Mark Evanier's Blog, page 217

Mushroom Soup Monday

I'm working today on a script for a cartoon show…and I don't know why the producers want it right now. They can't do much of anything with it until they have voice actors to record it and they're on strike. I'm also working on a couple of real long posts for this blog.

Realizing that the sooner I hand in the cartoon show script, the sooner I get paid, I've decided to devote most of my time today to that. I love writing for you folks but I just had to shell out beaucoup bucks for a new sprinkler system for my front yard. One of the long posts is what will probably be the last installment — at least for a while — of "How to 'Do' Comic-Con." The other is the next installment of "Borders Crossing" and yes, I know I have other pieces I've promised. I'll get to them, I'll get to them. First comes paying for the damned sprinklers.

If I had time to write about "What new trouble is Donald Trump in today?" it would be about the new revelations in the looming Georgia indictments — indictments plural because it looks like Rudy and Sidney and the entire Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight will probably be named with him. One expects they will soon commence rolling over on one another.

I hope at least at some point, at least one of them is frog-marched. Since 2005 when someone said they were going to do that to Karl Rove, I've been waiting to see someone in public life be frog-marched just so I could find out that that is. (Don't believe me? See here.)

I'll be back to you soon. But do let me know if you hear of anyone being frog-marched even if it's just a frog.

P.S. ADDED A LITTLE LATER: Just got a note from my lovely friend Jewel Shepard reminding me I should clarify: Most animation voice jobs are not impacted by the strike because they're done under a different SAG-AFTRA contract. The project I'm writing is affected by the strike and I've gotten the producers to agree it will not be voiced non-union…so no actors will be engaged until the strike is settled. I should mention that it's also not covered by the Writers Guild, of which I am a loyal member.

Today's Video Link

You have to watch this amazing footage from World War I. It's been tweaked and colorized and they added a fake soundtrack that's probably not too far off what it really sounded like. But it's real World War I film. My grandfather on my mother's side could have been one of those men…

Sunday Evening

Just sitting here thinking how wonderful John Oliver's show would be tonight with all he'd have to work with.

Sunday Afternoon

I've never been fond of the term "guilty pleasure," at least the way most people use it which is like saying, "I know this movie is awful but I love watching it." It seems to me that if something brings you enjoyment, you owe it a little more respect than that.

That said, my "guilty pleasure" these days is starting each morning by walking towards my computer for the first time that day, asking myself "What new trouble is Donald Trump in today?" and then logging into a news site to find out. There's always something, at least Monday through Friday, and lately we even have them on the weekends. This morning, I wasn't necessarily expecting anything but I found…

Prosecutors investigating potential shadiness relating to Trump's team making efforts to fiddle with the 2020 election results in Georgia have gained access to text messages and emails proving that to be the case.

According to a CNN exclusive that broke early Sunday, "Investigators in the Georgia criminal probe have long suspected the breach was not an organic effort sprung from sympathetic Trump supporters in rural and heavily Republican Coffee County — a county Trump won by nearly 70% of the vote." They've also "gathered evidence indicating it was a top-down push by Trump's team to access sensitive voting software," per sources familiar with the matter.

All by itself, this might not be much but with an indictment looming in Georgia, it makes that indictment more serious. Who knows what the morrow will bring?

Meantime, I have a number of e-mails asking me to predict whether Trump will show up for the first debate of Republican candidates on August 23rd. I don't know why anyone thinks the hunches of a guy who works on Groo the Wanderer comics are any better than anyone else's. Why not ask your gardener? Or the kid at the counter at Arby's? But okay. I'll play…

Predicting what Trump will do is always challenging because he so often doesn't do what you'd think any rational person would do. Any rational person would think that he doesn't have to savage those other aspirants to win the G.O.P. nomination; not when he's a jillion points ahead of all of them put together. But this time I'll venture a guess that he'll do the logical thing and he won't be there. He'll say something like, "I would love to be there and to especially take on that [INSULT REFERRING TO CHRIS CHRISTIE'S WEIGHT] Chris Christie but I have this [INSULT REFERRING TO INSANITY, RACE AND/OR GENDER] judge who's trying to silence me on one of these phony indictments that [INSULT REFERRING TO JOE BIDEN'S MENTAL CAPACITY] Joe Biden has personally ordered so my lawyers insist I refrain!"

And then he'll say that if he were free to speak, he could tell us about all the overwhelming evidence he and his lawyers have amassed that proves he's 100% innocent, all those conversations were perfect and he beat Joe Biden in a landslide.

That's what I think he'll do…but since I also think he has no idea yet what the hell he's going to do before he does it, I wouldn't bet a nickel on this prediction or anyone else's. But I will wager that tomorrow, there'll be another great answer to the question, "What new trouble is Donald Trump in today?" I'm hoping it'll be one of the ones involving Rudy Giuliani. Those are my favorites.

Saucy Update

My local Costco is clean outta Rao's Marinara Sauce. Apparently there was a run on them because people are afraid the company's new owners will not only ruin the sauce but that they'll ruin it before the month is out.

Here's the thing though: Yes, it's possible that the new owners will make some fatal change in the product. But it has also always been possible that the old owners could do that; that someone high up in that company would suddenly say, "Hey, I've got an idea that would save us a lot of money!" Or that someone within that company who always thought the product needed High Fructose Corn Syrup would abruptly be promoted into a position of power and get his way. Rao's could also suddenly not be able to get their chosen kind of tomatoes or their preferred olive oil from their supplier.

I've worked with a lot of companies that ruined their businesses without a change of ownership. I think it's good to let the Campbells Corporation know that a lot of us love Rao's sauce just the way it is and are wary of it being changed…but let's not pretend that it would surely have stayed pristine if it had stayed with the old proprietors. Maybe the new owners now have a special incentive to not tamper with it.

Today's Video Link

Devin "Legal Eagle" Stone explains all about the latest Trump indictment — not to be confused with the Trump indictment that's coming shortly in Georgia or some others which may be in the offing. The way Trump's going, if he set foot in most Vegas hotels now, he'd probably be indicted in the Food Court.

This is a long video but I understood more about the matter after viewing it and you may, as well. I watched it on Nebula, a subscription service that offers an ad-free and slightly longer version of Mr. Stone's remarks. At the close of the YouTube version below, he delivers a commercial for Hello Fresh. In the "pay" version, he talks about the complexity of the case and how it may not be possible to wrap it up as soon as some people would like.

Reading the indictment and listening to Stone's summary, it sounds like a pretty solid case whenever it goes to trial. I've seen Trump's attorney John Lauro on TV giving a brief summary of their defense and they seem to have abandoned completely the premise that there is any real evidence that Trump actually won the 2020 election. I mean, you don't go to that length to arrange for fake electors if you have any argument that would stand up in court that you're entitled to real electors. So what we're left with is "He was allowed to arrange all this because he honestly thought he'd won."

Good luck with that…although Mr. Lauro has scored a victory of sorts. He is now The Person You Can't Turn On Your TV Without Seeing, wresting the title away from Steve Harvey. And now, I'll let The Eagle soar…

Saucy Controversy

I have in the past been known to speak glowingly of Rao's Marinara Sauce…the best marinara sauce in a jar I've ever had. I am not the only person around who feels this way, which is probably why the Campbell Soup Company — makers of a great many soups that we all remember being better years ago than they are today — recently announced it was shelling out 2.7 billion to acquire Sovo Brands, the company that makes Rao's sauces.

This of course prompted a flurry of blog pasts and web chatter that we could expect Campbell's to ruin Rao's, which to many is the only jarred sauce worth pouring over anything. Campbell Soup CEO Mark Clouse has been giving interviews swearing that they won't change the recipe and it's obvious from the flurry that followed him saying this that many people don't believe him. Let us discuss some of the reasons why many people don't believe him…

The main one is that he's a CEO. This is a title that is increasingly attaining the reputation of Agent of Satan. Every unethical, illegal or just plain stupid move made by any big corporation was blessed by — or perhaps even conceived by — someone with "CEO" in their job description.

They've been known to lie. Or to promise to do one thing and then do another.

Sometimes, they say, as Mr. Clouse seems to be saying, "Look, we paid a fortune to acquire this product. It would be foolish of us to start changing the recipe." True…but investors have been known to do that, especially if they don't seem to be recouping their investment as quickly as they'd hoped. Someone walks in and says, "Hey, we could save $22 million if we switched to a cheaper olive oil"…and they could do that and claim that technically, they're not breaking their promise to not change the recipe. "It still has the exact same quantity of olive oil it always did."

Also, at some corporations these says, CEOs seem to have about the same shelf life as potato salad. The current CEO made that promise, not the corporation. It's not binding on the person who takes over as CEO month after next. A comment I've heard a few times during the current entertainment industry strikes is "Of course the CEOs have to command these huge salaries. They all know that they're going to be fired one of these days and it will take that kind of money to maintain their lifestyles."

I'm not prejudging Mr. Clouse, who seems in interviews to be a nice, sincere man. But he's been CEO of Campbells for about four-and-a-half years and before that, he was CEO of Pinnacle Foods for two-and-a-half years leaving (I think) when that company was acquired by Conagra Foods. Pinnacle specialized in "shelf-stable" foods but his position there apparently wasn't shelf-stable. No CEO job seems to be these days. They change about as fast as Spinal Tap drummers, Philadelphia Phillies managers and Donald Trump's lawyers. And no one trusts them.

ASK me: Las Vegas

Roger Green writes to ask the following…

I have never been to Las Vegas (or the state of Nevada). But a friend and I decided we could go this fall for three or four days in September or October. I have no preconceived notion of what to do except that gambling doesn't interest me. I ask you, as someone who has been there a lot: what would you consider are the must-sees (if any) and avoid that like the plagues in 2023?

Well, I haven't been there for several years and have very little interest in returning to a city that for many years was like a second home to me. I actually don't have much desire to travel at all but Vegas is not what it used to be. It used to be possible to get a cheap room, eat cheap (but good) food and see cheap shows. A few years ago — and especially after the town reopened after the worst of The Pandemic — the casinos and other businesses discovered that if they raised prices, they didn't lose enough customers to regret the increase.

So they raised prices and raised prices and raised prices and they're still raising them. They've also changed the payoff rates on many of their games so you stand less chance of winning than you once did. Apparently, it hasn't enough people to cause them to change the rules back.

Some things in this world are worth paying big for but there are times you just feel like you're being treated like a rube; like they saw you coming and said, "Hey! That guy looks stupid! Let's triple the price of a tuna salad sandwich!" I've come to feel that way too often about Vegas.

That said, it's still a place full of amazing things to see and do. I think the best thing about the city is just to walk around, look at all the amazing architecture and exhibits that are offered to lure people in, and to be around so many people that are enjoying themselves. As with Comic-Con and Disneyland, I like being around happy human beings and in Vegas, even the big losers are usually happy.

But I have some tips: Don't go on a weekend. Everything's more expensive with longer lines. Don't go when there's a big convention or other citywide event. In mid-November, there's a Formula One Grand Prix in the streets there that has sent room rates into the ionosphere. If you like to walk, it's a great city to not rent a car. (Most hotels have also discovered that charging for parking doesn't drive guests away.)

When you book your room online, as you probably will, watch out for mandatory resort fees. That $20-a-night room may come with a $39.95 per night resort fee.

For a first time visitor, I'd suggest staying in one of the hotels that's amidst a cluster of big hotels — like the area around Caesars Palace — and you can probably walk to enough interesting places to fill your days. Perhaps take a cab downtown some evening to experience the partying and The Fremont Street Experience.

Perhaps take in a show. They've gotten way outta hand price-wise but in many of those hotel clusters, you'll find booths with names like Tix 4 Tonight that sell same-day tickets for reduced prices. You can also sometimes find deals through Groupon. Unfortunately, the real superstars who play the city usually only play on the weekend…when I told you not to go.

There are zillions of homemade Vegas Tour Videos on YouTube. My favorites are the ones made by Norma Geli but almost any of them can give you valuable info. And since I started going to the town, I've been a subscriber to The Las Vegas Advisor, a newsletter that owes no allegiance to any casino or business there so it reviews them honestly. I've also long recommended their website as a great source of free info but apparently, most of it's going behind a paywall soon.

But not everything costs money. Walking around and sightseeing doesn't…yet. So you can have a good time…and one final tip: Avoid (1) street performers who want you to pay them to pose for a photo, (2) prostitutes and (3) the folks who are trying to sell you time-share deal. Actually, (2) and (3) aren't are all that different except that with (3), the screwing is way more expensive and goes on forever.

Wednesday Evening

The Writers Guild strike has hit the 100-day mark with no end in sight. I've heard or read numerous predictions about how and when it will conclude and I suppose one of those will turn out to be correct, though maybe not for the presently-stated reasons. Me, I'm sticking with "Nobody can predict when talks will resume, let alone when they will reach some sort of settlement."

For the record, my guild's longest strike was in 1988 and it lasted 154 days. I was close to those negotiations and I concluded that that strike lasted as long as it did not because of our demands but due to an inability of the producers in the A.M.P.T.P. to agree among themselves on what to offer us. That may be the problem right now.

I'm heartened by the big loss in Ohio of Issue 1, a ballot initiative that was trying to make it more difficult for the pro-choice movement to amend that state's constitution to protect abortion rights. As Amanda Marcotte notes…

For decades, Republicans had bamboozled the press into believing that the country was "bitterly divided" over abortion. Mainstream media misled Americans into believing that this was practically a 50/50 issue nationally and that abortion rights were deeply unpopular in the red states. Responsible pollsters kept trying to correct the narrative, pointing out that strong majorities of Americans believed it should be a right. But Republicans and their handmaidens in the "both sides"-obsessed press kept relying on shoddier polls that used ambiguous or misleading language to exaggerate the opposition to abortion. Republicans started to believe their own B.S., convincing themselves that the public, at least in red states, would be fine with abortion bans.

I have another flurry of e-mails asking me when I will next be a guest at a comic book convention. I guess I've turned down so many that everyone's given up on asking me, which is fine. I'll just stick with WonderCon Anaheim (March 29-31, 2024) and the next Comic-Con International in San Diego (July 25-28, 2024 with a Preview Night on Wednesday, July 24).

Today's Video Link

Here are a few minutes of wandering around Los Angeles in 1966, including footage shot at U.C.L.A. three years before I began attending classes there (and five before I quit). That's what some of the TV and movie studios looked like then…