PeterDavid.net

Busy Lazy Sunday

For a day that I didn't really "accomplish" anything, yesterday was pretty busy.

First we all went to a museum in Riverhead called "Dinosaur Walk." Last time we were there a few months ago, Caroline refused to set foot in the place. But now she was begging to go and ran around doing various activities and checking out all the "life sized" dinosaur replicas.

Came home and watched the Mets beat the Nationals by a trim 1-0. If DC starts up a softball team again, all they have to do is buy Nationals baseball caps since they all say "DC" on them.

Went bowling for practice in the afternoon. Made my famous meat loaf for the family for dinner, and then we watched "60 Minutes." Fascinating interview with George Tenet. Sometimes he was convincing in selling his POV, sometimes less so. I couldn't help but think, "Aw, c'mon...your interrogation techniques were torture, and you know they were. Say you believed that you needed to use any means necessary to save American lives, that people can call it what they want, and move on." His refusal to condemn Bush is seen by some as a whitewash because Bush gave him the Medal of Freedom. I don't think that's it; I think he really believes that Bush is just going along with whatever he's told to do, and blames instead the people making the decisions for Bush. Me, I happen to believe the buck stops with the Decider, but that's just me.

Can't believe that after nearly 400 episodes "The Simpsons" still makes me laugh. Amazing.

PAD

Democrats Earn Points for Snarkiness

Despite the assertions of some here that I'm a knee-jerk supporter of all things liberal, people without blinders on are aware that I've expressed frustration and anger with Democratic party leaders any number of times.

But I have to say, I was tremendously amused to learn that the Democrats are intending to present the war funding bill to Bush--a bill he is certain to veto because, God forbid, it sets a timetable for our troops coming home (because in Bushworld extending their tours and leaving them in indefinite danger is "supporting" the troops whereas bringing them home isn't)--on the fourth anniversary of Bush standing in front of that damned "Mission Accomplished" sign. Think of it as Operation MAMA--Mission Accomplished, My Ass.

PAD

And away we go...

Remember the earlier entry about what's going to happen next after Virginia Tech?

Presto.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003681580_essay26.html

PAD

Cowboy Pete salutes Fox: Where quality shows go to die

The most compelling two hours of television in recent memory was Monday from 8 to 10 PM: "Drive" and "Heroes."

"Drive" literally hit the ground running and didn't slow down. Incredibly compelling, expertly directed, confidently written, well-acted, Kath and I were immediately pulled in. I mean, sure, the fanboy in me loved the notion that Captain Malcolm Reynolds was married to Winifred Berkel, but there was way more to the series than. WAY more.

By the third episode, I knew. I knew beyond question:

Fox would cancel it.

Why?

Because it's Fox, the network that wouldn't recognize a quality show with both hands and a flashlight. If Fox were airing "Heroes," they would have canceled it by the fourth episode.

After the third episode, I turned to Kath and said, "You realize Fox is going to dump it and we're never going to find out how any of it ends."

Sure enough, they just dumped it. One more episode will air next Monday, and two more already in the can will never be broadcast.

They're idiots. It's that simple: Idiots.

PAD

Press release from Tor Books

Tor sent out the following press release regarding "Darkness of the Light", the first in my new series called "The Hidden Earth"...

DARKNESS OF THE LIGHT
By Peter David
A Tor Hardcover
ISBN: 0-7653-1173-9
On-Sale Date: June 12, 2007

PW Gives Darkness of the Light a Starred Review!

Praising this "clever, fast-paced fantasy," the review lauds David as "a master at juggling multiple characters and plot lines."

Check out this and other Tor reviews in the April 23d issue of Publishers Weekly.

Full Review:

(I've taken the liberty of putting the full review below the cut since it's vaguely spoilerish)

Bestseller David sets this clever, fast-paced fantasy on the Damned World (formerly Earth), home to a handful of enslaved humans, a greatly feared Overseer and the exiled inhabitants of the Twelve Races. Having nearly destroyed humanity, a variety of strange creatures now battle each other. Jepp, a freed human slave, joins a mixed-race band of scavengers. The king of the Cyclops orders Jepp's group to steal the Orb of Light from the trolls, believing its magic will destroy the bloodsucking vampires who have stolen his niece. Meanwhile, the Overseer investigates why hotstars, the energy source for most of the tech on the Damned World, are fading out. As Jepp discovers her own hidden powers, the Overseer realizes that the Twelve Races must understand humanity's place in their universe or risk annihilation. David ( Knight Life) is a master at juggling multiple characters and plot lines-and, in what one hopes is the first in a new series, breathes new life into some well-worn mythic tropes. (June)

OUT THIS WEEK: X-FACTOR #18, FALLEN ANGEL #15

The X-Cell heats up in Mutant Town while's Lee's predecessor stalks Bete Noire. Whad'ja think?

PAD

Filter Clog

Yep, you guess it. Some of your comments got stuck in the filter.

I think we have it straighten out now. So if your comment didn't seem to post or took a reeeeaaaallllyy looooong time, don't despair, we are aware of the problem.

Kathleen

Why Iraqis hate us

I emphasize that the following is not an attempt to politicize a tragedy, but merely an observation about human nature based on some pretty indisputable facts.

Right now this country is reeling, trying to make sense of the senseless deaths of thirty-two innocent people who died due to the actions of a single obsessed, unhinged individual. We call this a national tragedy.

In Iraq, it's called a Monday. Day after day after day, the populace of that wartorn country has to deal with losses as calamitous and pointless.

Now...what typically happens in a tragedy such as this? Well, in America, sooner or later, the search for blame begins. It's human nature. You can't blame the perp: He's dead. So we search for someone still alive to vent our spleens upon. Someone to whom we can say, "If it weren't for you, then this wouldn't have happened." When the Twin Towers fell, that blame played out in Senate hearings. The blame for Virginia Tech will inevitably play out as well, with leading candidates for excoriation being (a) the school, (b) the shooter's parents, (c) anyone who advocates easy and legal access to guns.

With all that as a given, doesn't it make sense that the Iraqis, being as human as us, would be looking for someone to blame for an environment where our aberration is their way of life? Who are they going to target? Saddam? He's dead. Bombers? They're usually dead after the attack as well. Who's left?

Us.

And that anger manifests itself in the only way it can: More violence against those whom they feel were responsible.

Which is why anyone who thinks that there's going to be an end in the cycle of violence against Americans in Iraq is betting against human nature itself. The blame will continue. The anger will continue. And the deaths will continue. We will try to expunge our sense of dismay and go back to a state of normalcy. For Iraq, death, anger, blame and revenge IS the state of normalcy.

That's why they hate us.

In case you were wondering.

PAD

What will happen over the next month

As I feared, the previous thread on Virginia Tech is rapidly escalating into partisan politics discussion. So I am asking that all posters on that thread restrict their commments to extending condolences or, if they actually knew Jamie (as friends typically called Christopher) share their recollections. In the meantime, feel free to use this space to discuss broader societal issues.

I think here's what we can expect to see over the next months, as we move beyond shock and disbelief into anger.

1) Law suits filed by aggrieved families against Virginia Tech authorities for their failure to lock down the campus in the intervening two hours, while investigations are held to determine whether Virginia Tech authorites were to blame.

2) Considering the theme of parental abuse that reveals itself in the shooter's unproduced play scripts, investigations into the shooter's parents to determine if there was indeed child abuse present. If so, possible law suits on the basis that their abuse resulted in their son's actions and therefore they bear responsibility.

3) Advocates of gun control holding this up as another example of how gun laws should be made stricter, considering that the shooter acquired his weapon legally.

4) Advocates of unrestricted gun ownership holding this up as another example of how gun laws should be abolished because if everyone in the college had been packing, they could have fought back. Because in a confined environment where there's inevitably going to be drinking, partying, intense romances, and scads of young people lacking many aspects of maturity, that's what you really want to have on a daily basis: Lots of firepower.

5) An upswing in incidents of students who write essays/poems/short stories themed around violence suddenly finding themselves tagged as potential shooters and being suspended or expelled.

PAD

Hitting Home

It's not as if the massacre in Virginia isn't already a tragedy, but I thought I'd mention that--for anyone who is familiar with SF writer Michael Bishop--his son, Christopher, was one of the faculty members slain in the assault.

Our condolences go out to his family in this time of unimaginable loss.

PAD

Re: IMUS--The ones I'm most annoyed with

The thing is, guys like Sharpton and Jackson, they were just doing same-old same-old.

The one's I'm really annoyed with is the National Association of Black Journalists. They were the first ones out of the gate to call for the firing of Don Imus, and that's part of what gave the story legs.

Let us put aside for a moment the notion that if someone wanted to form a group called the National Association of White Journalists, with membership limited to Caucasians, such a move would be roundly condemned as blisteringly, unforgiveably, blatantly racist.

The NABJ should have been the first, foremost defenders of the spirit of the First Amendment. To the notion that, if someone is shouting at the top of their lungs things that you find disagreeable, then the proper response is to shout back at the top of yours. In a free society, you go for the words of your opposition, not the throat.

In other words, people whose livelihoods depend upon the coin of free exchange of ideas should have been the first ones out of the box to declare, "We disagree with everything Don Imus says, but will defend to the death his right to say it."

But they didn't. They betrayed the fundamentals of a free press by deciding that they wanted to shut Don Imus down. Popeye-like, they decided that this was all they could stands cause they couldn't stands no more. Their belief, apparently, was that they shouldn't have to tolerate Imus's racist opinions anymore.

Except they were wrong. Because that's the price you pay for living in a free society. One's business should always be with what your opponent says, not with your opponent himself, and people calling themselves journalists should have understood that.

The answer to free speech is always more free speech...not the shutting down of that speech.

PAD

THIS JUST IN

Popular Hawaiian crooner Don Ho, best known for his rendition of "Tiny Bubbles," has passed away at the age of 76.

In a related story, a firestorm of complaints over language has resulted in three radio personalities being fired for reporting the death of a Ho.

PAD

Q&A

Been a while since I've done a straightforward Q&A. So post your questions here about my work or my thoughts on stuff or wha tever and I'll do my best to answer them. Please, for God's sake, one question each.

PAD

Okay...this is some definition of "news" that I wasn't previously aware of

It's bad enough that the definition of "news" has come to mean stories about bad jokes from shock jocks and paternity tests. That stories which were once the purview of tabloids are now routinely given as much, if not more, play on major news outlets as stories that actually have some worth.

So what's the latest "news" off the AOL feed?

Kirsten Dunst says she likes to smoke pot.

Aside from the minor name irony of Mary Jane liking Mary Jane, an LA actress says she likes to smoke pot? My God, how is this REMOTELY news? Tell me a staunch anti-drug advocate is found stoned, and that's a story, but an LA actress? You're kidding, right? What next? Jerry Seinfeld announces he likes jokes? Or, as another poster commented on the Imus thread, this just in: Water is wet.

PAD

Attention NY Space Cases fans

Ariel and I went to the New Victory Theater on 42nd Street Sunday to see Radu himself, Kristian Ayre, performing as part of an ensemble in a kid-oriented piece, "Number Fourteen," about insanity that reigns on a bus. He's part of a group called the Axis Theater Company, and the show will be playing through Sunday the 15th.

For those poor devils who don't live in New York, it will be touring other parts of the country including Philadelphia. Kristian did a great job, including displaying some remarkable athletic prowess. Be sure to check it out.

PAD

Imus in the Mourning

Am I the only one who thinks the firestorm over Don Imus referring to a group of young black female basketball players as "nappy headed ho's" is just way over the top?

I mean, the guy's not a church deacon, or a senator, or even a sports broadcaster. He's a shock jock. It's his job to push humor to the edge and beyond the edge. So he made a joke that was in poor taste. He admitted it. He apologized for it. He was suspended for it, for crying out loud. And there are STILL people who want to drive him off the air? While the Reverend Al Sharpton is railing against him, has he never bothered to crack the Bible he ostensibly preaches and stumbled over the passage about erring being human and forgiving divine?

It's IMUS, for crying out loud. If Imus referred to a group of young Jewish basketball players as Matzoh-slinging Jewboys, I'd just shrug and say, "Whatever, man. It's Imus." The guy's filling however many hours his show is every day, and it's live. If he goes over the line and then admits he did and apologizes, I'm sorry, but that should be the end of it. Anyone who's flogging it beyond that point has their own agenda and is just using this to further it. If Al Sharpton is that upset about Black women being spoken of in such a disrespectful manner, then why not spend his time going after the radio stations playing rap songs that call Black women "ho's" (when they're not talking about killing cops.) Or are slurs and racism only acceptable when they stem from Sharpton's own constituency?

PAD

RIP Johnny Hart

Johnny Hart, creator of BC, reportedly died at his drawing table from a massive stroke.

I've enjoyed his work for years. For some reason I always got a kick out of one strip I read years ago, in which Pete is extolling the virtues of a new invention that perform an entire host of unrelated tasks, including rotating your tires. And BC asks him, "Can it stampede a herd of crippled yaks?" Pete admits it can't. "Then what good is it?" asks BC. To this day I will still occasionally ask if something can stampede a herd of crippled yaks. No clue why. It's just one of those jokes that's purely individual, lodging in the cerebral cortex.

Also, speaking as a Jew, I never had any problem with his more controversial strips that were intended to be articles of his faith. Talk about overreaction. It was his strip to do with as he pleased. If he wanted to depict a menorach morphing into a cross, then, y'know, fine. Whatever. Considering the type of material that's been the subject matter of such strips as Doonesbury and For Better or Worse, it's a little late to start claiming the comics pages should be free of controversy. Considering Judaism has survived five thousand years of assorted nations trying to destroy its practitioners, I certainly think we could survive a couple of Sunday comic strips.

PAD

OUT THIS WEEK: FNSM #19, FALLEN ANGEL #14, DARK TOWER #3

Busy week. Whad'ja think?

PAD

Why Bush won't compromise

The essence of compromise boils down to five words: "What's in it for me?"

So with Bush facing a congressional war-funding bill with deadlines attached--benchmarks that he himself mentioned earlier this year, and is now being asked to hew to--congress is hoping that he will compromise on withdrawal dates rather than veto the entire bill.

What's in it for him to do so?

Nothing.

I mean, yeah, sure, there's the concept of honoring his own promises. Don't make me laugh: It's too early in the morning.

There's the concept of attending to the clear mandate of the people. See the non-laughing request above.

Naturally some will look to Bush's well-known intransigence, his inflexibility, his disregard for human lives (unless they're not yet born: Then they're sacred). In short, it's easy to blame his various tragic personal shortcomings that have contributed to the morass that is the Iraq war.

But consider: On a political basis, which is all that matters to a politician, what happens if he does what the Democrats want?

Well, basically, presuming that the Democrats can avoid tripping over their own pants cuffs--never a sure thing, granted--he'll be not only cementing their triumph of 2006, but handing them the White House in 2008.

Consider the bragging rights he'd be giving the Dem candidates: You put us in power in 2006 and we, the party of the people, managed to face down a stubborn, dictatorial President and got our boys home. A compromise hands the opposing party a WMD--a Weapon of Made Democrats. They will have it made in 2008, promising a return to peace and prosperity of the Clinton years.

Bush gains nothing from it. He believes he'll appear weak. He will have embroiled us in this war and needed the Democrats to bitch-slap him into cooperation, causing him to wind up looking like a recalcitrant child who just got his party privileges revoked. And worst of all, he will have removed from GOP hands the only weapon they've got for 2008. Believe it or not, remarkably, a considerable portion of the voting public STILL believes that the GOP is better for America in matters of national security. If there's no war to stoke, then the GOP has nothing--NOTHING--to run on for 2008. The GOP needs to be able to say, "We have kept this country safe, and although you may not like the war, well, we won't like it either, but it's a necessary evil in the war against terror."

The GOP strategy has to be painting the Dems as being soft on terror (an upgrade from the classic "soft on crime" gambit that has worked for so long.) If Bush caves on the deadlines, then he removes that tool from the GOP tool box, because then he (and by extension the GOP) becomes soft on terror as well. The Dems will be able to say, "See? Even the President acknowledges that we were right," and the Dems can't be right, because if they become right, then they become President.

People think that Bush is concerned about his place in history, but I think of more immediate worry to him is the GOP place in the White House, the only branch that they still control. Despite the fact that we're embroiled in a civil war, despite the fact that occupations do not, historically, tend to work, despite the fact that our soldiers are dying and dying and dying to no point or purpose, GOP political fortunes trump all other considerations. Bush cannot compromise, dare not compromise, because the GOP strategy is to paint Dems as weak. If he compromises, they become strong. Therefore, he cannot, because if he does, then the GOP chances are reduced to one desperate hope: That sometime in the next two years, there is another major terrorist strike on the US. The Empire State building is blown up, the Golden Gate bridge is annihilated. Something. Because should such a horrifying calamity occur, the GOP strategy is clear: "See? While we were in charge of Congress, everything was fine. Put the Democrats in charge, the terrorists become emboldened, and we're attacked. Just imagine how much worse it will be if you put them in the White House." Understand, I'm not saying the GOP would WANT us to be attacked. Even I don't think they're THAT barbaric. But it's the only counter they'd then have to Democrat strength.

So what it comes down to is this: Bush won't compromise, and I doubt the Democrats will be able to muster the votes to override a veto. Which means that the Pentagon will have to fight the war as best they can. There is a GOP upside, though: Every casualty that occurs from that point on will be painted as being the Dem's fault--avoidable if only the Democrats had been willing to let Bush fight his war as he sees fit rather than undercutting and refusing to support our troops. If the GOP can spin it right--and I believe they can--then by 2008 they'll have convinced the majority of the public that the Iraq war is the fault of the Democrats and thus retain the White House, maybe even win back the legislative branch. Seem unlikely? They managed to convince the majority of the public that Saddam was behind 9/11, didn't they?

PAD

"Fallen Angel: The Premiere Collection"

I don't typically do this, but IDW is planning a special edition of the first thirteen issues of "Fallen Angel" (slated for release in late May) and it's a major enough undertaking that I thought I'd plug it here. If you're interested in getting a copy, I very much suggest you inform your retailer now since I doubt many will order copies just to have on hand. I know the price is a little steep, but--as is always the case with this series--ain't nobody on our end getting rich from it, and we're doing everything we can to make this edition worth the price, including an original short story by yours truly.

Fallen Angel: The Premiere Collection

HC w/ Dustjacket • FC • 320 pages • 12.5” x 8.125”• $75.00 • ISBN: 978-1-60010076-5

Why I love the internet, Part II

Eric, the CBLDF webmaster brought to my attention my latest accomplishment. Not enough that, according to the wisdom of the internet, I'm married to Diane Duane. Apparently, according to Amazon.com, I am also a co-author with James Patterson on his upcoming novel:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316014796/ref=reg_hu-wl_mrai-recs/102-6908387-6673769

Frankly, I'm getting exhausted.

PAD

Would've been more appropriate to discuss this on April 1, I guess, but...

I just happened to have "Man on the Moon" on in the background while I was working. While I was once again struck by the sheer injustice of Jim Carrey not being Oscar nominated (his work on MOTM should have been a slam dunk for nomination, not to mention "The Truman Show" which I always cite as my favorite science fiction movie, much to the confusion of many), I found myself wondering for the first time in ages...

Andy Kaufman: Really dead? I mean, family and friends swear to it, but still, if *anyone* could pull it off...

PAD