Just Giblets

Just stop it. You can say that you believe any opinion:

• “I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free.” -Abraham Lincoln
• “I believe that sex is one of the most beautiful, natural, wholesome things that money can buy.” -Steve Martin
• “I’ll ne’er believe a madman till I see his brains.” -William Shakespeare
• “Despite everything, I believe that all men are really good at heart.” -Anne Frank
• “I support gay marriage. I believe they have a right to be as miserable as the rest of us.” -Kinky Friedman

You can even say you believe (or disbelieve) dubious or unproven facts:

• “Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
• “I believe that I was a dog in a past life. That’s the only thing that would explain why I like to snack on Purina Dog Chow.” -Dean Koontz
• “I am not a lesbian and I am not a slut, and somehow I am going to make people believe me.” -Vanessa Williams
• “Everytime a child says ‘I don’t believe in fairies,’ there’s a a little fairy somewhere that falls down dead.” -J.M. Barrie

But you can’t say you believe or disbelieve a documented fact. Consider this statement by Scott Brown, republican nominee for the vacant Massachusetts US Senate seat.

Marriage
I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. States should be free to make their own laws in this area, so long as they reflect the people’s will as expressed through them directly, or as expressed through their elected representatives.

Guess what, Scott? If you are implicitly saying that you disbelieve that marriage is between two people of the same sex, you believe a lie. Because I’m married to a wonderful guy. There are people all over the globe whose spouses are the same sex they are. I really don’t give a flying fart what you believe.

Isn’t it funny how he avoids using the word “gay” or even “same-sex?” His implicit criticism of the judicial rule that denying same-sex partners marriage licenses is unconstitutional (as opposed to putting minority rights to a majority legislative vote) is really hateful too. Scott, you don’t get to reinterpret what our laws say — an accusation leveled at gay marriage supports frequently.

Now, prepare to lose on Tuesday.

The wildlife on our back porch has been pretty quiet since winter hit. None of those visitors I saw on Halloween. But this morning, I went out back to find this bird of prey enjoying his breakfast on a limb about five feet away from the deck. (And by breakfast, I mean another bird.)

The beauty of nature... being eaten by a hawk.

And if you want to see the feathers fly, check this out. It’s HD, so go ahead and fill your screen.

Oh, it’s been so long since I’ve been able to post a little kid cussing! And these two are adorable!

Scot Colford is a fan of

Shut up, The World Won’t End in 2012.

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That is all.

Maybe you’ve seen this, but a Purdue library science professor and government documents librarian has blogged An Economic Case Against Homosexuality. Yes, it’s as ludicrous as it sounds. I’m leaving this off my professional blog, as it has little to do with librarianship, other than the fact that Professor Bert Chapman displays no traits of a librarian, despite his blog title “Conservative Librarian.”

You’ll see a comment by me… two, if they approve my last one. Not that I doubt it’s rationality, but it’s close to the 2,000 character limit they put on comments, so it may be held in moderation. Or then again, it may have been flushed down the toilet. It’s in response to a commenter named Adriana who takes me to task for bringing up the taboo of the “facts” Prof. Chapman’s economic publication lacks.

Here is my follow up, in case they don’t publish it:

Adriana,

The facts Prof. Chapman presents, but does not cite are:

1. Not only does he not cite his source of data, but Prof. Chapman attributes US Government expenditures on AIDS to a support of what he deems “a homosexual lifestyle.” Though he recognizes that the disease is spread by many means, he still presents it as a moral issue. But regardless, a librarian must state where his numbers come from and what “expenditures on this disease” encompass.

2. He cites as fact that behavior he deems immoral taints our blood supply without support of fact.

3. Chapman also claims that rape of male inmates by fellow males is a drain on taxpayer dollars. Does he cite how many of the offenders are homosexual? It may seem unthinkable to you, but heterosexual males rape men. I see no citations to established facts to support his claims that homosexual men are draining US tax dollars in this way.

4. At long last, the educated librarian cites an external work, “Do Domestic Partner Benefits Make Good Economic Sense?” by The Corporate Resource Center. He claims that it is available on a web site, but does not provide a URL. He does not even qualify where this center is or what affiliation it has, if any, to a larger organization. I challenge anyone to find this work available on the web. For this fraud alone, Prof. Chapman should be censured, at the very least.

5. Finally, the learned professor closes with a long list of ways that heterosexual entitlements may be diminished by the acknowledgment of same-sex relationships. There are no numbers given. There are no longitudinal studies cited. There is only the fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) tactics of a frightened man with no other defense. The last paragraph reminds me of the FUD tactics of white families in the 1960’s who would incite neighborhood hatred against black families moving in, in the name of “decreased property values.”

I am not arguing against Prof. Chapman’s points. He has none.

The student furor over his blog post has led to calls for his dismissal from the university. Not surprisingly, this isn’t the first antigay blog post he’s written.

Update: I totally forgot to thank the dude who alerted me to this fiasco! Rob at wakingupnow.com is a really great blogger who has a fierce, but reasoned approach to civil action. Thank you, Rob. You set a good example.

Michael lost our digital camera during a recent business trip to San Francisco. Perfect excuse to whip out the Best Buy card and upgrade. I don’t normally take many pictures, but felt inspired when I discovered our new neighbor on the back porch this afternoon.

Not so itsy-bitsy. More nickel-sized.

He/she was up near the top of the covering of our back porch.

You can just barely make out the web from the other side. Up near the corner.

Hooray! I can use manual focus!

Thanks to the fabulous Jann Arden I found this amazing video of Anne Murray performing with some of the biggest early 80s British pop stars of the day. Don’t miss it. It’s work watching. Anne Murray rocks!

I’ve been on a bit of a comics jag lately, and the other day I picked up my semi-monthly haul of new comics.  After reading them (Friday night and Saturday) I decided to share some of my favorites of the month, since there were some pretty darn good ones in the mix.  It also showed me that I come firmly down on the DC side for the most part, with 7 of my top 10 coming from that company, and the other 3 coming from Marvel.  While I like some of the obscure Marvel heroines more than I like the DC characters, it’s clear that the writing and the stories that they’re producing are far superior (or at least more to my liking) than Marvel.  Anyway, here they are, my Top 10 comics of August.

1. Secret Six #12 written by Gail Simone, art by Nicola Scott.  Both of Gail’s titles  made the Top 2 this week, but I have to say, Secret Six #12 makes it to the top with the artistic aid of Nicola Scott.  The premise of Secret Six is this:  six villains (or at best, anti-heroes) band together originally to survive, and eventually because they enjoy working together.  In recent issues they got involved with a slavery ring, and discovered that Artemis, one of the Amazons, was a captive of the slavers.  This issues the ultimate Amazon shows up… yeah, that’s Wonder Woman.  She has an awesome smackdown with Jeannette, one of the more mysterious members of the Six, whose secret is finally revealed in this issue.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen Diana captured as perfectly both in script or in image as this issues of Secret Six.  She is truly chilling and awesome to behold in this issue.  Take a look on the right.  DC Comics
2. Detective Comics #856 featuring Batwoman written by Greg Rucka, art by J.H. Williams III.  I spoke a lot about Batwoman in my previous post so it’s really no surprise that she shows up so prominently in this list.  Again, the gorgeous art helps quite a bit, but Rucka’s writing is top notch.  Williams layouts take a little getting used to, but they sure are breathtaking.  You need to know a little bit of Batwoman’s brief history to follow this issue, but it also features a nifty meeting of Kate Kane and Maggie Sawyer who share a spin on the dance floor.  The Question back-up story is a little lackluster, mainly due to Cully Hamner’s artwork.  It’s not bad, by any means, but it sure pales in comparison to Williams.  Rucka’s story is still compelling.  DC Comics
3. Wonder Woman #35 written by Gail Simone, art by Aaron Lopresti.  Gail really knows how to write characters, and it’s such a thrill to see women characters in comics get such great treatment.  This arc is basically a Wonder Woman/Black Canary team up, and Gail really characterizes these two women wonderfully.  Now, if we could only get Nicola Scott to draw this title as well?  Awesome.  Anyway, this issue ties together a couple of storylines very nicely.  Diana and Dinah (Black Canary) are in Tokyo posing as underground wrestlers, in order to find one of Diana’s colleagues, Sarge Steel, who has been captured by one of her nemeses, Dr. Psycho.  Along comes the Pacific Islander goddess Pele, seeking revenge on Diana for her father’s death at the hands of Zeus.  Yeah, it probably sounds confusing to a non-comic reader, but this comic has it all.  Great characterization, kick-ass action, and an emotional wallop right at the end.  DC Comics
4. Guardians of the Galaxy #17 written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, art by Brad Walker.  Marvel comes in with one of their cosmic titles, which is also the single most enjoyable title they are putting out right now.  Two of my favorite Marvel heroines are featured regularly, Moondragon (who only has a small part in this issue) and Mantis (who is absent from this issue), but this issue does guest star my second favorite Marvel heroine, Medusa along with the rest of the Inhumans Royal Family in this War of Kings follow-up.  The Inhumans have gone and detonated a deadly bomb to end the Kree/Shair War, and the result is a massive rift in time and space that threatens to destroy the cosmos.  The Guardians of the Galaxy go to confront the Inhumans for their actions, and to see if they can do something about the unravelling of the galaxy.  Naturally Medusa is a bit consumed by grief as it looks like her husband, and King of the Inhuamns, Black Bolt, has been obliterated.  As you can see in the image on the right, she doesn’t have much patience for Martyr’s “I told you so’s.”  Fortunately for the cosmos, Adam Warlock manages to stop the rift’s growth.  Unfortunately for the cosmos, the resulting timeshift causes him to become the villainous Magus.  It’s a pretty shocking ending, and great cosmic space opera.  Marvel comics
5. X-Factor #47 written by Peter David, art by Valentine De Landro.  Pretty much the only X-title worth reading right now (except perhaps New Mutants, in my opinion) and that’s because of Peter David’s writing.  Humor, adventure, twists, emotional swings… Peter does it all, imbuing life and interest even into such cardboard characters as Longshot, Shatterstar, Strong Guy and his masterwork, Madrox the Multiple Man.  This issue is in the middle of a multi-part storyline, so it’s pretty darn confusing.  I’m not even going to try to summarize it.  Suffice it to say, Madrox, X-Factor’s leader, is trapped in the future with Layla Miller, trying to figure out a way to keep a nasty future from coming to past for mutantkind.  Meanwhile back in the present, a couple of Omega level sentinels are after Siryn and M, while Longshot confronts the apparent mastermind of the whole thing… who is shockingly revealed in the final panel.  Marvel comics
6. Madame Xanadu #14 written by Matt Wagner, art by Michael Wm. Kaluta.  DC’s fantasy/horror/crime imprint, Vertigo, spawned the likes of such popular titles as The Sandman and Fables.  Now they have scored again with one of DC’s b-list mystics, the mysterious Madame Xanadu.  Issue #14 is part four of a storyline with art by original Madame Xanadu artist Michael Kaluta, and while it’s beautiful, it doesn’t have the appeal for me as Amy Reeder Hadley’s fine line work, and I look forward to her return in a few issues.  This storyline is set alternately in 1940s New York, where Madame Xanadu must solve a mystical serial killing, and 1493 when the Spanish Inquisition was at the height of its powers.  This issue also features a great encounter between Madame Xanadu and the Golden Age Sandman, aka Wesley Dodds, who is trying to solve the crimes in his own way.  There’s a dramatic cliffhanger where it looks like things are about to go terribly wrong for Xanadu in the 1493.  Wagner has turned a stock character into something magical and wondrous, and whose adventures each month I look forward to eagerly.  DC Comics/Vertigo
7. War of Kings #6 of 6 written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning, art by Paul Pelletier.  As mentioned above, Medusa is one of my all-time favorite heroines from Marvel, and she and the rest of the Royal Family of the Inhumans is featured prominently in the War of Kings miniseries which reached its conclusion this month.  It comes down to an epic personal battle between Black Bolt, King of the Inhumans, and Vulcan, man Emperor of the Shiar.  Black Bolt intends to detonate  a T-bomb, powered by his deadly voice, that will have deadly repercussions to the galaxy.  Vulcan intends to stop him.  Medusa comes to realize that Black Bolt will perish in the explosion as this epic war comes to a close.  Abnett and Lanning do cosmic storylines with finesse, action, political intrigue and great characterization.  Unfortunately, they tend to paint their characters in fairly broad strokes:  Crystal and Ronan are our heroes, and seem to make no errors in judgment, while the rest of the Inhumans Royal Family are nearly reduced to cardboard villains.  I would have rather seen more layers.  The miniseries was elevated by the fabulous artwork of Paul Pelletier though, and I’m thoroughly looking forward to the next chapter in this saga.  Marvel Comics
8. Justice Society of America #30 written by Matthew Sturges & Bill Willingham, art by Jesus Merino.  The new writing team of Sturges and Willingham (of Fables fame) has breathed much needed new life into the Justice Society of America; enough to propel it back into the Top 1o of my monthly reads.  It’s not easy to handle the writing chores of a team of superheroes that features over 20 members, but this kick-off storyline does the job, and even adds another member (bringing in the new Dr. Fate in a very dramatic fashion.)  The JSA is nearly defeated by a horde of Super-villains, leaving only the Flash and Stargirl standing.  While Stargirl holds her own, Flash recruits the new Dr. Fate and the three manage to stall long enough for the rest of the team to recover.  When the villains flee, a rift forms in the team of heroes, with some wanting to pursue the villains and find out the reason for the attack, and the rest feeling it important to return to headquarters to see why Mr. Terrific doesn’t answer their call.  It turns out  that there is a larger plot at work against the team and it threatens to tear the JSA apart.  Oh, Merino’s art really adds a lot to the book.  I’m looking forward to seeing this new creative team’s work.  DC Comics
9. Batgirl #1 written by Bryan Q. Miller, art by Lee Garbett.  I wasn’t going to read the new Batgirl series, as I wasn’t all that interested in the last young lady who wore the costume.  For some reason, when I found out who was going to be wearing the costume, I was intrigued, so I decided to pick up issues #1.  I’m going to spoil you about the new Batgirl’s identity, because it’s revealed very early on in the issue.  Stephanie Brown, formerly Spoiler, is our new Batgirl, and while I don’t really know all that much about Ms. Brown, I thought I’d see how she handles the role.  The art is terrific, and Brown’s Batgirl is a little uncertain of herself and makes some mistakes.  Clearly she is in need of a mentor, and she is apparently going to get one in the form of Barbara Gordon, the original Batgirl, and now the uber-information broker, Oracle.  Miller writes Barbara with a lot of pent up anger, which I’m not sure I buy, but I’m going to wait and see where that anger is coming from and see how the story develops.  In the meantime, I’m in.  DC Comics
10. Power Girl #4 written by Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmotti, art by Amanda Conner.  DC is sure showing the ladies some love with all these female-led titles!  Power Girl is a great character… originally Earth 2’s answer to Supergirl.  She devolved into a large pair of breasts and an attitude in the 90’s, but her regular strong appearances in the Justice Society of America over the last several years have done a lot to propel her back to serious status.  Gray and Pamottie are taking a slightly humorous approach to Power Girl (there’s a joke about her breasts in just about every issue) but they’re also doing a good job establishing her as an entertaining and strong character.  Amanda Conner’s art is a little cartoony, but it fits thebig adventures well, and she captures facial expressions really well.  I’m enjoying this title much more than I thought I would.  DC Comics

I wanted to mention a few other titles for various reasons, starting with Blackest Night #2.  I’m not as over the moon about this event as most of fandom.  Never been much of a Green Lantern fan, and Geoff Johns stories are wildly uneven for me, some being outstanding, others being overhyped.  But the big surprise in this issue was the awesome return of Mera in a big way (take a gander at left).  Mera is the long-suffering wife of Aquaman, who has basically been the ultimate expression of the wife/girlfriend character in comics.  Now that Aquaman is dead (and returned in Blackest Night) it appears that Johns is going to shine a little spotlight on Mera, and for that I must thank him.  She’s got tons of potential, great powers, and an outstanding visual.  She’s the Queen of Atlantis, and as you know from Marvel’s Medusa, I’ve got a thing for Queens!

Other mentions this month include a new creative team over in Fantastic Four, thank god.  I loathed what Millar and Hitch were doing to this title, and things look promising in the hands of new scribe Jonathan Hickman.  Vertigo’s Air continues to confound and to please.  It’s some pretty heady stuff, but nothing less than I’d expect from Peter Milligan.  Terry Moore’s Echo is moving along nicely and Streets of Gotham has me following yet another Batman title; but this time for the back-up story featuring Manhunter.  This month’s addition of The Huntress piques my interest even more.  Other titles I enjoyed this month include Nova, Justice League of America, Marvel Divas, New Mutants, R.E.B.E.L.S., Lockjaw & the Pet Avengers, Fables, The Unwritten, Greek Street, JSA vs. Kobra, and The Last Days of Animal Man.  Other titles that I have mixed feelings about include Justice League: Cry for Justice, Adventure Comics, The Mighty Avengers, Fallen Angel, and Avengers: The Initiative.  And two titles that I was enjoying before,but seem to have taken missteps this month are Gotham City Sirens and Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter.

Kate Kane is Batwoman

As I begin working on this post’s companion piece, My favorite DC heroines, I started thinking about Batwoman, a newish DC character that has gotten a lot of attention, including a bunch of articles in the mainstream press, but not a whole lot of actual comic book time. What is it that has captured the medias attention, and more curious, what is it that has captured mine? The former is pretty easy: Batwoman was announced to be a lesbian even before she ever appeared in a comic book. The mainstream press jumped all over that; after all, we are talking about the Batman franchise, possibly the most successful franchise that DC owns. But is that all it took to pique my interest?

Well, to be honest, that was certainly a start. As a gay man who has long read comics and historically mourned the lack of gay or lesbian characters found in the medium, I was thrilled that such a prominent character would also be a lesbian. But was it just a media stunt, and would she be a stock character, lacking in depth? She appeared briefly in DC’s 2007 weekly series, 52, as a dark vigilante, socialite Kate Kane by day, masked adventurer by night, ex-girlfriend of Renee Montoya, soon to be the new Question. She was intriguing, but really didn’t get a whole lot to do. Certainly not enough to make me pine for more.

JH Williams III is THE artist for Batwoman

The she had a couple of appearances the following year in a Final Crisis mini-series that was actually about The Question and The Spectre. It was written by Greg Rucka, whose work I really quite like, but more importantly, it was drawn by JH Williams III. The name didn’t really ring a bell, and it wasn’t until I was reminded that this was the author of Alan Moore’s Promethea title that I realized that I new the man’s work. More importantly, his work on Final Crisis: Revelations, and particularly on the character of Batwoman, that really caught my attention. The new Batwoman was dark, sexy, and not a little scary. Again, she was a supporting character, and didn’t actually have a whole lot of panel time, but I was hooked. When it was announced that she would star in the feature story of Detective Comics, DC flagship Batman title, I was there. Now we’re two issues in and it’s one of my favorite reads each month. Rucka and Williams III have their hooks in me and I’m enjoying every minute of it.

So how did this ‘not-a-Batman’ fan get hooked on Batwoman after a handful of appearances? Visually she is stunning. First of all, when it comes to superheroines, I’ve got a weakness for redheads (Medusa? Jean Gray?) Batwoman’s fiery read hair, and dramatic black and red costume are eye-catching and appealing. Her blood-red lips and heavy, practical boots, along with the tight leather outfit are just sexy as hell. And when she turns that scary, barely restrained rage on cowering criminals, it’s even more convincing than her more masculine counterpart. In the first two issues featuring Batwoman in Detective comics, Rucka teases us with a little bit of information, but wisely keeps us in the dark about a lot of Kate’s life. And yes, she is a lesbian, and it’s a part of her that is included in the story, but is not the focus. Just like Bruce Wayne was a playboy, Kate has relationships with women.

Now Batwoman is not eh first woman in the Bat Family that I’ve fallen for. Huntress and Oracle (Barbara Gordon, the former Batgirl) are both favorites, but I’m not sure I’ve ever fallen so quickly for a new character in the way Rucka and Williams have got me hooked by Batwoman. And it appears that she has taken fandom by storm as well. Here’s hoping for a long, successful run featuring Batwoman, preferrably written by Greg Rucka and JH Williams III.

Don't mess with Batwoman

Something pretty remarkable happened in comics a couple of months ago: two Marvel comics dudes… part of the X-Men franchise, no less, shared a kiss. A romantic kiss. Rictor and Shatterstar, the former debuting in the New Mutants, the latter first showing up in the 90’s Rob Leifield embarrassment, X-Force, shared a special, subtextual relationship briefly, just before the both disappeared into limbo around ten years ago. Rictor returned in the pages of Peter David’s X-Factor, one of my favorite superhero reads each month. There were some passing mentions of his possible relationship with Shatterstar, but nothing very distinct. David surprised me by bringing Shatterstar back into the comic recently, and stunned my by having Rictor and Shatterstar share a kiss at the end of a recent issue. There’s some pretty hefty significance to this, ,and I applaud the way it was casually slipped into a story without making a big deal out of it.

There’s more to the story, but I’ll let interested parties check it out over at the Daily Loaf. I’ll just leave you with the image, and the dubiously-named Strong Guy’s apt summation of the kiss.

Shatterstar and Rictor reunited