Both Hands

Dean Reports Kissing Girls to Parents

The Dean of Students at Gig Harbor High School reported the "strange" behavior of a student to her parents, prompting them to transfer her to another school. What type of behavior was the girl exhiting? She was kissing another female student.

GIG HARBOR, Wash. -- Restrictions on the use of school security videotape have been tightened after images of two high school students kissing were shown to the parents of one of the girls, officials say.

Keith Nelson, dean of students at Gig Harbor High School, said he saw the students kissing and holding hands in the school's busy commons, checked a surveillance camera and showed the parents the tape because they had asked him a few weeks earlier to alert them to any conduct by their daughter that was out of the ordinary.

They then transferred their daughter to a school outside the Peninsula School District, which lies northwest of Tacoma.

Both girls said their privacy was invaded and denied doing anything wrong. Neither was identified by name in an article published Thursday by The News Tribune of Tacoma.

The kiss amounted to a quick "peck," said the girl who remains at the school, a 17-year-old senior described as the daughter of a News Tribune employee.

"We weren't doing anything inappropriate, nothing anyone else wouldn't do," she said.

Nelson said students could not have any expectation of privacy in a crowded place and maintained that he would have taken the same action had the students kissing been a boy and a girl.

An internal investigation into a complaint from a student -- it was unclear whether the complaint came from one of the girls -- established that Nelson had not violated district policy, Assistant School Superintendent Shannon Wiggs said.

Even so, Principal Greg Schellenberg said, school surveillance videotape may now be used only for security monitoring and discipline for actions such as trespassing, vandalism and fighting.

Kissing and other public displays of affection were at the time and remain violations of school rules, but violators will first be given warnings and will be disciplined only for a second offense, Schellenberg said. In addition, school employees are barred from sharing surveillance video in response to an open-ended parental request.

"It's not our normal practice," Schellenberg said. "It's not going to happen again."

In the case of the kiss, he added, "the same information could have been portrayed to the family without the video."

Nelson said he respected the change in policy but added that he believes his first obligation is to parents.

"They're paying good money for us to make their kids good citizens," he said. "Whatever that means to the parents, I'll do it."

The father of the transferred student spoke on local radio earlier today, stating that they had found, "evidence of homosexual activity, which we believe to be an abomination." He went on to say that his daughter had been "transferred to a school that deals with this sort of thing."

I am totally disgusted with the Dean, the school, and the father of this girl, video or no video. Is it their policy to report heterosexual hand-holding and kissing to parents? I highly doubt it.

And way to go dad - I've been the "abomination" route and it sucks. Parental disappointment can be an incredible burden, and trying to find yourself while someone condemns you to hell for falling for the "wrong" sex doesn't help.

Thursday Thirteen #4 (so I skipped a week...)

THIRTEEN BOOKS I WANT TO READ (in no particular order)

1. Austenland - I sent my Mom the galley and she said it was fantastic.
2. Cat Women: Female Writers on Their Feline Friends
3. Through Deaf Eyes: A Photographic History of an American Community - I saw the documentary recently on PBS and it was fascinating. I really miss signing.
4. Slightly Married - Although I'm not a romance reader at all, this is the third in a very cute series.
5. True Porn - Ariel Schrag
6. Girls: Extinction - Oh. My. God. I'm chewing my fingernails off waiting for the conclusion in TPB.
7. The Noble Causes series (minus the first one)
8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (duh)
9. Whatever Julie Powell writes next
10. Fifty Acres and A Poodle
11. The Parrot Who Owns Me
12. Eat Pray Love
13. PostSecret - which I just checked out from the Tacoma Public Library.

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

#1 Identifyer of Cartoon Asses

I won!

I am the Buttock Champion of the World!

This is really cool, as the prize for knowing just who's ass belongs to who and the context of the bare-assedness is a bunch of DTWOF stuff! Stuff that Alison Bechdel discontinued some years ago, but I still have the catalog for, because I loved it so much.

You can see the various cheeks here.

Can't wait to see the "whatnot"!

Historic Home Tours in Tacoma

The Tacoma Historical Society will be hosting their 14th annual Historic Homes of Tacoma Tour on Saturday, May 5th and Sunday, May 6th. Saturday hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Tickets are $20 ($15 for Historical Society members) for access to eight homes.

Tickets are good for both days, but allow only one visit per house. Advance ticket sale locations includ the Tacoma Historical Society Exhibit Center, 747 Broadway; the Pacific Northwest Shop; Stadium Thriftway; Union Avenue, Fircret, and Westgate branches of Columbia Bank. For additional information call 253-472-3738 or visit www.tacomahistory.org.

Not to be outdone, the North Slope Historic District Walking Tour will be held Saturday, May 19th and Sunday, May 20th. Tours will be open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. each day and will cover different areas of the North Slope on each day (Saturday uphill, Sunday downhill).

This is a FREE event, to reserve your space contact Marshall McClintock at 253-572-5474 or marshalm@oz.net .

Library's Lesbian Sex Book Causes "Sleepless Nights" for Teens

How much better can a title get? But it's true:

Two teens, 14- and 16-year-old Kyle Adams and Ryan Adams, went to the Bentonville PL, AR, in February so the younger brother could look up material on military academies. However, they wound up looking at The Whole Lesbian Sex Book (registration required to view), by Felice Newman, a book their father said left his sons "greatly disturbed… and this matter has caused many sleepless nights in our house." Earl Adams, according to The Morning News, has asked the city to pay $10,000 in damages per child, which is the maximum under the state obscenity law. While the library director, Cindy Suter, first moved the book to a less accessible location, the library advisory board subsequently agreed the book should be taken from circulation, saying they sought to find a more suitable book. "A more sensitive, more clinical approach to same material might be more appropriate for the library," one member said.

Somehow I doubt that the book traumatized the boys in any way. And since they were supposed to be looking at military academies...

I would be interested to know if The Whole Lesbian Sex Book was moved to an alternate area of the library while leaving books on heterosexual sex readily accessible. This title has been reviewed and recommended by the Library Journal for all public library collections. The father has stated that any attempts to return the book to the library will "be met with legal action and protests from the Christian community."

This story prompted a quick email between my boss and I:

Ensie: "Greatly disturbed"? This is my favorite story ever from the library journal.

Boss Lady: I knew you were going to come back with a comment. "Sleepless nights"? Yeah, I'll bet.

150,000 Hits

I managed to hit the number right on this evening when checking my blog.

It's not much when compared to some blog who average 250,000 hits a day, but I'm quite proud.

Top searches:

1. Jude Law (image)
2. boobs
3. Knockout plug garbage disposal
4. Blower's Daughter/Closer
5. Strained chest muscles

McCreepy

"Hi, can I come in? Thanks. My kids are sick right now and I need something to bring their fever down. Do you have anything? Maybe 10 or 12 pills?"

"Hi, can I come in? Thanks. Do you have any NyQuill?"

"Hi, can I come in? Thanks. I'm having some money issues right now and need to know if I can borrow $10 to pay for my anxiety meds. I get paid on the 1st or the 3rd."

How do you say no to a neighbor you really don't want to piss off?

Until recently we called this family in the rental across the street "The McCreepys" because, well, they creeped us the fuck out. I did my best to avoid them, although it's hard, since they are often on their porch, drinking *many* beers, and they love our dogs.

A few months ago Mrs. McCreepy saw our mail get stolen. She told me about it, and I thanked her profusely for letting me know. Since then, she will randomly knock on the door, invite herself in, dump all her problems on me, then plays with the dogs and cats for a half hour before asking me for something she needs.

Not only does it really bother me that she invites herself into my house, but I don't care to hear about how her doctor won't prescribe her narcotics, or her kid has lice (ew) and got sent home from school, again (double ew), or even, that her older child's friends are not allowed to bring guns into her house - they have to leave them at home(!!). I'm glad she feels comfortable chatting with me, but I'm really not happy with the apparent level of intimacy that we seem to have instantaneously developed.

And the money borrowing thing. That really bugs. It's not the money itself - I have the $10 she needs - it's the fact that we hardly know each other and she is asking me to loan her cash for a couple of weeks. I know it was probably hard for her to ask, and I know it sucks to need money, but there are places that exist solely to assist with this sort of thing.

And the fact that she has plenty of cigarettes and beer while asking me for money...don't even get me started there.

Help me out - internets. Is this normal and I'm just being touchy? Or can I politely tell her to shove it?

Conservative or Liberal

I took this test two years ago, and thought it might be interesting to see if any of my conservative or liberal tendencies have changed. Apparently, I'm MORE liberal now than before, although the trend is to become more conservative as one ages. Interesting.

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 15% Conservative, 85% Liberal Social Issues: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal Personal Responsibility: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal Fiscal Issues: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal Ethics: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal Defense and Crime: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Take it yourself here.

Eisner Awards

The 2007 Eisners were announced yesterday, and I am very happy to see Alison Bechdel's name all over them, as she writes my favorite strip, Dykes to Watch Out For. Her non-fiction graphic novel about her father, Fun Home, topped several "best book" lists this year, including being chosen as Time Magazine's #1 book of the year.

Alison/Fun Home is nominated for Best Writer/Artist, Best Graphic Album - New, and Best Reality-Based Work.

I, personally, would like to thank Alison for helping me survive my last year of college at Concordia University. Trying to come out at age 19 at a small, Lutheran college was terrifying, and her books made me feel far less alone.

Other books/writers/artists I'm rooting for:

Best Publication Design
Castle Waiting graphic novel, designed by Adam Grano (Fantagraphics)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team
Niko Henrichon, Pride of Baghdad (Vertigo/DC)

Best Graphic Album-Reprint
Castle Waiting, by Linda Medley (Fantagraphics)

Best Reality-Based Work
I Love Led Zeppelin, by Ellen Forney (Fantagraphics)

Best Continuing Series
The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard (Image)

Frinklin Sez: I like Robert Kirkman, and I read Walking Dead every so often, but c'mon, you might as well give All-Star Superman the win right now.

Watch that come back and bite me on the ass in a couple months.

Lipizzaner Stallions to Perform at Tacoma Dome

May 17th and 18th, the Lipizzaner Stallions will be performing their Airs Above the Ground at the Tacoma Dome. These highest level of dressage maneuvers include several natural positions the horses were once trained to perform in battle.

The true story of the flight of the Lipizzaner stallions from their famous riding school in Vienna to safety during WWII was made into a Disney movie, Miracle of the White Stallions, in 1963. One of my favorite childhood authors, Marguerite Henry, wrote the book White Stallion of Lipizza about a baker's son who dreams of becoming a riding master at Vienna's Spanish Court Riding School.

God, I'm horse nerdy.

Sarah, are you in?

Protest Planned Over Pet Food Recall

A nationwide march/protest is in the works to show pet food companies and lawmakers that pet owners are not happy with the low safety standards for pet food.

The protest is scheduled for April 28th, and pet owners in several cities can contact Pets Need a Voice Too if interested in adding a march in their own city.

While it comes at a terrible cost, I am pleased to see people taking an interest in their pet's health and diet. Frinklin and I feed five different foods to our four dogs in order to get what we feel is the best nutritional value to each. The Jeffrey gets a dry prescription food, Perdita gets her dry Wellness puppy food, Matchbox and Pharaoh get a mixture of Wellness Super 5 Mix and Active Care (for specific food ingredients and joint care). Pharaoh also gets Active Care wet food to entice him to eat, as he can be a reluctant eater at times. Our cats are fed Wellness wet and dry cat food. Wellness and Active Care don't contain wheat gluten, which is suspected to be the dangerous ingredient. Although now there are fears that rice protein and corn gluten may also be suspect.

If Chinese wheat gluten is the dangerous ingredient, pet owners may be picking a big fight with U.S. subsidized wheat farmers. We use Chinese wheat because it's cheaper to import than to buy our home-grown wheat. Processing the wheat overseas is also cheaper. It's horrible that our pets are suffering, and it raises the concern over human-grade food.

UPDATE: Old Mother Hubbard, which produces Wellness states that the only ingredient sourced overseas is lamb from New Zealand. They do not use any Chinese import products, and they use a human food auditing firm for plant inspection.

Denver BSL Lawsuit Filed

From Sonya Dias, Leader of the Pit Bull BAND:

Our lawsuit to stop the Pit Bull Ban in Denver was just filed in federal court last week. Lead attorney for our court case is David Lane, one of the top constitutional lawyers in the region. The suit that has been filed has just three plaintiffs illustrating some of the constitutional violations, but more are going to be added. Our expert witnesses are all at the top of their fields ( the best canine geneticist in the country, experienced veterinarians and well-known animal behaviorists) with more to be added before the case is heard in front of the judge.

What you can do to best support our efforts is to send donations. As you can imagine, all of these witnesses and legal fees cost A LOT! More funding is needed to ensure we can afford to bring in every expert witness we need for the trial. The more factual evidence we provide, the stronger our case becomes!

If you can donate to strengthen our efforts, please send checks to the below address or use the paypal option located on our website:

www.pitbullband.com

The Pit Bull BAND Legal Trust
c/o The Progressive Law Center
2301 S. Wadsworth, suite 3H
Lakewood, CO 80227

Any donations you send will be strictly used for attorney fees, legal fees, expert witness fees, and court costs. We don't have an organization to support since we're volunteers, so 100% of all donations will go to the above.

My sister, the idiot

This evening while winding down from a day at work I received a phone call from my Dad. He told me an amusing little story about my 15 year old sister.

Apparently, two weeks ago, Nikki was grounded for talking on the phone with her friends after lights out and lying to my mom about it. She was grounded for two weeks, required to do an hour of chores each day, and was on all communication restriction (no phone, email, or IMing) during her grounding. She was warned repeatedly warned that if she lied again, she would lose the privilege of getting her driver's permit this summer.

Cut to today - her last day of being grounded. My Mom received her cell phone bill today, and was shocked to see that she owed $318 for text messaging over the last couple of weeks.

My mom has never text messaged anyone in her life (which explains why they don't have unlimited texting).

My dad immediately said, "Ask Nik."

She denied any knowledge of the text messages, to the point of insisting that she didn't know how to use the feature.

"I guess we'll have to ask the phone company for the transcripts." my Mom slyly added.

At that point she broke down, weeping and sobbing that she was sorry and admitting to stealing my Mom's cell phone every night to text her friends.

How many messages did she send, you ask?

100? 200? 500?

Oh no.

Over a two week period she sent 1100 messages, which adds up to 75 messages PER DAY. Considering she only had a couple of hours each day to use the phone, she's averaging 40 - 50 messages an hour. Impressive.

Nikki has now bought herself an extra 6 months of Mom's taxi service, another grounding, and has two months to pay back the $318.

Well done, Nicole. Well done, indeed.

Letter to the Editor - Breed Specific Legislation is Not the Answer

Published in the 4/18/07 Tacoma News Tribune. See it here.

Robert Shirley’s letter regarding dog attacks in his neighborhood unfortunately puts the blame on the wrong party – the dogs. He complains of loose, dangerous dogs, and asks that “aggressive breeds” be banned.

The problem lies not with dogs, but with irresponsible owners. Most cities currently have Animal Control laws in place that allow for the pickup of loose dogs, especially those that are aggressive. Any dog that attacks is impounded.

The idea of banning “aggressive breeds” is a slippery slope. Pit bulls are typically the primary focus of breed specific legislation (BSL). To some, banning the breed that statistically bites or attacks most often makes sense. However, it is only in this decade that Pit bulls have received this dubious distinction. The Center for Disease Control statistics show Rottweilers, German Shepherds, and even Great Danes have topped the list in previously. Labradors, Dauchunds, and Yorkshire Terriers also make an appearance.

BSL does not address the root of the problem - any breed can be made aggressive if mishandled and/or abused. The same dogs that are considered “aggressive breeds” in some areas are celebrated for their sensitivity and intelligence in others. German Shepherds are one of the three breeds used by Guide Dogs for the Blind.

At a time when a large percentage of adoptable shelter dogs are crossbred in some way with Pit bulls, banning “aggressive breeds” from one neighborhood and moving them to another makes no sense. Requiring spaying and neutering and strengthening current dangerous dog laws are better solutions.

Read the unedited version in the extended entry

Robert Shirley’s letter regarding dog attacks in his neighborhood unfortunately puts the blame on the wrong party – the dogs. He complains of loose, dangerous dogs, and asks that “aggressive breeds” be banned from “family neighborhoods”.

The problem lies not with dogs, but with irresponsible owners. Lakewood, like most Washington cities, currently has Animal Control laws in place that allow for the pickup of loose dogs, especially those that are aggressive. Any dog that attacks is immediately impounded, and the owner may face further legal action.

The idea of banning “aggressive breeds” is an incredibly slippery slope. Pit bulls are typically the primary focus of breed specific legislation (BSL). To some, banning the breed that statistically bites or attacks most often makes obvious sense. However, it is only in this decade that Pit bulls have received this dubious distinction. The Center for Disease Control statistics show Rottweilers, German Shepherds, and even Great Danes have topped the list previously. Labradors, Dauchunds, and Yorkshire Terriers also make an appearance.

The CDC also notes several factors that “affect a dog’s propensity to bite”:

Several interacting factors affect a dog’s propensity to bite, including heredity, sex, early experience, socialization and training, health (medical and behavioral), reproductive status, quality of ownership and supervision, and victim behavior. For example, a study in Denver of medically-attended dog bites in 1991 suggested that male dogs are 6.2 times more likely to bite than female dogs, sexually intact dogs are 2.6 times more likely to bite than neutered dogs, and chained dogs are 2.8 times more likely to bite than unchained dogs.

BSL does not address the root of the problem - any breed can be made aggressive if mishandled and/or abused. And who decides exactly what an "aggressive breed" is? The same dogs that are considered “aggressive breeds” in some areas are celebrated for their sensitivity and intelligence in others. German Shepherds (often included in BSL) are one of the three breeds used by Guide Dogs for the Blind. Boxers and Dobermans (also considered “aggressive breeds” in some communities) have also been used as guide dogs and service animals.

Banning specific breeds is akin to banning the automobile because it is the most accident-prone mode of transportation. Forcing everyone to travel by plane doesn't make airplanes or automobiles any safer.

At a time when a large percentage of adoptable shelter dogs are crossbred in some way with Pit bulls, banning “aggressive breeds” from one "family neighborhood" (what exactly is a family neighborhood? last I checked almost all neighborhoods have families in them) and moving them to another makes no sense. Requiring spaying and neutering and strengthening current dangerous dog laws are better solutions.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to John Munn, owner of Tacoma's best comic book shop, Comic Book Ink, and his new bride Sarah.

We spent the day at their lovely wedding at the Temple Theatre and wish them many happy years together!

Thursday Thirteen #3

THIRTEEN THINGS I MISS ABOUT SAN DIEGO (feeling a little homesick right now)

1. SUNSHINE
2. My family
3. Dog Beach
4. Off-street parking
5. Not having to bundle up - even inside the house!
6. Good Mexican Food
7. Pat & Oscar's breadsticks
8. Pick Up Stix House Special Chicken
9. San Diego Chicken Pie Shop
10. My horse

11. More good Mexican Food
12. In-n-Out
13. Balboa Park

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Tacoma's Beautiful Angle Represents in the Emerald City

In my in-box today I received an invitation to the Beautiful Angle Artist's Reception at the School of Visual Concepts in Seattle.

Details for the event taken directly from the eVite:

Host: Beautiful Angle
Location: The Gallery that happens to be at the School of Visual Concepts
500 Aurora Avenue North, Seattle, WA
When: Friday, April 27, 7:00pm

Join Beautiful Angle on Friday, April 27 in the unwashed lands of Seattle, WA. For the first time, we'll be showing a complete retrospective of our work outside of our own holy city. We'd love to see a strong contingent of Tacoma folks come up for the reception.

There'll be some free food, a cool crowd, and posters on the wall. It's at one of our favorite non-Tacoma places, Seattle's School of Visual Concepts. SVC and their wonderful letterpress program has long been a supporter of our project.

We'll be giving away a free commemorative poster on the spot. In regards to the displayed work, it's the same old posters, but we've got to say: the messages seem transformed when displayed in a foreign land. You just may look at them with a new perspective.

We hope to see you soon.

Lance Kagey, Tom Llewellyn, and the rest of the Beautiful Angle family

--------------------

Come out and show your support for local Tacoma art!

Irish Oatmeal Bread

What to do on a rainy morning in Tacoma but bake? Today I had the mad desire to whip up some bread, but had not the patience to wait for yeast to rise. If you have a similar yearning and would like to taste a bundle of oatmealy deliciousness, here is the recipe for you:

Irish Oatmeal Bread

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups flour
2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine
2 tablespoons brown sugar or honey
1 - 11/2 cups milk

Sift together salt, baking powder and flour in a bowl. Add oatmeal and mix well. Beat the eggs, melted butter, brown sugar (or honey), and one cup of the milk together. Be careful that the eggs are not too cold and the melted butter not too hot or you will scramble the eggs. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet and add enough milk to make a soft dough.

Turn dough out to knead for 1 - 2 minutes. Shape into a round loaf.

Use a heavy, ovenproof plate for baking (or whatever you have at hand that will allow the dough to expand a bit - a cookie sheet will do in a pinch). Grease the plate, then flip the loaf over so that both sides are greased. Cut a shallow gash across the top of the loaf. I like to add butter to the gash - but that's up to you.

Bake for 40 - 45 minutes.

Bread is done when loaf is turned over and a hollow sound can be heard when you "thump" the underside of the bread. Or when it looks done - starting to turn golden brown. Yummy.

Best when straight out of the oven and spread with your favorite jam or jelly.

Staying on the Cutting Edge...

I've finally signed up for a Flickr account. Now the world will be overwhelmed with pictures of my dogs and cats.

New Fries at St. Helens Cafe! Film at 11.

St. Helens Cafe has started serving new fries.

We went for dinner on Friday night (instead of Thursday - I swear we don't go there every night, Kevin and Cassioposa, regardless of what was indicated at C&R) and were served a smaller, tastier fry. I asked about the switch and was told that these are more distinctive, less, "frozen, straight out of the bag. We are a fish and chips place, after all!" She also told me Friday was the first day they had tried the new fries and people seemed to like them.

The new fries are more shoe-string style. I vote in favor of them.

Anyone else tried the new fries? If not, make it a point to do so.

We also got to experience eating at St. Helens with the garage doors up. It was great!

The Movie Me-Me

1.Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times. Star Wars
2.Name a movie that you’ve seen multiple times in the theater. Titanic - hey, everyone went multiple times!
3.Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a movie. Steve Carell
4.Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a movie. The Wayans Brothers (OK, technically that's two)
5.Name a movie that you can and do quote from. Best In Show
6.Name a movie musical that you know all of the lyrics to all of the songs. Moulin Rouge!
7.Name a movie that you have been known to sing along with. My Fair Lady
8.Name a movie that you would recommend everyone see. The Princess Bride
9.Name a movie that you own. Antonia's Line
10.Name an actor that launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops. Will Farrell, who was surprisingly good in Stranger Than Fiction
11.Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? If so, what? Nope. I've missed out on a great American experience.
12.Ever made out in a movie? Not that I can recall
13.Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just haven’t yet gotten around to it. An Inconvenient Truth
14.Ever walked out of a movie? Garfield
15.Name a movie that made you cry in the theater. The Painted Veil (but just a little, because I knew it was coming!)
16.What’s the last movie you saw in the theater? Blades of Glory
17.What’s your favorite/preferred genre of movie? Comedy
18.What’s the first movie you remember seeing in the theater? Empire Strikes Back. I remember sitting on my Dad's shoulders and staring at the line around the building to get in.
19.What movie do you wish you had never seen? Hulk
20.What is the weirdest movie you enjoyed? The Hot Chick. It's terrible. I know. But whenever it's on cable, I must watch.
21.What is the scariest movie you’ve seen? Alien - I was 12 - I couldn't sleep for a week.
22.What is the funniest movie you’ve seen? Chasing Amy "You didn't tell me you were going to scream black rage. I nearly shit myself!"

Found at so anyway...

Thursday Thirteen Blogroll

Thursday Thirteen Blogroll

Thursday Thirteen #2

THIRTEEN BOOKS I PICKED UP AT EMERALD CITY COMICON (in no particular order)

1. Wet Moon book 1: feeble wanderings by ross campbell - I finally found the first volume of this book after seeing the second volume at Zanadu forever. The art is AMAZING. I'm not much into goth, but it's seductive in this book. The story is good enough I want to read the second one now.

2. Banana Sunday by Root Nibot & Colleen Coover - Cute. Kinda pointless. I wanted to like it more than I actually did. The duo also has a porn book that I think I'd rather have picked up. Go-Go does rock though.

3. drunken MOMENTS by drunkenmoments@comcast.net - I was drawn in by a poster the artist had of the "Aflac" duck standing over a dead body asking, "Aflac?" The comic was $1. It's nothing special, but I did get a manga portrait of myself out of the deal.

4. For Your Safety: Matrimony Comfort Guide by John Aegard and Molly Friedrich - This might be the best thing I picked up at all of Emerald Con. It's a guide that teaches you the correct behavior at weddings. Any guide that includes a detailed description of the use of Optimus Prime on a wedding cake, correctly and incorrectly, has got to be good. Oh, and they had a flaming toilet on their table at the con. I initially bought it for my sister as she is getting married at the end of May, but it's so cool I want to keep it for myself.

5. Conversation #2 by Jeffrey Brown and James Kochalka - I heart Jeffrey Brown, but I am indifferent to James Kochalka. I haven't made any definite judgments as I need to check out more of Kochalka's work. This is OK - it's a discussion on art and life and the meaning of art in life...if you're a fan of either or both I'd recommend it.

6. The Elves of Iax #1: Finding Lorgo by Jeremy Kayes - What to say about this book? The author/artist grabbed my attention at the con immediately by wailing, "I don't exist!" and I bought the book off his chutzpah alone. It's a webcomic, the art could be better, but it's an interesting idea, and I would read the next book if there is one. There were some funny lines and if anyone can sell this book, this dude is it. Good luck Mr. Kayes!

7. Will You Still Love Me If I Wet the Bed by Liz Prince - The female Jeffrey Brown. Funny and sweet, small snapshots of everyday life and intimate conversations. I was very happy to find this book and will happily purchase anything else Liz Prince puts out.

8. The West Seattle Middle School Comics Class Giveaway Sampler - I picked up a sampler last year and did so again this year. I love these things. Typically there will be a few gems in each one, although each one is fascinating in its own way, and this was no exception. Each student draws a page, and styles differ dramatically. The back cover featured a manga style with a dark spot labeled "emo corner," and another student drew herself and friends as cats "because I can't draw humans to save myself" although she draws humans certainly better than I can a panel later. Greg Hatcher of Comics Should Be Good! teaches these kids, and to him I say, "THANK YOU!" I wish my brother went to school up here instead of San Diego. He would have LOVED this sort of thing.

9. Feeble Attempts by Jeffrey Brown - Frinklin asked me the other day, "Would you leave me for Jeffrey Brown? Of course not." I told him. I lied.

10. Lost Souls in Love by Steve Rolston - This was originally a 24-hour comic. A sweet little story.

11. The Cat With a Really Big Head and one other story that isn't as good by Roman Dirge - Wrong. Then wronger. But always funny. I've been eyeing this book for a few comic-cons and never bought it for some reason. But thank God I finally did. It makes me laugh every time I did. Magic lung beasts...? Haha. I think I just made a poopies.

12. Lions, Tigers, and Bears TPB #1: Fear and Pride by Mike Bullock and Jack Lawrence - A really wonderful idea executed very, very well. This is the type of comic that I enjoy reading, but could just as easily give it to someone who is 12 years old and have them enjoy it equally well. The art is fantastic, the writing is solid, and the characters are sweet and likable. Who didn't grow up believing that their stuffed animals had some life in them? Or maybe still do?

13. The Virgin Project: A Collection of True Stories by K.D. Boze and Stasia Kato - I paid $5 for this self published work, which I think is a cool idea, but I nearly fell over when a guy at the table I bought it at said, "Yeah, it's a neat piece. People are comparing it to Maus." Seriously? Maus??! A Pulitzer prize winning work about the horrors of the holocaust? I was relatively disgusted at that moment, and I'm afraid it's colored my opinion of this book. Anyway, you can participate in The Virgin Project by going to the link above.

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

1. A Gentleman's Domain
2. Desert Diva
3. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Tacoma Reads Together: The Pact

At King's Books the other day I was able to pick up my button for Tacoma Reads: The Pact. If you aren't familiar with Tacoma Reads Together, you should be.

Tacoma Reads is a program created after September 11th, 2001. From the Tacoma Public Library website:

In the aftermath of the tragic event of September 11, 2001, Tacoma educator Patrick Erwin sought a way to bring the Tacoma community together to talk about the issues which appeared to keep the community apart. Remembering What if all Seattle read the same book?, a project begun by Seattle’s Nancy Pearl, Erwin met with Mayor Brian Ebersole and others to suggest that perhaps Tacomans should be encouraged to come together to read, reflect upon, and then respond to the ideas and issues raised by one good book – one book which the entire community would be encouraged to read and discuss. In short order, Tacoma Reads Together was born.

The rest of the Tacoma Reads Together history can be found here.

The 2007 Tacoma Reads selection is The Pact by Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins and Rameck Hunt. This is the inspiring true story of three young black men from the projects in Newark, New Jersey. All three were chosen to attend University High School, a magnet school in the city. As they bonded together as friends, the three made a pact to graduate, and go on to become doctors. All three succeeded.

I was lucky enough to meet all three doctors at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) in 2003. They were the keynote speakers and I was running the books sales for the event. I sold 600 books in less than 2 hours. The line wrapped around the room. Their story wasn't just amazing, they were great speakers, and they stayed afterwards to meet with every single person (1000 people attended the session) who wanted to shake their hands.

There is also a version of The Pact written for younger readers called We Beat the Street.

Book Crossing Release Caught!

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I had joined Book Crossing, a very cool web-based community that allows you to register your books, tag them, and "release" them into the wild for others to find. I've released two books so far, one at the black water and the other at St. Helens Cafe.

Today I was rewarded - someone "caught" the book I released at the black water! Hopefully they will keep the trend going and once finished with Then We Came to the End will set it free in another public location.

You can check out other books that I have released, or are soon to be realeased by clicking the icon here:

Waiting for Pharaoh

I'm supposed to be working right now, but I'm waiting for the doggie dental specialist, Dr. DeBowes, to call me back about Pharaoh. I dropped him off this morning for radio graphs and surgery on a couple of teeth that are still bothering him following his initial dental work.

With his being so old (nine? ten? older?) it's always a gamble to put him under, and I hate waiting for that call to let me know he's awake and doing OK. I felt much better about his being at the Met with Dr. Warren, even though Dr. DeBowes work out the the Emergency Animal Hospital here in Tacoma. Couldn't really be in safer hands. And Dr. DeBowes is an incredibly talented specialist.

Still...fingernails are chewed down to the nubs.

UPDATE: Pharaoh is out of surgery and awake. Pickup is scheduled at 4:30!

UPDATE: Pharaoh is home, asleep, sans two teeth. We are now sans the equivelent of one mortgage payment.

No Rhubarb!

Frinklin is starting a new blog all about the Tacoma Rainiers. No Rhubarb! is under construction right now, but should be fully up and running later this week.

I have a sneaking suspicion this is just to get us to more baseball games this year, but whatever.