Tony is working a fundraising dinner tonight. About an hour ago I looked to the TV for company and relaxation. There was nothing at all worth watching except for House. I am fond of Hugh Laurie, and who doesn't enjoy a cunning procedural?
So I made myself some fishsticks, being that it is Friday and my Catholic husband's Lenten traditions are catching. I sat my very pregnant self in front of the ole' idiot box and gave this simple command, "Take me away TV!"
I have had a squirrelly sort of inconsistency when it comes to my archive page. Rather than going chronologically I have only linked to comics that follow the main "death" theme of this site. But you know what? Comics about making a sandwich are just as navel-gazing-rific as pondering my loved one's mortality.
So to be fair to my "filler/pregnancy/doing the laundry" comics I am sticking all those bad boys in order. Feel free to sashay through memory town and ride the links back to the very first comic (June 1st 2007).
Tony and I are pretty anxious about taking care of a baby without adult supervision. Last night we watched a Baby CPR video that was both informative and terrifying. Happily our friend Leanne has our back because she sent me a link to these:
Years ago I created this illustration for a holiday greeting card. It's origin is a story about a fine fellow named Jason who has been a firm friend of ours since college. My husband once happened upon Jason unexpectedly while traveling in Minsk or perhaps Copenhagen (I can't remember) with Joe (habitual subject of my comics). Joe and beloved husband were walking down a snowy street and suddenly came face to face with Jason who proclaimed "Joe, I have lost my pants!"
As it happens Jason had forgotten to pack long pants for his trip and was sporting shorts. Jason is not the sort of man to be deterred by small concerns like freezing to death so he chose to brave the elements with bare knees. We are delighted that he has decided to roll down to Austin to join our little mini college-reunion.
As to the house, we are still spinning plates like mad trying to stick to our closing deadline. Feel free to send happy thoughts this-a-way.
I have been out of communication (blog-wise) for a little while now. The reason is not baby or illness related. We've been fully and completely immersed in a house purchase. It looks like everything might work out. We are so confident that the sale we have scheduled a party just a week after closing. We have even asked these folks (see above) to fly or drive into Austin! Foolishness? Perhaps.
P.S. The illustration of my sister (last figure on the right) is not really true to life. I just wanted to show her how cute she would look with bangs. I could also show how cute she would look with a mohawk...
I haven't posted in so long, I doubted that anyone knew that this blog existed! Thanks for posting Bethany, you are good peeps.
By Kurt Johnson Photos by Kevin McInnis Editor’s note – When it came time to select our TOSH boys team...
9500 Liberty, a documentary film by Annabel Park and Eric Byler, premiered in San Francisco this past Thursday. Hosted by Citizen Hope, NDN and Netroots Nation, and attended by several city officials, it promised to pack a punch. After a three hour grueling commute with detours in the Bay Area, I made it to the screening just in time.
Named after the block on which one resilient immigrant resides, the award-winning documentary traces how imported anti-immigrant legislation in Prince William County in Virginia, tore apart the community, leading to a mass exodus of immigrants, which hurt even the biggest opponents of immigration. Curiously, the movie shows how a blogger (Greg Letiecq from BVBL) working with larger anti-immigration national organizations influenced the Board of County Supervisors in Prince Williams to enforce a legislation supporting immigration checks carried out by local law enforcement based on the shaky ground of ‘probable cause.’ Even as the immigrant community came out against the legislation, the board approved it unanimously. It was not till immigrants started to leave Prince Williams and devastated the local economy, that most people saw the error in the law and fought to repeal it.
9500 carries a message of hope, especially for new media. Eric and Annabel exposed the ongoing in Prince Williams through their Youtube Channel and became involved in overturning the law. A concerned Prince Williams resident decided to counter the hatred and vitriol spread by BVBL by forming Anti-BVBL.
However, the message for undocumented immigrants in 9500 Liberty is scary. Immigrants testified passionately in front of the city officials only to realize that the decision did not hinge on their public comments. Does that mean that no matter how passionately and intelligently we express ourselves, our voices do not matter? That does not bode well with students like Herta Llusho and Noe Guzman who just testified in Congress.
Do the most privileged need to feel the pain in order for things to change? In 9500 Liberty, it was not until Greg Letiecq from BVBL launched attacks on the popular Chief of Police Charlie T. Deane, that more non-immigrants started to question the sanity of the law. Exacting harm on immigrants was convenient until citizens saw their property values plummeting and businesses crashing. A friend commented later that in the national scheme of things, this would mean that the United States would have to spend billions in deporting all undocumented immigrants along with their legal immigrant families to realize the grave mistake of driving out immigrants, kicking out producers and consumers, only to entice them to come back. Is that the only way this country will heal and move forward on the question of immigration?