PeterDavid.net

Imagine the chagrin of the Bush Administration that that darned uncontrollable liberal media has gone and started calling the civil war in Iraq a civil war. Hilarious was Tony Snow’s attempting to define exactly what a civil war was and, in doing so, described exactly what was happening in Iraq…only to try and backpedal moments later and explain why, no, no, that’s not it at all.

Ostensibly the administration is concerned that referring to it as a Civil War could further voter discontent and objection to the war. It’s hard to believe that discontent could be more profound than approval ratings in the 30s and an election that turned the government back over to the Democrats, so clearly the major worry is that the GOP candidate for president in 2008 is going to suffer from his predecessor’s actions having launched a civil war in another country.

Indeed, the only thing we’re waiting for now is assassination of the current Iraqi leaders and a military overthrow of the current Iraqi government, which seems to be on the very close horizon. Indeed, the *only* thing that may be preventing that is the presence of our troops, and I suspect even that isn’t going to hold matters in check forever.

In any event, with the current battering the Bush Administration is taking, this blog will try to display some sensitivity. We here will NOT be referring to the Iraqi situation as Civil War. Instead we will refer to the overall situation as the CW, and events that transpire there as CW Programming. That sonds a lot friendlier.

PAD

With Peter’s Kind Permission

Remember these dudes?

More pictures can be found at
Fluzzies!

You too can either own or gift someone a Fluzzie.

Here are the rules.

Fluzzies are $40.00 plus shipping.

They must be ordered before midnight December 18th, 2006 for Holiday delivery.

All those Fluzzies pictured are available for sale.

I also have orange and light blue skin. Plus access to other colors.

If you want a custom Fluzzie then I need to know the skin (head and arms), fur (body), hair(top of head), and eye color(rhinestone in the middle of the eye) you want for it.

Each is hand made and a unique gift which will bring fun into any household.

Clifford Meth, a friend of the family, released the following statement:

With a heavy heart, I regret to inform you that Dave Cockrum passed away this morning. After a long battle with diabetes and its varied complications, Dave died in his sleep early this morning.

There are no details of services at this time. Dave asked to be cremated, and his widow Paty is burdened with the news, so well-wishers are asked not to call. Email can be sent to magnetorampant@yahoo.com.

The much-awaited “Re-X-Aminations.” Whad’ja think?

PAD

Hope everyone had a good holiday meal. We actually bagged the idea of cooking this year and went out to a local “Charlie Brown’s” steak house (good grief) which was offering a four-course Thanksgiving meal for not very much money. There’s something to be said for the convenience.

We also saw “Happy Feet.” Right now it aggravates the hell out of me that there’s a “Best Animated” ghetto into which this film is going to be deposited at Oscar time, because it is quite simply the best film I’ve seen this year, period. Technically flawless with a hell of a lot to say about matters of global importance, all it needed was Al Gore at the end saying, “I’m Al Gore and I approve this message.” Okay, on second thought, maybe it didn’t need that, but it was still brilliant.

Today I’m concentrating on working and staying the hell away from malls.

PAD

Fox Broadcasting has announced they’re developing their own “answer” to “The Daily Show.” In a Reuters article, they stated:

“The half-hour show would take aim at what executive producer Joel Surnow, the co-creator of “24,” calls “the sacred cows of the left” that don’t get made as much fun of by other comedy shows.

“It’s a satirical news format that would play more to the Fox News audience than the Michael Moore channel,” Surnow said. “It would tip more right as ‘The Daily Show’ tips left.” “

Yeah, here’s the thing: “The Daily Show” doesn’t tip left. It gores oxen to the right, the left, and the middle.

But the conservative point of view embraces the “if you’re not with us, you’re against us” culture. “The Daily Show” will quickfry a liberal schmuck just as readily as a conservative, but because they *will* go after a conservative, that–to the conservative mindset–means they must be of liberal bent. A liberal mindset understands the notion that anything is fair game, but a conservative insists on lockstep adherence to its leaders and unwavering, unquestioning support. Anything else “tips to the left.”

It’s hardly limited to television. Compare “Doonesbury,” which will easily skewer pretentiousness of either a Democratic or Republican bent, to “Mallard Filmore,” which will ONLY go after liberal targets. The creator of the latter strip no doubt sees it as some sort of antidote to “Doonesbury,” except actually it’s just repetitive and dull. Okay, we get it, you think liberals are stupid. Got anything else? No? Okay, moving on.

Nice to know one thing, though: Fox is openly admitting that it’s audience skews right, and clearly tries to program in that direction. So can they drop the “fair and balanced” thing now?

PAD

I was delayed in watching “Heroes” last night because Kath and I went to the annual SFWA get together, informally known as the “Mill and Swill,” and Ariel was good enough to record it. She also recorded “Studio 60.” Haven’t had a chance to watch that yet, but I know that for some insane reason you guys are really interested in my opinion on “Heroes,” so I’m not wasting any time. Spoilers follow:

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I found them both to be really good.

It is interesting to note that these two titles had the same penciler but the looks were totally different.

Kath

“Friday Night Lights,” the series that we here at the Cowboy Pete TV roundup have made our official series–due entirely to the presence of star Scott Porter who is a genuine, dyed in the wool, convention-attending comic book fan–received a full season pick-up from NBC.

Furthermore, surprising many including me, NBC has also made a full season commitment to “Studio 60.”

Watch these shows, folks. Not that your support matters unless you’re a Nielsen family, of course, but at the very least you’ll be seeing some nifty programs. More detailed comments below:

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Whatever else you do in the off-season, you must–MUST–make arrangements for John Hall and Stephen Colbert to sing the National Anthem on opening day, 2007. Their perfectly harmonized performance was one of the best renditions of “The Star Spangled Banner” I’ve ever heard. They’re two New York guys, the Mets are the division champs…it’s just got to happen.

PAD

We attended United Fan Con in Springfield, MA, this past weekend. A very smoothly run, very “personable” (if that word applies) convention. In attendance were old friends Jewel Staite and her husband, Matt Anderson, Claudia Christian, Peter Tork and Davey Jones of “The Monkees,” two of “The Lone Gunmen,” and Grace Park of BSG. The most high-profile guest, however, was William Shatner. When I was fifteen years old, Shatner was in a play at a theater in New Jersey. My father, a reporter, pulled some strings so that I could interview Shatner for my school newspaper. Now, with Ariel the same age as I was, I managed to do the same thing so that she could interview him for her school newspaper. Worked out great. One has to admire UFC’s efficiency in siphoning a huge number of people through both for autographings and picture taking. Credit Shatner for handling it all: Having just flown in to Boston Airport and limoed out, he was clearly running on fumes, but still managed to fulfill all his obligations.

Met a lot of fans, many of whom were pleasantly surprised that I wasn’t charging for autographs.

PAD

Gotta give Bush credit: He made the exact right move at the exact right time. Ditching Rumsfeld, the single most visible symbol of the Iraq debacle short of Bush himself, was perfectly timed. Had he dumped Rummy shortly before the election, it would have been seen as a desperation move. I suppose there’s a possibility that it might have changed the outcome, which has been seen as a voter repudiation of the war. But I don’t think it’s a sizable chance, and probably would have been seen as a case of “too little, too late.” In this instance, though, it managed to grab headlines from the Democratic triumph back to the White House. Bush has snared the spin cycle before the election dust has settled. He did the right thing in getting rid of an advisor who has given him nothing but bad advice and been a PR catastrophe on more than one occasion, and he did it at a time when his support base is at an all-time moral low. He has sent a definite message: He’s not going to be spending the next two years with more of the same and staying the course, steering the remainder of his presidency into irrelevancy.

With a smartening-up Bush and a newly energized Democratic majority, let’s see if the government finally gets on the right track.

PAD

The people have spoken. They have put the Democrats back in charge of the House, and–as of this writing–are two seats away from retaking the Senate. Furthermore, on the state level, another attempt at banning gay marriage was voted down, along with a ban on abortion and a nod for stem cell research. Virtually all of this can be attributed to Bush’s policies on everything from Iraq to science to morality.

President Bush, the acclaimed uniter, not divider, now has a choice: To honor the will of the people and do everything he can over the next two years to work with the new political landscape and try to give the people what they want and need. Or to do everything possible to block any and all progress on any number of issues the Democrats may try to make while foisting the blame for gridlock onto the Dems in an attempt to put the GOP in position to retake their power base in the next election.

I have every confidence in which direction he’ll go.

PAD

As the voting unfolds, I figured I should just have a separate place for folks to discuss the results. So far the Democrats seem to be kicking ass and taking names, despite the GOP’s desperate attempts to turn John Kerry into a cause celebre.

Looking forward to the Daily Show’s live episode. It’ll be interesting to see Colbert’s reaction if it’s a Democratic sweep.

PAD

I am so freaking sick of getting recorded phone calls from Democratic candidates urging me to vote for them. What is the POINT of this? Is there really anyone out there who remains undecided the day before election day and suddenly a recorded phone call from Hillary Clinton is going to make them say, “Well, I was waffling before, but this settled it for me!”

If any of these people want to call me themselves and chat for a couple minutes, thatwould interest me, just as it does when local candidates come knocking on my door and want to talk about the issues and ask for my vote. But this recorded stuff just makes me want to go vote for whoever isn’t derailing my train of thought with these annoying interruptions.

PAD

This should be interesting. Saddam Hussein, whose gun is a trophy in the Oval Office (am I the only one creeped out by that?) has been sentenced to death, along with several of his co-conspirators, for crimes against humanity.

Obviously I ain’t shedding a tear over his fate. I am reminded, though, that he was once an ally of the United States. And I am also pondering the repeated assertions by the President and all his spokesmen that we cannot “cut and run” and must instead remain in Iraq “until the job is done.”

Well…it’s done. Buh bye.

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An off beat done-in-one story. Whad’ja think?

PAD

According to the US military, things are increasingly going down the tubes in Iraq. Check out who’s predicting disaster:

” The analysis was prepared by the command’s intelligence directorate, which is overseen by Brig. Gen. John M. Custer.”

General Custer. No wonder we’re screwed.

PAD

In the past few days, this is what I’ve been up to creatively:

1) Working on an original “Fantastic Four” novel slated for publication from Pocket Books next year.

2) Just finished proofreading the manuscript for the novelization of “Spider-Man 3.”

3) Am about to start proofreading the manuscript for “The Hidden Earth,” first book in a new series from Tor slated for Spring of 2007.

4) Finished proofreading “Fallen Angel #11″ which has gone out to the printer (and, by the way, J.K. Woodward has updated his website and is offering cover art from retailer incentive covers of “Fallen Angel.” Several have already sold, so check them out at http://www.jkwoodward.com

5) Finishing proofreading “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #14.” As to what’s coming up in that issue, two words: Ben Reilly. I will say no more than that (okay, Deb Whitman and the Vulture). But…Ben Reilly.

6) About to start scripting issue #2 of “Dark Tower.” Jae Lee’s artwork will knock you off your spider throne.

PAD

The comedy stylings of John Kerry have provided something else to play into GOP hands besides congressional pages. They’re teeing off on his statement that lack of education “lands you in Iraq,” claiming that he was trash-talking the troops. Everyone knows that lack of supporting the troops has replaced social security as the third rail of politics. Kerry’s response is that he was making a misfired joke about the administration.

Who to believe? Well, putting aside my personal dislike for Bush and the fact that I voted for Kerry, let’s see what makes more sense: The notion that Kerry, who served in the armed forces, would be dissing the troops, or that Kerry, who despises Bush and Co., would be dissing the administration.

To quote that great pundit, Daffy Duck: Pronoun trouble. Displaying the comedic instincts of a California Redwood, Kerry SHOULD have said “we.” “We wind up in Iraq,” which would have made it at least somewhat clearer. Or if he insisted on “you,” then it becomes, “you wind up landing us in Iraq.” Something like that.

Considering word around the campfire is that “Studio 60″ may be shutting down soon, perhaps Kerry can draft Aaron Sorkin to write some jokes for him.

PAD