Monthly Archives: January 2015

Sunday Funnies, part 9

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Another in my series of posts recommending web comics that I think more people should read:

Police Reports Illustrated is an irregular feature of the news blog for the Stranger, a Seattle alternate weekly news paper. As the title says, each feature is a comic strip-style retelling of an actual police report. Each one I’ve read has been amusing, though I realize the original humor comes from the incident in the police report. I really wish they’d collect these into their own feed. You can find earlier strips by Callan Berry on the Stranger’s blog.

arh1“Always Raining Here” by Hazel and Bell is a fun comic about two high school boys, one of whom makes a pass at the other because he’s desperate and lonely, and things get complicated from there. The comic tackles some difficult topics, such as attempted date rape, but mostly is just a story of several people trying to figure out who they are, grow up, and not make too much of a mess of things along the way.

dm100x80I’m a big fan of “Deer Me,” by Sheryl Schopfer. This artist is also a friend. I have previously described this strip as: “Three roommates who couldn’t be more dissimilar while being surprisingly compatible.” Except in a recent story line Thomas has moved out! Eeek! Currently, the strip has traveled back in time to the high school days of one of the aforementioned roommates.

In any case, if you enjoy Deer Me, you can support the artist by going to her Patreon Page!

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I’ve long been a fan of: “Mr. Cow,” by Chuck Melville… and not just because the artist is a friend! A clueless cow with Walter Cronkite dreams presides over a barnyard of a newsroom. Or just showing him reading reacting to news or hatching plans to achieve fame, or just reading ridiculous news is funny because the real news isn’t any more logical.

And if you like Mr. Cow, you can support the artist by going to his Patreon Page. Also, can I interest you in a Mr. Cow Mug?

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And I love this impish girl thief with a tail and her reluctant undead sorcerer/bodyguard: “Unsounded,” by Ashley Cope.

The_Young_Protectors_HALF_BANNER_OUTSIDE_234x601The Young Protectors by Alex Wolfson begins when a young, closeted teen-age superhero who has just snuck into a gay bar for the first time is seen exiting said bar by a not-so-young, very experienced, very powerful, super-villain. Trouble, of course, ensues.

3Tripping Over You by Suzana Harcum and Owen White is a strip about a pair of friends in school who just happen to fall in love… which eventually necessitates one of them coming out of the closet.

Tripping Over You has several books, comics, and prints available for purchase.

12191040If you want to read a nice, long graphic-novel style story which recently published its conclusion, check-out the not quite accurately named, The Less Than Epic Adventures of T.J. and Amal by E.K. Weaver. I say inaccurate because I found their story quite epic (not to mention engaging, moving, surprising, fulfilling… I could go on). Some sections of the tale are Not Safe For Work, as they say, though she marks them clearly. The complete graphic novels are available for sale in both ebook and paper versions, by the way.

Resolutions, and how I did with the 2014 goals

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Cat with a manual typewriter.When I set my goals for the year, I said I’d do monthly check-ins, and I managed it every month except November, which was swallowed up by NaNoWriMo, so that’s not too bad. Click the link to see how I did:
Continue reading Resolutions, and how I did with the 2014 goals →

Friday Links

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It’s the first Friday of 2015! I am working on a final blog post about my goals for 2014 and how they worked out. I’m also working on finalizing my goals for 2015. I know for many of my friends in wasn’t a great year, but personally, I’m pretty happy about 2014, and looking forward to an even better year going forward.

Anyway, here is a collection of news and other things that I ran across over the course of the week which struck me as worthy of being shared:

Old Fashioned 101: The classic American cocktail. An awesome, single-page web site explaining the proper way to make the world’s oldest cocktail.

Twitter, LiveJournal and navel-gazing. Covers some ground I’ve written about before, but much less rambly.

Thoughts on Fathers.

4 Things That Were Supposed To Happen By 2015 Because Obama Was Reelected.

In Which John C. Wright Completely Loses his Shit over Legend of Korra.

One last buzzing beehive for 2014. A nice answer to the bigoted writer who has proclaimed, “did not call for the extermination of people, but ideas.”

‘Modern Family’ gay criticism misses mark.

INDIANA CONSERVATIVES POISED TO INTRODUCE LICENSE TO DISCRIMINATE BILL.

Op-ed: We Queer Folk Have Always Been Both Black And Blue.

10 great LGBT stories from 2014.

Your biggest online security mistakes (and how to avoid them).

Ancient Trees: Woman Spends 14 Years Photographing World’s Oldest Trees.

How Amazon’s Ebook Subscriptions Are Changing the Writing Industry.

If Protesters Are Responsible For Officers’ Deaths, So Then Are The Tea Party.

Is inclusiveness becoming the new closet?

When a Gay Man Marries a Straight Woman. The stories of people interviewed are worth reading. The author’s conclusions are a bit… well, you’ll see.

AFA’s top spokesman, thinker: Make adultery and homosexuality illegal.

NASA’s Plan For An Off-World Colony: A Floating City Above Venus.

Transgender teenager, 17, leaves heartbreaking suicide note blaming her Christian parents before walking in front of tractor trailer on highway.

DAN SAVAGE: PROSECUTE TRANSGENDER TEEN LEELAH ALCORN’S PARENTS FOR ABUSE.

This Graduate Stripped Down For All The Right Reasons.

Unconditional Love: A Missing Link for Homeless LGBTQ Youth.

Gay Black Men, It’s Time to Do Away With ‘Trade’ and Down-Low Brothers in 2015. While I agree with the idea, for a complex set of sociological and psychological reasons, I think this call will be as successful as the perennial attempts to get gay men of all races to stop having downlow relationships with politicians and the like who have anti-gay public personae/agendas.

The Saddest Thing I Know about the Integers.

Your Husband Is Definitely Gay: TLC’s Painful Portrait of Mormonism – My Husband’s Not Gay isn’t so much an indication that Mormonism is homophobic as it is a sign that Mormon homophobia has taken an even subtler and more pernicious turn.

The Solar System Is Slowly Re-Arranging Itself.

Judge stops short of ordering Florida clerks to issue same-sex marriage licenses when ban ends.

The unexpected math behind Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” – Natalya St. Clair:

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A gif set from this commercial was being shared on Tumblr, and I just had to track down the video:

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LogoTV NewNowNext blog reports: Hozier’s “Take Me to Church” has become something of an LGBT anthem, especially with its video depicting a harrowing gay-bashing and lyrics decrying religious intolerance. At a live show in Paris this month, the Irish singer-songwriter was surprised when a 20-member choir infiltrated the audience and began to sing along during “Take Me to Church.”:

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I included Hozier’s heartwrenching video in Friday links some months ago, but here it is again:

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Mrs. Betty Bowers, America’s Best Christian offers the Best of 2014:

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Abba – Happy New Year:

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Eli Lieb – Lightning In A Bottle:

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My 2015 New Year’s wish for you…

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Spread your wings.

Spread your wings and soar. If you don’t believe you have wings to soar, find them. You have wings. I guarantee it. They may not seem to be there, but they are. Find them.

Remember that wings are not just for soaring. Remember that wings are also for protecting others. Taking someone under your wings can mean to mentor them, but it can also mean to let your love be a shield for someone who needs it. So remember that the same hope and joy and love that allows us to soar to new heights, can also shield others from harm, despair, fear, or doubt.

Remember that wings can be a weapon. Take it from someone who, as a small boy, was tasked with feeding some very aggressive geese on his great-grandmother’s farm. Wings can be devastating weapons. Love can be an irresistible weapon, if you turn its raw power in the right direction. And sometimes we need to do more than shield people we love.

So, that’s my wish for everyone in 2015: spread your wings.