Year: 2006

According to www.billmumy.com, the marvelous actor, Andreas Katsulas, passed away of cancer.

He was a consumate professional. I once had the chance to observe him on the B5 set between takes. He would sit in a chair and just meditate, thoroughly in character as G’Kar. Cast and crew knew better than to come over and chat with him or make small talk. They respected his space and thorough preparation. And when he was out of make-up, he was approachable, polite, surprisingly soft-spoken and caring. (Kath will tell you her own encounter with him at a Maryland convention.) By the way, for those who don’t know, he also played the one-armed man in the Harrison Ford “The Fugitive.”

He will be missed.

PAD

(Followup from GH: One of the first entries ever done on this blog was a photo of Andreas taken with Peter’s wrist cam at I-Con some years back. We noticed it was missing on the site, so I’m restoring that photo here:)

Yes. The news is true.
Peter has signed an exclusive with Marvel.
He is quite happy about it.

“Fallen Angel” & ‘Soulsearchers and CO.” were grandfathered into the contract as was his Spike mini-series.

Oh I am very happy about it too but then I have been happy about it since last year. *grin*

Peter is making a big announcement at WonderCon today. Once I know he has made it (he’s gonna call me on the cell to tell me) then I will announce it here. It will probably will not be before 7 pm (REVISED time) EST.

Revised: I can tell you that it is not a new sibling for the David Girls. But it was a nice thought Shana.

So as Ariel’s season is winding down, here’s where things stand:

Her high school team finished first in their division. This Saturday the county-wide playoffs will be held at Sayville Lanes in Long Island. That will determine who goes to the State championships.

Ariel herself, along with one of her teammates, Kat, finished second in a two-game county-wide Doubles tournament. Her first game was an anemic 135, but she shook it off and came roaring back, firing off six strikes in a row on her way to a 232 that helped her and her partner clinch second place.

Tragically, I’ll be at WonderCon this weekend and will miss the counties. I agreed to the convention eight months ago before we even knew whether Ariel would make the team, much less when counties were. But Ariel and Kath will be calling me with updates, so don’t be surprised if my cell phone rings during one of my Saturday talks and I take the call.

PAD

…aboard a brand new luxury ocean liner has just been announced from the Royal Caribbean line. It is designed to be sixty feet longer, far more luxurious, and capable of carrying twice as many passengers (over 6000) as the current largest ship afloat.

It’s set to launch in 2009, just five years shy of the Titanic’s Centennial. Am I the only person who thinks that God is cracking his knuckles over this floating testament to hubris and saying, “Oh, PLEASE. Bring it ON. I double-dog DARE you.”

To make it worse, the working title of this thing is “Project Genesis.” Dude! You really want to name your new ship after something that self-destructed in “Star Trek III?”

PAD

Understand that I absolutely don’t give a crap about the game. But the commercials warrant comment. So before I forget them, I’m going to comment on them as we go (and maybe about the game as well, but don’t count on it):

6:35: The Bud Light commercial with beer being hid all over the office as an incentive, thus resulting in chaos. It almost makes me want to go out and drink a Bud Light, and I don’t even drink beer. Hysterical, particularly the last bit when the boss gets tackled.

Burger King: At last Burger King acknowledges, at least in song, that their Burger King Mascot is “freaky” looking. If a member of SCA ever adopted a serial killer disguise, that would be the result. As for the rest of the over-the-top Busby Berkely-esque number celebrating the construction of a whopper…I don’t think I’ll ever eat another whopper.

6:39: Sierra mist: I’m pretty sure I ran into those security inspectors coming back from South Dakota.

Second Bud Light commercial: “The Magic Fridge.” Whoever is handling the Bud Light campaign, they’re brilliant. “Magic Fridge” is, so far, the best commercial of the evening.

6:46: Hybrid commercial. Eh.

FED Ex! Entertaining with impressive FX, and then slam dunked the final moment with the caveman getting wiped out by the passing mastodon.

Bud Light: Wow. Third BL commercial in a row that’s a winner. Not quite as good as “Magic Fridge,” but the outrage from the guy shouting “Not cool!” as his friend thoughtlessly leaves him to a bear’s mercies just to grab a Bud Light…that was great.

6:51: V FOR VENDETTA: “From the creators of the Matrix trilogy.” Gee, here I thought it was from Alan Moore. Looks cool, though. First footage that I’ve seen of it.

DIET PEPSI: Great to see Jay Mahr, but it doesn’t especially make me want to get a Diet Pepsi.

I think the Seahawks should win. They have snappier uniforms.

One of the announcers–Kath says it’s John Madden–sounds like Penn Jilette of Penn & Teller, except just a bit huskier, like Penn if he smoked too much.

COMMERCIAL CATCH-UP:

Aleve: Aside from the fact that Aleve is what I use if I pull muscles bowling or something, the use of Nimoy unable to do the Vulcan salute without taking some was brilliant. The new funniest commercial of the evening, although probably only because we’re fans.

Diet Pepsi: Much more imaginative than the first one, especially with the snarky substitution of Diet Coke for the stunt sequence.

Ameriquest: A funny sequence, but it doesn’t make me want to mortgage the house.

Bud Light: The most elaborate, and each one a masterpiece of absurdist writing with brilliant timing. What made this one was the total lack of reaction from the wife as her husband crashed through the ceiling…with the capper being his declaration of “I’m all right!” followed by getting clonked with the falling toolbox. Who the hëll is writing these? David Ives?

Budweiser; Broncos vs. the Rams. Cute.

Mobile ESPN: Nicely done. Fantastic if you’re a sports fan. I’m not sure, but I think that was pro bowler Chris Barnes in there.

7:18–Career Builder.com. Entertaining.

Escalade: Eh.

7:20–MI3. Saw the trialer before. Looks interesting.

Dove Self-Esteem fund: As a father of daughters, and having had to deal with their self-esteem issues, I highly approve of this. I’ll be checking into it.

7:26: The Shaggy Dog: Seen the trailer, and the commentary doesn’t do much.

Ford Hybrid: Not thrilled with my favorite Muppet song being put into a commercial.

Michelob: Boy, I just can’t get enough of actors tackling each other.
7:35: Go Daddy: Wow. That was…pointless.

7:38: Poseidon, the remake of the Poseidon Adventure. I’ve no more interest in seeing it now than I did decades ago.

Gilette Fusion: Eh.

7:41: Overstock.com. A female-oriented commercial during Superbowl. What were the odds?

7:45: Standard Walt Disney commercial.

7:56: Sprint: Okay, THAT was funny. “Crime deterrent.” Heh.

Toyota Rav 4: If I were in the market for a car, I’d check it out.

Prudential: Eh.

8:05: I haven’t been commenting on the ABC house ads, but the “Might as well face, you’re addicted to Lost” is the best so far.

8:25: Okay, that was a better Disney commercial.

8:33: Ameriquest: Even better than the first. But I still don’t want to refinance the house.

MotoPebl…Uhm…okay.

Sharpee Retractable: I had that at a recent convention and got oohs and aahs from fans and pros, underscoring for me just how easy it is to impress fans and pros sometimes.

Been off for a while, dealing with Caroline. The only commercial I’ve seen since then that’s really memorable–the one that easily wins the “Okay, that’s just F’d up,” is the Hummer commercial: A female Godzilla mates with a giant robot to create “the little Monster” called Hummer. That’s just wrong on so many level…but it’s memorable.

Oh, also the MacGuyer Mastercard ad was pretty good.

9:54: “Running Scared.” Eh.

“Outback”. Eh. We eat there occasionally, but that ocmmercial wouldn’t make me want to.

With the Superbowl ended and Caroline still fussing we have stumbled upon her dream TV program: Puppy Bowl II. From now until midnight on Animal Planet it’s nothing but a dozen or so puppies cavorting in a minature football stadium. I’ve never seen Caroline so blissful.

Oh my God! It’s the Kitty half-time show.

I’m posting it here on a separate thread so the discussion of X-FACTOR #3 can remain focused on that issue rather than going off the rails.

The report is correct: Issue #4 of X-FACTOR will be Ryan’s last. This is entirely his decision. Andy and I would love for him to stay on, and Ryan reportedly loves the book, but he has taken himself off it because–I presume, since I haven’t spoken to him–the monthly schedule is just too problematic for him. He is, however, going to be continuing doing the covers.

Dennis Calero, who I think is doing an excellent job, will be doing issues 5 and 6, and Ariel Olivetti is doing issue 7 (the one that addresses the death of Banshee.) An announcement of an artist beyond that point would be premature, although Andy is considering several possibilities, all of whom I believe would be great for the series.

As for Ryan, it was far too short an association for my taste, and I’m certainly hoping to work with him again.

PAD