We’re having another day in the 40s. And the two feet of snow that’s been sitting on my front lawn for over a month is beginning to melt. No snow is predicted for the next ten days, which is longer than we’ve had no snow predicted for at least six weeks.

God, let this nightmare be over.

PAD

The first time I met Leonard Nimoy was in Italy, at an Italian Star Trek convention.

I had wanted to see him the entire time that I was there, but my schedule never worked out so that I was free while he was with the fans. Desperately, I asked Julie Caitlin Brown (who was there overseeing his stay) if there was any way she could arrange an opportunity for me to have just a minute to say hi.

It turned out, much to my astonishment, that Leonard not only knew who I was, but was a fan of my work. I hope that doesn’t come across as self-aggrandizing because it’s not meant to. But he was, and I couldn’t have been happier.

I sat down with him for ten minutes in his dressing room and we chatted about his photography and angels and all sorts of things. Then he had to leave and I wound up being drafted to be part of the flying wedge of security that had to power him through a mob of about a hundred Italian Star Trek fans who were waiting for him at the exit door. So that was exciting.

The last time I saw him was at Dragon*Con, where I had the honor of presenting him with the Julie Award. He was sitting at the table nearest the stage, and with him were Bill Shatner and Kate Mulgrew. The part I remember most distinctly was when I said, “Thanks to Leonard Nimoy, Mister Spock is so beloved a character, that when he showed up in the ice cave in the recent movie, his appearance prompted the entire audience in the theater I was in to cheer and roar with approval…even though his being there made no story sense whatsoever.” Leonard almost fell over, he was laughing so hard, but the even better reaction was Shatner. I could read his lips as he was saying, “I told you! I told you that made no sense!”

I knew, as everyone else did, that he was having heart troubles. It’s ironic that that would be what took him considering that Nimoy had one of the biggest hearts of any individual I’ve ever encountered. I knew him a little; I would have loved to know him much better.

I’ve been hanging out on AICN for a few days since the first display of the Zack Snyder Aquaman picture. AICN has been hostility central as fans are complaining about how he looks nothing like Aquaman (apparently having forgotten when I wrote the character when he looks more or less exactly like that.)

And as fans continue to declare loudly that everything Hollywood produces is garbage, it made me wonder the following:

What the hëll are they doing here?

I mean, I think that–for instance–everything that Fox News says deserves advance contempt, based on their indisputable track record of lying. So you’ll never find me on the Fox News website spouting hatred, because since I deplore them, I simply don’t bother with them.

Yet here are all these people who have nothing but contempt for what Hollywood produces, hanging out on a website that is essentially nothing but one big promotional device for those very films that they despise. They come there to bìŧçh and piss and moan about everything. It’s like Red Sox fans frequenting the Yankees website. Any reasonable individual would look upon these actions and wonder why in hëll they are wasting their time at a site that is going to bring them nothing but anger and frustration.

This attitude would prompt said reasonable individual to think that the lot of they are actually full of crap. That no matter how much they say they despise everything that Hollywood turns out, the fact is that actually they support every film that they bìŧçh about. That they turn up there, not to express genuine contempt for Hollywood, but simply to posture (mostly from anonymity) and prance about with their oh-so-cool disdain for motion pictures and television while secretly supporting the films that they so despise.

The fact is, I believe, that they all think they’re too cool to be fans. That to express genuine excitement and support would remove the edge they aspire to as a self-designated truth sayer in a world gone mad.

Except they all know they’re not. Bìŧçh and piss and moan all they want; they’ll still be there opening day. As will I, most likely.

But at least I won’t be a hypocrite about it.

PAD

So now I’m reading comments from fans widely decrying the photo of Aquaman that Zack Snyder put up on Twitter. Apparently oblivious to the fact that it’s clearly my version of Arthur, fans are shouting that it looks nothing remotely like the DC Aquaman. Which I guess makes sense; mine was twenty years ago and that’s two generations of comics fans to have passed through and forgotten my iteration of the Sea King.

Continue Reading “Why do fans have to bìŧçh about EVERYthing?” →

We all know it’s going to tank. People have been gunning for this film because they still haven’t forgiven the Wachowskis for the two “Matrix” sequels. This despite their fantastic work on “Speed Racer,” a film that screenwriter Josh Olson correctly described as a litmus test for your inner child.

Continue Reading “Go see “Jupiter Ascending”” →

How and why is this still an issue?

People are declaring that parents should have the right not to vaccinate their children. No. They should not have that right.

My local schools send notices that our kids have to be vaccinated in order to attend school. Period. No debates. No arguments. Get your kid vaccinated or you can’t send them to be educated. Welcome to home schooling.

Yes, yes, yes, I know there are certain instances where children have health reasons that preclude vaccines. I’m not talking about little Timmy’s leukemia which will cause the vaccine to kill him. I’m talking about parents who are still afraid of a long-ago debunked study that falsely links vaccinations to autism.

There are certain requirements on parenting. If your kid is under a certain age, he or she has to ride in a car seat. No matter his or her age, they have to wear a seatbelt. This isn’t optional. Governments do not hesitate to force basic parenting obligations on adults, and frankly vaccination should be included across the board. We shouldn’t be in a situation where a trip to Disneyland results in dozens, hundreds of people becoming ill from a disease that is 100% avoidable.

PAD