Me, Looking At Tumblr.

The Reading Pile Pt. 4

Lazarus: The Complete Hardcover Collection Volumes 1, 2 & 3 In the not too distant future, the 18 richest families of the world get together and divide up the world. Governments soon fall, and these families become the leaders of the world. People are broken down into three classes. Family (those who rule), Serf (those who have been chosen by the family to serve the family) and Waste (those who have no association with the family). As you can guess, most belong to the 3rd class. Along with their fighting units, each family has a Lazarus; a warrior specifically designed to be the ultimate fighter. They are strong, cunning and hard to kill. For the family Carlyle, this is Forever, the youngest daughter of the family and the series protagonist. This series is, quite easily, my favorite book of the past 15 years. Writer Greg Rucka and artist Michael Lark really put their heart and soul into this series, which is evident if you get the hardcover collections with all the bonus "how we did it" material. Tons of research and discussion go into each issue. Rucka even went so far as to film himself and buddy for a fight scene that Lark could use for reference. Rucka originally said the story would take 125-150 issue to tell. Unfortunately, it looks like the series has died. The final volume (four) is due out in May, collecting the last 9 issues of the series to have come out, which finishes off the first major arc of the series. The last issue came out in 2022, literally one year after the previous issue, and that issue came out 8 months after the one before that. It's a shame, because it was a great book. Image Comics - 3 HC volumes (with the 4th due out in May) - Vol 1 $34.99, Vols 2 & 3 $39.99, Vol 4 $49.99. All still available. Also available in SC trades (with no behind the scenes items).

Playing board games can make you a nicer person. 

Because they provide a state of controlled conflict, board games can improve your relationship skills by requiring that you practice taking turns, following rules, being fair, and winning or losing gracefully. 

(Source, Source 2, Source 3)

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY.

HERES SOME LOVE TO A GOOD BOY. Best boy

In the first-ever union of the Word of God and the Synthesizer, the Catholic Church’s College of Cardinals voted unanimously Monday to incorporate the lyrics of Yes into the New Testament. The resulting new Bible, the Revised Standard YesScriptures, will replace the Jerusalem Bible of 1966 as the standard accepted record and vehicle of divine revelation.

“Let us rejoice in this momentous occasion,” said Pope John Paul II in a special service at St. Peter’s. “And let no man be unmoved, remembering the words of Jesus: ’In and around the lake, mountains come out of the sky, and they stand there.’ Amen.”

Full Story

Yes.

Tips for living alone

Buy a bat (I have my old color guard rifle) or similar. Keep it in your room/near your bed.

Get a lock for your bedroom door.

If you’re moving into a new place, change the locks. Who knows who had a key to your place before you.

Keep your phone/a phone in your room.

Get a weather alert system set up. App, weather call, little weather radio that tells you about major weather events.

Adopt a pet

Wave at your neighbors. Take note of the ones that make you uneasy. Watch out for kids always.

Be nice to your mail person. No matter what.

If you choose to drink/etc alone, unplug your wifi router. You’ll thank me.

Have extra seating. People sit when they visit. Your one comfy chair is great for you. Not so great for you + grandma + ur five cousins, your aunt, and a couple others.

Learn the self-Heimlich

When you take a shower, bring your phone to the bathroom in case you fall your phone is no longer halfway across the house, it’s just on your counter

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Idk what else

One for sorrow Two for joy Three for a girl Four for a boy Five for silver Six for gold Seven for a secret never to be told

Eight for a wish Nine for a kiss Ten for a chance you must not miss Eleven for a wasp Twelve for a bee Thirteen for a coffee Fourteen for tea

Fifteen for a pencil Sixteen for a pen Seventeen to hear these options once again

Eighteen for pepper Nineteen for salt Twenty for an accident in which you were not at fault

Twenty one for Jerry Twenty two for Tom Twenty three - where are all these magpies coming from?

Twenty five no seriously Thirty this is weird Forty eight from where have all these magpies suddenly appeared?

Sixty two stop counting Seventy just run Ninety nine the revolution of the magpies has begun

Two hundred no more sorrow Five hundred no more fears One thousand for how long the empire of the magpies will last in years

(John Finnemore)

"The best thing we can do with power is give it away" - On the leftist critique of superhero narratives as authoritarian power fantasies:

The ongoing "Jason Todd is a cop" debate has reminded me of a brilliant brief image essay by Joey deVilla. So here it is, images first and the full essay text below:

"A common leftist critique of superhero comics is that they are inherently anti-collectivist, being about small groups of individuals who hold all the power, and the wisdom to wield that power. I don’t disagree with this reading. I don’t think it’s inaccurate. Superheroes are their own ruling class, the concept of the übermensch writ large. But it’s a sterile reading. It examines superhero comics as a cold text, and ignores something that I believe in fundamental, especially to superhero storytelling: the way people engage with text. Not what it says, but how it is read. The average comic reader doesn’t fantasize about being a civilian in a world of superheroes, they fantasize about being a superhero. One could charitably chalk this up to a lust for power, except for one fact… The fantasy is almost always the act of helping people. Helping the vulnerable, with no reward promised in return. Being a century into the genre, we’ve seen countless subversions and deconstructions of the story. But at its core, the superhero myth is about using the gifts you’ve been given to enrich the people around you, never asking for payment, never advancing an ulterior motive. We should (and do) spend time nitpicking these fantasies, examining their unintended consequences, their hypocrisies. But it’s worth acknowledging that the most eduring childhood fantasy of the last hundred years hasn’t been to become rich. Superheroes come from every class (don’t let the MCU fool you). The most enduring fantasy is to become powerful enough to take the weak under your own wing. To give, without needing to take. So yes, the superhero myth, as a text, isn’t collectivist. But that’s not why we keep coming back to it. That’s not why children read it. We keep coming back to it to learn one simple lesson… The best thing we can do with power IS GIVE IT AWAY." - Joey deVilla, 2021 https://www.joeydevilla.com/2021/07/04/happy-independence-day-superhero-style/

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