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Today is my buddy Sean Tiffany's birthday. He was the first guy I met when moving into the most-assuredly-now-condemned Clinton House, one of the places of housing for the Joe Kubert School in beautiful, scenic Dover, NJ.
Sean was one of the most talented artists there, right out of the gate, and sharing a room with him was pretty daunting. I was still under the illusion that I was going to be/wanted to be a comic book artist, and it was Sean's overwhelming skill in that regard--knowing that I could never compete--that helped nudge me towards finding another artistic style. It took a while, a long while, but I'm so glad I went down the road I did. And it sort of came back around in a way, since now both Sean and I are freelance artists, and we talk regularly about our careers and to bitch about clients.*
It was Sean leaving his position at a graphic design company that helped me along in my artistic career, since I replaced him. It was Sean's dedication to staying in shape that helped inspire me to start going to the gym, and my blood pressure and waist-size thank him for that.
Sean and I, along with other members of our motley Kubie gang, have had many adventures. Some good, some bad, some bizarre. Sean was with me with one of the greatest single moments in my life, so even though he's now across the country in Colorado, he's never that far removed from my life. So I hope today, Sean, you're having a happy birthday!
Oh, and finally--this photo was taken in an apartment we shared in 1994-1996. it's our recreation of a cut scene from Star Trek: Generations. We were such wacky guys!
(*just Sean does. I, of course, would never bitch about any of my clients)
This illustration i did for Eva Scrivo Salon, which is the hairdresser/salon for Martha Stewart, will apparently be shown tomorrow, 2/28, on Martha's show when Eva is on with Martha. It's just a small, simple little piece, but this will be Namtab.com's TV debut! Can a guest spot on Law & Order: SVU be far behind?
Info and local airtimes can be found here!
I was going to say we need more Republicans like this guy, but I'm changing that to we need more politicians like this, period. Here's what Rep. Dan Zwonitzer said on the floor of the Wyoming legislature, concerning a bill to ban recognition of gay civil unions:
Thank you Mr. Speaker and Members of the Committee.
I am not going to speak of specifics regarding this bill, but rather talk about history and philosophy in regards to this issue.
It is an exciting time to be in the legislature while this issue is being debated. I believe this is the Civil Rights struggle of my generation.
Being a student of history, as many of you are, and going back through history, most of history has been driven by the struggle of man against government to endow him with more rights, privileges and liberties to be bestowed upon him.
In all of my high school courses, we only made it through history to World War 2. It wasn’t until college that I really learned of the civil rights movement in the 60’s. My American History professor was black, and we spent a week discussing civil rights. I watched video after video where people stood on the sidelines and yelled and threw things at black students walking into schools, I’ve read editorials and reports by both sides of the issue, and I would think, how could society feel this way, only 40 years ago.
Under a democracy the civil rights struggle continues today, where we have one segment of our society trying to restrict rights and privelges from another segment of our society. My parents raised me to know that this is wrong.
It is wrong for one segment of society to restrict rights and freedoms from another segment of society. I believe many of you have had this conversation with your children. And children have listened, my generation, the twenty-somethings, and those younger than I understand this message of tolerance. And in 20 years, when they take the reigns of this government and all governments, society will see this issue overturned, and people will wonder why it took so long.
My kids and grandkids will ask me, why did it take so long? And I can say, hey, I was there, I discussed these issues, and I stood up for basic rights for all people.
I echo Representative Childers concerns, that testifying against this bill may cost me my seat. I have two of my precinct committee persons behind me today who are in favor of this bill, as I stand here opposed, and I understand that I may very well lose my election. It cost 4 moderate Republican Senators in Kansas their election last year for standing up on this same issue. But I tell myself that there are some issues that are greater than me, and I believe this is one of them. And if standing up for equal rights costs me my seat so be it. I will let history be my judge, and I can go back to my constituents and say I stood up for basic rights. I will tell my children that when this debate went on, I stood up for basic rights for people.
I can debate the specifics of this bill back and forth as everyone in this room can, but I won’t because the overall theme is fairness, and you know it. I hope you will all let history be your judge with this vote. You all know in your hearts where this issue is going, that it will come to pass in the next 30 years. For that, I ask you to vote no today on the bill. Thank you.
The bill died in committee. Good on ya, Mr.Zwonitzer.
(More on it here and here.)
You know, I initially wasn't thrilled with the idea of Hillary Clinton running for president. But I warmed up to the idea over time, and if she ends up with the nomination against McCain, Guliani, or (*shudder*) Romney, I'd vote for her in a second.
But this attitude her campaign seems to have adopted--everyone must be for me, or you're The Enemy--makes me sick. We're supposed to be all in this together, and attacking Obama via David Geffen is showing me that Hillary's method of winning the nomination is simply to tear a page from the Bush playbook.
I thought Bill Clinton was an ok president, and he looks like friggin' Harry Truman compared to his successor. But if that's the way they're going to play it, then I say f**k the Clintons.
Tell Mama, I'm with Obama.
I remember the days when there were so few comic-book movies that I saw every one I could in the theatre, no matter how bad it looked (Howard the Duck! Return of Swamp Thing!!). When Batman came out, I saw the damn thing nine times.
Wow, how things have changed.
There have been so many movies adapted from comics now, that it just occurred to me that Ghost Rider is currently in theatres, and I have zero drive to see it. And next month is 300, and I'm on the fence for that one, too. I've seen so many weak comic book films, walked out of them so disappointed at the sheer amount of lameness that money can buy, that I pretty much only see ones I get hugely excited over (Superman Returns, the next Batman, called The Dark Knight).
Still waiting for Aquaman: The Movie, of course. Someday...
the next day, everybody got up
seein' if the clothes were dry the dogs were barking, a neighbor passed
mama, of course, she said, "hi!" "have you heard the news?" he said, with a grin
"the vice-president's gone mad!" "where?"
"downtown."
"when?"
"last night." "oh, hey, that's too bad"
--Clothes Line Saga, 1967
Two pretend presidents.
I've never been big on the whole local pride thing. First off, most places are pretty much like every other one--the same Targets, Burger Kings, etc. Having me live in a particular spot doesn't make it any better than any other place. Secondly, I've found that local pride can--and often does--quickly turn into a kind of My-Town-is-Cool-and-All-Other-Places-Suck agressiveness that turns me off. My feeling has always been, unless you live somewhere really extraordinary, due to the climate (Hawaii) or the history (New York), then most areas don't have anything over anywhere else.
But I'm feeling a tad differently about my much-maligned, always-the-punchline home state of New Jersey. I'm feeling that way since, as of midnight last night, NJ will start performing civil unions for gay couples. Now I've read a lot about how a lot of gay couples don't like that idea, since civil unions are sort of a half-step behind actual marriage, but not being in that situation I can't directly speak to that.
What I do know is, with so many states actually going to the ugly step of passing laws against it, yelling "Yep, We're Bigots!" at the top of the hill, my little joke of a state is bucking the trend and actually treating gay people like...people. Shocking!
The idea that gay unions/marriages threaten straight ones is so laughable and absurd it's not worth debating. The only thing that threatens a relationship is the behavior of the people in it. Tracy and I aren't threatened by gay unions--the only thing that would is our own behavior, or if Tracy ever met MSNBC's David Shuster.
The concept that marriages created from an unexpected pregnancy, or ones where a rich old guy wants a young trophy wife, or ones where a gay man is desperate to hide his real identity (I'm looking at you, Rev. Haggard) are somehow more sacred--and should be constiutionally "protected"--than two gay people who love each other and want to be married is, to me, a really pathetic argument, and one that obscures the real reason a lot of people don't like the idea of gay marriage, but can't say in polite company (unless you're NBA star Tim Hardaway)--it just gives them the heebie-jeebies.
So, for once, I've got some local pride. Let that freak flag fly, Garden State!
Rest in peace, Mr. Oksner.
I read that Ralph Nader is thinking of running again. Christ, that makes me sad. Would anyone--anyone--who actually bothers to vote do so for this man after what happened in 2000? I don't blame Nader for that, per se, since who would've guessed how nutty Bush would become? Nader got an infimitesimal amount of the vote in 2004, proving that people remembered what happened last time.
I find it a real shame, since Ralph Nader has done a lot--a lot--of good work in his life. He was willing to take on Big Auto and Big Pharm when no one would, and made a real difference. The fact that he will now mostly be remembered as the Guy Who Handed the Preisdency to Bush is too sad to contemplate. He deserves better.
But...when I've seen him interviewed, he angers me with his "I'm the truth-teller" ego-centric bullcrap routine. For long after, he kept/keeps insisting there is no difference between the two parties. Yeah, of course, the Dems are frequently weak, lame, and just as corrupt as the Republicans, but does anyone--anyone--think that President Al Gore would've invaded Iraq? Suspended habeus corpus? Let New Orleans get destroyed? Rail against gay marriage? Rape the environment? C'mon, Ralph, own up--what you did made a difference, negatively.
Also, the idea that at this point, what he might say or do in 2008 has any meaning or influence on the election is absurd. He's considered by most to be an old crank, and is easily dismissed. We desperately need a Third Party in this country--a real one, and as long as this guy represents the idea of Third Party we ain't gonna get one.
I found this wonderful little item on ebay (of course) and when I saw it I knew I had to have it for Tracy (yeah, that's it...for Tracy).
Actually, I did feel this was the perfect combo gift for Trace for Valentine's Day...it's retro, which she likes, it's Wonder Woman, who she likes, and it's sweetly romantic. Plus I like it, because it's an old-timey piece of comic book merchandising. What's not to love?
She really liked it, so we plan to get it framed at some point. Considering its from the 1940s, it's amazing to me this thing is in as good condition as it is. And we intend to keep it that way.
Happy Valentine's Day everybody!
I generally have to regularly shop at two or three different supermarkets every week--none of them has everything I need at the same time. It's a tad annoying--one supermarket carries some of the Morningstar line, but not the same ones another market does--but I've managed to get the whole procedure down so it doesn't take too long.
The one place I absolutely hate to visit is the local Super Fresh that's a few minutes from here. Everytime I visit it, everyone in there--customers and staff alike--seem miserable, with scowls on their faces. Customers are hunched over their carts, wandering aimlessly down the blocked-with-inventory-cart aisles. The clerks never say hello, and tend to throw your food into the bag as if it was maggot-ridden. There's always a half-dozen screaming babies, left to their own devices as their parents make nary an attempt to calm them down.
I occasionally do have to make a Battan-Death-March-esque trip there, since, of all places, they carry the widest selection of Morningstar foods, and when all my other regular places are missing what I need, I'm forced to go there.
Today was no exception from my usual experience--all the above was on display, and the cashier threw all my packages into my bag and practically hurled it at me. There was a screaming baby in front of me, one in back. The customer behind me bumped into me reaching for the What Your Birth Sign Means mini-book at the register. There was an ancient looking woman, wearing heroin-chic eye-make-up and, I kid you not, a giant magenta fright wig. Jesus, what dimension did I just enter?
I bought every package of the Morningstar Veggie Chicken Strips (yum!) they had, so as to delay my return as long as possible. Until then, if George Romero is looking for a good location for a future Living Dead movie, I've got just the place...
The squirrels are gathering...
As anyone who's ever read any of my blogs knows, the lack of most comic companies' ability to actually sell comics is a major recurring theme of mine.
There's an excellent article on that subject on the Estoreal blog. It's passionate yet reasoned, and makes some excellent points. Go check it out!
News is that Joss Whdeon is now not writing and directing the long-delayed Wonder Woman movie. Apparently, his take on the character was too at odds with the studios, so he's left the project.
I can't say I'm disappointed (tho, of course, I don't know what the studio's take is). While I think Whedon is a vastly talented writer/director/creator (and paper mache artist, for all I know), what I heard of his version of WW didn't thrill me. Apparently he severely changed the costume, and introduced his own villain. Feh! and Double Feh! I say. I know that WW doesn't have the greatest rogues' gallery, but I just kinda doubt he was going to come up with some amazingly-awesome idea that no one, in seventy years of superhero comics, had ever come up with. Just get the Cheetah and maybe Dr.Psycho in there and start typin'.
Anyway, for years I've told my idea for the WW movie to everyone who would listen (and some who wouldn't), so why not again here:
Ditch the whole traditional origin-then-fight-super-villain bit. It's been done a million times in other superhero movies and if you don't have a really solid superhero framework (like, say, Krypton-to-Smallville-to-Metropolis) then it'll just be kinda dull.
To me, the WW movie is the chance to do something different: play up all the mythology stuff that is Diana's backstory. Have her fight Medusa, Hercules, sword-wielding skeletons, the Hydra, etc. Make Wonder Woman like a modern-day version of a Ray Haryhausen movie, where she has to defend us earthlings from the onslaughts of the Gods themselves!
It could be a fun, bright, ripping adventure, the kind of movie that adults and kids would love--Ray Harryhausen meets The Princess Bride with just a little of that Raiders of the Lost Ark nasty edge in it (high-concept!). You can make WW sexy yet a role model for little girls (and comfortable-with-themselves little boys), and you just might make a really unique superhero movie.
Warners, if you're reading this, you can use my idea(s) for free. Just let me design the poster.
...on a fun little meme on Progressive Ruin.
I mentioned this joke-that-walks-like-a-man twice earlier, here's an update from Crooks & Liars:
A senior Pentagon official resigned Friday over controversial remarks in which he criticized lawyers who represent terrorism suspects, the Defense Department said.
Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said Charles ''Cully'' Stimson, deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, told him on Friday that he had made his own decision to resign and was not asked to leave by Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
Stimson said he was leaving because of the controversy over a radio interview in which he said he found it shocking that lawyers at many of the nation's top law firms represent detainees held at the U.S. military prison in Cuba.
'He believed it hampered his ability to be effective in this position,' Whitman said of the backlash to Stimson's comments.I don't care whether he quit or was fired--he's gone. And I hope some lawyers drive by and egg his house.
Part 1: The Atomic Submarine (1959):
1st Navy guy: "Hmm, I don't know. What's worse than disappointing a little girl?"
2nd Navy guy: "Disappointing a big one?"
