There’s been a lot of fuss over four little letters lately, particularly when used by Bono on TV. However, I suspect the real usage they want to block was this:
Did I expect George Bush to fuck [the war in Iraq] up as badly as he did? I don’t think anybody did. — John Kerry
… you can sell something that is carcinogenic AND reduces your sex drive AND has a markup measured in orders of magnitude? And people buy anyway?
Excuse me, I have to go back to reading F’d Companies now…
Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Things get worse with Coke
That’s where I was Thursday morning.
I was listening to luminaries of the comics field pay tribute to the, alas, no-longer-living legend, Julius Schwartz. Tributes came in from far and wide– Harlan’s toast was read by Brian Thomsen, tributes were given by Denny O’Neil, Michael Uslan, Mike Carlin, Jack C. Harris, Karen Berger, Tony Tollin, and the always lovely Ricia Mainhardt, amongst others, and numerous emails were read at the podium– Bob Greenberger reading for Len Wein, Neil Gaiman reading– or rather, channeling– Alan Moore.
Also saw people that I literally haven’t seen in a decade or so– Mike Catron, the publisher of Apple Press, publisher of my first comic, 101 Other Uses For A Condom (there, now you know everything), Paul Curtis, John Workman, Allan Asherman, Arlene Lo, and a few dozen others. And many folks who I see on a regular basis– Mike Friedman, Paul Kupperberg, Esther Friesner, John Ordover, and Kathleen and what’s his name. And of course, Maggie Thompson of the Comics Buyer’s Guide.
Maggie asked me for my additional notes on Julie, things I would have said at the memorial had there been time. So, onward:
I suspect that I might be the youngest person to have actually worked with Julie during his regular employment at DC Comics– I started in 1989 at about the same time Julie was retiring, and I was 20 at the time.
We didn’t interact much– I was in the production darkroom most of my hours there (which in retrospect was a blessing, as it gave my eyes a respite from the wallpaper at 666 5th, and as a result I still have the ability to differentiate between most colors of the spectrum). Julie knew my name, but that was more from the man’s memory than anything particularly outstanding about me.
How he came to really remember me: a year or so later, Julie was at I-Con, and the con had assigned him a very tall, slender pale brunette with straight hair down to her belt, named Carol. I came over and said hi to Julie– and then hi to Carol.
“Carol? You know this lady?”
“Sure I know Carol– she’s my college roommate.”
From then on, every time I saw Julie, it was usually, “Hey, kiddo,” and then after a little chit-chat, he would invariably ask, “So– how’s Carol?” And for that matter, everytime I’d see Carol afterwards, she would invariably ask, “So– how’s Julie?”
This is not unheard of. Production behind the scenes story: When DC produced the Green Lantern Archives, they didn’t reprint #1 from the film negatives– Tony Tollin had the original artwork for the entire issue. How did he get the art? Well– it seems that Julie had sent the entire artwork to a girl who had written him a letter way back when, and Tony had bought the work from her. And every time I’ve heard that story told, everybody’s response was invariably, “Yep, that’s Julie.” (And if the story isn’t true, well gosh darn it, it should be.)
The wails of hundreds of broken-hearted women are the fanfares that ushered Julie into the great beyond. Hail and farewell, big guy.
Neither did I. It’s at http://www.colortini.com. Watch the pictures as they fly through the Internet…
Now if Bob Costas would start a blog, my late night reading could match my late night viewing of a few years back…
From Sky News: Lord of the Rings is set to hit the stage as the most expensive musical ever seen in London, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
UPDATE: The gang from Crooked Timber have more in a post called Moria, I’m lost in a mine named Moria…
From the weblog of rogue economist Brad DeLong, we have the very useful Calvin and Hobbes Extensive Strip Search. Because, remember “Sooner or later, all our games turn into Calvinball.”
Have you forgotten?
Or have you been distracted?
Lord knows, there are some legitimate distractions out there. Maybe you’re one of the millions out of work and trying to make ends meet. Or maybe you have a child in the military, and you’ve been worried about him being killed in a war that had nothing to do with 9/11. Or you’re working to make sure you child isn’t left behind after education funding cuts. Or you’ve just plain gone bankrupt after investing in Enron and Worldcom. In that case, I’ll give you a pass.
But if you’ve been distracted by the spectre of gay marriage, or the Bennifer breakup, or the Passion, or just about anything to do with Paris Hilton, or the final Left Behind book– then I’m sorry, but you’ve been played. Taken for a mark.
Don’t let them get away with distracting you. Here’s a reminder of The Toll we’ve taken while you were looking the other way.
Kerry Calls Opponents ‘Crooked,’ ‘Lying’
Sen. John F. Kerry, the presumed Democratic presidential candidate, used his harshest language yet to describe his Republican opponents, accusing them today of corrupt and deceitful behavior.
Kerry’s comments came during a stop at a sheet metal plant in Chicago as he shook hands with workers. “Tell it like it is,” a man at the Hill Mechanical Group told him. “Keep smiling.”
“Oh yeah, don’t worry, man,” the senator from Massachusetts responded. “We’re going to keep pounding, let me tell you. We’re just beginning to fight here.
“These guys are the most crooked, you know, lying group I’ve ever seen,” Kerry added. “It’s scary.”
The Bush campaign denounced Kerry’s remarks as angry rhetoric.
“At every turn, John Kerry has claimed to be the victim of an imaginary smear machine,” Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt said. “Today, John Kerry made a comment that showed his true colors: a relentlessly negative campaign that is negative and pessimistic and offers no positive plan or agenda.”
Kerry has a very positive plan and agenda. It starts with getting rid of the idiot who’s in the Oval Office now.
Everybody has them. For some, it’s birds; others, opening day at Shea; still others, the swimsuit issue.
For me, it’s getting the new Spenser novel.
Robert B. Parker was at the Lincoln Center Barnes Noble last night, doing QA and the like. If you’ve never heard him, well, just assume that he has the same speaking patterns as Spenser and you’re on the right track.
He commented about his mysteries, saying that they really weren’t very hard (which they aren’t) and noting that if they were, the children’s section was over there. I asked him about that, noting that his stories aren’t so much “whodunits” as “whatthehelldowedoaboutits” and is it the ethical dilemmas that drive his writing.
His reply? “I don’t know. Couldn’t tell you.” In that, he’s a lot like Spenser himself– he just moves forward until there’s a resolution.
He also said he doesn’t care that “you got A-Rod”, in the practiced tone of resignation that only a Red Sox fan can have. Then he saluted us with a Bronx cheer.