A New Pulp Adventure

Posted by Bob Greenberger on August 10, 2006

People seem to lack a sense of history. Entering a field or profession, I strongly feel they should have some understanding of how things got to be the way they are. We should understand the pioneers of our field and those who shaped the business we choose to be in.

Baseball players, for example, need to know about Babe Ruth and perhaps more importantly guys like Curt Flood who challenged the owners. Any minority player should understand what the Negro League players endured in the days of segregation.

The same can be said for any field.

Me, I’m fascinated by pop culture and read up on the way it has developed. As a writer and comic book professional, I devour histories such as Gerard Jones’ wonderful Men of Tomorrow and eagerly await the interviews with surviving Golden Age talents in Roy Thomas’s Alter Ego.

As a result of having a good solid working knowledge of the past, I could fully appreciate Paul Malmont’s exciting debut novel The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril. Set in 1937, it chronicles an adventure that cleverly uses the pulp writers of the day as his protagonists. The pulps, after all, were where so many features and writers that make up today’s pop culture got their start. It’s where Tarzan first swung on a vine and where a Cimmerian named Conan crossed the arid steppe.

At the time of the story, the best selling pulp of all was The Shadow, followed closely by Doc Savage. Street & Smith, now known best for their sports magazines, were the kings of pulp magazine publishing and seemed to rarely fail. Writing those prestigious titles under house names, were Walter Gibson and Lester Dent. They make for very unlikely heroes in a story ripped from the very pulps that gave them careers.

But it’s not only about them as they are aided and abetted by a young upstart named L. Ron Hubbard and a guy going by the name Otis B. Driftwood (which made me laugh out loud when I first saw the name). The book is filled with cameos from the likes of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel and even Michael Chabon’s Joe Kavalier has a walk on.

The story in many ways starts with the unnatural passing of little known pulp writer H.P. Lovecraft and involves the political machinations of China as Japan attempts to control the mainland and Hitler’s troops gather force in Europe.

Malmont’s plotting is a delight, his real-life heroes feel like people and his attention to period detail, especially Chinatown, keeps the book engaging.

If you know the era, the book has an extra punch but as a rollicking adventure from a by-gone time, it’s a good, solid read.

The Primary Results

Posted by Bob Greenberger on August 9, 2006

You couldn’t ask for a better day to hold a Primary. The sun was shining; the skies clear, the temperature hovering around 80. State officials were optimistic for a 40% Democratic voter turnout but being August, no one was certain. People are on vacation, they’re enjoying their time outdoors and thinking about voting may not be high on the priority list.

The one thing you could count on was that people would not forget. In the past week, phones around Connecticut were ringing off the hook as automated pitches from candidates and candidate supporters were arriving — well it certainly seemed it — hourly. As interesting as it is to come home and find a voicemail from Bill Clinton, I was more impressed by the personalized call Kate got from Samuel L. Jackson, reminding her to go see him in Snakes on a Plane. Yesterday alone, my house received six calls from the four candidates.

District 8 had gaps in its scheduled polling coverage but apparently we had people pull extra time so there were fewer dead spots than I had feared. When I arrived just after 6 p.m., we were well covered. Voting by then was showing a 37 percent turnout and the commuters were just starting to return home so the last two hours should be busy.

Robbie voted and visited with my fellow District members, Martha Brooks and Mitch Fuchs. I was also surprised to see that the first voter for me to greet was Brian Augustyn, my fellow freelance Platinum Studios editor and longtime pal. As Mitch needled Robbie, Brian and I played some catch-up.

The remainder of my shift was uneventful as people showed up in blips. I’d thank them for coming and as they left, offered them a flyer promoting the big Democratic rally coming on Saturday. Most were friendly, several politely interested, many complained about the phone calls.

Deb turned up around 7:50 so we could vote and I could get a ride home. At 7:59, a car pulls up and the driver asks, “Do I have to be affiliated with a party to vote?” Yes, you have to be a Democrat. Sigh. Moments later, a car pulls up and a guy wants to vote. We tell him he has a minute so he hastily parks and runs into the building. OK, time to pack up and go home. No, a woman races into the lot and is told it’s 8 and the last voter has just gone in. She really wanted to vote so we suggest she try to get in. Sure enough, she became the day’s last voter.

At 9, I switched from the Met game to the local cable news channel to see the results and was not at all surprised to see that Ned Lamont beat out Joe Lieberman and that John DeStefano narrowly edged Dan Malloy. What was interesting to note and I remain surprised my local rag, The Connecticut Post, didn’t cover it is that Mary Glassman, Malloy’s running mate for Lt. Governor, beat out Scott Slifka, DeStefano’s guy by the hugest margin of the night. One wonders why.

Malloy did the classy thing of saying he was going to work for his friend DeStefano’s candidacy and was standing behind the party.

The selfish Lieberman, though, made it clear he was going to ignore the wishes of the party faithful and run as an Independent Democrat. He has once more made it abundantly clear that representing the people of Connecticut is not high on his priority list and will only serve to split the vote come November. My most fervent hope is that Democratic chair Howard Dean and fellow CT senator Chris Dodd bìtçh slap Lieberman into accepting reality.

Vote on Tuesday

Posted by Bob Greenberger on August 6, 2006

I never know how many people read this page and have no clue how many are from Connecticut but today, this is addressed to those living in my state.

On Tuesday, there will be a Primary to determine the Democratic Party’s representatives for the office of US State Senator and Governor. No surprise here, it’s been all over the news for months now.

While I’ll talk about the guys I’m backing, I’m not doing anything more than urging registered Democrats in the state to go out and make your vote count. Some, even this late in the process, are undecided and now’s the time to start making up your mind.

WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

Counting Down

Posted by Bob Greenberger on August 3, 2006

With each passing day it seems we’re ticking things off an invisible checklist, preparing to send our daughter off to a foreign land.

Last night it was new sneakers, today it was a surge protector and her visa. I headed uptown to the Egyptian consulate to have her passport processed, saving her hours at the airport upon her arrival. Turns out, because I delivered it, they would not mail it so I had to trudge back up in the heat between 1:30 and 2.

I have to say, the consulate offices were not very impressive. Very industrial and commercial in look and feel. Upon arrival, I was directed towards a Visa window and a gent was his cell phone and cursorily looked at the paperwork after demanding the fee first. He told me to come back at 1:30. When I returned at 1:40, he was on his landline arguing with someone and as I waited, someone came from a back room with a stack of passports, including Kate’s. All in all it was a relatively painless process.

Kate is winding up various crafts projects, focusing on assessing her wardrobe and fretting over the two bag, 50 pound each, limit she has. She and Deb have already arranged for a joint bank account and a joint Amex card so we can make sure she has access to cash while far from home.

She still has some paperwork to sift through, her room to clean and other odds and ends but that will all come down to the final week after her economics class ends.

Meantime, we’ve been working with Robbie to make sure he has his stuff together. He happily has his bank account, TM card and even a credit card squared away. He too needs sneakers and also towels so that’s on this week’s agenda. It’s getting to feel like out time, money and resources are devoted this month to making sure both kids are ready.

Little surprise, then, that we’re both kind of looking forward to the day after Labor Day and the beginning of our own new chapter of life – as empty nesters.

Our Committee is up and Running

Posted by Bob Greenberger on August 1, 2006

I expected to learn a lot while being a part of the RTM’s sub committee on ordinances but last night’s meeting was an eye opener.

First, I think our leaders picked wisely with the five of us. There’s Harry, the former fire fighter and lifelong resident of the area. There’s Bob the realtor who has hi sear to the ground of what’s currently going on in town. We have Paul, the probing lawyer. There’s Julie, the firebrand homemaker, who is out to preserve the town’s character. And then there’s me, the organizer, interested in keeping things on track and fulfilling our charge as written.

Our first formal meeting was a 2-hour affair that touched on 4 of the 5 topics the Blue Ribbon Task Force charged us with. The discussion was intelligent and spirited, with several taking the Devil’s Advocate position at every turn. Should we do this then what about that? If we enact these new laws, would that hem in current and/or homeowners? Are all of these really necessary?

Along the way, Harry told some good stories about the history of certain sections of town or specific buildings. I think I’ve been here the least amount of time and as a result, nodded a lot, desperately trying to recall the geography as it got discussed. This will be an education in more ways than one.

One thing we recognized was the need for a little more guidance so today, I set up out next three meetings, drafted minutes from last night’s session and began inviting town officials to join us in two weeks. I’ve also done the due diligence to notify the Town Clerk so the meetings are properly noticed. I’m not expecting much in the way of turnout at the sub committee meetings but once people hear we may ask for land use fees or restrict the size of their driveways, well, we may finally get some public comment.

While there were moments I felt a wee bit in over my head, I am still looking forward to the entire process.