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Last week in Paris, disparate Utilitarians united.

That’s Sean Michael Robinson and Alex Buchet, no doubt discussing comics.

Along those lines; I’m going to be in San Francisco in a couple weeks; if any Utilitarian folks live out that way, let me know….
 
On HU

Featured Archive Post: Deb Aoki with a fan letter to Jaime Hernandez.

Vom Marlowe reviews Elementary.

Me on the incompetent venality of Bluewater’s Oprah bio comic.

Jog on the nameless assistants who worked on Misturu Adachi’s Cross Game.

I interview Bee Ridgway on her novel The River of No Return, history, romance, genre, queerness, and more.

Michael Arthur on Madoka Magica, and young girls who suffer for us all.

Chris Gavaler on the retconning of dinosaurs, superheroes, and Mormons.

Richard Cook reviews the film Les Miserables.

Me on how country music has gotten more racist since Jimmie Rodgers’ day.
 
Utilitarians Everywhere

At the Atlantic I wrote about:

how the gender-role revolution didn’t start with millenials.

Wonder Woman, Cimorene, and more princesses for everybody.

the non-democratic closing of Chicago’s public schools

At Splice I wrote about how Rahm and Obama learned to be dictators in Chicago.

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Other Links

Nanette Fondas on how parents read more to their daughters than to their sons.

Jessica Hopper from a bit back on Kid Sister.

On HU

Featured Archive Post: Adam Stephanides begs you not to rearrange the manga.

A commenter named Alexander on why as a trans man he loves Sailor Moon.

Me on sequence in Satoshi Kitamura’s children’s book “When Sheep Can’t Sleep”.

Chris Gavaler with an appreciation of Austin Grossman’s novels.

Ng Suat Tong on the selections for the best comics criticism of 2012.

Me on Gay YA and Nora Olsen’s Swans and Klons.

Jacob Canfield on his choices for best comics criticism of 2012.

Me on the advertising campaign for the Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat make-up pen, and how capitalism will eat the self (for better or worse.)
 
Utilitarians Everywhere

At the Atlantic I talk about

— how the recent Gatsby film erased Nick’s gayness.

— David Bowie’s glib, stupid anti-Catholicism.

At Splice Today I talk about

— the great jazz trombonist Bill Harris honking.

— Angelina Jolie, mastectomies and femininity.

—The Julianne Moore rom-com The English Teacher, and how it’s supposed to be set in my hometown.
 
Other Links

Matthias Wivel on the best comics criticism of 2012.

Barack Obama sucks.

Mary McCarthy on the joys of embarrassing your kid.

Monika Bartyzel on why the Disney princesses suck.

Tucker Stone urges you not to tighten up your Berlatskys.

Elissa Strauss provides a manifesto for lazy birthing.
 

A house down the street from where I grew up. Significantly less chic than any of the houses in the rom-com The English Teacher

On HU

So we’ve had another week of our Comics and Music roundtable Individual posts are below, but it’s kind of fun to skim through the ever-growing list as well.

Featured Archive Post: Hating and loving the end of Nana.

Me on Beethoven and Charlie Brown.

Chris Gavaler on Two-Face and the bad (and good) of chaos.

Kailyn Kent on soundtracks for comics.

Marc Sobel on Reinhard Kleist’s comics biography of Johnny Cash.

Michael Arthur with a black metal/My Little Pony mash-up. Sort of.

Ng Suat Tong on the opera adaptations of P. Craig Russell.

Chris Gavaler on the top 5 Superman songs of all time.

 
Utilitarians Everywhere

At the Chicago Reader, I reviewed an anthropological study of Hello Kitty and globalization.

On the Atlantic, I wrote about

—Alex Woolfson/Winona Nelson’s gay romance android sci-fi comic Artifice

—Oneida, where men learn to have sex without orgasm by practicing on menopausal women.

—quitting, women, and the workforce.

—the George Jones/Tammy Wynette duets, since George ones died this week.

At Splice Today, I wrote about:

—Abortion and violence.

— the temptation to waterboard George Bush.
 
Other Links

Ashley Fetters on why Ke$ha’s autobio-doc is better than Beyoncé’s.

Amanda Marcotte on prosecuting prostitutes for carrying condoms.
 
This Week’s Reading

I’m having some freelance job turmoil, which is stressful and playing havoc with my reading. But I finished Nora Olsen’s Swans and Klons which I’m hoping somebody will pay me to review, and am rereading Heather Love’s Reading Backward. And finished the Two Towers with my son; started on Return of the King.