Monthly Archives: April 2019

• It may turn out that the greatest damage the Mueller Report will do to the country is that Trump will start making certain that his orders are carried out.

• You know, all this stuff with Trump makes sense if your view of life is that absolutely nothing matters except short-term winning, no matter what the long-term outcome.

No small number of you have informed me that The Daily Show is in reruns this week and therefore unable to do anything about the Mueller Report. Bet they're not happy about that.

By the way: I am liking Trevor Noah a lot more than I did when he started there as host. If the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and even the one with Craig Kilborn had never existed — if Noah's was the first-ever Daily Show — I think we'd be hailing it as a pretty good program. Noah's interviews are first-rate…though too often they're with people who just plain don't interest me. Still, he makes them more interesting than anyone else might and yes, I know, that's a half-assed compliment.

In the past on this site, I have frequently praised the musicals staged at a place called the Cupcake Theater out on Magnolia in North Hollywood. Well, I've just learned that effective almost immediately, they will no longer be in that building out on Magnolia. They're now looking for someplace new to stage their offerings and I hope they find a good one.

One of the many annoying things about Donald Trump is that one of these days, we're going to have to listen to some of his staunchest supporters insisting that a certain Democrat is unfit for office because he or she has trouble telling the truth.

We will soon be announcing the winners of this year's Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing. Thanks to all of you who sent in nominations. I think most folks will be pleased with the 2019 selections.

Lastly for now: Nothing much seems to be happening in the battle between the big Hollywood Agencies and the Writers Guild. As I understand it, Monday is the day the WGA will deliver to agents the letters from writers dismissing them. We'll see what the reaction is to this. Meanwhile, since I don't have an agent to fire, I'm showing my solidarity with the Guild by firing my gardener. (Hey, he's gotten me as much work as some agents get for their clients.)

Reading all sorts of online forums and essays this morning. I only see general (though certainly not unanimous) consensus on two things with regard to yesterday's release of the Mueller Report. One is that yesterday was a very bad day for Donald Trump and the other is that there sure was a vast discrepancy between what Trump and William Barr said was in the report and what was actually in the report.

I haven't watched last night's Daily Show yet but the staffs of Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers did amazing jobs of whipping up timely and sharp material in not-nearly-enough time. Bill Maher has to be pretty unhappy that his show is off this week. And yes, John Oliver has a new episode Sunday night.

As frequent readers of this site (I must have some) know, I'm kinda fascinated by the song "The Rhythm of Life" from the musical, Sweet Charity. It's a great song and one that many groups want to perform…but I don't think most of them are clear on what it's about. In the show, it's about how phony religions can be and how blind their followers are about what they're following. Still, it gets performed in churches and other sincere venues, sometimes with changed lyrics but sometimes with the ones about how a million pigeons are just waiting to be hooked on new religions.

And sometimes, you get the feeling that the folks performing it really don't care about context or whatever it's about. Here's a group called Only Men Aloud singing in a cafe in Disneyland Paris to an audience that seems to be paying very little attention…

What's with all the redactions in the Mueller Report? Fred Kaplan explains why they do this.

In May of 2017, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that she had heard from "countless members of the FBI" who, according to her, had lost faith in former FBI director James Comey. According to the Mueller Report, she told his investigators this was based on nothing. Sarah Huckabee Sanders lied? Wow. In other startling news, today is Thursday, 2+2=4 and cats say "meow!"

Jonathan Chait says that while impeaching Donald Trump is complicated, Congress could get right to work on impeaching Attorney General William Barr. They should probably do something about Roseanne Barr too while they're at it.

There are so many people out there now giving their views of the Mueller Report — including a few who've even read parts of it — that you don't need me giving you my opinion. I'll just say that just as there will never be a day when Donald Trump will say his taxes are not under audit, there will never be a day when he will not be under serious investigation for criminal actions. The report gives Democrats plenty of justifications for such investigations…certainly more than the Republicans ever had to convene the umpteenth Benghazi inquiry. Kevin Drum discusses one aspect that could spark years of hearings.

So let's turn to more important matters…

I am sad to hear that Beach Blanket Babylon — that wonderful, wonderful long-running show in San Francisco intends to close at the end of this year. The producer is quoted as saying it is not for financial reasons but because she "felt it was the right time." I don't get why it's the right time to close a show and put all the folks involved in it out of work; not if people are still buying tickets. So I'm a little suspicious that the reason is not financial. Maybe this is a ploy to boost ticket sales and/or to get the landlord to back down on a massive rent increase or something. In any case, I hope the decision is rescinded.

When I was writing about the Peter Luger Steakhouse (back here), I said they don't accept credit cards. My pal Joe Brancatelli reminded me that they do accept credit cards but only their own. So I should have said they don't accept my credit cards…and probably yours.

I've been watching Fosse/Verdon with, so far, a mixed reaction. Everyone who ever knew the real Bob Fosse said he was charming, charismatic, brilliant and impossible to say no to, whether he wanted you in his show or his bed. As played so far by Sam Rockwell, he's a pretty dull guy with none of those qualities. One assumes/hopes some or all of that may change as the show gets into later successes. In any case, if you're interested in how much of what's on the screen is true, Slate is having Ellin Stein fact-check each episode. Here's the report on Part One and here's the report on Part Two.

Lastly for now: If you record Late Night with Seth Meyers every night, make sure your DVR knows that the program will run 90 minutes tonight. Much to talk about.

Hey, you know where I'll be May 10 through 12? I'll be at Maltinfest, which is three days of interesting movies being shown at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. I'll be there with my friends and your hosts, Leonard Maltin and his daughter Jessie. Over the three days, they'll show a number of films that you may not have seen, each accompanied by a short subject and a cartoon — the way God intended movies to be seen.

There will also be discussions, interviews, live podcasts, author signings and your chance to see Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla on a real movie screen. That's right! Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla — the lowest point in Bela's career and the highest point in Sammy Petrillo's! There are movie buffs out there who dream of someday transferring every last print of this movie to flammable nitrate stock.

But most of the films at Maltinfest are being shown because someone — Leonard and Jessie, I guess — thinks they're deserving of more attention than they've received in the past. Even though Leonard and I disagreed strenuously about Stan & Ollie, I still trust the Maltin brand…so I'll be there for some of it. If you'd like to be there for some of it, the schedule and ticket information are available over on this page. Here's hoping this becomes an annual event!

Something like twenty-five years ago, I met a very nice gent named John Morrow who wanted to start a magazine devoted to Jack Kirby.  If I'd had even a smidgen of Jack's prescience, I would have said, "This magazine will last for over a quarter of a century and will become the cornerstone of a pretty nice-sized publishing empire issuing all sorts of books about comics and related arts."

But I don't have Jack's wisdom and, let's be honest, neither do you.  You would have thought then like I did; that John would get a couple of issues out and then the whole thing would fade away.  Now, The Jack Kirby Collector is past issue #76, John is also publishing Alter Ego, Back  Issue, Comic Book Creator, Draw, Retro Fan and many others, along with some of the best books about comics.  And he's about to publish The World of TwoMorrows, a history of his big little operation.  He's asking your help on this one.

John has a Kickstarter going for this book.  Instead of waiting for it to come out and trying to grab a copy before they sell out, back it now and be guaranteed a copy for a lower price than you'll pay after publication.  It's a good deal for you but it's also a good deal for one of the most important publishers putting out books about comics.  Here's the link to find out more and to back this worthy project.

P.S. And I probably should mention that The World of TwoMorrows includes an introduction by me.  But back it anyway.

Amazingly, this year's Comic-Con International in San Diego convenes in 93 days. It'll be the fiftieth of these conventions and the fiftieth I've attended so to celebrate, I'm going to host 50 panels. Or less. Probably a lot less.

Anyway, that's not what this post is about. It's about how for some time, there's been a battle going on in San Diego over a proposal to increase the hotel room tax to pay for a proposed expansion of the convention center. Currently, the tax is 10.5% but under the new plan, it would go to as high as 15.75% in certain portions of the city.

Funds from the tax would enable the convention center to expand from approximately 800,000 square feet to about 1.2 million. Most of the increased space would be entirely filled by cosplayers dressed as Harley Quinn.

No, I'm being silly but the numbers are roughly correct. There was supposed to be a vote on the plan in November of 2020 but the City Council has just voted to move it to the March 2020 ballot. Comic-Con is currently signed to remain in San Diego through 2021. I have no idea how or if the earlier decision about the expansion will impact the extension of the current contract but it'll probably mean something.

I have mixed feelings about Bernie Sanders, both about his electability and also the practicality of some of his proposals.  But I watched his recent Town Hall on Fox News and the man did a real good job of presenting his positions in a sane, hard-to-argue-with manner. "Hard to argue with" does not mean "impossible to argue with" but it ain't bad.

Here's the first half hour and if you like that, you can watch the rest of it at this link.

The other day here, writing about possible presidential candidates, I wrote, "I like what I've seen of [Pete] Buttigieg but it's way too early in the mating game for me to pledge my heart to anyone."

As I typed that line, I reminded myself of an evening back when I was 23 or so. I was in-between lady friends when a buddy of mine talked me into going with him to a bar out on Van Nuys Boulevard in the valley here. As a lifelong non-drinker (still), I am almost never seen in bars but the appeal of this one, he said, was not the beverages. It was the near-certainty that when you left, it would be with a member of the opposite sex with whom you would, to use a euphemism for having sex, "sleep."

He was so sure we would both — as he put it — "score" that he insisted we take separate cars. I was curious about what such a place was like and also curious about how I would respond to such an environment. If it did work the way he promised, could I bring myself to depart with some lady I'd known less than an hour? That did not sound like me. At that age, everyone I'd dated was someone I'd known since at least high school.

It turned out I couldn't, in part because the get-to-know-someone ritual seemed to center around the consumption of significant volumes of alcohol. Sitting there with my 7-Up, I felt awkward because I knew I looked awkward…and I looked awkward because I felt awkward. Awkward is never enticing. I also wasn't all that attracted to any woman on her third Mai Tai. I kept thinking that some of the pairings I saw departing together wouldn't make it as far as bed if there were alert policemen in the area equipped with Breathalyzers.

Anyway, George and I were amidst folks aged 20-50, most of them dressed and coiffed better than that rathole of a bar warranted. If it had not been a place where everyone was out to impress the opposite sex, I think The Incredible Hulk could have passed the dress code there.

Everyone was drinking while nibbling on Chex Mix and being ultra-ultra-charming as they table-hopped from one potential companion to another. The conversations were loud and you couldn't help but eavesdrop on some of them. No matter what the alleged topic was, the subtext was always "So…shall we go to your place or mine?"

The oddest thing though was how every time the front door opened, every single person in the room stopped to check out the latest arrival. Everyone had to see which gender was entering the mix and gauge how attractive that new entrant was. If it was someone of the other gender, was that person more attractive than your already-present options? If they were of your gender, were they competition for you?

Near us was a guy in a beige leisure suit (it was that era or slightly past it) and he'd been "entertaining" — I am using that word loosely — a decent-looking lady. The door opened and he stopped in mid-anecdote to check out what we all saw was a tall, voluptuous blonde coming in. With nary a nod to the woman he'd been talking with, he immediately bee-lined for the blonde, cutting-off all other guys who were trying to get to her first.

The woman was roughly a "10." That's according to the official Cruel and Shallow Rating Scale of Female Appearance which you're supposed to abandon when you graduate college. I actually heard others in the bar, including other women, whispering "Ten."

The lady that the guy in beige abandoned without so much as an "Excuse me" was maybe a "7" on that scale but she was not alone for long. Almost immediately, Leisure Suit Larry's chair was taken over by another fellow who'd left the "5.5" he'd been chatting with. It was that kind of place…everyone trading up or at least trying to.

I can't tell you how outta-place I felt there and not just because of the liquor, though there was that. I kept wanting to leave but George kept wanting me to stay. In this room, nothing looked more pathetic than one guy sitting by himself. I kept saying, "There's no one here who interests me" and George kept saying, "It's way too early to fall in love." That was the line I was remembering when I wrote about the presidential race.

At some point, I guess I blinked and missed the proper moment to fall in love. It came a little after 11 PM and it was like the bartender rang a bell which you couldn't hear if you didn't have a couple of drinks in you. Suddenly, four-fifths of those present upped and departed, two by two. Some of them seemed to be taking whoever they could get and leaving with their sixth choices. Two women looked us over, decided they weren't that desperate and left to go…somewhere.

I left alone and so did George…and he was quite depressed about it. I felt a tad insulted but also kinda glad that I didn't have to now put on an act and nurture the shallowest of relationships with a woman who was drunk enough to find me cute enough.

And since the parallel popped into my head the other day, I'm having trouble not thinking of the battle for the Democratic Presidential Nomination as a much different process. I don't have to fall in love now. Someone better may still walk in the door and, if not, someone already in the room will start looking better to me. This time though, I'm not leaving alone. If Trump or even Trumpism gets another term, I may have to take up drinking.

If you've never seen a professional, fully-staged production of the Monty Python musical Spamalot, don't watch this. It's not that. It's a production mounted by Overland High School, a performing arts school in Aurora, Colorado. If you have seen the show done by pros…well, you still won't want to watch all of this — it's an hour and 48 minutes — but you might enjoy skipping around and marveling at the ambitiousness, effort and occasional raw talent on display here.

I would have thought even seasoned professionals could not assemble anything resembling Spamalot with ten times the budget these folks probably had, plus you have to add in the handicap of beginners in difficult roles and that they couldn't say "shit" and other words normally heard throughout this play.

I'm impressed by the ingenuity, the enterprise and by the fact that some of these kids are pretty good for their age and experience. One day, folks will watch this video to see the young, amateurish beginnings of someone who has become a real and true star on Broadway. I'll betcha Nathan Lane and Audra MacDonald were once in things like this.

So jump about. The "Not Yet Dead" routine starts at 7:50, the "Camelot" number is at 26:10, the battle with the Black Knight is at 58 minutes in and the "Jews" number commences around 1:03:40. If you do not set your expectations too high, you too may be impressed. When I went to high school, I doubt our drama department could have pulled off ten minutes of this let alone the whole danged play…

Very sad news about the fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. I've never set foot in Europe but you don't have to have visited the place to know that it's a magnificent building filled with history and art treasures…and one which is of great importance to so many. You don't have to buy into the religion or all that has been done in its name to weep over this. You certainly don't have to figure out some way to spin this as a "win" for your causes or beliefs.

• Looking forward to the "public" version of the Mueller Report which will be released later this week. I'm guessing the word "exonerated" won't be redacted but the word "not" which precedes it will be.