Eternally Yours

Posted by Bob Greenberger on April 28, 2006

Every so often I open my e-mail and find a nice surprise. A few weeks back, Jeff Youngquist, a colleague from my Marvel days, dropped me a note and asked if I’d write two pieces about The Eternals, the old Jack Kirby series that is being revived by Neil Gaiman and John Romita, Jr. this summer.

One piece would be about Kirby creating the series, the other about how it got shoe-horned into the Marvel Universe after he left the company in 1979. The articles would run on the Marvel website and maybe get collected somewhere down the road.

Sure, I said. Then, having a light day, I dove right into the work. Despite deadlines of April 24 and May 1, I delivered both early and then waited to hear back from my editor.

Today, after returning home from NYC (an interesting meeting that may lead to something cool), I did a quick check on line to see what I missed and I found this.

Fortunately, the comments have been mostly positive about the piece, including one from another old colleague, Rob Liefeld. (How many recall the one time we teamed up for a story?)

Congrats to Katie

Posted by Bob Greenberger on April 27, 2006

Normally, I don’t brag a lot about the kids, letting them either do it themselves, or work information into general posts.

Today, I’ll make an exception.

Kate received word yesterday that she has been selected to receive a 2006-2007 National Security Education Program David L. Boren Undergraduate Scholarship. Now, I don’t know who David L. Boren is, but I thank him.

This basically means the Federal Government has selected Kate out of who-knows-how-many college students to be one of a select few (only 128 last year) to receive a big chunk of money to use for her study abroad next year in Cairo and more or less guarantee her a job upon graduation. Basically, the Scholarship winners are placed in some government database and during her senior year, various agencies and departments will recruit students from this database. Kate will then be obliged to take a position for a one-year minimum which she is perfectly willing to do.

Kate has worked very hard at GWU’s Honors Program, studying Arabic and absorbing a ton of information about the Middle East. Along the way, she has also steadily waitressed and taken to competitive ballroom dancing. This has resulted in two solid years of crushing schedules with insane amounts of collegiate work. Atop it all, she had to apply for this program, write an essay and get recommendations.

This pretty much validates her efforts and recognizes her accomplishments as her college career reaches the halfway point. There’ll be a more tangible acknowledgement of this during the NSEP Orientation and Convocation in late May.

We could not be more proud of her.

Balticon

Posted by Bob Greenberger on April 26, 2006

This just in…

Seems that despite getting a late start on the arrangements, I will be a guest at next month’s Balticon. It’ll be a first for the family but we’ve always heard wonderful things about the show. Being over Memorial Day weekend though, we’ve tended to stay home, either watching or marching in the annual parade. Timing and opportunity has allowed us to make the pilgrimage south.

We were waiting for several variables to fall into place, including the folk running the long-time event making sure there’d be room for me on the schedule. There’s quite a guest list starting with Guest of Honor Neil Gaiman. I haven’t seen Neil in quite some time so it’ll be good to meet up once more.

Kate and her fellow Boogie Knights will be performing Sunday evening while I’ll be doing the Trailer Park previews Monday morning at 10 (certainly a familiar timeslot).

While Deb is disappointed it won’t be in Baltimore proper, we’re more than ready to spend yet another weekend at the Hunt Valley Inn (which Robbie has come to consider his home away from home). She is looking forward to meeting her fellow knit list pal Brenda Clough, who is also a fan of several trades I’ve edited. All proving the world remains a tiny place.

Whoever is attending, please make sure you say howdy.

The Budget, Night the First

Posted by Bob Greenberger on April 25, 2006

Well, that wasn’t as bad as I expected.

Last night was the RTM meeting when the public got a chance to weigh in on the budget. As in the past, no one came to debate any item on the town side. Clearly, no one cares one way or the other until their tax bill arrives. The room, though, was packed with parents, teachers, principals, Central Office and the Board of Ed. We also had a higher percentage of the Board of Finance in attendance, which makes sense given their fingerprints being on the budget.

As usual, the Democrats caucused at 7 to make sure we knew of any issues or concerns that may turn up on the agenda. We grew concerned when it was learned the Republicans turned up at 6:30 – we thought that meant there’d be a lot of partisanship brought to the agenda. Fortunately, as the night wore on, I was wrong.

Walking to the APR for the meeting, I was amused by the industriousness of one Brownie troop. To raise funds to attend this year’s Jamboree, they set up a station with baked goods and bottled water. Just before the gavel went down, one RTM member bought out a platter of brownies and passed them among the 47 of us.

We approved some appointments (which no one ever challenges) as well as a change in some contract language for one of the unions. So far so good.

We then moved on to the first of several bonding issues for non-recurring capitol projects. This was money for new computers and software for the schools plus some seed money to start a study on replacing the town’s 10 year old management systems, a program no longer supported by the manufacturing. We’re about a year behind on this so I’m glad it was getting done. However, for the last two years, a growing number of RTM members had been objecting to bonding for such items, since we spend about the same amount on these items every year. After lengthy debate, it got voted down, not because the RTM didn’t want to improve technology, but to show its displeasure to the budget makers that their objections had been ignored for too long. Now the scramble begins to find a way to actually buy the computers.

On the other hand, the next bond issue for things like new high school bleachers and a fire truck passed with much less debate and rancor.

We then tackled reallocating unspent bonding authority from two now completed school projects to allow a third school building to get a much needed new playing field. At caucus we were alerted to possible Republican concerns but fortunately they weren’t aired.

Then came the Tax Liens. For the first time since 1996, the town had decided to sell the liens on some 40 properties that owed over $10,000 and were more than a year delinquent. Apparently, the town felt enough was enough and it was time to clean the rolls and put some money back in the coffers. At the discussion portion, we learned that some of these properties owed taxes going back 7-8-9-10 years. The Republicans wanted a 90 day delay so we spent a lot of time debating the amendment. Frankly, after waiting six or seven years, I doubted 90 days was going to change anything. Everyone spoke about foreclosing on seniors and other horrible scenarios but it had been made clear each owner had been contacted repeatedly, social services were involved as necessary and it was time to act. The amendment was shot down and then the sale of the liens was narrowly approved with voting along party lines. Honestly, this is a non-partisan matter so I was surprised that this was the first real show of political muscle.

Finally, we came to the budget for both the town and schools. The Board of Ed had formally appealed $641,000 be restored out of a $2.6 million budget cut and that would be commented on last night but voted on at a special meeting next Monday. Each committee had to get up and give a report on the portion of the budget under their purview. Since I played acting secretary at the last meeting, I wound up speaking throughout the night, reporting on our discussions. Here, I finally cracked wise commenting we got the more interesting parts of the budget like the Assessors office, and I got a good chuckle out of that.

Anyway, after all the presentations we got into the comments, first from the body, then the town officials and finally the public. I’ll make it clear: no one was out to cut the budget; no one was out to hurt programs or affect the students. The key question seemed to be, was the $641,000 truly necessary or was there further fat to cut from the school budget to afford the appealed items? Just before we began, I buttonholed the Superintendent to confirm that the Special Ed and Gifted Student items on the appeal were not the only programs for those students. She confirmed that these were extras so Special Ed and Gifted students would be fine.

I’ll admit I walked in waffling on the issue. I think the Board budget has fat in it, I suspect they’re top heavy on administrators and they could absorb this cut. On the other hand, looking at how much of the budget was taken up with salaries, insurance, utilities and the like, I saw how little there was for the programs. The debate back and forth didn’t sway me and by the time the night ended, I still wasn’t sure.

As the parents spoke, we heard the same litany of appeals and arguments we heard at last year’s budget meeting as well as at last week’s committee hearing. Then came the One Parent. I saw it last year, the One Parent who will stand there and bare their soul with a very personal appeal on behalf of their child. In both cases, it was a child with Special Ed needs. The eloquence and raw emotion cut through the nonsense and made as compelling case as you could ask for. This mom was followed by the most passionate of the PTA leaders and you think this is the kind of guy you want as a teacher in all your kid’s classes. He was terrific.

When the final words were spoken, we were left with food for thought. Next week, we’ll handle the appeal at 7 and the final budget at 8. Meantime, the night wrapped around 11:45 and then a bi-partisan sub-committee reconvened to the Bear & Grill for a “socialable soda”. There, we decompressed for an hour or so and it was great having a chance to review what we heard and what we thought and learn a bit more about each other.

While next week shouldn’t be as long, I suspect it will be a bit more contentious. And no doubt, the lobbying e-mails, letters and phone calls will continue.

Wrapping up the Book Club

Posted by Bob Greenberger on April 23, 2006

Now that most of the Star Trek hoopla has died down, I wanted to comment on the fourth and final meeting of the mystery book group.

We discussed P.D. James’ An Inconvenient Job for a Woman, which was written in 1972 and introduced readers to her character, Cordelia Gray. Interestingly, I found the writing good, the structure sound but all the characters, especially Cordelia, exceedingly flat or two-dimensional. Cordelia was said to be 22 but nothing about the way she acted or was treated or thought or spoke indicated she was a 22 year old. When I voiced this, several people around the room (totaling nearly 50) nodded. One, though, said the opposite which surprised her since she normally agreed with my comments, which came as a pleasant surprise.

Anyway, our leader did not give us the usual context including biographical details about James, which I found a bit of a shame. He also actually let the conversation flow and didn’t keep us to his normally rigid agenda. As a result, we were kind of all over the place which was interesting.

Overall, I found myself pleased to have attended the sessions, glad to have sampled three authors I never thought I’d read. We closed the session with news that he will be back, probably in the fall, with another theme and set of books. Based on what we’d read, I’m inclined to return.

On my way in, the Librarian grabbed me to say that the baseball book leader has an idea for a third go-round and is putting the plans together. I was particularly pleased to hear that since his passion and knowledge is terrific.

More Trek Opinions

Posted by Bob Greenberger on April 22, 2006

In this small world of ours, it’s amazing how things come together. I had cut and pasted the Variety story about Star Trek and posted it to one of the newsgroups I participate with. Jackie Bundy, the moderator and all-around swell gal, dropped me a note thanking me for doing it while she was inundated with e-mail. She then mentioned a reporter from the LA Times was looking to talk to people for reaction, including authors.

I dropped the reporter a note, referring her to this site. She called and we spent a good 20-25 minutes talking. She called back and fact-checked a few things with me. The story ran today, and there are some fan reactions, including Jackie’s, and then this from me:

Robert Greenberger, Author of 4 “Star Trek” novels, and former editor of “Star Trek” and “Star Trek: Next Generation” comics for D.C. Comics.

How did you get into “Star Trek?”
I remember coming downstairs late one night and my father was watching TV and I saw people sparkling in and out of existence. One year later I got to stay up late enough to watch with him and I got fascinated. I blame my father.

What do you think about JJ Abrams helming the Star Trek 11 film?
This morning when I heard the news I thought, “JJ Abrams? “Star Trek” 11? Thank God! Fresh blood who knows how to tell a story!” When I read further that it was another backwards looking story I was disappointed. That’s not what the franchise needs. “Star Trek” is so much bigger than just Kirk and Spock. You feel you are running in circles instead of growing, so there is some concern.

Were there any rumors circulating in the fan world about the next film?
It was not rumored at all. There are rumors — the actors talk at the conventions and all. Rick Burman was talking about an 11th film, and when they named the guy writing the screenplay, everybody said, “Who?” But this is big and it came totally out of left field.

Is it possible for Kirk and Spock to have been in Academy at the same time?
Somebody just pinged me with a note about this…. There is a book in print called “Star Trek Chronology,” published by Pocket Books and it says Spock entered Starfleet Academy in the year 2249 and that Kirk was admitted to the academy in 2250…so it is plausible.

How would you rate your star trek fandom on a scale of one to ten?
Oh boy, I can’t speak Klingon. I’d put myself a notch or two below the top. Although I’ve been a big fan for a long long time.

The quotes are essentially accurate but not necessarily the best opinion and information I provided her. But, as they say, they spelled my name right. I’ll also tip my hat to Howard Weinstein for being the one to ping me with the accurate timeline info just when I needed it.

Star Trek Gains New Life

Posted by Bob Greenberger on April 21, 2006

For the last year or so, I’ve been at various conventions and one of the recurring panel themes has been “Star Trek at 40 – What Next?” All along I held to the conventional wisdom that the franchise got beat into the ground through Voyager and Enterprise and it was time for fresh blood. I then theorized that Paramount would be content to count revenues from the original series’ 40th anniversary and its licensing in 2006 and then the 20th anniversary hoopla in 2007 for Star Trek: The Next Generation and finally in 2008, with the money flow drying up they’d finally figure out what to do with either a film or TV series in Fall 2008 or early 2009.

Silly me.

Today’s Variety breaks the news that J.J. Abrams will produce and direct the eleventh Star Trek film. Abrams will be joined as co-producers by Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk. Abrams will write the script with his Mission: Impossible 3 writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The story will deal with the early days of James T. Kirk and Spock at Starfleet Academy.

The good news is that Paramount is finally getting past the Rick Berman years, which clearly didn’t work. Okay, they did in the beginning but clearly Berman failed with the last two franchises and certainly the last film so the studio is best with fresh blood.

Further, Abrams and team have done remarkably good work with Lost and Alias and the material seen to date on M:I3 looks great. Abrams, starting with Felicity, has shown an understanding of character and story structure, plus great pacing. I can easily see these guys producing a compelling Star Trek that will actually bring people back to the franchise.

But then what?

Is Paramount intending this as a one-shot to reinvigorate the franchise or the beginning of a new cycle of Kirk and Spock stories with a fresh cast? The article doesn’t address this point and that’s where the concern comes in. Star Trek is a rich universe with characters, races, technology and a timeline ripe with raw material for new stories. Going backwards, though, seems irresistible for Hollywood. First there was Harve Bennett’s attempt at a Starfleet Academy story with Kirk, Spock and McCoy which had a horrible script (I know, I read it) then there was Berman’s last gasp attempt at an eleventh film, also looking back to the time before Jonathan Archer.

To me, Gene Roddenberry got it right when he co-created TNG by moving everything a chunk of years forward. And that’s what’s needed for the franchise now. Come up with some status quo changing event, drop in a new crew with some new forward-thinking technology and let a talented crew of writers and producers go. I’ve suggested all along such an event could be the culmination of Spock’s goal: the reunification of Vulcan and Romulus, which changes the galactic balance of power. It honors the past and moves things forward.

I’ll be buying popcorn and awaiting the Abrams production but still worry about the franchise’s long-term health.

A Step Forward, a Step Backward

Posted by Bob Greenberger on April 19, 2006

A step forward, a step backward.

Today, I completed and delivered the manuscript to Cutting Edge Careers: Artificial Intelligence. My editor wrote back, “WOW. THIS LOOKS GREAT. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.” So, that pleases me. She also offered me another one of their database updates, this one on growing up in an inter-faith family. Since I know a little something about that, I accepted.

On the other hand, two publishing leads for freelance writing/editing that looked really hopeful in February finally got back to me in the space of 24 hours. One totally fizzled, one requires some more thought.

A step forward, a step backward.

A few job leads that looked promising also vanished in smoke this week. But, there were a bunch of new possibilities from my routine web search that I applied to.

A step forward, a step backward.

So, on the one hand, I feel like I’m treading water, getting nowhere with finding work. On the other, I continue to produce work and earn some money. I continue to be amazed by the sheer variety of work I have performed since January 7. Fiction, non-fiction; for print, for the web; for new companies, for the tried and true – a terrific mix and one I should never complain about.

Wish I just felt a little more settled but I’m also coming to realize it’s an adjustment. Last night Deb and I had dinner with my old college roommate. It is possible Deb and Michael haven’t seen each other in over a decade, none of us can recall the last time. Anyway, he asked me if I’d prefer being back in the office environment and my gut reaction was yes. Then I stopped and thought about it. With the exception of my time between Marvel and DC in 2002 and the current time, all I’ve known is the office environment. Now, I’m a social creature and love getting a gang together for lunch or being able to bop into people’s offices to shmooze or work. The isolation of sitting in the basement office, connected to the world via e-mail, IM and the phone, is a bigger adjustment than just the work. However, as I add more freelance assignments and stay busy, I’m making that adjustment to being home. There are also the home obligations that have become a positive factor – being here to see Robbie or having a fresh dinner ready when Deb returns home.

It’s a balancing act and one that won’t be solved today or even tomorrow.

The 37.5 Hour Easter Weekend

Posted by Bob Greenberger on April 17, 2006

A whirlwind weekend. Good Friday should have been a day of rest, but instead, it was packed as I tried to fit in work around shopping and prepping for our weekend visit to Washington, D.C. to see Kate. Since we were hosting a Sunday brunch, we needed to be really well prepared to avoid a last minute shopping trip while down there. This involved a second trip to the supermarket in the rain while rushing to the Post Office to get the taxes in the mail so we don’t forget in the expected exhaustion of post-weekend reality. Once we thought we had it all together, Deb carefully assembled each element of the meal on the kitchen counter, checking it against the menu, surveying supplies and deeming us complete.

It wasn’t until 8 p.m. we collapsed with our dinner (which I had fortunately made the night before).

Saturday, we were up and out by 6:40 a.m., stopping to pick up fresh bagels and much needed coffee. Despite the horrible fog, we actually sailed south and got to D.C. in well under 5 hours with two stops.

We stayed at One Washington Circle Hotel, one of two owned by GWU, and Deb sweet-talked the desk clerk into upgrading us to one of the suites with a nice kitchen. The room was very spacious, with a dining table for six as well as complete kitchen set-up. We stuffed everything in the fridge, unpacked and took a deep breath.

Kate and her dance partner Mikey had just finished a practice so they joined us for lunch. Kate selected a Thai place which meant Robbie, the adventurous one, could finally try this cuisine. It was quite good food which pepped us right up, and best of all, he liked what he sampled.

We spent the afternoon walking from campus to the Mall where we checked out the recently opened World War II Memorial. It’s a very nice, tasteful addition to the memorials dotting the city. I took full advantage of our stroll to pay my respects at my favorite, the Lincoln Memorial – appropriate since it was the anniversary of his death. We delightedly watched a family of ducklings swim the in the reflecting pool and listened to several bagpipe bands rehearse.

Back to campus, we grabbed a cool snack and then relaxed back at the hotel, time necessary for Deb to assemble part of the brunch which needed to soak and chill together over night. We changed for dinner and then went to the Bistro where Kate waitresses. I wanted to check out where she’s spent some fine hours over the last two years and sample the fare. I was very impressed by the varied menu and inexpensive pricing. Of course, she knew everyone working so chatted a bit.

The evening was devoted to Easter Vigil mass. Father Bob in Fairfield had spent time in D.C. and based on the service Deb wanted, recommended a church near the Georgetown campus. The place was packed by 7:30 and we got what were probably the final four seats together. It was wall to wall people and a wee bit warm so Rob and I both fought off nodding to sleep. The two-and-a-half hour mass was also an opportunity for some three dozen people to be baptized, receive first communion or be confirmed – they came from all walks of life, all ages, shapes and sizes. Speaks well for the parish, I suppose.

Afterwards, we went to the Cheesecake Factory for dessert and finally collapsed back at the hotel.

Sunday, Deb woke up early and decided to take her camera and go for a walk back to the mall to grab some exercise and take pictures without so many people crowding the scene. She felt invigorated by the walk while Robbie and I woke a bit later. While Deb was out, I got stuff into the oven and we starting setting up for brunch. Just after noon, Kate and friends arrived. Initially, we were told all total, we’d have 10 people for brunch. By Saturday we had some friends vanish and by Sunday, Kate walked in with Mikey and Bernadette from across her hall. So, in typical Deb style, we had food for at least a dozen and we were only six.

Her baked recipes worked out well – there was a savory strata and a sweet strata, bagels, homemade chicken salad, cold cuts, fruit salad, green salad, and Easter eggs plus bowls of jelly beans and assorted sweets. Every one ate and talked and enjoyed the experience.

While Deb and I cleaned up and readied to check out, Robbie and Bernadette accompanied the ballroom dancers to their open rehearsal. The first hour, I gather is for prospective newcomers to come and learn with the real practice starting at 2. We got there after practice had begun and watched as Robbie quickly mastered the beginning steps, impressing his teachers.

By 2, we said our goodbyes and headed for the car and home. I dreaded the trip back, recalling our 7 and 8 hour excursions. We had hoped the timing was in our favor so we’d be burning miles while people had their Easter Dinners. Well, with three stops, and some volume, we returned home in five hours and fifty-eight minutes so we consider that a good trip. Within 20 minutes we had the car unpacked, everything put away, and was ready to have some late dinner and relax.

All in all, a successful trip which all four of us enjoyed. I’ll be repeating this experience in a mere four weeks when I head back to collect Kate and her belongings – what a concept.

Happy Passover/Easter

Posted by Bob Greenberger on April 14, 2006

And another week comes to a close.

For the book on AI careers, I’ve conducted several interviews with some fascinating people. I only get the gist of what they’re talking about never having studied higher math or philosophy or programming. What they’re doing is remarkable and the changes to our lives in the years ahead look pretty bright. I have no clue how they’re doing this, but I know that people who read this book will see an endless horizon of possibilities so that’s cool. Conducting the final interview on Monday and then I can complete the manuscript and make the deadline.

Meantime, my marvelous pals in midtown have offered me a little writing for a project and we’ll chat about that once things are further along.

This morning I received the copyedited manuscript to “The Landing Party”, my story for Star Trek: Constellations and my editor, Marco Palmieri, did a fine job. Nothing to quibble with here and the story is likely stronger for his ministrations. In reviewing it, I remain quite pleased with the tale.

We’re off to Washington this weekend for Easter with Katie. The weather promises to be warm, damp but warm, and spring will certainly be in the air.

May everyone have a peaceful, joyous weekend.