Chris Onstad, creator of the web comic “Achewood,” has a nice, thoughtful, depressing summation of Michael Jackson’s death.
Archive for June, 2009
Achewood on Michael Jackson
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009X-Men Relationship Chart
Thursday, June 25th, 2009Comic geeks, be amazed…the folks at uncannyxmen.net have put together a chart detailing all the relationships of X-men lore (including alternate-earth pairings, of course).
The Gay Marriage “Debate” in Visual Form
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009Webcomic creator Patrick Farley has made a funny (well, sort of) flowchart presentation of the gay marriage “debate.” The general themes are culled from Facebook polls. Follow the oft-tortured reasoning by clicking the image below.
Click to see full-size version.
John Hodgman Interview
Monday, June 22nd, 2009John Hodgman, author of the exceedingly funny “Areas of My Expertise” and “More Information Than You Require,” is interviewed in Psychology Today.
Ideally, fake facts help to jostle our imaginations. They remind us how much of actual history is so strange, and novelistic, and practically unbelievable.
But I am not a lunatic. Obviously I know that it wasn’t Satan who had taken over Jefferson’s mind, but the Mole-Men.
Charlie Manuel Chugs Along
Thursday, June 18th, 2009When he awoke a short time later, Manuel discovered he was no longer alone. About 40 Japanese women had arrived for their postwork baths. No one in the room was wearing a stitch of clothing. “It was almost like I was dreaming,” he says. He quickly realized he wasn’t. The women, most of whom hadn’t seen an American up close, were intrigued—especially by the hair on his arms, which they insisted on touching. After they left, Repoz and Luigi returned to take Manuel back to his room, where Ol’ Cholly’s first day in Japan finally came to an end.
Sports Illustrated writer Mark Bechtel has a lively profile of Phillies manager Charlie Manuel in the June 22 issue of the magazine. It’s a great read, but I have to wonder if there would be as much tacit approval of Charlie’s down-home, shit-kicking ways if he had cornrows and tats.
Far-Right Rampages Since the Election
Friday, June 12th, 2009“We haven’t gone four weeks since February without some poor guy — always with a long history of mental illness, usually with a record of military service and/or domestic violence, and invariably jacked up on a toxic cocktail of white male privilege; us-versus-them enemy seeking; fury at women, blacks and/or Jews; and a belief that the world as he knew it was ending unless he took up arms — taking out his gun and offing innocent Americans in a suicidal bid for glory.”
Sara Robinson of Orcinus has a tally of far-right murders since the election, analyzing the cultural factors motivating this type of violence. I think her conclusion is alarmist, but it’s extremely concerning to connect the dots.
Review: Shaman’s Crossing
Thursday, June 11th, 2009In Shaman’s Crossing, an excellent light-fantasy novel, Robin Hobb succeeds in not only creating a compelling world but also establishing a rich, branching worldview to anchor it.
The book revolves around Nevare Burvelle, a solider son, as all second sons of nobility are destined to be. Nevare’s father is a member of the new nobility, granted his title for valor as an officer in the king’s cavalry, and Nevare is raised to fill his heredity role as soldier.
Deadwood Diary
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009Todd VanDerWerff of the Onion A.V. Club is starting an episode-by-episode breakdown of David Milch’s Deadwood, perhaps the best television show of all time. It should be interesting to follow.