Monthly Archives: March 2009

I've set my TiVo to record Will Ferrell's show tonight. It's a live telecast of the play he's been doing on Broadway, You're Welcome, America: A Final Night with George W. Bush. I've heard nothing but good things about it and since it was a limited run — closing tomorrow, I think — this is the one chance most of us will have to experience it.

I'll watch but I can't say I'm looking forward to it. Though I think Bush was a terrible and destructive prez, I haven't found lampoons of his personal style and bad speaking manner particularly funny. They more often evoke shock in me — our country (sort of) put this man in the White House, for Pete's sake — than laughter. There are times I even feel sorry for the guy being ridiculed like that. I know this is a contradiction and I'm not sure I can explain it…but I think the man is more deserving of criminal prosecution than of being depicted as Goober Pyle.

We warned you four-day passes for this year's Comic-Con International would soon be gone. They're gone.

Those who wish to attend multiple days will now begin scarfing up all the one-day passes. Watch 'em disappear, especially for Saturday. This thing is going to sell out faster than a newly-elected member of Congress.

In the meantime: The convention's hotel reservation service opens up at 9 AM PDT on Thursday, March 19. If past years are any indication, there will be a rush and many will not get what they seek, at least immediately. More rooms may become available later. A lot of folks have been there 'n' done that in years past so they've already booked accommodations via other sources.

Yes, I know it's a pain. If only they'd make the convention less interesting and less exciting, it might be easier to attend. (Actually, the hotel situation should get better next year as there'll be a lot more rooms available…or so I'm told. As for the admission limits, the convention center is expanding over the next few years so more bodies will be able to fit inside…though I'll bet the con still sells out by April 1, no matter how big the place is.)

Please do not write me and ask if I can get you into the con and/or help you secure a hotel reservation. I'm a Guest of Honor, not the Wizard of Friggin' Oz.

Here's one tip. The Amtrak Pacific Surfliner goes down the coast of California. For some reason, all the maps at the Amtrak site make it look like it travels on the water but trust me, I've ridden it. It's a very nice train and it runs on dry land. Anyway, the end o' the line is in San Diego at the station located at 1050 Kettner Boulevard. This is (I just Mapquested) .68 miles from the Convention Center. You could easily hike it or, being wiser, take one of those teenager-powered pedal-cabs and save your feet for all the walking you'll do once you get inside the con.

If you live anywhere near the Surfliner's other stops, it's not insane to consider coming to the con for one day. Come early, go home on a late train. It's a very pleasant ride and you don't have the hassle and expense of a hotel in San Diego.

Or if you want to attend more than one day, see if you can't book a motel in one of the cities in which the Surfliner pauses as it surfs…say, San Clemente or Solano Beach. Last year, some friends got this idea from me and they said it didn't take that much longer to commute to the con from San Clemente via train than it would have to get there from the only hotels they could have booked in S.D. by the time they started trying. It's an idea to consider but remember: Amtrak trains sell out, too.

Have I mentioned I'm going to Calgary? April 25 and 26, I'm a guest at the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo in that fine (I assume) city, and my partner Sergio Aragonés is also tagging along. If you don't like either of us, there will be plenty of other interesting guests in attendance. More details as they become available.

The Disney folks have launched D23, a site that will be of interest to the serious Disney fan, so full is it of historical articles and goodies. You need to $ub$cribe to enjoy all that it has to offer but there are some freebees for those who don't. One is that each day, they feature one early installment of the Mickey Mouse newspaper strip, the Donald Duck newspaper strip and the Scamp newspaper strip, starting from Day One of each. They're on this page…and I think you have to go there each day to see them because there doesn't seem to be an archive feature, at least for non-subscribers.

What do Bozo the Clown and The Beatles have in common? I mean, besides the obvious raw sex appeal. Answer: Alan W. Livingston. Mr. Livingston, who was the former president of Capitol Records, passed away today at the age of 91. He started at the company in 1946 writing kids' records, back when Capitol did the best anyone has ever done…with full orchestras (sometimes led by Billy May) and superstar voice casts. On one of the first ones he wrote, he created the character of Bozo the Clown, who became the star of best-selling albums and a kind of Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval on the entire Capitol line.

As Mr. Livingston worked his way up to the presidency of the company, he did a lot of different things. He signed Frank Sinatra at a low point in his career and steered a major comeback. He signed a new comedian named Stan Freberg. He was involved in the launch of a new TV show called Bonanza. And, oh yeah…he signed The Beatles. Can't do much better than that.

That's only some of what this man did (more but not all is listed in this obit) but it's more than enough to warrant a salute and our thanks for stacks and stacks of memorable wax.

I'm not going to embed Jon Stewart's interview last night with Jim Cramer. From the lethargic way it's loading right now, it's obvious the Daily Show website is being inundated with hits. They've posted the unedited interview in three parts and if I embed all three parts here, this page will load at about the speed of Heinz Ketchup mixed with black strap molasses. So you'll have to go to that site and find it yourself to watch.

Note that they've posted the interview in two versions, each carved into thirds. One is the edited version as aired last night. The other is unedited and uncensored. The latter is probably what you want.

(P.S. Talking Points Memo has embedded the whole thing. It'll save you some time to watch it there.)

Every two years, folks in Great Britain celebrate Red Nose Day. What, I hear you cry, is Red Nose Day? Good question. It's a day when folks do something silly to raise money which goes to Comic Relief, a most worthwhile charity that helps the impoverished.

My pal Ken Plume and his pal Widgett Walls have decided this is such a great idea that they're stealing borrowing it and bringing it to America…and guess what. It's today! And lemme tell you about the silly thing they're doing. They're doing a 24 hour live webcast starting at Noon (East Coast Time), which is 9 AM out here where I am. There will be phone-in guests (including me at some point) and music and puppets and silly stories…all to encourage you to donate to Comic Relief.

Wanna know more about it? Wanna watch these silly guys in action? You'll want to go to their website and follow them on this Twitter page.

Tune in. It's gonna be silly.

You know, I don't really care what happens with Sarah Palin's daughter and her boy friend and whether they get married or not. It's none of our business.

But I can't help but think: If someone on the Democratic ticket last year had an unwed mother for a daughter, the whole G.O.P. campaign would have been about that; about how if your kid gets pregnant like that, you're an unfit parent and you should be ashamed of yourself for thinking you can run the country when you can't even run your own family.

I just rewatched tonight's Daily Show on which Jon Stewart…well, I started to type that he "spanked" Jim Cramer but that's not quite accurate. What he did was to give the financial news industry a civil and well-deserved scolding…and Cramer wound up agreeing with most of it.

It reminded me what I like so much about Stewart's interviews. I can't think of another person who just talks with his guests on such a one-on-one basis. I don't always agree with the guy but he seems sincere and thoughtful…and also uninterested in grandstanding. He talks to people — not at them, not down to them — and doesn't let his guests get away with pre-planned rote answers. Who else has ever had the kind of discussion that he had tonight with Jim Cramer?

A couple of e-mailers who watched the show told me they thought Cramer's career was over; that he'd committed professional suicide by grovelling before Stewart instead of getting into a slapfight with him. I think that's wrong. Cramer's not dumb enough to think that the old "act" is still viable and therefore worth defending. He and his peers have shilled too long for the CEOs and the lower-grade Bernie Madoffs. The jig on that is up and he oughta be glad that Jon Stewart has given him the chance to do a public mea culpa, pledge to reform and try to grab onto the new dynamic. I got the feeling the whole field of financial news reporting changed a little tonight…and for the better.

Some websites are reporting that the Stewart-Cramer interview had to be trimmed for time and that the full version, which is eight minutes longer, will be available on the web tomorrow. I'll embed it here when it is.

Bernie Madoff's confession.

Just watched The Daily Show — the face-off between Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer. Watch it. Then watch it again. Stewart tells Cramer why his network is inept and does it so well that Cramer has no choice but to agree.