A Visit with Janis

Janis Ian came to town to work on an audio book of her autobiography. I was introduced to Janis in 2001 at the Philadelphia Worldcon, just as she was announcing  that she had just met Connie Willis and needed to go cry. She's a fan-girl geek at heart. We met up again the following year and have maintained a lovely friendship since then, solidified when I asked her to be my toastmistress at the 2009 Nebula Awards. Chuck Lorre, who turned out to be a huge fan of Janis' work, was my keynote speaker, and his partner in crime, Bill Prady is an even bigger Janis fan. So Janis' latest L.A. visit gave us an opportunity to get together for a taping of The Big Bang Theory. (The show ran a mere 10 days after it was shot. It's the one about Sheldon refusing to go to Amy's aunt's birthday party so he could play Star Wars on-line with the other guys.)

Here we are on the couch in the boys' living room. That's David Gerrold (who introduced me to Len Wein in 1989) and me in back of the couch and my husband, one of our "adopted daughters," Dani Dornfeld, and Janis in "Sheldon's place."

Janis wanted a photo of the forever-broken elevator. This set is redressed for each floor every time you see people using the stairs. They had to dig a hole for the down stairs on the right, because the rest of the set is on the ground floor. Penny's living room and the boy's living room flank the hall way, and those are the three permanently standing sets for the show.. The comic book shop swings with various bedrooms and Amy's stripped efficiency set was where we got to sit with the writers during part of the show.

Everyone wanted a chance to sit in "Sheldon's place." When I went to photograph Len in it, I couldn't help but notice that a copy of his DC Legacies hard back was sitting on the coffee table. I did not put it there. When we mentioned it to Bill Prady he said "we know what we're doing."

Janis was in town long enough for us to have dinner a couple of times and she even came by for a Sunday Super Supper Squad dinner. She was very impressed that I made bread and insisted on being photographed with it and Len, who had just donned his Captain America wardrobe. Yes, I am married to a 12 year old.

We're hoping Janis will be back out in L.A. to perform again sometime next year. She hasn't been out here as a singer for two or three years now. We could probably fill the audience just with our gang.

Another Comic-Con Survived

Another year, another San Diego Comic-Con International survived.  Michael and I headed down on Wednesday morning after dropping Len off at Cedars-Sinai for dialysis.  That way, I could have a few extra hours with my dear friend Gloria Benson, who was bringing her granddaughter Seven to Comic-Con, the first trip for either of them.  Len came down with a couple of friends, but traffic delayed his arrival until almost 7:30, by which time I had picked up Gloria and Seven at their hotel, had lunch, checked into our hotel, picked up all of our badges, and started swimming in the sea of humanity at the preview opening of the convention.  

This year, we stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel.  It was our 10th choice, but at least it was walking distance from the convention.  Those are the "sails" at the top of the SDCC.  As you can see from the photo we were a few stories above a party area, but the one you can't see was the noisy one.  There was always music playing--I got a kick out of the check-in desk asking what my choices of music were, and when we got to the room, classic rock was playing.  I knew I was home when I stepped off the elevator and there was a huge photo of the Beatles in Miami in 1964--a photo a knew well from my Beatles trading cards of that era.

As it did last year, SyFy took over the cafe in the Hard Rock, and the decor and menu reflected that.
Here's my son, Michael, waiting for breakfast.

On Thursday, Len was on the panel that followed the showing of a documentary about the 75 year history of DC Comics.  It will be released on November 11.  It was informative and touching. The clips of Julie Schwartz made us all cry.  We miss Julie, who was the editor of Superman for many years and brought on what is called the Silver Age of Comics by reviving The Flash.  I knew Julie before I ever met Len.

Friday was the Warner Bros. & DC Comics Party.  Gloria and Seven stood in line for three hours that morning and failed to get into The Big Bang Theory panel because the True Blood fans had taken over the 6500-seat room first thing in the morning and stayed until that panel at 5:30 at night.  Nobody told the people in line that the room wasn't being cleared and that they would never get in.  The Bare Naked Ladies played and Wil Wheaton moderated TBBT panel, so I was really sorry that I didn't get in, either.   I figured it wasn't really fair to ask Bill Prady to get me in two years in a row (and Bill was sad I didn't ask.)

Fortunately for me, Bare Naked Ladies, who wrote and perform TBBT theme also played the much smaller WB party, introduced by Chuck Lorre. BNL were not bare, naked, or ladies.

Jim Parsons and Wil Wheaton had a bit of a chat at the party. I can't seem to upload the video with Johnny and Simon swaying to the band, though.

As they did last year, members of the costumer's guild took some of the different over-sized WB swag bags and turned them into fashion statements from the 1940s.

I particularly like the hat in this photograph.  I missed photographing the zoot suit.

 Mark Valley was at the party, but we missed talking to him. 

Here he is talking to the sheriff on Eureka (and checking his cell phone.)

We did catch Chi McBride, who calls me "Mrs. Len" when he sees me.  He's utterly charming and inclined to kiss me on the wrist.  I think he's cuddly.

Seven expressed her desire to meet Stan Lee, and I was able to accommodate her wish when Stan walked right in front of me at the preview.  Unfortunately, we couldn't get cameras out to record her reaction, which included Gloria admonishing her to "breathe, breathe."

I was also able to introduce her to the amazing Sergio Aragones, and, on Saturday, even stopped Sergio to photograph them together.  He and Gloria spoke in Spanish and he cooed over Seven.
At the Quick Draw Panel, Sergio was one of six artists who performed.  The top half of the drawing of Sergio was done by another Mad Magazine artist. 

 The image was covered at the belt and Sergio drew the bottom half without knowing it was a drawing of himself.  Hilarity ensued. 

The other two drawings below were done by Sergio to incorporate the caption "Sit on it."  I think he did six drawings on that round all together.  All different. 

 Sergio's impression of the BP oil spill.

Sergio's thoughts on the Arizona anti-immigration law.

Len participated in the Quick Draw by guessing words or phrases the artists drew.  He really has a good time doing it. 

Later on Saturday, we split up so he could sign with the Human Target cast and do the press feeding frenzy and I could go to a private cocktail party at the Hilton. 

Before I left Gloria and Seven in the Human Target autograph line, I photographed Len with the new producer (who created Chuck) and the new producer with Mark Valley and Chi McBride. 

I got back in time to catch the Human Target panel, but I almost didn't get into the room.  We did an end-run around security, and after, we got a photograph of Len with Jackie Earle Haley.

The Hard Rock had an  11 a.m. check out, so I spent the morning taking care of that.  Len had the annual Pro v. Fan trivia contest that afternoon, and then we did dinner with Paul Levitz before the dead dog party and the drive home.  Wisely, I took Monday off from work, and even though I couldn't sleep all day, it was nice to catch a few extra hours of shut-eye.

And it is a mere 51 weeks before we do the whole thing again.

Comicon 2009: Friday

Today's the day I actually braved the crowds and went over to the convention center to catch The Big Bang Theory panel. I did cheat a little bit by imposing on my friendship with Bill Prady to ask for guest passes, so we could have decent seats without having to sit in line for hours. I met up with Bill's assistant and got our passes and one for actress Chase Masterson.
The cast, along with co-creators Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady put on an hysterical panel. It was preceded by a clip reel of scenes which relate to Comicon attendees. A huge favorite is "Rock, Paper, Sissors, Lizard, Spock" which JimParsons was asked to do live. He can't. Apparently, every one of the 12 or so takes will be available on the Season 2 DVD set, due out in September.

Jim did a great job answering the question about how Sheldon would respond to being nominated for an Emmy Award (as Jim was last week) and what he'd do for an acceptance speech when he wins. Here's the response:



And now, it is time for me to walk over to the Hilton for the Warner Bros. Television reception where I'll see the folks from TBBT and meet the folks who are bringing Len's baby The Human Target to the small screen this winter.

Weekend Plans and Television

My spousal unit Len Wein is being interviewed at noon at the West Hollywood Book Fair on Sunday. It should be a fun day. It sounds like a smaller version of the L.A. Times Festival of Books which is held in the spring. He'll be on stage at the Comics, Sci-Fi, and Beyond Pavillion from 12-1 ("Watching Len Wein: In Conversation with the Book Editor and Video Game Writer of Watchmen"), and then at the Golden Apple Comics booth for an autographing session. He'll be followed on stage by Ray Bradbury. There seems to be a fair number of celebrities in attendance, among them Adrienne Barbeau, Robert Wagner, Heather Thomas, Ed Begley, Jr., and Laraine Newman. Len's connection with Adrienne Barbeau and Heather Thomas? Both actresses have been in Swamp Thing productions, Barbeau in film, Thomas on the television series.

I'm going with my camera and audio recorder.

Sunday night, the Amazing Race returns to television, so we'll be gathering up the usual gang to have dinner and cheer. Rumor has it that at least one of the teams may have someone from the science fiction or comic book fan community.

The season premier of Big Bang Theory did not disappoint. We were particularly delighted when Sheldon started listing his favorite X-men in order, starting with Wolverine, who then got shifted to second place by Professor X and then to third place by Nightcrawler coming in second. Since Len created both Wolverine and Nightcrawler, we considered it a winning night. Sheldon had also called Hallie Barry his fifth favorite Catwoman, putting her behind every other actess who has played Catwoman on television or screen: Julie Newmar, Michelle Pfiffer, Ertha Kitt and Lee Merriweather. There was also a wonderful riff early on where Sheldon explains that he couldn't ever be Green Lantern, but with enough money (it was put much more creatively), he could be the Batman. When Leonard questioned that, Sheldon did a scary impersonation of Christian Bale's "I'm Batman." We love this show.

Geeks Rule!

I have mentioned that I once had breakfast with Chuck Lorre at a Writers Guild Craft Conference at the lovely Bruin Woods up at Lake Arrowhead. The WGA stopped doing the weekends years ago, but Len (who is the member of the WGA) and I really enjoyed the weekends, which consisted of four writers each talking about their work in 90 minute sessions and one two hour or so workshop. The rest of the three days, between meals, was open for hiking, swiming, boating, tennis, or going into Lake Arrowhead to shop.

Chuck had a cold the morning he spoke, and he had taken some heavy-duty medication which was still in effect when we were at breakfast. He was hysterical, and his lecture later that morning had the audience in stitches. Which is what happens to me every time I watch Big Bang Theory, his latest show on CBS. Last night had Len and I laughing until we cried, in no small part because we both were right inside the characters heads.

For those of you who don't watch the show, Sheldon and Leonard (yes, named for the famous actor/director) are research scientists at CalTech (you can see the building which houses the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals outside of one of the windows in their apartment.) Its a Warner Bros. show, which may explain the wide spread use of DC collectibles throughout the place, but the show is peppered with pop culture reference, particularly those which would make regular attendees of Comicon International feel right at home. (In some ways, it is like watching a weekly version of the wonderful Free Enterprise, with as many references to Star Trek.)

Sheldon and Leonard have two colleagues who are regulars on the show: one from India and the other who lives at home with mom, and there's a cute blond across the hall for whom Leonard feels unrequited love. Sara Gilbert occasionally makes an appearance as another Cal Tech scientist and I wish we'd see more of her. With no Aaron Sorkin on TV these days, it's the smartest writing on television.

Last night, Leonard placed an $800.00 bid on a model of the 1960 film version of the Time Machine (first picture, thanks to Google), and, much to his financial horror, he won. The boys all decided they could pay $200 a piece and share it. Then it arrived. It was the full-sized model, not the miniature Leonard had envisioned. Hilarity ensued, starting with the problem of getting it upstairs to the apartment (the elevator hasn't worked in two years.) We were roaring with laughter, in no small part because we both knew Len would have given his right arm to own the thing.

You see, we live in the same kind of home, where once someone said "you can't tell where the kid's stuff leaves off and the grown-up toys kick in." People just like to wander about looking at the collectibles and books. I was even willing to let Len try and bring home the brass and glass version of the Time Machine from the more recent DreamWorks film (below, thanks to Google), which was on display at Comicon the year it was released. Absolutely beautiful. It was bigger than our living room.

















We're nowhere near as organized as Harlan Ellison's house (which is like a museum) and our stuff tends to have dust on it (forbidden in Harlan's place), but there are some very cool things, like the statues of as many of Len's characters as we've been able to find and afford: Swamp Thing, Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler and others. Like Sheldon, Len's clothing also features comic book characters, with a strong preference for those of his own creation. T-shirts, aloha shirts, hats, ties and jewelery, you name it, he's got it.

The boys of Big Bang Theory would be right at home if we invited them over for dinner. Of course, the fan boys of Big Bang Theory would probably all be stammering and unable to eat in the presence of The Famous Len Wein, LFL. I've seen that enough times over the past 19 years.

Playing Detective

About four years ago, our friend Sandy decided that we all had enough "stuff," so instead of stuff for Christmas and Channukkah, he was going to give us "experiences." By us, I don't just mean my husband, son, and self. No, Sandy extended this to all of the people with whom he exchanged gifts each year.

The first year, we went to Descanso Gardens, to see their famous gardenias. This was followed by a picnic lunch and then a trek to a small bowling alley in nearby Montrose. Quite a full day and everybody had a good time, especially since the weather was very nice (I think it was February when we did this.)

I passed on the second year's event going to a go-cart type place east of Los Angeles, but Len and Michael had a great time.

Last year, the crowd of what looked like 50 or 60 people went to the Pirate Adventure near Disneyland. It was, unfortunately, a little too loud for my taste. But it was a fun show and the children, particularly, had a fabulous time.

On Saturday night, we did the most recently planned event. Sandy appears to be doing this in conjunction with some other folks, which is good. I'd hate to think he's frittering away his retirement money this way. We were treated to "Mysteries en Brochette" a murder-mystery dinner theater production at the Marina del Rey Hotel. No small children for this one.

With a theme of "Hollywood's Fatal Premier," folks did have an opportunity to get dressed up. There were about 40 people in our party plus another 40 or so people in attendance with other groups. The food was uneven, as hotel food can be, and so was the acting. The character who functioned as the emcee, however, more than made up for any other short comings. He was just great. He also wrote the production and he was a whiz at the ad lib.

The way these things go, the story is presented and some one or several ones are murdered. At the end, it is up to the audience to come up with a solution. Prizes were given to the individual who correctly solved the mystery and the one who came up with the funniest solution.

It's a tough room when two famous comic book writers and best selling novelist Larry Niven are working out endings. Len won the funniest solution--with the emcee/writer saying it was such a good solution they should incorporate it into the show--and the wife of the other comic book writer was the first to turn in the actual solution. That writer got an honorable mention for funny.

One of the people not with out party posited that one of the characters was a superhero like an X-man and one of our party ratted out Len to him. So Len got his picture taken with this stranger who was an X-men fan. It always gives me the giggles.

Me, I just sit back and watch. Len loves these kinds of things (he won the solution to the last party like this we went to, which is why we have TWO replicas of the Maltese Falcon in our house), but I know my limitations. I'm happy when I've got the solution to Law & Order.

As for that other famous detective I'm watching these days, I can't figure out why New Amsterdam isn't doing better in the ratings. The stories are very good and it really helps that the show is actually filmed on location in New York. I got a little bent out of shape about a rape victim's name and picture being spread across the Internet in last night's episode, but I did figure it to be a so-called honor killing as soon as I saw the body, beating Len to that one. However, I suspected the unseen brothers, not the father.

Last night also marked the return of Big Bang Theory. I think it's gotten a bit edgier than it was before the strike. We laughed a lot, particularly as the boys did the ape victory dance from 2001 and when Sheldon tried to psychically cause Leonard's head to explode. I was also anxious to see Chuck Lorre's latest end credit card. The one that was up when the strike hit said "United we stand." Last night's was a meditation about going up against Marlee Matlin on Dancing with the Stars. (It's not available on Chuck Lorre's website yet, but he refers to the "deaf chick dancing her ass off.")

The wind was up again yesterday, so my lesson on Ace was a bit cautious. Since the wind wasn't a constant, we decided to go on with it. We had to share the arena with a horse which was jumping (and whose rider couldn't control him in a turn), but we managed. It wasn't as good a ride as Saturday, but tomorrow is bound to be better.