The Halloween festivities just recently ended here at my place. It's all over but the sugar rush now. But this was a special Halloween for my nephew Jody who just turned two last month. For the first time, he got to make a conscious choice about what costume he'd like to wear. His inspired choice was the letter 'H'! His obsession with letters obviously influenced that choice. So, he was an 'H' with his parents being an 'I' and a 'J'.
I'm proud to say that I helped with these costumes. My contribution was the little drawings I made on the sides:
On Jody's 'H' was...
...a helicopter on one side...
...and a hungry horse eating hay, a hen in a hat, and a guy shouting "HOORAY!" on the other side (from his favourite Dr. Suess book).
On the 'I' was...
...ice cream...
...with an igloo on the other side.
On the 'J' was...
...a fun jar of jelly...
...and on the other side was a jaguar of my own quick design that I think turned out quite nicely.
I'll end this Halloween post with my niece Veronica dressed like a pumpkin.
I have been watching the whole situation with Nicole Arbour unfold for a little over a month now. Anybody who has seen any one of her youtube videos in that time is either cheering her on or plotting her painful death right now. Both reactions are quite understandable. I personally am on the side that's cheering her on for one big reason. Basically, she managed to accomplish what I've been trying to do for a few years now. She addressed the issue of the erosion of free expression through militant political correctness and upset the purveyors of that militance in the process. If you visit any of her social media platforms you will see all sorts of negative comments ranging from "I don't care for you too much" to "OMFG!!! KILL YOURSELF IN A FIRE!!!"
What I loved (and continue to love) about those comments was that much of the political correctness was counteracted by other political correctness. The ones that accused her of body shaming were in turn accused of "attacking her because she's a woman". Then those that accused her of being a bully were in turn accused of bullying as well. I do believe that's the 'snake eating itself' right there. That just shows how much political correctness does not work.
Of course most of them are deeply upset with her Dear Fat People video. However, another video of hers caused just as big a stir and it's the one that got me most interested. Here it is below:
What she said in that video is pretty much exactly what I've been expressing through the Censor Monkeys I created. With this, and her Dear Fat People video, she managed to rub the media's vagina, find its clitoris and have it squirt all over her. Whether it was in the form of praise or backlash, it all counts as squirting. I admire her just for that alone. For me so far, all I've accomplished is a small yawn at best. With the Censor Monkey comic books I've sold, I've managed to get kicked out of a zine fair and I've had a fundamentalist preacher mad at me. But of course that is absolutely nothing compared to the massive shit-storm Nicole went through (and still continues to go through). Many news agencies picked it up and she was even brought on The View for little bit of a Spanish Inquisition of sorts. That's the main reason I'm watching her so closely, so I can get a better idea about how one conducts oneself in the face of so much criticism and attention. So far what I've learned is that one must maintain composure and offer absolutely no apologies for any content you've produced. Basically, if the world around you is on fire, just keep walking. I know there's no guarantee I'll even come close to reaching those heights of fame. But, if I just keep working at it and trying to find opportunities within my surroundings, Nicole's example will keep me better prepared if the fruits of my labour do reap any rewards.
In the video she used the term that's been used for a few years now, SJW or Social Justice Warriors. That term is ridiculous of course. They do as much for "social justice" as a teething baby does for the dental association. It's just a sea of longwinded paragraphs and hastily placed pretentious hashtags full of ire but lacking any real substance. All they manage to say with all their vitriol is "grrrrrrr! I'm mad!" and that's about it. They exert all of this energy online while the real world continues on without them. They're just a useless irritant really. Also in the video, Nicole considers them "the new terrorists" among the likes of ISIS, Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, and any other off-branch sub group that's been formed in the passed few minutes. I most certainly would not go that far. That's giving them waaaaaaaay too much power which is the last thing I'd want to do. At best they moreso resemble those people who kept getting Lenny Bruce dragged into court so many times for violating what they called "decency laws" (whatever those are). I think these people are trying to establish some new kind of "decency laws" that they can use to pseudo-legally harass the Lenny Bruces of the present and future.
I'd say they resemble Marge Simpson the closest.
More specifically, the resemble Marge in that episode when she campaigned against Itchy & Scratchy. And really that's the way it should be. Just like in that episode, these SJW screwballs have all the freedom to bitch and whine against what they don't want to see to their tiny hearts desire. However, just like with Kent Brockman, when they are given the platform to express their thoughts on the matter, they must realize that their position violates every single free speech laws that exist in every country with even a small trace of democracy, is dripping with hypocrisy and then BACK THE FUCK OFF. That is the best way to maintain any balance in the universe.
Before anyone says anything, yes I've heard some murmurs of Nicole and her ex boyfriend and all the drama around that. I'm sure that must have been unpleasant for both of them. I've also seen many of her more vocal opponents site that as a reason that she can't be a comedian and doesn't deserve any of the fame or adulation she's been given. Let me offer you some perspective.
Groucho Marx traumatized the children he had in his first marriage. He wasn't abusive or anything. Just like his nickname states, he was quite grouchy alot of the time. He even has a psychological complex named after him.
I'll also bring up his brother Chico. He cheated on his wife more times than NASA can count. Seriously, watch any Marx Bros. and look at all the women in the background or with bit parts. Chico most likely had sex with one or two of those women (on a slow day when he smelt like onions), but it is with 100% certainty that he tried to have sex with all of them.
Johnny Carson was, and in many ways still is, the undisputed king of late night variety TV. Even 10 years after his death, every talk show host wishes they could be even 1/5th as good as Johnny. On TV he exuded wit and charm. However, his em-battered children tell a different story. To them he was a strict disciplinarian who was not fun to be around at all.
And then there's Woody Allen. Besides his "incestuous on paper" relationship with his adopted daughter Soon Yi, he also put his thumb up his daughter Dylan's butt-hole and told her "this is our little secret". She was only 8 at the time. He was also quite a creepy-crawly "hands on" type of dad with her.
How about Mr. Jell-O Pudding Pop himself, Bill Cosby, a bona fide sexual predator. There's enough women accusing him of rape that they could form their own baseball team. Although I don't think Bill would want any of them to holding blunt objects like baseball bats while he's nearby.
Here is Chevy Chase. There's no scandal around him, he's just kind of a jerk sometimes (okay, lots of times).
There are plenty of comedic talents with more than a few anti-social skeletons in their closets. And, you can see from the examples above, some are much more intense than others. However, none of that detracts even one iota from the Emmys, Oscars, fan clubs, or any other awards or achievements they received over the course of their careers. So, I say here and now, to anyone who want to use any of her ex-boyfriend rumours to discount anything she's said or done, that information is irrelevant, inadmissible, and NONE OF YOUR GODDAMN BUSINESS. That issue is for those two alone to deal with. Noone else has any input to give on that situation whatsoever. Are we clear? Good.
At this point I'd like to bring up the recent actions taken by Sarah Silverman. It is a relatively noble attempt to remain relevant to SJW infestation on most college campuses (and many other pockets in North America). However, at the same time, it's also quite naive. She may think she's appeased the PC crowd now but that certainly won't last. From now on, if she says ay little thing that could even remotely upset anybody the SJWs will jump down her throat even harder. There'll be cries of "WHAT?! Come on, Sarah! I thought you were one of the good ones now!" and the attack campaign on social media will be even worse.
One example I can think of is Michael Che. Back in his days of an obscure stand up comic and SNL writer, he had kind of an SJW mind set. I found a Twitter-feud of his inwhich stated very succinctly that "rape jokes are bad" and so on. I'm not sure if he participated in any social media attacks, but he did sympathize with the attackers. However, that all changed when he stepped into the limelight first being a correspondent on The Daily Show and then getting to be a co-anchor on SNL's Weekend Update. While on SNL, he made not one but two different jokes on two different days that more than a few people considered to be 'misogynistic' and even 'anti-woman'. So now, he was on the receiving end of an SJW social media attack. It got so intense for him that he had to just completely delete his Twitter and I think he Facebook page too. But first he issued this apology:
I think he found a very nice way to tell everyone to indeed go fuck themselves and also make them feel like shit for their actions. He is a very clever man. My hat is off to him.
I see a similar fate in store for Sarah. After a similar attack, she'll either try to revert back to her pre-PC ways or she'll delete her social media and go into an early retirement. I really hope she doesn't do the latter of those two options because we need sharp minds like hers in the entertainment industry now more than ever. It should not be silenced over any reaction or the fear of a reaction.
In contrast, Nicole Arbour will have things much easier. Now that the bulk of all the backlash for her more racy material has subsided, she's in a glorious spot where she can say anything she wants. There is no such thing as too far for her now. Her fans will love it like always and all of her opponents will just throw up their hands in frustration. She's in a similar type of sweet spot that both Monty Python and South Park are in. Nothing they say or do needs to be processed through any filter.
Which of course is another reason I'm following this Nicole Arbour saga that much closer. I'm trying to find that sweet spot she found. Hopefully I can pick up some tips watching her and others like her.
I mentioned Lenny Bruce earlier in this post. So I think it would be a nice idea to end this post with some of his material. Here is a small clip from his act that noone would have the stones to even begin to say today. Hey, SJWs and various Censor Monkeys, don't bother sending him any angry hate-messages on any social media platform or wherever, he's been dead for almost 50 years.
