pedophilia vs. hebephilia vs. ephebophilia
Bill Donohue of The Catholic League issued a statement the other day saying that the whole boy-raping scandal that is really the work of gay people who are working to undermine the moral authority of the Chruch by… reporting on its crimes against small children. Oh oh oh! And that really, it’s wasn’t pedophilia, it was really homosexuality at play.
Oh, Bill. Learn the difference between the words above and what most sane people consider the age of consent to be. Freak.
Uncanny X-Men #522 - No one could have been more supportive of the return of Miss Pryde than me, but the overall story to get her back home ASAP seems rushed. I don’t doubt that in the Marvel U, Magneto can reach across the vastness of space, turn a moon-sized bullet around and draw it to Earth at near the speed of light. But I’m calling shenanigans on the “he disintegrated the bullet as it entered the atmosphere thereby not destroying the world.” That’s just too much to take in in a single issue. And why the hurry to get her back, anyway? The story could have been drawn out for a few months and had a way better plot, but it seems she had to be back now. What is Marvel planning for Shadowcat?
Of course, there is a twist to Kitty’s return: she’s stuck in her phasing state. I suppose that the X-Men could ask Reed Richards to unstuck her like he did in The X-Men vs. The Fanstastic Four back in.. what, 1987? C
Nemesis #1 - I am going to hold off on doing a review of Nemesis, except to say that I got it, and it does indeed, make Kick-Ass pale in comparison. Good or bad? You decide.
flume
One of the only rides I will willingly go on at an amusement park is the log ride, technically called a “log flume”. Everything else gives me gas.
samizdat
I came across this word on the back cover of Eye of Argon, universally accepted as the worst piece of fantasy writing ever (possibly the worst piece of writing ever, full stop). In essence, it means “self-published”, but there’s an under-meaning of the courage to put work of your own raw, unvarnished work forward. There’s also a sense of urgency involved. Beautiful word.
keffiyeh
A friend from IUP got me a keffiyeh while he was in New York one time. It was a very cool gift, and I wore it all the time (as a scarf. in winter. which is nine months out of the year in Indiana, PA). I still have it, though it has seen better days (the only older piece of clothing I have is red nylon underwear, a birthday gift from a dear friend when we were 19 (!!!)). I’d like to get another one just to prove that it’s a fucking scarf and not a cry for a second Shoa.
sphygmomanometer
This is the proper name for a blood pressure taker. Who knew?
kerslopis, squish mitten and minge
Once again, I think men get shafted (so to speak) when it comes to cool names for human sexy bits. Women get “kaslopis” and “squish mitten” among many other pet names, whereas men have to be content with “lap ham” and “cock”. It hardly seems fair.
Women also have better clothes.
Joe Palmer of the Gay League and the GLA Yahoo Group interviewed me last week, and I’ve been too unfocused to post about it. Which makes me seem ungrateful, which I’m not. The interview was a lot of fun, and I got to talk at length about things I’ve never said before. So, apologizes, Joe, and thanks again!
I wish I had mentioned a few things that I didn’t: the parallel between gay comics and AIDS dramas of the 80′s and early 90′s (evolve or die (so to speak)), Fun Home by Alison Bechdel as an example of novel coming out stories, not hoping that all my students came to a bad end (so 2005); and also not using “metaphorically speaking” and “nuclear” twice each. And more than anything else, I should have been clear that everything I said applies to me and my writing more than it does anyone else’s.
Next time.
UPDATE the FIRST: Tomorrow after work, I am going to HEB to buy some Ginkgo Bilboa because tonight I remembered two how-could-I-possibly-have-forgotten-them events in my comics’ history: the first is that I did a comics strip for the Colorado Springs LGBTQ newspaper, called “Minds Like Hamburger”; and two, I spoke on Prism’s Up-and-Coming LGBTQ Comics Creators panel at Comic-Con in 2007 (an event that still thrills me when I think about it). Sorry about my faulty memory!
hybristophilia
I love “Criminal Minds”! From last night’s episode, I learned this new word which explains the phenomenon of why otherwise sane people marry Death Row convicts. Even more interesting, it’s derived from “hubris”, a hallmark of Greek and Shakespearean tragedies.
rochambeau
And all this time I thought it meant being kicked in the nuts. Little did I know!
hypnagogia
There is a term for all those pre-sleep and pre-waking experiences I’ve been having so often these days. Apparently, in hypnagogia it is not unusual to hear one’s name be called or to come away with bits and pieces of conversation. When I first read about this, I thought it might also encompass the “frozen wakefulness” I get sometimes, but that is actually sleep paralysis. At least I don’t have night terrors.
Which obviously means that I’m waaay behind in my bloggery duties. The short of STAPLE is this: it was a fantastic day to see an event center full of talented folks who do what they love doing. The long.. is actually not much longer.
After set-up, my table looked like this:
with the spectacular banner Scott made. What you can’t see is the equally spectacular banner for Weird City Theatre that I didn’t have room to hang, so it became a runner for the half table I reserved. (Sorry, guys! Next year, a whole table!) I was hoping the banner would be enough to draw people in, but I actually started accosting people to give away the $5-off coupons for “Giants in Those Days” admissions and postcards for Scott’s and my websites. That was the most difficult part of the day since I’m not a great salesman, and walking up to strangers who may have no interest in what I’m saying makes my stomach clench. Still, I did it. And I’m happy to say no one told me to shove off.
I didn’t sell much, but I did meet Brandon from Austin Word-Slingers, and got invited to join the group. I’m looking forward to my first meeting with them.
All told for the day, I probably made about $30, which is exactly what I spent on a new comic book series being sold a few tables down. My goodness! Why did no one ever tell me about Atomic Robo? I’m going to say it’s a failing on the part of all my friends who knew about this comics, but for some reason didn’t recognize that this is exactly the kind of book that I LOVE to read. Shame on you. You’re off my Christmas card list. Props to my STAPLE tablemate Jenner Carnelian for letting me read his copy of the first issue, which led to my buying the whole series.
The concept behind Atomic Robo is one so simple that I’ve decided to make it my mission for the next year to pare back my own writing to this level of clear but wonderful wordsmithing. Nikola Tesla, mad inventor and genius, created an atomic-powered robot to safeguard the world from threats no one else could hope to defeat. It’s makes perfect sense for Brian Clevinger to write about Tesla and his inventions, being a genius himself. Robo’s speech is anachronistic at times – having 21st century levels of snark – but it doesn’t kill the mood of the story because it makes the character that much easier to relate to. Of all four volumes out, the third is hands down my favorite because H. P. Lovecraft and his mad gods play a huge role in it, and because the Star Trek levels of sciencespeak give Grant Morrison’s 9th dimensional devisings a run for their money. The fun of the book is in the throw-away lines like “…Edison would never let the likes of you or I near his necrophone.” The uchronology in the book reminds me of Helen Killer. It’s fantastic stuff.
Save yourself some time and postage, and buy all the issues at once. No sense in putting yourself through the torture of waiting for the next installment to arrive.
Sunday was the indy panel discussion at Dragon’s Lair with me, Jason Neulander, Drew Edwards, Chris Garrett, Keith Quinn, Nate Bramble, and Anthony Rezendez. Honestly, we outnumbered the audience members, which was fine because we got to talk amongst ourselves a lot. It was a good afternoon, though I don’t think I sold anything to anyone who didn’t already know me. Thanks Lisa Ann and Steven!
I have to say I was a bit nervous about meeting Jason Neulander. He does a live comic book radio show called “Intergalactic Nemesis” which draws its inspiration from adventure serials of the 30′s and 40′s, but with comic book pages that are brought to life by actors and Foley artists. I only found about this a few weeks ago when his troupe performed at an Alamo Drafthouse event, and when I heard about it, I just about died. “Intergalactic Nemesis” is what Jason does for a living, which is undeniably the coolest job ever. Everyone on the panel spoke about making their comics out of a love the the medium and the passion of telling our own stories, but Jason took it a step further and exhorted us to not wait to be discovered, but to make a business out of ourselves. “Inspiring” really doesn’t do the excitement of his words justice. but back to my near-death experience. His concept for “Intergalactic Nemesis” was exactly what I was thinking for “Giants in Those Days.” Poop. Luckily, I’m not the artistic director for Weird City, so I’m going to stop worrying (…a bit. Maybe…) and let someone else develop the concept.
And speaking of “Giants in Those Days”, four souls who were not busy with the Oscars were at my house Sunday night to do a read-through of the play and to give me feedback on what’s good and what’s not, and what needs to be added and what needs to be changed. It was a productive meeting, and there are several things I need to take care of, but I’m happy for the occupation. Whatever else it may be, “Giants in Those Days” is going to be an unusual night of theatre.
Today is my second day of Spring Break, and I have lots to do in the coming days, not the least of which is avoid the ex-convict who wants to mow my lawn. Maybe I’ll get to a winery or someplace that has a hot tub for a day.
The HULK! #23
I didn’t buy Crossed this week like I had planned because my LCS didn’t have back issues extending to #1. Being a completist, I would have been driven mad by half a set. HOWEVER, there was a copy of the infamous The HULK #23 in which Bruce Banner is almost shower-raped at a Y by two sour-faced gay guys. As noted in Mistakes of a Past History #2, writer Jim Shooter was apparently going for “verisimilitude” with this story, but the result is a menudo of melodrama, a veritable potpourri of painful plights so grotesquely portrayed that I can’t believe it got green lit in the first place. Of course, I was interested in buying the issue because of the gay angle (it being of personal interest), but trust me, gay people were not the only one’s maligned by Jim Shooter. Junkies in particular should be taking some umbrage with him, to say nothing of baby mommas. “Verisimilitude” to Jim Shooter apparently means, “everyone dies unmourned: the good, the bad, the innocent” or something equally as nihilistic… well, in a Sartre-for-Dummies-I-read-about-this-once-while-waiting-on-line-at-the-grocery-store kind of way. Shooter didn’t have the chops to write this effectively, and that’s the real crime.
Come see me at table 10A in the Auditorium! It’s going to be a GREAT day of Indy media in all it’s forms. I’ll also have discount coupons for Weird City Theatre’s production of my play Giants in Those Days, debuting this July in Austin, TX! The poster below is by the soon-to-be world famous Benjamin Ruth, who also did all the art for Rise of the Pink Ninjas.
Also, my brother created a banner for the event. I picked it up yesterday and it’s everything I hoped it would be:
Of course, it will look better at my table (well, half table; I’m sharing with GINK Press) than on my floor. I’ll be sure to post pictures after I’m assembled Saturday morning.
AND At 1 PM on March 7th at Dragon’s Lair Comics, I will be part of a panel of local folks – Jason Neulander, Drew Edwards, Chris Garrett, Keith Quinn, Nate Bramble, and Anthony (sorry, no idea on the last name…) – talking about a life of Indy comics. I’m looking forward to it!
fungible
Of course, Scott Adams owns Dilbert.
Come see me at table 10A in the Auditorium! It’s going to be a GREAT day of Indy media in all it’s forms.
Also, my brother created a banner for the event. It’s being put together by SpeedPro and I’ll have it by Tuesday. I can’t tell you how excited I am to have something so… official. Check out how cool:
AND At 1 PM on March 7th at Dragon’s Lair Comics, I will be part of a panel of local folks – Jason Neulander, Drew Edwards, Chris Garrett, Keith Quinn, Nate Bramble, and Anthony (sorry, no idea on the last name…) – talking about a life of Indy comics. I’m looking forward to it!
