One more post about health care: Prentice Hammond was the first of several readers to send me this link to an article by Matt Bai that explains things in terms of the Bizarro World.
Just in case anyone reading this doesn't know, the Bizarro World is from the continuity for the Superman comic books. It's a planet where yes means no, up is down, day is night, black is white and everything else is reversed. On the Bizarro World, Bizarro Donald Trump cares about everyone except himself. Bai sees Obamacare and the American Health Care Act as Bizarro versions of each other…and he may be on to something.
It must be tough to be a Trump supporter and to keep realizing his words don't mean much. He says there's evidence that Obama wiretapped him but he somehow hasn't gotten around to showing it to anyone even though the investigation he demanded is collapsing for lack of any evidence. It's just like all that proof he said he had that Obama wasn't born in Hawaii. Somehow, it never materialized. Somehow, he could never quite admit that anything he said wasn't true.
He just lets these things dribble away. He said that everyone was going to have the greatest health care and everyone would be covered and the government would pay for it…and now that's kind of backing away through his usual techniques of changing the subject, putting things off and redefining the words he said.
His minions have been out insisting that when he said he'd been "wiretapped," he didn't mean "wiretapped," though he still says he was and will prove it. One of these days. As long as he faces no journalist more insistent than Tucker Carlson, he can get away with it with a certain section of the population.
It still amuses me that deep down, Trump seems to think that the way to discredit opposition is to say that their business is in trouble. This morning, he kept referring to the "failing New York Times." No one should listen to them because their business is failing…except, of course, it's not. Here are some links…
Jonathan Chait writes of the battle between Trump and Paul Ryan to blame each other for plans going awry. He also notes that Trump could just arrange a big tax cut for the rich without going through all these efforts to gut Obamacare but it wouldn't be a permanent cut, which is what Ryan wants.
Trump's new proposed budget will be great for people in his income bracket; disastrous for those at lower levels…including folks in those levels who voted for Trump. This is according to Chauncey DeVega. The Trump voters who are about to see their health insurance go away or become beastly more expensive are probably starting to figure out that that's the kind of thing they voted for.
Fred Kaplan says that the wisest, most experienced members of Trump's cabinets are the ones no one there is listening to. Just about what you'd expect.
Lastly, if you read no other article about health care, read this one…but I'll warn you: It's long. Sarah Kliff and Ezra Klein lay out the lessons of Obamacare and how we got to where we are now. The lessons seem undeniable but Republicans don't seem to want to heed them because they don't lead to the desired result. That's why I don't think they can ever get to their desired result.
TV shows that bash Trump — like Colbert's, Meyers' and Maddow's — continue to enjoy increased ratings. Wonder if NBC has given any thought to reconfiguring Celebrity Apprentice as a show where the competitors' goal is not to make money but to bring down the current President of the United States. They could install Keith Olbermann as host and each week, he fires the person who's done the worst job of exposing Trump's ineptness and treachery. It would soar in the ratings and even Donald would like it because he still owns a piece of the program.
Folks keep asking me when I will complete and release my big, exhaustive, long-promised biography of Jack Kirby. The answer is soon, almost certainly next year. I have a very good excuse why I didn't have it out this year for the 100th anniversary of Jack's birth but I can't tell you what it is right now.
Most of you figured out that my previous "very good excuse" was that the Kirby family asked me not to publish it while there was ongoing litigation. Now that there isn't, there's a new "very good excuse" but I don't foresee it or anything else that might come along preventing me from getting it out next year. It will be very long.
In the meantime, the fine folks at Abrams ComicArts are issuing an updated edition of my 2008 book on Jack, Kirby: King of Comics. This edition is 16 pages longer (a new chapter and some artwork that wasn't in the first edition), with smaller pages and new, softer covers. Oh, yeah — and a few corrections. That's the new front cover above.
The Abrams website says it'll be out on August 1 but I'm assured there will be copies aplenty at Comic-Con International, which kicks off on July 20. It will of course be available from fine booksellers everywhere and even some of the crummy ones.
Hey, speaking of fine booksellers everywhere: For some reason, the Barnes & Noble website lists me as the author of a number of comics that were actually written by Mr. Kirby. In some cases, I wrote forewords or text pages for these books and I assume some computer grabbed my name off the inputted data instead of Jack's. Anyway, I've written to ask them to fix this. Too many people have gotten credit for Jack's work over the years and if you see that happen anywhere, get it fixed. Even if the credit's going to me.
Here's Kevin Drum with a theory as to why maybe Donald Trump did leak that tax return. And you know? It does kinda make sense, especially since whoever leaked it didn't leak all of it.
This is not to suggest there aren't other possibilities.
The leak of part of Donald Trump's 2005 tax return doesn't tell us that much. I mean, we all know that the tax codes in this country have been configured so that rich folks like him can avoid paying the same percentage of their incomes that a lot of non-rich people pay. It's only because of the Alternative Minimum Tax that Trump paid as much as he did and one of the primary goals of his administration is to do away with the A.M.T. If that had happened before '05, he would have paid something like 3-4%.
Kevin Drum does think that the tax return tells us this: That at least in that year, Donald Trump was a truly terrible businessman.
You know what does tell us a lot about the man? His response to the leak. The man who urged everyone to leak damaging information about his opponent is outraged that someone leaked something about him. Trump is, of course, always outraged about something and it's usually something like that…something he himself has done.
He also employed two of his favorite hollow insults. He called it "fake news" even though the White House confirmed it.
And of course, he attacked the success and fame of those who attacked him. I think he thinks the two worst possible things you can say about anyone is that they're not famous and their business is failing. The man who brought you Trump University and Trump Steaks and Trump Vodka and dozens of other Trump Failures tweeted that David Cay Johnston, the writer who leaked the form, was "a reporter who nobody ever heard of." (Well, the folks who give out Pulitzer Prizes have.)
Then a White House statement attacked Rachel Maddow's show, which broadcast the info. It said, "You know you are desperate for ratings when you are willing to violate the law to push a story about two pages of tax returns from over a decade ago."
Maddow's show, of course, has been doing great in the ratings lately, even before this.
I guess by "fake news," he may have meant that the story of how Johnston got the forms was fake…but it's not at all far-fetched. It's exactly how most leaks occur these days. And if Trump didn't leak the forms himself (as some suspect he did for some reason that makes no sense to me), then he has no idea how Johnston got them. But not knowing anything never stops this guy.
Our pal Stu's guest today is writer-producer Bob Illes, who could probably fill a dozen Stu's Shows, given all he's done. I picked the series Silver Spoons (which he Exec-Produced) to illustrate this plug but I could have illustrated it with pix from all the variety shows he and his partner Jim Stein wrote on (like Carol Burnett's or Dick Van Dyke's), or sitcoms like One Day at a Time or What's Happening? I think Stu's going to have Bob talk about producing shows with kid actors. Silver Spoons was one, Sister Sister was another and there was also City Guys. After the audio webcast, Stu will activate the Stu's Show Internet TV Channel for a video installment, continuing his interview with Bob and running a couple of unsold pilots from Mr. Illes' past. You can hear the audio at Stu's site and also find out how to stay tuned for the video.
Stu's Show can be heard live (almost) every Wednesday at that Stu's Show website and you can listen for free there and then. Webcasts start at 4 PM Pacific Time, 7 PM Eastern and other times in other climes. They run a minimum of two hours and sometimes go to three or beyond. Then shortly after a show concludes, it's available for downloading from the Archives on that site. Downloads are 99 cents each or you can go for the super-saver price: Buy three and get a fourth one free. But listen live and make sure you watch the video show that follows!
I assume most of us agree that Paul Ryan's American Health Care Act is a horrible thing. We might disagree on why. Some of us think it doesn't give people enough health care and some think it gives them too much. Some even seem to be furious that it gives them any at all. Trump is now saying he can "negotiate" something that will work for all…but good luck with that.
It was weird yesterday watching Ryan trying to act like the Congressional Budget Office scoring of his bill was some kind of win for him. The estimate was worse than almost anyone imagined but Ryan's response was like watching the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail claiming victory while simultaneously denying his legs had been cut off.
And speaking of having your legs cut out from under you: Even weirder was watching Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price come out and insist that the CBO was insane to say the bill would cost 24 million people their health insurance. Then, a few hours later, someone leaked a White House estimate that it would be 26 million. This would all be fun to watch if it wasn't holding so many human lives over the snake pit of non-insurance.
The big news may be that the G.O.P. has changed goals. Back when they were courting votes last year, and even earlier this year, the promised result of their health plan was that more people would get better insurance at lower prices. Now, the fact that umpteen million would lose care and maybe pay more is a feature of it because that would lower taxes for the rich, lower premiums for a few, and reduce the deficit a bit. Eric Levitz has more about this.
I think I need to clarify something. Back in this message, I was talking about the great villain Darkseid, created of course by Jack Kirby. The actor Jack Palance had just passed away and I wrote…
The style and substance of this master antagonist [Darkseid] were based on just about every power-mad tyrant Kirby had ever met or observed, with a special emphasis on Richard Milhous Nixon. Nixon was kind of the monster du jour for many in 1970 and he's still a fine template for various forms of villainy.
Beyond that kind of thing, it is not uncommon for comic artists to "cast" their creations, using someone they know or have observed as reference, and Kirby used Jack Palance as a model for Darkseid. I don't mean that he thought the other Jack had ever tried to enslave the universe…but Kirby had been impressed by one or more Palance screen appearances. They inspired some aspect of Darkseid…a look, a posture, a gesture, whatever. Most of all, it was probably a voice. When J.K. wrote dialogue for his comic book evildoer, he was "hearing" Palance in some film.
As I browse the 'net, I discover that this is being cited as "Mark Evanier says Jack Kirby based Darkseid's appearance on Jack Palance." Well, not exactly. Maybe I could have been more precise but it was more a matter of something about Palance's style and probably his voice that informed the character, not particularly his face.
Also, I should have said this: I don't think Jack ever based any character wholly on anyone, even those that might seem obvious. I remember at least three people we discussed who went into Funky Flashman. With Kirby, it was always an amalgam and sometimes, the reference points — while significant to Jack — would be quite invisible to anyone else. For example, the visual for the character of Big Barda was inspired by a Playboy layout of singer-actress Lainie Kazan…but that doesn't mean Jack was drawing Lainie Kazan. And the essence of Barda's personality clearly came from others, especially his wife Roz.
Do yourself a favor: Don't get too deep into trying to figure out that Jack based this character on that movie star. This is never a question with a simple answer and never just about the visual. He took elements of certain characters from certain performances by actors or from historical figures based on their deeds. Unless it was something like drawing Richard Nixon or Don Rickles into a story as themselves, the characters were all amalgams and they were points of inspiration, not models.
And while I'm at it: I keep seeing folks saying that Jack based the character of Granny Goodness on comedienne Phyllis Diller. I don't think so. He might have said that later as a joke…or if some enthusiastic fan came up to Jack at a convention and said, "I think I realized something, Mr. Kirby! You based Granny Goodness on Phyllis Diller, right?", Jack might well have said, "You figured it out," rather than disappoint the kid.
But I was working for Jack at the time and we talked a lot about Granny and I never heard him mention Phyllis Diller, nor did she ever play the kind of heartless villain Jack thought Granny Goodness was. I have a vague recollection that he did mention Shelley Winters and maybe even have a photo of her around…but that doesn't mean he based the whole character on her, either. At most, her performance or image in some role would be just one component.
Mick Mulvaney, who's the new Director of the Office of Management and Budget is now claiming — with of course, no evidence — that Barack Obama's administration manipulated the numbers to make the unemployment rate look lower than it actually is. This is how Trump's going to claim he fixed things: He'll probably make it go up but he'll claim it was even higher under Obama and that only The Great Trump could bring those numbers down to his (actually) higher number.
Here's Kevin Drum to refute one thing Mulvaney said via a simple math lesson.
Jerry Seinfeld wins an award and gives the greatest acceptance speech ever…
One of these days, remind me to write a post about the mixed feelings I have about awards for creative work…especially awards where even the people receiving them know darn well that the award does not really mean what it says on the inscription. Often, a trophy that purports to be from the entire entertainment community was voted on by six people…and the recipient was their ninth choice but the first eight refused to show up and accept the thing.
I also know people who suffered way too much when they didn't receive some coveted award or — worse — who did get some award and because of it lost perspective on themselves and their careers and therefore said or did some very stupid, self-injurious things.
But then I also have seen awards go to the right people at the right time for what was somewhat close to the right reason. Or when the award itself says something important or calls attention to some situation which needs attention. So I'm not against awards…just, I suppose, against pretending they mean a lot more than they do.
Matt Yglesias gives us a good overview of the battle over Health Care in this country. Apparently, what's going to happen is that a lot of folks will be losing their insurance or paying a lot more for it and the Republican response will be to (a) deny that's so and (b) to say, "Nonsense! It's available to them and don't blame us if they claim it isn't!" Or something like that. I'm waiting for someone to ask Trump, "Does this bill that your party wants to pass and you to sign fulfill what you promised on the campaign trail?" Because there's no way it comes close to that.
I'm still amazed there are people in this country who, when asked about Donald Trump, say they like him because he's honest and he speaks his mind and he tells it like it is. I can understand those who think he's a con man and a liar who's going to do a lot of things they want done, including beating up on immigrants and making rich people a lot richer at the expense of the poor and middle-class. I can't understand how they can still defend as honest, a man who insists he got a lot more electoral votes than other presidents who got a lot more electoral votes.
Last night, I went to see Puppet Up!, which is a show the Henson people have been doing, mostly in and around Los Angeles, for a few years now. Even before their company sold Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie and the rest to The Mouse, they've been developing other franchises and ventures and this is one of them. Basically, it's a puppet show that is almost wholly improvised based on suggestions from the audience, and intended for adults. They sell alcohol before, during and after the show and its purchase and consumption are highly encouraged. And encouraged. And encouraged.
One interesting thing about the two shows they did last evening: It's one of the first times, if not the first, that a public event like that has been done at what most folks call The Chaplin Studios. It's that studio every Angeleno drives by all the time at the southeast corner of La Brea Avenue and Sunset Boulevard. Built in 1917 by Charlie Chaplin, it has changed hands often since he sold it in 1953. Red Skelton owned it for a time. So did Herb Alpert. So did others.
The George Reeves Adventures of Superman show was filmed there. So was the Raymond Burr Perry Mason series. So were Soul Train and loads of music videos. The Henson family bought the place in 2000 and set up shop there. They do much of what they do there and also rent out office space to others. I've been on that lot many times and it seems like a nice, friendly place to work.
Puppet Up! has played at many local venues like The Kirk Douglas Theater in Culver City but this is the first time they did it on the lot, converting (for the night) the largest soundstage into a comedy club with tables and chairs and an amazingly-effective stage area. That was one of the impressive things.
Another was the show itself which was enormously fun and entertaining and, since it's almost all improv, the kind of thing you could go back to again and again and again. They didn't advertise this much but the two shows apparently sold out instantly, most tix going to folks who'd seen it before and wanted to bring friends. No other performances have currently been announced but I got the feeling there'll be a lot of them and they'll do them there. You could kinda tell Brian Henson and his crew were delighted with how well it all went.
Brian is the sub-host of the proceedings and he got on stage for one segment in which a member of the audience — deliberately chosen to not be experienced in puppetry — was dragged up there, outfitted with a puppet and stuck into a scene so all could laugh at his ineptness. Apart from him, the performances were by six skilled Muppeteers (Oops — can't call 'em that; Disney owns the word) puppeteers who operate a wide array of characters you never saw before and who improvise scenes.
There was no printed program so I can't copy info here from it but I might remember all their names: Drew Massey, Victor Yerrid, Colleen Smith, Allan Trautman, Ted Michaels and Peggy Etra. If I got a name wrong, don't blame me. Blame whoever decided not to print programs. I do know that the main emcee — who was very, very good at moving things along and extracting suggestions from the audience — was Patrick Bristow.
Patrick Bristow and Co-Stars
Another star of the show is the process. I've been on the set of Muppet shoots and it's fascinating to watch the live puppeteers holding their characters aloft and manipulating them and supplying the voices…and then you look over at the monitor and see the scene minus the human beings. Here, you can also do that. The puppeteers are on stage playing to a fixed camera, and on either side of them there are huge screens showing us what that fixed camera sees. Everyone in the house seemed to be looking back and forth between the screens and the performers.
There are also some amazing video effects added in live, and there's a great live band…and twice during the show, they abandoned improvisation to re-create a classic "Muppet" routine, though I'm not sure they ever said the trademarked and sold-to-Disney word. But they did bits that Jim Henson and Frank Oz once performed on The Ed Sullivan Show and elsewhere, and they were great. The whole evening was.
One other observation: The show was somewhat dirty and for the most part, very funny. It did strike me though that the "f" word has either lost its power to evoke laughter on its own or it just seems so outta-place in a puppet show that it doesn't work. It's a potent comedy tool when Lewis Black uses it. Maybe it wouldn't be if he was made of felt.
As I said, no other performances have been announced but I'll bet there will be some. I'll try and let you know if and when I hear about them before they sell out. And when they sell out, it will probably be because people who were there last night want to see it again and want to take friends…as I do.
Here's what I did on my 65th birthday. I hosted a program out at the TV Academy on the art/science of new people doing voices of classic characters.
This is a video of the whole thing minus a couple of videos that were shown and which have been edited out for, I assume, copyright purposes. There was a great opening montage you won't see and about halfway through, there was a script reading of an episode of the TV series, Wabbit. The reading is in the video below but then we ran the cartoon and that ain't in the video below. The reading made more sense when you could see how all those strange noises and shrieks the actors did fit into the finished film.
Also, I should mention: I am identified as the Writer/Producer/Director of The Garfield Show. This kind of shorthand occurs so often throughout the business that we rarely correct it…but just for the record, I am a Writer on the show, the Supervising Producer and the Voice Director. There are other writers and other producers, and the guy who gets and deserves the Director credit is a brilliant gent named Philippe Vidal. He actually directs the animation and assembles the finished episodes. I just hire and direct the voice actors for the English language version.
As you'll see, we had a great panel and we only began to talk about this topic, which could be discussed for many, many hours. Here's about 75 minutes on it…
