Lots of diverse little items to get to today, so we'll kick off with a digitally-assaulted photograph of the trees on the Lee Street Triangle, and then dive in. Click the photo to enlarge.So long, guys: We lost two of my childhood heroes over the weekend. Mark Evanier has a nice remembrance of Don Knotts here. While Knotts was beloved for his portrayal of Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show, I always think of his role as "The Incredible Mr. Limpet," when his name comes up. I must have watched that movie a hundred times when I was growing up. We also lost Darren McGavin. It's a toss-up whether he was more famous for his role in "A Christmas Story," or if he'll be remembered as Carl Kolchak, "The Night Stalker." Both men were great performers whose work will live on.
Uno down: So, the Pizzeria Uno out at the Trace Fork Plaza closed down. I ate there once. Evidently, most people did. The owners say that they'll be soon be opening a different franchise restaurant in that building. Guys....just in case you haven't settled on which restaurant to go with yet..Isn't it about freakin' time that Charleston finally got a Denny's?
The real spirit of Rock N Roll: Finally, somebody has pointed out how the slick showbiz aspects of the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame are the complete antithesis of what Rock music stands for. The Sex Pistols have turned down the invitation to be inducted into the hall. You can read their hastily-scrawled rebuke here. The Pistols even used the worst insult imaginable: they said that the place would be filled with "Music Industry People." This is a relief. The image of the Pistols performing "Anarchy In The UK" while Clive Davis and Herb Albert sit in the audience wearing tuxedos could have upset the balance of the universe.
Rove and the Republicans: Someone smuggled a camera into last week's clandestine meeting, where Karl Rove rallied state Republicans on how to best conquer and divide West Virginia. You can see what the meeting looked like here.
The Coolest New Blog: John Kricfalusi, the creator of Ren And Stimpy, and a longtime pal of Animated Discussions, has started a blog, and he's using it to pitch and tease ideas for new cartoons. Over the last few days he's posted short animations of George Liquor, and he also has scripts and comics online. For God's sake, man, go check it out immediately!
Countdown: I've been meaning to write about how great a show that Countdown with Keith Olbermann is for some time. But now that Bill O'Reilly is trying to get Olbermann cancelled, I really have to recommend it to you. O'Reilly must really be scared to resort to such an act of desperation. Countdown is the only show on any of the 24-hour news channels that doesn't lean to the far right and run administration propaganda unchallenged. And it's funny, too. In addition to top-flight coverage of breaking news, Olbermann also includes humorous regular features like "Oddball," and "Worst Person In The World." Check it out. It's on MSNBC, which many people ignore because so many of their other hosts are Fox News and CNN cast-offs. Weeknights at 8PM are a little oasis of actual quality television journalism in the vast desert of cable news.
Minor Comics News: Brandweek reports that DC Comics is now handling ad sales for Matt Groening's Bongo Comics. This means that now, Bongo Comics, which include comic books based on The Simpsons and Futurama, will have exactly the same advertisements on exactly the same pages as all DC comic books. But the two companies are still separate. Weird, and a bit of a bummer. Bongo Comics used to be virtually ad-free. Now there's fewer pages of comics in each issue.
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