Kevin & Kate, Lex & Lois?

Superman will never save you from my evil clutches, Ms. Lane

Director Bryan Singer must've really liked "Beyond the Sea." Why? Well, he's apparently cast the two stars from that film, Kevin Spacey and Kate Bosworth, to play Lex Luthor and Lois Lane in the upcoming brand-new Superman movie (starring unknown Brandon Routh as the guy with the cape, by the way).

Not sure how I feel about Bosworth, but I love Spacey as Superman's arch-nemesis. Man, I hope this movie is good.

Scott loves Donna (plural)

Things I thought I might never hear? The Donnas this morning on NPR's "Morning Edition." The contrast between Scott Simon's distinctly NPR-type of voice and The Donnas crunching guitars was certainly amusing. It was rather surreal to hear the band rock through songs like "Fall Behind Me" and "Don't Break Me Down," followed by Simon's "thank you." It was also hilarious to hear rock music come from the bathroom upstairs, where my dad was getting ready for the day. The door was closed, but I know Denny was shakin' it, beating his toothbrush or razor against the sink to the beats.



Meanwhile, I was smitten with the voices coming from the radio. The Donnas sound adorable when they're not rockin'. (Their band name used to be The Electrocutes.) You think they'd be pissed with me for saying that? Look at the photo above; how could they get mad at me? And if they did, I doubt I'd put up much of a fight. How hot are women playing drums and electric guitars?

No payout left behind

I heard about this via The Al Franken Show on Air America Radio while driving around town yesterday. (Ann Arbor's WLBY - 1290 AM - is thankfully one of Air America's 41 affiliates. How about an Iowa City affiliate, guys? That's a nice liberal college town stuck in a red state.) Syndicated talk show host and newspaper columnist Armstrong Williams was paid $240,000 by the Bush administration to endorse the No Child Left Behind act to his audience. Williams was also asked to persuade other black journalists and media personalities to promote NCLB, as he did with comedian Steve Harvey, who had Education Secretary Rod Paige on his show.

Arm$trong William$

Quoted in USA Today, Williams said he accepted the payment to promote NCLB "because it's something I believe in."

Well, if you already believe in it, Armstrong, why did you need to take $240,000 to extol its virtues?

Even worse, according to Melanie Sloan of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington - also quoted in the USA Today article - is that "Congress has prohibited propaganda" for any government-funded program. Lobbying for anything that taxpayers are footing the bill for, such as No Child Left Behind, is illegal.

I assumed this would be a topic du jour at Jim Romenesko's blog (via the Poynter Institute), which always discusses all things media. And to no surprise, at the top of the page was the news that Tribune Media Services, in lieu of this revelation, had decided to stop distributing Williams's syndicated newspaper column.

"Accepting compensation in any form," said a press release from Tribune Media Services, "from an entity that serves as a subject of his weekly newspaper columns creates, at the very least, the appearance of a conflict of interest."

Now, I'm betting that this isn't a big deal to the general public. And maybe most of you reading this don't really give a $#!+ about someone in the media accepting handouts, especially if it's someone you've never heard of. But as a former journalism major, this really bothers me. Off the top of my head, I can think of two cardinal sins for a journalist: 1) Plagiarizing material, a la Jayson Blair or Mike Barnicle, and 2) Accepting money from any organization other than an employer.

Of course, there's a question as to whether Armstrong Williams is even a journalist. He's a talk show host and a columnist. How much actual reporting or investigation is part of his job? So is he obligated to the same responsibilities that an actual journalist would be? Maybe not. But if you were to watch Williams's show and he expressed an opinion that you happened to share or agree with, how would you feel if you then discovered that opinion was bought and paid for? Whose opinion is he really expressing?

"Garfield" put to sleep

My friend Matt tipped me off to this yesterday. The Los Angeles Times kicked "Garfield" off its daily comics page (the Sunday strip will still run) in favor of a new (and much funnier, from what I can tell) strip, titled "Brevity." Unfortunately, I can't link to the article explaining the decision because it's in the "Calendar Live" section which requires a paid subscription. So I'll quote and link to the article Matt sent me from "Editor & Publisher."

"We're always trying to get some new talent in the comics pages," said Jennifer James, an editorial aide for the LA Times.



Applause for the LA Times! Now other big, metropolitan newspapers (and small market ones, as well) need to follow suit. Newspaper comics sections are filled with outdated, unfunny, long-past-their-prime strips, like "Peanuts," "B.C.," "Beetle Bailey," "Marmaduke," and perhaps the most popular comic strip punching bag, "The Family Circus." These antiques need to be shuffled out and replaced with more fresh blood. Where's the next "Get Fuzzy," "Pearls Before Swine," or "Frazz"?

Gene Weingarten, a Washington Post humor columnist, had some funny comments on the matter during his weekly chat at washingtonpost.com yesterday, referring to "Garfield" as "just stupid schmaltz."

"'Garfield' is the worst thing on the comics pages," Weingarten also said, "a strip produced by a committee, devoid of originality, devoid of guts, a strip cynically DESIGNED to be inoffensive and bad, on the theory that public tastes are insipid." Yowza!

My close-to-hometown paper, the Detroit Free Press, still has "Garfield," but it's been ahead of the curve with pumping its comics page with new blood over the past few years. Besides "Get Fuzzy," "Pearls Before Swine," other strips like "Speed Bump," "Frazz," "Housebroken," and "La Cucaracha" (and a handful of others I unfortunately can't remember) have all gotten a chance in the Freep. But they could probably do even more.

I know many people like old reliable stand-bys in their newspaper, but how many of these strips actually enterain their readers? How many times does one of these mediocre strips elicit a laugh, or even a chuckle? Reading "Cathy" is just a routine, along with eating that morning bowl of Cheerios. Maybe it made you laugh once, or you related to something in it, so you keep coming back. But how often do you really remember a joke or talk about it with someone else? I've never had a conversation with a friend about "Heathcliff." But I talk about "Get Fuzzy" and "Pearls Before Swine" all the time with one of my good friends. (Is that the third time I've mentioned those strips? Geez, that's a lot of free plug-ola.)

Of course, one person's funny strip is another's groaner. I'm sure "Luann" and "Arlo and Janis" don't work for some readers, but I enjoy them. However, when they run out of gas or their creators decide to put the pens away, or worse yet, farm the work out to staffers, I'd expect them to go quietly and with dignity. And a good comics page editor would be more than willing to send them out the door.

(And if a reader was willing to cancel his or her subscription because "Garfield" was taken out of the comics section, then how seriously was that person really taking the newspaper in the first place? Maybe the newspaper has other problems besides the fat, lasagna-loving cat.)

He wuz robbed!

I was going to write about this yesterday, but I thought Will Eisner deserved to have the floor to himself. On Tuesday, the 2005 Baseball Hall of Fame class was announced. Wade Boggs and Ryne Sandberg won the required number of votes to be inducted. I have no argument with either of those players; both were two of the best players at their respective positions (Boggs at 3rd base - mostly for the Red Sox and Yankees, Sandberg at 2nd with the Chicago Cubs) during my formative years as a baseball fan. Actually, Sandberg was probably three years overdue for his induction.

But it really bothers me that pitcher Jack Morris wasn't among the class of 2005. I'm biased, to an extent, because Morris was the best pitcher the Detroit Tigers had during my lifetime as a Tigers fan. But I think fans of the Toronto Blue Jays and Minnesota Twins would agree with me, as well. Morris led all three of these teams to World Series championships as their ace starting pitcher. In the 1991 World Series, Morris pitched a 10-inning shutout for the Twins, beating the Atlanta Braves in Game 7. Considering the circumstances, it was one of the best pitching performances in the history of Major League Baseball. Morris didn't reach 300 wins, considered the gold standard for Hall of Fame starting pitchers, but his 254 shouldn't be dismissed - especially considering how significant many of those wins were for his teams. He won more games in the 1980s (162) than any other pitcher.

(blurry, but the best I could find)

I take solace in the fact that ESPN.com's Jayson Stark agrees with me, calling Morris "the ultimate ace of his era." I've grudgingly accepted that Tigers shortstop Alan Trammell might never be inducted because he was overshadowed during his career by Ozzie Smith and Cal Ripken. But I can't get over Morris's snub. He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.

I need that outlet!

An amusing article in today's New York Times discusses the frenetic battle in places like Starbucks and airport terminals for power outlets, which are coveted by those needing to keep their laptops, cell phones, iPods, Palm Pilots, GameBoys, and other assorted gadgets charged. Businesses are recognizing the need (or enabling the problem) and installing more outlets. And not just in walls either; in armrests, underneath chairs and tables, etc.

I ran into this myself last week at Ann Arbor's Sweetwaters Cafe. My quaint corner seat by the window, which I enjoyed quietly staring out of between pages of "Middlesex," was unfortunately right next to one of those valuable outlets. Thus my temporary sanctuary was interrupted by a fellow patron who wanted to stretch the power cord for his laptop across my table to the outlet in the wall. Rather than have the cord run underneath my elbow and next to my coffee, I decided it was better to switch tables with the guy. At least I was still by the window. Right after I switched, another guy came over and plugged his cell phone charger into the wall too.

The power of Jon Stewart?

CNN announced yesterday that it wasn't renewing the contract of "Crossfire" co-host Tucker Carlson (famously called "a dick" by Jon Stewart when he was a guest on the show) and, as a result, "Crossfire" will probably end as well.

I remember my dad was a regular viewer of the show back when Michael Kinsley and Pat Buchanan were the "left" and "right" on "Crossfire," but that was a long time ago. As Stewart said while publicly scolding Carlson and Paul Begala, the show long ago deteriorated from intelligent discourse into grandstanding and shouting. But CNN probably killed "Crossfire" the day it was moved to 4:30 pm EST. Seriously, who's home to watch it then? (Well, besides lazy college students...)

Oh well, Carlson will probably land on his feet. Who doesn't love a guy with a bow-tie?

Will Eisner, 1917-2005

"You can’t die if you single-handedly invented the language of an entire art form and the concept of the graphic novel. It's impossible. He is immortal."

-- Brian Michael Bendis, on Will Eisner.

from willeisner.com

Early Tuesday evening, I read the news of comic book artist Will Eisner's death on Brian Michael Bendis's message board. He died yesterday at the age of 87 from complications following quadruple heart bypass surgery. (If you're interested, here's a discussion thread where comics creators and fans alike are paying tribute. He influenced and touched a lot of people.) Eisner was a legend in the comic book world who pioneered the concept of the "graphic novel," a stand-alone story or short stories collected in a book format. 1978's "A Contract with God" is often credited as the first graphic novel.



I always kept an eye on the graphic novel section while working at Barnes & Noble (someone had to), and bought as many of Eisner's books ("The Dreamer," "The Building," "Dropsie Avenue," and "Invisible People") as I could with my employee discount. Many of his books depicted slice-of-life stories that touched on social issues like immigration, poverty, racism, and gentrification. Quoted in Adam Bernstein's outstanding obituary in the Washington Post, Eisner said, "I'm dealing with the human condition, and I'm dealing with life. For me, the enemy is life, and people's struggle to prevail is essentially the theme that runs through all my books."

He also adapted several classic stories such as "Oliver Twist" and "Moby Dick." (It's really an amazingly diverse body of work; you can check it out at Eisner's website.) In addition to his novels, Eisner also wrote several instructional books about the craft of drawing comic books, including "Comics & Sequential Art," which a young Ian Casselberry often consulted in the days he dreamed of becoming a comic book artist. It's still sitting by my old drawing table in my parents' basement.



But Eisner might be best known for "The Spirit," the comic strip he wrote and drew from 1940 to 1952. Eisner was asked by his syndicate to create a masked hero to compete with the likes of Batman, but he could never quite embrace the superhero concept. His character, Denny Colt, wore a mask but was a normal guy with no superpowers, a detective who often used nothing more than his fists to get him out of trouble. He also seemed to have varying degrees of success with a collection of femme fatales. (I'd love to have that old employee discount back, so I could buy all the Spirit Archives books that DC Comics has published.)



(In "The Incredibles," director Brad Bird paid tribute to The Spirit in one scene by dressing Mr. Incredible in a blue suit and red tie. He also acknowledged this inspiration in his first film, "The Iron Giant," when his main character brings out a Spirit comic book for the giant robot to read. I'd include a link that could prove this to you, but the only one I can find is from Entertainment Weekly, and the site requires a subscription. Drat.)

Eisner knew that the comic book art form was capable of so much more than the escapist fantasies it typically portrayed, and devoted his career to showing comic books were a viable, valid storytelling venue. As he once said, "I've been trying to prove what the medium can do my whole life." It's truly fitting that perhaps the most distinguished award in the comic book industry is named after Eisner and handed out each year at the San Diego Comic-Con.

Here's one more tribute to Eisner, by cartoonist Neil Kleid. It captures the range and impact of Eisner's influence quite well.

And another obituary, from Sarah Boxer in the New York Times.

from "A Contract with God"

At the movies, part 2

Now, Bill Condon's "Kinsey" is a good movie. (But in all fairness to Kevin Spacey and "Beyond the Sea," Alfred Kinsey is a much more interesting character than Bobby Darin.) Kinsey, as portrayed by Liam Neeson, is depicted both as a scientist and a man in the film, and it's fascinating to watch his dual aspects play out. Kinsey is presented with a question he doesn't know the answer to, and works to find those answers, backed by substantive proof. Isn't that what a scientist does? But it's later revealed that it wasn't just scientific curiosity that drew Kinsey to this field of study. Thanks to his puritanical preacher of a father (played by John Lithgow, in what could be seen as a follow-up to his role in "Footloose"), Kinsey lived in repression. Studying sex allowed him to address something he had always denied.



Of course, studying human sexuality is a bit more complicated than cataloguing gall wasps. As the film details so well, the sexual habits and tendencies of men and women can't be simply categorized. You can't encourage people to indulge their every sexual urge and curiosity - sleeping with (or as Peter Saarsgard says with such venom, fucking) members of the same sex, or other people's husbands and wives - and not expect sociological consequences. Plus, there's an X-factor called "love" that can muddy up the whole dynamic. (And if that sounds corny, it's my fault as a writer. Go see the movie and decide for yourself.)

Condon approaches this material with just the right touch. It's serious stuff, but you have to laugh at it too. What's more funny than watching a total nerd (complete with bow-tie) suddenly get laid regularly because he's studying sex? And from a modern point of view, it's also hilarious to be reminded of the restrictions and bafflingly misguided beliefs people once lived with. But in the end, this is a story about a fascinating man, one who not only tries to bring knowledge to the ignorant, but realizes he's also helping people become comfortable with aspects of their personalities that society told them needed to be hidden. Kinsey fights for what he believes in, because he knows he's providing a valuable service, despite the skepticism, prudishness, and elitism he's faced with throughout his career. Liam Neeson depicts all of that in his performance.

Every actor in this film is fantastic. Laura Linney is great as Kinsey's wife, Clara. But that shouldn't be a surprise, because she's terrific in everything she's in (even a so-so movie like "Love Actually"). Think about it: your square husband has told you he wants to study sex and because you believe in your husband, you support him, even if you're more aware of the consequences than he is. Linney makes it very believable. (I might be in love with her.) And Peter Sarsgaard does his usual top-notch job, too. (I might have a man-crush on this guy. But I admired his work long before his full frontal nudity in this film. Really. Go see "Shattered Glass" or "Garden State.") His character approaches this field of study with an almost-predatory curiosity. But in the end, he might've lost the most. Maybe even more than Kinsey, he represents the arc of this story.

The only thing I didn't like about the movie? Neeson doesn't do his own singing and dancing as Kinsey. Don't worry, my dad didn't laugh at that joke either. So it must not be that funny.

At the movies, part 1

I wasn't planning on seeing Kevin Spacey's "Beyond the Sea," but my dad won tickets to its opening night at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor, courtesy of WEMU (thanks guys - Dad's a big fan). Spacey's Bobby Darin tribute has been getting brutalized by the critics, most of whom dismissed it as his "vanity project." But I've always liked Spacey, even in terrible movies ("Pay It Forward"), so I figured it was worth a try. (Also, the ticket was free.)



Immediately after the movie, I thought the critics were far too harsh. Maybe Spacey was too old to play Darin (he's 45, Darin died at 37), but his energy on-screen seemed to make up the age difference. (I also liked the in-joke at the beginning of the film that addressed this very topic.) What most impressed me was Spacey's passion for the project. This was very obviously a story he wanted to tell, a role he wanted to play.

Was it arrogant of Spacey to sing Darin's songs, rather than lip-synch over the original recordings? I don't think so, especially considering that Darin didn't have as distinct a voice as, say, Ray Charles. Besides, as an actor, if you want to play a singer, why shouldn't you actually sing, if you can? And Spacey can sing, maybe even better than Bobby Darin. (Roger Ebert said as much on his TV show.) On the way home, my dad said he actually preferred watching Spacey perform as Darin over watching Darin himself. (And considering Dad's old enough to have seen and heard Darin in his heyday, I'll believe him.)

But the more I think about it, something just isn't right with "Beyond the Sea." To me, it wasn't the performance; that was the best part of the film. But I'm not sure it was a very good movie. In any biographical film, time is going to move too fast. Everything has to fit within that two hour frame. But Spacey never really takes the time to show or explain why a film about Bobby Darin needed to be made. By resorting to storytelling gimmicks like having the adult Darin interact with his childhood self and incorporating musical sequences into the narrative ("Well hello, Miss Sandra Dee!"), Spacey seemed to realize that Darin's life just wasn't that interesting. And when he addresses things that did actually happen, such as Darin's political beliefs changing him into a denim-wearing hippie folk singer, they're almost too comical to be true.

So I guess I agree with the critics - to a point. I still think most of them were too mean regarding Spacey's singing and dancing ability. (Considering my own deficient abilities in those departments, maybe I'm just easily impressed.) Spacey's passionate performance deserves admiration. It just isn't enough to make a mediocre story into a great one. But damn, I'm whistling "Mack the Knife" a lot when I walk around the house...

Still some free time to kill

©2004 Universal Press Syndicate

Okay, I get it! I'll get to that readling list I was blabbing about at the beginning of my holiday break. Sheesh. I thought I'd get some reading done...

(And Happy New Year, Bill Watterson, wherever you are.)

College football hangover (and boo$ter$)

I should be worn out on college football at this point, but Selena Roberts of the New York Times has written an intriguing two-part series about the boosters behind several programs over the last couple of days. How much influence, how much control do these wealthy, power-hungry contributors exert over their beloved football teams?

At Auburn, one booster (who has contributed millions of dollars) has interviewed coaches without the consent of the athletic department and has organized movements to hire and fire them, as well. He also appears to be bankrolling the team chaplain who counsels the players.

Who helps fund the multi-million dollar salaries head football coaches are now earning, such as the $14 million deal Urban Meyer received to leave Utah for Florida? Or the 10-year, $26 million extension Mack Brown got at Texas (even before beating Michigan in the Rose Bowl)?

I'm sure it's naive to think that this hasn't always been going on, but the money invested in these football programs is reaching mountainous heights. And when people are contributing millions of dollars, they won't be content to just sit back and let a coach and athletic director do their jobs.

New Year's Day football: The highs & lows

Tate to Holloway, all the way, for a game-winning touchdown for Iowa in this afternoon's Capital One Bowl vs. LSU. (And no, I don't get anything from Capital One for using its name - though maybe I should. How about a dream date with David Spade where we fight off all those interest rate barbarians, and then he pays off all my credit card debt?) A 56-yard bomb of a throw, a wide receiver left inexplicably wide open by LSU's defense, and a 30-25 victory.

from sports.yahoo.com

And all that after I was screaming at the TV, cursing Iowa's terrible clock management that cost them at least 10 precious seconds and a chance to win. Then quarterback Drew Tate found Warren Holloway for his Hawkeye miracle. And I probably haven't jumped that high in almost 10 years.

Four hours later, however, Texas place-kicker Dusty Mangum (there's a Texas name, if I ever heard one) ruined the Casselberrys' New Year's Day with his 37-yard field goal at the end of the game that gave Texas a 38-37 win over Michigan in the Rose Bowl.

from ESPN.com

The above photo says it all. Here's essentially a re-enactment of the whole game: Texas quarterback Vince Young decides to run, no Michigan players can tackle him, Young scores a touchdown. It happened four times. Michigan's linebackers looked slow and grabbed air every time they tried to stop Young. His four touchdown runs, to go along with his one touchdown pass, overshadowed a terrific performance by Michigan's wide receiver Braylon Edwards, who scored three touchdowns of his own. If it weren't so infuriating to watch, maybe I could've appreciated how comical it really was.

Oh well. As my sister said, "at least one of [my] schools won." Except I never went to school at Michigan. I'm just an Ann Arbor boy. Back to Iowa City, home of the victorious Iowa Hawkeyes, in a few days. I never thought I'd miss their local news, but I'd love to watch their sports coverage tonight.

Happy New Year!

©2004 Aaron Mcgruder

To quote my mother this morning, "Is it Saturday today? It feels like a Sunday!" I think I know what she means. Sunday is (usually) a day off before the work week begins, and New Year's Day is a holiday before the year to come.

I'm not much for resolutions. Like Huey from "The Boondocks" up there, I feel like I'm always resolving to do better and strive for more. (And like with New Year's Resolutions, I seem to often fall short.) But it's natural to look at a fresh new year like snow that hasn't been trampled upon yet and evaluate where you've been and where you'd like to go. So if that's what a resolution truly is (rather than "lose weight," "be less negative," "swear less," "be kind to others," and other stuff I probably won't do), I'll do that.

©2004 Bill Amend

I want to make sure the opportunity I've created for myself at the University of Iowa isn't squandered. I want this venture to be worth the time, effort, and money that's been invested in it. I've never been more excited about life and I want that feeling to continue. And I hope to soon be in a position to help my parents as they've helped me for so many years, more years than they should've had to. (And believe me, after spending the last two weeks with them, it's become clear that they're gonna need help from me and my sister eventually.)

These holidays have also reminded me how important my friendships are. I'd drifted apart from some of my friends back home over the past few years, but I've learned that there are no hard feelings that spending some good time together can't fix. We've known each other too long and been through too much to let some distance and life changes dissolve what are still some very strong bonds. I will work as hard as I can to maintain those ties.

Now let's watch some football! Go Hawkeyes! Beat LSU! Go Blue! Beat Texas! Happy New Year, everyone. 2005 is going to be a good year for all of us.