Wow. A guy who phoned in to CSpan this morning identified himself as part of a "teabag group" in Waycross (Waycross, Georgia, I guess) and was almost in tears as he asked a question of Senator John Barrasso. The caller had been praying for Senator Robert Byrd to die or be otherwise unable to show up for the Health Care vote. He was concerned that since Byrd had shown up but Senator James Inhofe hadn't, perhaps the prayers got misdirected and took out one of their boys, instead.
Can we count the number of ways this is wrong? I don't believe prayers ever affect this kind of thing either way but this guy obviously does. What kind of sick puppy would you have to be to want to use that "power" to cause the death of another human being? Especially another human being who was on his way to vote to expand health insurance — and to therefore probably save an awful lot of lives?
Let's give the guy the benefit of way more doubt than he deserves and assume he wasn't just worried that the bill would raise his taxes. Let's say he honestly thought this bill would cost lives…which I think is a big lie but let's say the man bought into it. Wouldn't then the appropriate prayer be for all Democrats (not just Robert Byrd) to come to their senses and change their votes? That wouldn't change the outcome either, but at least you wouldn't be turning God into an assassin.
And of course, there's the whole inane assumption here that you pray for the death of Person A and since God is so confused and has such lousy aim, he kills Person B, instead. So he's not only an assassin, he's a stupid, inept one, at that.
But the worst part of the whole thing is that Senator Barrasso just sat there and told the caller that Senator Inhofe was probably fine and that his vote wasn't needed today. He did not say, "You should be ashamed of yourself for praying for the death of another human being!" As any decent person would.
This is kinda neat for the holiday season. Back in the forties and fifties, there was a comic book called Walt Disney's Comics and Stories that was, by far, the best-selling comic in the country. When Superman was selling a million copies of each issue, eight times a year, Walt Disney's Comics and Stories was selling between two and three million per month.
About half of that came through newsstand sales…and the high total was in part because there were newsstands that didn't carry a full display of comic books but made room for one. That one was Walt Disney's Comics and Stories. The rest of the sales came through an aggressive subscription push that included marketing via other Disney products (for a time, if you bought a Mickey Mouse watch, a subscription ad came in the box) and through more conventional, non-comic magazine subscription services. There was even a campaign that enabled you to buy a subscription to Walt Disney's Comics and Stories through your elementary school.
Subscriptions to the comic became a much-given Christmas gift…probably most coming from Grandparents. This website has dug up two of the letters that arrived in the mail to tell you you'd been gifted with a subscription to Walt Disney's Comics and Stories. These letters probably had a higher print run than any comic book published today.
And here's a "by the way" for comic historians: What company published Walt Disney's Comics and Stories for most of its run?
If you answered, "Dell," you're wrong. It said Dell on the cover insignia and Dell distributed the title along with all its other comics…but Dell was not the publisher. And if you said, "Western Printing and Lithography," you're also wrong. Western prepared the contents and printed the comics…but Western was not the publisher.
Walt Disney's Comics and Stories was published by K.K. Publications, Inc., a company set up by Herbert "Kay" Kamen, who was an outside licensing representative for the Disney company from 1932 until his death in a 1949 plane crash. When he sold Western on a licensing deal for the Disney catalogue, he also arranged for a partnership arrangement whereby they set up a separate company to publish certain items, including that comic and (later) the Red Ryder comic books. Western was a partner in the operation but the publisher of record was K.K. Publications. And don't feel bad if you don't know that because most of the people who worked on the comics didn't, either.
Yes, I can taste the difference between different brands of bottled water.
I don't swear I can tell them all apart, mind you. But I was drinking Sparklett's and then I started drinking Crystal Geyser and I decided I liked Crystal Geyser better. I also like it better than Dasani and Arrowhead and Aquafina and a number of other waters I tried. Some others — like Deer Park, which you don't find much in Southern California — are very close to Crystal Geyser. For the most part, I prefer water that comes from a spring to water that's been filtered, though I've encountered examples of each kind I didn't much like.
Even between good spring water and good filtered water, the difference is tiny. If I'm coming to your place to visit, please (pretty please) don't run out and buy Crystal Geyser just so you can be a good host. It's like the difference between an A+ and an A. One is perfectly fine. The other is, to a microscopic degree, perfectly finer. But whatever's on hand is usually okay.
And please…don't tell me the tap water at your house is perfectly fine. Once upon a time, the tap water at my house was perfectly fine and I wouldn't be buying bottles of the stuff if it was still perfectly fine. It's gotten worse and worse over the years. For a while, it was okay if I ran it through a Brita pitcher. Now, even that doesn't work. I had a city Water Inspector out a year or so ago and he ran tests and said it was perfectly safe, which I assume it still is, but even he couldn't stand (or explain) the taste. I decided it was better for my health to go with the bottled stuff, if only because I consume more water when I have the bottles available. Also, it's easier to drink if you don't have to hold your nose at the same time.
Character actor, comedian and cartoon voice actor Arnold Stang has passed at the age of 91. Arnold had an amazing career in radio, movies and TV and on the stage. He was in one of my favorite movies, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and he was the lead voice on one of my favorite cartoon shows when I was a kid, Top Cat. In animation, he was also the voice of Herman the Mouse in the old Herman and Katnip cartoons, and he was heard in other animation projects and in hundreds of commercials. He was, for example, the original voice of the Bee in the Honey Nut Cheerios ads. In radio, he had a long association with comedian Henry Morgan. In TV, he had a long association with Milton Berle. His other movies included The Man with the Golden Arm and the legendary Hercules in New York where he co-starred with (and provided a striking physical contrast) to the actor who would soon be famous as Arnold Schwarzenegger. He was even in the more-legendary Skidoo.
So he did an awful lot of stuff and more of it is mentioned in the New York Times obit. I can only add a personal note here…
As you can see, Arnold was in a lot of my favorite things. He was a naturally funny man and I was delighted, the one time we got to work together, to discover he was pretty much the same person off-camera as on.
It was a 1994 recording session for the cartoon series, Garfield and Friends. Ordinarily, the series was recorded wholly in Los Angeles with L.A.-based actors but the producer, Lee Mendelson, indulged me an extravagance. He let me go to New York and record a couple of episodes with talent from back there. I was there with the east coast actors while the rest of the cast was in a studio in Hollywood, the entire session connected via digital phone lines. For the day, I hired three actors I'd always wanted to work with — Arnold, Imogene Coca and Eddie "The Old Philosopher" Lawrence — and we booked a Manhattan recording studio. The studio was recommended by our L.A. recording supervisor and by coincidence, it turned out to be one where Arnold and Eddie had, decades before, recorded many Paramount cartoons.
Arnold was up first. I got to the studio an hour before he was due but, a true professional, he was already there…waiting patiently, looking for all the world like Arnold Stang. We sat and talked until the L.A. cast was in place, and the main topic was It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Arnold was one of the few participants in that film to suffer an injury. At the hotel where the cast was staying, he slipped by the swimming pool and broke his wrist. The cast is well-concealed during the famous scene where he, Marvin Kaplan and Jonathan Winters destroy a gas station.
He was a joy to work with. The only direction I gave him — the only direction you could give a guy like that — was, "Try to sound like Arnold Stang." He did so with ease, like he'd been doing it all his life and he was perfect. He was also gracious enough to record a message for my answering machine. Click the little arrow below to hear it…
While I was recording with Arnold, Eddie Lawrence arrived. You may not know Eddie's name but he's a wonderful character actor and comedian who did a series of much-quoted records as "The Old Philosopher." His catch-phrase was, "Hey, is that's what bothering you, Bunky?" Anyway, he and Arnold were longtime pals, and when Arnold and I were done with his cartoon and he exited the booth, he and Eddie embraced.
Then Arnold looked him in the eye and sounding as serious as Arnold Stang could possibly sound, he pointed to me and said, "Eddie, don't give this young man any trouble. He's a fine director and you just do everything he says."
Eddie promised he would. That wasn't good enough for Arnold. He added, "If you give him any crap, I'll come back here and kick your ass." Then he handed me his pager number and said, "Remember…if he gets out of line, call me and I'll come back and kick his ass." This wasn't necessary but there was one moment when Eddie was giving me a little problem and I had to threaten, "I'll call Arnold." He immediately apologized and agreed to do it the way I wanted. The power of an Arnold Stang threat.
I had a limo hired for the day to pick me up, pick Eddie and Imogene up, etc. I'd offered it to Arnold to get him there but he'd declined. After his session, I told him we could have the driver take him to his next destination. He said, "No, I like to walk. You don't stay in touch with the city in the back of a limo." I remembered that. Arnold kept working well into his eighties and he sent me a Christmas card every year for a decade after that. What a charming, funny man.
Here's Naughty But Mice, the fourth Herman and Katnip cartoon, which was released on October 10, 1947. This print, by the way, sports the original opening titles which were removed when these cartoons were released to television. As you'll hear, Arnold's performance as Herman was more than enough to make the little rodent into a star character. But to me, the real star of these is Arnold…
The more I read about the Health Care Reform bill, the more I like it. It's not everything it oughta be but in this political climate, and with the Dem's 60 vote majority including folks like Lieberman and Ben Nelson, it ain't too shabby. There's a chart over at the bottom of this page that summarizes some of the good things to come out of it, particularly as compared to doing nothing, which appears to have been the alternative. I'd also refer you to this piece by Ezra Klein which answers some of the more strident (and not completely unfounded) complaints from the Left. I do think a lot of the critics of the plan are simply caught up in the act of believing their own lies or misunderstandings.
I'm also hopeful that the reform won't stop with this bill. One matter that always rankled me was that Obama had, once upon a time, pledged to reopen the pharmaceutical marketplace to foreign reimports. That's where you and I get to buy medications for the same, lower price that Canadians pay for products manufactured in the same labs to the same specifications. That pledge was forgotten when it came time to get the major pharmaceutical companies on board for the current reform…and perhaps that was necessary. But the White House is making noises like they're going to revisit the issue and that's nice to hear.
Beyoncé is now selling Crystal Geyser bottled water. That's great but it doesn't make me any more eager to buy the stuff. That's because I couldn't be more eager. I already purchase Crystal Geyser by the caseload. When home, I drink nothing else…and I mean nothing else. No tea, no juice, no soda, no coffee, no liquid of any kind but Crystal Geyser bottled water. And when I'm not home, I try for Crystal Geyser but settle for whatever kind of H2O I can get.
I had Gastric Bypass Surgery in May of '06…and those of you who've tracked my medical history on this blog know that I was briefly hospitalized in February of that year. Before then, I was darn near addicted to beverages full of sugar and carbonation. During the day, I'd consume 3-5 Pepsi-Colas and then, at 6 PM, I'd switch over to the clear stuff (7-Up or Canada Dry ginger ale) so that I wouldn't still be highly-caffeinated by bedtime. I tried to quit but got headaches and other nagging symptoms…and since I always have a deadline, I'd rationalize: "I'd better go drink a Pepsi so I can get this script done today. I can start quitting some time when I don't have a script due." That's a real handy way out if you always have a script due and don't really want to quit.
Early in 2006, I decided tentatively (meaning I might still back out) to have the surgery. One argument against it was that, they say, one needs to give up carbonated drinks after G.B.S. and I wasn't sure I could do that. Then in February, I had to spend four days in a hospital bed and while there, I had nothing with carbonation, sugar or caffeine. I also had no withdrawal symptoms. So I decided to see how long I could go without a cola…and I haven't had a sip since. Nor have I missed it. Sometimes, it's easier to break an addiction than you think.
I never liked coffee, tea or anything artificially-sweetened so my beverages of choice became fruit juices…but in a slow curve following the operation, I began losing my taste for anything with high sugar content in it. They warn you that after a gastric bypass, your body may not process sugar all that well but they don't say you'll stop liking the stuff, Well, I did. I started watering down lemonade or orange juice and eventually gave them up completely. For six months or so, I drank only water or tomato juice…and not long ago, I gave up the tomato juice. Of course, I'd already given up cake, candy, pie, ice cream, cookies and anything else with more than about 2 grams of sugar per serving.
Friends ask, "Don't you miss sweets?" And the way I've started answering is like this. Imagine there's a restaurant that you used to love and every time you went there, you left full and delighted. Now, imagine that restaurant is still there but it's changed owners and chefs and it has all different menu items and recipes and now there's nothing special about it and you can no longer get the same wonderful feeling there. Well, I miss sweets the way you miss that restaurant. You recall the happy sensation but you know things have changed and that eating there again is not going to give it to you. So you accept it and move on.
And I've accepted that I really can't drink anything except water, and discovered it's not as big a disadvantage as I once might have thought. I found a brand I really like — Crystal Geyser — and I buy cases of it. Many cases of it. I probably have about fifty gallons in various sized-bottles in my garage at this moment and when I see it on-sale in a store, I think, "Hmm…maybe I should pick up a few more crates." So, Crystal Geyser People…you didn't need to spring for Beyoncé to do your ads. Not to get my business, at least. I'd be buying your product if your spokeswoman was Richard Belzer in drag. I just wouldn't post his photo on my blog.
How much will the new Health Care arrangement actually cost your typical American family? Well, here's an article that tries to explain that and if you don't have time to read it, here's a chart with a lot of information. Let me know if you come across any assertions of other numbers.
60 Democrats voted a few hours ago for cloture on the Health Care Reform bill. That should signal its imminent passage but I dunno. I just have this feeling that the Republican leadership will come up with some arcane rule or Constitutional issue or something to delay passage on Harry Reid's timetable. Not that they'll be able to block the bill or that they think they can stop it…but I sure get the feeling they think their constituency will reward them for stalling it a bit, making Democrats squirm and sweat a little more. Going to be an interesting week.
Our pal Joe Brancatelli reminds us that Frequent Flyer miles are not like money…and that they aren't even about building loyalty to a particular airline like they used to be.
The folks at Ticketmaster are doing a major upgrade on their website. The biggest change is that they're installing a feature where for most venues, you'll be able to view a map of the auditorium or stadium, see which seats are available and then select specific seats. A lot of other sites have had this and it's way overdue for Ticketmaster. This page will give you a little preview and tell you some of the neat tools that will be at your disposal.
I'm just hoping they don't use this as an excuse to tack on another exploitive surcharge. One thing I don't like about Cirque du Soleil is that if you buy tickets online, they charge you a $13.00 "Web convenience fee." That's per ticket, even though it's obviously more convenient for them if you do it that way. And if you take delivery as e-tickets, which is also more convenient for them, they add in another $5.00 per order. So two $125 tickets become a $281.00 order…and you usually don't realize this until you've checked out and your card is charged. (I also once considered trying to pay for my tix with points I've accumulated on the American Express Rewards program. I don't remember the precise math but it was something like if I bought two $125 tickets, it would cost me the same number of points that would get me $400 worth of hotel stay at a Marriott or Hyatt. So I didn't do it.)
Anyway, happy ticketing! Just watch out for sneaky fees.
Some time ago, I linked you to a few videos of the songwriting (and occasionally, performing) team of Flanders and Swann. Those postings brought a lot of e-mails from folks who'd never heard of them and who wrote me things like, "Where have these two wonderful men been all my life?" Well, here's ten more minutes — three whole songs — with Michael Flanders and Donald Swann. This is from their farewell (more or less) performance in 1967. It may help to keep the date in mind when you watch the first number…
My buddy Stu Shostak, who's kind of like the Rupert Murdoch of Shokus Internet Radio, has the skinny on that photo I posted earlier of Lorne Greene, Dan Blocker, Ed Wynn and Buster Keaton…
That photo of Wynn and Keaton was taken during the filming of a March of Dimes special called The Scene Stealers, that was shot in 1960 and syndicated to local stations to help raise money. The premise was that Wynn and Keaton were vagrants out to do a good deed for the MOD and they snuck onto a movie lot (in this case, Paramount), then went from studio to studio to try to get stars to donate their time for the charity.
Stu also sends the sad news that actress Connie Hines, who was best known for her starring role as Alan Young's spouse on Mr. Ed, passed away yesterday. Last February, Stu did a great two-hour interview with Mr. Young and Ms. Hines on his radio program and he's repeating it tomorrow (Sunday) from Noon 'til 2 PM Pacific Time on his station. That's Shokus Internet Radio and to listen, just go to that website at the appropriate hour and click where they tell you to click.
Matt Taibbi talks about pork and payoffs that get added to the Defense Bill each year, usually at the expense of things like pay for our soldiers or body armor for our soldiers. Our soldiers are sacred in a curious way. You're not allowed to speak ill of them or to suggest that their leaders have sent them off on the wrong mission. But when someone cuts their benefits or deprives them of equipment that might save their lives, no one on the right or the left has much of a problem with that.
