In the WooWoo Wonderland™

More of the Fifty Books Challenge! This is another library request; brand new from Art Spiegelman.



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By now I'm sure you've heard the hullabaloo about The New York Post Obama cartoon:



While it can be defended that the cartoonist is just a crappy cartoonist who misjudged the pop culture effect of the the chimp shot recently for mauling a Connecticut woman and generally a dense individual for not realizing a cartoon of a monkey being shot to death meant to represent our first black president is bound to overpower his rather weak message, this cartoonist is special. A search of his name, Sean Delonas, shows this isn't the first time he's demonstrated some rather, shall we say, questionable taste and morals in his cartooning.

What follows is a collection (with their commentary) of Mr. Delonas's work, courtesy of Gawker Dot Com.

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So you see? Delonas and The New York Post aren't racists! They're also homophobes, misogynists, and just downright irrelevant and unfunny (scratch that, unintentionally funny).

From here:


He's Just Not That Into You Tugs At The Testicles

No homo.
by Amelie Gillette, January 23, 2009

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I wonder what category I fit into if not any of those? Ick. No wonder I like so much independent film.

Okay, anyone else wanna super-glue geek girl glasses to Jenny Lewis? I'd listened to Rilo Kiley for sometime without seeing what the band looked like and for some reason I'm surprised the lead singer (Jenny Lewis) doesn't have them. Maybe because of this?


ADDENDUM: "Portions For Foxes" never fails to depress the shit out of me. Usually in a good way.

Obama won.

And that is all there is to say.










Except this. Our neighbors set off fireworks, downtown Baltimore (from television, anyway) looked like New Year's Eve with people laughing and happy and singing and hugging each other and some crying with joy. And this was apparently not an isolated incident, all over the country it looked like this. You can almost feel the happy energy, the hope, both of which we so desperately need.

Also? He's a black man. That's not what won him this election or why so many think he will be one of our greatest presidents and a salve to our tattered nation. He's a black man, our first black president, and that's epically historical and to paraphrase Doris Kearns Goodwin, proof that we are a "show" not just "tell" nation. But you know what? That is absolutely NOT why anyone should have voted for him. And to suggest that's the only reason or the main reason that he's a big deal is almost farcically absurd.

From The Baltimore Sun:

$10 is Small Price For a Big Escape
Movie Box Office Figures are Flourishing Despite, or Because of, Economic Worries ( OH GOD THERE'S MORE )

Jesus Christ. I love the 1930s but this is ridiculous. And guess what? This article, as you can see, is nearly a month old.

Comment on this post and I will choose seven interests from your profile. You will then explain what they mean and why you are interested in them. Post this along with your answers in your own journal so that others can play along.

I was tagged by the hella awesome [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com].

( Aw, come on! You know you wanna.... )

And now you know the REST of the story.

We change as we age. If we didn't, we wouldn't be aging (what?). Ralph Nader recently announcing he will run for president got me thinking. Mr. Nader and I have a long and colorful history that I'd like to walk you through, if you don't mind?
( Walk with me, talk with me! )

It's the 35th anniversary this week of the legendary Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade.
Some people have offered their thoughts, and here are mine.

When I was old enough to understand what abortion was, my first question was not one of a woman's right to make decisions about her own body, it was of a parent's right to decide whether or not to terminate their child's life before it even began. Women that have abortions are often sneered at as "selfish". You know what's selfish? Letting a human life come into being just because of a broken condom or faulty spermicide, or whatever flawed plan you used. Knowing damn well that you aren't fit to be a parent, but having a kid anyway because "it just happened". Women that have abortions are also sneered at as "heartless", as though not a one has somehow grieved over the fact they had to terminate their pregnancy. That every woman who has an abortion (or a large percentage of them, anyway) is completely devoid of any compassion, any sense of love, any maternal instinct. Of course, my question to the detractors would then be "Well then, why on earth would you want these women to become parents?" but that's another post altogether. There are prayers and other private rituals in many religions (and in mine) for the termination of a pregnancy through an abortion. These are grieving rituals, a chance for the mother (or the parents) to lament the fact they could not allow a human life into the world at this time. It's not intended to encourage nor alleviate guilt, it's intended to allow an outlet for the grief and sadness anti-abortion and anti-choice activists claim they aren't feeling and cannot feel.

So what's the difference between anti-abortion and anti-choice? Firstly, let me say that of course every person has a right to his/her own opinion on abortion. What every person shouldn't have a right to do is to force that belief onto other people, by way of taking action to take away their rights. Being pro-choice does not mean being pro-abortion. It means supporting the right to have abortion as an option. An option meaning, you can decide to NOT have one. They call it "Planned Parenthood" for a reason. You're planning when you want to have children. That all said, someone who is anti-abortion is someone who obviously thinks abortion is wrong. Someone who is anti-choice (or "pro-life") is someone who thinks abortion is wrong and everyone else should have that opinion and so therefore that individual is going to take action to deny the right to choose to anyone and everyone. It's the anti-choice people I fear. And too many of the anti-choice, anti-abortion folks don't even want birth control to be available at all or safe sex taught in schools. So frequently then, in these situations, an unplanned pregnancy is naturally going to arise. And therefore, without the right to consider abortion an option, that unplanned pregnancy becomes an unplanned child, an entire human life that came into existence simply because of a lack of options and choices. And I consider that immoral.

Setting aside for a moment the fact that every woman should be given the right to choose whether or not to have an abortion, let's look at the realistic implications of abortion being made illegal. It does not guarantee the number of abortions decreases. It guarantees that the methods in which women are then forced to undertake to terminate their pregnancies become more dangerous, more physically and emotionally scarring, and more inhumane (the "more" is for those that consider the current options available in legal clinics to be "inhumane"). The horrific stories told by older women of back-alleys and wire hangers and deliberate falls down the stairs (Gone with the Wind, anyone?) are the truth about when abortion is criminalized.

It comes down to a quote by a man that will never be known for that quote, which is a shame since it's one of the saving graces of his presidency (and I'm not talking about the sex scandal, I'm more concerned with "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", Sudan, the minimum wage, et cetera), aside from the fact the guy that came after him is fairly unanimously agreed by presidential historians to be the worst American president on every level.

"Abortions should be safe, legal, and rare."
--- Bill Clinton

Below are some graphics that I really like and that hit the point home:

( All fairly work-safe, but lots of them )

Karl Rove teared up while remembering his years with President Bush and announcing his decision to finally, finally leave the White House (August 31st! Mark your calenders!). Since this isn't on YouTube yet, I have the Yahoo! News link instead Read and watch all about it and try not to toss your cookies. Keep in mind, it does mean he's leaving! Do you think the members of the press were bothered by the sulfur smell while recording Rove's tearful words?

ADDENDUM: For those that are still recovering from Karl Rove rapping at the Correspondents' Association Dinner, you may want to have some alcohol and/or pain killers handy while you watch his farewell announcement. To those that didn't see Karl Rove rapping at the Correspondents' Association Dinner, or are just feeling particularly masochistic, click here. This video is also excellent as visual epicac. Why this hasn't taken hold at more BDSM clubs (to the best of my knowledge) on giant screens is beyond me.