Bill Watterson, the cartoonist who created the beloved comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes,” is a notorious recluse – so much so that he has been called the J.D. Salinger of the cartooning world. Watterson hasn’t been seen or heard from since he announced his retirement – and the end of Calvin and Hobbes – back in 1995. So it came as a surprise yesterday to see that Watterson allowed himself to be interviewed by the Cleveland Plain Dealer in a story published on Feb. 1. This is his first interview since 1989. When asked why he ended his strip after just 10 years of newspaper publication, Watterson said “It's always better to leave the party early. If I had rolled along with the strip's popularity and repeated myself for another five, 10 or 20 years, the people now "grieving" for "Calvin and Hobbes" would be wishing me dead and cursing newspapers for running tedious, ancient strips like mine instead of acquiring fresher, livelier talent. And I'd be agreeing with them.”

Nevin Martell is one person who disagrees with that sentiment. He recently published the book Looking for Calvin and Hobbes, in which he chronicles the story of the strip and details his personal quest to track down Bill Watterson. Martell never got the chance to interview Watterson (his letter of request went unanswered), but he did interview many other people close to Watterson who could provide insights into the cartoonist’s life, inspirations, and motivations. The lack of Watterson’s voice makes the book largely speculative, but it is fun to read other cartoonists praising Watterson and recounting their love for the 6-year-old boy and his tiger. Notable fans of Watterson’s include humorist Dave Barry, author Jonathan Lethem, and cartoonist Bill Amend (creator of the strip FoxTrot). In fact, nearly every contemporary cartoonist or graphic novelist considers themselves to have been influenced or inspired by Watterson. I think that speaks to the legacy of Calvin and Hobbes – a legacy that Watterson himself downplays, desiring only to return to his quiet, private life in the Cleveland suburbs. Fortunately for his millions of fans, Watterson has donated his original artwork to the Cartoon Library & Museum at Ohio State University in Columbus. In museums and in comic books, Calvin and Hobbes will live forever.

The Stooges

Michigan’s very own, The Stooges, have finally been inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – after being snubbed seven times. “It started to feel like Charlie Brown and the football,” Iggy Pop said to Rolling Stone. Eight times must be the charm, but it’s a shame guitarist Ron Asheton did not live to accept the honor. Interestingly, the induction of The Stooges follows previous inductions of bands such as The Clash, The Ramones and the Sex Pistols – all bands surely influenced by the sometimes called “godfather of punk” Iggy Pop. (Side note: after being inducted in 2006, the Sex Pistols did not even appear to accept their award, instead opting to send a letter denouncing the Hall of Fame.)

KISS was not chosen this year but everyone’s favorite Swedish pop group, ABBA made the cut. Still, my question is, if ABBA can be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – shouldn’t it be called The Pop Music Hall of Fame?

You can learn more about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and their nomination process here.

Helen Thomas

When she was in town last week speaking at the Michigan Theater to promote her newest book, Amy and I had the intimidating yet thrilling chance to interview Helen Thomas. We talked with her about her experiences in the White House Press Corps, where she sat for decades asking presidents and press secretaries alike the questions they were hoping she wouldn't. While Amy and I didn't ask of her quite the sort of tough questions Ms. Thomas is famous for, we did get her reflections on presidents past and present, her thoughts on the state of journalism, and her feelings about how America has changed in her nearly 75 years of reporting.

In the spirit of Banned Books Week, BBC News reported today that J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, was denied a top U.S. award because some White House officials believed her books encouraged witchcraft. According to the news article, Matt Latimer, a former speech writer for President Bush, said that certain members of the Bush administration prevented Rowling from receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom because they felt that the Harry Potter books promoted witchcraft.

The award has been given to other authors of challenged and banned books in the past, including John Steinbeck, author of The Grapes of Wrath, and Harper Lee, author of To Kill A Mockingbird.

Kim Jong Il

Kim Jong Il has been in the news of late, what with choosing his successor and the nuclear tests North Korea has been conducting.

Unfortunately, as troubling and serious as these developments are; it brought to mind one of my favorite movies Team America: World Police.

Lucas

Michael Vick, convicted, bankrupted, and imprisoned because of his dogfighting business, left prison before dawn this Wednesday morning. He returned to VA to serve the last portion of his sentence under house arrest. His plans after his official July 20th release include a return to NFL play, as well as participating in a partnership with the Humane Society. The partnership would target teen involvement with dogfighting. I wonder if he'll also adopt a rescued dog as a companion animal? For some entertaining and heartwarming stories about rescued and rehabilitated dogs (including an episode about the Vick dogs), check out this great National Geographic mini-series. Try Dogtown: New Beginnings and then there's more quality doggie time to be had with Dogtown: Second Chances. The library also has a great selection of books on how to retrain and help your own adopted dog adjust to his or her new life with you.

Get ready to feel more comfortable when using the downtown library.

Our contractors have a portable crane set up on the city parking lot next to the library. They have just about finished removing the old air handlers from the building, depositing the pieces in a large roll-off container in the parking lot. The parts had to come out of the basement through a large pit on the north side of building that provides access to the basement through wide double-doors--intended for just such purposes. Those two pieces of equipment have been heating and cooling the building since it was originally constructed in the 1950s; the new units are expected to do a better job.

The library had a total of five air handlers, but the others are of more recent vintage.

baby

Jane Austen Rules! That can be the only explanation for Emma bumping out Emily for top girl's name in this year's Most Popular Baby Names List. The coolest part is the Search Page where you can enter your kids, grandkids or future kids names and find out where they rank. You can check popularity by state, change in popularity and much more. I checked out the Popular Names for Twins and mine did not make the top 100. That's what I get for not being alliterative. BTW, we've got lots of Baby Name books if you don't want your next one on the top 10 list.

Are you sad that your traditional newspaper may no longer be delivered to your doorstep? Do you want to learn how to make that news come to you electronically, but don't know how?

Join us for the Online News Delivered class this upcoming Wednesday, and learn all about it! We'll explain how you can get your local, national, and world news from your favorite media sources delivered to your RSS Reader or E-mail automatically, and help you set everything up. Register today by phone or online!

Recap: Online News Delivered class, Wed., May 13, 10am-12pm, Malletts Creek Branch, Registration Required.

Are you sad that your traditional newspaper may no longer be delivered to your doorstep? Do you want to learn how to make that news come to you electronically, but don't know how? Join us for the Online News Delivered class this upcoming Wednesday, and learn all about it! We'll explain how you can get your local, national, and world news from your favorite media sources delivered to your RSS Reader or E-mail automatically, and help you set everything up. Register today by phone or online!

Online News Delivered, Wed, May 13, 10am-12pm, Malletts Creek Branch, Registration Required.