"I associate [negative attributes x] with [group y]. You, a member of [group y], lack [negative atttributes x] and/or possess [possitive attributes z]. So, you aren't really a member of [group y]!"

Needs work, I think. Includes <sneer quotes>straight-acting</sneer quotes> gay men, femmes, Negroes unlike those Bill Cosby described a few days back, Christians (why yes, I have caught myself on the brink of saying something as appalling stupid as, "I didn't think you were a Christian, you're so open-minded and intelligent!"), probably other people/situations that are slipping my sievelike mind at the moment. . .

Further to the Cos tip, the thing about that, or similar/comparable statements by Chris Rock, is that the speaker and (Negro) audience realize perfectly well that the statements don't apply to all Negroes. The white conservatives who jump on the stuff, more often than not in my experience, don't.

This often leads to the fun-filled interaction where one of 'em treats me like I am one of those people. And, upon realizing their mistake,then make matters oh so much worse by attempting to bond over the incident.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were one of those people."

How the fuck are you supposed to respond to that? I mean, I know, by then going off on a rant about those people and allowing the bonding experience. Because, really, bonding with racist fuckheads is always the high point of a day.

Anyway, any suggestions? Questions? Comments?

How much of this story do you even want to read?

News > Indianz.com: Hospital denies sending Native fetus through mail

A hospital in Ontario, Canada, says the package a Native mother received in the mail is not the fetus of her miscarried baby.

I'll be honest. I barely got past the headline.

This isn't a good approach to take. I know this. I also know that several of the other stories at Indianz.com deserve to be heard. As much as anything deserves hearing, anyway.

But I still can't bring myself to click on USA Today: DOI investigating BIA prison abuse (5/21), for example, or Fighter jet crashes on Tohono O'odham Reservation (5/21), or. . . you get the idea.

On the other other hand, I wasn't able to come up with a coherent -- even for me -- response to some photos someone had posted a while back, when the Abu Ghraib story first broke, of some coalition (read: US) troops giving frisbees to Iraqi youth.

It was linked quite a bit by people on the right, as an example of the sorts of stories the liberal, America-hating media didn't tell.

I mean, sure, good news for a change so people don't think the entire rest of the planet is a non-stop chamber of horrors, all well and good, but how many fucking frisbees does it take to equal someone getting a chem light shoved up their ass is what I'm wondering.

See? Incoherent.

So it crosses my mind, after a bit of searching to find out if there's a new Finder trade either out or in the works, to put the question to some of the comics professionals who tend to lurk hereabouts. Or the more informed fans. I'm flexible.

And haven't read Mystery Date yet, which link goes to a glowing review at artbomb.net. They also have a bio of Carla Speed McNeil, if you're wondering what I'm on about.

And the blog has a brief mention of the upcoming Persepolis 2 and Birth of a Nation books, if those are more your tastes.

I mentioned this not being a comics blog, yes?

I can do politics. Sort of. I mean, reading In Iraq, the Job Opportunity of a Lifetime reminded me of why enthusiastic young white conservatives shouldn't be allowed to leave the U.S. without adult supervision, let alone being put in charge of rebuilding a country.

The next day, wearing flak jackets and helmets, Ledeen and Greco went to visit Raghad in the hospital. As they moved to embrace Raghad -- who was covered with cuts and bruises and had lost hearing in one ear -- the mother of another injured woman told them to leave, saying they should have never come, that it wasn't safe.

"It's okay," Ledeen told her.

"It's not okay, little girl," the woman snapped back. It was only then that Ledeen understood the mother wasn't worried about her safety. She was concerned about the Iraqi women who, as workers for the CPA, were seen by insurgents as collaborators.

It is good to see that sometimes smacking 'em like that has the desired effect -- making them realize that they are not, in fact, the center of/only thing of value in the Universe. Never works when I do it, but I might be smacking too hard. . . That article was linked at Eschaton, by the way. And there's probably lots to say about the Presidential Material? entry at A Small Victory that doesn't include charges of blatant hypocricy, but I admit to blanking.

Apparently, when news of Bush's bike spill made its way to Kerry yesterday, he said to reporters "Did the training wheels fall off?"

You want this petty, childish man as your president?

Wait, got it. *Ahem* "Which petty, childish man were you talking about, dear?"

No, that's no good. . .

Update: Oh, fine.

From WILL in beautiful(?) Urbana, IL for PRI, Public Radio International, it's Classically Black:

The close relationship that developed between [Roger] Cooper and [William] Warfield planted the seeds for Classically Black, a series Cooper has produced about classically trained African American musicians. "I loved to talk to him about the early days and about the musicians he knew," says Cooper. "I thought it would be great if everyone could hear his stories."

[. . .] Cooper says he sees the programs as a kind of long-term outreach project. "Hopefully, we'll get more black people interested in classical music," he says. Often, people aren't aware of the contributions of African American musicians. "I have degrees in music and I didn't hear about them. You don't learn about black composers in music history classes," says Cooper, who has completed coursework for a doctorate in voice performance and literature at the U of I. In the past, little radio programming was available about classical music of black composers and musicians, says Cooper. "There was a need for it that wasn't being met. More is available now, and maybe we've had something to do with that."

Artists featured include Leontyne Price (which program I'm listening to now. Well of course she attended Juilliard. Didn't we all?), Marian Anderson, Paul Robeson. . .

Can I mention him without mentioning his politics? This isn't a political entry. You can tell. There's no swearing.

S'weird, I know the names, I've heard a bit of the music, but you could fill several libraries with what I don't know about. . . well, anything, really, but especially the personal and professional lives of these performers. Unfortunately (for me), since the program airs on WILL FM (the [we'll say classical for shorthand, even if that is inaccurate, I know, shaddap] classical station), some background knowledge is assumed that, um, I ain't got. I thought Puccini was some fancy I-talian shoemaker.

Update: My bad, Grammy Award winner Trina Shoemaker worked with The Moon Seven Times. One of the members of M7x was Henry Frayne. The program Classics of the Phonograph: Great Recordings of the Past on WILL is hosted by John Frayne, who if I remember a'right is Henry's dad.

You might be wondering what this has to do with anything.

Nothin'

Just thought I'd mention it.

And he laid that golden fiddle on the ground at Johnny's feet.
Johnny said, "Devil just come on back if you ever want to try again,
"I done told you once you son of a gun I'm the best there's ever been! "

Can I just say that the leaks and counter-leaks and raids and what-not in/involving Iraq, the ones that kind'a point towards open hostility between different factions of our government, are just a wee bit worrying since there is this group called Al Qaeda out there that's sort-of dedicated to our destruction and all? And the whole Iraq deal has been a massive distraction from dealing with them?

Unless groups in the gov'mint that I don't know about are doing things I don't want to know about while going about preventing attacks and dismantling the group, in which case, um, that's probably the best way to go about it, actually.

Meanwhile, in that one country we pre-emtively invaded for no particular reason, Baghdad Burning/River writes:

I always enjoy a good Chalabi interview. His answers to questions are always so completely antagonistic to Iraqi public opinion that the whole thing makes a delightful show- rather like a vicious Chihuahua in the midst of a dozen bulldogs. There were several amusing moments during the interview. He kept waving around his arms and made numerous flourishing movements with his hands to emphasize some key points. A few interesting things I noted about the interview: he was suddenly using the word 'occupation'. During past interviews, he would never use the word 'occupation'. He used to insist on calling the invading army et al. 'coalition' and the whole fiasco was persistently labeled a 'liberation' by him and his cronies.

Hope he's enjoyed his brief return to the place, because it sounds like he's about to get run out the place again. If he's lucky.

Had lunch at the local(ish) Cosi with The GhettoFabulous Jessica. She disrespected their bar, which, as a lush, I suppose she has some credibility to do, but still. . . never mind.

We did decide (which may be too strong a word) to go to the local(ish) Ren Faire. The mere fact that neither of us knows when it is or where it's held means nothing.

She has the hat.

I'll. . . wear one of the less obnoxious black t-shirts, I suppose.

I suppose if I try placing that appalling L*ttl* M*ss H**t*rs contest in some sort of cultural context with prepubescent beauty contests or the trend towards sexualization of children, I'll be accused of supporting terrorism. Or child pornography. Or being a Michael Jackson fan. Or something even worse.

So instead I'll just mention that this is like every other instance when the blogosphere (n!sdctp!) starts breaking their fucking arms patting themselves on the back, and makes me pretty happy that I'm not one of them.

If you don't have the slightest idea what I'm babbling about. . . be happy.

I do wonder why, if everyone is annoyed with having to sprinkle troll-resistant pixie dust on themselves before saying anything (e.g., "Even though Iraqis are better off with Saddam Hussein. . ." or "Although the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib are horrifying. . ."), they don't just tell the trolls to shut the fuck up. Seems to work for me.

Despite the troll-resistant pixie dust of that first paragraph.

There's also a reason for the lack of links in this entry.

Try to guess what that might be.

As it turns out, there are people dedicated to preserving the right of a nigga to get a table dance. From jon's mind, by way of Skippy the Bush Kanga, but in the local-for-me Sun-Times, Fearful strip clubs register voters to oust President Bush:

Strip club owners are putting a little bada-bing in the presidential campaign by asking patrons to turn their eyes away from the stage for a moment to fill out a voter registration form -- and then vote against President Bush.

''It's not to say our industry loves John Kerry or anything like that,'' said Dave Manack, associate publisher of E.D. Publications, which publishes Exotic Dancer magazine. ''But George Bush, if he's re-elected, it could be very damaging to our industry.''

Amazing, how many agree with the statement that John Kerry Is A Douchebag But I'm Voting For Him Anyway. Dot com.

Not all are convinced, alas:

On a recent night at the Isabella Queen, Christopher Ness, a 35-year-old patron, filled out a registration form. But he said if he goes to the polls in November, he'll probably vote Republican.

''I like the way it is right now,'' Ness said.

Demonstrating that voter registration isn't enough, there also has to be voter education on the issues. Well, anyone else want to set up tables at strip clubs to explain the impact of Ashcroft's crackdown on. . . do you ever find yourself unable to finish typing or saying a sentence? Keeps happening to me. I should have that looked at.

Want to know more? Wait, stupid question. There's the apparently-not-updated-recently Sex Workers' International Media Watch page, I suppose, although that's the employees, not the owners, but that gets into all sorts of discussion of labor issues and. . . yep, doing it again. See also: Sex Workers Alliance of Vancouver, if you're worried about having to flee north should bad come to worse and God the Supreme Court the electorate put Bush and company back in the White House come the fall. Can't get The International Union of Sex Workers site to load, for some reason. . .

While we're not on the subject, how often d'you think Daze Reader and a small victory find common cause? No, really, I'm curious, never given the matter much thought myself.

[Introduced by California Congressman Duncan Hunter (R), H.B. 4239, also called the "Parents’ Empowerment Act,"] allows compensatory damages starting at no less than $10,000 for any instance in which a minor is exposed to “harmful to minors” entertainment products. The bill also allows that punitive damages and reasonable fees may be awarded to the prevailing party at the discretion of the court. The bill also seeks to strengthen the current test courts utilize in determining what is obscene material by providing a separate definition of obscenity specifically for children. It is an affirmative defense to action under this bill if a parent or guardian of the minor owned the material.

From the write-up/press release at Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Perhaps comics stores, in Cali and elsewhere, could also encourage their patrons to get out and vote?

Do I want to think about the number of comics shops nationwide versus the number of strip clubs?

Think there's much crossover in patrons?

Should I have stopped typing a long time ago?

Of course, the person who said that was involved in a low level sex scandal, so, y'know, consider the source.

And the site, namely Wonkette: WASHINGTONIENNE SPEAKS!! WONKETTE EXCLUSIVE!! MUST CREDIT WONKETTE!! THE WASHINGTONIENNE INTERVIEW!! (and you have to love that title):

Wonkette: I wanted to ask you if you had any advice for other young women starting out in Washington.
Washingtonienne: [Laughs] I think any advice I have should be self-evident from my blog.
Wonkette: What about, "Don't keep a blog about your sex life?"
Washingtonienne: Ha! I think everyone should keep a blog about their sex life, because people should be responsible for the shit they pull.

Which reminds me,

* * Paragraph deleted by emergency self-preservation system * *

. . . I really should uninstall that thing. Anyway, more details, including her real name (um, Washingtonienne's, not Wonkette's), and all like that there, in the link.

That's the "Adult Content" version of trueFresco.org's referrer tracking JavaScript thingee, which I saw being used at languagehat. Er, the normal version, not the one for those of us whose:

site/page displays links pointing to an adult(porn) website.

Which, y'know, I kind'a do. From a certain point of view.

Not sure about re-adding this -- there's already tons of links, the page is a bit busy, there's a couple external graphics already slowing things down -- so, it's up for testing now.

But I feel the need for a prayer.

np: Lisa Germano, Geek the Girl, if you don't catch the reference. And if so, you're probably reading the wrong web site.

Further expanding on this point:

Tori Amos, Welcome to Sunny Florida. Own it today on DVD!

Sugar high. Sorry.

If you're not looking to lay out cash, free Innocence Mission for download at Amazon.com Music. Where it's been for quite some time, but I only noticed it today, because I suck.

Note to the Irresistably Cute Lisa: They're playing Northampton on May 29th, if you'll be there then.

Also on the tour tip, the trigger-happy mother fuckin' Cowboy Junkies will be playing Skyline Stage at Navy Pier on July 18th. Click the name of the band for yet more dates, but you'll have to scroll down a bit if you don't live in Far Far Away. Like Germany. Or Belgium. Or the Netherlands. Or Canada.

And if you don't want to leave home, we gots somethin' for that.

Gretchen Wilson will be featured on the following TV shows:

• Wed. 5/26: Gretchen will perform on CBS' "ACM Awards"
• Wed. 6/2: Gretchen will perform "Redneck Woman" on The Today Show. Please check your local listings.

This is not a music blog, by the bye.

Evil super-genius Cobb issues a summons to the greatest Black conservative minds blogtopia (y!sctp!) has to offer!

La Shawn Barber!

Darmon Thornton!

Baldilocks!

Some other mother fuckers I ain't never heard of!

Together, they form the greatest threat to keeping a straight face since Team Rocket blasted off for the very first time.

Yes, I feel sorry for Cobb, too.

Hard to scrape the bottom of the barrel when the barrel is so damned shallow to begin with. . .

Anyway, I'm rather looking forward to the wacky hijinks of their comic misadventures.

Seen at Giles' library and over at Prometheus 6, who do a much better job of taking this seriously than I do.

Not that this is saying much.

In the interests of making myself not look like a complete idjit, I'll decline to link the previous entry where I mentioned this here upcoming episode of upcoming series Justice League Unlimited, and just quote this bit from Dwayne McDuffie News:

"And it was Dwayne (McDuffie, story editor) who said that the best big three story of all time was 'For The Man Who Has Everything.' And we said, 'OK, let's go that.'" [Bruce] Timm said he talked to [Alan] Moore about doing the episode. "I wasn't going to do the show if he wasn't comfortable with us doing it," Timm said. "And he said, 'Oh yes, I would be honored if you would adapt that for your show.'"

That's from a story at Comics Continuum, and looking over it I realize that the overwhelming majority of readers won't be able to make heads or tails of any of this.

I should provide additional context to explain matters.

Yep.

That's just what I should do.

Tra la la la la. . .

It's very good news for those of us who are following along. Just smile and nod, the rest of you.

I'm deeply ashamed that I'm following the Washingtonienne saga at Wonkette.

This doesn't mean I'm going to stop, of course. But I know it's wrong.

I'm also slightly worried that she picked the same banner from Zenarchery that I did. . .

First link takes you to an archive of the now-removed site; I'd sum this up, but really, if you don't know, there's no reason for me to go wasting your brain cells on it.

You're all reading mimi smartypants already, so no need to point out the update, yes?

There was a story on All Things Considered this afternoon about a couple getting married in MA that actually mentioned adoption. Been weird the last few days, semi-following the news from there while reading Abigail's book and hearing nada about children, adopted or otherwise. I guess this would be a needless(?) complication to the story.

Yes, there's some weird brain thing connecting the previous two paragraphs/thoughts, but it would make even less sense if I tried explaining it.

Running lsof while downloading the Angel series finale from BitTorrent does not help the brain. Not one little bit.

And I keep forgetting that I'm meant to be cyberstalking Tristan Risk. It's sad.

In the trailer for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban which preceeded Shrek 2 last night.

And you can tell I'm totally out of it as I just used the word "preceeded," probably incorrectly.

Reached by way of the source of all a great deal of the evil and suffering on the earth, Die Puny Humans, there are several lovely graphics for your use at Zenarchery.com: Download My Banners!

Which I did.

La Shawn Barber says:

Irrational, treasonous and death-inclined is no way to go through life, libs.

Multiple choice responses:

1. Yes, it fucking well is, actually.
2. Have you looked in a mirror lately? Do you, in fact, cast a reflection?
3. Whatever, Jesus Girl.
4. This criticism might, possibly, have slightly more impact if you didn't approvingly quote Ann Coulter. Just a suggestion.

Yeah, I must be out of it, because that last one seems like the best of the lot. . .

From the Families Like Mine Book Tour Dates page:

June 8, Tuesday
5:30-7:00 p.m.
Kieran's Irish Pub
330 Second Ave. South
Minneapolis, MN
612-339-4499

If you're not a big fan of the standard reading/signing in a bookstore, this event might be more your style. Co-Sponsored by The Rake and The Loft, "Raking Through Books" features a local author once a month in a fun and informal setting. There are happy hour drink specials, and if you arrive on the early side you can enjoy a free buffet.  Kieran's validates parking in the Midtown ramp on 4th Street. Books will be available at the event at a 10% discount from Ruminator Books.

Free food. Free parking. Cheap drinks. Discounted books. Everybody wins.

I still owe Abigail a beer, so if one of the Twin Cities contingent wants to buy the girl a drink for me, I'd be much appreciative.

Meanwhile, the previous evening, and equally if not a greater distance away, Kathy Y Wilson will be doing a reading at West End Library in Cincinnati, OH on Monday, June 7 at 6pm. You may remember Ms. Wilson as author of the column Your Negro Tour Guide, or the book of the same title.

I don't owe her a drink.

I don't think the library has a bar, anyway.

Then again, since Columbus has drive-through liquor stores, guess Cincinnati does t-- never mind.

This is not a classy, high-falutin' literary blog, by the bye. You want that, go annoy Jessa at Blog of a Bookslut.

I've been meaning to post about Charlize Theron's casting as Jinx. She's playing the lead in the adaptation of Brian Michael Bendis's brilliant comic Jinx. But every time I try to write about it, it usually ends up along the lines of "AHHHHRRRRGGGTTKJLADLJKLA. STUPID MOTHERFUCKERS. She's not anything like the goddamn comic book. God Fucking Damn It."

See?

Classy.

Well, that was fun. And almost enough to convince me to learn to write regular expressions.

And that was just the first "You gotta be fuckin' kidding" moment of the evening. From Sisyphus Shrugged:

Texas comptroller decrees narrow definition of god

Unitarian Universalists have for decades presided over births, marriages and memorials. The church operates in every state, with more than 5,000 members in Texas alone.

But according to the office of Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, a Denison Unitarian church isn't really a religious organization -- at least for tax purposes. Its reasoning: the organization "does not have one system of belief."

Uh-huh.

Unlike the rigorous, internally-consistent other religions out there.

Also ran across some hideously homophobic commentary I'm not even bothering to link to, because those idiots always decide to come back here.

And I really ain't in a welcoming mood right now.

Sitting at the Heartland Cafe, abusing the free WiFi again. I really should be using it to read something intelligent or interesting instead.

Update: But instead, I find a non-registration link to the story.

First off, calling anything posted on what amounts to a personal web site a "Policy statement" seems like the height of arrogance and delusional self-importance.

Secondly, although I really don't want to see Bush get elected -- note that I do not say "re- elected" -- I also really don't want to see Iraq blow up in his face/on his watch, so the kind'a gleeful partisan observations of the various setbacks ain't doing a thing for me. The partisan suggestions that policy over there be conducted more with an eye for his domestic election campaign have precisely the same effect, which happily means I can avoid explicitly political blogs on both sides of the aisle at the moment.

Third, "both sides of the aisle" is an incredibly depressing way of having to look at things, and I've moved from wishing a pox on both your houses to "fuck all y'all." Not sure what difference that makes in practical terms, but the swearing conveys the sentiment better, I think.

Lastly, if you're pleased with the use of Sarin against anyone, anywhere, because it helps you score political points, you're a monstrous excuse for a human being, and should kill yourself at the earliest possible convenience. Preferably with Sarin, for that extra bit of irony that the kids are all into these days.

Any questions? Comments?

The Rumor Barrier one encounters before reading All the Rage, that is. Since, rather than unsourced gossip, it's an interview with creator Colleen Doran:

One of the incidents I discuss on camera [in the documentary Scenes From the Small Press: Colleen Doran] was particularly interesting because I am describing the behavior of what we would now call stalking. Well, when this happened in the 1980s, stalking was not against the law. A man could follow you around, call you at all hours, send you frightening letters, and generally make your life a living hell and there wasn't much you could do about it. Other than that, I had to settle matters out of court with these people. I tell you, it was incredibly frustrating.

Colleen Doran, best known for her series A Distant Soil, also illustrated the just-out-in-paperback Orbiter graphic novel, written by Warren Ellis.

She's also working with him on the upcoming series Stealth Tribes.

This is not a comics weblog, by the bye.