I let one tear flow down my face before I daubed up the rest. "The show must go on," I thought to myself. That’s what Ms. Arthur would do. "Everybody Wants Me To  Cry", as an aging chanteuse once wrote and sang. (Not without reason.)

I put on more slap. I made my eyes into a theatrical (or better) quality of black eyeliner and hues of blue and purple.

When I was finally finished, I think the other teardrop fell, and now, without lights and shadow, I’m just a mess of a twisted face, tired from hammering a smile across this pasty face of mine. I am sad. I had wanted so badly to see her one woman show when she toured the country, but life doesn’t always work as planned.

Why would I be so sad? Beatrice Arthur was, first and foremost, a United States Marine, and that ranks pretty high up on my list of her attributes. She was a firm supporter of animal rights —— she asked for donations to PETA in lieu of flowers —— and she was a staunch feminist. The abortion episode of Maude was TV history.

A life lived that strongly deserves to be admired as the light fades. If I die tomorrow, I leave nothing at all behind. She leaves a wealth of work, feminism, and activism. She was never one to shy away from an issue. She was not, as some might say, a crashing bore. She was not one.

She’s also the only woman who can be proven to have danced with Ponda Baba.  (Gracias, Shabs.) We had all wondered if he was a little light in the hooves?

The world lost a great treasure, and I don’t see anyone who can (and will) blaze a trail further. More than anything else, that is what I mourn.

Again, in lieu of flowers, please make a donation to PETA. Semper fidelis, Ms. Arthur, and goodbye.

My friends at Hasbro, are you aware, wherever you are, that people are seethingly ticked off over (a) the packaging of the former GameSpot, now SDCC Stormtrooper Commander and (b) the alteration of "Victory" Luke Skywalker‘s face? Most of us know that the Luke Skywalker‘s face is subject to Lucasfilm approval, which gives you one "Get Out Of Jail" card free, but packaging the painfully and pathetically exclusive Stormtrooper Commander on your newest cardback is a nasty slap in the face to collectors. (Now if there’s original packaging hidden under that art, I stand corrected.) It’s the end of April, and no one has told us this, so I’m going with the assumption that it’s all new packaging. [Seriously, folks, one hoarder in my area hogged up at LEAST ten and claimed on another message board that they were for 'locals' for our collecting group, ASWCC. After none were offered, the group asked him to leave.] God/Cher/Whoever is around to turn out the lights… bless mob rule.

Being a gossip hound, I think even my esteemed colleague, Dan Curto, at Philip Wise Presents rebelscum.com made a caveat in his most recent 411 (do young people even know what 411 is anymore?) Report along the lines that even if only 50% of the product "rumored" made it out in the foreseeable future, we’d be quite lucky. I wholeheartedly agree. (Based on the economy, Hasbro — and every other company — stand poised to make cuts where necessary.) For example, this may not be the best time to release Ice Cream Maker Guy, but we’ll see at SDCC.