Year: 2006

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 hëll 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 hëll 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 hëll 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 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

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