TODAYS VIEWS

iPHONE, PART DEUX

2008-07-13T20:35:00.000-07:00

This is a story about things going right for a change. Of course, for something to go right it first has to go wrong. I don't think I've ever bought anything technical without having some problems with it at first, and the new iPhone hasn't broken that trend.

On day one the Apple store was unable to set up my phone to send emails. Receive, yes, but not send. And we copied the same outgoing server information I had on my last phone, a Palm Treo 650, also sold to me by AT&T. Now, to be fair, the Apple folk said up front that my Internet service, Roadrunner through Time Warner, was sometimes a problem. They got everything else set up perfectly including their new MobileMe (still a dumb name) which through some sort of magic I'm sure Harry Potter isn't yet old enough to learn, if I make a calendar or address book change on one of my Macs anywhere in the world it pretty much instantly makes that change on all my Macs, the iPhone included. So, before I even left the Apple store my address book and calendar appeared on the iPhone and my home computers were miles away. Although most everything worked wonderfully, I still couldn't send emails.

When I got home I called Time Warner and they gave me the new codes which worked.

On day two I realized my voice mail didn't work. Nobody at either the Apple Store or the AT&T store could figure out why. I called Apple Care and they had me reinstall an entirely new system, but that didn't work either. When I hit the voicemail control, it did nothing. So I called AT&T technical support and a chipper young female laughed and said I'd be surprised but they had received tons of similar calls that day. I said I wasn't surprised. One day old new tech. Of course something was going to go wrong. Ultimately, all she had to do was remotely turn off my voicemail from wherever she was and then turn it back on. And it worked. Reinstalling my entire system turned out to be unnecessary. In fairness to the Apple Care guys, if you look at the iPhone manual, which is NOT included with the phone so they emailed it to me, it is the first thing they tell you to do if something goes wrong.

On Day two and a half, after my voicemail was fixed and after I had reinstalled my system, I discovered I couldn't get into the Internet where I had no problem before. No Internet meant also no email of any kind as well as no GPS. Noel and I had dinner that night with Elfquest's ever fabulous Wendy Pini and she insisted we go to the Apple Store near her. It was late and I thought I'd take care of it the next day, but it's hard to argue with Wendy, especially when all she wants to do is help. We got to the Apple Store while it was still open but the door was shut and nobody new was let in since they were finishing setting up new customer's iPhones. But I mentioned my problem to the woman at the door and she looked at the phone as if her baby had done something wrong and said "I'll get someone to help." A few seconds later someone came to the door, cast a spell on my phone and within seconds everything was working perfectly. On Day Three everything is still working perfectly and I love the phone all over again.

Through it all I was a basket case, but in every instance, the folks at the Apple Store, the AT&T Store, AT&T tech support and Roadrunner Internet spent an inordinate amount of always cheerful time trying to make the problem go away. Considering the iPhone was literally one day old it is amazing so many folk actually knew what to do. And even when the stores were closed, they went an extra mile to help.

We complain so often about tech support I just wanted to say that even when folk didn't have the answer, they tried to find it and worked at it until they got the right answers. This was a tech support story that went well.

TEST

2008-07-12T16:28:00.001-07:00

This is a test to see if I can blog from my new iPhone.

Guess it worked. yay.

Sent from my iPhone

DARK KNIGHT

2008-07-09T19:14:00.001-07:00

Reviews have already been posted, even by Variety and the Hollywood Reporter, so I thought I'd finally add in my own. Dark Knight is absolutely wonderful. This may be the first "super-hero" movie that works as an actual crime drama with deep characterization as well as first class action movie. The reviewers have been heaping praise on Heath Ledger's Joker and honestly he deserves it all, and more. Not because of his untimely passing, but because he is simply that good. Months ago I saw some of his dailies and even in that rough footage he shone. The Joker is Batman's greatest foe for a reason; he draws all attention to him, and this Joker, reconceived for the screen, is unquestionably the best I've seen in comics, TV or movies. This Joker is real, and he's demented, but somehow you still love to watch him. For the first time I can believe him.

Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne and Batman, so powerful in Batman Begins, is even better here. His is a portrait of a tortured soul trying to find a way out. Aaron Eckhart does a wonderful turn as Harvey Dent. Special call out to Gary Oldman whose Lt. Gordon is the perfect study of a man who is overwhelmed but simply won't give up. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, also reprising their roles, are, as always, spot on right. And Maggie Gyllenhaal has strength and power as Rachel Dawes. I won't put down Katie Holmes, but she never looked or acted like she could be an Assistant DA. I can believe Gyllenhaal.

I went to the Imax screening and also playing at the theater, although not in Imax, was Iron Man, Hulk and Wanted. In anyone's wildest imagination could you have ever expected to see four well reviewed comic book movies out in the same year let alone at the same month. I never read the Wanted comic so I don't know how honest it is to the original material, but Iron Man, Hulk and especially Batman, stuck extremely close to what makes those characters work and they have benefitted from it.

Dark Knight is a wonderful film. Others will review its story so I won't bother, but this is a movie no comic fan can afford to miss. In fact, it's a film anyone who loves the movies should not miss. It's that good.

BUSHED

2008-07-09T12:32:00.000-07:00

NEW FEATURE

2008-07-07T21:26:00.000-07:00

In the past I've tried to minimize the Blogger look to this page but for awhile I've decided to put back the top blue border in order to let anyone enter a word search to see if I've discussed the subject sometime in the past. For instance, if you type in "Raven" it will bring up every blog I've mentioned Raven in. I'm not sure I like the look of that bar, but we'll see. If any of you decide to use it to find past blogs or search a topic, let me know if you like it. If not, it gets tossed. This blog is a work in progress.

For those interested, marvwolfman.com is actually three different sites. The main site is my actual website. It features articles on writing, pages on some of my projects, my resume and much more. I pay for that site and use the Dreamweaver website software to compose it. The site is hosted by Earthlink.net and as I say they charge for the bandwidth. To go to it just click on any of the links to the top right that is listed as my site.

The second part of this site is this blog. I used to do this in Dreamweaver as well but a year or two back I moved it over to Blogger, which is a free service by Google. I made the move in order to make archiving easier. It also allows for you to post your comment on my blogs. If I'm out of town I can go to a public internet cafe and use their computers to log onto my Blogger account and add photos and text or I can blog from my cell phone and post it here, too. Many people use Blogger for their blogs (and some even try to get you to donate to what is a completely free service). Blogger offers a number of designs, but I customized it completely so this page - the one you're looking at - is not one of their templates but is the same design I used before moving over to Blogger. Further, rather than post it to the free Blogger's blogsite page, I publish to my own domain so it's on my site. So, in point of fact, although this page is done by Blogger and the rest of the site is done with Dreamweaver, they are both on the same site.

The final part of the site can be found by clicking on my travel photo section. The photos and movies are all on what used to be called dot mac (.mac) but now goes under the ridiculous name MobileMe. MobileMe is also a paid service but the website part of it is just one of many things a Mac user gets when they sign on. The photo page is on the Mac site and not my own, but it makes no difference as all you need to do is click on the words and you're taken there just as fast as if it were on marvwolfman.com. But it does allow me to put the higher bandwidth photos and movies on a different site which somewhat keeps down the cost to this one.

And that, I'm sure, is probably more than you ever wanted to know about how this website is done. So, if you like this site (and remember the website, unlike this blog, does cost cold, hard cash) we gratefully accept donations, large or small. Just click on the PAYPAL link at the top right of the page and send whatever you feel like. But even if you don't, I'll still be doing this as often as I can because I enjoy the give and take.

RAVEND

2008-07-07T14:10:00.000-07:00

The final issue of the Raven mini went on sale last week, but I was away and forgot to mention it. All five issues are out now. The story is getting some really nice comments, so give it a looksee, please, and let me know what you think.

HOME

2008-07-07T12:49:00.000-07:00

I'm back from CONvergence in Minneapolis, tired but happy. Because of some last minute vital meetings and such I wasn't certain I was going to make it, but I am extremely pleased I did. CONvergence is a convention put on by people who simply want other people to have a good time. I can go on and on about it, but Mark Evanier brought his computer to Minneapolis and blogged about it there, so just go to his site and read up on it. What I will say is if you simply want a really good time at a convention, you can't do better than check out next year's CONvergence. I want to thank everyone, especially Mark, my wrangler. Great time. Great con.

CONSIDER THE ALTERNATIVE

2008-06-27T23:10:00.000-07:00

I haven't told people why I haven't been able to blog much, but now the truth can be told.
Thanks, Ger

PAGING MARY RICHARDS! PAGING RHODA MORGANSTERN!

2008-06-26T15:40:00.000-07:00

A quick note to let everyone know that I'll be attending CONvergence in Minneapolis from Thursday July 3 to Sunday July 6th. If you haven't been to CONvergence before, I can pretty much guarantee you'll like it. And should you not care for the amazing array of guests they have and programs they hold, heck, the Mall of America is just a hop, skip and a jump away. C'mon down and say hi.

BUSYBUSYBUSY

2008-06-24T20:42:00.000-07:00

That's right, LD, I've been way busy working on comics, a movie project and a game script which explains why I haven't posted these past few days. But assuming I get through them soon, I should be back in a day or two at most.

JUST ASKING

2008-06-17T10:04:00.000-07:00

Following up on yesterday's blog on California new law permitting gay marriage, I was reading an article on the reaction to it. There were mentions of protesters carrying signs saying things like "God is your enemy," as well as others continuing to claim that U.S. Soldier fatalities are God's punishment for us tolerating homosexuality. I just have one question which I know is dumb, but I'll ask it anyway: according to Intelligent Design, God created us. And while I often don't like some of the stuff I've created, I'm not God. I mean, how could he hate something he created? After all, God's perfect.

Seems to me, if you believe in intelligent design as opposed to the chaotic theory of evolution, you have to accept that God designed gay people, too. And if gays are God's work, shouldn't you not be carrying signs that say God is your enemy? Couldn't that possibly make God angry at you for hating something he designed, intelligently?

Just asking.

FABULOUS WEDDINGS

2008-06-16T19:34:00.000-07:00

Starting at 5:01 PM tonight gay and lesbian couples in California were able to get married. You know, the Right Wing has been warning us for years that gays getting married would destroy the institution of marriage, and lo and behold it turns out they were right. At 5:02 PM, husbands and wives all over the state turned against their spouses and shot them. According to Police, twenty-two million funerals will be held this coming Thursday.

I mean, who knew?

GOOD COP, BAD COP, SAME COP

2008-06-16T15:38:00.001-07:00

Here's the news: Former Hillary Clinton campaign manager, Patti Solis Doyle, who had been fired by the Clinton campaign, has been hired by the Obama campaign to work with them. So, is this good news or bad news for Hillary's chances to become VP.

Well, that depends on who you read. The Huffington Post utterly despises Hillary. During the primary battle they attacked her constantly and mercilessly. And even though I became an Obama supporter, I found it impossible to read through their biases. So it's not a surprise that their headline is: Obama Hires Solis Doyle: A Bad Omen For VP Hillary. In their article, which can be seen HERE, they say, 'One thing the move does suggest, insiders believe, is that Hillary Clinton's chances of being tapped for the vice presidency are now slim to nil. "This alone means Hillary won't be the V.P. choice," wrote one (pundit). The article has two updates. One is hilarious as it says, "Either one of two things happen," said the bundler. "Hillary is selected as vice president and they fire Patti, or Hillary is not going to be the vice president."

Well, duh, yeah. Either she'll get it or she won't. Stating the obvious is always a plus. Don't you love it when such hard, factual news is given?

Except that on the Time Magazine site, their link to their own article reads, "A Good Sign for Hillary?" Their article is also news and fact free. Among their wonderful quotes, which can be read in their entirety HERE, is: "The question is: Has Solis Doyle, who started her career as Hillary’s aide when she was First Lady of Arkansas (and coined the term Hillaryland in 1992), forgiven Hillary for throwing her under the bus after Super Tuesday?"The New York Times also covers the event, seen HERE, and at least when they speculate they label is as such: "Could that mean, tea-leaf reading time, that Mr. Obama is really considering Mrs. Clinton for the No. 2 position, and wants to have an ally of her in place to ease the way? Perhaps

"Or perhaps not. More likely, the Obama campaign was looking for a high-profile spot to put Ms. Doyle, given her previous position, and most of the major roles in Mr. Obama's campaign are filled." Once again she'll either get the job or she won't. You know, I didn't need to read tea leaves or the New York Times to figure out that.

I listen to a ton of political shows and read a whole slew of political articles, and things like this only remind me how true William Goldman's famous quote about Hollywood is: "Nobody knows anything."

I just wish if they don't know something they'd shut up about it.

IF ADVENTURE HAD A PERMANENT JOB

2008-06-15T17:59:00.000-07:00

In his current movie, Indiana Jones says he's a tenured Professor. But is he really?

BETTY BOOP MEETS DRACULA

2008-06-11T11:41:00.001-07:00

Years ago at Marvel I wrote a comic called "The Tomb of Dracula." Later on I wrote "The Curse of Dracula" at Dark Horse. In between those I wrote "The Tomb of Goofula" for Disney and "The Sub-Basement Of Dracula" for Bongo Comics. Obviously I've got an interest in Dracula that can't be explained. Here's a Dracula I didn't work on but I thought you'd like to see it anyway.

ONE HORNED NOT PURPLE PEOPLE EATER

2008-06-11T09:25:00.000-07:00

A unicorn deer has been found in Italy. End of the world imminent. READ HERE.

FLUNKING WRITING 101

2008-06-10T08:18:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note today as I'm in crunch time mode. Among the things I'll be doing at Comicon International, San Diego this year is conducting another of my writing seminars. I've been doing this for the past four years and each year more people attend it, the room gets bigger and the time slot is better. This year I'll be talking about character creation. I will go over the basics, suggest things you look for as you create characters, and talk about how to use your creations in stories people will care about. But I also intend to keep it shorter than usual (I usually talk fast to cram in as much as possible) because I've discovered so many of you have specific questions that I want time to answer them, too. So mark Saturday, 1:30-2:30pm in ROOM 30CDE in your calendar and I'll see you there.

I DON'T LIKE EVEN TAKING OFF MY SHOES

2008-06-06T11:17:00.001-07:00

The TSA has unveiled their new body scanners at ten airports around the country. These can scan through clothing and reveal your body parts, right down to "the sweat on your back." Based on the reactions mentioned in this USA Today article, only 4% of the people going through them have problems with this. Others go along with it in the name of security. Ben Franklin's quote* certainly comes to mind and I have to wonder why there isn't a bigger protest over this. Has the very concept of personal privacy been completely lost? To read the article, CLICK HERE. By the way, notice the very comic booky name of the former Homeland Security Inspector General who loves the idea. It's no wonder. I mean he's been X-Ray visioning us for years now.

*"They who would give up essential liberty for temporary security deserve neither liberty or security."

WE'LL LEAVE A LIGHT ON FOR YOU

2008-06-05T15:23:00.001-07:00

According to this month's Lighthouse Digest, a lighthouse that was thought torn down in Cape Cod in the 1920s has shown up in Point Montara, California. You can read the story HERE. I think that's great, but my only question is - there's a monthly magazine about lighthouses?

THE RAVENING

2008-06-05T13:50:00.000-07:00

I mentioned previously that Raven #4 has come out and I wanted to mention it again because I'm noticing that many fans are starting to take a second look at the book and are liking what they see. The art, by Damion Scott, was initially attacked because, well, it's not what people expected. As opposed to the expected George Perez style, it's very manga but with a twist. When I saw Damion's very first pages I absolutely loved them - they absolutely complemented the story I was writing - but they are so different from any conceivable assumption of what Raven would look like I think many people, well, let's be frank, they hated it. But now I've noticed on a few boards that some fans are saying that the art is starting to appeal to them. Despite a highly unique style they can see Damion's story telling is incredibly strong and his characters are filled with life and movement. I'm really pleased because I so like what he's done. Also, they are finally getting past the art and commenting on the story - I've been waiting for this - and they like it. I actually have absolutely no idea how the book has sold (I purposely have not asked) but I would like to say that you can probably find all the previous issues at your local shop, or on-line, and catch up quickly. The story's only five issues long so you've got only one issue to go. Give Raven a try. I really do like the story and I think if you read what's already come out, you will, too.

ON NOTICE

2008-06-04T10:46:00.001-07:00

If you're a member of the TV Academy, every year around Emmy Season you are sent DVDs of almost every TV show aired the previous year. Sometimes you get a simple DVD with one or two episodes on it, sometimes you are sent the entire season's shows, sometimes the boxes they are sent in are simple cases, and sometimes they are elaborate bordering on insane. And sometimes, like the one that arrived in this morning's mail, they are fun and totally within the concept of the show.

USA Network sent out a box which contained two slightly smaller cases. Beyond the DVDs, one contained some weird psi-reading cards as an advertisement for their show Psych, and some OCD cards for Monk. They were cute, but the other box, much larger and all white, was just plain fun. Enclosed in this blank white box was the entire season of their new spy-show Burn Notice, another really good USA series that simply wants to entertain without some serious, deep message. I am a mild fan of Monk, a bigger fan of Psych, which to me is way underrated, and also a fan of Burn Notice. All three reflect the kinds of shows "they used to make" only with a new century attitude.

But back to the blank, white box. Besides a full season's worth of discs (how cool is that?) the box contained a flashlight that, when turned on, revealed all manner or previously invisible writing on all parts of the box. You know, sometimes when you get these Emmy screeners in containers that are too large or too bulky or too ridiculous you try to figure out what the people who sent them to you were thinking; who would want something like this filling up the limited space in your house? But with this USA box, you can get great mileage showing it to your friends and family for weeks to come. This is a fun container, USA, one that is in perfect tune with your show. Whoever came up with it, pat yourself on the back.

NOW THIS MAKES SENSE

2008-06-03T16:08:00.000-07:00

Vanity Fair says former President Clinton had an affair with actress Gina Gershon. Both of them vehemently deny it. I don't know if it's true or not - and honestly I don't care - but at least I can say if it's true it makes a heckuva lot more sense than the last time. To read about it, CLICK HERE.

Gina Gershon. You betchum.

POWER ON!

2008-06-03T15:29:00.000-07:00

House owning. I love it.

One day last week my electrical power went out. No. That's not accurate. Only some of my electrical power went out. Not all, but some. Power was down in every room, but sometimes only in different parts of the same room, actually. So I flipped the circuit breakers, checked the lights; they were still out. Flipped them again. Still nothing. So I lugged out the phone book and started looking for local electricians. Just as I connected, the lights came back on by themselves. I hung up and went on with my life.

The next day Noel and I decided we'd have an electrician come to check it out, and, while he was here, add a few needed electrical outlets in places that don't have any. They came, showed us frayed wires, etc. We made an appointment for them to come back, and once again went on with my life.

A few nights later, at about 2 in the morning (and I have no idea why we were up to know this) the lights went back out. Again, only some of the lights. We did everything once more and once again they didn't work. We went back to sleep thinking they'd come back on as they had before by morning.

Only they didn't. Since the electricians weren't supposed to come for another two days, I called the Department of Water and Power and they were out here in less than an hour. They found an open line somewhere, got back my power, and I once more went on with my life, in this case it meant heading out to the Book Expo America, which I chronicled elsewhere.

Although we had power, we still wanted the electrician to come. Our wires were horribly frayed; even I could see that. And we still needed those extra outlets. So this morning about 9AM, they showed up, on time. And they turned the power off. Sometimes I forget how much we need electricity. My computer couldn't be used, but I do have a laptop and an extra battery, so I made do and I wrote up the work I needed for my meeting next week. But there were no lights which made the house pretty dark, even in the middle of the day. I couldn't cook lunch. And of course the TV was down so I couldn't hear the endless dronings on about whether Hillary was stepping out of the race or not tonight.

Anyway, all the lights are now back on. We have our extra outlets which I've tested and they work. Hopefully everything is back to normal, or as normal as things ever are. I mean, I rattled on about this but didn't even bother to tell you how yesterday all three toilets in our house decided to quit at the same time.

And you know, I don't think I will.

QUOTH THE RAVEN, TWO MORE DAYS!

2008-06-02T17:41:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note. On sale this week is DC Presents, Raven #4.

WHY READING IS BAD FOR YOUR BACK!

2008-06-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

I've spent the past few days at the BEA, that's Book Expo America, the new version of the ABA - the American Booksellers Association (if I remember correctly) and I am exhausted. The BEA hasn't been in Los Angeles since forever - in fact I'm probably wrong but I think this is the first time it's been here since it became the BEA. The old ABA was a cornucopia of publishers hawking their wares, authors oozing out of every nook and cranny, freebie books, shoulder bags and crowds and crowds of people in the publishing business.

This year, besides many comic companies having their own booths spread out across the main hall, there was an entire aisle for graphic novels in the secondary hall which was filled mostly with kids books. Exhibitors ranged from Dark Horse to a surprisingly small Marvel booth, to Diamond Distributing and even smaller companies like Go! Comi, the manga publishers (Hi Dave & Audry). This year the BEA actually celebrated graphic novels and comics with a graphic novel breakfast where store buyers could meet 'n' eat with some of comicdom's shining stars.

Anyway, as I was saying, there used to be tons of free books and advanced reading copies available at the ABA. But with time and falling sales, there were fewer and fewer as the years went on. I don't know what's happened, but at this year's BEA there were more freebies than ever before. They were literally forcing you to take their books. Folk were standing in the aisles handing them out to you as you walked past. Authors were crowding behind tables signing and there was sometimes no way to politely say no to a book you didn't want since the author was there. As for carrying the books, you used to have to search out shoulder bags. This year they were also being heaved upon you as if they contained a pox and the publishers had to get rid of them as quickly as possible. I brought several shoulder bags with me but I never had to use them as there were were more available, and of better quality, than ever before. Again, I never had to look for them; they were put into my hands. There is a stack of shoulder bags in my house that is more than 3 feet high.

There were also many, many celebrities hawking their books. Noel and I walked past Leonard Nimoy and his son who were signing his book of naked fat people photographs to run into William Shatner a few aisles over, signing his autobiography. We passed Hugh Hefner, Mark Spitz and a zillion other notables, and more than once or twice I even found myself signing autographs when I least expected it. The best was when I got in a line to get an autographed book from a writer who noticed my badge and said my writing on Tomb of Dracula heavily influenced his work. He even insisted on getting a photo of the two of us. That was a great moment.

One really wonderful thing is there seems to be a lot of books about chocolate coming out because almost every aisle had a publisher handing out bars as a giveaway along with their book. Also, at around 3:30 every afternoon many publishers starting handing out food and wine; a sort of mini-party. You could nibble your way across the floor with cheese, crackers, fruit, pizzas, etc. and regain some lost strength. My favorite was the absolutely incredible and super-large cupcakes given out at the DK Books booth to celebrate their book from the CRUMBS Bake Shop. As far as I can tell they weren't giving out copies of that book, but based on the cupcakes, I have got to get it. Wow. There was enough sugar in those to revitalize me for several hours.

Which is a good thing, actually. At noon time I was in line to pay for food at one of the food concessions in the LA convention center when the person who rings up the amount got up and left. Then another and another. Right at lunchtime when there was at least a million people getting ready to eat, everyone who worked at the food places WENT ON STRIKE. They just got up and left. While everyone else in line stayed there wondering what was going on, I walked off and found a manager, paid him and took my sandwich and soda. I was done while everyone else still was waiting in line as the managers slowly figured out how to do the job.

I ran into many friends and had a chance to catch up with people I hadn't seen in years. So it was a great time, except for that the fact that I'm still in pain from carrying all those freebies. On day one my shoulder was hurting so much I stopped by one of the massage booths and got a 15 minute shoulder, neck and back massage. But I was still in some pain that night. Note to self: I'm not as young as I used to be. Now, I guess I could have taken fewer books, but how do you tell these folk who are throwing them at you that you don't exactly need a 900-page book on "Post Apocalyptic Needle Pointing for Dwarfs?"