Art And The Sky Shit

When you make controversial art, you can't then stand by like shit fell out of the sky out of nowhere on a sunny day. That's called artistic cowardice. A tangent off that rant, people saying they think your art sucks isn't attacking your freedom of speech. People pointing out you might be an asshole, racist, misogynist is not attacking your freedom of speech. People pointing out your art exists within a privileged state is not attacking your freedom of speech. People explaining you missed the point you were aiming for is not attacking your freedom of speech. Happy 4th Of July.

Art And The Sky Shit

On This Date We Should Also Remember Before

     After the September 11th terrorist attacks the Twin Towers were removed from books, video games, movies in some of the single most unAmerican acts of censorship I've ever seen and ever since people have been hesitant to mention or show the Towers in fiction and art without a references or sub-textual nods to the attacks.
     I believed at the time it was stupid what they did when it came to the Towers being shown and mentioned and the course since I also believe isn't very creative and lacking in courage. Something artists and those in the arts owed those who died on that day and still should keep in mind today it nothing is defined by one moment in history.
     Remembering tragic events can be therapeutic but I think what many did right after 9/11 was help those terrorist accomplish their goals. We basically white washed the Towers from culture and only a few years later started showing them but then when its only to do with the attacks in a A Reel roll of terror terror terror.
     And we have continued to help sale the terror in political maneuvering and in the arts. And I'm talking about the arts here, politics to the side.
     And I believe there should be stories told about that day from all angles but that can't be the only focus point. Those Towers and those people who died contain stories about human creative vision, human courage, and human reach before the Twin Towers started to smoke.

On This Date We Should Also Remember Before

Where I talk about banned books or discarded books and how bloggers should think about citations..

     The internet is one of the most expansive tools in the history of us wobble blobs of flesh but lets also be honest. It's also full of overreaction and half knowledgeable replies.
     For example, about a week ago, the fandom of one my favorite authors exaggerated a claim of censorship.  Apparently, a fan purchased a copy of one of her books from an online used book vendor. When the book arrived it was stamped "Discard."  This book was once a library book.  The fan/blogger promptly unleashed a claim of censorship without verification onto the interwebs except for saying I remember hearing it was banned. And by verification I mean, no links to news stories, no pointers to a source.
     First, this bothers me because as a blogger I hear people all the time say "Well, I'm not a news outlet or professional blogger so don't hold me to those standards." That's no excuse. Backing up your words for any writer, in any form, to any means, every writer needs to back up their views with sources or people are going to question it. And please don't get angry when someone does question your thoughts and views and you have nothing to go on. When you speak of specific events, you need to back up that information with sources, links, books, something or people are going to questions whether you are just seeking attention. And when you don't answer back to questions, you look not amateur but foolish but also you as a writer are setting yourself up to be slammed for it.
     Second, this bothers me a great deal because using the word DISCARD with censorship in the way it was used, and maybe not on purpose, was misleading. Not everything is censorship!  Let's talk spacial reasoning here, folks. A library cannot physically contain every book ever published in the history of ever.  Sometimes libraries have to remove or weed out or DISCARD older books to make room for new ones.  It's not censorship if it is part of routine weeding following a set of unbiased guidelines.  It is censorship if the book is removed for ideological reasons.
     By stating you "heard it was censored a couple of months/years ago" does not justify a claim of censorship. Again, the need for links on the subject matter need to be used in these instances.  Back up your statement before starting a rant. I rant a lot and every time I've not done this I'm gotten ripped by not strangers but friends because they know I know better.    
     As you learn in 6th grade: citations, citations, citations.
     I looked at the picture the blogger provided and did a 30 second Google search for the library. Also with a Google search I couldn't find one instance of that book being challenged. If someone find a case of 13 Little Envelopes by Maureen Johnson being banned please let me know and I'll edit this. The author herself said she didn't know if it being challenged.
     I'm also a little disappointed in this author for promoting this unverified claim of censorship.  I love her books and I love her commentary on social issues.  But throwing out an unverified claim of censorship?  Not cool. Fans jump on that stuff without thought or most of the time fans do the jumping without even researching. Just as a big following by talent can lead to a kind of bullying, that kind of following can lead to certain kinds of sightless actions.
     And you might ask why I haven't provided a link to that bloggers entry. I thought about that for a while because this happen last week. I'm not going after this person in particular because she wasn't the first or the last blogger to do this. But when you are dealing with serious issues like the banning and censorship of books you need to do your homework before posting. It will make things a whole lot simpler for you and not make you look like you're just talking out of your ass.
     So the moral of the story? Back up your story with links. It cuts down on confusion, it cuts down on people questioning your motives. It just makes everything easier whether you are working for a big news outlet or just your own personal blog.

Cool links to check out:

     Michael Wilbon is my favorite sports journalist and these are reasons why: Michael Wilbon delivers 2012 Medill Convocation address and Mike Wilbon Q&A (extended version) If you are or interested in sports journalism or journalism in general you should check these videos out.

     Like episode two. Still getting a feeling for it but continue watching. My Sisters: Problematic to Practically Perfect - Ep: 2

     Some John Green doing Hank Games Without Hank: A Hunk, a Hunk of Berna Love: The Miracle of Swindon Town #132 and Question Tuesday: The Miracle of Swindon Town #133 and a season update League Tables: The Miracle of Swindon Town #134

     Vlogbrothers Solving Your Problems!

     Very interesting. I had never heard of this before and that's why I love SciShow. Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors (LFTR): Energy for the Future?

     I want this shirt, I love The Flog.

Rants and screams:

     This comes up with me a lot in conversations with people. A challenge to a book is not the same as censoring a book.  A challenge is a discussion of the content of a book, debate is a healthy part of a democracy.  Censorship is the ideologically driven removal or denial of access to content.

      @warrenellis: "I'm using the Block function and pretending it's a Retroactive Abortion Button."

      Is the only thing Mitt Romney is running on- Vote For Me I'm Not Him because he wont take a stand on shit. I bet the guy has a hard time deciding on mustard or ketchup. This is a guy who has said publicly, in front of people, on camera that there is a lot of things he will not talk about because it would harm his campaign. That's not leadership folks. The 7 Major Issues Mitt Romney Won’t Take A Position On

     

Where I talk about banned books or discarded books and how bloggers should think about citations..

Where I talk about how censoring Fifty Shades Of Grey was a action of a very stupid person

   The whole Fifty Shades Of Grey censorship mess is taking place in my backyard so to speak. The libraries that are the focal point of this screw up are libraries I walk into on a monthly basis. I gets holds from these libraries on a daily schedule. Great books and some very great people. But not so much sunshine on one particular person.
    Earlier this month the head of library services in Brevard County, Cathy Schweinsberg, made the decision to pull all copies of the Fifty Shades series from library shelves. Now, to clarify, Schweinsberg is not a librarian.  She is the library services department head and the director of the Central Brevard Library (basically, an administrator) (basically a paper pusher).
    Librarians did not make the decision to pull the book.  Individual libraries directors made the purchases (by the extended permission afforded them through the library's collection development policy).  According to her, the books did not fit the selection criteria for the library system.  The decision to pull the books was made quickly by Schweinsberg.  By herself.  With no review. A one woman moral compass.
    So what you might say? Well, first of all the books were selected and already made available to patrons.  And despite being on the top of every bestseller list and requested by 200 + library users, the series was deemed to be outside the scope of the library's collection criteria (or in Schweinsberg's words "mommy porn" which the library doesn't collect).  Plus, there's this little thing called the ALA Library Bill of Rights.
     Despite her statements and email stating this isn't censorship, it is.  This book was provided to customers and then taken away because of one person's point of view.
    That's censorship.
    And it's a problem because 1) even by the library's own collection development policy the selection of the books was acceptable due to public demand, 2) the books were made available AND then pulled off the shelves (instead of simply not being ordered), and 3) the decision to pull the items was made unilaterally (while the collection development policy states clearly that challenges to materials must be presented to the library board for a decision).
    (At this point I want to point out that other libraries who have chosen not to purchase the book are not censoring it.  Brevard County Libraries did; Cathy Schweinsberg did.  The book was provided and then removed without a review process).  The fact that Schweinsberg made the decision based on her personal reading of the title and the totally non-professional label of "mommy porn") shows that the decision was a biased one.
    To review the library's policy and decide for yourself take a look at LibraryJournal's coverage.
     One of the biggest problems here is that there was a complete lack of transparency in the decision making process.  The decision to censor was made by one person alone.  It was actually a violation of the library's own collection development policy.  And it was a capricious one at that.  As others have pointed out the library's collection has many other erotic titles.  So...which book will be the next to go?
     Even while facing international backlash (including statements from the National Coalition Against Censorship and Random House), Schweinsberg and the County are standing by the decision.  A library board meeting is taking please tonight so we'll have to see what happens.
   Take a look at the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom Statement on the banning.
   An area library user has started a petition on Change.org to tell Schweinsberg to restore the book to library shelves.
   And on a final personal note. I was at a local Target the other day and flipped through the book. I read a little bit and you know what, its really not that dirty from what I read. A little talk about anal fisting but I say whats so wrong with that word? Fisting, fisting. Has a nice ring to it. I need a parrot so I can teach it to say Fisting. I might end up having to buy this book to read it. It had me at "I want to conquer your ass." Sold me. It was my hello.


Cool links to check out:
   A Surreal Descent into Madness: Reviewing Children's TV
   Twice as Weiss: The Miracle of Swindon Town #110
   Girls With Slingshots is one of my favorite webcomics. Like this new one.
   Order a cool print or two from a cool artist.
"If you use the code SKETCHYSKETCH at checkout, you get stuff for 50% off today, because I'm testing the coupons function at Etsy. My curiosity is your gain."


Rants and rambles:
   Big publishers, entertainment companies aren't afraid of the internet and digital publishing because people are stealing their stuff, that scares creators, but big companies are afraid because people are making some really fucking cool stuff without having to go through them to do it.

   I really really really hate the bullshit of saying there is a certain way to use Twitter, Facebook, Blogger or anything else on the internet. Do your thing, have fun. People who push this BS are just trying to say look I'm a "real" Twitter user. If you want to post nothing but photos of food on Twitter, pics of cats on Facebook, or pics of guys without shirts on Tumbur, go for it.

   11 WAYS YOU'RE ANNOYING ON TWITTER


   Wait, what? I thought this was legal now? Why are the going after him? 
   Too much?
   I think its fucking too much how our government is actually having debate whether women are targeted for violence and which women its ok to help or not. That is too much to me. That fucking pisses me. All of these people in our government doing this should have to travel to murder scenes like this and take in the atmosphere of the degree of hatred that is aimed at women every day.

   CNN Breaking News ‏ @cnnbrk

Groom prime suspect in stabbing death of Illinois bride, police say.

   A conversation between me and friend after she read this story.

   My friend, "See there isn't a war on women. Just that bit between our legs. And the middle part and our brain for voting stupid. We're just silly females."

   Me, "Did you hear, Kentucky thinks women s toes are sinful and shouldn't be painted. It mentions it in Bible, somewhere in the back." 

Where I talk about how censoring Fifty Shades Of Grey was a action of a very stupid person

Where I talk about our pedophile government, blue screens, 50 Shades of wrongs steps, and Free Comic Book Day

I expand a little on some of my crazy straw thoughts and rants today:

Your government loves you like a man who's freshly exited a white van with painted windows. Ready to give you a nice big hug. We aren't children faced with a overpowering adult. We are the power but need to show it.

House Passes Cyber Security Bill with Expanded Gov’t Powers in Surprise Vote

I see the blue screen of death so many times I'm beginning to think I have a DOS laptop. This computer seems to have caught my asthma.

I guess 50 Shades Of Grey has been pulled from local libraries. Shit storm ready to burst. Challenging a book creates discussion. Not ordering is a decision. Pulling from shelves without challenge is weak. What I read from it didn't make think much about it but no challenge, no oversight, nor any peer review- just administrative personal opinion and it's pulled. This has opened the libraries to people challenging so many books based off this precedent.

Brevard libraries pull erotic best-seller 'Fifty Shades of Grey'

Today local news reminded me of these last two Unshelved books a little. I'm sure the 50 Shades Of Grey people are orgasmic to the free publicity. 5/1 5/2 5/3

THE AVENGERS WAS A GREAT FUCKING MOVIE!

Rich Scott is not only a complete ass but really really stupid. It's like he's wanting something to happen?

GUN AND POLTICS

If you're local check out Famous Faces And Funnies Sat. for free comic book day. Pick up some free books and buy some stuff to support a great store: @FFFcomics

Where I talk about our pedophile government, blue screens, 50 Shades of wrongs steps, and Free Comic Book Day