Watching Quantum of Solace

Posted by Bob Greenberger on November 30, 2008

Having grown up on James Bond movies, I have been conditioned to expect certain lines, images and sounds. As a result, I was curious to see what would survive when the franchise was rebooted with Casino Royale. They played with the martini line but maintained the title theme and gave us a fresh start (although I still think Daniel Craig is too old for Bond at this stage in his career).

The movie was pretty terrific although I noted at the time that the pacing was odd and the entire final third felt like a separate film. SO, going into Quantum of Solace, which Deb, Kate, and I did last night., I wanted to see what they would do next especially since this is the first film that was a direct sequel.

The events from Casino provide Bond’s motivations and colors everything he does in this film. Here’s the first problem with the new film: it does a pìšš poor job of reminding you what happened in the previous installment. When Mathis is reintroduced, I had forgotten who he was and what his involvement with Bond and Vesper were. Similarly, when Bond says M was wrong about Vesper, I have no recollection what she said in the previous film.

While Bond films are known for their action sequences, this one felt by rote. We had fist fights, a car chase, a boat chase and a plane chase. Ho hum. They were uninvolving thanks to what I call “in your face” editing so things flash by so quickly, you have no real sense of what’s going on. You get impressions based on the glimpses you have in your field of vision. Storytelling is tossed out the window for style but leaves you either confused or frustrated.

The movie is praised for being a taut two hours but I would have dearly enjoyed ten more minutes if characters actually spoke to one another as characters not plot exposition and surface characterization. Also, the movie utterly ignores time. You have no idea how much time has passed from the first scene to the last. We have no idea how Bond changes his clothes so often, when he sleeps, eats and so on. After having no access to money or passports, we next see him in a boat heading to see Mathis. How?

It wasn’t all disappointing.

Turning SPECTRE into Quantum was a fine updating but at no point did you really have all the dots connected for you, instead they expected you to follow along and not ask too many questions.

I loved the computer interfaces and graphics. The entire Opera sequence was the best part of the film, striking the right balance between action, tension, style and a nice reveal.

There will be a third chapter with Craig and company and one hopes they do a better job.

Also: We were eagerly awaiting the trailers for Star Trek and Watchmen but only saw the former mixed in with half a dozen others. Star Trek looked cool on the computer but is clearly bets seen on the silver screen. The sets and costumes look nicely updated and it got everyone in the audience, even Deb, excited. The Spirit’s final trailer looks good, less like Sin City and intriguing. I sat there murmuring, though, “It looks nothing like Will Eisner’s Spirit” but the majority of the audience won’t know that and I hope it does well for all concerned.

The Season Begins

Posted by Bob Greenberger on November 29, 2008

Thanksgiving begins the season, a season we always look forward to. We’ve known since August that starting now, this was going to be a rough stretch. We kept up with our traditions because they bring us comfort and on the other hand, Robbie’s absence was also keenly felt as a response.

Kate returned home Wednesday night, a day later than planned thanks to misbooking her train ticket. We welcomed her home nonetheless. Thursday morning was normally watching the parade but it got modified. I was at my desk reading through PDFs on a project and writing comments because I couldn’t find any other time to tackle it. Kate got up and began making the pumpkin pie (Deb fortunately made the crust the day before). As a result, I missed most of the first hour of the parade, which is always the Broadway filler until the bands arrive.

I recall the days when we actually got to see the bands perform a complete song with their dance team but these days its part of a song with a voice over telling me which celebrities will be lip-synching their greatest hits in the next segment. For whatever reason, the lip-synching really got to me this year.

At noon, we were all dressed, packed and ready. With the annual playing of “Alice’s Restaurant” on the CD, we headed south to Bob and Laurie’s. A house full of lovely people and too much food proved a great distraction. We were a little smaller in number than usual as Bob’s brother Richie and family were not present for a change. It did allow for more communal conversation throughout the day which was nice.

Laurie planned three pounds of meat per person and once we tallied the desserts, we calculated there would be half a pie per person. While no one ate three pounds of meat, some likely ate their pie quota.

The conversation lingered well past 10:30 and finally I called it a night. We headed to a nearby hotel and crashed.

In the morning, I worked (of course) and we had a lazy morning as I also was downloading some of the $5 CDs from Amazon’s Black Friday sale. We finally wound up at a diner at 11 en route to Matt & Judy’s house. When we finally arrived, our friends Bonnie and her son Stephen were already there. We almost immediately sat down for…brunch. Too much food! We lingered and chatted and visited through the afternoon until it was time to go home.

I’ll admit, Robbie was a constant presence the two days, but it wasn’t until I was in the car, heading there and back, that I felt crushed by the reality of the situation. Some of it is the natural grieving process and some of it is these rides were some of the most relaxed times I’ve had of late. The hours of work filling ComicMix in advance these last two weekends, my government responsibilities and the back half of Iron Man have meant lots of extra hours. I need to stay focused a few weeks more and then can slow up, right around December 15.

It Was Unanimous

Posted by Bob Greenberger on November 25, 2008

Even though members of the Representative Town Meeting are elected for two year terms, we still have an annual organizational meeting each November. At that time, we elect a new moderator and deputy moderator and the newly elected leader then reads obligatory reminders about ethics and Freedom of Information.

Last year, I was elected and pretty much stopped commenting about the RTM given the position. It was an interesting experience, learning Robert’s Rules in a rush, trying to remember 49 other names in addition to people coming before the body. I was following in some very big shoes and certainly was a bundle of nerves the first night. Since then, I’ve eased into the role and have grown to enjoy the experience. I think I’ve tried to be fair to all and keep the conversations moving without bogging down in procedural issues.

I was all too happy to be considered once more at last night’s meeting. We democrats fully expected the republicans to put up their own candidate as they have in the past, despite being in the minority making it a somewhat useless exercise.

As a result, I was pleasantly surprised to see the minority leader, Jim Walsh, raise his hand to second my nomination after majority leader Brian O’Gara said lovely things about my first year of service.

Suddenly, it was a unanimous vote and I was delighted. Taking the podium, I accepted a nomination for deputy. Once Cristin McCarthy-Vahey’s name was proposed, Alexis Harrison, another republican seconded it. So, we were both reelected unanimously which set the positive tone for the next year.

With a tough economy, and the need for some school construction, this looks to be a difficult year so we certainly won’t be bored as we volunteers continue to serve our town.

Saturday Night Antics

Posted by Bob Greenberger on November 23, 2008

The Indianapolis Children’s Museum is amazing. Only the current exhibits on the second level were open to the public Saturday night, but they showed the care and wonder they bring to the facility. The entire main lobby and second level were open for the Forrest’s reception.

The second level had two exhibits of note: a Cartoon network-sponsored hall that had terrific interactive tools to show how animated cartoons are created. They had memorabilia from the early Hanna-Barbera days through the current fare on the channel. Around the corner, though, was the hall dedicated to Comic Books and Super-Heroes. A local fan passed away in his 20s and his parents donated his 20,000 comic collection to the museum along with promo posters and the like. They went out and got additional things to show among them, a lobby display of a life-size Silver Surfer from the feature film, a cape worn by Adam West from Batman and one of the eight tumblers constructed for Batman Begins.

There were comics, merchandise, promo posters and the like, all on display. You could see how comics are created, here people wax nostalgic about reading different genres from Archie to X-Men. Play costumes to try on in front of a mirror, trivia quizzes and plenty more. Wander it brought a big smile to my face and I was thrilled to see titles I edited or worked on among the comics throughout the hall.

Now, once we got through the cocktail hour, we all were seated and had the ceremonial lighting of the candles. In many cases, these are 13 candles atop a cake, celebrating the celebrant’s thirteenth birthday and ascension into manhood. The kid reads cheesy rhymes or heartfelt words about each representative and they come up to carefully selected theme music, light candle, hug the kid, mug for the camera and return to our seats.

When we were called, I broke into a broad grin and started laughing out loud at the first note. Deb looked at me and then recognized the theme to Star Trek. I proudly displayed the Vulcan salute, enjoying the selection, Deb lit the candle, and we mugged for camera and returned to our seats.

The rest of the affair was fairly typical although the deejay catered to the 25 and under set with a relentless barrage of rap, dance music, and disco. There was all of one song written before 1980 and nothing for folks of the oldest generation to dance to. I was very conscious of this since the exact same omission occurred at a family wedding in May. Ah well.

Sunday morning was the farewell brunch for out of towners and it was great because it really gave us a chance to mingle and hash through family news and gossip. My cousin Alan, the family archaeologist, brought along pictures and documents, hoping to get help identifying people from a century earlier. He also handed me a folder of letters, telling me they were the only copies, but I should read through them and see if there was a book in the story the letters told. It has to do with a cousin I never heard of, who seemed involved in selling draft deferments and wound up doing fifteen years amidst corruption from the judge on down if family lore was to be believed. I will read these, do a little on line research and see if he’s right. It certainly comes at a good time.

Once we ate, we packed and returned to the lobby for a final visit with whoever was left. Our trip to the airport was zippy and we got through rental return, electronic check-in and security without issue. I type this from 20,000 feet up, en route to Washington before connecting back to White Plains and then home. All in all, it was a good weekend and great see family.

Today at the Bar Mitzvah

Posted by Bob Greenberger on November 22, 2008

The last time I was in Indiana to see my sister, it was September 2001. Now, I’m back for my nephew Forrest’s bar mitzvah. Deb and I haven’t traveled for one of these in ages and we couldn’t miss it. Family was coming from Georgia, Florida, New York and Connecticut which thrilled Judy no end.

Our trip Friday should have been routine. We got to White Plains, flew on time to Chicago and were there with time to spare before the connecting flight to Indianapolis. I even had time to write some of Iron Man.

The flight boarded on time but after taxiing for a bit, we were informed that there was a computer malfunction and they were going to fix it back at the gate. Once we arrived, it turned out to be more complicated so we had to change equipment. So we disembarked and waited. And waited. Finally, we boarded the new plane, flew the 26 minutes west and landed. We arrived three hours late. There was still time to get the rental car and make it for Friday night services. Except for the accident on I-465. Deb said if we got off at 86th Street we could cut over on the back streets. So I got off and we then crawled seven miles over the next 75 minutes.

We therefore, missed services but got to the hotel in time to unpack and freshen up before everyone returned for the “light deli” dinner being hosted. We finally got to see family and enjoy one another’s company. At the end, Judy informed me I needed to be at temple at 9 for a 10:30 service because they need that long for pictures. Sigh.

After dressing, I ran to the lobby for coffee, did some work (being off line for a day makes me twitch, just ask Deb) and then headed to temple. We posed for pictures and were done by 9:45 so had time to kill. At 10, we visited the Rabbi in his office for what amounted to a rehearsal.

In the Jewish tradition, honored members of the family come up to the altar and say a prayer before a portion of the Torah is read. This was to be my first such experience and was saying it with Mom and Neil. Judy sent out the prayer transliterated a few weeks back and I knew most of it from sitting and hearing other bar mitzvahs these last few years. I was fairly relaxed about it but Mom and Neil were stressing for weeks. We rehearsed a few times and everyone felt better.

The service is fine. Forrest hesitates here and there but overall, does a terrific job. We all stand with him and parade through the congregation as the Torah is displayed. Then the readings begin. Marcy and David, from his father’s side, go first and do well. We go next and do the first part fine. Forrest reads then we have a short bit at the end.

I read from the wrong paragraph.

Mom and Neil get flummoxed and Neil goes off to the side to collect himself, I’m laughing like a loon and the Rabbi kindly says, “Let’s start that again.” We get through it and I hear the Rabbi said, “You did that to make Forrest look really good.” Sure. I’ll accept that.
The remainder of the service went without incident. Much of the family went off for a long lunch to catch up and then back to the hotel so the diehards could watch college football. Tonight’s the big party and boy, do I look forward to just celebrating.

Work Update

Posted by Bob Greenberger on November 18, 2008

Haven’t spoke much about work stuff of late, beyond the ComixMix woes so let’s fix that.

First of all, Tales of Zorro has been out for a bit but hasn’t garnered much press until
Bookgasm fixed that. I appreciate having my story as one of the few singled out and I find it interesting the reviewer linked the 14 year old girl in my story to the 14 year old in Peter David’s. Not at all intentional but if it works, all the better.

I’ve been working well into Iron Man, past the halfway point with 46,704 words at present. The deadline looms and he has been neglected since Saturday due to life getting in the way. ComicMix being a largely one-man operation sucks up a lot more time plus we’re in the time of month when RTM issues preoccupy me nearly daily.

I shipped back the galleys to a project I can’t talk about yet but it’ll be out next summer and it looks really neat. This was just the first pass and it needs some significant work done before the second pass but boy, it looks neat.

Work has begun on Write Now! #20 where I continue to aid Danny Fingeroth as managing editor. For that issue, I’ll be interviewing my old pal Colleen Doran which should be fun.

The various pitches that were out the last time we chatted remain out.

Some projects I thought I was doing have fallen through thanks to licensing issues. Something I thought I’d be pitching to has been delayed. And one project got as far as the first draft and then canceled by the publisher largely because I was the wrong guy for it and I guess it showed. They never said but do owe me a kill fee.

What this all means is: I am busy today but come mid-December when Iron Man is delivered, I currently have nothing pending. On the one hand, that means I can enjoy the holidays with Deb. On the other, it means I’m not earning anything, a concern especially in this economy.

The First Three Months

Posted by Bob Greenberger on November 14, 2008

Last night marked the thirteenth week and today’s calendar signals that it has been three months since Robbie died. We’ve been conscious of this all week and he has not been far from either of our minds.

It’s a good time to take stock and see where we are and honestly, considering it’s only been three months, we’re in reasonable shape.

Neither one of us is sleeping easily but we manage and have been consulting with our GP as needed. We get through the days and have made regular pilgrimages to the gravesite which is the most tangible sign he’s really gone. When it’s just us at home, it still feels like he’s away at school and we should be hearing from him soon.

We have found ourselves in conversations about What Ifs, imagining the obstacles and milestones that we’d be dealing with had he been successfully transplanted. Longer term, we see the family name and branch of my father’s family tree coming to an end. There’s less likelihood of grandchildren with him gone so that’s another ache.

Deb frenetically filled our weekend calendar for much of the fall right through Christmas which has its pluses and minuses. Friends and family continue to check in although with a little less frequency. Some, who couldn’t find the words in August, are still making first contact which is good.

When Deb said it was time, we began cleaning out his room, giving things away and saving other items. It’s a work in progress and we haven’t really touched it in some time and honestly, there’s no real impetus so we’ll get back to it when we’re ready again.

His affairs are in order and just need a document from probate court freeing his bank account and then his belongings will be totally addressed.

We have things to donate to Child Life up at Yale-New Haven and a ceiling tile he began painting was finished by others and is proudly displayed so a trip is definitely in order. Deb is beginning to think the time is coming to make a visit which will be a bittersweet one. We keep in touch with Stephanie Massaro and Jess, his nurse, along with a few of the Child Life folk so we haven’t severed ties completely.

I think we’re doing as well as one can expect given what we’ve endured this year. We hug a lot more, which is nice. We still shed tears but with less frequency.

From the Home Office

Posted by Bob Greenberger on November 11, 2008

I’m sitting here in the basement office and it’s neat. My brother-in-law Jeff effectively built me a desk atop two filing cabinets in addition to lining the side walls with shelving. He took the wall where my desk was and built shelving. He also put in supports for one wall’s worth of shelving that desperately needed it. Additionally, he redid the ceiling and with Deb’s guidance, turned the cabinet for the electrical panel into the data center where the modems and routers now reside.

My other brother-in-law, Jim, stopped by yesterday morning with Butcher’s Wax so we polished and buffed it up real nicely. I then retreated upstairs to work and figured I’d move in as time permitted.

About 5:30 last night I started moving the computer gear downstairs and began all the wiring and connecting. By 7:15, when I had to go to a meeting, I had things well in hand plus four boxes unpacked to fill the desk and side shelving. So far so good.

Except…

There were wires everywhere. I had envisioned surge protectors under the desk so much of the excess cabling would be underneath. That wasn’t the case until Deb came downstairs to check it out. We agreed something needed doing so I ran out and got two fresh surge protectors, mounted them to the wall underneath the desk. Deb then spent quite a bit of time meticulously rewiring everything, coiling and Velcroing the excess so things were far neater. When she was done, the desk looked far more like I imagined it and things made sense.

There remain too many boxes of books and things to unpack and more stuff to organize but it will all have to wait.

ComicMix and Iron Man beckon. As do the proofs to a 2009 project I can’t talk about yet but they have to be read, annotated and returned by next Wednesday. Plus calls to make, people to see, stuff to read…no wonder I’m feeling overwhelmed.

What a Night!

Posted by Bob Greenberger on November 9, 2008

This was our first trip down to see where Kate has made her home. She’s renting two rooms from a coworker and is living in Columbia, very well planned out community. The two rooms are connected so she has a place to work and entertain and a place to sleep which works out well. Laurie, who owns the townhouse, also has a finished basement with a pullout couch for out-of-towners so we were made to feel welcome and at home.

Saturday, Deb and Kate spent the day at Stitches East, a knitters’ convention in Baltimore and they added to their stashes while visiting with friends they see mostly on line. As several heard about the evening’s activity, they decided on the spur of the moment to attend. This includes Allison Hyde, a woman who has been a good friend with Deb for something like 8 years now and her two youngest children are the same age as Kate and Robbie. She generously knit comfort shawls for Kate and Deb during Robbie’s illness so they wore them to show off and the three, plus Allison’s friend Karen, had a marvelous time.

Me? I knocked out a healthy 5000 word chunk of the Iron Man novel in the morning and rewarded myself with an afternoon of hanging out with Howard Weinstein. It had been well over two years since we could just kick back for uninterrupted hours so it was a delight.

We meet Kate and Deb at Inner Harbor for dinner then headed over the Church where the Boogie Knights were to perform. The Church said there was parking nearby but you needed a permit so well-armed, we found the spot and discovered it’s a large alleyway and there was not going to be enough parking for everyone. I later learned how right I was when I received an e-mail from Lance Woods saying he had to turn around and go home because he couldn’t find a spot on any street once the lot filled.

People gathered from all around. Susan de Guardiola, the Olesens, the Davids, and others came from the north. Kathleen David couldn’t attend but sent her daughter Ariel with a thick stack of Target bandanas which most of the audience wore as pirate headgear. Kate had coworkers from both her day job and the Maryland Renaissance Faire in attendance. For me, it was a chance to see so many of my convention friends away from the rigors of a con, to relax and catch up. It was also the first chance I had to see many of these people in person since Robbie’s passing so there was much talk about him throughout the evening.

Initially, this was just going to be a concert but the Boogies decided to dedicate it to Robbie and to donate a portion of the night’s proceeds to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Tommy Fund. The Church agreed as well and also set up jars where people could make additional donations that night. As a result, they asked me to emcee the evening.

I asked for a quick show of hands and perhaps one-fifth to one-quarter of the audience had never seen the band before so I did a brief history of how they formed on a whim in 1982 and have been going strong ever since. For the second act, I talked about both charities and about Robbie, something I hadn’t done in public other than this page. It felt good.

As for the show, excluding the 20 minute intermission, they played for two and a half hours, the longest performance they have ever had. Thankfully, with 26 years under their belts, they had a deep and varied song book to pick from. They played favorites and some stuff we hadn’t heard in a while. As newcomers caught on to the whimsy in the lyrics, you could hear them laugh. They got it and none may have enjoyed themselves more than Allison.

The band was loose. All seven of them clearly were enjoying themselves and goofed amongst themselves between, and occasionally during, the songs which added to the festive feel of the night. They mixed up the tempos nicely and all of them had at least one solo per act.

Heather Scheeler, who had lost her mother this past week, insisted the show go on and she was perhaps the most enthusiastic performer, using the concert as catharsis. Her dad was in attendance and as he told me, “We’ve already cried our tears.” Apparently the Friday night vigil and Saturday afternoon funeral were equally fun.

Newcomers and old friends enjoyed themselves immensely. The charities made some money. The Church theater organizers told me this was exactly the kind of performance and audience they want. What more could one ask for?

The night ended as nearly a dozen of us headed to a diner so some of the band could eat. We got very silly and I can’t recall the last time I stayed up until 2 a.m. for a good, happy reason.

My Election Day

Posted by Bob Greenberger on November 5, 2008

Interestingly, despite reports from everywhere in America, it seemed, Fairfield did not have lines that stretched on for hours. When Deb went to vote at 8:30 a.m. there was a small line and short wait and when I voted at 2:30 there were a mere two people ahead of me. And yet, close to 90% of Connecticut voted yesterday.

I did my shift of poll greeting from Noon until 2 or so and it was nice seeing many a familiar face. It also gave me a chance to get to know Robert Belitto, who serves on our Board of Finance but never had a chance to chat before.

I returned to the polls at 7:30 and was inside as the doors were locked at 8. Our two optical readers had to be carefully shut down with paper tape results printed out and verified before revealed. I killed time chatting with my Republican counterpart and a high schooler hired by cable news 12 to call in the results (not bad work for $40). Once the tapes were hung up, we copied the two sets of numbers, did some scratch math, compared our results and then phoned our respective headquarters.

Here, we had a closely watched race as New England’s remaining Republican representative, Christopher Shays, faced political newcomer Jim Himes. Shays has always been a moderate voice within his party and is personally well liked by all who have encountered him. He was trounced at the polls with a lopsided defeat and in some ways I’m saddened since the GOP need more moderate voices.

Locally, I was delighted to see Tom Drew have a very strong showing in the 132nd district so he returns to Hartford for a third term. Similarly, Kim Fawcett’s energetic campaign won her a second term. Her opponent, 20-year old Amanda Parks had campaigned virtually through some very well written newspaper ads and nothing else. She still got plenty of votes from several Fairfield districts that are heavily Republican and voted in lock step.

Our biggest disappointment was losing the 134th seat to Republican challenger, and my fellow RTMer, Tony Hwang. He campaigned vigorously compared with Tom Christiano’s “stealth” campaign so he has become a one-term wonder.

The Democrats partied at the Southport Brewing Company and there was much cheering, back slapping and fallout speculation. As I walked in the door, First Selectman Ken Flatto grabbed me and had me call out the District 8 results so now I know how the town crier must have felt. I then repeated them for the woman manning the giant oak tag tote board and was finally able to relax.

We were all surprised to see Shays concede before 10 and then turned out attention to the state by state results. It was fun as CNN counted down the final 10 seconds before the west coast polls closed. Moments later, they updated their tallies and called the election for Obama and the rousing cheers rang out for quite a while.

Talk already turned to next year’s local RTM race followed by 2010’s Gubernatorial campaign which should be starting any minute now. The cycle continues.