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Ah, weekends. How we love thee. Ish.
Starting out today, the Parents Television Council, holder of the number one spot for copmlaints to the FCC (last I knew), is up in arms about a teaser advert for a threesome happening in the Gossip Girl drama. Well, they’re at least trying on something that might be salacious. Others think Sesame Street satire has gone too far, and that Oscar saying “Pox News” is trashy is PBS displaying some sort of liberal bias.
Internationally, U2 plays concert honoring the fall of the Berlin wall...with a 6.5 foot wall separating the concertgoers from the rest of the crowd. While we realize there are too many odd juxtapositions in the world to catch them all, surely this one could have been spotted.
In the conflict zones, United States troops express their displeasure at the use of lightly armored vehicles, especially against opposition that utilizes buried IEDs as a common tactic.
Fallout from the conflict zones includes allegation by a former United Kingdom ambassador that the CIA sent people to countries where torture, forced confessions, and violation of their persons with broken glass bottles were all common and expected.
On religious matters, the European Court of Human Rights has determined that the weaing of crucifixes in Italian schools is a violation of religious and educational freedoms, rejecting the idea that the symbol is one of Italian heritage and culture instead of religion. We’re guessing this ruling will be applied equally to all and that no religious symbols will be permitted to be worn in the schooling. Does that include head coverings, too?
Domestically, most of the news cycle will be focusing on a military psychologist killing 12 and injuring more than 30 in a shooting on the base of Fort Hood, a tragedy at best. There will always be something odd or fringey and entirely not true about it, if it looks like it might somehow try to connect the madman with the president.
Rock on, San Francisco, now proud owners of a ban on cat declawing.
On H1N1 matters, The Health and Human Services secretary admitted to overstating the amount of vaccine available and of being improperly skeptic of the claims made by the manufacturers.
More generally on health matters, The House of Representatives says they will have a bill ready for voting on Saturday of this week, a promise they followed through with, despite also including an amendment increasing prohibitions on federal money being used for abortion procedures, due to their ability to limit the time spent on debate and amendments. This continues despite several members of the opposition taking part in a rally intended to make the Congresscritters afraid of the wingnut portion of their population, a population clearly misinformed about what the bill will actually do.
The persons accused of planning and executing the 11 September attacks will receive trials in civilian courts over Republican objections that those attacks were a matter of war instead of crime, and thus military courts, with laxer rules on evidence and transparency, would be better-suited to the suspects.
Lowe's pays out a $29.5 million settlement regarding required but uncompensated hours for their worker and continues to deny they did anything wrong. After this, a worker spots and anti-EFCA poster in their break room. Because unions are evil when they make people pay for overtime work or make employers stop forcing their hirees to do uncompensated labor.
Officially, unemployment back over 10 percent, although if you ask ![[info]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png) bradhicks, he’ll tell you the number is really either just this side of 20 percent or slightly over, and all those people need to be working instead of having their unemployment benefits extended, thus, the WPA is in order moreso than more unemployment.
On climate, Senator Boxer, committee chair, may utilize rules to allow her to move legislation past the committee, despite the boycott of committee meetings that the opposition party is currently undertaking. Howls of “not bipartisan” ensue, but considering the obstructionist track record so far, rules like this may be the way Democrats get things done.
In opinions, Mr. Reich says the President should sell a bigger stimulus to Congress, based on the argument that bigger stimulus will make for better midterm numbers, as well as continuing to bring the economy back.
The Pandagon people like Mad Men, because it tells it like it was, and make fun of someone who feels uncomfortable and tries to defend the nonexistent idyllic times past, where women were sex-and-cooking appliances and black men stayed out of sight because they knew their place.
The WSJ likes to gather as much happy as it can out of the recent elections, feeling confidence that Republicans are on the ascendancy again and Democrats have to watch out. Mr. Pruden, of the Washington Times, suggests that the President realize that all the problems of the country are his now, and that he should get to fixing them, now unable (in theory) to hide behind the knowledge that this mess was started and exacerbated by the last administration. Against those ideas, Mr. Miniter says some Republicans were not necessarily winners in the last battle, depending on which candidate they backed, as a signal that the purge continues and Republicans will soon be the Conservative Party.
Mr. Gordon says that liberalism has succeeded at the time its current ideology of anticapitalism was needed, and now the liberals need to congratulate themselves and move on, instead of still clinging to a world of sheep, wolves, and shepherds, because the conservatives are changing and evolving into something new. (While they continue to purge people away who don’t fit the hard-right attitude).
Mr Jeffrey says that health care reform plans will turn us into a welfare state, with subsidies for enough people to keep the Democrats in power and fierce taxes and no help for those who make enough to be above that line. All basing itself on the idea that health care and insurance premiums are expensive. So why not reform the insurance premiums and the system there, instead of whinging about a government program that is attempting to do so (even if it will bite the big one)?
Taibbi slams the Goldman Sachs execs for actually saying that Jesus was for greed, profit, and self-interest when he said that we needed to love each other as we do ourselves.
The best thing to do, I would agree, is to forget left and right and focus on doing what is right (with the caveat that the majority is not always right, especially when it wants to act counter to the founding principles of the country.)
Ans we should avoid pontification about how everyone has a point of view in journalism and that accusations of non-objectivity and bias are rendered moot by that, with a little martyr complex thrown in. (“I’m special because I’m counter to them, thus when they say I’m biased, they’re only showing their own biases.”)
The truly worst, however, prefer to attack Holocaust survivors by claiming that Jews are profiting off of the treatment they received during that period, including such gems as “America is a Christian nation, so Jews should shut up”, and “Obama takes his orders from George Soros, who is Jewish.” This was after said survivor took umbrage at a picture comparing the Democratic health care bill with the concentration camps.
In technology, Firefox surpasses IE6 for browser share. Now, here’s hoping IE6 dies in a standards-noncompliant fire. Also, Google unveils the DTN protocol, for interplanetary Internet-type communications, although one would probably not be able to play Quake across worlds with such a thing,
And last out for tonight, velvet paintings of kaiju, including most of the Godzilla cast and Ultraman. Additionally, the letterbox principle works - a camera left at the summit of a climb was returned, as per instructions, after other climbers had taken pictures of themselves at the summit.
Oh, and by the way, did we mention Jesus was born in June?
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Shortpacked!@TNI: It's head-in-a-jar time!
Shortpacked!: Her, uh, anatomy makes slightly more sense than Blackarachnia's.
 Hello! Everyone and their mother emailed me asking about the lineart for the Mike/Amber Smoochy-Smoochy strip. Well, you can have it! But you'll have to fight each other for it first. That's right, it's auction time.
As usual, it's on 12"x18" art paper, was rendered in blue pencil and Copic brush marker, and comes to you rolled in a mailing tube. Add it to your collection! Or start one. I'm not fussy.
Auction ends in 5 days.
 So, like, even back before I started getting all the Batman guys from DC Universe Classics, I kinda coveted their Robin. It was my favorite Robin design ever! It kinda helps that Tim Drake's One-Year-Later-through-Batman-RIP outfit was based on hisNew Batman Adventures look, sure. You know me and my Bruce Timm designs. I liked that the green is dropped and he's just a red, black, and yellow guy. But the comic takes it a bit further and draws him closer thematically to Batman's motif. He's got a scalloped cape, for instance. And those little tufts on his gloves. And, oh, hey, pockets on his belt! He's like a mini-Batman with red. It kinda makes sense, don't it?
 I passed it up at the time because I wasn't collectingDCUC, but I am now! So, yay, an excuse to get him. And the fun thing is, BigBadToyStore still had him in stock for non-secondary-market prices! (they don't seem to any more) And so I was just a day or so away from just going ahead with the whole thing and ordering him when I found that damn Robin at our local Target. Just sitting there on the shelf. What? Okay. Well. I guess miracles do happen.
Robin joins my Batman in punching villains now. Sometimes he even gets the punching! (Okay, most of the time. He's only second behind the Riddler.) The toy comes with a few accessories. He's got his martial arts staff that Tim Drake likes to carry around and two Batarangs. (Robinorangs? Birdorangs?) I kinda wish he could store the -rangs in some of his pockets. But no, they'll probably just get lost. I prefer the staff. He also comes with a stand, as he's not part of the "build-a-figure" deal.
I'm grateful that there's a smaller, teenager-sized body-type for Robin to be. It just wouldn't do, being the size of everyone else. Plus, y'know, I guess it'd come in handy for the rest of the Teen Titans.
Anyway, speaking of Power Rangers, you know how they all wore color-coded outfits when they were in their civilian identities? Red Ranger wore red, Pink ranger wore pink, etc? Robin totally did that in the very early comics, I noticed, as I've been reading through my Batman Chronicles collections. Dick Grayson is always in a yellow collared shirt under a red sweater and green pants. Wow, that's a bit conspicuous. Batman probably color-coded his civvies, too, but blue and gray formal wear is a lot less outlandish.
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| User: |  johnforster |
| Date: | 2009-11-08 16:07 |
| Subject: | |
| Security: | Public |
I'm working on a film: "Unsolved Ghosteries." Written and directed by me. I also play the ghost.
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We're so proud.
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Thanks so much for all your continued support! ^_^ Best of luck to all bidding!
You Look Adorable
Busty Mom Hug
Making Do
Don't Let Go
Appropriately Immature
Trip to the Vet
Should All Blow Over
That's Not Fair
Get Inked
The Connection
Balance a Beer Bottle
Animal Control
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Dear Bookstore:
I like the fact that you're across the street. I like the fact that you have a zillion books. I want to give you money. So would it kill you to actually stock a few books I want to read?
I'm perfectly willing to understand that people aren't automatically going to have everything. But you didn't have Pride and Prejudice and Zombies when I wanted it. You didn't have the latest Laurell K. Hamilton the third day after it was officially released, leaving my wife bookless. And today, I actively wanted to purchase Crumb's version of the Book of Genesis, a book by a long-standing comics figure that's been written up in most major magazines (including Newsweek and Entertainment Weekly), and no. You were out. Again.
Yes, you can order it for me, I know. But I'm trying to do you guys a favor. I can get it at 10% off with your special order process and then come back and get it, or I can get this latest bestseller 43% off from Amazon and have it delivered to my door. (Admittedly, Amazon is out right now, but the principle still applies.) I mean, I'm actively taking a hit on my own price to try to prop up a local business - can you do your duty and have what I desire? I'm not asking for totally weird stuff.
Trust me. When you had China Mieville's latest book (shelved, strangely, in fiction and not science fiction), I did purchase it. Allow me to recompense you. Let us both profit. Just get the goddamned inventory in, okay?
Love,
T.F.
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The scene means a lot to us. To that end, we are offering a free development service to webcomics only. If you are an independent professional, you can apply at the URL below to our open beta for a chance to get your very own free app. Best of all? There is absolutely no catch. It really is free.
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When I was young and at a party, sometimes I would be overcome by sadness. Then I would have to leave the party and sit outside. Being stupid, I would sit out there until someone noticed I was gone and came and got me. If they did, then they loved me. If nobody did, then I was alone and unloved. I was very, very stupid. These days, I know: I just get overpeopled sometimes and need to retreat. That wave of sadness is my introvert circuits ticking over, and I need a bit of space. I thought back then that I was sad because I was lonely; quite the opposite. Now, I just feel slightly foolish should anyone discover me, alone, in some back room. "I'm fine," I smile. "Just need some time.". And I realize that no matter how good life gets, I am the sort of person who'll have spikes of sadness from time to time, and no matter how beloved or wanted or desired I am, I will occasionally just need to withdraw and contemplate this strange isolation. I'd like to be at a party and always on. Sometimes I am. Lucky enough, I guess. Posted via LiveJournal.app.
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This is so sad looking.
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Last day of voting for the Amazon Comic-Strip Superstar contest. There's at least one webcomic creator among the finalists, Dana Simpson of Ozy and Millie and Raine Dog.
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Via Mothering Magazine:
New Moon Girl Media's mission is to help girls, ages 8 to 12, discover their unique voices and express them in the world in ways that matter. Through active girl involvement and participation, they provide respectful, creative, energetic and safe communities where girls explore, discover, create, grow and share their voices to make a positive difference in their lives and in the world. You won't find diet advice or popularity contests at New Moon Girls. The magazine is 100% advertising-free and dedicated to helping girls discover and honor their true selves. Created by girls, for girls, every issue is pure inspiration. Unfortunately, it may not be able to continue. Joe Kelly sent out a heartfelt letter today. Please do what you can to help. From Joe: You know how crucial it is to empower today's girls with healthy, positive media--alternatives to the toxic media drenching our daughters. New Moon Girls online community and magazine gives girls ages 8 and up a safe, exciting, supportive space to express themselves and hear from other girls around the world. Girls who could be the next Courtney Martin (a finalist this week in Washington Post's America's Next Great Pundit contest) whose first article was published in New Moon when she was a girl, 14 years ago. Sadly, this will all end on 12-31-09 without your help. New Moon has had a tough year like many other businesses. Even with a lot of effort, we haven't succeeded in bringing in additional investors this fall, and it's time to add a new strategy to keep New Moon alive. We have until Dec 31 to reach monthly break-even so that New Moon can grow in the future. Have we tightened our own belts? You betcha! Right now our monthly expenses are 65% less than they were a year ago. But we still have a gap of $7500 a month to break-even. The good news is that with your help we can close this gap. The gap amounts to only 250 additional orders a month @ $29.95. You can help by: - Sponsoring memberships for libraries, schools and programs serving low-income girls. It's quick and easy to sponsor one, ten or 100 girls - every dollar matters!
- Buying memberships for all girls 8-14 that you know. Our holiday special saves you 50% after the first order.
- Telling everyone what you value about New Moon. Link to us, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter and share with your FB friends and Tweeps.
Please act today so the media universe for girls won't be totally dominated by Stardoll.com, Seventeen magazine, and worse. With your help to sponsor memberships for non-profits and to give New Moon as gifts, we can continue to ensure a media that lifts girls' aspirations, increases their power, and gives them an outlet for their unique perspectives and voices. I'm sending this email to everyone I know and asking you to do the same. Also, if you (or someone you know) would like to learn more about becoming an investor in New Moon, contact Nancy Gruver: nancyg@newmoon.com. All the best,
Joe
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You've all been patiently waiting, now here it is! Pre-order yours now at the introductory price of $44.95! After the pre-order is complete, the price will go up to $52! Order yours TODAY!
Thanks much for all your support! ^_^
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Watching Psycho on Netflix, I can see why Anthony Perkins had next to no career after it.
Thing is, everyone remembers Psycho for, well, the Psycho. The shower scene, the crazy killer, the OMG BLOOD. But watching it now, as someone would have in the 1950s, there's really no sense of menace about Norman Bates; we've already seen at least three people (the cop, the car salesman, the rowdy Texan who gives the money) who were crazier.
Norman's a strange little guy, but strangely charming. He wouldn't be out of place in a modern Indie film - the quirky habits of his taxidermy, his nervous stammer, his misplaced kindness, his lonely hotel. Actually, with a slight twist, he could be a likeable character in The Office. He's not a crazy guy for a lot of his performance, which is why the twist works - he's a nice guy, a hint of crazy, and then STABBITY STAB.
Which left poor Anthony Perkins in a horrible casting place. The studios wanted to cast him as an evil villain, but really he has little innate menace. Even when he's angry, he's strangely meek - which works for this film, but no other. And of course, after he became Hollywood's most famous killer, he couldn't be a leading man. So there he was, caught between extremes.
I feel bad for him. He was a good actor. He deserved a better career. But his breakout role placed him straight in the Kobayashi Maru.
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Hi, guys.
I have a project on Kickstarter, called "Poorcraft." It's my attempt to write and publish a comic, illustrated by Diana Nock, about living well on less. It's already reach goal, so it's definitely happening, but there's still time to get a copy of your own for as little as $5.00.
Click through, watch the video, and check me out. I do a lot of nervous glancing to my right. It's funny.
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If you've ever attended a party at La Casa McJuddmetz, you'll know that people tend to congregate in the kitchen. So we're thinking of renovating. Specifically, we wish to tear down this wall:
We wouldn't remove it entirely, of course - what we want to do is take down the wall and create a counter at roughly waist height, wherein we could a) have a place for people to rest drinks on, b) open up this central area, and c) install some cabinets under the counter and get some more chopping/storage space for the kitchen.
What Gini is worried about is affecting the flow of our parties. When we play Rock Band - which is, admittedly, often - people go to the kitchen, which she thinks might be to get away from the noise. I think people go to the kitchen because it's the only other comfortable place to stand in our house - when we're rockin', the living room is full up on people, and unless you want to sit down at the dining room table or wedge yourself into the hallway by the door, your only other choice is the kitchen. Which, may I remind you, the wall facing the living room looks summat like this:
I think if we open up that area, we make a larger talking-to area - you could stand in the dining room and lean to talk to people in the kitchen, and I don't think the noise would be much of an issue. But if you've gotten this far, you've evidently been to one of our gatherings. What do you think of the idea?
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On Sunday, November 22nd, I will be DMing for charity. That's right; I'll be running a roleplaying game down in Akron, and for a mere $20 ($25 at the door) you can not only give to children, but be a part of a mini-con that involves LAN parties, gaming, and Guitar Hero.
What will I be running? A Planescape game, of course! Here's a description:
Couched In Mystery: A Planescape Game
Morty the Dustman has a serious problem: he cannot die. He's tried everything from leaping off of the spires to mouthing off to tanar'ri, and nothing hurts him. The problem is that he's a member of Sigil's Dustmen faction - a sect that idolizes and fetishizes death. And in helping Morty solve his horrible un-murder, you will wander through the stranger nooks and crannies of Sigil, the city at the heart of the multiverse.... (D&D 3rd Edition, roughly) (5 players)
If you can't make it to the charity, you can help me in another way: on Saturday, November 21st, I'll be holding a Mystery Module runthrough of the game to make sure all runs smoothly. So if you're a local who wants to play some Planescape (and who doesn't?), let me know which you'll be attending. Either will help me, but I hope you all can come to Akron (or just give to Child's Play in their name).
As a secondary bit, I have not forgotten my commitment to the Monthy Magazine Review, but the wedding has sapped my ability to read short stories now. I will have it up later in the month, hopefully just before their Black Friday sale - for the magazine I shall be reviewing is GUD Magazine! W00t!
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Here, at last then, is the final chapter of Psychiatric Tales. As ever if you spot any mistakes or have anything critical to say, then please let me know. I tend to think of these online versions of the stories as beta versions, which still need debugging. So all comments help.
The book still isn't finished. I have to redo much of the lettering in the first half of the book, correct spelling mistakes, plus rewrite and redraw four pages of an earlier chapter which, as it stands, is factually confusing.
The book will be out from Blank Slate in Feb and will be available through their website and various other places.
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Two days before the beginning of the 40 Days and 40 nights of Noah's Ark
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