Literary Matters

Welcome once again to our most dispiriting regular feature, "Literary Matters." Literary matters are horrible! But today's literary matters are barely literary at all, so I think we will be fine. 1) I dug out my copy of THE COMPLETE DIRECTORY TO PRIME TIME NETWORK TV SHOWS 1946-PRESENT by Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, hoping for some juicy tidbits about the sitcom version of SEMI-TOUGH. But the joke was on me, because the "present" when I bought that book was 1979. That's right, kids! My "present" used to be 1979! That's what I thought the "present" was! And as I am sure you are aware, the sitcom version of SEMI-TOUGH came out in 1980, or as we thought of it then, "the future." BUT I remembered that Mr. Ward had a copy of that book, too, only an updated edition, updated to what year I could not recall, but well past 1980. So I wrote him, hoping for some of the aforementioned tidbits. Friends, it turns out that Mr. Ward's copy of THE COMPLETE DIRECTORY TO PRIME TIME NETWORK TV SHOWS 1946-PRESENT was STOLEN FROM HIS CAR several years ago! Now, you may ask yourself why Mr. Ward was driving around with a copy of THE COMPLETE DIRECTORY TO PRIME TIME NETWORK TV SHOWS 1946-PRESENT in his car. Because he is the greatest person ever, that's why. He obligingly poked around on the "internet" for me, but sadly reports "there's not much info about this show. How is that possible?!" 2) I have been thinking about that comic book cover where O.G. Whiz is sitting on Abraham Lincoln's lap. It is puzzling to me. Is the intended tone some kind of Richie Richian grotesquely privileged winsomeness? We see that O.G. Whiz has a nice big pillow and teddy bear and alarm clock and slippers and pajamas and possibly a smoking jacket, as well as a preferred spot of sorts - he is in a "VIP area" if you will. Yet sleeping at the Lincoln Memorial suggests vagrancy, a cruel chill in the night air, a possible lack of other options, a nagging sense of loss. Mixed messages, O.G. Whiz!