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

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

An Open Letter to Doctor Raj Koothrappali:

Dear Doctor–

As a former writer of “Aquaman,” I must take issue with your continued diatribes and dismissal of the King of the Sea in last week’s episode, “The Justice League Recombination.”

Continue Reading “Et Tu, Big Bang Theory?” →

Below the cut line is my fairly long commentary on the Julie Taymor-directed musical currently in previews at the Foxwoods Theatre. I have tried to minimize spoilers.

Enjoy.

Continue Reading “Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark–My Review” →

Kathleen and I have tickets for the 8 PM performance of “Spider-Man: Turn Down the Thermostat,” or whatever it’s called. Still in previews, of course, which means basically it’s a glorified dress rehearsal. But for us, this is a definite can’t-miss event. I’m figuring it’s either going to be a “Phantom of the Opera”-level spectacle, or a “Dance with the Vampire”-level trainwreck. Either way, I’ll report back here. (No, I’m not gonna live blog it).

PAD