ran for governor of Ohio and came in third. That was the end of his political aspirations. He went into broadcasting and soon became a top-rated news anchor and commentaor, which led to the job he holds today. Our video link today is a commercial he did for his gubernatorial run. His opponents were either hammering him with the old prostitution scandal or about to, and Springer made this ad to try and deal with that problem and perhaps turn it into a positive. It didn't work but it was nice try.

The Comic-Con International commences Thursday in San Diego. Somewhere between (this is a guess on my part) 110,000 and 125,000 fans and creators of comics, animation, fantasy films and television and video games will be descending on the convention center. Roughly (this is another guess) 500 will be wandering about in some sort of costume, in some cases because some exhibitor has paid them to dress that way to promote a product. There will also be 7,000 video reports and news stories that will make it look like half the people there are dressed like Vampirella or Klingons to live out some sort of personal fantasy.

I attended my first comic convention in New York in 1970 and later that same year, attended the first comic convention in San Diego. I'm among the handful of folks who've been to every San Diego gathering. Shortly after one of them in the seventies, my aunt saw a TV news report on the con and asked me, "What did you go dressed as?" It took me a minute to figure out the question but when I did, I told her, "Myself. I dressed like I always dress…shirt, jeans, shoes…"

"But I thought you had to dress like Superman or Batman to get in," she said.

I explained to her the reality of the situation…but later, I saw the same TV news segment she saw and I could sure understand why she thought what she thought. Since then, a majority of the press coverage I've seen has at least exaggerated the number of people who wander the aisles in super-hero costumes. It's getting to the point where I'm thinking of wearing my Hawkwoman suit to the convention. If you can't beat 'em…

Another piece by Fred Kaplan on what's going on in the Middle East. I haven't seen any other articles on the topic I thought were link-worthy.

Today, we link to the opening of The Alvin Show, a 1961 prime time cartoon series starring Alvin, Simon and Theodore (aka The Chipmunks). The show is rarely seen these days, which is a shame because it was a pretty clever show with some very nice graphics by the folks at Format Films, a company that mainly did commercials. Each half hour featured an "adventure" of the three helium-voiced rodents, plus two short cartoons which were built around their pre-existing recordings. Those records, made by and starring Ross Bagdasarian (aka David Seville) were quite wonderful and they seem to have inspired the animators to match their energy and fun.

Each episode also featured a cartoon lecture by the eminent genius, Clyde Crashcup, voiced by Shepard Menken. As a kid, I recall being bored by Crashcup but I saw some recently and thought they were pretty funny.

Someone oughta put the 26 episodes of The Alvin Show out on DVD. Until they do, you'll have to settle for the opening, which I think has one of the jazziest theme songs in TV history.

Colonel Sanders is getting a makeover. They want him to be younger and more modern. I guess that's easier than making the food better.

Here's another in the never-ending series of articles about the sexuality of some super-hero, in this case Batwoman. This essay is rather funny but for the most part, I have little interest in any of these pieces that don't address the matter as what it usually is: A marketing gimmick. And I think the author is fundamentally correct or darn close when she says that in comics these days, if not in life, "You are either a midriff-bearing, gum-snapping, engagement ring-chasing girly girl or you are a probable lesbian."

Of course, it's not much better for men in comics: You can either be a tortured hero or a tortured villain…or sometimes, both. Or I guess you can be gay, too. So maybe they do have a few more options.

I'm not sure I ever made it all the way through a Mickey Spillane novel. I liked his no-nonsense talk whenever I saw him interviewed and I admired the success of this one-time comic book writer. But I think I got to I, The Jury a couple of decades too late. By that point, he'd been imitated and parodied to the point where it all seemed hokey to me…and of course, what was titillating and shocking when the book was first published in 1947 was almost Disney fare by the late sixties. Still, it was easy to see why he'd sold umpteen zillion copies of it and subsequent novels and why he'd spawned a legion of mimics, striving to achieve the two-fisted reality that came so naturally to Spillane.

I don't have any personal anecdotes. Only met the man once — at a San Diego Comic-Con International — and the conversation was brief and unremarkable. I think I advised him on good places to eat around the convention center and told him it was an honor to meet him. Which it was. He was a giant in his genre and one of the most-imitated writers of his century. Here's a link to an obit.

The National Weather Service is still calling for highs near 80° and lows near 70° in San Diego this coming week and Tom Spurgeon's list of convention tips is still better than mine. You can get all sorts of great facts about the con including parking and shuttle info over at the convention website. You can also read the Programming Guide but really, all you need to know is when my panels are. Here's one more plug for that list…

Greg Ip and Deborah Solomon in The Wall Street Journal explain what's going on with the American economy. Short summary: Tax revenues are up largely because the wealthiest Americans are making more than ever and therefore paying more in taxes. The non-wealthiest Americans aren't doing so well.

Fred Kaplan on what needs to be done to stop the bloodbath in the Middle East.

The video isn't perfect on it but you might enjoy this clip. It's from the 1976 Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon at the Sahara Hotel in Vegas. Frank Sinatra is appearing and he decides to reunite Mr. Lewis with his former partner. It's a historic moment in show business even though Jerry is somewhat lost as to what to say, Dean doesn't seem sure where he is and Frank doesn't know enough to clear out because the moment is not about him.

Dan Quayle makes a political statement.

Another article about the Comic-Con International in San Diego. This one's about Shel Dorf, who got the whole thing started.

Less than five minutes ago, I shot the above photo. It's the smallest possum I've ever seen out on my back porch partaking of the cat food I leave out for the local menagerie. Earlier this evening, I fed a stray cat and based on the water spots on the ground and all the food that's been dumped out of the dish, I suspect that a raccoon has been there, too. Fortunately, the others left something for this little guy.

An article on the impact that the Comic-Con International has on the city of San Diego.