Calling All English Majors

Thanks to the lovely and cultured Colleen Doran for raising the following news over on ComicMix that current Doctor Who David Tennant and Patrick Stewart will be co-starring this fall (as Hamlet and Claudius, respectively) in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s staging of, well, Hamlet.

Wow. And you thought it was tough to get tickets for Equus last spring starring Dan Radcliffe…but seriously, it's pretty remarkable that Shakespeare's work is as popular (if not 1000 times more so) today than it was in Elizabethan Britain 400 years ago.

Turrah!

A Question For The Congregation

Why the hell does the Comics Code Authority still exist?

You know...that little, postage stamp-shaped seal indicating the comic you are holding has been certified as safe (by someone) for American readers.

For those unaware, the CCA is a relic from the days of Fredrick Wertham, an inept social crusader whose 1954 book, The Seduction of The Innocent, posited that comics encourage juvie crime - a fiction Wertham was later happy to repeat before a US Senate subcommittee along with others suggesting Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson were gay lovers, and Wonder Woman a lesbian.

In response, the Senate advocated the comics industry police itself (a move Wertham felt was inadequate), prompting the creation of the CCA in 1954 - the authority of which would be strictly voluntary. However, US comic publishers who refused to carry the CCA seal risked being shunned by comic distributors who refused to move their product without it. As a result, crime and horror-themed EC titles like "Tales From The Crypt" were soon eradicated from the open market, and mainstream comics (primarily DC) reduced to bland, edgeless storytelling for 20 years on.

Due to all of the above, today Fredrick Wertham is regarded by readers and creators alike as the anti-Christ of the comic world - even though his impact on the medium is now erased. Both Marvel and DC (and all its Hollywood franchises) are still under no direct authority to follow CCA guidelines, nor are American indie and GN publishers who today ignore such "voluntary" mandates outright.

Plus, from a business stance, modern comic distributors like Diamond would be idiots to refuse to work with Marvel, DC, Image, et al., strictly due to potential content issues - which have been largely neutralized anyway by an industry ratings system covering both kid and adult audiences - of which the latter make up the bulk of comic consumers. Further still, as many comic creators today feel the age of monthly titles is waning (to be replaced by trade paperbacks and Internet distributions), the CCA becomes even less relevant than it already is.

Therefore, I repeat my standing question - why the hell does the Comics Code Authority still exist?

My answer? It shouldn't. Period.

The CCA is an Edsel rusting in the backyard, overgrown with vines and bird nests - treat it as such and call the junkman.

Riddle me this - What do the CCA and Spidey's Aunt May
have in common? Both should have died ages ago.

The View Ain't No Different

Like Bilbo Baggins, I'm beginning to stack up the years of my life rather speedily now.

Today, it's Number 39 - which evokes an old memory of my mom (at the same age in 1980) getting a set of personalized stationary with the post-script "39 Forever" printed in the lower-right corner of each page.

But I do feel older, say, more decrepit as I teeter on the edge of 40?

Other than a slight discomfort from an old knee injury that pops up every so often, not really.

In fact, the only real difference I feel today compared to 20 birthdays ago is a sense of experience, and (I hope) being less likely to make dumb mistakes. Otherwise, I feel okay, own a nice house, have a decent job and salary, my friends and family are safe and healthy, and I have a few creative projects warming in the bullpen.

So all things all things considered, the view at 39 may not be so different from yesterday, but it's pretty good all the same.

My gal pal (and freshly minted New Yorker) Sarah Grace today

demanded I have a birthday cupcake – so here it is in virtual form.
Yummers, I say. Yummers.

Old Glory Hole

Although one can cite a million differences (real and imaged) between liberals and conservatives in America, one which I truly believe holds water is that liberals are generally unafraid to admit they are gay, and conservatives (with the exception of Log Cabin Republicans, et al.) are terrified to make such an admission.

Thus, like the closeted Ted Haggards and Mark Foleys of the right-wing world, it seems the conservatives who most proudly bang their drums of moral outrage over issues like gay marriage also have the most to hide in their private lives.

Take US Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) for example, who according to CNN has...

...[earned] top ratings from social conservative groups such as the American Family Association...and Family Research Council.

[Craig has also] supported a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, telling his colleagues that it was "important for us to stand up now and protect traditional marriage, which is under attack by a few unelected judges and litigious activists."

Craig has also opposed expanding the federal hate crimes law to cover offenses motivated by anti-gay bias, and in 1996, voted against a bill that would have outlawed employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, which failed by a single vote in the Senate.

Yet ironically (oh, that delicious irony again), this same gay-busting senator plead guilty weeks ago to disorderly conduct when (according to Minneapolis PD reports), he was arrested in a sex sting operation at a local airport restroom notorious for being a "secret" spot for gay men to exchange sexual favors.

Personally, my favorite part of CNN's coverage of the story was Senator Craig's reported response at realizing his sexy jig was up (e.g. shrieking "No!" upon seeing the arresting officer's badge shown under the restroom stall divider, and bolting from the room).

Oh, Larry...just get a room in Boystown. That's what Harvey Firestein would do.

But in all seriousness, here's the bottom line regarding closeted Republicans caught at 3AM at "that" rest stop on US Rt. 1 only to spin lame excuses as to why they are not, in fact, gay: there are as many gay conservatives in America as their are liberal. But the former are trapped by the fact that coming out about their sexuality would make it all but impossible to get elected by their conservative base. Thus, they gotta keep it on the Q.T. and lie about their true nature.

Gay or straight, I frankly don't care who an elected official boinks as long as no molestation is involved.

But in any case, it's priceless to watch the formerly pious likes of Larry Craig squirm before news cameras, and swear up and down that's he's a straight as Merv Griffin...or Rock Hudson...or...that guy from N'Sync...

(damn)

Adventures in Titusville

This morning's weekly round of disc golf with my pals marked the very first time where I was glad to see our time on the course together end.

To put it mildly, after a well-publicized series of heavy rains that passed thru the Midwest last week, almost every body of water has overrun its banks. The result, thanks to the ingenious managers of the Streamwood (IL) Park District who decided to put a disc golf course on a floodplain, is a nightmare for players resulting in stinking mud, swampy pools ripe with mosquitoes, and banks of cattails bursting with pollen.

In short, Shady Oaks Disc Golf Course was horrible to play today. I expect we'll return later, however, after conditions dry up - perhaps in December when the bugs are dead.

Here's our helpful friend Man-Thing directing golfers to the 16th hole

PS: Big, heartfelt thanks to my pals Mike, Bruce, Mark and Josephine for my birthday gifts and the tasty cake.

Sick As A Dog

Today in Virginia, NFL quarterback Michael Vick plead out to bankrolling dogfighting (with poor performers drowned, electrocuted, slammed to the ground, and/or hung) on his property, but denied taking part in said activities as a form of gambling...which is curious considering that Vick is claiming he funded illegal gambling ops, but never took any profits for himself.

Uh, yeah...

This plea--which has quashed his season with the Atlanta Falcons, and prompted the league commissioner to suspend Vick indefinitely--will likely result in jail time, but I suppose what bothers me even more than the evil nature of dogfighting itself is how the story is only receiving attention from mass media because of Vick's star status.

Dogfighting itself goes on all the time across America (and elsewhere), and for underperforming dogs to be (for example) tied to a railroad track to be minced into oblivion is not new.

Such incidents simply go unreported 99% of the time, and due to lack of enforcement, are rarely brought to justice.

Thus, if the Vick case has any sort of silver lining, it's in exposing dogfighting for the barbaric "sport" it is, and applying pressure on lawmakers to sharpen legal penalties. By comparison, legal bloodsports like extreme fighting leagues are almost light-hearted as the participants fight by choice, and are not put to death for losing.

And to any self-righteous, evangelical right-wingers who downplay dogfighting as no big deal in light of abortion being legal (today) in America, please explain that to the following...

Late Term Reading

Recently, I picked up and began reading a book by Salon contributing writer and constitutional attorney Glenn Greenwald titled (hold your breath): “A Tragic Legacy: How a Good vs. Evil Mentality Destroyed The Bush Presidency.”

If you want to truly understand just how bafflingly simplistic the Bush White House’s take on reality is I highly recommend it.

How many days until President Heywood leaves office again?