Bones Doesn't Miss a Beat

As I blogged over the weekend, Jonathan Adams is no longer in the opening credits of Bones, but the rest of the cast's chemistry rolled right along in last night's season premiere.

Story-wise, Dr. Goodman has gone on a two-month sabbatical after appointing Dr. Camille Saroyan (Tamara Taylor) head of forensics at the Jeffersonian. As a kind of mid-boss for Brennan and old flame of Booth's, Cam can address both of them on more equal footing than could Dr. Goodman.

A senator and prominent businessman are killed when a train collides with a car, but the plotline I really cared about was Saroyan, Bones, Booth and the team adjusting to the new dynamics.

Glenn Ford, R.I.P.

(May 1, 1916 - August 30, 2006)

"There's one thing I know for sure, son. And that is, you are here for a reason."

Diaz's Day

Cameron Diaz is 34 today. I still ponder the Mortal Kombat that might have been had Diaz not broken her wrist prior to filming and been replaced by Bridgette Wilson (below) as Sonya Blade.



Wilson did a fine job. This is akin to imagining how Tom Selleck might have played Indiana Jones.

Zap2it.com: Casey Affleck Talks 'Gone,' 'Thirteen'

By Daniel Fienberg

Given that he's spent most of his career playing lost souls and quirky sidekicks, Casey Affleck knows that he was an unusual choice to play a tough-guy private investigator.

In "Gone, Baby, Gone," Affleck plays Patrick Kenzie. Along with the brassy and beautiful Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan), Kenzie is the focus of a series of Boston-based mysteries from author Dennis Lehane. On the page, Kenzie is a fast-talking alpha male, the product of a rough and tumble streets of Dorchester.

"He is supposed to be a more traditional heroic lead and that's something that I haven't really played before," Affleck reflects. "I've always found the eccentricities and the flaws in the characters that I've played and that's just been interesting to me for some reason, but this was really good and it was a good challenge for me and something I wanted to do, to play something that was not exploring those aspects of the part and kind of embracing the typical male-lead heroism of it. You know, just be the guy who holds the gun and catches the bad guy was something I hadn't done."

I'll say it again: Kenzie was not a typical alpha male hero. He was rather fatalistic and tended to get his clock cleaned. His lack of fighting prowess and seeming refusal to train made him unique among fictional private eyes.

Awards Mix

I slept right through the Emmys this year, but I mostly don't care because House did not win, William Shatner did not win, and Jaime Pressly did not win (though My Name is Earl did win Outstanding Writing, Directing, and Casting For A Comedy Series). Tony Shalhoub won Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series for Monk.

Saturday at the 64th World Science Fiction Convention, L.A. Con IV, in Anaheim, friend-of-a-friend John Scalzi won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and Serenity won the Hugo for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form.

What Might Have Bond

Seen in Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine:

JAMES BOND - BURTON WAS FIRST CHOICE BOND: "Late JAMES BOND creator IAN FLEMING originally wanted Welsh star RICHARD BURTON to play the superspy instead of SIR SEAN CONNERY. Newly-discovered correspondences from the writer to his film production boss IVAR BRYCE revealed his true wishes, which were ignored by producers HARRY SALTZMAN and ALBERT R. BROCCOLI. Fleming wrote, 'I think that Richard Burton would be by far the best James Bond.' The letters also show Fleming wanted legendary film director ALFRED HITCHCOCK to direct the first Bond movie. In a cable to a friend he wrote: 'Would Hitchcock be interested in directing first Bond film?'"

"Walk in shadow, move in silence."

Robert B. Parker's official site has added a section of related links, describing Dodd Vickers's Spensarium Yahoo! Group as as "THE Robert Parker forum. Lively, smart discussions of all things Parker."

Not listed is Spenser's Sneakers, the group I formed after leaving Spensarium.

Few people know that my first moderating experience came in January 2000 when Dodd asked me to oversee his group two days into its existence. I tried to foster in-depth discussion and genuine dialogue about Parker, but some Spensarium members reacted strongly against any criticism of Parker.

In early June 2001, I decided to leave and form Spenser's Sneakers so readers who wanted to go in-depth wouldn't butt heads with those who didn't. Dodd erroneously saw this as competition for his list and deleted my parting post to Spensarium/invitation to join spensneak.

Rest assured we do exist.

UPDATE (08/28/06 10:00 AM): A friend convinced me to let Parker know of spensneak via his Web site. Stay tuned.

AP: New Navy nuclear sub debuts in Atlantic

By TRAVIS REED, Associated Press Writer

ABOARD THE U.S. NAVY SUBMARINE TEXAS - The Navy debuted its newest nuclear-powered submarine Friday in an Atlantic Ocean swing off the Florida coast, the second in the latest fast-attack class that marks a broad departure from the Cold War-era deterrence boats.

The Texas, which will officially earn a "USS" designator in a commissioning ceremony in two weeks, weighs 7,800 tons, measures 377 feet long and can remain submerged on covert surveillance up to three months. It travels faster than 25 knots underwater and dives farther than 800 feet.

"It's much more effective than any ship I've been on before," said Capt. John Litherland, who has been on more than 50. "It's not the fastest, but the difference is that it's quiet even at its top speed."

Bits of Bones

Bones returns for a second season on Fox Wednesday August 30, but it appears Jonathan Adams (Dr. Daniel Goodman) has left the show. His bio on Fox.com's Bones page was recently replaced by that of Tamara Taylor, playing Dr. Camille Saroyan, Brennan's new boss.

I'm sorry to see Adams go, but I wonder what I'll think of the new character. Fans of Serenity will recognize Tamara Taylor from her portrayal of young River Tam's teacher, who provides exposition in an early scene.

Meanwhile Bones Season One is coming to DVD November 28.

Wha Happen?

I can't remember how I wanted to spend the day. I'd just blogged the poetry news below when a sudden storm knocked out my Net access and caused minor basement leakage. No power-outs, though, and the TV only blinked out. Anyway, glad to be back.

Poetry News

My poems "Pizza Cutter" and "Wet Dream" are coming to Asinine Poetry Journal. Meanwhile, "The Poem That Woke Me" has gone live at Contemporary Rhyme. Read it in PDF or hear it in MP3.

Pesky Inspiration

I finished reading The Barbed-Wire Kiss by Wallace Stroby yesterday, five weeks after I started. Retaining visions of my own novel, I'm deliberately slowing down, thinking more as I read. Also, however, the urge to write poems and stories interrupted. It's a challenge to make time for everything, but if I have to sacrifice anything it's usually reading. Writing is my top priority, even if I don't write what I intended.

That said, The Barbed-Wire Kiss is a fine series debut with a sharply detailed setting, evocative writing, and a harrowing plot. In the course of helping a friend pay off a low-level mobster, ex-NJ State Trooper Harry Rane runs into an old flame who happens to be the mobster's wife.

Thanks to David White for the recommendation.

Zap2it.com: 'Stargate' Closing for Good

SG-1 will not be renewed after its tenth season. While it always seemed somewhat light to me, it was a nice change from the Star Trek series, which, by the end, were taking themselves way too seriously. Stargate's TV producers had more vision than movie writers Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich, who left the alien enemy a one-dimensional, non-English-speaking annihilation force.

Zap2it.com: Zach Braff Talks 'Fletch'

Though Braff doesn't say whether he'll play Fletch, he does say Bill Lawrence wants Fletch Won to blend action and comedy ala Beverly Hills Cop. Sounds like a good plan to me.

WENN: Craig: "Bond Must Get Bruised"

Actor Daniel Craig loves doing his own dangerous stunts - because getting injured is an essential part of accurately portraying James Bond. The new 007 wants to make forthcoming Bond film Casino Royale as real as possible by not relying on stunt doubles. Craig tells Empire magazine, "I try to do as much stuff as I can. The stunt team is phenomenal; they're putting their all into this. And what we'll be doing, which is gonna be so exciting, is that there's not gonna be any painting-in here. What you see is the real thing. But despite those limitations, I want to do as much as I can, because if I can get my face on camera as much as possible, then people are really gonna believe it's me. You know the process. It's impossible for me to take too many risks - insurance companies wouldn't let me. I'm just pushing the envelope. The truth is, if you don't get bruised when you're doing Bond, you're not doing it properly. That really is it."

AP: Clijsters officially out of U.S. Open

...The No. 2-ranked Clijsters was forced to quit a match Wednesday at the hard-court tournament in Montreal after falling on the surgically repaired wrist. The next day, a posting on her Web site said an MRI exam and X-ray showed the problem was worse than originally believed and that the Belgian probably would be sidelined for two months.

The U.S. Open starts Aug. 28.

Clijsters missed most of the 2004 season with the wrist injury. She's dealt with assorted ankle, knee and back problems, too, and points to her health problems as a reason that she plans to retire in 2007, even though she's only 23.

I feel bad for Clijsters after all the work she put in to come back from first injuring her wrist. I'd hate to see her retire next year, but I can understand her decision given the hours of rehab and the chance of re-injury.

Dear Bob

I've posted my second comment to Robert B. Parker's blog:

Mr. Parker,

I'd like to hear Spenser's take on the steroid/performance-enhancing drug scandal in sports today. You've tackled the issue of fixed games before (Marty Rabb in MORTAL STAKES, Dwayne Woodcock in PLAYMATES) with great success. Your new web site (www.robertbparker.net) lists Barry Bonds as one of the top five baseball players Spenser ever saw. I think the controversy currently surrounding Bonds and others would really get Spenser's juices flowing, so to speak.

I don't want a reply so much as I want a Spenser book about it. Knock wood.

Can you picture that?

Tod and Lee Goldberg posted about whether creative writing can be taught.

I commented that teachers can help unlock creativity. That is, they can put students in a better position to recognize what would make a good story. The students must have the actual imagination and desire to create going in.

Robert B. Parker's Official Site

For years he claimed to have no interest in the Internet. Now, less than a month after starting an Amazon blog, Parker has launched an official web presence.

So Silly

I've submitted three poems to Asinine Poetry Journal.

The Bottom Line

My submission for the Fall 2006 issue of The First Line was rejected. This is not the end for the story, despite the entry title, but I do have to wait until the Fall issue is released before shopping the piece elsewhere.

WENN: Dick Goes Berserk at Shatner Roast

American comedian Andy Dick reportedly went berserk backstage at the Comedy Central Roast Of William Shatner on Sunday, licking screen siren Farrah Fawcett and biting a journalist. New York Post reporter Mandy Stadtmiller claims she watched Dick lick Fawcett, Carrie Fisher and comedian Patton Oswalt before turning his attentions to her. He allegedly groped her, tried to kiss her, proclaimed his love for her and then bit her hand, telling her, "Baby please, put in something nice. They're so mean. I'm not weird. Maybe I'm a little weird, they make me out to be a monster, I'm not a monster. I just want to have fun, baby please." She also accuses him of urinating in front of her and offering her cocaine. The show will air on Sunday August 20.

I wish I could just laugh at the entry title, but the story, if true, is icky. Someone needs to rein in the boy's id. He sure won't do it himself.

Mike Connors

Born Krikor Ohanion, the man who played P.I. Joe Mannix turns 81 today. I only caught a bit of Mannix before it went off TVLand, but I was impressed with the depth of Joe's life beyond his job, allowing Connors to play both tough and sensitive. I imagined Mannix was the kind of guy with whom women would want a relationship, not just a date.

Some trivia from IMDb:

- Mannix was of Armenian descent and spoke fluent Armenian and French.

- Over the eight seasons of the series, Mannix was knocked unconscious 55 times and shot 17 times.

Studio Briefing: Shatner To Return As Capt. Kirk -- In Video Game

Forty years after first appearing in the original Star Trek TV series, William Shatner will again play the role of Captain James T. Kirk for the video game Star Trek: Legacy, due to be released in October. According to a press release from Bethesda Softworks, the game will span all of the franchise's series and also feature the voices of Patrick Stewart (Star Trek: The Next Generation), Avery Brooks (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Kate Mulgrew (Star Trek: Voyager), and Scott Bakula (Star Trek: Enterprise). The press release noted that the game will allow players to test their "strategic and tactical skills in real-time combat featuring over 60 authentic spaceships, full damage modeling, and spectacular visual effects." It can be played by one player "or in the extensive multiplayer mode with a group of friends online."

Fascinating.

Envious

I've submitted three poems to Mannequin Envy for Fall issue consideration.

Spenser Casting

Every now and then on Spenser's Sneakers, we play the casting game. Parker's characters are difficult to cast, partly because their ethnicity is very clearly described. For many viewers, this took Joe Mantegna out of the running for Spenser right away.

This has started me thinking, Why not cast actors as close to the characters' backgrounds/experience as I can get? I came up with:

Matthew Fox as Spenser - Like Spenser, Fox was born in Wyoming. He has the height, the rugged good looks, the athleticism, and the higher education.

Sarah Silverman as Susan - From the New England area, has the intellect, and the sort of beauty that sneaks up on you. She's a comedian, but can play it straight. Remember how sassy Susan used
to be?

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Hawk - Is not an exact match for Hawk ethnically, but is both physically intimidating and well spoken.

These are younger actors than I'd like, but they allow you to picture a longer series.

And another one gone, and another one gone...

ET has confirmed that superstar couple KATE HUDSON and her husband, BLACK CROWES frontman CHRIS ROBINSON, are separating after nearly six years of marriage.

Snacks on a Plane

Catherine Bell

The actress behind JAG's Sarah MacKenzie turns 38 today. The series would surely have stayed cancelled in 1996 if she hadn't come along.

I would always miss Kate Pike, but Harm and Mac's was a great friendship. I thought their romance dragged on so there was almost no surprise in it by the last season, but that's another entry.

Bell did a few projects while on hiatus from JAG. Among them was The Time Shifters, which I watched in its entirety one early morning despite Casper Van Dien.

The Search for Blog

With more than two years of entries here, Blogger's in-house search bar doesn't cut it. I've installed a siteLevel search bar, as seen on Graham Powell's blog.

Look on the sidebar under Posts Archived by Month. Thanks, Graham,

Sound Off

Much of my computer's audio hadn't been playing since a Linux distribution upgrade a few weeks ago. This was not a big deal as I work best in quiet and my taste in music is five or more years behind.

Nevertheless, it was good to stumble on the solution this morning. Now I can enjoy Bill Crider's YouTube coverage of ArmadilloCon and, of course, the Superman (1978) 30-second bunny parody.

For the curious, a glimpse at my MP3 playlist:

"This Kiss" by Faith Hill
"Should've Been a Cowboy" by Toby Keith
"Wherever You Will Go" by The Calling
"Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas
"867-5309 (Jenny)" by tommy tutone
"Theme from Shaft" by Isaac Hayes
"Start Me Up" by The Rolling Stones
"Jesse's Girl" by Rick Springfield
"The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis and the News
"Spenser for Hire" by Steve Dorff and Friends
"Rosanna" by Toto
"Ride Forever" by Paul Gross
"The Ballad of Serenity" by Sonny Rhodes
"NCIS" by Numeriklab
"Breakfast at Tiffany's" performed by Rockapella

Accepted

This is not about the upcoming teen movie about a kid turned down by so many colleges he makes up his own.

This is about the Autumn 2006 premiere issue of Mouth Full of Bullets, which will include my poem, "The Last Wallet". My thanks to editor BJ Bourg.

Studio Briefing: Craig Admits, He's Reinventing Bond

Daniel Craig has clearly been stung by blogs that have criticized his selection as the new James Bond in the upcoming Casino Royale. "If I went onto the Internet and started looking at what some people were saying about me -- which, sadly, I have done -- it would drive me insane," the British actor told Entertainment Weekly in its latest edition out today (Friday). "They hate me. They don't think I'm right for the role. It's as simple as that. They're passionate about it, which I understand, but I do wish they'd reserve judgment." Nevertheless, Craig acknowledges that he has tried to take "Bond to a place he'd never been before." He told the magazine, "I watched every single Bond movie three or four times, taking in everything I could about how the character had been portrayed in the past, then threw all that away once I started doing the role." It was not clear why he had studied the past performances so diligently if he had intended to throw away all that he had learned about the character.

I'm not sure how much responsibility falls on Craig for reinventing Bond. He was cast because Bond bosses wanted to depict James Bond's first adventure. They couldn't do that with an aging Brosnan. And Craig can only take Bond to a new place if the writers do first.

Most viewers praise Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins; however, his portrayal wouldn't have been possible were the role not written as well. And before the public had seen Bale as Wayne, was anyone sure he'd be good in the role?

If you must know...

Spanish explorers named the avocado after the Spanish word for "lawyer" because they couldn't quite pronounce "ahuacatl," the Aztec word for the fruit, meaning "testicle".

Hulk Hogan and Emperor Palpatine

Ian McDiarmid is 62 today. Terry Gene Bollea is 53. Could Palpatine withstand the leg drop?

A Rhyme of Crime

I've submitted a poem to BJ Bourg's new crime e-zine, Mouth Full of Bullets.

"There are Pretenders among us."

I've been watching the four seasons of The Pretender on DVD. I saw the show in passing on NBC and caught up with it in reruns on TNT. It was entertaining week to week, with characters that grabbed me, and I went along even as their dynamics grew more convoluted. I guess that's the ultimate suspension of disbelief. The writers admit that sometimes they just went for the bizarre and had to go even farther out to tie things together.

The Pretender may have tackled some dark and twisted material, but behind the scenes everyone laughed and enjoyed coming to work. I'd like to find some easter egg outtakes.

Two movies aired on TNT a year after the series was cancelled. I've lost them in a sea of VHS tape, but I remember enjoying the first more than the second. Co-creators Craig Van Sickle and Steven Long Mitchell say they are working on a third movie that will wrap everything up. Best of luck.

Getting Published in Thrilling Detective Fiction

Step 1: Submit your story according to our submission guidelines.

Any story submitted without a query or otherwise against our guidelines is deleted unread.

Zap2it.com: NBC, 'Grease' Go Together

NBC, already fulfilling the Vegas dreams of many a performer with "America's Got Talent," will try to pave a path to Broadway with a show scheduled for midseason.

Tell you more, tell you more? OK.

The show will be called "You're the One That We Want," and it will seek to find a Danny Zuko and Sandy Dumbrowski for a revival of "Grease" that opens next June, coinciding with the 35th anniversary of the show's Broadway debut. Beauty school dropouts may apply, but presumably a background in musical theater would be helpful too.

I freely admit I'm a Grease fan. In 1998, by pure luck, I watched the 20th anniversary re-release of the movie with the one that I wanted in the otherwise empty Westbury Theater (now shuttered). I didn't get very far, nor did I have a car...

AP: Lucas approves 20-minute 'Star Wars'

LONDON, England -- U.S. director George Lucas has given permission for the "Star Wars" saga, which lasted for over 13 hours, to be shortened to a production of just 20 minutes, officials from Britain's Reduced Shakespeare Company said Tuesday.

Birthday Trivia

The X-Files star Gillian Anderson turns 38 today, just two days after David Duchovny turned 46.

The Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger turned 59 on July 30. Michael Biehn (The Terminator's Kyle Reese) turned 50 the next day, and Edward Furlong (T2: Judgment Day's John Connor) turned 29 two days after that.

Talkin' Baseball

Baseball people often say, "You can't give a team extra outs," when they really mean, "You can't give a team extra at-bats."

"I got nothin'."

I'd posted about Dennis Miller joining Fox News and about Paul Giamatti possibly playing Philip K. Dick in a biopic, but I found I didn't have much of an opinion on either development beyond a couple of flat jokes, so I gave myself the virtual hook.

Enjoy my favorite line from Stargate SG-1's Jack O'Neill.

Did this never happen to Clark Kent?

Last night I took off my glasses (pictured at right) to change shirts. I placed them on my bed and accidentally sat on them, bending the frame back at the lenses. I'm bringing them in for repair/replacement today, but I have to wonder: Did Clark Kent never in super-powered clumsiness break his glasses?

And if he had no spares, could he last an entire day at the Planet—plus however long it took to get new glasses—without blowing his disguise?



UPDATE (12:32 PM): Lisa, the optometrist at Costco, fixed my glasses at no charge. Many thanks.

Coming to DVD November 14

Zap2it.com: Universal Rescues 'Hellboy' Sequel

Guillermo del Toro's "Hellboy 2" has secured funding and distribution from Universal Pictures, putting the formerly orphaned film in position for a summer 2008 release.

Lee Goldberg in The Writer

Screenwriter and novelist Lee Goldberg is profiled on the last page of the September '06 issue of The Writer, one of the only writing magazines you'll ever need. The other, incidentally, is Poets & Writers.

'Twas a noble dream

And so my entry for the 2006 Evil Genius Chapbook Series Contest did not win, along with 27 others. Ah, well.

Booking a New Bond Author

J. Kingston Pierce of The Rap Sheet blogs:

With the 100th anniversary of Bond creator Ian Fleming’s birth coming up in May 2008, it’s been announced that “a very well-known and highly respected author” has been commissioned to “write a new James Bond novel,” which will be published in that same month.

Corrine Turner, a spokesperson for Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. (IFP), which “still administers Ian Fleming’s literary estate,” has been quoted as saying that “We are delighted to have secured this particular author who we have had in mind for some time now. He is the perfect writer for this project and we are greatly looking forward to his take on James Bond, in what we are convinced will be a stunning novel.” An IFP release adds that “A publisher has not yet been sought and the identity of the author will be a closely guarded secret until publication.”

I always figured the worry for anyone writing new Bond books was that of being tied down to James Bond's legacy, prevented from doing anything too innovative with the character. Perhaps the mystery author is someone so famous he doesn't have to worry about being trapped.

Let the speculation begin: Len Deighton, John le Carré...

Zap2it.com: Eliza Dushku Has 'Sex' With Culkin

Ah, Zap2it and its punny headlines. My first reaction: No, no, no, no, no, no.

The article is actually about Eliza's signing to star opposite Macaulay Culkin in the dark comedy, Sex and Breakfast, in which group sex is prescribed to a couple having intimacy issues.

My second reaction: No, no, no, no, no, no.

Zap2it.com: New Title, Release Date for 'Die Hard 4'

He's died hard, died harder and died hard again [only this time with a vengeance], but next June get ready to watch Bruce Willis "Live Free or Die Hard."

According to all variety of media reports, 20th Century Fox has set June 29, 2007 as the release date for the fourth "Die Hard" entry, which has been given a name far more appropriate for a New Hampshire-set adult film.

Bruce Willis will return for another go-round as John McClane, the former cop who keeps wondering how the same wacky things keep happening to him. The script by Mark Bomback and Doug Richardson focuses on an evil mastermind -- we're guessing Hans Gruber's other unknown surviving brother -- who attempts to shut the country down through an attack on the computer infrastructure. Can McClane stop him? Yes. Probably.

Zap2it.com: Sci Fi Beams Up 'Enterprise'

The Sci Fi Channel has gotten its hands on a piece of the "Star Trek" franchise, picking up rights to the prequel series "Star Trek: Enterprise."

The deal with CBS Paramount Domestic TV, which syndicates "Enterprise," also includes an extension of the cable network's contract for "The Twilight Zone" as well as rights a pair of Stephen King miniseries and several short-lived shows with supernatural bents, among them "Threshold" and "Wolf Lake."

...The deal also includes a number of shows from recent years that never got a chance to complete their initial runs on network TV. In addition to "Threshold" and "Wolf Lake," Sci Fi has picked up former UPN shows "Haunted," "Special Unit 2," "All Souls," "Jake 2.0" and "Level 9," as well as the mid-'90s FOX vampire show "Kindred: The Embraced."

Spenser Speculation

It's rumored that Robert B. Parker wanted to kill off Spenser in Valediction (1984) but his publisher talked him out of doing so. I wonder...

I'm not saying Parker should have killed Spenser, but what if he had stopped writing him for a while and concentrated on other projects/possible series (as Robert Crais, Dennis Lehane, and Harlan Coben have done). Then when Spenser returned, fans might be more eager than ever to see him.

If Parker couldn't refresh Spenser with new ideas, perhaps a hiatus from writing him would have done the trick. Of course, it's possible Parker's readers and/or publisher have demanded a new Spenser every year. And it's possible if Parker stopped writing Spenser, he'd have trouble starting up again.

Comments?

A Dark Knight's Tale

Lee Goldberg relays Variety's report that Heath Ledger has been cast as The Joker in The Dark Knight, a sequel to Batman Begins, set to premiere in May 2008 to compete with Iron Man and the as-yet untitled 22nd Bond film.