Author: admin

old friends

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Even if they’re not mine, it’s nice. You’ve been through enough together that it can be a nice, genuine evening.

Or fraught, if the relationship was a perilous one.

My wife has seen both ends of that spectrum this week, and honestly, it’s so refreshing to be around people without all the weird family politics or selfish interests.

You’re just catching up.

It’s nice.

People should be nicer to each other.

Less fighting. Less either/or.

More us and.

Target: 1300 words
Written: 1389 words, novel: Bad Neighbours

Read: The Grass Is Singing, Doris Lessing
Comics: Black Science 31-33, Deadly Class 31
Music: End Hits, Fugazi

misheard lyrics

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It happens all the time (there’s a bathroom on the right, anyone?)

The worst one I can think, for myself, was my confusion (and when it comes on the radio I still hear it) over Poker Face by Lady Gaga.

I mean, I know, ostensibly, that she’s saying P-P-P-Poker Face, but no matter how many times it comes on, or how hard I listen, it still sounds like F-F-F-Fuck Her Face.

And that’s not a slight, even though I think Lady Gaga is vastly overrated. It’s just how it comes across, every time.

No matter how much I try, how I tell myself what it actually is, it still sounds the same.

We hear what we want to hear, I guess?

Target: 1300 words
Written: 1146 words, novel: Bad Neighbours

Read: The Grass Is Singing, Doris Lessing (it's keeping my interest, but man, so bleak)
Comics: Seven To Eternity 8-9, Low 19, Deadly Class 30
Music: Empty Glass, Pete Townshend (tell me about it)

street names and the modern dichotomy

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I had originally named the street my bad neighbours lived on Sigmund Avenue, but now, given the material, I rather think I’d like to find a name that is more fitting of the analogy of dichotomy I’ve made with this book.

With that in mind, I’m trying to track down the father of modern political dichotomy, the man most responsible for creating the left-right “split” that we’ve got going. I’m not talking about someone who exploits it, like Trump or Reagan or Bush (Junior or Senior).

I want the philosopher. The modern political thinker.

I’d considered Descartes, but the hunt continues.

Who started all this shit? Jesus?

Who was originator of us versus them as viable political theory? It has always been such; someone must have codified as proper, and watched as all these murderous assholes latched on to it. Who created authoritarianism, in its current sense?

Who is the son of bitch that said there’s only two sides to every issue, and third party be damned!

Which founding father is responsible for this shit?

Should that be a theme, a running theme? Things named after founding fathers who turned out to be assholes?

Who thought putting guns in the Constitution was a good idea?

I bet they’re one and the same.

Our way or no way. Us or them. Till death do us part.

Target: 1300 words
Written: 1413 words, novel: Bad Neighbours

Read: The Grass Is Singing, Doris Lessing
Comics: Seven To Eternity 6-7, Black Science 30, Deadly Class 29
Music: The Empire Strikes First, Bad Religion (angry music sometimes helps)

the (apparently very scary) dogs of islam

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My daughter tells me her podiatrist, a nice Muslim convert, told her that the reason Muslims aren’t into dogs is because they feel like when the Messiah returns, they are concerned that if they have dogs in their house, their barking will scare off God or Jesus or the angels or whatever that have come to take them to heaven.

I mean, I can think of a number of immediately logical fallacies with that off the top of my head, not the least of which is why would an all-powerful being be scared of a dog bark, from a dog that it created, and its apparent all-encompassing love and kindness would somehow disappear in the face of such noise, instead of turning into the completely obvious snuggle attack a being of pure love for all things would engender.

Beliefs are weird, aren’t they?

And stupid. Also stupid.

Target: 1300 words
Written: 1336 words, novel: Bad Neighbours

Read: The Grass Is Singing, Doris Lessing
Comics: Black Science 29, Low 17-18, Deadly Class 28
Music: Emotional Rescue, The Rolling Stones

fuckin’ poilievre

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I see he’s all up in arms because he’s worried about Mark Carney’s ethics screening.

Gee, guy who refuses to get his security clearance, are you sure that’s the fight you want to pick?

Christ, I had to get one for my one step above mail room government job. You’re the purported leader of the official opposition (though why the Conservatives let you keep that job after losing what should have been a slam dunk election AND your own riding, I’ll never know).

Shouldn’t Poilievre, with access to far more sensitive material and influence, have to follow that same path? I, for one, would think that anyone who is unwilling to get a security check has a) no basis to complain about what other people might be hiding and b) no place in our political system.

So how about this, Pierre? Carney conducts a transparent ethics review the same day you get your security clearance, and let’s just see how that shakes out, shall we?

Target: 1300 words
Written: 1232 words, novel: Bad Neighbours

Read: A Study In Scarlet, Arthur Conan Doyle
Comics: Black Science 28, Low 16, Deadly Class 27, Seven To Eternity 5
Music: The Eminem Show, Eminem (I want some Smarties.)

forty-eight plus one

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And we’re back in the office.

And the office is making it very difficult to get done all the things I need to get done.

I need to get the Mungk in more hands.

I need artists, letters, colourists, an editor for Romance and Western Cradle.

I’ve more or less resigned myself to including the poetry and short stories in with The Mungk (well, maybe not the poetry – once I have enough of those, I may just do a volume of it).

But The Mungk – it needs to be seen. Romance, it’s just a calling card of a comic to build fans, a free giveaway I can hope someone enjoys, and then recognizes the creators later when we put out other stuff.

Western Cradle though – I think it’s good. It may be kind of rape-heavy, which sucks, but if we do it right, draw it right, it could be very, very strong.

But for now. The Mungk.

Target: 1300 words
Written: 1141 words, novel: Bad Neighbours

Read: A Study In Scarlet, Arthur Conan Doyle
Comics: Deadly Class 25-26, Seven To Eternity 4, Black Science 27
Music: Eminem Essentials, Eminem

forty-eight

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My health fights my ambition.

My depression fights my motivation.

I’m not sure which is winning.

Happy goddamned birthday.

I’d like nothing more than to go back to being twelve, with the knowledge I have now, and do things the right fucking way.

Then again, would I have all this?

Or would I have opted for the easy way out that time?

Would I have followed Matt into heroin and other hard drugs?

Would I have done something even dumber than the things I already did?

It is hell to be at war, whether it’s with others or yourself.

The dichotomy must die.

Target: 1300 words
Written: 1562 words, novel: Bad Neighbours

Read: Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey
Comics: Deadly Class 23-24, Seven To Eternity 3, Black Science 26
Music: Emigre, Anti-Flag

last day of forty-seven

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Tomorrow, I’ll be forty-eight years on this earth.

And given how my neck, shoulder and stomach feel today, I have lived all of them quite poorly.

At least, in all likelihood, I’m better than halfway through.

Closer to the end than the beginning, that’s for sure.

Target: 1300 words
Written: 1307 words, novel: Bad Neighbours

Read: Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey
Comics: Seven To Eternity 1-2, Deadly Class 22, Black Science 25
Music: Elvis Presley Essentials, Elvis Presley (can't go wrong with the king)

spic and span

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I had to look up the origin to this phrase earlier, because I left it in as a throwaway line on the last draft of Bad Neighbours (in relation to the main character worrying that the origin was racist), and I’m happy to report, it’s not.

It comes from a combination of the Norse and Dutch words for brand new.

Thank goodness.

I hate finding out things I’d taken for granted have terrible background stories (see Gaiman, Neil and the rule of thumb).

Dutch is a fucked up language, is it not?

Target: 1300 words
Written: 910 words, novel: Bad Neighbours

Read: Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey
Comics: Black Science 22-24, Low 15
Music: Elvis Costello Essential, Elvis Costello (pretention in music day all around, I guess)

home at last

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It’s funny how going in Monday to Wednesday makes it feel like you’ve done Monday to Friday already, and then you have to somehow go home and DO ANOTHER TWO DAYS.

Horrid, this whole bit.

I don’t know why we ever went to an office in the first place.

Seems counterproductive.

Target: 1200 words
Written: 1441 words, novel: Bad Neighbours

Read: Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey
Comics: Deadly Class 20-21, Low 13-14
Music: Elton John Essentials, Elton John (I'll be honest; I forgot just how many hits this man had.  It's impressive, like the time my niece made me watch the Taylor Swift concert on Disney+.)