Month: December 2010

If it happened now…

Posted By: Peter DavidPosted On:

My little gift to the readers: A chance to exercise your imagination in the Christmas spirit.

Dear Editor: I am eight years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” Please tell me the truth. Is there a Santa Claus? — Virginia O’Hanlon
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The response she receives.
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Dear Reader: Thank you for your letter. We regret that we cannot respond to all our readers, but we appreciate your support, and also invite you to visit us at our website at www.nysun.com.
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Puzzled but determined, Virginia posts the exact same letter on the website.
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What response, I wonder, would she receive?
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“First!”
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“This poster isn’t eight. What eight year old would say, “My little friends?” Obviously some middle-aged sicko.”
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“Epic Reality Fail!”
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“Troooooolll.”
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“Cut the kid some slack. Maybe she needs some sort of inspirational message about the spirit of Christmas and the nature of Santa Claus.”
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“Don’t be an idiot. This kid, if it is a kid–which I seriously doubt–needs a reality check.”
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“Obvious plant by the Sun. The whole “if I see it there, it must be true.” Yeah, right.”
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Any other thoughts?
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PAD

Review: The Flintstones

Posted By: Peter DavidPosted On:

digresssmlOriginally published July 8, 1994, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1077

When I was a kid, every Friday night was The Flintstones. The animated family was a part of my life for, literally, as long as I could remember. I looked forward to Fred giving that opening bellow of “Yabba dabba doo” and sliding down that bronto tail at the beginning of the show.

(Curiously, unlike contemporary catch phrases that work their way into vernacular such as “D-oh!” or “Isn’t that special” or even “I didn’t inhale,” we kids didn’t actually go around shouting “Yabba dabba doo.” I mean, we knew the phrase, and we knew it was Fred’s, but we didn’t try to imitate it. Maybe we just didn’t want to talk like cartoon characters. Nowadays that doesn’t seem to be quite as true. I hear “huh huh huh” from kids and even, God help us, adults, in imitation of cartoon characters whose animation is so pathetic that it makes the limited animation Flintstones look like Fantasia. But I digress…)

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Jon Stewart “Crossing the Line?”

Posted By: Peter DavidPosted On:

At a point in history where journalists do not hesitate to toss aside any shred of impartiality and advocate for politicians and partisan political issues, some people are starting to mutter that Jon Stewart, of all people, was somehow out of line with his obvious influence in helping the 9/11 First Responders bill pass–something even the White House acknowledges.

For those who missed it, in last Thursday’s “Daily Show” Stewart excoriated the press for their silence on the inability of Congress to pass the bill that would provide financial relief for First Responders to 9/11. Then, doing the job that they were unable/unwilling to do, he interviewed four suffering First Responders which is, y’know, what REAL reporters are supposed to do. But they weren’t, so he did.

This national bìŧçh slapping of the media woke them up and suddenly had shamed senators scrambling for political cover. Lo and behold, the bill was revived from the dead and has now passed.

Some are claiming that, because of this, Stewart has crossed a line from comedian to political advocate.

They’re wrong on two counts.

First: He was covering a news story. Sometimes lack of coverage is a story in and of itself.

Second: Jon Stewart is not a political advocate. He’s a New York advocate. He was letting New Yorker’s Finest and New York’s Bravest know that he had their backs.

Ðámņëd straight.

PAD

“Transformers” Novelization Turned Into Publisher

Posted By: Peter DavidPosted On:

And after that it turned into a police car…and then a Boeing 747…and then…

Seriously, the novelization actually turned out pretty well, I thought. I’m always kind of amazed when a novelization reads smoothly, because while I’m in the middle of it, it always feels like it’s patchwork as I integrate my own scenes and dialogue with what’s in the script. But when I sat down and proofread it, it was pretty seamless. So I’m rather pleased with it. This is my first really sustained involvement with the Transformers and I didn’t realize what a fun bunch of characters they can be.

Plus what helped tremendously was that I had direct access to Hasbro. As opposed to some other occasions where everything has to be routed through the editor and, consequently, getting things questions answered can take a while, this was a snap because if there was anything I needed clarified, I went right to Hasbro and my contact there filled me in. So it was as smooth a process as it could possibly have been.

I don’t know the pub date, but I’d imagine it’ll be between four and six weeks before the film.

One hopes it will be available in places other than Costco and Sam’s Club.
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PAD

Remembering Don

Posted By: Peter DavidPosted On:

digresssmlOriginally published June 24, 1994, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1075

As a writer, one takes a certain perverse pleasure in using words to elicit emotional responses from people. What is writing, after all, but using the printed word to get reactions? When people say to me, “I read such and such of yours and it made me cry,” I feel I’ve done my job… at least, if sorrow was what I was attempting to put across.

Which is probably why I’m having real trouble with this installment of “But I Digress.”

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