Zap2it.com: Marvel's 'Iron Man' Suits Downey

Marvel is resting its high profile "Iron Man" franchise on the shoulders of Oscar nominated, and occasionally volatile, leading man Robert Downey Jr.

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I'll get back to you on this...

Shark vs. House

Actually Shark and House are on different nights, so I'll probably watch both, but what I've seen of Shark is very much like House, from the younger team in need of guidance to the marker-aided exposition.

James Woods is fine, and there are some differences—Stark has a teenaged daughter—which if played up could really distinguish the show. My main concern is that while House has to ferret out deadly, elusive disease, Stark just has to convince a jury each week.

Why I Watch Smallville

I've panned Smallville as much as I've praised it over the years, but the fact remains I watch, just as I watched Lois & Clark through its leaner times. Not to say that Smallville is currently lean. It's just too uneven to predict. So I watch.

Though there have been more twists of the lore than I care to track, I keep coming back to these iconic characters: Clark Kent, strange visitor from another planet, country boy making his way in the city who, in his own "aw shucks" way, charms city girl Lois Lane, though she takes forever to admit it.

The climax of last night's season premiere featured a re-enactment of the "Kneel before Zod" scene from Superman II, and yes, I was drawn in. What can I say?

Words Dance #10

Just received my limited edition, individually-numbered copy of Words Dance, featuring my poem "Muscle Memory". Many thanks again to guest editor Jessica Mahlsted and editor Amanda Oaks.

WENN: Edward Albert Dies

Actor Edward Albert has died of lung cancer in Malibu, California. He was 55. Albert, whose acting career took off in the 1970s after he starred in Butterflies Are Free with Goldie Hawn, died on Friday in his sleep. He starred with Liv Ullmann in the 1973 comedy 40 Carats and went on to appear in more than 120 movies and TV shows including Midway, The Greek Tycoon, The Ice Runner, Guarding Tess, Falcon Crest and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Albert was a dedicated environmentalist and worked with several groups, including the California Coastal Commission and the state's Native American Heritage Commission. He spent most of the last 10 years caring for his father, who had Alzheimer's disease and died at age 99 last year. Albert is survived by his wife, actress Kate Woodville; their daughter, Thais; and his sister, Maria Zucht.

Albert played the voice of Matt Murdock/Daredevil in Fox Kids' mid-90s Spider-man cartoon.

House vs. NCIS, Week 2

I got completely into the premiere of NCIS last week and didn't feel any pangs for House. This week, however, I did feel some withdrawal. I had planned to watch House last night and tape NCIS to watch in the 9:00 PM hour, but I fell asleep, so I had to watch NCIS on tape and miss House completely.

The last two weeks, House has trailed NCIS by a tenth of a ratings point. Last night, NCIS claimed more households, but House had more total viewers.

On the bright side, Fox is shelving Justice Wednesdays at 9:00 PM and replacing it with reruns of House during the MLB playoffs. Here's hoping I'm all caught up by the time new episodes of House return October 31.

The Fortress of So-litude

It's that time of year when much of the mystery and crime fiction world converges for Bouchercon. Once again, I am not among them.

Tomorrow is the sixth season premiere of Smallville. The show has strayed so far from Superman lore I don't know why I'm watching. Anyway, this season Lex continues to date Lana, Lois falls for Oliver Queen (Green Arrow), Chloe dates Jimmy Olsen, and hopefully Clark escapes the Phantom Zone.

Tomorrow is my second chance to catch CBS's Shark.

All this leaves the question, what am I doing today? Answer: Reading A Stolen Season by Steve Hamilton.

"I'll give it a try," I say.

Last Thursday, Matthew Louis invited me to submit a story to Out of the Gutter, a proposed anthology of extreme, edgy crime fiction and more, having read my story, "The Observer" in Bryon Quertermous's Demolition.

"The Observer" was probably the edgiest thing I'd written up to then, but I decided to take the chance. I began brainstorming in my memo pad early Friday morning, and by noon I had a first draft. I went through four drafts between Friday night and this morning, finally deciding the story needed to be written in first-person present.

Thanks to Brian Thornton, Sarah Weinman, and Dave White, who read the drafts. And to Ray Banks and Ken Bruen, who were with me in spirit.

UPDATE (09/27/06): My submission was rejected, but I take several positives from the experience. Nothing beats the feeling of running with an idea from brainstorm to full form, knowing none of it would have happened if I hadn't taken the chance.

Three Statements Meme

From John Schramm:

Make three statements -- two of them true, one false. The object is for others to guess which is the false statement.

a. I was named for Gerald R. Ford.

b. I shared an office with essayist Phillip Lopate at Hofstra University.

c. I was born in 1973.

REVEALED (09/25/06 11:00 AM):

a. I was named for Gerald R. Ford. TRUE. Ford was one reason I was named Gerald, according to my mother.

b. I shared an office with essayist Phillip Lopate at Hofstra University. TRUE. It was the same office, but we rarely occupied it at the same time. Actually, Lopate always asked me to leave when he arrived. I did, team player that I am.

c. I was born in 1973. FALSE. If you know the month and day I was born, you can check this blog and deduce the year, but some of my best friends think I was born in '73. This statement was a test.

The winner among those who commented, John D.

"Robin, I am your father."

Kevin Conroy, voice of Warner Bros. Animation's Bruce Wayne/Batman from 1992-2006, plays the voice of John Grayson, Dick Grayson/Robin's father in the third season premiere of the current Kids' WB cartoon The Batman.

AP: Navy's 'Top Gun' jet takes final flight

By SONJA BARISIC, Associated Press Writer
Fri Sep 22, 7:30 PM ET

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The F-14 Tomcat, the dogfighting Cold War fighter jet immortalized in the movie "Top Gun," made its ceremonial final flight Friday in a display that suggested the timing was right for retirement.

Pilot Lt. Cmdr. David Faehnle and radar intercept officer Lt. Cmdr. Robert Gentry gave a final salute from inside their cockpit before aircraft no. 102 taxied down the runway and out of sight at Oceana Naval Air Station.

The plane that actually took off as thousands applauded and whistled, however, was aircraft no. 107, with Lt. Cmdr. Chris Richard at the controls and intercept officer Lt. Mike Petronis in the back seat.

The first jet had mechanical problems — "a common occurrence with the F-14," said Mike Maus, a Navy spokesman. The second jet had been on standby just in case.

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So Much TV, So Little Time

I caught the premiere of Kidnapped Wedsneday at 10PM. As expected, I liked Jeremy Sisto's P.I. character Knapp, I'll watch Dana Delany in most anything, and the show is filmed in New York. Unfortunately, the show pulled in weak ratings against CSI: New York and a repeat of last season's Grey's Anatomy finale.

I missed Shark a few hours ago, taping a broadcast of the CW 11 News by mistake. Shark is being called "House with lawyers." I don't know if that bodes well.

And I'd heard David James Elliott signed a development deal with ABC, but he's back on CBS as the new D.A. on Close to Home.

Go ahead, make my day.

Zap2it.com reports:

'Spaceballs' Series Enters G4's Orbit

The Schwartz will be with G4.

The cable network, which skews heavily towards young male viewers, has acquired the distribution rights to an animated series based on the popular Mel Brooks film "Spaceballs."

Production on "Spaceballs: The Animated Series" began in early 2005 with the participation of Brooksfilms Limited, MGM and Berliner Film Compane GmbH. Brooks and "Spaceballs" co-writer Thomas Meehan co-wrote the pilot and Meehan will either writer of oversee the writing on all 13 episodes which will premiere on G4 in the fall of 2007.

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Good Word

My poems "Airport Junkie" and "My uncle talks about himself" will appear in the Fall 2006 issue of Mannequin Envy. Thanks to Poetry Editor Patrick Carrington and Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Van Buren.

Smith

I didn't watch much of this show after all. 10:00 is a stretch for me anyway, and I have trouble rooting for bad guys not named Mal Reynolds or Jayne Cobb.

I'm not back - NCIS Recapped

In pursuit of a suspicious motorcyclist, Ziva witnesses the shooting of two FBI agents. She is subsequently framed for their murder and must go on the lam from both the FBI and NCIS. Desperate for help, she places a call to Abby who puts her in touch with Gibbs.

I figured the special bond Ziva and Gibbs shared would be the thing to pull him out of retirement. It was nice to see Tony had developed his own style of leadership, a taskmaster when he needed to be, but still freewheeling for the most part. And Abby, who didn't like Ziva when they first met, now says "Name it," when Ziva asks for a favor.

For about half the episode, Gibbs is shown fortifying Mike Franks's house in Mexico, and when he comes back to NCIS HQ his hair is longer, his manner distinctly different; he actually laughs. Speaking of that, there was some great humor, from Abby seeking advice from a blown-up freeze frame of Gibbs, to the team members pow-wowing in the autopsy lab and agreeing to help Ziva without the director's knowledge.

As usual, the show took a culprit-is-not-who-we-suspect twist, and instead of using lethal force as she might have last season, Ziva records the mastermind's confession while duking it out. In the end Gibbs went back to Mexico without saying goodbye. We all know he'll be back, but it was a nice close for the episode.

Rage against Shoddy DVD Cases

Also received Smallville Season Five on DVD. Warner Bros. housed the previous Smallville sets in plastic albums with a page for each disc. The Season Five set was in the annoying fold-out DVD holder that doesn't let you take out Disc 2 without first removing Disc 1, and so on through Disc 6.

This type of case is ill-conceived, in my opinion, but I put up with it. Put up with it until the minor damage that understandably occurs in shipping renders two of the half-notches useless, meaning Discs 1 and 6 will not stay in place in the original holder.

I'm making do with spare CD jewel cases, but a set should be a set, I say.

New Poem

Just received Issue 14 of Crimespree. My poem on the death of Mickey Spillane appears in the middle of page 4. Let me know what you think. Thanks again to editors Jon and Ruth Jordan.

Mets Clinch

After a rough weekend sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the New York Mets clinched the NL East Division title with a 4-0 win over the Florida Marlins. As a Yankee fan, I'm happy for manager Willie Randolph.

It's good to see the Mets finally surpass the Braves. How far will they go in the playoffs with a suspect Pedro Martinez?

"Choose!"

Fox is forcing me to choose between House and NCIS. I can't fault them for pitting their best drama against CBS's solid hit, but I'll be watching what happens in the wake of Jethro Gibbs's retirement tonight.

At 9:00 I'd like to flip to Fox for House, but Standoff will be on.

Finally at 10:00, is it possible to hype a show called Smith? I was going to skip it, but I see the cast includes Virginia Madsen and Amy Smart.

New Fall Colors

Blogger was down for approximately thirty minutes Friday morning, and my template graphics were unavailable for awhile longer as it began to rebound. This got me thinking of creating a backup template not reliant on graphics. This is it, a slight variation of Douglas Bowman's Minima Ochre. I'll leave it up for today. Feel free to comment.

UPDATE (09/19/06): Turns out I like this template more than the other, so I'm uploading a more recent photo to go in the profile container:

Studio 60

Studio 60 stars Matthew Perry and Amanda Peet

NBC's highly-touted new show from Aaron Sorkin about the goings-on behind the scenes of a SNL-like show premieres tonight at 10 ET. The VCR is set.

UPDATE: Watched my tape of the show and liked it, especially Peet's performance as the charming, bubbly, cutthroat Jordan McDeere. Also good to see Peet's Jack & Jill castmate Sarah Paulson as Matt Albie (Perry)'s ex.

Robert B. Parker's Birthday

Parker turns 74 today. Spenser was my first favorite fictional private eye, and as much as I've noted ways in which the series has declined, much of it hasn't. Spenser's voice is engaging even with the thinnest plot, and Parker is writing long after others have left the building.

I wish Parker whatever he wishes for himself.

Mouth Full Again

Mouth Full of Bullets editor BJ Bourg has accepted my poem, "Linden's List of Demands", for the Winter 2006 issue, due in December.

The Change-One-Letter Meme

Sarah Weinman fielded this from John Rickards and made it into a meme: "if you change one letter in a book title, what do you end up with?"

Some of mine:

THE LOST ASSASSIN - Regaining consciousness on an unfamiliar tropical island, John Rain must piece together how he got there and how to get home.

MYSTIC RAVER - A witch takes on the underground club scene.

SET CHANGE - Jesse Stone pursues a disgruntled stagehand who's made off with key props hours before opening night of a play.

A SAVAGE PEACE - Spenser must root out sinister dealings in a seemingly idyllic retirement community.

Yesterday

...was my self-imposed deadline for writing a novel this summer. I didn't come close, but a novel is still one of my goals.

...at 2:47 PM Central, my friends Matt and Kim Tedesco welcomed their second daughter Ava Estelle.

...Hideki Matsui returned to the Yankee lineup and went 4-for-4 with a walk.

...Bobby Abreu drove in a total of seven runs, six in the first inning.

...Derek Jeter was walked three times and hit by a pitch before being pulled for a pinch-hitter. Jeter didn't get a hit, but neither did he record an official at-bat, so his 20-game hitting streak is, by rule, intact.

Thrilled To Be Back

Kevin Burton Smith and I proudly present Issue 40 of The Thrilling Detective Web Site, featuring a tribute to Mickey Spillane by Max Allan Collins, an excerpt from Martin Brett's pulp fiction classic, A Dum-Dum for The President, and original stories from Kim Harrington, Daniel Hatadi, Russel D. McLean, D.H. Reddall, and Sarah Weinman,

Also, this issue's P.I. Poll is your chance to tell us what you think of this site up to now. How might we improve? Would you like to pitch in? Check it out.

Sidebar Shuffle

My latest shuffle of the sidebar links has the subheadings AUTHOR, EDITOR, and MODERATOR. Let me know what you think.

September 11

I've posted two reactions to September 11 in the two-plus years I've had this blog. Both posts apply as much as they did when I wrote them.

I used to ask why we commemorate tragic days like September 11, 2001. Isn't moving on from tragedy a good thing? I've come to realize how remembering helps us move on. No single day since 2001 gives me as much pause as this one, and I hope it always will.

www.craigisbond.com

I've seen the new Casino Royale trailer by way of White, Dave White, and Daniel Craig has convinced me he is James Bond. Will he have a good script to work with? Everything indicates he will. If not, I'll watch any other Bond movies he makes.

In the end, there can be only one.

AP Photo/Elise Amendola

Invoking the spirit and swagger of his new "advisor" Jimmy Connors, Andy Roddick still couldn't beat Roger Federer.

Tied at one set all, 5-5 in the third, Roddick turned to Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe and said he was having too much fun. He proceeded to drop the next seven games and eventually the match to Federer, who becomes the only man to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open each year for three consecutive years.

Martial Arts Matinee

Yesterday, my brother and I caught a matinee ($7 a ticket!) of The Protector (a.k.a. Tom yum goong), starring Tony Jaa (a.k.a. Panom Yeerum).

Jaa's character Kham belongs to a clan entrusted to protect the King's elephants. When two of these elephants are stolen and his father murdered, Kham tracks the thieves from Thailand to Sydney, Australia, using his Muay Thai skills on a biker gang, a capoeira fighter, a swordsman, a handful of beefy bald wrestlers, and countless suited thugs.

Masterminding the theft is an ambitious woman with a mannish voice looking to become the new head of her father's crime syndicate. She poisons her brothers and steals the "perfect elephants" as signs of her authority. She's also pretty good with a whip.

This is the first of Jaa's movies I've seen. The fighting was good, but the number of enemies made it seem pointless after a while. There were some spectacular stunts, but I felt there was too much buidup, too much time to think about what would be done, for them to achieve the best effect. Kham's best opponent, Johnny, who originally stole the elephants, does not go down fighting but is simply dismissed by the dragon lady–never to be seen again.

AP: Air Force scrapping troubled plane

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Air Force has decided to destroy its entire fleet of 110 T-3A Firefly training planes, which were grounded in 1997 after crashes that killed six people.

Sharapova Sharp

AP Photo/Kathy Willens

"You had your gameplan, you had your strategy set," Dick Enberg said to Henin-Hardenne, "she just didn't give you any break points."

I caught the last game of this year's U.S. Open women's final, during which Maria Sharapova steamrolled to her second career Grand Slam title, proving herself no Kournikova.

Jessica Simpson Not Dating John Mayer

Jessica Simpson has fired her publicist after the story of her dating John Mayer had been leaked. Both Simpson and Mayer have denied they are dating, so I've deleted my earlier post on the subject.

Star Trek Turns 40

At 8:30PM on Thursday, September 8, 1966, Star Trek first aired on NBC. By 1978, the show was airing on WPIX Channel 11 on Saturdays at 6:OOPM. My father and I would watch it on a Zenith in the den, usually followed by a Yankee game. As the years passed, our lives would get busier, but anytime I catch Star Trek, it's Saturday night all over again.

Gonna Hardenne my heart...

My last punny post of the day, I promise. Justine Henin-Hardenne, like Andre Agassi, is a player I've traditionally rooted against (while rooting for Capriati, Clijsters, and Sharapova). Hardenne reached the U.S. Open women's final today, beating Jelena Jankovic, who basically wilted in what would prove the pivotal eighth game of the second set.

Jankovic was still up a set at that point, but you could see her spirit was broken while Hardenne gutted her way past twelve double faults. If you let her hang around, even for one game, she'll probably win that game and the match.

Ginny, Ginny, who can I turn to?

The entry title is almost a line from tommy tutone's 1982 hit "867-5309", but the girl in that song was Jenny, and the speaker tried to call her but lost his nerve. My poem "Ginny" has been accepted for Nerve Cowboy No. 22, due out later this fall. Thanks to editors Joseph Shields and Jerry Hagins.

One, Two...Possibly Three

Submitted three poems to FRiGG, and a story to Thieves Jargon. If I can muster one more, I may break my one-hour submission record.

UPDATE (9:58 AM): Just made a third submission, two poems to Mastodon Dentist; however, my records show the first submission was sent at 7:50 and the second at 9:00 AM, so the record was never at stake. Still, it feels good to give myself chances to be published. Not unlike the lottery. Five submissions would break my one-day record...

Another DANCE

WORDs DANCE guest editor Jessica Mahlsted has accepted my poem, "Muscle Memory" for Issue 10 (print), out later this month.

Yes, Virginia, there is a sidebar.

Spent a good portion of yesterday debugging my blog of discussion list highlights, Chatterrific. Apparently, the sidebar of links—mostly archived author chats— wasn't appearing when viewed with Internet Explorer. (I use Firefox, so things looked fine to me.)

If you use IE, let me know if you have trouble viewing either Chatterrific or If You Want to Know About My Life...

Mouth Full of Bullets

Click above for the premiere issue of BJ Bourg's e-zine, featuring my poem, "The Last Wallet". Thanks again, BJ.

House and Standoff

Last season, the spouse of a former patient walked in off the street and shot Greg House. This season picks up eight weeks later, House having undergone a treatment allowing to walk, even jog eight miles to work, pain-free.

I enjoyed watching House play with his new abilities, the way a reluctant superhero might relish the loss of his powers. House reaches out to the family of a wheelchair-bound brain cancer patient. The family thanks him, and he doesn't know how to take it. In the end, he's still the House who can't resist a puzzle, but acting for once from concern for the patient as opposed to his usual cold reason, House may be endangering a life more than he ever has before. The last couple of minutes—as Cuddy decides whether to follow House's recommendation, which may allow the patient to walk—are heart-wrenching.

Standoff, about two romantically-linked hostage negotiators, was next up. I liked Ron Livingston and Rosemarie DeWitt as the leads and Gina Torres as their boss. I don't know if I can take a hostage crisis every week. The show opened with Livingston's character negotiating with a father behind the wheel of a car holding his two sons hostage. The father was played by good ol' boy Tom Wopat.

Thrilling Call for Submissions

The September 2006 issue of Thrilling Detective will be out soon. We are seeking short story submissions for the November 2006 issue.

See our fiction guidelines and feel free to contact me (address in the sidebar) with any questions.

The deadline for submissions is October 1.

Assigned Reading

Spurred by Bill Crider's reference to this list of five best books set in school, I give you the three books I read in high school I didn't mind reading:

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Shane by Jack Schaeffer

Pre-Order

Putting "pre-" in front of anything brings to mind a George Carlin rant, but here's my latest Amazon order, which should arrive early next month:

Skin Tight by Carl Hiaasen

Remembering Sarah by Chris Mooney

School Days by Robert B. Parker

Painkiller by Will Staeger

Agassi's Farewell

Andre Agassi lost the final match of his pro career yesterday at the U.S. Open. I usually rooted for Agassi's opponents: Connors, McEnroe, Sampras, Courier, but whomever he faced, I knew he would give his all. The longer a match went the more likely it would go to Andre.

CNN.com: Stingray kills 'Crocodile Hunter'

SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Steve Irwin, the Australian TV presenter known as the "Crocodile Hunter," has died after being stung in a marine accident off Australia's north coast.

Australian media reports say Irwin was diving in waters off Port Douglas, north of Cairns, when the incident happened on Monday morning.

Irwin, 44 was killed by a stingray barb that went through his chest, according to Cairns police sources. Irwin was filming an underwater documentary at the time.

Ambulance officers confirmed they attended a reef fatality Monday morning off Port Douglas, according to Australian media.

Queensland Police Services also confirmed Irwin's death and said his family had been notified. Irwin was director of the Australian Zoo in Queensland.

He is survived by his American-born wife Terri and their two children, Bindi Sue, born 1998, and Robert (Bob), born December 2003.

You can take the boy out of school...

Visiting New York in July, my friend Matt Tedesco pointed out that it had been ten years since my college graduation. It doesn't feel like ten years because after earning my B.A., I tutored and taught at Hofstra while attending Queens College at night for my Master's. After completing that, I taught at Hofstra for five more years.

Labor Day still brings that first-day-of-school apprehension. The other night I dreamed I'd double-booked a dental appointment and a Scantron test. Several minutes after waking, I was convinced I had to take the test.

Solomon vs. Lord TV News

I'm late with this, but my review of the original Solomon vs. Lord mentioned a possible TV series based on the books. A March 19, 2006 article by Jay MacDonald in The News-Press mentioned:

Levine has also co-written the pilot episode of a Solomon vs. Lord TV series that's being produced by Mel Gibson's Icon production company.

In a (presumably) later interview, Levine said:

I just co-wrote the “Solomon vs. Lord” pilot for CBS …but in an obvious oversight, the network did not pick up the series. I get the rights back in September and will take the books out again. Fun, though writing the pilot. Challenging, too. Boiling down a 500 page book to a 60 page script that would play in 44 minutes.

Mark Harmon

Mark Harmon turns 55 today. I've been a fan since Summer School, on to The Presidio, Reasonable Doubts, and now NCIS.

KILL ALL THE LAWYERS by Paul Levine

In the third novel in the Solomon vs. Lord series, Steve Solomon finds a 300-pound marlin stuck in his front door. He soon realizes this is a clue sent by William Kreeger, a man Solomon once defended, knocking a murder charge down to manslaughter.

After serving his six-year sentence, "Dr. Bill" had seemingly reformed, now a popular self-help author and radio host. But when he starts badmouthing Solomon on the air, Steve fears Kreeger has learned what went on behind the scenes of his case, that Steve believed his client guilty of murder and shared evidence with the prosecution to put Kreeger away.

At 352 pages, KILL ALL THE LAWYERS is the shortest book in the series, but like the other two, it is expertly paced. I don't think it could get more harrowing, with Kreeger turning Steve's every good intention against him in a bid to tear apart his life with Victoria Lord and his nephew Bobby.

One mark of great characters is the range of stories they allow you to tell, from lightly comedic to absolutely grave. I was right there with them.

UPDATE: All four books in the Solomon vs. Lord series are now available for Amazon Kindle.

Zap2it.com: 'Star Trek' Goes Digital

The original "Star Trek" series is going back into syndication next month, but the show may not look quite the same as fans remember it.

CBS Paramount Domestic Television, which syndicates the series, is remastering the old episodes to include computer-generated effects and re-recorded music, in hopes of offering a vision of the future that doesn't look quite so dated. All 79 episodes of the show will eventually get the digital treatment, with several fan favorites undergoing the retouches first.

I'll have to get back to you on this...

Just Asinine

He has an uncanny memory for celebrity birthdays. He once slept on a box spring all night thinking it was just a really firm mattress. He writes poetry because he is weird.

That's the bio the editors of Asinine Poetry Journal assembled from various tidbits about my life. Click above for the September 2006 issue, featuring two of my poems. My thanks to the editors.