Stumbling Towards the Light

Archbishop Tutu rebukes his church on its misplaced priorities

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 03:43:09 GMT

You may have heard that the worldwide Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church USA is a part, has been in something of an internal tizzy the last few years since the ECUSA named an openly, actively homosexual bishop to its hierarchy, the Rev. Gene Robinson. More conservative elements in the church have been tossing around the word "schism" with increasing frequency lately as the American church has steadfastly refused to defrock Robinson or demote him from his bishopric.

Now comes Nobel Peace Prize winner and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu to remind them of all the people suffering in disease, poverty and violence while they argue about a supremely asinine matter instead of working to help them. Rather forcefully, in fact, and you can read about it here thanks to BBC News.

Money quote: "I must imagine that God is weeping, and the world quite rightly should dismiss the Church in those cases as being totally irrelevant." Archbishop Tutu accused some of his fellow Anglicans of going against the teaching of Jesus in their treatment of homosexual people by "persecuting the already persecuted."

You tell' em, Your Eminence. They will never in all likelihood listen, of course, but when J.C. does finally return to judge their sorry asses, they can't say they weren't warned.

How would you balance the federal budget? This game lets you find out

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 02:57:29 GMT

The folks at American Public Media's Marketplace radio show have developed a fun and educational little Flash game just in time for the fall Presidential election campaign. It shows you, graphically and with plenty of detail, which of your spending and reduction priorities will get the $3.3 trillion federal budget in shape...or bust it within ten years. Try it!
Here's your chance to be a Budget Hero!

Last.fm widget test

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:56:08 GMT

In Memoriam: José Cuauhtemoc "Bill" Meléndez. 1916-2008

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 02:16:44 GMT

With thanks to filkertom for passing along the sad news: Emmy and Peabody Award winner Bill Meléndez, who together with Lee Mendelsohn formed the only animation team in the world the late Charles M. Schulz trusted with his beloved Peanuts characters, has died just a couple months short of what would have been his 92nd birthday (November 15). Death occurred at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, CA of undisclosed causes; Yahoo! News reports the story here.

He was still animating Charlie Brown and friends as late as last year, showing what the best always make obvious: that doing what you love, and loving what you do, lengthens your lifespan. If all he had done was put 75 Peanuts specials and a weekly series on our TVs and four feature films in our theaters, that alone would have earned him lasting remembrance. But even before founding the animation studio that bears his name, he toiled for three of the greatest of Hollywood's cartoon houses, helping paint the gilt on the "golden age" of cinematic animation.

As a young man, Walt Disney Studios let him cut his teeth on such classic films of the genre as Bambi, Fantasia and Dumbo. Then at Warner Bros., under the name "J. C. Meléndez," he did time on their famed "Termite Terrace" team of gleefully subversive animators with Bob Clampett and Robert McKimson. And at UPA, he brought children's-book characters Babar, Gerald McBoing-Boing and Madeline to life on the big screen. Later, at his own studio, he did the same for comic-page staples Cathy and Garfield. (The latter's creator, Jim Davis, is said to have chosen Melendez's studio for his strip's animation on the strength of their Peanuts work.) He even found time to provide the "voice" (such as it was) of Snoopy and to teach at USC. And he could rock one hell of a lavish handlebar moustache.

In addition to a body of truly stellar work, Mr. Meléndez leaves behind a wife of 68 years, Helen; two sons, one a rear admiral in the US Navy; six grandchildren; and 11 great grandchildren. My heart, thoughts and prayers are with all of them, as well as Bill's co-workers, colleagues and friends in this difficult hour. Vaya con Dios, señor, y muchas gracias.

In Memoriam: Jerry Reed Hubbard, 1937-2008

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 02:47:56 GMT

With thanks to ladybrigid of callahanians for the heads-up: One of Atlanta's own, singer, songwriter and sometime actor Jerry Reed, has died at 71 of complications from emphysema in Nashville. CNN reports his death here.

Growing up where I did, in the family I did, considerable exposure to country and western music was unavoidable. As a result, I developed a taste for at least some of the stuff; and when you add in the penchant I've always had for story-singers, becoming a fan of the ol' Bandit was pretty much just as inevitable. "The Bird," "She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)," "Lord, Mr. Ford" and "When You're Hot, You're Hot" were his best-known songs (and my favorites), but he also penned hits for bigger stars across genres, from Elvis Presley to Tom Jones, and from Nat King Cole to the Oak Ridge Boys. And his long partnership with another legendary guitarist, Chet Atkins, was the stuff of even more legend.

Jerry was beloved by good ol' boys and girls everywhere, including comedian Tim Wilson, who paid his tribute by writing and recording a song called "I Married A Woman Who Talks Like Jerry Reed" that featured an uncanny impression of Reed's distinctive fast-talking, drawl-dripping voice. Jerry had the grace to acknowledge his flaws and never took himself too seriously; speaking of his acting career in films like Smokey and the Bandit and Gator, he said, "When people ask me what my motivation is, I have a simple answer: Money." He even had a hit on Dr. Demento's radio show, with a funny song about smoking, "Another Puff," that usually gets included when the Doc plays songs about tobacco and other legal drugs.

Smooth blacktop and clear skies to you, Jer, and thanks for all the laughs. You will be dearly missed.</lj></lj>

Memo to Dennis Prager: When you're in a hole, stop digging!

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 06:13:35 GMT

First, right-wing talk-show host Dennis Prager defended a man who shot a graffiti artist. Then Andrew Sullivan quoted Prager without comment, by way of letting the man hang himself with his own words. Now Prager is trying to defend his defense.

"I have only ever prayed one prayer to God. It is a very brief one: 'Make my enemies ridiculous.' And God granted it." —Voltaire

Dragon*Con '08 Report: The Wrap-Up

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 03:54:10 GMT

So, four days went by amazingly fast, I had a good time and the worst problem I had was losing my badge for about 15 minutes near the Hyatt Concourse information booth on Saturday afternoon (some kind soul turned it in, thank Ghu, and I was able to retrieve it by showing my driver's license at that same booth). And as of 5:30 Atlanta time this afternoon, the last panels ended, the Exhibit Hall and Dealer's Room closed and another Dragon*Con passed into history. Thanks to all the staff and guests who worked so hard to show all of us a good time and to keep us safe and moving.

Some final notes:

I found a lost badge myself in the men's room at the Hyatt outside the Centennial Ballroom shortly after the Masquerade last night. Since someone had done me the same favor, I felt the least I could do was turn it in to the con. The con staffer guarding the by-then-closed Registration area was kind enough to take it to the staff there and thanked me.
I discovered a second Exhibit Hall I had not previously seen this afternoon, in just enough time to explore it and find my old friend Larry Smith running his always-excellent bookseller's table. (The distinction between the Exhibit Halls and the Dealer's Room seems to be somewhat blurred in terms of what is actually going on and on display in each, not that I minded necessarily.) But I so did not need to see a drawing of the Family Guy characters costumed as The Rocky Horror Picture Show's characters that included Peter Griffin in Frank N. Furter's costume. (Trying to scrub that image out of my head now, thank you very much. And now you'll have to, also; sorry...)
One of the best hall costumes I saw Sunday was on a couple of guys who stationed themselves in giant toy display boxes on the Hyatt Concourse as "William Shatner Action Figures." One in cowboy outfit with phaser, called "Action Shatner," and the other in TOS captain's uniform with Elizabethan frill collar, labeled "Shakespearean Shatner." A picture will be forthcoming shortly.
The fellow I mentioned in yesterday's report from the open filking with the uncanny voice talent is named Craig Crumpton, and you can search his name on YouTube to find videos of him doing his amazing thing. He also has his own website, which you can and should check out. Recommended highly.

And the lovely little weekend-only world gets packed away for another year; hope you all have enjoyed reading what I posted.

Gov. Palin's kid is preggers. So f#@&ing WHAT?!?

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 01:36:45 GMT

Will someone please explain to me why the pregnancy of the daughter of the vice-presidential candidate of the Republican Party is a news story at all?! One report is actually headlined—so help me Ghu—"Gustav, Pregnancy Shape RNC." We already know she's going to keep the baby, that John McCain knew in advance of picking her mom, that the Governor herself is adamantly "pro-life" to the point of keeping her own most recent baby even after it was clear it would be what these days is euphemistically termed "a special-needs child." What could possibly make this matter so consequential that the TV and radio networks and cable channels must waste an entire news cycle on it?

Is it that the pregnant daughter is herself only 14 years old? Does the (non-)news somehow render Gov. Palin unfit? How? Is it that the GOP's self-marketing as the "family values" party is somehow undermined by this? Are the newsies just cheesed off that she didn't announce this little detail at once upon her selection? And what effing difference does it make who the father of the fetus in question is? And would they be making such a big deal of the pregnancy if it were Sen. Barack Obama's daughter, or Joe Biden's? Seriously, I want to know.

Talk about the candidates themselves all you want—their policies, their pasts, their accomplishments or lack thereof. But their families, friends and associates, as Sen. Obama has so excellently put it, are and should remain "off limits." Anything to do with the spouses, offspring, cousins, business partners etc. has no bearing whatsodamnever on the campaign and is not worth a single drop of ink or a single second of airtime.

So to Katie, Brian, Charlie, Wolf et al.: Drop it already and move on. This is the sort of thing that keeps alive the longstanding accusations by the right of "liberal media bias"...even when they have not the least basis in fact.

This Labor Day, my favorite cause is actually two

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:51:14 GMT

From MDA.org: Muscular Dystrophy Association National Chairman Jerry Lewis today will use his Labor Day Telethon to encourage families registered with MDA and being evacuated from their homes due to Gustav to seek out MDA services wherever they end up. MDA has almost 5,000 registered families in the affected areas. Lewis will ask viewers of his 43rd Annual telethon to not only make a donation to MDA, but also to make a donation to the Salvation Army's Emergency Disaster Services.
WHEN: Immediately. Telethon is airing live via www.mda.org using RealPlayer embedded media.
WHERE: Patients can find an MDA office in any location by calling (800) 572-1717 from a landline. Donations to the Telethon can be made to www.mda.org and (800) FIGHT-MD. Donations to the Salvation Army can be made to www.salvationarmy.org and (800) SAL-ARMY.

Once again this Labor Day, I ask all my friends to match my $25 donation to MDA, and this time a like donation to the relief effort as well. Those of you who have objections to the association's chief spokesman, its fundraising methods or other reasons not to contribute, I have read what you have posted here in previous years and I understand your feelings. However, if you absolutely cannot bring yourself to support the vital research and patient care and services MDA provides for sufferers of 40 different neuromuscular diseases, at least consider giving to the storm relief effort. Or if you have religious objections to making a donation to TSA, please consider donating to the American Red Cross' similar effort as I am doing.

Either way, you will be helping people in genuine need, in the best American tradition. If you have already donated or intend to, thank you from the bottom of my heart. With the economy in a downturn, gas, energy and food costing more and many people preoccupied with personal crises of varying sorts, it is understandably more difficult than usual this year for people to make charitable contributions. Which is why MDA, the relief agencies and the people they serve need us all to come through this year, more than ever before.

The Repubs take a hint from God and Gustav

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:11:58 GMT

Announcements are in the news today that the 2008 Republican National Convention will be scaling back its activities, which begin today in St. Paul, MN, to show respect for those Americans still dealing with the Gulf Coast weather crisis. From the GOP's point of view, this is merely common sense, given that the unmitigated fiasco that was federal/state government's response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita three years ago happened on their incumbent's watch. The party of Michael "Heckuva Job" Brown and Junior Bush abso-frakking-lutely cannot afford to even give the appearance of fiddling while New Orleans drowns (again) if they want any hope in hell of winning this fall's elections. (They already have way too much of an appearance of being out of touch with ordinary, non-wealthy Americans' situations, thanks to their presumptive nominee John "I Can't Remember How Many Houses I Own" McCain.) None of the usual speechifying and hullabaloo today; only basic parliamentary and platform activities will be held. Beyond today, reports are that the party poohbahs are eyeing storm coverage and making decisions on a day-by-day basis. And many of the privately-funded parties planned around the convention site have been turned into fundraisers for the American Red Cross or canceled altogether.

While we're on the subject, who among the Republican National Committee leadership had an attack of the stupids bad enough to schedule the first day of the convention on Labor Day itself, smack in the middle of most Americans' holiday weekend (including those of their own people)? Memo to RNC Chair Michael Duncan: If you want to be seen as the party that will do more for the working middle class than the Democrats, you do NOT want to make them show up for party work on a federal holiday, let alone the one dedicated to honoring the working men and women of America. (Then again, if you really wanted to project a "friend of the American worker" image, you'd have picked someone other than McCain...but we've covered that already.) Do you really expect us to believe you couldn't have waited one lousy day until Tuesday to start this shindig? Do we need any more proof that the GOP cares more about its own political agenda and the coffers of corporations and their upper management than about the labor force that fills them?

Preznit Chimpy, for his part, has shown some smarts for once and decided not to speak at GOP-Con after all, taking a cue from Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and staying on the job. (This has led some to speculate that GOP plotmeister Karl Rove, who is still very much in action consulting for the McCain/Palin campaign—and not in the slammer for defying a Senate subpoena, for some inexplicable reason—ordered the storm up in order to keep his party's single biggest political liability safely away from the convention podium.) Today he's in Texas overseeing federal response to Gustav in order to make sure that the idiocy that made the acronym FEMA a byword for screwups and inaction after Katrina does not recur. That agency is also showing it has learned at least a little from the prior experience, opening two new refugee centers here in Georgia along the interstate highways for Gustav evacuees fleeing the neighboring Gulf states.

There is even talk that Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin may actually not show up at the convention at all themselves even to accept their nominations, depending on how Gustav, Hanna and their aftermath play out. McCain, to give him his due, showed class in ordering the scaleback of the convention, saying it was "time for us to take off our Republican hats and put on our American hats." So did his chief opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, who said he was staying out of the storm zone to avoid his Secret Service detail and other security precautions usually taken when a candidate travels disrupting needed storm response.

Personally, I'm giving thanks to all the gods and goddesses above and below that the storm waited until after my party's convention to hit. Maybe it's petty of me not to take off my Democrat hat entirely, but as fearful as I am for all those in the storms' path, I'm also enjoying just a teensy bit of partisan schadenfreude at the GOP's cosmically, comically bad weather luck.

Dragon*Con '08 Report, Day 4 (and last): The most depressing part of a con

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:30:38 GMT

...is always the last day. The crowds that thronged the main lobby and upper function-space levels of the Hyatt and Marriott have noticeably diminished, and I passed people dragging suitcases to their cars as I walked in from the parking lot. There is still programming scheduled until 5:30, but much less than the previous three days (only one board instead of two was needed to post the grid at the Information booth on the Hyatt concourse today). My sole disappointment this year has been missing the Saturday morning street parade (why on God's green and pleasant Earth don't they move it to noon or so when late-night con types like me can actually get up for it, instead of 10 AM?!) and concerts by Emerald Rose, which are always high-energy and rarely get such large audiences as here; but they are local and I can drive up to Dahlonega once a month to see them if I really want to, as they perform at a coffeehouse there.

Last night's Masquerade was beautiful and well-run as always, and handling emcee duties was none other than TrekTrak guest Ethan Phillips (Neelix from Star Trek: Voyager), who was highly amusing and clearly having fun. Alas, I was too far back to get pictures even if they'd allowed it; there should be some posted on their website by the time you read this. "Best in Show" among the Young Fen division entrants was a boy who wore a cunningly-put-together TransFormer-like costume which enabled him to fold up from robot to tank in about three seconds; he was clearly the audience's favorite, as they cheered him on to do it again when he claimed his prize. "Best in Show" among the adults was a troupe of vaguely Indian-goddess-looking ladies and a barechested, highly limber gentleman with them who balanced swords on his feet. Other highlights included a troop of formidable-looking computer-game soldiers who started out with a seemingly serious pose presentation, then suddenly broke into the "Crank Dat Soulja Boy" dance while the song played over the speakers; a Klingon who used a squash racquet to bat tribbles into the audience; a dancer posing as Axl Rose lip-synching and costume-changing to the blasting chords of "Welcome to the Jungle"; and a costume designed by "Starch Industries" called "Iron Man" which basically consisted of a giant laundry iron with legs (no steam, alas) and won "Most Humorous."

After that, I moseyed on down to the Hyatt sub-basement again for open filk, but was too early and so got to enjoy concerts by pixelene and lukeski (who once again joined forces—you should pardon the pun—to perform Luke's famous mashup of Episode IV: A New Hope and the famous 1950s-music Broadway hit, Grease Wars, to a standing ovation). Following that was a much better session of open filk than we had had on Friday night, with one of the Bedlam Bards and his guitar as well as a couple other very talented people joining us and me getting to perform a medley of my hit (you know, the one that won the Pegasus) to the most sustained applause I've gotten all weekend. A young man with an uncanny talent for impressions did a reading of "Casey at the Bat" in the voices of Bill Shatner, Patrick Stewart and Kate Mulgrew) as well as command performances of animated-TV-show themes and songs, and you'll be hearing more about him when I get home and can find his card. (He's got some stuff on YouTube you should check out; watch this space.) Finally getting to the point of risking being too sleepy to drive, I went home about 3:30 AM and crashed.

Major kudos to Robby Hillard, D*C 2008 filk honcho, who poured genuine enthusiasm for filk and eagerness to have everyone participate into his work pulling together programming (such as it was) and running the filk room. If his attitude is still as good after the con as during, we may actually have someone caring and competent to stick around and run the thing again next year. (And if you know anything about D*C's notorious history of pissing and chasing off its filk czars, you know this is a Very Big Thing.) And another big batch of kudos to spambrian and his staff for yet another hilarious set of DCTV videos and bumpers to keep everybody laughing and patient while the show gets started; you can see them at dragoncontv.com if you didn't attend.

Costume count: Not nearly as many costumers out today; I suspect most of them are either too tired or have packed up their regalia (and a few may even be headed home early due to Gustav). Will note any remaining ones in the wrapup later.

Good news and not-so-good news re Hurricane Gustav

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:02:48 GMT

The good news, courtesy of (and thank God under all Her many names for) CNN: Gustav has now been downgraded to a Category 2 storm, with highest sustained winds gauged at 135 MPH, as of when it made landfall early this morning at the Louisiana coastal town of Cocodrie. And I checked in with my family in and near Lafayette, and they are all safe, provisioned and boarded up for the heavy wind and rain they will likely get today or early tomorrow, if not already. (The Leger family has been riding out hurricanes since before I was born, through Camille and Betsy; they most definitely know the drill.) My younger brother, Doug the firefighter, is being called back to duty early to help answer the emergency calls that will inevitably be coming in from all over Lafayette Parish today.

The not-so-good: Even with the storm itself still 65 miles out from the city as of 12 noon, New Orleans' port facilities are already floodwater-covered, and the Industrial Canal is already beginning to "overtop" its recently-rebuilt levees. This is mainly small quantities of water slopping over the wall here and there with wind and current, but as the rain continues this may worsen.

And despite my earlier prediction, Hanna is not, in fact, following Gustav's trail at all, but hung a rico at Cuba and is now headed north toward our Atlantic coastline here in Georgia (the USA state, not the Eurasian former Soviet republic). Already skies here in Atlanta are overcast and rain has begun, though this may or may not be associated with either of these massive storm systems.

Thanks to mshollie , ici1011 , crystalgee (three of my old Nawlins cronies) for letting me know their status, and to the others on my f-list who have been posting information.

Dragon*Con '08 Report, Day 3: The gathering storm kinda spoils the fun

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 23:46:49 GMT

In answer to a request from sffilk : Open filking is being held each evening from Friday to Monday. Child care having been relocated to the new hotel (the Sheraton), the filk track now has its usual Hyatt-basement room entirely to itself. The bad news is, no program events have been scheduled for the daytime and early evening there. Filkers can still use it, however; I talked to the guy who finally ended up being in charge of the track and he seems to be sincere, nice and going out of his way, but commented to me on the last-minute, slapdash aspect of the whole thing. (This is not his fault; for that, upper echelons are entirely to blame, as Michael has outlined on his own page in detail.) Friday's session was sparsely attended, with only one instrumentalist present and half of those who were there too shy to sing. I did my bit to keep things going, and the honcho was kind enough to tell me next evening how much he enjoyed my singing.

I missed open filk last night, due to the Paul & Storm concert running late and having stayed afterward for the first hour or so of the film festival which followed, at which much free swag was distributed and funny short films were shown courtesy of NeedCoffee.com and Quick Stop Entertainment. The concert, by the way, was even better than their usual non-convention shows (two of which I've attended here already), with prizes provided by the film festival sponsors and given out by one of the Venture Bros. voice artists, who even sang a number; and Paul being impressed out of his planned snarky detachment by the audience response (this was their first D*C appearance). A new CD is forthcoming, Storm says, sometime next year; they are already planning it and recording the first tracks.

Today, I got in a bit after noon and enjoyed the Sheraton's late brunch (more expensive than the offerings at the nearby diner, but far quicker; I spent the better part of an hour at the diner Saturday just getting seated and served). Then I attended a panel of Stargate TV series stars paying tribute to their co-star Don S. Davis, who died of a massive cardiac infarction only months before he was scheduled to have appeared here as a guest. Among those on the dais were Torri Higgenson, Rainbow Sun Francks (suffering from laryngitis, poor fella, and barely able to talk), Beau Bridges, Robert Picardo, Cliff Simon (Ba'al) and Julie Caitlin Brown, who sang a lovely song in tribute to Don and his widow Ruby. (She also passed along thanks from Mrs. Davis for all the fans' messages of sympathy and support.) It was a very emotional 90 minutes, as stars and audience members all shared their memories of Mr. Davis. I never met him myself, sad to say, and boy, did I ever miss out. He was a gifted painter as well as actor, and was to have had some of his art exhibited here, and a truly kind and humorous person. The whole thing was truly moving and beautiful.

Afterward, I headed over to the Hilton to take a look around the relocated Walk of Fame and see which stars were present. Ran into an old friend from my Baton Rouge college-era fandom days, and we chatted for a bit; then I watched celebrities I knew and ones I didn't greet fans and sign autographs for a while. George Takei is looking in fine health and spirits, as is Walter Koenig, despite their advancing ages; I have met both and was pleased to see them there and having fun. (George appeared on a local radio station's midday show Friday while I was at work, and I got to listen; it was a hoot and a half. I'm always amazed at someone who's been through all that he has in his life being able to retain good humor and attitude; I must ask him what his secret is.)

Costume count: So far today...
- Another Sylvester McCoy Doctor and another Tom Baker Doctor, as well as a David Tennant Doctor and even a Lalla Ward Romana (sailor suit). (Memo to incoming Doctor Who honcho Stephen Moffat: Bring back Lalla for a guest shot pronto, once the series gets going full steam again.)
- An Incredible Hulk (his con badge even said "Bruce Banner"), carrying a styrofoam miniature tank over his shoulder
- Two more Supergirls, one in a costume of shiny lamé (bringing the total to six)
- At least three Jedi Knights
- A female Dr. Horrible
- Several Stargate SG squads in both standard and desert fatigues
- At least one young lady in camo pants with a gray/purple color scheme (which would seem to defeat the entire purpose on any planet not possessing purple flora in abundance)

Tonight: the Masquerade, parties and (one hopes) more robust open filk. Stay tuned...

And now the whole state is in danger

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 23:04:16 GMT

After a frantic call from the Songbird about Hurricane Gustav's increasing ferocity, I made my way to the nearest flatscreen showing CNN updates. All 67 parishes in the state of my birth have now declared storm emergencies, and mandatory evacuations are in force for most of the southern coastal third of the state. Authorities are saying Gustav could be, horror of horrors, even worse than Katrina in its destructive power (Mayor Ray Nagin called it "the real deal, the storm of the century"). Currently a Cat 3, it has potential to reach 5 by the time it makes landfall around 2 AM Monday. The state's freshman Governor, Piyush "Bobby" Jindal, has wisely abandoned his plans to speak at this week's Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN to remain on the job and in state. He is on TV now holding a press conference, and so far seems to be handling himself somewhat better than his predecessor (and you know I hate like the mischief to be forced to admit this of a GOP leader).

In the 45 years of my life, the town of my birth, Lafayette, has never had more than moderately high winds and torrential rains to deal with from even the worst hurricanes that have hit Louisiana dead-on, simply by virtue of being so far inland. But now the weather forecasters are projecting Gustav's possible path as including a huge swath of Louisiana and Texas, including the cities of Houston and Galveston and as far north as Shreveport. A hurricane warning has been instituted by the National Weather Service for the entire Gulf Coast, from Galveston all the way east to the border of Alabama and Florida. And SB's sister, who had a house in Hattiesburg, MS that was supposedly just as "safe," was destroyed three years ago when Katrina's high winds knocked a large tree over onto it.

And to make matters yet worse still, a second storm, Tropical Storm Hanna, has formed out in the Caribbean and is bearing down on the Bahamas and Florida. Odds are it will gain strength and follow Gustav into the Gulf, just as Rita did Katrina.

I am calling my family in Carencro and Lafayette to make sure they are either safely out of town or battened down. If you have any reason to believe you are in the path or have loved ones who are, take steps now.

The 2008 Pegasus Award Nominations are up!

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 22:25:42 GMT

With thanks to peteralway for the heads-up: This year's nominees have been chosen, and the Ohio Valley Filk Fest's 25th annual Pegasus Awards will go to six of them at the annual fannish hootenanny this October 24-26. (Yep, it's their silver anniversary!) I didn't make the cut this time, despite having been in the Brainstorming Poll list in two or three spots; but I can't quarrel with any of the ones who did being utterly deserving. And they even have links to audio samples of each nominee, so you can listen to any you haven't heard. Kewl beenz. I offer my heartiest congratulations to all the nominees.

Vote here—and while you're at it, if you haven't already made plans to go to OVFF, you can find out more and register on the very same site. My own attendance is unlikely at this point, given that I'll have busted my bank account going to Kenya for that Songbird visit just two weeks prior, and still have the usual monthly bills to pay.

Dragon*Con '08 Report, Day 2: Concerts, costumes and craziness

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 01:47:42 GMT

Today lukeski gave his scheduled 2 PM concert on the Concourse and kicked ass in mass quantities per usual, and I even spotted one or two folks I know in the audience. Later this evening Paul & Storm and the Brobdingnagian Bards perform in the big Regency Ballrooms of the Hyatt. Also caught a panel on upcoming TV and film offerings this fall over at the Marriott, and had a chat with the Songbird via Skype To Go (she's stuck in Nairobi instead of going away for the weekend, poor thing, because of too much work stuff she has to catch up on).

Costume count: One of the neat things about there being so damned many people here is that a lot of them usually have the same costume ideas. Hence, today I saw:
- Two Tom Baker Doctors and one Sly McCoy version (still no Doctors #1, 2, 3, 6 or 8, alas)
- An entire Bat-family, featuring Batman, Batwoman (the new post-52 version) and two kids as Robin and Batgirl
- At least six separate Batman versions, ranging from the Elsewords Red Son version to two or three Adam West 1960s TV versions, plus a Cassandra Cain Batgirl and at least two Catwomen
- Several Marvel Comics heroes from the Avengers, including Spider-Man (twice), Wonder Man, Tigra and Capt. America
- A family of condiment bottles, with dad as ketchup, mom as a relish jar and the kids as mustard and Miracle Whip
- Four Supergirls in different costumes, from the 1970s low-cut blouse/hot-pants version to the black "evil twin" version from the recent incarnation
- A squad of six Green Lanterns in varying costumes, none of which resembled those of any of Earth's known GL Corps members
- Rogue and Gambit from the X-Men
- Two movie Supermen, both Reeve and Routh versions (Routh's has the darker red cape and 3D emblem)
- Both classic Claremont-era comic book and movie versions of Wolverine
- The Tick and American Maid, from Ben Edlund's most excellent superhero-spoof comic book and cartoon TV show
- A couple at the food court, both wearing copies of The Middleman's Eisenhower jacket and tie uniform (if you haven't caught this show on ABC Family yet, do so at once; Mondays at 10 PM ET)
- Another Dr. Frank N. Furter, better than the one yesterday
- Another Leeloo from The Fifth Element, this time in the barely-there white "bandage wrap" costume
- A Leetah from ElfQuest
- A very large gentleman dressed in Gene Simmons' classic KISS Demon regalia, armored version
- Gossamer, the giant orange-furred monster from the classic Warner Bros. cartoons
- A Gandalf in white and a Hellboy in trenchcoat, standing arm-in-arm for photos
Moving downstairs now for the concerts. More to come...

If you believe, pray for New Orleans and the Gulf Coast tonight

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 01:21:59 GMT

Tonight, my home city is in the crosshairs of a Category 4 hurricane again, three years almost to the day after the first blow of the one-two punch that was Hurricanes Katrina and Rita laid waste to coastal Mississippi, Alabama and Florida and flooded New Orleans. And the levees are still not fully rebuilt. Mayor Ray Nagin has issued a mandatory evacuation order for the city, and many have already left as Hurricane Gustav has broached the shores of Cuba on its way down Katrina's old path.

If you are reading this and among my friends there, please get yourselves to safety at once should you not already have done so. If you do not live on the Gulf Coast, please pray to whatever God or gods you believe in that history does not repeat itself next week. If you don't, send thoughts of hope and protection in that general direction.

Well, I was going to post about the McCain VP pick, BUT...

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 02:48:43 GMT

...it seems most of my f-list beat me to the punch. (That's what I get for waiting until late in the evening to finally get on the net.) Most of you have covered anything I might have had to type about the choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. (For the one or two who might be going "Whuh?!", see any number of news websites.) Lessee now...

She's the first woman ever on a Republican Prez/Veep ticket (we Dems beat 'em by a couple decades, of course...)
She's not necessarily self-hating, stupid or venal; thank you, osewalrus. Frankly, I'm one of those you mention who tend to believe that, because I can't see how anyone's operating system can allow for both intelligence and education coupled with such selfishness and contempt for one's own identity group; but I'm willing to be proven wrong...and I must admit, you have far more direct experience with the breed.
Thank you with cherries on top, Senator McCain, for torpedoing once and for all the "not enough experience" argument for your side. And for making this suddenly an even more historic and interesting election. And for making an Obama victory that much more likely (as Hal so eloquently put it, "God grant me stupid enemies!"). And props to you for showing class and congratulating Obama in an ad today.
Thank you, redaxe , for pointing out that the PUMAs are "astroturf"—Blue Dog Dems at best, GOP moles at worst. The more I listen to them (check out David Shuster's evisceration of the two leaders on MSNBC's Hardball at the website), the harder I find it to buy the notion that Attilary was somehow unfairly screwed out of a legit victory by DNC leadership.
Thank you, Sen. Obama, for reminding Americans—especially those on the right who like to paint us Dems and libs as soft on defense—that we are the party of FDR and JFK (not to mention Truman and LBJ). And thank you, Howard Dean, for finally getting rid of the DLC Clintonistas and giving our party back its principles and its passion.

Does that about cover everything?

I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: "O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous." And God granted it. —Voltaire

Dragon*Con '08 Report, Day 1: Mooooooooooo

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 01:35:04 GMT

The convention is now in full swing and there is even more to do—and more people looking to do it—than ever. The usual Dragon*Con troika of hotels, the Hyatt, the Hilton and the Marriott Marquis (the one with the retro-futuristic, stunningly tall atrium that served as main hotel for 1986's World Science Fiction Convention, ConFederation, which was Your Humble Correspondent's very first Worldcon), has this year added a fourth, the Sheraton; and it is here that British media SF/fantasy and the Joss Whedon oeuvre have their program tracks.

Once again, I was confronted with an out-the-door-and-around-the-block line, this time for the live performance of the latest Whedonverse creation (at least until Dollhouse premieres next month), Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. I must here confess that I alone, of all my fannish friends, had not actually seen the silly thing until now, despite the fact that a copy has been resting in my laptop's iTunes jukebox for at least a solid month.

The song-and-dance and irony-filled, three-part satire is well worth seeing all on its own; if you haven't, but have seen the now notorious musical episode of the show that made Whedon's fame, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which is also being live-performed here, BTW, with lukeski opening), this is more of the same, only better. Add a live, costumed stage cast, as is so often done at screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and a ginormous audience enthusiastically clapping and shouting and heckling and singing along, and you have a whole experience. Kudos to the emcee (who also played Doc H in civvy guise) and the staff for helping absolutely everyone find a seat and keeping things calm and smooth. Definitely the most productive use of time on their hands I've seen from anyone who was involved in the late writer's strike in Hollywood.

Checked out the filk program in the International Tower, an "Eclectic Filk" concert with (allegedly) several performers, none of which the program book identifies. The Bedlam Bards were singing when I passed by, and I stayed for a couple of songs. But alas, I felt my daylong lack of Net abuse eating at me and sought out a spot to hook into the WiFi. (Free this year, after paying for each day's use last couple of times. Yay!) Open filk is scheduled for the Atrium Tower basement later; tomorrow, Paul & Storm and Emerald Rose both have concerts.

Costume count: (A daily feature of the D*C Report wherein I note all the recognizable outfits I see on hall costumers)
- At least two Captain Hammers and no less than five Dr. Horribles, in both white and red costumes;
- At least one each of Superman and the X-Men's Rogue (don't ask me which era)
- Two full squads of Ghostbusters, one armed with proton packs (nice to see the Atlanta franchise is still going...)
- A platoon of Spartans from the film/graphic novel 300, clad far more barely than any real soldier who has to deal with dodging swords and spears and axes would find practical
- One Leeloo from The Fifth Element (Milla Jovovich's orange-haired, kick-butt femme character)
- A Darth Vader and a Ben Kenobi
- A Ms. Marvel (from the Marvel Universe, not to be confused with DC's Mary Marvel)
- A full squad of G.I. Joe Cobra Commandos, complete with Cobra Commander and Lady Viper
- A Dr. Frank N. Furter from the aforementioned RHPS
- A Gingerbread Man from the Shrek films
- A couple of female droogs from A Clockwork Orange
- Lt. Dangle and the blonde gal from Reno 911!
And those are just the ones I can identify... More to come.

Great speech, Sen. Obama. But where's the props for your elders?

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 05:56:47 GMT

Well, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, finally the official Democratic nominee for President, gave his acceptance speech last night, after the convention moved its venue for the last day from Pepsi Center out to the local shiny new corporate-named football stadium so more ordinary folks without party credentials could attend.

To his credit, he gave as detailed a response as anyone given only 44 minutes to make their case could have to all the critics who say his campaign is long on soaring rhetoric and short on substance, using words like "change" and "hope" like mantras without explaining exactly what sort of change he wants and how he'd make it happen. He laid out a couple dozen ideas, and will probably flesh them out more in the weeks ahead. And he also countered those who've said he hasn't been aggressive enough by laying into the Bush Regime and John McCain, his GOP counterpart, at every opportunity.

Most seem to think he "hit it out of the park" when called to give the biggest speech of his life. But for such a historic moment, why only the barest acknowledgment of the fact that his ethnicity and skin color are what made it so historic? And why hardly any mention of the other great African-American leaders who paved his way to this moment? Only one—Dr. Martin Luther King, whose most famous speech was given 40 years ago that day, by what may be only partly coincidence—merited an actual mention in his speech.

But this nation has had black and brown people involved in its shaping from the very beginning, with Crispus Attucks, the first martyr of the American Revolution. And what about Frederick Douglass, the first African-American to have a major party place his name in nomination for this office? What about abolitionists such as John Brown and Nat Turner, legislators from Adam Clayton Powell to Shirley Chisholm to Jesse Jackson Jr., jurists such as Thurgood Marshall, mayors like Tom Bradley of L.A., Atlanta's own Maynard Jackson and Shirley Franklin, and New York's David Dinkins? Or L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia and Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, still the only two black governors? (Democrats all, by the way.) Or does he think letting John L. Lewis and King's son open for him is all the acknowedgment needed?

If he can stand on such a mile-high platform today, it's only because he is standing on their shoulders. It would have been nice to see him recognize that in his own speech more than he did.

Presidential campaign insta-filk

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:55:21 GMT

On the way home from registering at Dragon*Con, I caught the last half of You-Know-Who's acceptance speech on radio. Then this one wrote itself on me after a song I've been liking on my iTunes:

ELECTION SNOOZE
Music: "Wake Me Up When September Ends" by Billie Joe Armstrong, Michael Pritchard and Frank E. Wright III
©2005 by Green Daze Music (ASCAP)
Parody Lyrics: Matt G. Leger

Primaries have come and passed
Four years go by much too fast
Wake me up when November ends

Choices don't stir my heart
A rookie and a crabbed old fart
Wake me up when November ends

Here they campaign again;
Obama makes me yawn.
Here comes McCain again
To shout, "Get off my lawn!"

Both parties bought and sold;
Will there be more before I'm old?
Wake me up when November ends

Hillary is gone, it's true
Not even Bill could push her through
Wake me up when November ends

Barack's the people's man
Except when telcos need a hand
Wake me up when November ends

Junior is out the door
With all his damage done;
Our troops will be at war
'Til 2021!

Real progress has no chance;
Is it too late to move to France?
Wake me up when November / the campaign / the madness ends.

Parody lyrics ©2008 and beyond by Matt G. Leger. Performance, broadcast, recording or publication for profit requires prior written consent from all copyright holders and payment of royalties per ASCAP/BMI standards. All other uses of lyrics freely permitted so long as this notice is retained unaltered. No infringement on existing copyrights is intended or should be inferred.

Dragon*Con '08 Report, Day 0: And the line goes ever on...and on...and on...

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:38:46 GMT

Drove out straight from work today downtown to pick up my membership in this year's Dragon*Con, after a quick dash into a Subway restaurant to grab a $5-off discount coupon. (Hey, every little bit helps; the full-ride price went up $20 this year to $90 and I can't sing my way in for free this time like I did last year—thanks, filkertom!) Figured it would be relatively easy and quick, as it has been every year since I found out registration actually opens the night before.

Unfortunately, it seems word has gotten around. As I arrived, the line into the registration cattleyard stretched out the door. And around the corner. And around another corner, all the way to the front entrance of the hotel. That's right, halfway round an entire city block.

I knew there would be people in droves—D*C attracts enough members yearly at this time to make Leslie Fish write a song about it, on the order of 20,000 to 30,000—but this beggared my imagination (which is pretty hard, as I have a very vivid and inventive one). Determined that nothing would stop me from enjoying the first real con I've been to this year since GAFilk in January (I'm not counting the one day I spent at TimeGate in May), I resigned myself to waiting an hour or more and got in at the back. Happily, the line moved fairly quickly and everyone was in reasonably good spirits.

About 15 minutes or so in and halfway to the last corner before the gate, a big, bearded man wearing staff tags bellowed that anyone buying a membership on-site ("at the door," as we called it in my day) or who got theirs through TicketBastards could bypass the line and go on in. To the rest he said, "Congratulations, you saved fifty bucks." Suddenly I was glad I'd waited until the last minute; faced with a choice of saving time or money, I decided to save time. After all, money can be replaced.

Racing past the hordes to the Baker Street entrance, I followed the lucky few into the basement area and the serpentines wherein I filled out a slip with my vital info, then in what seemed like hardly any time I was paid for, processed and out with my shiny new four-day con badge.

Programming doesn't begin in earnest until tomorrow afternoon, but there are a couple of con bands slated to play a pre-con concert in one of the big ballrooms tonight. In fact, they should be starting about now. Anyone wishing to hook up with me while here can dial my cell, seven seven zero eight six one three zero four one. Or Skype me at CajunGypsy if you have a laptop handy.

A very happy birthday to an absent friend

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:12:19 GMT

Exactly one year ago tomorrow, the demented ferretosity that is voiceofkiki elbowed her way into my life. It was in the very location wherein I now sit, give or take a floor, in the Dragon*Con filk room way down "deep within the bowels of a luxurious Atlanta hotel..." (All you Phil A. Delphia fans should get that reference.) Sadly, she is attending another convention this weekend, but wherever she is, may she have a very happy birthday. Have fun, hon, and thanks for being a friend.

Freedom of the press? Not at the Dems' convention, there ain't

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:16:51 GMT

Just as my party was giving me a reason to be proud of being a Democrat by officially nominating the first African-American to head up a major-party ticket, it gave me a reason to be ashamed of being one. An ABC News producer was arrested today by Denver police for doing his job: take pictures of people who've given hefty chunks of cash to the Democratic Party. (ABCNews.com feed) Did party leadership lean on the city to do stuff like this to any pressie they caught making a nuisance of him/herself? Seems a fair question.

I don't know which is worse, the arrest of a journalist for trying to air the truth or the courting of elites with special privileges while speakers from the floor whale on "the rich" and laud the party as a friend of the working class. If this happened in St. Paul next week, I wouldn't be a bit surprised; this is the sort of thing any Dem or liberal knows to expect from the GOP. But our party is supposed to be better than this. This gives the GOP "truth squad" camped near the convention—not to mention Rush Limbaugh and his ilk—a prime opportunity to call Dem party leaders hypocrites...and be right.

Memo to Rep. Nancy Pelosi: Madame Speaker, this is emphatically not the way to convince Main Street America that you care more about them than about Wall Street...or that they should vote Obama/Biden this fall.

ADDENDUM, Wed. 10:14 PM: In answer to requests for details, here is a FireDogLake.com summation of the story, with links to further information. I am by no means suggesting that the producer was being monitored live by party leaders, but I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that somebody ordered an excessive clampdown with an eye toward "managing" news coverage.

Happy birthdays to two, happy birthdays to two..

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:07:01 GMT

Many happy returns to egoldberg and (a day late) davidkevin!