The Line of the Tiger

Commercially, the movie adaptation of the graphic novel PERSEPOLIS has a lot against it. It's a 2-D animated film. In black and white. In French (with subtitles). It deals with emotional complexities. It portrays in a favorable light characters who espouse Communism. (Indeed, in one hallucinatory sequence, God and Karl Marx share space in Heaven.) And the viewpoint character is an Iranian woman.

Screw commercial success. PERSEPOLIS is one terrific film. Co-directed by the writer/artist of the original graphic novel, Marjane Satrapi, PERSEPOLIS tells Satrapi's story of growing from childhood to young womanhood, first in Iran during the Islamic revolution and the Iran-Iraq war, then in Vienna in the mid-eighties, back in Iran, and then finally moving back to Europe. Satrapi portrays herself as a smart-mouthed and fallible intellectual who feels out of place everywhere, whether buying bootleg Iron Maiden tapes on the streets of Tehran or shouting at her European friends for espousing Nihilism while people in Iran are imprisoned, tortured and executed for their beliefs. It can drag the viewer into the depths of Satrapi's depression, and then suddenly convulse the viewer with hilarity (including a montage in which a twenty-something Satrapi works to pull her life together, while singing -- off-key -- "Eye of the Tiger," shadow-punching the camera to the beat.)

The animation is absolutely gorgeous. The line is what does it. Gracefully curving, it evokes both Al Hirschfield and Aubrey Beardsley in its expressiveness, and in the balancing of white and black. Cartoonists often say that drawing with a simple line is harder to pull off than filling a drawing with details, because the honesty of simplicity leaves no room to fake it. The animators have pulled it off. Also notable are the scenes told in silhouette, which are reminiscent of UPA and Disney animation of the '50's.

If there's any justice, PERSEPOLIS should do well at the Oscars. The commercial dice will fall where they will.

Mission: Highly Improbable

One of my holiday gifts was the first season of MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE on DVD. M:I is virtually unique among the bushel of spy series that hit TV in the mid-sixties, in that it continued into the 1970's, and I was thus able to watch some of the episodes first run (despite being about one year old when the series debuted).

In the first season, Peter Graves had not yet joined the series; Steven Hill plays the IMF team leader. The episodes, at least initially, did not begin in the style that later became the series signature: the hiss of the message self-destructing fading into the flute of the opening theme. Instead, the episodes have no teaser; they begin with the fuse being lit in the opening credits. Further, in the pilot, the assignment is delivered on a swing LP; in the next episode, "Memory," it's delivered on a printed card. (Nowadays, I imagine the IMF gets its orders via MP3's. Or do they destroy an Ipod for every mission?)

Watching the pilot and "Memory," I learned some important tips about espionage:

• If your cinematography, lighting and music are great, you can get away with cheap production values and stock footage.
• Both South American jungles and the woods of the Balkans look a lot like Pasadena or the Arboretum.
• The IMF's job is easier when their foes are complete idiots. In the pilot, a Castro-like dictator stores two nukes in a hotel vault. (Why? Who knows?) The hotel -- which knows what is stored there -- nevertheless allows Willie the strongman to stash in the same vault two sample cases large enough to hold a person each without searching them. D'oh!
• It's easier for Martin Landau's character to impersonate a target when the target is also played by Martin Landau. And:
• Twenty-five minutes into the pilot, Barbara Bain strips off her cocktail dress -- in front of two bound and gagged guards -- and appears wrapped in a tiny towel. I think at that point, the series was sold.
  

Happy Stan Lee Day!

Nearly thirty-five years ago, my parents gave me a copy of the book ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS by Stan Lee, a collection of sixties Marvel stories with reminisces (reportedly often apocryphal) by the then-publisher of Marvel. Little did my parents anticipate that as a result I'd still be collecting comics in the 21st century.

Today, the most successful writer/editor/promoter combo in the history of the business turns 85 years old. In between hosting his own reality show, acting, and continuing to write, maybe he'll take a rest. 'Nuff said.

How the Pirates Stole Christmas

Apparently, several young people are unable to appreciate the irony of celebrating the holidays by pirating Christmas songs.

The Perfect Comic Book Cover?

Conceptually, a comic book cover -- like any magazine or book cover -- is an advertising poster, the goal of which is to persuade the viewer to buy the publication without seeing the contents.

By that standard, the 1968 cover to Batman issue 199 -- beautifully drawn by Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson, published during the Bat-mania of the mid-sixties, and plugging no less than seven other DC comic books -- may be the perfect comic book cover.

What the @#$%&* did he just say?!

Bookworm —

My cousin Tod, the literary writer, occasionally mocks KRCW pundit Michael Silverblatt's silverblatherings about books. I thought he was exaggerating -- mostly because Silverblatt is on Thursday afternoons, and I'm generally too busy working then to listen to KCRW. But then I tuned in this past week while stuck in traffic driving through Beverly Hills (see posting below); and heard him talking about a book in which a black woman in prison channels Mark Twain. I was treated to a long, rambling sentence from the learned commentator, full of clauses that twisted and turned like Lombard Street, never quite connecting to each other; and ending with his description of the book as "the whole -- and varied -- enchilada." Don't take my word for it. Listen for yourself.

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Silver Mel

Mark Evanier's holiday story is a lot more magical than mine (see below). I first read this in his POV column back in 1999, and I've thought of it fondly ever since. It involves Mel Torme and his most enduring contribution to the American Songbook, "The Christmas Song" -- so enduring that many who know the song by heart have never heard of Torme. Read the story.

Christmas in the Pit with Brian

Here's a holiday season story. It doesn't involve orphans finding a family, or a hazardous journey across a wintery landscape toward home, or even a savings-and-loan owner who manages with community help to cheat his way through his uncle's fiscal malfeasance. Instead, it involves the unlikely marriage of big-band swing and rockabilly music.

Last night, we went to the Gibson Amphitheater to watch the Brian Setzer Orchestra's Christmas extravaganza. The Gibson, formerly the Universal Amphitheater, is where I saw my first rock concert (with my older brother) back in 1980, when the Amphitheater was still an open-air venue. Setzer is the gent who, in the syth-drenched days of the early '80's, convinced the world that what they really needed to hear was the rockabilly music of the '50's; and consequently obtained a couple of top-40 hits with his band, the Stray Cats. In the early '90's he hit on the idea of marrying his rockabilly guitar licks with big-band swing; and founded the BSO -- complete with a stand-up bass, a rock drummer, saxes, trumpets, trombones, and female backup singers.

We sat through a fun opening act of a rockabilly band from England, which included a sit-down pedal steel guitar. (How does an Englishman get inspired to learn to play one of those?) Then, in the intermission, a gentleman slurring his words approached our seats, near the back of the amphitheater, and asked us if we'd like to be in the orchestra pit for the main act. Somewhat leery, we nevertheless said yes. He handed us two plastic wristbands and two backstage passes. "To what do we owe this blessing?" I asked, still suspicious. "It's Christmas," he replied, "and I had a couple extra." (I suspect that they had sold fewer pit passes than they expected; and gave audience members upgrades so that the pit would be full. Then again, they may just have been impressed because I wore a jacket and tie.)

We cautiously headed to the pit; and the guard waved us in. The wristbands were genuine.

We then enjoyed a fantastic concert, close enough to the stage to see every hair in the formerly-blond pompadour that Setzer had allowed to turn a distinguished silver. I'm delighted to see a band that not only masters their musical chops but also puts on a good show. Particularly wonderful were Setzer's drummer and bass player (both named John; I forget their last names). John the bass player showed off all sorts of tricks -- playing the bass (almost as big as he was) upside down, sideways, and backwards; playing it while Setzer lounged on the upper part of it; and even standing on one corner of it, balancing there while he continued to play!

Along with raucous versions of his Stray Cats hits "Rock this Town" (spectacular with a full brass section) and "Stray Cat Strut" (which morphed without breaking stride into "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch"), he played the BSO versions of "In the Mood" and "Jump, Jive, and Wail"; several Christmas songs, and his reworkings of "In the Hall of the Mountain King," "Flight of the Bumblebee," and "Fur Elise" from his new album, "Wolfgang's Night Out." At the mid-point, he brought the curtain down on the big band and played several songs with just the bassist and the drummer; then, in the middle of "Route 66," he brought the big band back in seamlessly.

Afterward, our backstage passes indeed allowed us backstage, into an open-air reception courtyard (complete with hosted bar and a pile of chips on a table), where we got to chat with various band members, including the bassist and the opening act.

And to all a good night.

******

Update: There's a nice write-up of the Friday night concert in the LA Times. And on Sunday, we were channel-flipping when we came upon a video of the BSO's 2005 LA Christmas show on one of the high-definition channels.

The Trouble with Treos

Palm Down, Centro Way Up, Treo On The Mend | Treonauts

I've inadvertently become part of a market trend.

Back in 1999, I won a Palm V pda as a door prize at a legal tech show.  The metal and glass pda had little power, a black and white screen, and no expandable memory.  But it was incredibly efficient and easy to use.  A single charge to its battery would last it weeks.  I found the alarms I could set as reminders for events to be indispensable.  I became a Palm fan.

Simultaneously, I've been a Verizon cell customer ever since the mid-90's.  So long as Verizon continues to rate highest in customer satisfaction, I wasn't about to give that up.

As time went on, I replaced the Palm V with a Palm Tungsten E, with its color screen, SD memory card slot, and video-playing capability.  But what I really wanted was a smartphone -- a combination pda and cellphone.  When Verizon finally adopted the PalmTreo 600, I snapped it up.  It was nifty, and I enjoyed accessing the Internet and work e-mail on my pda.  But it had a terrible battery capacity -- particularly when compared to my old Palm V.  A single charge would barely last it a day (less, with heavy use).  Eventually, last year, the 600 got fried in a Radio Shack related accident; and my phone insurance bought me a 650.  The 650 had far better battery life, a clearer screen, and a nicer camera.

Still, I began to desire the Treo 755p -- the new generation Treo Palm introduced at the beginning of this year.  It was smaller, lighter, and more streamlined.  It had a brighter screen, broadband Internet capabilities, and  the ability to play streaming video from the Internet. 

The problem was that the 755 was only available from Sprint.  Rumors pegged Verizon (which, like Sprint, has a CDMA network) as getting the 755p in mid-summer.  Then September.  Then November.

I grew disappointed with the constant rumors of the Verizon 755p.  Apparently, I wasn't the only one.  The problem, purportedly, was that Palm kept submitting 755p models made for Verizon to the carrier; and Verizon, which has high standards in phones, kept rejecting them.

The alleged result:  While Palm had a $12.77 million profit in the first quarter, it took a loss of $9.6 million in the second quarter.  This was despite an 11 percent increase in its smartphone sales.  According to the Treonauts blog, the increase was due to sales of the latest Palm smartphone to hit Sprint:  the tiny Centro, which sells under a Palm imprint rather than a Treo one.  The loss, according to the blog, "was blamed on the late arrival of the Verizon Treo 755p which began shipping after the end of Palm’s quarter as well as warranty costs of older legacy products."  Palm's stock sunk, and it layed off a bunch of folks.

But Monday, Palm finally unveiled the Verizon Treo 755p.  I immediately ordered one (I was eligible for an upgrade discount from Verizon), and it arrived today.  Whether this device can lift Palm from its sales funk remains to be seen.  What also remains to be seen is Palm's fate if the Apple iPhone becomes available from carriers other than AT& T -- like Verizon.Tr

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Swimmin' Pools, Movie Stars, Traffic Hell

This afternoon, I experienced the joy and delight of driving through downtown Beverly Hills five days before Christmas. Wonder of wonders, one of the top shopping neighborhoods in the world was jammed to bursting with people buying stuff. Moreover, the streets were crawling with cars containing people who had or were about to buy stuff. Further, due to those charming one-way streets, I had to go south from Little Santa Monica Boulevard down Rodeo Drive to get to my destination on Camden. Yes, Rodeo -- which, even as a small child in the Northwest, I knew (a) was pronounce Roh-day-oh, and (b) was a high-end shopping mecca. Filled me right up to the eyeballs with holiday spirit, I can tell you.

The Hobbit is Happening

Looks like the poor box office receipts for The Golden Compass have a golden -- er, silver -- lining. New Line, the company that hoped to have another Lord of the Rings type success with the Phillip Pullman series, has apparently decided to go back to the real thing. It has kissed and made up with Peter Jackson, who will co-executive produce THE HOBBIT and a sequel. I'm sure the hobbits will have several feasts in celebration.

Brainless Business

Fortune Magazine has posted a list of the 101 dumbest moments in business for 2007.

Among my favorites:

• An employee in a German screw factory stole thousands of screws every night, eventually swiping around a million units. He sold the screws on the Internet at cut-rate prices; and single-handedly depressed the screw market.
• Google's Blogger (the hosts of this blog here) labeled a company blog as spam -- and disabled it.
• Passengers forked over $15,000 each for tickets on the maiden flight of Singapore Airline's Airbus 380. They got a private double-bed suite on the plane, with endless champagne. But the airline asked the jet-setting passengers to refrain from having sex on the plane. (For $15,000, the airline should provide the sex . . . .)
• Whenever we're in Japan, we marvel at the high-tech toilets, with built-in push-button bidets, cleaning jets, and seat warmers. But Toto Corporation of Japan had to issue apologies and offer free repairs when three of its super-commodes caught fire.
• Taco Bell opened a store in Mexico City. It assured potential customers that it "does not pretend to be Mexican food."
• An airline rewarded a gold-level frequent flyer riding in first class by taking the body of a woman who died in economy and plopping her mortal remains down in the seat next to him -- while he slept. When he requested compensation from the airline, they told him he should "get over it." And:
• Intel promoted its Core 2 Duo Processor with an ad depicting a white businessman and, well . . . just look at the ad.

Why Doesn't the Internet Like My Cousin?

I consider myself a nominally reasonable, fundamentally civilized urban professional. So why do I find so fascinating the raw hatred with with several folks on the Internet view my cousin Lee Goldberg. Lee's brother Tod finds it fascinating too. Tod has aggregated several particularly venomous diatribes about Lee and posted them proudly on his blog. Not to be outdone, Lee has posted a link to Tod's post on Lee's blog.

Considering the anger directed toward Lee by many in the science fiction fandom community, I expected his latest Monk book, "Mr. Monk in Outer Space," -- in which the OCD-afflicted sleuth must solve the murder of the creator of a cult SF show, committed just outside of a convention -- to be a vicious character attack upon the SF community. Yet I found the book to be even-handed and, yes, even compassionate and understanding toward fandom. I expected to see blood on the floor. I found only Bactine and band-aids. (Yes, lousy metaphor. There's a reason my relatives are the novelists.) Still, fun book. And still time to buy lots of them for friends for the holidays. Only eight shopping days and all that . . . .

The Electronic Lawyer

I was sitting in LA Superior Court one morning, waiting for my motion to be called, when I overheard one septugenarian lawyer tell his partner, "I don't do e-mail. When we get back, can you show me how to make an e-mail?"

Replied his partner, "What's to know? You just send an e-mail!"

Conversations like that make me concerned that knowledge of the Internet is becoming mandatory for attorneys. Starting next year, the United States District Court for the Central District of California -- like all of the other federal district courts in the state -- will require mandatory e-filing for all cases. (It already requires e-filing for intellectual property and criminal cases.) Some state courts -- particularly complex-case courts -- require e-filing. Further, the Central District is forcing all attorneys admitted to practice before it to either undergo e-filing training or supply proof of training from another California District court; or face sanctions.

Also, if the California Supreme Court approves a State Bar proposal, every attorney licensed to practice in California will not only have to register with the bar online every year, but will also have to furnish an e-mail address. So yes, that elderly lawyer will have to learn to make an e-mail.

I have mixed thoughts about e-filing. It eliminates filings that are late because the messenger could not make it across town before the filing window closed; and it allows filing documents from across the state (or country, or world). It also saves ink, paper, and (when other parties can be served electronically) postage. On the other hand, if your (or the court's) Internet connection goes down at a crucial time, you can be in trouble. Further, most district courts that require e-filing also require filers to send a paper courtesy copy of the document directly to the judge -- which kind of erases some of the benefits of e-filing. The ideal solution would be optional e-filing; but the courts appear to consider that too cumbersome.

He Had a Secret

Mark Evanier's blog features today a fascinating clip from "I've Got a Secret," broadcast a little over fifty years ago. The contestant is Philo T. Farnsworth, who -- as viewers of Johnny Carson and readers of the book CARTER BEATS THE DEVIL know -- invented modern television. His discussion with the host after his identity is revealed indicates that even back in the fifties he was working on what would be come high-definition TV -- as well as an attempt to use nuclear fusion as a peacetime energy source (which alas has not yet been acheived -- as far as we know).

Just Another Dreary December Day in Southern California

Some photos I took yesterday during a bike ride on Venice Beach. Note the sand berm built at the end of Venice Boulevard.

Manga for Finding a Murderer

Nearly a year ago, a young man who moved to Kyoto to attend a manga-creating course at a university there was stabbed to death while bicycling to his apartment. Now, in an effort to elicit information about the killer from the public, his classmates have produced a manga story about the victim. Half of the story depicts the deceased student's life. The other half (drawn with an eerie half-tone fog background) depicts what is known about his death.

Can a comic catch a killer? We'll see.

Bad Heinlein! Bad! Bad!

Robert Heinlein's future may be past - Los Angeles Times

On Sunday, the LA Times' Calendar section published this article about Robert Heinlein's legacy, as the SF giant's 100th birthday nears.  The reporter makes some attempt at a balanced article, but the overall tone of the piece is negative and somewhat bitchy.  Lots of modern commentators (who appear mainly to be critics and bookbuyers, rather than writers themselves) treat Heinlein as a literary dinosaur, lumbering and crushing his way through mid-20th-century science fiction.

Certainly Heinlein's work furnishes support for such polarized opinions.  On the one hand, he was a gifted, enthralling storyteller, who believed in the promise of science and technology to help humans evolve into their best selves.  On the other, his work (especially his later novels) abounded with polemics, chest-thumping, omnicompetent know-it-alls and crusty crankcases.  (I must agree with those who like his "juveniles" best; books like "Have Space Suit -- Will Travel" and "Podkayne of Mars" maximized his entertaining writing while minimizing the polemics.

Still, I doubt that the detractors in the article will have as much influence and adulation 100 years after their births as Heinlein has now.

technorati tags:Heinlein, critiques

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He's up and Flyin' as He Guns the Car around the Track

Speed Racer - ComingSoon.net Film Database

The trailer for the Wachowski Brothers' live action (sorta) SPEED RACER movie is up on the Web. If the trailer is any indication, this is not just an adaptation or an approximation of SPEED RACER; they've actually made a SPEED RACER cartoon, albeit with live-action actors. It's fun in a short burst; the only question is whether it will be too cloying or annoying in a two-hour chunk. I can predict, though, that audiences will love it and critics will be predicting the end of Western civilization as we know it.

technorati tags:Speed, Racer, Movie, Trailer

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Death of an American Action Figure

Evel Knievel, iconic American daredevil, dies at 69 - Los Angeles Times

The celebrities we remember best are the ones that somehow embody not the American dream, but an American archetype.

The Northwest's Robert Knievel -- nicknamed in his youth "Evel," likely because of his criminal past -- was not just famous for his increasingly ambitious stunts. Instead, he was exactly what America needed in the turbulent, ambiguity-filled days of the late '60's and early '70's in which I grew up. He was so many things America loves. He was a showman. He was a braggart. He was physically smashed repeatedly, only to rebound and come back for more. He was a bit of a rogue, and a bit of a thug. Indeed, he may have inflated his accounts of his criminal past: He told the media that when he sold motorcycles in Moses Lake, Washington in the mid-sixties he embarked on a crime spree of safe-cracking, armed robberies and beatings.

His popularity, perhaps not coincidently, coincided with our cinematic celebrations of brilliant but rough-edged fanatics ("Patton") and slick, daring criminals ("The Sting," "Paper Moon," "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "Bonny and Clyde.")

Europe may have invented and perfected the circus, but America perfected the carny. Knievel was carny through-and-through -- a side-show attraction who could make us momentarily forget about Watergate by such Wile E. Coyote antics as shooting across a canyon on a rocket-powered "motorcycle" (and, like Wile E., landing on the canyon floor with a quiet "poof.")

To me, and to many other boys who spent their single and early double digit years in the sixties and seventies, Knievel was an action figure. Literally. Likely no kid who was around during the seventies can forget the commercial for the Knievel action figure. The figure came with (appropriately) a "swagger stick," and one of the most marvelous accessories in the history of seventies' toys: a scale-model stunt motorcycle, complete with shock absorbers. The kid would place the bike in a red device with a crank. Through the magic of gears and friction, turning the crank would produce a whine that parodied a high-performance engine revving. At maximum torque, the bike would shoot out of the starter, across a ramp, and then crash into the ground. The Knievel figure was made of rubber, so that it could bounce back like Knievel. The bike would eventually be smashed to bits -- again, much like the real Knievel.

As may be typical of Americans, Knievel wrote physical IOUs in his early years that his body began to call as he aged. Much like the American economy, the body can seem to bounce back from catastrophic traumas; but each one weakens the infrastructure in ways that can never fully be eradicated. Hence, Knievel ended up in a walker when other men his age were still out jogging.

In short, he never needed to wear those stars and stripes on his Nomex coveralls. He was unmistakeably American.

technorati tags:Evel, Knievel, action, figure

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Gift Card Pointers

Keeping tabs on gift cards - Los Angeles Times

Yesterday's LA Times featured this article on a new Website, www.leveragecard.com, at which gift card recipients can register their gift cards and track their value.  The article includes an important tip:  Under the law of California and other states, gift cards issued by retailers cannot expire and cannot decrease in value.  But gift cards issued by banks (such as the Visa Gift Card) and malls are not subject to those regulations.  So if you plan to give someone a bank gift card, a check is probably a better gift.

technorati tags:gift, cards

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And the Geat Goes On

Last night, we saw BEOWULF in Imax 3-D, which is a combination moviegoing experience and thrill-ride. BEOWULF is the unlikely collaboration between BACK TO THE FUTURE and WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT director Robert Zemeckis, SANDMAN and STARDUST scribe Neil Gaiman, PULP FICTION co-writer Roger Avery, and some anonymous bard or bards who, around the seventh to tenth century AD, wrote down a poem (probably heard from others) about this Weather-Geat prince who beats up a few monsters.

As might be expected from Gaiman, who has made a cottage industry out of probing, prodding and post-moderning the enduring myths and stories of the western world, BEOWULF follows the broad contours of the poem; but is less interested in telling a straight account of events than in a "print the legend" exploration of what the "true" events behind the poem's account might be. The creators don't take the magic or the essence out: Beowulf's just as mighty and foolhardy as he is in the poem (albeit quite a bit less noble); supernatural monsters and demons are just as real as in that tale; and Beowulf's fights with Grendel and the dragon are as slam-bang satisfying as one could hope. Indeed, the dragon may be the best such fire-breather ever realized on film.

But the filmmakers introduce complexity into the story, by making Beowulf, Hrothgar, and the other folks in the saga three-dimensional (I'm not just referring to the headache-inducing glasses the audience was wearing); by making Grendel sympathetic, and giving him and his mom motives for their acts; by exploring some of the mysteries of the poem (if Beowulf kills Grendel's mom in her watery lair, why does he haul back Grendel's head?); and by recognizing that one can obtain revenge on a man in far subtler ways than beating the crap out of him.

The motion-capture animation generally looks great, although the hair-thin line between animation and reality is sometimes jarring. And the 3-D effects pose an inherent visual storytelling problem. A primary goal of framing a shot is to focus the audience's attention on whatever the object is on screen that is most crucial to telling the story. But 3-D focuses the audience's attention on whatever is flying at them, be it a rat snatched by a hawk, an arrow, or half of a bisected warrior. For instance, in one scene Beowulf and his men drag their ship up onto a rocky beach. Our attention is not on the men; not on the ship; but on the millions of water-polished stones in the foreground (i.e., floating over the front row's heads). Now, the stones are visually impressive, and the thought of generating them in a computer is daunting. But what part to they play in telling the story of Beowulf?

Tales from the Loscon

From Friday through today, we attended Loscon 34, an LA-area science fiction convention. Every convention has its own personality. Loscon's is of a well-read, highly-educated and extremely vocal party guest who knows more than you do about any subject you bring up. Perhaps because the organization that puts it on, LASFS, is close to JPL, the con is suffused with experts on history, science, and even cruise ship lore. (When we were in line for the masquerade, one line-member's comments about the Titanic were met with a torrent of corrections from another, who worked for a cruise line.) This often leads to disagreements between those who believe they know more than the experts at their sides. One panel on pulp fiction featured contradictory comments from pulp historians on whether the paper used to print pulp magazines was the same grade as or lower grade than the paper on which comic books were printed.

Loscon is also well-known for its Saturday-night room parties. One of the more unusual ones we visited last night was thrown by an author to promote her small-press fantasy novel. The author herself dressed up in a Xena-type warrior-woman outfit to plug the book.



As we were leaving this costume-filled milieu early Sunday morning, we shared an elevator ride down with two young women wearing costumes of a different type -- i.e., short skirts and low-cut tops that could barely contain their surgically-bestowed assets. One dropped a hotel key card as the elevator descended; but she waited until we left the elevator before bending down to retrieve it -- for obvious reasons.

Plainly, these women were not fans; they were "pros."

DVD's Your U.N.C.L.E.

Today's LA Times ran two articles about the upcoming release of the entire MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. series on DVD: This interview with Robert Vaughn; and this appreciation by Robert Lloyd. I particularly liked Lloyd's comments on releasing the space-age U.N.C.L.E. series in the information-age early 21st Century:

"Although we are now accustomed to carrying around record collections and multiplexes in our pockets, to my ancient mind there is still something pleasantly improbable about the thought that all 105 episodes of 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.' have been put onto DVD and packaged in a single cardboard 'attaché case' roughly the size of a complete volume of Shakespeare. . . . That a laser beam is at the heart of the technology that has made this possible is also suitably science-fiction, and poetically appropriate, regarded with a mind that can still thrill at the words 'laser beam.' Laser beam! Oh!"

Lloyd comments that nearly forty years after the series left the air, he no longer watches it with the wide-eyed wonder of a cold-war-era kid; but rather with "amused, ironic detachment." But, he continues,

"is not 'amused, ironic detachment' the very essence of the character of the modern filmic secret agent? Really, the whole world could use a lot more of that."

I've got an odd relationship with the whole U.N.C.L.E. phenomenon. As with many '60's TV shows, I have hazy memories of watching both U.N.C.L.E. series in the sixties (I particularly recalled the animated opening titles); but because the reruns weren't syndicated in my part of the country until the '80's, I didn't actually watch whole episodes growing up. Instead, my knowledge of the show came primarily from merchandising. There was a Whitman juvenile U.N.C.L.E. tie-in novel (written by Walter Gibson, the author of the SHADOW pulps)around the house; and I'd occasionally come across board games and other tchotchkes from the show. In the early '80's, there was an U.N.C.L.E. reunion movie, which my cousin Lee covered extensively for STARLOG magazine; and occasional articles about the show. It wasn't until I moved to San Francisco in the late '80's that I was able to see multiple episodes of not only the Man from U.N.C.L.E., but also the Girl from U.N.C.L.E. Because Silicon Valley wonks had an appetite for science fiction programming, the bay area local stations -- both private and public -- ran extensive science fiction programming.

As with the Connery Bond movies, I'll probably never be able to appreciate U.N.C.L.E. with the same viewpoint as those who grew up watching the show in the sixties. But I can still enjoy a worldview where the greatest threat to our planet is neither geopolitical forces nor ecological IOU's, but rather nasty businessmen who name themselves after birds.

the Song of Summer

If you watch anime set in Japan during the summer months, you'll inevitably hear cicada songs in the background. Those are not just fanciful. Here's a snippet of video I shot while we were walking to the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka in September. The background sound is not machinery or traffic; it's just insects.

Burning News

Some readers of this blog might know that my cousin Lee Goldberg writes tie-in novels for the mystery series DIAGNOSIS MURDER and MONK. His brother Tod -- heretofore a literary novelist/short story author, a journalist, and a book reviewer -- has now ventured into the same waters. He has announced on his blog that he has contracted to write four tie-in novels for the TV series BURN NOTICE. That means he can (as Lee has), if he wishes, go down to San Diego Con, sit on a panel of media tie-in writers, and then sign autographs under the sails in the convention center.

Meanwhile, Lee's latest Monk book, MR. MONK IN OUTER SPACE, sits on my pile of books to read. It's a Monk mystery set at a science-fiction convention. Is it a frisson of fear that prevents me from immediately cracking it open?

Manga Symbiosis

Japan, Ink: Inside the Manga Industrial Complex

The cover story in the current WIRED magazine discusses the manga business in Japan, which writer Daniel Pink deems (perhaps hyperbolically) the hub of all popular culture in the land of the rising sun.

Pink's focus is on the symbiotic relationship between professional manga publishing and doujinshi -- the limited-press fan-published comics that draw hundreds of thousands of buyers to festivals like Comiket, and that violate creators' and publishers' intellectual property rights outrageously. How do publishing companies that fanatically protect their copyrights coexist with store chains like Mandarake and K-Books that buy, sell and trade doujinshi? As Pink describes it, the secret is an unwritten agreement between the fan publishers and the professionals -- and a mutually-beneficial business model that, he suggests, Western media might do well to emulate.

technorati tags:Wired, Manga, Doujinshi, copyrights

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Kamichu: A Little Bit of Heaven

If you're lucky enough to get the Imaginasian channel (Channel 157 on Time-Warner in LA), I recommend that you tune in at 8 p.m. on Tuesday night. That's because the cable channel's Anime Ener-G programming block (sponsored, ghostlike, by Geneon, even though Geneon itself is in reorganization and won't be buying advertising anytime soon) will rerunning episodes of a series we've grown to love, KAMICHU.

KAMICHU is a program that I cannot imagine an American channel would run -- in part because the concept is deeply rooted in Japan's pantheistic Shinto religion. The series' main character is Yurie (pronounced yury-eh), a rather immature 13-year-old girl who lives in a small seaside town near Hiroshima in the '80's. In the first episode, Yurie announces to her best friend that the previous night she somehow discovered that she is a god. And she is. In the Shinto religion, there is a god for everything that exists. And so the existence of a junior high school god is worthy of some note (there's an announcement on the school PA right after she inadvertently creates a typhoon with her face in the eye of the storm), but not a lot of fuss.

The title of the series is the magic word her friends make up for her to say to summon her power -- a contraction of the Japanese words for god and junior high student.

We learn that she's more powerful than the resident god in the Shinto shrine where her friend Matsuri lives (a god who acts more like a servant than a deity, and who yearns to be a rock star). We learn that the land is swarming with gods, who are generally invisible to all but Yurie and those whom she temporarily gives magical sight. She sets up a consultation tent at her school during lunch hours, and grants wishes to some who approach her with worthy wishes (although one of her first supplicants, the Prime Minister, turns out to have an agenda).

One could imagine that a comedy about a teenager who obtains divine powers would devolve into slapstick or lowball comedy. Certainly most kids Yurie's age could not be trusted with such might. But Yurie simply does not think of abusing her power for personal purposes (except, say, to change the TV channel from across the room without a remote). She remains dedicated to trying to live her life as a normal junior high student, yearning to catch the attention of the largely oblivious boy she likes, and dealing with Matsuri's various schemes to capitalize on Yurie's powers to help Matsuri's shrine.

The series overall has a soothing, relaxing feeling, from the opening harmonica theme through the cute closing. Aiding this is terrific writing from Hideyuki Kurata (creator of the READ OR DIE franchise, and screenwriter for the HELLSING ULTIMATE series) and the creative team that produced the ROD THE TV series a few years ago. A sign of the care put into the series is the attention paid to the setting. The town in which Yurie lives, the hill she rides her bike down, the ferry she and her friends ride to school, the businesses and the shrine all feel so real that if the viewer woke up in the town tomorrow, they could probably navigate their way around.

If you want to watch an anime that does not go down like a twice-frozen TV dinner (which happens with some of the more derivative series), check out KAMICHU.

Japanese Conventional Artifacts

Here are some fun convention flyers I picked up while we were in Japan for Worldcon. The first is a manga-style flyer (helpfully translated into English for us foreign attendees) for the next Japanese National Science Fiction Convention, Daicon. (Remember to read right -t0-left.)
The other is the cover for the program for the summer Comic Market, or Comiket, for 2007.

Nothing the God of Biomechanics Wouldn't Let You into Heaven For

Last night we went out to the neighborhood movie theater, the Landmark, to see BLADE RUNNER: THE FINAL CUT -- the third or something edition of this 1982 movie, likely issued to celebrate the flick's 25th anniversary. Perhaps I'm unperceptive, but I found only slight differences from the "director's cut" already out on video -- although both versions vary drastically (and are much improved from) the theatrical original. The reissues excise the annoying narration by Harrison Ford; reorder shots; change dialogue; and include a far less optimistic (though more existential than downbeat) ending.

The question for me was whether I'd perceive the movie differently now than the first time I saw it in a theater -- which was in the Liberty Theater in Walla Walla, Washington back when I was 17. What would I bring to the story, after 25 years (including seven years of higher education and ten years of marriage) of living life?

Frankly, I'm not sure. I was hyper-conscious of how the Blade Runner look influenced movie and TV for years, much as 2001 had 14 years earlier. I wondered what exactly it was that made Deckard such hot stuff in hunting down androids that his former boss essentially forced him back onto the job. (And yes, I know it's because of what he is.) After all, he doesn't do much in the movie beyond basic detective work, whenever he's not mooning after Sean Young. I did feel much more sympathy for Rutger Hauer's replicant character, Roy Batty, who is by far the most expressive character in the movie (over the top, in fact, like someone who has just discovered emotions and is so drunk on them he can't help gushing them like a geyser).

I also found that the special effects were still fantastic-looking, even after 25 years of increasing sophistication. Without a whisper of CGI, the effects draw us into this futuristic Los Angeles completely.

Incidently, the movie is set in 2019. Somehow I don't think we're going to develop Darryl Hannahdroids in the next 12 years, let alone attack ships burning off the shoulder of Orion. But as someone once said, it's not science fiction's job to predict the future; its job is to imagine the future.

Does Starbucks Need a Triple-Shot Venti?

Yesterday morning, Amy and I were having breakfast at Santa Monica's 18th Street Coffee House (which actually looks like my concept of a coffee house -- lots of dark wood finishes). I read Amy an article from the LA Times about how last quarter visits to Starbucks stores fell for the first time since -- well, ever. The way every head swiveled around to look at us, you would have thought I had mentioned E.F. Hutton. (That's a reference that will be lost on anyone under 30.)

The fall in Starbucks attendance strangely coincided with an increase in the price of drinks chain-wide (four months ago), a dip in the chain's stock, and rising gas prices (not to mention the sub-prime mortgage debacle) that have led some to believe that perhaps a $4 a day latte habit is not, financially, a good idea.

Throw in the number of local coffee bars that have taken a page from Starbuck's playbook and charge nearly identical prices for the same types of lattes, cappucinos, and froufrou drinks, and you'll find the Starbucks mermaid facing some rough seas ahead.

Perhaps a good starting point for Starbucks to regain its momentum is to reconsider its previous strategy of saturating the market with stores like a spilled machiato saturates a bar-towel. At some point, too many Starbucks is too many Starbucks. If you can hardly take a step without tripping over a Starbucks, it stands to reason that the sales in each store is going to go down.

Animidnight Gets Even Darker

Starz Edge's Animidnight Adds More Anime - Anime News Network

Premium cable channel Starz's Action Channel has in the past run the HELLSING anime TV series a few times on its ANIMIDNIGHT umbrella show, which runs at midnight (duh) on Friday nights (now on Starz Edge).  Next year, it will be running the newer, more faithful, and far nastier incarnation of the story, HELLSING ULTIMATE; along with fellow Geneon kill-em-up, BLACK LAGOON. 

I'm encouraged by both deals.  The American branch of Geneon continues to languish in reorganization limbo; and playing these Geneon properties on TV should encourage other companies to pick up their licenses if Geneon can't do it itself.

technorati tags:Hellsing, Black, Lagoon, Animidnight

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The WGA Does Not Merely Strike; It Really Most Sincerely Strikes

A Writer's Life

In Cousin Lee's latest war-correspondent post from the front lines of the WGA strike, he describes an only-in-Hollywod (well, actually Burbank) scene:  Some of the original munchkins from 1939's THE WIZARD OF OZ hand out donut holes to strikers (assuring them, "The Lollypop Guild is with you"), while an onlooker asks if John Edwards (scheduled to visit) talks to dead people.

technorati tags:munchkins, WGA, Strike, John, Edwards, Lee, Goldberg

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Unca Danny's Teeny Screeny Video Show

If you scroll way, way, WAY down on the blog -- past the posts with broken links, past the wi-fi-watering hole finder, even past the brown line -- you'll find a radioactive-green screen on which you can watch streaming material from YouTube (with advertising around, natch). I told the Adsense people that I wanted programming that matched the subject matter of the blog; and so far they've obliged with anime and comic-book related programming. It's fun, it's free, and it'll give you something to watch once the TV networks run out of new episodes.

Strike and Strike Again

Today was "take your kid to the picket line" day for the Writers Guild of America strike. I drove by Fox Studios on my way to work in Century City, and saw kidlets hanging out on the picket line with their striking scribe parents. And from my Cousin Lee Goldberg's blog

comes this picture of him and his cute daughter Madison picketing in Studio City.

I recall that in 1988, when we had the last extended writer's strike, TV entertainment options included home video (mainly rented) and cable movies; but was still far more limited than now. Today's couch potato has ready access to thousands of hours of TV series, on DVD, on iTunes, even illegally on YouTube. Will they feel the pinch of a lack of new TV content?

Heroes Reborn

How do you take a bunch of Web comics based on the TV series HEROES that were available on the Internet free, package them in a hardcover book, and get people to pay $29.99 for them?

Easy: Just have Alex Ross paint a cover like this one.

Worked for me.

What Are You Building, Stark?

YouTube - Iron Man

The second teaser trailer for next year's IRON MAN movie is up on the web -- and like the first one (seen in slightly different form at Comic-Con), it looks terrific. This flick better not disappoint me.

technorati tags:Iron, Man, Movie, 2nd, Trailer

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Writer's Strike Wipes Out Wi-Fi Watering Holes' Writerzens

Strike empties L.A. writers' havens - Los Angeles Times

This afternoon, I rode my bike to Synergy in Culver City, and found it deserted. According to this LA Times article, it's not alone. Several wi-fi watering holes favored by writers are feeling the pain of the WGA strike, as writers who normally pound out scenarios while ensconsced with a latte and a muffin are hitting the picket lines or staying home, watching their budgets. Will L.A.'s purveyors of overpriced java survive?

technorati tags:Wi-fi, Watering, Hole, WGA, Strike

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More People I Grew Up With Who Lived Their Dreams

Gregg Gilmore

Greg Gilmore, whom I attended high school with, apparently studied acting; appeared in various movies and TV shows; and last year co-produced videos featuring INXS and Orthodox-Jewish rapper Matisyahu.

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Norman Mailer, R.I.P.

Dead or Alive? - Norman Mailer

Soon after the death of Paul Norris, who drew the two-fisted hero Aquaman, comes the passing of two-fisted author Norman Mailer.

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Paul Norris, R.I.P.

Mark Evanier's blog brings the news of the death today of Paul Norris, who co-created one of DC's most durable (if soggy) heroes, Aquaman. As Evanier points out, Norris was the last living creator of a classic Golden Age DC hero -- the creators of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern are gone.

Paper Heroes

The latest issue of TV Guide features 4 alternate "Heroes" covers, each by a comic book artist. My subscription copy featured art by "Fathom" artist Michael Turner.

Is it my imagination, or did Turner draw the "Heroes" cast as the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" cast?

Japan's 'Gundam' Personal Equipment System Revealed - Anime News Network

Japan's Ministry of Defense recently announced an "advanced personal equipment system," listed in a symposium under the title, "Towards the Realization of Gundam."  Since Mobile Suit Gundam is the most durable giant robot franchise in anime, fans in Japan (and to a degree all over the world) wondered if the land of hi-tech was actually working on a suit of robot armor the size of a skyscraper.

No such luck.  The system just combines a bulletproof vest with a computerized helmet.

"We've been somewhat perplexed by the overwhelming response," deadpanned (I imagine) a spokesperson.  Apparently, one of the researchers nicknamed the system "Gundam," so the Ministry innocently put that into their program.  Uh-huh.

Of course, if one were to actually build a giant land-based war machine, shaping it like a humongous humanoid -- let alone like a huge suit of samurai armor -- would be extraordinarily impractical.  Not only would the resulting monstrosity be unable to stand up without its legs collapsing under the suit's weight, but locomotion on two legs would be insane.  Imagine picking up a hi-rise, swinging it out into space, plunking it down again, and using it as a pivot to swing another one outward.  Imagine doing that over and over.  Now imagine all the stuff getting squashed underfoot.

Best to leave the true Gundams on the battlefield of the imagination.

Japan's 'Gundam' Personal Equipment System Revealed - Anime News Network

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Product Placement: Heroic, Yet Futile

In last Monday's episode of HEROES, a black video iPod was featured prominently in one scene. The dialogue indirectly emphasized its video capacity; and a character even turned the back of the device to the camera, to show the Apple logo on the back.

Product placement? Apparently. A generic video MP3 could be used; or a DVD.

The odd part: Due to acrimony between Apple and NBC/Universal -- which airs HEROES -- earlier this year, NBC announced it would yank its programming off iTunes. That includes HEROES.

So why would the network give Apple millions of dollars worth of advertising in the form of product placement? Two guesses. First, the scene may have been filmed before the Apple/NBC brouhaha. Second, Apple still buys lots and lots of TV advertising time; so staying on the company's good side might still pay dividends.

There's a Kind of Haruhi All over the World

What is it about the comedy/parody/fantasy anime THE MELANCHOLY OF HARUHI SUZIMIYA that inspires so much passion? Here's a Youtube video of fans around the world -- and I mean around the world -- performing the highly-choreographed dance from the closing credits of the anime.

It's Greek to Me

Verbal Medicine

Any time I feel like I'm too smart for my own good, I can head over to my friend Rick Marshall's blog, VERBAL MEDICINE.  Rick posted a review of a volume translating Heraclitus's works, and received a thank-you e-mail from the translator.

Sigh.  Think I'll write some more about Batman and Peanuts.

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Birthday on the Hill

Yesterday was Amy's birthday. At her request, we had dinner out at Yamashiro. Yamashiro is a gorgeous restaurant up in the Hollywood Hills (the ones Bob Seger sings about), just above the Magic Castle and overlooking Tinseltown. It was built near the turn of the last century, and is modeled after a castle in Kyoto. Although Yamashiro predates the glory days of the area, it is inherently and iconically Hollywood.

Won't You Take Me Down to Snoopytown

Although we think of Charles Schulz's Peanuts characters as quintessentially American, they truly belong to the world. The Japanese passion for cuteness -- and for gift-giving -- likely drives the success of Peanuts collectibles in Japan.

While we were in Yokohama in August and September, we visited the Yokohama branch of Snoopytown, a Peanuts tchotchke store chain. (We saw a bigger store in the Harajuku section of Japan, but didn't go in.) Among the items tailor-made for the location were these hand-towels. (Hand-towels are often seen in gift stores there, possibly because many public restrooms don't provide paper towels.) One depicts Yokohoma's Chinatown; the other the downtown Yokohama skyline, complete with the Cosmo World Clock ferris wheel and the Landmark Tower.

The Peanuts images are copyright by United Features Syndicate.

The Spirit of Darkness

Lion's Gate Films has put up a Website promoting the upcoming movie version of Will Eisner's character The Spirit. No content yet; just a link for updates, and a big illustration of ol' Denny Colt by Miller, in that Sin City style that looks as if the rain is slicing him to pieces. I can fairly taste the grit. (Ack! ptui! ptui! Anyone got some water?)

Seeing Walla Walla Clearly

JOURNAL REVOLUTION: seeing clearly

Cousin Linda writes in her blog about visiting Walla Walla this past week for Aunt Dorothy's funeral.  She illustrates her post with some photos of the town that, somehow, look more beautiful than the photographed objects ever did in real life.  Even if you grow up in a place, you never truly see it until you look through an artist's eyes.

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Other perspectives on the pilgrimage to Walla Walla come from Linda's brother Tod, and their uncle Burl Barer

Visual Journaling vs. Scrapbooking

Here's some footage I shot Tuesday night of my cousins Tod, Karen and Linda at their event at Borders Westwood. The complete video of the event (not shot by me) should show up in the near future on Linda and Karen's blog.

Aunt Dorothy's Obituary

NWsource: death notices

This obituary just hints at the full life Aunt Dorothy led.

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Comic Numb3rs

NUMB3RS - a photoset on Flickr


An upcoming episode of the TV mystery series NUMB3RS, titled "Graphic,"  is set at a comics convention.  To add authenticity, the set decorators borrowed art, photos, toys, and entire booths from actual comic convention exhibitors.  Colleen Doran's booth, posters and art will be there -- but Colleen won't; she couldn't make the trip out to LA for filming.

Wil Wheaton (who played Wesley Crusher on STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION about a generation ago) will play a comics creator on the episode.  The above link is to photos he took on the set -- including of a table covered with autographed STTNG photos.  And yes, one of the photos depicts Wheaton in his Wesley Crusher role.

My cousin Lee Goldberg's next MONK tie-in novel, MR. MONK IN OUTER SPACE, depicts Monk at a science fiction convention.  If the book is ever filmed as an episode, maybe they can buy some stock footage from this NUMB3RS episode.  (Then again, so many SF folks are also Monk fans that they could probably get loans of materials just like the NUMB3RS producers.)

Thanks to Ms. Doran for the info.

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King of the Wild Coastline

I snapped these, using my phone camera, from the Plaza Del Sol of the Fess Parker Doubletree Resort (which used to be the Fess Parker Red Lion Hotel) in Santa Barbara, where I'm staying for a client conference. I took the train up, which gave me a look at some of the ugliest parts of LA before I finally hit coastline in Ventura County. Some may recall Mr. Parker as the actor who portrayed both Davy Crockett and (later) Daniel Boone on TV.

Harpo Speaks

news from me - ARCHIVES

In his blog, Mark Evanier writes about the various attempts to produce an animated TV series about the Marx Brothers.  As with many of Groucho's routines, the punchline is worth the price of admission.  (How the line got in the punch, I'll never know .)

technorati tags:Marx, Brothers, Evanier, cartoon

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The Mean Streets of Akihibara

Twins Sent to Jail for Extorting from Akihabara Otaku - Anime News Network

You may remember the episode of Friends in which Phoebe confesses that when she was young, she used to target "comics shop nerds" for mugging -- and that she had mugged a pretreen Ross.

Apparently this team of twins didn't mug anime fans on the streets of Akihibara -- they didn't have to.  Instead, they exploited both the rigid etiquette rules of Japan and the fear of real-life females that these fans likely hold; and extorted money from the fans as an "apology" for bumping into the female twin.

Fortunately, the long arm of the law punished them for their rampant otaku exploitation.

technorati tags:Akihibara, extortion

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Dad adds to the Tributes to Aunt Dorothy

A Barer

My father, Dorothy Barer's nephew, supplies some choice memories of Aunt Dorothy on his blog.

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Farewell, Aunt Dorothy

This evening, I attended my cousins Linda and Karen's book signing/interview at Borders Westwood; and learned the sad news that their grandmother -- my Aunt Dorothy -- passed away this morning at the age of 95.  Linda, Karen, their brothers Tod and Lee, their mother Jan, and their families were all there to celebrate the sisters' latest accomplishment -- and the life of their grandmother.  The photo is from Linda and Karen's blog.  Follow the link for their tribute to their Nana.

JOURNAL REVOLUTION: oh no, Nana died!

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Celebrating the 10th

Our 10th wedding anniversary was back on August 16. But we were so busy in August & September that we ended up throwing our celebration on October 21. That afternoon, we threw a brunch at Kay & Dave's Cantina in West LA. We had about 22 people show up, including friends and family. Several margaritas, tacos and burritos ensued, in addition to a bread pudding and a pumpkin flan (served in a pumpkin!)

Plus, a few days earlier, our favorite comic book store (the one in which we first met), Comics Ink, threw us an impromptu champagne-and-fruit celebration. The event turned into a "This Is Your Life" overview of my Southern California comics store experience -- lots of people from the store's past showed up, including Mondo, my boss when I worked at the Westwood Graphitti store in the mid '80's.

Another Harry Potter Mystery Revealed

J.K.Rowling Official Site - Harry Potter and more

Rowling's official site apparently has nothing (yet) about her outing of Dumbledore.  But it does answer one question left unanswered at the end of HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS.   Go to the site, click on "Wizard of the Month," and then click on the "dark mark" (green skull with a snake in its mouth) to reveal this "spoiler."

technorati tags:Harry, Potter, Mystery, Revealed

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I shot these clips on the first evening of our Japan trip (August 29, 2007) on the "Airport Limousine" bus that was transporting us from the Narita Airport to Yokohama.

The music is "Beautiful World," written and sung by Utada Hikaru. This song is from the Evangelion movie that premiered in theaters while we were in Japan.

I'll be posting more videos and other images from Japan in the near future.

If You Thought the Religious Right Had Problems with the Harry Potter Books Before . . . .

MuggleNet | The ULTIMATE Harry Potter Site - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, JK Rowling, rumors, news, forums, images, video, and more!

According to Mugglenet.com, in a New York appearance this evening, J.K. Rowling revealed a hitherto unknown fact about her character Dumbledore that will likely raise a few eyebrows.

technorati tags:Dumbledore, New, York, Revelation

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2007 Hugos: Ultra-Skit

I shot this from the audience of the Hugo Awards in Yokohama. The Japanese fans sure know how to put on an opening skit.

Other Voices from the Borders

This afternoon I road my bike up Westwood Boulevard to the Borders bookstore on the outskirts of Westwood Village (if South of Wilshire counts as the outskirts). Cousin Tod and other writers published by Other Voices press read excerpts from their works. All of the excerpts featured unfortunate characters doing and saying inappropriate things. Fun stuff.

Me on the iPod Again

Donald Burr has posted another edition of his "Otaku no Podcast. This one has me as part of a telephone panel discussion. Downloadable to your computer, iPod, iRiver, Zune, or tin-can-and-string.

What the Well-Dressed Dictator is Wearing This Fall

Castro calls Chavez during live broadcast - CNN.com

Castro is unfortunately ignoring the time-honored rule:  No red, white and blue track suits after Labor Day.

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"Perfecting" Ann Coulter

I'm a bit hesitant to comment on Ann Coulter. My general policy is not to comment on writing I haven't read, and I don't read Coulter's writing -- as I generally limit the poison I take in my literary diet.

But I've read enough articles to know that she specializes in outrageous comments that seem designed to offend and call attention to her and her writing -- like a pet who signals her annoyance by piddling on the carpet.

According to the LA Times:
"The latest furor erupted over an exchange Coulter had Monday with CNBC host Donny Deutsch on his show, 'The Big Idea,' during which she said the country would be better off if everyone were Christian. When Deutsch -- who is Jewish -- asked if she wanted to get rid of Judaism, Coulter responded, 'We just want Jews to be perfected.'"

This comment about my people makes me wonder several things. First, whether this will be the comment that finally turns people off from her sideshow, and allows her to fade into obscurity. Second, how many ignorant bigots will cheer her for it. And finally, how my late Uncle Dave would have responded to her comments, based on my father's blog post about Uncle Dave's pointed riposte to a customer who uttered similar remarks.

Farewell, Miss Moneypenny

I'm posting this from a Wi-Fi Watering Hole (The Funnel Mill) because the Time-Warner techs came to our house Thursday, switched over our digital phone system from the Comcast system to TW, and knocked out our cable Internet modem. We are cut off from the Information Superhighway until they send out more techs next Thursday. Curse Time-Warner Cable. May a syphilitic camel drop dead in their couscous.

Anyway, I was saddened last week to read of the death of Lois Maxwell, the original (and best) Miss Moneypenny from the James Bond movies. Moneypenny was an indispensible part of the Bond formula -- indeed, she shows up early in the first JB novel, CASINO ROYALE.

Ironically, on the day she died I watched the first part of the beautifully restored DR. NO released on DVD last year. You can see in the movie how crucial her few minutes in each Bond film were to the story. The movie opens with two macabre murders. We switch to the MI-6 radio receivers' room; then to the club where we first see Bond. In his first scene, Bond, as played by Sean Connery, is elegant, but as cold as ice. Only when he pops into M's antechamber and banters with Moneypenny do we see a hint of humanity in him. Granted, he shamelessly sexually harasses Moneypenny, but those scenes are just as valuable as the ones in M's office, where we see that M is the only man who can make even James Bond feel like a schoolboy caught in a shameful prank.

As M finally said in ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE, "What would I ever do without you, Moneypenny?"