PeterDavid.net

In any court proceeding, there’s usually a winner and a loser. Not in this case, though. Here, everyone loses.

Her husband has been nationally villified by people who don’t even know him. His parents have lost their daughter, but not before presenting a national picture of themselves that wavered between pathos and pathetic, depending upon one’s point of view. Her life was cut short. And whereas anyone who remembers Karen Quinlan has forever etched in their minds the smiling picture taken as a school portrait, Terri Schiavo leaves behind a lasting image of a bedridden woman with glassy eyes who is either looking hopefully at her parents or–as her liquified brain would suggest–wasn’t looking at anything. Politicians attempted to make some quick hay and capital by going national over something that should have remained personal, with plenty of shame available to cover both GOP and Dem behavior.

Everyone loses.

This should never happen again.

But it will.

PAD

If the man don’t breathe, you must bequeath.

PAD

Tom DeFalco brought this site to my attention. Basically the guy who runs it reprints, unchanged, some of the more insane covers from the Mort Weisinger era of “Superman” with truly hilarious comments (my favorite so far is the one on page 2 about the time machine).

http://www.nationallampoon.com/supermanisadick/default.asp

PAD

Robert Blake–who, for all we know, really did kill his wife–said he desperately needs money.

I think he and O.J. Simpson should team up and put together a song-and-dance act, like Roxy and Velma did in “Chicago.” I’m not sure what they would sing, but I bet it would be interesting.

PAD

When someone is saying stuff about me that is deliberately false, I say they lied. “He lied.” “He’s fulla crap.” “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” “That’s bull.”

That’s how I put it.

So Todd McFarlane claims that Neil “gave away” all rights to Miracleman, and ha ha on Neil. And Neil, in the course of calmly dissecting Todd’s claims, says:

“Beyond that, he’s also distancing himself from the reality-based community in his description of the result of the legal case.”

Distancing himself from the reality-based community. You gotta love that.

PAD

Turned in the completed script for the Spike one-shot today. Just did an out-loud reading of it for Kathleen and Ariel, to make sure all the dialogue and voices sounded okay. It’s not as if they’re the most unbiased audience in the world, but they liked it a lot. My goal–which, of course, I’ll probably never know if I achieved–is to have Whedon read it and think, “Okay, why the hell didn’t we hire this guy to write for us?” Of course, he could just as easily think, “Thank God we never hired him to write for us.” But I think it’s got enough twists and turns to live up to his sense of the perverse.

If nothing else, it should please the Buffy fans since it definitively establishes that Cecily and Hallie were the same person and shows what happened at the party after William fled into the night to meet his vampiric fate.

The artist has already started work based on early pages I turned in. We’ll probably have sample artwork and the cover to put up here on Monday, although naturally it will still be pending approvals from Fox and shouldn’t be considered necessarily the final versions.

PAD

Understand, I’m not saying “Fallen Angel” is continuing. I’m not saying that. And if it were, which I’m not saying it is, I’m not saying that there would be a different artist, because it’s a moot question since I’m not saying it’s continuing in the first place.

But if it were continuing, which I’m not saying it is, and I were in the market for a new artist, which I’m not saying I am, who would you want to see drawing it?

PAD

Over on the Dixonverse.net board, an interesting discussion has cropped up involving CBG columnists and the ostensible politicization thereof. Which is remarkably hilarious since CBG editor Maggie Thompson actually bends over backwards to AVOID political content.

John Jackson Miller’s article “Blue States vs. Red States” is falsely described as a political polemic touting Blue State superiority. It is, in fact,a detailed and thoughtful analysis of how comic book sales and existing stores break down along geographic lines, and even features a lengthy sidebar interview with a retailer who is not only a huge advocate of labeling, but laments “Comics do not reflect mid-American culture.” The same poster then goes on to say that I compare the “fight” of the CBLDF in Georgia to the censorship of the Nazis, and then complains about “clueless, elitist artists.” Chuck Dixon also weighed in to complain about how politics or political views had no place in comics centering on the adventures of costumed iconic superheroes. In case anyone’s interested–and since it’s come to my attention that folks hereabouts seem to like political discussion–this is what I wrote in response to the guy complaining about clueless artists:

(more…)

Since this is related to the case but a tangent, I’ll post it separately since it could likely engender a whole different discussion.

What occurs to me is that if the person in a coma were one half of a gay married couple, if the spouse were advocating that all extreme measures SHOULD be taken to keep the comatose mate going, and it was the parents who were saying the patient should be starved to death…

Congress wouldn’t touch it with a ten meter cattle prod.

PAD

Several years ago, I had a living will done up. If the worst should happen, I’m never going to have to concern myself that politicians, like leeches, will attach themselves to my case the way they have with poor Terri Schiavo. Screaming hypocrites who consider all life sacred–unless, of course, we’re bombing it into oblivion or consigning it to death row for execution.

Yes, friends, the US government–the one that the GOP claims they want to keep out of people’s lives–just loves mixing into people’s deaths, setting the calendar on life termination and making sure that no one, absolutely no one, dies before the government is ready to send them to their deaths personally.

I strongly suggest to any and all reading this that you decide one way or the other while you still can. If you want to insist your family takes whatever measures possible to continue your life, even if medical science says it’s hopeless, then make that clear in writing. If, like me, you don’t want to burden your family and force them to watch you lie there like a slab of meat, consigning you all to a sort of twilight zone holding pattern for year after year after year, then make that clear as well.

Don’t leave it in the hands of politicians, lawyers, judges, and, God forbid, a Bush.

PAD

Ariel wrapped up her stint as Golde in “Fiddler,” and acquitted herself wonderfully. And we’re almost done with the steady flow of visitors who have been coming through since last Monday. It’s not that we don’t love seeing parents and my older daughters, because obviously we do. But, boy, it makes you realize how relatively quiet it is around here under normal circumstances.

Looking forward to watching PBA Bowling today at 12:30. History in the making as a woman bowler made the cut for the first time and will be competing on the main Sunday broadcast. It’s Liz Johnson, whom Ariel met and bowled with back when the Women’s Int’l Bowling Association was on tour. So naturally we’ll be pulling for her.

PAD

Part three of “Tempest Fugit” hits the stores this week. Whad’ja think?

PAD

At least that is the jury decision in regards to Robert Blake, who was just found not guilty of killing his wife.

Now I haven’t been following the case because, unlike the OJ case, it hasn’t been splashed all over the newspapers here. So I don’t know if the prosecution truly failed to prove its case or if what went through the jury’s mind was, “We really don’t want to convict Bobby Blake on evidence any less than five people seeing him empty a gun into her, and besides which the victim was a skank.”

However, I feel fairly confident in saying that the defendant kept his eye on the sparrow when the going got narrow.

PAD

Things are hopping here at Casa David. I just finished proofreading the galleys for the “Fantastic Four” novel (which included such entertaining typos as the brand new word “seeriously.” I like it. I’m going to use that in a ‘Sir Apropos of Nothing’ story someday. “Yes, I can read the future,” he said seeriously.)

Meanwhile Ariel’s school production of “Fiddler on the Roof” goes up this Thursday. So both her older sisters and my parents are going to be coming in to see her, and Kath’s parents simply happen to be in town and are visiting. Thus we’ve got a pretty constant flow of visitors coming and going.

PAD

Yes, as per the Newsarama item, I will be writing a one-shot “Spike” comic for IDW in August. Long time “Buffy” fans will appreciate the concept that Spike winds up squaring off against none other than Hallie the Vengeance Demon, who has a rather unique connection to Spike that was hinted at during season six of BtVS. This story will actually address that connection, shedding some interesting light on Spike’s origins.

PAD

Kath and I finally got a chance to see “Constantine” yesterday.

Now of course, the moment you move away from Constantine being British, you torpedo any chance of comics fans feeling like a comic book character has just stepped off the page onto the screen (as was the case that first moment when, for instance, you saw Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.) So it’s easy to say, Well, he may be a tortured individual with many of the trappings of John Constantine, but he ain’t Constantine. And that’s a fair enough criticism.

So basically we’re left with the question: Is it a good movie in and of itself? To that I would say definitely yes. The pacing is lethargic at times, but it’s that rare item: A special effects-heavy film that doesn’t make you feel like you’re drowning in special effects (like, say, “Van Helsing.”) This is accomplished through canny now-you-see-it, now you don’t stunts such as Gabriel’s wings being visible long enough to register and then vanishing.

Bits and pieces of various Hellblazer storylines are scattered throughout the story and yet, remarkably, it’s a pretty smooth combination.

Reeves does a good job, I thought, of Constantine’s angst over trying to bargain his way out of a dismal fate he’s brought on himself, and Tilda Swinton practically steals the film out from under him as Gabriel. (“You’re dying young because you’ve smoked thirty cigarettes a day since you were fifteen. And you’re going to hell because of the life you took. Face it, John…you’re f*cked.”)

Bottom line, “Constantine” portrays an epic battle between heaven and hell on a remarkably grounded and accessible level.

PAD

The success of “Fat Actress,” which debuted last Monday, depends entirely upon whether you like Kirstie Alley’s somewhat scene chewing acting style. In half hour doses, I do, which is why she’s perfect for sitcoms.

But what infuriataes me is that the National Eating Disorders Associations out of Seattle are bitching about the show in a way that questions whether they watched it at all.

At one point in the show, a supposed LA weight loss expert (played by John Travolta’s real life wife) gives the stunned Alley all manner of insane weight-loss suggestions, including eating a cigarette and binging and purging with a feather so as not to ruin her manicure. Alley reacts with incredulity at these suggestions (which you have a feeling there are women in LA who are actually doing it.) Later on she smokes a cigarette, tastes it and kind of goes “blaaah” and at another point stares at a feather, then shakes her head and puts the feather down.

But the NEDA is claiming she actually followed all the horrific advice she was given. Newsday even claimed she was shown sticking a feather down her throat to vomit when she clearly didn’t.

What next? I’m wondering if the NAACP is going to lodge a protest because a horny Alley goes on the prowl for a black lover since black men ostensibly, as the song goes, like women “with back,” prompting an annoyed black woman in a soul food restaurant to lament all these damned white women prowling around for black men.

PAD

The previous thread on this topic seems to have gone hopelessly off the rails, so let’s try it again.

This is the thread for discussing developments in the “Funky Winkerbean” strip that parallel real life cases of a comics store owner/manager getting arrested for selling adult comics to an adult.

What’s interesting is that, within the context of the strip, the woman who alerted the police apparently had an ulterior motive…namely she wanted to torpedo the restaurant above the comic shop because she didn’t like that her daughter was going to have the wedding reception there.

If this sounds preposterous, let’s remember some stuff:

A real life comic book retailer wound up being arrested for selling adult comic books to adults because one woman felt that the store was charging too much for Pokemon cards and vowed revenge.

A real life second hand dealer of used comics was arrested after a complaint was filed against him by his ex-father-in-law (over an issue of “Elfquest,” of all things) because the dealer had custody of his son from the marriage and his ex-in-law wanted to get back at him.

You’d be amazed how often personal enmity or self-interest enters into these cases. Unfortunately, they often get left by the wayside once prosecutors get going on the “save the children!” angle.

PAD

As has been mentioned elsewhere, “Funky Winkerbean” is dealing with the hazards of selling comics in an increasingly reactionary world. Interested parties are invited to check out the beginning of the storyline here:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/funky.asp?date=20050303

Idiots are invited to suggest the strip is due entirely to me being alarmist.

PAD

Several people have written to me bringing my attention to a completely insane incident where a student in Kentucky has been thrown in a juvenile detention center for writing a short story in which zombies overrun a high school. More details can be found here…

http://www.lex18.com/global/story.asp?s=2989614&ClientType=Printable

What I keep thinking about was that when I was in seventh grade, I had an assignment to write a ghost story, and did a story where the ghost of a student exacts horrific revenge upon an obnoxious teacher. If I’m in seventh grade now and write that same story, next thing I know, I’m going to wind up talking to police and social workers.

PAD