Monthly Archives: October 2006

On the next Daily Show With Jon Stewart: A clip of George W. Bush on This Morning With George Stephanopoulos saying, as he did, "We've never been stay the course," followed by — I'm guessing — at least eight clips from the archives of Bush saying "stay the course" over the last year or two. I have no inside info that The Daily Show is planning such a spot but some things are pretty obvious.

Mr. Stewart has said in several venues that one of his major objections to Bush is that our Chief Exec talks to the American people like he thinks he's talking to the feeble-minded. Here's a pretty good example.

We haven't heard much lately from the striking writers on the TV series, America's Next Top Model. So let's hear a little something from Lewis Black…

I wrote the other day here about what I thought was wrong with the new NBC game show, 1 Vs. 100. It turns out that Jeopardy! mega-champ Ken Jennings, who was a part of the first few episode of 1 Vs. 100, thought some of the same things were wrong, as well. Here he is on his weblog telling of the experience. Sad to see that the taping sessions are the same Bataan Death March that the same producers put the audience through on Deal or No Deal.

On October 23, the folks behind Deal or No Deal are taping what is apparently the pilot for a daytime version of that show. Rumor has it that the rules will be a little different and that Howie Mandel will be supplanted by Arsenio Hall. A further rumor is that this is not a syndicated effort but rather, that it represents a desire by the NBC network to get back into the business of daytime game shows.

Once upon a time, there were a lot of them but they all went away…all except for The Price is Right. (Every year or three, I try watching The Price is Right, which I enjoyed once upon a time. I now have trouble remembering why. I guess Bob Barker was always that smitten with himself but he didn't used to be so insufferable about it.) All the quizzes and games with the buzzers and lights and cases of Turtle Wax were replaced by things like The View, which is a great show if you want to see a bunch of people who don't seem to like each other very much all try to talk at the same time.

I wouldn't mind seeing daytime game shows make a comeback but it strikes me that more Deal or No Deal is a colossal mistake. First off, the prime-time version is already reaching the saturation level. By its very nature, the show gets repetitive — same set, same sound effects, same twenty-six cases…and the contestants keep coming to pretty much the same decisions, time and again. The show is really only interesting when a really huge cash award is in the balance, and I'm assuming those will be fewer in number on a daytime budget. Will a daytime Deal even be able to afford the twenty-six lovely models to wield the cases?

So not only may a daylight incarnation of the show not work, it may hasten the demise of the nighttime version. Sounds to me like the producers are taking a big gamble. If I were them, I'd grab the next offer from the Banker and get out.

Above is a photo from last night and you can ignore the guy in the middle. That's only me, surrounded by two of the world's greatest cartoonists, both members of The Usual Gang of Idiots, as people who work for MAD Magazine are often called. Jack Davis, at left, was a Charter Member of The Usual Gang, having drawn the first story in the first issue of MAD in 1952. It was nowhere near his first job in comics but it was probably the turning point…the moment the world discovered what a brilliant and funny illustrator he was. A decade or so later, the Jack Davis style would be everywhere — movie posters, magazine covers, advertising, etc. Often, that meant that some Art Director had demonstrated the wisdom to hire Jack Davis but not always. The colorful and funny "look and feel" of a Davis cartoon was often simulated by others…and why not? When you saw it on a movie poster, for example, it instantly made you think that the film would be colorful and funny.

Much of that also applies to the gentleman on the right in the picture, Sergio Aragonés, except that Sergio made his MAD debut much more recently…1962, as I recall. Though Jack left MAD some time ago, Sergio is still in every issue. (Jack claims to be "semi-retired." From all evidence, this means he only draws about as much as your normal fully-employed cartoonist.)

Last night, both men were honored at the annual banquet of the Comic Art Professionals Society, a Los Angeles-based group founded 29 years ago by the late Don Rico and everyone in the above photo except for Mr. Davis. Jack and Sergio received the first two statuettes of a new bestowal called — wait for it — The Sergio. Funny story of why it's called that. Not long ago, the current CAPS board decided to present an annual award that would honor some great cartoonist's lifetime achievements. Sergio was asked to do an appropriate design sketch, and he did. It featured a generic cartoonist. This sketch was then turned over to master sculptor Ruben Procopio to turn into a statue, which he did. Along the way, it was decided to make two adjustments without Sergio's knowledge. One was to make the generic cartoonist look like Sergio. The other was to call the award The Sergio.

And actually, a third decision was made by the CAPS Board without Sergio knowing of it at the time. They decided that at the dinner to present the first one to Jack Davis, they'd also surprise Sergio and hand him the second.

That's right. Sergio Aragonés has now won so many cartooning awards that in order to receive any more of them, he has to design them himself. Here's a photo of him getting his last night. The gent at left is Ruben Procopio and to the right of him is Chad Frye, the current president of CAPS.

You can also see Jack Davis in this picture…and take a look at the expression of delight on his face. One of the outstanding memories that everyone at the event carried home is the overwhelming affection and admiration that Sergio and Jack displayed for one another. (A third great MAD artist also displayed plenty for both and the feeling was mutual. Paul Coker Jr flew in to be with his colleagues.)

The room was packed with great cartoonists and I'm only going to list ten selected at random: Dan Spiegle, Kyle Baker, Bill Morrison (who was among the hosts), Bobby London, Tim Burgard, Paul Power, Gordon Kent, Scott Shaw!, Floyd Norman and Phil Ortiz. Nice to see Tom Hatten there…and actor Daniel Roebuck, who also hosted some of the festivities. And Earl Kress and June Foray and Steve Wyatt and when will I learn not to do these lists because I always wind up leaving someone important out? Oh, yes — the lovely Carolyn Kelly was present and there's someone very important, and not just because she accompanies me around.

There was a buffet but the real feast was all the Jack Davis artwork on display, most of it from the private collections of various CAPS members. The room was ringed with originals and you couldn't help but look at them and realize what an amazing, jaw-dropping cartoonist this man is. That Sergio guy's pretty good too, but the main thrust of the evening was all about Jack. All around him, you could see his peers wondering two things. One was how he manages to draw that well. And the other was how he can draw that well, have so many admirers and still be that humble and charming about it. Must be a trick of some kind. Nobody's that wonderful.

But before I go to bed I just wanted to say the following. I watched tonight's episode of Real Time With Bill Maher (last night's episode, actually) and Barney Frank is still the smartest guy in Washington. Not that the competition is all that fierce lately.

Good night, Internet. I'll see you in the morning.

I'm linking to this political ad but not because I have an opinion about the race in question. My topic here is the nature of this commercial and how I honestly don't know how I feel about it. What you'll see in it — and it may make you a bit uncomfy — is Michael J. Fox making a pitch for Claire McCaskill, who's seeking to unseat Republican Senator Jim Talent in Missouri. Fox, who has Parkinson's Disease, is asking us to vote for McCaskill because Talent is a strong opponent of Stem Cell Research.

Now, I happen to be on the same side as Mr. Fox on this issue. Even if, as some claim, it's a longshot to yield useful cures, I'm in favor of exploring that frontier and I think the government ought to fund it. I also have nothing but good and sympathetic thoughts about Michael J. Fox. I don't know the man — never met him — but I've always liked him on screen and people I know who've worked with him are unanimous in saying he's one of the most gracious and professional actors in Hollywood. When it came out that he had Parkinson's, more than a few co-workers remarked, with great sympathy and compassion, that it literally couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

I'm behind the cause and I think, of course, that Michael J. Fox has every right to make such a commercial. In a way, I even admire him for it. So what's the problem here?

Darned if I know. I've watched it three times and each time, something inside me says, "This is not right." But I can't really explain what I object to, other than it reminds me a bit of tasteless charity pitches that roll out crippled children and imply that without your nickels, Little Katie will die within the week. This isn't that, though. This is an adult who isn't being exploited the way I think those kids sometimes are, and who has some knowledge, strong opinions and a personal interest relating to this particular subject. I'm also pretty sure that what bothers me is not just that it's so sad to see Michael J. Fox in the condition he's in.

Perhaps it's that I've become so distrustful of emotional appeals in political ads that it's jarring to see one that appeals to one's sense of compassion and humanity. It's very powerful to hear Fox say what he says and a little disconcerting to view a political ad that you can't instantly write off as partisan propaganda and forget.

Anyway, my reaction is somewhat along those lines but still muddy. See if it has a clearer impact on you.

This article says — based on pretty remote sourcing, it would seem — that ABC may try to sign Jay Leno to host an 11:35 late night program after he leaves The Tonight Show. Well, yes, they may. If Jay doesn't sign a new deal of some sort with NBC, he's going to become a free agent with a phenomenal track record in late night…and I imagine he'll get juicy offers from a lot of folks who'd like to compete in that daypart. As news items go, I'd be more impressed if there was something in there about an actual offer or some reason to believe Leno would be interested. But the first goes without saying and I doubt the latter.

Recently, the British medical journal Lancet issued a study that said that 655,000 Iraqis have died as a result of the U.S. "liberation" efforts. The reaction to that figure has been all too predictable: Those who are against the war are sure the study is correct. Those who aren't insist it's a pack of lies. I've read a few articles on both sides and I'm unconvinced that any of their authors even looked at the study, except maybe as necessary to glean data they could use in making their cases. This is how it works in Partisan America: No new revelations are valid except those that support what you already believed.

This article by Fred Kaplan is the first one I've read that breaks that trend. Kaplan is against the war but he believes the study is flawed. On the other hand, as he notes, even if the true number is a third or a fifth of the estimate, it's still a shocking number of dead human beings.

Mitchell Anthony has a very popular series of podcast interviews called "Creating Success." In each, he chats with someone about their career…and I guess the idea is that these are successful people and we can all learn from them. In fact, I'm sure that's the premise here. I was just confused for a second because he sometimes talks to me. But then I remembered that our latest chat is about the late, great Jack Kirby. You can listen to it below…

I've long been a big fan of singer-impressionist Fred Travalena. Here's a short video — less than two minutes — of him doing just about the toughest thing a mimic can do: Do someone right in front of them. As you'll see, he rose to the challenge…

Tomorrow, many of you who get your Internet through Comcast will suddenly and against your will find yourselves customers of Time-Warner Cable. For some of you, this means that your most precious form of identity — your e-mail address — will be changing. And if you live where I live, it'll be déjà vu all over again because your address will change back to what it used to be a few years ago before evildoers changed it. My first Internet connection (a Paleolithic Era dial-up) gave me an e-mail @netcom.ix.something. Then I had an aol.com address and one with r.r.com, which was Road Runner, and then it was something else and then it was comcast.net and I'm sure I'm leaving out a couple but anyway, now it's back to Road Runner, which is the brand name of Time-Warner and…

Enough already. Let me tell you what to do.

Stop sending out "change of e-mail address notices" like so many of my friends are doing this week. Get yourself a permanent e-mail address…one that will never change, one that will follow you for the rest of your life. There are two ways to do this.

One way — the best way, the way I did it — is to get a domain. I own evanier.com and povonline.com and newsfromme.com and a few others. As long as I maintain ownership of the domain, an e-mail address there can only be changed by me.

So how it works is that let's say I'm stuck with Muckenfuss Cable for broadband in my area and they give me an e-mail address of mark3569@muckenfuss.com. I connect to the Internet through them and I get my e-mail by logging into that account…but I don't give that address out to anyone. That address can be changed on me without my consent. What I do instead is to give out my permanent address — the one at my domain — and then I set the address at my domain to forward to the address at muckenfuss.com. This is pretty easy to do.

Next year, Muckenfuss Cable may be bought by Shmidlap Communications and they may change my e-mail address to mark9936@shmidlap.net. No big deal. It'll take about thirty seconds for me to change the forwarding information for my permanent address and have it go to the new address, instead. Half a minute's work and I'm current. I don't have to send out change notices to all my friends and worry about e-mail being sent to the old address when it becomes inactive and not getting to me. I can even change Internet Service Providers voluntarily. I don't lose the e-mail address via which all my friends contact me if I leave Muckenfuss and get my Internet some other way.

If you don't have a domain or don't want one, there's another method. Get an account with a service such as gmail.com and set that account to forward to your current I.S.P. e-mail address. This is so easy to set up that a child of three could do it…and you should be able to find a child of three. Then you give the gmail address out to everyone. It may not last forever but it'll probably come close.

But this whole thing of your e-mail address changing when one company buys another is ridiculous…and there'll be probably be a lot of it before, as is inevitable, Time-Warner owns every inch of the Internet. Protect yourself from this. Get a permanent address.

Nice profile of "Weird" Al Yankovic. Hard to believe it's been twenty-seven years since I first heard his parody of The Knack's "My Sharona" on the Dr. Demento radio festival. Al's was "My Bologna" and it was very funny. The guy's had a darn good career since then.

This column by Jonah Goldberg is interesting for a couple of reasons. One is that he's a leading Conservative pundit who's been solidly behind the War in Iraq, almost to the point of touting the doctrine of Bush-Cheney infallibility in the War on Terror…and here he is, now saying thay the whole thing was a mistake. Another is that he's (understandably) trying to spin this to do the least possible damage to his side. So his argument kind of comes down to, "We were wrong but we can't let the folks who were right get away with looking like they were right."

Ergo, his section on what to do with Iraq seems to amount to something on the order of, "We shouldn't be there but I don't want to side with those who say we should leave because they're my political opponents and we can't have them be right. So let's have the Iraqis vote on whether or not we should leave and make that our reason." That, I suppose, would be better than departing because John Murtha and John Kerry and other prominent Democrats (and even, lately, some Republicans) said we should. For one thing, it would make all those insults of the character and patriotism of those who want to "cut and run" seem rather hollow.

I think the idea of having the Iraqis vote us off the island, as it were, sounds silly…but hey, if it gets us out, I'm all for it. We'd just better hope they do vote for us to leave since folks like Goldberg seem to have no idea what we should do to make things better if we stay. Maybe part of the plan is that we'll send Diebold machines over for the balloting, thereby ensuring that it comes out the way Bush wants.

Senator Kerry famously asked his question about being the last man to die for the mistakes of Vietnam. I think we're going to get very tired of hearing new permutations of that quote. But it's still a good question.

Back to work on the script…