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September 30, 2004
My Current Political Thinking
Some thoughts as we head into tonight's debate...
Bloggers far more plugged in than I have been spewing about Bush and/or Kerry for months now. Still, I wanted to jot a few thoughts down before tonight’s debate.
On the local level, I am shocked at how the majority of people in my hometown get their news from the Letters to the Editor section of our two weekly newspapers, as opposed to, say, the news pages.
No doubt, on the national level, people form their opinions about the facts from the slow osmosis of factoids absorbed from political ads, headlines for news shows and jokes cracked by Jay or David or Jon.
Additionally, the Republican campaign has masterfully kept Bush and Cheney on message for months now. Only recently has Kerry managed to pierce some of that by referring to the “fantasy world of spin” that has Bush making statements that fly in the face of reality.
Bush has stayed on topic so is seen as strong and decisive. With the chaos around the world, people seem to be taking comfort in the notion that we have a man who can make a decision in the White House. And the thinking apparently stops there. No one is probing how these decisions are made or what the repercussions might be. Kerry has failed to make the questions stick, the mainstream media can’t seem to keep the questions in the forefront and the general public remains ill-informed.
Kerry and his handlers have bungled the message. He’s been seen as cold and aloof, and despite evidence to the contrary has been tagged a flip-flopper. Only now is he coming out swinging and it may be too late. Voting has begun as many states have allowed people to begin mailing in their ballots. Thousands upon thousands of ballots have already arrived and will be counted on November 2.
(The biggest flip-flopper might be Bush himself who campaigned four years ago as a uniter, a theme curiously absent from his stump speeches this time around.)
For the rest of us, I can only hope that the debates, beginning tonight, show us more about both men. Can Bush be knocked off message and be made to defend the disastrous campaign in Iraq? Can Kerry make a strong enough case that he can command? Can either answer a question without pausing to attack the other guy?
Yes, I want Bush out of office. Iraq has been a costly distraction from Osama Bin Laden and honestly, he’s taken his eye off the globe. Since he took office, North Korea has been a larger problem than Sadam Hussein. The Sudan is raging out of control and despite Genocide Treaties that call for action, the United States and United Nations let people be raped and killed.
I dislike an administration that outright lies. They’ve been caught at it, such as misleading Congress on the cost of the Medicare revamp. Worse, they have censored numerous scientific documents from around the administration. A cabal of politicians that refuse to let the facts cloud their world view is leading us. As a result, our standing in the world is tarnished, our economy is rocky and our ecological grows increasingly fragile. Then there’s the issue of appointing new Supreme Court justices that would alter the court for decades to come.
Would a Kerry Administration be better? Hard to say since we have no clue who would receive top posts. He’d also have a tremendous amount of damage control to perform which would slow down his own Agenda, which in turn could bite him during the mid-term elections. Still, I doubt there’d be as much lying. Sure, there’d be a certain amount of bungling, but it’d be honest hey-we-just-got-here errors not ones of omission.
Listen carefully tonight and for the rest of the nights. Make sure your friends and family know what they’re talking about before they head into the voting booth. Four more years of the same administration frightens me.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 01:45 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 29, 2004
Scott Muni, R.I.P.
Another radio voice of my youth is gone.
Scott Muni was the voice of New York FM radio, the man who introduced me to so much rock and roll. As the number one man on WNEW, he led the way, spinning tracks from the Beatles to whatever was current, explaining why they were cool, sharing tidbits about the members and making the music important. He was selective, everything wasn't pitched as the greatest thing since Chuck Berry, lending authority to his choices.
When I first discovered FM radio and AOR formatting, it was revolutionary. At first, my friends and I all listened to WPLJ thinking it was the best. But they were too top 40-oriented and we dialed past it until we found WNEW. With Scott leading the way, the era of Heavy Metal was ushered in without losing sight of other musical trends, notably the west coast music of Linda Rondstadt and the Eagles. While Long Island's WLIR first tipped us to the growing punk movement, WNEW didn't ignore it, adding it to the mix.
I could hear album debuts, guest interviews, and more with Scott, Alison Steele and the rest holding court. His weekly shows dedicated to British music opened my ears to one band after another.
Scottso had it rough but he overcame personal demons and continued to be a radio presence long after his peers left the business or passed away. He'd been doing a regular show on WNEW's successor, WAXQ, until a stroke sidelined him over the summer.
And now he's gone. Another day when the music died.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 12:41 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
The New Martian Chronicle (sort of)
Over on Smallville, everyone thinks Chloe Sullivan is dead. Well, we know better. She’s been moonlighting on another network. She’s gone under deep cover using the alias Veronica Mars.
Seriously, we tuned in for the second episode of the new UPN series to see what the media buzz is all about. Kristen Bell is cute and attractive, with a Chloe haircut and similar build. She’s a teen doing investigative work for her ex-sheriff father, which immediately starts stretching the imagination.
Cleverly, the series creators used the incident from the pilot, the death of Veronica’s best friend, the daughter of the town’s Luthor-esque family, as the spine for the entire season. Each week they will work on a case or two but collect clues and threads that clearly won’t pay off until Sweeps Week or the season finale (I doubt they’ll let this linger beyond the first season).
Deb and I were mildly engaged but not hooked enough to come back regularly. I’m a bit mystified as to buzz around the show except that this, along with Kevin Hill, are the first interesting dramas to come from UPN (and yes, I’m including their SF offerings in the analysis).
Robbie joined us for the final quarter, quickly came up to speed and then noted that his high school experience and Veronica’s bear no resemblance to each other. While there are social cliques, there aren’t the rich kids’ gang or the biker gang, or anyone’s gang. And since this is yet another high school series set in California, he’s increasingly envious of the outdoor courtyards for hanging out and dining.
So, Veronica Mars seems to be an entertaining fantasy, closer in spirit to Smallville than it probably ever intended.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 10:27 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
September 28, 2004
Getting Pissed at Corporate America
Whatever efficiencies garnered by forming large corporations is also offset by screw-ups that are nearly impossible to correct.
To boost profits, Aramark closed dining halls in favor of a food court at George Washington University. This has led Kate to struggle to find a steady way to eat healthily. A letter of complaint is on its way to the University president. For details, see the last post.
In June, Verizon cashed my check but never credited my account. About a month ago, we discovered this, found the cashed check and spoke to a succession of customer service reps. One finally told me to fax the document and everything would be swell. Deb checked on line today and guess what? Yep, they still haven’t credited the account. I can only imagine what this is doing to our credit reports.
Deb ordered a new hard drive for Robbie’s computer from Dell and after waiting for a month it arrived yesterday…without the necessary cable.
But the oddest instance was with Citibank. Yesterday we received new Master Cards and when Deb called to inquire, we were told that they had been sending us mail to notify us that our current Visa and Master Cards were being retired in favor of Platinum cards. Not only that, but the Visa was also being replaced with a Master Card. We hadn’t noticed because it’s so hard to tell important credit card mail from junk mail. Anyway, it’s not like we were being given a choice, both existing cards had already been canceled. We were mildly incensed since we have a number of recurring payments tied to the Visa card and now we had to change it all. Additionally, the new cards carried higher annual fees, so Citibank was profiting without the consumer having a say. By the end of the call, Deb worked her way up a management level and we had the Visa replacement card downgraded from the more expensive Platinum back to a simple Gold. It took her over 20 minutes and we were left thoroughly dissatisfied and more than a little angry.
And I'm still ticked at Cablevision's reps lying to me.
Is there a lesson in any of the above? Nothing new, but important to remember. Complain, asking for supervisiors if you're not pleased with the response but remember, it will only get you so far. Sure, we could cancel the credit cards and switch elsewhere but will it be any better? The other lesson is to follow up on pending transactions. When we never heard back from Verizon, we should have inquired. It’s all very frustrating and having this all pile up in a short period of time makes me wonder and worry about the future of our conglomerates.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 04:11 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
September 27, 2004
Visiting Washington
We have completed our trip to Washington, visiting with the delight that is our daughter. More follows.
I admit it, I’m jealous of Kate. Walking through her dorm and the GW campus, I saw all these people having fun, studying and making new lives for themselves. The possibilities before them are endless and they’re doing it located in one of the most exciting places to be, especially when you’re young.
Our trip down was horrendous (too much traffic) but once we pulled up to the curb at 10:45 p.m., we found a third wind. Kate and her pal Matt helped us unload the goodies and wow, there was even a legal parking space in front of the dorm. As we arrived on the fifth floor, Kate began dissecting the provisions and then ushered in a parade of floormates, all of who were asked to stick around to say hello. They were, as expected, a mixed bunch but all seemed genuinely pleased to stop in and linger a bit. Kate totally forgot to hand out the donuts but no doubt they’re gone by now.
After an hour or so of visiting, we trudged to the hotel a few blocks away. The GWU Inn is highly recommended for anyone heading down – it’s not just for University-affiliated people. Spacious, well-maintained rooms at good prices.
Saturday, we met for breakfast and touring the campus, highlighted by buildings Kate frequents. The woman at the coffee shop now knows Kate by name, which is kinda cool. Everything is a short walk away, even the middle school where she tutors eighth graders in American History. The only stops we didn’t make were to the Mount Vernon campus so we’ll take her word it’s nice.
We of course bought apparel at the school bookstore and we were shown the infamous J Street, where Aramark offers students dining options. I was appalled. Eight or so fast food style choices so it was an United Nations of grease. Kate had complained she couldn’t always eat as healthily as she wanted and now we understand. Even the Hatchet, the school paper, wrote an editorial last week condemning the $4.5 million renovation as a step backward for the students. I’ll be writing a letter to the University president that will no doubt fall on deaf ears.
She herded us to the Metro to a neighborhood with a cluster of ethnic restaurants, happy to show off and convinced I’d be thrilled. Well, she was right. Deb didn’t want Thai and we always have Indian when confronted with these choices so opted instead to try Lebanese. It was quite tasty and we took advantage of the gorgeous, sunny weather to eat outdoors.
Back to Foggy Bottom and an afternoon of shopping. Kate joined Competitive Ballroom Dancing and needs clothes for her practices and forthcoming competitions. Plus a few other things, because, after all, she’s a college student who always needs something. Fortunately, M Street is the main Georgetown drag and the weather was conducive to strolling. Also, we wisely planned ahead and brought along Premiere. A stop at Sephora, I take a seat and read. A stop at H&M, more reading. And so on. Kate found everything she needed and we even treated ourselves to a Ben & Jerry’s pit stop.
Along the way, we scoped restaurants, checking for dinner options. Our goal, after all, was to visit and enjoy Kate's company, restock her and also to make sure we got some good food into her. We settled on Manhattan’s, an American restaurant, and continued on our way with the final stop being a visit to Barnes & Noble.
I will admit to doing more rack organizing than browsing. I spruced up the graphic novel shelves, putting the DC trades in a more logical order, and yes, also cleaned up the Marvels a bit. But, I was shocked to see a shelf full of The DC Comics Encyclopedia. I knew it had an October 18 or so release date, so should not have been surprised to see it out given typical publisher release patterns, but it caught me off guard. (And yes, I also made sure my Star Trek novels were nice and neat.) As we left, I was also very pleased to see a table of books on American and World History with a stack of You Did What? nestled among them.
Kate went back to her dorm to change and stow away her purchases. Deb napped. I read my book for a bit. When Kate returned, neither woman was ready to trudge back into Georgetown so we opted for a closer locale. And so we wound up across the street from her dorm at Bertucci’s. We got caught up in the post-Yom Kippur rush (including a table of 14 of her floormates). Eventually we were seated and Kate was amused that we had a relatively new waiter and she critiqued his performance throughout the meal (after all, she’s such a pro now after five months). Still, she loved having salad and vegetables and even a good dessert so it all worked out. She even got to bring back pizza leftovers for another meal. After a quick browse at Tower Records we parted ways for the night.
On Sunday, Kate turned up at 10 and we lingered for a bit, chatting – mostly about knitting, since Kate had finished piecing together a sweater she was proud of and Deb was taking it home to block. We finally headed out for brunch only to discover the front desk was wrong and our first choice didn’t serve brunch and our second choicer didn’t start serving until 11. So we fell back on our initial choice, Paper Moon, right off M Street. It was a nice, Italian restaurant with a buffet with a wide range of options. Not necessarily the best food we’ve ever had but it was fresh, plentiful and a good deal for the price.
We headed back to the car, I snapped off some shots of the girls (Deb cut her hair real short on Friday and Kate has dyed hers a golden brown) and then we had some lingering hugs and before you knew it we were on our way home. Fortunately, the trip wasn’t too terrible and we made the trip in 5:45 or so with two stops. Robbie, who excelled at being home alone for the weekend, had done the laundry and had a nice chicken dinner ready for us. So, we ate and watched Clubhouse with him. (Aside: the show is a little pat and predictable, but it’s well cast and charming and Rob has decided we’re adding it to the rotation.)
Mission accomplished. Deb got to see for herself that Kate was fine. She seems remarkably happy and well adjusted. Living on the honors floor agrees with her and the floor has gelled quite nicely. She has developed social contacts on the floor, through class, through dancing and so on. She’ll never be lonely. Her work habits seem fine with her roommate Amy commenting that Kate manages to study at all hours as time permits. She goes to class, waitresses 1-2 times a week, dances, goes to church, tutors…what more could we want from her?
Our pride in her is mixed, naturally, with sadness over the distance. Still, we’re better off than our parents who subsisted on the occasional letter and weekly call home.
And now a new week dawns.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 09:38 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 24, 2004
Road Trip
Deb has decided we need to see Katie sooner than our planned trip on October 22. Like now. She called me with this notion on Wednesday and I am pretty pleased with how quickly I managed the course correction. We had already started buying the stuff she had asked for -- canned drinks and packaged goods -- so last night we finished that up, gathered odds and ends from her room, packed our own things, programmed the VCR and were ready to roll. We could have left at 9:30 last night, so I feel good about this from an organizational standpoint.
We save money on the hotel room, Kate gets restocked sooner than expected...overall this is turning into a good thing.
While Deb works from home this morning (lucky devil), I'm here with a busy 3/4 day. Have that aforementioned editorial meeting at noon then three departmental meetings from 1:15 to 3:00 and then I hightail it over to Penn Station. I'll grab Jersey Transit to Metro Park where Deb will collect me. From there we fight rush hour through the Jersey Turnpike (a road that bores me to tears). Kate has already asked her floormates to be around at 10 tonight to meet us. To me, this means we have extra hands to unload the car. In anticipation, I did stop at a farm stand and buy 4 dozen cider donuts as a floor treat.
Meantime, I'm working away on various projects. One is still developing and I'm getting excited about it; mainly because I'm working with an interesting cross-section of our freelance community. Earier I had recevied a contribution from my old pal Mark Waid and this morning I got one from Shelly Moldoff. In between, I also had a nice chat with Jerry Robinson, a man I have yet to meet, but whose work I have enjoyed throughout the years. It's times like this, I truly love what I do.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 11:09 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
September 22, 2004
The Last Few Days
Busy Busy Busy
I know, sounds like Terry Thomas, doesn't it?
Anyway, work has been keeping me on the go. Lots of projects have picked up steam and I've been caught up in administrative tasks, most of which I truly enjoy doing (and miss from my previous time at DC).
The projects are good to work on and I think will turn out to be successful but we'll talk about them later.
Also, been catching up on some comics reading, finished Robert B. Parker's Double Play which was okay but ultimately disappointing because I expected it to be more about Jackie Robinson's integration into Major League Baseball (as promised by the reviewers) than it turned out to be.
Coolness
An editor I’ve wanted to work with for a while now just called to see if I was still interested in pitching a story to an anthology he was working on. I thought this option, last discussed with him a while back, had vanished. Apparently not. We’ll talk in depth on Friday and see if magic happens. I consider this a wonderful opportunity and hope I don’t blow it.
Talking Baseball
Last year I attended a four session talk sponsored by the Fairfield Public Library about baseball. I had read most of the books, liked them, and thought it would make for a good outing. Our host is baseball historian and author Michael J. Bielawa, who has written extensively about Connecticut baseball, and he’s engaging, well prepared and fun to chat with.
Last night, a new series of four talks kicked off and this time around the theme is “Mysticism, Fantasy and Larger than Life: Baseball in America & Literature.” A rather high-falutin’ title but baseball fiction tends to allow for the mystical. After all, look at the popularity of Field of Dreams. Again, I had read three of the four books under discussion so Deb and Robbie egged me into going back (as opposed to giving in to inertia).
Michael was as charming as last time and as we went around the room, the thirty or so of us introduced ourselves and briefly covered our reason for being there. Many were returnees and at least a few came because they heard last time was so enjoyable. One old-timer, Joel, talked about two others who were eagerly looking forward to the session but both passed away over the summer. One in particular I remember chatting with at last year’s talks; a knowledgeable guy with great memories about the Brooklyn Dodgers games he saw as a kid and the greats he actually watched play, including Babe Ruth. Their absence was properly noted.
We kicked off with Pete Hamill’s wonderful Snow in August, which I recommend to anyone regardless of your interest in the National Pastime. As we discussed it. I was struck by the themes uncovered that I never paused to notice as I read it. As we dissected it, I was taken with the structure (the writer in me studying the form) and how much of a fairy tale it is and the use of imagery and, more importantly, language. Michael Devlin’s learning of Yiddish opened up a mystical realm that his Irish Catholic upbringing had failed to do while the Rabbi learned the language of America, baseball, and was able to more fully integrate himself in society, something the Polish immigrant had yet to accomplish. Wonderful stuff.
Neat we tackle W.P. Kinsella’s The Iowa Baseball Confederacy, a book I was told I’d love but found too far-fetched. I’ll be curious to see what I may have missed.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 11:30 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
September 19, 2004
This And That
Back to Press
So I read on Keith DeCandido's blog that Tales of the Dominion War is going back for a second printing. Hooray! It's a rock solid collection and worthy of the attention it's getting.
With so much media tie-in competition these days, Pocket's print runs for Star Trek fiction have been cut back, drastically when compared with the past. And yet, the current A Time to... series has been selling very well for them, with David Mack's A Time to Heal actually hitting the USA Today best seller list.
The quality of the books is way up over the last few years and it's nice to see readers responding.
Ivan's Visit
We got the merest taste of Hurricane Ivan as the storm moved over Connecticut yesterday. Driving rains and wind, branches down, some power lines down (thankfully not here), and so on. Under circumstances like this, one corner of the basement gets damp. It just happens to be the corner where the filing cabinet is, next to my desk. Yesterday, we got so much rain, so fast; we developed two leaks in the vicinity. I spent well over an hour sitting down there with the Shop Vac running, keeping the floor as dry as possible.
And then the storm passed, the skies lightened, an early fall breeze filled the air and it was over. Odd.
The New Season Begins
Here, we intend to sample the following new series this season: Jack & Bobby, Clubhouse, Lost, and Desperate Housewives. Any other suggestions?
As it is, these are being added to the family rotation of Boston Legal, Gilmore Girls, NYPD Blue, The West Wing, Smallville, ER, Enterprise and Joan of Arcadia.
I've stated previously, I was very impressed with the first episode of Jack & Bobby. I got a nice note from Brad Meltzer, who helped co-create the series, letting me know he and his partner are writing the seventh episode so it's nice to see he'll stay involved. We'll probably cut away from the Emmy Awards to watch it tonight.
The More Things Change...
At the annual used book sale back in July, I picked up Alan King's 1964 best-sellerHelp! I'm a Prisoner in a Chinese Bakery. I've always like King and his work and was sorry to see him pass away recently. Reading the book the other day, I was struck at how similar his complaints were. Here we are 40 years later, and the complaints haven't changed all that much.
When you strip away the borscht belt humor, the obvious wife and in-law jokes, and look at what he's commenting on, it's all eerily familiar. Look at these excerpts:
"I think we should realize that having parents plan out every step of their children's lives is not always a blessing. The big thing used to be planned parenthood; now it's planned childhood."
"Did you know that the number-one health problem in the United States is obesity? That's a fact. We're all too fat."
"Modern Man is expected to be a good provider for his family, a faithful and virile husband, a helpmate, a loving father, an asset to his community, a paragon of virtue, a pillar of strength, a fountain of compassion. And all the time he's got to conform to the system, act by the rules, and live by the numbers."
And there are other universal truths and complaints sprinkled throughout the book about airplane delays, banking, lawyers, and so on. On the other hand, it's also a time capsule. He laments the move to the seven digit phone number (no more MUrray Hill 567) or the absence of doctors making house calls.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 02:29 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
September 16, 2004
Proud to be a Member
For a few years now, Deb has been bugging me to join the Science Fiction Writers of America. And I've always avoided it.
There's a part of me that feels that writing predominantly media tie-in fiction (which, to be honest, that's what Star Trek is) doesn't qualify me. Then there's the inertia that's all-too-common to people.
And then there's guilt.
Every year SFWA kindly invites me to their annual authors-and-editors holiday reception and every year I attend, eating their food and drinking their soda and I keep thinking about how I really should join; looks like a fun club.
Well, at World Con I grabbed the literature, and finally took the plunge. Just got an e-mail from executive editor Jane Jewell that I have been accepted into said fun club.
My secret password and decoder ring should be along shortly and then I can check out the members-only areas and watch people debate points of procedure at decibels levels that can hurt dogs' ears.
In some ways this feels like a step up for me. Maybe I'm making more out of the group than I should. On the other hand, since I intend to continue to work in this field, and write more original works (both science fiction and fantasy if things work out), then it's high time to be a useful member of this society.
Anyway, thought I'd share.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 09:19 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 15, 2004
You Have got to be Kidding Me
Found this over at the United Kingdom's Guardian web site:
German 'World Service' boldly goes for Klingon news
Michael Leidig
Wednesday September 15, 2004
The German equivalent of the BBC World Service, Deutsche Welle, has added a new language to its global news network by starting to use Klingon.
Star Trek, or Raumschiff Enterprise as it is known in Germany, has cult status with thousands of German Trekkies admitting they are obsessed with the TV series and its various spin-off programmes.
The popularity of the show in Germany and abroad prompted the country's state-run world radio network to begin offering online reports and audio clips in Klingon.
The station said the language of the big-browed, ill-mannered alien characters from Star Trek will be added to the existing 30 languages they already use on their homepage.
A spokesman said: "We wanted something special to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the site."
The Klingon reports on the Deutsche Welle website are also supposed to underline the station's philosophy of multicultural, intergalactic openness.
"The dialogue of cultures does not stop at the edge of the solar system," said the Deutsche Welle director, Erik Bettermann. "We should celebrate our 10-year presence in the online universe with a cross-border language.
"This should help users from other galaxies get an impression of Germany," he added.
For those not versed in the artificial TV language created by linguist Marc Okrand, the website offers an online translation program called "Mr Klingon", which translates Klingon news into German and English.
Klingon was created for the television show Star Trek and has its own grammatical rules and vocabulary. Works by Shakespeare have already been translated into Klingon.
The announcement of Deutsche Welle's online news service in Klingon reads: "DIS 1994 dwelle.de taghDI' DW, tv online website wa'DIch 'oH. qaStaHvIS DISmey veb tInchoH 'ej tera'Daq noyqu'choH DW qo'".
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 03:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 14, 2004
And the Emmy Goes to...
These days, people look at William Shatner as a joke. He’s been branded a ham actor who has been playing a version of the true Shatner for nearly two decades now.
That may be true. But, Shatner has always been a product of his time. In the 1960s when a certain style of acting was required for dramatic television, he delivered. It got him noticed and ultimately cast in the lead of Star Trek. In the wake of the series’ cancellation, Shatner went on to a lucrative few years of guest starring on just about every dramatic show there was. He detoured for a failed season on the under-appreciated
By the 1980s, he was back playing Captain Kirk in the movies but the acting roles were drying up. He wasn’t young nor was he leading man handsome anymore. Fame, fortune and a certain fondness for kitsch transformed Shatner the man into Shatner the Pop Star and he milked it for all it was worth.
He branched out, as happy with horse breeding as he was with the occasional small role. Shatner found writing a new venue, parlaying his fame into best-sellerdom. With Ron Goulart, he created TekWorld and sold many millions of books, which actually led to a television series. The writing led him back to Trek as he teamed with Judith and Gar Reeves-Stevens for what has been dubbed the Shatnerverse series of novels. They sell well and you get one pretty much every year.
Shatner played with his image in fun ways such as playing the Big Head on Third Rock from the Sun or playing himself in the hilarious Free Enterprise.
But it has been a long time since anyone asked Shatner to stretch as a serious actor. No one thought he could do it. That is, until David Kelly created Denny Crane and gave the part to Shatner during the waning weeks of The Practice. Denny was an odd bird, a lawyer possibly at the beginning of Alzheimer’s disease and idiosyncratic in the office. In the court, though, he’s still brilliant and dramatic and hard to take your eyes of him. And Shatner has to act, his usual Shatner speech patterns and mannerisms fail him and he has risen to the occasion, bringing this creation to life.
It has worked so well, Shatner received the Emmy Award for Best Guest Actor in a Drama. And he deserves it. Those episodes of The Practice are currently rerunning and I recommend you check them out. The experience proved so enjoyable, he’s signed up as a regular on the new series Boston Legal, also starring James Spader. (And for Trek fans, Rene Auberjonois will play a recurring character.)
So, I salute the reinvention of William Shatner. A well-deserved honor.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 04:21 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
The Screening Room
I saw a screening of Sky Captain last night and if you're interested, I talk about it.
In the days when I worked at Starlog, we got low pay and little in the way of benefits. Therefore, a real perk was getting your name added to the screening list. Given the number of movies we had to see for professional reasons, this saved us lots of money. And we got invited to all the other non-genre films, too.
At least once a week, if not more, we would meet at one of a handful of regular theatres around Manhattan, line-up and see a film. It became a regular habit, as we saw freelance writers, competitors, and people in and around the business. The people became my first real network of contacts in the business world and I was thrilled to attend. Deb would come when the movie appealed to her, but when she chose not to waste her time on true dreck; I had a number of friends willing to kill a few hours.
Over time, studios cut back because running these things got expensive. And after a few years, I migrated from Starlog to DC Comics. Many studios readily switched the address and I continued to attend. At the time, I was working on a number of media-related properties (i.e. Star Trek and V) so I justified my place on the list as professional.
It was still a lot of fun.
As with all things, one list cut me then another then another. It has been five years or so since I was last on anyone’s list and I have come to accept that. Still, I missed the camaraderie and thrill of seeing something before the buzz ruined surprises or spoiled the fun.
Last night, I went to a screening for Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Ever since the first trailer hit, I have been looking forward to the film. Then, when I read how Kerry Conran has worked on this for eight years or more, starting with a tiny Apple Iic computer, I was impressed. His love for movie serials, pulp science fiction, comics and more showed in all the material we were shown in the months leading to the premier.
And just like in the past, I saw a ton of people I knew from around the industry. It felt good. I sat fairly close to the screen, a large bag of popcorn resting in my lap, the diet coke in the holder. The lights finally dimmer, the curtain rose and stirring score filled the room.
I wanted to love it. I really did. I liked it, though, and remain an admirer for someone living out his or her dream.
But the film is ultimately a disappointment. Yes, the movie harkens back to the thrills of the old movie serials and captures and idealized look at New York in 1939. We’re treated to a globetrotting story, a mysterious vile female, an even more mysterious and deadly mastermind, giant robots, flying airbases, etc. Still, everything felt flat. And the fault came from the story and the lack of characterization.
Kerry took the everything-and-the-kitchen sink approach to the script so we had robots, skybases, underground warriors, Shangri-La, rockets, explosions, betrayals, etc. But we moved from locale to locale without stopping to enjoy any of it. When Flash Gordon went to Mongo, he visited one bizarre locale after another, but they all felt as if they fit together. Here, it felt like pieces from various puzzles on the same table. And the exposition in this film was about as thin as the old-time serials although we expected better.
In the publicity, Conran likened the relationship between Sky Captain (Jude Law) and Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) to the Gable-Lombard or Hepburn-Tracy relationships of films from that bygone era. Unfortunately, you get a few lines that genuinely make you laugh out loud, but the rest of the time it falls flat. Worse, you don’t understand their purpose, their backstory or what they see in one another. Giovanni Ribisi and Angelina Jolie are also underserved by the script, wasted characters (although I will admit Jolie looked amazing in her Wally Wood-inspired outfit).
The other selling point was the CGI and period look. In short doses, the hand-tinted feel to the photography is terrific. 1:45 worth, though, gets to be a bit much. Similarly, the CGI is terrific and consistent but there are times things looked too orderly, too neat or sterile and it took me out of the experience.
My brother (and Deb) doesn’t want to see the film because it has no appeal. When I equated it to the old serials, Neil shot back that Raiders of the Lost Ark also came from the same inspiration but that trailer made him want to see that film. And the chief difference was a certain level of energy to the filmmaking process but more importantly, to characters we came to enjoy. We fell in love with Marion and cheered when Indiana triumphed in the end. Here, we want to like Sky Captain but are given no reason why.
Ultimately, the film disappoints because it tries to hard and is too earnest and left its heart and soul trapped in the director’s imagination.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 09:27 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
September 12, 2004
Read all About it
It's the first weekend at my desk in about a month which feels very weird. Normally, I'm done here either one or both days for a few hours each. Deb has complained that over the last few years I'd do the errands and then vanish down there all weekend. She has a point and I'm trying to be better. Still, it's amazing how many things, both big and small, needed tending to. Almost done.
One of the things I unearthed was the latest issue of Star Trek Communicator, the official magazine of the Fan Club. Kevin Dilmore kindly sent me three copies and they immediately went to the desktop for processing and then more stuff wound up atop them. In issue #152, there's a very nice, well balanced feature on the A Time To... series of books. The timing could be better because each duology has been better received than its predecessor and the grand finale is about to be released. While most of the Star Trek crossover novel series have received mixed reviews, this one seems to have the best received. I'm thrilled to be a part of it.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 05:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 10, 2004
What's Been Happening
It certainly has been busy since returning from Boston. As I catch my breath, I’ll fill you in.
For whatever reason, it has been particularly busy here in Collected Editions land. As a result, I have inundated with designer proofs and printer proofs on a variety of upcoming projects. Fortunately, none are running late so I had time to review them all without rushing. Superman: Birthright, a hardcover compilation of the just-completed maxiseries, is looking particularly fetching. And I was pleasantly surprised to see proofs on the second printing of Formerly Known as the Justice League a book I did in the spring. Speaks well for the material and the intelligence of the consumer, who clearly bought them faster than we anticipated.
Additionally, my colleague Dale and I have been meeting about a few upscale books for 2005. These are the kinds of challenges that will enable us to grow our business and provide us with some creative variety. The only catch is, we finally got these off the ground this week just in time for Dale to take a working vacation to Hong Kong.
There’s also been research, administrative stuff, chasing material and this morning, sending out 41 packages of Batman in the Eighties comps. The book turned out pretty well – I am certainly happier with this than my Batman in the Forties collection. Much of the difference is the historical material that John Wells thoroughly researched and wrote for me.
Also had a nice business lunch with a few DC folk and visiting dignitary George R.R. Martin. Missed seeing SF legend Harry Harrison when he stopped by the same day.
At home, we’re settling into our new routine. Kate’s absence is keenly felt but we more than compensate for it with activity and noise. Robbie seems to like his teachers and Deb has begun a challenging new knitting project so she’s engaged. Haven’t accidentally set the table for four yet, so I take that to be a good sign.
Kate is doing well at school, two weeks in. She’s tried out for some plays and an acapella group, continues to waitress and is soon to begin volunteer tutoring at a local school. The work is good, she claims, and who am I to argue? We IM almost every day and have spoken by phone every few days, which is more than I did when I was away.
The sun is out, the ground is finally a bit drier and the Mets broke the losing streak. Things are looking up.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 12:00 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 08, 2004
Woo Hoo
Killian Melloy over at Wigglefish just posted a review to A Time to Hate. He says, in part, "Greenberger does a magnificent job of showing our heroes at their best, and yet working in conditions that will only serve to show them in the worst light. "
Who am I to argue?
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 10:38 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 07, 2004
Wrapping up the Con Report
Where was I?
Ah yes, the Masquerade. Maybe I’m jaded from year after year of delightful contests at Shore Leave, but I have to say, as superior as the craftsmanship was among the contestants, and the overall quality of work was consistently higher, the presentations were no better than what I’ve been treated to in Baltimore. And unlike Shore Leave, the Masquerade started very late and seemingly ran long. I was nodding off by the end of the presentation so cut out when the lights went up.
I accompanied a friend of Michael Burstein’s; an art historian named Steve, to the various bid parties and assorted other final night nonsense. In most cases, we breezed in and out, grazing along the way. As we reached the upper floors, I started running into people I knew. In one room, I found David Honigsberg and Peter Heck jamming on their guitars. Haven’t seen David play in some years and enjoyed the one number I heard. Walked into one party to discover it was an Open House to celebrate a woman’s 60th birthday. Seated beside her was another woman named Melissa who, upon seeing me, exclaimed how good it was to see me again. I didn’t recognize her, to be honest. She then recounted how she hasn’t seen me since 1982 at a con she, nor I, could recall. Odd. The final stop turned out to be at the Geneva party, where Peter Morwood, Keith DeCandido and Terri Osborne had staked out space. I plopped into an open chair and joined the conversation only to have a friendly woman proclaim I was in her seat, and she promptly fell into my lap. Bey, it turns out, is a friend to Keith and Terri and now, I guess, me. Shortly thereafter, Michael called, done having his drink with Neil Gaiman. It was agreed that bedtime had arrived early for us all.
Monday was up early to pack and then I returned the favor and sat in on Michael’s kaffeeklatsch. We then transported their belongings to another room for safekeeping and then it was off to Hynes, my own luggage in tow, for my panels.
The Comic Book Conventions discussion was pretty interesting as Steve Saffel, Barry Short and I had a full room and spirited audience. The talk was wide-ranging and entertaining for both sides. The following panel dedicated to the Flash was much the same although it evolved pretty quickly into Tom Galloway asking me questions and then I gave long-winded answers. The audience, though fewer in number, also had some good points and it was a fine way to wind down the con.
The train trip home was uneventful. Things seemed fine in my absence as Deb and Robbie both had full weekends, separately and together. The house was in one piece and we had a relaxed evening sampling the pilot episode to Jack and Bobby, which debuts on the WB Sunday night at 9 p.m. It is a serious show, playing things more like the West Wing than Everwood and we’re all agreed it’s worth sticking with. I recommend it to you, as well.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 04:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 05, 2004
More from Boston
Where was I? Ah yes, the parties.
Each night the parties are pretty much the same. You work your way up to the 12th floor and then wander the floor, stoopping at parties of interest and then take the stairs down a floor until you find yourself on 7. Repeat.
The Liaden Party, celebrating the nifty Sharon Lee and Steve Miller books, was particularly nice to visit, especially as I ran into David, Deb's ex-coworker, reading aloud one of the books in fluent Russian. The George RR Martin party, celebrating his current fantasy series, has gained repute as being particularly fun, but I was unimpressed. The SFF.net suite has a different theme each night and has been packed. Saturday night was a book party for Laura Ann Gilman and Keith DeCandido, with Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters (liquor and dry ice) or scotch. It was terrific since many pals lingered and chatted for hours. For two nights running, I was enchanted by the Rhode Island Science Fiction Club's small party. Taking their island name to heart, they did a paradise theme, handing out lays and decorating with palm trees. Several of the members take hula lessons from another member, and every 15 minutes or so, they performed two numbers, One, a traditional Hawaiian hula and then a more solemn one, choreographed to Annie Lennox's lovely "Into the West" from Return of the King. Twas fun.
As for the con itself, Saturday was a good day. I had, of course, a packed room for the Trailer Park presentation. I showed material on 23 movies with the greatest response given to Shaun of the Dead and Team America, Everyone got excited by the Hitchhiker's teaser as well as the Batman Begins trailer.
We also had a good turn out for the all-too-short Memorial to Julie Schwartz. At the event, I saw long time letter hack Guy H. Lillian III, whom I haven't seen in a long time.
My kaffeeklatsch was ok, with two legitmate fans signed up as well as my roomies Michael & Nomi Burstein.
Saturday night was spent dining at a spectacular steak house, Abe & Louis's, invited to join the gang by Arwen Rosenbaum. Afterwards, it was more partying.
Sunday started with a Star Trek panel that was pretty good although Jacquelin Lichtenberg had one theme and hammered it for an hour. I did get to meet a NASA scientist on the panel, who chose his career, inspired by the series.
I then met with superb agent Lucienne Diver, for a catch up conversation since I never see her. Did some browsing, some shopping, some reading and tghen had a late lunch with Diane Duane and Peter Morwood, friends I see way too infrequently, We had such a good time, I was late for Esther Freisner's special event. She and her husband Walter renewed their vows for their 20th anniversary, in a ceremony overseen by Rabbi David Honigsberg. The chuppah was 20 fabric squares made by 20 friends and very unique. Among the attendees were Harry Trurtledove and Terry Pratchett among many of our NYC pals.
No one showed up for my 6 pm reading (except Michael and Nomi who are as loyal friends as a guy could ask for) so I'm blogging and getting ready to see the Masquerade and a final round of parties.
Aside: the Mets lost again, eight in a row and can't seem to do anything with their veterans or rookies, It's way too frustrating to talk about.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 07:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 03, 2004
At WorldCon
I'm sitting here in the lobby of the Sheraton Boiston, using Nomi Burstein's laptop, checking e-mail and taking a moment to catch you up on activity here at WorldCon. A laptop and wirelss, is just so neat a concept. Sitting beside me, pounding away on his laptop and wireless is our webmaster Glenn. Hi Glenn.
Took Amtrak up here on Thursday to avoid traffic and high parking fees. It arrived late and still got me to Boston early. Meandered my way to the hotelk, dropped off my stuff in the room I'm sharing with the Bursteins and then registered.
Even though there are some 6000 people here, it doesn't feel crowded. The con facilities are spread out and while full, there's no congestion which is nice. I keep running into old friends along the way which is nice, especially the out-of-towners. Registrtation was a breeze and I was surprised to be handed a pocket program that resembled a fulls-zed magazine, Every room has been filled with activities from knitting to discussion on quantum physics. And lots about science fiction.
I had nothing scheduled but attended a few discussions and then wandered the dealers room where I was happy to see a table witht he debut of Red Jacket Press's facsimiles of David A. Kyle's books from the 1950s. David's a great guy, one of the founders of science fiction fandom, and his daughter Kerry and her husband (and old pal) Brian Peace created the company to resurrect some of these great books that people can rediscover.
The Con Suite is well-appointted with games, books, and tons of munchies. I keep looking for someone to play chinese checkers with,m but hey, the weekend is just beginning.
I watched lots of silly programming featuring the Bursteins and/or Keith DeCandido that even and was finally fallinjg asleep so went back to the room.
This morning we got up late and as I was finally getting my coffee, ran into an ex-coworker of Deb's, who is a big fan. I then went to read in the Con Suite when I ran into Lawrence Watt-Evans. We haven't chatted since, he claims, 1986, so we spent two hours catching up along with his delightful wife Julie.
I then attended an interesting panel on researching your work and knowing when enough is enough. Afterward, I had lunch with Charles Adair and his wife Naomi. Charles is one of those guys who has done lots of different things including help found Juno, but you never heard of him. He's cool, though. Naomi just sold a fantasy trilogy to DelRey so she's thrilled with the world right about now.
At 3, I went to the SFF.net suite for my autographing, only to discover that they had been posting an older version of the schedule so no one knew about it so no one came. So, I spent the hour having a lively political chat with those in the suite, including an old con buddy of mine, Mitch, who I tend to see only at the Baltimore cons as well as I-Con. Speaking of Baltimore, I then ran into Marty Gear, another old pal. He started talking about being at the 1953 Hugo Awards, the first time they were presented. He's got such an amiable style, I just love listening to his stories.
After a brief visit with author Janna Silverstein, I went to heckle the How to Write Comics panel, only to have Scott Edelman invite me on the stage as the most qualified person in the room to discuss the topic. So, I shared the stage with Scott, Keith, and Kevin J. Anderson, whom I had never met before. Afterwards, I thanked Kevin and his wife Rebecca Moesta for the Young Jedi series of novels that was a staple of my bedtime reading ritual with Robbie.
I then stole Nomi's computer and began e-mailing and blogging until it was time for dinner. When Gwen David, daughter of Peter, read here that I was coming, she suggested dinner. Afer much haggling with various parties, we were going out tonight. It was Gwen, Keith, Glenn, and we were joined en route by a hungry (and well dressed) Janna. Gwen took us a few blocks away for some very good Thai food and a lively conversation.
WorldCons tend to stand out from other shows, including comics conventions, with the abundence of parties. There are parties for groups trying to woo your vote fro a future WorldCon selection; there are publisher parties, a birthday party in Klingon, a couple gettging married soon but celebrating now, and much more. The nearly hourly Triplanetary Gazette has a complete listing of tonight's parties, all in the Sheraton's north tower. (The currewnt edition just announced the results of the 1953 Retrospective Hugo Awards [making up for the lack of awards in 1954] and Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 took best novel with James Blish nabbing bith the Best Novella and Best Novelette nods.)
So, it's off to the parties. More reports as time permits.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 07:42 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 01, 2004
Thoughts
I’ll be off to Boston tomorrow morning and since I don’t have a laptop, communication will be hit or miss. A hit if I can find a terminal, a miss if I don’t. With that in mind, some odds and ends…
Politics
With all the focus on the GOP convention and its protestors, I find the media coverage fairly uninteresting. I also find the message from both the Democrats and GOP to be way too negative. Both sides are hell-bent on tearing down the other guy that neither one is clearly making their case for what they will do given four years of power. President Bush came to the office making a certain number of statements and promises, some were kept, many were not. Tomorrow night, I hope he can state which of those unkept promises are still on the agenda.
John Kerry, on the other hand, needs to clearly state what he sees as the top goals of his would-be administration. I’m tired of hearing how he’s a war vet. I got it. What will he do for education, the environment, the space program, etc.? I have no clue – he’s not saying much. And what he does say is so overly nuanced we’re nodding off before he can make a point.
The 6% of undecided voters may very well make up their minds when they watch the debates. The plainspoken Bush has the edge going into the three meetings, so Kerry has to make sure he’s ready with concise responses.
Speaking of the media, the San Francisco Bay Guardian today has an interesting piece on the top ten stories not being covered by the media. Check this out.
Jimmy Doohan
Jimmy got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame yesterday. Cheers to him. Sure, the majority of his acting career has hinged on Star Trek, but his other credentials certainly help make the case.
I’ve spoken to Jimmy on and off since meeting him at the original Committee conventions of the 1970s. We haven’t chatted in a number of years and our last conversation was all about the pleasures of vacation via motorhome. But, I’ll tell you, he’s always been a convivial guy and a great storyteller. He enthralled an auditorium full of people while I was at college, most of whom had no clue of his skills.
Age is catching up to the cast. I was shocked to see that Walter Koenig is 67 and George Takei is 64 and Nichelle Nichols is 70. With William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy both in their 70s, there’s no point in trying to revive the franchise with these guys. Their appeal is to a certain segment of the audience, an aging segment at that. If they want something to follow Enterprise they need to look forward.
Baseball
I’m reading a collection called Murderer’s Row. As edited by Otto Penzler, it features stories by the likes of Robert B. Parker, Lawrence Block, Max Allan Collins, Mike Lupica, and Elmore Leonard. It’s a fun, breezy read; perfect as the baseball season itself starts to heat up into the final pennant races. There were two stories, back to back, that chose to pick on my beloved, beleaguered Mets, proving they can’t catch respect anywhere, even in fiction. I was also amused by one story that hinged on rotisserie baseball (my Final Frontiersmen remain mired in second with little hope of the lead).
And hey, how about those Yankees? Last night’s game must have felt like a mystery to them. To suddenly go from a 10 game lead to a 3 game lead in a mere two weeks has to be of some concern. Deb would like to see them fail to make the playoffs. I think they’ll get that far, but unless something changes, they won’t be winning any World Championships this year.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 10:54 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack