Here's "The William Tell Overture" performed by my favorite singing group in the "One Hundred Members or More" category — The Ambassadors of Harmony. Saddle up…

On a topic not unrelated to the previous post, there is currently an awful lot of chaos and crisis in the world of publishing, distributing and selling comic books. I have an e-mail folder here full of requests to explain it and I will do you the favor of not explaining it. I know very, very little about that end of the industry, though I can recognize panic and financial hardship when I see them. Boy, do I wish Tom Spurgeon was still around to explain it to you…and to me.

Heidi MacDonald has some words about it here. Go read Rob Salkowitz, too.

If you are a fan of the fine books and magazines we get from TwoMorrows Publishing, go read what John Morrow has to say about the situation his company is now in. You might get some real good bargains out of it.

The San Diego Convention Center — home away from home to those of us who attend Comic-Con International there every year — is now cosplaying as a hospital of sorts. As Mayor Kevin Faulconer tweeted…

The convention center is a centerpiece of San Diego's economy. During this pandemic, it will be a centerpiece of our fight against the coronavirus. Preparations are underway to temporarily use parts of @SDConventionCtr and all of Golden Hall to shelter homeless individuals.

As this news story reports, they're spending a lot of money to bring in cots and install showers and do all sorts of things to handle the emergency. I started to write some silly lines about how they should leave those in place for us and I should go down there and host panels but this is all too serious. Let's just say I remain skeptical that this whole virus crisis will be over as soon as some want to think.

And this is as good a place as any to deal with the question of whether Comic-Con will be postponed from its July dates or not held at all this year. Let me say this very clearly: As far as I know, no decision has been made about that and it won't be for a few more weeks at least. There's time to wait for more information…and more information can be a very good thing when it comes to making important decisions.

The rumor is going around apparently that the folks who'll make that decision have already decided to not do it in July. I believe that this is some outsider's speculation being passed off as an insider tip. It may turn out to be exactly what they decide but it is not true now that the decision has been made. Do we all understand the difference? I believe that when the decision is made as to whether to have it in July or not, you will not hear it as a rumor. You will hear it loud and clear as an announcement.

…or as I might put it if being melodramatic, Day 13 of my self-imposed isolation. That might sound really important if two-thirds of the folks in this country weren't on Day 10-15 of their self-imposed isolations. Actually, I had a little company the first few days of mine but my cleaning lady aside, it's been ten days since anyone was in this house but me. I've taken one walk — down to an ATM to deposit three residual checks totaling about twelve dollars — but today, I'm driving over to my doctor's office for a minor test that has nothing to do with the coronavirus.

Then I plan to hurry back because I have a grocery delivery scheduled. If I get done at the doc's early, I might hit the Pollo Loco drive-thru and pick up a couple days worth of broiled chicken. If I do that, I'm going to have to decide whether or not to advance-order it via the Pollo Loco app on my iPhone. If I do, that's less human interaction once I get there. I just drive through the drive-thru, grab the bag and run. If I don't, I have to hassle with paying and getting change. Option 1 would seem like the wiser choice…but what if I order through the app then get there and there's a huge line of cars which is way too long to join?

This is the kind of strategic planning that's vital in these desperate times.

But I'm trying not to think of them as desperate times. I've accepted that I'm (we're) just going to have to live like this for an indeterminate time. Could be weeks, could be months. If this is as bad as it gets for me, it's not that bad. The other night, I said to a friend, "I've just been sitting at my desk in my pajamas, watching movies and/or working on my computer. Oh, how I long for the days when I used to sit at my desk in my pajamas, watching movies and/or working on my computer only about 90% of the time."

Actually, that percentage might be a little high. But it's not hard to live this way. Especially when there's no place to go.

Did you miss Frank Ferrante's online show on Sunday evening? If you did, you can watch it here…

This one comes to us from E.L. Sofer…

First, I love your blog and have been reading it for over a decade (I think…I didn't mark down the date.) Your keen knowledge and tasty explanations make me feel as if I were present to witness them. If only you liked cheese dip…

You had a recent posting titled "ASK me: Sun City scandals" and noted two specials from 1970 and 1972. I didn't realize that the topic was so virulent in America quiet that long ago, although I do recall a late 80s We-are-the-world-esque video called "Ain't Gonna Play Sun City."

I'm wondering if this is associated to the South African Venue, or — as mentioned once later in the article — it should have been SIN City. Could you please clarify?

And incidentally, I would be fascinated to know of any tales you're aware of about apartheid in comics production. I think that Stan wasn't very prejudiced, but I don't know about DC. And there were other publishers, certainly. So I'm curious. Thanks for the great column daily, and stay safe and socially distant. Although, to be fair…if the opportunity presented itself, I'd dare to come within five feet of you. That's how much I like your material!

I'm not even letting a beautiful woman who wants to sleep with me get within five feet of me at the moment so keep your distance. But once this is over, I hope we can all be with each other and maybe — dare I dream this? — even shake hands. Which is all I may do with the beautiful woman at first.

The "Sun City" in the title of those Johnny Carson specials referred to various retirement communities of the time, mainly in California, Arizona and Florida — places known for their sunshine — but mainly Sun City, Arizona which was one of the most famous ones. The "Sun City" of South Africa was not much in the news at the time and there was no connection. The one reference in my posting to "SIN city" was a typo which I've fixed.

I've been asked before about racism in the comic book industry. I've heard a few second- and third-hand accounts of certain individuals being less than positive about multiculturalism but not many; at least not many for a business that was as controlled as it was by white males.

Most folks who work in comics have been freelancers, including some who rarely if ever came into the office. There's one story about an editor who was overtly racist in his personal life but even he didn't care about anyone's skin color if they turned in good work on time. Jack Kirby, who was a pretty solid Liberal Democrat all his life, told me about that fellow and said, "He wouldn't have let a black guy marry his daughter but if the guy was good with a brush, he had plenty of work for him!"

This isn't to say the industry was free of prejudice. Just given the times — and what some women were up against — you'd think there would be some egregious cases of racism but if there were, I haven't heard about them.

Since the Metropolitan Opera House has gone dark, they've been posting online videos of some of their past productions. If you're into that kind of music, as I am occasionally, you might want to browse their site. Thanks to Dawna Kaufman for the tip.

My self-isolation had taken me completely away from broadcast and cable TV. I've watched a few online shows like Frank Ferrante's great Facebook webcast and I've been watching old TV shows, specifically episodes of Car 54, Where Are You? I think it was one of the funniest things ever on television. If you never saw it, here's the first episode…

Timothy Field wrote to ask…

I'm having trouble finding info about two prime time specials Johnny Carson was involved in which aired in the early '70s called Sun City Scandals. I know it featured past stars like Jack Oakie, Billy Gilbert, Louis Armstrong, Bette Davis and others. I don't know how if Carson just did intros or was involved with the stars of yesteryear. Here's hoping your fabulous brain has some memories of this.

There were two — one in 1970, one in 1972, both featuring Carson and a cast of show biz veterans who were much older than he was. He'd introduce them and some of them would do musical performances, some would do little mini-interviews and some would be in sketches in which Johnny participated. The whole idea was to showcase folks in their seventies and above but there was a melancholy note to the first.

In the 1970 show, Carson had to do a little voiceover at the end of the program to dedicate it to two guest stars who'd passed away between the time the show was taped and the time it aired. Edward Everett Horton died September 29, 1970 and Eddie Peabody died November 7, 1970. The show aired December 7, 1970.

I don't think anyone died before the telecast of the second one, which was March 13, 1972, even though the show had been taped the previous July. The long span between tape dates and air dates would suggest that NBC didn't consider either one a ratings-getter and was in no rush to get either one on the air.

You can see the cast lists over at IMDB. Here's the 1970 version and here's the 1972 version. I remember them as being pleasant enough, though with so many performers, none of them got a whole lot of screen time.

I further remember that while promoting the second, Johnny said that more were planned but they only did the two. I have a theory about Carson that up until the mid-seventies, he was expecting to stop doing The Tonight Show at some point and switch to an hour-long, weekly prime time variety show like some of his boyhood heroes had had…and he'd had briefly. The theory goes on to theorize that up until then, he viewed a late night talk show — even the preeminent late night talk show — as a step below a weekly prime time hour…and that at some point, he realized it wasn't. In fact, that format was dying out and it wiser to stick with the franchise he had, rather than the one he'd dreamed-of as a child.

So apart from the Tonight Show anniversary editions, he lost interest in prime time just as he'd lost interest in playing Las Vegas. And if my theory's right, that might explain why there were no more Sun City Scandals. Thanks, Timothy.

If you're coming to this site to get my "take" on the latest news, you're in the wrong place. I'm not following it…much.

I'm getting just enough to know if/when there are major developments, not enough to write about any of it. If I did, I'd suppose I'd be writing my usual essay on how the good thing about 24/7 news coverage is that it's always there when you need it and the bad thing about it is that it's still there, trying to fill all those hours, when you don't.

I'm just writing things and taking the occasional call from a friend who's going stir-crazy from five days of self-imposed isolation. I hate to think how the one I just got off the phone with will be if/when this stretches to five weeks or beyond. I'm not predicting it'll be that long — I'm not predicting anything except more maddening, self-obsessed utterances from our Chief Exec — but a lot of possibilities are possible. Not knowing when we might see a return to Normal Life — and what will not be there when we do — is one of the most uncomfortable aspects of this.

Would you like to see more content on this site that isn't about the pandemic? So would I. You can help by sending me questions for my ASKme posts. Here's the address: Ask ME. No politics, no personal replies…and tell me if you want me to leave your name out of it.

Looks like Randy Rainbow has plenty of time to make new videos…

My pal Frank Ferrante is doing a live online show tomorrow evening (Sunday, 3/22) on Facebook. He will not, I assume, be dressed up as Groucho Marx as he is in his acclaimed touring show, An Evening with Groucho. But he will have his accompanist, the gifted Gerald Sternbach, at the piano and Frank will sing and tell stories and maybe even work in a little Dr. Hackenbush. Wanna see this? Go to his Facebook page at 6 PM Pacific time, which is 9 PM in the east and you can figure out the start time wherever you are from that.

What's the most dangerous place in the world to be? Between Stella the Dog and a pile of leaves. Thanks for telling me about this, Peter Cunningham…

I'm generally okay with Alone. I was an only child so I was alone a lot as a kid and I never found it threatening or scary, nor did it make me feel even the slightest bit unloved. If anything, it was great for reading comic books or making up my own silly little stories. I always knew Alone was not a permanent condition and that I wasn't alone in the world. I just didn't have anyone else with me at that moment.

Sometimes, being alone can be very liberating because it frees you from having to do things to please another person. You can just think about your needs and be totally self-indulgent. Yes, there are downsides but don't forget the upsides.

These days with cellphones and FaceTime and e-mail and free unlimited calling and text messages and this blog and all sorts of other things, I never feel alone, though it would be nice to have some physical contact with a certain person. It's always been nice to have physical contact with a certain person even though that certain person has changed over the years…but, again, I'm aware that's not a permanent situation so I can get through it Here are some other thoughts…

I find that it's helping me to minimize watching the news, reading the eighty zillion articles (mostly theories of questionable pedigree) and to especially avoid the political ramifications of it all. And what I'm most avoiding is apocalyptic "we're all gonna die" people.

And that applies to folks in my e-mail and on my phone. If you want to panic about the future and whether there even is one, panic in some other direction. I don't need to hear it, I don't want to hear it, I don't want you to try and convince me of it. I am at a place of contented (if impatient) optimism and I don't need anyone trying to drag me away from it.

Not watching the news much means not having my TV tuned to live channels much, although I give in when I get a text message that some local station is covering a police pursuit. Otherwise, the TV is set to display the output of my DVD player. I'm working through the stacks of DVDs I've had here forever and not gotten around to watching. This pandemic will be a memory long before I get through those stacks.

I have enough food and things like toilet paper and paper towels to last me a few weeks. Part of that is because I've always had that on the premises and part is because I've spent some time this past week working the Internet, finding places that would deliver and making some realistic (I hope) estimates on what I will need and when. Some of this involves going back over and over to certain websites waiting for the magical phrase, "Delivery times are available."

I have this thing about expiration dates on food. I know that most products are quite edible after the printed date on the package but I just don't like to do that. So I made up a little list of what I have and the "Best when used by…" dates and I take that into account when I decide what to eat. Today, I plan to finish up some pasta that I made last night and to use up a package of ground beef that expires on 3/25. I may wind up browning the ground beef and putting it in the pasta and, hey, now that I type that, it sounds like a good idea.

In my garage, I have a box containing 90 cans of Friskies canned cat food and also a 22 lb. bag of Friskies Seafood Sensations dry food…which you can tell is seafood because the little nuggets of mystery substance are stamped out in fish shapes. I haven't even gotten to the food in the garage yet so Lydia and Murphy will be fine for months. There's way more food here for them than there is for me. I don't have 90 cans of tuna or 90 cans of Spaghettios.

Sometimes when I'm working here, I'm in the mood to have music on…but the kind of music that plays in the background and doesn't require direct concentration. If I want "elevator music" of old songs, I can play it from this website. If I want oldies, I can play them from this website. If I want something more modern, there's this website but the more modern it gets, the more it causes me to pay attention to the music instead of what I'm doing.

It also helps to keep reminding myself what day it is. When you have nothing on your calendar and you're not watching live TV, it's easy to forget.

I've been alternating washing my hands with soap and dousing them with hand sanitizer — and I've learned that this requires a lot less hand sanitizer than I've used in the past. A squirt about the size of a quarter gets the job done fine.

I also periodically put drops in my eyes to stop them from itching, thereby minimizing my tendency to unconsciously rub them. My ophthalmologist recommended this stuff to me and my peepers love it. Ask your doctor if Lumify™ is right for you.

Lastly for now, I keep busy. I'm getting a number of assignments done at a pleasant pace. They'll all be done on time even though no one would fault me for being late given what's going on in the world. I'm also taking time to write things for myself…things I may or may not sell or publish. And yes, I'm also writing some long posts that you'll probably see on this here blog if you keep clicking in this direction. A friend of mine told me she's using this time to take online courses, including one to learn French. If you don't have something constructive to do, find something. Don't waste this opportunity because we'll never have a downtime like this again. If we're lucky.

A sweet, talented cartoonist named Roman Arambula was found in his home last night, the victim of a heart attack at the age of 83. Roman did many things in his life but he was proudest of being the artist who succeeded Floyd Gottfredson on the Mickey Mouse newspaper strip.

Roman was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico and studied art at the University in Mexico City. He worked in fine art and advertising and even painted pottery but his love of cartooning inevitably led him to that field. Specifically, it was to the Mexico-based Gamma Studios which was doing most of the animation for Rocky and Bullwinkle, King Leonardo, Tennessee Tuxedo and other American cartoon shows.

When Gamma closed down in the late sixties, Roman and his family moved to Dallas and then to Los Angeles, where he worked for various animation studios. I met him at Hanna-Barbera when he was laboring there in layout on Scooby Doo and other shows and I was working on the Hanna-Barbera comic books. Roman drew for a number of them, both domestic and foreign, particularly on Laff-a-Lympics.

By then, he'd landed the Mickey Mouse job, following Gottfredson on the daily strip.  He didn't write it but his art infused it with a happy, organic feel that, I thought, combined the Gottfredson Mickey with a little of the flair of Roman's favorite animator, the great Fred Moore. Apart from occasional fill-ins by other artists — which Roman would have told you was not because he ever missed a deadline — he drew and lettered the strip for around fifteen years. Wikipedia says he did it from 1982 to 1990 but he was definitely already drawing it when I first met him in 1977. He would draw two weeks worth of the strip every other week and in the weeks he wasn't working on that, he drew comics for me.

He was a delightful little man who was something of a cartoon character himself. The Animation Guild did a lengthy interview with him that they put online but it doesn't seem to be working right now, at least on my computer. Maybe it'll work on yours or maybe they'll get it fixed. If and when you can hear it, you'll see what I mean about my amigo being delightful and a cartoon character.