Fear of a Whigger Planet!

Rapping order at American Fork McDonald's not a crime, judge rules | Deseret News

There are cooler fish in the sea than you've ever seen!

MBARI News Release - Researchers solve mystery of deep-sea fish with tubular eyes and transparent head

Seattle boy with cancer turns into a superhero for a day | Seattle Times Newspaper

Local News | Local boy with cancer turns into a superhero for a day | Seattle Times Newspaper

Great story, although one might what a character named "Moonshine Maid" might be doing with a DeLorean when she's not crimefighting. Bet those extra tanks in the rear aren't for gasoline!

You have NEVER seen this cartoon before!

Unearthed after nearly 60 years, a "lost" UPA cartoon, the first directed by Gene Deitch. It was a pilot for a proposed theatrical cartoon series to star Howdy Doody, but Buffalo Bob is said have hated it. Too bad. A successful series of cartoon would have kept the character popular today, as I don't think there's a lot of footage of the TV show around. Thanks to the Cartoon Brew website for hosting this incredible coolness!

Julia Goes Up the Wall

Sunday, we took Julia to Hummer Park in DG. For the first time, she decided to try out the climbing wall on the toddler jungle gym set, and just scurried right on up. This cell phone video is actually her third time going on up.

I started a meme!

Check the article by the Tribune's Maureen Ryan on "Lost." In the Comments section, I remark on the similarity between the pool the Others tried to revive Sayid in, and the "Lazarus Pit" used by Batman's nemesis Ra's al Ghul. See how the comments since all refer to the Lazarus Pit.

The 'Lost' season premiere – Smokin'!

Microsoft's Family Guy cancellation: Windows 7, yes; incest and deaf people, no - Computerworld Blogs

Hey, Windows 7 and "Family Guy" are a perfect fit! Both are crappy rip-offs of much better programs!

Microsoft's Family Guy cancellation: Windows 7, yes; incest and deaf people, no - Computerworld Blogs

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Peace Prize! It's Wonderful

It's just as I was suspecting. Merely Not Being George Bush is enough to earn a Nobel Peace Prize!

A Prepress Specialist Looks at 50

I've been really too busy to fuss with my "main" blog here, what with an 8-year-old boy and a 16-month-old girl. That, and I've started writing for Examiner.com as their Chicago Craft Beer Examiner; check it out, this actually pays per page view instead of waiting for you to click on an ad!
But having passed the Aloha Age (because I'm now Five-0), I started to think up lists of things I;ve already surpassed in age:

• For the first time, I'm older than the President of the United States, which I noted on my election Day post.
• I'm older than Carroll O'Connor was when he started playing Archie Bunker in 1971 (47).
• Redd Foxx was "just" 49 when he started in "Sanford & Son." Bea Arthur had just turned 50 when "Maude" became a series. O'Connor, Foxx and Arthur are all now dead.
  
• By the time of Mozart's 50th birthday, he'd already been dead 15 years (thanks to Tom Lehrer for that one).
• Two years ago, Turner Classic Movies aired the deservedly little-seen "Skidoo," which included a shot of Carol Channing in her underwear. I realized that at the time I was watching, I was older than Carol Channing (47), and I still did NOT want to see her in bra and panties. At least I still enjoy seeing my wife…
  

Conversely, there are still some positive things I can think of:

• No one aged 50 or less has been elected Pope since Clement VII in 1523. So if I really cleaned up my act, I could still… oh, wait… yeah… married.
• Prince has the same birthday as me, except he'll always be a year older.
• I saw Neil Armstrong walk on the moon live on TV. You have to watch a kinescope compressed for YouTube.
• I thought once the entertainment industry stopped pandering to aging Baby Boomers, there'd be more radio stations playing great new rock acts. But when I tune in to local college and high school stations, they're still playing music recorded before they were born. Guys, when I was on radio, no one was phoning in requesting Elvis. And now they've gone from remaking 60's sitcoms to making movies based on 80's toys.
  
• Most of the teen idols, models and movie stars of my age look more like me. And their careers will never be as hot as they once were.

And most importantly, having a baby when I was 48 and Barb was 46 is considered by many a "miracle." I just can't wait for people to start seeing our faces on tortillas!

What I learned Today #3" Cielito Lindo

Despite having plenty of access to Latino culture as a resident of a major metropolis, I still have not for the life of me been able to learn much Mexican folk music. You know, the songs that define the culture for an entire nation, yet here in America they're rudely appropriated from their original context to sell stuff or in an attempt to be funny. You know: "I dance! I dance! I dance! Upon a Mexican hat!"

Recognition usually comes to me out of the blue. Today I'm listening to ancient records on WFMU's "Antique Phonograph Music Program" for Jan 13. The announcer intros a song from 1924 he calls "Beautiful Heaven." It's a Latin tinged orchestra instrumental, which suddenly leads into the familiar chorus of "Ay, Yi, Yi, Yi!" Hey! I know this tune. Some searching around the title finally informs me that yes, it is a Mexican folk tune, originally titled "Cielito Lindo."

As the Wikipedia article I linked to will inform you younger kids, this tune is better known to us Anglos of a certain age as the "Frito Bandito" song. Hope I can remember at least its proper title when I hear it again.

Yes, as a kid I had a sticker with this artwork on my dresser drawer.

Further Adventures in Publication!

Once again, I can look forward to the ego-stroke of seeing my name as a byline. This time it's for a collection of academic essays called "Captain America and the Struggle of the Superhero," edited by Robert G. Weiner.

I was able to dust off an article I written a few years ago on Roy Thomas' "Retro-World War II" series The Invaders, and All-Star Squadron and repurpose it by putting more emphasis on Captain America. Then I was asked what else I could write, and I ended up with an article on Cap's post-mortem career as a Marvel Zombie.

Well, that book has been and gone to the publisher, and it's now scheduled, at least on Amazon, to ship June 30th! Whee!

Coming up, time allowing, something on James Bond.

Authors! Has This Happened to YOU?

Since I started selling my old books through Amazon, and my old 45s through GEMM.com, I had always wondered if this might happen, and now it has: I've sold a book back to its author.

I don't need to embarrass anyone by revealing the author's name. Just know that this was a vanity-published "think-and-grow-rich" book that I got as a review copy, back when I was editing a pennysaver and a quarterly business magazine. And as far I know, mine was the only copy that was ever offered on Amazon. But I know how stingy publishers today can be with contributors' copies. So just don't let yourself be caught short.

Despite the fact that I work for one of the world's largest printing companies, I do not get an employee discount program for any of the books we print, just a vendor discount on magazines. Guess otherwise all of our employees would be slogging Harry Potter books on Amazon.

Meantime, here's My Amazon Storefront.