World Con

Posted by Bob Greenberger on August 31, 2004

Like so many of my peers, I will be at WorldCon in Boston this weekend. For those attending, here’s my schedule. Please stop by and say hi at some point.

Friday, 3 p.m., SFF.net suite, Sheraton

Autographing

Saturday, 1 p.m., Trailer Park, Grand Ballroom

Substituting for Jeff Walker, I’ll be on hand to introduce trailers and take questions on upcoming movies.

Saturday 2:30pm Remembering Julie Schwartz (0.5 hrs) H206

Bob Greenberger, Barry Short, Jerry Weist

Julie Schwartz was a well-known SF and comics personaliby who died over the last year. He had an interesting history, having published the “first” fanzine, and then was a literary agent for numerous SF authors. He created the “silver age” of comic book superheroes, and had a hand in the creation of comics fandom. Remember him.

Saturday 4:00pm Kaffeeklatsch ConSuite

Kaffeeklatsches are an opportunity for fans to relax and drink coffee (or tea) with their favorite SF personality. Spend an hour with your favorite author or artist

Moving Day

Posted by Bob Greenberger on August 30, 2004

It was not at all a relaxed weekend.

A mere four days after returning from a wonderful, relaxed vacation, the dreaded day finally came.

We were up at 5 a.m. and on the road at 5:47 since Kate had a check-in time of Noon. Since there was no knowing what construction or other traffic delays
might creep up, we had to make sure there was plenty of time.

Turns out, we sailed without interruption. Even with a quick stop for breakfast, we were on the other side of Baltimore at 9:45. This necessitated a longer stop to kill time and even with that, we arrived in front of Lafayette Hall at 11:30. They had it very well organized so we were given 15 minutes to unload and were then given directions to a parking garage where had three hours free. The unloading took all of three minutes. The wait then began since the building has a tiny elevator, barely big enough for four people. With her on the 5th floor, there was little we could carry up the stairs easily.

Finally, our turn arrived and began moving her in. Her room is a double, small by anyone

Going for the Gold

Posted by Bob Greenberger on August 27, 2004

Well, I

And We’re Back

Posted by Bob Greenberger on August 26, 2004

It was wonderful.

It was relaxed, sunny, very warm, and nice. A great way to wind down the summer and spend some time with the entire family before Kate becomes a freshman. There

Don’t Fear the Song

Posted by Bob Greenberger on August 24, 2004

Milford is about twenty minutes north of us and every year they have their Oyster Festival. In addition to oysters by the ton, there’s a load of other attractions. Headlining the music this year is the Blue Oyster Cult, veteran heavy metal band from the 1970s.

The BOC put on a great live show in the ’70s, was one of the first bands to use lasers as part of the showmanship, had some great guitar riffs and solid songs. Why didn’t they ever break out? I gather it had a lot to do with never cracking the Top 40 in New York City. Back then, Top 40 airplay drove record sales much more than it does today. When they’re biggest hit, “Don’t Fear the Reaper,” was reaching the charts, AM powerhouse stations WNBC and WABC in NYC never played it.

The song, though, has become a standard on classic rock stations, usually alternating with “Burning for You” and “Godzilla” when they want their BOC quota for the week. Too bad, there’s plenty of other greats to choose from.

(OK, I’m prejudiced. Their lead singer, Eric Bloom, is my uncle. I grew up with the band’s music and shows.)

“Don’t Fear the Reaper” was a hit circa 1976. It’s been 28 years. Still, religious leaders in Milford have complained to the press that they feel the song glorifies suicide and the music (and by extension the band) is inappropriate for a family event.

In Wednesday’s Connecticut Post, the Reverend Joe Mixie opined, “I don’t think the band is representative of the Milford Community.” A “moral activist” named Tom Huebner said, “It is a shock factor. It sells. Suicide is never a good option. It is a sin.” Where was he when the theme to M*A*S*H gained popularity?

What I find interesting is the fact that the article does not take into account the 28 year old vintage of the music or the 30+ year vintage of the band. The song has never been blamed for someone taking their life. The band has rarely been at a concert where their anctics have caused local police problems (they have played too many multi-act all-day venues for me to absolve them of all such actions).

I remain amazed that people are making such a big deal out of one song, that is open to interpretation, and are ready to condemn the band without considering their current image. After all, the BOC members are mostly over, gasp, 50. They have wives and kids and unlike Ozzy Osborne, have never bitten the heads off chickens while performing.

I also suspect we have much larger things to worry about these days. November 2, for example.

Sundays

Posted by Bob Greenberger on August 22, 2004

Sunday night has been reserved as family night. The kids can

Dad

Posted by Bob Greenberger on August 18, 2004

While I’m on vacation, I have a few posts put aside. Today, I’m going to tell you a bit about my father.

WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

South of the Border

Posted by Bob Greenberger on

The Greenberger family will be away from home from Thursday through Tuesday. It’s a final fling with the four of us before the dynamic permanently changes as Kate heads off to be a freshman.

Deb had been hoarding the frequent flyer miles, just in case we needed them for Kate’s college of choice. Since Washington D.C. is more easily reached by Amtrak than airline, we had lots of mileage so it was time to splurge. She’s always wanted us to go south, giving the kids a Caribbean vacation. However, based on the flights available, we’ll be in Cancun.

Not too shabby, eh? We’re at an all-inclusive resort that has received some terrific notices at on-line hotel review sites. Not only do we have the run of the resort, but it shares reciprocal visiting rights with other places nearby, expanding our range of options. For the kids, this means access to the disco that has received good notices for the teens.

We could all use the break, especially since otherwise we wouldn’t have had any real vacation time together. Normally, during the last handful of summers, we’d pile in the car and go traveling. Despite the long hours, the kids really enjoyed our visits to Williamsburgh and Montreal among other locales. Not flying and dealing with those added complications have worked out for the best and we’ve had some terrific memories as a result.

It’ll be nice, especially since it means I get to read and relax and unwind. But, it also means I won’t be here to post. Fortunately, I stockpiled a few thoughts to share which our humble housemaster Glenn will post over the next few days.

I’ll be back on Wednesday with a happy recap.

Out Today

Posted by Bob Greenberger on August 17, 2004

In case anyone’s interested, today is the street date for You Did What? : Mad Plans and Great Historical Disasters . Edited by my old pal Bill Fawcett, it contains essays on disastrous decisions that probably made sense at the time. I have three essays in the book including the New Coke, the David Begelman scandal at Columbia Pictures, and the Iranian Hostage Rescue disaster. I’m joined in the book by a variety of people including colleagues Paul Kupperberg, Laura Ann Gilman, Keith DeCandido and Brian M. Thomsen. I’m getting my sole contributor’s copy in a day or so and look forward to seeing how it all came together.

Also, I just got my page proofs for the Godzilla book from Rosen. At 6000 words, it’s my shortest book for them, but the one that needs the most attention. The filmography runs over twice the allotted space given how many features the big guy’s starred in. Also, the copy editor seems confused by the differing timelines employed by the film series, which I discuss in chapter three, so I need to be clearer. At least the pictures are fun. I’m also amused by the captions someone added as placeholders. The one under a picutre from the 1998 Tri-Star disastrous version of the legend read, “1998 Version that Sucks,” which more or less sums it up.

At Blog Speed

Posted by Bob Greenberger on

There are times I am amazed at how fast news travels. When I first posted, a mere few weeks back, I happily told a circle of firends I share a mailing list with. But, from there, it grew. Mark Evanier directed people my way, someone at the DC Comics message boards also announced its arrival and so on. Before I knew it, I was receiving e-mails and calls from people who made sure to mention that they had seen it. One benefit was it reconnected me with my old pal Diane Duane, who has, to my surprise, added me to her list of blog links.

So my original goal of staying connected with people between publishing appearances, seems to be working.

On the other hand, I am also reminded that these are not private notes and discussions with my pals. Anyone can type in the address and see what’s on my mind. Yesterday I got some opinions and support for my frustration with Cablevision. However, had that been me bìtçhìng publicly about my job, DC would have every right to be pìššëd at me.

I’m reminded of all this by this interesting article in The Washington Post about Jessica Cutler. As portrayed here, she posted thinking only her gal pals would be reading about her sexual exploits on Capitol Hill. Instead, others found it and shared the link and suddenly she was fired. This unwanted celebrity has resulted in her posing for (who else) Playboy and a book contract. Still, there are other examples in the piece to remind us of the responsibility and yes, even risk, that comes with posting.