Whats with all the crappy stuff happening lately?

Harlan Ellison just posted the following on his website:

Monday, April 6 2009 11:55:36 EXTREMELY BAD NEWS

Len Wein called this morning. More than half of his house burned down earlier today. Len and Chris Valada and Chris’s son, Michael, got out okay, but their beloved dog, Sheba, ran back inside and is gone. In addition to both bedrooms, the bathroom, and much of the office, what was burned first was the original art for the first Wolverine story, the cover of GIANT X-MEN #1 and other art pieces worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Susan and I will be over there as soon as I pick up my car today, and as soon as I’ve met the dental appointment we have scheduled. This is a major catastrophe for one of my oldest and closest friends. Like your Host, Len is a lifetime freelancer and, even though he remains a star of the comics world, even though he created Wolverine and Storm–among other characters–he goes from day to day earning a freelancer’s living, as do I… and these are frightening economic times for those of us out there, to paraphrase Arthur Miller, “on a few words and a shoeshine.”

And...

HARLAN ELLISON
- Monday, April 6 2009 21:15:37

THE CURRENT SITUATION RE CHRIS VALADA & LEN WEIN


Debacle. Nothing left of the master bedroom. Open to the sky. Len is a genuine hero: Chris was at work when a power surge apparently went through the electrical system of the house, shorting out a wall heater that had been in place in the bathroom since the house was built...an appurtenance no one even paid any attention to: it was invisible, like a countertop. But it sparked, caught fire, and the fire caught on towels, curtains, bathroom mat, magazines on the hamper, clothes, and raced up the walls and across the ceiling, into the hall, and into the bedroom where Len lay asleep. Michael, Chris's son, was dead asleep in the loft of the small bedroom.

Len woke and managed to duck under the flames that were crowning. He found pants and got to Michael and dragged him awake, and they rushed out of the house. Sheba ran with them, but then, she wanted to hide, and hiding was what she did in the bathroom, so she ran back inside, was trapped in the flaming bathroom, and was overcome by smoke, and then incinerated.

I don't feel like going through any more. This site has become WEIN CENTRAL, and here is the answer to ALL of you:

There is NOTHING you can do for Len and Chris NOW.

Their insurance company--along with four fire trucks and DWP and the police and many friends--have been there all day. Susan and I got home about 7:40 PM, and I spoke to Len about an hour ago. They're okay, more or less, if you can call cudgeled into stunned immobility "okay." They are just the way you or I would be if we'd lost everything.

The insurance will help them rebuild or buy a new house, but after the loss of Sheba, the worst part is that everything Len had accumulated in a lifetime, from books to comics, to original art to his Shazam Awards (which were melted off the wall) to the complete set of DC library hardcovers that were caught in a heat so ferocious they melted into a 40-book block...spines bright and sharp and all one plastic-melted millstone. What you can do for the creator of SWAMP THING and WOLVERINE, if you are so moved, is NOTHING at the moment. Don't bother them with well-intentioned commiserations that will only distract them. At the moment they are staunchly trying to pull it all together.

Later...SOON...but LATER...you can help enormously when Len presents a cogent list of those items that are replaceable--many were unique and are gone forever, and that's that, so he'll come to terms with it in time--but lots of it is around, some more rare than other, but possible. Hang back; just chill till Len lets us all know what he needs. I'll post it here, it'll be on Neil Gaiman's site, and Peter David's, and Mark Evanier's and on and on.

Give it a rest for a month or so, kids. Let them alone, and I'll do my best to keep you informed. But don't waste your mud with sad'n'sorrowful platitudes. It will only distract.

Needless to say, I've told them there were about 40 phone calls and posts here. They are too stunned to be grateful, but just so you know I passed the good tidings along.

GeezusPeezus, I'm tired; and I was only a day-laborer.

Harlan

Bruce (bruceb) showed me this a little while ago...

http://littera-abactor.livejournal.com/7748.html

Sounds like our dog Pixar who has a black hole for a stomach.

From E Online

Andy Hallett, who starred as Lorne ("the Host") on the TV series Angel, died of heart failure last night at age 33, according to his longtime agent and friend Pat Brady. The actor passed away at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles after a five-year battle with heart disease, with his father Dave Hallett by his side.

Hallett, from the Cape Cod village of Osterville, Mass., appeared on more than 70 episodes of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer spinoff, Angel, between 2000 and 2004. The accomplished actor was also a musician and sang two songs ("Lady Marmalade" and "It's Not Easy Being Green") on the Angel: Live Fast, Die Never soundtrack, released in 2005.

The actor's character on Angel was Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan, or Lorne for short. Hallett's Lorne was a friendly demon, who, when not assisting Angel and his team in the investigation of various and sundry underworld mysteries, served as the host and headliner at a demon bar.

Back in 2001, Hallett told our own Jen Godwin that despite constant flirtation with David Boreanaz' character Angel, and the occasional sly Elton John reference, "We don't really know if he's gay. I don't really know. It's funny, because sometimes he's right in Angel's face, and that's when I feel it the most. And viewers would probably think, hmm, what's going on here? This guy's pretty curvy."

Hallett has spent his post-Angel years working on his music career, playing shows around the country. He had been admitted to the hospital three or four times in the past few years for his heart condition, according to Pat.

Another Angel castmember, Glenn Quinn, who played Doyle in season one, passed away in 2002.

A private funeral service will be held for family and close friends in Cape Cod, most likely over this weekend.

Above and beyond I am sad that he passed his presence on Angel was always appreciated by me. Seeing that he too had heart failure makes me greateful that I have good luck with mine the last ten years. May you find something to sing about in whatever exists beyond.

Wandering around youtube today reliving what I remember of the 80's I found this. Great comment on it "ah the 80's... any fight can be resolved with a good coreography".

That made my day.

Someone IM'd me this....

Know, O prince, that between the years when the oceans drank the old forum setup and the gleaming cities of TSR fell to upstart card companies, and the years of the rise of the sons of 4e, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across RPG.net like blue mantles beneath the stars ... Hither came Future Villain Band, the Admin, dark-haired, sullen-eyed, banstick in hand, a scholar, a law clerk, a banner, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the forums under his sandaled feet.

And know, too, that once Future Villain Band came across Thornhammer, who would start threads within halls of Tangency designed to provoke and anger, but never return hence to respond to the replies. And tiring of this cowardice and provocation, Future Villain Band said unto him, 'By Crom, you will post again to these threads once you start them, on my oath, or I will see ye banned from Tangency, and forced only to post in Other Media, with the swarthy Shemites, or Roleplaying Open amidst its fair-haired beauties and villainous brutes.'

'And to cement this lesson of steel," Future Villain Band brooded, 'I shall give you a ban from TO, lasting 10 days, which is appealable to the other admins. And hopefully, you will know then what is good: to respond to posts; to see your enemies driven before you; and to hear the weeping and lamentation of those upon their friends list.'" -- The Nemedian Chronicles

Warner Bros launches "made-to-order" DVD service (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Warner Bros on Monday became the first studio to open its film vault to "made-to-order" DVDs, as it sought new revenues in a slumping DVD market by making it possible for fans to buy decades-old films.

Warner Bros, owned by Time Warner Inc, made an initial batch of 150 titles available for purchase online at http://www.WarnerArchive.com , including 1943 comedy-romance "Mr. Lucky" starring Cary Grant and the 1962 release "All Fall Down" with Warren Beatty and Eva Marie Saint.

Sales are not expected to approach those of new releases on DVD, but the service gives Warner Bros another way to make money from a film archive it already exploits by selling titles for broadcast in the United States and internationally.

The on-demand service allows Warner Bros. to avoid the risk of manufacturing too many copies of old or obscure titles and shipping them to retailers because customers directly order only the titles they want to buy.

"This way you've completely eliminated the risk of not selling them. You're not going to make them until they're sold," said Tom Adams, president and senior analyst with Adams Media Research.

Warner Bros. said that each month it will make about 20 films and television programs from its archive available for purchase through this DVD-on-demand program.

The new Warner Bros. initiative comes as the movie industry faces declining DVD sales. Last year, amid the ongoing recession DVD sales fell by 7 percent to $21.6 billion, the Digital Entertainment Group said.

Studios are mainly looking to the emerging Blu-ray disc market to counter declining DVD sales, Adams said.

Last year, sales of Blu-ray discs quadrupled to nearly $750 million, the Digital Entertainment Group said.

But with the new DVD-on-demand service, Warner Bros can supplement its sales by appealing to collectors and fans.

The Warner Bros film archive has 6,800 titles. Since it entered the DVD market in 1997, the studio has released only around 1,200 of those titles from the vault. By comparison, the company expects by the end of the year to have more than 300 titles available via the DVD-on-demand service.

"I think ultimately the odds are very good that every film ever made will be available on this kind of basis, because why not?" Adams said.

Warner Bros. is charging customers $19.95 per title, plus shipping, for the new service. Titles also can be downloaded directly to a customer's computer.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Gunna Dickson)

I love this bit of animation. Made me laugh when I first saw it years ago and now its back thanks to the blessed tube of you.

I keep joking with Ann I want to renew our vows in Las Vegas with a midget Elvis officiating, but this would be better.

'Star Trek' couple beaming after winning wedding prize

It might even make Captain Kirk a little jealous.

Justin Gruba and Alissa Mellis of Troy captured 35.48% of the 1,181 votes cast in the Detroit Science Center’s “Star Trek: The Exhibition” Ultimate Wedding Package Contest to win a June wedding on the exhibit's recreated bridge of the USS Enterprise and a reception for 200 at the museum. They will also nab a Star Trek honeymoon suite at the MGM Grand Detroit.

Online voting ended today for nine couples, including Gruba and Mellis, who got engaged in the exhibit on Valentine’s Day.

“Marriage is a journey and an adventure,” the couple wrote on their application for the contest. “Like the voyage of Star Trek, we will go boldly go into an unknown future together.

"We are sure to face many challenges, especially in these difficult times but we will have courage! It would be a great honor to begin our journey through life on the bridge, a place that represents courage, hope and always a better tomorrow."

Let's tax caffeine, legislator argues
New revenues » Cigarettes are taxed, why not soda pop?

By Robert Gehrke

Updated:03/12/2009 03:04:40 PM MDT


Have a Coke and a tax.

That's what Rep. Craig Frank wants his colleagues in the Legislature to consider.

Frank, R-American Fork, has asked lawmakers over the next year to study the potential for taxing caffeine, a response to proposals this session to hike the tax on cigarettes - all of which failed.

Frank said his intent initially was just to target caffeinated sodas and other cold beverages, but he has decided to look at the substance more broadly.

"Some feel [the cigarette tax is] a tax on those who are addicted to a substance that frankly they enjoy [but] we say that's a harmful thing to do.

At the same time, the government is addicted to the fee revenues," said Frank. "So in light of that, if we're really going to find a revenue stream on something addictive, why not cold caffeine?"

His proposal is contained in a master study resolution approved unanimously Thursday by lawmakers.

Frank said he has seen research that caffeine can cause spontaneous abortion, psychological abnormalities and other disorders.

"We're going after people who have problems with addiction for a revenue stream, only caffeine would be one that is more broad-based," said Frank, who calls himself a "social caffeine drinker."

Most of Utah's population and more than 80 percent of the Utah Legislature belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which discourages its members from drinking "hot drinks." Some Mormons have interpreted that to extend beyond coffee and tea to caffeinated beverages.

One of Ann's friends at work heard 1985 by Bowling for Soup on the CD player when they went to lunch one day and wanted to hear more of them. So I burned a disc for her. Now her son in the first grade is running around singing the chorus from "Somebody Get My Mom."

Awesome.