• The Woman Who Wouldn't Talk by Gene Lyons, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
• Wise Counsel by William Saletan, Slate
• It's the Rules, Stupid by William F. Buckley, Jr., National Review
• Bushies Get Cold Feet by Timothy Noah, Slate
• Games Nations Play by Paul Krugman, New York Times
• Lugnuts in Power by Christopher Caldwell, New York Press

My friend animation/comic book writer Paul Dini has started a page on his Jingle Belle website where he posts thoughts and personal reflections. Here's a direct link to that page. While you're there, order some Jingle Belle books or the snazzy figurine or the lunch box or the Wacky Wobbler. I'm having dinner with Paul next week and it's his turn to pay.

Photo of the Beany and Cecil Rose Parade float at this site.  (Don't thank me.  Thank Gertler…)

Comedy Central has quietly snuck Beat the Geeks back onto its schedule.  (How quiet?  Is 5:30 AM PST quiet enough for you?)  Still, if you're any sort of geek, you know how to set your VCR or TiVo, which is what I've done.  I didn't care for this game show the first few times I saw it but last year, when we did a panel with some of its putative "geeks" at the San Diego Con, I started watching again so I could get up to speed…and I really enjoyed what I saw.  The show had a new host but, more important, its squadron of trivia experts had developed a certain sparkle.  I don't like the robes, I don't like the mocking attitude towards expertise in a subject, I don't even like the use of the word "geek" — but I like watching the three guys depicted above ("Movie Geek" Marc Edward Heuck, "Music Geek" Andy Zax, and "TV Geek" Paul Goebel) and certain "Guest Geeks."

This is not just because, having some capacity to retain similar data, I identify with these gents.  Lord, I could name dozens of fans who know as much about TV, comics, movies, whatever as any of us — but who you wouldn't watch for ten seconds.  The thing of it is, the "Geeks" really aren't geeks; not in the sense that a geek has no perspective on the info he amasses in lieu of having a life.  They're just smart, sharp guys and I think what drove me from the show in the first place was that it seemed to treat them not as geeks but as freaks.

There was also the matter of how limp the game itself seemed.  Win Ben Stein's Money worked…well, it worked mostly because of the banter between Jimmy Kimmel and Ben.  But to the extent it worked as a game, it worked because the contestants were very intelligent guys competing against another intelligent guy — a very basic, primal kind of competition.  Beat the Geeks is more a matter of, "Can a non-expert answer more non-expert questions than our experts can answer of expert questions?"  Not as basic, not as interesting.  Would you watch Jeopardy! if some contestants were handicapped with easier or more difficult questions than their competition?  Well, trivia questions are what Jeopardy! is all about.  They just cover a wider range of categories.

I suspect there's a wonderful show implied that no one is doing, which is to pit guys like Heuck, Zax and Goebel against folks who stand a chance of beating them at their own game.  But it would have to involve giving both sides their dignity — i.e., no robes left over from Trekkie masquerades, no trying to make a joke out of the very knowledge on which the show is based.  Someone's going to produce that show someday and if done right, it could be a monster hit.  In the meantime, given its time slot, one does assume that Beat the Geeks does not figure into Comedy Central's future, especially since they have to make room for more of those wonderful Chevy Chase Roasts.  So you might want to catch the current airings while you still can.

It's almost not enough to say, "Let's hope this year is better than the last one."  Let's hope this year isn't any worse.  None of the indicators that have to do with peace and prosperity are inspiring much optimism today, and the TV pundits seem to have their fingers crossed — maybe for luck, maybe because they think they're fibbing — when they say, "2003 will be a whole lot better."  I'll be delighted to have my cynicism prove unfounded.  It may be that if we can get through '03 without going to war, that will make the year look pretty good.

If you're up in time to catch the Rose Parade, watch for the float from the city of West Covina, California.  A fellow named Raul Rodriguez designed a display that will feature Bob Clampett's immortal cartoon show, Beany and Cecil.  The float will depict the sea-sick sea serpent swimming alongside Beany's ship.  If anyone spots any photos I can link to, please let me know.

If you've ever thought of purchasing any of the wonderful comic book fonts from Comicraft, today's the day.  For 24 hours, every font in the place is $20.03.  But hurry.  The clock is ticking.

Fred Hembeck's clever cartoons have been gracing fanzines and various comic-related magazines for years.  He has a sincere sense of humor and a distinctive art style that more than does it justice.  As of this new year, he is despoiling gracing the Internet with his personal brand of silliness.  You'll want to drop by his newly-erected site at www.hembeck.com now and also later as he gets more and more of his drawings up there.  I don't believe Fred and I have ever been in the same room together but we're interested in so many of the same things that I feel like an old friend.  Go visit my old friend's new website.

Two fine folks — Nat Gertler and Elayne Riggs — independently of one another — sent me this link to a page with photos of the building of the Beany and Cecil float.  We're still on the lookout for pics of the finished product.

Another fine folk — and a masterful voiceover talent — is Bob Bergen.  As a youth, Bob dreamed of growing up to be Porky Pig and, following the passing of the great Mel Blanc, achieved his dream.  He also does tons of other characters and jobs, and teaches one of the most-respected v.o. workshops in the business.  Why am I telling you this now?  Because he just launched his own website where you can read more about him and hear him in action.  It is, of course, www.bobbergen.com.  Start the year right with a visit.

Tonight's installment of Up Close (the Ted Koppel-hosted interview show that follows Nightline on ABC) features inventor Dean Kamen.  Perhaps some mention will be made of his father, Jack Kamen, one of the great EC comic book artists.  And perhaps not.

A reader of this site named Jamie writes to ask, "I noticed that Jay Leno did a live show last night with a remote from Times Square, whereas Letterman (who's in NEW YORK, for God's sake) had on a rerun.  Why is this?"  Answer: It's precisely because Dave is in New York, only blocks from Times Square.  He elects not to subject his staff, his audience, and himself to having to fight the crowd and drunken revelers that turn out there on the last night of the year.

In the past, they tried taping a show earlier in the day.  Then, they would insert live cut-ins to Times Square around the midnight hour.  One year, they had stage manager Biff Henderson atop one of the big buildings down there.  Another year, they just had cameras.  Either way, cutting between tape and live seemed awkward, and it meant that some of Dave's crew had to be in the midst of it all and work that late.  So they finally decided it wasn't worth it, and they were probably right.

This reminds me of a story I didn't tell relating to this article I posted here about a time when I was in Las Vegas for New Year's Eve, watching (among other marvels) the demolition of the Hacienda Hotel.  A few weeks later, back in Vegas, I was introduced to a gent who worked for some committee that had been involved with the event.  I asked him why, even though the sheer fact that it was New Year's Eve already packed the Strip to capacity, they had chosen that evening to stage a big, crowd-attracting spectacle.  He explained to me that it was part of a five-year-plan they'd formulated to do something spectacular each New Year's Eve — something TV cameras would want to capture live.

He went on: "People associate New Year's Eve with Times Square.  Times Square gets all that publicity and attention.  Well, when we're done, people will associate New Year's Eve with Las Vegas.  Everyone around the world will want to tune in and see how we're ringing in the new year here on the Strip.  We're going to take that away from New York."

Interesting, I thought.  But I had to ask: "How are you going to deal with the fact that the new year arrives three hours earlier on the East Coast?  By the time it's the new year here in Vegas, two-thirds of the country has already celebrated and gone to bed."

The man didn't answer me.  He just stood there, as if no one had raised that point before.  And I got the idea that he was thinking, "There has to be a way to get that changed…"

I'm taking a day or three off — from this, not from writing.  But if you really need something to peruse, here are some fun links.  And I'll see you next year…

• Shipping Out Name of NY by Jimmy Breslin, Newsday
• Bush's Bushwa by Daniel Gross, Slate
• A Spoon Full of Sugar by Joshua Micah Marshall, Tom Paine
• Happy New Year by William F. Buckley, Jr.

Here's a much better recommendation, even if I won't make a nickel off this one.  A few years ago, DC Comics put out two fancy boxed volumes — The Superman Masterpiece Edition and The Batman Masterpiece Edition.  These are both large, thick boxes that include a statue of the hero, a terrific book of history and memorabilia, and a facsimile of his first issue.  They sold for $65 each and were a steal at that price.

Many outlets are now selling them for $35, which is a bigger steal…and the Barnes & Noble chain now has them for twenty bucks each.  Further compounding this bargain, if you order both, you'll probably qualify for free shipping.

If you want to get them that way, go to www.barnesandnoble.com, do a search for "Superman Masterpiece" or "Batman Masterpiece" and make sure you find the $19.95 listings but pay attention.  They also seem to have pages on which these items are available at their original prices and you don't want to pay them.  You can also scurry over to your nearby Barnes & Noble.  This afternoon, they had a bunch of both at the one near me.  (By the way, there's also a Wonder Woman collection but so far, it's only been reduced to $40.)

This is not one of those deals where this website gets a cut so I'll post one of these banners.  This is just in case any of you are feeling uncommonly grateful…

Here's a faint recommendation: The late, great comic book artist Pat Boyette was also a filmmaker.  His biggie was a low-low-budget horror film called Dungeon of Harrow, which he shot in 1962 on a budget of (it seemed) around eight dollars.  That happens to also be the price of the new DVD that has just been issued of what — I assure you — is not a film that had Hitchcock worrying about the competition.  But if you like cheapo horror films, you might admire Pat's ingenuity in this one.  You can order it from Amazon by clicking here — but shop around and add something else to your order to get it up to $25 so the postage will be free.  You don't want to pay three bucks in shipping fees for an eight dollar DVD.  Especially this one.

A little more than four days ago, I told you that my book, Comic Books and Other Necessities of Life was at sales ranking #1,242,840 at Amazon, and that they said they had four copies left.  At the moment, they say they have two copies left…but I am somehow still in 1,242,840th place.  I do not understand this.  Shouldn't the number be changing because other books are entering their catalog and being sold?  Oh, well.  If you want to order either or both of the two copies they currently have in stock, click here.

I just took down a news item I posted earlier today with a link to an online copy of a book.  Two folks informed me simultaneously that the book is copyrighted and its posting to the web was unauthorized by the estate of the book's author.  I don't want to encourage that kind of thing…so no link.  Sorry.

One of the reasons I love the Game Show Network's Black and White Overnight show is that I often find myself remembering moments from programs I haven't seen in over 35 years, and revisiting matters that puzzled my young brow.  The other night, they ran an I've Got A Secret from 3/7/1966 on which a poem was read.  In those prehistoric, pre-VCR days, you only got to hear many things once on television, and I recall liking the poem and wishing I had a copy of it.  But I didn't, and there seemed to be no way to get one, so I wrote up my own clumsy, not-as-good recollection of it and performed it one day in class when called upon to recite.

I no longer have a copy of my version but now, thanks to Game Show Network and TiVo, I was able to get it.  A poet named Willits (or maybe Willets) Frost was its author and here is what he wrote…

That one should leave no stone unturned
Is something I quite early learned
But with so many stones around
I could not turn them all, I found
I spotted terns over the sea
One turned around and spotted me
For spotting the best suit I owned
I tried to leave no tern unstoned.

Not much to add, except that in watching these old game shows, I'm amazed at how much I remember.  I can't recall what happened three nights ago on Leno or Letterman but somehow, I can remember moments from a 1966 game show.  I don't know if that says more about the shows or about me or about the way TV impacts us when we're young.  I'm guessing it's All of the Above.

Al Feldstein, the great editor-writer of Tales from the Crypt, The Haunt of Fear and other EC comics and MAD sends me (and others) links to wonderful webpages he encounters about what's going on in the world today. He just sent out this link, which is to a fascinating short video about world population.

If you grew up in Los Angeles like I did, you will enjoy this site, which features vintage postcards of L.A. past.  I especially love the pics of the old Ontra cafeterias — which served the best hot turkey sandwiches in the world — and the Miracle Mile, which was then a boulevard lined with great clothing stores like Desmonds and Orbachs.  There are also a couple of shots over there of Westwood Village as I remember it from my childhood — a lot of quaint, one-story buildings.  Great stuff.

Mort Sahl did a 6-minute set last night on Mr. Letterman's show.  Health-wise, he seemed older and slower.  At the outset, I had the fear it would be another of those Bob Dylan moments when a one-time great embarrasses himself by trying to do what he can no longer do.  But Sahl's material was sharp, and it went well.  He closed with a great bit about how Jack Welch (of General Electric) and Rupert Murdoch (of News Corp) decided to direct their efforts to solving the "gang" problem in Los Angeles.  One corporation went in and purchased the Crips.  The other corporation acquired the Bloods.  And then they both sent their accountants in to begin laying everyone off…