The Sound of the Crowd

…on a similar occasion, if a man cannot manage his native language, how can he manage his native land? Answer: With a lot of help. This story is a metaphor for the entire Bush presidency.

Damn your eyes!

The retired army general who has actually fought in and led men into battle, or the star of “An Officer and a Gentleman?”

This is from a few years ago…but it’s well worth reading. Leo and Diane Dillon are a married team of illustrators whose work it seems I have been looking at all my life. They’re best known for their award-winning children’s books including Why Mosquitos Buzz In Peoples Ears and the covers of several of Harlan Ellison’s books. My favorites include the covers of Strange Wine and The Essental Ellison–for which they turned Ellison himself into a house as wonderous as his best writing. Unfortunately neither of those are included in the gallery linked by Ellison’s name, but what’s there ain’t chopped liver.

Their distictive and almost immidiately identifiable style also graced the cover of a couple of records I remember fondly from my childhood. These were recordings of an old radio show called Let’s Pretend that dramatized stories like The Magic Cuckoo. Anyway, they’re some of the best there is at what they do, and I highly recommend following the link up top there–it leads to excerpts of an interview with the couple, as well as a further link to a gallery of their work.

…took a long time to drop. More Michael Jackson stuff. If you read it, see if the same three words jump out at you as they did me.

“Bitter custody battle.”

That’s the parents of the boy who is believed to be the accuser in the new case. Lord know I’m not saying Jackson is innocent–or guilty, I’m a wait till it’s legally proven kind of guy–but those three words suggest to me an all too belivable scenario.

…mama I don’t wanna die

Do you need to know more?

…could even name 21 books, period, let alone his favorites? Unlike say, well…this guy.

…knows no bounds.

Actually, the writer of comic books and other stuff has a lot of good ideas. But tonight, I particuarly like this one.

(Since I don’t seem to be able to link directly to it, the entry titled “WAIT…SAY THAT AGAIN…?” is the one I mean.)