Filler – Angry Bern

SIDE STORY 2: A SHATTERING REVELATION TO START NEXT WEEK!


This is part of what German has given me so far. This is actually part of Issue three and features a very angry Bernadette. I wonder what got her so worked up?! Probably broke a nail.

The last week has been a wee bit testing, I have talked about it on Twitter and thanks to everyone with their messages of support they are very much appreciated.

In other news, England were awesome:

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Thursday evening is an eventful one here for myself and possibly a celebration of British values. Something that happens (on varying days of course not everything happens on a thursday) from Lands end in the people’s republic of Cornwall all the way up to the very Scottish Shetland Islands in the far North East.
 
This is the age old practice of popping to your local pub with your mates, paying a pound, taking a sheet and a pen and spending two or three hours bickering over questions posed by a popular local guy acting as quiz master for the chance to win a sizable cash prize of between £50 – £250.
Ladies and Gents welcome to the world of the pub quiz. Something that is rivaled only by Trivial Pursuit (or dispute) for its ability to divide and unite in equal almost simoutaneous measure.
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When I was a child, I was brought up to respect an opinion and respect the right of someone to voice that opinion. He or she may be right or they may be talking utter tripe but they have the right to say that. And trust me, in my household it was dog eat dog and if you either could not or would not stand by your opinions you will lose a debate but my family would always hear you out first. I have a lot of respect for that.

For example I respect the right of Hugo Chavez to have an hour long rant once or twice a week on his nice TV show Alo Presidente and on the opposite side of the political spectrum I respect the right of BNP Leader and arch-racist Nick Griffin to go on a national debate show in the UK to voice his foul politics.

What I do not respect is someone in academic authority who is behind a successful photo-comic/sketch page/whatever reading an opinion column which has the temerity to say that their comic is not a comic and then use his superior platform to galvanise his or her audience into attacking that column. That is utterly and completely wrong and someone in that position should know better.

My opinion? I don’t agree with Jules on some points. I think there are great and successful photo comics but I don’t think certain ones are comics rather they’re intelligent sketch pages such as those that belong in a well to do publication like Punch or The New Yorker.

But do I think she is arrogant, ignorant, idiotic, ridiculous or just plain bitchy? No! Because she presented her arguments calmly and logically from a professional point of view. That is her opinion guys deal with it. Don’t get angry, don’t shout at her because she decided to speak up, debate with her!

The treatment that she has received in the past 24 – 48 hours has been nothing short of shameful. She has been made to walk outside, stand on a chair be tarred and painted, bow for hours on end and wear a sign saying “I’m an idiot” while the baying mob (currently at 120 comments at the time of writing) criticize her endlessly and repeatedly.

We claim that we live in an enlightened and civilised society and that we enjoy the freedoms that people had died to defend time and time again. We look at the likes of China and scoff at their endless cycles of violence, mayhem and mob lynchings when we fail to realise that our own actions echo those very same horrible periods of history.

People should be made to read Li Zhensheng’s experiences and look at his photos. They should read abut the son whose father, the Helionjiang Party Secretary, was condemned and punished for days simply for being too old and “elitist” and how this son who tried to speak out, to voice his opinion, was gagged with a dirty sock and condemned himself.

Several days later he fell out of the window of the building he was being held at. The mob said it was suicide but in their hearts they know what really happened.

Today I look at that poor soul and I feel that he was the lucky one.

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As unwelcome as the sight of your mother in law announcing that she is staying for a week or two after Christmas, the latest Pond to Pond podcast is here!

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Sometimes I despair, I really do. Britain is an up and coming hotspot in the small press and webcomic world especially with gems like these. So when half of London decides to turn up on the 27th of March to listen to me tal- well actually no, they’re not, they’re there to probably get autographs off of Rose and Kate Beaton, lucky devils.

Anyway, I’ve got to sit on a panel discussion about webcomic collectives and co-operatives and how the world of webcomics is a fantastic medley of peace, harmony, ANZAC cakes, punch and pie. The reality however is really high profile figures in the webcomic community such as Bobby Crosby and Scott Kurtz are doing this:

Yelling “hate you” to Scott Kurtz is an extremely nice thing to do. He should be killed.

BY BOBBY CROSBY ON 12.25.09

And this:

Bobby, you’re being stupid. Everyone who’s attended comicon over the years knows Wednesday is the bigger sales night. You’re arguing against real data.

I swear, talking to you is like arguing with the Hulk.

BY SCOTT KURTZ ON 12.28.09

And I’ve got to go sit at a table and say (probably once, maybe even twice if I manage to work out how to turn the microphone on) with a straight face that we’re all one big happy family and that webcomics is now mature as a market to take on the big boys in print and that the best way to do this is to band together into a collective or a co-operative and hey! Look at Keenspot! What a fantastic model.

No. I can’t do it.

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I love Christmas (apart from putting up decorations which is something I’ll be doing in purgatory most likely) and I especially like the food and drink that comes from this wintery season. Every country has their own specific crimbo food and drink and while they are very nice (such as the Danish and German takes on mulled wine) nothing for me beats the tremendous feeling of some British crimbo cuisine.

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