Op-Ed
Oh tosh, it has begun.
I realize, of course, that I should have been expecting it. But, alas, I was caught off guard.
When I walked into the supermarket last night, there it was: the jingling of that bloody bell in the hands of a Santa-clad Salvation Army worker.
I'm not entirely certain why it is, but I detest that sound. To me it is akin to the sound of a screaming baby or a wood chipper, both of which make my teeth itch.
I put the tinkling of the Salvation Army Santa bell right up there with the sound of an unattended car alarm. Speaking of which, who ever thought that was a good idea? When was the last time you saw someone promptly attend to a car alarm once it has sounded? More often than not, the car alarm blares away outside the earshot of the vehicle's owner, annoying all those who are within earshot. It's senseless, I tell you.
But about that Salvation Army Santa bell clattering. The more I think on it, the more I understand about my own loathing of the sound. Several years ago, for reasons I do not recall, I had the occasion to shop at a different supermarket from my regular one.
“The only premise of the book was to just go out and listen.”
And the book, edited by Miles Harvey, who is quoted above, is remarkable. It’s one of a kind, as far as I know – How Long Will I Cry? – the first publication of a newly formed nonprofit organization called Big Shoulders Books, which is affiliated with Chicago’s DePaul University. It’s available free of charge, because . . . how could a cry in the wilderness be otherwise?
It’s a cry in the wilderness punctuated by gunfire. Usually all we hear is the gunfire, emanating from “those” neighborhoods, the violent ones, “so physically and spiritually isolated from the rest of us,” as Alex Kotlowitz describes them in his foreword. How Long Will I Cry? is an attempt – no, I mean a beginning – at ending that isolation.
And the book, edited by Miles Harvey, who is quoted above, is remarkable. It’s one of a kind, as far as I know – How Long Will I Cry? – the first publication of a newly formed nonprofit organization called Big Shoulders Books, which is affiliated with Chicago’s DePaul University. It’s available free of charge, because . . . how could a cry in the wilderness be otherwise?
It’s a cry in the wilderness punctuated by gunfire. Usually all we hear is the gunfire, emanating from “those” neighborhoods, the violent ones, “so physically and spiritually isolated from the rest of us,” as Alex Kotlowitz describes them in his foreword. How Long Will I Cry? is an attempt – no, I mean a beginning – at ending that isolation.
Dear Editor
To Jim Petric's (sic)questions: “why does our mounting monster debt of some
$17 trillion and unfunded promised entitlements of $60 trillion NOT
sincerely, inarguably scare the shit out of you?
“I am not a Tea Partier, nor a Republican--hell, I wouldn't belong to a
political party that would have me--but a former old school Kennedy
Democrat who simply cannot fathom why folks on both sides of the aisle
aren't begging and clamoring for and demanding government spending within
our means.” (John Petric' column Oct. 31)
Jim and any duckies who are interested. What you seem to be asking for is a
quick and easy to comprehend answer, which is a bit difficult because much
of the related concepts have been distorted or substituted with falsified
simplicities. What is going on is mostly a political struggle over the
fiscal capacities of the Federal government. A large portion of the
scramble and mumbling cannot be simply based upon "common sense." Some
economic and fiscal literacy is necessary to understand where, when and by
whom the fraud of the faux "debate" is being perpetrated.
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On Tuesday, October 22nd, the sex-positive community lost a fearless leader, Carlos Batts. This beloved artist passed away at the age of 40. His work and spirit touched many of us, leaving us stunned and saddened by his sudden departure.
An award-winning artist, photographer and director, Batts' artwork has appeared on book covers, fashion magazines, music videos, comic books and movies. Carlos has three internationally distributed hardbound coffee table books; “Wild Skin,” “Crazy Sexy Hollywood” and “American Gothing” that document a wide variety of sub-cultures. Batts directed independent features; Voluptuous Biker Babes, Kiss Attack, Young Hollywood as well as underground art films: American Gothic, Alter Ego and Voluptuous Life that are distributed through various mainstream outlets.
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Fellow Geek Ladies, there's a sinister threat plaguing our culture: An influx of self-proclaimed geeks who come to our conventions, our message boards, even our Tumblr dashboards not to share in our love of things but to show off for our attention, trying to get us to date them. It is imperative that we drive them out before they corrupt everything we’ve worked so hard for.
That's right: I'm talking about the terrible scourge of Fake Geek Boys.
Look, if superhero stories were supposed to be for men they wouldn't be such soap operas. The X-Men comics have become as much about Cyclops and Wolverine angsting over their lost friendship as about fighting any kind of actual threats. Remember Chris Claremont’s 2004 Excalibur series where Magneto was cooking breakfast for Professor X? We all know the point of Thor: The Dark World wasn’t punching evil elves, it was the vaguely homoerotic tension between Thor and his (adopted!) brother Loki. Also there was a female love interest in there somewhere because Thor is just that good. DC Comics even had to hook Superman up with Wonder Woman to make him interesting! Superheroes are clearly not for men.
The knuckle-headed nitwit who edits this publication snipped my final remarks from last week's missive, in which I was complaining about my printer, which is sucking the life out of me.
I was going on about how it tries to get me to purchase products that it wants to consume.
My final remark was something to the effect that I should just chuck the bloody thing and get a fax machine.
But thanks to the ham-handed editor, those thoughts were left hanging in the ether. They have little impact now and I don't know with certainty why I return to the subject. Perhaps it is because I am still irked at both the editor and the printer.
Printers in general are an annoying subject. Since last week (when I shared my unpleasant experience with a new printer), several readers have shared their own experiences with the confounded contraptions.
One correspondent told me a woeful tale of running out of ink. That doesn't seem such a daunting task on the surface.
Dear editor
Why does money matter in politics?
Money appears to be overwhelming county, city, state and federal elections why does money matter so much? WHAT! Independents and undecided voters are those the big money appears to be targeting. Why does it matter that money is being spent for and against this and that. I believe money matters because there are many so-called independents and undecided that are in reality un-informed potential voters. Independents appear to not know the issues in any election and they are therefore waiting for money to be splashed around to help them decide which way they should go (vote). If you know the issues and have decided your position why would money influence your decision and/or position? It appears the big spenders have already surmised that there are no truly independents out there how did they come to that conclusion? They have observed over and over again that they can throw money your way and steer you (like cattle) where they want you to go making you believe it was your decision to go there because you are an independent….please!
The same week in which a Washington Post columnist claimed that interracial marriage makes people gag, a USA Today columnist has proposed using the U.S. military to aid those suffering in the Philippines -- as a backdoor means of getting the U.S. military back into a larger occupation of the Philippines.
While the Philippines' representative at the climate talks in Warsaw is fasting in protest of international inaction on the destruction of the earth's climate, and the U.S. negotiator has effectively told him to go jump in a typhoon, the discussion in the U.S. media is of the supposed military benefits of using Filipinos' suffering as an excuse to militarize their country.
The author of the USA Today column makes no mention of the U.S. military's history in the Philippines. This was, after all, the site of the first major modern U.S. war of foreign occupation, marked by long duration, and high and one-sided casualties. As in Iraq, some 4,000 U.S. troops died in the effort, but most of them from disease. The Philippines lost some 1.5 million men, women, and children out of a population of 6 to 7 million.
While the Philippines' representative at the climate talks in Warsaw is fasting in protest of international inaction on the destruction of the earth's climate, and the U.S. negotiator has effectively told him to go jump in a typhoon, the discussion in the U.S. media is of the supposed military benefits of using Filipinos' suffering as an excuse to militarize their country.
The author of the USA Today column makes no mention of the U.S. military's history in the Philippines. This was, after all, the site of the first major modern U.S. war of foreign occupation, marked by long duration, and high and one-sided casualties. As in Iraq, some 4,000 U.S. troops died in the effort, but most of them from disease. The Philippines lost some 1.5 million men, women, and children out of a population of 6 to 7 million.
On Monday, October 28, an explosion and heavy gunfire were reported outside the US embassy in Yemen. You may have heard about it. It got a brief mention on all the cable news channels with promises of more on this story as it develops including possible casualties. It pierced my leftist information silo through a small paragraph on Gawker mentioning this fact and nothing else. It was, a sobering reminder, indeed, of the dangerous world we live in. A moment of pause, for reflection that for all the criticism we do and outrage we share about the military-industrial complex, they really are working to keep us, Americans, safe. A few hours later, there was more on this story as it developed: the explosions were fireworks from a wedding party.
Now this is far from the first time that the US has “mistaken” a wedding party for so-called terrorist activity, as quite a few former citizens of Afghanistan can attest to. Nor is this far from the first time that questionable news reports have been deployed in an effort to keep the populace good and scared. I will admit that were it not for this column, I would have never bothered to follow up on the story. No news outlet.
During the Halloween season, there is a lot of flesh being exposed. Several events are planned that are fetish-oriented and have a Halloween theme. For instance, in Columbus we have Trauma, Detroit has Theatre Bizarre, San Francisco has Masquerotica – to name a few.
Many Halloween costumes have “sexy” in the title, and some fun with memes has come into play with this, like the Sexy Tampon costume, or Sexy Cockroach. Some have brought up the topic of shaming those who choose to be sexy during the Halloween holiday season.
For some, this may be the one time of the year that they can dress sexy or revealing, where they feel comfortable enough to be exposed. They look forward to it, and get turned on by the idea that they can be freer with their body and sexual expressions in public. However, the issue of availability from women who dress sexy or revealing can turn a holiday celebration into a painful memory.
Let’s think about some things that may have come up, for the next time you choose to be sexy in public.