PeterDavid.net

For a day that I didn’t really “accomplish” anything, yesterday was pretty busy.

First we all went to a museum in Riverhead called “Dinosaur Walk.” Last time we were there a few months ago, Caroline refused to set foot in the place. But now she was begging to go and ran around doing various activities and checking out all the “life sized” dinosaur replicas.

Came home and watched the Mets beat the Nationals by a trim 1-0. If DC starts up a softball team again, all they have to do is buy Nationals baseball caps since they all say “DC” on them.

Went bowling for practice in the afternoon. Made my famous meat loaf for the family for dinner, and then we watched “60 Minutes.” Fascinating interview with George Tenet. Sometimes he was convincing in selling his POV, sometimes less so. I couldn’t help but think, “Aw, c’mon…your interrogation techniques were torture, and you know they were. Say you believed that you needed to use any means necessary to save American lives, that people can call it what they want, and move on.” His refusal to condemn Bush is seen by some as a whitewash because Bush gave him the Medal of Freedom. I don’t think that’s it; I think he really believes that Bush is just going along with whatever he’s told to do, and blames instead the people making the decisions for Bush. Me, I happen to believe the buck stops with the Decider, but that’s just me.

Can’t believe that after nearly 400 episodes “The Simpsons” still makes me laugh. Amazing.

PAD

Despite the assertions of some here that I’m a knee-jerk supporter of all things liberal, people without blinders on are aware that I’ve expressed frustration and anger with Democratic party leaders any number of times.

But I have to say, I was tremendously amused to learn that the Democrats are intending to present the war funding bill to Bush–a bill he is certain to veto because, God forbid, it sets a timetable for our troops coming home (because in Bushworld extending their tours and leaving them in indefinite danger is “supporting” the troops whereas bringing them home isn’t)–on the fourth anniversary of Bush standing in front of that damned “Mission Accomplished” sign. Think of it as Operation MAMA–Mission Accomplished, My Ass.

PAD

Remember the earlier entry about what’s going to happen next after Virginia Tech?

Presto.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003681580_essay26.html

PAD

The most compelling two hours of television in recent memory was Monday from 8 to 10 PM: “Drive” and “Heroes.”

“Drive” literally hit the ground running and didn’t slow down. Incredibly compelling, expertly directed, confidently written, well-acted, Kath and I were immediately pulled in. I mean, sure, the fanboy in me loved the notion that Captain Malcolm Reynolds was married to Winifred Berkel, but there was way more to the series than. WAY more.

By the third episode, I knew. I knew beyond question:

Fox would cancel it.

Why?

Because it’s Fox, the network that wouldn’t recognize a quality show with both hands and a flashlight. If Fox were airing “Heroes,” they would have canceled it by the fourth episode.

After the third episode, I turned to Kath and said, “You realize Fox is going to dump it and we’re never going to find out how any of it ends.”

Sure enough, they just dumped it. One more episode will air next Monday, and two more already in the can will never be broadcast.

They’re idiots. It’s that simple: Idiots.

PAD

Tor sent out the following press release regarding “Darkness of the Light“, the first in my new series called “The Hidden Earth”…

DARKNESS OF THE LIGHT
By Peter David
A Tor Hardcover
ISBN: 0-7653-1173-9
On-Sale Date: June 12, 2007

PW Gives Darkness of the Light a Starred Review!

Praising this “clever, fast-paced fantasy,” the review lauds David as “a master at juggling multiple characters and plot lines.”

Check out this and other Tor reviews in the April 23d issue of Publishers Weekly.

Full Review:

(I’ve taken the liberty of putting the full review below the cut since it’s vaguely spoilerish)

(more…)

The X-Cell heats up in Mutant Town while’s Lee’s predecessor stalks Bete Noire. Whad’ja think?

PAD

Yep, you guess it. Some of your comments got stuck in the filter.

I think we have it straighten out now. So if your comment didn’t seem to post or took a reeeeaaaallllyy looooong time, don’t despair, we are aware of the problem.

Kathleen

I emphasize that the following is not an attempt to politicize a tragedy, but merely an observation about human nature based on some pretty indisputable facts.

Right now this country is reeling, trying to make sense of the senseless deaths of thirty-two innocent people who died due to the actions of a single obsessed, unhinged individual. We call this a national tragedy.

In Iraq, it’s called a Monday. Day after day after day, the populace of that wartorn country has to deal with losses as calamitous and pointless.

Now…what typically happens in a tragedy such as this? Well, in America, sooner or later, the search for blame begins. It’s human nature. You can’t blame the perp: He’s dead. So we search for someone still alive to vent our spleens upon. Someone to whom we can say, “If it weren’t for you, then this wouldn’t have happened.” When the Twin Towers fell, that blame played out in Senate hearings. The blame for Virginia Tech will inevitably play out as well, with leading candidates for excoriation being (a) the school, (b) the shooter’s parents, (c) anyone who advocates easy and legal access to guns.

With all that as a given, doesn’t it make sense that the Iraqis, being as human as us, would be looking for someone to blame for an environment where our aberration is their way of life? Who are they going to target? Saddam? He’s dead. Bombers? They’re usually dead after the attack as well. Who’s left?

Us.

And that anger manifests itself in the only way it can: More violence against those whom they feel were responsible.

Which is why anyone who thinks that there’s going to be an end in the cycle of violence against Americans in Iraq is betting against human nature itself. The blame will continue. The anger will continue. And the deaths will continue. We will try to expunge our sense of dismay and go back to a state of normalcy. For Iraq, death, anger, blame and revenge IS the state of normalcy.

That’s why they hate us.

In case you were wondering.

PAD

As I feared, the previous thread on Virginia Tech is rapidly escalating into partisan politics discussion. So I am asking that all posters on that thread restrict their commments to extending condolences or, if they actually knew Jamie (as friends typically called Christopher) share their recollections. In the meantime, feel free to use this space to discuss broader societal issues.

I think here’s what we can expect to see over the next months, as we move beyond shock and disbelief into anger.

1) Law suits filed by aggrieved families against Virginia Tech authorities for their failure to lock down the campus in the intervening two hours, while investigations are held to determine whether Virginia Tech authorites were to blame.

2) Considering the theme of parental abuse that reveals itself in the shooter’s unproduced play scripts, investigations into the shooter’s parents to determine if there was indeed child abuse present. If so, possible law suits on the basis that their abuse resulted in their son’s actions and therefore they bear responsibility.

3) Advocates of gun control holding this up as another example of how gun laws should be made stricter, considering that the shooter acquired his weapon legally.

4) Advocates of unrestricted gun ownership holding this up as another example of how gun laws should be abolished because if everyone in the college had been packing, they could have fought back. Because in a confined environment where there’s inevitably going to be drinking, partying, intense romances, and scads of young people lacking many aspects of maturity, that’s what you really want to have on a daily basis: Lots of firepower.

5) An upswing in incidents of students who write essays/poems/short stories themed around violence suddenly finding themselves tagged as potential shooters and being suspended or expelled.

PAD

It’s not as if the massacre in Virginia isn’t already a tragedy, but I thought I’d mention that–for anyone who is familiar with SF writer Michael Bishop–his son, Christopher, was one of the faculty members slain in the assault.

Our condolences go out to his family in this time of unimaginable loss.

PAD

The thing is, guys like Sharpton and Jackson, they were just doing same-old same-old.

The one’s I’m really annoyed with is the National Association of Black Journalists. They were the first ones out of the gate to call for the firing of Don Imus, and that’s part of what gave the story legs.

Let us put aside for a moment the notion that if someone wanted to form a group called the National Association of White Journalists, with membership limited to Caucasians, such a move would be roundly condemned as blisteringly, unforgiveably, blatantly racist.

The NABJ should have been the first, foremost defenders of the spirit of the First Amendment. To the notion that, if someone is shouting at the top of their lungs things that you find disagreeable, then the proper response is to shout back at the top of yours. In a free society, you go for the words of your opposition, not the throat.

In other words, people whose livelihoods depend upon the coin of free exchange of ideas should have been the first ones out of the box to declare, “We disagree with everything Don Imus says, but will defend to the death his right to say it.”

But they didn’t. They betrayed the fundamentals of a free press by deciding that they wanted to shut Don Imus down. Popeye-like, they decided that this was all they could stands cause they couldn’t stands no more. Their belief, apparently, was that they shouldn’t have to tolerate Imus’s racist opinions anymore.

Except they were wrong. Because that’s the price you pay for living in a free society. One’s business should always be with what your opponent says, not with your opponent himself, and people calling themselves journalists should have understood that.

The answer to free speech is always more free speech…not the shutting down of that speech.

PAD

Popular Hawaiian crooner Don Ho, best known for his rendition of “Tiny Bubbles,” has passed away at the age of 76.

In a related story, a firestorm of complaints over language has resulted in three radio personalities being fired for reporting the death of a Ho.

PAD

Been a while since I’ve done a straightforward Q&A. So post your questions here about my work or my thoughts on stuff or wha tever and I’ll do my best to answer them. Please, for God’s sake, one question each.

PAD

It’s bad enough that the definition of “news” has come to mean stories about bad jokes from shock jocks and paternity tests. That stories which were once the purview of tabloids are now routinely given as much, if not more, play on major news outlets as stories that actually have some worth.

So what’s the latest “news” off the AOL feed?

Kirsten Dunst says she likes to smoke pot.

Aside from the minor name irony of Mary Jane liking Mary Jane, an LA actress says she likes to smoke pot? My God, how is this REMOTELY news? Tell me a staunch anti-drug advocate is found stoned, and that’s a story, but an LA actress? You’re kidding, right? What next? Jerry Seinfeld announces he likes jokes? Or, as another poster commented on the Imus thread, this just in: Water is wet.

PAD

Ariel and I went to the New Victory Theater on 42nd Street Sunday to see Radu himself, Kristian Ayre, performing as part of an ensemble in a kid-oriented piece, “Number Fourteen,” about insanity that reigns on a bus. He’s part of a group called the Axis Theater Company, and the show will be playing through Sunday the 15th.

For those poor devils who don’t live in New York, it will be touring other parts of the country including Philadelphia. Kristian did a great job, including displaying some remarkable athletic prowess. Be sure to check it out.

PAD

Am I the only one who thinks the firestorm over Don Imus referring to a group of young black female basketball players as “nappy headed ho’s” is just way over the top?

I mean, the guy’s not a church deacon, or a senator, or even a sports broadcaster. He’s a shock jock. It’s his job to push humor to the edge and beyond the edge. So he made a joke that was in poor taste. He admitted it. He apologized for it. He was suspended for it, for crying out loud. And there are STILL people who want to drive him off the air? While the Reverend Al Sharpton is railing against him, has he never bothered to crack the Bible he ostensibly preaches and stumbled over the passage about erring being human and forgiving divine?

It’s IMUS, for crying out loud. If Imus referred to a group of young Jewish basketball players as Matzoh-slinging Jewboys, I’d just shrug and say, “Whatever, man. It’s Imus.” The guy’s filling however many hours his show is every day, and it’s live. If he goes over the line and then admits he did and apologizes, I’m sorry, but that should be the end of it. Anyone who’s flogging it beyond that point has their own agenda and is just using this to further it. If Al Sharpton is that upset about Black women being spoken of in such a disrespectful manner, then why not spend his time going after the radio stations playing rap songs that call Black women “ho’s” (when they’re not talking about killing cops.) Or are slurs and racism only acceptable when they stem from Sharpton’s own constituency?

PAD

Johnny Hart, creator of BC, reportedly died at his drawing table from a massive stroke.

I’ve enjoyed his work for years. For some reason I always got a kick out of one strip I read years ago, in which Pete is extolling the virtues of a new invention that perform an entire host of unrelated tasks, including rotating your tires. And BC asks him, “Can it stampede a herd of crippled yaks?” Pete admits it can’t. “Then what good is it?” asks BC. To this day I will still occasionally ask if something can stampede a herd of crippled yaks. No clue why. It’s just one of those jokes that’s purely individual, lodging in the cerebral cortex.

Also, speaking as a Jew, I never had any problem with his more controversial strips that were intended to be articles of his faith. Talk about overreaction. It was his strip to do with as he pleased. If he wanted to depict a menorach morphing into a cross, then, y’know, fine. Whatever. Considering the type of material that’s been the subject matter of such strips as Doonesbury and For Better or Worse, it’s a little late to start claiming the comics pages should be free of controversy. Considering Judaism has survived five thousand years of assorted nations trying to destroy its practitioners, I certainly think we could survive a couple of Sunday comic strips.

PAD

Busy week. Whad’ja think?

PAD

The essence of compromise boils down to five words: “What’s in it for me?”

So with Bush facing a congressional war-funding bill with deadlines attached–benchmarks that he himself mentioned earlier this year, and is now being asked to hew to–congress is hoping that he will compromise on withdrawal dates rather than veto the entire bill.

What’s in it for him to do so?

Nothing.

(more…)

I don’t typically do this, but IDW is planning a special edition of the first thirteen issues of “Fallen Angel” (slated for release in late May) and it’s a major enough undertaking that I thought I’d plug it here. If you’re interested in getting a copy, I very much suggest you inform your retailer now since I doubt many will order copies just to have on hand. I know the price is a little steep, but–as is always the case with this series–ain’t nobody on our end getting rich from it, and we’re doing everything we can to make this edition worth the price, including an original short story by yours truly.

Fallen Angel: The Premiere Collection

HC w/ Dustjacket • FC • 320 pages • 12.5” x 8.125”• $75.00 • ISBN: 978-1-60010076-5