News
Folks may have noticed we only had three posts this week. In general, I’ve been distracted with other work and haven’t been pursuing contributors as regularly…or writing as often here as I once did. I’m not sure exactly what that means for the future. Chris Gavaler and Robert Stanley Martin still are committed to posting here weekly, and I still do want to write on occasion. If you want to write here, please contact me (myname at gmail); we’re still running guest posts.
I guess what I’m saying is, we’ve been quieter than usual, and it seems likely that that will continue to be the case unless something changes. Anyway, as always, thanks for reading.
On HU
Me on the New Black, a documentary about the marriage equality campaign in Maryland.
Shreya Durvasula on Walter White as superhero.
Robert Stanley Martin with on sale dates for comics September and October 1952.
Utilitarians Everywhere
At the Guardian I wrote about Deadpool R-ratings, and how superheroes are about wanting/not wanting to grow up.
I took part in the Public Books roundtable on women directors, writing about the Descent and rape revenge for women.
At Quartz I wrote about
—what African-Americans should get a biopic after Jesse Owens.
—how we need to reduce Supreme Court tenures to politicize the court.
At the Establishment I wrote about
—Taylor Swift and how we don’t expect men to step up for Kesha.
—the Mad Max series and how women equal civilization and men gotta ramble.
At Splice Today I wrote about
—Bowie, Lori Maddox, and listening to victims even when they say they’re not.
—Huffpo and the authenticity of hackwork.
At the Chicago Reader
—I previewed Typeforce, a typeface art show.
—I did a little review of indie band Sunflower Bean.
Other Links
Greg Howard on how SB Nation published a disastrous piece on Daniel Holzclaw.
David Perry on disability inspiration porn.
Yasmin Nair/a> argues that freelancers shouldn’t write for free.
re: the Mad Max piece, have you read Leslie Fiedler’s “Come Back to the Raft Ag’in, Huck Honey!”?
Oops – or rather, Love and Death in the American Novel? I remembered him already getting into the woman’s role in the essay, but I just re-skimmed it, and it’s only implicit there.
Sorry to digress already Graham, but on an unrelated note, I think there is a strong argument for giving full legal rights to people of 15 years of age and up, or even younger than that, buried in your Splice Today Maddox/Bowie piece (or maybe not so buried). It seems like Maddox, however old she was, should be the only person to determine whether she was a victim or not. But the law designates her one without her consent. If she were an equal citizen to Bowie in the eyes of the law, then violation of her consent BY the law, as well as the potential for victimization by legal adults, would be seriously undermined, which seems like a sold win-win all around.
What’s to be sorry about? It’s not MY comment section. Anyway, isn’t Noah already on record as supporting children’s right to vote?
Hey Graham. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything by Leslie Fiedler; thanks for the recommendation.
And yes, I wrote a piece supporting children’s right to vote recently; it’s here:
http://www.psmag.com/politics-and-law/my-son-would-put-in-a-negative-vote-for-trump
Yeah, I actually read that piece when it first came out. It was so compelling, it now serves as the basis/cause of most of my opinions on the issue now. So thanks for writing it, Noah!
Noah,
While you’re checking out Fiedler, also look at “The Middle Against Both Ends.” Because comics.
Re: the life-term judges issue, my wife clerked for a judge at the CAAF (Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces), which is a federal court with Presidentially nominated judges who have a term limit of 15 years. Their jurisdiction is the military, so I don’t think there’s as much interest in fighting over them in congress, but it’s an example of how term limits for federal judges might work.