PeterDavid.net

Take the ten minutes to watch Keith Olbermann eviscerate the Bush administration. This may well go down as one of THE memorable commentaries of the Bush era of disingenuousness and attack politics.

Clock with an eggtimer how long it takes the Daily Show or Colbert to have him on as a guest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9g8fzNSOrY

PAD

Just letting you guys know that at http://www.jkwoodward.com, J.K. has added several of his painted pieces from Fallen Angel issues 1-5, and also lowered the page price to $75 for art pages that don’t feature the Fallen Angel in them.

Check it out.

PAD

Remember how I was talking about how Max Allan Collins could have done a far better job on the George Reeves murder in a Heller novel? Well, Al Collins dropped me a line, and among other things, said the following (quoted with his permission):

The last Heller proposal I put together was about a Reeves novel. It was
declined by Penguin, who didn’t pick up the Heller option; and then I
shelved Heller myself to pursue the prose PERDITION sequels. Along the way,
however, I pitched a Reeves murder graphic novel to DC, specifically Dan
DiDio (about two years ago). Dan seemed intrigued, but they ultimately
turned it down, not wanting to be connected to anything having to do with
this particular historical incident.

I liked HOLLYWOODLAND, and thought Affleck was surprisingly good (that’s the
general take on his performance). But I think I could have done it better.
I had substantial research gathered, but I doubt I can do that novel now —
maybe I could do a novella version somewhere….

With all respect to the esteemed Mr. Collins, I disagree. I think he not only can do the novel now, but should, because I think there’s a market for it. And don’t go telling me he should publish it on the web: Screw that. I’d like to see a publisher step up and take it on. Regular novel, graphic novel, I don’t care. I want to see Nate Heller tackle the Reeves case.

So hey, publishers: Award winning novelist and writer of “Road to Perdition” with a marketable idea ready to go, sure to pique the interest of comics fans. Who wants to get it done?

PAD

…and fixing all the comments and display problems. Should be all better now. And just so you know, going on vacation without my laptop wasn’t my idea.

John M. Ford (“Mike” to friends) passed away abruptly last night. An accomplished writer of fantasy, SF and RPGs, many fans will remember him for two of the best Trek novels ever, “How Much For Just the Planet” and “The Final Reflection.”

PAD

Part 2 of the three parter involving the showdown with Singularity Investigations. Whad’ja think?

PAD

Al Collins does a terrific series of books about a detective named Nate Heller. Sharing his memoirs of his greatest cases with us, Heller was an active participant in such famous cases as the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby. Although he does nothing to change the historical facts or outcomes, Heller’s tales invariably provide solid resolutions and eye-opening perspectives.

Kathleen and I came out of “Hollywoodland” and all I could think was that the script desperately needed Al Collins to come in and do a rewrite. We witness two storylines: The struggle of George Reeves with his perception that his career had stalled while forces that could him harm gather round him, and a noirish detective, Louis Simo, hired to investigate. The acting is brilliant all around, and the direction is solid, but the vagueness of the script betrays all participants. An attempt to say something profound about the price of fame nibbles around the edges of the story, but really, it’s no point that hasn’t been made elsewhere and better. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that there’s no resolution: Not to the mystery of who killed Reeves and not to the resolution to Simo’s emotional journey.

The observation could be made that, since we don’t know what happened in real life, the movie is likewise hamstrung. Except, as noted, Al Collins tackles this kind of challenge all the time and routinely produces stories that hew to the truth while simultaneously coming up with satisfying conclusions all around. That’s because he takes a solid point of view, something very much lacking in the wishy-washy script of “Hollywoodland.”

I would love to see Al Collins tackle the Reeves murder (the book “Hollywood Kryptonite,” along with conversations I’ve had with Noel Neill, convinced me it wasn’t suicide). People might claim that “Hollywoodland” covered the same material; but at least Collins would cover it well.

PAD

Today is PAD’s birthday.
Let’s wish him the best. I know I do.

A happy Jewish New Year to everyone who celebrates it.

PAD

A body is in freefall. Assuming normal gravity, how much distance will the body drop after, say, twenty seconds? Thirty seconds? I know the basic formula is 32 feet per second/per second, but math was never my strong suit, plus there’s probably other aspects of physics I’m overlooking.

Or, put another way, a body dropped from about a thousand feet high: How long until it hits the ground?

PAD

He really needs a cane and a pronounced limp.

PAD

Posted outside a local restaurant:

“WE DONATED OUR SPINACH TO THE U.N.”

PAD

The season opener on BL, while House takes on the Wizard of Oz from “Wicked” (and even makes an in-joke “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” comment). Two different dramas, two different creators, two different stations–but both of them focusing on the right to privacy and allowing someone to do as they wish with their body. Comments below:

(more…)

Well, now you can. J.K. Woodward, artist supreme on “Fallen Angel” has put up his own website. After holding a nationwide contest and consulting no less than three major think tanks, he dubbed it…hold on…http://www.jkwoodward.com where he’s selling the original pages from “Fallen Angel #6.” They are remarkably reasonably priced and can be yours if you move fast, since I’m pretty sure this is the first website that’s advertising it.

Check it out.

PAD

Yes, it’s a new season, and I’m going to get back to the much asked-after Cowboy Pete entries. I used to do them on day of airing, and then people complained because they claimed I was doing too many blog entries about TV shows. So I started consolidating them, except then it was too many at one time and I just didn’t get to it. So I’m going back to doing them as I see the shows, and if you don’t like it, Dan can point the way out for you. So there, nyaaah.

I am going to routinely put all comments in the extended entry, however, so as to avoid spoiler comments in this day and age of Tivo.

(more…)

Nope. None at all. Knew they’d clinch it tonight. Never thought anything other than that.

PAD

The fact that the Mets continue to hover on their magic number of one, only to be shut out by the Pirates while the Phillies continue not to lose, has me wondering about the possibility of watching one of those “historic crashes” one sometimes hears about. You know, like when the Yankees crashed and burned to the Red Sox.

Can you imagine if the Mets lose every single game to the end of the season while the Phillies win every single game? I know, I know…very unlikely.

Ridiculous even to think about it.

They’ll clinch the thing tomorrow. I’m almost positively 100% sure, I think.

PAD

Took Ariel into the city to meet Ken Jennings, Jeopardy’s all-time champ, who was doing a book signing at the B&N in Union Square. Nattily attired, he kept the audience entertained with a discussion and selected readings of his latest book, “Brainiac” (which, tragically, has nothing to do with supervillains) while discussing his slow progression from closeted trivia master to the poster boy for knowing tons of information others would deem useless (although how anyone can deem something useless when you can use it to rake in $2 milliion-plus is beyond me.)

Sometimes I wonder about the wave of genuine hostility to knowledge that many in this country possess. Whether it’s the disdainful description of experts on topics as “geeks” or “nerds,” or the fact that a minuscule percentage of the consumer base is responsible for the vast majority of books bought, or…let’s face it…that so many people would embrace someone as intellectually stunted as George W. Bush, twice, for the presidency…there just seems to be this antipathy toward intellect that I find disturbing.

I’d like to claim that Jennings’ book is next on my list to read–we got two signed copies, one for Ariel, the other for Kath and myself–but it was abruptly displaced when I noticed to my shock that there was a John Mortimer “Rumpole” novel out that somehow slipped under my radar when it came out in 2004. It’s entitled “The Penge Bungalow Murders,” which Rumpole fans will instantly know as the case the British barrister (so memorably played by the late, great Leo McKern) regularly cited as his career highlight. It’s like stumbling over a Conan Doyle manuscript entitled, “The Adventure of the Giant Rat of Sumatra.” But “Brainiac”–which is not merely autobiographical, but instead an overview of the grand obsession of trivia–is right after that.

Strangest question Jennings got: An arena battle between a T-Rex and one thousand turkeys. Who would win? Jennings opined that it would likely be the T-Rex, but I’m not sure about that. Assuming that the T-Rex would probably be eating the turkeys as he went, I’d think all that tryptophan might start to make him drowsy, and the turkeys could eventually wear him down. In terms of pointless discussions, it’s probably right up there with cavemen versus astronauts.

PAD

People keep talking about how the world changed on 9/11.

It didn’t. The world was filled with terrorists, and bombs, and people living in fear, and attacks on home grounds. The world remained exactly the same. Only our perception of it changed. We became both of and in the world.

It’s five years later. Anyone feeling safer?

I also find it interesting that the Democrats have surrendered the moral high ground in terms of TV presentation. Here the GOP managed to get the Reagan biopic banished to cable because they didn’t like the way it presented their political saint, and now the Democrats managed to get the miniseries on 9/11, based on the findings of the bi-partisan committee, re-edited so that it wouldn’t seem as if President Clinton was too distracted by Monicagate to go after bin Laden…except I find it difficult to believe any reasonable person could think that the harassment over Lewinsky didn’t impede Clinton’s effectiveness on any number of levels.

Quick, kids. There’s some history. Let’s rewrite it.

PAD

Two pretty different entries. Whad’ja think?

PAD