Animated Writers and Deceased Bears

The LA Times today has a fun article about literati Tom Wolfe, Michael Chabon and Johnathan Franzen lending their voices to "The Simpsons" -- which, sniffs Wolfe, "is the only show of any sort that I watch on television[.]" Incidently, Chabon has been the toast of Comic-Con International: San Diego for the last few years as a high-profile comics fan, based on his novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (which I loved), his script for Spider-Man 2, and his various comic book projects since.

Meanwhile, in sadder news, cartoonist and children's author Stan Berenstain has passed away. He and his wife Jan were best known for their "Berenstain Bears" books. A pity. The world can always use more cartoon bears.

Ani-Money

The December 12, 2005 issue of Fortune Magazine has an interesting article about the business side of translating anime and manga -- though it's largely a puff piece about one company, Texas's ADV.

Another Scrabble Game

Smudge pores over the Scrabble board, contemplating his next move.

Loscon Highlights

On Friday through Sunday, Amy and I attended Loscon, a long-running science fiction convention held near LAX. Some highlights:

-- A photo with me, Allison, Janine Young, Doselle Young, Alan Williams, Tanya Williams, and Kory.

-- A scrabble game Saturday night between me, Amy, and fellow attendees Donny and Jon.

Something to Be Thankful For: Smudge is a Good Kitty

I didn't grow up with cats. My mom was allergic to felines. We did have a dog for a couple of years in the early '70's, until he got too big for the back yard. (I was told he was taken out to a farm to live. Dad recently informed me that he actually was taken out to a farm to live.)

In 1994, when I began dating Amy, I first made the acquaintance of Amy's (or Amy's mom's) cat, Smudge. Smudge lived with Amy and her mom onthe Palos Verdes Peninsula. On one of my trips there, I was sitting outside when Smudge marched up to me, decided I was okay, and sat in my lap -- which is generally a way to get on my good side.

In 1997, when Amy and I got married and we bought our house, Amy brought Smudge and his brother, Goldie, to the house. Initially, Amy was thinking of giving away Smudge, since he had a habit of fighting with other cats; but I warmed to the kitty and asked that we keep him.

Living with Goldie, Smudge, and the other cats who took up residence at our house, I was exposed to the varied personalities of cats, which I previously believed was mere hyperbole promulgated by cat afficionados. Smudge started out rather pugnacious, but has mellowed as time went on. When Goldie passed away last year, Smudge became measurably more affectionate toward people. He used to hide under the bed when guests came over; now he's quite willing to venture out and be stroked by complete strangers. Recently, he's developed the habit of walking over to us and tugging on our pantslegs when he wants to be picked up, stroked, or just paid attention.

Smudge has had some health scares. He takes regular medication; lost a lot of weight a few years ago as he became more finicky about his food; and was on a periodic IV of ringers solution for a while. Nevertheless, he has made it to the advanced age of 19 years old.

Unfortunately, Smudge's long life will probably soon end. In September, he was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor in his head. We are therefore just making Smudge as happy and comfortable as we can during his last months of life. And indeed, he still purrs readily when stroked (or even just when he's sitting with Amy and me). He still leaps up onto the bed, when he's able -- sometimes he needs a boost. And he's still a good kitty.

Something For Which I'm Not Thankful

We've received notice that next year our area code (310) is going to have an overlay. That means that new phone numbers in our area will be assigned a different area code. It also means that we will have to dial the area codes for all numbers we call -- including calls in our area code. If I want to call down the street, I'll have to dial the area code. We'll also have to reprogram all of our programmed numbers for our cell phones, etc. The price of progress.

Lifesaving Disclaimers

Last night, I took a class in Infant/child CPR at the neighborhood Red Cross. My previous CPR class was back in 1979. A few things have changed: the instructer started out the class by telling us about the Good Samaritan law in California and other states; and the instructions for life-saving included always asking the victim (or if the victim's a child, the parent or guardian) for consent before heimliching or rescue-breathing them. Liability before lifesaving . . . .

More Ink about Graphic Novels

Today's LA Times Book Review features a review of Harvey Pekar's new graphic novel "The Quitter", and of an omnibus reprint of the late Will Eisner's graphic novels "A Contract with God" (1970's), "A Life Force" (1980's), and "Dropsie Avenue" (1990's). This follows up the Times' Weekend Section cover story on comics, printed on Thursday. Fortunately, none of this strays into "Zap! Pow! Comics for Adults!" territory.

Big(ger) in Japan

When I started receiving the new, large-format TV Guide in the mail, I thought it looked familiar. So I compared it to the issue of TV Guide I picked up in Tokyo last year when we were touring Japan. The Japanese TV Guide is larger, and the layout isn't identical (after all, the Japanese edition is based on the right-to-left and top-to-bottom flows of Japanese writing), but I wonder whether the Japanese edition was a major influence on the American re-design.

Goblet of Fire Party

Okay, so this is how it happened. We got an e-mail from the downtown Santa Monica Harry Potter tchotchke store, Whimsic Alley: The store was throwing a party for the release of the latest HP movie. The party would begin at eight, and for a fairly low sum per person, you got a catered party, a bag of party favors, a ride in a rented double-decker bus to the Third Street Promenade, and tickets to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire at the Mann Criterion. Sounds like a good deal. One catch: costumes are mandatory.

Now, I'm really not the type who attends movie premieres (or even walks around conventions) in costumes. Really. But just for costume parties, I have in my closet a Regency-style coat and puffy shirt (straight out of Seinfeld) that I figure will suffice. After all, it'll just be a few folks who want to be up until after 3 am on a work night.

Little did I know that Stan, the owner of Whimsic Alley, put out a press release; and the press has come. There's CNN, and news photogs; and wonder of wonders, they want to take pictures of me and Amy, and interview me. I suppose I could have said no; but I was caught up in the moment.

So if the footage of me gets broadcast, and I become a laughing stock, I suppose I've only myself to blame.

Big props to Whimsic Alley for putting together a magical night. Photos below.

The Goblet of Fire party at Whimsic Alley. 

Slugging down Pumpkin Ale. 

More magical folks chow down at Whimsic Alley. 

A dead ringer for Harry. He says that when he's in the costume, kids ask him for autographs.

The double-decker bus that drove us over to the theatre (about a two-mile trip). 

Amy and me atop the double-decker bus, as downtown Santa Monica rushes by behind us. 

Folks posing at the theatre.

The host for the evening, Stan. 

Us, at the theatre. 

Stan makes sure everyone is having an enchanting evening.