Kitchen Sink Blogging

No, this has nothing to do with Denis Kitchen, comic publisher extraordinaire, though I thought he was a swell guy when I met him back in 1988. No, this is all sorts of stuff I meant to write about but somehow didn't, plus some recent stuff. And as some pop singer once sang: "It's Now or Never."

MUSIC

In case you missed it, Brian Wilson, a musician of some note, will CALL you if you make a $100 contribution through his website on behalf of Katrina victims by October 1. You will need a PayPal account. The instructions e-mail I received will be in the comments section of this post at 11 a.m. EDT.

In addition to the Mixed CDs that I've been reviewing for my CONTEST, I've been listening to Emmylou Harris' greatest "hits" (she's a great artist, but a "hitmaker", not so much), two versions of the Who Sell Out- one by Petra Hagen and the other by the original artists, American Idiot by Green Day (they're green- they just have to be good), and a compilation of Beck songs put together for me by an arithmetic function. It's all good.

COMICS/CARTOONS

FREE COMICS! Just go here. OK, they are comics called Kaptain Kelmoore, and they are about financial investment. You can also order by calling toll-free (877) 535-6667.

Mark Evanier became the self-appointed Blondie crossover guru for the strip's 75th anniversary. But he's relinquished the throne. I'm not taking it, but need to note Pearls Before Swine last Tuesday through Saturday. (Yahoo! link will disappear in about a week.)

The Fantastic Four video game by Activision, for Xbox, PS 2, GCube and PC got 1 star from the local newspaper reviewer: "Dull. Looks poor. Moderately challenging." But the Sue Storm is very Jessica Albaesque, FWIW.

In the comics section of our local newspaper, they've started posting a puzzle called sudoku, a grid of 81 boxes, 9 by 9, with some numbers already filled in, into which a player insert a number. The goal is to fill every empty box so that each vertical row, each horizontal row, and each 3 by 3 box contain all of the digits 1 to 9, with no repeats. I've tried it, haven't mastered it, but you may enjoy it.

TELEVISION

How to fund the Katrina clean up? How about eliminating the Corporation for Public Broadcasting? It appears that the plan of some Republicans in Congress.

Mark Evanier notes the passing yesterday of Don Adams, a/k/a Agent 86 of Get Smart fame. The show ran from 1965-1970. It was one of the first shows that I remembered that changed networks during its run, 4 years on Saturday nights on NBC, and the last season on Fridays on CBS. (I don't count the seven episodes that appeared on FOX in 1995.) Of course, Don Adams was more than Maxwell Smart; he was also the voice of Tennessee Tuxedo, one of my favorite cartoons on one of my favorite cartoon shows, Underdog. I watched both shows fairly religiously, even when Get Smart went from silly to not so good (Max and 99's wedding, the twins). I BELIEVE that I should thank him for the entertainment.

There are days when I have nothing to watch. Then there are days when I have a logjam. Tonight at 9 p.m., I have a real logistical issue. I am going to record both The Office/My Name is Earl on NBC, and the second half of the Scorcese thing on Dylan on PBS. Meanwhile, I have this 7-inch TV that I bought as part of the YMCA's Reach Out for Youth campaign lasat year, and I'll watch the premiere of Commander in Chief on ABC on that. Oh, and re: The Office, Steve Carrell is the first host of SNL next month.

O.K., it was probably a terible show, but how can they cancel Head Cases, starring Chris (boy wonder) O'Donnell after only two episodes? I never got a chance to hate it.

60 Minutes changed their opening. It now starts with Ed Bradley, Steve Kroft and Lesley Stahl and ends with Mike Wallace introducing Andy Rooney. Apparently, the other positions will rotate among Morley Safer and Dan Rather (who were on this week), Bob Simon, Scott Pelley and others. And speaking of Rooney, at least three paragraphs of his weekly newspaper column was cribbed on Sunday night's piece about Peter Jennings' memorial service, which he attended last week, including the one that suggested that broadcast news would have been obliterated if a terror attack had hit Carnegie Hall that day. The print story indicated that his daughter was fired by Jennings, but the TV story did not. Another Jennings story.

I had planned to write an extensive piece on the Emmys, but that was complicated by the fact that I didn't get around to actually WATCHING the Emmys until a couple days ago. And others have opined sufficiently. So my only comments:

Because I am a newsie, I was really touched by the tribute to the former network anchors, Brokaw, Rather, and the late Jennings

Having watched Law & Order enough times, I found it wonderfully funny that the usually unflappable Lt. Van Buren is played by the very flappable S. Epatha Merkerson

I HATED the silly Emmy Idols bit, but would have voted for Shatner and the mezzo over the horrific Trump

Ellen DeGeneres was wasted in those silly skits

Desparate Housewives is TOO a comedy, despite what Tom the Dog says. Or at least a dramedy, like Ally McBeal. Especially because the people submitting the show to the Emmy Academy SAY it is. I suspect it was a ploy to avoid competing against Lost. I can almost guarantee that it won't lose to Raymond again NEXT year.

I tried to watch Arrested Development once last year, didn't "get" it, let it go. But after that pathetic plea during the Emmys by the A.D. writer for people to watch, I did, and I liked it. I tuned in yesterday and enjoyed it, but felt as though I had somehow missed an episode. Whot hoppened?

SPORTS

Yankees/Red Sox tied with seven games left, three at the end of the season in Fenway Park. Just the way it ought to be. Yanks won last night, Sox rained out.

My pick for the AL wild card: Chicago White Sox will slip behind Cleveland this week. Or the White Sox might not make the post season at all.

In the AL West, it looks like the Angels, and in the NL West, who cares? It could be a team with a losing record.

They don't know what they're talking about, but read Johnny Bacardi's and Greg Burgas' fearless football predictions anyway, because they're entertaining and good guys (Burgas is MOST of the time.)