The Hackenblog

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) — Former Sen. John Edwards dropped out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination on Wednesday.

Damn. Oh well.

And says it so much better than I would have:

“I don’t know what to think about the American elections – a black President would be a good thing, and so would a woman President.

“What I do know is that a husband and wife team is not a dynasty, and that people whose supporters go on and on inaccurately about dynastic politics should not be seeking out the endorsement of actual dynasts. Ted Kennedy is an admirable man whose opinion I respect – but not when he is acting as part of a dynasty rather than as a distinguished senator. Caroline Kennedy is wholly and solely a member of a dynasty, and her endorsement of Obama is a dynastic one.

“‘A President like my father’ – by which I take it we are not supposed to understand a man who will nearly cause nuclear holocaust, who will get the US into another disastrous war, who will stand aside from important social causes.

“I think better of Obama than that he is the over-rated JFK’s natural heir.

“What I do think is that I would rather have a battered pragmatic public servant than an untried personable spinner of wonderful empty words; I see the idealism that has focussed on him and I remember how many of my friends had real hope from Blair as opposed to voting for him because it was important to get the Tories out.

“A Clinton Presidency is going to be unexciting, not especially idealistic and only better by comparison with Bush. But it will break no one’s hearts.

“I look at my friends list and see a lot of wonderful ideals and I worry that Obama will break your hearts if he attains power.”
Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, and so on and so forth, by RozK, January 28, 2008

‘A President like my father’ – by which I take it we are not supposed to understand a man who will nearly cause nuclear holocaust, who will get the US into another disastrous war, who will stand aside from important social causes.

Thanks, Roz, this saved me the trouble of writing a post on these very subjects.

I like Caroline Kennedy, but I did not like her Obama Op/Ed.

Is it November yet?

“Economists teach that if the economy is going into a recession, lower interest rates and give people money. That wisdom is so conventional that the only quibbling seems to be over timing, amount, and who gets the money.

“But this recession has one very special feature: Never in history have we hit a recession with the American consumer so loaded down with debt. Shouldn’t that cause someone to pause before concluding that more consumer spending is the way out of this hole?”

~snip~

“There’s another implication to this huge debt load: interest. Interest operates just like a tax–it has to be paid month after month, in good times and in bad. Unlike a tax, however, interest isn’t calculated on something good like income; it is calculated on debt loads. For the average family carrying credit card debt, interest payments alone have become a more significant household expenditure.

“In 2006, credit card companies collected about $90 billion from American families in interest, fees, late fees, penalties and the like. That’s $90 billion that didn’t go to buying socks or movie tickets or Big Macs. The American consumer can’t keep it up.”
Same Solutions, Different Problems, by Elizabeth Warren, Credit Slips, January 27, 2008

“Certainly its Polish viewers know how it will end, long before they enter the cinema. Katyn, as its title suggests, tells the story of the near-simultaneous Soviet and German invasions of Poland in September 1939, and the Red Army’s subsequent capture, imprisonment, and murder of some 20,000 Polish officers in the forests near the Russian village of Katyn and elsewhere, among them Wajda’s father. The justification for the murder was straightforward. These were Poland’s best-educated and most patriotic soldiers. Many were reservists who as civilians worked as doctors, lawyers, university lecturers, and merchants. They were the intellectual elite who could obstruct the Soviet Union’s plans to absorb and ‘Sovietize’ Poland’s eastern territories. On the advice of his secret police chief, Lavrenty Beria, Stalin ordered them executed.

“But the film is about more than the mass murder itself. For decades after it took place, the Katyn massacre was an absolutely forbidden topic in Poland, and therefore the source of a profound, enduring mistrust between the Poles and their Soviet conquerors. Officially, the Soviet Union blamed the murder on the Germans, who discovered one of the mass graves (there were at least three) following the Nazi invasion of Russia in 1941. Soviet prosecutors even repeated this blatant falsehood during the Nuremberg trials and it was echoed by, among others, the British government.

“Unofficially, the mass execution was widely assumed to have been committed by the Soviet Union. In Poland, the very word “Katyn” thus evokes not just the murder but the many Soviet falsehoods surrounding the history of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939. Katyn wasn’t a single wartime event, but a series of lies and distortions, told over decades, designed to disguise the reality of the Soviet postwar occupation and Poland’s loss of sovereignty.”

~snip~

“The real test of Katyn, of course, is whether it remains a part of the Polish national conversation over time, as a handful of Wajda’s earlier films have indeed done. This is not just a question of the film’s quality. Its endurance will also depend on the continued existence of an audience that shares Wajda’s knowledge of twentieth-century Polish history, and that understands the symbols and shortcuts he uses to evoke his national and patriotic themes. Fifty years after it was made, a significant number of Poles still know that when the two young men in Ashes and Diamonds start listing names, setting a glass of alcohol alight for each one, they are talking about friends who died in the wartime underground and the Warsaw uprising, even if they never say so. If, fifty years from now, there is still an audience in Poland that understands Wajda’s characters and references— an audience that intuitively draws its breath when the general tells his men that without them ‘there will be no free Poland’—then Katyn, the movie, will still matter.”
A Movie That Matters,
by Anne Applebaum, NY Review of Books, February 14, 2008

Whoo-hoo!

Yay!

Well, this is exciting for me.

The Wapshott Press.

Dan Savage goes down to South Carolina and lives!

Cognitive dissonance anyone? Are there enough voters like this in the country to get Huckabee elected? This is scarier than anything I can think of right now. Of course, I haven’t had any coffee yet, so I might be back later with something more horrifying.

Thanks, Logan, I needed this.

Oh, man, ya gotta love Dan Savage! And we did at J LHLS in this 2003 interview. Did it all seem so much simpler then? Or was it just not an election year?

Whatever it is, I’m against it.

Pretty much sums it up.

I, for one, have had enough of Hill and Obama:

“Edwards, however, stuck to the facts, and his powerful argument for why he should be President. He offered the same policy shifts on Iraq (all combat troops out in 12 months), health care (universal coverage mandated for every American, mental health, preventive and long-term care included), global warming (80% reductions in emissions by 2050, no new nuclear or coal-fired power plants), defending the Constitution (ending Guantanamo, torture, rendition, and illegal spying), poverty (expanded social aid and an increase of the minimum wage to $9.50 indexed to inflation), and labor (fair trade and tax policy, the Employee Free Choice Act, no scab hiring, strong support for unions). But I want to cite two moments that deviated from the script.

“First, Edwards has been discussing the sad case of Nataline Sarkysian, the 17 year-old from Glendale who was denied a liver transplant by her health insurer CIGNA, and died shortly after the company reversed the decision. This time, Sarkysian’s parents were on stage with Sen. Edwards, and when he related that tragic story, I couldn’t help but watch Nataline’s mother choke up. It was affecting, it hit you right in the gut. And when Edwards said, in respect to the health insurers, “Are you telling me we should sit down at the table with these people? Never! I don’t want to be their President,” it was undeniably moving.

“Second, Sen. Edwards obviously did his homework before the rally. He brought up the California budget crisis, and the austere across-the-board cuts proposed by Gov. Schwarzenegger. It’s fair to say that he wasn’t a fan. Here’s his comments (a paraphrase):

“‘I spent a day earlier this year with an SEIU health care worker… the people she cares for need her. The last thing this or any state needs are cuts to that kind of health care. The last thing you need are cuts to K-12 education. Does anybody believe that we are spending too much on K-12 education in this country?’”

John Edwards Rocks Downtown LA, Calitics, January 17, 2008

Let’s let him rock the world. Vote Edwards.

“Two ninth-grade girls at Newport Harbor High have been arrested in connection with the beating of a girl from a nearby intermediate school, a video of which was posted online at MySpace.com and YouTube.com.

“Earlier reports indicated the 13-year-old assault victim was developmentally disabled. But police said Wednesday that was not the case and the victim was an eighth-grader at Ensign Intermediate, across the street from the high school.

“Police said the victim was ‘dragged by her hair, spit on, kicked and punched’ Jan. 10 at a park near the two campuses. School district officials said the victim ‘suffered some bruises, abrasions and cuts’ but was not hospitalized and was back in school after missing one day. The two 14-year-old girls were arrested Tuesday and taken to Orange County Juvenile Hall, where they are being held on suspicion of conspiracy to commit assault with a deadly weapon. Their names have not been released because they are minors.
(more…)

“A young man arrested in the deaths of two teenagers at a Mojave Desert bunker had posed with firearms and written darkly on an Internet blogging site of ‘killing people at random’ but had no clear motive for the shootings, authorities said Friday.

“Collin Lee McGlaughlin, 18, of West Covina was arrested Thursday night on suspicion of killing Bodhisattva Sherzer-Potter, 16, of Silver Lakes and her boyfriend, Christopher Cody Thompson, 18, of Apple Valley. A second suspect, David Brian Smith, 19, of Covina, also has been booked on suspicion of murder, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
(more…)

Which is better than no book at all:

“Our premier Wowio book is up and ready for download! It contains the first 3 chapters of NNFB, a preface by Hirotomo, never before seen artwork, and a new NNFB remix! All of that is absolutely free, yet through the magic of the internets, somehow Alex and I get paid for each download. So please sign up and relive the good old days of NNFB. If you aren’t able to use Wowio due to country restrictions, don’t worry. We’re looking for a way to make it available to international readers shortly.”

This is one of the best webcomics I’ve ever read, even when it gets a little goofy, it’s great!

And this WOWIO thing is verrrrrrry interrresting.

Joseph Cornell site. The chief curator video was a little creepy, but in a can’t look away sort of way. It’s flash and video and well done.

(via Mr. Dan Kelly.

Joke of the Day cell phone sign up is not funny at all. Stalkers! Start your engines!

This just happened to me and it wasn’t funny. I saw an extra $10 on my cell bill and hit the ceiling. Fortunately, I’m with Credo and they blocked my text messaging, which I didn’t even know I had, and credited my account because they’re cool. I had no idea I’d been with them for six years until they thanked me for it.

However, some people aren’t so lucky with their cell companies (see comments). I wish there was a class-action against these Joke of the Day crooks, because this is vile.

“We work directly with members of the United States Military, corporations, and the general public to provide portable media to active troops in order to boost morale and keep our men and women in uniform culturally tuned-in. We gather, organize, and send entertainment material such as comic books, DVDs, CDs, books, magazines, MP3 players, and game systems to our Heroes.

“Heroes4Heroes is a Dallas, Texas based 503c non-profit corporation(pending). Just like our troops, we do this because we believe in the cause. You can contact Scott Hinze (Media Relations, Founder), Dallas Pollei (Military Relations, Founder) or Chris McCroskey (Fund Raising, Founder) with any questions or special gifts.”
Heroes4Heroes

I know where those Green Lantern floppies are going now.

Send DVD’s, CD’s, video games and comics to:

Heroes4Heroes
9905 Boston Harbor Drive
Aubrey, TX 76227

But usps.com sez it’s:

9905 BOSTON HARBOR DR
PROVIDENCE VILLAGE TX 76227-8522

So I wonder.

“The 42-count grand jury indictment alleges Mr Siljander lied about lobbying senators on behalf of the Missouri-based Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA).

“The indictment alleges the charity sent about $130,000 (£66,000) in 2003 and 2004 to accounts in Peshawar, Pakistan, that Gulbuddin Hekmatyar had access to.

“It alleges the charity paid Mr Siljander $50,000 that was stolen from a US development agency.”

“Mr Siljander was a congressman from 1981-1987 and served one year as a US delegate to the United Nations.” Appointed by Ronald Reagan, too.
US politician on al-Qaeda charge, BBC News, January 16, 2008

The jokes practically write themselves on this one.

Does this (video on right) seem wrong to anyone else?

Via new dad supremo Mr. Dan Kelly.

Please cross-post if you are so inclined. Thank you.

The Journal of Women on Comics.

Guidelines and format for The Journal of Women On Comics (ISSN 1940-7637). These guidelines are subject to modification.

The first issue of the Journal of Women On Comics is a print compilation of women writing on comics online (or in print, if it’s not a copyright violation) or original, previously unpublished non-fiction up through December 31, 2007. If you’ve published or have an unpublished essay, interview, analysis, reviews, histories, original comics about women writing on comics, or whatever before 12/31/2007 and would like to submit it for J WOC’s consideration, please use one of the templates below. I’d prefer MS Word, but I know not everyone uses it. Please edit and proof your submission before you submit it, J WOC won’t do any editing or proofing, so it would be good if your submission was as close to perfect as possible when it gets here. Authors retain their copyright. J WOC has permission to use the material for the volume it’s published in.

The deadline for big inaugural issue is on or before February 29, 2008 and the material can be from whenever-12/31/2007 .

Thereafter I’ll publish whenever I have 60-70 or more pages of material.

My criteria is simple: I’ll publish anything by a woman identified woman about comics, graphic novels, the industry, culture, etc. that I like and won’t get me sued.

Download the template in MS Word or Rich Text Format or Plain Text. Don’t worry about how it looks, I’ll be formatting up a storm in the final document.

I look forward to your submission(s). Please email your edited, proofed and formatted document to editor AT j-woc DOT info Also feel free to contact me if you’d like more information or just to chat. I’m on Skype at ginger.mayerson.

I know print is a little retro, but I’d love to be able to hand out a phone book-size first issue of J WOC. I think it would be a great huge collection of great huge writing by women about comics.

And guys, just so you don’t feel completely left out, I’m doing a magazine called The Journal of Bloglandia, which is where your stuff could be published, if you are so inclined.

“However, as the internet gains traction as a viable gown resource, the possibility of brides price-comparing and ‘buying the same dress somewhere else’ becomes even greater. There are discounters and consigners and Craigslist and you can even buy cheap knockoffs from China. So stores are freaked out – after all, they’re losing their competitive edge. Their response strategy? Limiting the amount of information that a bride can leave with. If she can’t look it up, she can’t find it cheaper. Hence, no photos.

“But surely you could write down its brand and style name, so you could look it up for future reference? Nope. Many stores literally rip the labels out of sample gowns, so that you cannot even tell which dress you are trying on.

“I read about this shocking tactic in a handy book, but found it hard to believe until I experienced it firsthand. I was in a pretty posh store, and I liked a dress by designer Melissa Sweet. But it was pricey, and I wasn’t ready to buy. I asked the owner, “Which dress is this again, so I can remember it?” She said, “It’s the Melissa Sweet.” I said, “I know, but which one? I know they all have style names, or numbers or something.” “Nope,” she said, looking down at her hands. “That’s all you need to know.”

“Wow! Wow. Well, all I need to know is that I won’t be making my purchase here!”
Shopping for The Dress, Curious Shopper, January 10, 2007

Heh, wedding industry, take that!

The Puppet Bike. (via Semibold)

“The Gibson Robot Guitar, a new limited edition first-run Les Paul, continues two great Gibson traditions: cutting-edge innovation and a limited edition first run that will surely go on to become a highly sought-after Gibson instrument.

“These limited edition Les Pauls, featuring Gibson’s amazing self-tuning robotic technology, launch globally on December 7, 2007, at select dealers, each of whom will have only 10 of these beautiful guitars. If previous limited run releases are any indication, they won’t have them for very long.

“Each limited edition, first run Gibson Robot Guitar will feature a dramatic Blue Silverburst nitrocellulose finish, created especially for this limited run. It will never be used on any other Gibson guitar. Also featured is a certificate of authenticity, a power adaptor for the system’s rechargeable lithium battery, and a limited edition first run case with silver tolex and a plush silver interior. Each Robot Guitar’s serial number will also be sequentially exact, beginning with “RG0001,” and continuing through the end of the limited run.”
Robot Guitar Joins Gibson’s Historic Lineup of Limited Editions, via an ad from 123music.com.

I’m not completely sure how to react to this. Part of being a musician is being able to stay in tune and tune your instrument. Like keyboard players, um, yeah, well there went that argument. I guess it’s progress and, considering what pianists get out of that instrument, guitarists will be able to do the same thing with a self-tuning guitar. I hope.

Webcomics, dear God, it’s a whole issue on Webcomics at Sequential Tart. May the good Lord have mercy on us all.

http://www.sequentialtart.com

I even ramble on a bit about webcomics in this issue.

Oh, yes, and in honor of 10 years of Sequential Tart, there are some very cool calendars for sale! (more…)

“Everyone from Sullivan to Martin Kettle is talking about him as a conciliator, who will bring the US back together. I don’t for a second think that the culture wars can be solved that simply or that people who believe in killing queers and Muslims and are waiting to disappear into the sky and back the state of Israel whatever it does because someone they read claims to have read that in the Bible are going to say ‘gosh, we have a nice middle of the road African American president so we don’t have to be mean and nasty any more’.

“What worries me is that, if there is no clear closure on the Bush years, and the truly evil stuff that came out of the Right during the Clinton years, Obama will make nice with everyone, forgive everyone and in four or eight years, after everyone has been lulled, the crazy wing of the Republicans will be back trying to fix elections, declare war on random people and generally making a nuisance of themselves.

“Personally, I would like to see Names Taken and Arses Kicked even if it meant you had to put up with Hillary to do it – woman does have a vindictive streak and has bottled up a lot of anger because her triangulators told her to…

“If people really really want conciliation, it is not enough to just announce that the war is over and we can all sing ‘Kumbaya’. I have a certain history of forgiving people who have done pretty terrible things to me and it is not as easy as that – you have to make a solid accounting to yourself of just what it is you are letting go of. And not forget, even if you decide that the people who did those things have really changed, because you need to watch out for other people doing the same stuff, including yourself.

“South Africa made a decent stab at the process with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Obama shoud bring in Desmond Tutu and let him loose on the situation. If we can’t have Rove and Cheney in the hoosegow, we can at least have them answering some awkward questions.”
Untitiled, RozK, January 5, 2008

Hear, hear!

I got to wake up with a sore throat, but that just means I’m getting it out of the way for the rest of 2008.

And since it IS 2008, I can post this again!

Journal of Bloglandia, because Blogtopia (y!sctp!) was taken.

and

The Journal of Women on Comics, women read comics and write great things about them.

“Along with his wife, Elsie, Mr. Schnerb made a living repairing and binding dissertations, scores and other reading material. This day, he was working on a copy of ‘La Fanciulla del West’ because a conductor had asked him to rebind three poorly bound scores, one for each act, into a single document.

“Mr. Schnerb began by ripping the old books apart, “unbinding” them, as he calls the process, while trying to keep the pages intact. But inevitably, some pages got torn, which was why he was repairing them with thin paper strips.

“Since the death of his wife last year, Mr. Schnerb has been doing everything in the bindery by himself. His wife used to stitch together different sections of manuscripts using a sewing machine, but Mr. Schnerb never learned to operate the machine, so he resorts to needle and thread.”
As an Age Recedes, a Craftsman Soldiers On, by Raphael Ahren, NYT, December 30, 2007

I had a friend’s dissertation rebound by an artist bookbinder here in LA and, man, it’s a thing of beauty, never mind what’s in it (immunotoxicology, if you must know). But she only takes a few commissions a year and only the ones she likes, so I was lucky she took this one.