And Leslie

Enemies of Silence

[andleslie]

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Webcomics are currency and formative and one of us understands them pretty well. At one point, Amanda says “my favorite thing about webcomics is how one leads to another.” So, here is our LONGEST LIST OF LINKS OF ALL TIME. Maybe make a webcomics section in your Feedly, eh? 

Questionable Content is so very long and well-established.

(Alice Grove and Death Mole are Jeph Jacques’ other projects.)

Penny Arcade takes over a few American cities each year. The “donating to kids” arm of it is called Child’s Play.

Brian K. Vaughan does webcomics at panelsyndicate.com.

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson is going to go from being a webcomic to being a movie. Brave new world!

Mel Gillman and Spike Trotman, come on the pod and/or answer our questions.

Y’all know about Patreon and Kickstarter, but Tyler had never heard of Drip, which kinda sounds like Kickstarter’s Patreon.

Bandette is one of the best gifts you could ever give, especially to a tween girl.

Our (okay, Amanda’s) current “blog roll”:

Darwin Carmichael is Going To Hell

Mare Internum

As The Crow Flies

Strong Female Protagonist

Namesake

O Human Star

Oh Joy! Sex Toy

Battlepug

A Curious Man: The Strange And Brilliant Life of Robert “Believe It Or Not” Ripley is a good read that informs how hard it used to be to get into comics.

The “oh no” comic is at webcomicname.tumblr.com, and it’s viciously good.

Twitter: The Comic.

Mari Andrew’s Instagram.

Our “good one shot” comics list:

Fun Home

Andre The Giant: Life and Legend

The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam.

Small Press Expo in MD. SPX for short.

[andleslie]

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We’re back! You may have thought this was over. We may have thought this was over. One of us had a brush with everything being over, but that’s a story for another time.

Speaking of “over” - that’s a delightful slang term in professional wrestling. It means that a crowd is buying the story that a character or match or segment is telling. We hope this podcast is over with you, because it’s all about pro wrestling! Enjoy the tag team action.

New Japan Pro Wrestling’s english site and streaming service.

The Wikipedia page for the “January 4 Tokyo Dome Show” - it’s been called Wrestle Kingdom since 2007, but New Japan has had a show on that day - with zero regard for the day of the week! - since 1992.

Our favorite pro wrestling podcasts:

Facelock Feministas

Tights and Fights (who also have a good Facebook group)

Talk is Jericho is not always a wrestling podcast, and Art of Wrestling does not always have people you care about as guests, but when they are good, they tend to be great

Chris Jericho really does have a cruise. Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager At Sea. That is its name.

Not young boys, Tyler! Young Lions. Sometimes they’re called “young boys”, but not nearly as frequently as lions. This explanation of them is really fascinating:

“Before every New Japan event, Young Lions help set up the ring, as well as fan seating around ringside. During the show, Lions surround the ring, each wearing iconic red sweatpants or a full tracksuit, and New Japan t-shirts. Their roles are to prevent fans from jumping the guard rail, protect fans when wrestlers brawl within the crowd, and bring wrestlers ice packs, towels and anything else they may need.”

Lucha Underground is on Netflix. It is a great TV show.

“Oh my god, Nia Jax.”

Amanda’s feedly after one day... a bunch of webcomics and ALL THE WRESTLING NEWS.

Dr. Nsenga Burton, Tyler’s gateway into professional wrestling.

Martin Douglas, foremost wrestling thinker.

DEFY Wrestling. Seattle Strong Style!

“No matter how corporate the modern product may be, no matter how beholden to television deals or the stock market the feds may get, it is the tale of the American working class. Its fans are working class, its heroes are working class, and it is the only form of working class entertainment which is still visible in American life.” - Ian Williams

The Austin 3:16 shirt is pretty much the ultimate wrestling shirt. You’ve seen it. Here it is again:

John Darnielle <3s professional wrestling, and we <3 him. Write us, JD!

The “Montreal Screwjob” episode of Talk Is Jericho.

Chris Jericho is a legitimate rock star. What a life.

“The Proper Recipe” for experiencing Omega vs. Jericho:

The tweet that started it all

Omega’s rebuttal

Jericho’s video interruption that announced to the world the match was on. Worth watching in its entirety.

Jericho and Omega exchange attacks on their way to a no-disqualification match

The match itself can be found on Dailymotion, but we recommend subscribing to NJPW World and supporting them

The podcast that recapped it all. MEGA RECOMMENDATION.

Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon is a great book. More professional wrestlers and people of all relationships to turnbuckles should use it.

Wikipedia does their own “most edited articles” lists and wrasslestuff is always on it.

Cagematch and ProfightDB are tracking thousands upon thousands of wrestling matches.

PWGrrlGang - All Inclusive, All Together!

“Santa never breaks kayfabe.”

PWG - Pro Wrestling Guerrilla - does indeed run their (excellent!) shows out of a bingo hall.

A list of entry points:

Amanda’s favorite character: The Undertaker

Tyler’s favorite heel: Johnny Mundo

Amanda’s favorite ring gear: arm streamers! Prime examples: The Young Bucks, Bayley, Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior

Tyler’s worst outfit: Kenny Omega’s elbow pads at Wrestle Kingdom 11, Bianca Bel Air’s kiss tights

Amanda’s worst...thing: Drago’s tongue. Ewww.

Amanda’s best hair: Hiroshi Tanahashi’s bouncy hair - specifically his WK12 edition

Amanda’s favorite move: Ricochet and Will Ospreay’s bouncing back onto their feet after being knocked down, moonsaults, Nia Jax power moves, smart submission holds, “oh shit, this is happening!” strategic flailing

Tyler’s favorite move: Charlotte’s moonsault, Cody Rhodes’ Cross Rhodes

Amanda’s favorite entrance: Chris Jericho coming out to his own music at WK12, Kenny Omega’s Terminator entrance at WK11

Amanda’s recommended social media follows: Nia Jax, New Japan on Instagram, Brandi Rhodes

Wrestling Isn’t Wrestling, by Max Landis:

[orangeschmorange]

Something I did not know…

[kc749]

[andleslie]

2017 in America, the “covfefe” incident.

[thenearsightedmonkey]

Dear Students,

I was a kid growing up in a troubled household. We didn’t have books in the house but we did have the daily paper and I remember picking out Family Circus before I could really read.

There was something about the life on the other side of that circle that looked pretty good.  For kids like me there was a map and a compass hidden in Family Circus. The parents in that comic strip really loved their children. Their home was stable. It put that image in my head and I kept it. I’d always heard that great art will cause people to burst into tears but the only time it ever happened to me was when I was introduced to Bil Keane’s son, Jeff.  As soon as I shook his hand I just started bawling my face off because I realized  I had climbed through the circle.

And how I did it was by making pictures and writing stories. To me the Family Circus has always been my wished for family. My soul family in the image world.

That’s why if you say a word against Family Circus to me if I’ve had a few drinks I will slug you so hard.

You have heard me talk about the importance of comics for kids, and the kind of unexpected and sometimes lifesaving difference they can make— for me it was the comic “Family Circus”. 

I’ve seen that world through my side of the circle for over 50 years. This weekend at the 71st annual National Cartoonist’s Society Conference, I found out that Jeff Keane inked me into life INSIDE that circle.

SEE ABOVE!!!

COMICS ARE MIRACULOUS!!! They are  IMMUNE SYSTEMS! They are TRANSPORT SYSTEMS!!!  They are TIME TRAVELING DEVICES!!

Jeff asked a friend of mine why I was so in love with Family Circus.

He said,“It’s not a ‘cool’ comic strip.

Dearest Jeffy K,

Know this: Love is ALWAYS cool.

XOX

Cousin Lynda B.

READ MORE FAMILY CIRCUS HERE!

[weloveshortvideos]

[pinapple-jumpsuit]

YO ON SOME ANIME SHIT THIS DOPE AF!!!!

[sweepsheep]

Some loser: Wrestling is fake Me: Explain THIS Loser: Holy shit

[herelieslill-deactivated2022041]

i’m so delighted that tumblr found out about this match, because lord have mercy, twitter was losing its shit over it

[andleslie]

I'm just saying you should be watching Lucha Underground. Also the one in the red is King Ricochet and he is amazing.

[npr]

Twenty-five years ago Tuesday, a career-defining single was born — and with it, endless sitcom jokes and rap homages. It was referenced in Sing, the 2016 animated children’s movie, and in Shrek years before that. But when it debuted in 1992, there were those who took it to heart as an anthem of body positivity.

“Baby Got Back” begins kind of a heartbreaking scene: a white woman talking to her friend Becky, straight up mocking a black woman. The man behind the song, Anthony Ray — better known as Sir Mix-a-Lot — says he didn’t make that up.

“It was like a blown-out, glorified version of what was actually being said at that time,” he says. “Basically, pop culture was waif-thin, heroin addict, big hair, fake boobs — you know, that was what they thought beautiful was. And because of the way it was discussed publicly, it made women who had naturally curvy bodies … run around with sweaters wrapped around their waist.”

“When I heard it, I just felt so — it was so affirming,” says Erin Aubry Kaplan. In the mid-‘90s, Kaplan was staff writer at LA Weekly. She and wrote a big feature article about the paradoxical way black women’s butts were seen — using “Baby Got Back” as an epigraph.

Sir Mix-a-Lot On 25 Years Of 'Baby Got Back’

Photo: Rick Kern/WireImage/Getty Images

[todaysdocument]

“Los Angeles, California. Mr. and Mrs. K. Tseri have closed their drugstore in preparation for the forthcoming evacuation from their “Little Tokyo” in Los Angeles.” 4/11/1942

Albers, Clem, Photographer. Series: Central Photographic File of the War Relocation Authority, 1942 - 1945. Record Group 210: Records of the War Relocation Authority, 1941 - 1989

Professional photographers were commissioned by the War Relocation Authority to document the daily life and treatment of Japanese-Americans who were interned during World War II.  

Explore more resources from @usnatarchives​ on Japanese American Internment and Executive Order 9066:

The National Archives commemorates the 75th Anniversary of Executive Order 9066

Correcting the Record on Dorothea Lange’s Japanese Internment Photos

Japanese Internment: Righting a Wrong

New Special Exhibit at the @fdrlibrary: IMAGES OF INTERNMENT: THE INCARCERATION OF JAPANESE AMERICANS DURING WORLD WAR II

Browse nearly 4,000 photos of Japanese American relocation and internment in the Central Photographic File of the War Relocation Authority in the @usnatarchives online Catalog

[comiques]

Morning rage!

[andleslie]

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Episode 17 - The Ramshackle Resistance Podcast

Recorded: March 15th, 2017. We didn’t have a plan for this one, which feels like meta-commentary on what Tyler eventually came around to calling “the resistance”. Sometimes - most times - it’s important to just do stuff.

The Hari Kondabolu Trump Reminder Schedule is in effect every day at Kondabolu’s twitter.

Example tweet:

REMINDER FOR DAY 58 OF TRUMP PRESIDENCY: THIS IS NOT NORMAL.

Some digestible data on just who TrumpCare/WealthCare/RyanCare hurts and helps (hint: it hurts a lot more than it helps):

A good Washington Post video

Even before the AHCA was proposed, Charles Gaba started tracking ACA (ObamaCare) signups at ACASignups.net, which gives you a good idea of who got covered who wasn’t before (in each congressional district!)

A solid Vox explainer (Voxplainer?)

The source document, the Congressional Budget Office’s Cost Estimate for the American Health Care Act

The Carrie Brownstein quote Tyler butchered, from the Hell No benefit show at Portland, Oregon’s Crystal Ballroom in February:

"It's important to remember that resistance is a body," Carrie Brownstein said during Sleater-Kinney's electric closing set. "We can't all be the heart, and we can't all be the vascular system, but together, we make a whole body."

A justifiably sassy headline from CNN on Sean “Spicy” Spicer’s spin moves:

Spicer: Trump Didn’t Mean Wiretapping When He Tweeted About Wiretapping

Scottish Government To Seek Independence Referendum Over Brexit

Unsurprisingly, Theresa May has some tone-deaf stuff to say about it.

Theresa May actually said this today. I had to read it twice to make sure I wasn't missing anything #Brexit #irony https://t.co/ArQfCLAhz3 pic.twitter.com/i8PRz8Yhjg

Soviet Soviet‘s “official statement” is a well-written explanation of how a band coming to play a show for no money gets jailed and deported under the auspices of illegal immigration. :(

[andleslie]

How Trump's Vicious Budget Would Hurt Science, Poor People, and the Arts - VICE

The president's first budget proposal eliminates programs aimed at fighting climate change, lifting people out of poverty, and supporting diplomacy.

A good budget writeup from Harry Cheadle.

[andleslie]

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Episode 16 - Platform Pod 6 - Great American Families, Education, Healthcare, and Criminal Justice

Recorded August 11, 2016.  Definitely (in our humble opinion) worth a listen now. It’s like a play-by-play of the legislation under the current president.

The Family Research Council - which is labeled an extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center - has a strong interpretation of studies of children with same-gender parents. It’s not universally accepted, there are a lot of studies whose authors conclude there’s no significant difference or detriment to children raised by gays or lesbians:

2013: World’s Largest Study Of Same-Sex Parenting Finds That Children Are Thriving

2005: Same-Sex Parents Raise Well-Adjusted Kids

Zeke Miller’s reporting (immediate launch video at link) on the behind-the-scenes finagling that resulted in the GOP platform, including this tough passage:

At the full gathering, Washington, D.C. delegate Rachel Hoff, the first openly gay member of the committee, introduced an amendment to rewrite the GOP’s language on same-sex marriage to allow for a range of view-points on the issue, as opposed to the strong rejecting in the initial draft. “All I ask today is that you include me and people like me,” she said, fighting back tears. Hoff’s amendment failed by a roughly 3-1 margin.

55 Colleges Face Sexual Assault Investigations.

We got the number right, and that makes us feel kind of sick. There’s a map in this 2014 article.

[andleslie]

Coming up this week

Tyler and Amanda talk about more stuff.

And we release all the back #PlatformPod episodes in one mighty batch. 

All this and more to look forward to.

[andleslie]

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Episode 15 - Misinformation in the Age of Heavy Sighs -- AKA It's hard out here for a fact-checker. Recorded 02/15/2017

ProPublica has a lot more money than they did last year due to Trump’s election. They’re spending it on staff. The New York Times had their best digital subscription numbers since 2011 in the fourth quarter of 2016.

A history of the Fairness Doctrine by PBS.

According to Pew Research, 44% of U.S. adults get news on Facebook. Most of them - 62% - aren’t looking for it there, though.

Tyler and Amanda both use feedly for news (and other stuff). Amanda obliquely referenced this Wall Street Journal but the real story is a study out of Stanford University's History Education Group which found that the majority of students had difficulty distinguishing between paid content (so-called "fake news" and a real news item online. We haven't read all the research, but the Executive Summary is here. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is tweeting to “Whomever monitors twitter" at the White House hoping in-part to meet 45 on his own platform.

Whoever monitors twitter at WH tell Pres Trump to ask Putin"What do u hv agst ElectionOpponents bc they are killed/imprisoned/poisoned?"

— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley)

February 12, 2017

Since elect I use tech like Twitter to promote dialogue abt topics like DEMOCRACY TRANSPARENCY SEPARATION OF POWERS

— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley)

February 13, 2017

Amanda made a promise this episode and she's doubling down in the Long-List. The rest of #PlatformPod will be released by the end of February, and more resources including readings of The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, and The Bill of Rights are forthcoming in March and April 2017.

Attribution because CITE YOUR (RE)SOURCES:

Theme Backing Song - Parasite by Lamprey - Creative Commons (CC BY 4.0)

[andleslie]

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Episode 14 - Movie Break featuring Swiss Army Man and Kubo and the Two Strings

This week, we are taking a break from politics.  Although the recording of all of the #platformpod episodes is complete, it's been a little overwhelming to keep editing the audio non-stop after the election results were in.

Platform Pod episodes will continue but for a format break we're talking movies. Namely The Daniels' Swiss Army Man, and Laika Studios’ Kubo and the Two Strings

Amanda’s homework for Tyler was watch Swiss Army Man, the first feature-length work by creative duo The Daniels.  Their website is DanielDaniel.us and we think that says a lot about them.

Most of what you need to know to set the stage for Swiss Army Man is in the trailer:

The Daniels arguably most well know and viral video is DJ Snake’s “Turn Down For What”.  They definitely use the techniques they came up with for this video (especially the penis joystick thing and the face melting) in Swiss Army Man.

Amanda mentioned this snarky one-star review from The Guardian by Wendy Ide that calls the film “staggeringly puerile” and “incredible and not in a good way.”  Amanda still holds the belief that she and the reviewer did not watch the same film, and that Wendy may not have seen anything but the trailer.

When you Google “the daniels” the photo of Daniel Scheinert that comes up is priceless.

Tyler also mentioned the rave reviews of The Daniels directors commentary.  Film School Rejects has a breakdown of 30 Things We Learned from the Swiss Army Man Commentary, including the gem “ “Paul can’t grow a real beard, so it wasn’t even an option.” They used a fake beard consisting of a main piece and some smaller patches.”  **Amanda’s new homework is to listen to the full commentary.**

Tyler’s homework for Amanda: watch Laika Studios’ Kubo and the Two Strings. This Japanese-inspired stop-motion film is the fourth from Oregon-based Laika Studios

Also because Amanda hears the voice of H. Jon Benjamin in her head every time someone says the words danger or zone...

[knitmeapony]

Lucy Knisley:  “ I made myself a few little calling cards to put up on my bulletin board, to remind me to make these calls as often as possible. They’re available for your use, to print out and fill in your own senators or congresspeople, and to address the causes that mean the most to you.  Here’s an example of one of mine in use:

Each card fits on a quarter of 8.5/11inch paper (as below), so you can print out four at a time for your use. I’m hoping to add more cards as I go, but please feel free in the meantime to use the blank cards to address the other important causes. For references for numbers and scripts, this is an excellent resource. Good luck!” 

[hellyeahscarleteen]

Here are your 4 new best friends:    “Okay.”    “Wow.”    “No.”    CHILLY AWKWARD SILENCE Them: [Bigoted remark] You: Wow. [+ maybe one of the SPLC scripts to unpack it] Them: “It’s manipulative if you say my bigoted remarks are not okay!” You: “Okay.” + CHILLY AWKWARD SILENCE Them: “There would be no problem if you just laughed.” You: “No.” + CHILLY AWKWARD SILENCE Them: “Your problem is that you have no sense of humor.” You: “Okay.” + CHILLY AWKWARD SILENCE Be a broken record. Let them be offended. Let them think you’re being manipulative. Don’t engage in detail or give them reasons. If they won’t stop or escalate, say “Welp, good to see you, time to go!” & get out of there. You don’t owe them continued access to your attention. Leave the conversation and try again another day. Whatever you do, don’t smooth it over. Let it get super awkward. Be the party pooper at the bigot party. Get a reputation for being uptight and humorless and no fun. People have a right to their opinions, speech, and votes. You have a right to think those opinions are crap and to think less of people when they spout them. Bigots think that “everyone” thinks as they do and that their views are “simple common sense.” What bigots are looking for when they say bigoted stuff to people who (as far as they know) share their race/class/orientation/disability status/etc. is solidarity and reassurance. Deny them this reassurance and solidarity. Deny them evidence that “everyone” thinks that way. That is your power here, and it’s a pretty big one, given the way your family throws a tantrum whenever you try to use it. You’re already doing the right stuff, now it’s just about holding the line and letting be as awkward as they are making it.

Captain Awkward #917: “How to set boundaries with people who think boundaries and hurt are manipulative? AKA Help implementing boundary advice?” (via pern-dragon)