Month: February 2004

Because I want to see if he holds the Oscar in his hands, strokes it, and murmurs, “My precious.”

PAD

Pursuant to the conversation we had at 3 AM, I am leaving in place the latest posting by the person signing himself as “Bendis” (usurping the name of noted comic writer Brian Bendis.) This posting appears toward the end of the responses on previous blog entry entitled “DID ANYONE ELSE NOTICE?” (update: we removed them when we just migrated to new software to cut down on the problem; the original material can be found here.) I am pleased to hear that you will be able to identify this individual and throw him off AOL because of his deliberately disruptive behavior and repeated violation of Terms of Service.

In order to simplify the AOL team’s job, I will ask everyone else on this board not to post anything further on the previous blog entry. “Bendis,” if you want to post another profanity-laded message here, be aware you’ll just be making AOL’s job easier. We’ve been keeping records of the exact times and ISPs through which you’ve been posting.

PAD

Something on Thursday night’s “Daily Show?” Warning: Involves a dirty word, so you have to continue to read.

Am I paranoid over the possibility of increasing incidents of anti-Semitic violence?

No.

Am I concerned?

Sure.

The watchword of the Holocaust is “Never again.” Look what happened in Germany: Violence against minorities. People deprived of liberty without due process. The existence of organized anti-Semitic hate groups. Citizens who had committed no crime, rounded up and stuck into relocation camps.

Except…gee…over the last sixty years, those have all happened here as well. And now our commander in chief is suggesting changing the Constitution to formalize a bigotry against gays…a people who, y’know, were just adored by Hitler (who was, by the way, a very religious individual.)

So don’t tell me I’m overreacting, and don’t tell me that such things could never happen here, because such things *have* happened here. The only question is, will they happen again and to what degree.

Now me, I don’t especially care to find out. Don’t get me wrong: It’s not like I’m lying awake at night, listening for the sounds of rocks being thrown through my front windows while people scream “Dirty Jews!” (the incident which–when it happened to him–prompted my paternal grandfather to pack up his family and move the hëll out of pre-WWII Berlin while it was still possible to get out.) But there continues to be a nagging concern in the back of my mind, and frankly, considering a grand thousands-of-years tradition of people trying to kill Jews, I don’t think the concern is exactly misplaced.

PAD

Chicago Cubs fans, hoping to end the curse, yesterday took the baseball tipped out of a fielder’s glove by a fan and blew the baseball to bits. In a possibly related story, at the exact same moment but hundreds of miles away, noted comic artist Todd McFarlane spontaneously combusted.

More on this story as it develops.

PAD

I’ve been asked why Fallen Angel doesn’t appear on the sub list at dccomics.com. We wrote to the sub e-mail address at the site, and they said that yes, subs are available for “Fallen Angel.” My expression is that it’s our ongoing “no visible category” problem. They can’t group us in DCU because we’ve got the mature readers label, but they can’t group us with the mature label books because those are all Vertigo, and they can’t put us in with “Beyond the DCU” because those are all kiddie books. It’s the old story: All of the disadvantages of a DCU title and a Vertigo title, none of the advantages of either. Yet another strike against the book which already has, like, ten against it. I’m frankly stunned we’re still being published.

But hey, next issue starts off with Jesus hanging on the cross, so maybe we’ll pick up some of that swell “Passion” action. Seriously. The issue starts at the Crucifixion. At the time I wrote it, I didn’t know “Passion” was coming out around the same time, but, y’know, whatever works.

PAD

Emma is now out of the hospital. Yesterday at 9 AM was the last time she threw up, so she seems on the mend. They will still be doing the GI work-up, but on an outpatient basis, which is better for all concerned.

Beth and her husband, Rande, extend their thanks to all the well wishes extended. And as soon as there’s a definitive GI diagnosis, we will let you know.

PAD